His Dream; Our Knowledge, conclusion

Iron and Clay

   Nebuchadnezzar - dictator that he was - fell prostrate before Daniel, the Hebrew exile. He was swept off his feet. 

   The young man had miraculously described his awesome dream. The king promoted Daniel in his royal court. And he made his three friends rulers over the entire province, along with the "wise men" he had nearly executed. 

   In Daniel 4, see the king's "humble" letter to the world, concluding, Now, I ... praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble. 

   Do we believers - knowing the rest of the story - praise and exalt and glorify our Lord and Savior?

   The head of gold represented the Neo-Babylonian empire (605-539 B.C.). From there came astrology. 

   The chest and arms would be the Medo-Persian empire of Cyrus (539 B.C.). From there came ethics.

   The belly and thighs represented the empire of Alexander the Great (330 B.C.). From the Greeks came art and philosophy.

   The legs and feet would be the Roman empire, law and peace-by-military strength (about 67 B.C.). Rome (iron) subdued the known world (including reestablished Israel) as no previous empire had done. 

   Get ready: Our commentary says feet and toes "probably represent nationalistic states in the area of the Roman empire since it fell." More accurately - dissolved into a continuing rise and fall of strong and brittle states.  

   Did the USA adopt the values of the above four empires, paying lip service to God? 

   In the last chapters of Revelation read how our age concludes, followed by the rule of the Rock (Messiah), then the "powder" of the universe blown away, and finally the new heaven and earth.

   World philosophy and values must be completely destroyed before Christ's kingdom (the fifth) is established. Don't love your possessions too much.