The Moral and Religious Conditions of the Times of the Gentiles Daniel 3-6
Arno C. Gaebelein
The four chapters that follow the great dream of
Nebuchadnezzar are of a historical character. They do not contain direct
prophecies but record certain events that transpired during the reign of
Nebuchadnezzar, his successor and grandson, Belshazzar, and Darius the Mede. On
the personal history of these three persons and where they are found in profane
history we have little to say, as a deeper examination of this subject would
lead us too far and would be tedious.
But this much must be said that
the criticism which charged Daniel with being incorrect has been completely
silenced by the Babylonian cylinders of Cyrus and Nabonnaid and the so-called
annalistic tablets, the very records of those days. It is true that the
personality of Darius the Mede has not yet been definitely located
historically. However, we do not believe the Bible because its historical
statements can be verified from profane history. We believe the Bible because
its records are divinely inspired and therefore correct. What would we know of
the genuineness of these ancient tablets and cylinders covered with cuneiform
inscriptions if it were not for the Bible? These witnesses from the stones,
which indeed cry out, do not verify the Bible, they are rather declared genuine
and correct by the Word of God.
These four chapters then give us
historical events. Each has a prophetic meaning, though direct prophecy is not
found in them.
Analysis of the Four Chapters
We give
first of all an analysis of these four chapters before we comment on them
briefly.
Chapter 3. The golden image of Nebuchadnezzar erected. The fiery
furnace and the miraculous deliverance of the faithful captives.
Chapter 4. Nebuchadnezzars proclamation. His dream vision. Daniels
interpretation. The mania of the King and his restoration.
Chapter 5.
Belshazzars feast. The handwriting on the wall. Daniel interprets. The
fall of Babylon. This happened in 538 B. C. or 68 years after Daniel had been
brought to Babylon.
Chapter 6. The decree of Darius the Mede.
Daniels faithfulness; how God delivered him out of the lions den.
The proclamation of Darius. This must have happened in the same year when
Babylon fell. The pictures one sees sometimes showing Daniel as a young man
standing amid lions are not correct. If Daniel was 14 years old when he was
brought to Babylon, he was over 80 years of age when they cast him into the
lions den.
The purpose of the Holy Spirit in guiding the pen of
Daniel in this manner, reporting first these historical happenings, is not
difficult to discover. These chapters describe the moral conditions prevailing
during two of the great world empires. But they also indicate the moral
conditions that will continue to the very end of the times of the
Gentiles.
We may trace in them the following five things that are
prophetically foreshadowed:
1. The moral characteristics of the Times
of the Gentiles.
2. What shall happen at the close of the Gentile age.
3. The faithful remnant of His people in suffering.
4. Their
deliverance.
5. The Gentiles acknowledge God as the King and God of
Heaven.
The Image of Gold (Daniel 3)
Nebuchadnezzar had
heard from Daniels lips, You are this head of gold (Daniel
2:38). The poor king became puffed up and in the pride of his heart attempted
to unify the religious worship of his vast empire. He had an immense statue of
gold made, the image of a man no doubt, and he set it up in the plain of Dura
in the province of Babylon. It was idolatry and the deification of man.
Idolatry and the deification of man are then the first moral
characteristics mentioned which are to prevail during the times of the
Gentiles. The times of the Gentiles produce a religion that is opposed to the
God of heaven. The image was sixty cubits high and six broad. Seven is the
divine number and six is the number of man. Sixty cubits and six
reminds us of that familiar passage in the Book of Revelation, where we have
the number of a man given, that mysterious number Six hundred three score
and six, that is 666. The image then represents man, but the climax of
man was not yet reached.
However, the beginning foreshadows the end of
the times of the Gentiles. That end is described in the 13th chapter of
Revelation. This chapter leads us upon the ground of the restored Roman Empire,
when the ten kingdoms are established. Then a great Roman emperor, of whom we
hear later as the little horn in Daniels vision, will appear and will
make a covenant with the Jews, which permits them to resume their worship. He
will break that covenant. Another beast, the second beast in Revelation 13, the
personal Antichrist, equally energised by Satan like the head of the restored
Roman Empire, will put up an image, the image of the beast and demand its
worship. Then the idolatry and deification of man has reached its full height.
The Antichrist and the image will be worshiped; he will sit in the temple of
God and show that he is god. We see from this brief review how the act of
Nebuchadnezzar clearly points to the time of the end.
The civil power
tried to force this universal religion upon the people. The great governors,
judges, captains, and rulers had to appear for the dedication of the image. But
then the whole thing had a religious aspect. Listen, after looking at this
great awe-inspiring image of gold, to the sweetest music. The cornet, the
flute, the harp, the psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of instruments sound
forth. No doubt the Chaldean priests approached chanting some sweet Babylonian
song.
Why all this? To stir up the religious emotions and to aid the
worship of an idol in this way. It is intensely interesting that the ancient
Babylonian worship, with its ceremonials and chanting is reproduced in Rome,
which is called in Revelation, Babylon. (The book by Alexander
Hislop, The Two Babylons, gives reliable and important information on this
fact.)
And do we not find here lessons likewise for our day? We hear
from many sides the cries for a new religion, for a universal religion. It will
surely come; yes, it is almost upon us. The age will not run out irreligiously.
The false worship, the Cain-cult, is all about us. It is the bloodless
religion, the religion that exalts man. And there you may even now go and hear
the sweetest music. And the magnificent ceremonies and rituals all great
helps to worship yes, but what kind of worship? A sensuous, soulical
worship, but not the worship in Spirit and in truth.
The Faithful
Three
The proclamation had been made and when the sweet music was
heard all nations and languages fell down and worshiped. And whoever did not
follow the Kings demand was to be cast into a fiery furnace. Then came
the Chaldeans and accused the three friends of Daniel: Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego.
Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to
bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Then they brought these men before the
King. Nebuchadnezzar spoke and said to them: Is it true O Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abednego, do not you serve my gods nor worship the golden image that I have
set up? Now if you be ready that at what time you hear the sound of the cornet,
flute, harp, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, you fall down and
worship the image which I have made, all is well; but if you worship not, you
shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who
is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?
Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the King: O Nebuchadnezzar, we are
not careful to answer you in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is
able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace and He will deliver us out of
your hand, O King. But if not, be it known unto you, O King, that we will not
serve your gods, nor worship the golden image that you have set up
(verses 13-18).
Nebuchadnezzar finds out that the accusation is true.
Here are three men who refuse to worship the image of gold. And Nebuchadnezzar,
whom we saw bowing before Daniel and acknowledging God the Lord of Kings and
the Revealer of secrets, can say now in an arrogant way Who is that God
that shall deliver you out of my hands? But in that dark hour the Grace
and Strength of God covered the three friends of Daniel. What gracious words
they were permitted to speak! No exciting note or any fear whatever can be
discovered in their answer to the King. They breathe calmness and
determination. They were men of faith, and faith is seen here in its
perfection. They know that the God whom they serve is an omnipotent God; He is
able to deliver them. And then they add: and He WILL deliver us out of
your hand, O King. But if not, be it known unto you that we will not serve your
gods.
What victorious language this was! The raging King stood
helpless in the presence of these men, with their holy separation and
determination, born of faith.
The furnace is heated seven times more;
the mightiest men are commissioned to cast the three into the furnace heat. The
very men who cast them into the flames were consumed by the flames. But when
the King looked towards the furnace he beheld, to his great astonishment, not
three men bound and burning up, but four men loose and actually walking in the
fire. They are unharmed, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of
God (3:25). And when they were brought up from the fiery furnace, no
smell of fire was about them; not even a hair was singed, only the bands that
had bound them were burned off. The fire had set them free, but it could not
touch them.
But did the King speak true when he beheld the fourth like
the Son of God? Little did he know what he said or what it meant, but assuredly
he saw in that fire the Son of God, Jehovah, for He had promised His people,
When you walk through the fire you shall not be burned; neither shall the
flame set you ablaze (Isaiah 43:2). The faithful Lord kept His promise to
His trusting servants.
And has not all this been repeated throughout
the times of the Gentiles, especially during the Roman Empire? Pagan Rome
persecuted the true worshipers of God; and in great persecutions multitudes
suffered martyrdom. But think of what is worse: papal Rome, that Babylon the
Great, the mother of harlots. There we find the images and the sweet music, the
prostrations and political power enforcing unity of worship. The fiery furnaces
are there, the stake, the most awful tortures for those who were faithful to
God and to their Lord.
Think of the story of the Waldensians and Huguenots.
And while for these noble martyrs, for whom there is a martyrs crown in
the coming day of Christ, there came no deliverance and their bodies were
consumed by the fire, yet the Son of God was with them and with praising hearts
and a song upon their dying lips, He carried them through the fire.
It
is interesting to read in expositions of Daniel and the Book of Revelation,
written in the 16th and 17th centuries, how the expositors saw in papal Rome
the Antichrist. But a great fulfilment of all this is yet to come under the
domineering little horn, the beast out of the sea.
The Remnant of
the Time of the End
When Antichrist terrorizes Jerusalem and the image
is set up we read that all who do not worship the image of the beast shall be
killed. And in that time of fiery trial the great tribulation
there will be a faithful Jewish remnant. They will refuse to worship the image
and many of them will suffer martyrdom while others will be miraculously kept
by the Lords mighty power and pass through the great tribulation without
being harmed by it.
The blessed application in connection with our
trials, the furnace experiences of Gods people, we cannot enter into now.
But blessed be God, whatever the trial may be, whatever the fiery heat, one is
always there with His believing trusting children our blessed Lord, the
Son of God. In all our trials and sorrows, the Son of God is with us. And the
fire but burns off our bands and sets us free. Once more the king acknowledged
the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
Nebuchadnezzars
Dream Vision His Insanity and Restoration (Daniel 4)
The fourth
chapter is in the form of a proclamation from the King. He relates his
experience. A time of peace had been reached by him, and he was flourishing in
his palace, when once more he was disturbed by a dream. He saw in his dream a
high tree in the earth. The tree grew and reached unto heaven. It was a fair
tree giving fruit and shelter. The beasts of the field had shadow under it, and
the fowls of the heavens dwelt there. But all at once a watcher and a holy one,
an angel, for the angels are the holy watchers, came down from heaven with a
message. He cried aloud, and said thus: Cut down the tree and cut off his
branches, shake off his leaves, and scatter his fruit. Let the beasts 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 him be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his
portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth; let his heart be changed
from mans, and let a beasts heart be given unto him; and let seven
times pass over him (4:14-16).
Once more Daniel interprets
through the wisdom of God, and once again he points to the King. It is
you, O King, that have grown and become strong. He then announced to him
his coming fate:
They shall drive you from men, and your dwelling
shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make you to eat grass as
oxen. They shall wet you with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass
over you, till you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men and
gives it to whomever he will. And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of
the tree, your kingdom shall be restored to you after you acknowledge that the
heavens do rule. Therefore, O King, let my counsel be acceptable unto you, and
break off your sins by righteousness and your iniquities by showing mercy to
the poor. It may be that then your time of prosperity will continue. All this
came upon the King Nebuchadnezzar (4:22-28).
Twelve months later
he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon. Then with a haughty mien he
uttered the fatal words: Is not this great Babylon that I have built for
the house of the kingdom by the might of my power and for the honour of my
majesty? (4:29-30). Notice the personal pronoun.
But while he
yet uttered these words, a heavenly voice was heard which announced that the
kingdom had departed from him. What Daniel had said in his interpretation is
repeated from heaven. The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar
and he was driven from men and did eat grass as the oxen, and his body was wet
with the dew of heaven till his hairs were grown like eagles feathers and
his nails like birds claws. And after the seven times had passed over
him, his understanding returned to him and he blessed the Most High.
The last verse of this chapter sums up the whole experience of the King:
Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honour the King of heaven,
all whose works are truth, and His ways just. And those that walk in pride He
is able to humble (4:37).
The meaning of this is not difficult
to find. A great tree in Scripture is the symbol of man with great power and
influence on earth. The Prophet Ezekiel, for instance, had a vision concerning
the Assyrian, and he beheld him as a cedar of Lebanon with fair branches and of
high stature (Ezekiel 31:3).
Israel is spoken of as a vine brought out
of Egypt, and God expected fruit from it, but when it failed and brought forth
the sour grapes (Isaiah 5), then the Gentiles began to flourish and became the
big tree with its branches spreading everywhere.
And we find the tree
in the New Testament. In the third parable in Matthew 13, our Lord speaks of
the mustard tree with its roots in the field, the world, and its branches
extending far and wide while the birds find shelter there. This tree tells us
of the development of Christendom as a vast earthly institution with power and
influence. But connected with this growth and influence in the earth of Gentile
dominion is self-exaltation and pride.
This was the great sin of
Nebuchadnezzar. He spoke of the Great Babylon that I have built, my power and
my majesty. This pride and self-exaltation is the work of Satan, as pride is
the crime of the Devil, and it must result in divine judgment. So a holy
watcher announced that judgment, and we see the proud king as a beast, no
longer looking up but down, and living like a beast, wandering about as a beast
till seven times had passed over him, then he acknowledged the Most High and
was restored.
The last we hear of Nebuchadnezzar is this pleasant
record of his restoration, praising God.
And so judgment will come upon
this proud and self-exalting age of the Gentiles, both political and religious.
That great big tree will some day be cut down and destroyed, though the root
will be left. We must also remember the parable of the good and the wild olive
tree in Romans 11. The good olive tree is Israel; branches were broken off on
account of unbelief. The wild olive tree is the Gentiles. They are grafted upon
the good olive tree. But God warns against self-exaltation. He threatens
judgment if the grafted in branches are high-minded. He tells these high-minded
branches that He will cut them out of the good olive tree. This is spoken not
concerning the church, but Gentile Christendom is in view the great big
mustard tree.
Today we behold a boasting and high-minded Christendom.
The crime of the devil has never before been so apparent as now. Judgment will
come when the tree will be destroyed. Oh how we should beware in these evil
days of pride and self-exaltation. With this the child of God steps upon the
territory of the enemy. May we not seek great things and be in that which feeds
our proud hearts but, lowly at his feet, be clothed with humility.
And
Nebuchadnezzars great humiliation in becoming a beast for seven times
(seven years), points us to the end of this Gentile age once more. Apostasy
from God will be the great characteristic of that end. There will be no more
looking up to God, but the attitude of the beast will be the attitude of the
nations. We see much of this already. They mind earthly things and become the
earth-dwellers so frequently mentioned in the Book of Revelation.
Madness and bestiality will seize upon the Gentiles after the One who hinders,
the Holy Spirit, is removed. Then proud and apostate Christendom will believe
the lie and follow the beast with its lying wonders. This will last seven
times, that is, seven years.
The stump of the great tree that remains
in the field suggests the fact that the judgments that fall upon the nations in
the time of the end will not completely destroy all nations. Many of them will
be swept away. For those who wilfully rejected the Gospel and turned away from
the truth, there is no hope. But there are others who will be left, and when
these judgments are in the earth, the nations learn righteousness.
The
millennium is also seen in this chapter in the restoration of Nebuchadnezzar
and in the praise he gives to the Most High. In the previous chapter, the three
friends of Daniel speak of Our God, but in this chapter we hear of
The Most High. It is the millennial name of God. We see then in the
fourth chapter the pride and self-exaltation of the Gentiles, and how the
Gentiles will be humiliated and judged. First there is self-exaltation that is
followed by judgment and then follows restoration and the acknowledgment of the
Most High.
That nothing more is now reported of Nebuchadnezzar, that
the last we hear of him in Scripture is his acknowledgment of the Most High, is
also not without meaning. It foreshadows the universal acknowledgment of God in
the Kingdom which the God of heaven will set up, when the stone fills as the
mountain the whole earth! (To be concluded in the
next issue.)
Taken from The Prophet Daniel.