The grand vision of human history culminates in the absolute triumph of God's kingdom over all earthly empires. A stone, carved from a mountain without the use of human hands, crashes into the great statue, shattering its layers of iron, copper, clay, silver, and gold. The primary approach among commentators is that this stone represents the fifth and final kingdom—the Messianic era at the end of days. This ultimate kingdom will not conquer through military might or human effort. Instead, it will emerge entirely through God's power at the appointed time, bringing an end to all nations that refuse to accept His rule [מצודת דוד, יוסף אבן יחיא]. The choice of a simple stone as a symbol is deeply intentional. It subtly points to a Messiah descending from the lineage of Jesse, yet conceals the explicit identity of the Israelite nation. By speaking in metaphors, Daniel carefully avoids provoking the King's jealousy and rage over the idea that Israel will ultimately inherit global greatness [אלשיך, מלבי״ם].
A logical question arises regarding the destruction of the statue: how can the stone shatter all the different metals simultaneously, given that the ancient empires represented by gold and silver will have long since vanished by the time the final kingdom arises? One approach views this through a geopolitical lens at the end of days. The final era of human rule will consist of a fragile mixture of different nations and beliefs, living and trading together but never truly uniting. During the final global conflict of Gog and Magog, these nations will turn on one another. Because their modern alliances will still contain the surviving remnants of those ancient empires, they will all face destruction together [מלבי״ם, יוסף אבן יחיא]. Alternatively, this simultaneous shattering can be understood as the great Day of Judgment. In this view, all kings and nations from every generation of history will be resurrected to stand trial at the end of days. They will be judged together, ultimately facing destruction and scattering like dust in the wind [אלשיך].
Concluding his message, Daniel declares that the great God has revealed the distant future to the King, showing him what will transpire long after his own reign ends. He assures the monarch that the dream is true and its interpretation is entirely reliable. This final statement serves as an undeniable proof. Because Daniel was able to flawlessly recount the exact details of a dream the King had completely forgotten, the King can rest assured that the interpretation is not a product of false imagination. The prediction of the future carries the same absolute truth as the revelation of the forgotten past [אלשיך, ביאור שטיינזלץ, מצודת דוד, אבן עזרא].