29 "As for you, O king, while on your bed your thoughts turned to what would take place in the future; and He who reveals mysteries has made known to you what will take place

We should note the focus of the dream. It was given to Nebuchadnezzar for his personal benefit. He would be unlikely to be interested in details which pertained to the captive population of a minor province of his kingdom. So God gave him a grand overview of future world history in a context which would be important to him. It is also important to note that this vision is the framework for all the other visions in the book. As we move through them, we will find that each vision expands and interprets the visions before it.

31 "You, O king, were looking and behold, there was a single great statue; that statue, which was large and of extraordinary splendor, was standing in front of you, and its appearance was awesome.
32 "The head of that statue was made of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze,
33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay.
34 "You continued looking until a stone was cut out without hands, and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay, and crushed them.
35 "Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were crushed all at the same time, and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away so that not a trace of them was found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth

Nebuchadnezzar was not left to figure the dream out for himself. Daniel, inspired by God, provided the interpretation.

37 "You, O king, are the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, the strength, and the glory;
38 and wherever the sons of men dwell, or the beasts of the field, or the birds of the sky, He has given them into your hand and has caused you to rule over them all. You are the head of gold

It is interesting to see that the interpretation presents the idea that we are looking at the entire globe. "...and wherever the sons of men dwell..." seems to indicate the whole world. But we know that Nebuchadnezzar did not rule everywhere. India, China, and other major parts of the world were not in his dominion. Therefore, we have to be looking at the "whole world" from the viewpoint of the participants. This then becomes what is now called the "civilized" or "known" world.

God tells Nebuchadnezzar that he is the head of gold. However, as we look at the next verse, it becomes clear that Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom is the head, not Nebuchadnezzar himself.

39 "And after you there will arise another kingdom inferior to you, then another third kingdom of bronze, which will rule over all the earth."

There were several kings of Babylon after Nebuchadnezzar before any succeeding kingdom. In order for there to be "another kingdom" after Nebuchadnezzar himself, he would have to be the last king of Babylon. Therefore, the statement, "You are the head of gold" must refer to his kingdom, not to Nebuchadnezzar himself.

In 538BC, MedoPersia conquered Babylon. This was the "kingdom inferior to you." MedoPersia was not in any great measure "inferior" to Babylon. It actually occupied a larger territory than Babylon. However, it did not have the splendor of Babylon. So in this sense it could be considered "inferior".

At this point it is worthwhile to consider whether this prophecy is merely a shrewd guess on the part of Daniel, knowing that the sweep of history would have one kingdom follow another. A look into Isaiah 45, written over a century earlier reveals:

1 Thus says the LORD to Cyrus His anointed, Whom I have taken by the right hand, To subdue nations before him, And to loose the loins of kings; To open doors before him so that gates will not be shut:
2 "I will go before you and make the rough places smooth; I will shatter the doors of bronze, and cut through their iron bars.
3 "And I will give you the treasures of darkness, And hidden wealth of secret places, In order that you may know that it is I, The LORD, the God of Israel, who calls you by your name." Is 45:1-3

Cyrus the Mede conquered Babylon. He was not a God-fearing man, and it is highly unlikely that he had any prior knowledge of the writing of Isaiah. Yet this passage clearly shows even the method by which he conquered the city. Daniel 5 tells of Belshazzar's feast. On one of the Babylonian feast days, Belshazzar, feeling invincible, put on the block party to end all block parties. Even the military guards joined in. Cyrus used flood control gates on the Euphrates river to divert it away from its bed.

When the level of the water fell, Cyrus' army was able to enter Babylon from both sides by walking in the river bed. (The river ran through the middle of the walled city.) This would have achieved nothing if the guards were on duty, since the entrances to the river were guarded by gates. But the gates were left open and unguarded. Cyrus' army took the city virtually without resistance.

39"..., then another third kingdom of bronze, which will rule over all the earth."

Once again we see the "over all the earth" perspective. This third kingdom was Greece (Macedonia). Once again, it did not rule over their entire world as we know it. It did rule over the entire world from Daniel's perspective. This is the perspective we must use. We have to put ourselves in his position to understand the prophecy.

40 "Then there will be a fourth kingdom as strong as iron; inasmuch as iron crushes and shatters all things, so, like iron that breaks in pieces, it will crush and break all these in pieces."

Nebuchadnezzar was given a vivid picture of Rome. The Roman empire controlled with an iron fist.

41 "And in that you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, it will be a divided kingdom; but it will have in it the toughness of iron, inasmuch as you saw the iron mixed with common clay.
42 "And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of pottery, so some of the kingdom will be strong and part of it will be brittle.

What better picture can be drawn of the breakup of the Roman empire? Daniel tells Nebuchadnezzar in verse 41 that "it will be a divided kingdom". Rome split into eastern and western halves, with capitols in Rome and Constantinople. It fell of its own weight, and some of the resulting fragments were strong while others were weak. The remainder of these two verses aptly describe this.

The Dispensationalist/Futurist (D/F) school of interpretation reserves the feet for a time in the future when they propose that the Roman Empire will be reconstituted. However, an examination of the text makes it clear that verses 41 and 42 are describing the "fourth kingdom" introduced in verse 40. No other interpretation is consistent with the text. Verse 41 calls it a "divided kingdom", then verse 42 says that part of it "will be strong and part of it will be brittle". To conclude that this is describing a second, reconstituted, Roman Empire requires a gap which is not allowed by the linguistic structure of the text.

A curious observation is then made about the kingdoms resulting from the breakup of Rome.

43 "And in that you saw the iron mixed with common clay, they will combine with one another in the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, even as iron does not combine with pottery."

This is a clear description of the practice of political marriages, intended to ally one country with another. This was a common practice in Europe, but was singularly unsuccessful. This text also absolutely excludes any reconstitution of Rome. "They will not adhere to one another" leaves no doubt. Rome cannot reconstitute unless its component parts "adhere to one another".

Before we move to the next scene, it is important to note that this is the last earthly kingdom in the vision.

44 "And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever.
45 "Inasmuch as you saw that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands and that it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold, the great God has made known to the king what will take place in the future; so the dream is true, and its interpretation is trustworthy."

Futurists insist that we will see a new, reconstituted Roman empire in the last days. Note again that God says in verse 44, "in the days of those kings". "Those kings" are the states arising from the breakup of the Roman Empire, and "they will not adhere to one another". There is no gap between the broken up feet and toes and God's eternal kingdom. We live today in the remnants of the Roman Empire. There will be no new power controlling the world before the second coming.

It is also interesting to note the imagery of a stone which destroys the earthly kingdoms. The "stone was cut out … without hands". This stone was of divine origin. Its nature was completely different from everything made by man. What a contrast! All of the power and authority assumed by man is so feeble that God "crushes" it with His power and simply "blows it away". When Christ comes the second time, everything created by man will be simply "dust". Jesus describes himself as the stone.

17 But He looked at them and said, "What then is this that is written, ' The stone which the builders rejected, This became the chief corner stone '?
18 "Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust." Luke 20:17-18 c.f. Psalm 118:22, Is 8:14; 28:16

God's kingdom will sweep away all earthly kingdoms and will last forever.