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Daniel 4
Nebuchadnezzar himself is speaking here, and it had to be the end of
the seven years he was sentence to an animals like existence. So we
see a parting place; where Nebuchadnezzar, as king of Babylon, differ from
Satan, as king of Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar was not a son of Cain or a
Kenites. You will not find more beautiful praise for our living God
than Nebuchadnezzar speaks in these words. God puts whom He will
over our people, and this is always in accordance with His plan. He has a
specific purpose for those he chooses. Nebuchadnezzar has been
brought back to God. I feel he will be one of the kings of the nations,
spoken of in Revelation 21, which says "nations" in English, but it is the
"ethnos" in the Greek, indicating one of the ethnic groups.
Daniel
4:1 Nebuchadnezzar the king, unto all people, nations, and languages,
that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you.
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Nation in Aramaic translates "races".
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Note Nebuchadnezzar addresses all people.
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Nebuchadnezzar, what follows is evidently a proclamation. Given
probably in 454 B.C., the last of the seven years, 461-454 B.C. the
same year as the decree of Astyages, Daniel being then fifty-nine,
2 I thought it good to shew the signs and wonders that the high God hath
wrought toward me.
3 How great are his signs! and how mighty are his wonders! his kingdom
is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion is from generation to
generation.
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The first three verses are evidently a proclamation.
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It is evident God has dealt with Nebuchadnezzar.
4 I Nebuchadnezzar was at rest in mine house, and flourishing in my
palace:
5 I saw a dream which made me afraid, and the thoughts upon my bed and
the visions of my head troubled me.
6 Therefore made I a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon
before me, that they might make known unto me the interpretation of the
dream.
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Naturally Daniel was among those he called for, being the chief of
the wise men.
7 Then came in the magicians, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the
soothsayers: and I told the dream before them; but they did not make
known unto me the interpretation thereof.
8 But at the last Daniel came in before me, whose name was Belteshazzar,
according to the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy
gods: and before him I told the dream, saying,
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The name Belteshazzar, remember means Bel protect his life, and was
the name given to Daniel by Nebuchadnezzar.
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my god = baal worshipper
9 O Belteshazzar, master of the magicians, because I know that the
spirit of the holy gods is in thee, and no secret troubleth thee, tell
me the visions of my dream that I have seen, and the interpretation
thereof.
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Notice that Daniel was still master of the magicians, because in the
following chapter, we find Daniel is not the chief of magicians
under another king, grandson of Nebuchadnezzar called
Belshazzar.
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You must watch that the similarity of names here does not confuse
you.
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Notice also that Nebuchadnezzar here realizes that Daniel is of the
living God.
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I might add here, that you are an interpreter.
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You know who Satan is, when he will appear and to whom.
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You can decipher the word of God.
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Revelation is not a mystery to you because you have ears to hear.
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You understand your place in it.
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And this makes you an interpreter of God's word and I ask you to
remember that favorite little verse of mine; Dare to be a Daniel:
Dare to stand alone. Dare to have a purpose strong and Dare to make
it know.
10 Thus were the visions of mine head in my bed; I saw, and behold
a
tree in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was great.
11 The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto
heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth:
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You might even say, to the end of all time, because this vision
takes us there.
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Who's the tree of life?
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Christ
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Who's the tree of good and evil?
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Satan
12 The leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it
was meat for all: the beasts of the field had shadow under it, and the
fowls of the heaven dwelt in the boughs thereof, and all flesh was fed
of it.
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The beasts of the field or all the living creatures of the earth,
all races, all people, all souls.
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Ezekiel 31:1 And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the third
month, in the first day of the month, that the word of the Lord came
unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, and to his
multitude; Whom art thou like in thy greatness?
3 Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with fair branches,
and with a shadowing shroud, and of an high stature; and his top was
among the thick boughs.
4 The waters made him great, the deep set him up on high with her
rivers running round about his plants, and sent out her little
rivers unto all the trees of the field.
5 Therefore his height was exalted above all the trees of the field,
and his boughs were multiplied, and his branches became long because
of the multitude of waters, when he shot forth.
6 All the fowls of heaven made their nests in his boughs, and under
his branches did all the beasts of the field bring forth their
young, and under his shadow dwelt all great nations.
7 Thus was he fair in his greatness, in the length of his branches:
for his root was by great waters.
8 The cedars in the garden of God could not hide him: the fir trees
were not like his boughs, and the chestnut trees were not like his
branches; nor any tree in the garden of God was like unto him in his
beauty.
9 I have made him fair by the multitude of his branches: so that
all
the trees of Eden, that were in the garden of God, envied him.
10 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because thou hast lifted up
thyself in height, and he hath shot up his top among the thick
boughs, and his heart is lifted up in his height;
11 I have therefore delivered him into the hand of the mighty one of
the heathen; he shall surely deal with him: I have driven him out
for his wickedness.
12 And strangers, the terrible of the nations, have cut him off, and
have left him: upon the mountains and in all the valleys his
branches are fallen, and his boughs are broken by all the rivers of
the land; and all the people of the earth are gone down from his
shadow, and have left him.
13 I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and, behold, a watcher
and an holy one came down from heaven;
14 He cried aloud, and said thus, Hew 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:
15 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; and let it be
wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts in
the grass of the earth:
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The word ''band'' or ''esor'' in the Aramaic or the Hebrew, means
''a tool of imprisonment'', such as manacles or a yoke.
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Nebuchadnezzar here takes a different path than Satan does.
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When Satan lies are bound in the pit, it is a total imprisonment, and he
will have no influence on the earth while you teach during the
millennium.
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Revelation 20 = Satan in the pit
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And Satan is already sentenced to die.
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This Gentiles is not.
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His band "esor" detains him, rather than imprisons or convicts him.
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And you'll also note the dew of heaven comes to him.
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The dew of heaven can be none other than the truth.
16 Let his heart be changed from man's, and let a beast's heart be given
unto him; and let seven times pass over him.
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The Biblical meaning here is that a Gentiles must wait until the end
of the seventh dispensation (the millennium) before he can come into
the full body he will have throughout eternity.
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This seven year wait for Nebuchadnezzar is symbolic of the seven
dispensations that must pass before he can take up his kingship in
eternity outside the temple of God.
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Bear with me, this will become clear to you as we go along.
17 This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the
word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the
most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he
will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.
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God decides who shall govern us.
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He may choose whom so ever he pleases to suit His purpose, even a
base person.
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Now Israel can learn from this.
18 This dream I king Nebuchadnezzar have seen. Now thou, O Belteshazzar,
declare the interpretation thereof, forasmuch as all the wise men of my
kingdom are not able to make known unto me the interpretation: but thou
art able; for the spirit of the holy gods is in thee.
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Note again, That Nebuchadnezzar recognizes the spirit of God in
Daniel.
19 Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was astonied for one hour,
and his thoughts troubled him. The king spake, and said, Belteshazzar,
let not the dream, or the interpretation thereof, trouble thee.
Belteshazzar answered and said, My lord, the dream be to them that hate
thee, and the interpretation thereof to thine enemies.
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Daniel had been with Nebuchadnezzar almost twenty years and no doubt
had grown attached to him.
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And he was troubled and unhappy about the meaning of the dream.
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Was astonied for one hour, and his thoughts
troubled him.
20 The tree that thou sawest, which grew, and was strong, whose height
reached unto the heaven, and the sight thereof to all the earth;
21 Whose leaves were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was
meat for all; under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and upon whose
branches the fowls of the heaven had their habitation:
22 It is thou, O king, that art grown and become strong: for thy
greatness is grown, and reacheth unto heaven, and thy dominion to the
end of the earth.
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Remember, God gave Nebuchadnezzar his kingship, and this whole thing
was part of God's plan.
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Nebuchadnezzar = was a type of king of Babylon of the end
times
23 And whereas the king saw a watcher and an holy one coming down from
heaven, and saying, Hew the tree down, and destroy it; yet leave the
stump of the roots thereof in the earth, even with a band of iron and
brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew
of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the field, till
seven times pass over him;
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Seven times pass over = seven dispensations = 7th trump
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Consider the words, "let his portion be with the beasts".
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A disease is indicated here, in which a man thinks he is a wild
animal.
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In an attempt to put it on an understandable level, let's look at
the beast as common man.
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Remembering that as a king, he has had his every wish and whim
gratified, then this being reduced to live the life of an ordinary
person would not only be chastisement in a sense, but would also
develop in him a compassion and understanding of problems with which
the everyday person contends.
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In any case, in this seven years, a gigantic thing happen in the
heart of this man.
24 This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the
Most High, which is come upon my lord the king:
25 That they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with
the beasts of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen,
and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall
pass over thee, till thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom
of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.
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We see from this that God will give kingship to whomever He
pleases.
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It is His right, naturally, as God, the Father of all.
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And here He is humbling this man.
26 And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots; thy
kingdom shall be sure unto thee, after that thou shalt have known that
the heavens do rule.
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Who rules the heavens?
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And if some have a kingship then, it will be through the grace of
God.
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This will be made known to those who say they are Jews, but are not
and do lie.
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These are the kenites, but God said they shall come to worship
before your feet.
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Revelation 3:9 Behold, I will make them of the
synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do
lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy
feet, and to know that I have loved thee.
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Why?
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Because in the millennium you are going to teach them the truth,
which is the Word of God.
27 Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break
off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by shewing mercy to
the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity.
28 All this came upon the king Nebuchadnezzar.
29 At the end of twelve months he walked in the palace of the kingdom of
Babylon.
30 The king spake, and said, 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?
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Nebuchadnezzar had listened to Daniel, but a whole year had gone by
and he was beginning to feel important again.
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He had created a vast kingdom with paved streets etc.. and now
again, he was pretty self-satisfied.
31 While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from
heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom
is departed from thee.
32 And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with
the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and
seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High
ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.
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So here again we see the symbolism of the seven dispensations, and
we see Nebuchadnezzar being brought into humbleness before God.
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Incidentally, there is a period of seven years when Babylonian
tablets record no decrees, absolutely no word of Nebuchadnezzar.
33 The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was
driven from men, and did eat grass as 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.
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This experience was awesome for Nebuchadnezzar, and you will see in
the next verse how it changes his outlook and humbled him.
34 And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto
heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most
High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose
dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation
to generation:
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Why did Nebuchadnezzar bless the Most High?
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Because he realized God was shaping him.
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It is obvious that something quite inspiring happened to him,
because he truly accepted and turned to God.
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The millennium is the time of salvation, and you are going to stand
with Christ and teach all languages, all people, including your own.
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You will bring them to this same light of truth that Nebuchadnezzar
has just experienced.
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Let us pray that they will stand firmly in that truth at the second
testing when Satan is again released for a short while.
35 And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he
doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the
inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him,
What doest thou?
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It almost sounds like an Israelite were writing this; doesn't it?
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Yet, it was Nebuchadnezzar.
36 At the same time my reason returned unto me; and for the glory of my
kingdom, mine honour and brightness returned unto me; and my counsellers
and my lords sought unto me; and I was established in my kingdom, and
excellent majesty was added unto me.
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Surely you can see that majesty that was added to him was the glory
of the Truth.. Christ that was shinning in him.
37 Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven,
all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in
pride he is able to abase.
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Nebuchadnezzar is aware of his own false pride and he has become
humble before God.
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Do you realize the fairness and love of God that brought this man
from his selfishness and self-pride?
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This man had been put in manacles simply for a time of teaching and
training, and he overcame.
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These last verses are one of the most beautiful statement of praise
recorded anywhere in the Bible.
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It is your responsibility to see that God's Word is taught.
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We must be a disciplined people, priests that will speak for Him and
withstand the evil one.
• Exactly 2520 years from the exile
of Benjamin, Iceland became an independent nation.
•
The first tribe to be
conquered by the Assyrians was Manasseh,
in 745 B.C. Exactly 2520 years later America became a nation on July 4, 1776.
• Study the book: Abrahamic Covenant,
(A study outline of the identity of God's people) By E. Raymond Capt
- page 25
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