Head of Gold

Daniel 2:38-49

And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold. And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.

Now, here is the key to understanding the rest of the vision. Say it with Daniel if you must: 'King Nebuchadnezzar, you are the head of gold.' Since Nebuchanezzer is the head of gold, the presence of the pagan councilors means that the head is not entirely purified. So, either the devil is the liar, or the Lord is. And we know that is the one thing the Lord cannot be in Hebrews 6:18. So therefore, the situation must be as Matthew 13:33 describes about the kingdom of Heaven. This is where the woman took leaven and mixed with all the dough until all of it was puffed up. Since Babylon is referred to a fallen woman in the book of Revelation, it is not too much of a doctrinal stretch to imagine this might be the case. Therefore, the Babylonian empire as the head of gold was not entirely purified until King Nebuchadnezzar's prophecy was completed. As we will soon see, other rulers have taken the throne at that point and the kingdom has passed to another. Daniel's interpretation would only work if King Nebuchadnezzar was yet hidden deep in his closet. As we will see later, only God can bring him out. In the lion's den of future texts, we see the last of the wise men executed. Their houses were also turned into a dung hill as promised in the process of the dream's interpretation. Literally they did to be excreted as lions shat. The problem with the church today is very likely to be found in the wise men's statements at first. They said they did not believe God could even be found among men.

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. And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay.

God places the emphasis here on the state of the people's hearts rather than on the world rulers or on the empires. See man always seems to get the story twisted. It is like the house of Matthew 12:43-45 which was swept and made clean; then the one brought seven spirits worse which came and moved into the emptiness. It is important to note that the condition of the the people's hearts allowed this to happen. This dream looks the same as if I had four houses in a row and visited each of them sequentially. But these are all the same house just seen at different times. The first is as it should be. The second is in need of a little help. The third is like a house divided against itself. Some people hide in the kitchen from the other people in the house. The other people within are unaware that they themselves are the ones in need of help. The last is like a house left empty with nothing but the spirits and all that happened inside. These are too terrible to look at and seem to haunt any which gaze too long. This is why God must be there to pull his prophets out, as seen in later visions, to keep them from being overcome with evil. Romans 12:21 speaks the better word that Jesus' good overcame all the evil of this world, Satan, and the demons of hell. The light of the lamp set out in the house, spoken of in Matthew 5:15, has gone out. In the darkness and lack, the trauma of the ages has moved in. This is why Daniel praises the God of his ancestors who brought them out form such a place.

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.

This text speaks of the smashing of the statue and carrying the pieces away. For this cause Isaiah 43:18-19 remembers not the former things anymore. Before him all our trials will seem as nothing; even our good works will not be remembered in the light of his glory. See Jesus walking among the seven lamp stands of the church in Revelation 1:13. This is the reason we do not know these things plainly. The times and the kingdoms appointed are God's. God will not share his glory with any as in Isaiah 42:8. Over them he appoints him whom he will. What does that tell you about what sort of ruler he is? The rock not made with human hands was formed and rolled the first order away until it filled the whole earth. The stone and the builder's rejection of Psalm 118:22 has become head of the corner. He is intimately acquainted with all our sorrows and all we go through. How else would he know unless he was here. God sits high in Psalm 113:4 and he looks low among the people of men. The dream's interpretation cannot be relegated to pre-Jesus times either. At that time, Jesus was the stone the builders rejected. He has not yet become the head of the corner. Therefore, the stone made without hands has not yet filled the whole earth.

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 for ever. Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.

Let us look at the time of these kings. How do all of them exist together when the people are so different? The vision of the statue was made of the head, chest and arms, belly and thighs, legs, and feet. Count with me now; how many parts do we have to this statue? You counted to seven did you not. Let me go easy on you now. The materials which make up the statue are iron, clay, brass, silver, and gold. There are also five kingdoms made up of these metals. These equal five which is the number of man according to Revelation 13:18. Do not be confused now; the number of beast at that time was 666. There was an old gospel song that went something like this: "gotta clean up what I messed up, starting all over again." The same could be said of this time. Nothing is wasted or lost in the kingdom of God. The number of man is something different altogether. In later texts we will discuss the duality of this beast's nature. The seven which make up the statue are as the seven times which pass by King Nebuchadnezzar when he became lifted up as seen later. It was done so that he may acknowledge that the Lord Almighty rules over the affairs of men. The God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will bring the first to an end but it itself will endure forever. What is this kingdom but the last, the one that is yet to come. This dream is like those heavy weight boxing or wrestling champions of history. On it, the rest of the book hangs.

Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odours unto him. The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret.

Note, Daniel calls King Nebuchadnezzar the 'king of kings;' however, we know from Revelation 19:16 this title is reserved for the "King of Kings and Lord or Lords," Jesus Christ himself. So why does this earthly and seemingly wicked king display one of the names of God? This can only be unless he has been set up and his throne established by God himself as seen prior. He alone "removes kings and sets up kings" to establish his purpose as seen in prior texts. King Nebuchadnezzar's response is like that of Abraham's situation with the King of Salem. We see in Hebrews 7:1-25 that Melchizedek was King of Salem and priest of the Most High God. Yet here King Nebuchadnezzar offers incense, blessings, and promotion of Daniel. Is this not the priest's job? See this man here fulfilling functions of both the king and priest of the Most High God. Had Daniel kept his same attitude it is certain he would have died along with his friends. This is why it is important to judge rightly. Just because the situation looks hopeless does not mean that it is over. Service to God is rewarded with service to the earthly king. Is it not written that the lesser will serve the greater as in Hebrews 7:7? Do not tell me in this passage that we went looking for the people who were right in the house; we pretended we forgot what God told us and needed someone else to tell us again. Then, we ordered a cleansing from those who did not need to be there who would have kept us from inheriting our spiritual blessings on earth. Sometimes God had to remove people from places that kept you from his blessing; sometimes he even must remove situations or break up that thing for you to have your breakthrough. Make sure you are not standing in his way of his blessing on your life.

Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon. Then Daniel requested of the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel sat in the gate of the king.

You already know that Daniel was a great man long before King Nebuchanezzer ever called him so. This is the answer to the age-old argument of Ephesians 2:10. It talks about whether God can choose who will follow him before time. God knows all things including our hearts and what we will do, right. Also, he has given us free will to choose so that we are not like his puppets or even like the angels which serve him. Here the king is being very silly indeed. Daniel already had a good deal of spiritual gifts and was made to stand before the king. He already had been called great and chosen by God. So, it mattered not what King Nebuchadnezzar did at this time. However, his service came with rewards such as physical gifts and a position and a title. In the land of the Lord by faith he possessed all of these. The formality is nice and very appreciated, but I must say the set up seems rather silly. One thing Daniel did which made sense. He forgot not his friends whom he had to leave behind to follow the Lord. God blessed them, even in the leaving as Luke 18:28-30 foretells.