Daniel chapter 2:41-44

This is the interpretation of the dream Nebuchadnezzar had, which the prophet Daniel recalled to him:

(Daniel 2:31-33) 31 Then you, O king, saw, and behold, a certain gigantic image. This image, which was great and whose splendor was exceedingly great, stood before you, and its appearance was terrible. 32 As for this image, its head was of fine gold, its breast and arms were of silver, its belly and thighs were of bronze, 33 its legs (lower legs) were of iron, and its feet were partly of iron and partly of molded clay.

And this is how the prophet interprets the dream, after asking God:

Verse 41 And you saw that the feet and the toes were made partly of potter's clay and partly of iron. Likewise, the kingdom will be divided, but will still have some of the hardness of iron in it. Because as you saw, the iron was mixed with soft clay.

42 And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom will be partly strong and partly fragile.

43 Just as you saw iron mixed with soft clay, so they will be mixed with the seed of men, but will not stick together, one to the other, just as iron does not mix with clay.

44 And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will establish a kingdom that will never be destroyed. And the kingdom itself will not pass to any other people. It will crush and bring to an end all these kingdoms, and itself will endure for ages to come.

What do these verses mean?

Verse 41 

And you saw that the feet and the toes were made partly of potter's clay and partly of iron. Likewise, the kingdom will be divided, but will still have some of the hardness of iron in it. Because as you saw, the iron was mixed with soft clay.

Both the feet and the toes are partly made of iron and clay. Daniel mentions the toes separate from the feet.

Feet: The two feet represent the dual world power Anglo-America. See footnote.
The kingdom is divided because it is a dual world power. In terms of foreign policy, the USA and Great Britain sometimes act harshly and unyieldingly (militarily, authoritarian) against other countries, sometimes also diplomatically and humanely. However, both countries are unstable domestically. Because they are “democracies”, the governing party changes again and again - 42 This verse specifically speaks of the toes of feet, of which humans have ten. We find the number 10 in Revelation in two beasts.


Verse 42

42 And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom will be partly strong and partly fragile.

This verse speaks explicitly of the toes, of which humans have ten. (It therefore does not refer to the feet.)

We find the number 10 in Revelation in two beasts.

A. Rev 13:1 The beast comes up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns ten diadems. The ten horns represent the totality of the sovereign states. The ten diadems mean that these states also exercise a certain amount of power in addition to the dominant world power (a head). The states are different, some strong and stable, some weak and fragile, some hard and unyielding, some soft and yielding. People of different origins live in many countries, so the peoples mix.

B. Rev 17:3 The scarlet beast also has seven heads and ten horns, but no diadems. “It is itself an eighth king, but it comes from the seven, and it goes into destruction.” The ten horns mean ten kings who have not yet received royalty, but they receive power like kings for one hour with the beast. (Rev 17:11-12). The scarlet-colored monster is an association of states that partially renounce their own sovereignty (diadems) in order to be able to act effectively as an association and to achieve common goals. The United Nations receives power “with the beast”, it exists parallel to the other political system in which there are sovereign states with a certain power and also the two-horned beast from Rev 13:11-13, the Anglo-American dual world power .

The feet and toes are on the same level, so they exist at the same time, at least for a while. Even if the toes form the end of the statue. Today we can observe this: there exists both a dominant world power (Anglo-America, the feet), and a world system with many powerful sovereign states, and the United Nations (the toes). With the toes forming the end of the body, the United Nations could be the last purely human world power before it is replaced by the Kingdom of God. It is called the eighth king, the number eight follows the number seven. It is also logical to assume that the power of the UN will continue to increase, but in return the power of Anglo-America will have to decrease more and more.

Verse 43 

43 Just as you saw iron mixed with soft clay, so they will be mixed with the seed of men, but will not stick together, one to the other, just as iron does not mix with clay.

43 “The seed of men (=the offspring) will be mixed”. People of different origins live in the individual sovereign states. They mix with the population living there, but do not adhere to each other, are not integrated there, or the individual sovereign states do not connect with each other, even though people of the same origin live in them and people of different origins live in all of them.

Verse 44 

And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will establish a kingdom that will never be destroyed. And the kingdom itself will not pass to any other people. It will crush and bring to an end all these kingdoms, and itself will endure for ages to come.

44 While the political powers still exist, Jehovah God is setting up a kingdom (=government) that will crush all human governments and last indefinitely. Eventually his rule will extend over the entire earth. See Da 2:35 “And as for the stone that struck the image, it became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.”

Summary

Daniel 2:41-44 prophetically describes what will happen politically in the time of the end. There will be a dual world power, represented by the two feet, as well as many sovereign states exercising power together. Anglo-America proved to be this dual world power. The United Nations as the eighth and final king before God's kingdom takes over.

Footnote

On the Day of the Lord (Revelation 1:10), another beast would appear. This day likely began around the outbreak of World War I. See commentary on the Bible book of Revelation - Der Tag des Herrn

The Two-Horned Beast

11 "And I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and it had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon. 12 It exerted all the authority of the first beast in its presence. It caused the earth and those who lived in it to worship the first beast, who was healed of his deadly wound. 13 It performed great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to the earth in the sight of men" (Revelation 13:11-13).

This beast has two horns, indicating a partnership between two political powers. It is said to come from the earth, not from the sea. It thus originates from the already existing earthly system of things. It must be a pre-existing power that rises and takes on an important role on the day of the Lord.

What could this mean?

The Anglo-American dual world power, the same one represented by the seventh head of the first beast, acts independently of the first beast on earth. Its two horns, "like a lamb," give the impression that it is gentle and harmless, with a progressive government to which the whole world should turn. However, it speaks "like a dragon," in that it uses pressure, threats, and even violence wherever its model of government is not accepted. It does not encourage submission to God's Kingdom, the rule of the Lamb of God, but rather calls for support of the first beast. It fosters nationalistic sentiments and ideological disputes, thereby promoting the worship of the first beast.

The two-horned beast performs great signs, even calling down fire from heaven, but this does not mean that it has God's favor. (Matthew 7:21-23) This is reminiscent of Elijah, who successfully called down fire from heaven, thus proving himself a true prophet. The monster also impresses people with its progressive form of government, its military successes against the “forces of evil” and against godless communism, and is considered a guardian and fighter for law, freedom and democracy and a guarantor of material prosperity.

See also

Commentary on the Book of Revelation

The beasts of Revelation 13