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Bro. Bill Nichols
We've got this set up, but I know this is not right. I don't know how it even works.
We had a meeting, and we borrowed them and then forgot to bring them back was the problem.
If you're going to do that black one, it'll let it turn like that. Oh, and I tried to put it in wrong, wasn't
I? Because I knew it needed to tilt up so it wouldn't fall out.
If you get it too far out there, it'll fall over.
Yeah, we don't want to do that. It's okay.
It's okay there. I can see past it. Maybe just a tiny bit that way.
Get it out of my field of vision. I think that's still going to pick it up good.
Okay, I guess we can get started.
We're going to begin today with the fourth chapter of Daniel.
But before we do, I'd like to take a moment for prayer. Most gracious Heavenly Father, thank you for giving us this place where we might come together and worship you.
Thank you for giving us this time, and thank you for giving us your Holy Scripture.
Also, thank you for your Holy Spirit that you gave us to help us to understand the
Scripture and to understand the messages that you want to give each one of us. But most of all, thank you for your
Son that you gave to come into this world to redeem us from our sin.
Thank you. Go through the day with us. Go through the other services.
In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Okay, I see two more people just walking in right now, so I'm going to wait a second.
Well, I thought I saw Ron and his wife. Okay, so I'll go ahead and get started.
I'm not going to say anything really important up front. But anyhow, what's going to follow in Daniel chapter 4 is a first -person account written by a
Gentile king and attached to the book of Daniel as part of the inspired or God -breathed
Scripture. That in and of itself is an interesting thing, that part of the
Bible was written by a Gentile king. Attached to the
Scripture as part of the inspired Word of God.
What do you think God can speak through a Gentile? If God can speak through a donkey,
He can speak through a Gentile. I like that. What we want to read is an account written eight years after Daniel interpreted
Nebuchadnezzar's second dream. It was written,
I believe, to praise the God that he has finally come to realize is the only true
God. As we start out this chapter, you want to see that Nebuchadnezzar is still in the place where he identifies
God as Daniel's God. But he's going to come to a place where he identifies
God as the one true God. The God that he has heretofore referred to as the
God of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. So here is verse 1.
Nebuchadnezzar, the king, unto all people, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth, peace be multiplied unto you.
I thought it good to show the signs and wonders that the high God hath wrought toward me.
Nebuchadnezzar begins and ends his experience in chapter 4 by praising God.
We will of course look at the beginning first and we'll look at the end later. He goes on to say, how great are his signs, how mighty are his wonders.
His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom and his dominion is from generation to generation.
Now if you remember, back in chapter 2, I believe it was, Nebuchadnezzar had a dream.
And he had a dream of a giant statue. And the statue's head was of gold and its breast was of silver and its torso was of brass.
And his legs of iron and his feet iron mixed with clay. And that troubled
Nebuchadnezzar and he tried to get his soothsayers and his wise men to interpret the dream.
But he first of all made them tell him the dream. Now, out of that, this is what
Nebuchadnezzar got. He got the understanding that he was the superior of all the kingdoms.
He was the head of gold so he made a statue of himself. He made a statue all the way gold, all the way from the head to the foot.
He understood the part about the gold. He didn't understand the part about the silver and the brass and the iron and the iron mixed with clay.
He just let that pass right over him. And then he decided that since he was the chief king, that he was higher than God himself.
And so he made, or attempted to make, all his subjects bow down and worship it. Well, most of them did, but three didn't.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego didn't. So he had them tossed into the fiery furnace and succeeded in burning off the ropes and killing his top four or five captains who were the ones that threw him into the fire.
Well, we did that before. He never quite got the idea that his kingdom would not last forever.
Well, at this point he says, how great are his signs, talking about the high
God, and how mighty are his wonders. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom.
And his dominion is from generation to generation. This is a tacit recognition that it's only the kingdom of God that is everlasting, not his.
There's an end to his kingdom. He knows that now at the time he's writing this chapter.
He didn't know that at the beginning of the chapter. So you can see kind of how he grows through the course of this eight years.
He didn't grow much in the first years, you'll see. I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at rest in my house and flourishing in my palace.
All seems well with Nebuchadnezzar, but all was not as it seemed.
I saw a dream which made me afraid, and the thoughts upon my bed and the vision of my head troubled me.
And as I said before, you recall in chapter 2, Nebuchadnezzar was disturbed by the dream with the statue made with four metals.
He used that dream to test his soothsayers and to get a glimpse at his future and that of the kingdoms that would follow his.
But as much as the first dream troubled him, this one was even more troublesome. Whereas the first dream laid out the five earthly kingdoms that were established prior to their being all destroyed and replaced by the millennial kingdom, implying that all the kingdoms would come to an end, this dream, including
Nebuchadnezzar's, this dream focuses on the specific troubles that Nebuchadnezzar will have in his coming years, in his kingdom, before it falls.
So this is what's worrying. Therefore I made a decree to bring all the wise men of Babylon before me, that they might make known unto me the interpretation of the dream.
Well, he's not totally given up on the wise men, has he? He's sent for them.
He had no success last time. They couldn't even tell him what the dream was. But he brings them in.
And then came in the magicians, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers.
And I told them the dream. But they did not make known unto me the interpretation thereof.
And why didn't they? This time they knew the dream. Why didn't they make the interpretation known?
Okay, they couldn't. But as we read through this dream,
I could have made an interpretation of it. Daniel, well, no, no, no, no, and you all will too.
Before we get through, I'm going to ask you, what do you think this is talking about? And you're going to say, this is
Nebuchadnezzar. And what do you think is going to happen to him? He's going to be cut down.
And what else is going to happen? Well, he won't be totally cut down. There will be a stump left.
You'll go through and you'll be able to imagine the dream. So if it wasn't the fact that they couldn't make up a story, yes.
I think that's exactly the case. I think this time he told them the dream, they said,
Nebuchadnezzar, why don't you know what this dream means? Even we do. They don't want to say that.
They don't want to say what's going to happen because even Daniel was bothered, as you'll see.
But you're absolutely right, I think. And when I tell you something like that, it's my fault, not reality.
This time he told them the dream, and they still did not interpret it.
Verse 8, But at last Daniel came in before me, whose name was Belteshazzar, according to the name of my
God, in whom is the Spirit of the holy gods.
Now I want to get back to Nebuchadnezzar and his dream in just a minute, but I couldn't pass this without going on a rabbit trail.
You might notice that he still identifies Baal as his God. Yet he recognizes that there is something different and special about Daniel and his
God. I'd like to spend a couple of minutes considering the concept of my
God. Have you ever heard someone say, My God would or would not do something.
Can you give me an example? My God would not destine all sinners to go to hell and be there forever.
I've heard that. My God is a loving God. He hates no one.
He does hate one, but that's your God. That's not your
God. He hates the workers of iniquity, but my
God wouldn't hate the workers of iniquity. My God would love the sinners and hate the sin.
That's what my God would do. That's a God of my creation.
My God would do exactly what I want him to do, because I created him. They are 100 % accurate.
Their God would always do exactly what they wish him to do, because he is their
God, a God they created. It is not the
God who created them. I couldn't say that like I tried with Mrs.
Mitchell. I tried to say, not your God, but if your
God is the God, then your God is the God. But if your God is the God of your creation, your God is the
God that belongs to you. He belongs to you, rather than you belonging to him.
Maybe that's a better way to say it. But there is an issue. We hope that sometime, those people that say, my
God would or my God would not do this thing, that they will come to the point in their understanding that they, like Nebuchadnezzar, might say this.
I'm going to look down in Daniel 4 to verse 34, if you want to pick this up. I'm going to leave out two words.
I lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me.
I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honored him that liveth forever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation.
And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing. And he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth.
And none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?
We're going to get to that passage today. But right now, we're still way at the beginning in verse 8.
So if you'll go back to verse 8, I'll reread it, and then we'll pick up with what the king is going to tell
Daniel. But at last Daniel came in before me, whose name was
Belteshazzar, according to the name of my God, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods.
And before him I told the dream, saying, O Belteshazzar, master of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy
God is in thee, and no secret trouble of thee, tell me the vision of my dream that I have seen, and the interpretation thereof.
You see, he's no longer testing Daniel, nor is he testing the wise men. He knows who's who.
He tells the dream, and he only asks for the interpretation. So here's the dream.
Thus were the vision of my head in my bed. I saw and behold a tree in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was great.
And the tree grew and was strong, and the height thereof reached into the heavens, 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 beast 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. And I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and behold a
Watcher and a Holy One came down from heaven. He cried aloud and said thus,
Hew down the tree, and cut off the branches. Shake off his leaves, and scatter his fruit.
Let the beast get away from under it, and the fowls from his branches. 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.
Let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beast in the grass of the earth.
Let his heart be changed from man's, and let the beast's heart be given unto him.
Let seven times pass over him. 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 over it the basis of men.
This dream I and Nebuchadnezzar have seen. Now, O Belteshazzar, declare the interpretation thereof.
For as much 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. Now, I read through all of his statement.
Now for verse 19. Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was astonished for an hour, and his thoughts troubled him.
And the king spake and said, Belteshazzar, let not the dream nor the interpretation thereof trouble thee.
And Belteshazzar answered and said, My lord, the dream be to them that hate thee, and the interpretation thereof to thine enemies.
So what did he tell the king then? If you think
I'm troubled, I'm not troubled by not being able to interpret the dream. I am troubled by what is the substance of the dream.
What you're dreaming about, king, is probably exactly what you think it is.
But it's a dream that would be relished and enjoyed by your enemies, not by your friends.
I have no pleasure in telling you this dream. That's what
I think he's saying there. So now he goes on. The king has given him permission and said,
Don't worry about what the interpretation is. He has a suspicion that it's not going to be a good interpretation.
Nebuchadnezzar does. The tree that thou sawest, which grew and was strong, and whose height reached into the heaven, and the sight thereof unto all the earth.
Well, who do you think that is? Who do you think is represented by the tree?
Nebuchadnezzar and his kingdom, whose leaves are fair and the fruit thereof much.
And in it was meat for all, and under which the beasts of the fields dwelt. And upon the branches the fowls of the heaven had their habitation.
So now he's going to tell him. Verse 22. It is thou, O king, that art grown and become strong, for thy greatness is grown, and it reaches unto heaven, and that dominion to the ends of the earth.
King, you are ruling the entirety of the earth. You have grown strong and great.
You are the tree. And whereas the king saw a watcher, and a holy one come down from heaven, and say,
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, and the tender grass of the field, and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beast of the field, till seven times pass over thee.
So, who's the watcher? The king saw a watcher, and a holy one come down from heaven, saying,
Hew down the tree, and destroy it. Who do you think the watcher is? Either God himself,
God as a theophany, or a holy angel.
At least it's an agent bringing the message of God from God to Nebuchadnezzar.
And he gave it to him in his dream. So, the watcher is an angel. And the angel takes part in a messenger.
And the messenger takes part in God's judgment of Nebuchadnezzar. So, what's the stump?
What does the stump tell us? I'm sorry?
Oh, it very well could have been the same angel in the fire. Yes, indeed. Nebuchadnezzar identified it as the
Son of God. We weren't quite able to definitively say it's Jesus, a theophany, or it is just a holy angel.
But we know one of two things. It's either an angel, or it might even be the Son of God himself. So, that's who the watcher is.
That's who the angel is. Probably the same angel. But what does the stump indicate to us?
It wasn't totally destroyed. The tree was cut down, but there was some of it left. I'm sorry?
There's a remnant left of his kingdom. The kingdom is not totally destroyed.
There's a remnant of it left. The stump indicates that the king will be brought down for a period of time.
Probably seven years. The seven times, we're not definitively sure that seven times means seven years, but it probably does.
Daniel uses the word times a lot of times in the book of Daniel to represent a year.
And we'll get to that later on. And this is the first use of that word to indicate a period of time being a year.
So, it's probably seven years. Sir? His hair and nails had to have time to grow during that seven years.
Yes. The band of iron and brass is a guarantee.
It's a guarantee that after the prescribed time of years, his kingdom will be restored to him.
So, the tree is cut down. The kingdom is scattered.
But, there's a remnant that remains. It's not totally destroyed. After seven years, it's going to be restored to him.
Now, it's probable, and I don't have any indication that this is the case.
I want to lay it up front. This is my speculation entirely. Who do you think looked out for the king while he was running around for seven years out in the field eating grass?
Okay, God. We know that God did. Did you think God assigned anybody to watch over?
I think it was probably Daniel. I think probably all these other soothsayers that are running around, they would have been glad to see
Nebuchadnezzar go and be replaced. But, somebody watched over him.
Well, we know that God did. And, probably Daniel did as well.
Verse 24. This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the
Most High, which is come upon my lord, the king. So, he said, okay. This is what it said.
You're going to be cut down. Your kingdom will be damaged.
It will not be totally destroyed. It will be preserved. And, after a period of time, it will be restored to you.
That's what's going to happen. That's the decree, O king, of the
Most High. That is the decree of God. And, it will come upon my lord, the king.
That they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beast 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 the
Most High ruleth the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.
So, what's he going to recognize? He's going to recognize, at the end of this seven year period, that it is not his power that preserves him.
It's not his strength that sustains him. It's not he that seized the empire.
It was God that gave it to him. And, he will give the kingdom to whomsoever he wishes.
And, there will come a time when it will no longer belong to you and yours. So, at the end of this seven year period,
Nebuchadnezzar knows that his time on earth is limited, and his kingdom on earth is limited as well.
And, whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots, thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee.
What does that mean? The kingdom shall be sure unto thee? It will be restored to you.
Your kingdom will be given back to you. After that, thou shalt have known that the heavens do rule.
So, at some point in time, he's going to know who is in charge of everything.
It is not he. Even though he built a statue to himself of solid gold, at least covered entirely with gold, and had his servants worship him, and proclaimed that he was eternal.
Because, see, his statue went all the way from the top, the golden statue that he built.
He didn't stop here and make it silver. He kept on going. He didn't even stop at the little toes and make it clay.
He went all the way from the top to the bottom, gold. He said to God, when he put that statue up, my kingdom will last forever.
And God said, no. Your kingdom will only go to here, and then it will be taken over.
And that kingdom will only last to here, and it will be taken over. And the following kingdom, and the following kingdom, and in the end, they will all be destroyed, and there will only be one remain, and that will be the kingdom of Jesus Christ.
That's what he told them. So what he's saying, the kingdom will be assured to thee, after a period of judgment, the king will be restored to power.
So then Daniel gives him some advice. Have any of you ever been given good advice that you didn't take?
Well, that's what Nebuchadnezzar got. Good advice that he didn't take. So he says, okay, king, wherefore,
O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquity by showing mercy to the poor, if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquility.
Doesn't necessarily have to be eight years worth of misery, Mr. King. You can postpone it.
Had he heeded Daniel's advice, things might have been different for him.
So this is a warning, but it's a warning for Nebuchadnezzar that he does not heed. All this came upon the king,
Nebuchadnezzar. So, he walks around for a year.
At the end of 12 months, he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon.
One year after the dream was interpreted. And the king spake and said,
Is not this great Babylon that I have built for the house of the kingdom, by the might of my power, and for the honor of my majesty.
Now, I might ask you, whose might, power, and honor were really on display with this establishment of this mighty
Babylon? Was it Nebuchadnezzar's power? Whose power was it?
It was God's power. God gave him the kingdom. God made it strong. God made it what it was.
It's going to. While the word was still in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven saying,
O King Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken. Thy kingdom is departed from thee.
What the voice is saying is, now we see what real power and what real might you have.
And what will that be? Not even enough to refrain from eating grass. They shall drive thee from men.
And thy dwelling shall be with the beast of the field. And they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen.
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.
So he's saying to Nebuchadnezzar, what you have is what
God gives you. And you have it for whatever time he gives it to you.
When he chooses, he can give. And when he chooses, he can take. The same hour the thing was fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar.
And he was driven from men and did eat grass as oxen. And his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hairs were grown like eagles' feathers and his nails like bird claws.
That's exactly what he dreamed. But that dream didn't last forever, did it?
It lasted for just exactly as long as the Lord said it would last.
It lasted for seven more years. And at the end of the days,
I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up mine eyes unto heaven and mine understanding returned unto me.
And I blessed the Most High and I praised and honored him that liveth forever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion and his kingdom is from generation to generation.
Now we read that just a minute ago. And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing.
And he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth.
And none can stay his hand or say to him, What doest thou?
So what happens? At the same time, my reason returned unto me.
And for the glory of my kingdom and my honor and brightness returned to me.
And my counselors and my lords sought unto me. And I was established in my kingdom and excellent majesty was added to me.
So now he is actually in better condition than he was before. What's the difference in his condition now than before the dream?
He knows who, he got all of his stuff back. He got all of his honor back. He got all of his advisors back.
He got all of his kingdom back. But now he understands one thing. He understands the source of it.
He understands how he got it. And now at the end, we have his final statement of praise.
And I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and honor the king of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment, and those that walk in pride he is able to abase.
So he's saying, don't be too prideful. Don't be too excited about what you can do, about what your accomplishments are.
They belong to God. Now that is the last verse in chapter 4.
It went quicker than I expected. But we can have a short discussion if you wish.
One does not mock God and get away with it. That's entirely true. Now I didn't know that.
Not even God could sink the Titanic. There is no
I in God. I think,
I think that this is the point where he understood his master.
Like, there comes a time when we understand what our master is. Brother Odeslaw would say, there comes a time when you're informed.
And there comes a time when you know who your master is. If you belong to God, he's always your master, by the way.
If you don't belong to God, he's your master anyhow. Because Satan is your direct master, but Satan can only take you where God allows you to go.
But yes, I personally think that Nebuchadnezzar is a saved man, that he will be one of the people that we meet when we go into the next realm.
But I may be wrong. It doesn't definitively say, I wish he had said,
I wish he had said in verse 37, I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and honor the
King of Heaven, the only true God that I finally recognize is the true God, and thank
God for allowing me to recognize that. And thank him more so for protecting me all the time when
I thought I was the most powerful thing in the world, and even through that time when I recognized that I was nothing but an animal eating grass in the field, that God protected me the whole time.
I wish he had said that. Then I would have understood, and I could have said, Nebuchadnezzar is a man that is in Heaven.
But as it is, I can say, I believe he is. Anything else?
It is, and of course the kingdom lasted longer than he did. There came a time when he passed away and his son and his grandson took control of the kingdom.
And it was at that time that the total kingdom fell and was replaced by the next kingdom, the kingdom represented by the silver part.
Even at the beginning, he recognized that Daniel's God was special and that Daniel was special.
But he didn't claim Daniel's God as his God. He said, this is Daniel's God. My God, his name is
Belteshazzar, named after my God, the God of my creation. Now he is saying there is a
Most High God and I submit to Him. And that's a different thing. You're exactly right. Well, I see other people coming in, so we'll end with a prayer.
Most gracious Heavenly Father, thank you for this day and thank you for giving us this story where we might see the power of God and recognize that His ways are truth and His ways are judgment.
Those that walk in pride, He is able to abase and those that walk in humility, He is able to exalt.
Most gracious Heavenly Father, thank you for all that you've given us. Go through the rest of the services today and bring us home, safe to you in the end.