Part I, Chapter 3

Of the vision of the Image composed of four Metals.

All of Daniel's prophecies are related to one another, as if they were several parts of one general prophecy, given at different times. The first is the easiest to understand, and each following prophecy adds something new to the one before. The first was given in a dream to Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, in the second year of his reign; but the King forgot his dream, so it was given again to Daniel in a dream, and by him revealed to the King. And by that Daniel at once became famous for his wisdom and for revealing secrets; so much so that Ezekiel, his contemporary, in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar, spoke thus of him to the King of Tyre: "See, you are wiser than Daniel; no secret can they hide from you," Ezek. xxviii. 3. And the same Ezekiel, in another place, joins Daniel with Noah and Job as the highest in God's favor, Ezek. xiv. 14, 16, 18, 20. And in the last year of Belshazzar, the Queen mother said of him to the King: "See, there is a man in your kingdom in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of your father, light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, were found in him, whom your father, King Nebuchadnezzar — the king, I say, your father — made master of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers; because an excellent spirit, knowledge, and understanding, the interpreting of dreams, the explaining of hard sentences, and the solving of doubts were found in the same Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar," Dan. v. 11, 12. Daniel was held in the greatest credit among the Jews until the reign of the Roman Emperor Hadrian; and to reject his prophecies is to reject the Christian religion. For this religion is founded upon his prophecy concerning the Messiah.

Now in this vision of the image composed of four metals, the foundation of all Daniel's prophecies is laid. It represents a body of four great nations, which would reign over the earth in succession: the people of Babylonia, the Persians, the Greeks, and the Romans. And by a stone cut out without hands, which fell upon the feet of the image, broke all four metals to pieces, became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth, it further represents that a new kingdom would arise after the four, conquer all those nations, grow very great, and last to the end of all ages.

The head of the image was of gold, and signifies the nations of Babylonia, who reigned first, as Daniel himself interprets: "You are this head of gold," he says to Nebuchadnezzar. These nations reigned until Cyrus conquered Babylon, and within a few months after that conquest revolted to the Persians, and set them up above the Medes. The breast and arms of the image were of silver, and represent the Persians, who reigned next. The belly and thighs of the image were of brass, and represent the Greeks, who, under the dominion of Alexander the great, conquered the Persians and reigned next after them. The legs were of iron, and represent the Romans, who reigned next after the Greeks, and began to conquer them in the eighth year of Antiochus Epiphanes. For in that year they conquered Perseus King of Macedon, the fundamental kingdom of the Greeks; and from then forward grew into a mighty empire, and reigned with great power until the days of Theodosius the great. Then, by the incursion of many northern nations, they broke into many smaller kingdoms, which are represented by the feet and toes of the image, composed part of iron and part of clay. For then, says Daniel,¹ "the kingdom will be divided, and there will be in it some of the strength of iron, but they will not stick to one another."

And in the days of those kings, says Daniel, "the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed; and the kingdom will not be left to other people; but it will break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it will stand forever. Because you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountains without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold."

Notes to Chap. III.

1 Chap. ii. 41, etc.

Of the vision of the Image composed of four Metals.

All the prophecies of Daniel relate to one another, as if they were only several parts of one general prophecy, given at different times. The first is the easiest to understand, and every prophecy after it adds something new to the one before. The first was given in a dream to Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, in the second year of his reign; but the King forgot his dream, so it was given to Daniel in a dream as well, and Daniel revealed it to the King. Because of this Daniel became famous at once for his wisdom and for revealing secrets; so much so that Ezekiel, who lived at the same time, spoke of him in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar to the King of Tyre in these words: "Look," he says, "you are wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that they can hide from you," Ezek. xxviii. 3. And the same Ezekiel, in another place, puts Daniel together with Noah and Job as the ones highest in the favor of God, Ezek. xiv. 14, 16, 18, 20. In the last year of Belshazzar, the Queen-mother said this of him to the King: "Look, there is a man in your kingdom in whom is the spirit of the holy gods. In the days of your father, light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, were found in him. King Nebuchadnezzar your father—the king, I say, your father—made him master of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans and soothsayers, because an excellent spirit, knowledge, understanding, the interpreting of dreams, the showing of hard questions, and the solving of doubts were found in the same Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar," Dan. v. 11, 12. Daniel was held in the highest credit among the Jews until the reign of the Roman Emperor Hadrian, and to reject his prophecies is to reject the Christian religion; for this religion is founded on his prophecy concerning the Messiah.

Now this vision of the Image composed of four Metals lays the foundation of all Daniel's prophecies. It represents a body of four great nations that would rule the earth one after another, namely the people of Babylonia, the Persians, the Greeks, and the Romans. The stone cut out without hands, which fell on the feet of the Image, broke all four Metals to pieces, became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth; by this the vision further represents that a new kingdom would arise after the four, conquer all those nations, grow very great, and last to the end of all ages.

The head of the Image was of gold, and it stands for the nations of Babylonia, who ruled first, as Daniel himself interprets. "You are this head of gold," he says to Nebuchadnezzar. These nations ruled until Cyrus conquered Babylon, and within a few months after that conquest they turned to the Persians and set them above the Medes. The breast and arms of the Image were of silver, and they stand for the Persians, who ruled next. The belly and thighs of the Image were of brass, and they stand for the Greeks, who under the dominion of Alexander the great conquered the Persians and ruled after them. The legs were of iron, and they stand for the Romans, who ruled next after the Greeks and began to conquer them in the eighth year of Antiochus Epiphanes. In that year they conquered Perseus King of Macedon, the fundamental kingdom of the Greeks; from then on they grew into a mighty empire and ruled with great power until the days of Theodosius the great. Then, by the invasion of many northern nations, they broke into many smaller kingdoms, which are represented by the feet and toes of the Image, made part of iron and part of clay. For then, Daniel says,¹ "the kingdom will be divided, and there will be in it the strength of iron, but they will not stick to one another."

"And in the days of these Kings," Daniel says, "the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and the kingdom will not be left to another people; but it will break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it will stand forever. For as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountains without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver and the gold."

Notes to Chap. III.

1 Chap. ii. 41, &c.