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The Message of Daniel Daniel's Rise to Power. Possibly the prophecies of Daniel are
the most interesting in the Old Testament. Many books have been
written about them, but unfortunately, a wide difference of
opinion exists concerning their interpretation. While this fact
is regrettable, it should not discourage us from a careful study
of this important book. Remembering again that "The
testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy," let us see
how God's plan is served by Daniel.
Very little is known of Daniel personally. He was of the
tribe of Judah and is thought to have been of royal or noble
birth. He was carried captive to Babylon while very young and
rose to a position of influence in the country of his captors.
Two immortal incidents should be told in passing. First, Daniel
Ch. 3 tells the story of the miraculous deliverance of the three
young Hebrews from the burning fiery furnace because they
refused to bow down to the great image erected by Nebuchadnezzar.
This remarkable event is characterized by the special
intervention of God. When Nebuchadnezzar gazed into the raging
inferno he was astonished to see a fourth Person there whom he
described as being like the "Son of God." This is the
first mention in the Bible of the term Son of God. The story of
Daniel in the lions' den, Ch. 6, and how God miraculously
preserved his life, is also one of undying interest.
Nebuchadnezzar's Strange Dream, and its Significance.
Daniel's rise to fame in Babylon was sudden and dramatic.
King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream but could not remember it. It
troubled him so that he threatened all the wise men of Babylon
with death if they failed to reveal it to him. In all the land,
Daniel was the only one who could tell the dream, for God
revealed it to him. The entire second chapter of Daniel should
be read in connection with this study. The interpretation of the
dream is given in Daniel 2:36-45. "This is the dream; and
we will tell the interpretation thereof before the King. Thou, O
king, art a king of kings; for the God of heaven hath given thee
a kingdom, power, and strength and glory…thou art this head of
gold. And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to
thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule
over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as
iron; forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all
things; and as iron that breaketh in pieces and subdueth all
things; and as iron that breaketh all these shalt break in
pieces and consume all these kingdoms and it shall stand
forever. 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." This vision tells us that God would set up a
kingdom; it tells the result of its impact upon world
civilization; it also tells us exactly when it would begin; and
it describes its Divine origin.
The Miraculous Stone of Divine Origin. The starting point in
the prophecy is the Babylonian Empire, which is symbolized by
the "head of gold." Then follow the Medo-Persian, the
Greek and Roman empires, which are signified by the breast of
silver, the thighs of brass, and the legs of iron and clay. The
latter two were world empires. It was in the days of these kings
that God determined to set up His everlasting kingdom, which is
symbolized struck the image while it was standing. The empires
of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Roman have long since passed
into oblivion; and there is nothing in history or prophecy to
indicate that they will be revived; in fact, a reconstructed
Roman Empire would not fulfill the prophecy at all, because the
stone did not strike a reconstructed image. There is nothing in
the vision to indicate that the toes belong to a future restored
Roman empire. Apart from the ridiculous conclusion that such an
interpretation would make the toes longer than all the rest of
the image combined, there is the statement that the stone smote
the image on the feet. In doing so, it crumbled, not only the
feet, but the "brass, silver and gold," i.e. the
entire image. In order for the prophecy to relate to the future
it would require the complete restoration of the Roman, Greek,
Medo-Persian and Babylonian empires and all they stood for. V.
45.
From the study of ancient history we learn about the culture,
civilization and religions of the old world empires. Ancient
Babylon was among the foremost, having extensive libraries of
art and literature. They also had an advanced system of worship,
with deities of various names and significances, and in addition
they had many heathen arts of witchcraft and divination. It was
a diabolical system, both cruel and degrading. With the fall of
Babylon before the armies of Medo-Persia a new empire ruled the
Eastern world. The Persians took all the Babylonian libraries,
and the art and adopted much of their culture and religion and
incorporated it into the Persian system.
The Religious Policy of Rome. The conquests of Alexander the
Great form a turning point in history. Before his armies the
mighty empires of the East fell, never to rise again. All the
Oriental culture and literature and learning and religions were
released like a flood upon the Western world. Much of it was
incorporated into the religious life of the Greeks. When the
Romans began to rise to power in the West, they came into mortal
combat with the Greeks and succeeded in extending their scepter
over all the ancient world. These proud tyrants ruled with
despotic force, pillaging, and confiscating anything they chose.
Thus the literature, art, culture and religions of the east
found their way to Rome.
The Romans granted their subjects freedom of religion with
the exception of Emperor worship. Every subject in the empire
had to burn incense to the reigning emperor, a custom they
adopted from the oriental practice. In Rome a temple called the
Pantheon was built in which the gods of every nation were housed
and every subject in the empire could worship at the shrine of
his god. Thus Rome preserved and upheld the entire heathen
system of idolatry. All the arts, culture and religions of
ancient Babylon, of Persia and of Greece were incorporated into
the Roman Empire. The "image" seen by Daniel still
stood. Heathenism in all its diabolical ugliness gripped the
minds and hearts of men in its cruel degrading sway. Apart from
Israel all the world was in the depths of darkness and despair
bowing down to one colossal image of Satan's making before
Christ came.
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