The Prophet Daniel

By Arno Clement Gaebelein

Chapter 2

Nebuchadnezzar's Dream

The second chapter introduces us to the first great prophetic unfolding. It may well be called one of the great pivotal chapters of the Bible. It is the foundation of all the other visions which follow in this Book. The same revelation we find here is given in another form in the seventh chapter, only more fully. Let us remind ourselves that with the 4th verse of this chapter Daniel used the Aramaic — Babylonian language. It is used by the Prophet to the end of the Seventh Chapter. After that he writes in Hebrew. This in itself is a strong argument for the genuineness of the Book for after the Babylonian captivity Aramaic became the language of the Jewish people. If an impostor had written the book he would have written it exclusively in Aramaic. But as already stated the chapters written by Daniel in Aramaic concern the great empires which used this language and the other chapters concern the Jewish people. Now, if we divide these prophecies with this fact in mind we have at the beginning of the Aramaic portion the great dream of Nebuchadnezzar and at the close the vision of Daniel, so that the heathen King and the Prophet of God received both communications concerning the great world monarchies, the one by a dream and the other in dream visions. But if we divide the Book in the other way, that is, make the First part. Chapter i-vi and the second from Chapter vii-xii, then we find that each portion (leaving out the first chapter which is introductory) has for its heading the times of the Gentiles.

The Times of the Gentiles. This expression " The times of the Gentiles " is not found in the Book of Daniel, but it is a New Testament phrase. Our Lord used it exclusively. In that part of His prophetic discourse which is reported in the Gospel of Luke and which relates to the fall of Jerusalem iand the dispersion of the nation, our Lord said, " And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations ; and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles shall be fulfilled" (Luke xxi. 24). Now, the times of the Gentiles did not begin when Jerusalem rejected the Lord from heaven. Our Lord does not say that the times of the Gentiles were then ushered in. The times of the Gentiles started with the Babylonian captivity by Nebuchadnezzar. The Glory of the Lord departed from Jerusalem. The other great Prophet of the captivity, Ezekiel, beheld the departure of the Shekinah. " Then did the Cherubim lift up their wings, and the wheels beside them; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above. And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city, and stood upon the mountain which is on the east side of the city" (Ezekiel xi. 22-23). But before that Jeremiah recorded a remarkable word. These are the words of Jehovah concerning Nebuchadnezzar :

I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me. And now have I given all these lands into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant ; and the beasts of the field have T given him also to serve him. And all nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son's son, until the very time of his land come : and then many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of him. And it shall come to pass, that the nation and kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, saith the Lord, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand (Jeremiah xxvii. 5-9).

Jerusalem had been supreme because the throne and the glory of Jehovah was there. Though Assyria, Egypt and Babylon had tried repeatedly to overthrow Jerusalem, they were held in check by the power of God and Divine intervention, but when the measure of the wickedness of Jerusalem was full, Nebuchadnezzar was chosen to become the first great monarch of the times of the Gentiles. The dominion was then taken away from Jerusalem and transferred to the Gentiles.

For the sake of clearness we mention briefly another phrase which occurs likewise only once in the New Testament " the fullness of the Gentiles" The times of the Gentiles and " the fullness of the Gentiles " do not mean the same thing. The fullness of the Gentiles mentioned in Romans xi., that great chapter touching the status of Israel, is to come in first before that blindness which has happened to Israel in part is removed. " Blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in" (Rom. xi. 25). This is one of the mysteries Paul makes known. The fullness of the Gentiles means the full number of that people taken out from among the Gentiles (the church). The fullness of the Gentiles coming in, means the removal of the church from the earth. With that event Jewish history will be resumed and God in His Grace will call the remnant for their work during the " time of the end."

The prophecies in Daniel concern the times of the Gentiles. Of God's purpose in this present age, the calling out of the church, Daniel heard and knew nothing. That is a mystery which was not known in Old Testament times. (Eph. iii.) The prophecies of Daniel are therefore somewhat different from the prophecies of the other Prophets. In the land the Prophets prophesied concerning their own people, warned against impending judgments and predicted the glorious future of Jerusalem ; outside of the land Daniel had visions touching the Gentiles and the Gentile events which will precede the setting up of the future Kingdom in the midst of His people.

The Forgotten Dream of Nebuchadnezzar. We divide this chapter into five parts. 1. The forgotten Dream of the king. 2. The Prayer meeting and the Divine answerer. 3. Daniel before the King. 4. The Revelation and Interpretation of the dream. 5. The effect upon Nebuchadnezzar and the promotion of Daniel and his companions.

King Nebuchadnezzar had a great dream, which caused him much trouble. Later Daniel revealed that which had occasioned the dream of the King. " As for thee, O King, thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed, what shall come to pass hereafter; and He that telleth secrets maketh known to thee what shall come to pass " (29th verse). How much the King knew of what had been spoken through Jeremiah concerning the dominion God had given him, we do not know. He had returned successfully from Jerusalem; what others had not accomplished He had, and now he thought on the future of his empire, of what should be hereafter, after he has passed away. God answered this desire by a dream. It is one of the great dreams of the Bible, in which God reveals His purposes. The dream made a tremendous impression upon the King. He called his wise men and told them about his troubled spirit. The Chaldeans were quite ready to tell the King what the dream meant. But the King had forgotten the dream. It was gone from him. The King demanded that the wise men tell him first the dream; twice they demand to know the dream and then they would give the interpretation. The King realized that his wise men were miserable deceivers who prepared corrupt and lying words. They in turn confessed their utter helplessness.

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 a thing at any magicians, or astrologers, or Chaldean. And it is a rare thing 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 lo-ii).

Upon this bold language, in which the wise men confessed their helplessness and exposed the unreasonableness of the King's request, they were condemned to die. " And they sought Daniel and his companions to be slain." They had received instructions in the Chaldean mysteries, and were reckoned with the wise men.

The Prayer Meeting and the Divine Answer. And now our Daniel steps upon the scene. And it is a scene of the greatest calmness and faith. It is refreshing to see how the man of faith acted. There is no hurry, no haste connected with it whatever. " He that believeth shall not make haste." It is seen from the text that Arioch had gone forth on his mission to slay the wise men, and this captain of the King's guard came to Daniel. He answered him with counsel and wisdom. Brought before the King he gave him the assurance that if the King would give him time he would show the King the interpretation. But notice he did not know the dream then. He was as ignorant about that dream as the Chaldeans were and yet he told the King positively that he would make known the interpretation. This was the language of faith. He had confidence in God. He knew the God of heaven was able to make known that dream to him, for God gave the dream. Perhaps Daniel looked back in faith to the history of another captive, another Hebrew lad who was in a strange land and to whom God gave wisdom, Joseph. Would God disappoint the youthful Daniel in his absolute confidence in God? God never disappoints faith. Oh! that we who know that the mighty power of God is towards us, might also act and walk more in faith, our most blessed privilege! When Daniel came to the house where his three friends were, he told them what had happened. Perhaps they were amazed at his faith. But Daniel got them on their knees " that they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret."

What a scene it was! The four young men on their knees, acknowledging their utter helplessness to the God of heaven, the God of their fathers and asking from Him mercies, that He may make known the dream. It was a prayer meeting in Babylon and the leader was Daniel. What a man of faith and prayer he was! Three times a day, we read later, he had his windows open towards Jerusalem. He and his companions knew of no other way but the way of prayer. United prayer is one of the greatest needs of God's people in our day. Perplexities and difficulties continually increase. The host of demons and their work, the wiles of the devil are about us on every hand. While these wicked powers cast themselves upon that which professes the name of the Lord, God's people should cast themselves unitedly upon God. What more pleasant occupation could we think of than coming together as His dearly beloved people " to desire mercies " from Him, whom we do not address as " The God of Heaven " but " The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." He is waiting for the prayers and requests of His people. We have so little, so little true ministry in the power of the Spirit, so little insight into God's purposes and ways, so little advance in spiritual things, because we are so little on our knees " desiring mercies." And the lack of united prayer amongst us is but the result of little real prayer in secret.

And in that night the answer came. Not to the three friends of Daniel was the secret made known, but God made it known to Daniel in a night vision. So to speak he dreamt over the dream of the King. God honored Daniel, because he had honored Him. And upon this followed one of the most simple and beautiful outbursts of praise we have in the Bible. Read it and see how Daniel ascribes everything to God. It is a sevenfold praise. 1. Wisdom and might are His. 2. He changeth the times and the seasons. 3. He removeth kings and setteth up kings. 4. He giveth wisdom unto the wise and knowledge to them that know understanding. 5. He revealeth the deep and the secret things. 6. He knoweth what is in the darkness and the light dwelleth with Him. 7. He gives praise for the revelation of what had been asked. How perfect was this praise to God concerning Himself and His wonderful ways.

Daniel before the King. After this outburst of praise, giving God the Glory, Daniel went again to Arioch, who had been commissioned to destroy the wise men and with no timid request he appeared before him. He spoke with authority as the messenger of God. And Arioch rushed into the King's presence, as if he deserved the credit for having discovered the man, who will give the interpretation. But how beautiful is Daniel in the presence of the King. He stands before the mighty monarch. What an opportunity to be elevated and glorify self. But Daniel does hide himself completely. His God he puts into the foreground and himself all out of sight. He tells the King that there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets. Nebuchadnezzar is to know the power of God and his dependence on Him. Then he tells the King that God has made known to him " what shall be in the latter days." This is an important phrase. It corresponds to " the time of the end " in the second half of Daniel. And before he makes known the dream he speaks of himself and disclaims all honor in connection with what he is about to say to the King. " But as for me this secret is not revealed unto me for any wisdom that I have more than any living to the intent that the interpretation may be made known to the King and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart." What humility breathes in these words. Daniel puts himself away completely and magnifies God, True spiritual knowledge and a deeper insight in God's ways and purposes should always be accompanied by humility. Think of the great Apostle Paul to whom the mystery concerning the church was made known, a mystery which was hidden in former ages. In the chapter in which he speaks of it he calls himself " less than the least of all the Saints." We all should beware of knowledge which puffeth up, which makes us think more highly and better of ourselves; it is a dangerous thing. But if we really walk and live in the truth we shall be kept from this great spiritual danger. Nothing is so sweet and attractive as a real knowledge of the truth and humility with it.

The Revelation and Interpretation of the Dream. And now we hear Daniel speak to the King:

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. 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. 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. 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 (verses 31-35).

What astonishment must have come over Nebuchadnezzar as he heard hi3 dream from the lips of the young captive. The whole dream came back to his memory. But greater astonishment must have been his when Daniel interpreted the dream.

The great image, the form of a man, is the prophetic image of the times of the Gentiles. That an image of a man was chosen, an image of great dimensions, is significant: In the New Testament the Apostle Paul speaks of " Man's Day; " 1 Cor. iv. 3, see margin.) Man's Day describes the times of the Gentiles and it is still Man's Day and Man's Day will continue till the Lord's Day begins.

The great image was composed of four different kinds of metal, gold, silver, brass and iron and the two feet with their ten toes were iron and clay. These four metallic parts of the great man-image, according to divine interpretation, represent four great world empires, which were to appear on earth successively.

Here, indeed, we have history written in advance, one of the great evidences of the supernatural origin of the Bible. Four great kingdoms, world powers, should appear, beginning with Nebuchadnezzar down to the end when the dominion is to be taken from the Gentiles and the rule of the Most High to be established on the earth. These four great world empires have appeared in exactly the way as it was shown to Nebuchadnezzar in the dream and revealed to Daniel.

The youthful prophet pointed to Nebuchadnezzar and said " Thou art this head of gold." Nebuchadnezzar, the great head of the Babylonian world-empire, is represented by the head of gold. But this does not mean that morally the king was like fine gold. Gold is the type of Divinity. Nebuchadnezzar had received the authority and the dominion direct from the God of heaven and this is why gold, the most precious metal, is mentioned in connection .with the Babylonian empire.

The Kingdom which followed the Babylonian and which is represented by the chest and the arms of the image, silver being its metallic value, is the Medo-Persian world monarchy. We do not trace this historically. There is no need for it for everybody has knowledge of it. In the Fifth Chapter the overthrow of the Babylonian Empire is announced. " Peres, thy Kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians." Darius, the Mede, comes then upon the scene. Its great king had been named by the Prophet Isaiah over 100 years before he (Cyrus) appeared. Here we have another fact of Prophecy. This is the reason why the critics have tried to discredit Isaiah, for they cannot believe that the Spirit of God could give the very name and history of an unborn being.

The third great Monarchy which supplanted the preceding one is the Graeco-Macedonian. In the Seventh Chapter we read the story of how the King of Persia was broken by the King of Greece. It was a great empire. It is represented by the thighs and belly of brass. Alexander the Great, its founder, wept because he feared there might be no more world to be conquered. His great ambition. like that of Cyrus and Nebuchadnezzar, was world rule and dominion over all nations and languages. The fourth Monarchy during the times of the Gentiles is represented by iron ; it is the iron Kingdom, Rome. This Monarchy is described in one point of superiority; it is to be strong. For as iron breaketh to pieces and subdueth all things, so this kingdom shall break in pieces. This is a perfect description of that strong empire, Rome, and we need not to explain this further. Equally clear is it that that Kingdom was divided into two parts, represented in the legs of the image. It was divided into the East Roman and West Roman Empire. The legs are the longest parts of this image and by it the fact is represented that this Roman Empire is to be in existence longer than any of the previous ones. Iron and clay are to be the material which compose the feet. We behold then that the last form of Gentile world power is represented by ten toes, ten kingdoms in the Roman Empire and they are of iron and clay, which do not mix.

Before we proceed with the interpretation of the dream let us notice the important truth brought out in the composition of this dream image. It tells of deterioration. From the most precious metal gold, it goes down to silver, brass, iron, and iron and clay. This surely does not tell of progress and improvement in the affairs of the times of the Gentiles. The second is inferior to the first. The word " inferior " means earthly. The third too is inferior to the second and the fourth is superior by its brute force and power to crush. According to the modern day conception of the times of the Gentiles, this image should have been constructed in this wise: First a head, composed of the meanest good for nothing stuff, earth mixed with particles of iron. Gradually the clay gives way and becomes iron, the inferior parts are expelled. Then the refining process continues and iron is changed to brass and brass to silver, then coming to the enlightened days of the Nineteenth Century and the great Twentieth Century with its civilization, we reach the fine gold. Well, this is a dream too, but it is not a dream given of God, but the dream which the Father of lies has inspired. Nebuchadnezzar's dream is of God and gives the process of deterioration going on during the times of the Gentiles.

The Final Form of the Times of the Gentiles. The ten toes of iron and clay represent the final form of the times of the Gentiles. They are typical of ten kings. Thus Daniel interpreted the ten toes for he said " In the days of these kings " (Verse 44). In Chapter vii, we shall find an additional vision concerning the future of the last monarchy, the Roman Empire. The fourth beast has ten horns and the ten horns are ten kings. Finally, if we turn to our great New Testament Book of Prophecy, the Revelation, we find the ten horns and the kings they represent there. " And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast" (Rev. xvii. 12). There can be no doubt whatever what these ten toes represent. But has this division of the Fourth Monarchy been reached? Have we anything in history which corresponds to the ten toes in the dream image and the catastrophe which is connected with it? The Roman Empire as such does not exist at all. Europe, the greater part of which with Egypt, Asia Minor, Syria, and North Africa composed the Roman Empire, is in a divided condition. The iron and the clay are there. The iron represents the monarchical form of government. We have " the great powers," kings and emperors ruling within the territory of the Roman world. But what does the clay represent? Clay is of the earth. It stands for that which does not belong to the great statue at all, a foreign ingredient brought in. The metals represent monarchies, but the clay stands for democratic rule, the rule by the people. This is exactly what we behold in our day. There is a strong current towards democratic rule, the rule by the people, the exaltation of the people. Socialism and its kin. Anarchism, are looming up on all sides. What then will come yet upon the territory of the Roman Empire? The empire will be revived and established once more and in that monarchy will be ten kingdoms in which the clay is prominently present. We see indications of this already, for the people are more or less dictating to kings; the kings are ruled over by the popular elements. The ten-toe division of the times of the Gentiles does not yet exist. First, the Roman empire has to be revived and then the ten kingdoms come into existence. How this is to be brought about, we do not know; but we see indications on all sides that such a condition may soon be reached.

The Stone cut out of the Mountain. We follow the interpretation of the dream. Next comes a great catastrophe. Nebuchadnezzar beheld a stone falling out of heaven and that stone struck the ten toes, not the head, but the ten toes of iron and clay. Suddenly the whole image collapsed and all the metals represented in the image including the clay became pulverized like the chaff on the summer threshing floor. Then came the wind and carried it away. Nothing whatever was left of the great colossus. It must have been this part of the dream which inspired Nebuchadnezzar with great terror. And what became of the smiting stone? It became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. Instead of an image filling the earth, it was a mountain. And Daniel said to the King,

In the days of these kings (the ten toes), shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom ,which shall never be destroyed and the kingdom shall not be left to other people (it shall not be followed by other kingdoms), but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver and the gold; the great God has made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter, and the dream is certain and the interpretation thereof is sure (verses 44, 45).

Thus the King had his desire answered to know what shall be hereafter and we likewise have an answer here to the question, what is going to be the end of all what we behold now in this present Gentile age.

The Stone is Christ. That the stone represents Christ is seen from the Scriptures. " Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation " (Isaiah xxviii, 16). Zechariah speaks of this stone with seven eyes upon it and engraven. We read of Him in the New Testament as the foundation stone of the church, the cornerstone, the stone rejected by the builders. Most interesting is His own word in the Gospel of Matthew. " And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder" (Matthew xxi, 44). Here we have Israel's sin and judgment and the fate of the Gentiles. Israel stumbled against this stone; for them He was a stumbling stone and rock of offence. In consequence they were broken as a nation. But the Gentile world, rejecting Him, will be broken when the stone falls. They will be ground to powder by the falling stone. Our Lord must have had the dream of Nebuchadnezzar in mind when he spake these words. The falling stone of which He speaks and the striking stone in the dream mean the same Person ; Himself.

When does the Stone Strike? It is strange that so simple a prophecy should be misinterpreted. But such is the case. Post-millennialists have labored to interpret all this as meaning the first Coming of Christ. In doing so they have not only miserably failed, but have taken great liberties with the Word of God and read into it, what is not here at all. Some say that the birth of Christ was the beginning of the striking of the heathen world. Others think of the day of Pentecost, of the destruction of Jerusalem and other historical events, like the edict of Constantine the Great. They speak of a spiritual kingdom, which began with the Lord Jesus Christ and they actually talk of this stone here, which comes down with a crash, as a rolling stone, which began with Christ and ever since is rolling along throughout the centuries, and as it keeps rolling becomes bigger and bigger and bye and bye the rolling stone has rolled itself into a great mountain, filling the whole earth. Gradually, post-millennialism teaches, the kingdom spreads over the whole world through the agency of the church and gradually heathendom gives way. At present we hear much of that kingdom to be extended by the Laymen's missionary movement, the rolling stone is helped along by immense sums of money, to bring in the kingdom.

But all this is wrong. It makes havoc with the entire Word of God; it leads to confusion worse confounded. The Lord Jesus Christ in His first coming did not give the command that Gentile dominion should be broken through the Gospel, nor did He attack the Roman Empire, which was then in full control. Indeed the Roman Empire was officially the means of His blessed death on the cross. He did not smite the image ; the image, so to speak, smote Him.

Now the stone strikes the feet and on the feet the ten toes. Hence, before the stone can smite there must be ten toes to smite. But when our Lord came the first time the Roman Empire was a unit. The division into the East and West Roman Empire, seen in the two legs of the image, had not yet taken place. If no legs were then in existence and no feet and nothing seen of the ten toes, how then could the first coming of Christ be the fulfillment of this dream? All this is very simple. The stone strikes the image, when the ten toes, the final ten kingdom division of the Roman Empire, are in existence.

A Great Catastrophe. And anyone can see that the striking stone cannot mean the peaceful extension of a spiritual kingdom, or the preaching of the Gospel, but that it is a great catastrophe. It is a crushing, destructive blow which this stone delivers. And notice it is AFTER the stone has done its smiting work, after the great image has been pulverized, that the stone becomes a great mountain filling the whole earth. The stone which falls from above is the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, His Coming in great power and Glory. When the ten kingdoms are in existence, iron and clay, a tremendous and awful apostasy from God will be in the earth. The great Gentile civilization, though it calls itself " Christian," as do the nations which compose it, will have become thoroughly anti-christian. The opening part of the Second Psalm will then be fulfilled. Rebellion against God and against His anointed will be in order. Then the destructive blow will come. That which is looked for the least, interference from above, will take place. The God of Heaven will establish the Kingdom of Christ and set His King upon the holy hill of Zion. But the first act of God will be the complete overthrow and judgment of the last and final form of Gentile world dominion. What an* awful act of judgment it will be! Then military Christendom will find its end and man's day with its boasted progress and civilization and its deification of man will close. Its sun will set in the dark clouds of judgment. The hurricanes of divine displeasure and wrath will sweep away that which defied God and rejected His greatest gift.

To the natural man and the religious man too all this sounds very pessimistic. They often ask, but is it possible that all this should come true? No matter what man thinks, it is written in the Scripture of Truth, the infallible Word of God. Every other part of Nebuchadnezzar's dream found its literal fulfillment. The crushing stone cut out of the mountain without hands, smiting the ten toes and pulverizing the entire image, the complete passing away of the times of the Gentiles and their dominion, will likewise be literally fulfilled. God grant that the modern day progress, a progress without God and Christ, may not obscure the fact of the true end of this age and its seeming glory.

But there is a bright side to this dark picture. The stone which executes judgment becomes also a great mountain filling the whole earth. It is the picture of the introduction of the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. Then the true Kingdom of Christ, a literal Kingdom, will be set up and all the nations of the earth will be brought under the glorious and peaceful rule of the Son of Man. Then He will come to His own and rule over all nations and languages. Then, and not before, the glorious visions of God's Holy Prophets concerning the Kingdom will be gloriously fulfilled.

The Effect of the Interpretation upon Nebuchadnezzar. Not a word had come from the lips of the astonished King. But now we see him falling on his face and worshipping Daniel, the divine instrument in making the dream and its meaning known to him. The King acknowledged Daniel's God as the God of gods, the Lord of kings and a Revealer of secrets. God is owned by him in a three-fold way. The God of gods, as God the Father and the Lord of kings, such is our Lord Jesus Christ and the Revealer of secrets, the Holy Spirit.

Daniel receives an exalted position and by request his three friends share his promotion. This is typical of the blessing which the faithful Jewish remnant will receive some day. We must also think of Him, who prayed " The Glory which Thou hast given Me I have given them." When the day of His exaltation comes, when He is manifested, we shall be manifested with Him in Glory. As Daniel did not leave His friends behind so our ever blessed Lord will remember us and give us a place with Him on His throne.

And how long before this final stage of Nebuchadnezzar's dream is to be fulfilled? Let the present day conditions among the nations give the answer. Surely it cannot be much longer. Everything seems to hasten on towards the close. The end of the times of the Gentiles cannot be far off. Before that end comes the shout of our Lord will call all His Saints into His own presence. For this let us wait and pray.