The Great Tree & The Great Image

Daniel 4:20-22

20 The tree that thou sawest, which grew, and was strong, whose height reached unto the heaven, and the sight there of to all the earth;

21 Whose leaves were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all; under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and upon whose branches the fowls of the heaven had their habitation:

22 It is thou, O king, that art grown and become strong: for thy greatness is grown, and reacheth unto heaven, and thy dominion to the end of the earth.

TREE - King Nebuchadnezzar

Daniel 4:26

26 And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots; thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee, after that thou shalt have known that the heavens do rule.

STUMP (roots) OF THE TREE – King Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom (the Babylonian Empire)

In our study of the book of Daniel, you will find that Daniel continuously speaks of six major kingdoms, of which the kingdom of Babylon is the first. This fact is very important, because it is a stabilizer as we proceed to other chapters and even other books of the prophets.

THE GREAT IMAGE

Daniel 2:31-33

31 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.

32 This image’s head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass,

33 His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.

The Image

1. HEAD

Fine Gold - King Nebuchadnezzar and his kingdom

(Babylonian Empire)

Daniel 2:36-38

36 This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king.

37 Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory.

38 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

2. BREAST & ARMS

Silver – Persians and Medes (Persian Empire)

Daniel 2:39

39 And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee,

Daniel 5:25-31

25 And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.

26 This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it.

27 TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.

28 PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.

29 Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.

30 In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain. 31 And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old.

Verses 28 & 31 reveals the identity of the 2nd beast. Darius the Median took the kingdom. Darius was the head of the Medes and Persian Alliance.

3. BELLY & THIGHS

Brass – Grecian Empire led by Alexander the Great.

Daniel 2:39

. . . and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.

4. LEGS

Iron – Roman Empire

Daniel 2:40

40 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.

5. FEET

Iron & Clay – Revised Roman Empire mixed with Satan and humanity.

Daniel 2:41-43

41 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.

42 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.

43 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.

It is very important that we pause here a moment as I would like to point out something Daniel said that can be easily overlooked; but is quite essential to our study of the book of Revelation. Take note of the fact that the Great Image reveals the coming to power of six different kingdoms:

1. Babylon

2. Medes-Persian

3. Greece

4. Roman

5. Reborn Roman Empire

6 The Kingdom of Christ

The fourth kingdom is that of the Roman empire that took over the world after the fall of Greece. But notice first of all the way he introduces the fifth kingdom. Vs. 41 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. The inference here is that the 5th kingdom will be of the same nation as the fourth regarding the clay (human beings), but it will have something in it that the others did not. It will be a nation of offspring from the physical union between Satan (his seed) and the seed of man.

This is what Daniel means by the fact that this kingdom will have the strength of the iron in it; as opposed to being driven by the influence of evil. Many of the people of this kingdom will be the offspring of evil.

I hope you are understanding my meaning here. Think about the fact that even as a born-again believer, we must still willingly submit to God in all things in order to carry out his will on the earth. It is a voluntary thing for us because of the great love we have experienced of the Father and the influence of his grace in our hearts. However, the memory of sin and its pleasures in the flesh can often serve as temptation, if we do not constantly walk after the Spirit. Thus, it is our great expectation for our bodies to be redeemed and changed into a glorious body awaiting us in the heavens.

But the true nature of flesh is selfishness. It wants what it wants. God proved that by placing the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden and commanding Adam and Eve not to touch or eat from it. Therefore, Daniel is informed; but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.

Wantonness is a personal thing. It is the private desire of one’s own will. Though satan tries to mimic everything the Father does, he does not have the power to give life in the manner that the Father does; not even for his own purposes.

Even in demonic possession, we see how evil spirits who occupy a vessel must force it to do things that are against the host’s will. How much more will the drama be when two completely selfish entities attempt to produce offspring. Even in salvation, we much commit to self-denial in order to serve God and obey his will. But this is not the first attempt at mingling the seed. The fallen angels of God did so in the days of old.

Genesis 6:1-7

1 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,

2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.

3 And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man,for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.

4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.

5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.

7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.

Jude 1:6

6 And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.

If we thoroughly examine the passage above, it becomes clear to us that the angels of the Lord truly did leave their own habitation and their assigned principality or regions to come to the earth and marry the daughters of men. For this cause the Lord concluded that his Spirit would not plead with man always; but would give man 120 years to repent of his sins. Thus, Noah was 120 years in building the Ark for all who would return to godliness.

Note also that the seed of these angels produced giants in the land. Therefore, it became necessary for God to take these angels off the earth and bind them in everlasting chains under darkness. They will remain there until the end of this world. It is then that the true Sons of God will become their judges.

At his last attempt at exaltation, the devil will mingle his seed with that of man. The obvious question for a learned son of God what be; what is the difference in mingling the seed and being born a sinner with the seed of satan in you? That is a very good question.

The truth is, in the time of the end, satan will remain very true to character; he will seek to mimic that which the Father has done. He will seek to create another race of beings on the earth. They are to be his children. There is to be a co-mingling of the celestial seed with that of the terrestrial. Perhaps, such a union will do in these times what it did in the days of the fallen angels. It will produce an evil, depraved society, whose imagination is evil continually.

The Sixth Kingdom: MILLENNIAL KINGDOM OF CHRIST

Daniel 2:44-45

44 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.

45 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.

Again, we must pay close attention to the writings of this prophet. In the days of these kings the Lord will set up an everlasting kingdom. It is distinct from the others, because the ruler will not die, or be conquered, and the kingdom will never be left to others. This last kingdom is the kingdom of Christ and it