In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. The Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the vessels of the house of God; and he brought them to the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, and he brought the vessels into the treasury of his god. Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, the chief of his officials, to bring in some of the sons of Israel, including some of the royal family and of the nobles, youths in whom was no defect, who were good-looking, showing intelligence in every branch of wisdom, endowed with understanding and discerning knowledge, and who had ability for serving in the king's court; and he ordered him to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans.
From II Kings 24:21, we learn that Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, was subjugated by Nebuchadnezzar and had been serving him. However, after three years, Jehoiakim rebelled. This launched Nebuchadnezzar's first campaign to come to Jerusalem and lay siege to it. After taking the city, Nebuchadnezzar decided to take captives of the brightest and best of the youth of the Jews and bring them to Babylon to serve him. Thus, in the sovereign plan of God, the stage was set for one of God's greatest saints, Daniel, to put an indelible mark on human history ... impacting the Babylonian, Persian and Medo-Persian empires. Daniel's life and writing would impact the Jewish people as well and, ultimately, every child of God ... all the way down to our present day. God is a great God. His ways are higher than the heavens and his purposes are beyond finding out ... mysterious ... and wonderful. You and I can trust him in our darkest hours. He rules over the affairs of men. He is in control. He takes care of his own. As you have it in Isaiah 55:8-9:
'For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,' declares the LORD. 'For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.'
And, again in Romans 8:28,
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."
I repeat, our God works his will in the affairs of nations and men and, especially, in the lives of his children. And, always for good and for his glory. As you have it in Ephesians 1:11,
..also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will...
Coming back to our text ... notice that Nebuchadnezzar took the golden vessels from God's house, the temple at Jerusalem, and transported them to the house of his idol in Babylon. This seemingly insignificant act, set the stage for the son of Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, to one day, stupidly, use them to eat and drink from at a drunken orgy he would throw. That would result in the famous "handwriting on the wall" episode and the fall of the Babylonian Empire that very night ... transferring the kingdom into the hands of Darius the Mede. The name, Darius was probably a title and probably refers to Cyrus's son, Cambyses. We will read more about him when we get to chapter five. But again, the lesson to be grasped here is that our God reigns over the affairs of nations and men ... especially the lives of his people. As you have it in Psalm 37:23...
The steps of a good man are ordered of the Lord: and he delights in his way.
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1:5-7
Of all the captives taken to Babylon, these four young Hebrew men were the crème de la crème. And, Nebuchadnezzar ordered that they were to eat and drink the best of the best ... even the food and drink from his own table. They were being groomed to be a part of the elite of Babylon, you see ... which explains the intense jealousy of the Chaldeans that we will read about a bit later on. Also, accordingly, these four young men were assigned new names. How difficult that must have been for these devout young Hebrews. Each of their Hebrew names, had a form of the name of the true and living God in them. But, from this time on, their new Chaldean names would contain a form of the name of one of the dumb idols of Babylon (4:8).
Let's step aside here for a moment. When God delivered the Jews from captivity in Egypt, he brought them out ... just a bunch of old idol worshippers. And, when Moses went up on Mount Sinai to receive the Law, you will remember that the people promptly built themselves an idol in the form of a golden calf. The Jewish people would never shake that evil and stupid tendency of idol worship until the days of their final captivity in Babylon. Until that time, idol worship dogged them throughout their history. It was idol worship that led to the annihilation and captivity of the northern kingdom of Israel, by the Assyrians in 722 BC. And, it was idol worship that led to the subsequent annihilation of the southern kingdom of Judah, by the Babylonians in 586. Now, believe you me, all the Jews who survived those great calamities had really gotten their noses rubbed in their sins of idolatry! After the days of this Babylonian captivity, the Lord's command ... Thou shalt have no other gods before me ... took on new meaning for his chosen people. As a result, following their Babylonian captivity, from that day to this, the Jewish people have never again gotten themselves entangled in idol worship. They had had the cure!
Sometimes the cure, for a besetting sin in one's life, is akin to what these Jews experienced. Our God just keeps rubbing our noses in it until we become so sick of it that, ever after, we don't want to have anything more to do with it. However, that's learning the hard way, brother ... is it not? Nevertheless, whatever works, aye? God often uses the terrible consequences of sin to bring about its cure in the lives of his people. In the book of Genesis, the experiences of Jacob and his tendency to always be scheming, conniving and deceiving, comes to mind in this regard.
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1:8-16
Daniel greatly valued and carefully kept the covenant his God had made with the Hebrew people in the days of Moses. To him and his friends, God's Law was paramount. They were horrified at the thought of disobeying any part of the Law of their God ... and, to eat of the king's food, meant they would have to do just that. Nebuchadnezzar's table, contained things that were forbidden to the Jews, in God's Law, So, if they ate them, they would be defiled and cut off from their God. To Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah ... that was unthinkable.
These young Hebrews were totally committed to their God. The level of that commitment is demonstrated in the story of the Fiery Furnace in chapter 3. So, Daniel and his three friends, set about to find a way not to depart from the dietary requirements of their God ... as set down in his Word. (If you would like to read up on these requirements, they can be found in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14.) The Babylonians were under no such laws and, therefore, had no compunction about anything they might eat. They indulged in partaking of many foods that had been forbidden to the people of God. So, quickly, Daniel and his fellows, came up with a plan. Through Daniel, they requested the overseer that they be allowed to eat only vegetables for ten days. Their request frightened Nebuchadnezzar's officer, however, because the food he was supposed to give to these young men had been ordered by the king himself ... food and drink from the king's own table. To disobey, he told Daniel, would be to forfeit my head! However, God's sovereign hand intervened. Our text says, God granted Daniel favor with the man and the overseer went ahead and allowed Daniel's plan to be tried. Does that surprise you? It does me. Amazing. Under the hand of Almighty God, this high officer of the Babylonian court, made a decision contrary to the edict of his king which ... if found out, or if it backfired, would have cost him his own life. God can certainly turn a mind, can he not? Ass you have it in Proverbs 16:7,
When a man’s ways please the LORD, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.
And again, in Romans 8:31b,
If God be for us, who can be against?
And, again, in Proverbs 56:9,
He keeps the paths of judgment and preserves the way of his saints.
So, the overseer agreed to the food and test period, suggested by Daniel and his friends, commenced and they were allowed to eat only vegetables for ten days. And, when the period had expired, Daniel and his friend were found ... not only to be the picture of health ... but even better so than all the other captives, who had ignored the Law of their God and had been eating the delicacies from the king's table. God is good. He takes care of his own, especially those who go out on a limb for him.
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As for these four youths, God gave them knowledge and intelligence in every branch of literature and wisdom; Daniel even understood all kinds of visions and dreams. Then at the end of the days which the king had specified for presenting them, the commander of the officials presented them before Nebuchadnezzar. The king talked with them, and out of them all not one was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king's personal service. As for every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king consulted them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and conjurers who were in all his realm. And Daniel continued until the first year of Cyrus the king.
Wow. You know, when God gives someone understanding, knowledge and wisdom ... it's a wonder to behold. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Colossians:
...we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding... Colossians 1:9b
Am I reading that right? Is that saying that the capacity of a believer to be filled with the knowledge of God's will ... getting all spiritual wisdom and understanding is predicated on whether or not God decides to give it? Exactly. Therefore, if we are to really get to know God ... it must become a matter of prayer, individually as well as by others on our behalf? Right. Has anyone ever prayed like that for you, dear saint? I hope so ... even as I hope so for myself, as well. If God grants this, it is very important to give him all the glory ... because, what do any of us have that we have not received from him? Real knowledge, real understanding and real wisdom always come from the wonderful hand of our great and loving God ... via his Spirit and his Word ... and as a result of someone asking for it.
Your
commandments make me wiser than my enemies,
For they are ever mine.
I have more insight than all my teachers,
For Your testimonies are my meditation.
I understand more than the aged,
Because I have observed Your precepts.
Psalm 119:98-100
Because Daniel and his friends put God first, he imparted to them great understanding, knowledge and wisdom in that far off and unfamiliar land of their captivity. In fact, they probably received far more from the hand of their God in Babylon than they might have ... had they been left comfortably back home. God gave them a supernatural grasp of the Chaldean language, culture and knowledge that exceeded by a factor of ten ... the knowledge of the native "Intelligencia" of Nebuchadnezzar's court. Consequently, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah knew more and were far wiser than all the other wise men that served king Nebuchadnezzar. And, he promoted them accordingly. All praise be to God from whom all blessings flow.
This brings to mind a thought. We, like Daniel and his friends, are living in a distant and foreign land ... down here on Earth. We are far from our home in Heaven. We reside, down here, in a dark pagan kingdom that is dominated by a dark king, the Prince of Darkness. However, our Lord has promised to give us all that we need for our sojourn here if, like Daniel and his friends, we covenant in our hearts to walk closely with him (John 15).
But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19
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Now, allow me to lay a bit of historical groundwork before we begin our study of this next passage. It is needed so we can orient our thinking in regard to God's broad plan in human history. An incredible shift took place in Daniel's time ... a major shift in God's sovereign plan for his people and for our world. I personally believe that, time-wise, it took place right in the midst of Daniel's writing of the passage of which we are about to study ... specifically ... when he was penning verse four.
When God chose the Jewish people for his own, he entered into a covenant with them. He would be their God and they would be his people. Part of the agreement, from his side, was that he would take up his dwelling place among them. So, when the covenant was in place, and Moses and the people of Israel had finished building the tabernacle in the wilderness, God Himself came down to Earth and took up his dwelling place in the midst of his people. At that exact point in time, a Theocracy existed on the earth and God Himself dwelt at a specific location here. His dwelling place was within the Holy of Holies, the inner sanctum of the Tabernacle of Moses. When it moved ... God moved. Later, when Solomon finished building a permanent house for God, the Temple at Jerusalem, we read that God's presence moved from its temporary residence inside Moses' portable Tabernacle to his permanent dwelling place within the Holy of Holies (naos) inside of Solomon's Temple. Now, everyone knows that the true and living God cannot be confined to any one place. Solomon himself acknowledged that fact in his prayer at the dedication of the Temple.
But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You, how much less this house which I have built! ... that Your eyes may be open toward this house night and day, toward the place of which You have said, 'My name shall be there,' to listen to the prayer which Your servant shall pray toward this place. I Kings 8:27,29
Nevertheless, in a very mysterious way that you and I cannot fully understand (similar to trying to explain the Trinity), God did, in fact, take up his dwelling place in Solomon's Temple ... just as he had previously done in Moses' Tabernacle. And, he continued dwelling within Solomon's Temple, in the midst of his chosen people, for several hundred years. As you have it in Exodus and I Chronicles:
Now when Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the house. The priests could not enter into the house of the LORD because the glory of the LORD filled the LORD'S house. I Chronicles 7:1-2 (KJV)
I say all of this because of that amazing reality ... The Earthly Theocracy ... that unprecedented phenomena of the living God Himself literally dwelling on earth in the midst of his people, Israel ... came to an end during the days of Daniel and Ezekiel's captivity in Babylon. And, the prophet Ezekiel witnessed the Lord's departure from the earth to return to Heaven, having been transported by God's Spirit back to the destroyed Temple at Jerusalem to witness it. This was a remarkable experience for Ezekiel and its significance cannot be over emphasized. Let's look at it together ... in sequence from the book of Ezekiel.
Then the glory of the LORD went up from the cherub to the threshold of the temple, and the temple was filled with the cloud and the court was filled with the brightness of the glory of the LORD. Moreover, the sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard as far as the outer court, like the voice of God Almighty when He speaks. Ezekiel 10:4-5
The glory of the LORD went up from the midst of the city and stood over the mountain which is east of the city. Ezekiel 11:23
What Ezekiel observed was the actual departure of the God of Glory from his dwelling place at the then destroyed Temple at Jerusalem. Almost all the Jews were gone from the land and scattered. Jerusalem was deserted. The northern kingdom of Israel had been given into the hands of the Assyrians and, unto this day are referred to as the ten lost tribes of Israel. The southern kingdom of Judah had followed in the footsteps of its northern brother and had been given into the hands of the Babylonians. The city of Jerusalem ... had been literally plowed by Nebuchadnezzar, the Temple destroyed, and, where the Holy of Holies had once stood, apparently, someone had erected a blasphemous idol! The God of Israel, however, was still right there at his dwelling place ... midst the ruins of the Holy of Holies ... which had now become the seat of the idol of jealousy. What an utterly tragic, desolate and forlorn picture greeted the eyes of Ezekiel that day.
As Ezekiel looked on, suddenly he saw the Glory of the Lord lift from its dwelling place among the ruins ... accompanied by the thunderous sound of Cherubim wings ... like the voice of Almighty God when He speaks. Cherubim, by the way, are creatures that were specifically created for the protection and moving of the throne of God. You can find a discussion of them in my commentary on Revelation in chapter one at http://biblebookofrevelation.com/ch1.htm.
As Ezekiel continued to watch, the Glory of the Lord, slowly, began to depart ... reluctantly, it went up and and, then, away from the site of the Holy of Holies and, then, it moved off to the entrance of the east gate of the LORD'S house. This is significant because it will be the exact path, in reverse, that Jesus will one day take when he returns there. As Ezekiel continued to watch, it then lifted up and slowly moved off over the destroyed city ... then crossed over the Kidron Valley, and moved up to hover above the Mount of Olives. Ezekiel was then whisked away back to Babylon and the Glory of the Lord was last seen ... still hovering above the Mount of Olives. It was a scene for weeping. The word, Ichabod, comes to mind, from I Samuel 4:21. It means, the glory of the Lord has departed and, indeed, God had done just that. The fact that the Lord was last seen hovering over the Mount of Olives was prophetically pregnant with meaning ... for it would be from that very place, that one day the Lord of Glory, Israel's Messiah, would leave, once again, from that exact spot to ascend back into Heaven, having been crucified and utterly rejected by Israel. As you have it in Acts 1:9-12a,
What I'm trying to get at here is very important. The time period that Jesus called, the times of the gentiles, in Luke 21:24, began on Earth when the Lord of Glory departed from Jerusalem during Ezekiel and Daniel's day. Then, the first great gentile nation, Babylon, assumed center stage in world history ... whereas, before, Israel and the presence of their God had been center stage. So, from that day to this, gentile kingdoms have come and gone ... dominating the earth. We are still living today in that time period. It is an era, in the economy of God, that is still running its course and will continue to do so until the Lord of Glory returns again to our world. When that occurs, at the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, Christ himself will return to the exact spot from which he left the Mount of Olives two times before ... once in Ezekiel and Daniel's day ... and once again, after his resurrection in Peter and Paul's day. He is scheduled to set his feet there on the Mount of Olives, once again. Then, he will cross over the Kidron Valley and enter back through the eastern gate of Jerusalem ... then, on to the east gate of his Temple ... and then suddenly come to his temple (Malachi 3:1).
The moment Christ Jesus sets foot on the Mount of Olives, the times of the gentiles will have come to an end and, from that day forward, there will once again be a Theocracy here, on Earth ... and, the long awaited Kingdom of our God and His Christ will reign supreme. It will be a Theocracy and Kingdom that will cover the entire world and Christ will rule and reign here for a thousand years (Revelation 20). As you have it in Zechariah 14:3-4, 8-9,
Then the LORD will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle. In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley, so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south.
And in that day living waters will flow out of Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and the other half toward the western sea; it will be in summer as well as in winter. And the LORD will be king over all the earth; in that day the LORD will be the only one, and His name the only one...
To sum up, I believe that, just as Daniel was writing this very passage we are about to look at ... probably at the exact moment when he began to write in Aramaic, rather than Hebrew, at verse four ... the Glory of the Lord departed back to Heaven from Jerusalem and the times of the gentiles began on Earth. Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylon then came to full bloom, and Israel and Judah no longer existed ... and the Glory of the Lord was gone from Jerusalem ... and, the times of the gentiles had begun. Now, let's look at our passage.
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2:1-12
Now in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; and his spirit was troubled and his sleep left him. Then the king gave orders to call in the magicians, the conjurers, the sorcerers and the Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king. The king said to them, 'I had a dream and my spirit is anxious to understand the dream.' Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic: 'O king, live forever! Tell the dream to your servants, and we will declare the interpretation.' The king replied to the Chaldeans, 'The command from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you will be torn limb from limb and your houses will be made a rubbish heap. But if you declare the dream and its interpretation, you will receive from me gifts and a reward and great honor; therefore declare to me the dream and its interpretation.' They answered a second time and said, "Let the king tell the dream to his servants, and we will declare the interpretation.' The king replied, 'I know for certain that you are bargaining for time, inasmuch as you have seen that the command from me is firm, that if you do not make the dream known to me, there is only one decree for you for you have agreed together to speak lying and corrupt words before me until the situation is changed; therefore tell me the dream, that I may know that you can declare to me its interpretation.' The Chaldeans answered the king and said, 'There is not a man on earth who could declare the matter for the king, inasmuch as no great king or ruler has ever asked anything like this of any magician, conjurer or Chaldean. Moreover, the thing which the king demands is difficult, and there is no one else who could declare it to the king except gods, whose dwelling place is not with mortal flesh.' Because of this the king became indignant and very furious and gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.
Daniel, chapter 2, is one of the great prophetic chapters of the Bible. The scepter of David had been removed and placed into Gentile hands. It will not be taken back again until "nail pierced" hands take it back. Accordingly, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, received a dream from God. It was not your "run of the mill" dream. He must have awakened in a sweat. It troubled him so much that he couldn't go back to sleep. The dream was of such a nature that Nebuchadnezzar knew immediately that it was of supernatural origin. Therefore, anxious to understand the dream, he quickly summoned anyone and everyone in his realm who claimed to have metaphysical powers, wisdom or knowledge ... to come before him. Four groups responded to the call ... the magicians, conjurers, the sorcerers and the Chaldeans.
[A side note here: the Chaldeans were a people that had conquered and occupied the land of Babylon, long before it was called Babylon. Technically, they were not Babylonians. Hence they were a distinct group within Babylonian society and were fiercely jealous of their origins and positions in the kingdom.]
Now, Nebuchadnezzar was wise in not telling his dream to these fellows that showed up. Rather, he insisted that they tell him both his dream and its interpretation. He didn't want to be "bamboozled," you see. He knew his dream was of such import that he dare not risk putting it into the hands of "fly by night" charlatans. The magicians, conjurers, sorcerers and Chaldeans were equivalent to our modern day astrologers, mediums, palm readers, psychics and so on, So, it was wise of Nebuchadnezzar to put them to the test before he received any interpretations from them concerning his dream.
Let's step aside here a moment. You know, millions of dollars are spent around the world today on these types of hocus pocums. I recall one Internet site that, for $36, offered to tell people about their "past lives". What utter balderdash. Nebuchadnezzar's principle of "you tell me my dream first ... then I'll listen to what you have to say" ... was a great, and not unreasonable, test and would be a good principle for the gullible to follow today. Why not test those charlatans? They claim to be "in touch" with the supernatural. Make them prove it. Nebuchadnezzar did. He called their hand on it. He wanted to know the truth. He didn't want a bunch of malarkey! His so called "wise men" objected vociferously. They said ... Listen, dear king, you're being unreasonable ... no great king or ruler has ever asked such a thing before and there is not a man on earth who could declare your dream without hearing it first! Only the gods could do what you are asking. That statement was probably the closest to the truth that any of these fellows had ever come, before. Their argument, however, fell on deaf ears and, with great fury, Nebuchadnezzar simply ordered them all to be killed!
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2:13-16
Even though they were still in training, Daniel and his friends found themselves lumped in with all the other wise men of Babylon ... that the king's decree had scheduled for execution. Hence, Arioch, the king's commander, arrived on their doorstep to do his job and kill them. Daniel, however, managed to acquire an immediate audience with Nebuchadnezzar. I admire Daniel's coolness and confidence. Basically, he simply said to Nebuchadnezzar, Give me a little time and I'll tell you your dream and its interpretation. Was he just buying time? I think not. Daniel knew that all he and his friends needed to do was simply tell their need to their God and he would handle the rest. It's a wonderful thing to observe a believer who operates on this level, by the way ... a child of God who is mature enough to lay everything at the feet of their Lord and then leave it there. It is a demonstration of real faith, relationship and maturity at work in shoe-leather. Beloved, learn to put the ball in God's court and leave it there. Then, let whatever comes, come. As we have it in I Peter 5:7:
Casting all your care on him for he cares for you
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2:17-23
'Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever,
For wisdom and power belong to Him.
It is He who changes the times and the epochs;
He removes kings and establishes kings;
He gives wisdom to wise men
And knowledge to men of understanding.
It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things;
He knows what is in the darkness,
And the light dwells with Him.
To You, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise,
For You have given me wisdom and power;
Even now You have made known to me what we requested of You,
For
You have made known to us the king's matter.'
This is one of the great prayers of the Bible. It truly needs to be read and re-read and cries out to be meditated upon. As I was in the midst of writing this chapter, Daniel's inspired prayer really spoke to me. It's a prayer of the Spirit, you see. It rings like a great golden bell of truth. Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever. It is so easy for us, children of the living God, to think that we know something ... that we have "discovered" something ... that we can teach something ... perhaps that we can even write something of truth and importance ... that we have something to offer that came from us ... our ability to understand ... our study ... our training ... our insight ... but, beloved, may I say to you, if you or I know anything, understand anything or have any degree of knowledge or wisdom whatsoever, it all came from God. It has all been given to us, beloved. John 16:13 says,
But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.
As it was with Daniel, so it is with us as well. So, like him, let us always be quick to say, Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever. Daniel gave God all the glory and so should you and I.
Another thing about Daniel's prayer here, is ... It is He who changes the times and the epochs. Such as? Well, one thing that comes to mind is how God has, from time to time, changed the way that he deals with men. I call the result of those changes dispensations. You might call them something else. Dispensation is a good Bible word, however. As you have it in Ephesians 1:10,
That in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him...
In the history of God's dealings with men, he has changed his methodology from time to time, as he willed. And, these changes resulted in a period of time, epoch, or era, when the dealings of God with men was markedly different from what it was before or would be after. For example, almost everyone agrees that God dealt with men under the Law of Moses in the Old Testament (instituted at Mount Sinai), very differently than he deals with men in this present age of the New Testament ... the dispensation of grace (instituted at the Cross of Christ). So, there are at least two great dispensations in the Bible ... the dispensation of the Law (Old Testament) and the dispensation of Grace (New Testament). I believe that it is these changes along with others that the Spirit had in mind in Daniel's prayer, when he said ... It is He who changes the times and the epochs.
One last thought, before we move on. It is clear that Daniel and his friends recognized the power of corporate prayer. They took their problems before God, together. Jesus said in Matthew 18:19,
Again I say unto you that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in Heaven.
It was the corporate prayers of his people, that Christ chose to answer in the sending of his Holy Spirit in Acts 2. And, it was corporate prayer that God used to spring Peter from prison in Acts 12. Someone has said ... A church will never amount to a hill of beans for the Kingdom of God unless it is willing to get on its knees together before God. When the people of God get serious ... and come before God together, things happen. Daniel and his friends brought their problems to ... the God of Heaven ... together. And, God answered. This name, here, the God of Heaven, is found almost exclusively in the Bible captivity books of Ezra, Ezekiel, Nehemiah and Daniel. These were books written after the God of Glory had departed from the Temple and was no longer on earth, you see.
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2:24-35
Therefore, Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon; he went and spoke to him as follows: 'Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon! Take me into the king's presence, and I will declare the interpretation to the king.' Then Arioch hurriedly brought Daniel into the king's presence and spoke to him as follows: 'I have found a man among the exiles from Judah who can make the interpretation known to the king!' The king said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, 'Are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen and its interpretation?' Daniel answered before the king and said, 'As for the mystery about which the king has inquired, neither wise men, conjurers, magicians nor diviners are able to declare it to the king. However, there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will take place in the latter days. This was your dream and the visions in your mind while on your bed. As for you, O king, while on your bed your thoughts turned to what would take place in the future; and He who reveals mysteries has made known to you what will take place. But as for me, this mystery has not been revealed to me for any wisdom residing in me more than in any other living man, but for the purpose of making the interpretation known to the king, and that you may understand the thoughts of your mind.
This must have all occurred quite rapidly because, when Daniel went to Arioch, the man had not yet begun to carry out his orders to execute all the wise men of Babylon. He told Arioch that he knew the interpretation of the king's dream. So, immediately, Arioch ushered him in before the king. Are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen and its interpretation, Nebuchadnezzar asked. His tone was, no doubt, skeptical. I don't blame him, do you? He had never known anything but the so-called wisdom of his magicians and their ilk, and he was so fed up with it that he had ordered them all executed.
...the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God for it is written, 'He is the one who catches the wise in their craftiness'
And again, in I Corinthians 1:20, 25, 27-28,
Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?
Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men...
...but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong,
and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are...
May I chase a rabbit with you here for a moment? A few days ago, the supposed great evolutionary "missing link" was unveiled in New York City. Having uncovered a well preserved fossil of a monkey that, supposedly existed forty-seven million years ago (called Ida), the fossil was put on display at the Museum of Natural History in New York City (May 19, 2009). They said it had been preserved in Germany's Messel Pit and measured approximately 3 feet in length and that the Norwegian paleontologist, Dr. Jorn Horum, of the University of Oslo, had led a team that had been secretly studying it for the past two years. Over the week end, television spots trumpeted again and again that this was "the missing link" between apes and humans, which scientists had so long been looking for and that it would completely "change history." My what wisdom (sic)! Makes one wonder ... if the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God ... what must the foolishness of man be?
All during his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had been subjected to a court full of fools and probably, more often than not, had been served up a crock full of their baloney! But now a young man stood before him the like of which he had never seen or heard before ... a young, truthful and humble man of God. What an impression Daniel's straight-forward words and wisdom must have made. Surely they must have made Nebuchadnezzar catch his breath. Daniel had his facts straight, his own standing before God straight and his spiritual head screwed on right. There is a God in Heaven who reveals mysteries, he replied to Nebuchadnezzar. He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will take place in the latter days. It was not given to me because I am wiser than any other man. God gave it to me because he wants you to know what will take place in the future.
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2:31-36
This is one of the most remarkable prophetic dreams God has ever given to men. What you saw in your dream, Daniel said, was a single great statue. It was striking in splendor and awesome in appearance. Its:
1. ... head ... was made of fine gold
2. ... breast and arms were of silver
3. ... belly and its thighs were of bronze
4. ... legs were of iron
5. ... and, its feet were partly of iron and partly of clay.
Then, as you watched, a stone was cut out without hands and it struck the statue on its feet, instantly smashing them and crushing the entire statue to powder. Its residue was, like chaff from the summer threshing floor, and the wind blew them away until there was not a trace of them left anywhere on the face of the earth. But the stone that struck the statue grew into a great mountain and filled the whole earth. This was your dream, king Nebuchadnezzar. And now, I will tell you the meaning of it.
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2:37-45
The awesome statue, Nebuchadnezzar saw in his dream, was a picture of what Jesus would later call ... the times of the Gentiles. Here are his words and another scripture that refers to this period of time as well. Jesus said,
And they (the Jews) shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. Luke 21:24
The Apostle Paul said,
...that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:
'The Deliverer will come out of Zion,
And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob...' Romans 11:25b-26a
(NKJV)
It is apparent, from Nebuchadnezzar's dream, and its subsequent precise fulfillments, that the God of the Bible is in firm control of Earth's history and he is moving it ... inexorably ... toward the Day of Jesus Christ, as sure as the waters in a river ultimately flow to the sea. It was this time period ... called the times of the gentiles ... that was revealed in Nebuchadnezzar's dream and has been running its course from Nebuchadnezzar's day, right on through history to our day. And, it will continue until Christ himself arrives to end it, when he himself takes over and reigns supreme over all the earth. This dream was given to king Nebuchadnezzar because he was the first in line to hold Gentile dominance over Jerusalem, where God's Temple and Theocracy had been centered. Nebuchadnezzar was the first Gentile king to "kick off" the times of the Gentiles. After him, the dream predicted, there would follow three more great empires (each of which would dominate Jerusalem). When we come to chapter 7, we will learn that in the distant future, the last of these four empires will disintegrate into a conglomeration of ten kings. And, during the days of those ten kings, God will set up a Kingdom on Earth that will eliminate Gentile dominance over the holy city ... once and for all.
So, Nebuchadnezzar's dream was a dream about man's day on the earth. It is the day when Gentiles and Gentile kingdoms dominate the holy city of Jerusalem and its Temple Mount and rule over men. It is the day in which you and I are now living ... way down here, some 2600 plus years after Nebuchadnezzar's dream was given. All the great empires of his dream have come and gone. All, that is, but the 10 king confederation that is prophesied to arise out of the remnants of the fourth kingdom (Daniel 7). During the the days of those 10 kings, man's day on earth will expire. We know, from other scriptures, this will come about at the end of the Great Tribulation at the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (Revelation 19). He is the stone ... cut out without hands in Nebuchadnezzar's dream that will put an end to the times of the gentiles. God's day and the Kingdom of his Son will come and Christ Jesus will reign supreme over the whole Earth from God's Temple at Jerusalem ... and God's Theocracy will have been restored. This, fast approaching, Day of Christ cannot be stopped. We have the Word of God on it.
Now, let's break down Nebuchadnezzar's dream a bit more precisely. In retrospect, we can easily identify the kingdoms in Nebuchadnezzar's dream. The head of gold on the statue represented the Babylonian Empire. It began in 624 BC. The empire that followed, represented by the breast and arms of silver on the statue, was the Medo-Persian Empire, beginning in 538 BC. It was followed by the Grecian Empire, represented by the belly and thighs of bronze. It began in 330 BC. The fourth and final empire, represented by the legs of iron and feet of iron mixed with clay, was the Roman Empire, beginning around 160 BC. The feet and toes of iron mixed with clay represent another yet future manifestation of the Roman Empire ... consisting of a confederation of 10 kings. To date, they have not yet risen. The fact that iron was a part of their make up (in the statue) indicates they will be remnants of the old Roman Empire.
There are actually two prophetic records in Daniel of these four Empires, the one here in chapter 2, then later, we find them again in chapter 7. Why two records? Well, chapter 2, gives them to us from the Gentile perspective. Chapter 7, gives them to us from the Jewish perspective. It also tells us that Antichrist will play a key role, in conjunction with the final 10 king confederation, in the last days.
Now, something else to notice here, is that there are probably things to be learned in the nature of the metals that represent them. For example, the metals increase in strength. This probably point to the fact that each of the empires were more formidable, militarily. On the other hand, each of the metals were progressively less precious. This, perhaps, speaks of their moral and spiritual deterioration.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The parts of the statue, and symbols of each empire, are as follows:
EMPIRE CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 7 CHAPTER 8
Babylon HEAD of gold LION
Medo-Persia BREAST AND ARMS of silver BEAR RAM (8:20)
Greece WAIST AND THIGHS of brass LEOPARD HE-GOAT (8:21)
Rome LEGS of iron, FEET (toes inferred) of iron mixed with clay BEAST with 10 horns
Everlasting Kingdom STONE cut out without hands (Christ) THE SON OF MAN (7:13-14)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Here are a few specifics about the four Empires, as symbolized in Nebuchadnezzar's dream:
BABYLON ... Of the four great empires and their rulers, Nebuchadnezzar did the best job. His capital city of Babylon, with its immense walls, its Tower of Belus. Its hanging gardens were noted as one of the seven wonders of the world. The prophet Isaiah called it the golden city and the glory of the kingdoms. Jeremiah said it was the praise of the whole earth. Nebuchadnezzar didn't realize where it had all come from, however, until God made him eat grass like an ox (Daniel 4).
MEDO-PERSIA ... The greatest leader of this empire was Cyrus, who conquered Babylon in 538 B.C. He reigned supreme from India to Ethiopia over 127 provinces. Ezra 1:2, records his word as follows:
Thus saith Cyrus, king of Persia, 'The Lord God of Heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth.'
GREECE ... This great civilization dominated the known world, by means of its great conqueror, Alexander the Great. He overthrew the Persian king, Darius Codomannus, in 333 BC. He too was made to realize that God had a firm hand on human history. When he and his armies approached Jerusalem, they were met by Jaddua, the High Priest, dressed in his pontifical robe and accompanied by a long procession of priests in white. Then, Jaddua showed Alexander the Great the book of Daniel and read to him the prophecies concerning him in chapter 2, his depiction as a Leopard in chapter 7, and his portrayal as the He Goat of chapter 8. Alexander was so impressed that he turned his armies around and spared Jerusalem. Later, it is said that he wept when there was no one left to conquer.
ROME ... This great, long-lived Empire, was coming to full bloom during the days when Jesus walked upon the earth. It had been in existence for nearly 200 years, at that time, but came into real power when Julius Caesar was appointed as perpetual dictator in 42 BC. One of the best known Latin phrases refer to it ... Imperium Romanum. This empire persisted for hundreds of years ... all the way up to the time of Theodosius in AD 395. After that, it was divided into two segments, the Western Roman Empire, which endured on until its collapse in AD 476, and the Eastern Empire (or Byzantine Empire) which endured all the way up to AD 1453. It has been noted that all of the other three empires were conquered from without, but Rome fell apart from within.
The Bible predicts that Rome will once again take center stage in the last days, as prophesied in Nebuchadnezzar's dream. In a very real way, she still lives in the nations of Europe today. In Italy, Spain, France, Germany, England and others, her laws, her Latin rooted languages and her war-like spirit lives on. Dr. J. Vernon McGee observes that many have tried to put her back together again. The Roman Catholic Church tried. Charlemagne, Napoleon, Mussolini and many German emperors, including Hitler, tried to do it ... but they all failed. It won't be accomplished until Antichrist arises. He will do it in the last days ... when he replaces 3 of the 10 king confederation. We will read about that when we come to chapter 7.
You and I live in exciting times. I believe we are very close to the closing days of the Gentiles, symbolized by the feet of the statue in Nebuchadnezzar's dream. The iron in those feet speak of the fact that Rome lives on. The clay speaks of the masses of peoples who are now mixed into her.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Here are a few dates that may be helpful to put into perspective the broad historical scope of Nebuchadnezzar's dream:
624 B.C. The rise of Babylonian Empire
606 B.C. Daniel taken to Babylon
587 B.C. The final fall of Jerusalem to Nebuchadnezzar
538 B.C. The rise of the Medo-Persian Empire
445 B.C. Artexerxes' edict to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem
338 B.C. The rise of the Grecian Empire
168 B.C. The times of the Maccabees
160 B.C.+ - The rise of the Roman Empire
32 A.D. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ
32 to Present The Church Age
AD 2011 + The Rapture of the Church (I Thessalonians 4:16-17) which will kick off a 7 year Tribulation Period on Earth (Matt. 24, 25; Rev. 6-18).
7 years later: The Second Coming of Jesus Christ (the stone of Daniel 2 and the Son of man of Daniel 7) to destroy Gentile reign and to set up his long awaited and everlasting Kingdom.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Here are a few final thoughts about the stone aspect of Nebuchadnezzar's dream. Notice that the stone struck the image and smashed it to pieces. Man's day will come to a sudden, climactic, catastrophic and violent end by means of the direct intervention of the Judge of the whole earth ... the Lord Jesus Christ himself. That is a day which is fast approaching ... the day when Christ will, once and for all, return to Earth and put down man's rebellion against God. Here are a few scriptures that speak to this:
Then the LORD will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle. In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley, so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south. Zechariah 14:3-4
Jesus said to them, 'Did you never read in the Scriptures,
"The
stone which the builders rejected,
this
became the chief corner stone;
this
came about from the Lord,
and
it is marvelous in our eyes"?
And he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.' Matthew 21:42,44
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2:46-49
Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face and did homage to Daniel, and gave orders to present to him an offering and fragrant incense. The king answered Daniel and said, 'Surely your God is a God of gods and a Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, since you have been able to reveal this mystery.' Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many great gifts, and he made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon. And Daniel made request of the king, and he appointed )Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego over the administration of the province of Babylon, while Daniel was at the king's court."
It was very good that Nebuchadnezzar gave God the glory for revealing his dream to him. However, he had much more to learn about Daniel's God before it was all over. As for Daniel, from this point on he would be promoted to hold highest office in the administration of Nebuchadnezzar. Then, under the kings that would follow, he would hold high office under them as well. When God exalts a man or woman, they are exalted indeed.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.