I used to think that the Bible was a book that said we should be kind and nice. But other than that I was not sure it had anything else of import to say. Was I ever wrong! Besides showing the way to live forever, are you aware that the Bible reveals the future? To top things off, God does not make mistakes and, therefore, every reference to the future is exactly accurate. Since we will see that He knows it all before it happens, we should conclude that we can put our future in his hands.
Without a doubt you can trust God with your future. You may ask, why I know this with any certainty? Because of the reasons found in Daniel 2, you can trust God with your future. The prophet Daniel was taken from his home in Jerusalem around 600 B.C. by the forces of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of the Babylonian kingdom (present day Iraq). Daniel was just a boy in his teens when his country was conquered and he journeyed, as a prisoner, hundreds of miles to a foreign capital.
The Babylonian king was an intelligent ruler and part of his strategy in keeping the conquered people under his authority was to take the cream of the youth and to train them in the king's own culture and language. These young people would prove invaluable in enlightening the Babylonian rulers in how to fairly administer the kingdom.
Not long after Daniel and other captives had come to Babylon, King Nebuchadnezzar was thinking about the longevity of his rule, fell asleep, and had a disturbing dream. When he awakened he was convinced that a god had given him an answer to the questions he had been pondering, but try as he may, it was impossible for him to remember the dream, much less what it meant.
The king had an established "brain trust" and, therefore, called them to his throne room. After explaining his problem, as he had done many times in the past, he asked these men to find out what he had dreamed and then to explain the meaning of it all. These wise men who claimed to be able to receive messages from the gods suddenly began to back pedal. Now, in the past before going into battle, etc., the king would ask these reputable men to seek some sign or message from the gods as to his fortunes in battle. His life was going to be at risk and he wished to know if divine entities were going to be with him.
But now he hears these same people in whose hands he had placed his life saying that the king is asking an impossibility of them. The longer they speak, the more the king becomes suspicious. It becomes clear that they have been preparing lies and guesses so they could receive a good living at the hands of their ruler. The final straw is broken when these wise men tell the king that, " 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." (Dan.2:11)
The Bible says that the king became very angry at this point. Can you imagine? All this time Nebuchadnezzar has depended upon these trusted men to contact the gods on his behalf and they have just admitted that they have no way of contacting the gods! The king's whole spiritual world is coming apart. Is this not repeated today? When someone finds a minister has betrayed them or a trusted religious person has spoken lies, how do they react? They want to throw religion and God out of their lives because they feel deceived. King Nebuchadnezzar was an absolute ruler and held power over every life in his kingdom. His order was clear, "Kill them!"
Mankind has not changed in all these centuries. The king felt deceived by his "ministers" and had the power to annihilate them. Today, most of us would throw religion completely out of our lives. But as the king's guard commander went about the grisly business of assassinations, he came upon Daniel. who inquired as to why he was about to be slain. Arioch, the commander, told Daniel what the king had demanded of all his counselors concerning the troubling dream. The young man from Judah asked permission to speak with the king. Arriving in the throne room, Daniel asked the king for time so he might tell Nebuchadnezzar what he wanted to know.
Calling his three friends together, who also believed in God, Daniel pleaded for an answer to his prayer so he and his friends would not lose their lives along with all the other advisors. The Bible says, (2:19) that God showed Daniel, in a vision, not only what the king had dreamed, but also what it all meant. This, my friend, should tell us something very profound. Even though there are those who use religious deceit to gain wealth or status, there are others who really know God is real and serve Him.
Daniel's response to having been shown the king's dream is recorded in chapter 2. In his praise of thanksgiving, Daniel says that God "removes kings and raises up kings:" Now, armed with the information given him in vision, Daniel asks the commander, Arioch, not to kill the other counselors, but to take him to the king.
Let us understand the situation. God has given his servant information to take before a very angry king. If the information is incorrect, Daniel will never see another day of life. There is a love relationship between Daniel and his God. The prophet doubts nothing as he goes into this powerful despot. He will say what he had been shown with complete trust that what God has told him is true. Daniel's message will reveal the future of the Babylonian kingdom, as well as, the next 26 centuries!
The king asks if Daniel can remind the him of his dream and its interpretation. Daniel's response is one that demands our attention. First, he reminds the king that no other counselor, wiseman, astrologer, nor any other could do what the king commanded. Secondly, Daniel points the king to the God of heaven who reveals secrets and makes known to the king what would be in the latter days. Think of it. God has revealed to an unbelieving king the future of the world from that time to the end!
Daniel tells the king that he was lying in his bed and thoughts of the future came to him. He wondered what tomorrow held. "He who reveals secrets, has made known to you what will be."
(Dan.2:31) "You, O king, were watching and behold, a great image! This great image, whose splendor was excellent, stood before you, and its form was awesome. This image's head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay." Daniel tells the king that he watched a stone cut out without hands struck the image at its feet making the whole structure collapse. All the different metals were crushed and the wind blew them away. The king watched as the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.
Can you imagine the king's mouth going slack as he recalls the dream? Every nerve in his body must have been at peak sensitivity as he awaited the interpretation. What did it all mean?
Please see PART 2 God Has Already Revealed the Future as this exciting study continues.
*The image used with this article is from revelationtv/freebibleimages.org
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