And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.” Daniel 2:41, 42.
Unlike the previous empires, Daniel does not say that the fourth kingdom would be conquered by a fifth kingdom, rather the fourth kingdom would basically become divided. There is a remnant of the iron kingdom that remains in the feet and toes. However, a new element is added which is the miry clay.
What is the miry clay? __________________________________________________________________
Read Isaiah 64:8-9.
Clay is being used as a symbol of God’s people. This is odd, because we read in Daniel 2 that the stone smites the image on the feet where the clay is mixed with iron.
Clay references: You are the Potter we are the clay (Isa. 64:8); marred clay, made it again (Jer. 18), David pulled out of the miry clay (Ps. 40:2).
In Daniel 2, it talks about clay (vs. 33-35, 42-43, 45), potter’s clay (v. 41), and miry clay (v. 41, 43). The clay, in Daniel, represents the professed people of God…those who claim to be molded by God. There is a difference between clay and miry clay. The added term ‘miry’ means something is amiss with the clay.
What is the clay doing? _________________________________________________________
This clay professes to serve God, it claims to be God’s people; but there is something amiss. What is happening is clay represents a spiritual power, a religious church; while the iron represents what came out of the Roman Empire which is a secular/civil power. So, there is this mingling of secular/civil/state craft and church craft – this is a mingling of two different principles.
As we continue our study, the religious power will be self-evident as we study its characteristics. At this point, we know it rose in prominence as the Roman Empire was falling.
Why doesn’t it mingle? __________________________________________________________
Read Isaiah 48:4.
What the text is actually using iron and brass as symbols for the hard heartedness, stubbornness.
Can you think of anyone in the Bible that demonstrated a hard heart?
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Pharaoh’s heart was hardened (Ex. 7:3). The more God came to him, the more he grew hard in his heart. He was against God, he rejected God, and he was a symbol of secularism, even atheism…a denial of the true living God. The Bible says that God hardened his heart, meaning; by God coming to Pharaoh and requesting release of His people and when Pharaoh would not God brought judgment; it is then when Pharaoh hardened his heart. It was because of God that Pharaoh hardened his own heart. This is an example of grieving the Holy Spirit away. Another example would be Cain, unfortunately there are many examples of this recorded in the Bible…and it continues to happen in our day as well.
Click here for more on the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart.
More About the New Element – Miry Clay
As briefly mentioned, there are two elements in Daniel 2, iron and clay. It appears that one is religious (miry clay) and one is secular (iron). Therefore, one represents God and the other is obstinate against God, hard-hearted against God. What is interesting about this is that the clay represents a church element. So, there is a spiritual connotation implied by the miry clay. We are going to see later in our studies that this is actually speaking about spiritual Babylon, especially when we get to the Book of Revelation.
For a moment we will look at literal Babylon, which gives insight to the spiritual Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar endeavored to re-build Babylon and establish religious worship. Throughout his reign, he cemented his kingship and grew in strength. He had strong religious beliefs, pagan as they were; and he had magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and fortune tellers who worked for him. He boasted of his might and power on earth, equating himself to a god on earth; and believed the gods helped him rule. In fact, he had built an image that likened the one in his dream but it was made of gold. Remember, in the dream, he was only the head of gold. He decreed all to bow down and worship before his statute that was 90 feet high and nine feet broad that was erected in the plain of Dura (Daniel 3). The three Hebrew boys refused to worship the image and a death decree went forth. Nebuchadnezzar ended up turning the heat up seven-fold in the fiery furnace because they continued to refuse to bow the knee. The might soldiers that bound them and threw them into the furnace was killed by its flames. Immediately, Nebuchadnezzar stood up because he saw four in the flames. He went to the mouth of the furnace and called them from the flames. The fire had no power over them.
What happened from Nebuchadnezzar having his dream revealed and interpreted? Daniel 3 tells us, he made of himself a golden image demanding worship or death. I know we are peeking ahead just a little. A hardened heart was his problem. Hold on to this thought for a moment, we will come back to it.
Nebuchadnezzar was a king over religion and state. This is extremely important concept that has application in the end of time…church/state power. More detail to come as we study.
As we will see, each section underlined in the above paragraph are the same components that we see in spiritual Babylon in the end of time. Once we get to Revelation, there is more symbolism that enlarges what is going to occur just before Jesus stands up, returns to earth, and gathers His people.
Again, the miry clay represents a church/spiritual element.
More About the Iron that was Broken/Divided
The iron represents the exact opposite of what the miry clay represents. Since the miry clay is a church/spiritual element, then the iron is a secular/state element. Another very important concept – the miry clay mingles with the iron. Hold on to this for we will build upon it as well.
Jerome, Commentary on Daniel, comments on 2:40, column 504
“Moreover the fourth kingdom, which plainly pertains to the Romans, is the iron which breaks in pieces and subdues all things. But its feet and toes are partly of iron and partly of clay, which at this time…is most plainly attested. For just as in its beginning nothing was stronger and more unyielding that the Roman Empire, so at the end of its affairs nothing is weaker.”
This was being fulfilled in the days of Jerome. In fact, all of the church fathers believed this.
In 2 Thessalonians 2, the Apostle Paul speaks about a power that was holding back the manifestation of the man of sin. All of the church fathers believed that the one that was holding back, or as it says in the King James, ‘letting’ which means to hold back this Antichrist from manifesting himself was the continued existence of the Roman Empire. They also believed that when the Roman Empire was taken out of the way the Antichrist would be revealed and Jerome understood this very clearly.