Bible Question:

Daniel 2:36-45 mentions five kingdoms. Where would these kingdoms be located today on the map? Are these kingdoms represented in Daniel 7 as four beasts?

Bible Answer:

Daniel 2:31-45 describes five empires or kingdoms which began occupying the land of Israel in 605 B.C. and will continue occupying at least parts, if not most, of the land of Israel into the future. These kingdoms are symbolized by four metals: gold, bronze, silver, and iron. The final kingdom is a stone that becomes a mountain. So, this raises two questions. First, which kingdoms or empires do these metals and the stone represent? Second, where were the kingdoms mentioned in Daniel 2 on a map?

Statue of Nebuchadnezzar's Dream

Statue of Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream

Identity of the Five Kingdoms in Daniel 2

Daniel 2:31-35 provides a description of the dream that God gave to King Nebuchadnezzar. Then verses 36-45 provide the interpretation. The metals are symbolic or allegorical. But that does not mean we do not understand which nations, kingdoms, or empires they represent because the book of Daniel defines all of them but one.  The table below provides a quick summary of the interpretation.

 

Five Kingdoms In Daniel 2
KINGDOMDANIEL 2:36-45DANIEL 7:1-14
BabylonGold Head (v. 38)Lion (v. 4)
Media-PersiaSilver Chest (v. 39)Bear (v. 5; 8:20)
GreeceBronze Waist (v. 39)Leopard (v. 6; 8:21)
RomeAs Strong As Iron (v. 40)Dreadful & Terrible (v. 7-8)
Future Version of Fourth KingdomFeet of Iron & Clay (v. 41-42)Beast with 10 Horns (v. 7-8; 21-27)
Eternal KingdomGreat Mountain (v. 35, 45)Everlasting Kingdom (v. 13-14, 22, 27)

 

The fourth kingdom is the most difficult kingdom to understand. Consequently, Daniel 2:40 and Daniel 7:7-8,15-26 provide more details. We are told the fourth kingdom will defeat the empire of Greece. The ten toes of this fourth empire (Daniel 2:7-8) are the ten horns in Daniel 7:7-8). These ten horns are ten kings which represent an alliance (Daniel 7:24). Daniel 2:42-45 reveal the ten toes will emerge in the future.

As the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of pottery, so some of the kingdom will be strong and part of it will be brittle.  And in that you saw the iron mixed with common clay, they will combine with one another in the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, even as iron does not combine with pottery. In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever. Inasmuch as you saw that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands and that it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold, the great God has made known to the king what will take place in the future; so the dream is true and its interpretation is trustworthy.” Daniel 2:42-45 (NASB)

Notice that the ten toes are a future version of the fourth kingdom because verse 44 says the God of heaven will set up a kingdom in the “days of those kings.” The kingdom that God will setup is described in verses 35, 44, and 45. It is an eternal kingdom that will cover the entire world and never be destroyed. This kingdom will be a worldwide kingdom that dominates the world.  Verse 44 says it will begin in the days of the ten kings. But since a worldwide kingdom does not exist yet, we know the kingdom will emerge in the future. Therefore, the ten kings will emerge in the future. The ten toes are a future version of the fourth kingdom. Most conservative Bible scholars agree with the early church fathers that the fourth kingdom was Rome. Jerome states in his commentary on Daniel,

Now the fourth empire, which clearly refers to the Romans, is the iron empire . . .[1]

The prophecy is about the nations that occupied the southern portion of the kingdom of Israel, or Judah. History confirms this location because after the empire of Greece, the Roman Empire occupied Judah.

So, the ten kings will emerge at some time in the future and eventually be defeated by the fifth kingdom, which is symbolized by a mountain that covers the earth (Daniel 2:35). It is the eternal kingdom. These five kingdoms are also mentioned again in Daniel 7. An explanation of these passages is given in “Prophecy About The Future.” and in these studies in the book of Daniel:

God Gives Nebuchadnezzar A Dream About the Future

Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream — Meaning of the Gold, Silver, and Bronze Kingdoms

Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream — Meaning of the Fourth Kingdom

Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream – Interpretation of The Final Kingdom

Location of the Five Kingdoms in Daniel 2

These ancient empires or kingdoms were located in the Middle East since they occupied the land of Israel. The maps presented below show the boundaries of the Babylonian Empire, Media-Persian Empire, Grecian or Alexander’s Empire, and the Roman Empire.

Babylonian Empire

Babylonian Empire

 

Empire of Greece

Empire of Greece

 

Medo-Persian Empire

Medo-Persian Empire

 

Map of the Roman Empire

Map of the Roman Empire

 

Conclusion:

The prophet Daniel prophesied the order in which these great empires would occur. His prophecies were given during the time of the Babylonian and Media-Persian empires. His prophecies about Greece occurred about 200 years before the Grecian Empire appeared. His prophecy about Rome occurred at least 450 years before it appeared.  The study “Introduction To The Prophecy of Daniel” provides strong evidence that the book of Daniel was written at least before 450 B.C.

Daniel states that Media-Persia was an alliance of two nations in Daniel 8. He prophesied that the Alexandrian Empire would eventually be split among four generals and one of them would be superior. History has demonstrated that Daniel’s prophesies have been one hundred percent accurate. This is not the case with present day “prophets” – secular or spiritual. God says that His prophets never make a mistake (Deuteronomy 18.20-22). That is proof God’s Word is truth.

 

References:

1. St. Jerome. Jerome’s Commentary on Daniel. Translated by Gleason Archer.  Wipf & Stock. 1958. p. 32.

Suggested Links:

Book of Daniel
Hooked By A Dream
Introduction To The Prophecy of Daniel