Arioch immediately brought Daniel to the king and said to him, "Among the exiles from Judah I have located a man who can reveal the meaning of the dream to the king." The king said to Daniel, "Are you able to tell me the dream that I experienced and to reveal its meaning to me?"
Daniel stood in the king's presence and replied, "None of the wise men, the enchanters, the sorcerers, or the astrologers has been able to explain to the king the dream about which you have been so disturbed. However, there is a GOD in heaven who reveals mysteries, and HE has disclosed to King Nebuchadnezzar what is to take place at the end of this age. These were the dreams and the visions that passed through your head as you lay in your bed.
"While you were lying there, O king, thoughts came to you about what would happen in the future, and the revealer of mysteries showed you what will take place. This mystery has been revealed to me, not because I have greater wisdom than any living person, but for the sole purpose that the interpretation may be made known to you and also that you may understand the thoughts that have entered your mind.
"In the vision that you had, Your Majesty, you beheld a huge statue that was dazzling in its brightness. It stood before you, frightening in its appearance. The head of the statue was of fine gold, its chest and its arms were of silver, its belly and its thighs were of bronze, its legs were of iron, and its feet were partly of iron and partly of clay.
"While you were gazing at the statue, a stone broke away, untouched by any human hand, and struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay, shattering them to pieces. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were all shattered into pieces as fine as the chaff on the threshing floor during the summer. The wind carried them away without leaving a trace. However, the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the entire earth.
"That was the dream. Now we shall offer to the king its interpretation. Your Majesty, you are the king of kings to whom THE GOD OF HEAVEN has given the kingdom with its power, its might, and its glory. HE has entrusted to your care men, wild beasts, and birds of the air, wherever they may dwell. You are the head of gold.
"After you another kingdom will arise, inferior to yours, followed by a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over the whole earth. There will then be a fourth kingdom, as strong as iron. Just as iron crushes and smashes everything to pieces, it will crush and pulverize all the other kingdoms.
"Like the feet and the toes that you saw, composed partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom, but it will have some of the strength of iron just as you saw the iron mixed with the clay tile. And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly potter's clay, the kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. And just as you saw the iron mixed with the clay, so will the people mix together in marriage, but they will not remain united, just as iron does not mix with clay.
"In the times of those kings, THE GOD OF HEAVEN shall establish a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor shall this kingdom fall under the power of another people. It shall crush all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall endure forever. This is the meaning of your vision of the stone untouched by human hands being hewn from the mountain and crushing the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. The great GOD has shown the king what will take place in the future. The dream is true, and its interpretation is trustworthy."
DANIEL: CHAPTER 2, VERSES 24 - 45
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