A KINGDOM OF EMINENT DISTINCTION

"You, O king, the king of kings, you to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the might, and the strength and the dignity, and into whose hand he has given, wherever the sons of mankind are dwelling, the beasts of the field and the winged creatures of the heavens, and whom he has made ruler over all of them, you yourself are the head of gold." (Daniel 2:37, 38)  These words apply to Nebuchadnezzar after Jehovah had used him to destroy Jerusalem, in 607 B.C.E. This is so because the kings enthroned in Jerusalem were from the line of David, Jehovah's anointed king. Jerusalem was the capital of Judah, the typical kingdom of God representing Jehovah's sovereignty over the earth.  With that city's destruction in 607 B.C.E., this typical kingdom of God ceased to exist.  (1 Chronicles 29:23; 2 Chronicles 36:17-21)  The successive world powers  represented by the metallic parts of the image could now e4xercise world domination without interference from God's typical kingdom. As the head of gold, the most precious metal known in ancient times, Nebuchadnezaar had had the distinction of overturning that kingdom by destroying Jerusalem. 

Nebuchadnezzar, who reigned for 43 years, headed a dynasty that ruled over the Babylonian Empire.  It included his son-in-law Nabonidus and his oldest son, Evil-merodach. That dynasty continued for 43 more years, until the death of Nabonidus' son Belshazzar, in 539 B.C.E. (2 Kings 25:27; Daniel 5:30) So the head of gold in the dream image represented not just Nebuchadnezzar but the entire Babylonian line of rulership. 

Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar:  "After you there will rise another kingdom inferior to you." (Daniel 2:39)   A kingdom symbolized  by the image's breasts and arms of silver would succeed Nebuchadnezzar's dynasty.  Some 200 years earlier, Isaiah had foretold this kingdom, even giving the name of its victorious king-Cyrus. (Isaiah 13:1-7; 21:2-9; 44:24-45:7, 13)  This was the Medo-Persian  Empire.  Even though Medo-Persia developed a great civilization that was not secondary to that of the Babylonian Empire, this later kingdom is represented by silver, a metal less precious than gold.  It was inferior to the Babylonian World Power in that it did not have the distinction of overturning Judah, the typical kingdom of God with its capital  at  Jerusalem.

Some 60 years after interpreting the dream, Daniel witnessed the end of Nebuchadnezzar's dynasty.  Daniel was presented  on the night of October 5/6, 539 B.C.E., when the Medo-Persian army took seemingly impregnable Babylon and executed King Belshazzar.  With the death of Belshazzar, the golden head of the dream image-the Babylonian Empire -ceased to exist.  

Next time: EXILED PEOPLE FREED BY A KINGDOM 

From the book: PAY ATTENTION TO DANIEL'S PROPHECY! 1999