THE DREAM OF THE STATUE
| Book of Daniel | |
| Chapter 2 | A proof for islam |
This document presents a prophecy of the Bible dating from the VIth century BC which foretells the succession of five kingdoms, the first being the babylonian empire. It is said in this prophecy that the last of these kingdoms would be set up by God. The explanation exposed here is that the prophet foretold the Persian Empire, the Greek Empire, the Roman Empire and the Islamic world. | • Part 1 : Introduction
• Part 2 : Biblical passage
• Part 3 : The announced empires
• Part 4 : More explanations
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If you don't agree with this explanation, please compare it with others, like a messianic jewish interpretation by Hanoch Ben Keshet, and other muslim interpretations (by Misha'al ibn Abdullah, by Afshin Afrashteh).
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Introduction
A dream presented in chapter 2 of the book of Daniel shows a statue made of several matters which is destroyed by a stone. The different parts of the statue and the stone represent the succession of five kingdoms, the first being the babylonian empire. It tells the king what will be the kingdoms that will follow his kingdom : the Persian Empire, the Greek Empire, the Roman Empire and the Islamic world. Verse 28 : " there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. ". |
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This representation is interpreted by the prophet : " ... shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom " (verse 44). This prophecy means that the formation of the Islamic world has been produced with the intervention of God.
This indication is leading us to conclude to the divine origin of islam, the religion which founded the Islamic world, and is also the last great religion appeared.
The dream of Nebuchadnezzar II
THE DREAM AND ITS INTERPRETATION
The announced empires
- Cyrus II founded the Persian Empire in the middle of the VIth century BC, and took Babylon in 539. In 500, the persian empire was spread from India to Egypt. Its decline, which lasted nearly two centuries, began with defeats against the Greeks. It has continued with the revolt of Egypt, and crises of the power. The Persian Empire disappeared in 330, following the conquests of Alexander the Great, and the assassination of the persian king Darius III.
- Alexander the Great, resuming his father's plans, attacked the Persian Empire in 334 BC. He conquered Egypt, and on his way back the whole persian empire. His empire was the greatest empire ever conquered. It has been divided between the generals of Alexander, at his death in 323.
- The Romans undertook the conquest of the western Mediterranean world in the IIIrd century BC. Starting in the IInd century BC, they conquered the Greek East. The roman empire reached its apogee in the IInd century A.D..
" the kingdom shall be divided (...) " (verse 41).
- The roman empire has been definitively divided on the death of the emperor Theodosius in 395, between the West on one side, and the East on the other side.
" yet the strength of the iron shall be in it (...) " ; " (...) the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile " (verses 41-42).
- The Roman Empire of the West suffered the barbarian invasions of the Vth century, and collapsed less than a hundred years after its constitution, in 476. The Roman Empire of the East (also called Byzantine Empire) resisted to foreign invasions, surviving until 1453, a thousand years after the fall of the Roman Empire of the West.
" As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another (...) " (verse 43).
- The two parts of the roman empire have been divided between the two sons of the Emperor Theodosius, at his death in 395. The West has been given to Honorius, and the East to Arcadius.
- The Islamic world established itself in Arabia in the VIIth century, following the advent of islam, a religion which proclaimed that it is the last revealed religion. After one century of conquest, it was spread from India to the Atlantic. Independent states have been formed.
" a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people " (verse 44).
- Western Christians colonized the Holy Land at the end of the XIth century. They have been finally chase out at the end of the XIIIth century. In 1258, mongol invaders have taken Baghdad, the capital of the Abbasid caliphate. They have been stopped, and have converted themselves to islam.
" it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms " (verse 44).
- In the middle of the VIIth century the Roman empire of the East (Byzantine empire) had lost in the East Mesopotamia, Syria, Palestine and Egypt. Under the Umayyad caliphs, the Arabs have taken to the Roman empire of the East all North Africa (686-708). They failed to take Constantinople in 717. In 1453, the taking of Constantinople by the Turks put an end to the Roman Empire of the East (Byzantine Empire).
" and it shall stand forever " (verse 44).
- At the end of the XVth century, Spain was once again christian, while the islam was spread to North-West India and Indonesia. Starting in the XVIth century, the Islamic world has declined vis-a-vis Europe. It experienced the european colonization at the end of the XVIIIth century. The second world war caused the end of the colonization, in the middle of the XXth century.
More explanations
" Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay. " (verse 41).
The roman empire has been divided in 395 between the Western Empire on one side and on the other the Eastern Empire.
" And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile. " (verse 42).
There is one foot of clay which corresponds to the fragile part of the Empire (the West), and one foot of iron which corresponds to the strong part of the Empire (the East).
" As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men (...) " (verse 43).
The two parts of the roman empire have been divided between the two sons of the Emperor Theodosius, at his death in 395 : the West to Honorius, and the East to Arcadius.
The prophet gave an interpretation about this topic : " As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay. " (verse 43).
This indication should mean that one foot is not made both of iron and clay, but of only one matter.
Christian commentators are often using other versions, which are the English Standard Version (also called Revised Standard Version) and the New International Version. In these versions, the translations are the following :
The islamic world corresponds to the fifth and last kingdom announced by the prophet Daniel, symbolized in the dream by a stone cut out of a mountain " without hands ".
" And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. "
At the death of the prophet of islam (God bless him), in 632, the whole of the Arab tribs had joined islam. During the century which has followed the death of the prophet, the Arabs converted to monotheism have conquered territories stretching from India to the Atlantic. Independent states have been then formed.
The prophet Daniel (pbuh) foretold that the fifth kingdom will be set up by God and that it shall never be destroyed. Many commentators are thinking that this kingdom cannot be a terrestrial kingdom, as far as it shall " never be destroyed " and that it shall " stand forever ".
No invader has impacted on the islamic world in an irreversible way. Apart from the european colonization, the only dangerous invasions have been the Crusades between the XI th and the XIIIth century, and the invasions of Mongols during the XIIIth century.
Some commentators are saying that there are new powers which have arisen since the formation of the islamic world, like the american power, and that the islamic world does not have the world supremacy.
In a few words
The king Nebuchadnezzar II dreamt of a statue made of several matters which was destroyed by a stone. A stone was cut out of a mountain without hands. It destroyed the statue striking it on its feet. Each part of the statue represents an empire to come. The stone represents an empire set up by God which will follow the empire represented by the feet of the statue. The prophet Daniel gave informations about those empires. |
The following table shows the correspondings between the different parts of the statue and the empires represented.
| head of gold | chest and arms of silver | belly and thighs of bronze | legs of iron | foot of ceramic | foot of iron |
| BABYLONIAN EMPIRE | PERSIAN EMPIRE | GREEK EMPIRE | ROMAN EMPIRE before its division | Roman Empire of the West | Roman Empire of the East |
The empire set up by God, symbolized by the stone cut out of a mountain without hands, is the islamic world.
ABOUT THE SYMBOLISM OF THE STATUE
- As for the babylonian empire, the head is representing in my opinion the babylonian empire under the reign of Nebuchadnezzar (" you are this head of gold ", verse 38), and the neck is representing the babylonian empire under the reign of his successors.
- The second kingdom is the persian empire, also called medo-persian empire. Median and Persian kingdoms have merged in - 556, before the taking of Babylon. This empire is represented by the chest and the arms. There is an arm that is corresponding to the median kingdom (westward) and there is an arm that is corresponding to the persian empire (eastward). The chest is representing the persian or medo-persian empire, result of the melting of the two kingdoms.
- The greek empire is represented by the belly and the thighs. The belly is representing the empire when it was unified under the reign of Alexander the Great. The thighs are representing the dismembered empire after the death of Alexander. One thigh is corresponding roughly to Egypt (westward) and one thigh is corresponding roughly to Syria (eastward).
- The roman empire is first represented by the legs of iron. The legs of iron are representing this empire until its division. One leg is corresponding to the western part of the empire and the other leg is corresponding to the eastern part. The roman empire is later represented by the feet partly of iron and partly of clay. The feet are representing the roman empire after its official division. The foot of clay is corresponding to the western part of the divided empire, that covered Western Europe and North Africa, and has been a victim of the barbarian invasions. The foot of iron is corresponding to the eastern part of the divided empire, that formed the roman empire of the East.