Daniel 2.28-Daniel Tells Nebuchadnezzar That There Is A God In Heaven Who Revealed To Him What Will Take Place In The Latter Days
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Thursday March 22, 2012
Daniel: Daniel 2:28-Daniel Tells Nebuchadnezzar That There Is A God In Heaven Who Revealed To Him What Will Take Place In The Latter Days
Lesson # 52
Please turn in your Bibles to Daniel 2:1.
Daniel 2:1 Now in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; and his spirit was troubled and his sleep left him. 2 Then the king gave orders to call in the magicians, the conjurers, the sorcerers and the Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king. 3 The king said to them, “I had a dream and my spirit is anxious to understand the dream.” 4 Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic: “O king, live forever! Tell the dream to your servants, and we will declare the interpretation.” 5 The king replied to the Chaldeans, “The command from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you will be torn limb from limb and your houses will be made a rubbish heap. 6 But if you declare the dream and its interpretation, you will receive from me gifts and a reward and great honor; therefore declare to me the dream and its interpretation.” 7 They answered a second time and said, “Let the king tell the dream to his servants, and we will declare the interpretation.” 8 The king replied, “I know for certain that you are bargaining for time, inasmuch as you have seen that the command from me is firm 9 that if you do not make the dream known to me, there is only one decree for you. For you have agreed together to speak lying and corrupt words before me until the situation is changed; therefore tell me the dream, that I may know that you can declare to me its interpretation.” 10 The Chaldeans answered the king and said, “There is not a man on earth who could declare the matter for the king, inasmuch as no great king or ruler has ever asked anything like this of any magician, conjurer or Chaldean. 11 Moreover, the thing which the king demands is difficult, and there is no one else who could declare it to the king except gods, whose dwelling place is not with mortal flesh.” 12 Because of this the king became indignant and very furious and gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. 13 So the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain; and they looked for Daniel and his friends to kill them. 14 Then Daniel replied with discretion and discernment to Arioch, the captain of the king’s bodyguard, who had gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon. 15 he said to Arioch, the king’s commander, “For what reason is the decree from the king so urgent?” Then Arioch informed Daniel about the matter. 16 So Daniel went in and requested of the king that he would give him time, in order that he might declare the interpretation to the king. 17 Then Daniel went to his house and informed his friends, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, about the matter. 18 so that they might request compassion from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his friends would not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. 19 Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. 20 Daniel said, “Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to Him. 21 It is He who changes the times and the epochs; He removes kings and establishes kings; He gives wisdom to wise men and knowledge to men of understanding. 22 It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things; He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with Him. 23 To You, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for You have given me wisdom and power; Even now You have made known to me what we requested of You, for You have made known to us the king’s matter.” 24 Therefore, Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon; he went and spoke to him as follows: “Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon! Take me into the king’s presence, and I will declare the interpretation to the king.” 25 Then Arioch hurriedly brought Daniel into the king’s presence and spoke to him as follows: “I have found a man among the exiles from Judah who can make the interpretation known to the king!” 26 The king said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen and its interpretation?” 27 Daniel answered before the king and said, “As for the mystery about which the king has inquired, neither wise men, conjurers, magicians nor diviners are able to declare it to the king. 28 However, there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will take place in the latter days. This was your dream and the visions in your mind while on your bed.” (NASB95)
“However, there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries” is composed of the conjunction berǎm (בְּרַם) (ber-am´), “however” which is followed by the particle of existence ʾî∙ṯǎy (אִיתַי) (ee-thah´ee), “there is” and then we have the masculine singular noun ʾělāh (אֱלָהּ) (el-aw´), “a God” which is followed by the preposition b- (בְּ־) (beth), “in” whose object is the masculine plural noun šemǎ∙yin (שְׁמַיִן) (shaw-mah´-yin), “heaven” and then we have the masculine singular peʿal (Hebrew equivalent is the qal) active participle form of the verb gelā(h) (גְּלָה) (ghel-aw´), “who reveals” which is followed by the masculine plural form of the noun rāz (רָז) (rawz), “mystery.”
The adversative conjunction berǎm is introducing a statement which stands in direct contrast with Daniel’s statement in verse 27, which records his response to the king’s question if he could tell him the content of his dream as well as its interpretation.
In response to this question, Daniel tells the king that there is absolutely no wise men, necromancers, occult priests, or divination astrologers who are able to make known to him the content of his dream as well as its interpretation which Daniel describes as a mystery.
Now, in verse 28, the adversative conjunction berǎm introduces a statement in which Daniel tells the king that there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries and has made known to him in his dream what will take place in the latter days.
Therefore, the obvious contrast is between the inability of the wise men, necromancers, occult priests, or divination astrologers to reveal the content and interpretation of the king’s dream with the God of heaven who can do so.
The particle ʾî∙ṯǎy denotes a God of heaven “existing in the state of being” able to make known the content of the king’s dream as well as its interpretation.
The noun ʾělāh means “the God” and refers to the Father since in Daniel 2:18, Daniel is said to pray to “the God of the heavens” which refers to the Father.
The plural noun šemǎ∙yin refers to the first, second and third heaven and is the object of the preposition b-, which functions as a marker of exercising authority over something or someone (IBHS 11.2.5.f).
This would indicate that Daniel is telling Nebuchadnezzar that there is a God “over” the heavens or “in authority over” the heavens.
This fits with Daniel chapter 2, which records God telling the king through this dream that He is sovereign and chapter 4 which records God deposing him until he acknowledges that God is sovereign over him and the nations of the earth.
The verb gelā(h) means “to reveal” and is used with the God the Father as the subject and its object is the masculine plural form of the noun rāz, “mystery.”
This indicates that Daniel is telling Nebuchadnezzar that there is a God exercising authority over the heavens “who reveals” mysteries in the sense that He reveals events, which are hidden meaning He reveals the future to humans like Daniel which would otherwise be unknown.
Daniel 2:31-45 tells the reader that the Father revealed to Daniel the content and interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s recurring dream, which was a revelation from God concerning His future program for planet earth.
The noun rāz is in the plural and means “mysteries” and is used in a generic sense to describe Yahweh as one who reveals what cannot be fully understood by human reason.
He reveals that which resists or defies explanation.
It describes Him as one who can reveal a truth to men that cannot be fully understood or known unless He reveals it.
“And He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will take place in the latter days” is composed of the conjunction wa (וְ) (waw), “and” which is followed by the third person masculine singular hafʿel (Hebrew: hiphil) active perfect form of the verb yeḏǎʿ (יְדַע) (yed-ah´), “He has made known” and then we have the preposition lĕ (לְ) (lamed), “to” and its object is the masculine singular form of the noun mě∙lěḵ (מֶלֶךְ) (meh´-lek), “king” which is followed by the masculine singular form of the proper name neḇû∙ḵǎḏ∙ně(ʾ)ṣ∙ṣǎr (נְבוּכַדְנֶאצַּר) (neb-oo-kad-nets-tsar), “Nebuchadnezzar” and then we have the interrogative pronoun mā(h) (מָה) (maw), “what” which is followed by the relative particle dî (דִּי) (dee), which is not translated and then we have the third person masculine singular peʿal (Hebrew equivalent is the qal) active jussive form of the verb hǎwā(h) (הֲוָה) (hav-aw´), “will take place” which is followed by the preposition b- (בְּ־) (beth), “in” whose object is the masculine plural form of the noun yôm (יוֹם) (yome), “days” which is modified by the masculine singular construct form of the noun ʾǎ∙ḥǎrî (אַחֲרִי) (akh-ar-eeth´), “the latter.”
The conjunction wa is emphatic meaning that the word is introducing a statement that is advancing upon and intensifying the previous statement, which records Daniel telling Nebuchadnezzar that there is a God exercising authority over the heavens who reveals mysteries like the one he has been given.
The conjunction wa introduces a statement which records Daniel telling the king that God has made known to him in his dream that which will take place in the latter days.
So the statement introduced by the conjunction wa advances upon this previous statement in the sense that Daniel goes from telling the king that there is a God over the heavens who reveals mysteries to telling him that God has made known what will take place in the latter days.
The advancement in the statement is that Daniel goes from describing God as a revealer of mysteries to telling the king that God has revealed a mystery to him.
The conjunction wa is also introducing a statement that intensifies this previous statement in the sense that this revelation of what will take place in the latter days was given to a human being and one who did not have a covenant or personal relationship with God and in fact worshipped the gods of the Babylonians.
The verb yeḏǎʿ means “to inform, make known” and is used with God as its subject and its object is what will take place in the latter days indicating that by giving the king this dream God “made known” to him what will take place in the latter days.
The noun mě∙lěḵ means “king” and of course is used with reference to Nebuchadnezzar referring to the fact that he was governmental head of Babylon.
The interrogative pronoun mā(h) means “that” and refers to entities, events, circumstances, and persons in the future.
Daniel 2:31-45 indicates that it refers to the revelation that God gave Nebuchadnezzar, which concerned itself with the future Gentile world powers as well as the future of the nation of Israel.
The verb hǎwā(h) means, “to take place, occur” and is used of events taking place in the future. Daniel is telling Nebuchadnezzar that God revealed to him in the dream that which “will take place” in the latter days.
The noun yôm is in the plural and means “days” and is modified by the noun ʾǎ∙ḥǎrî, which means “latter” and is describing Nebuchadnezzar’s dream which Daniel’s reveals to the reader and interprets as recorded in Daniel 2:31-45.
“This was your dream and the visions in your mind while on your bed” is composed of the masculine singular construct form of the noun ḥē∙lěm (חֵלֶם) (khay´-lem), “dream” which is modified by the second person masculine singular pronomial suffix -ḵ (־ךְ), “your” and then we have the conjunction wa (וְ) (waw), “and” which is followed by the masculine singular construct form of the noun ḥězû (חֱזוּ) (khay´-zev), “the visions in,” which is followed by the masculine singular construct form of the noun rē(ʾ)š (רֵאשׁ) (raysh), “mind” which is modified by the second person masculine singular pronomial suffix -ḵ (־ךְ), “your” and then we have the preposition ʿǎl (עַל) (al), “on” and its object is the masculine singular construct form of the noun miš∙kǎḇ (מִשְׁכַּב) (mish-kab´), “bed” which is modified by the second person masculine singular pronomial suffix -ḵ (־ךְ), “your” and then we have the demonstrative pronoun denā(h) (דְּנָה) (dane-awe), “this” which is followed by the third person masculine singular pronomial suffix hû(ʾ) (הוּא) (who), “was.”
The demonstrative pronoun denā(h) means “are as follows” since the word refers to the content of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, which Daniel relates to the king as recorded in the following verses in Daniel 2:31-35.
The noun ḥē∙lěm is in the singular and refers to the content of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.
This time the conjunction wa is used in an explicative sense meaning that the word is introducing a statement, which clarifies something about Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, namely it contained visions in his mind.
The noun ḥězû is a cognate of the Hebrew noun ḥā∙zôn, which appeared in Daniel 1:17 where it meant “visions” indicating that God gave Daniel revelation with regards to His future plans in visions.
Here in Daniel 2:28 the word is referring to this very same supernatural revelation from God that Nebuchadnezzar received.
The noun ḥězû indicates that the king received this revelation from God while in a trance, which is distinguished from the possession trance and dreams since it is an altered state of consciousness in which extrasensory audiovisual experiences, which are revelatory in character, are perceived in private by individuals.
Here this word denotes that Nebuchadnezzar was in an altered state of consciousness in which God revealed what will take place in the latter days.
The noun rē(ʾ)š means “mind” referring to that area of his soul in which he thought, contemplated and perceived.
“The latter days” is describing Nebuchadnezzar’s dream which Daniel reveals to the reader and interprets as recorded in Daniel 2:31-45.
This pericope describes four successive major world empires, which are first Babylon, then followed by Media-Persia, which will be followed by Greece and then Rome.
It also reveals that the Second Advent of Christ will destroy these empires.
Lastly, it speaks of the millennial reign of Christ.
Therefore, “the latter days” refers to an extended period of time which begins with Nebuchadnezzar sacking Jerusalem in 605 B.C. culminating in the Second Advent of Christ and His subsequent millennial reign.
This prophetic period is called “the Time of the Gentiles,” which refers to an extended period of time when the Gentiles are the dominant world powers and Israel is subject to those powers.
It extends from the Babylonian capture of Jerusalem under Nebuchadnezzar (605 B.C.) and continues through the Tribulation (Revelation 11:2).
This period of history includes the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 and the church age and the Tribulation period.
This phrase does not rule out temporary Jewish control of Jerusalem as has occurred in the past during the Maccabean era (164-63 B.C), the first Jewish revolt against Rome (A.D. 66-70), the second Jewish revolt (A.D. 132-135) and now since 1967 and the Six-Day War.
However, this control is only temporary because Revelation 11:1-2 predicts at least another three-and-one-half years of Gentile domination during the last half of Daniel’s Seventieth Week, also known as the Tribulation.
Therefore, any Jewish takeover of the city of David before the Second Advent of Christ must be therefore viewed as a temporary one and does not mean that “the times of the Gentiles” has ended since it can only end with the Second Advent of Jesus Christ, which will forever stop Gentile powers waging war against Israel.
In Luke 21:24, the Lord Jesus Christ makes mention of “the times of the Gentiles” in relation to the Tribulation period in His Olivet Discourse.