Hello
Friends!
Welcome
back
to our Encouraging Concepts Bible
study series focused on the powerfully PROPHETIC picture portrayed in the Old Testament book
of Daniel painted as a panoramic
landscape of World History in FIVE successions “written” in
ardent ADVANCE some 2,600 years ago…
“The Book of Daniel: Prophecy PAST, PRESENT
& FUTURE!”
The Book of Daniel: Prophecy PAST,
PRESENT & FUTURE (Chapter 2: Verses 24-28)
24 Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had ordained
to destroy the wise men of Babylon: he went and said thus unto him; Destroy not
the wise men of Babylon: bring me in before the king, and I will shew unto the
king the interpretation. 25 Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste,
and said thus unto him, I have found a man of the captives of Judah, that will
make known unto the king the interpretation. 26 The
king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Art thou able to
make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation thereof?
27 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,
shew unto the king; 28 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 – Daniel 2:24-28
OPENING POINTS TO PONDER: Immediately after “Daniel” had powerfully PRAISED the great “God of heaven” during his PRAYER session with his three “companions” he willingly “went” and requested a private AUDIENCE with the “king” himself. How beautiful he is in
the practical “presence” of this mighty “monarch” as such! This was a perfect
opportunity to “glorify” only HIMSELF in the midst of this
pressing PRESSURE to perform. However, he honorably HIDES himself completely
and greatly GIVES his great “God” above ALL the grand “glory” due
– His Mighty Name!
Daniel Before the King!
Here in these powerful “passages” we find “Daniel” informing “King
Nebuchadnezzar”
that in the “interpretation” of the “dream” he is about to REVEAL to him, “God” has “maketh known” unto him "what shall be in
the latter days" of which are yet FUTURE to
his current “dispensation” of trying “time” in human history – Some 2,600
Years LATER!
COMPASSION in CRISIS!
This
daring “Daniel” was also marked
by caring COMPASSION of heart! Before “Daniel”
even went back to “shew”
the troubled “king” his “dream” unknown, he “went”
to speak with “Arioch” himself FIRST in
line. WHY? Because “Daniel” wanted to be SURE that “Arioch”
the avid EXECUTIONER had not
yet gone through with this horribly HASTY holocaust to “destroy”
all the “wise men”
in the “Babylonian” empire:
Therefore
Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had ordained to destroy the wise men
of Babylon: he went and said thus unto him; Destroy not the wise men of
Babylon: bring me in before the king, and I will shew unto the king the
interpretation – Daniel 2:24
BIBLICAL BACKGROUND: The PREVIOUS direct order of which “Arioch”
had received
was dictated directly from “King
Nebuchadnezzar” himself. However, THIS order is from the young lad “Daniel”
instead. WHO does
this young kid think he is? He is nothing more than
one of the “Hebrew” horded “captives of Judah”
coming out of nowhere! None the less, “Daniel”
was in complete control of his excellent EMOTIONAL
state of mind. He aptly asks “Arioch”
to briskly “bring”
him bravely “before”
the concerned “king” in order that he may rightly
REVEAL the in depth “interpretation”
as rigorously REQUIRED
in full. It is also very important to ascertain
that “Daniel no doubt carried a caring COMPASSION on these waning “wise
men” of the beguiled “Babylon”
empire. WHY? Because he KNEW their
very “souls” were spiritually LOST in
ignorant “idolatry” of the “heart” and as a real result
were – Eternally DOOMED!
Then
Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said thus unto him, I
have found a man of the captives of Judah, that will make known unto the king
the interpretation – Daniel
2:25
Incidentally,
the term “in haste” here denotes
adamant ALARM and eager EXCITEMENT as being in a HUGE hurry as such. And “Arioch”
most likely may NOT have wanted to carry out this SENSELESS sadistic SLAUGHTERING siege.
Thus, he boldly “brought” in this diligent
young devotee “Daniel” before the calamitous
“king” in a very ENERGETIC way! And here “Arioch”
definitely takes a bit more CREDIT than he deserves. WHY?
Because as a loyal and respectful subordinate,
“Daniel” had willingly “went” unto him FIRST with his request. Similarly, “Daniel”
also submits through a SERVANT heart and seeks to make “Arioch” look good before his “King Nebuchadnezzar”
in kind. And besides, when you are a front-line officer to the “king” himself, you want to do ALL you
can to seriously – Score SOME Points!
WORTHLESS in CRISIS!
Then
the “king”
antagonistically “answered”
the young “Daniel”
by adamantly addressing him by his newly pronounced PAGAN name
of “Belteshazzar”
provided directly by “Nebuchadnezzar”
himself:
The king
answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Art thou able to make
known unto me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation thereof? – Daniel 2:26
In
other words, “Can he REALLY do it?” Is
this young “Jewish” lad named “Daniel” actually “able” to fully “make known” to the “king” details of BOTH the dreadful “dream”
itself AND the true “interpretation”
in kind? If this honest “Hebrew”
captive could NOT do so, it would be a very BAD day for HIM along with ALL the “others”
around him! And to purposely postpone all of this with no REAL resolution
would also be very BAD indeed! Interestingly enough, “King Nebuchadnezzar” has some
definite DOUBTS denoted here. WHY?
Because the ENTIRE so-called supernatural arena UNITED together
under the auspice of his annoying “astrologers” and maniacal “magicians” and
subsequent sappy “soothsayers”
have no doubt utterly FAILED him a multitude of times
before…
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,
shew unto the king – Daniel
2:27
Here
“Daniel” steadfastly “answered” the ANGRY antagonistic “king”
with a deep desire to absolutely AFFIRM once again that of ALL of
these so-called wicked “wise
men” of beguiled “Babylon”
candidly “cannot”
at all HELP the miserable “matter” in absolutely ANY manner and are thus rendered
woefully – WORTHLESS!
THEOLOGICAL THOUGHTS: This is quite similar
to the WORTHLESS fickle numbered
“four hundred and fifty”
pathetic prognosticators representing the DEMONIC beast
of burden named “Baal” along
the fallacious “four hundred”
fools from among the “groves”
to which the true “prophet” of
our great “God” named “Elijah” confidently CONFRONTED upon
the heights “Mount Carmel” as
he too mindfully “mocked” them
ALL in his day:
Now therefore
send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal
four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat
at Jezebel's table… And they took the bullock which
was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from
morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor
any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made. And it came
to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god;
either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure
he sleepeth, and must be awaked. And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after
their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them – 1 Kings
18:19 & 26-28
Similarly,
“Daniel” seeks to soundly SET the great
true “God of heaven” adamantly AGAINST the
dastardly DEMONIC doomed deities of destruction
declared. Therefore, with all of their silly “soothsaying” slap-stick antics at
their demented disposal, they are absolutely ALL found to be utterly – USELESS for CRISIS!
HUMILITY in CRISIS!
And
now we begin to find yet another choice CHARCTER trait
of the young “Daniel” in kind – Humility…
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 dream of
thy head upon thy bed, are these… – Daniel
2:28
Although
“Daniel” could have easily
taken ALL of the credit
for the incredible “interpretation” of the “king’s dream” unto HIMSELF,
he does NOT do so. “But”
instead, “Daniel” has humbly
given ALL the creative credit to his
great “God” Almighty ALONE of
Whom rightly “revealeth
secrets” as he proceeds to fully ACKNOWLEDGE his great “God in heaven”
to the fullest extent. And “Daniel”
proceeds to rightly REVEAL
unto this coarse “King
Nebuchadnezzar” the deeply detailed account
when he went to “bed” and as he was “lying” down began to “dream” a plethora of “dreams” within his “head” amassed – In HEART and MIND!
PROPHETIC PROMISE: The term “latter days” referenced here refers
to the final “fullness of the time”
mentioned in the mind of the INSPIRED writers of Holy Writ unto a right reference
pointing to a SPECIFIC period of PROPHECY pondered. The “latter times”
of the particular PROPHECY given here encompasses “all”
of human HISTORY up until the PROMISED coming “thousand
year” literally mandated Millennial Kingdom of which was “prepared”
many years BEFORE the formulated “foundation
of the world” and will one “day” be eagerly ESTABLISHED entirely by our loving “Lord Jesus Christ” Himself:
When the Son of man shall come in
his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne
of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate
them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he
shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall
the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father,
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world – Matthew
25:31-34
And I saw thrones, and they sat
upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that
were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had
not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon
their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a
thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand
years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he
that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no
power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him
a thousand years – Revelation 20:4-6
Beloved,
this “dream”
description must have been an absolute SHOCK for the menacing mind of “King Nebuchadnezzar” to consider as our diligent “Daniel” rehearsed all the INCREDIBLE events
of the FUTURE to conveniently “come“
and what it would mean for HIS earthly kingdom of “Babylon” at that present
trying “time” trenched in “world” history – Prophetic
PROMISE!
More to
follow… STAY tuned!
In
closing:
REAL REFLECTIONS: The twelve chapters of “Daniel” are powerfully PROMISED prophecies depicting the unfolding
of the HISTORIC events of which will take place leading up to
the literal “time” of the SECOND awaited
physical “coming” of our loving “Lord Jesus Christ” back to the earth:
And in the days
of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be
destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall
break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever – Daniel 2:44
And
our SERIOUS study of these PROPHECIES will
rightly REVEAL to each student of God's wonderful “Word” that the events FORETOLD
some 2,600 years ago could
possibly be FULFILLED in the seemingly near future…
We are not guaranteed tomorrow – tomorrow may be too late! If you haven't yet made that most important decision of your life, won't you make Jesus Christ your personal Lord and Savior today - before it's too late? Today is the day of Salvation!
If you have been blessed by this message or have a specific question, prayer request or testimony, please send me a note to: encouragingconcepts@live.com
I love hearing from you. Keep reading Encouraging Concepts!
Blessings!
Shane K. Morin <><
Encouraging Concepts
Truth for Today
"Living Life From a Biblical Worldview"
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