Nebuchadnezzar had a dream so terrifying that when he woke up, he could not remember what he had seen—only the dread it left behind. He summoned every magician, astrologer, and wise man in Babylon and demanded they tell him both the dream and its meaning. When they protested that no human could do such a thing, he ordered them all executed.
Daniel, a young Jewish captive of royal blood, heard about the death sentence. He asked the captain of the guard for time, then prayed to God—and God revealed the dream in a night vision. Daniel went before the king and explained what no Babylonian sage could.
The dream was this: a colossal statue with a head of gold, chest and arms of silver, belly and thighs of bronze, legs of iron, and feet mixed of iron and clay. Then a stone, cut without human hands, struck the statue's feet and shattered the entire figure to dust. The stone grew into a mountain that filled the earth.
Daniel interpreted it plainly. The golden head was Nebuchadnezzar's own kingdom. After him would come lesser empires—silver, bronze, iron—each powerful but declining. The feet of mixed iron and clay meant a kingdom divided against itself. And the stone? That was the kingdom God would establish, one that would crush all others and stand forever. Josephus notes that Daniel "did not only prophesy of future events, as did the other prophets, but also determined the time of their accomplishment."
Nebuchadnezzar was so astonished that he fell on his face before Daniel—a captive slave from a conquered nation. He showered Daniel with honors, made him governor of Babylon, and elevated his three companions Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah to positions of authority. These were the same men who had refused the king's food and thrived on pulse and water. Now they governed the empire that had destroyed their homeland.