Who was Daniel? He was one of the Hebrew exiles from Judah after the destruction of Jerusalem. There are three others mentioned in the book of Daniel: Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. Nebuchadnezzar gave them the Babylonian names Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Daniel he named Belteshazzar which means 'Protect the Life of the King'.

King Nebuchadnezzar was troubled by a dream but when he awoke he could not remember it. He summoned his magicians to tell him what it was he had dreamt. He threatened them with death but they said what he asked was beyond them. When Daniel heard about this he went before the king and asked for time to reveal the dream. Daniel prayed and that same night God gave him the king's dream and its interpretation.

You saw in your dream an enormous statue.

1. The head was made of pure gold
2. Its chest and arms of silver
3. Its belly and thighs of bronze
4. The legs of iron
5. The feet partly iron and part clay
6. As you watched a rock struck the statue on its feet
7. The entire statue crumbled to dust and blew away
8. The rock became a mountain and filled the earth

The Dream Interpreted:
Daniel said to the king, "You are that head of gold." The other parts of the statue represent kingdoms that would come after him. So the dream revealed there would be five kingdoms or empires that would arise in that part of the world. From ancient history we know the first four to be...

1. Neo-Babylonia, the world empire in Daniels time 626-539 BCE
2. Medo-Persia 550-331 BCE
3. Greece 490-146 BCE
4. Rome 509 BCE-476 AD
5. An indeterminate, end-time divided kingdom
• The divisions of the Roman empire after the fall
• Iron and clay don't mix so this kingdom will not remain united
6. In the days of these kings, the kingdom of God will come
7. It will bring to an end all other kingdoms and endure forever

The king has his dream statue constructed made entirely of gold. He then ordered everyone in his kingdom to come to its dedication to fall down and worship his golden statue. Anyone who refuses this order will immediately be cast into a blazing furnace that he has set up. Daniels three friends refused to comply so they were brought before the king. They told him, "The God we serve is able to deliver us... We will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up." So Nebuchadnezzar had them cast into the blazing furnace but the flames did not touch them nor anything on their bodies. At this the king became amazed since the three Hebrews were unharmed and also accompanied by a fourth person who "looks like a son of the gods." At the king's command the three friends of Daniel cam forth from the fire. The king himself came away from this incident with a new respect for the God of Heaven.