The Prophecy Interpreted

After telling a very impressed Nebuchadnezzar exactly what he’d seen in his vision, the prophet Daniel explained:

“This was the dream, and now we will interpret it to the king.”
—Daniel 2:36.

THE HEAD OF GOLD

What world power did Daniel tell the king the head of gold symbolized?

“You, O king, are the king of kings. The God of heaven has given you dominion and power and might and glory; in your hands he has placed mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds of the air. Wherever they live, he has made you ruler over them all. YOU ARE THAT HEAD OF GOLD.”
—Verses 37, 38.

Daniel was, in essence, telling the ruler of that world’s greatest empire: “Nebuchadnezzar, your dream is a message from God. He represents your kingdom by the statue’s golden head.”

The head of gold depicts ancient Babylon quite authentically; historians refer to it as “the golden kingdom of a golden age.” Wealthier and mightier than any empire that preceded it, Babylon proudly dominated her world until 539 B.C.