1. In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar by what peculiar circumstance was he surrounded?
“In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, wherewith his spirit was troubled, and his sleep brake from him,” Daniel 2:1.
2. Was he anxious to know the dream and its meaning?
“And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream,” Daniel 2:3.
3. What man was used by God to make this dream known to the king?
“Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven,” Daniel 2:19.
4. Why was this dream revealed to the prophet Daniel?
“But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but for their sakes that shall make known the interpretation to the king, and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart,” Daniel 2:30.
5. What message did Daniel bring to the king concerning his dream?
“Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible,” Daniel 2:31.
6. Of what was this image composed?
“This image’s head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, his legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay,” verses 32, 33.
7. What did Daniel see smiting this image upon the feet?
“Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces,” verse 34.
8. What happened to this image when the stone smote it upon the feet?
“Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth,” verse 35.
9. Of what empire was Nebuchadnezzar king?
“Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the Lord, and Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon,” Jeremiah 25:9.
10. Concerning the head of gold what did Daniel say to the king?
“Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath He given unto thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold,” Daniel 2:37, 38.
NOTE: The Babylonian empire, the richest and shortest in duration began 602 B.C. and ended B.C. 538.
11. Was there to be a second universal empire represented by the “Breast and arms of silver?”
“And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee,” verse 39.
12. According to the Bible what would be the second universal rule?
“Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver; and as for gold, they shall not delight in it . . . And Babylon the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, Isaiah 13:17, 19.
“Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians,” Daniel 5:28.
NOTE: According to history, the Medo-Persian empire was the one that followed the Babylonian kingdom, and began in the year 538 B.C. and ended B.C. 331.
13. What does the brass in this image represent?
“And another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth,” Daniel 2:39.
14. According to the Bible what empire would be the third to rule the world?
“The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia. And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king,” Daniel 8:20, 21.
NOTE: History tells us that the Grecian empire under Alexander the Great was the third one to rule the world, and came upon the stage of action B.C. 331. It lasted only about twelve years, when it was divided into four divisions. The last of these passed away in the year 168 B.C.
15. What is said of the fourth kingdom, or division of this great image?
“And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise,” Daniel 2:40.
NOTE: The Roman empire was the fourth universal empire to rule the world. This was the empire that was ruling the world while Christ was on the earth, and He was tried before the Roman courts. The Roman empire was much stronger and lasted much longer than any of the preceding ones, acquiring universal rule by the year 46 B.C., although it was founded at a much earlier date. About the year 395 A.D. it was divided into its eastern and western divisions to represent the two limbs of the great metallic image. Some years later it was divided into ten divisions to represent the ten toes on the feet of this image. We can see how history responds to the call of divine prophecy, and that the world has come down in the image of a man for whose purpose it was created.
16. What conditions would be in the world after this fourth empire had reached its divided state?
“And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay,” verses 42, 43.
NOTE: One can easily see the conditions as they are at the present time, that the nations are separate and broken apart. These people have been engaged in the worst war of the world’s history, which is in harmony with this prophecy. We can expect upheavals at different times during the remaining years of this present dispensation.
17. In the days of the divided state of the Roman empire what great change will take place?
“And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever,” verse 44.
18. Under this fifth universal rule, or kingdom of Christ what conditions will exist?
“And He shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more,” Isaiah 2:4.
19. During this time who will be king over all the earth?
“And the Lord shall be King over all the earth: in that day there shall be one Lord, and His name one,” Zechariah 14:9.
We have girded on the armor,
And our banner is unfurled;_
`Tis the standard of Mt. Zion,
And we’ll face a frowning world.
We have on the only breastplate,
`Tis the shield of truth and right;
And the sword which we are using
Is mighty in the fight.
We are told to hold out faithful,_
By the grace of God we stand
And we’ll work beneath this banner
Till we reach the promised land.
Our Captain Judea’s Lion:
Our weary hearts doth cheer,
He’s the Holy one of Zion,
And tells us not to fear.