The Dream Explained

So, as the prophet interpreted it, the image the king had seen was a picture of the world. The golden head is the empire of the Chaldeans, for we understand that it was the first and the richest. The chest and arms of silver stand for the second kingdom, for Cyrus, after conquering the Chaldeans and the Medes, gave the empire to the Persians. The bronze belly is said to mark the third power, and we see that this was fulfilled, for Alexander took the empire from the Persians and won it for the Macedonians. The iron legs point to a fourth power, and that is understood to be the Roman Empire, which is stronger than all the kingdoms before it. [a]

The feet, partly of iron and partly of clay, show that the Roman Empire is to be divided, so that it will never be united. This too has been fulfilled, for the Roman state is ruled not by one emperor but by several, and they are always quarreling among themselves, either in open war or by factions. Finally, the clay and the iron mixed together, yet never truly uniting in substance, foreshadow the mixtures of the human race to come, which disagree among themselves though they seem to be joined. For it is plain that Roman territory is occupied by foreign nations or by rebels, or has been handed over to those who have surrendered under a show of peace. It is also plain that barbarian nations, and especially Jews, have been mingled into our armies, cities and provinces, and so we see them living among us, yet by no means agreeing to adopt our customs. And the prophets declare that these are the last times.

But in the stone cut out without hands, which broke to pieces the gold, silver, bronze, iron and clay, there is a figure of Christ. He was not born under human conditions, since he was born not of the will of man but of the will of God, and he will bring to nothing the world in which earthly kingdoms exist, and will set up another kingdom, incorruptible and everlasting, that is, the world to come, which is prepared for the saints. On this one point the faith of some still wavers: they do not believe the things yet to come, though they are convinced of the things that are past.

Daniel, then, was given many gifts by the king, was set over Babylon and the whole empire, and was held in the highest honor. Through his influence Hananiah, Azariah and Mishael were also raised to the highest rank and power. About the same time the remarkable prophecies of Ezekiel appeared; the mystery of things to come and of the resurrection had been revealed to him. His book is one of great weight and deserves to be read with care.