Why did Nebuchadnezzar have this dream? Da 2:29 "As you were lying there, O king, your mind turned to things to come, and the revealer of mysteries showed you what is going to happen.” Nebuchadnezzar was the King of the Babylonian empire. But he was not content with what he had achieved or what he had become. His mind turned to things to come. He had unsettled questions about the future of his kingdom and the future of his own life. In a general sense, I categorize Neb as a truth seeker who often wrestles with: Where I came from? Where I am going? Why do I exist? And God the Maker, who knows a man’s end from the beginning and thus has the answers to fundamental questions of life speaks to Neb through dreams and visions (Da 2:28). The dream also reveals God’s love expressed as helping Neb to know Him personally. Does God still speak to people through dreams and visions? I think so. In fact I am of the opinion that the time of God speaking directly which the prophet Joel speaks as pouring out of God’s Spirit on all flesh resulting in dreams and visions, of which the Pentecost was only a token fulfillment, is nearer than ever (Joel 2:28, Ac 2:17)!
Obviously Neb does not understand the dream and needs the help of an expert. But although many would come forward as expert interpreters, can he trust their interpretation? Neb is smart and at the same time ruthless. Now is the time to test all those who claim to have supernatural abilities (wise men of Babylon). “I don’t want only the interpretation; tell me first what my dream was?” And he offered them only two choices: solve the mystery and enjoy great honor and gifts or death! The wise men on earth knew that no man on earth can know another man’s dream (Da 2:10). Only gods could do such a thing, but the gods they knew did not live among men (Da 2:11). What they said was true. There is not a man who can know another man’s dream. And the supposedly great and mighty gods they believed to be their gods (such as Bel, Marduk etc) were of no help. What they did not know however was that there is God who is not only able but also willing to help those who ask of Him. And Daniel had personal experience of help and blessings of this God and he believed that His God was able to willing to help him and his three friends for the sake of their lives (Da 2:17,18).
It is one thing to have faith in God. But it is quite another to exercise that faith. Daniel called his three friends to exercise their faith through prayer (Da 2:18). A striking virtue of Daniel is his prayer and it runs through the Book of Daniel. God answered Daniel and his three friends prayer in less than few hours and the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision. But before rushing to the king, Daniel did not forget to give to God what is due – praises, for who He is and what He did (Da 2:20). Heartfelt praise comes from experiencing who God is and what He does for us. Daniel declares a few eternal characters of God: He controls time and seasons (good and bad, favorable and unfavorable). In fact God had just delivered Daniel and his friends from a bad and unfavorable time by turning it into their favor; God appoints kings and removes them (the content of the dream proves this); God is the gives of wisdom; God is the giver of knowledge; God reveals secret things; No matter how much we may try to keep secrets they are no secrets to Him; and God is holy, pure and perfect. Before telling Neb his dream, Daniel does not forget to give credit to his God as the revealer of Neb’s dream. This will help Neb see beyond Daniel to Daniel’s God.
The dream of Neb and its interpretation lays out the history of the world in advance. When the kingship in Israel and Judah comes to an end through exiles, what had God prepared for the affairs of the world? Jesus referred to this period as the times of the Gentiles (Lk 21:24). God in the dream of Nebuchadnezzar was unfolding the Gentile history of more than 2500 years in advance until the Second Coming of Jesus. Four types of material used in the enormous statues that Neb saw in his dream represented four successive Gentile kingdoms. The head of pure gold represented Neb and his Babylonian kingdom. The chest and arms of silver represented the Cyrus and the Persian kingdom. The belly and thigh of bronze represented Alexander the Great and the Greek empire. The legs of iron and feet mixed with iron and clay represent the Roman Empire. However, after the Roman empire of which starts as iron (in the leg part) but becomes iron mixed with clay toward the end (feet and toes part), God of heaven will overthrow all other kings and their kingdom and establish His own kingdom on earth (Da 2:44,45). In the order of their arrangement the materials (gold, silver, bronze and iron) decrease in value whereas increase in strength. Each kingdom had their own unique characteristics. Babylon sought to establish good administration. For this the Babylonians did not fear raising up able administrators among their subjects. Persian kingdom sought to establish religious freedom. They sent back their subjects (esp the Jews) to their own country to practice their own religion. The Greeks sought to establish a sophisticated world of philosophy, culture and literature. As Daniels prophecy made it clear the Romans took pride in cruelty and crushing their subjects (Da 2:40).
It is to be noticed that no single kingdom replaced the Roman Empire. Although the English, the Dutch, the French, the Portugues all had their run, no one kingdom ever replaced all other kingdoms. In essence the Roman Empire was not replaced. Daniel later tells us that the final world dictator known as the Antichrist who will have an alliance of ten kings (ten horns? ten toes?) will come from among the revived Roman Empire (Da 9:26).
So the content of the dream is all of human history and political kingdoms on earth until the Second Coming of Jesus and the establishment of the Millennial Kingdom – Jesus’ 1000 year of literal rule on planet earth in partnership with the saints.
to be continued …
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