Lesson 2 - The Psychics vs. the Prophet
God Reveals the Future: Questions 6-11
The book of Daniel especially reveals events in the last days of earth’s history. The king’s dream focuses on the end times. It foretells events which occur at the close of this earth’s history.
According to Daniel’s interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, each corresponding metal represented a kingdom that would rule the world. Beginning with Babylon, the prophet traces the destiny of the nations through the centuries.
Gold is a fitting symbol for Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom ruled the world from 605 to 539 B.C. Located in modern-day Iraq, some sixty miles south of Baghdad, the capital city of Babylon was the center of the most powerful nation in the Middle East at that time. Its chief god, Bel-Marduk, was crafted of solid gold. His golden image sat on a golden throne beside a golden candlestick before a golden table in a golden-domed temple. The prophet Isaiah also calls Babylon “the golden city” Isaiah 14:4.
Yet Babylon would not last forever. It would be overthrown by another dominant power.
The Medes and Persians overthrew the Babylonians in 539 B.C. Cyrus, the general who led the Medo-Persian armies, is predicted by name 150 years in advance in Isaiah 44:28 and Isaiah 45:1. The Medes and Persians ruled the world from 539 to 331 B.C.
The nation of Greece overthrew the Medes and Persians. The Greeks ruled the world from 331 to 168 B.C. Alexander the Great conquered the world by the time he was thirty-three years old. We will study more about his meteoric rise to power in Daniel, chapter 8.
The Romans conquered the Greeks in 168 B.C. The Roman Empire ruled the world during the time of Christ. Caesar Augustus, a Roman emperor, passed the decree that all the world should be taxed. A Roman court tried Jesus, and Roman soldiers nailed Him to the cross.
The prophet Daniel predicted that the Roman Empire would be divided. The break-up of the empire occurred from 351 to 476 A.D. No fifth world empire overthrew the Romans. Rome was divided exactly as the prophet predicted. The barbarian tribes from the north invaded the Roman Empire, and it was divided into separate, distinct states. The nations of Europe today—France, Germany, England, Spain, Italy, etc.—were predicted in this amazing dream.