Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream
Taken from Daniel chapter Two
(Struggle between the flesh and the Spirit)
Written and performed by, Marcello J Garzillo
When we open the Book of Daniel we see Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon, has besieged Jerusalem and only four youths, Daniel and his three friends, are representing God’s accomplishments, from the time of the covenant given to Abram in the Book of Genesis.
Genesis 15:18, In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:”
It would be good to examine the pitfalls of the decline of the nation, that God was building up, for the purposes of fulfilling His promise to Abram, who later was called Abraham.
Romans 15:4 “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we, through the comfort of the scriptures might have hope.”
Why the Captivity?
Matthew 24:15, “When ye therefore see the abomination of desolation spoken by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place (whosoever readth let him understand): 16 then let them which be in Judea flee to the mountains.”
Marks gospel reads the same way.
According to Jesus, both gospels require understanding. The music of the song “Nebuchadnezzar Dream” is a little intense and deservingly so. It tries to capture through music the struggle within ourselves, between the flesh and the spirit. The Apostle Paul gives us an explanation in the Book of Romans and this struggle within ourselves.
Romans 7:23. “But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and binging me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
“I performed this song, “Nebuchadnezzar Dream” at a church service and later was told by the ministry that from then on, any special music I would performe would need to screened by the ministry. I didn’t register any complaint at the time, but just did as I was told. I could have said should I play something sweet or a lullaby? I believe to this day that this church organization was in a lethargic mood or asleep and did only what was taught by the higher officials, which caused this church organization to eventually be broken up into fifty or more splinter groups as it latter was.
In the Uniter States, as well as around the world, we see lawlessness creeping in as a cancer into our sacred government institutions and being invaded by lawless inmigrantion policies. Never in the world have we seen such lawlessness and the lack of common sense. Its almost like we have no moral compass for what is right from wrong. Yes, the people are being forced to wake up and take back control of every situation.
The same thing needs to be done in our churches and demonations. Throughout the Word of God, the Bible, we are told to be watchmen, Ezekiel 3:17. We are told to put on the whole Armour of God, Ephesians 6:11,12. Why?
1st Peter 5:8, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.
We are told to wake up from out lethargic attitude, and not trusting others to do our thinking for us.
The great image that Nebuchadnezzar saw was a continual rule over Gods favorite City Jerusalem by Gentile nations which will eventually run its course until the Stone Kingdom destroys the image and has to give way to the increase of the Kingdom of God. Jerusalem is God’s most favorite place. It is Mt Zion, the City of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, Hebrews 12:22 ; and it is a Holy City as a bride prepared for her Husband, Revelation 21:2. More on that struggle later.
The time line of Nebuchadnezzar starts with what is written in the book of Jeremiah concerning Jerusalem and those who dwell there.
Jeremiah 29:1, Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem unto the residue of the elders which were carried away captives, and to the priests, and to the prophets, and to all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon.
The name Babylon means confusion. And the name Nebuchadnezzar is from the Babylonian name Nebo, who was to the Chaldeans the God of learning, and the name Daniel means God will judge.
Law of Tribulation
There are laws of tribulation found in the books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy concerning God’s people Judah, which Daniel was a part of. Whenever God’s people needed to learn a lesson, He would sell them to a Gentile Nation by placing a wooden yoke upon them for submission and correction to that Nation. Daniel and his three friends were under what Jeremiah refers to as a wooden yoke, Jeremiah 28:12,13. The United States which is thought of as being a free nation, has been under this wooden yoke from it’s beginning and even today. This yoke is not harsh but used only for the lesson of submission and correcting of His people to a Gentile King or Government. Fortunately, the United States, was not given a Holy Law, which could never be fulfilled by its people, but instead was given a God given Constitution and Bill of Rights to live by. Those who lived under a Gentile captivity were given instructions by God on how to live under this yoke.
Jeremiah, 29:5, “Build ye houses and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them. 6, Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives, for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that you may be increased there and not diminished.
So it was a very light yoke for the people. The only requirement was they were obligated to pay tribute (taxes), and to be under the authority of the king. God did judge His people but with mercy.
Jeremiah 25:9, “ Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the Lord, and Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, My servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round about, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment and a hissing, and perpetual desolations”.
Notice King Nebuchadnezzar was God’s servant, proving that God can use anyone at any time without them even realizing they are doing His bidding. God is sovereign and rules over all of His creation. Some think that there is a struggle going on in the world between the forces of good and evil. They are greatly mistaken. The king threatened death to Daniel as well as his wise men if the dream wasn’t told to the king. Not one of the wise men could answer the king’s request so Daniel was brought in. Daniel petitioned God for help and his prayer was answered.
Daniel 2:19, then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. 20, Daniel answered and said “blessed be the name of God for ever and ever; for wisdom and might are His: 21, And He changeth the times and the seasons; He removeth kings and setteth up kings: He giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding.”
Evedently, Daniel had wisdom and knowledge.
Amos 3:6, “Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? Shall there be evil in a city and the Lord hath not done it. 7 Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but He revealeth His secret unto his servants the prophets.”
We can understand that God is a father to all men. He is not a respecter of persons and wants all to seek Him for sound advice and protection.
Matthew 7:7, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you: 8, For every one that asketh receveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened”.
Daniel was the only prophet who prophesied entirely while he was in captivity. The name Babylon in the Hebrew dictionary is 894 and means confusion. Contrast that statement with what the Apostle Paul says.
I Corinthians 14:33, For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.
God’s truth always brings the spirit of peace. Nebuchadnezzar’s spirit troubled him. At the time of the writings of Daniel there were many gods in Babylon. History shows that they had a god for every facet of life. Confusion was the order of the day, but of course the Babylonians didn’t know it. God wanted to reveal Himself through His servant Daniel.
Daniel 2:19, Then was the secret was revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. 20, Daniel answered and said, “Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever; for wisdom and might are His. 21, And He changeth the time and the seasons; He removeth kings and setteth up kings: He giveth wisdom unto the wise and knowledge to them who know understanding”
Daniel then tells the dream:
Daniel 2:31, “Thou O King, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form was terrible. 32, This image’s head was of fine gold, his breast and arms were of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, 33, his legs of iron, and his feet part of iron and part of clay. 34, thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. 35, Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them; and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.”
Daniel 2:36, 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, strength, and glory”.
Not only did Daniel tell the king what he dreamed but also what the dream meant. The dream told to the king by Daniel was exceptional compared to the work of his wise men so his reaction is quite extraordinary.
Daniel 2:47, The king answered unto Daniel and said “Of a truth it is that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a Revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret”.
We are all God’s children and we will all in our own time have the same humility as the king had.
Philippians 2: 10, “That at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth.”
The image that the king saw was in a night vision, while he slept. There will come a time when God will remove the darkness which is spiritual blindness of all men and they will experience the same vision that Nebuchadnezzar had.
What is this stone that smote the image on its feet? The physical Temple built by Solomon was a type and shadow of the spiritual Temple that God is building today within His disciples.
1 Peter 2:5, “Ye also, as living stones, are built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
The Apostle Paul understood and overcame the flesh as we read in Romans 7:14-25. He became a man of God and helped others to defeat the works of the flesh as Jesus defeated Satan, Hebrews 2:14.
Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream gives us a vision of the waring of mankind down through the centuries because of the fleshy nature within each of us that needs to be eliminated, Only through the Spirit of Christ will we be a living stone and defeat the warlike hostiles within us.
Ephesians 6:12, For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
God is going to use these living stones (collectively as His people) to destroy the image revealed to the king. The stone, cut out without hands, shows it was the work of God and not men. This stone will destroy the confusion within mens minds that have made up all kingdoms of the world since the beginning, and grow into a great mountain called the Kingdom of God. God is allowing the ideas and imaginations of men to run their course.
Micah 4:2 and many nations shall come and say, “Come let us go up to the mountain of the Lord and to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us His ways and we will walk in His paths, for the law shall go forth of Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
This is not the earthly Jerusalem we read about in Galatians 4:25 but the heavenly Jerusalem, the free heavenly Jerusalem, which is above, Galatians 4:26. There is no confusion in heavenly Jerusalem. This Jerusalem is peaceful and has oneness, because the works of the flesh within each of us is willingly removed and is replaced by the Spirit of Christ, Ephesians 4:4,5,and 6. Then will come to pass the elimination of confussion along with war and change our weapons of warfare into plowshares, Micah 4:3.