o
The Colossus takes
the form of a MAN—representing the
reign of Fallen Man and the progress of his civilization, until Messiah comes
to reign.
o The Dream recalls the story of David and Goliath (1 Sam. 17), when a blasphemous Gentile colossus attempting to halt the progress of the People of God is felled by a single stone—and by David, the forerunner of Messiah!
c. The Inspired
Interpretation of the Vision (2:36-45).
v. 36a: “This was the dream…”
No hesitation; a bold & authoritative declaration
of fact.
o How astounding this must have seemed to the King: Daniel knew the hidden burden of his heart!
v. 36b: “…now we will tell its interpretation.” Daniel had credibility!
------------------------------------
i. The HEAD OF GOLD (vv. 37-38): BABYLON.
The Chaldeans became a regional superpower after destroying the Assyrians, overpowering the Egyptians, and subduing many lesser nations.
v. 38: “You are the head of gold.”
Both Nebuchadnezzar himself (vv. 37-38), as well as his empire (v. 39), with which he was identified, are represented by the Head of Gold.
The
Neo-Babylonian
(i.e., Chaldean) Empire was the
inheritor of Mesopotamian civilization,
centered in the “Fertile Crescent” and Tigris-Euphrates Delta, an ancient
“cradle of civilization.”
Babylon, their capital, became the greatest city in the world, boasting in architectural greatness (including the famous Hanging Gardens, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World).
The founder Nabopolassar and his son, Nebuchadnezzar, were amongst the greatest & most powerful kings of antiquity—but their successors were far inferior, and the Empire was short-lived.
"You, O king, are the king of kings…” God granted awesome sovereignty unto Nebuchadnezzar
(vv. 37-38; cf., Jer. 27:5-8; 28:14; Dan. 5:18-19), the Head of Gold. Theoretically, this sovereignty could have embraced the entire world!
Religiously, the Babylonians
were grossly polytheistic, and the gods were ethically capricious and arbitrary.
Ritual idolatry, the occult sciences, & astrology dominated.
GOLD, the most precious
of metals, was appropriate to
symbolize this Kingdom, which made great use of this substance in its
ornamentation.
o Babylon was a
complete oriental despotism; the
powers of the Kings of Babylon was absolute…
their word was law.
o The Kingdom represented
a centralized and unified Sovereignty…
Each
metal represents…
1.
…the progressive
debasement of sovereignty…
Each metal is less precious and valuable than
the one that proceeds it. With each, we see the deterioration of personal
autocratic authority.
For example, we see this played-out in the
history of men’s political affairs:
Monarchy=one
man rule…
Oligarchy=rule
by a small elite group…
Democracy=the
people rule through chosen representatives…
Anarchy=lawless
mob rule…
2.
…the progressive
strengthening of military might.
Each metal is stronger, harder, & better suited to military purposes than the one that proceeds it. Ultimately, however, the last stage reveals the brittleness of mass-sovereignty.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.