Nebuchadnezzar's Dream

RV164-01

The Antichrist

Ten Horns

Seven Heads

Blasphemy

The Book of Daniel

Biblical Prophecy Fulfilled

The problem with Daniel is that it was written in the sixth century B.C., and yet it is telling about things that take place hundreds of years in the future, and are fulfilled in precise details right down to the time of the appearance of Jesus Christ. The liberal world, to this day, says that the prophet Daniel, who lived in the sixth century B.C., did not write this book, and that it was written by somebody who lived in the second century B.C., and could look back and see the progression of world empires, and so could describe them with such accuracy in detail.

Well, that argument has pretty well been laid to rest. The evidences from within the Bible and from outside records clearly demonstrate that Daniel lived in the sixth century B.C., and that that is the Daniel that wrote the book of Daniel that bears his name. So, they have no explanation for how anybody could predict future progression of gentile world authorities without some kind of supernatural insight. Well, the answer is, of course, that you couldn't. Daniel is a great evidence of the truthfulness of Scripture confirmed by its prophetic elements. So, the book of Daniel has to be understood, in some respects, for us to understand the book of the Revelation. The two books go together.

Daniel, at the age of 16, was taken from Jerusalem to Babylon as a captive by the conquering Babylonian monarch Nebuchadnezzar in the year 606 B.C, B.C. This conquest of the Jewish nation by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon marked the beginning of what the Bible calls "the times of the gentiles" in Luke 21:24. "The times of the gentiles" ends at the Second Coming of Christ. This phrase means that the gentiles are in charge of God's earth instead of the Jewish people, which were designed to be the ruling nation of the world. "The times of the gentiles" refers to that era when the Jews are dispersed; they are out of the land; they are under the judgment of God; and, gentile powers are running the world.

We are told that Daniel and his three close friends were selected for government service in Babylon because that they were handsome; smart; possessed good judgment; and, were well-informed. You will find this in Daniel 1:4. Ashpenaz was the chief official who immediately gave Daniel and his three friends pagan names so as to honor the pagan gods of Babylon, and to remove all reference to the true God. Pagan governments (the governments of this world, which are dominated by Satan) always want to remove every trace of the stamp of the true God, or any relationship of the true God, from among the citizens and within the government. So, it is really interesting to realize that along comes Ashpenaz is in charge of these captives, and he is to train them for three years in the special school for government service in Babylon, and the first thing he does is decide to change their name.

Babylonian Names

So, here is a very clear transposition from Daniel (respecting the Creator God) to Belteshazzar (respecting the chief god Marduk, who was considered among the Babylonians as the creator god). Ashpenaz did the same thing to the three friends. One of the friend's names who was selected for government service was Hananiah ("Hananeia"). Here the "EIA" referring to the name of "YAHWEH." "Hananiah" means "YAHWEH has been gracious." This was changed to "Shadrach." "Shadrach" means "command of Aku." Aku was the moon God of the Babylonians. So, his name went from the name honoring "YAHWEH" to a name honoring the moon god.

His next friend's name was "Mishael," and here the "EL" – the name for God. "Mishael" means "who is what God is." Ashpenaz looked at that name, and he changes it to "Meshach." "Meshach" means "who is what Aku is." That was a dramatic change that was – from "who is what God is" to "who is what Aku is." This was a very deliberate attempt, in the very names of these men, to change the focus from the Creator God out there to the Babylonian pagan God. Governments always want to get your mind off the real God; His rules for governing; and, His rules for the establishment of human governments. They want to direct your mind to Satan's system of false gods and Satan's rules. The third friend of Daniel was "Azariah" ("Azareah"). There's the name again for "YAHWEH." "Azariah" means "YAHWEH has helped." This was changed to "Abednego." Abednego means "servant of Nego." "Nego" or "Nebo" was the son of the God "Bel." So, here you have again the changing from a name that honors the true God to one that honors a false God.

The Hebrew names of Daniel and his three friends indicate to us that they had godly parents, and we may suspect that they were parents who taught their sons the Word of God. So, Daniel and his three friends, because they proved to be such outstanding young men, in large part, because they were doctrinally oriented, were brought into a special school of training. They were to be trained for three years in the literature and the language of the Chaldeans in order to assimilate them into the pagan (and don't forget – the occult) culture of Babylon. Daniel, who is well-versed in Bible doctrine of Old Testament Scripture, and who was very positive to the divine viewpoint of Scripture, resisted the pagan influences of his Babylonian training.

Pagan Foods

Furthermore, some of this food which was given to the trainees had first been offered to the Pagan Gods of Babylon, and Exodus 34:15 forbids the eating of food by a Jew under the Mosaic code that had previously been offered to a god.

So, Daniel and his friends were faced with a multiplicity of problems on what was being served on the menu in the school. This not only extended to the problem of what they ate, but it also extended to what they drank. The wine in Babylon was very highly, strongly alcoholic, and for a Jew to drink this kind of alcoholic beverage would violate again the Old Testament wisdom Scripture. The Old Testament was full of cautions to the Jewish people concerning the use of alcoholic beverages.

Drinking

For example, it violated Proverbs 20:1, which says, "Wine is a mocker; strong drink, a brawler; and, whoever is intoxicated is not wise." A person who gets drunk is stupid, and a person who uses alcoholic beverages is incipient stupid, because that's the first step toward getting drunk.

Proverbs 23:29-35, in wisdom literature, says, "Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaining? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? Those who linger long over wine. Those who go to taste mixed wine. Do not look on the wine when it is red; when it sparkles in the cup; or, when it goes down smoothly. At the last, it bites like a serpent, and it stings like a viper. Your eyes will see strange things, and your mind will utter perverse things. You will be like one who lies down in the middle of the sea, or like one who lies down at the top of a mast (swaying back and forth). They struck me, but I did not become ill. They beat me, but I did not know it. When shall I wake? I will seek another drink." So, here's an excellent piece of wisdom literature that very clearly indicates that the person who uses alcoholic beverages has taken the dangerous step toward losing control of his senses.

Daniel took it very seriously. Under the conditions that had befallen their nation, now captives under a foreign power living in a foreign country, they needed to keep their senses about them. We may add to this Isaiah 5:11: "Woe to those who rise early in the morning that they may pursue strong drink."

Dilution

Daniel very clearly was one of those super human beings who had risen through his knowledge of the Word of God, and through positive response to it, and living by it, had risen to super grace status in his life. He was not about to compromise his walk with God for this favor that had been given to him by being drawn into this government service school, and what was being fed to the trainees.

Daniel decided he had to do something about this problem for himself and his friends. So, he proceeded to ask to be allowed to make a ten-day demonstration in order to test the superiority of the nourishment that he and his friends would eat, which did not violate the dietary code of the Mosaic Law. And, lo and behold, the result was, as always, doctrine works. In Daniel 1:12-16, he says to Ashpenaz, the man in charge, "'Please test your servants for ten days. Let us be given some vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then let our appearance be observed in your presence, and the appearance of the youths who are eating the king's choice food, and deal with your servants according to what you see.' So, he listened to them in this matter, and tested them for ten days."

Ashpenaz, of course, had a lot at stake here. He was responsible that these men would be well-cared for, and their health would be at a maximum level, so that they could be trained to perform their duties. Daniel says, "I know what you're concerned about. Let's make a test. Let us eat the kind of food that God's Word allows us to eat – the healthy food. And we'll drink only water. Forget the wine. And then you take a look at us within just ten days, and see what you see." That's a dramatic test. And this must have been a dramatic contrast with the food that was being served from the king's table to the pagan trainees who ate the other food.

At the end of ten days, their appearance seemed better, and they were fatter than all the youths who had been eating the king's choice food. So, the overseer continued to withhold their choice food, and the wine they were to drink, and kept giving them vegetables. The result was that these four Hebrew youths outstripped all the rest of those in the training class. The Bible says, "It outstripped them in knowledge, and IQ, in literature, and in wisdom." They were the top of the class. God came through. In Daniel 1:17, God came through for them, and they made a dramatic impact upon the instructors in the program.

Furthermore, Daniel 1:17 says that: "God honored Daniel personally with the ability to understand dreams and visions." Again, I remind you that, in those days, God spoke directly to people in the form of dreams, and in the form of visions. Once the Scriptures were completed, he no longer does that. He speaks to us only through the Scriptures to direct our ways, and He speaks to us through the indwelling Holy Spirit, who opens and closes doors in our lives, and who gently directs us through influencing our mentality and our minds, of those who are subject to Him, to making the right decisions.

Well, on graduation day, it came time for the four youths to be presented formally to Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar was so impressed with these four young men (Daniel and his three friends), that he immediately ordered that they be brought into his personal service. You can read about that in Daniel 1:18-19. The four Hebrew young men were actually found to be ten times more useful to the king than the advisers who had all the occult power. Daniel 1:20: "And for every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king consulted them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and the conjurers who were in all his realm."

That's extremely interesting, because the magicians and the conjurers were getting information from Satan. They were getting guidance from Satan. They were getting advisement from Satan. And Satan is a bomb advisor. He is a lousy counselor. These young men, who had a direct channel to God, when the king asked them for advice, the king said, "Their advice was always ten times better than what the other pagan advisors gave him."

Daniel continued serving in the royal court of Babylon until the whole Babylonian empire was conquered by the Medo-Persian conqueror Cyrus in 539 B.C. We read about that in Daniel 1:21. Daniel never lost favor with the rulers of Babylon, even after another composer passed off the scene.

Daniel was honored by God because he lived according to the standards of the Word of God in a society which was violating those standards. Daniel, the Hebrew, was the channel of divine viewpoint enlightenment to the gentile Babylonian rulers. This, of course, was fulfilling what had always been God's purpose for the Jewish people – that they were to be the communicators of doctrine in Satan's world. In the Millennial Kingdom of Jesus Christ, the Jews will finally fulfill their role of being the spiritual enlightenment of the gentile world. In the Old Testament prophets, we're told that ten men will grab hold of one Jew in the millennium and say, "Tell us about Jesus, the God, who reigns at Jerusalem." They will become the true source of spiritual knowledge to the gentile world. Today, of course, the light in Satan's world, relative to God's truth, are you and I, the Christians of the church. The light of the Jew is now very dim by apostasy.

Well, Nebuchadnezzar has a recurring dream which greatly disturbs him, and the meaning of which he eagerly seeks. So, he called on his court wise men to buy their enchantments to interpret the dream, but Nebuchadnezzar would not tell them the dream, so as to test their reliability in their claims of being able to interpret dreams. His line of reasoning was, "If you can interpret a dream, you should be able to tell me the dream." Well, it so happened that the wise men, of course, could not tell the dream, let alone to interpret it. So, Nebuchadnezzar ordered them all killed.

Daniel asked Nebuchadnezzar to delay the executions, which included himself and his three friends, and told him that he would get God to reveal and interpret the king's dream. Daniel's request was granted, and he and his three friends promptly held a prayer meeting. God gave them the dream information. The answer came to Daniel in a night vision. Daniel and his three friends were very careful to recognize the absolute sovereignty of God in human events, and they did not arrogantly claim any powers of their own. The principle on which they operated was: "To God be the glory."

Listen very carefully to the TV evangelists that you hear, especially in the charismatic group, and see how great is the arrogance as they proclaim to you that they are God's choice channels of information, and of prosperity to you – that they have been sent to you, and that you are stupid not to recognize them as such, and to submit yourself to their instruction and their authority.

Daniel and his friends really did have a pipeline to God, but that was none of this arrogance on their part. They knew that God was the source of information, and that He was a sovereign God. He puts people in political power, and He causes them to fall out of power.

Here is the revelation. In Daniel 2:24-25, the dream is now going to be revealed to the king. Daniel reports back to Arioch, the king's commander and executioner, and he says, "I'm ready to go to the king to interpret his dream:" "Therefore, Daniel went into Arioch, whom the King had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and spoke to him as followers: 'Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon. Take me into the king's presence, and I will declare the interpretation to the king.'"

Arioch had great confidence in Daniel. He knew this man, and he had no hesitancy in promoting himself on the back of Daniel, because when he went into Nebuchadnezzar, he didn't say, "I think I have found someone who can tell you and interpret the dream." He boldly said, "I have a man who can tell you and interpret your dream." He had that much confidence in Daniel. He knew that this man wasn't just blowing smoke rings, but that when he spoke, it was for real.

So verse 25 says: "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 interpretations known to the king.' The King answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, 'Are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen, and its interpretation?'"

Arioch takes credit for discovering Daniel, when in fact, he didn't. Daniel came to him, but that's how it is in the world. The world is filled with self-promoters. There's a principle of doctrine we should learn at this point, and that is that any promotion that you desire in any phase of your life, in any activity, in any realm whatsoever: you can be pushy; you can pout; you can muscle your way in; and, you can get what you want, that you consider a promotion. But the principle of the Word of God says, "That if God has not promoted you, you've got nothing." What you have pushed yourself into is misery and grief at the hand of God.

Psalm 75:6 says, "For not from the East, nor from the West, nor from the desert comes exultation. But God is the judge. He puts down one, and exalts another." Daniel understood that psalm. Daniel did not try to push himself. Arioch did not understand it, so he was going to promote himself on his own. He says, "I can save the lives of all the wise men: myself; and, my friends." The king simply puts the principle to him the same as he did to his wise men: "Tell me the dream before you tell me the interpretation."

In verses 27-30, Daniel gives God the praise and the credit: "Daniel answered before the King and said, 'As for the mystery about which the king has inquired, neither wise men, conjurers, magician, nor designers are able to declare to the king." These are various categories of men in Babylon who dealt in the occult: "However, there is a God in heaven who reveals mystery, 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."

Daniel makes it clear that, personally, he cannot reveal the dream and its meaning any more than the men of the court were able to with their astrology and their enchantments. What Daniel does declares is that there is a living Creator God in heaven that Nebuchadnezzar does not know at this point in time, and that this God has chosen to make future history known to Nebuchadnezzar, and that this God is superior to the gods that Babylon and Nebuchadnezzar serve. He identifies the dream that the king had as having to do with the period that he calls "the latter days."

This is the same period that Jesus referred to as "the times of the gentiles," from 600 B.C., of Nebuchadnezzar's day, to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. That is "the latter days." It refers to the time of Nebuchadnezzar to the time of the Second Coming of Christ, "the times of the gentiles." So, God was revealing to Nebuchadnezzar, in effect, the future progression of political world empires among the gentiles, during the period of the dispersion and discipline of Israel. What Daniel stressed here, right off the bat, was that he had no special fortunetelling powers, and that he was simply repeating what God had told him for Nebuchadnezzar's enlightenment. Again, the principle was: "to God be the glory."

So, the next time you want to be promoted in something, the first thing you want to ask yourself is: how do I go about it so that God gets the glory, so that you cannot attribute it to yourself.

Do you remember the story of Gideon, and the battle against thousands of Midianites? The only way God could get the glory was to make it very clear that Gideon and his men were not the people who won the battle. They were promoted, but God stripped them down to 300 men, such that it was very clear that if they were promoted to victory, it was not because of their own capacities, but because of what God had done for them.

Nebuchadnezzar had had a meteoric rise to power. He had conquered all of Southwest Asia, and he was an absolute ruler. So, it was understandable that he should now be wondering about his own future. So, at that point in time, in comes the Creator God with this revelation.

Verse 29: "As for you, O king, while on your bed, your thoughts turned to what would take place in the future. 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, that you may understand the thoughts of your mind."

Nebuchadnezzar's Dream

In his dream, he's confronted by this enormous, grim-looking figure. The head of the statue was made of fine gold. Its breast and arms were made of silver. Its belly and thighs were made of bronze. Its legs, of iron; and, its feet, partly iron and mixed with clay. In Nebuchadnezzar's mind, he says, "That's it. That's exactly the dream. That's what I saw."

Then Daniel says, "There's more, Nebuchadnezzar. You continued looking at this figure, and suddenly, to your horror, you saw a rock (a stone). It came out of the mountain, but no hand cut it out. It was just like an invisible hand scooped it out, and flung it at the feet of the statue.

Daniel 2:34: "You continued looking until the stone was cut out without hands; struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay; and, crushed them. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed, all at the same time, and became like chaff from the summer threshing floor, and the wind carried them away so that not a trace of them was found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth." So, once the statue was struck on the feet, the whole thing crashed to the ground. Then, as if it were on the threshing floor, where the stocks had been beaten, there was nothing but little pieces left before the king's eyes. This brilliant imposing statue had frightened Nebuchadnezzar even more when he saw it destroyed in this way.

You will notice that the intrinsic value of the metals decreased from head to feet. It goes from gold: to less valuable silver; to less valuable bronze (a mixture – an alloy of copper and tin); to less valuable metal in terms of iron; and, to the least valuable of all – some dirt in the form of clay. However, you will also notice that the metals decrease per unit of weight, but they increase in hardness. They decrease in what we call specific gravity (per unit of weight), but they increase in hardness. Gold is the heaviest, but it is soft. Silver is lighter, and not so soft. Bronze is much heavier and much harder. Iron is heaviest of all, and hardest of all.

There is significance in the statue, and what this is portraying. Remember that this is portraying future world empires, and the feet are a mixture of iron and clay, which will not adhere to one another, so that the whole statue was unstable on its feet. The king saw this supernatural rock come flying at the statue, and crushing it at its feet. The whole thing disintegrates and blows away across the fields, and the stone of destruction itself fills the whole earth, and takes the place of the statue.

The Interpretation of the Dream

Daniel points up the extensive royal power, which is exercised by Nebuchadnezzar, as a gift from God, and it identifies his empire as the Babylonian world empire with the head of gold. Daniel makes no apologies for something that he knows that Nebuchadnezzar believes. Nebuchadnezzar believes that Marduk, the chief god of Babylon, was the creator. Here Daniel comes along and says, "I've gotten information from the real Creator God – not from Marduk that fake usurper, but from the real Creator God, and I'm sorry, king. That may disappoint you, and it may make you mad, and it may suggest that you're stupid to think that Marduk was a God." That's how people always react when they believe something that is doctrinally wrong, and you correct them. They take it as an insult. But Daniel had no hesitancy (no apologies) for declaring the truth.

Another world empire was represented by the breasts and arms of silver, which would in time replace Babylon. This was the Medo-Persian Empire, which replaced Babylon by conquest in 539 B.C. The belly and size bronze represented the third world empire, the Greek empire, which replaced the Medo-Persian Empire in about 330. Then the fourth empire represented, by the iron legs, was Rome, which conquered Greece in 63 B.C., and it, indeed crushed all opposition. The two legs symbolized the eventual division of the Roman Empire to Western and Eastern portions. The Roman Empire in time degenerated into weakness, which is symbolized by the clay in the feet and fractured into nations which would not adhere to one another, which is the status of the Roman Empire at this day. These are nations which are individually represented by the feet of iron and clay.

Daniel reveals that in the final stage of the Roman Empire, it will be represented by the ten toes. The God of Heaven will suddenly bring together a confederacy of kings who will be led by the antichrist. It is at that point in time that the world governments of gentiles will be brought to an end. That's when God will then set up a new kingdom of Jesus Christ, His Son, which will be the fifth world empire, represented by that stone that was brought out of the mountain, and crushed these other gentile powers. That's why we say that no nation on earth can ever become a world empire. No nation on earth can ever govern the whole world again, as these nations did. Only Jesus Christ will be able to do that. The rock in the Bible is repeatedly used as a symbol of Jesus, the Messiah of Israel, as a smiting stone.

Psalm 118:22 and Isaiah 8:14 refer to Him as that. The Kingdom of God through Jesus Christ is going to replace the kingdoms of men forever. So, God will fulfill, in this way, His original destiny for man to be His steward. Way back in Genesis 1:27-28, man was told, "The world is yours. You take charge. You are to exercise dominion over what I have created, and you are to enjoy it." Man has never done that. He's done nothing but destroy it, because Satan was permitted to take charge of the world.

I want to tell you that the amillennialists and the post-millennialists reject everything that you've heard this morning. They say that the Kingdom of God is already in existence: that it is in heaven; that all of this that I've described to you has already taken place in history; and, that this stone hit the gentiles in 70 A.D. when the Jews were conquered. The only way you can say something like that is to make all these events and these symbols non-literal. You have to spiritualize them away into meanings that you think they mean. I can tell you that you can buy thick books on the book of the Revelation that go from one end to the other, interpreting how all of these things have taken place in history in the past. They're all past. There is no future prophecy there. There's nothing on earth to come in the future except its complete destruction. The only kingdom of God is that which is to be found in heaven.

The nature of these metals, and their combination, and their progression through history are extremely illuminating. It is this kind of prophecy that gives you the great conviction of soul that when you read the Bible, you really are listening to the voice of God. Who could have known that world empires were going to proceed in just this way? Later on, they are clearly identified. They are very specifically identified, even by name, so that there was no question what was coming. You can see why the liberals say, "That could not have been written hundreds of years in the future. Somebody wrote that after it happened."

In the next session, we shall go into the details of these metals and the significance of these empires on the world scene, because they're all coming now to a focus and to a high point in our very day.

Dr. John E. Danish, 1990

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