THE DREAM

The Scripture gives the story in language that can be readily understood. But why did God give Nebuchadnezzar a dream? How could the God of heaven reveal truth to this heathen king? Doubtless he could not during his waking moments; but Nebuchadnezzar had contemplated the glory of his kingdom, and fell asleep with a longing desire to know its future. He knew that life was short. Soon he must die; what would the future be? It was God’s opportunity, and while those eyes were closed to earthly things; while self was lost,-dead, as it were,-the future history of the world was spread before Nebuchadnezzar. On awaking, he found no language to express his thoughts. He who was acquainted with the world’s wisdom knew not the language of heaven. This he had never been taught. He tried to think what he had seen, but as his eyes again rested on the glory about him, the vision faded away. Earthly things drew a veil over the things of God, and while he knew he had seen something, he knew not what it was.SDP 30.1

The king demanded an interpretation, but the wisest men of the king answered: “There is not a man upon the earth that can show the <sup>MarginWhere is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling-block, and unto the Greeks foolishness; but unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
1 Corinthians 1:19-25.
Yea: have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?
Matthew 21:16.
2. Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to show the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king.
3. 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 forever: tell thy servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.
Daniel 2:2-4.
For what is your life? It is even a vapor, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
James 4:14.
Why dost thou strive against him? for he giveth not account of any of his matters. For God speaketh once, yea twice, yet man perceiveth it not. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed; then he openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instruction, that he may withdraw man from his purpose, and hide pride from man.
Job 33:13-17.
O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God I how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!
Romans 11:33.
5. 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</sup> king’s matter.... There is none other that can show it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.” That the pretended knowledge of the wise men of Babylon might be exposed, the Lord had in his providence given Nebuchadnezzar this dream, and then allowed him to forget the details, while causing him to retain a vivid impression of the vision. The king was angered by the request of the wise men for him to tell them the dream, saying, “I know of certainty that ye would gain the time, because ye see the thing is gone from me.” That is, they would be able to agree on some interpretation if the king could tell the dream. The king then threatened that if they failed to tell the dream, they should all be destroyed. The wise men urged that the requirement was most unreasonable; but the more they argued, the more furious the king became, and in his anger he finally “commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.”SDP 30.2

This decree was made in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign. He had ruled two years conjointly with his father, Nabopolassar, and two years alone; so Daniel and his fellows were serving their first year as wise men in the court of Babylon, having finished their three-years’ course in the schools. They were therefore sought out by Arioch, the king’s captain, to be slain. Daniel asked: “Why is the decree so hasty from the king?” Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel. Daniel alone had the courage to venture into the presence of the king, at the peril of his life, to beg that he might be granted time to show the dream and the interpretation. The request was granted. <sup>Marginthe interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill.
6. But if ye show the dream, and the interpretation thereof, ye shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great honor: therefore show me the dream, and the interpretation thereof.
7. They answered again and said, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation of it.
8. 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 show me the interpretation thereof.
Daniel 2:5-9.
But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.
1 Corinthians 2:14, 15.
10. The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is not a man upon the earth that can show 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 show it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.
12. 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.
14. Then Daniel answered with counsel and wisdom to Arioch the captain of the king’s guard, which</sup> “There are in the providence of God particular periods when we must arise in response to the call of God.” The supreme moment had come to Daniel. For this very moment had God been giving him a preparation. From his birth every detail of his life had been pointing forward to this time, although he knew it not. His early education was such that at this moment when death stared him in the face, he could look up to God and claim his promise.SDP 31.1

Although Daniel had been granted a diploma from the schools of Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar himself, and had been accounted ten times wiser than his fellow students, he had not as yet been classed with the astrologers and wise men of Chaldea. Probably his youth and inexperience delayed such recognition. But God chooses the weak things of earth to confound the mighty, because the foolishness of God is wiser than men.SDP 32.1

Four Hebrew youth bowed in prayer, and that night “was the secret revealed unto Daniel.” How could God talk with Daniel?-Because the Spirit of the Lord is with them that fear him. Daniel’s education had acquainted him with the voice of God. He was in the habit of seeing eternal things with the eye of faith. God showed Daniel the same things which he had revealed to Nebuchadnezzar, but which were hidden from him by the glamour of worldliness.SDP 32.2

The song of praise which rose from the lips of Daniel when the vision came, shows how self-forgetful he was, and how close his heart was knit to the heart of God.SDP 32.3

The schools of Babylon developed pride, love of pleasure, haughtiness, and self-esteem. They fostered an aristocracy, and cultivated the spirit <sup>Marginwas 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.
16. Then Daniel went in and desired of the king that he would give him time, and that he would show the king the interpretation.
Daniel 2:10-16.
Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked when it cometh. For the Lord shall be thy confidence.
Proverbs 3:25, 26.
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.
Daniel 2:17, 18.
Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.
1 Timothy 4:12.
19. Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.
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.
Daniel 2:19-23.
The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; and he will show them his covenant.
Psalm 25:12-14.
Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright.
Psalm 23:1.</sup> of oppression and slavery. Contrast with this the native simplicity, the courtesy, gentleness, and self-forgetfulness of the child of God as he enters the court and is introduced by Arioch.SDP 32.4

Years before this, when Egypt was the educational center of the world, God taught Egyptian senators by the mouth of Joseph, a boy no older than Daniel. When Babylon had outgrown the counsels of Heaven, another Hebrew meets the men of the schools. “Can not the wise men show the secret unto the king?”SDP 33.1

Before Daniel was the king in his glory; around him stood the very teachers with whom he had studied three years. At this time were exemplified the words of the psalmist: “I have more understanding than all my teachers; for thy testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts.”SDP 33.2

Nebuchadnezzar was careworn from loss of sleep, and in great anxiety because the dream troubled him; but Daniel was calm, conscious of his connection with God, the King of kings. Daniel now had opportunity to exalt his own wisdom, but he chose rather to give all the glory to God. He plainly told the king that it was beyond the power of man to reveal the dream or give the interpretation; “but there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days.” The king’s mind was directed to God alone.SDP 33.3

In one night God revealed the history of over twenty-five hundred years, and what the human historian requires volumes to explain is given in fifteen verses. The Scriptures explain themselves, <sup>Margin24. 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 show 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.
Daniel 2:24, 25.
He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant: he made him Lord of his house, and ruler of all his substance: to bind his princes at his pleasure; and teach his senators wisdom.
Psalm 105:17-22.
Psalm 119:98-100.
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?
27. Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded can not the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, show 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;
29. 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.
31. 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.</sup> and in divine records every word is well chosen and put in the proper setting.SDP 33.4

In the image revealed to Nebuchadnezzar, the glory of the Babylonian kingdom is recognized by the Lord, and represented by the head of gold. But while giving due credit to the present state of things, the spirit of prophecy with equal candor points out to the self-exalted king the weakness of the institutions in which he has placed his trust, and the inability of the Babylonian learning to save from impending destruction.SDP 34.1

“Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground; there is no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans; for thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate. Take the millstones and grind meal.” From being master of all, Babylon must become the most humble servant. Because these people had disregarded the God of heaven, and had said, “None seeth me,” evil would come from unknown sources, and Babylon should be cut off. She would make a desperate effort to save herself by turning to her educators and wise men. “Let now the astrologers, the star-gazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up and save thee from these things.... Behold, they shall be as stubble.” When the trial came, there was nothing in all the realms of Babylon that could save her.SDP 34.2

“The strength of nations and of individuals is not found in the opportunities and facilities that appear to make them invincible; it is not found in their boasted greatness. That which alone can make them great or strong is the power and purpose of God. They, themselves, by their attitude <sup>Margin32. 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 threshing-floors; 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.
37. 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.
39. And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.
Daniel 2:26-39.
Isaiah 47:1, 2, 13.
Isaiah 47:13.
Put yourselves in array against Babylon round about: all ye that bend the bow, shoot at her, spare no arrows: for she hath sinned against the Lord.
Jeremiah 50:14.
Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.
Jeremiah 9:23, 24.</sup> toward his purpose, decide their own destiny.”SDP 34.3

Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom lasted only until the reign of his grandson, when the second or inferior nation represented by the breast and arms of silver came upon the stage of action.SDP 35.1

Medo-Persia took the place of Babylon; Grecia followed the Medo-Persian kingdom, while Rome, the fourth kingdom, was to be broken into ten parts, which were to remain until the end of time. In the days of these kings the God of heaven would set up a kingdom which would never be destroyed nor conquered by any other people; it would break in pieces and consume all former kingdoms, and stand forever.SDP 35.2

The image was a comprehensive outline of the world’s history. The “glory of kingdoms” formed the head of gold, all following kingdoms deteriorated from Babylon as shown by the grade of metals forming the image. First gold, then silver, brass, and iron. In the latter part of the world’s history, a marked change was revealed by the iron being mixed with miry clay. There were to be no more universal kingdoms ruled by men when the power of the fourth kingdom was broken, it was to remain divided until the end. In place of one kingdom there would be several.SDP 35.3

The clay mixed with iron also denoted the union of church and state. This combination is peculiar to the latter part of the world’s history, to the feet and toes of the image.SDP 35.4

Religion was the basis of government in the heathen nations; there could be no separation of the church and the state. When apostate Christianity united with the state, each remained in a <sup>MarginAnd all nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son’s son, until the very time of his land come: and then many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of him.
Jeremiah 27:7.
The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia. And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king.
Daniel 8:21, 22.
And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Cæsar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.
Luke 1:2, 3.
Daniel 2:44.
That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased!
Isaiah 14:4.
For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver, and for wood brass, and for stones iron.
Isaiah 60:17.
I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is: and I will give it him.
Ezekiel 21:27.
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.
Daniel 2:40.
So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
Revelation 17:3.
With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
Revelation 17:2.
For their mother hath played the harlot: she that conceived them hath done shamefully: for she said</sup> sense distinct as the miry clay is separate from iron. This union continues until the stone smites the image upon the feet. The very fact that the “stone was cut out of the mountain without hands,” shows that the last kingdoms on earth will not be overthrown by any earthly power, but that the God of heaven will bring upon them final destruction by giving them to the burning flames.SDP 35.5