Daniel's Prophecy

The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls ¹ has provided strong evidence for the belief that Daniel’s prophecies were made before the actual events he prophesied happened; the book of Daniel is believed to have been written from around 606 B.C. to 536 B.C. ² In Daniel 2:31-45, the prophet Daniel symbolically identified the five great kingdoms that would rise up and control much of the world, beginning in Daniel's lifetime.

1. The Babylonian Empire. The head of gold, as Daniel explained, refers to the Babylonian Empire that ruled much of the world about 2600 years ago.

2. The Medo-Persian Empire. Daniel said that the head-of-gold empire would be followed by an empire symbolized by arms of silver. This refers to the Medo-Persian Empire which later conquered the Babylonian Empire. The two arms refer to the two groups - the Medes and the Persians - who comprised the Medo-Persian Empire.

3. The Grecian Empire. The third kingdom was symbolized by the statue’s belly and thighs of brass. This is a reference to the Grecian Empire, which conquered the Medo-Persian Empire. The symbol of a belly and thighs of brass suggests that the kingdom was to start out as a united empire but end up as a divided empire. Under the leadership of Alexander the Great, the Grecian Empire was a united empire. But after Alexander's death, the empire was divided into four parts and was later reduced to two parts.

4. The Roman Empire. The fourth symbol - that of iron legs and feet that were part iron and part clay - is a reference to the Roman Empire, which later conquered the Grecian Empire. The Roman Empire was very powerful, but it was also very diverse, claiming dominion over a wide variety of different nations. That diversity later contributed to the downfall of the empire.

5. The Millennial Reign. Daniel identifies a fifth and final kingdom - one symbolized by stone. This kingdom would be set up by God and would never be destroyed. Jesus would be the ruler and His followers would reign with Him.

The first four kingdoms ruled over much of the world, and each of the four ruled over the land of Israel during times in which a significant number of Jews - and perhaps a majority of Jews - were living in their homeland. Before the collapse of the Roman Empire, Jerusalem was destroyed and hundreds of thousands of Jews were forced into exile. Even today, a majority of Jews still live outside of Israel. It appears that the Roman Empire will be revived and will once again seek to control Israel. This can already be seen with the rise of the European Union. See Daniel 9:26-27; Daniel 8:9-14, 23-26; Daniel 7:23-27.

Now, if the prophecies of the first four kingdoms were literally fulfilled (and the prophecy of the fourth kingdom is again being fulfilled with the rise of the European Union), there should be no doubt that the prophecy of the fifth and final kingdom, God's kingdom, will be literally fulfilled.

Source: http://www.aboutbibleprophecy.com/daniel_2_32.htm

Footnotes:

1. Scrolls from the Dead Sea: http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/scrolls/toc.html

2. “The Dead Sea Scrolls and Biblical Integrity”: http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/266