(Dan 4) What doesthe fate of King Nebuchadnezzar tell us
Author:Yao Lianghong
Thischapter was another dream which King Nebuchadnezzar dreamed. Nebuchadnezzar hadbeen reminded and chastened by God twice, and had witnessed the authorityand power of God, but he still did not repent. He continued to be arrogant andto exert his expanding ambition to the extreme. Thus, the vision of thischapter is to proclaim that King Nebuchadnezzar is once again under the directand severe discipline of God, and that the God of Israel is the master of thehistory of the universe, and that the Kings of the world and their power areunder his control. The fate of the ups and downs of the king ofBabylon also vividly expressed all the historical events concerning theGentiles, especially the prophecies of the return to power of the lastspiritual king of Babylon, the beast healed from the dead.
Sincethe Jews are God's chosen people, God has a purpose for them in all theirexperiences. At this time God raised up Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon as aninstrument in God's hand to judge the nations of the world. God says ofBabylon, "You are my axe for war and my weaponfor war…With you I will break nations in pieces and with you I will destroynations "(Jer. 51:20-24);And he said, "NowI am giving all this land into the hand of my servant Nebuchadnezzar king ofBabylon…All the nations will serve him and his son and his grandson until thetime for his land comes"(Jer 27:6-8).Itwas by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar that God punished Judah, who had been carriedaway into exile to Babylon. According to the dream of Nebuchadnezzar, allregimes of gold, silver, bronze, iron and clay, including the "days of theGentiles," God gave authority to the king of Babylon to rule over thenations. For this reason, behind the alien regimes on earth were heavenlypowers that fulfilled the will of God through earthly powers working on the chosenpeople.The king of Babylon lived with wild animals, ate grass like cattle, andwent through seven periods, the seven stages of human history that werecontrolled by seven foreign powers, and then the spiritual king of Babylon, thepapacy, was to regain his power and complete the last act of human history.
[Dan 4:1-3] Nebuchadnezzar theking said to all the peoples, nations and languages living in all the earth: “May your peace abound!It has pleased me to declare the signs andwonders that the Most High God has done to me. How great are his signs! Howmighty are his wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominionendures from generation to generation.”
Thischapter tells the story of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in thefirstperson. King Nebuchadnezzar’s autobiographical rescript was an open letter describing the miraclesthat had happened to him.(or It was also a testimony of therepentance of thegentileking -Nebuchadrezzar to theLord.)That’s why King Nebuchadrezzar wanted toworship theGod of Judah– thekingdom he had conquered andcalled on people of all nations and all the people of allnationalities to follow his example and worshiptheone true God.At the same time, it also appeals to the people of all countries,nationalities and all sides of the world to pay attention to the significanceof the prefiguration of the dream.
Thefirst word of King Nebuchadnezzar's testimony is to bless all the peoples,nations and languages under his rule with love and kindness: "May peaceabound for you!"How precious it is tothink that these words are coming from the mouth of a king of Babylon who hasalways been fierce and proud! How grateful is the heart of KingNebuchadnezzar,when he thought of Godthe Father’s infinite tolerance, patience and love for such a sinner as himself. God has illumined and redeemed himagainand again, has now acceptedhim as a faithful and repentantsinner, as one of God's loved children, and has forgivenhim all the SINS of his life, and has healed him insane condition andhas restored him to sit on the throne. Sohe could not help crying out: "His (God’s)dominion endures from generationto generation".The visceral exclamation is surely tell us: whether his arrogancedomineering king Nebuchadnezzar, or Alexander, the pallop Lord of the nations or later rise one after another the hegemony of the empire will behumbled, capsized.Only God and God's kingdom will be exaltedand will endureforever.
Now King Nebuchadnezzar,who had been blessed with repentance and turningto God, was anxious to show the change ofheart to allthe people andnations under his rule.He alsodescribed in detail the process of his salvation from grace for the purpose of leadingall nationas and languages of the world to know only one true God,to repent and be saved by grace. Even if a man as powerful and powerful as Nebuchadnezzar can turnover a new leaf, abandon his idols, put himself down, and be confirmed by God,who in the whole world can resist the truth and disobey God?
Itwas through Nebuchadnezzar's complete repentance that God revealed the courseof human history and the fate (ending)of the nations and peoples of theworld.
Thefollowing is how the king expressed his feelings about his second dream,describing the background and process of its occurrence.
[Dan 4:4] I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at home in my palace, contented and prosperous.
" Contented and prosperous in the palace," it was clear that this was the time when theBabylonian empire was flourishing and Nebuchadnezzar was firmly in control ofhis country and the world.Everything is smooth and triumphant. The king stoodin his magnificent palace, admiring the great empire he had created, andadmiring all he had accomplished. Like the ignorant rich man in the parable,whose land is abundant (Luke 12:16-21), he forgets his responsibility to theone who brought him wealth.Although there wasthe magical experience of thefire kiln, there was also thefigurative metaphor of gold, silver, copper, iron and clay, the feeling andsubmission which kingNebuchadnezzar received at the time were immenseand sincere.But as the years passed, the first impression of King Nebuchadnezzarfaded away. And the pride, arrogance,and selfish ambition which had been suppressed in hisnature for a while,graduallyrekindled and even intensified. After a while, the king began torelapse. To strike and restrain once again the king's arrogant and arrogantambition, God decided to use extraordinary means to turn him back. Because theking was constantly resisting the will of God, there was no otherway.Therefore, God had to use the dream of the big tree to issue a more severe warningto the king, who will be subjected to unprecedented discipline.
[Dan 4:5-7]I had a dream thatmade me afraid.My thoughts on my bed and the visions of my head troubled me.Wherefore I commanded that all the wise men of Babylon should be brought beforeme, that they should make known unto me the interpretation of the dream. Thenthe magicians, the astrologers, the Chaldeans and the soothsayers came in, andI told them the dream, but they could not make known to me its interpretation.
ThenKing Nebuchadnezzar had another dream. He had already experienced the dream inchapter 2 and heard Daniel's wonderful interpretation.But when he dreamedagain, which group did he call first? He first called together the wise men,magicians and astrologers. As time went on, he forgot the greatness of God. Hecalled together the wise men, magicians, enchanters, and so on, and told themthe scene of the dream. Can they interpret it? No. Having learned from his previousexperience in interpreting dreams, the king was well aware of the futility ofthe wise men of Babylon, and was convinced that Daniel had the Spirit of God atwork in him, and was able to interpret dreams and mysteries. And from that timeon Daniel was appointed prime minister over all the wise men of Babylon. Itwould have been logical for the king to call Daniel to interpret the dream forhim, but he did not. Why? This also reflects Nebuchadnezzar's spiritualretreat, forgetting the one true God and falling into the sin of idolatry.
Theremay have been other reasons for him to shun Daniel and seek out his ownmagicians and wise men. For King Nebuchadnezzar had a foreboding that the dreamof the tree falled would be a bad omen, and the messageis ominous.He thought, too, of the great vision which had been revealed to him by God, andwhich had seemed an ominous omen to him, a direct blow to his own mad ambitionto build an everlasting empire. Although Daniel had the Spirit of God workingin his heart and explaining dreams and mysteries to him, it always brought himbad news or harsh words of truth and principle.He hated to hear that! And hewas thinking that the God whom Daniel worshipped, being the God of the Hebrews,must have been more helpful to his own people than to the Gentile King himself.So he put his hopes in the Babylonian gods.
On the other hand, though the wise men of Babylon were lessable to interpret dreams and secrets than Daniel, were able to please the king,and were always saying flattering things about good luck that might indeedbring blessings. It may have occurred to him that the gods and idols of thesewise men and magicians, the very state religion of himself and his own people,would be of real interest and help to him. If they are called to interpret thedream now, even if the dream itself is a bad omen, perhaps under theirresolution and blessing, the bad omen in the dream will be turned into a goodthing, and the danger will be turned into a good thing (because in the beliefof the false gods, there is a resolution of the evil). Moreover, he would havethought that the last time the wise men of Babylon had failed to interpret the dream,it was because he himself had forgotten its contents. Did they not say again andagain, "Let the king tell the servants the dream, and the servantswill show the interpretation"?And this time the tree's dream is stillfresh. They will be able to explain when they speak.Then the king called them first.
Thistime, however, he was again disappointed by the Babylonian wise men andmagicians whom he had summoned to interpret their dreams. He said, "I toldthem the dream, but they could not make known to me itsinterpretation."The Babylonian magicians and wise men, who are so good atflattery and nonsense and fabrications and explanations, refused to interpretthe dream even though they had been given it, because they did not dare tospeak frankly about it. Perhaps they had a presentiment that the dream of thetree being cut down would be a bad omen to the king, and so they did not dareor want to pursue any further in this regard, lest they should expose theirideas and offend the king's anger and be killed.Another reason was that theydid not underestimate themselves because of Daniel's example of accurateinterpretation of dreams. If they speak all good or evil things, and if theyconflict with Daniel's interpretation, they will be destroyed. So he had toplead that they could not interpret the dream. Infact, because they did not understand the scriptures or the power of God(Matt.22:29).So they are not able to properly understand the Godgave people the dream. Of course, the good will of the Lord is in charge ofthis matter, so that the king and the wise men of Babylon may be furtherdisciplined, so that the holy name of God may be exalted, and the vanity of theidols of the false gods may be completely revealed.
Themore King Nebuchadnezzar rejected the voice of the Holy Spirit, the harder hisheart became. He had become more insensitive to God's teachings, but God had notgiven up on him. As long as there is the slightest possibility of repentance,the merciful God never gives up!
[Dan 4:8-9]Finally, Daniel came into my presence and I told him thedream. He is called Belteshazzar, after the mane ofmy god, and the spirit of the holy gods is in him. I said, “Belteshazzar,chiefof the magicians, I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you, and no mystery is too difficult for you. Here is mydream; interpret it for me.
Andwhen none of the magicians and wise men of his land could interpret the dream,it seemed to King Nebuchadnezzar that the mystery had to be explained byDaniel, the prophet of the Hebrew.He said, "At the last Daniel, whose nameis Belteshazzar according to the name of my God, came before me, and in him isthe spirit of the holy gods, which shall tell me the dream." King Nebuchadnezzar,in his glory, thought his kingdomwould prosper forever. Why did he mention at theend that Danielwas able to make the interpretation of the dream known to him? Obviously, this dream is not only aforetaste of the king's own fate, but also a foretaste of the fate of the endof the world, is a prophecy for the end of the world. It shows thatNebuchadnezzar's dream can only be fully explained in the end by a man likeDaniel (the true prophet of God). Daniel in the time of the king interpretedthe message as a prophecy about Nebuchadnezzar himself, but the last spiritualDaniel (the true servant of God) would understand the full symbolism of thedream.The implications of these prophecies are left for us today to explore.What kind of dream was it? What does it mean?
[Dan4:10-12]This was the vision inmy head as I lay on my bed. I saw a tree in the middle of the earth, and it wasvery tall.And the tree grew, and was strong, and its height reached untoheaven, and it could be seen from the end of the earth. And its leaves werefair, and its fruit abundant, and it was food for all. The beasts of the fieldlay in shade, and the birds of the sky nested in their branches. All fleshfeeds from it.
Thehero of the dream is a large tree, apparently representing a world hegemony.Here it says, "The beasts of the field lie in shade, and the birds of thesky dwell in their branches.All flesh feeds from it, "showing that thewhole world is under its sway and shadow.Becausetrees are often used in the Bible to symbolize countries or people.The prophet Ezekiel compared theking of Egypt to a tree (Ezekiel 31), and the prophet Isaiah compared thepeople of Judah (the chosen people) to a tree (Isa 5).But heaven has issued adecree to the tree: it shall be cut down to the stump (vv. 14-16).The plot ofthe dream is really strange and terrible!
"Andit grew, and was strong, and its height reached to heaven, and it was seen fromthe ends of the earth." The prophet Ezekiel prophesied in Eze 31that the king of Egypt bya similar great cedar tree of great height, to be cutdown and abandoned bythe Gentiles.The cedar tree of Ezekiel was like the tree of the King's dream —
[Ezekiel 31:3-12] The king of Assyria was a cedar in Lebanon,with beautiful branches and a forest of shadows, and was very high, and his topwas among the clouds…It was taller than all the other trees of the field. When it flourished, itmultiplied its branches, and its branches grew long by the strength of abundantwaters. All the fowls of the air make their nests in the branches.And all thebeasts of the field brought forth their young under their branches. The peoplesof all great nations live in its shadow. It is beautiful in its greatness, inits length, because its roots lie beside many waters…I made it beautiful withthe multitude of its branches, so that all the trees of Eden, which were in thegarden of God, envied it. Therefore thus said the Lord GOD; Becauseof his height, and his top among the clouds, and because of the haughtiness ofhis heart, I will give him into the hand of the mighty of the heathen. He willdo it. I have driven him away because of his SINS. The heathen have cut it off,even they that are violent among the heathen. His boughs fell on the mountainsand in all the valleys, and his boughs were broken by all the rivers of theearth. All the people of the earth have gone their way from under its shadow.
Wasthe tree in the King's dream the same cedar in the book of Ezekiel? AlthoughDaniel's later interpretation refers to Nebuchadnezzar himself, Ezekiel'sdescription of the tree's features makes it clear that the towering, majestictree is a sign of the decline of a world-dominating empire.
"Thebeasts of the field lie in the shade, the birds of the sky dwelt on thebranches, all flesh food from it all", indicating that this empireprosperity, make the world tremble with fear, all countries want to cling to it,and its various trading is needed to maintain normal operation of the country,in particular last performance in terms of economic, trade, militarystrategy.What kind of fate does this big tree have in the dream of the king?
[Dan 4:13-17]In the visions of myhead I saw while lying inmy bed, I looked, a holy one, coming down from heaven.He cried with a loudvoice: "Cut down the tree, cut off the branches, shake off the leaves andscatter the fruit. Let the beasts flee from under it and the birds from itsbranches.But let the stump andits roots, bound with iron and bronze, remain in the ground, and shall wet himwith the dew of heaven in the green grass of the field; and he shall feed withthe beasts of the earth, and shall change his heart from the heart of man; andshall give him the heart of the beast, and seven times shall pass over him.This is the command by the watchmen and the command by the holy ones, so thatthe world may know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men and gives itto whomever he will, or sets up the lowest of men over it."
Thetree in the King's dream was so great that it reached as high as the sky, andbirds and wild animals were living on top of it and under it. But this great,venerable tree would eventually be cut down. Who would cut down the tree? How would the tree be cut down?
"Seea watchman, a holy one, coming down from heaven."The "watchman" is the "angel" or"messenger of God," is no doubt the power of God's watchman comingdown from heaven.How did the watchmen perform the cutting?
Thisis the power of the watchman's loud cry: 'Cut down the tree, cut off itsbranches, shake off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the beasts flee fromunder it and the birds from its branches.'"This means that the Holy One onthe Watch is going to issue a warning, and this warning is obviously a messagefrom heaven that causes the tree to fall. This cry out message is the lastmessage from heaven – the All Prophets message of the living judgment, issuedby the nation in the atheist kingdom, first as a warning to the true people ofthis nation, and also as a judgment (punishment) to this nation.Since themessage tells us that the tree is to be cut down, it seems that there willeventually be a war to destroy the country. Of course, this war will take manyforms. A comprehensive war of economy, military, public opinion and informationmay become a weapon to destroy the country.
KingNebuchadnezzar is the symbol of the great empire of the Gentiles, and in thelast days, as the greatest empire of the Gentiles to resist the true God, no one is more powerful than China. At the last, the true remnant-the people of the Eleventh Hour are living here, and the last trueservants who understood King Nebuchadnezzar's dream are living here.True peopleare being enslaved and oppressed here. Therefore, at the last, theworld's great power King Nebuchadnezzar prefiguredis undoubtedly China. Some people say that the king is representing the UnitedStates, which is obviously not true. The United States is a country founded onthe spirit of Christianity with two horns like a lamb. It is not a foreigncountry.The two visions of Nebuchadnezzar, as well as the golden statue in theplain of Dula, are to illustrate the characteristics of an idolatured alienempire, and to give us an indication of who the alien empire was in the end,with the characteristics of King Nebuchadnezzar!
"Cutdown the tree, cut off its branches, shake off its leaves and scatter itsfruit, so that the beasts would flee from under it and the birds from itsbranches." According to the interpretation in verse 25, this is God'spunishment for King Nebuchadnezzar's rejection of God's will and a manifestation of the loss of his power and reason. "Birds and beasts leave underthe trees and escape from the branches" is just like the scene describedin Ezekiel 29 in which the crocodile in the Egyptian river and the fish andshrimps clinging to the crocodile's scales are dragged ashore and thrown intothe wilderness, both of which express the fate of the tree (crocodile) fallingand falling.
Althoughthe trees were cut down, "tree PI (stump) was to be left in the ground with ironand copper bands," indicating that the country had not been uprooted andthat it had been overthrown, but it did not mean that the country did notexist, only that its institutions and policies would change."In a ring ofiron and brass," it means that after a change of regime, it will be firmlyunder the control of the papacyforce of the collusion of church and state, asthe United States to serve the Pope.The policies and laws of the state havedominated and imprisoned the common people. In the vision of Chapter 2, copperand iron represent the ferocity, cruelty, toughness and tyranny of the Greekand Roman empires respectively. Therefore, the "circle of iron andbronze" refers to being firmly controlled by a harsh system and unable tobe free, which implies the formation of ten Kings and the erection of thebeast image.Those who do not worship the imageof the beast will be persecuted!
"Inthe grass of the field let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, and lethim live with the animals among theplants of the earth. Let his mind be changed from that of a man and let him begiven the mind of an animal, till seven times pass by for him. " Althoughthis is the prophecy of Nebuchadnezzar the king himself, because of theking's arrogance, he gave glory to himself and refusedto the will of God.Despite repeated warnings, theking was still in the midst of corruption and idolatry.So the Lord scourged him and made him a beast withoutreason. For seven years let him eat grass like the animals and live with themin the wilderness.
Godgave this dream to the king, more to show God in charge of the history of theworld, and the end of the history of the world."Let him go through sevenstages" is exactly the seven stages of history that God reveals tous.These seven stages are the process that human history will go through fromthe golden head of ancient Babylon to the appearance of all the "seven heads"in the seven heads and ten horns.When all seven heads appear, then as theeighth head — the political and religious alliance of the great whore ofBabylon and the ten Kings — the last great Babel will be formed, and thehistory of the world will be over.This is why God allowed the last spiritualDaniel (the Last Revival) to correctly understand the meaning of the King'sdream!
Thelast two important prophetic books, Daniel and Revelation, would have beenmeaningless and worthless if this chapter had only been understood by KingNebuchadnezzar to deal with his own destiny! Therefore, the correctinterpretation of the contents of this chapter is strong evidence of thedifference between true and false churches in the end.
"The decision is announced by messengers, the holy ones declare theverdict, so that the living may know that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdom of men, and givesthem to anyone he wishes and setsover them the lowliest of men.”The angels proclaimed the commandment of God, which is the will of God.God isin charge, and he is the supreme ruler of all nations and governments (althoughmany people don't know this fact). Only God is the true ruler. He is the MostHigh and does what he will. He "gives the kingdom to whomever hewill," even to the smallest of men.The main purpose of this dream was toshow that, although the battle for the final supremacy of the world was ragingand fierce, it was the Most High God who reigned in the world. In the end,these earthly empires, troubled and useless, will be broken to ashes by stonescut without hands!As:
ED Educationpointedout: No matter God arranged,allowed or intervened, the world'sintricate events are under the control of God.Throughout the ages, God has beenworking out His controlling will.
In God's great plan, every nation is assigned a place where itwill have the opportunity to fulfill the purpose of the Holy One on theWatch.In God's system, the role of government is to protect and strengthennations so that they have the opportunity to carry out the will of the Creatorfor them and for other nations to follow suit, so that all men "seek God,or be able to figureit out." (Acts 17:27).
The strength of a nation is in proportion to its faithfulness incarrying out God's will for it. Its success depends on its using the abilitiesentrusted to it. Its obedience to God's principles determines its prosperity.Its fate depends on how its leaders and people treat these principles. God giveswisdom and strength to nations that are loyal to Him, and makes them strong.But He will reject nations that give glory to their own achievements and deeds,but not to Him. Anyone who is not willing to be governed by God has no right tobe governed by himself. When a nation no longer protects its people, butbecomes a proud and cruel oppressor, its downfall is inevitable. When nations,one by one, renounce God's principles, their glory fades, their power is lost,and they are replaced by other nations.
"All men determine their own destinies by their ownchoices," and their principle of rejecting God isself-destruction."The intricacies of human affairs are under God'scontrol.The Lord who sits on the cherubim directs the affairs of the earth "andcommands everything to accomplish his will.
Itis in accordance with these principles of truth that the march of human historyhas been carried forward, and today the stage has come for the last empire tofulfill its mission. As the last empire, China, is prosperous and powerfultoday, God's will is not just to give other countries the opportunity toprosper and develop from China, but to give other countries more opportunitiesto come to this last glorious land to accept the truth, to know the only God,to abandon the pagan idols, so as to be saved.If China's development is not forthis purpose, then its fate will be the same as theprevious great empires ofgold, silver, copper and iron, and will inevitably be eliminated. Thistime, of course, the elimination was not replaced by another, more powerfulearthly empire, but by the stone not hewn byhand:the kingdom of the children of truth (the true church of 144,000 people).
[Dan4:18]This is the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, had.Now, Belteshazzar, tell me what it means, for none of the wise men in my kingdom can interpret it forme. But you can, because the spirit of the holy gods is in you.
WhenKing Nebuchadnezzar poured out the dream like a treasure, he too was relieved.For Daniel, it was another test of the whole spiritual experience, of the lightof truth, of the gift of dream interpretation, of faith, love, courage, andwisdom, and it was another opportunity for him to speak to the king and savethe spirit. This time Daniel was called to interpret the dream for the king,and although it was not as thrilling as the last time (he could not evenremember the dream), it was not easy for Daniel to immediately give acompletely accurate and confident interpretation of the tree's dream. Thisrequires not only a wealth of truth knowledge and light, and spiritualexperience and vision, but also the constant confirmation and revelation of thespirit of prophecy in the heart. Only in this way can the interpretation of thedream be completely correct, and then it must come true.Moreover, to explainsuch a dream before the king from the warning and discipline of God, itrequires great courage and wisdom, as well as sufficient faith and love, inorder to better show God's love, justice and power in the interpretation of thedream, and to send out powerful advice and call to the dreamer's mind. WouldDaniel be able to overcome this test and fulfill his mission of preaching andsaving the spirit? Yes, we can see that Daniel, with the help of God, hasachieved a complete victory in these respects. Just as Nebuchadnezzar had said,only Daniel could correctly interpret the spiritual meaning of the tree's dream.Today, only the Last Revival, afterthree tests of survival of the fittest ofthe Eleventh Hour, can be qualified for all the mysteries explained by King Nebuchadnezzar’sdream!
[Dan 4:19] Then Daniel, whosename was Belteshazzar, was appalled for a while, and his thoughts troubledhim.The king said, "Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or itsinterpretation trouble you."Belteshazzar answered, "My Lord, may thedream be to those who hate you, and the interpretation to your enemies."
"Danielwas surprised for a while." This was not because the dream wasincomprehensible, but because Daniel was unwilling to announce God's terriblepunishment to the king, and Daniel had clearly developed a feeling ofcompassion for the king.This "surprise" and "consternation"of Daniel is the expression of his compassion for sinners, and the sublimeexpression of his love for his enemies.What a wonderful Christian attitude andbehavior!
Danieldidn't say, "Well, O king, you have been disobedient for more than thirtyyears, and now the Lord will judge you." He didn't say such harshwords.Nor did he say, "When my three friends did not worship youridols, did you not throw them into the fiery furnace?Then our Lord saved themfrom the fiery furnace, but you did not wake up when you saw this."He didnot say, "It serves you right!You took us captive and made us slaves formore than thirty years.You reap what you sowed."He didn't say that either!Love alone can save the soul, even our enemies. This is the true Christiancharacter. To King Nebuchadnezzar, who was one of his enemies, Daniel spokesincerely: "May the contents of this dream not be yours, O king."Whata touching gesture of love this is from Daniel!
"Letthe dream be to those who hate you, and the interpretation to your enemies."Now Daniel was surprised by Nebuchadnezzar's dream and said to him tactfully,"May it be fulfilled not in the king but in his enemies."Daniel'swords could not be interpreted as hostility to the king's enemies. They weresimply polite and comforting in the Eastern way of the time, and contained aprophetic message. For according to the instruction of God and the prophecy ofthe prophets at that time, whoever stood against the king and became his enemywould be punished and destroyed by the king of Babylon. The merciful God wentby the prophet Jeremiah to warn Judah and the Kings of all the nations tosurrender under the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. They would notdisobey him. Then they would live, or they would be destroyed (Jer. 25:1-22).Aswe see: "This is what the Lord Almighty, theGod of Israel, says: 'By my great power and outstretched arm I have made theearth and its men and animals.I will give the land to whomsoever I see fit. NowI have given all these lands into the hand of my servant Nebuchadnezzar king ofBabylon; I have given him the fields and the beasts to use. All nations willserve him and his son and his grandson until the time of his land comes….Andwhatever nation or kingdom refuse to serve this Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon,I will punish that nation with the sword, famine and pestilence, until I havedestroyed them by the hand of theking of Babylon. But that nation that brings its neck under theyoke of the king of Babylon, and ministersunto him, I will let it remain in its own land to till it and to live there, says the LORD. [Jer 27:4-11]
Godhad given the king of Babylon the power to conquer nations, so Daniel had beengently urging Nebuchadnezzar to repent and turn to righteousness. But at theend of the seventy years of Babylon's reign over Judah, when Daniel was calledto speak to Belshazzar king of Babylon about the mysterious writing and thejudgment of heaven, Daniel's attitude was quite different. He said with greatjustice, God has numbered your kingdom and hasended it.That you were weighed in the scales and found wanting (Dan 5:26-27).Forby the will of God the kingdom of Babylon had been filled with wickedness, thetime of grace had come to an end, and it was time to perish (see chapter 5).Daniel'swords were no longer euphemistic!
Afterhearing the king describe the scene of the dream, Daniel announced thefollowing about the king's fate:
【 Dan 4:20-25 】 The tree which yousaw grew and became strong, and its height reached to heaven and was visible toall the earth.And its leaves were fair, and its fruit abundant, and it was foodfor all. Under it dwell the beasts of the field, and in its branches dwell thefowls of the sky. It is you, O king, who have grown and become strong. Yourgreatness has grown and reached to heaven and your dominion to the ends of theearth. When the king saw a holy watchman coming down from heaven and saying,'Cut down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump of its roots in theearth, with a band of iron and bronze around it, in the tender grass of thefield. Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, let him live like the wild animals, until seven timespass by for him.’ This is the interpretation, O king: It is the decree of theMost High that has come upon my Lord the king. You will be driven from men andyour dwelling will be with the beasts of the field. You will eat grass likeoxen and be drenched with the dew of heaven.Seven times will pass over you. Until you know that the Most High rules in thekingdom of men and gives it to whomever he will."
Danielwent on to explain clearly and concisely the meaning of the symdolin the dream and to tell the story of God's discipline to King Nebuchadnezzarin the dream. Because the king of Babylon is so high that he can be seen evenin the end of the earth, this means that the king of Babylon's hubris andarrogance, like Lucifer's spirit, wants to sit on an equal footing with God, soGod will subdue his pride.Why do you say that Babylon is so high to the skythat it can be seen from all the ends of the earth? Thanks to Nebuchadnezzar'sprowess and strategy, the Babylonian empire had become the greatest and most prosperouscountry in the history of the world. The scale of its territory has never been greater.India in the east, Asia Minor in thewest, and southeastern Europe; As far south as Egypt, Lydia and all thenorthern part of Africa; Persia, Judah, Edom, Syria and other states were partof the Babylonian empire. And the king was fond of great building andconstruction, and built Chaldea, the capital of the kingdom, into amagnificent, strong, and splendid palace, reaching the height of splendor. Itssquare walls were sixty miles long, fifteen miles on each side…Three hundredfeet high, eighty feet thick, thirty-five feet deep…Outside the city wallsthere is a wide and deep wall to protect the city. The city has the grand Madaktemple, the palace formed by the solid inner city, the parade avenue, thehanging garden known as the seven wonders of ancient times. The Euphrates Riverflows through the city, with thick brick walls on both sides and ferriesconnecting it. A second bridge, half a mile long and thirty feet wide, was builtover a stone dyke, with drawbridges at both ends, which were closed at night tocut off traffic. The city wall is strong and impregnable; The magnificence ofthe project is breathtaking. It was in this way that the seeminglyindestructible great city of Babylon was later destroyed by the far lesspowerful Medes and Persians (Chapter 5).
Daniel'sexplanation that the tree would be cut down and destroyed was both a prophecyfor Nebuchadnezzar himself and a hint of the future fate of the Babylonianempire, as well as the final fate of the last Babylon. There are three mainpoints in the interpretation of this prophecy:
First,King Nebuchadnezzar will go insane and be driven out of the world.
Second,he lived with the beasts of the field and ate grass like oxen.
Andthird, it shall go through seven periods, that is, seven years.
Godused this as a personal discipline for Nebuchadnezzar and as a final warningmessage to the world through his experience — the judgment of theliving.Nebuchadnezzar the king of madness symptoms is symbol of irrational lastforeign powers of conceit, arrogance will not receive a warning of God'sservants, increasingly expanded fermentation. They incredibly put upthe red flag and the picture of the president in the church, and ordereddevotees sing "red songs", as the idol praises.Just like that year of Nebuchadnezzar the king, they owe their country’s prosperity to the deeds of its people. Now the Chinese government isshowing the crazy side of the king!
"Eatgrass like cattle", means under great light shines in thetruth of today, atheist Chinese, still refusetruth, go their own way, and eat pork, eat the food of lower animals – the fallacies and network garbage.The whole society (all kinds of information releasedby the media public opinion) are tempting the whole people to pursue "money" fame and gain,which makes people’s valuesconstantly distorted and distorted, so that people lose their rationality. They behave like animals withoutmorality and integrity.
"Afterseven times " means going through sevenstages.From ancient Babylon to the Late Babylon, there are seven historicalstages, and we are about to enter the end of history, the eighth stage. This isthe history of the eight Kings of Revelation 17: Babylon — Medes — Greece –the Roman Empire — Pope Rome — Atheism — America — the union of the Popeand China (the formation of the ten Kings — the Great Babylon of politics andreligion).
After seven times, King Nebuchadnezzar is to returnto power, which represents the restoration of the beast (papacy) that healedits dead (the eighth appearance). After the defeat of atheist China, then theformation of ten Kings, the union of religion and state.When the universal beast image is erectedall at once, the history of the world will enter the countdown.
"Untilyou know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men and gives it towhomever he will." This means to the world that man proposesand God disposes.Although the modern king of Babylon, the Pope, wantsto rule the world and establish peace on earth for the millennium.The plan for allthis is theris, but it is Godwho has done it. Their actionis the way to make144,000 people alive and go to heaven.For God alone reigns in the world.He brings down the proud and exalts the humble. God has absolute sovereigntyand can destroy the arrogant tyrant at will, but will give the humble andsubmissive people blessing and authority. Eventually Godwill give the world to the stone cutout without hands (the true people).Because these stones (people) are a very humble obedience.They are more humble than the truepeople of the world have ever been.The truth they are willing to accept is spoken by thehumblest, anonymous ordinary woman at the last.For thesetruths to be accepted by people, they must be understood only by those who areperfectly pure and white in their minds. And so the righteous God gives the kingdom to this stone that wasnot hewn out by hand and all the creatures of the universe are satisfied.They clap their hands, and the universe is no longer rebelled. Godis always in charge of the world!
[Dan 4:26] Thecommand to leave the stump of the tree with its roots means that your kingdomwill be restored to you when you acknowledge that Heaven rules.
Danielclearly indicated that King Nebuchadnezzar was the tree. He was about to be cutdown, but only the tree PI remained, which showed that he was not yet in despair. Buthe would become mad and lose his humanity.He would be driven out to live with wildanimals, and he would eat grass like oxen. After sevenperiods (years) his reason would be restored.When he was completely repentant, he wouldconfess that 'the heavens rule' — that God rules (' Heaven 'means' God', andthis usage is so common in Jewish writings that the term 'Kingdom of heaven'is often used in place of the customary 'Kingdom of God' in the Gospel ofMatthew).
"Inthe future your kingdom will be yours", these words everywhere hint at thearrival of the time when the Great Tower of Babel – the great prostitute ofBabylon came to power.Personally, his return to reason and power was the goodnews of repentance and salvation, but for humanity as a whole, the restorationof the late Babylonia meant the end of world history.
Thesolemn message of Daniel's interpretation of the dream made the king tremble.Daniel then went on to highlight the hopeful messagecontained at the end of the dream: Though the tree is cut down, the tree PIremains. It shows that the king of Nebuchadnezzar, after the prescribed period ofsuffering, will rise again and regain power. For sin and wickedness arepunished by God's anger and punishment; He who repents and corrects his SINSwill regain the grace of God. It was a sign that the papacy, after its death in1798, would be well prepared to return to power!
Manypeople wondered why the insane king was notkilled, or why none of the officials and people of Babylon had appointedsomeone else to fill the vacant throne when he lost his power. This was becausealthough the king had committed a serious crime of pride, it had not yetreached the point of irreparable wickedness. So God, who loved the sinnerinfinitely, did not destroy him, but merely punished and chastened him in orderto save him, and God kept him safe, but for seven years he suffered from a sortof animal madness. What kind of disease is it? The first person to study thecondition was a Greek physician who wrote about it in about the fourth century.It is said that the sufferer of this kind cannot think and feel independently,and thinks that he has become a beast. The actions of the sufferer graduallychanged into that of a beast. In zoonosis, for example, there is a lycanthropy,in which "every howl is like the voice of a Wolf."Some may even thinkthey have killed someone, but they have not. Others barked likedogs, others thought they had become whiphawks, or lions, or cats, chickens,and other animals, and could also make crows, meows, and roars for lions. Thistime, the king suffered from this mental illness. Thinking he was a cow, heimitated the movements of the cow and mingled with the herd. Obviously,Nebuchadnezzar the king of the severe punishment, for the world is a seriouswarning and lesson, we see: a man in person or in the presence of God,the proud boast, arrogance is how terrible, so that God'spunishment has to be immediately obvious, and remove the person's reason, atany time to make it like animals, how sad.Warning the world not to act!
However,after seven years of punishment and discipline, the king humbly repented andwas strangely cured of his madness. In this way, the prophecy of the tree'sdream was further fulfilled, and God's wonderful discipline and mercy wereshown to him. As he himself said, "At the end of the days, INebuchadnezzar lifted up my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned tome."
Whatadvice did God give the king before he lost his senses? How did Daniel exhorthim?
[Dan 4:27]Therefore , O king, be pleased toaccept my advice:Renounce your sins by doing what is right, and your wickedness by being kind to the oppressed. Itmay be that then your prosperity will continue.”
Inother words, after Daniel explained the dream of the tree falling and before hebecame an animal, he still gave sincere advice to the king, hoping that hewould change as soon as he realized his mistake, so that the punishment in thedream would not come. The two main demands that Daniel makes of the king arethe two fundamental demands that God makes of all men. As Micah says, "Man, what does the Lord ask of you?But do justly,love mercy, and walk humbly with your God "(Mic 6:8).Ifthe king could take Daniel's advice and repent and stop doing evil and learn todo good, then his peace would be prolonged and even his discipline andpunishment would be removed. Of course, everything must be combinedwith individual circumstances, according to the will of God. For example, afterthe repentance of the Nineveh people, the punishment and overthrow proclaimedby Jonah on God's command were immediately relieved. After David committed aserious crime, although he regretted and confessed his guilt and was pardoned,the punishment announced by Nathan as sent by God was not exempted, becauseDavid had to pay for the evil consequences left by his killing Uriah andoccupying his wife, so as to eliminate his bad influence among the people andurge him to deeply regret and correct his mistakes.
"Renouncesin", this is to convey a sacred principle to the proud king.By stoppingsin before it happens, God's punishment can be stopped by repentance (Isa.38:1-5; Jer18:7-10; Jon3:1-10).So although God announced thecoming punishment to Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar was given afull year (twelve months) to repent and avoid the disaster he had beenprophesied. But the king did not change his way of life. He remained arrogantand went his own way. As a result, his punishment came upon him. By contrast,the Nineveh people, who were granted a 40-day grace, took advantage ofthe opportunity to save themselves and their city by wearing sackcloth andashes, fasting and praying. This spared them and their city. (Nah. 3:4-10)"The Lord God will do nothing, except he reveals hissecret to his servants the prophets" (Amo. 3:7).Godforewarned mankind and nations of impending doom, sothat they might be prepared against the coming disaster. Today he also sends awarning message of judgment on the living to the rest of the world, warning oftheir fast approaching end. But when few heed these warnings, or do so withouthearing them, the disaster of the warning is about to come quickly.Because God's people have delivered these stern warnings in full force.Those who are destroyed in the day of disaster will have nothing tosay or excuse.
Thereis another valuable lesson to be learned from Daniel's experience and method ofinterpreting dreams. We see Daniel interpreting dreams, not just for thepurpose of interpreting dreams, but for the purpose of being a witness to God'sname, a speaker of the truth, and a speaker of salvation. Nebuchadnezzar'sdream not only provides information about the end of the world, but it is alsoa warning to any reader who hears about the judgment of the last living tocherish the last chance for repentance.If you turn a blind eye to our message,your peace period will never be prolonged, and your grace period will end whenyou refuse the truth again and again!
[Dan 4:28-33] All this came uponKing Nebuchadnezzar.At the end of twelvemonths he walked in the palace of the king of Babylon. He said, "Is notthis great Babylon, which I have built as a royal palace by the might of mypower, to show the glory of my majesty?"While the word was in the king'smouth, a voice came from heaven: "It is said to you, O kingNebuchadnezzar, that the kingdom has departed from you.You will be driven frommen and your dwelling will be with the beasts of the field. Seven times willpass over you, and you will eat grass like oxen. Until you know that the MostHigh rules in the kingdom of men and gives it to whomever he will."Thesame hour the word was fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven frommen, and ate grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, and hishair grew like eagles' feathers, and his nails like birds' claws.
WhenDaniel explained the dream to King Nebuchadnezzar, he pointed out that God's judgment did not come immediately afterhis dream, but still gave him a chance to repent. At last Nebuchadnezzar, underthe warning in his dream and the admonition of Daniel, was so shaken andaffected that his proud ambition and arrogance seemed to have been curbed for atime. But it was only a short time, for his mind was so far from being renewedby the Holy Spirit that he soon forgot the warning of the dream and theadmonition of the prophets. His prideful tendencies returned. God's forbearanceand patience did not produce complete repentance in him, but made him even morearrogant. Later on, he no longer believed in the interpretation of the dream,and even mocked his own fears. In this way, he finally missed the chance Godhad given him to repent and forgive. A year later, the discipline andpunishment that had been foretold in the dream came suddenly upon him.
Herethe word "after twelve months" means that the Lord gave him one yearto repent after the King's dream.After 12 months, when hemarched on the roof of the palace, thought his great achievements, and markedhis excellent rule of grand buildings, overlooking his splendid empire, and began to praise himself,to honor himself, suddenly a voice came from heaven:"O king Nebuchadnezzar, your throne isgone from you!Justthen, the king suddenly lost his reason and went insane. He became a madman andbegan to roar like a wild animal. His mad state made him behave like a wildanimal. The king, deprived of human dignity and human reason, lived like ananimal from then on. How frightening!
Onlyby God's arrangement can a man be fully human. Because King Nebuchadnezzar had refused God's will for so long, he was severely beaten by Godand reduced to the status of an animal. This apparent punishment of the king isa serious warning and lesson to the world. This showsus how terrible is the sin of a man who is proud and arrogant. In the absence of repeatedwarnings, God had to give immediate and obvious punishment to warn the worldnot to act in the wrong way.
Wesee another similar case in the punishment of Belshazzar, the king's grandson.Though he knew all the king’s experiences, yet his heart wasstill not inferiority.He dared to exalthimself to the Lord in heaven,and had vessels of the house ofGod brought for his nobles, and for his queen,and for concubines, to drink and to make merry,,and to praise idols ofgold, silver, copper, iron, wood, stone, But he did not give the glory toGod, so that all of a sudden, mysterious fingers appeared and wrote on the wall,declaring his sin and the comingday of the destruction of theBabylonian empire (see chapter 5).
Wehave an equally serious lesson to learn from the life experience of AlexanderKing of the Greek Empire. He was spoken of in the prophecy: "The goat magnified himself exceedingly; and whenhe was strong, the great horn was broken, and four extraordinary horns came upin it toward the four winds of heaven" (Dan 8:8).And indeed thehistory proved to be so: King Alexander was exalted far above all the Kings ofMedes and Persia, and even all the Kings of Babylon. His arrogance lies notonly in his ambition to dominate the world, but also in his delusion to deifyhimself. For example, the priests of the temple of the sun in Egypt were askedto declare himself as the son of the sun god, and tocast his own head on silver coins to looklike the sun god, etc., which resulted in sudden disaster. At the age of 33, when his country was strong and prosperousand he was in the prime of his life, hadsucceeded in the eastern expedition, and was planning to invade the west,he died of an acute illness after a drunken binge.After his death,his great empire was divided into four by his four generals, fulfilling theprophecy above.
Inaddition, we can see a more obvious example in the case of Herod's suddenscourge. Just as it is written: "On anappointed day Herod, dressed in royal apparel, sat on his throne and made anaddress to them.And the people cried out, saying, This is the voice of God, andnot of a man. Herod did not give glory to God, so the angel of the Lordimmediately struck him down. He was eaten by worms and died (Acts 12:21-23).Forpride is the mother of all SINS. It was this sin of pride that the originalLucifer (which means the bright star) fall into Satan and the sin of pride thatbegan to enter the universe (Isa. 14:12-20; Eze28:12 –19).Therefore, what warning should we,dusty people, take today to escape the great trouble which is about to befallthe world, and which has never been seen in the history of the nation!
Althoughthe king has committed a serious crime of pride, he has not yet reached the pointwhere his sin is beyond remedy. Therefore God, who loved the sinner infinitely,did not destroy him, but only to save him by punishing and chastening him soseverely that for seven years he suffered from a kind of animal madness. Ellen G. Whitehad said of the punishment and discipline of the king:All at once the reason God had given him was taken away from him.Judgment, ofwhich the king was very sound, and wisdom, on which he was so proud, were takenaway. As a result, Nebuchadnezzar, who had been a mighty king, became a fool.His hands no longer rule. He did not heedDaniel's advice and was deprived of the authority the Creator had given him. Hewas driven from men; he ate grass like oxen, and his body was drenched with thedew of heaven. His hair was grown like eagles' feathers, and his nails like birds'claws. For seven years he was humbled before the whole world.Later, his sanityreturned. Prophets and Kings, chapter 42.
Whatan amazing event it was! This is the Lord's will that the king should repentand also should move the people of Babylon.Later, we see the king repent.
[Dan4:34] At the end of thedays, I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up my eyes to heaven, and my understandingreturned to me. Then I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored God, wholives forever.His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom enduresfrom generation to generation.
Underwhat circumstances did the king come to his senses?"Lift up hiseyes to heaven" shows that the king's reason was restored with hisadmission of the true God.As the humbled king reverently raised his eyes toheaven and reformed himself, he was at once elevated from the state of a beastto the state of a man in the form of God. The man who had lain for so manyyears in abasement was restored to human dignity in God's image. The essentialfeatures of the miracle that happened to Nebuchadnezzar are still repeated inevery repentant sinner, though in a less dramatic form, but it happens everyday, and every change of repentant man is recorded in the books of heaven.
Theking's first thought after his terrible experience was to thank God, to praiseHim as the living Lord, to acknowledge His eternal reign, and to prove that thisonce proud king had truly changed. It was an unusual confession from a onceproud monarch. It is the testimony of a repentant person, from the heart of onewho, through refinement and discipline, has come to trulyknow and respect God.
[Dan 4:35-37] All the inhabitants of the world are counted asnothing. He does what he pleases among the armies of heaven and among theinhabitants of the world.No one can stop his hand or say to him, "What areyou doing?"At that time my wisdom returned to me, my majesty andbrightness returned to me for the glory of my kingdom, and my counsellors andmy nobles came before me. And I was established in my kingdom, and greatauthority was added to me. Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise, extol and honor theKing of heaven, who is true in all his works and just in his ways. He is ableto abase those who walk in pride.
Afteran extraordinary seven years of punishment and discipline, the king humblyrepented. As Nebuchadnezzar's sanity was restored, so was his crown and throne.His soul was deeply touched by the divine power and compassion that God showedin him. Think of the past, look at the present, King Nebuchadnezzarisreally mixed feelings. He was determined to worship and serve God forever, andto be the best witness for the holy name of Godbefore all nations. As he says at the end, "Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise,extol and honor the King of heaven, who is all true in his works and just inhis ways.He can abase those who walk in pride."
Hefinally acknowledged that the Most High God was in power among men, andrevealed His complete justice and righteousness.Thefear of Jehovah is the beginning of wisdom (Pro 1:7).The talents of theangels and celestial armies, as well as the expansion of humanintelligence, are nothing before God, and no one dares to say no to God.Anyone who does not acknowledge God's rule over the world will be judged andpunished.Let powerful empires and arrogant Kings listen today, and take carenot to repeat the fate of the kingdom of Babylon (chapter 5).
Andthe experience of Nebuchadnezzar the king of the Gentiles will be fulfilled inthe foreign representative –the Chinese body. And when the king repented andrestored, he turned to the true God in heaven. This also represents many ofGentiles Chinese, at the end, after thedisaster,will turn away from their idols and turn to the true God, fulfilling the wordsof the prophet Isaiah:
[Isa 19:20-22]When the Egyptianscried out to the Lord because of their oppression, he sent a Savior as a defender to save them.The Lord will be known to theEgyptians. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Egyptians shall knowthe LORD, and shall worship him with sacrifice and offering, and shall make avow unto the LORD, and perform it. The Lord will strike Egypt, striking andhealing, and they will return to the Lord. He will answer their prayer and healthem.
Thefate of King Nebuchadnezzar not only represents the lastpersonal salvation experience, but also predicts the fate of the foreigncountry China and the whole world. (Isa. 11:9) It is said that in the end,"the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of Jehovah, as the watersfill the sea." Today, the whole mystery of God's prophecy is opened, andthe living water of truth flows forth like a bubbly fountain, and it is throughDaniel that the meaning of the dream isrevealed.The thirsty and the poor will be watered and satisfied. While you arerunning out of iron shoes, many humble people who are hungry and thirsty forrighteousness are being confirmed by God!
Fromthe king's repentance to God, let us again see the wonderful power of theGospel to save sinners! As the Scriptures say, "This Gospel is the powerof God for the salvation of everyone who believes" (Rom 1:16).This Gospel,which can save the king of Nebuchadnezzar, who has sinned so deeply, can alsosave every one of us who wants to. As the Apostle Paul pointed out,"Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.This statement is trustworthy and worthy of all admiration. Of sinners, I am thechief.But for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shewforth all longsuffering, for an example to them that should hereafter believein him. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honorand glory for ever and ever. Amen "(1Ti. 1:15-17).
TodayGod is saving all who believe through the message of the Prophetsof judgment on the living. Do we, like King Nebuchadnezzar, fall down beforeGod and confess that he is most high and rules over the kingdom of men and giveit to whomever he will? Do we believe that the fate of KingNebuchadnezzar is being comprehensively played outtoday in a foreign power-the land ofChina?Do we look forward to the kingdom of Christ, which is just and eternal?
TheKing's repentance is the symbol of a large number of people's repentance afterthe suffering of the last foreign country;The restoration of Nebuchadnezzarto power was a prelude to the restoration of papacy in the late Babylonians. Atthe same time, the destruction of the Babylonian Empire is the portrayal of thedestruction of the last universal Babylon. After the demise of Babylon dynasty,by Cyrus the ancient Kings from the east instead of ruling the world.It is a symbol of the destruction of the last greatBabylon by astone not hewn by the man’s hand.Instead,the Kings-144000people from the east the sunrise willestablish the eternal kingdom of Christ, which will endure through all generationsfor ever and ever!
Thestory of Nebuchadnezzar tells us that God's will to bring out his glory in thegreatest kingdom of the earth has been done, and will be done. At the end ofthe world, the full will of God is being revealed through the greatest nation inthe world-China.The final plan of redemption is beingaccomplished through its people.Every true sheep will understand the voice ofthe Lamb and follow him. Strive not to be left behind in the last opportunityfor repentance. May all who are reading this, like King Nebuchadnezzar, at thelast moment, look up to heaven, repent, acknowledge Jehovah as the living God,accept Jesus as their personal Savior, and say, "I praise, honor, andhonor the King of heaven, for all his works are truth, and all his ways arejustice;He can abase those who walk in pride; He will exalt the humble. Hisdominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom endures from generation togeneration!
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