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VI.
The Sure Word of
Prophecy
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Chapter 48
:
Nebuchadnezzar's Dream
1. WHAT statement did Nebuchadnezzar, king of
Babylon, make to his wise men whom he had
assembled?
"And the king said unto them, I have dreamed
a dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the
dream." Dan. 2:3.
2. After being threatened with death
if they did not make known the dream and the
interpretation, what did the wise men say to the
king? "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. 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." Verses 10,11.
3.
After the wise men had thus confessed their inability to
do what the king required, who offered to interpret the
dream?
"Then Daniel went in, and desired of the king
that he would give him time, and that he would show the
king the interpretation." Verse 16.
4.
After Daniel and his fellows had sought God earnestly,
how were the dream and its interpretation revealed to
Daniel?
"Then was
the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night-vision.
Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven." Verse 19.
5. When brought before the king,
what did Daniel say?
"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, show unto the king; 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." Verses 27,28.
6.
What did Daniel say the king had seen in his dream?
"Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed,
are these; . . . 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." Verses 28-31.
7. Of what were the different
parts of the image composed?
"This image's head was of fine gold,
his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and
his thighs of brass, his legs of iron, his
feet part of iron and part of clay." Verses
32,33.
8.
By what means was the image broken to pieces?
"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." Verse
34.
9. What became of the various
parts of the image?
"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."
Verse 35.
10. With what words did Daniel
begin the interpretation of the dream?
"Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of
heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength,
and glory. 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." Verses
37,38.
NOTE.-The character of the Babylonian Empire is
fittingly indicated by the nature of the material
composing that portion of the image by which it was
symbolized-the head of gold. It was " the golden
kingdom of a golden age." The city of Babylon, its
metropolis, according to history towered to a height
never equaled by any of its later rivals. "Situated
in the garden of the East; laid out in a perfect
square sixty miles in circumference, fifteen miles
on each side surrounded by a wall three hundred and
fifty feet high an eighty-seven feet thick, with a
moat, or ditch, around this, of equal cubic capacity
with the wall itself; divided into six hundred and
seventy-six squares, laid out in luxuriant
pleasure-grounds and gardens, interspersed with
magnificent dwellings,-this city, containing in
itself many things which were themselves wonders of
the world, was itself another and still mightier
wonder. . . . Such was Babylon, with Nebuchadnezzar,
youthful, bold, vigorous, and accomplished, seated
upon its throne."
11. What was to be the nature of the next kingdom after
Babylon?
"After thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to
thee." Verse 39, first part.
12. Who was the last Babylonian king?
"In that
night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans
slain. And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being
about threescore and two years old." Dan. 5:30,31. See
also verses 1,2.
13. To whom was Belshazzar's kingdom given?
"Thy
kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and
Persians." Verse 28.
14. By what is the Medo-Persian
Empire represented in the great image?
The breast and arms of silver. Dan. 2:32.
15. By what is Grecia, the kingdom succeeding Medo-
Persia, represented in the image?
"His belly and his thighs of brass." Verse 32.
"And another third kingdom of brass, which shall
bear rule over all the earth." Verse 39.
16. What is said of the fourth kingdom?
"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." Verse 40.
17. What scripture shows that the Roman emperors ruled
the world?
"And it came to pass in those days, that there went
out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world
should be taxed." Luke 2:1.
NOTE.-Describing the Roman conquests, Gibbon uses
the very imagery employed in the vision of Daniel 2.
He says: "The arms of the republic, sometimes
vanquished in battle, always victorious in war,
advanced with rapid steps to the Euphrates, the
Danube, the Rhine, and the ocean; and the images of
gold or silver, or brass, that
might serve to represent the nations and their
kings, were successively broken by the iron
monarchy of Rome."-"Decline and Fall of the Roman
Empire," chap. 38, par. 1, under " General
Observations," at the close of the chapter.
18. What was indicated by the mixture of clay and iron
in the feet and toes of the image?
"And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of
potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be
divided." Dan. 2:41.
19. In what prophetic language was
the varying strength of the ten kingdoms of the divided
empire indicated?
"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 [margin, brittle]."
Verse 42.
20. Were any efforts to be made to reunite the divided
empire of Rome?
"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." Verse 43.
NOTES.-Charlemagne, Charles V, Louis XIV, and
Napoleon all tried to reunite the broken fragments
of the Roman Empire, but failed. By marriage and
intermarriage ties have been formed with a view to
strengthening and cementing together the shattered
kingdom; but none have succeeded. The element of
disunion remains. Many political revolutions and
territorial changes have occurred in Europe since
the fall of the Roman Empire in 476 A.D.; but its
divided state still remains.
This remarkable dream, as interpreted by Daniel,
presents in the briefest form, and yet with
unmistakable clearness, the course of world empires
from the time of Nebuchadnezzar to the close of
earthly history and the setting up of the
everlasting kingdom of God. The history confirms the
prophecy. The sovereignty of the world was held by
Babylon from the time of this dream, B.C. 603, until
B.C. 538, when it passed to the Medes and Persians.
The victory of the Grecian forces at the battle of
Arbela, in B.C. 331, marked the downfall of the Medo-Persian
Empire, and the Greeks then became the undisputed
rulers of the world. The battle of Pydna, in
Macedonia, in B.C. 168, was the last organized
effort to withstand a world-wide conquest by the
Romans, and at that time therefore the sovereignty
passed from the Greeks to the Romans, and the fourth
kingdom was fully established. The division of Rome
into ten kingdoms is definitely foretold in the
vision recorded in the seventh chapter of Daniel,
and occurred between the years 351 A.D. and 476 A.D.
21. What is to take place in the
days of these kingdoms?
"And in the days of these kings shall the God of
heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed:
. . . but it shall break in pieces and consume all
these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever." Verse 44.
NOTE.-This verse foretells the establishment of
another universal kingdom, the kingdom of God. This
kingdom is to overthrow and supplant all existing
earthly kingdoms, and is to stand forever. The time
for the setting up of this kingdom was to be "in the
days of these kings." This cannot refer to the four
preceding empires, or kingdoms; for they were not
contemporaneous, but successive; neither can it
refer to an establishment of the kingdom at Christ's
first advent, for the ten kingdoms which arose out
of the ruins of the Roman Empire were not yet in
existence. It must therefore be yet future.
22. In what announcement in the New Testament is the
establishment of the kingdom of God made known?
"And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great
voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world
are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ;
and He shall reign forever and ever." Rev. 11:15.
23. For what have we been taught
to pray?
"Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in
earth, as it is in heaven." Matt. 6:10.
24. What event is closely associated with the
establishment of God's everlasting kingdom?
"I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus
Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at His
appearing and His kingdom." 2 Tim. 4:1.
25. With what prayer do the
Scriptures close?
"He that testifieth these things saith,
Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord
Jesus." Rev. 22:20.
Look for the way-marks as you journey on,
Look for the way-marks, passing one by one:
Down through the ages, past the kingdoms four,-
Where are we standing? Look the way-marks o'er.
First, Babylonia's kingdom ruled the world,
Then Medo-Persia's banners were unfurled;
And after Greece held universal sway,
Rome seized the scepter,-where are we today?
Down in the feet of iron and of clay,
Weak and divided, soon to pass away;
What will the next great, glorious drama be?-
Christ and His coming, and eternity.
F. E. BELDEN. |
