DANIEL - A Verse by VERSE BIBLE STUDY

Daniel 3:4-7............
"Then the herald loudly proclaimed, 'This is what you are commanded to do, O peoples, nations and men of every language: As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.' Therefore, as soon as they heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp and all kinds of music, all the peoples, nations and men of every language fell down and worshiped the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. "

This passage and event constitutes a change for the lives of all Jews exiled in Babylon. They had faced indoctrination before but not persecution for their religious beliefs. That is now beginning.

Note also the extent of this decree - whatever is happening here with the proclamation and decree is going to affect all peoples and men of every language. Everyone is going to be put on the spot - do you obey the king? Do you go with these new laws of the land?

What about if you are Jewish and to bow down and worship this image would break the first two of the Ten Commandments?
But what of the alternative? To not do so will probably cost you your life.

Christians in persecuted countries have faced these questions since the time of Christ. In the West however it is a recent development where the laws of the land are coming into conflict with the laws of God. But this has been increasing and changing fast. Christians in employment associated with marriage (such as florists, cake makers, signing marriage licenses or officiating in the ceremony) now have to decide whether they will participate in homosexual marriages. Many have declined and been fined heavily and faced public persecution and ridicule for not doing so. Some have lost their business. An officer in the US army was recently court marshaled for refusing to remove a scripture that he had put up. Students face ridicule and persecution for standing up for what they believe in.

There are many areas where the laws of the land are now coming into conflict with the ways of God. An 'Answers in Genesis' article states that the Government is:

1. Attempting to force pastors to officiate at gay weddings.
2. Coercing Christian colleges to accept homosexual behavior or lose government aid.
3. Telling ministries to open their hiring to non-adherents to their faith, including practicing LGBT people
4. Effectively forcing religious and pro-life groups based in Washington, DC, to hire people who are pro abortion and provide them the insurance coverage that includes abortions.

Eventually we will all, more and more, be put on the spot about what values and beliefs we hold to and whether they will influence the decisions we make... or whether we 'go with the flow' of the world's opinions.
 
Daniel 3:8-15.............
"Therefore, as soon as they heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp and all kinds of music, all the peoples, nations and men of every language fell down and worshiped the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. At this time some astrologers came forward and denounced the Jews. They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, 'O king, live forever! You have issued a decree, O king, that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music must fall down and worship the image of gold, and that whoever does not fall down and worship will be thrown into a blazing furnace. But there are some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon - Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego - who pay no attention to you, O king. They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up.' Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, 'Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up? Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand? '

We see very quickly that the king is enraged by what these men did. His orders were ignored! His authority is questioned.
It seems to me that thought the king is mad, he gives these four men another chance to change their minds.
Disobeying the king meant death but these men knew that disobeying God WAS TOATL SEPERATION!

We have those very same choices today. You see my friends......life is a series of making choices. Remember, choices have consequences!!!!

These THREE are left standing alone as we do not see Daniel listed as was noted earlier. You can be sure that if he had been present, he would also have been standing wit these three Jewish men.

Obviousely, jealousy has over come the leaders under the king.

So what do you do? You've been led into captivity to a foreign country and suddenly the king, whose favorite saying is that he will 'tear you limb from limb and turn your house into rubble', is commanding that you fall down and worship this golden oversized monstrosity of an idol. You know that to do so will break the first two commandments in that you should not have any other 'gods' or idols.

There are times when Christians have to disobey the law of the land when it goes against what is being commanded by God. There are times, in the words of the apostle Peter, that 'we must obey God and not men'. The interesting thing about this chapter is that it is not just historical. It is actually prophetic of what conditions will be like in the last days after the church has been removed.

So we've left our three friends with quite a decision to make. The horns of a dilemma you might say. The king, without a hint of a smile on his face has just challenged them with 'if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?' So it seems that the king has already forgotten about the God of Daniel and his friends that he was introduced to in chapter 2. So here is the moment of choice for Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. WHAT WILL THEY DO??????
 
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Daniel 3:16-18............
"Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, 'O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand , O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up. '

BOOM! Talk about a slap in the face.
Verse 18 is one of the most important and encouraging Scriptures in all of the Bible.
Faced with death, these THREE Jewish men look the king right in the eye and say clearly and calmly to him..........
"Listen king, our God can save us - But if He doesn't, we still will not worship your image"!

What amazing faith our three amigos had! Having committed themselves to the God of Israel, God now commits Himself to them and supplies the boldness and strength to stand and defy the king! What an amazing testimony they gave. You would think that they would fall somewhat silent as they contemplated how to respond to such a threat but they spoke immediately with grace yet firm resolve and faith. It is one thing to 'think' that we will be strong in such a time but another to actually do it.

Peter couldn't do it as he told Jesus that even if all deserted Him, he never would. Great speech! Yet at the moment of testing, he even had to lie to a small girl saying he didn't know Jesus!

Abraham couldn't do it as he lied to those who caught him.

The moral of this story is that we should never have such great pride and confidence in ourselves but rely on God to give what is needed in such times. That is the answer to the confidence that our three amigos exhibited.

So how do you think the king would respond? What's going to happen to these three little worms that don't want to go along with this new one world religion?
 
Daniel 3:4-7.............
"Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages,
That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp*, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up: And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. Therefore at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the cornet, flute, harp*, sackbut, psaltery, and all kinds of musick, all the people, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshipped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up."

These people had no idea of what it meat to have the freedom of worship. Remember that true worship is a spontaneous action to a feeling in the heart not a command from a king.

Also....MUSIC is used as an appeal to the flesh. In most churches today it is impossible to know the difference between WORLDY Rock and Roll music and spiritual worship music.

It may mean nothing and then it may mean everything. Notice in the literal scriptures that there are SIX (6) musical instruments listed.

Now.....again, notice that the furnance was not made just for Daniel's friends. It was already in place and was being used on a regular basis. It was actually in place in order to offer HUMAN sacrifices to the Babylonian gods. This of course was idolatrous and blasphemous and I need to point out here that these are the same people in Genesis 10 who had built the Tower of Babel. The Tower of Babel was a way to bypass God's way to Him and thereby allowing man to walk to heaven.
 
Daniel 3:8-12...........
"Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and accused the Jews. 9 They spake and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live for ever. 10 Thou, O king, hast made a decree, that every man that shall hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, shall fall down and worship the golden image: 11 And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth, that he should be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. 12 There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up."

The 3 Hebrew men have ignored the king. They stand alone. It would have been impossible NOT to notice them. Jealosy has overtaken the minister of the king. These 3 Hebrew have replaced some of them so they are determined to get even.

Notice that Daniel is not seen.
 
Daniel 3:13-15...........
"Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Then they brought these men before the king. 14 Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up? 15 Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?"

The king is enraged because his orders have been ignored. It is clear that he is on the verge of insanity but he gives the 3 men another chance.

Fact of life..........Choices have lasting consequences!
 
Daniel 3:16-18........
" Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.
17 If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.
18 But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up."

BOOM!.....These 3 Hebrew men just slapped the king in the mouth with a leg of lamb!

What a sermon this is!

God may not deliver us, but we will still not worship YOU!

If we all could be moved to have that kind of attitude, what a different world we would have!!!!!!!
 
Daniel 3:19-23............
"Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated. 20 And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. 21 Then these men were bound in their coats, their hosen, and their hats, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. 22 Therefore because the king's commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flames of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace."

Who did not see this coming. A rock hits a hard place. He is so mad his appearance changes. That ever happened to you?????

Telling the truth.......YOU know it has! I know it has! I have seen it take place in God's house many times. It is a character flae that a Christian should never have......"A LACK OF SEL CONTROL!

Why 10 times hotter. FIRE is hot. What does making it 7 times hotter do?????
#1.....the number 7 is the Bible number for COMPLETNESS.
Then it removes any excuses.
Then....It will make God receive all the glory!
 
Daniel 3:24-25..........
"Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king.
25 He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God."
Nebuchadnezzar's amazement at the sight of four persons, instead of three; and these loose, walking in the midst of the fire without hurt; and one of them like the Son of God, which he observed to his counsellors.

No matter what the devil tries to do, God is able to turn it around for good! The king knew they had thrown in 3! He saw 3 go in. But now he sees 4! Then he admitts that the 4th looks like the Son of God!

So.........the fact that the 3 Hebrew men were not consumed was not enough. So now there is another one in the fire as well.

Many believe that this is a Christophany and so do I. It is the appearance of Christ before He was incarnated.

The king was not a spiritual man. He had No religious perception but here he is confessing that he sees one like "THE SON OF GOD".
The think that the think to notice here is that the king recognized the obvious and came to the conclusion that nothing he knew of could do what his eyes told him!

So he says...........It looks like the Son of God! Now maybe he meant a god. Maybe he meant an idol. But he said SON of God.
Where would he get such an idea as a Son of God ???????

From Daniel IMHO! There is actually no other explanation.

 
Daniel 3:26-28.............
"Then Nebuchadnezzar went near the mouth of the burning fiery furnace and spoke, saying, "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here." Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego came from the midst of the fire. 27 And the satraps, administrators, governors, and the king's counselors gathered together, and they saw these men on whose bodies the fire had no power; the hair of their head was not singed nor were their garments affected, and the smell of fire was not on them. 28 Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying, "Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who sent His Angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him, and they have frustrated the king's word, and yielded their bodies, that they should not serve nor worship any god except their own God!"
"But Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego yelled back saying "Na, na, naaa! How about you come on in where we are!'

Yes, Ok, so that's not their real response but it would have been a good one! Here is the real response in 26-28.

Nebuchadnezzar was obviously, and rightfully, blown away! Probably couldn't believe his eyes but one thing he knew for sure is that the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego was unlike any other 'god' he had come across before! And so, our three friends received a job promotion. From zero to hero you might say. Straight from the depths of the fire and into a new job ruling over the provinces of Babylon! Not bad. The king is obviously very impressed, once again, with the God of Israel. Would this last? Unfortunately, as we shall see in the next chapter, he still isn't as impressed with the God of Israel as he is with himself! Oh mankind! When will you ever learn?

Personally......I see a parallel coming for the church in the west. Things seem to be moving from being influenced to being persecuted. We are moving from Daniel 1 to Daniel 3. Maybe not in the same extent because we would consider ourselves slightly more 'civilized' but the times they are a changing and the picture given in Daniel 3 is where things will end up under the coming world ruler.

You have not seen much yet, but Daniel is a prophetic book. I'm sure you know that. But apart from the overtly prophetic portions of scripture in Daniel, there are also some glimpses of the end times through the stories that occurred in the life of Daniel and his friends.

This chapter, chapter 3, is definitely one of those times. Here is what we have... a wicked King, with absolute power, setting up an image that must be worshipped. Disobey and you'll lose your life. A global decree has gone out: 'All peoples, nations, men of every language had to bow down!' What exactly is happening here? What is Nebuchadnezzar doing?

I believe he is uniting world religion! He would have known that the kingdom that was struck and smashed in chapter 2:41 was a divided kingdom. That's what made it weak. So the king's thought is to unite religious belief in the worship of his image! Note also that this new image is 60 cubits by 6 cubits! (Remembering that the number 6 is the number of man). If this is not yet clear. let me spell it out. In the last days, this shall happen again as we read in Revelation 13:11-18.

A king will rule the entire earth and will unite worship unto himself. The false prophet shall setup an image that the entire earth has to worship. One religion once again! And he will give that image power to speak and cause those that will not bow down in worship to be killed. Although, like in the days of Daniel, there will be some that it cannot touch (more on that later). That is where things are heading. As it was in the days of Daniel 3, so shall it be again.

Commitment is becoming a rare quality in this age. Especially this type of commitment that places no conditions on God whatsoever. We tend to give in and give up. This happens in jobs, marriages, faith and even our lives. Even Christians can sometimes believe that God primarily exists for their benefit... He exists to bless them. Nope. We exist for His pleasure. Our friends placed no such conditions on God - deliverance or not, God is good and worth obeying!

When Corrie Ten Boom was afraid as a small girl that she would never have the courage to put her faith on the line for Jesus, her godly father simply said to her 'Corrie, when we take the train to Amsterdam, when do I give you the money for the ticket? Three weeks early? No. I don't give you the money until we approach the ticket office. So it is with God. He provides the strength we need at the time we need it.' That's how it would have been with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego I believe.

What they did in the midst of this fiery ordeal is what Peter tells us to do:
1 Peter 4:12 & 19'........
don't be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you... if you are suffering according to God's will, keep on doing what is right, and trust yourself to the God who made you, for he will never fail you.'

Now, as a prophetic side note, this passage also reminds us of the another set of Jewish males who will not bow down in the end times. But they also will not be harmed. In the last days, 144,000 Jewish males will be set aside by God and will have His seal in their forehead. This will mean that they will not be able to be harmed by the different trials that will come upon the earth. (See Rev 7:1-8). No doubt, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego stand as a type of this group that in the last days will be similarly protected. Just as Daniel, who is completely absent from this whole scene, represents the Church that is removed before the tribulation comes upon the earth.

More on this as we go forward.

Please feel free to add your thoughts!
 
Daniel 3:29-30............
"Therefore I make a decree, That every people, nation, and language, which speak any thing amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill: because there is no other God that can deliver after this sort. 30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, in the province of Babylon."

The king was not converted and changed by the power of God that he saw. He was however convinced that there was NO other God that could do what he has seen, except the God of these 3 Hebrew men.

My dear friends, allow me to say that salvation never comes by what we se, or feel or touch. Salvation is more than a mental assessment.
May I say to all of you that the whole world know that there is a God. YES I know some say they are atheists and some say they do not believe, but I promise you, when they are on there death bed, then they will cry out to God!

I am telling you that I have lived long enough, buried tooooo many people and lived through war and when death looks you in the face.....
Everyone Believes in God!

However......how many believe that Jesus is God in the flesh, that He is the Son of God the Messiah, the Lord of hosts??????

Consider this, these 3 Hebrew men were NOT LOOKING for anything. They were NOT LOOKING for a miracle.
But that is exactly what they got. They were saved, they were promoted and were placed in a position of authority.
 
DANIEL CHAPTER FOUR

4:1-3........
"Nebuchadnezzar the king, unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you.
2 I thought it good to shew the signs and wonders that the high God hath wrought toward me.
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."

In this chapter, insanity will overtake the king. It will have the sound of a testimony because the king will recount the events that happened in his humiliation. This proud, self seeking king will lower himself to explain his story. He will tell us that the reason for his insanity and his restoration are both the result of God.

Here in 1-3 the king is talking about all the people under his rule, not the entire earth. He is saying that God has led him to a point where he knew he needed to change. He has already accepted the fact that the God of Daniel was the real God of power but he had not made a commitment to that true God.

The king is slow in coming to God. He did not fully accept God as his Saviour. He saw something he could not ecplain but seeing is not faith. He is going to tell us about the changes in his life that brings about conversion. Notice verse #3...........
"His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom and his dominion is from generation to generation". He is stating three Scriptures here........
Isaiah 9:6-7, Genesis 8:22 and Zech. 14.
 
DANIEL 4:4-5............
"I Nebuchadnezzar was at rest in mine house, and flourishing in my palace:
5 I saw a dream which made me afraid, and the thoughts upon my bed and the visions of my head troubled me."

This is the kings 2nd dream and he is troubled. Seems he dreams a lot !!!

Visions happen often in the Old Test. but not so much in the New Test.

50 % of visions in the Old Test. are in Daniel and Ezekiel and were a method God used to get His message out.

The problem is that Satan can do the very same thing and we do not know the difference. Believe it or not, there are many, many unscrupulous people who will say anything to get something.

Today we have the completed Written Word of God to tell us what we should know.We do not need visions or dreams today and I for one advise all of you to discount those dreams. They do not come from God.

They can come from to many meds.
They can come from not enough meds.
They can come from foods you eat.
They can come from stress you have during the day.
They can come from a movie you watched.

Jude 1:8.......
"Yet in the same way these men, also by dreaming, defile the flesh, and reject authority, and revile angelic majesties."
 
Daniel 4:6-7
"Therefore made I a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon before me, that they might make known unto me the interpretation of the dream.
7 Then came in the magicians, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers: and I told the dream before them; but they did not make known unto me the interpretation thereof."
As the king continues recounting his story to all the peoples and nations we see that faced with a terrifying dream he goes initially to his own people. Why? Well, clearly they walked in first so I guess that is a pretty good reason. But there is more to it. In the ancient world military conquests generally meant that your 'gods' were greater than that of the conquered nation. Well here was king Nebuchadnezzar... he had conquered all that he cared for so clearly his Babylonian gods must be the most powerful gods right? And yet he knew that Daniel worshipped the God of Israel and the king didn't want to have to acknowledge that Daniel's God could reveal things that his own gods couldn't!
 
Daniel 4:8-10..........
"But at the last Daniel came in before me, whose name was Belteshazzar, according to the name of my God, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods: and before him I told the dream, saying,
9 O Belteshazzar, master of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in thee, and no secret troubleth thee, tell me the visions of my dream that I have seen, and the interpretation thereof. I said, 'Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you, and no mystery is too difficult for you."

The wise men have failed and once again it is Daniel to the rescue. The king seems to recognize that the Holy Spirit of God is upon Daniel. Now I say that because at this time the Holy Spirit did not "INDWELL" believers. He came upon them from time to time to accomplish a specific function. The king of course had no way to understand that the spirit he recognized was the 3rd person of the Trinity.

I do not think that Daniel knew anything about it either. All the king knew was that there was something different about Daniel. Daniel had already manifested the gifts of the Spirit in that he had shown wisdom, knowledge and the ability to interpret dreams.
 
Daniel 4:10-12...........
"Thus were the visions of mine head in my bed; I saw, and behold a tree in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was great. The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth: the leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all: the beasts of the field had shadow under it, and the fowls of the heaven dwelt in the boughs thereof, and all flesh was fed of it."
So here is the dream he had. It is of one very impressive tree that grew enormously tall and stood out for its beauty and abundance. This tree was visible to the ends of the earth signifying that extent of the Babylonian kingdom and its influence on the then known world. Beasts and birds alike are said to have found shelter and provision under this tree. And yet, in the midst of this impressive tree watching exercise, an angelic 'watcher' comes forth and issues a decree of judgment. The tree will be chopped down.
 
Daniel 4:14-18.............
"I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and, behold, a watcher and an holy one came down from heaven;
14 He cried aloud, and said thus, Hew down the tree, and cut off his branches, shake off his leaves, and scatter his fruit: let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls from his branches:
15 Nevertheless leave the stump of his roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth:
16 Let his heart be changed from man's, and let a beast's heart be given unto him; and let seven times pass over him.
17 This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.
18 This dream I king Nebuchadnezzar have seen. Now thou, O Belteshazzar, declare the interpretation thereof, forasmuch as all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known unto me the interpretation: but thou art able; for the spirit of the holy gods is in thee."
So it seems that God very specifically gave the king this vision of a large tree being cut down. It was the tree of doom! But note there was a flicker of hope for the tree wouldn't be completely destroyed. The stump would be left in the ground but with a band of bronze around it. Bronze in the Bible speaks of judgment and so it would be for this king. We see also in this dream that what the king saw and heard swaps from being a tree to a person. It goes from 'cut down the tree' to 'let him (that which was cut down) live with the animals among the plants of the earth'. No wonder he was beginning to sweat! His so called 'wise-men' have let him down (again) so it is back to Daniel... Can he help? Can Daniel's God give revelation where others have failed?

Notice the THINGS that the king dreamed.....

1. a "Holy One" = An Angel who came at the command of the "WATCHERS".
2. "Watchers" = This is the heavenly host of God.
3. "Tree" = This is the king himself. Great men are often referred to as "trees" in Scripture.
4. "Leaves/Fruit = A picture of humiliation.
5. "Stump" = Although the king would fall, his roots would live and he would rise again.
 
Daniel 4:19............
"Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was astonied for one hour, and his thoughts troubled him. The king spake, and said, Belteshazzar, let not the dream, or the interpretation thereof, trouble thee. Belteshazzar answered and said, My lord, the dream be to them that hate thee, and the interpretation thereof to thine enemies.

Daniel is troubled. So much so that he was silent for an hour. The kings 1st dream dignified him but this 2nd dream debases him and he and Daniel had become friends. Because of the friendship, Daniel is reluctant to tell the king what the dream means.
 
Daniel 4:20-22................
"The tree that thou sawest, which grew, and was strong, whose height reached unto the heaven, and the sight thereof to all the earth;
21 Whose leaves were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all; under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and upon whose branches the fowls of the heaven had their habitation:
22 It is thou, O king, that art grown and become strong: for thy greatness is grown, and reacheth unto heaven, and thy dominion to the end of the earth."
As I stated, the Tree is the King and he is to be cut off but not totally rejected. For Seven (7) years the king is to live with the beasts of the field. He will not even recognize who he is.

Not very good news for the king is it? God is going to do something very radical to this king so that he will be brought to the place where he will finally acknowledge the God of Daniel as the Most High God. In fact, it is so radical that at first, even Daniel hesitates in giving the interpretation to the king because of what it means. Daniel would prefer that the interpretation applied to Nebuchadnezzar's enemies and not the king himself. But speak he must. In like manner, the gospel can sometimes be hard for some to hear, and hard for others to give. But like Daniel we are still called to speak the truth in love. We want to show the same type of concern that Daniel did in giving the message but, again like Daniel, we still have to speak the truth.

'For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task? Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit.
2 Corth. 2:15-17.
 
Daniel 4:23-26...........
"And whereas the king saw a watcher and an holy one coming down from heaven, and saying, Hew the tree down, and destroy it; yet leave the stump of the roots thereof in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the field, till seven times pass over him;
24 This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the most High, which is come upon my lord the king:
25 That they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over thee, till thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.
26 And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots; thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee, after that thou shalt have known that the heavens do rule."

It is clear that the king had lots of mental issues. One is PRIDE. Another is PARONOIA. It also seem that he has HYSTERIA.
ALL of those lead to "EMOTIONALISM". They are also a characteristic of manic-depressive psychosis.

It is characteristic for hysteria to run in cycles and in the kings case, it will be 7 years.
 
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