Dan
4:1 Nebuchadnezzar the
king to all the peoples, nations, and men
of every
language that live in all the earth: "May your peace abound!
Dan
4:2
"It has seemed good to me to declare the signs and wonders
which the Most High God has done for me.
Dan
4:3
"How great are His signs And how mighty are His wonders! His
kingdom is an everlasting kingdom And His dominion is from generation
to generation.
Dan
4:4
"I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house and flourishing in
my palace.
Dan
4:5
"I saw a dream and it made me fearful; and these
fantasies as
I lay
on my bed and the visions in my mind kept alarming me.
Dan
4:6
"So I gave orders to bring into my presence all the wise men of
Babylon, that they might make known to me the interpretation of the
dream.
Dan
4:7
"Then the magicians, the conjurers, the Chaldeans and the
diviners came in and I related the dream to them, but they could not
make its interpretation known to me.
Dan
4:8
"But finally Daniel came in before me, whose name is
Belteshazzar according to the name of my god, and in whom is a spirit
of the holy gods; and I related the dream to him, saying,
Dan
4:9
'O Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, since I know that a spirit
of the holy gods is in you and no mystery baffles you, tell me
the visions of my dream which I have seen, along with its
interpretation.
King
Nebuchadnezzar has heard Daniel tell him what he has seen in his,
personal, dream. He has seen his Mighty Men consumed with the fire
of the furnace while not even a hair was singed on Shadrach, Meshach
and Abed-nego. Not only this but as he peered into the fire, four
persons were walking around in there. Nebuchadnezzar knows that
there is a God of Israel that defies all other gods and that He is
the Saviour of all Israel, he has been privileged to see the Son of
God before He divested himself of His deity to be born of a woman.
From
life's experience I know it is difficult to overcome old habits and
here goes the king again, first, to the men he knows and has proven
to be prone to lies. Only then, when the comfortable liars cannot
comfort him, does he approach Daniel for the answer from the only
True God.
I
have noticed in my personal study that to understand Daniel's coming
trial it is reasonable and noteworthy to remember these dreams and
the resulting actions surrounding them. I spent eight years in the
Army and one of the first indoctrinations I was fed is that,
“Familiarity breeds contempt,” and in many case that is true and
life has taught me that the wise man is always looking for and
preparing to deal with it. If you seek to lead men for Christ, the
result is a military result because it is the LORD's
Army we are serving in and you must be willing to risk familiarity to
achieve the end. All the men and women in this Army are your
brothers and sisters. And regardless of the perceived wisdom in the
Familiarity Rule in the US Army, the men that lead and are followed
the most closely are the ones that are known. As Christians we must
pray for God to lead us to this balance.
Dan
4:10
'Now these
were
the visions in my mind as
I lay
on my bed: I was looking, and behold, there
was
a tree in the midst of the earth and its height was
great.
Dan
4:11
'The tree grew large and became strong And its height reached to the
sky, And it was
visible to the end of the whole earth.
Dan
4:12
'Its foliage was
beautiful and its fruit abundant, And in it was
food for all. The beasts of the field found shade under it, And the
birds of the sky dwelt in its branches, And all living creatures fed
themselves from it.
Dan
4:13
'I was looking in the visions in my mind as
I lay
on my bed, and behold, an angelic
watcher, a holy one, descended from heaven.
Dan
4:14
'He shouted out and spoke as follows: "Chop down the tree and
cut off its branches, Strip off its foliage and scatter its fruit;
Let the beasts flee from under it And the birds from its branches.
Dan
4:15
"Yet leave the stump with its roots in the ground, But with a
band of iron and bronze around
it
In the new grass of the field; And let him be drenched with the dew
of heaven, And let him share with the beasts in the grass of the
earth.
Dan
4:16
"Let his mind be changed from that
of
a man And let a beast's mind be given to him, And let seven periods
of time pass over him.
Dan
4:17
"This sentence is by the decree of the angelic
watchers And the decision is a command of the holy ones, In order
that the living may know That the Most High is ruler over the realm
of mankind, And bestows it on whom He wishes And sets over it the
lowliest of men."
Before
we go further I'm going to break a rule and place a Foot Note in the
midst of everything here: If we, Christians, will be obedient (2Tim.
2:15) to study and to nourish the Holy Spirit's presence in us we
will never be caught short when making a point about God. I have oft
been assailed by others, calling on the name of the Christ with the
untruth that the Bible does not teach the Triune God. From the day I
was saved it has been my position that we serve one God, seen in
three persons, the One True God, the Triune God.
Dan.
4:17 is not a good verse to begin to establish your point because you
must first begin in the beginning, Genesis 1 with let “us”
create... and regardless of your chosen path, before you ever think
of using Dan. 4:17, I recommend Romans 3:10-23, otherwise you'll be
hit with the angelic watchers as being the referenced. As followers
of the Christ we must learn to use and to understand the Bible in one
context. Now, I'll stop chasing rabitts.
Dan
4:18
'This is the dream which
I, King Nebuchadnezzar, have seen. Now you, Belteshazzar, tell me
its interpretation, inasmuch as none of the wise men of my kingdom is
able to make known to me the interpretation; but you are able, for a
spirit of the holy gods is in you.'
Dan
4:19
"Then Daniel, whose name is Belteshazzar, was appalled for a
while as his thoughts alarmed him. The king responded and said,
'Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its interpretation alarm you.'
Belteshazzar replied, 'My lord, if
only
the dream applied to those who hate you and its interpretation to
your adversaries!
There
is a strong lesson to be learned here, think before putting your
mouth in gear. King Nebuchadnezzar can see the alarmed expression on
David's face and he is smart enough to realize that the news might
not be a thing he will enjoy. Let me try to give you some beginning
to understand what is happening to David.
The
first time I took the pulpit I was in my early fifties and for three
weeks I prepared my lesson. I rehearsed it until I'm sure I was blue
in the face. That Sunday Morning, as I took the Pulpit, the Holy
Spirit overcame me as I prayed and I knew the message I had studied,
so intently, was not the message I would deliver that morning and I
have tossed the notes and never did teach that sermon. God gave me,
in that still small voice that I cannot explain, the address in the
Bible and as I read the text the words came out of my mouth and
continued straight into what God had for me to deliver that morning.
God, speaking through me, preached to me as much as He did to
everyone else in that assembly that morning.
Perhaps
now, you will appreciate what was happening to Daniel. Like myself
on that day, Daniel was frightened by what was happening. He also
knew there were limits to what one tells the king because the king
can cut your head off... right there and then.
Dan
4:20
'The tree that you saw, which became large and grew strong, whose
height reached to the sky and was visible to all the earth
Dan
4:21
and whose foliage was
beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in which was
food for all, under which the beasts of the field dwelt and in whose
branches the birds of the sky lodged--
Dan
4:22
it is you, O king; for you have become great and grown strong, and
your majesty has become great and reached to the sky and your
dominion to the end of the earth.
Dan
4:23
'In that the king saw an angelic
watcher, a holy one, descending from heaven and saying, "Chop
down the tree and destroy it; yet leave the stump with its roots in
the ground, but with a band of iron and bronze around
it
in the new grass of the field, and let him be drenched with the dew
of heaven, and let him share with the beasts of the field until seven
periods of time pass over him,"
Dan
4:24
this is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the
Most High, which has come upon my lord the king:
Dan
4:25
that you be driven away from mankind and your dwelling place be with
the beasts of the field, and you be given grass to eat like cattle
and be drenched with the dew of heaven; and seven periods of time
will pass over you, until you recognize that the Most High is ruler
over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever He wishes.
Think
for a moment, much of this is written in the first person by
Nebuchadnezzar and he keeps saying gods and still is not settled on
the fact that there is only one God and it would be wise to melt the
gold from the monster gold statue and make money out of it. And it
is thought that the reference to periods of time is a reference to
years and there is prophetic evidence that supports this thought.
Dan
4:26
'And in that it was commanded to leave the stump with the roots of
the tree, your kingdom will be assured to you after you recognize
that it
is
Heaven that
rules.
Dan
4:27
'Therefore, O king, may my advice be pleasing to you: break away now
from your sins by doing
righteousness and from your iniquities by showing mercy to the
poor, in case there may be a prolonging of your prosperity.'
When
Daniel finishes his (give me a little liberty here) Hell and
Damnation message he ends with the Life Application to apply. Many,
today, stand in the pulpit and they tickle the ears of their
membership and though it is not an exclusive truth, they, thus, build
super churches that are, in reality, not part of The Church. David
set an example for every member of every Church Family to follow,
just as Paul and the other eleven did. Just as men like Billy Sunday
and Billy Graham did. We do not need to learn it, no, we need to
believe, trust God and proclaim the Whole Truth of the Bible and when
we do, it might not all go well with us but God will be there and it
is not this world of temporary things tat we need to build for
anyway. Like David we must learn to think, work and to live for the
Eternal.
Dan
4:28
"All this
happened to Nebuchadnezzar the king.
Dan
4:29
"Twelve months later he was walking on the roof
of
the royal palace of Babylon.
Dan
4:30
"The king reflected and said, 'Is this not Babylon the great,
which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my
power and for the glory of my majesty?'
Dan
4:31
"While the word was
in the king's mouth, a voice came from heaven, saying,
'King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is declared: sovereignty has been
removed from you,
Dan
4:32
and you will be driven away from mankind, and your dwelling place
will
be
with the beasts of the field. You will be given grass to eat like
cattle, and seven periods of time will pass over you until you
recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and
bestows it on whomever He wishes.'
Dan
4:33
"Immediately the word concerning Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled;
and he was driven away from mankind and began eating grass like
cattle, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his
hair had grown like eagles' feathers
and his nails like birds' claws.
Dan
4:34
"But at the end of that period, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my
eyes toward heaven and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the
Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever; For His
dominion is an everlasting dominion, And His kingdom endures
from generation to generation.
Dan
4:35
"All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, But
He does according to His will in the host of heaven And among
the inhabitants of earth; And no one can ward off His hand Or say to
Him, 'What have You done?'
Dan
4:36
"At that time my reason returned to me. And my majesty and
splendor were restored to me for the glory of my kingdom, and my
counselors and my nobles began seeking me out; so I was reestablished
in my sovereignty, and surpassing greatness was added to me.
Dan
4:37
"Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt and honor the King of
heaven, for all His works are true and His ways just, and He is able
to humble those who walk in pride."
Here
again we see that King Nebuchadnezzar is writing this narrative to
the glory of the one true God. Nebuchadnezzar did not become a
Jewish Believer and he, certainly, was not a Christian, so, was he
converted? There were no Christians and he was not a Jew. Was he
saved at this point? This is a point worthy of a study I, myself,
have not done yet but, God is the God of new beginnings and I wonder
if I'll be able to ask Nebuchadnezzar what the grass tasted like.
The
life application? I see this as proof positive that “all” can be
saved and that Father God can use everyone of us to work His will.
That does not make me a Calvinist and I do not follow the Armenian
theology either because they both seem to me to just ignore the
thought of the Scriptures being of one, continuous, context. I call
myself a Biblicist, a term, I believe, coined by Brother Richard
Clark of Mississippi fame and origin. If it's n the Bible, it is the
Word of God and I believe it... all!
4:1 Nebuchadnezzar the
king to all the peoples, nations, and men
of every
language that live in all the earth: "May your peace abound!
Dan
4:2
"It has seemed good to me to declare the signs and wonders
which the Most High God has done for me.
Dan
4:3
"How great are His signs And how mighty are His wonders! His
kingdom is an everlasting kingdom And His dominion is from generation
to generation.
Dan
4:4
"I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house and flourishing in
my palace.
Dan
4:5
"I saw a dream and it made me fearful; and these
fantasies as
I lay
on my bed and the visions in my mind kept alarming me.
Dan
4:6
"So I gave orders to bring into my presence all the wise men of
Babylon, that they might make known to me the interpretation of the
dream.
Dan
4:7
"Then the magicians, the conjurers, the Chaldeans and the
diviners came in and I related the dream to them, but they could not
make its interpretation known to me.
Dan
4:8
"But finally Daniel came in before me, whose name is
Belteshazzar according to the name of my god, and in whom is a spirit
of the holy gods; and I related the dream to him, saying,
Dan
4:9
'O Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, since I know that a spirit
of the holy gods is in you and no mystery baffles you, tell me
the visions of my dream which I have seen, along with its
interpretation.
King
Nebuchadnezzar has heard Daniel tell him what he has seen in his,
personal, dream. He has seen his Mighty Men consumed with the fire
of the furnace while not even a hair was singed on Shadrach, Meshach
and Abed-nego. Not only this but as he peered into the fire, four
persons were walking around in there. Nebuchadnezzar knows that
there is a God of Israel that defies all other gods and that He is
the Saviour of all Israel, he has been privileged to see the Son of
God before He divested himself of His deity to be born of a woman.
From
life's experience I know it is difficult to overcome old habits and
here goes the king again, first, to the men he knows and has proven
to be prone to lies. Only then, when the comfortable liars cannot
comfort him, does he approach Daniel for the answer from the only
True God.
I
have noticed in my personal study that to understand Daniel's coming
trial it is reasonable and noteworthy to remember these dreams and
the resulting actions surrounding them. I spent eight years in the
Army and one of the first indoctrinations I was fed is that,
“Familiarity breeds contempt,” and in many case that is true and
life has taught me that the wise man is always looking for and
preparing to deal with it. If you seek to lead men for Christ, the
result is a military result because it is the LORD's
Army we are serving in and you must be willing to risk familiarity to
achieve the end. All the men and women in this Army are your
brothers and sisters. And regardless of the perceived wisdom in the
Familiarity Rule in the US Army, the men that lead and are followed
the most closely are the ones that are known. As Christians we must
pray for God to lead us to this balance.
Dan
4:10
'Now these
were
the visions in my mind as
I lay
on my bed: I was looking, and behold, there
was
a tree in the midst of the earth and its height was
great.
Dan
4:11
'The tree grew large and became strong And its height reached to the
sky, And it was
visible to the end of the whole earth.
Dan
4:12
'Its foliage was
beautiful and its fruit abundant, And in it was
food for all. The beasts of the field found shade under it, And the
birds of the sky dwelt in its branches, And all living creatures fed
themselves from it.
Dan
4:13
'I was looking in the visions in my mind as
I lay
on my bed, and behold, an angelic
watcher, a holy one, descended from heaven.
Dan
4:14
'He shouted out and spoke as follows: "Chop down the tree and
cut off its branches, Strip off its foliage and scatter its fruit;
Let the beasts flee from under it And the birds from its branches.
Dan
4:15
"Yet leave the stump with its roots in the ground, But with a
band of iron and bronze around
it
In the new grass of the field; And let him be drenched with the dew
of heaven, And let him share with the beasts in the grass of the
earth.
Dan
4:16
"Let his mind be changed from that
of
a man And let a beast's mind be given to him, And let seven periods
of time pass over him.
Dan
4:17
"This sentence is by the decree of the angelic
watchers And the decision is a command of the holy ones, In order
that the living may know That the Most High is ruler over the realm
of mankind, And bestows it on whom He wishes And sets over it the
lowliest of men."
Before
we go further I'm going to break a rule and place a Foot Note in the
midst of everything here: If we, Christians, will be obedient (2Tim.
2:15) to study and to nourish the Holy Spirit's presence in us we
will never be caught short when making a point about God. I have oft
been assailed by others, calling on the name of the Christ with the
untruth that the Bible does not teach the Triune God. From the day I
was saved it has been my position that we serve one God, seen in
three persons, the One True God, the Triune God.
Dan.
4:17 is not a good verse to begin to establish your point because you
must first begin in the beginning, Genesis 1 with let “us”
create... and regardless of your chosen path, before you ever think
of using Dan. 4:17, I recommend Romans 3:10-23, otherwise you'll be
hit with the angelic watchers as being the referenced. As followers
of the Christ we must learn to use and to understand the Bible in one
context. Now, I'll stop chasing rabitts.
Dan
4:18
'This is the dream which
I, King Nebuchadnezzar, have seen. Now you, Belteshazzar, tell me
its interpretation, inasmuch as none of the wise men of my kingdom is
able to make known to me the interpretation; but you are able, for a
spirit of the holy gods is in you.'
Dan
4:19
"Then Daniel, whose name is Belteshazzar, was appalled for a
while as his thoughts alarmed him. The king responded and said,
'Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its interpretation alarm you.'
Belteshazzar replied, 'My lord, if
only
the dream applied to those who hate you and its interpretation to
your adversaries!
There
is a strong lesson to be learned here, think before putting your
mouth in gear. King Nebuchadnezzar can see the alarmed expression on
David's face and he is smart enough to realize that the news might
not be a thing he will enjoy. Let me try to give you some beginning
to understand what is happening to David.
The
first time I took the pulpit I was in my early fifties and for three
weeks I prepared my lesson. I rehearsed it until I'm sure I was blue
in the face. That Sunday Morning, as I took the Pulpit, the Holy
Spirit overcame me as I prayed and I knew the message I had studied,
so intently, was not the message I would deliver that morning and I
have tossed the notes and never did teach that sermon. God gave me,
in that still small voice that I cannot explain, the address in the
Bible and as I read the text the words came out of my mouth and
continued straight into what God had for me to deliver that morning.
God, speaking through me, preached to me as much as He did to
everyone else in that assembly that morning.
Perhaps
now, you will appreciate what was happening to Daniel. Like myself
on that day, Daniel was frightened by what was happening. He also
knew there were limits to what one tells the king because the king
can cut your head off... right there and then.
Dan
4:20
'The tree that you saw, which became large and grew strong, whose
height reached to the sky and was visible to all the earth
Dan
4:21
and whose foliage was
beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in which was
food for all, under which the beasts of the field dwelt and in whose
branches the birds of the sky lodged--
Dan
4:22
it is you, O king; for you have become great and grown strong, and
your majesty has become great and reached to the sky and your
dominion to the end of the earth.
Dan
4:23
'In that the king saw an angelic
watcher, a holy one, descending from heaven and saying, "Chop
down the tree and destroy it; yet leave the stump with its roots in
the ground, but with a band of iron and bronze around
it
in the new grass of the field, and let him be drenched with the dew
of heaven, and let him share with the beasts of the field until seven
periods of time pass over him,"
Dan
4:24
this is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the
Most High, which has come upon my lord the king:
Dan
4:25
that you be driven away from mankind and your dwelling place be with
the beasts of the field, and you be given grass to eat like cattle
and be drenched with the dew of heaven; and seven periods of time
will pass over you, until you recognize that the Most High is ruler
over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever He wishes.
Think
for a moment, much of this is written in the first person by
Nebuchadnezzar and he keeps saying gods and still is not settled on
the fact that there is only one God and it would be wise to melt the
gold from the monster gold statue and make money out of it. And it
is thought that the reference to periods of time is a reference to
years and there is prophetic evidence that supports this thought.
Dan
4:26
'And in that it was commanded to leave the stump with the roots of
the tree, your kingdom will be assured to you after you recognize
that it
is
Heaven that
rules.
Dan
4:27
'Therefore, O king, may my advice be pleasing to you: break away now
from your sins by doing
righteousness and from your iniquities by showing mercy to the
poor, in case there may be a prolonging of your prosperity.'
When
Daniel finishes his (give me a little liberty here) Hell and
Damnation message he ends with the Life Application to apply. Many,
today, stand in the pulpit and they tickle the ears of their
membership and though it is not an exclusive truth, they, thus, build
super churches that are, in reality, not part of The Church. David
set an example for every member of every Church Family to follow,
just as Paul and the other eleven did. Just as men like Billy Sunday
and Billy Graham did. We do not need to learn it, no, we need to
believe, trust God and proclaim the Whole Truth of the Bible and when
we do, it might not all go well with us but God will be there and it
is not this world of temporary things tat we need to build for
anyway. Like David we must learn to think, work and to live for the
Eternal.
Dan
4:28
"All this
happened to Nebuchadnezzar the king.
Dan
4:29
"Twelve months later he was walking on the roof
of
the royal palace of Babylon.
Dan
4:30
"The king reflected and said, 'Is this not Babylon the great,
which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my
power and for the glory of my majesty?'
Dan
4:31
"While the word was
in the king's mouth, a voice came from heaven, saying,
'King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is declared: sovereignty has been
removed from you,
Dan
4:32
and you will be driven away from mankind, and your dwelling place
will
be
with the beasts of the field. You will be given grass to eat like
cattle, and seven periods of time will pass over you until you
recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and
bestows it on whomever He wishes.'
Dan
4:33
"Immediately the word concerning Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled;
and he was driven away from mankind and began eating grass like
cattle, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his
hair had grown like eagles' feathers
and his nails like birds' claws.
Dan
4:34
"But at the end of that period, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my
eyes toward heaven and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the
Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever; For His
dominion is an everlasting dominion, And His kingdom endures
from generation to generation.
Dan
4:35
"All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, But
He does according to His will in the host of heaven And among
the inhabitants of earth; And no one can ward off His hand Or say to
Him, 'What have You done?'
Dan
4:36
"At that time my reason returned to me. And my majesty and
splendor were restored to me for the glory of my kingdom, and my
counselors and my nobles began seeking me out; so I was reestablished
in my sovereignty, and surpassing greatness was added to me.
Dan
4:37
"Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt and honor the King of
heaven, for all His works are true and His ways just, and He is able
to humble those who walk in pride."
Here
again we see that King Nebuchadnezzar is writing this narrative to
the glory of the one true God. Nebuchadnezzar did not become a
Jewish Believer and he, certainly, was not a Christian, so, was he
converted? There were no Christians and he was not a Jew. Was he
saved at this point? This is a point worthy of a study I, myself,
have not done yet but, God is the God of new beginnings and I wonder
if I'll be able to ask Nebuchadnezzar what the grass tasted like.
The
life application? I see this as proof positive that “all” can be
saved and that Father God can use everyone of us to work His will.
That does not make me a Calvinist and I do not follow the Armenian
theology either because they both seem to me to just ignore the
thought of the Scriptures being of one, continuous, context. I call
myself a Biblicist, a term, I believe, coined by Brother Richard
Clark of Mississippi fame and origin. If it's n the Bible, it is the
Word of God and I believe it... all!
