Fortune tellers, horoscopes, taro cards--how many times have you heard of people trying to learn about the future from these means? They read the cards and attend séances in their desperate struggle to alleviate their fears about the future. It seems for some people the greatest of all fears is fear of the unknown.
The believer in Christ, I think, is spared this anxiety because he has been united to Christ. He is in a place of safety, giving him promises of a future in the presence of God Himself.
In addition to this, God has given us, in the Bible, an outline of the future history of the world. Although we do not know all the details, He has nevertheless revealed the general broad outline of the course of events to take place among the nations.
I think Daniel, Chapter 2, contains the ABC's of prophesy; later chapters in Daniel supply the details!
Today my thoughts are focused around Daniel 2
The Mystery of the Dream (Daniel 2:1-23)
One night King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream which agitated him so much he woke up and could not get back to sleep. The king didn't know the meaning of the dream, and he was afraid it might mean something unfavorable was going to happen to him.
He called his wise men and asked them to interpret his dream. They were willing to interpret provided the king would tell them the content of the dream. (vs. 4).
The king had apparently forgotten the dream, and so he used this as an occasion to test the reliability of his wise men. He demanded to know the content of the dream and the meaning of it. If they could tell it to him, their reward would be great. If they could not, then the king would have them all killed (vs. 5-6).
Nebuchadnezzar knew these men could say almost anything, and he would have no way to check on their interpretation. But if they could produce both the dream and its import, he would be convinced of their ability to know the secrets of the future and to advise him correctly and wisely (vs. 7-9).
The wise men replied, saying the kings request was beyond the power of any human being. In fact, they claimed only the gods could reveal the dream to the king; and unfortunately, the gods did not dwell among men.
This fired the king's wrath! Now he had proof his wise men were frauds. He knew all the information he had received from them in the past was nothing but lies and guess work. They had been making a fool out of him! Immediately the command went out to kill all the wise men in the city of Babylon (vs. 12-13).
Numbered among the wise men were Daniel and his three friends. The man appointed to lead the execution of the king's decree came to Daniel and told him what had happened. Daniel asked to be brought before the king. He then requested the king give him a little time, and he would reveal the dream and its interpretation.
Daniel left the presence of the king and held a prayer meeting with his three friends. Their approach to God was based not upon their own merit or their own faithfulness, but upon God's mercy. They realized the truth that if we receive anything from God, it is not because we deserve it, but because His great mercies are new every morning (vs. 17, 18).
That night, through a vision, God revealed to Daniel both the dream and its interpretation. Before Daniel rushed off to inform the king or even his friends of the disclosure, he stopped to praise God, who is the source of all wisdom. What man cannot know, God knows! (vs. 19-23).
The Meaning of the Dream (Daniel 2: 24-49)
Daniel went before the king and introduced the interpretation by comparing the limited knowledge of man with the unlimited knowledge of God. He wanted Nebuchadnezzar to understand he was about to receive information concerning the latter days that could not be discovered by human means--it must come through a special revelation from God. Daniel gave all of the credit to God.
Before explaining the meaning of the dream, Daniel gave a resume of its content (vs. 31-35). The king had seen an image (a colossus) in the form of a man. Its composition consisted of various kinds of metals; gold, silver, bronze, and iron mixed with clay. While he was looking at the image, Nebuchadnezzar saw a stone strike the feet of the image, crumbling the whole image. The stone then became larger and larger until it filled the entire earth.
The image represents all the world-ruling empires that would come into existence from Daniel's time until the second coming of Christ. I think this is clearly expressed in verse 28 in the phrase "latter days." This particular term is used in the Old testament generally to refer to a future time of trouble and blessing for the nation of Israel. Here, in keeping with the context, I think it refers to the last days of Gentile dominion over the earth.
The metals in the image represent 1) the progressive decentralization of authority in each of the successive governments and 2) the general decrease in strength of the governments.
Nebuchadnezzar possessed absolute dictatorial power; his eventual successors, Darius and Cyrus, had to work with in the framework of the laws of the Medes and Persians.
We're not left in any doubt about the historical starting point of the period which the dream disclosed. By beginning his interpretation with the head of gold and by associating it with Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel indicates the Babylonian empire is the first of those kingdoms which will make up the time of the Gentiles (vs 38).
Many records have been discovered which confirm the greatness and grandeur of his kingdom. His hanging gardens constituted one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. It's believed he had them constructed for his wife, who in the arid flatland of Babylon was homesick for the hills of the area in which she was reared.
The walls of the city of Babylon were so thick the top easily accommodated a chariot race. All of the magnificence and wealth of his empire will characterize the final stage of man's rule up on the earth.
The second and third empires are not identified in this chapter. We're told later, however, what empires are meant in Daniel Chapter 5 verse 28...The Medo-Persian empire is predicted to follow the Babylonian; and in 8: 21, the successor to Medo-Persia is announced to be Greece.
Thus the book of Daniel is proved once again to be both historically and prophetically accurate, for it was written long before some of these empires came into existence. The Persian invasion from the East was responsible for conquering Babylon in the past, and it appears an invasion from the East will destroy the Babylon of the future.
The fourth kingdom is nowhere identified in the book of Daniel. But since up to this point the empires are identical to those empires which all historians recognize--one folowing the other from Babylon to Greece--we have good reason for thinking the fourth empire must be identified with the kingdome which immediately followed Greece--Rome. The descriptions fit Rome, for Rome ruled with an iron fist even though as a Republic with a senate it was the weakest form of government yet to appear.
Note chapter 2 of Daniel does not speak of five different and separate Roman empires. The feet and toes are a development of the legs. The legs most likely symbolize the division that split the Roman empire into Western and Eastern sections. The legs, feet, and toes are all parts of the one empire.
The vision depicts a time in the future when the territory once occupied by Rome will develop into ten distinct parts of a political unification. This development didn't occur at any time during Rome's long existence and has not yet occurred. The prophecy points to a time when Western Europe comes under the control of ten rulers who eventually submit to the dictates of a final tyrant.
This time period is further identified by the fact the occasion in question will be followed immediately by the inauguration of a the kingdom of God (Daniel 2: 44). That kingdom awaits the coming of Jesus Christ, (most interpreters think Jesus is represented by the stone), before it will be introduced to history.
I think it's only consistent to believe the mountain filling the earth is the millennial kingdom of the future. I also think it's a violation of all the rules of interpretation to make the parts of the image to represent political governments and literal empires functioning on earth, but then interpret, as some do, the kingdom which Messiah will introduce will only be a spiritual rule of God in one's heart which began at the first advent and culminated in the gospel age.
I don't believe the coming of the stone could refer to the first advent of Christ, as many commentaries declare, because the ten-divisional Roman empire did not exist at that time, nor was the "destructive" work of the stone accomplished during Christ's earthly ministry. Daniel doesn't describe the dream as teaching a gradual spread of the so-called kingdom of grace in the heart through the preaching of the gospel.
I think...what we see in this chapter is a sudden intervention in history in which Christ comes to smash the final stage of Gentile world dominion and to set up the empire of Heaven on the earth--the visible, literal, political, social, and historical kingdom of God for which the disciples were taught to pray: "Thy kingdom come."
The phrase, "in the days of these kings" (vs. 44), is decisive in any attempt to identify the specific time for the introduction of the kingdom which the God of Heaven will set up. These "kings" did not exist at the first advent, and they did not appear in the time of the apostles. They haven't come on the world scene yet. Therefore, the kingdom of God has not been established yet.
I do think the literal kingdom, described here is always, and everywhere future however. It's designed to replace earthly empires with a divine government which will proceed from Jerusalem. I think the coming kingdom will be political and historical, but will also be spiritual and eternal. Spiritual principles will regulate the affairs of men in that day, and time will merge into eternity at the close of the millennial day.
I think one last word is necessary about "the kingdom" as the Bible uses the expression in Daniel Chapter 2. I don't think "the kingdom" is Heaven itself. It's not salvation, the new birth, the church, spiritual principles, or Christ's rule in the believer's heart either. I think the kingdom in this context refers to the earthly millennial reign.
I also believe because of the character and the invincible purpose of God, there can't be any doubt of the ultimate triumph of righteousness!
The chapter closes with Nebuchadnezzar's reaction to what Daniel had to say... and I think his reaction was normal for a worshiper of many gods. He began to worship Daniel as the one through whom the gods work (vs. 46). Although he was still a believer in many gods, the king recognized Daniel's God as the greatest of all gods (vs. 47).
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