Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar lived at a crucial point in human history. God's people had just been taken captive out of their land. Before that time God had a people with a kingdom and a temple. The kingdom was the sphere where God could rule on earth. Even though His people were frequently unfaithful to Him and thus needed His discipline, God still had had a place on earth, a land, that His people occupied for His interest. In that land had also been the temple for God's testimony. There God dwelt among His people. They served and worshiped Him. He received and spoke to them. When they were faithful to Him they enjoyed His blessing. When they strayed from Him His faithful dealing brought them back.

Now all that had been lost. The nation of Israel had been devastated. The people had been scattered among the nations. The city of Jerusalem including the temple had been looted, burned and reduced to rubble. The Gentile nation that had done all this to Israel was the most mighty nation on earth.

Both Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar began to think about the future. They wondered what the outcome of all these things would be. This story begins to show us some details of the future from Nebuchadnezzar's point of view. As the king of the greatest kingdom on earth he was concerned about the kingdoms that would come after his. He considered a powerful kingdom to be something glorious so God showed him the future kingdoms in terms of a great image. To him such an image was also something glorious.

One characteristic of the Babylonian kingdom that Nebuchadnezzar surely considered glorious was the fact that he could do whatever he wanted (Dan. 5:19). The kings of the Medes and Persians (the next great empire) could make whatever law they wanted but they could not change a law they had made (Dan. 6:8; Esth. 8:8). Kings of later empires were bound even more by law. Thus each empire was less glorious (from the point of view of the king) than the one before.

The final end of all the earthly empires comes when the Lord establishes His kingdom. He will destroy the kingdoms that exist when He comes again. All the glories of the kingdoms of the world, i.e. of human politics, mean nothing when Christ manifests the divine glory of His kingdom. He is supreme, far above all earthly kings. His kingdom and glory will fill the earth for eternity. So, even though it was written after God's people had been totally defeated, the book of Daniel shows us that God is in complete control.