The Stone That Became a Mountain

Understanding a Key Part of Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream

King Nebuchadnezzar decided to kill all the Babylonian wise men, because none of them could tell him what he dreamed or what his dream meant. An overreaction? For sure. Was he the sort of person who would follow through? Absolutely.

Daniel and his three friends prayed to the Lord, and the Lord revealed to Daniel what Nebuchadnezzar dreamed and what it meant.

When Daniel stood before the king, he described an image composed of various materials: head of gold, chest and arms of silver, middle and thighs of bronze, legs of iron and feet of iron/clay (Dan. 2:32–33). But “a stone was cut out by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces” (2:34). Furthermore, “the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth” (2:35).

According to Daniel’s interpretation of the dream, the materials on the image—from the head to the feet—represented four historical empires, starting with Babylon (Dan. 2:38–43). But the stone wasn’t connected to any part of the image. According to 2:34, it was “cut out by no human hand.” This phrase emphasizes a nonearthly origin. This was a stone of heaven.