Verses 1-2 And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, wherewith his spirit was troubled, and his sleep brake from him. 2 Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to shew the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king.
The fact that it was only the second year of the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar indicates that Daniel and his friends were taken captive early on in the conquering of Judah and Jerusalem by the Babylonians. The actual exile into captivity took many years to complete. This second year of King Nebuchadnezzar’s reign refers to his reign over the Jews, Judah and Jerusalem. It is not referring to his reign over the Babylonian empire. The writers of Scripture, as stated elsewhere is this Bible study, based their calendar on the start of each king’s ruler-ship, so for Daniel and the Jewish captives, it was the second year of being under the reign of this Babylonian king.
So this ruler of a huge land mass and millions of people starts to have dreams that he cannot remember and that he cannot understand. These dreams were from the one true God, but this pagan king does the only thing he knows to do: call the magicians, astrologers, sorcerers and Chaldeans who all derived their power from demonic spirits. Although the text does not indicate the time of day this meeting of the king and his servants took place, it is very likely that it was during the night hours as apparently he was unable to go back to sleep. So imagine these men’s mental state, who most likely had their sleep interrupted when summoned to the king, and what they may have been thinking and how they must have been feeling. Perhaps they were fearful as the king had the power of life and death over them and over their families.
Verses 3-4 And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream. 4 Then spake the Chaldeans to the king in Syriack, O king, live for ever: tell thy servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation.
Syriack is also known as Aramaic and it was the language used by people living in the region of Aram. It is only in the book of Daniel that this language occurs in Scripture. The wise men are ready and willing to tell the interpretation of the dream after the king recounts it to them as they can use their demonic connections to give them the meaning of the dream, or they can fabricate a plausible explanation that will appease their king.
Application: Satan and his fallen angels communicate with people today and give them information that they cannot possibly know in the physical world. Fortune tellers, astrologers, and practitioners of witchcraft (sorcerers) are present in every country of the world and they are not shy about advertising their professions. But the way these individuals work is that they give a prediction to their customer and the evil spirits listening in make the prediction come to pass. Evil spirits cannot read a person’s mind, but they can put thoughts or ideas into a person’s mind. So they observe a person, know what they have done and who they associate with, and then the evil spirits tell the occult practitioner details of the person’s life so that it seems that the fortune teller or astrologer has mystical powers. They do not have any power. They are simply provided with enough information by their demonic spirit partner to convince the foolish person paying for their services that they are a reliable source of information into the past, present and future.
Verses 5-6 The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is gone from me: if ye will not make known unto me the dream, with the interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill. 6 But if ye shew the dream, and the interpretation thereof, ye shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great honour: therefore shew me the dream, and the interpretation thereof.
King Nebuchadnezzar is starting to show his character in this second chapter of Daniel. He is an unreasonable leader, petulant, expecting to have what he wants, when he wants, and in the manner that he wants. He apparently does not remember the good service that these wise men provided him in the past, and only hopes to get his dream and the interpretation resolved by threatening them with slaughter. And to soften his threats, he offers gifts, rewards and honor to the one who can give him his wishes. His expectations are out of line with reality, but he expects his commandments to be obeyed.
Verse 7 They answered again and said, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation of it.
These occult practitioners understood their limitations and they knew that they could not do what the king was demanding of them. So they asked again that he tell them the dream. What choice did they have at this point?
Verses 8-9 The king answered and said, I know of certainty that ye would gain the time, because ye see the thing is gone from me. 9 But if ye will not make known unto me the dream, there is but one decree for you: for ye have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me, till the time be changed: therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that ye can shew me the interpretation thereof.
King Nebuchadnezzar was very aware that these men had lied to him in the past and it appears that he really did not trust them very much to show him his dream. Since his kingdom ran on occult power, he also had no choice but to inquire of these occult practitioners. He thought they were just stalling for time, hoping that since he had forgotten it, he would let the whole situation pass. He did not know the God of Heaven and that His people were living and working in his pagan government.
Application: God’s people have to live and function in a corrupt, Satan run world, and it may often feel like there is no place for them to fit in. But the true historical story of the Hebrew children taken into captivity in Babylon provides the blue print of how to successfully live in a fallen world. They were forced to comply with the pagan government program up to a point, but when the requirements transgressed the law of God, they stood firm and refused to participate. As will be seen later in these chapters, this resolve had serious, life threatening consequences, but God protected them and elevated them to the positions of power He wanted them to be in in order for His prophetic plan for the nations to be accomplished. They were successful because they never forgot their God and they never failed to follow His commandments while living in a world foreign to them and to their beliefs.
Verses 10-11 The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is not a man upon the earth that can shew the king’s matter: therefore there is no king, lord, nor ruler, that asked such things at any magician, or astrologer, or Chaldean. 11 And it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is none other that can shew it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.
Since the wise men knew they could not do what the king was asking, they tried a little reality therapy in an effort to calm King Nebuchadnezzar and perhaps change his mind regarding the treat of death for non performance. They were very aware that their gods would not come through for them as the spirits behind these pagan gods could not read the king’s mind, and they told the king the truth of the matter which he chose to ignore in his moment if irrationality. There was not a man who could show the king his dream and then interpret it. Only the one, true God could do this and they did not know the LORD and so could not call upon Him in their time of trouble.
Application: Unlike the Babylonian gods, the LORD God Almighty did/does dwell with flesh. His presence was in the garden of Eden with Adam and Eve. His presence was with Noah in the ark during the flood. His presence was with Abraham and his twelve sons as the Hebrew people multiplied to eventually become a nation. His presence was in the Tabernacle in the wilderness. His presence was in the Temple when it was built by King Solomon in Jerusalem. And His presence was with Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah in captivity in the king’s court. Today, His presence is with every true believer in the form of the Holy Ghost/Spirit who inhabits the believer and who guides the believer while sojourning in this fallen, wicked world.
Verses 12-13 For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. 13 And the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain; and they sought Daniel and his fellows to be slain.
Although Daniel and his friends were not involved with the occult, because of their wisdom, they were lumped into the category of wise men and therefore where facing death along with the other servants of King Nebuchadnezzar. They had not been called to the king, presumably in the middle of the night, as they were foreign students in the king’s training program and not really part of the whole Chaldean, astrologer, sorcerer, and magician social group. Yet, “they” (and according to the following verses, the they was the king’s guard) sought Daniel and his friends to put them to death. So having not been with the wise men and the king, neither Daniel nor his friends were aware of the situation or of the order to put everyone to death.
Verses 14-15 Then Daniel answered with counsel and wisdom to Arioch the captain of the king’s guard, which was gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon: 15 He answered and said to Arioch the king’s captain, Why is the decree so hasty from the king? Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel.
Notice that Daniel did not panic when the soldiers showed up to arrest and execute him. Why not? Because he had his full trust in the LORD God of Heaven and of Earth. He was not worried at this turn of events. He knew the LORD had everything under control. So with this confident mind set, he has able to inquire of Arioch, whose name meant “lion-like”, ‘what’s the problem and why is the king so hasty in his decree against his own servants.’ His attitude of control resulted in Arioch explaining the situation to Daniel. Arioch was a servant of King Nebuchadnezzar and he would have been well aware that to fail to follow the king’s orders was also a death sentence for him and possibly for his men. Yet he felt comfortable enough with Daniel to take the time to talk and listen to him.
Verses 16-18 Then Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would give him time, and that he would shew the king the interpretation. 17 Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions: 18 That they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
One of the keys to understanding Scripture is to read the verses as follows: first the natural and then the spiritual. In other words what are the verses saying in the most natural sense, and then look to see if there is a spiritual application. Sometimes with the unexpected events in this life, this approach is also the right one in solving a problem. Daniel looked at first the natural situation, and then he sought out King Nebuchadnezzar and asked for more time to find the lost dream and the interpretation of it. Then, with the a natural, although temporary, remedy in place, he sought out his friends and approached the situation spiritually. They sought the help of the LORD and His protection in this very serious situation.
Verses 19-23 Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.
God gave to Daniel the exact dream that He had given to the king. Only God can perform such a miracle. Daniel then knew that his life and the lives of his friends were saved from the tyranny of the king.
Daniel’s prayer of thanksgiving and praise is left here in its entirety.
20 Daniel answered and said,
Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever:
For wisdom and might are his:
21 And he changeth the times and the seasons:
He removeth kings, and setteth up kings:
He giveth wisdom unto the wise,
And knowledge to them that know understanding:
22 He revealeth the deep and secret things:
He knoweth what is in the darkness,
And the light dwelleth with him.
23 I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers,
Who hast given me wisdom and might,
And hast made known unto me now what we desired of thee:
For thou hast now made known unto us the king’s matter.
Remember that in the King James Bible, verbs ending in “eth” mean that the action is ongoing. So the verb, “changeth”, means that this action in ongoing by God and not a one time thing. The verb, “revealeth”, means that God is constantly revealing deep and secret things, and so forth. Remember also that these prayers recorded in Scripture reveal the character of God and also provide a pattern for the believer to apply when praying to the LORD. These prayers will be a blessing to the Christian believer if the time is taken to read and study them. In this prayer, Daniel starts out with praise and then lists characteristics of the LORD. He is wise, mighty, a God of action, in control always, a reveal-er, interested in the affairs of men, able to see through the darkness of sin, is light very light, all knowledgeable, the worker of miracles, and who bestows upon His people wisdom, knowledge, and power. He ends the prayer with words of thanksgiving.
Note: From verse 21 above, the doctrine has been developed and is taught in many churches that every world leader is put in power or taken out of power by the LORD. Therefore, the inference is made that Christian believers should pray blessings for these leaders, even if they are wicked, and accept their leadership as being divine and according to the will of God. However, please refer to Hosea 8:4 which clearly states, “They have set up kings, but not by me: they have made princes, and I knew it not: of their silver and their gold have they made them idols, that thy may be cut off.” The Word of God does not contain error nor does it contradict itself. If the doctrine that all world leaders are put in their positions of power by God is correct, then why does God clearly state in Hosea, when referring to the rebellious nation of Israel, that they have put kings in place that are not put there by Him? God has always given mankind free will. Evil men will put evil people in power. Righteous men will put righteous people in power. Pretty plain and simple, don’t you think? So the believer needs to be careful how he/she prays for leaders and to be careful what is being sought from God in prayer.
Verses 24-25 Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had ordained to destroy the wise men of Babylon: he went and said thus unto him; Destroy not the wise men of Babylon: bring me in before the king, and I will shew unto the king the interpretation. 25 Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said thus unto him, I have found a man of the captives of Judah, that will make known unto the king the interpretation.
Why was Arioch working with Daniel? Because God had brought Daniel into favor with this powerful soldier. Arioch did not want to kill people for no reason. He was trained, like all soldiers, to kill the enemy. He was aware that the king was being petulant and unreasonable. Most soldiers do not want to kill their own people. Some of the condemned were no doubt known to Arioch, perhaps even his neighbors or extended family members. He was being put in a terrible position: kill innocent men and their families or be killed. So Arioch was only too happy to intercede for Daniel with the king so that this decree could be stopped.
Verse 26 The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Art thou able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation thereof?
Arioch had already told King Nebuchadnezzar that Daniel could comply with his demands, but he wanted to hear Daniel speak for himself. What the king did not know was that the presence of the living God was right there in the room with them. The only true King, the King of Kings, was the one who had given this Babylonian king the dream in the first place, and He would provide the interpretation through His servant, Daniel.
Verses 27-28 Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, shew unto the king; 28 But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these;
It would have been easy for Daniel to take credit for revealing the secret dream and the interpretation. But Daniel loved God and knew that he was but the servant of God, so he gave full credit to God for the miracle of revelation. Most likely King Nebuchadnezzar had not come into contact with the Hebrew captives long enough to know and understand who their God was/is. Because of the witness of Daniel, this may have been his first introduction to God Almighty.
Verses 29-30 As for thee, O king, thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter: and he that revealeth secrets maketh known to thee what shall come to pass. 30 But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but for their sakes that shall make known the interpretation to the king, and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart.
Daniel starts revealing the dream to the king by first letting him know that the things he saw in the dream that troubled him so much were future and that Daniel’s God wanted the king to know what would happen in the future. He then told the king in no uncertain terms that it was not his, Daniel’s, wisdom that was doing the revealing, that he was no wiser than another, and that it was being revealed for the sake of the condemned servants of the king.
Verses 31-36 Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. 32 This image’s head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, 33 His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. 34 Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. 35 Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. 36 This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king.
Daniel starts to tell the king his dream and it involves an image or idol that could cause those who saw it to be afraid. It was large in size and it was bright, most likely because it was composed primarily of shiny metals. The idol or image was strong except for the feet which were supporting it. The feet were a mixture of ceramic clay and iron metal which do not mix or adhere to each other very well. While erect, the idol was impressive and strong, but once it fell, it became insignificant and just disappeared like the chaff that is produced and blown away in the wind when hand beating out grain on threshing floors.
The stone referenced in verse 35 above is Jesus. “Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?” Matthew 21:42 It could also be referencing the Word of God. “And the LORD delivered unto me two tables of stone written with the finger of God; and on them was written according to all the words, which the LORD spake with you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly.” Deuteronomy 5:10 The coming of Jesus, His shed blood and resurrection, the new covenant, the coming of the comforter or Holy Ghost, and the New Testament writings established the Church of the LORD Jesus Christ which has filled the whole Earth with the message of the Gospel and which has prevented another one world empire from taking place.
Application: Mountains in Scripture can be metaphor for an obstacle, for power and strength, and for a place of refuge. For the Christian believer, Jesus Christ is his/her strength and place of refuge. For the unbeliever, Jesus Christ is an obstacle.
Verses 37-38 Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. 38 And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold.
Notice that Daniel used the phrase, “a king of kings”. Nebuchadnezzar may have believed that he was divine, but Daniel knew that there was/is only one King of Kings, and by using the word “a”, Daniel made sure the king knew he was not divine. He also let the king know that all that he was and all that he had was because of the one, true God. This was a bold action on the part of Daniel as most pagan kings were prideful and not willing to attribute any of their success to another. Any criticism or suggestion by an individual that the king was not the highest power in the land could result in death for that individual.
Verses 39-40 And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. 40 And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.
These kingdoms historically have proven to be Medo-Persia (silver), Greece (brass) and Rome (iron).
Verses 41-43 And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. 42 And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. 43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.
The last one world government, Rome, fell in ten pieces over a long period of time, hence the ten toes. However, even though the physical nation of Rome slowly fell apart after the ministry of Jesus Christ and the establishment of the Church, a religious component sprung up under Constantine which was created and designed by Jewish leadership living in exile in Alexandria, Egypt, with the purpose of defeating Christianity and which became the Holy Roman Empire with the institution of Catholicism. Within this empire there formed two separate entities: one secular and one religious. The one claiming to be the only true “Christian” church is what most practicing Catholics know today. But the secular part of the Catholic church is a government that is political and that is in most countries of the world. It has its own army, prints money, levies taxes, is heavily into banking and corporations, and has basically continued to run the world through its municipal governments and through the British crown and Lord Mayor of London. Hence, this writer can say confidently that the institution of Catholicism is not Christian or of Jesus Christ. It does not serve the people. The people serve the institution. It has shed blood throughout its history and millions of innocent people have been tortured and killed. Jesus commanded His followers to do no harm, to pray for their enemies, to serve others and to love Him with all their mind, heart and soul. True Christians are like Christ, and He never put anyone to death. So the one world physical empire of Rome was broken as represented by the feet of the idol, but it has remained unto this day with the same strength of iron but with the weakness of clay as it is spread throughout the world and is not a specific geographical area as it once was. So the Roman empire has mingled itself with other nations and religions, but has remained in control through its economic and political stranglehold.
Verse 44 And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.
Daniel and King Nebuchadnezzar did not know what these kingdoms would be or what ethnic groups would make up the people of the kingdoms that would follow the Babylonian one world government. As far as the king was concerned, Babylon would never fall. The walls around the city were wide enough for six chariots to run on. Neither he nor the people ever thought that their city and their nation would fall. But here was the dream being interpreted by Daniel. Although the king would be grateful to Daniel as seen in the following verses, it is not known that the king took Daniel’s words from God to heart as he later erected an image or statue of himself and demanded worship, demonstrating his thinking and belief that he was a god and that he and his kingdom was indestructible.
Application: Historically it is now known that God established His spiritual kingdom during the Roman empire (legs of iron) when the LORD Jesus Christ came to Earth and walked among mankind. “Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.” John 18:36 This spiritual kingdom is still in existence today and will continue until the end of time, and every true Christian believer is in that kingdom while alive in the flesh on this Earth. Citizenship in this kingdom provides guaranteed passage to Heaven and eternal life with Jesus and with all the true believers who have shed their bodies here on Earth and moved to this spiritual realm. Long after this Earth and everything in it is destroyed, God’s kingdom will continue. The preaching of the Gospel and the growth of the Church is what caused Rome to fall. Yes, they poisoned themselves with the use of lead pewter and they adopted the Greek lifestyle and educational system with its philosophies so that their descendants slowly became less militarized, and they had a lot of poor leadership, etc. which all contributed in the physical world to their demise as a world power, but it was the changing of the hearts of the people that changed the nation the most. Prophecy had been given hundreds of years earlier to Daniel and King Nebuchadnezzar and prophecy is always fulfilled if it comes from God.
Verse 45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.
The kingdom of God, being spiritual and not physical, runs right along with the governments of every nation. Christian believers are in every country of the world and they cannot be swayed to follow after governmental systems that are contrary to the Word of God. Therefore, they are not controllable by Satan’s worldly governments. Therefore, they are persecuted because they get in the way of Satan’s one world government plans. As a result, although there are remnants from the previous empires seen in language, literature, art, architecture, science, religion and so forth, Satan has not been been able to put together his world system of domination. Once these kingdoms of gold, silver, brass and iron fell from power, they have not been able to rise again, and they never will.
Verses 46-47 Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odours unto him. 47 The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret.
King Nebuchadnezzar realized Daniel had a power on his side that was greater than that of his servants, the Chaldeans, the astrologers, and the magicians. But he still had faith in the existence of other gods and he prostrated himself to worship Daniel, a man like himself. God was humbling Nebuchadnezzar and elevating his servant, Daniel.
Verses 48-49 Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon. 49 Then Daniel requested of 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.
Daniel did not forget his friends. They fulfilled the plan of God and became righteous leaders amongst unrighteous, pagan one world leaders. Daniel was in the presence of King Nebuchadnezzar and was basically co-ruler of the entire nation of Babylon. How did he go from a captive youth in training to the second in power of a one world government? He trusted God, he had faith in God, he sought God in times of need, he sought God in times of blessings, and he listened to God and obeyed His commandments.