DANIEL 2:40-45
[40] And the fourth kingdom shall be strong
as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things:
and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and
bruise.
[41] 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.
[42] 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.
[43] And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall
mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to
another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.
[44] And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a
kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be
left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these
kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.
[45] Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain
without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the
clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the
king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and
the interpretation thereof sure.
Finally, there will be a fourth
kingdom, strong as iron—for iron breaks and smashes everything—and as
iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others.
41 Just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and
partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom; yet it will have
some of the strength of iron in it, even as you saw iron mixed with
clay. 42 As the toes were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom
will be partly strong and partly brittle. 43 And just as you saw the
iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a mixture and will not
remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay.
Then we see in verse 44 "In the time
of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never
be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all
those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure
forever. 45 This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a
mountain, but not by human hands—a rock that broke the iron, the bronze,
the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces.