Daniel 2:40-43

b. FOURTH KINGDOM

TEXT: Daniel 2:40-43

40

And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron, forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things; and as iron that crusheth all these, shall it break in pieces and crush.

41

And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters-' clay, and part of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom; 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 the 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 doth not mingle with clay.

QUERIES

a.

What is the significance of the fourth kingdom subduing all?

b.

Why is the emphasis so pointed on its weakness?

c.

How will they mingle themselves with the seed of men?

PARAPHRASE

And the fourth kingdom shall have destructive power as strong as iron. Just like iron crushes and smashes all things, so shall this fourth kingdom crush and demolish all other kingdoms. The feet and toes you saw composed of two diverse elements symbolizes the fact that this kingdom shall be a divided kingdom. It will have in it the element of strength as is represented by the iron and it will have in it the element of weakness represented by the clay. This mixture of iron with clay also shows that these kingdoms will try to strengthen themselves by forming alliances with each other through intermarriage of their rulers; but this will not succeed any more than mixing iron with clay will not succeed.

COMMENT

Daniel 2:40. THE FOURTH. STRONG AS IRON. BREAK IN PIECES AND CRUSH. Iron is a very appropriate symbol to describe the Roman empire. And, as a matter of fact, we are passing, generally speaking, from the bronze age to the iron age when we pass from the third kingdom (Greece) to the fourth kingdom (Rome). To the Roman poets, Virgil and Lucretius, bronze weapons spoke of olden time. Actually, iron was used long before the coming of the Roman empire, but it was not in wide-spread use before Rome. Iron swords and armor took the place of bronze weapons. The Roman infantry soldier of that era carried with him that distinctively Roman weapon the pilum, a sort of spear or javelin with a long iron neck fitted to a wooden shaft, the metal extending for about a third of its entire length. The feature Daniel emphasizes in his interpretation of this fourth empire is the strength of the iron kingdom. The Roman war machine was many times more destructive than any of its predecessors. The special feature of Alexander's career was its amazing swiftness (pictured by the four-winged leopard in Daniel chapter 7). But the special feature of Rome's empire was its total destructive power (depicted by the intensely ferocious beast in Daniel 7). Rome's ruthless severity is exemplified by her destruction of Carthage, the War against the slaves (Spartacus) when the Appian Way was lined with six thousand crosses bearing aloft as many bodies, and the siege and destruction of Jerusalem and the extinction of the Jewish nation.

One characteristic of the fourth kingdom (in Daniel 7, at least) was its diversity from all the kingdoms (beasts) before it. Boutflower illustrates this with a passage from 1Ma. 8:13-14 which relates the impression the Roman system of government made on the Jews. The whole passage emphasizes how very much the Oriental mind was impressed by this strange and novel form of government which was not inclined to dress and act with all the pomposity and subtleties of Eastern potentates. The Romans acted with brashness and nothing was sacred to them.

The strongest claim of the Roman empire to be the iron kingdom is found first in the length of its durationthe best proof of its strength. Babylon lasted only 70 yearsMedo-Persian empire lasted 200 yearsthe Greek 130 yearswhile the Roman empire in its undivided state lasted some 500 years, and in its divided state as the ten kingdoms, continues in succession down to the present time. See comments on next verse.

Daniel 2:41-43. FEET AND TOES. OF CLAY. OF IRON. DIVIDED. PARTLY STRONG. PARTLY BROKEN. MINGLE THEMSELVES. BUT. NOT CLEAVE ONE TO ANOTHER. Note: A fuller explanation of the relationship of the Roman empire to present day world powers will be made in chapter 7. Note: nowhere are ten toes specifically mentioned. We assume the statue had ten toes and not 6 or 15. The main emphasis of this passage is the eventual divided and weakened nature of this ferocious kingdom. There is no symbolic interpretation of the ten toes whatsoever. We agree with Leupold: ... the toes, generally speaking, represent the kingdoms into which the Roman Empire broke up when the disintegration set in. ten is the number of completeness or totality. the toes represent the sum total of these kingdoms. All attempts to name the resultant kingdoms of an earlier or a latter date prove abortive and unreliable. For the number ten is definitely a symbolic number as are numbers generally in visions or dreams of this type. There might in reality be nine or eleven or nineteen or twenty (divisions of the Roman kingdom). Ten represents the totality of whatever number there is. These divisions all arise, in one sense or another, historically from the ancient Roman Empire. This does not mean that each one of the empires must be able to trace its origin immediately to Rome. The kingdoms of modern Europe, for example, might be said to have come from the Roman Empire, but certainly not directly.

The lack of inner unity of this fourth empire and the tendency to fragment or splinter is described. Iron and clay will not fuse. There will always be something of the firmness of iron in this fourth empire, but there shall always be present a lack of cohesion. Never again will a world empire dominate the entire population of the earth in a universal way like the Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Greek, or early Roman empires.
The phrase they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men; but they shall not cleave one to another, probably refers to the migration of barbarian hordes who came in countless myriads from the Germanic forests and central Europe and intermarried with Roman peoples (especially in the royal and ruling families) as a sort of melting-pot experiment to attempt to bring some inner unity to the expansive Roman empire. But the resultant stock was not of which enduring empires are made.

The important thing to remember about this whole image is that all together it represents symbolically pagan, heathen, carnal world-power in opposition to the kingdom of God. It is man's rule over man opposed to God's rule over man. Not that worldly governments are not necessary as temporary expedients due to man's sinful conditionindeed carnal government is necessary to restrain the lawless (cf. 1 Timothy 1:8-9; Romans 13:1-7; 1 Peter 2:13-17). But all carnal government is at best totally inadequate and at worst in direct opposition to what God has purposed for man through regeneration, repentance and renewed communion with Him in His new kingdom! So the fourth empire represents the early ferocious Roman empire, later divided into many successive kingdoms yet unable to ever again regain that inner unity necessary to dominate the whole world. Then we see the whole image which represents carnal government dealt a fatal blow by the kingdom of God (the stone) beginning in the days of the kings of the fourth empire and eventually grinding the whole image into a dust which is blown away,

QUIZ

1.

What is the fourth kingdom?

2.

What is the first characteristic mentioned of this kingdom?

3.

What characteristic of this kingdom is symbolized by feet and toes of iron and clay?

4.

What is meant by they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men?

5.

What is the important thing to remember about the whole image?

6.

Why are carnal governments necessary?

7.

Why is carnal government inadequate and opposed to God's ultimate purpose for man?