Daniel continues his prophecy giving us the clue to the time element of when the image would be struck.

“In the days of these kings, shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed. And that kingdom shall not be left to other people but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms and it will stand forever” (Daniel 2:44). The kings referred to in this prophecy are the Monarchies of the old vestiges of the Roman Empire pictured by the legs and feet of Nebuchadnezzar’s image.

The year 1914 is a recognized turning point in human history and corresponds exactly to the fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy. If ever there was a year that marked the end of an era and the beginning of another, it was 1914. It marked the ending of an old world as World War One resulted in removing the Monarchies of Europe and began the disintegration of their colonies.

Thus the time element of when the image was struck had to be while the kings were still on the scene (1914), for the Kings of Europe virtually passed away as a result of the First World War.

This marks 1914 as the time element of the smiting of the image in Daniel’s prophecy: “In the days of these kings, shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom…it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms and it will stand forever.” The breaking down process of God’s Kingdom power began there in 1914, and will continue until all the kingdoms are consumed in Armageddon As we have seen in the other prophecies of the end times that we considered, the trouble pictured in Nebuchadnezzar’s  dream is followed immediately by God’s Kingdom. “The stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth, and it [God’s Kingdom] will stand forever” (Daniel 2:35 RSV).