Head of Fine Gold: Babylonia (626 BC - 539 BC)

> Statue in Daniel

Historical and Biblical Background

• About 600 years before Jesus was born, Babylonia (Iraq today) was the most powerful and wealthy kingdom in the Middle East.

• King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon besieged Jerusalem and took Daniel and other captive to Babylon to serve in his court. Nebuchadnezzar also took some of the sacred objects and vessels from the temple of God back to Babylon.

• One night Nebuchadnezzar had a dream. The king threatened to kill his advisors if they could not tell him the dream and interpret it (Daniel 2:5-11).

• Daniel asked the king for some time to interpret the dream. After Daniel prayed, God revealed the dream and its meaning to him (Daniel 2:12-23).

• The dream showed a statue with four sections. The head was gold. The chest was silver. The belly and thighs were bronze. The legs were made of iron and the feet were iron mixed with clay. A large rock struck and destroyed the statue and became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth (Daniel 2:31-35).

• Daniel told King Nebuchadnezzar the dream and interpreted it (Daniel 2:36-45).

• The king made Daniel ruler over Babylon.

Head of the Statue (Daniel 2)

• The head of the statue, made from fine gold, represented the king of Babylonia, which the Lord gave Nebuchadnezzar to rule.

• The gold symbolized the superior power of Babylonia.

• Eventually Babylonia would be destroyed by an inferior kingdom.

• When King Nebudchanezzar heard Daniel's interpretation, he said, "Truly your God is the God of gods, the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, since you could reveal this secret" (Daniel 2:47).

Vision of Beasts - Lion (Daniel 7)

• More than 50 years after King Nebuchadnezzar's, Daniel had a vision about four great beasts (that were like a lion with eagle's wings, a bear, a leopard, and a terrifying powerful beast.).

• The four beasts are four kingdoms. Nebuchadnezzar of the Babylonian kingdom is compared to a lion in Jeremiah 4:7; 5:44, and to an eagle in Ezekiel 17:3,11-12.

• Images of lions with eagle's wings were popular in Babylonia architecture and currency (Daniel 7:4).

Timeline

• c. 620 BC: Nabopolassar I; Daniel is born.

• 612 BC: Nineveh, capital of Assyria, falls to the Babylonians and the Medes

• 605 BC: First exile of Jews to Babylon; Daniel taken to Babylon at the age of 15 (c. 605 BC)

• 600 BC: Nebuchadnezzar II

• 586 BC: Judah, the S. Kingdom, falls to Babylon; the Temple and Jerusalem destroyed; Gadaliah appointed governor over the Babylonian Province of Judah.

• 564 BC: Amel-marduk

• 560 BC: Neriglissar

• 559 BC: Cyrus comes into power in Persia.

• 550 BC: Nabonidus (Belshazzar in Babylon); Belshazzar in charge of Babylon

• c. 540: Daniel dies.