“You, O king, were watching; and behold, a great image! This great image, whose splendor was excellent, stood before you; and its form was awesome. This image’s head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed together, and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; the wind carried them away so that no trace of them was found. And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.” Daniel 2:31-35
First Daniel told the king what he had seen in his dream, and then he explained its meaning. He saw a large statue of a man, “an enormous dazzling statue, awesome in appearance” composed of five different materials: gold, silver, bronze, iron, and clay. Suddenly a stone appeared and smashed the feet of the statue so that the image was completely shattered and became like chaff that was blown away. Then the stone became a huge mountain that filled the earth. On hearing this accurate description, the king knew that Daniel was telling the truth and that what he said could be trusted. Only the God of heaven who sent the dream could have helped His servant know and interpret the dream.
In his dream, Nebuchadnezzar saw a colossal image of a man. Its gargantuan size and dreadful appearance reduced the king to a state of utter terror. The image was that of a man because it represented the history of human civilization. God wanted to show Nebuchadnezzar the inevitable fate of all the nations of the world. The image wasn’t a complete history of human kingdoms—other powers that had radically affected Israel, such as Egypt and Assyria, were omitted. Rather, the image portrayed the kingdoms that would play a critical role in Israel’s existence prior to the inauguration of God’s Kingdom in Jesus Christ.”
Daniel’s description was clear. This was a massive and spectacular image made of different materials (fine gold… silver… bronze… iron… partly of iron and partly of clay). The materials descended in value from top to bottom, with gold at the top and iron mixed with clay at the bottom. Showing that any kingdom made by man will not be a strong foundation. Unless God is the builder, the kingdom will always fall.