About 2600 years ago, the king of Babylon had a strange dream, in which he saw a terrifying statue made of various metals. The symbols of this dream were partly analyzed by the prophet Daniel at that time. But the final solving of this mystery remains for us today. The statue represented the series of corrupt empires which would dominate politics and finance for a set time-period and which would come to an end in our era. I am grateful to Bertrand Comparet, the late San Diego lawyer and independent Bible teacher, for identifying the empires symbolized by this statue. The remaining symbols were deciphered by me. Now let’s read the story from the biblical book of Daniel chapter 2, of The Holy Bible in Modern English. After that, we’ll discover what this series of symbols means for us today.
Beginning in verse 31, Daniel tells King Nebuchadnezzar, “You King, were looking, and saw a great image. The image which was great, and its splendor dazzling, stood before you, and its aspect was terrible. The head of the image was of fine gold; its breast and arms of silver; its belly and thighs of brass; its legs of iron; its feet part of iron and part of clay! You looked at it until a stone was cut out without hands and thrown against the iron and clay feet of the image, and broke them to pieces. Then at once the iron, clay, brass and gold were broken, and became like chaff from thrashing wheat, an the whole were carried away by the wind, and no rest was found for them; but the stone that struck the image became a Great Mountain and filled the earth!
Daniel continues. “THAT WAS THE DREAM–Now the meaning shall be told to the King.
“You, King, are a King of Kings! to whom the GOD OF HEAVEN has given this Empire, it’s power, its might, and splendor. And wherever the sons of men reside, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the skies, he has given into your hand, and you rule all of them.–You are the head of gold!
“But after you another kingdom will arise inferior to yours! And another third kingdom of brass, which will rule over all the country. Then a fourth kingdom that will be as strong as iron. Because iron breaks and crushes all, so like iron it will break all in pieces and crush. And as you saw its feet and toes were formed part of clay and part of iron; that kingdom will be a divided one; yet the firmness of iron will be in it; because you saw the iron mixed with tempered clay. So as the toes were part of iron and part of clay, part of that Empire will be strong, and part brittle; And as you observed the iron was mixed with the tempered clay, they will mix themselves with the races of mankind;–but will not stick together with each other, as iron does not unite with clay. But in the days of those kings, the GOD OF HEAVEN will establish an EVERLASTING EMPIRE, and indestructible,–whose Sovereignty will not be transferred to another people. It will subdue and break all kingdoms and will stand forever! And as you saw a stone cut from a rock,–but not by hands,–which broke the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold,–the GREAT GOD has revealed to the King what will come after now,–and the dream is certain, and my interpretation true!” Now let’s figure this out.
The head of gold Daniel tells us is King Nebuchadnezzar himself and his Babylonian Empire. “Gold” is a symbol of money. It means that the World Order’s system of trade and global finance became perfected in ancient Babylon and that set the pattern for trade, finance and politics ever since. Notice that Nebuchadnezzar is called a “king of kings.” This was not mere flattery. It was his literal title. The ancient Asian trade system was dominated by regional kings, who subdued all neighboring kings, to keep commerce flowing freely through a large area consisting of many other countries, each ruled by a less powerful king. The title originally came from India, which was the actual centre of world trade. For example, the ancient kings of Cambodia were also called “king of kings,” for the same reason. So when Jesus Christ is called “King of Kings” in the Bible, God is speaking tongue-in-cheek. This means that Christ and His Kingdom will dominate all the governments and economies of the earth.
The breast and arms of silver symbolize the empire which conquered Babylon, composed of two side-by-side nations, Media and Persia. That they are silver, instead of gold, symbolizes that they were slightly less money-hungry than the Babylonians. These are the people who freed our ancestors, the Israelites, from their captivity by the Babylonians. Then a few Israelites returned to Palestine to become the ancestors of Jesus but most of them travelled overland to settle in Western Europe. When King Cyrus the Mede conquered Babylon, he assumed the title of “king of kings” and took over the direction of trade and commerce in the former Babylonian empire.
The belly and thighs of brass symbolize the Greco-Roman Empire. This empire began with the Greeks, was ruled by Rome for a few centuries and then reverted to Greek control. It was founded by Alexander the Great, who defeated Persia and seized for himself the title of “king of kings.” Part of this symbol is a picture. If you look at a map of Greece and Italy, you will notice they are two peninsulas separated by the Adriatic see, like two thighs joined by a belly on top. But why are they made of brass? This symbolizes that they were the first Christian empire. To discover the reason, we need to study another symbol from the Bible. In Revelation chapter 1, verses 13-16, we see a picture of the Spiritual Body of Christ, which symbolizes Christ’s culture on the earth. The Head of this symbol is pure white, symbolizing God Himself. The white head symbolizes both purity and age, because He is called “the Eternal” and “the Ancient of Days.” Now the feet of this Body, whose Head is in Heaven, are made of brass. This symbolizes Christ’s people, who live on the earth. In the old Tabernacle-tent, in which our ancestors the Israelites originally worshipped God, every article of religious service for the people and every part of the tent which touched the ground was made of brass. So today, Christians are symbolized as the brass feet of Christ’s culture on the earth, which is united with God in Heaven in the Spiritual Body of Christ. The Greco-Roman Empire was the first to institutionalize Christianity as the state religion. The Greeks founded the Orthodox Church and the Romans started Catholicism. After the fall of Rome, the Greeks kept the empire going until Constantinople fell to the Turks in 1453.
But the Roman Empire did not end there. In 800 AD, the Pope crowned King Charles the Great (a.k.a. Charlemagne) as Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, otherwise known as the Roman-German Empire. This empire persisted until it was bombed out of history in 1945.
The legs of iron are the Anglo-American Empire. Notice it is pictured as two separate, lower legs. This symbolizes Britain and America, separated by the Atlantic ocean. It began in the United Kingdom and Americans once tried to get rid of it. Unfortunately, after their revolution, their government changed a little, for awhile but the British corporations and banks remained, behind the scenes. So before too long, America took its turn as head of the empire. Just as Daniel predicted, it has smashed everything in its path. Through wars and revolutions, it has dethroned the competing kings of Germany, France and most of the other kings of Europe. Recently, it has smashed Serbia, Syria, Libya, Afghanistan and Iraq. It is currently smashing up Ukraine, to try to subdue Russia. This has been the dominant empire of our time but it, too, is nearing its end.
The feet of iron mixed with clay symbolize modern multiculturalism. Notice Daniel says, “They will mix themselves with the races of mankind.” The King James Version says, “They will mingle themselves with the seed of men” and the word “men” here is anasha, which means the non-Caucasian peoples. Dr. Moffat’s modern English paraphrase reads, “They will intermarry in those days.” Aren’t we now living in the first period of our history when interracial sex and marriage have become acceptable and commonplace? This illustrates that the prophecy is definitely for our time.
What is the stone cut out without hands? Psalms 18.2 says “God is my Rock,” so it’s clear that this symbolizes God’s solid, natural, enduring power. “Stone” also symbolizes that what God has created is more lasting than the metals and meanings made by man. The stone cut out with no human hand is Jesus Christ, Whose Father is God Himself. Christ is called “the Stone which the builders (of the World Order) rejected.” God is going to send Christ to smash apart this final, corrupt empire, along with the crooked financial system and the politics used to justify it. As Daniel tells us, they will become like chaff which the wind will blow away forever.
What does the wind symbolize? In ancient Hebrew, the word ruach means wind, spirit, breath and by extension, God’s power. For example, in Genesis 1.2 we read, “The earth became without form and void, and darkness was on the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters.” Some versions say, “the breath of God.” But clearly, what is poetically symbolized here is a powerful wind churning up the sea at the direction of God. So the “wind” here in Daniel symbolizes God’s power–that He will pulverize and blow away this rotten, master-and-slave system which has subjugated our people for thousands of years. In “How the Meek Will Inherit the Earth,” I have explained on this blog how He will turn nations against each other to accomplish this.
The stone which becomes a great mountain symbolizes the coming Kingdom of Christ on Earth, which will dominate the whole world with justice and truth and in which our people will live in prosperity and peace for a thousand years.
So that is the story of the statue in King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. Can we see now, how the end of the story is near? God is planning a dynamic end to the organized crime that runs this world. Then He’s going to bless us to build something much better. Finally, please remember that Daniel tells us, “In the days of those kings, the God of Heaven will establish an everlasting empire, and indestructible–whose sovereignty will not be passed to another people.” So although many European kings have already fallen, some kings will still remain when the change begins. We can get ready today, by moving closer to Christ.
Thank you for your time. To learn many more symbols about the changes to come, I invite you to read my two-book, “Secrets in Biblical Symbols” series. The Death and Resurrection of the West Foretold in Prophecy uses fascinating, biblical symbols to show how the Age of the Church is ending with a crash and how a better culture awaits in our future. Do-it-Yourself HOME CHRISTIANITY: How to Please God and Receive His Help Without Preachers, Churches, or Money is my second little book and the title says it all. Both are available on this website as either ebooks or real books. You can read the introductory sections for free.
