Tiber. Yet God told Daniel what would come to pass. As the curtain is pulled back again we face a very tense moment. (Daniel 3.) Nebuchadnezzar had set up a golden image on the plain of Dura and had commanded all peoples to fall down and worship it. If any refused, he would be cast into a fiery furnace. But there were three in the throng that refused to obey the king. Yes, here they are again, after twenty years, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed- nego. Spies reported their disobedi ence. These three knew what God had said. “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image . . . Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them.” (See Ex. 20:4, 5.) They were fearless in the presence of this despot. Bwren, “The story of the fiery fur nace is a familiar one. What was the wonderful thing about that scene? Yes, the Son of God was with them. What effect did this have on Ne buchadnezzar? He was filled with great admiration for the miraculous power of the God of these men. Again he does not bow to worship God in humility. He calls Jehovah “their God.” Remember, God wants us to say, “My Lord, and My God.” Christ said, “When ye pray, say, our Fa ther.” This scene demonstrated in a most dramatic way before the digni taries of the far-flung empire, the power of the Most High God. The erecting of an image will be repeated by the beast, the Antichrist last head of Gentile world-dominion. In Chapter 5, we see a great ban quet hall with a thousand lords sit ting about the tables. It was “ladies’ night.” He showed just how little he regarded the God of Israel. Belshazzar was the last prince of Babylon. He was drinking wine to the idols in these sacred vessels. A bad reign came to a sudden end. “In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain.” We are not told how, but we find from Xeno phon and Herodotus and Berosus the strange story of the fall of the great city. Inscriptions on Babylonian tab- 33
lets tell how the phenomenal over throw of Belshazzar was accomplished. To quote from the discoverer of these tablets: “Cyrus diverted the Euphra tes into a new channel, and, guided by two deserters, marched by the dry river bed into the city while the Babylonians were carousing at the annual feast of the gods.” During the first year of Belshaz zar’s reign, Daniel had a vision of four wild beasts, which symbolized the four kingdoms pictured in Nebuchad nezzar’s dream. Picturing them as beasts gives us a hint as to the moral But a fool has not the mind to know. Cycles of coppery suns and silvered moons Declare the wonderment of God— And all the things of earth Silently proclaim His handiwork. He spoke— and there was light! He breathed— and man became a liv ing soul! Aeons of time declare the everlasting ness of Him. The fragrance of a flower And the mystery of a throbbing heart Witness to His creative power. The wise have not the minds to "understand"— Yet they must say in all humility, "There IS a God!" character of these empires for they are represented by ferocious wild beasts. How wars reveal the true heart of nations! (Dan. 7.) This vision of the four beasts cov ers the same ground as the great image of Daniel 2. Compare them carefully. Twenty-three years after the death of Nebuchadnezzar, his great city, Babylon, fell into the hands -of the Medes. Even under these new rulers, Daniel was in a place of power. The jealousy of the other officials was aroused by the preference given to Daniel and a plot to destroy him was quickly TH E LORD'S M A JESTY "The fool has said in his heart, 'there is no God.' "
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