The Prophet Daniel

By Arno Clement Gaebelein

Chapter 4

Nebuchadnezzar's Dream Vision. His Insanity and Restoration

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 an holy One, an angel, for the angels are the holy watchers, came down from heaven with a message. " 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 : 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: 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."

Once more Daniel interprets through the wisdom of God and once again he points to the King. " It is thou O King, that art grown and become strong." He then announced to him his coming fate.

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. And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree ; thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee, after that thou shalt have known that the heavens do rule. Wherefore, O King, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by showing mercy to the poor ; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity. All this came upon the King Nebuchadnezzar (verses 22-28).

Twelve months later he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon. Then with a haughty mien he utters 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 honor of my majesty." Notice the personal pronoun. But while he yet uttered these words a heavenly voice was heard which announced that the kingdom is 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 unto 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 honor the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment, and those that walk in pride, He is able to abase."

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 (Ezek. xxxi, 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 v), 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 xiii, our Lord speaks of the mustard tree with its roots in the field, the world, and its branches extending far and wide 3vhile 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 which 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 an holy watcher announced that judgment and we see the proud king 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 is 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 hewn 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 xi. The good Olive tree is Israel ; branches were broken off on account of unbelief. The wild Olive tree are 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. To-day 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 hot seek great things and be in that which feeds our proud hearts, but lowly at his feet, be clothed with humility.

And Nebuchadnezzar's great humiliation in becoming a beast for seven times (seven years),¹ 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 which remains in the field suggests the fact that the judgments which 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 which 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 which 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.

1. The attempt to ascertain from this "seven times" the length of the times of the Gentiles as some do lacks the support of Scripture. The seven times mean seven years.