Daniel 2:4
Then the astrologers answered the king in Aramaic, "O king, may you live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation."
Sermons
The Failure and Discomfiture of FalsehoodJ.D. Davies Daniel 2:1-13
The Revelation LostH.T. Robjohns Daniel 2:1-13














My spirit was troubled to know the dream (ver. 3). Since the word "and," at the beginning of this chapter, links it with Daniel 1:21, i.e. Daniel's public life with Daniel's preparation, it may be well here to notice what his preparation had been.

1. At home, and the associations of Jerusalem.

2. Knowledge of previous revelations (see Daniel 9:2).

3. Moral victory at a crisis of history.

4. Experience of life at one of its great centres - Babylon - the court.

As indicating the difference between Ezekiel's standpoint and that of Daniel, note Ezekiel dates from the years of the Captivity - for him, in comparative obscurity, the years dragged on wearily - Daniel, by the reigns of kings in whose court he was. Daniel's experience grew with the years, and he became increasingly fit to receive political revelations - revelations as to the rise and fall of empires.

I. THE DISCREPANCY. Between Daniel 1:5 and Daniel 2:1. Occasion might well be taken from this to insist upon one or two wholesome truths in reference to Biblical interpretation.

1. The discrepancy looks at first sight glaring enough; i.e. as to the dates. Still, with our idea of the sacred writings, we should be justified in believing:

2. That some explanation would be forthcoming, if we knew all the loots. Of the propriety of this assumption, we shall have a striking illustration in the recent clearing up of' the special critical difficulty of ch. 5.

3. One might fairly conclude that Daniel is quite as reliable an historian as any other author.

4. The seeming discrepancy is clear evidence that Daniel, and none other, is the writer; for these two dates would never have been admitted in a form apparently contradictory, coming so close to each other as to challenge attention, if the author had been an impostor. Daniel writes straightforwardly the truth, unconscious of the possible misconstruction of his words. This unguardedness of style is a sure sign of the credibility of a living witness, and of the genuineness of any book.

5. There are several explanations forthcoming, one specially credible (see Exposition).

6. Our feeling in relation to discrepancies real or apparent, will doped entirely on our moral attitude in relation to revelation. The believer will treat them lightly; the captious and unbelieving will make the very most of them (see Alford on receipt of one of Colenso's volumes, in 'Alford's Life').

II. THE PREPARATION. There were subjective conditions of the dream which argue a certain nobility in Nebuchadnezzar. Dreams grow out of waking thought; and, though this dream was supernatural, we may well believe it was naturally conditioned. The mood of the king created a certain receptivity for Divine revelation (ver. 29).

1. The cares of empire weighted his soul.

2. His mind projected itself into the far future. (Ver. 29.)

3. Thoughts of present responsibility and visions of the future were enter-rained. To all, such high thoughts come at some time or other; but not all entertain them. We may drown them in frivolity, or quench them by intoxication. When God comes to a soul with thoughts worthy of its nature, it is for the soul to open wide its portals and let the glory in. About this young conqueror there was a certain grasp and elevation of mind.

III. THE DREAM. Here, at present, we ignore its contents; we are supposed, indeed, not to know it: and consider only generally whether, and to what extent, the dream may become the article of Divine communications to man. In a complete, discussion, we should have to cite the following testimonies: Those of:

1. Psychology. The nature and origin of dreams should be elucidated, with the view to a just estimate of the testimonies which follow. Sufficient wilt be found for homiletic purposes in Dr. Smith's 'Bible Dict.,' art. "Dreams."

2. Scripture. These inductions seem valid:

(1) "That Scripture claims the dream, as it does every other action of the human mind, as a medium through which God may speak to man["

(2) "That it lays far greater stress on that Divine influence by which the understanding also is affected. In dream, the imagination is in the ascendant; the reason, dormant.

(3) That dream as a medium of Divine communication is inferior to prophecy.

(4) That dreams, therefore, were granted:

(a) To the heathen rather than to the covenant people of God.

(b) To the latter only during their earliest and most imperfect individual knowledge of him.

(c) Only in the earliest ages, and less frequently as the revelations of prophecy increase.

(d) Almost invariably require an interpreter. These last four points are all illustrated by the dreams in the Book of Daniel.

3. Experience. The reference here is to that modern experience, of which we may be either the subjects or the observers. Even in a Christian civilization like ours, the superstitious regard fur dreams is so common, that the following truths may well be insisted on:

(1) That dreams should never for us stand in the place of revelation.

(2) Should be disregarded entirely, when contravening the truth as it is in Jesus"

(3) That God may see fit by dream to prepare the mind for the future.

(4) That there seems well-authenticated instances in which the coming event has been imaged in dream. Surely he who made the soul can have access to it by night or by day, directly or mediately, as he will In the application of these truths to our own life, the greatest spiritual wisdom will be necessary.

IV. THE SEARCH. We do not agree with Keil, that the king remembered the dream, and was intent on testing the value of the interpretation by making the interpreter tell also the dream itself; nor with the reasons he assigns for that interpretation. We believe that the dream was gone from memory, yet leaving behind such an impression that the king would recognize it on its being described, and also leaving behind an idea of its tremend us import, and a conviction that its origin was Divine. Here note:

1. The mission of oblivion. "God sometimes serves his own purposes by putting things out of men's minds, as well as by putting things into their minds." By the king's forgetfulness Daniel came to be honoured, and in him the God of Daniel.

2. The adaptation of Divine revelations. From Daniel 2:4 to Daniel 7:28 the language of the book is Chaldee; as though God would throw open the revelation through Daniel to the people of Babylonia as well as to the Jew. After ch. 8. the language reverts to Hebrew, for the communications are then chiefly for Israel. This adaptation one instance of what obtains universally.

3. The infirmities of even noble minds. There were many elements of greatness about Nebuchadnezzar; but all shaded by:

(1) Superstition. Seeking for light where no light could be found - from the magi of various grades.

(2) Unreason. Demanding both dream and interpretation. A certain sort of wisdom might interpret; but only the omniscience of God could recover the dream.

(3) Cruelly. Many instances besides that in this chapter.

V. THE FAILURE. (Ver. 11.) Observe:

1. The error into which exalted intellect may fall. "Gods" imply polytheism.

2. The truth which may shine through error. The magi were aware:

(1) Of the omniscience that is essential to Deity.

(2) Of the limitation that belongs to the creature. The flesh is a veil that hides from us much of the spirit-world.

VI. THE DOOM. Cruel as was the edict on the part of the king, there was, nevertheless, a sort of rough justice on the part of God's natural government of the world, in consigning to punishment the practicers of imposition and traders on the superstitious fear, of men. "They sought Daniel and his fellows to be slain suggests how oft the innocent are caught in the consequences of the sin of others. - R

Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands.
The vision suggests to us many interesting things concerning the Kingdom of Christ.

1. Its superhuman origin. The stone was "cut out" of the mountains without hands. There was no natural cause for its severance. So the foundation of Christ's kingdom was the result of no development of human character, but rather of the bringing of a new spiritual and heavenly power into the world.

2. The comparative feebleness of its beginning. The language of the vision indicates that the stone grew from a small size until it became a huge mountain. Frequently earthly kingdoms have had very insignificant beginnings. So with this Kingdom of Christ, which began with the meeting of a few Galilean peasants in an upper room.

3. The gradualness of its progress. Not all at once was this development made. It was a work of time. And so in the kingdom which it symbolises advancement was by degrees. Beginning at Jerusalem, its first preachers sought their earliest converts among their fellow-countrymen; but, as the seed sloughs off its outer shell when it begins to grows the Christian Church very soon put off its Jewish restrictiveness and found a root in Gentile cities.

4. Its universal extent. The mountains "filled the whole earth." "The knowledge of the Lord shall cover the earth."

5. The perpetual duration of this kingdom. " It shall never be destroyed," and "it shall not be left to other people." This perpetuity is intimately associated with its character, and that again with its origin.

(W. M. Taylor, D.D.)

The Jewish people and kingdom, to all human appearance and judgment, was, at the time of Nebuchadnezzar, hopelessly destroyed; for in the history of the world a nation which has been broken up as the Jewish nation then was, never reformed itself, its people becoming absorbed and incorporate with succeeding nations. But it was not to be so with this nation, apostate and broken though it was — and is. We see in the story of Daniel and his three friends the germ out of which is to spring the nation's regeneration. In these young men the true principles of the Theocratic Kingdom survived; faith, obedience, and the spirit of prophecy. The first chapter has to do with the fact of this remnant and God's special protection thrown around it. In the second chapter we begin to see the Spirit of God working in the heart of the ruler of the great world-power, disturbing it with dreams of things to come; and also we see the spirit of prophecy working in the head and heart of Daniel, to interpret the dream of the great heathen king, and to set forth the course of history among the nations until God should re-establish His own Theocratic Kingdom and give the world to the saints according to His original and eternal purpose.

I. THE GREAT IMAGE. The general meaning of this dream is perfectly clear. It represents the succession of great world-powers which should rise in the world, to whom God had given, directly or indirectly, the sovereignty of the earth, until Christ himself should come and completely overthrown them, once for all, and take possession of the whole earth, and reign upon it for ever with and by His saints (Daniel 7:18-27; Revelation 5:9, 10; Revelation 11:15-17; Revelation 19:6; Revelation 20:4-6; Revelation 22:5). In this image two things are particularly set forth: that the world-power tends to division, as seen in the legs, feet, and toes; and that it gradually deteriorates from the gold, down through silver, brass, and iron to potter's clay. It is only when the world-power becomes a mixture of iron and clay, which cannot become permanently united, though having in it an element of strength, that it is finally overthrown. The attempt of Napoleon to establish a fifth universal monarchy was defeated and brought to naught by his two great reverses at Moscow and Waterloo. There shall be no other universal kingdom, that is, of a merely world-power. Man has come to the end of his strength in the matter of conquest. Russia may attempt to succeed to universal dominion, but will fail even as Napoleon.

II. THE STONE CUT OUT OF THE MOUNTAIN. The prophet having described to the king the progress of the successive world-powers, through four universal kingdoms, now takes up the interpretation of that mysterious event which he saw in his dream: A stone cut out of the mountain without hands, which first smote the colossal image on its feet of clay and brake it in pieces, alike the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold, and then itself increased more and more until it filled the whole earth. This he declares to be the establishment of a universal kingdom upon the ruins of the great world-powers. This kingdom, however, is not a successor to the former in the sense in which the four kingdoms succeeded one another. This kingdom had no part in the image, but was different in its origin and in its method of power.

1. The stone cut out of the mountain without hands. The expression "cut out of the mountain without hands" clearly indicates the supernatural origin and character of this omnipotent power, which was to break in pieces all these world-kingdoms, take possession of all things, and establish a kingdom for itself.

2. The universal and everlasting kingdom. The world-powers were never absolutely universal; but the Kingdom of Christ shall include and fill the whole earth.

3. The suddenness of the advent of the stone. There is no preliminary movement ascribed to the stone. It seems suddenly to rise up and smite the image with one mighty blow that shatters it to pieces. It is not a gradual, but an immediate conquest. There is no struggle for supremacy; no long conflict ending in final victory by the gradual rise of power and increase of might. This, therefore, cannot refer to the slow conquest of the world by the Gospel. The stone first smote the world-powers in pieces and scattered them like chaff from a summer threshing floor; then it went on and grew and filled the whole earth, and there was found no power to oppose it. This must refer to the sudden coming of Jesus Christ, the Son of man, in the clouds of Heaven (Daniel 7:13; Revelation 1:7, 13; Revelation 14:14; compare with Matthew 24:30; Matthew 25:31; Matthew 26:64). When Jesus comes again in the clouds of Heaven he will destroy all the organized powers of this world. THE EFFECT OF DANIEL'S INTERPRETATION. When Daniel had finished his interpretation of his dream, the king was so profoundly moved by its majestic truth that he fell upon his face, and having worshipped Daniel, caused that oblations should be offered to him. We have no record of what Daniel did when this act of worship was paid to him, but no doubt he rejected it, or at least fully understood that the act of worship was not meant for him, as it certainly was not, since he had already disclaimed any power of his own to interpret the dream or unfold the secrets of God (v. 27, 28). Moreover, the words of the king clearly intimated that he meant the worship to be for the God of Daniel, and not Daniel himself. "Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings." This intimates a partial conversion of Nebuchadnezzar to the true God. The second result was that it brought to Daniel power and authority in the government of the kingdom, even as a similar revelation of secrets and interpretation of dreams brought to Joseph in Egypt great power, to be used in God's service. Thus do we see how God takes possession, even in their day of power, of the kingdoms of the earth; so far at least as is necessary to carry out His purposes. The third effect was to lift the three friends of Daniel also into places of great eminence and usefulness. What a lesson is this for the encouragement of those who have purposed in their hearts to be true to God in the world where they are placed for a testimony!

(G. F. Pentecost, D. D.)

Homilist.
Here is a remarkable fact — a Pagan ruler made the organ of a Divine revelation. The great Father of Spirits has access to the souls of every type. The deepest Paganism cannot exclude Him from contact with the spirits of men. There are two circumstances connected with the Divine communication to this monarch which in all likelihood are ever associated with "communications" from Heaven to depraved spirits. It came to the king entirely irrespective both of his choice and effort. And it had a most distressing influence upon his mind. Many great souls move about heathendom under the pressure of strange and soul-disturbing visions from eternity.

I. THE GREAT ATAGONISTIC PRINCIPLES IN HUMAN HISTORY — GOOD AND EVIL. The huge image is the symbolization of evil, as existing everywhere in the kingdoms of men. The four great dynasties of the ancient world are here represented in one colossal human form in order to symbolize in its totality the moral evil that sways mankind at large. The image stands for evil, the stone stands for good.

II. THE VERY INTERESTING SCENE OF THE GOOD ENTIRELY DESTROYING THE EVIL. To this day the great portion of the world is under the dark reign of evil. It is enthroned on the heart of humanity. To see the good, therefore, rising, growing, battling with it everywhere, and finally overwhelming it in ruin, is a sight deeply interesting and refreshing, both on account of its novelty and soul-inspiring character. This is the glorious scene before us. The evil is entirely destroyed in the vision.

1. The entire destruction of evil is effected by a supernatural manifestation of the good. There are circumstances connected with this stone which undoubtedly indicate its supernaturalness. Its origin, its self-motion, its world-wide expansion.(1) Christianity is good in a supernatural form. Its founder had a supernatural history.(2) The good in this supernatural form is the good to effect the entire destruction of evil. Good in its natural forms would never master evil. It tried for ages. Tried in the devotions of religion, the beauties of poetry, the enactments of law, the teachings of philosophy, But the "world by wisdom knew not God." In its supernatural forms of Christianity good becomes "mighty through God to the pulling down of the strongholds of sin." In this form it is truth in its mightiest force — moral truth, a force to move the affections, the conscience, the entire soul.(3) The entire destruction of evil by the good is not what appearances would indicate. Evil, as a whole, stands before you as a vast Colossus. Every part of the figure is imperial. It stands from age to age on the vast field of human life the most commanding and the most splendid of objects. The supernatural form of good was to human eyes very mean. To the worldly there was nothing attractive or imposing about Jesus. Who would have thought that "the stone" would at the first touch shiver that huge figure? Yet it did so.(4) The entire destruction of evil by good involves a thorough change in the character of the world. Here is the removal from the world of its most conspicuous object. How complete the destruction! A large thing is removed from the world's horizon, but a larger takes its place. The image was great, but the mountain was greater. Great as evil is, good is greater. A human thing is removed from the world's horizon, but a Divine thing takes its place, Evil in this world is a human production. The good that is to fill the world will be Divine.This subject supplies:

1. A guide to a correct judgment. Judge not from appearances.

2. A test of moral character. In order to be a Christian indeed evil must not only be smitten, the Divine thing must fill up thy nature.

3. A warning to infidel opposition. All opposition is both useless and dangerous.

4. Encouragement to Christian labour. The stone has smitten evil. The stone will roll on — nothing can stop it. The kingdom will be an "everlasting kingdom."

(Homilist.)

In primitive times dreams were often used as the mediums of Divine intimations. "In slumberings upon the bed," says Elihu, "God openeth the ears of teen, and sealeth their instruction."

I. The first point of contrast is the ENORMOUS BULK of the statue as compared with the SMALLNESS of the stone. Man estimates the importance of things by their size and appearance. Vast proportions produce a feeling of awe; and primitive races strove to minister to this feeling by building gigantic structures which would exalt the idea of human genius in contrast with man's personal insignificance. The idol which the Babylonish monarch saw in his dream was in harmony with the huge monoliths, temples, and human-headed bulls which formed the architectural ornaments of his capital. Its colossal size admirably represented the material power and extent of his kingdom. Mere bulk and physical massiveness were the characteristics of the great empires of antiquity. But God's thoughts are not as man's thoughts. In nature He accomplishes His mightiest operations by the most insignificant agencies. Large islands are created by the labours of tiny coral polyps. And as in nature, so in grace. The Kingdom of Heaven is like a grain of mustard seed, which is the least of all the seeds that be in the earth. What was Palestine but a very little country among the mighty continents of the earth? And what was Israel but an insignificant people in comparison with the great nations of antiquity? And was not Bethlehem where Jesus was born one of the least cities of the land, and the house of Joseph among the poorest and most obscure families in it?

II. Another point of contrast is the HETEROGENEOUS CHARACTER of the statue as compared with the HOMOGENEOUS NATURE of the stone. The statue was composed of gold and silver, iron and clay; and these substances were moulded and held together in a human shape, not by a vital organisation, nor by chemical affinity, but by mere mechanical force. And in this respect the statue graphically represented the outward symmetry of the great world-kingdoms of antiquity, which was the result, not of a natural spontaneous association, but, of a forced union of discordant elements by human power. The might of the autocrats of Egypt, Assyria, and Rome blended together races and creeds that had no natural affinity or sympathy with each other into one form of government, one mode of political life, and one mould of religious profession. This hard mechanical uniformity was secured by crushing the instincts of human nature and the liberties of the individual. And hence there was a constant tendency in this compulsory unity towards disintegration. The kingdom of Satan is a kingdom divided against itself, and, therefore, cannot stand. Men who hate each other, and have nothing otherwise in common, will combine for some wicked purpose. But the unhallowed alliance has in it a principle of schism. But widely different was the stone, which symbolized the Kingdom of Heaven. It was a homogeneous substance. All its particles were of the same nature, and they were held together by the law of mutual cohesion and chemical affinity. The same force that united these particles into this compact form, changing the mud at the bottom of the ocean, or the sand on its shores, by pressure under massive rocks, or by the induration of volcanic outbursts into stone, still held these particles together because of their similarity, and resisted the processes of weathering to which they were exposed. The stone of the vision was no conglomerate or breccia in which pebbles or fragments of different minerals were held together by mechanical force, but in all likelihood, judging from the geological formation of the region where the vision occurred, a mass of limestone or marble, whose substance was homogeneous — composed of the same calcareous sediment, which fire and pressure had metamorphosed into this solid and enduring form. And how strikingly in this respect did it symbolize the City of God, which is compactly built together — the Kingdom of God, which is composed of those who are all one in Christ Jesus. Believers have a strong family resemblance. Notwithstanding their individual peculiarities, and their varieties of character, culture, and circumstance, they are all essentially one, after the image of God's unity, and consequently of His eternity. Their unity is not legal, but spiritual; not of dull uniformity, but of bright unanimity.

III. Another point of contrast is the LIMITATION of the statue as compared with the ILLIMITABLE DEVELOPMENT of the stone. The statue was of gigantic size, but its human shape circumscribed its boundaries. Its outlines were rigidly determined. And this was the characteristic of the vast empires of antiquity, which, almost as soon as they were formed, became stereotyped and incapable of progress. Unassisted human nature had reached in the Egyptian, Assyrian, and Roman empires its utmost limits, and disclosed its fullest capacities; and we see how incapable it was of bringing anything to perfection — how stunted and stereotyped all its mightiest efforts were. China has lived for two thousand years upon the work of five centuries; it has never got beyond the doctrines of Confucius as explained and unfolded by Menucius. In striking contrast with the fixed limits and definite proportions of these human civilizations is the indefinite size and shape of the Kingdom of God. The stone is an appropriate symbol of it, the rough stone taken out of the quarry — the amorphous boulder lying on the moor, not the stone crystallized into the mathematical facets of the gem. The statue, moulded by human art, shares in the limitations of man's own nature. Made by God, the stone shares in His infinitude. The mystic stone in the vision grew and expanded until it became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. The landscape consisted of itself and its shadow. It presented a different aspect from each new point of view. The uniform monotonous despotisms of antiquity were created by man for his own aggrandisement; they had, therefore, fixed bounds of space and duration beyond which they could not pass. But the Kingdom of god is the creation of Divine love and grace, and, therefore, it unfolds with the need of man, and develops new capacities of blessing him, and endures for ever. The image of the stone does not suitably convey this idea. Every stone, however rough, has a limit as fixed as the statue. But the idea of fixed shape is not so inherent in the stone as in the statue, A stone may be of any shape — may be weathered by the elements, or roughened by violent contact with other stones into the most varied forms; but a human statue must preserve the human shape and observe the fixed proportions of the human form. So, in like manner, the idea of development is not inherent in a stone. It is of a fixed size; it cannot become larger. But Scripture imparts the power of growth to it, and secures, by a combination of images, what one alone cannot effect. We see this in the union of ideas borrowed from the mineral and vegetable kingdoms — from architecture and plant life — in some of the images employed to designate the Christian Church and the Christian life. "In whom all the building framed together, groweth into an holy temple in the Lord"; "Rooted and grounded in love." The grandeur of the Bible gives the grandeur of its own conceptions to every comparison it uses, expands its powers, and imparts to it qualities which it does not inherently possess, and thus makes it more elastic to represent the expansive force of the Kingdom of God. There is nothing fixed or stereotyped in this kingdom. It has a wonderful power of adjustment and assimilation. It expands its horizon as humanity progresses. It grows with human growth. The idea of growth is inherent in the Christian religion. It has created for itself a literature and an art in which progress is essential. The horizontalism and exact regularity of Greek and Assyrian architecture expressed the permanence and immutability of the religious system associated with it; while the verticalism and endless variety of the Gothic architecture embodied in a physical form the ideas of advancement, elevation, and progress contained in the Christian religion, which has chosen that style of art for its own. The religious of the heathen keep man as he is — confined to the earth, limited and bounded on every side by the restrictions and incapacities of his faith; the religion of Jesus raises man from the ground, lifts up his nature to another world, arouses his intellect and lightens his cares, bursts the fetters of his flesh, sublimes his affections, fills the whole sphere of his vision with grand and aspiring spectacles, and embodies itself in structures which exhibit a similar analogy. The religion that will satisfy the soul is a religion that makes provision for its growth and expansion, that shares in the infinitude and indefinite progressiveness of man. The stone must destroy the statue.

IV. Another point of contrast is the BRILLIANT APPEARANCE of the statue, and the VALUE of the materials of which it is composed, as compared with the MEANNESS and commonness of the stone, and the WORTHTLESSNESS of its substance. With the exception of the clay, out of which its extremities were partly moulded, all the other materials used in the composition of the statue were exceedingly valuable according to the human standard. These materials are the highest forms which the mineral kingdom assumes — the sublimation of the substance of the earth, and therefore they fitly represent all the pomp and circumstance of the proud kingdoms of the world — all that is strongest, most precious, and enduring in human sovereignty. On the other hand, the stone which smote the magnificent statue had no value or splendour. It was a rude aggregation and consolidation of the common sand or mud or dust of the earth. It was made up of the materials which are trodden under foot or employed only m the humblest uses. Who values a rough stone by the wayside? And in this respect it is a fit symbol of the Founder of the Heavenly Kingdom, who, while on earth, had no form or comeliness, and was despised and rejected of men. Christ in His life and death presents no attraction to the natural eye. His Church was the filth and offscouring of all things to the world. The subjects of His kingdom were the weak, the foolish, the ignorant, and the poor. The dream of the night has become the grandest fact of history; the vision of a heathen monarch has become the reality of Christendom; and every age will give the vision and the dream a grander and yet grander interpretation.

(H. Macmillan, D.D.)

Ordinarily there is nothing more unreal and flimsy than a dream. It is but a shadow, a freak of fancy, the effluence of a distempered body or an unquiet soul, the echo of sounds we heard, or the confused picture of sights we saw, on the previous day, a gossamer structure reared by the imagination, which the first breath of awaking reason will dissipate for ever. The great mass of dreams have all this unreality about them. They are as a shadow that declineth. They are more the creatures of the past than the prophets of the future. Their face is turned towards yesterday rather than to-morrow. And yet in the history of the world there can be no doubt they have played an important part, as they have been one of the ways in which God has communicated His will to man. And even the Apocalypse may not unfitly be viewed as a glorious dream. In fact, there is no dream recorded in Scripture which is destitute of meaning; and the meaning of the dream before us is fully expounded by Daniel. It was the dream of a pagan, of a wicked and cruel pagan. But all souls are God's, and He has access to them all; and the narrative before us shows that, though Israel was God's peculiar people, to whom He specially revealed Himself until the fulness of the times should come. He did not leave Himself without witness among the heathen. He was asleep upon his bed, when lo! the form of a stupendous image loomed before him and filled his soul. Some men forget their dreams, forget even that they have dreamed. So did Nebuchadnezzar. He knew only that he had had a dream which greatly troubled him. In vain he tried to recover his dream. What was to be done? He had men, however, about him whose business it was, among other things, to interpret dreams. Let them be summoned and try their skill. They were staggered at the claim. They reminded him that no king, lord, or ruler had ever asked for such an extravagant and impossible thing before; and told him that what they could not do, no one could do except the "gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh." This was true. No one but God could tell the dream and the interpretation thereof. But there was one in his court whom God knew well. Let us look at the vision and the interpretation. The vision, then, consisted of an image, a majestic image, not like some of those which at times appear in our dreams, monstrous and distorted, but symmetrical. It was in the form of a man. But its material was not uniform. Its head was resplendent gold; and not merely gold, but fine gold, gold that had been purified. Then came the breast and the arms, and these were composed of the metal next in preciousness — they were of silver. Below these were the thighs, which were of inferior metal still; and then came the legs of iron; and last of all came the feet, which were part of iron and part of clay. This was the vision, and doubtless as soon as Daniel had finished the description it would be recognised by Nebuchadnezzar as true, just as memory promptly verifies what we had for a moment forgotten, as soon as it is brought to our mind by another. Then comes the interpretation. It promised well at the beginning. It seemed to be very flattering to the king, for he was the head of gold. But the cup of comfort was dashed from his lips at the next sentence, for it speaks of a kingdom that should rise after him. Startling intelligence for the proud and powerful king that he was to pass away. So much for the head. But what of the silver breast and arms? This was the Medo-Persian dynasty, which was established during the life of Cyrus, who marched through the earth with resistless armies, melting the nations as the sun melts structures of snow, and subduing them to his sway. It was touching him that the handwriting on the wall gleamed forth Belshazzar's fatal doom, "Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians." But was even this to last? No; a few years only should elapse, and then a brazen kingdom should arise under the victorious sway of Philip and his son Alexander the Groat, the latter of whom, at the close of his sanguinary battles, finding himself the conqueror of the world, sat down and wept that nothing more was left for his ambition. Surely that kingdom will endure. Look at it. It is so vast. It comprises Macedonia — it comprises Greece — it comprises Persia — it comprises Media — it comprises Asia Minor — it comprises Egypt — it comprises Afghanistan and the Punjaub. Surely such a kingdom will endure. There is not a power in the world to resist him, to fight with him. Alexander is emperor of the earth. But at length he died, and another power arose which is set forth in the iron legs of the great image. Before the prowess of Rome the Greece-Macedonian empire succumbed like a pigmy in the grasp of a giant, a giant which extended its sway more widely than any previous kingdom. Its empire was about two thousand miles in breadth. Its length extended three thousand miles, from the Western Ocean to the Euphrates. It razed Carthage to the ground — it subdued Spain and Gaul — it attacked England and Scotland — it triumphed in Judaea — and to this day may be seen, in Rome, the stone from which the miles were measured throughout the enormous extent of its dominion. But the iron which broke in pieces all else was itself mixed with clay in the toes of the feet, signifying that the Roman empire should be partly weak and partly strong. This wonderful prediction, uttered six hundred years before the birth of Christ, was accomplished with the most literal exactness. It was the forestalling of a series of events which no human sagacity could possibly infer from the condition of things at the time of Daniel. Nay, it was the declaration of what then seemed impossible. But the God to whom prophecy is history, who sees the end from the beginning, who causes weak things to confound the mighty, and things which are not to bring to nought things that are, displayed this wondrous succession of dynasties as in a panorama before the mind of Daniel. And there is one thing which we must very specially note. It is this — that the dream of Nebuchadnezzar did not represent the mere decay of one kingdom through successive stages of diminishing grandeur and power until it finally collapsed in its feet of clay and iron. This might have been in keeping with the general character of the image itself, and Daniel might have said, "Thy kingdom, which is now of gold, shall become at length silver, after that it shall degenerate into brass, then it shall be transformed into iron, and shall finish its course in iron mixed with clay." This has been the history of some nations, but it was not to be the history of Babylon. It should perish in its grandeur. It should be smitten in its strength; so should the Persian, so should the Macedonian; while the Roman power, on the other hand, should, after centuries of imperial rule, sink Slowly into decay, being at length divided into ten minor monarchies. This was one part of the sublime and impressive vision by which the sleep of Nebuchadnezzar was troubled on that memorable night. Now we turn to look at another. The object at which we have been looking was an image at rest, a colossal monument standing, as it were, in solitary grandeur in the midst of an expanded plain. But yonder in the distance, on the edge of the horizon, is seen another object. It is not at rest. It moves. It moves, too, of its own accord: It comes nearer. And lo! it is a stone; a stone which bears no marks of the delver's art and power. It does not bear the dint of hammer nor the scratch of crowbar. It has been out out of the mountain without hands. And this is not all. It grows as it rolls, unlike other stones, which, whether rolling in river or down the hill-side, lose something of their size from moment to moment, the very friction chipping them or wearing them away. This stone expanded as it moved, rose higher, spread wider, advanced with more terrible momentum. But what of the image? Was that left standing? No. Nebuchadnezzar saw the stone roll onwards in the direction of the image with silent and majestic force, like a very symbol of omnipotence, and it was not arrested by the colossal monument and driven back. The stone smote the image on the feet — that is, at its very foundations — and the heterogeneous mass fell down. But it did not lie prostrate in its completeness as when a hurricane wind upheaves a pine tree from its rooting and lays it like a giant on the ground. The stone rolled over it, and broke it in pieces, and ground it to dust, and the wind carried the particles away so that no place was found for them. And the stone ceased not, but rolled on, growing as it rolled, until it filled the whole earth.

I. We see in the dream of Nebuchadnezzar THE GREAT FACT THAT THE KINGDOM OF GOD, THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST, THE KINGDOM OF TRUTH, IS AT LENGTH TO BE SUPREME OVER ALL OTHER KINGDOMS. Other kingdoms have always hitherto represented ideas and forces of evil. From the beginning, even down to the present moment, there has not yet been one kingdom which has aimed supremely at the well-being of the world. All of them, without exception, have been selfish and aggressive, aiming at the accession of territory and the augmentation of power and wealth. There have been men who have aimed at blessing others without dreaming of any blessing for themselves. But there has never been any nation which has been inspired with such noble aspirations. There is not one now. England, as one of the great dynasties of the world, is not contemplating any such purpose. She is seeking trade, wealth, territory, dominion, as other powers have done before her. Nations look at each other with jealousy and distrust and passion, as if they had only to fear danger from each other. But they do not take account of that invisible kingdom which is working behind and through them all, and which, by its secret and Divine power, can undermine their foundations. The image which Nebuchadnezzar saw did not fall of its own accord. It was not destroyed by a band of enemies. It did not crumble to pieces by natural decay. It was not upheaved by earthquake or consumed by fire. It was destroyed by miracle, by a stone cut out of the mountain without hands. The same Divine power formed it that made the world, and it rolled along under the same invisible impulse which wheels the planets in their courses. The gospel is always represented as an exotic — a plant brought from Heaven to earth. It is not the offspring of human genius, of human culture, or of human virtue. The grapes of the Gospel could not grow on the thorns of human nature. How little man could do in the way of elaborating a saving system of truth may be seen by what man did actually do in the most enlightened nation of the world. In his wisdom he knew not God. For thousands of years the problem of human redemption through the power of unaided human genius and virtue had a fair trial. But how did it succeed? Men became warriors, statesmen, scholars, philosophers, poets — but redeemers, never. Here and there sprang up in a few hearts the conviction that man was, somehow, far beneath what he should be, but no help came — no help could come unless it came from above. And it came in the incarnation of our Lord. He was the stone cut out of the mountain without hands. Men have striven to account for Him without the acceptance of His Divine nature and mission. It is vain. They cannot account for Him. No man can rise above the essential conditions of the race to which be belongs. Christ was far above them — He was a stone cut out of the mountain without hands. All other men have been born in the ordinary way of succession. Christ was conceived of the Virgin Mary. He was a stone cut out of the mountain without hands. Of all the unnumbered millions that have trodden the earth there has not been one who, in virtue of his own power, could escape the stroke of death; but Christ possessed the prerogative of defying the assault of the universal foe, exclaiming, "No man taketh away My life from Me: I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again." He was the stone out out of the mountain without hands. We do not despise the stones which have been cut out of the mountain with hands; in other words, we despise no true thing, no human work which is beautiful, no human deed which is right, no human word which is noble, no human improvements which ameliorate the condition of the world. All hail inventions, laws, education, which enable the race to rise even by a single step out of its ignorance and degradation and misery; but the great image of evil will stand against them all, firm as the rocky headlands against wind and waves, and will fall only before the majestic movement, and the Divine force of the "stone which has been cut out of the mountain without hands." Such is the origin of the stone. It is supernatural, and it is from Heaven.

II. We notice THE APPARENT CONTRAST BETWEEN THE AGENT WHICH DESTROYS EVIL AND THE EVIL WHICH IS TO BE DESTROYED. A stupendous image — that is the evil; a stone, quite small at first, cut out of the mountain without hands — that is the good. That which is to destroy evil is at first little and despised; and men laugh at it, and treat it with mockery, even as David was treated when he stood forth as the foe of, the Philistine giant. What was Christ to all appearance, that He should assume the part of the destroyer of evil? He was as a root out of a dry ground. He had no form nor comeliness. He was but a rod out of the stem of Jesse. His cradle was a manger at His birth, and He had no settled home when He had entered on His ministry. Look at Him — this Galilean peasant — with few friends, with no favour from the great, with the hostility of kings and priests and rulers of the people, with a face of sorrow and a heart of woe. He it is who claims to be the light of the world, and who, knowing that He would die on the accursed wood, said, "I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me." Is that the man who is destined to universal empire — an empire not won by force, but by love; not by wounding, but by healing; not by destruction, but by salvation? Ah! that stone cut out of the mountains without hands, does it not seem small, too small to smite anything, still less the kingdoms of this world? Look at Him when "He hangs lifeless on the cross, when He lies lifeless in the grave, dead as the stony sepulchre in which He is entombed! That stone seems harmless now against all evil, hemmed in by rock and seal and soldiery. From that day the stone has rolled on and on, and is rolling still. On the day that our Saviour rose from the dead there was not one man, perchance, in England who had ever heard of His name. Our fathers were then but savages, dwelling in trackless forests; now we are baptized in His name. This day is called after Him — the Lord's day. Our monarchs are consecrated in His name. The symbol of that Cross on which He hung is seen surmounting our churches, and glittering on every side as an ornament of person and of home. The nations that believe in Him are rising, the nations that reject Him are sinking; for the kingdoms and the nations that will not serve Him shall perish. But why shall they perish? They shall perish because they have no life in them; because they lack that spiritual leaven which alone can preserve nations from their doom. But this is as true of men as of nations. Sadly should we fail to realise the full import of this dream if ere did not bring it home to our own hearts.

(E. Mellor, D.D.)

What are we to understand by the stone? Many commentators expound it of Christ's person. Others, with whom we agree, understand it not of Christ's person, but of His Kingdom. We cannot conceive how it is possible, by any known law of exposition, to arrive at the conclusion that the stone means our Lord himself. How, for example, could our Lord be said to become a great mountain, and fill the whole earth? Christ himself cannot become more exalted. He has already ascended far above all heavens. The stone, therefore, must denote the visible Kingdom of Christ upon earth, which is inseparably connected with Christ, but which, at the same time, is neither His mediatorial person nor His mystical body. Let us ask the prophet himself what the stone means, and he gives us a plain, decisive answer. He tells us that the stone signifies a kingdom, which the God of Heaven was to set up, "In the days of those kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed." And what is the kingdom which the Cod of Heaven was to erect? It is just the church under the New Testament dispensation. Hence, both John the Baptist and our Lord came proclaiming "the kingdom of heaven is at hand." It is worthy of remark that the stone is altogether distinct and separate from the image. The metals in the image were all distinct from one another, but they were all parts of the same structure. Not so the stone. It was not only distinct from the various metals in the image, it was distinct from the image itself. It had a separate and independent existence. The stone and the image were contiguous to one another, they are represented as having comb into contact, but their contact was that of collision, and not of incorporation. In its nature, origin, and privileges, the Church of Christ is distinct from, and independent of, the kingdoms of this world. The existence of the church is contiguous to that of temporal states and kingdom They have many things in common. The same individuals may be the subjects of both. The glory of God, and the good of man, are the common ends of both. Conformity to the will of God is the common rule of both. Notwithstanding all those points of agreement, the Church of Christ and the kingdoms of this world are so distinct from one another that they never can be incorporated, never can be blended into one society, nor subjected to one legislative head, without imminent danger to the best interests of man, and a total disregard of the authority of God. They differ in their origin. Earthly kingdoms derive their origin from God as the Creator and Supreme Ruler of the world. The Kingdom of Christ derives its origin from God as the God of grace, having been instituted with the view of promoting the salvation of that chosen company whom Grid, from all eternity, purposed to call, justify, sanctify, and bring to eternal life. They differ in respect of their constitution. The supreme power of administration in earthly states is placed in human hands; the supreme power of administration in the church is placed in the hands of our Lord Jesus Christ. There is no Divinely-given code of civil law, and, therefore, every temporal state possesses a power of legislation. It has authority to make, repeal, and modify its laws; and in so doing it is limited only by the obligation of making them in all moral respects conformable to the will of God, so far as known. Neither is there a Divinely-given form of civil government. While the constitutions of other societies originate in human wisdom, and may lawfully be altered by the sagacity or the taste of man, the constitution of the church, having emanated from Christ's will, and bearing on all its parts the impress of His authority, is unchangeable by man. Every alteration is a defection; every change of doctrine is an error; every deviation from the simplicity of instituted worship is a step towards superstition; every change in government and discipline is a movement either towards anarchy or despotism. The Kingdom of Christ also differs from all earthly kingdoms in the end for which it was erected. The special end of civil government is to promote the temporal welfare of men; the special end of the church is to promote their spiritual welfare. A second thing deserving of notice respecting the stone is the statement that it was "cut out of the mountain without hands." To understand the meaning of this let us reflect that there is no principle more deeply laid in the human intellect than this, that every effect must have a cause. When, therefore, it is said that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, this intimates that the kingdom which the stone symbolizes was to be erected in the world by supernatural influence. This is the meaning attached to the symbol by Daniel himself. "In the days of those kings the God of heaven shall set up a kingdom." This does not mean that the kingdom prefigured by the stone would be set up in the world altogether without the use of outward instrumentality, but simply that the mode of its erection would be such as to demonstrate "that the excellency of the power was of God, and not of man." Go back to the days of the apostles and contemplate the mighty fabric of ancient heathenism. It was congenial in itself to corrupt nature, it was hallowed by the veneration of ages, its roots were struck through all the framework of society, it was ramparted around by the terror of authority and the pride of erudition, by the emperor's sword and the philosopher's pen. From the experience of all the ages that had gone before, the inference might have appeared to be warranted that this system would continue until it was subverted by some great political convulsion. "For, pass over the isles of Chittim and see; and send to Kedar, and consider diligently and see if there be such a thing. Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods?" With Christianity, however, a new era dawned on the human race. The avowed design of it was to overthrow all the systems of religion then existing among mankind. Who that contemplated its apparent resources could have supposed that it would succeed. All power, all passions, all interests, all prejudices, all kindreds and classes of men, Jew and Greek, Barbarian, Scythian, bond and flee, were opposed to the spread of the gospel. To meet this formidable array it had nothing but seeming weakness. Its author was publicly crucified as a malefactor, its apostles were fishermen, its adherents were poor, its doctrines were humbling, its precepts were at war with human corruption, its privileges were purely spiritual, its rewards lay beyond the present life. The entrance to such a religion was by the gate of self-denial. In this triumph of weakness over power, of persecuted truth over fondly cherished errors, in the grandeur of the result compared with the unlikeliness of the original instrument, we discern an effect, to produce which the seeming cause is inadequate, and, therefore, we must admit of apostolic Christianity, that it was "a stone cut out of the mountain without hands." In like manner it could be shown that all the living spiritual churches of Christ upon the earth are like stones cut out of the mountain without hands. They have been placed in the situation they presently occupy by the leadings of Providence rather than by any pro, conceived plan or voluntary choice of their own. The stone that was out out of the mountain without hands is farther represented as coming into collision with the images though it is here predicted that the image will be subverted by the stone, we are not warranted from this to infer that Christ's Kingdom is hostile to the kingdoms of this world. Our Lord, when on earth, yielded obedience to the Roman government, and hath commanded His disciples, after His own example, to "render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's." We ought also to remember that Christ's Kingdom is a spiritual kingdom, and that "the weapons of her warfare are not carnal but spiritual." Far be it, therefore, from us to suppose that the church will have recourse to violent means for the subversion of the civil governments now existing. The stone, as we have already seen, signifies the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ under the New Testament dispensation. But before the erection of Christ's Kingdom, the Babylonian, the Persian, and the Macedonian empires had been already destroyed. Seeing these empires were overturned before the stone was in existence, it could have no direct and positive agency in their subversion. It can, therefore, only be said of these empires that they were destroyed by the stone, in the sense that they were destroyed for the stone — that they were subverted by an all-wise Providence in order to prepare the world for the erection of the church. This interpretation is further confirmed by the fact that all these empires are represented as being destroyed at once — whereas, nearly a thousand years intervened between the overthrow of Babylon and the overthrow of Rome. This shows that the subversion of these empires, though accomplished by various instruments, and in ages remote from one another, was done for the same end, was part of the same work. It shows that they were all overthrown to make way for the kingdom of the stone. Their overthrow took place at different times, but it was for the same end. It was for the church that each of them rose, and for the church that each of them fell. It gives us a striking view of the unity and harmony of Divine providence. It shows us that the world does not move at random. It shows us that God has a definite end in view in His government of the human race. That end is the erection of Messiah's Kingdom. This is the centre in which all the lines of Providence meet. Having destroyed the image, the stone is represented as becoming a great mountain that filled the whole earth. Some commentators make a distinction between the empire of the stone and the empire of the mountain. When the Kingdom of Christ is spoken of as first a stone and then a great mountain, this conveys the same idea as the Saviour did when He compared it to "a little leaven" that in due time leavened the whole lump. It is also the same as the idea conveyed by the parable of the mustard seed which, from the smallest of seeds, gradually expanded into the mightiest of trees. And when the stone is said to become a mountain, and fill the whole earth, this clearly intimates that Christianity will yet be universally disseminated. This, however, is not all If a mountain were to fill the whole earth, this would be like a new earth taking the place of the old. And Christianity will not only be universally diffused, she will become the predominating influence in our world. In no period, in no place, has Christianity been accounted the predominating power. Politics have always had the ascendancy of Christianity. We cannot point to an era in which the principles of the Bible were practically recognised as the supreme law of nations. But when the image of anti-Christian civil government has been destroyed, the stone will then take the place of the gold, the silver, the brass, and the iron. Christianity will then be the predominating power. Politics will be subordinated to religion. When we think of the subversion of the present civil governments, and that in all likelihood this will be by violence, the prospect is gloomy, but there is brightness beyond. If the image be destroyed, it is because the stone is to fill the earth. This will be a great benefit to mankind — first, because it will be the end of anti-Christian governments; secondly, because it will be the means of abolishing tyranny, oppression, slavery, and war, by which the world has been scourged. since the dawn of time; thirdly, because the triumph of Christianity will be the ruin of superstition. And the believers of that time will towen in spiritual stature above those of every former age. Religion will have that place that the world has now, for the stone will occupy the place of the image. And what saints will they be who are as devoted to God as we are to mammon — who are as concerned about the soul as we are about the body. But Christians are required to make efforts for the extension of the church. The stone is here spoken of as possessing an inward principle of vitality by virtue of which it grew and became a great mountain. This principle of vitality is nothing else than the grace of God in the hearts of the true members of the church. This is an aggressive principle. No sooner is it implanted in the soul than it begins to war with corruption, and it will carry on that conflict until innate depravity shall be completely subdued. Fed by gracious supplies from above, and transmitted from one generation of the faithful to another, it will never cease to strive till the whole world is Christianised, and civilised, and saved. The want of this aggressive spirit has been the great sin of the church in past ages. Concerning this kingdom, it is farther said that "it shall never be left to another people, but shall endure for ever." Other thrones may fall, but "to the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever." Other crowns may be cast to the ground, but Immanuel's crown will flourish.

(J. White.)

The image was the type of great civilizations. The image has long since crumbled away, but the kingdom cut out by the God of Heaven shall stand for ever. The Divine must supplant the human. Christ supplants Satan; righteousness supplants sin. Christianity cannot be explained by pure reason. It is not the product of human thought and creation. It comes with the stamp of Divinity on it, a Divine, God-given religion. Notice the destructive and aggressive character of the religion of Christ. Christianity entered upon a spiritual warfare against giant errors. It met the world with new ideas of good, of morality, of purity, and political right. The history of the Christian Church is the history of the greatest miracle of the ages. Christianity reconstructed society. The final triumph of Christianity is prophesied in this text. To live in this age of grand opportunities is a most precious privilege.

(Frank W. Bristol, D.D.)

Revolutions among nations are insignificant parts of the vast and wonderful scheme of Divine Providence by which the Almighty is carrying out His own gracious purposes and plans. According to Daniel's prophecy, before the four kingdoms had all passed away the God of Heaven was to set up His throne on earth, which could never be shaken nor removed. As a fact of history, the first part of this prediction was exactly accomplished; and the remainder is now in course of fulfilment. Our Saviour appeared in Judaea as the Babe of Bethlehem while Augustus ruled the Roman empire, and within fifty years His Gospel had been preached in all the world then known. How was this new kingdom to gain a foothold in the world, and how keep its influence and power? Surely not by force of arms, as other empires had been built up. Not by dealing with philosophical subtleties. The Eternal Son returned to the throne of His glory in Heaven, and the Holy Spirit came down to guide and bless the church until the final judgment shall close her toils and trials. The work went on so silently and gradually that its advance was scarcely noticed. From Jerusalem, as a common centre, Christianity went forth into the heart of a polished and learned world, and laid the wholesome restraints of its righteous laws upon a corrupt and self-indulgent age. By its meek and peaceful doctrines it gloriously triumphed over the force of habit, the craft of an impure religion, the policy of legislators, the genius of poets and philosophers, the charm of oracles and prodigies, the shafts of ridicule, and the fierceness of bloody persecution. Not only did the religion of Jesus spread throughout Asia and Europe, but the midnight gloom of Africa was brightened by its silver beams, and apostolic hands unfurled its banner on the distant shores of Britain. The Almighty has made no covenant that any human institution shall endure; but He has pledged His own word for the perpetuity of His Church.

(John N Norton.)

Here is movement; more, here is advance; here is human history epitomized. Each age is a product and a producer. The ancient geological periods built foundations on which the human age could build. So intellectually and morally.

1. Time past is a progressive revelation of God and right and duty. Divine truth comes in ever widening circles, In the earlier Scripture it is the physical attributes of God and the temporal blessings of obedience which are the more prominently presented, but, as the generations pass, this gradually passes, until in the time of Christ it is the spiritual attributes and the eternal rewards which occupy a larger place in Jewish thoughts. Here is advance. The Bible itself is a progressive development of Christian truth. Nor was the advance movement restricted to one nation. History, in the large view, is a record of the enlightening and bettering of men. The progress is along three lines: the unfolding of religious truth, the comprehension and reception of it, and the order and movement of events.

2. The cost of this progress. Every leader in a good cause has to suffer at the hands of those who have not accepted his advance ground. Heretics they are of yesterday, and canonized saints of to-day. But martyrdom means progress.

(Martin Post.)

I. Daniel regarded the dream as a communication from God. It" was common for the Almighty to communicate with men in this way (Job 33:15-17; Numbers 12:6). Most frequently "a dream cometh through the multitude of business" (Ecclesiastes 5:3); yet there are instances in which we have reason to believe that God does still interpose to instruct, warn, and admonish people through the agency of dreams. We are not to look for illumination in this way where we have the Holy Scriptures to guide us; neither are we to believe or follow our dreams in anything contrary to God's written word. In the case of Nebuchadnezzar the dream was special, and from the Lord. And it is not incongruous that a universal monarch, in the highest glory of the world's original kingdom, should be the veer of the course and end of all secular dominion, particularly when earnestly concerned about the matter.

2. Daniel regarded this dream as very momentous. When it was made known to him he broke into exultant adoration, not so much because he was the honoured servant to whom it was revealed, as for what it signified. It showed such a majesty above all the majesty of earth, such a plan in the course of all human governments and dominions, and such a power to handle and order all the potencies of time, that his soul was ready to break away from him when the mighty showing flashed upon his understanding. It set every emotion and energy within him on fire.

3. The dream gives an outline of the history and destiny of all earthly dominion, from Nebuchadnezzar to the end of the present world, and for ever. The several metals of which the great image was composed designated a succession of universal empires. The head was "fine gold," and Nebuchadnezzar was this head of gold. Babylon was the first and greatest of kingdoms. The breast and shoulders and arms of this image were of silver. This represents the comparatively inferior empire of the Medes and Persians, which stood for about two hundred years. It is chiefly interesting for the personality of Cyrus, its founder. The abdomen and thighs of the image were of brass; this represented the Graeco-Macedonian empire of Alexander the Great. The image had legs, feet, and toes. These were of iron, except the toes. This represents the Roman power. Since the Roman there has been no universal empire.

4. In this foreshowing of the succession of earthly administration there is a continuous deterioration from the beginning to the end. Political economists and statesmen claim that the world has been growing in wisdom and excellence through all the ages. And in some respects there has been growth. But with all, in God's estimate, there has been a never-ceasing downwardness, depreciation, and tendency toward the earth out of which man was taken. It is the whole history of the world that is comprehended in this vision. When we find in this book the whole political and social history of our world grandly and truly sketched, just as it has turned out from that time to this living present, how can we construe it except upon the doctrine alleged by the prophet, that it was revealed to him from the Almighty and all-knowing One. Daniel tells us that God, the living God, the God who rules all kingdoms and all history, the God to whose omniscience all things are present, naked and open, the Almighty, revealed these things to him; and the seal to his assertion is inimitably stamped upon all the records of the succeeding ages. There is a God in history, and He hath prophets whom He hath sent to speak His word and will. These living oracles are verily from Him.

(Joseph A. Seiss, D.D.)

People
Abednego, Arioch, Azariah, Belteshazzar, Daniel, Hananiah, Meshach, Mishael, Nebuchadnezzar, Shadrach
Places
Babylon, Shinar
Topics
Account, Ages, Aramaean, Aramaic, Chaldaeans, Chaldeans, Chalde'ans, Clear, Declare, Dream, Forever, Interpret, Interpretation, Language, O, Sense, Servants, Shew, Spake, Speak, Spoke, Syriac, Syriack, Syrian
Outline
1. Nebuchadnezzar, forgetting his dream,
5. requires it of the Chaldeans, by promises and threats.
10. They acknowledging their inability are judged to die.
14. Daniel obtaining some respite finds the dream.
19. He blesses God.
24. He staying the decree is brought to the king.
31. The dream.
36. The interpretation.
46. Daniel's advancement.

Dictionary of Bible Themes
Daniel 2:4

     5374   languages
     8343   servanthood, in society

Daniel 2:1-13

     8709   astrology

Daniel 2:2-5

     4281   stars

Library
The Image and the Stone
'This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king. 37. Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. 38. And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath He given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold. 39. And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Book and Tract Catalogue.
THE PLAN OF REDEMPTION. BY I. C. WELLCOME AND C. GOUD. "The Plan of Redemption is an earnest book, evidently prepared after no little study, and with a conscientious desire to advance the cause of Christ. The Bible is made the basis of argument; it contains many fresh and well considered suggestions. The careful reader will find much that is valuable."--Watchman and Reflector. "This treatise aims to serve up the gospel scheme in a compact form. It states the plan and work well, and usually correctly.
Dwight L. Moody—That Gospel Sermon on the Blessed Hope

Editor's Preface
Professor Maspero does not need to be introduced to us. His name is well known in England and America as that of one of the chief masters of Egyptian science as well as of ancient Oriental history and archaeology. Alike as a philologist, a historian, and an archaeologist, he occupies a foremost place in the annals of modern knowledge and research. He possesses that quick apprehension and fertility of resource without which the decipherment of ancient texts is impossible, and he also possesses a sympathy
G. Maspero—History Of Egypt, Chaldaea, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, V 1

The Scattering of the People
[Illustration: (drop cap A) The Fish-god of Assyria and Babylonia] At last the full punishment for their many sins fell upon God's chosen people. The words of warning written in the fifth book of Moses had told them plainly that if they turned aside and worshipped the wicked idol-gods of Canaan, the Lord would take their country from them and drive them out into strange lands. Yet again and again they had yielded to temptation. And now the day of reckoning had come. Nebuchadnezzar, the great king
Mildred Duff—The Bible in its Making

That Gospel Sermon on the Blessed Hope
In 2 Timothy, 3:16, Paul declares: "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness;" but there are some people who tell us when we take up prophecy that it is all very well to be believed, but that there is no use in one trying to understand it; these future events are things that the church does not agree about, and it is better to let them alone, and deal only with those prophecies which have already been
Dwight L. Moody—That Gospel Sermon on the Blessed Hope

Epistle Xliii. To Eulogius and Anastasius, Bishops.
To Eulogius and Anastasius, Bishops. Gregory to Eulogius, Bishop of Alexandria, and Anastasius, Bishop of Antioch. When the excellent preacher says, As long as I am the apostle of the Gentiles I will honour my ministry (Rom. xi. 13); saying again in another place, We became as babes among you (1 Thess. ii. 7), he undoubtedly shews an example to us who come after him, that we should retain humility in our minds, and yet keep in honour the dignity of our order, so that neither should our humility be
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

A Description of Heart-Purity
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Matthew 5:8 The holy God, who is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity' calls here for heart-purity, and to such as are adorned with this jewel, he promises a glorious and beatifical vision of himself: they shall see God'. Two things are to be explained the nature of purity; the subject of purity. 1 The nature of purity. Purity is a sacred refined thing. It stands diametrically opposed to whatsoever defiles. We must distinguish the various kinds
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12

The Wisdom of God
The next attribute is God's wisdom, which is one of the brightest beams of the Godhead. He is wise in heart.' Job 9:9. The heart is the seat of wisdom. Cor in Hebraeo sumitur pro judicio. Pineda. Among the Hebrews, the heart is put for wisdom.' Let men of understanding tell me:' Job 34:44: in the Hebrew, Let men of heart tell me.' God is wise in heart, that is, he is most wise. God only is wise; he solely and wholly possesses all wisdom; therefore he is called, the only wise God.' I Tim 1:17. All
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

The Wicked Husbandmen.
"Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country: and when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it. And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another. Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto
William Arnot—The Parables of Our Lord

The First Great Group of Parables.
(Beside the Sea of Galilee.) Subdivision B. Parable of the Sower. ^A Matt. XIII. 3-23; ^B Mark IV. 3-25; ^C Luke VIII. 5-18. ^a Behold, ^c 5 The sower went forth to sow his seed [Orientals live in cities and towns. Isolated farmhouses are practically unknown. A farmer may therefore live several miles from his field, in which case he literally "goes forth" to it]: ^b 4 And it came to pass, as he sowed, some seed { ^a seeds } fell by the way side, ^c and it was trodden under foot, and the birds of
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Necessity of Regeneration, Argued from the Immutable Constitution of God.
John III. 3. John III. 3. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. WHILE the ministers of Christ are discoursing of such a subject, as I have before me in the course of these Lectures, and particularly in this branch of them which I am now entering upon, we may surely, with the utmost reason, address our hearers in those words of Moses to Israel, in the conclusion of his dying discourse: Set your hearts unto all
Philip Doddridge—Practical Discourses on Regeneration

Letters of St. Bernard
I To Malachy. 1141.[924] (Epistle 341.) To the venerable lord and most blessed father, Malachy, by the grace of God archbishop of the Irish, legate of the Apostolic See, Brother Bernard called to be abbot of Clairvaux, [desiring] to find grace with the Lord. 1. Amid the manifold anxieties and cares of my heart,[925] by the multitude of which my soul is sore vexed,[926] the brothers coming from a far country[927] that they may serve the Lord,[928] thy letter, and thy staff, they comfort
H. J. Lawlor—St. Bernard of Clairvaux's Life of St. Malachy of Armagh

Lii. Concerning Hypocrisy, Worldly Anxiety, Watchfulness, and his Approaching Passion.
(Galilee.) ^C Luke XII. 1-59. ^c 1 In the meantime [that is, while these things were occurring in the Pharisee's house], when the many thousands of the multitude were gathered together, insomuch that they trod one upon another [in their eagerness to get near enough to Jesus to see and hear] , he began to say unto his disciples first of all [that is, as the first or most appropriate lesson], Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. [This admonition is the key to the understanding
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Annunciation of the Birth of Jesus.
(at Nazareth, b.c. 5.) ^C Luke I. 26-38. ^c 26 Now in the sixth month [this is the passage from which we learn that John was six months older than Jesus] the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth [Luke alone tells us where Mary lived before the birth of Jesus. That Nazareth was an unimportant town is shown by the fact that it is mentioned nowhere in the Old Testament, nor in the Talmud, nor in Josephus, who mentions two hundred four towns and cities of Galilee. The
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The First Sayings of Jesus --His Ideas of a Divine Father and of a Pure Religion --First Disciples.
Joseph died before his son had taken any public part. Mary remained, in a manner, the head of the family, and this explains why her son, when it was wished to distinguish him from others of the same name, was most frequently called the "son of Mary."[1] It seems that having, by the death of her husband, been left friendless at Nazareth, she withdrew to Cana,[2] from which she may have come originally. Cana[3] was a little town at from two to two and a half hours' journey from Nazareth, at the foot
Ernest Renan—The Life of Jesus

The Gospel of the Kingdom.
"This is He whom Seers in old time Chanted of with one accord; Whom the voices of the Prophets Promised in their faithful word." We have seen that, in the providence of God, John the Baptist was sent to proclaim to the world that "The Kingdom of Heaven" was at hand, and to point out the King. And as soon as the Herald had raised the expectation of men by the proclamation of the coming Kingdom, our Lord began His public ministry, the great object of which was the founding of His Kingdom for the salvation
Edward Burbidge—The Kingdom of Heaven; What is it?

Daniel
Daniel is called a prophet in the New Testament (Matt. xxiv. 15). In the Hebrew Bible, however, the book called by his name appears not among the prophets, but among "the writings," between Esther and Ezra. The Greek version placed it between the major and the minor prophets, and this has determined its position in modern versions. The book is both like and unlike the prophetic books. It is like them in its passionate belief in the overruling Providence of God and in the sure consummation of His
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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