THE 10 TOES OF DANIEL 2
Dear friends, in recent days I have seen a rather disturbing meme circulating online which I strongly feel needs to be exposed for the deception that it is. Above this particular meme is the following text:
“The final kingdom is the most evil kingdom and it is fast approaching.”
Directly below the above text is a reference for Daniel 2:43-44 — which I will be quoting for you in a moment — along with the hashtag “transhumanism.”
Directly below the Daniel reference and the hashtag there is an image of a human hand clasping another hand which is green, and within which you can see robotic circuitry. In the middle of the image are the following words:
“The last kingdom within humans: MIXED WITH IRON AND CLAY”
Let me now share with you the Scriptures which the meme creator associates with their meme:
“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. 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. 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.”
Daniel 2:41-44, KJV
So as you can probably easily determine, the creator of the meme is interpreting the Daniel 2 verses regarding the ten toes of iron and clay to be referring to a future society — meaning our current time — in which humans and robots, or perhaps humans and human cyborgs, exist together.
Well, I am sorry to disagree, my friends, but what the aforementioned meme conveys is utterly false. As I said, I have seen this same interpretation of the Daniel 2 verses before, and it is always interpreted this way by Futurist-leaning Christians who purposely — and erroneously — add their own futuristic bent to the verses.
To be clear, the ONLY way to interpret the Daniel 2 verses in the aforementioned fashion as this meme conveys, is by intentionally taking the verses totally out of context, including out of their proper time frame. That is precisely what the meme creator does. Sadly, other misguided Christians hop onto the same bandwagon with him, and continue to share the same meme, thus spreading the deception.
To properly understand the previous Bible verses, you need to first ask yourself the following question:
What is the great image which King Nebuchadnezzar sees in a dream in Daniel 2 all about?
Well, there is really no mystery here. If you read the chapter for yourself, you will see that Daniel tells the king plainly that it is a prophetic, historical overview regarding not only his own empire — meaning Babylonia — but also other empires which are yet to arise in the future.
In short, the great image in the king’s dream is symbolic of various empires and governments. It has to do with politics. Politics, my friends, and most definitely NOT science. King Nebuchadnezzar’s image has absolutely NOTHING to do with modern science, transhumanism, or our current times as the aforementioned meme foolishly conveys.
Each and every part of the statue must therefore correspond to a certain government or empire. Being as I discuss this topic in considerable detail in other Bill’s Bible Basics articles, I won’t belabor the point here. I encourage you to delve into those other articles if you have an interest.
For now though, suffice it to say that the head of gold represents the Babylonian Empire. The breast and arms of silver represents the dual empire of Medo-Persia. The belly and thighs of brass represent the Grecian Empire. Last of all, the two legs of iron represent the eastern and western portions of the Roman Empire. The western portion was ruled from Rome, while the eastern portion was ruled from Constantinople, which today is known as Istanbul, Turkey.
If you have any doubts regarding what I have just stated here, you can very easily confirm all of this information for yourself by conducting some online research. What you will discover is that secular world history matches up perfectly with this Bible prophecy.
Next we come to the ten toes. Now, in order to maintain the continuity of the Prophet Daniel’s interpretation of the great image, the ten toes of iron and clay which cannot cleave to each other must likewise represent two types of governments which are not compatible with each other.
Well, my friends, it is very easy to know exactly what they are simply by looking at the historical record. During the time that Jesus walked the Earth and thereafter, there were — and to this day, still are — two main types of governments, and they are NOT compatible with each other. Do you know what they are? Democracies and dictatorships. One is supposedly ruled by the people — meaning clay — while the other is ruled by harsh authoritarians — meaning iron. Well how about that! Just like in the prophecy!
Please notice that this has NOTHING to do with our modern times, and much less with robots or transhumanism. Again, that is just a lot of nonsense. You may recall that earlier I mentioned that the Grecian Empire immediately preceded the Roman Empire. Well, among other things, do you know what the Greeks gave the world? Democracies! Our English word “democracy” is in fact derived from the Greek word “dÄ“mokratia”, which itself is a combination of “dÄ“mos” — meaning “the people” — and “kratia” — meaning “power” or “rule”.
You need to understand that when one power or empire conquered another, they did not always necessarily totally destroy them. It was in fact a common practice to absorb their people, their culture, their language, their architecture, their art, and sometimes even their religion as well. For example, there wasn’t a lot of difference between the Assyrian and Babylonian empires. In fact, one opinion holds that Nebuchadnezzar’s father — Nabopolassar — was Assyrian.
For example, when Pax Romana ruled the ancient world of the First Century, while the Israelites were a conquered people, nevertheless, they were still allowed to have their own laws and their own religion. Like all conquered peoples, as long as they paid tribute to Caesar and didn’t cause too much trouble, Rome was happy. But, of course, those stubborn Jews just couldn’t leave well enough alone, and thus they lost everything in 70 AD during the seven-year First Jewish-Roman War.
But the main point to consider here is that during the First Century, democracies and dictatorships existed side-by-side, just as was symbolized in King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. Now if you are wondering why I keep coming back to the First Century, it is because that is exactly when the image established that God would set up His Kingdom. Let me share that verse with you again:
“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.”
Daniel 2:44, KJV
You see, as I explained at the beginning of this commentary, that is precisely part of the deception which is being promoted by these misguided Futurists who try to change the time frame of the ten toes from the First Century, to our current time. Then to make matters worse, they foolishly claim that the iron and the clay which can’t be mixed represent human beings and robots, or human beings implanted with cybernetics. But again, it is all nonsense.
Now, either God’s Word is true when it says that He will set up His Kingdom in the days of the ten toes — or ten kings — or else it isn’t. Well, let me remind you of the following verse:
“God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?”
Numbers 23:19, KJV
So then, if my understanding regarding the interpretation of King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream — particularly the part regarding the ten toes of iron and clay — is correct, then there must be some proof that God established His Kingdom during the First Century. Well, folks, there is. The Bible says that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every thought shall be established. Consider then what John the Baptist and Jesus — two witnesses — had to say about it in the following three verses:
“And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Matthew 3:2, KJV
“From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Matthew 4:16, KJV
“And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Matthew 10:7, KJV
So, once again, either John and Jesus were telling the truth, and the Kingdom of Heaven was at hand then — 2,000 years ago, exactly as Daniel had written, and NOT 2,000 years later today — or else they weren’t telling the truth. What do YOU think?
If you still require a little prodding, then consider a few more relevant verses:
“And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.”
Mark 9:1, KJV
“Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do?
Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me. Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die: yet Jesus said not unto him, He shall not die; but, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?”
John 21:21-23, KJV
“But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.”
Matthew 10:23, KJV
Now some of you may possibly insist, “But Bill! I don’t see the Kingdom of Heaven! How can it possibly be here since 2,000 years ago? What we really have right now is pure hell on Earth with so much pain, suffering, violence, war and death!”
My friends, if that is what you truly believe, then maybe you are blind, and your eyes have not been opened. Perhaps you are looking in the wrong place. Maybe you are like those Jews of old who were looking for a political and military savior and messiah who would deliver them from Roman oppression and re-establish the kingdom of David. Well, Jesus did do that, but not in the physical way that they expected. Consider the following verses:
“And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh NOT WITH OBSERVATION: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.”
Luke 17:20-21, KJV
And with those thoughts, I will bring this commentary to its conclusion.
Comments
Post a Comment