Daniel 2: 1 - 48
Brilliant Nightmare
1 Now in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; and his spirit was so troubled that his sleep left him. 2 Then the king gave the command to call the magicians, the astrologers, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king. 3 And the king said to them, “I have had a dream, and my spirit is anxious to know the dream.”4 Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic, “O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation.” 5 The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, “My decision is firm: if you do not make known the dream to me, and its interpretation, you shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made an ash heap. 6 However, if you tell the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts, rewards, and great honor. Therefore tell me the dream and its interpretation.” 7 They answered again and said, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will give its interpretation.” 8 The king answered and said, “I know for certain that you would gain time, because you see that my decision is firm: 9 if you do not make known the dream to me, there is only one decree for you! For you have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till the time has changed. Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can give me its interpretation.” 10 The Chaldeans answered the king, and said, “There is not a man on earth who can tell the king’s matter; therefore no king, lord, or ruler has ever asked such things of any magician, astrologer, or Chaldean. 11 It is a difficult thing that the king requests, and there is no other who can tell it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.” 12 For this reason the king was angry and very furious, and gave the command to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. 13 So the decree went out, and they began killing the wise men; and they sought Daniel and his companions, to kill them. 14 Then with counsel and wisdom Daniel answered Arioch, the captain of the king’s guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon; 15 he answered and said to Arioch the king’s captain, “Why is the decree from the king so urgent?” Then Arioch made the decision known to Daniel. 16 So Daniel went in and asked the king to give him time, that he might tell the king the interpretation. 17 Then Daniel went to his house, and made the decision known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, 18 that they might seek mercies from the God of heaven concerning this secret, so that Daniel and his companions might not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. 19 Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. So Daniel blessed the God of heaven. 20 Daniel answered and said: “ Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and might are His. 21 And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding. 22 He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, and light dwells with Him. 23 “ I thank You and praise You, O God of my fathers; You have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we asked of You, for You have made known to us the king’s demand.” 24 Therefore Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said thus to him: “Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon; take me before the king, and I will tell the king the interpretation.” 25 Then Arioch quickly brought Daniel before the king, and said thus to him, “I have found a man of the captives of Judah, who will make known to the king the interpretation.” 26 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?” 27 Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, “The secret which the king has demanded, the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, and the soothsayers cannot declare to the king. 28 But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream, and the visions of your head upon your bed, were these: 29 As for you, O king, thoughts came to your mind while on your bed, about what would come to pass after this; and He who reveals secrets has made known to you what will be. 30 But as for me, this secret has not been revealed to me because I have more wisdom than anyone living, but for our sakes who make known the interpretation to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your heart. 31 “You, O king, were watching; and behold, a great image! This great image, whose splendor was excellent, stood before you; and its form was awesome. 32 This image’s head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, 33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. 34 You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed together, and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; the wind carried them away so that no trace of them was found. And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. 36 “This is the dream. Now we will tell the interpretation of it before the king. 37 You, O king, are a king of kings. For the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength, and glory; 38 and wherever the children of men dwell, or the beasts of the field and the birds of the heaven, He has given them into your hand, and has made you ruler over them all—you are this head of gold. 39 But after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours; then another, a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. 40 And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others. 41 Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay. 42 And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile. 43 As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay. 44 And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. 45 Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold—the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure.” 46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, prostrate before Daniel, and commanded that they should present an offering and incense to him. 47 The king answered Daniel, and said, “Truly your God is the God of gods, the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, since you could reveal this secret.” 48 Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many great gifts; and he made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon. 49 Also Daniel petitioned the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego over the affairs of the province of Babylon; but Daniel sat in the gate of the king.
For all us prophecy lovers we look forward to studying the book of Daniel and the book of Revelation. Sometimes I hear from people that they know the kiddy bible stories like the fiery furnace and Daniel and the lions den but they want the good stuff which talks up the upcoming events. My answer to them is that they are missing out if they think like that, for the entire book of Daniel is a prophecy, in which we will discover as we look into it deeply. The book of Revelation reveals what has been previously foretold not only in Daniel but by other men inspired by our Precious Holy Spirit.
In the book of 2 Peter chapter 1 we read about this occurrence, “For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. 17 For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” 18 And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. 19 And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; 20 knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, 21 for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.’
So, let’s take a look at our wonderful Lord’s Holy Word.
1 Now in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; and his spirit was so troubled that his sleep left him. 2 Then the king gave the command to call the magicians, the astrologers, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king. 3 And the king said to them, “I have had a dream, and my spirit is anxious to know the dream.”
Now, please forgive me if I want to say something about verse 1. You might be thinking, ‘Oh come on now Thomas, I think it is clear what the verse says.’ Yes, I know that but with my curiosity, I see something that got me thinking.
Please notice again verse 1 - 1 Now in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; and his spirit was so troubled that his sleep left him.
Okay’, you might be thinking, ‘so, what’s my point?’ Now, take a look at the king’s remark in verse 3 - 3 And the king said to them, “I have had a dream, and my spirit is anxious to know the dream.”
So, what is it – a dream or did he have dreams?’ It says in verse 1 he had dreams. They call in all the wise guys, er., wise men and they went to the king to tell them his dreams. Then he says that he dreamed a dream. What is it?
2 Then the king gave the command to call the magicians, the astrologers, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king. 3 And the king said to them, “I have had a dream, and my spirit is anxious to know the dream.”
Well, I will give you my idea. Nebuchadnezzar dreamed the same dream that evening more than once. That is why he was so desperate to know what it means. Can you see the significance now of his need to know what the dream meant?
And while I am on this issue of singular verses plural words, let me show you something that I found quite amazing. You might be thinking taking time to focus on this point is nuts or that I am just a nut. See, it still covers singular and plural identification.
Please turn with me to the Gospel of Luke chapter 5. Hopefully, you have the King James Version. Look at the significance of the singular or plural.
1And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret, 2And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets. 3And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship. 4Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. 5And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. 6And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake. 7And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink. 8When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord. 9For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken: 10And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men. 11And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him.’
So, let us look at what happened. What did our Lord tell the guys? – ‘Let down your ‘nets’. And what did Peter answer our Lord Jesus. I will paraphrase his answer, ‘Okay, to humor You I will let down a ‘net’
Our Great God had so many fish show up that the net was breaking. Just imagine if they were obedient and let down all their ‘nets’ as He had originally instructed them. There probably would have caught enough fish to cover their expenses for a whole year.
Now, can you see the importance of singular verses plural?
Let’s get back to our study of Daniel
4 Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic, “O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation.” 5 The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, “My decision is firm: if you do not make known the dream to me, and its interpretation, you shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made an ash heap. 6 However, if you tell the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts, rewards, and great honor. Therefore tell me the dream and its interpretation.” 7 They answered again and said, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will give its interpretation.” 8 The king answered and said, “I know for certain that you would gain time, because you see that my decision is firm: 9 if you do not make known the dream to me, there is only one decree for you! For you have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till the time has changed. Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can give me its interpretation.” 10 The Chaldeans answered the king, and said, “There is not a man on earth who can tell the king’s matter; therefore no king, lord, or ruler has ever asked such things of any magician, astrologer, or Chaldean. 11 It is a difficult thing that the king requests, and there is no other who can tell it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.”
It is obvious that the king wanted to know the truth of the dream. If he told these advisors his dream then they could just throw together any possible answer. This wouldn’t necessary be the accurate prediction. Finding the truth about his dream was that important to Nebuchadnezzar.
Please notice finally after the pressure was determined by the king for them to tell him his dream and then what it meant, that these phonies finally told the truth – they don’t know the answer.
By their admission they were admitting that they were fakes. With all their ceremonies and hocus pocus ways they put on this show like they knew what they were doing. Now, when push came to shove they finally admitted that all their high degrees and profession were all phony. Does this remind you of any professionals in operation today? You have heard what PhD stands for – ‘pile it higher and deeper
Are any of you managers or owners of businesses? How would you feel if you find out that an employee was lying in his or her performance? What would your reaction be? Probably not to the same extent that king Nebuchadnezzar proclaimed.
12 For this reason the king was angry and very furious, and gave the command to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. 13 So the decree went out, and they began killing the wise men; and they sought Daniel and his companions, to kill them.
A couple of things to consider. Where were Daniel and his friends at when all this went down? How come they weren’t there with the other wise men?
Probably, they were considered novices by the so called professionals and they were not asked by them to the meeting with the boss. However, the sad part is that they were included in the king’s edict to kill off the whole lot of wise men as we have just read.
14 Then with counsel and wisdom Daniel answered Arioch, the captain of the king’s guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon; 15 he answered and said to Arioch the king’s captain, “Why is the decree from the king so urgent?” Then Arioch made the decision known to Daniel. 16 So Daniel went in and asked the king to give him time, that he might tell the king the interpretation. 17 Then Daniel went to his house, and made the decision known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, 18 that they might seek mercies from the God of heaven concerning this secret, so that Daniel and his companions might not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. 19 Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. So Daniel blessed the God of heaven. 20 Daniel answered and said: “ Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and might are His. 21 And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding. 22 He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, and light dwells with Him. 23 “ I thank You and praise You, O God of my fathers; You have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we asked of You, for You have made known to us the king’s demand.” 24 Therefore Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said thus to him: “Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon; take me before the king, and I will tell the king the interpretation.”
The king assigned this guy by the name of Arioch. When he showed up at Daniel’s house the Lord intervened. Please notice how He gave Daniel ‘wisdom and might ’
Here are some nice gifts from our Heavenly Father.
These nouns refer to the exercise of good judgment, common sense, and even caution, especially in the conduct of practical matters.
First of all is Prudence. It is the most comprehensive: "She had been forced into prudence in her youth, she learned romance as she grew older" (Jane Austen).
Discretion suggests wise self-restraint, as in resisting a rash impulse: "The better part of valor is discretion" (Shakespeare).
Foresight implies the ability to foresee and make provision for what may happen: She had the foresight to make backups of her computer files.
Forethought suggests advance consideration of future eventualities: The empty refrigerator indicated a lack of forethought.
Circumspection implies discretion, as out of concern for moral or social repercussions: "The necessity of the times, more than ever, calls for our utmost circumspection" (Samuel Adams).
Daniel knows where to go for help. In the Gospel of Matthew chapter 6 verse 33 we read, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
And Daniel’s request was answered by our Awesome God. Now, at this point, Daniel was not finished. He knew what the next proper action was, and that was to go back in prayer and thank God for His answer to their prayer. For personal application, do you do the same thing as Daniel in appreciation for the Lord;s Blessings?
Here is a truthful point that you need to write down for later reference. It is that when you find yourself in difficult situations you should share these issues with some trusted Christian friends and pray together. Remember that prayer is more effective then panic. Panic will confirm your hopelessness while prayer confirms you hope in the only True and Living Holy God.
So, in God’s favor Daniel asks his potential killers ‘what’s up’
You can also see the favor our Lord gave to Daniel in the response of Arioch. Remember, what was this man commanded to do? The answer was that he was ordered to kill every wise man. Two things need to be considered. The first thing is who in his right mind would counter what the king ordered to be done. The king wanted everyone killed. He didn’t offer any wiggle room for any other possibility. Arioch could have been put to death for coming back to the king and said, ‘Oh, I didn’t follow your orders because I came up with a person who can tell you dream.
The other potential problem that has to be considered especially if you were Arioch, is this, what if Daniel was only bluffing. What if he told Arioch a lie, in order to flee town. Think about that possibility?
No, there must have been something about Daniel that influenced this executioner to listen and follow Daniel’s request.
But what is funny in one way yet, hey, Arioch is putting his head out, is that he takes credit for finding the king’s answer. Look at his remarks to Nebuchadnezzar.
25 Then Arioch quickly brought Daniel before the king, and said thus to him, “I have found a man of the captives of Judah, who will make known to the king the interpretation.”
Nothing like kissing up to the boss.
26 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?” 27 Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, “The secret which the king has demanded, the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, and the soothsayers cannot declare to the king. 28 But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to King
Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream, and the visions of your head upon your bed, were these:
The king came straight to the point. He wasn’t about to put up with any more tricks, can Daniel actually tell him his dream.
Daniel testifies of the greatness of the only true and living God, El Shaddai, God Almighty. He Is the Only One Who sees all and knows all.
But please notice an important statement given here by Daniel - 28 But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days.
Daniel reveals that the information is for the latter days or at the end of earth’s days. What had been revealed to Nebuchadnezzar took him to the end of time.
So, when does the end of time begin?
It is written in Scripture that the ‘end of the days’ was begun at the first coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
1 Peter 1, “20 He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you 21 who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.”
1 John 2 “18 Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour.”
1 Corinthians 10 “11 Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.”
Hebrews 1 “1 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;”
Hebrews 9 “27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, 28 so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.”
29 As for you, O king, thoughts came to your mind while on your bed, about what would come to pass after this; and He who reveals secrets has made known to you what will be. 30 But as for me, this secret has not been revealed to me because I have more wisdom than anyone living, but for our sakes who make known the interpretation to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your heart.
Please notice that Nebuchadnezzar was thinking about the future so our Precious Jehovah Elyon – The Lord Most High gave him the answer to his thoughts.
Before taking a look at the vision please note that Arioch, the kings butcher wanted credit while Daniel didn’t. He gave credit to Whom it was due – to Adoni Yahweh.
31 “You, O king, were watching; and behold, a great image! This great image, whose splendor was excellent, stood before you; and its form was awesome. 32 This image’s head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, 33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. 34 You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed together, and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; the wind carried them away so that no trace of them was found. And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. 36 “This is the dream. Now we will tell the interpretation of it before the king. 37 You, O king, are a king of kings. For the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength, and glory; 38 and wherever the children of men dwell, or the beasts of the field and the birds of the heaven, He has given them into your hand, and has made you ruler over them all—you are this head of gold. 39 But after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours; then another, a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. 40 And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others. 41 Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay. 42 And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile. 43 As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay. 44 And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. 45 Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold—the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure.”
In his dream the image was huge. As he gazed at the statue what began at the top as gold slowly deteriorated section by section to lesser and baser metals. It became which was quite noticeable very unstable at the feet which had a mixture of clay with metal.
The head of gold represented Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian Empire. This Empire lasted 70 years from 606 to 539 BC.
Silver is inferior to gold, just look at the value of both on the precious metals sites. Medio-Persia was from 539 to 331 BC.
The next Empire in our world history was Greece which ruled from 331 to 146 BC. It was represented by the metal Bronze.
The Roman Iron might came into existence in 146 BC. When was it overthrown? It wasn’t.
Now, here is a portion that I want to temporary set aside until our next study. In it we will see how chapter 17 of the book of Revelation covers the same future events. We will look at what it says here in Daniel and compare it to what is written in Revelation. However, for now as time constraints limit us getting into it fully, we will take the time in our next study to thoroughly review the Scripture.
So, let us finish chapter 2
46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, prostrate before Daniel, and commanded that they should present an offering and incense to him. 47 The king answered Daniel, and said, “Truly your God is the God of gods, the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, since you could reveal this secret.” 48 Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many great gifts; and he made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon. 49 Also Daniel petitioned the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego over the affairs of the province of Babylon; but Daniel sat in the gate of the king.
Just picture the scene. The king knew his dream. Here, all of a sudden, a young man shows up and tells you verbatim everything that you dreamt.
The wise men confessed that they were phonies. They said that the ‘gods did not live among men.’ Of course they didn’t. Like these professionals being phonies so were the gods that they professed. These gods never even existed. Yet, Daniel gave all the credit to the Real God, for it had to be the True God to have done what had just happened.
And look at the conclusion. Write this down for the way to conduct your lives. The truth was because Daniel gave God the credit for all things, we see here that even a pagan will give God the proper credit due His Holy Name.
