Nebuchadnezzar’s Nightmare - Part 1

Undermined Christian lady asked if this was a dream of supreme significance laying of the sequence of events that will include rental price, which is why did God give the screen such a wicked today on Turning Point David Jeremiah considers this question and examines the meaning behind what he calls the most improvement agreement, Scripture from the handwriting on Ms. is not. Thank you for joining us today.

We open our Bibles to Daniel chapter 2 and the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar is going to have a nightmare is going to have a dream that will just terrorize him has no idea what it means you can't find anybody to tell them what it means and then he meets Daniel and that's were going to be for the rest of this week as we talk about Nebuchadnezzar's dream.

Well let's find out what the king of Babylon was all about. Why was he dreaming. What is his dream all about and why was it so frightening is or is by far the most important pagan king in all of the Bible more presses given to him than to any other Gentile ruler is in fact the first Gentile ruler to interrupt the nation of Israel and its leadership. According to chapter 4 of this book on the 17th verse. This man was the basest of all men we've already learned that is a wicked despotic King he stands in many respects is a type of the Antichrist because of his cruel and Satan inspired devices. The Bible teaches us in the book of Daniel, that all men tremble before this. Can you read that in chapter 1 verse 10 and again in chapter 5 in verse 19 all of the world tremble before King Messer but he tremble before no man.

He trembled before nothing, nothing, that is, except his dreams here in our chapter in the first verse of chapter 2 we read that Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams and his spirit was troubled, and his sleep went from him and over in the fourth chapter in the fifth verse we read that he saw dream which made him afraid and a vision which troubled him. It's hard for us to understand it and it's hard for us to get a hold of it. But here is a man who is the ruler of the world. He is secure upon his throne. All of his enemies have been subdued and yet you still unable to sleep.

According to the 29th verse of chapter 2. The problem with Nebuchadnezzar sleeping is that he is filled with anxiety over the future is worried about what should come to pass hereafter. He is suffering in some respects from royal insomnia.

Perhaps he is an illustration of Shakespeare's famous line bus conscience does make cowards of us all, or perhaps even better. He personifies the phrase uneasy lies the head that wears the crown for whatever reason Nebuchadnezzar sounds like pious Job in the Old Testament who, on one occasion in the seventh chapter and verse 14 said to God now scares me with dreams and terrify me with visions a prophetic writer by the name of John in your court has written about this king's dream and I think he has put his finger on what's keeping Nebuchadnezzar awake at night. He writes these words. He said the warrior spirit cannot rest the power he holds is not something to be enjoyed. It is something to be you is a means, not an end.

He has retired to rest but the busy brain pursues its all absorbing fancy with her. Will he turn his arms in what way. Maybe most effectually break the power he means to attack when he had his standalone in the earth. What then the Dominion has returned again to babbling the ancient mysteries of the kingdoms but will it remain there in dreams he still pursues ambitions, pads, the ever-changing fancies sweep through the soul, and their swift unending fight, but it lasts their aimless career is checked and built out of the dreamer's thoughts upon his bed of vision rises clear, consistent, and terrible. As far as the king is concerned, this is a sleepless night, punctuated by a terrifying dream as far as God is concerned.

This is the vehicle through which he will reveal the commencement the character the course and the consummation of the times of the Gentiles. Harry Ironside is written of this chapter that it contains the most complete and yet the most simple prophetic picture that we have in all of the word of God. Without question, what we are studying is the most amazing dream in all of the Bible.

It begins in its coverage with the time of Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar, and it extends throughout history all the way to the reign of Christ the King of the heavens who sets up his reign upon the earth. The thousand year reign in millennium of our Lord now. Chapter 2 is a very long chapter is 49 versus the chapter really divides itself into two major units versus one through 30 give us the history of Nebuchadnezzar's dream and how Daniel interpreted and then beginning in verse 31 and going through verse 49 we have the actual dream itself, and what it meant a versus one through 30. Record the story of the king's dream and it seems to me that it most naturally unfolds itself. In the following way.

It is like a three act play one versus 1 to 13.

Nebuchadnezzar is on the stage all by himself. A few supporting cast, but he's the center of attraction.

Daniel is not in the picture to versus 14 to 23. The scene is now Daniel's little cottage and he's the central figure on the stage and then actually begins in verse 24 and goes through 30. And that's Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar both on the stage together. So three act play and that's I will study the passage just as quickly as we can move through the narrative, but getting all that we can get along the way so notice first of all, one Nebuchadnezzar on stage verses 1 to 13. Now it is obvious that chapter 2 begins chronologically right after the events of chapter 1 verse 18 of chapter 1 lets us know that the end of their days of examination has come. Speaking of the Hebrew children you remember if you been studying with us that they been in school for three years and now they have come and have graduated at the end of the first chapter you remember that Daniel graduated magna cum laude. He was the head of the class. The graduation is over and now chapter 2 begins and the events of chapter 2. Follow the graduation of the Hebrew children from their schooling that poses a most interesting problem with us because chapter 2 begins in a very confusing way, for it says in chapter 2 now in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar and we ask ourselves this question.

Now wait a minute. How long were they in school three years and who enroll them in school. Nebuchadnezzar and so he was there at the beginning of their schooling, and now we began chapter 2 and it says it's only the second year of his reign.

How do we explain that well it's a very interesting explanation is a very logical one for according to Babylonian reckoning and Daniel was writing from the court of Babylon as a Babylonian, according to Babylonian reckoning a king did not count him babbling his first year as a part of his reign. It was called his year of accession, and as he exceeded the throne. That was a here set apart as a parentheses and he began to reckon time at the beginning of the second year.

So as we go back to the first chapter, we know that the first year when Daniel and his friends were brought to Israel was the king's year of accession and then we have the second and the third year are the first in the second year, according to Babylonian time now. At the end of the second year. We are in chapter 2 see where I'm coming from. So this is the end of the second year of the reign of King that he could measure.

But remember his father died and he ascended the throne, just as Daniel and his friends were coming in the babbling. So we are now locked into the right time sequence and were ready to understand what's going on in the life of King Nebuchadnezzar.

We began under act one with I or number 100 point day or however you keep notes with the king's dream.

Chapter 2 verse one says that Nebuchadnezzar dream dreams, and his spirit was troubled, and his sleep went from him. Now the story is this the king is recently coming to power and he has great perplexity about the future is at the top, but now he has so much to lose, that he is so worried about what might happen to you the problems of the day become the problems of the night and he takes them to bed with him and he could conquer dynasties, but he could conquer his own dreams to stop for a moment and say that in some respects Nebuchadnezzar is a contemporary of hours for you and I both know many who have risen to the top but discovered that it provides them many sleepless nights because of the responsibility that they have received. How according to the Bible.

There are two ways that God spoke in the visionary way he spoke in dreams which was something he did. When a person was asleep and he spoke in visions which was like a dream only. They were awake when they received the vision way back in the Old Testament book of Numbers chapter 12 in verse six we are told that if there be a prophet among you I Lord will make myself known in a vision and I will speak in the dream. In the Old Testament days and in the Old Testament times, God often spoke to his own through the dream.

Solomon had a dream and you know about the dreams of Joseph and a very special dream, but Jacob had recorded in the book of Genesis. All of these are God's people. But the amazing thing is you study the Old Testament in its focused in this chapter is that God not only spoke to his own people through dreams. Quite often he spoke to pagans dream. For instance you remember when Abraham was involved with Abimelech, the king of Gerard and he gave Sarah, who was his wife unto the king because he was afraid of him and the Bible records in the book of Genesis, that it was through a dream that God warned Abimelech that Sarah was the wife of Abraham. He was not a godly man. The Bible teaches us that on occasion when Gideon was fighting against the Midianites that God spoke to one of the Midianites through dream and gave him a vision of the fact that they were going to be conquered in battle here in this chapter we have the story of God speaking to wicked king that we could measure by means of dream… Stop just a moment and ask a couple questions.

First question is this. Since when has God revealed his prophetic plan to an ungodly despotic King. It's a good question.

I would already said this is the most important dream in the Bible and God allowed it to be given to a wicked king.

How do you explain that the answer is an indication of the times when I say to you that if this particular moment in the history of Israel.

There was very little difference between the Jews and the Babylonians. If I could put it this way. God didn't have much to choose from. The Jewish people were as wicked as the Babylonians and it's almost as if God is addressing them in some sort of a sarcastic way by saying so you would gotta say. I'll reveal my great prophetic plan to the most wicked king of the land, but I like to also point out that Nebuchadnezzar stands at a unique place because he is the first Gentile king to be the ruler of the land and what is the nature of this dream that were studying. It is God's plan for the times of the Gentiles.

And wouldn't it be natural that God would reveal his plan for the times of the Gentiles to a Gentile king.

That's what he's doing well. That's the king's dream. Now we move on to the second verse and we notice the king's determination. The king commanded the magicians of the astrologers and the sorcerers in the Chaldeans to show the king's dream.

So they came and stood before the king and the king sent a dream, a dream in my spirit was trouble to know the dream then spoke the Chaldeans to the king Aramaic okay and live forever. Tell my servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation. Now the king had this terrible dream and he called in his brain trust.

The next day was his cabinet in the cabinet was made up of four different groups. The magicians who, according to the text were more scholars than magicians.

The word there is the word that is tied into the word style loss or pin it means those who write the magicians were scholars and Betty calling the astrologers, the stargazers, if you will, and along with that sorcerers now the sorcerers were men who were involved in incantations and had contact with the dead.

They were the mediums of their day and along with that, the Chaldeans map point out that the word Chaldean here is not a geographical reference, but it is a term which has to do with the wisemen. The babbling when we see that in a context like this is a reference to the wisest of the wise men.

So now the king has his brain trust in front of him and he wants them to tell him the meaning of this terrible dream, but he had the night before. It's interesting to note that beginning at the fourth verse of the second chapter and concluding at the end of the seventh chapter in the book of Daniel in the original language of the Old Testament you going through the Bible your reading Hebrew and Hebrew Hebrew to get the chapter 2 in verse four and then the language switches and you got Aramaic from chapter all the way to the end of chapter 7. One of the reasons for that is that that's the prophecy that deals with the Gentiles and that's the language of the Babylonian court. That's the language. Daniel is been studying for three years and so it is no problem for him to write that message in Aramaic, or in the Chaldean language that message that is communicated in this prophetic book that's the king's determination calls the man and he says you're my whole to understand my dream and I want you to tell me what it means now we come to the king's dilemma in verse four, the Chaldeans spoke to the king, Aramaic, and this is what you always say looking okay and live forever. Tell my servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation towards nursing you just tell us what your dream is king, and will tell you what it means. But in verse five we get to dilemma the problem is this the king answered and said to the Chaldeans. The thing is gone from me.

In other words, I forgot my dream. That's a problem he hasn't forgotten how terrible it was. Hasn't forgotten the terrible dream and how he felt when he was dreaming but he cannot remember the details of the dream. So we've had that experience Avenue wake up in the morning in a cold sweat you're not sure why but you know something bad happened the night before while you were dreaming. That's what was going on with King Nebuchadnezzar and he remembered the dream was terrible. The problem was he just didn't know what the dream was in a course in Oriental culture.

A forgotten dream was a bad omen and Nebuchadnezzar was very much concerned that brings us to the King's demand in verse five and the king answered and said to the Chaldeans. The thing is gone for me if you will not make known unto me the dream, with the interpretation of it you will be cut in pieces and your houses shall be made of dung. Now the king wants to know is dream and he wants to know the meaning of it and he said to his brain trust his cabinet, the wisest people in battle and he's given them a valid test if these men are failures. There also France if they are able to tell him the meaning of the dream.

Surely they can tell and also what the dream was this thing that's going on here in this verse has much, far deeper meaning than you see at the surface.

It furnishes a demonstration of the incompetence of mere human resources and learning and power to ascertain the mind and the will of God. Apart from his own revelation. These are pagan men. This is God's revelation.

They come in and they don't know what to do. One can't help but notice as he studies this passage the King Nebuchadnezzar really didn't believe in his own system. Betty, I mean these are his men and he supposed to believe in them. These are the religious leaders of his day, but he doesn't believe in them. He knows their phonies.

And he wants to put them on the spot. So that's what he says. He says look I listen interpretation of the first boy going to tell me what my dream was well versus seven through 11 is a very fast-moving interchange between the king of the wisemen you following your Bibles. Let me just tell you a story very quickly. In verse seven, the wisemen come back again.

They say okay and you tell us the dream and will tell you what it means. And the king says you're just trying to buy time so you try to do stalling for time. Verse eight in verse nine the king goes on to say you've prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me till the time is changed tell me the dream, and I will know you're for real.

I see how you like to be involved with that kind of a trust relationship between you and your religious leader, I may hear this guy is he's really dependent upon these men to give them guidance, but he doesn't believe in them because of a bunch of liars as if I give you a shot at this dream was tell me the wrong dream you just buying time. I don't believe in you. What I love. What comes next. Verse 10 wisemen say there's not a man on earth can we appeal the king's matter and furthermore there is not a king on earth you would ever ask him to do such a thing. Verse 11. This beautiful it's a rare thing that the king require making good answer.

That's what I pay you guys for to do things I want you to notice what these men are admitting just notice this in passing, number one, they are admitting that there is not any man on earth who of himself can understand the revelation of God.

Mark that down is an interesting, it's very much like prescriptions 214 but the natural man. The natural man receive not the things of the spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. These are the natural man, the religious leaders of the day. This is a revelation from God, and they are incapable of locking into its meaning or its understand. Now this remark bears is that the very core of the real meaning of being a Christian. There is not a man on earth that can show the king's matter.

Write that down in your book. There is not a man on earth that can understand the king's matter.

But Daniel was on the your connections in heaven and a Christian, therefore, is a man on earth in touch with heaven who was able to bring heaven to bear on the things of earth. That's what a Christian is.

That's why these guys couldn't do it well sticks out in the park because he knows God was having lunch today with someone who taught about what a difference it makes when you know God. How it changes everything in your life. What used to be just the routine of life for the drudgery of life becomes a divine adventure Daniels living out this divine adventure and he's about to enter the scene and Nebuchadnezzar will never be the same. Daniel will never be the same and in reality the world will never be the same. That's a part of our lesson for today and tomorrow will finish up Nebuchadnezzar's nightmare then will learn what it all means going forward on Thursday and Friday and by the way, if you'd like to have the devotionals downloaded into your email file hundreds of thousands of people that get the devotionals email will help you do that if you ask about it when you call right today.

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