Bible Study Notes for Lord’s Day,
August 2, 2009
Daniel 2:1-28
God, gods and Men
Introduction In the 7th century BC, God had to judge His people
Israel by allowing them to be defeated and go into the Babylonian
exile. One young man, being swept along on the tides of huge historical
events, remained true to God, and was blessed and gifted amazingly
as a result. Not only that, he also saw firsthand the huge conflict
of good vs evil, the kingdoms of this world vs the Kingdom of God,
even unto the time of the end, the time we are living in today.
Daniel 1:17-21
17 As for these four young men, God gave them knowledge and skill
in all literature and wisdom; and Daniel had understanding in all
visions and dreams.
18 Now at the end of the days, when the king had said that they
should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before
Nebuchadnezzar. 19 Then the king interviewed them, and among them
all none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah;
therefore they served before the king. 20 And in all matters of
wisdom and understanding about which the king examined them, he
found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers
who were in all his realm. 21 Thus Daniel continued until the first
year of King Cyrus.
Daniel 2:1-28
1 Now in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar
had dreams; and his spirit was so troubled that his sleep left him.
2 Then the king gave the command to call the magicians, the astrologers,
the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So
they came and stood before the king. 3 And the king said to them,
“I have had a dream, and my spirit is anxious to know the dream.”
4 Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic, “O king,
live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the
interpretation.”
5 The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, “My decision
is firm: if you do not make known the dream to me, and its interpretation,
you shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made an ash
heap. 6 However, if you tell the dream and its interpretation, you
shall receive from me gifts, rewards, and great honor. Therefore
tell me the dream and its interpretation.” 7 They answered
again and said, “Let the king tell his servants the dream,
and we will give its interpretation.”
8 The king answered and said, “I know for certain that you
would gain time, because you see that my decision is firm: 9 if
you do not make known the dream to me, there is only one decree
for you! For you have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before
me till the time has changed. Therefore tell me the dream, and I
shall know that you can give me its interpretation.”
10 The Chaldeans answered the king, and said, “There is not
a man on earth who can tell the king’s matter; therefore no
king, lord, or ruler has ever asked such things of any magician,
astrologer, or Chaldean. 11 It is a difficult thing that the king
requests, and there is no other who can tell it to the king except
the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.” 12 For this reason
the king was angry and very furious, and gave the command to destroy
all the wise men of Babylon. 13 So the decree went out, and they
began killing the wise men; and they sought Daniel and his companions,
to kill them.
14 Then with counsel and wisdom Daniel answered Arioch, the captain
of the king’s guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men
of Babylon; 15 he answered and said to Arioch the king’s captain,
“Why is the decree from the king so urgent?” Then Arioch
made the decision known to Daniel.
16 So Daniel went in and asked the king to give him time, that he
might tell the king the interpretation. 17 Then Daniel went to his
house, and made the decision known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,
his companions, 18 that they might seek mercies from the God of
heaven concerning this secret, so that Daniel and his companions
might not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. 19 Then
the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. So Daniel blessed
the God of heaven.
20 Daniel answered and said:
“ Blessed be the name of God forever and ever,
For wisdom and might are His.
21 And He changes the times and the seasons;
He removes kings and raises up kings;
He gives wisdom to the wise
And knowledge to those who have understanding.
22 He reveals deep and secret things;
He knows what is in the darkness,
And light dwells with Him.
23 “ I thank You and praise You,
O God of my fathers;
You have given me wisdom and might,
And have now made known to me what we asked of You,
For You have made known to us the king’s demand.”
24 Therefore Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed
to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said thus to him:
“Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon; take me before the
king, and I will tell the king the interpretation.”
25 Then Arioch quickly brought Daniel before the king, and said
thus to him, “I have found a man of the captives of Judah,
who will make known to the king the interpretation.”
26 The king answered and 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 in the presence of the king, and said, “The
secret which the king has demanded, the wise men, the astrologers,
the magicians, and the soothsayers cannot declare to the king. 28
But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made
known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your
dream, and the visions of your head upon your bed, were these:
46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, prostrate before Daniel,
and commanded that they should present an offering and incense to
him. 47 The king answered Daniel, and said, “Truly your God
is the God of gods, the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets,
since you could reveal this secret.” 48 Then the king promoted
Daniel and gave him many great gifts; and he made him ruler over
the whole province of Babylon, and chief administrator over all
the wise men of Babylon. 49 Also Daniel petitioned the king, and
he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego over the affairs of the
province of Babylon; but Daniel sat in the gate of the king.
1. Two Realms - gods (supernatural) and men (natural)
11 It is a difficult thing that the king requests, and there is
no other who can tell it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling
is not with flesh.”
2. Characteristics of the Realms
a. Men struggling to get by, survive in this world, limited by time,
space, knowledge, power
b. God or gods are believed to know more, have more power, know
the future, have an inside track, sometimes help men.
3. People try to access the gods, or God. People have spent a lot
of time, money and effort trying to get help from the gods, or God.
Example - dreams mean things, spirits know the dream and what it
means. So how can we access this information and use it to our benefit?
4. Two sides of the spirit world, spiritual power God or gods
a. From God - Father, Son, Holy Spirit, holy angels..
b. From Satan - Satan, demons, false gods and goddesses, idols
5. Some people specialize in accessing the spirit realm:
In this story - wise men, magicians, the astrologers, the sorcerers,
soothsayers, and the Chaldeans. They were professionals, on staff
for Nebuchadnezzar for the specific purpose of accessing the spirit
realm, and helping him be successful in this world.
Thoughout history, “ordinary” people have employed professionals
to help them access the spirit realm to give them insight and success
in their lives.
All these claim to be some kind of connection between human and
divine, physical and spiritual realms. That’s what the professional
“wise men” in Babylon were trying to do.
6. Problems accessing the spirit realm v7-11
7 They answered again and said, “Let the king tell his servants
the dream, and we will give its interpretation.”
8 The king answered and said, “I know for certain that you
would gain time, because you see that my decision is firm: 9 if
you do not make known the dream to me, there is only one decree
for you! For you have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before
me till the time has changed. Therefore tell me the dream, and I
shall know that you can give me its interpretation.”
10 The Chaldeans answered the king, and said, “There is not
a man on earth who can tell the king’s matter; therefore no
king, lord, or ruler has ever asked such things of any magician,
astrologer, or Chaldean. 11 It is a difficult thing that the king
requests, and there is no other who can tell it to the king except
the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.”
a. It’s hard to access the gods, the spirit realm, hard to
appease, try to gain favor.
Not just for occultists, trying to get demons to work with them,
knowing they will exact a price.
God told an ungodly king one time, “Even if Moses and Samuel
stood before me, I would not grant your request.”
This difficulty leads to:
b. Fakery - Nebuchadnezzar didn’t trust them. They admitted
they were not in touch with “the gods.” Some Christians
have been guilty of fakery also - Peter Popoff.
So, there are problems. Does it mean it’s impossible to hear
from God, have Him show us how to have success? No - God promises
that if we will love and follow Him, He will speak to us and direct
our lives in a good path.
7. Discerning the spirit realm
A slippery realm. How can you tell? Nebuchadnezzar needed to know
there was a difference between a godly wise man, and the occultic
“wise men.” Daniel and friends were lumped in with the
others.
In Acts 13, Paul was trying to lead a public official to Christ,
and a socerer was opposing him. There was a power struggle between
two who claimed spiritual power, each on a different side.
10 and said, “O full of all deceit and all fraud, you son of
the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting
the straight ways of the Lord? 11 And now, indeed, the hand of the
Lord is upon you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for
a time.” And immediately a dark mist fell on him, and he went
around seeking someone to lead him by the hand.
Curitiba witch - many people coming to her - who has more power,
wisdom?
Many people claim spiritual power, connection to God, or the gods.
How do we know?
a.. What is the result? What was the proof of Daniel’s ministry?
“By their fruit you shall know them.” If it comes to pass.
If it doesn’t - false prophet.
b. Where does it lead? Even if it comes to pass, “Let’s
follow other gods.” Tapping into the wrong spiritual realm,
false prophet.
c. Spiritual gift of Discerning of Spirits.
d. We are called to discern, not throw the baby out with the bathwater.
Some Christians have been so turned off by spiritual deception and
fakery that they have thrown out spiritual things altogether. So
it’s just believing orthodox doctrine and doing the right things.
No supernatural power, no insight, no visions or dreams, no prophecy,
no healing, no miracles. This is not the religion of the Bible.
The Bible is full of divine intervention and miracles.
20 Daniel answered and said:
“ Blessed be the name of God forever and ever,
For wisdom and might are His.
21 And He changes the times and the seasons;
He removes kings and raises up kings;
He gives wisdom to the wise
And knowledge to those who have understanding.
22 He reveals deep and secret things;
He knows what is in the darkness,
And light dwells with Him.
23 “ I thank You and praise You,
O God of my fathers;
You have given me wisdom and might,
And have now made known to me what we asked of You,
For You have made known to us the king’s demand.”
Sad - some occultists know more about spiritual power than some
Christians. Some psychics are closer to true Christianity than some
fundamentalist pharisees.
e. The real thing makes a huge difference. Real godly spirituality,
accessing the mind of God for the benefit of man, made a huge difference
in Nebuchadnezzar’s life, his nation, even in world history.
v46-47
46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, prostrate before Daniel,
and commanded that they should present an offering and incense to
him. 47 The king answered Daniel, and said, “Truly your God
is the God of gods, the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets,
since you could reveal this secret.”
Conclusions So, there were all kinds of professional “wise
men” trying to figure out the king’s dream. There were
the wise men, magicians, the astrologers, the soothsayers, the sorcerers,
and the Chaldeans. Same is true today.
There was great disillusionment, disappointment and confusion because
of the spiritual leaders, leading to an admission that they were
having trouble getting information from the gods, leading also to
their own death warrants. There is also great confusion today -
who is really working for God, and who is tapping into the gods?
Daniel was the only one in the situation truly accessing the good
and godly side of the spirit realm for the benefit of man. He was
the only one with a hotline to Heaven.
Next time - how to hear from God
Time after next - the meaning of the dream, application to us
Pastor Steve Boggan
Living Waters Christian Fellowship
Heritage Ranch by Lake Nacimiento, CA
Website - livingwaters.cc
