Sunday: Daniel 2 and the Historicist Approach to Prophecy
Daily Lesson for Sunday 15th of June 2025
One of the most powerful prophecies in all Scripture is Daniel 2:1-49. Writing more than five hundred years before Christ, the prophet set out world history, starting from his time in Babylon and then through Media-Persia, Greece, Rome, and the breakup of Rome into the nations of modern Europe as they exist today.
In fact, talking about these European nations, one text says that “ ‘they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay’ ” (Daniel 2:43, NKJV). This prophecy has been amazingly fulfilled. That is, despite all sorts of intermarriage between the people (from princes to plebes) of these nations, they remain divided.
Image © Steve Creitz at Goodsalt.com
Manhattan
For example, the British monarchy is called the House of Windsor, a nice English name. However, that name is a relatively recent development—1917, actually. Before then, the family was called Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, a distinctly German name, because many of the British royalty—through mingling “with the seed of men”—were blood relatives with the Germans. However, those blood ties were not enough to keep them from war, and so, during World War I, wanting to dissociate themselves from their hated enemies, they changed the name to the House of Windsor.
Read Daniel 2:31-45. What was Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, and how did Daniel interpret it?
The apocalyptic prophecies in Daniel all follow the foundation set in Daniel 2:1-49. That is, the rest of these prophecies, like Daniel 2:1-49, follow the sequence of one world empire after another until God establishes His eternal kingdom (see Daniel 2:44; Daniel 7:13-14). In other words, the prophecies go through history in an unbroken sequence of empires, starting in antiquity and ending in the future, even to our time. This is the historicist approach to interpreting prophecy and is what the texts demand. This use of the historicist approach is crucial for understanding last-day events, particularly as they are depicted in the book of Revelation.
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How does Daniel 2:1-49 prove to us that not only does God know the future but that He is, ultimately, in charge of it? |
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Hey we've got this Daniel 2 stuff all worked out haven't we! The succession of kingdoms - gold to iron and clay. I recall that as a little kid in Sabbath School, we had colouring-in books, and there was an image of Daniel 2 for us to colour in. I learned the art of colouring in with crayons on that image. And now 75 years later, I wonder what I have learned, other than colouring in.
Nebuchadnezzar saw that image too and he had a go at colouring in too. The problem was that he had only one colour crayon, gold, and an egocentric interpretation; self. He made the image his own.
We have made the interpretation of that image our own. I think of the many evangelistice programs I have seen in my lifetime that have started with the image of Daniel 2.
It is worth pausing for a moment and winding down to verse 44:
This is not a postscript. It says, "In the days of these kings ..." And if I read the rest of the salvation story, we are invited and are expected to invite others to be citizens of this unworldly Kingdom of Heaven now.
Next time we want to pat ourselves on the back that we have the right interpretation of the two legs or ten toes, we should remind ourselves that all this was a precursor to the Kingdom of God that we claim to be part of now.
Like King Nebuchadnezzar, We face numerous unanswered questions ranging from who’s going to win the Super Bowl next February?, What’s the stock market going to look like next week?, How will my children turn out like when they grow?, When will I get out of debt?, Am I going to survive the current economic onslaught?, Why is my body failing? is my business going to make it through this season?
The one million dollar question of all time is where will my help come from? ....in our attempt to find answers like King Nebuchadnezzar, we are tempted to seek and find answers from magicians and enchanters. The problem is that they are equally limited in their scope, in their knowledge, and in their wisdom.
You & I might not be like King Nebuchadnezzar , but the truth is that we spend the overwhelming majority of our lives anxious thus our hearts long for peace and rest. God has revealed that there is a kingdom coming that will be nothing but peace. The rock that came to destroy the fragile earthly kingdoms is Jesus Christ our Lord and saviour whose kingdom shall reign forever.
The Sovereign God who created the universe (the heavens and the earth), Genesis 1:1, holds control over all human events in the past, present and in the future. Through prophecy, the Sovereign God communicates His will, purposes, and future plans to guide, warn and comfort His people. The divine revelation is not simply to foretell the future which is hidden from humans beings but also to proclaim (forth-tell) His divine will calling for repentance, justice and righteousness (e.g., in the books of Isaiah and Jeremiah). How we interpret God’s divine messages is critically important. The Bible emphatically says, “blessed” are those who understands prophecy and do it (Revelation 1:3, Daniel 12:10, Amos 3:7). One of the several ways of interpreting prophecy is the historicist Approach. This approach holds the view that prophecy is unfolding progressively throughout human history since the time of the prophets’ time until the time of Jesus’s return. Prophecy is a continuous historical narrative about God’s effort to save mankind. Prophetic events unfold chronologically over a timeline.
What is the spiritual significance of the historicist approach?
1. The approach demonstrates that God is sovereign and control all human events (Isaiah 46:9–10)
2. This approach validates the absolute reliability of the Word of God.
3. The approach helps a believer to unmask the false religion (Revelation 18:4)
4. This approach helps us to prepare for the uncertain and terrible end-time ahead (vigilance) - Romans 13:11
5. This approach helps us to focus on Jesus and Jesus alone. Jesus is the epicentre of all prophecy.