Question: Since world history has had other "empires" in Asia and the Western Hemisphere, I assumed that Nebuchadnezzar's statue dream had to do only with the Gentile "empires" that would control or dominate Israel/Judah. BUT, my question is: What about the Ottoman Empire (1300 AD - 1922 AD)? Other than keeping Israel desolate for those 600+ years, awaiting the return of the Jews, the Islam/Ottoman Empire seems to be some sort of omission.
Answer: Greetings and thank you for your question. This is an excellent question because I believe that properly understanding Daniel (and Matthew 24-25 and Revelation) is vital to understanding the scope of redemptive-history as it plays out on the world stage.
The first thing we must see regarding the Book of Daniel is its outline and purpose. Most people split the book in two, with chapters 1-6 retelling the life of Daniel in exile and chapters 7-12 recounting the visions of Daniel. I believe the book actually breaks down into three parts as follows:
- Daniel 1:1 - 2:3 - A prologue that sets the stage for what is to follow.
- Daniel 2:4 - 7:28 - Daniel's message to the world about God's sovereignty over nations and rulers and the coming kingdom of the Son of Man.
- Daniel 8:1 - 12:13 - Daniel's message to the people of God regarding what to expect in the near and distant future.
My purpose for breaking it down in this way has to do with the language in which Daniel was written. Parts 1 and 3 are written in Hebrew, the language of the people of God. Part 2 is written in Aramaic, the language of the world in that day (Aramaic being the "lingua franca" in those days much like English is now).
You refer to the great statue in Nebuchadnezzar's dream (Daniel 2). Let's look at that a little more closely. I won't rehash the story, but as this vision is in the 2nd part of the Book of Daniel, the vision is part of Daniel's message to the world regarding God's sovereignty over nations and rulers. Here is Daniel's interpretation of the dream:
[36] "This was the dream. Now we will tell the king its interpretation. [37] You, O king, the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory, [38] and into whose hand he has given, wherever they dwell, the children of man, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens, making you rule over them all--you are the head of gold. [39] Another kingdom inferior to you shall arise after you, and yet a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. [40] And there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, because iron breaks to pieces and shatters all things. And like iron that crushes, it shall break and crush all these. [41] And as you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom, but some of the firmness of iron shall be in it, just as you saw iron mixed with the soft clay. [42] And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle. [43] As you saw the iron mixed with soft clay, so they will mix with one another in marriage, but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay. [44] And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever, [45] just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. A great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure." (Daniel 2:36-45 ESV)
The classic interpretation of this dream has been that the four kingdoms depicted are Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome. This stands to reason as this follows the course of world history during and after that time. But note very closely that Daniel identifies Nebuchadnezzar as the head of gold. He does not identify the other three kingdoms. He just says these are kingdoms that will follow Nebuchadnezzar. It is in the days of the fourth kingdom that God will establish His kingdom that will never end. Jesus establishes the Kingdom of God during the days of the Roman Empire, so it's reasonable to assume this is the fourth kingdom.
Now, let's compare this to Daniel's vision in chapter 7 (still part of that 2nd part of Daniel and his message to the world). Daniel 2 and Daniel 7 are bookends of this 2nd part of the Book of Daniel. Just like in Nebuchadnezzar's dream, Daniel sees four beasts: one that resembles a lion, one that resembles a bear, one that resembles a leopard, and a grotesquely hideous beast. As with the dream in chapter 2, we are tempted to link these beasts to four worldly empires (Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome). Again, there is some warrant for this, but notice what the angel tells Daniel when he asked for an interpretation:
[17] 'These four great beasts are four kings who shall arise out of the earth. [18] But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, forever and ever.' (Daniel 7:17-18 ESV)
The beasts are four kings. They are not identified with any earthly/worldly king/kingdom, so we must resist the temptation to definitively identify them as well. The reason I say this is twofold: (1) Daniel 7 is apocalyptic in nature and thus we should resist a woodenly literal interpretation of such prophecies, and (2) the angel is quite capable of being specific when the need arises. Consider the following vision in Daniel 8 regarding the ram and the goat. When Daniel asks for the interpretation, the angel identifies what these visions describe: [20] As for the ram that you saw with the two horns, these are the kings of Media and Persia. [21] And the goat is the king of Greece. And the great horn between his eyes is the first king. (Daniel 8:20-21 ESV).
In apocalyptic literature, numbers often have a symbolic significance. For example, seven symbolizes completeness or perfection. Twelve refers to the people of God (twelve tribes, twelve disciples). The number four represents totality. For example, the "four corners of the world" means to totality of the world. The four beasts could literally refer to four actual kingdoms (e.g., Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome), or it could (and I would argue does) refer to the totality of world kingdoms. This would correspond to what John sees iin Revelation 13. What Daniel sees as four separate beasts, John sees as one massive beast. Meaning the world empires and kingdoms are all really part of a world system empowered by and influenced by the Dragon, Satan.
So, what does all this have to do with the Ottoman Empire? I believe the Ottoman Empire is just anoter manifestation of the beast of Revelation 13. A worldly kingdom under the influence of Satan that exists and supresses the people of God until the return of Christ at the end of the age.
I hope this helps.
