Last updated on March 23, 2024

Now that we understand what the kingdoms of Medo-Persia and Greece are really about, we can relate what we now know to the other visions in the book of the prophet Daniel. If you haven’t read any of the previous blogs on the prophet Daniel’s prophecies, please read some of them here first.

In the dream of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, he saw a statue that the prophet Daniel interpreted the meaning of. Here is the meaning of the “statue” that King Nebuchadnezzar saw in his dream that the prophet Daniel interpreted.

Daniel Interprets King’s Dream

Daniel 2:31 As you, O king, were watching, a great statue appeared. A great and dazzling statue stood before you, and its form was awesome. 32 The head of the statue was pure gold, its chest and arms were silver, its belly and thighs were bronze, 33its legs were iron, and its feet were part iron and part clay.

36This was the dream; now we will tell the king its interpretation.

37You, O king, are the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given sovereignty, power, strength, and glory. 38Wherever the sons of men or beasts of the field or birds of the air dwell, He has given them into your hand and has made you ruler over them all. You are that head of gold.

39But after you, there will arise another kingdom, inferior to yours.

Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule the whole earth.

40Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom as strong as iron; for iron shatters and crushes all things, and like iron that crushes all things, it will shatter and crush all the others. 

The Four Kingdoms

Based on the interpretation by the prophet Daniel of King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, there will be four kingdoms that will rule on earth.

The first kingdom – The head of gold.

Second kingdom – Chest and arms of silver

Third kingdom – Belly and thighs of bronze

The fourth kingdom – Legs of iron and feet of iron and clay

Medo-Persia And Greece

Now, we will apply what we understand about Medo-Persia and Greece to Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of a “statue”.

We’ve learned from the prophet Daniel’s vision of a ram and a goat that the “ram” stands for Medo-Persia. Medo-Persia represents Authoritarianism. The two horns of the ram stand for Absolute Monarchy and Communism. Communism is the horn of the ram that “grew up later”.

We’ve also learned that Greece is the “goat” in the prophet Daniel’s vision. Greece represents democracy. The long horn of the goat represents the first king of Greece. The first king of Greece or democracy is the United States of America.

Therefore, based on the information above, we can assume that the “four kingdoms” that the dream of King Nebuchadnezzar was referring to are types of government systems because authoritarianism and democracy are types of government systems.

Moreover, these four kingdoms or government systems are used and will be used by nations to rule their people.

The Four Types Of Ruling Systems

Based on the interpretation given by the prophet Daniel to King Nebuchadnezzar, Babylon is the first kingdom.

Additionally, we can put Medo-Persia and Greece in places of the second and third kingdoms because this was given to us in the Bible. They also appeared in those orders historically.

Historically, the first three kingdoms were former world empires (Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece) and they are the foreshadows of their spiritual realms that are still present in today’s world. Those former empires are relevant today because their influences are still present today, For example, Greece’s greatest influence on the world is democracy which is very much relevant in today’s world, and Bible prophecies. The Beast however is yet to come in the future.

Here are the four kingdoms again:

Babylon, the first kingdom is a political and religious system rolled into one. King Nebuchadnezzar ruled as both a religious and political figure. This is the Babylonian style of governing. Any nation ruled by one person who is in charge of both the religious and political affairs of that nation is considered to be in the realm of Babylon. This type of ruling style is what we call “theocracy” today.

Medo-Persia, the second kingdom is about Authoritarianism. Any nation ruled by authoritarians, whether it’s a monarch, an emperor, an absolute ruler, a dictator, or a group of dictators is considered to be part of the realm of Medo-Persia. Absolute monarchy and Communism are the two dominant types of “Authoritarian” governments except for theocracy which is part of the realm of Babylon.

Greece, the third kingdom is the democratic system. Any nation that chooses its leader through a democratic election is part of the realm of Greece.

The Beast system is the fourth kingdom. We will look closely into what this system is about in future blogs. There are parallel prophecies about this system in the Book of Revelation. But, to give you an idea, the Beast system will be a combination of theocratic, authoritarian, and democratic governments.

Summary

King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of a “statue” was interpreted by the prophet Daniel as “four kingdoms” (Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and The Beast) that would rule on earth. Based on what we’ve learned from the vision of the prophet Daniel of “a goat and a ram”, we figured out that these former world empires have influences that extended up to the present times and are part of their spiritual realms. These influences are still being widely used by all nations today to rule their people.

In the next episode, we will connect these “four kingdoms” that will rule on earth to the parallel prophecy given to the prophet Daniel in his vision of the “four beasts”.

Until next time my friends, may God bless you!