Questions about Daniel 2:31-45

  1. What is the approximate time span of this prophecy?
    1. 490 years.
      • No, 490 years if the time span of the 70 weeks prophecy in Daniel 9, but there is a time portions between the 69th and 70th weeks.
    2. 70 'weeks' of years.
      • No, see (a.) above.
    3. 40 times 40 years.
      • This doesn't mean anything.
    4. Right Answer!2600 years.
      • Yes, the prophecy starts with the Babylonian kingdom and goes all the way to the Second Coming of Christ. We must understand that the Church Age is hidden in the prophecy like almost all of them. The Church Age is invisible like it is not there at all. In the statue prophecy we come from the Babylonian kingdom, the Media Persia kingdom, the Greek, and then the Roman. Then it jumps to the them of the Second Coming where the fourth kingdom has become a 10 nation confederacy, which most likely is the European Economic Union.

     

     

  2. Is there a pattern to the progression of kingdoms?
    1. Right Answer!Yes, each kingdom becomes harder and less noble than the one before it.
      • Yes, this is the correct answer.
      • Daniel 2:39-40
        "After you, another kingdom will rise, inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over the whole earth. 40 Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron -- for iron breaks and smashes everything -- and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others. (NIV)
      • Notice that the second kingdom is inferior, this is represented by the fact that silver is less noble than gold, and harder. Then the fourth kingdom is as strong as iron, and is much less noble.
    2. Yes, the first is from God, and is on top, near heaven, and then each becomes more and more like Satan, lower and lower, on to the Abyss.
      • No, this is not correct.
      • Luke 4:5-7
        The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And he said to him, "I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7 So if you worship me, it will all be yours." (NIV)
      • In this passage Satan is telling Jesus that all of the kingdoms of the world are his, not God's. So this answer is not correct. The head of Gold may be better than all the others, but it is not from God. The kingdom that God will establish is at the end.
    3. No, they just are what they are.
      • No, everything is important.
    4. No, there is no pattern, but we can still determine which kingdom is which by looking at history.
      • No, everything is important, and yes we can determine which kingdoms fulfilled the prophecy. But this prophecy is not yet completely fulfilled.

     

     

  3. We are not told specifically, but what gender is the statue?
    1. Right Answer!It is male.
      • It is reasonable to understand that the statue is male. King Nebuchadnezzar is the head, and he was a man. This is important because signs of a male nature are symbolic of spiritual forces, whereas female signs denote humanity.
    2. It is female.
      • No, there is nothing to indicate that the statue is female.
    3. It is gender neutral.
      • Maybe, but I think that (a.) is more reasonable.

     

     

  4. How many kingdoms are represented in the statue of this prophecy?
    1. Right Answer!Four, gold, silver, bronze, iron.
      • Yes, we are told directly that it represents four kingdoms.
      • Daniel 2:40
        Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, ... (NIV)
      • Finally a fourth, means that there are only four.
      • This is in agreement with the prophecy in Daniel seven which speaks of the same fact that there will be four kingdoms to rule over Jerusalem. Please understand that everything in history that took place during the Church age is almost totally hidden in the prophecies.
    2. Five, gold, silver, bronze, iron, iron/clay mixture.
      • No, see (a.) above.
    3. Six., gold, silver, bronze, iron, iron/clay mixture, rock.
      • No, see (a.) above.

     

     

  5. What is best represented by the head of gold?
    1. Satan.
      • No, the head does not represent Satan directly.
    2. Jesus.
      • No way!
    3. King Nebuchadnezzar.
      • No, you might think that from reading the text, but we are clearly told that each part represents a kingdom, and Nebuchadnezzar was not the only ruler of that kingdom.
    4. Right Answer!The kingdom of Babylon.
      • Yes, this is the best answer. We are told that each portion represents a kingdom, and that there were to be four kingdoms. Nebuchadnezzar was the first king of the first kingdom, but several other kings reigned over Babylon before the kingdom fell.

     

     

  6. How many significant parts are there to this statue?
    1. Right Answer!Four, head, chest and arms, belly and thighs, legs.
      • Yes, four parts, four kingdoms. This is important to understand because it tells us from where the ten kings come from. They come from the fourth kingdom, that is, from the Roman Empire. So we can understand that the ten kings, and the Antichrist will come from Europe.
    2. Five, head, chest and arms, belly and thighs, legs, feet and toes.
      • No, see (a.) above.
    3. Six, head, chest and arms, belly and thighs, legs, feet, and lastly ten toes.
      • No. see (a.) above.

     

     

  7. Which kingdoms would eventually fulfill the kingdoms of this prophecy?
    1. Right Answer!Babylon, Media and Persia, Greece, and the Roman.
      • Yes, this is the right answer. Knowing this we can see that the ten kings that are reigning at the time of the Second Coming of Christ will come from the fourth kingdom, that is, from Europe.
      • Please understand that from the time that Jesus was crucified until about three and a half years before his Second Coming, that almost everything is hidden. The prophecy says that there will be only four kingdoms, but we know from history that there were more. The Arabs ruled the area at one point, the Turks also ruled, the British, and the Mongols ruled. But all these ruled during the time that the Gospel was offered to the Gentiles. This time is almost totally hidden in the prophecies. The prophecies don't really start up again until after the time covered by the seven letters to the seven churches in Revelation chapters two and three is complete.
      • This time will be complete with the Antichrist signs the seven year treaty with the many in Israel, as recorded in Daniel 9:27.
    2. Babylon, Media and Persia, Greece, Roman, and the Ottoman.
      • No, see (a.) above.
    3. Babylon, Media and Persia, Greece, Roman, Ottoman, and the British.
      • No, seek (a.) above.

     

     

  8. Who is the spiritual power behind these kingdoms?
    1. Man.
      • No, the statue is male, denoting spiritual power. Also see this next passage.
      • Luke 4:5-7
        The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And he said to him, "I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7 So if you worship me, it will all be yours." (NIV)
      • Satan is the power behind the kingdoms of the world.
      • 2 Corinthians 4:4
        The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. (NIV)
      • Here Satan is called the 'god of this world.'
      • Another example of gender is seen in that Jesus, (God), is the Bridegroom, and all of humanity that is to be united with God is called the Bride of Christ, bride = female.
      • The Woman in Revelation 12 is actually the 144,000 Israelite males, so again the female is made of humans.
      • The Harlot of Babylon in Revelation is also a female, so we know the she is make up of humans. She cannot be from Satan as so many believe because the beast and false prophets, who are both Satan's stooges, hate the Harlot and are going to kill her.
    2. Right Answer!Satan.
      • This statue tells us something important about Satan. He starts out looking pretty good, but over time he become less and less noble and more and more hard.
      • Ezekiel 28:11-18
        The word of the LORD came to me: 12 "Son of man, take up a lament concerning the king of Tyre and say to him: "This is what the Sovereign LORD says: ""You were the model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. 13 You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz and emerald, chrysolite, onyx and jasper, sapphire, turquoise and beryl. Your settings and mountings were made of gold; on the day you were created they were prepared. 14 You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones. 15 You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you. 16 Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, O guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones. 17 Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings. 18 By your many sins and dishonest trade you have desecrated your sanctuaries. So I made a fire come out from you, and it consumed you, and I reduced you to ashes on the ground in the sight of all who were watching. (NIV)
      • This is about Satan. Notice that be begins beautiful and wise, but God made a fire come out from him and consume him. This is like the statue.
      • This is what sin does to you. God is the Sustainer. Apart from God we corrupt. Satan's rule also corrupts over time.
    3. The Lord God.
      • No way.
    4. The angels.
      • No, it is Satan, see (b.) above.

     

     

  9. Who is the rock that is cut out, but not by human hands?
    1. Right Answer!Jesus the Rock of Ages.
      • Yes, this is a prophecy of the Second Coming of the Lord.
    2. The rock is symbolic of hard hearted Israel.
      • No, it is a person that comes and destroys the statue. Hard hearted Israel would not do that.
    3. Satan is the hard one that wants to destroy man's empires so that he can rule.
      • No, Satan does not come and destroy his own kingdom.
    4. The beast who gets his power from Satan.
      • No, the beast works for Satan, and Satan does not come and destroy his own kingdom.

     

     

  10. What is the significance of the rock hitting the statue in the feet and toes?
    1. A rolling stone would naturally hit the part on the ground.
      1. No, this is very specific.
    2. It is symbolic for the fact that none will get away, the feet are broken first so that the statue can't run away.
      • No.
    3. Right Answer!This statue represents the kingdoms that would rule Jerusalem over time, the feet represent the time that the Lord will come and smash the kingdoms.
      • Yes, the bottom of the statue is the time closest to when the Lord returns.
    4. It is significant because Mercury, the revered Roman false god of war, has wings on his feet.
      • I have no idea if Mercury is the god of war, but this is wrong.

     

     

  11. What does "In the time of those kings..." mean in verse 44?
    1. They are the "Kings of the East."
      • No.
    2. It means that during the time that the four kingdoms are ruling God will be establishing his kingdom in the background, to be revealed at the appointed time.
      • No.
    3. Right Answer!The kings are represented by the ten toes of the statue and will rule together at the very end of the statues, thus the kingdoms, existence.
      • Yes. We see these same ten kings, or governmental leader many times in Scripture.
      • Daniel 7:7
        "After that, in my vision at night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast -- terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns. (NIV)
      • Daniel 7:24
        The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom. After them another king will arise, different from the earlier ones; he will subdue three kings. (NIV)
      • Revelation 13:1
        And the dragon stood on the shore of the sea.
        And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. He had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on his horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. (NIV)
      • Revelation 17:12
        "The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast. (NIV)
      • Notice that the ten kings reign at the same time as the beast. This is at the time of the day of the Lord.
      • All of these references are speaking of the same time. To understand what is going to happen it is helpful to examine all of these passages to get the complete picture.
    4. The means that during the time kings rule, that is, as long as people live on the earth, but at the end of that time, God will establish a heavenly rule and do away with the earthly.
      • No, see (c.) above.

     

     

  12. Which Coming of the Lord is shown in the "rock, cut out, but not by human hands", image?
    1. First.
      • No when the Lord came the first time he was rejected and went back to heaven.
    2. Right Answer!Second.
      • Yes, this is the Second Coming of the Lord. This is the Coming when the Lord will rule the nations with an iron scepter and he will dash the nations to pieces like broken pottery. The Second Coming is in Judgment.
      • 2 Peter 3:10
        But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. (NIV)
    3. Third.
      • No the Third Coming is for the final day of Judgment as recorded in Matthew 25:31-46

     

     

  13. In the time of those kings, when the Lord comes to establish his kingdom, who will be its king?
    1. The prince of Israel.
      • No, this is a term that means a human ruler, such as a king, or a Prime Minister, or sum such. There will he a "prince" over the house of Israel, but I am talking about the Kingdom of God over the earth.
    2. The leader of the newly unified Church.
      • No, there will be no church at this time. When the Lord comes to gather up the church, then the church will be in the spirit with the Lord.
    3. Right Answer!Jesus Christ.
      • Yes, Jesus is coming to assume his great power to rule as king.
      • Revelation 11:15
        The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever." (NIV)
      • Revelation 12:10
        Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: "Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. (NIV)
    4. Satan, the god of this world.
      • No, Satan is thrown down and then Jesus is the King of the World.

     

     

  14. Now, since this prophecy says that there will be four kingdoms, is the iron mixed with clay image really part of the iron legs portion?
    1. Right Answer!Yes.
      • Yes, this is right. Notice that it is still the iron kingdom. It is iron, but it is not defiled iron, iron and clay mixture. This means that at the time of the ten kings the kingdom will not have the solidarity that it had a the time of Christ's First Coming.
    2. No.
      • No, it is part of the fourth kingdom.

     

     

  15. Where was the power base of the fourth kingdom?
    1. Right Answer!Mostly Europe.
      • Yes, the Roman empire covered most of what is now Europe.
    2. Mostly Egypt.
      • No, this was not the main portion of the kingdom.
    3. Mostly the middle east.
      • No, not mostly.
    4. The whole world.
      • No, not really. The known world yes.

 

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