Prophetic History Series

When the judge asked the man why he parked in a no parking

zone, the man replied that the sign said, "Fine for parking." Most of

the mistakes made in life are due to false interpretation of words and

symbols. We read into to words what is not intended by their

author. When Jesus said that He had meat to eat that they knew not

of, His disciples thought He meant that He had gotten something to

eat from some other source. Jesus was saying, however, that His

meat was to do the will of His Father in heaven. Meat was being

used to refer to soul food, and the drive and energy He received from

doing God's will. They misunderstood Jesus also when He said they

should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees. He meant their

teaching, but they thought He was talking about literal bread.

Nicodemus also jumped to an overly literal conclusion and

wondered how one could enter again into his mother's womb and be

born again. We could go on and show that within the Bible itself

there are many misunderstandings because of improper

interpretation of language. Interpretation is important, for one does

not really know what words mean until he interprets them so as to

understand the message their author meant to communicate.

Sometimes words can mean several different things, and only the

context can make it clear which is the true meaning. For example,

the sign that said, "Fine for parking," on a public street will mean

there is a penalty for parking there. If you send a group on ahead to

select some good camp sights in the woods and you come upon a sign

tacked to a tree which says, "Fine for parking," you can be assured

that in that context it means this is a good spot to park. The very

same words convey opposite meanings, for in one context they say

don't park here, and in another context they say do park here.

The Bible is probably the most misunderstood book in the world,

and Daniel is one the most likely books to be misinterpreted.

Figurative, symbolic and imprecise language lends itself to all kinds

of subjective speculation. Men seek to mold such language into a

variety of systems, and they interpret this book on the basis of

preconceived ideas. Some say this dream was fulfilled before Christ;

some say at the time of the first coming, and others say at the time of

the second coming. Someone has to be reading in subjective feelings

and speculation. How can we be sure that we are getting the message

of Daniel and not some subjective message of other men?

We must keep the court open and put every author on trial. We

must listen to and examine the evidence. This means we must

approach the study of difficult parts of the Bible like a jury. Since

godly men differ very sincerely, just as two eyewitnesses may differ

on their interpretation of an event, we must continuously weigh the

evidence and be on the lookout for fallacies and unsupported

assertions. It is so easy to slip in and idea here and there which is not

in the text, but only in the mind of the interpreter. If we are aware of

the dangers, and approach with a critical and cautious attitude we

may not understand everything, but we will avoid a great many

misunderstandings. The conclusion we come to on this dream

determines our whole outlook on the rest of the book. If we

misunderstand here, all of the rest will be out of line as well. If we

understand this the rest will fall into place.

In verse 38 Daniel says very clearly that the head of gold on the

great image represents Nebuchadnezzar himself. All agree here, for

it is too plain to dispute. No kingdom had so much gold as Babylon.

All interpreters begin at the same point, but as move along they

begin to digress, and by the time we come to the feet of the image

they are miles and ages apart.

In verse 39 Daniel says that after you shall come another

kingdom inferior to you. This inferior kingdom is represented by

silver. The vast majority of interpreters agree that this kingdom is

the Medo-Persian kingdom. Both sacred and secular history record

that Cyrus conquered Babylon. He first conquered all of the East

except Babylon. The people of this great city went within the vast

walls of it and laughed at the Medes and Persians. They had

provisions for 20 years and had enough land to raise crops within the

city walls. They were, by all human calculations, secure and they

slept in peace.

Beltshazzar the king ignored the fact that his city was under