Interpreting the Book of Daniel through the lens of history has given rise to some different theories. As we know, each metal in the vision of the statue that both King Nebuchadnezzar and Daniel saw represents kingdoms.
Matching the metals to their respective kingdoms
One theory places the kingdoms in the following order
- Babylon
- Media
- Persia
- Greece.
Here is why this theory is wrong. Let’s start with what we all agree on. The King of Babylon was the head of gold. It is the first kingdom and plainly written. Remember that this revelation was given to the King of Babylon himself.
Wherever they live, he has made you ruler over them all. You are that head of gold.
But the next kingdom was not Media or the Medes. It was both Media and Persia together. Proof is found in the Book of Daniel itself.
This was the dream, and now we will interpret it to the king. Your Majesty, you are the king of kings. The God of heaven has given you dominion and power and might and glory; in your hands he has placed all mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds in the sky. Wherever they live, he has made you ruler over them all. You are that head of gold. After you, another kingdom will arise, inferior to yours.
TEKEL means that you have been weighed on the scales and found deficient. PERES means that your kingdom has been divided and given over to the Medes and Persians.
The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia.
= Medes and Persians as one kingdom
The four kingdoms
Clearly then, the 4 kingdoms are:
- Babylon
- Media and Persia
- Greece
- Rome
Rome is the fourth kingdom
So the Roman Empire is the fourth kingdom if we look at history. But there is more to this statue than four metals representing four historical Gentile kingdoms.
Iron and clay
There is also two feet made of iron mixed with clay. So what in history could this refer too? Well we only need to look at what the next empire in succession was. Many say there wasn’t a kingdom after Rome because Rome simply fell and that was the end of that kingdom. This is not true. History shows us two significant things happened that fit with the description given by the statue. They are as follows:
- The Roman Empire had two legs in both the statue and in history. These were the East and the West. Yes the West fell eventually, but the East did not.
- The Roman Empire continued for a further 1000 years in the eastern leg. For some reason, this fact seems forgotten by some who try to interpret these verses.
The rise of a new empire
So who then conquered the Roman Empire? The answer is the Ottomans. The Ottoman Empire lasted for centuries and ruled the east first but eventually expanded to the west. At its height, it controlled much of south-eastern Europe, western Asia, and North Africa.
An important thing to note was the capital of the Roman Empire before being conquered. It was not Rome, but Constantinople located in the country that today we call Turkey. When the Ottomans conquered the Roman Empire it took over its capital city and renamed it to Istanbul.
The ten toes
So what happened to the West then? Well the Ottomans ruled parts of the west too, but the region broke up into 10 states or countries. These are the countries of Western Europe we see today. This matches the description of the statue’s 10 toes.
As the ten toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so some of the kingdom will be strong, and another part of it will be brittle
Let’s recap:
- The Ottoman Empire conquered the eastern leg of the Roman Empire and even into much of the western leg during the empire’s greatest extent.
- As for the western leg, 10 kings / states / countries eventually formed which is how Western Europe is today. Although there are varying interpretations, Western Europe is commonly understood to comprise of 10 countries.
The Book of Revelation in the New Testament mirrors the Book of Daniel in the Old Testament except it goes further into the future. Around two thousand years of history has since passed. This is what we read.
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.
This could be a future event where Europe aligns with the beast. But going back to the Book of Daniel, it talks about the mix of iron and clay. This simply means that the iron (Roman Empire) was mixed with Clay, (the Ottoman Empire). An interesting fact to note here is the Arabic word for ‘mix’ is actually the word ‘arab‘ which is the term we associate with the Ottomans. The Ottoman Empire was made up of Arabs. Further, we read how both the iron and clay do not stick together. That could well be a reference to the fact that the Arabs and Roman citizens didn’t merge or blend together as one people. They remained distinct and today we still have Europeans and Arabs as distinct peoples. You can read more about the Ottoman Empire here.
The Mountain
But there is one more part of this statue that needs to be addressed. Not the statue itself, but what destroys the statue. It is a rock that strikes at the feet of the statue leading to it crumbling into dust. The word rock is also the word for mountain and the word mountain in the Bible is often used to refer to a kingdom. Here are some examples:
In Ezekiel 35:2, we read:
The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, set your face against Mount Seir, and prophesy against it, and say to it, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, Mount Seir, and I will stretch out my hand against you, land I will make you a desolation and a waste. I will lay your cities waste, and you shall become a desolation, and you shall know that I am the Lord.
In Jeremiah. 51:25 we see that Babylon is called a mountain.
“I am against you, you destroying mountain…”
Further, we know that Mount Zion in a wider sense, is used to describe Israel. Remember that mountain and rock are the same word in scripture.
The Kingdom of God
So the rock that struck the statue is the Kingdom of God. It is this kingdom that destroys all the kingdoms of the world. It is an everlasting kingdom and its reign will know no end.
Daniel 2:34-35
While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were all broken to pieces and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth.
Daniel 2: 44
“In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever.
As we can clearly see, the Book of Daniel aptly describes the kingdoms of the world. The world meaning the land around Israel including The Middle East and Europe.
