Okay, friends. Here is what Daniel said the dream meant.

"Your Majesty, you are a king over many kings, for the God of Heaven has given you your kingdom, power, strength, and glory.

You rule the farthest provinces, and even the birds and animals are under your control as God decreed. YOU ARE THAT HEAD OF GOLD.

But after your kingdom has come to an end, another world power (the Meade/Persian Empire) will arise to take your place. This empire will be inferior to yours. And after that kingdom has fallen, yet a third great power (the Greek Empire founded by Alexander the Great)--represented by the bronze belly of the statue--will rise to rule the world.

Following it, the fourth kingdom will be strong as iron--smashing, bruising, and conquering.(the Roman Empire). The feet and toes you saw--part iron and part clay--show that later on the kingdom will be divided (the eastern Roman Empire and the western Roman Empire--the result of Constantine moving the capitol of the Empire to Constantinople when the upper class of Rome refused to accept Christianity.)

Some parts of it will be strong as iron, and some as weak as clay. This mixture of iron and clay also shows that these kingdoms will try to strengthen themselves by forming alliances with each other through intermarriage of their rulers; (Christians marrying Pagans); but this will not succeed, for iron and clay don't mix.

During the reigns of these kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed; no one will ever conquer it. He will shatter all these kingdoms into nothingness, but it shall stand forever, indestructible.

That is the meaning of the Rock cut from the mountain without human hands--the Rock that crushed to powder all the iron and brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold.

Thus the great God has shown what will happen in the future, and this interpretation of your dream is as sure and certain as my description of it."

Then Nebuchadnezzar fell to the ground before Daniel and worshiped him, and commanded his people to offer sacrifices and burn sweet incense before him. (Ancients placed great store in dreams and believed they were always important).

"Truly, O Daniel," the king said, "your God is the God of gods, Ruler of kings, the Revealer of mysteries, because He has told you this secret." (This is the first of three times during his rule that Nebuchadnezzar will acknowledge that Daniel's God is the one true God.)

Then the king made Daniel very great; he gave him many valuable gifts and appointed him to be ruler over the whole province of Babylon, as well as chief over all his wise men.

Then at Daniel's request, the king appointed Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednego as Daniels' assistants to be in charge of all the affairs of the province of Babylon.

Daniel served as chief magistrate in the king's court.(Daniel, Chapter 2, LB)

Thus began Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar's lifelong friendship, which would continue roughly for the next forty-five years. There was no one whom Nebuchadnezzar trusted more than Daniel and Daniel served his king faithfully in all matters regarding governing the empire.