THE TIMES OF THE GENTILES, Part 1

UNDERSTANDING BIBLE PROPHECY

Session 2: THE TIMES OF THE GENTILES, Part 1

Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream

The book of Daniel contains information about the and the of the earth’s last days.

It begins with the and ends with the Second Coming of Christ

The “Times of the Gentiles” refers to

The theme of Daniel 2 is:

The divine ideal for Israel is that the incarnate Son of God would come and reign in but because of their God chose to remove them from the land.

DIVIDED KINGDOM

NORTHERN KINGDOM (ISRAEL)

Ten Tribes:

-Zebulun -Naphtali

-Issachar -Manasseh

-Asher -Ephraim

-Dan -Reuben

-Gad

Capital City: Samaria (Shomron)

Conquered by: Assyria

SOUTHERN KINGDOM (JUDAH)

Tribes:

-Judah -Benjamin

-Remnant of 10 northern tribes faithful to the House of David

Capital City: Jerusalem

First conquered by: Babylon, 605 BC.

NEBUCHADNEZZAR’S DREAM

Why doesn’t the king tell the “spiritual advisors” his dream first?

Nebuchadnezzar’s decree that all wise men in Babylon be executed includes

“Latter days” (v. 28) refers to:

According to the prophet in Daniel 2:29, Nebuchadnezzar’s dream is to give a of the .

A” great image” (v. 31) refers to:

The image is comprised of various , in .

1. Head: Gold
2. Chest and Arms: Silver
3. Belly and Thighs: Bronze
4. Legs: Iron
5. Feet: Partly iron and partly clay

What do you notice about the metals as they progress from top to bottom?

The stone “cut out by no human hand” (vv.34-35) strikes the image, and all its metals the metals are broken and become like chaff. Biblically, what does chaff represent?

THE INTERPRETATION

Nebuchadnezzar’s vision contained images symbolic of

Kingdom #1 (vv.36-38)

The Head of Gold: (612-539 BC)

• The empire is personified in its ruler.

• This demonstrates that God sovereignly grants to all earthly powers for His .

Kingdom #2 (v.39)

The Chest and Arms of Silver: (538-331 BC)

• The two arms represent the between the Medes and Persians.

Kingdom #3 (v.31)

The Belly and Thighs of Bronze: (330-150 BC)

Kingdom #4 (v.40-43)

Divided into two parts (v.40-43):

The Legs of Iron: (150 BC-5th Century AD)

• The two legs represent the of the Roman Empire (AD 286).

The Feet of Iron and Clay: The Empire

What do the ten toes represent?

What does the clay represent?

Kingdom #5 (v.44-45)

The Stone Cut Without Human Hands:

• “No human hand” refers to Christ’s .
• What dispensation is initiated in vv. 44-45?
• This kingdom will last .
• In a sense, believers are present subjects of a coming kingdom that will replace all previous, human kingdoms in a sense.

Daniel 2:4- Daniel 7:28 is all written in Aramaic. 200 verses. Why is that significant?

• Hebrew is the language of the .  Aramaic is the most common language of the ancient .

One reason God revealed this prophecy at the very beginning of the times of the Gentiles: