Daniel’s Refreshing Honesty

In his first words the Jewish captive disclaimed honor for himself and exalted God as the source of all wisdom. When the king asked, “Are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen, and its interpretation?” Daniel replied, “There is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. ... As for me, this secret has not been revealed to me because I have more wisdom than anyone living, but ... that you may know the thoughts of your heart.RR 176.4

“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. This image’s head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay.RR 176.5

“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. 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.RR 176.6

“This is the dream,” Daniel declared confidently; and the king, listening with closest attention, knew it was the very dream that had troubled him. So his mind was prepared to receive and accept the interpretation. He was to be awakened, if possible, to a sense of his responsibility to Heaven. God would open before him the events of the future down to the end of time.RR 176.7

“You, O king, are a king of kings. For the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength, and glory. ... You are this head of gold.RR 177.1

“But after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours, then another, a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth.RR 177.2

“And the fourth kingdom shall be 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.RR 177.3

“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. 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. 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.RR 177.4

“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. ... The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure.”RR 177.5