The Book of Daniel Page #3

will set up a kingdom...

that will never

be destroyed.

It will crush those kingdoms

and bring them to an end...

but will itself

endure forever.

The Almighty

has shown the king...

what will take place

in the future.

The dream is true,

and the interpretation

is trustworthy.

I am the head of gold?

Yes, oh king,

you are the head of pure gold.

Surely your God

is the God of gods,

the ruler of kings,

and the revealer of mysteries.

Let this man be paid honor

and present him with incense.

Let this man be paid honor

and present him with incense.

Thus, the

king made me ruler...

over the entire

province of Babylon,

and at my request...

made Shadrach, Meshach,

and Abednego administrators.

King Nebuchadnezzar made

an image of gold 90 feet high.

All were commanded

to fall down and worship,

and all did as commanded

except for three.

- King.

- Live forever!

A moment

of your precious time.

As your dutiful servants,

we know the law that when

the horn sounds we all bow down.

And worship your image.

But these Jews

whom you have set over...

the affairs of the

province of Babylon...

pay no attention

to you, oh king.

None.

They neither

worship your gods...

or serve the image

of gold you've created.

Nothing.

Is this true?

Do you refuse

to worship my statue?

Oh king, we do not need to

defend ourselves before you...

in this matter.

Really?

Then you shall be

thrown into the furnace,

and no guard

will save you from my hand.

If we are thrown

into the blazing furnace,

our God will

defend us from it.

And if he does not,

we want you to know oh king,

that we will not

serve your gods...

or worship

the statue of gold...

Enough!

You dare to defy me?

Let the furnace

be heated sevenfold.

Bind them, and cast

them into the fire!

There were three

thrown into the fire.

Certainly, your king.

But now I see four,

and the fourth...

The fourth looks like

an angel of God.

The fire has not

harmed your bodies.

Not a hair is singed.

Your robes, there's not even

a smell of the fire on you.

Praise be to your God

who sent his angel

to rescue his servants.

You trusted in him.

You defied my commands.

You were willing

to give up your lives...

rather than serve any

but your own God.

Therefore, I decree

any who speaks ill...

of the God of Shadrach,

Meshach, Abednego,

will be cut into little pieces

and his house turned to rubble,

for no other God

can save in this way.

And for a time all was well...

until Nebuchadnezzar's

sleep was troubled...

yet by another dream.

It seems like

Nebuchadnezzar's life was rife...

with dreams and prophesies

much like my own has been.

Before I was born,

my grandfather, Astyages,

was troubled by a dream...

where a flood

beginning near his throne...

was overflowing

the whole earth.

When he went

to his astrologers...

and his diviners

for an interpretation,

they told him that

his grandson was destined...

to one day usurp him.

So he sent his daughter,

Mandane, into exile,

and when a son

was born to her...

he conspired

to have it stolen...

and exposed

on a hilltop to die.

But a shepherd whose wife...

had recently given birth

to a stillborn child...

persuaded her husband to trade

her dead infant for the living,

and the shepherd

raised the boy as his own.

The king, upon being

presented with the dead infant,

repented of his crime.

He didn't learn

until 10 years later...

that the boy

was actually alive,

at which time

he pardoned the boy...

and restored him

to his rightful parents,

and for a time

the matter was forgotten.

Until one day, years later,

when you marched

into your grandfather's city...

at the head of your troops

and seized the throne of Medea,

taking the old man captive, and

the prophecy was proven true.

Old Astyages,

he knew of the prophecy,

but he was powerless

to overcome it.

As all men are powerless

to prevent their fate...

if the prophesizing

be true.

Listen then, as I tell

of the prophetic vision...

that led to

Nebuchadnezzar's madness.

For when he dreamed

that great dream,

his enchanters, sorcerers,

and astrologers...

were once again unable

to interpret the vision.

When I was asleep...

I had a dream

which made me afraid.

The images I saw

terrified me.

Belteshazzar,

I looked and saw before me...

a tree in the middle

of the land.

A tree grew strong and tall.

Its top touched the sky,

and it was visible

to the ends of the earth.

Its leaves,

they were beautiful.

Its fruit was abundant.

The beasts of the field

took shelter under it,

and the birds of the air

lived in its branches,

and from it

every creature was fed.

Then I looked again,

and I saw a messenger

coming down from heaven,

and he cried out aloud,

"Cut down the tree!

"Trim off its branches.

"Strip its leaves.

"Scatter its fruit.

"Let the beasts

flee from under it...

"and the birds

fly from its branches,

"but let the stump

and its roots,

"bound in iron and brass,

"remain in the ground

in the grass of the field.

"Let it be drenched

by the dew from heaven.

"Let it live with

the animals of the earth,

"and let its mind be changed

from that of a man...

to the mind of an animal."

This is the dream that I had.

What does it mean?

My lord, if only the dream

applied to your enemies...

and its meaning

to your adversaries.

The tree which you saw...

which grew large and strong

with its top touching the sky,

you, oh king, are that tree.

You have become

great and strong.

Your greatness has grown

until it reaches the sky,

and your dominion extends to

the distant parts of the earth.

But you saw a messenger,

a holy one,

coming down

from heaven, saying,

"Cut down the tree,

and destroy it,

"but leave the stump,

bound with iron and bronze,

"in the grass of the field...

"while its roots remain

in the ground.

"Let him be drenched

with the dew of heaven.

Let him live

like wild animals."

This is the interpretation,

oh king,

and this is the decree...

that the Most High has issued

against my lord, the king.

You will be

driven away from people...

and live with

the wild animals.

You will eat grass like cattle

until you acknowledge...

that the Most High is sovereign

over the kingdoms of men...

and gives them

to anyone he wishes.

The command to leave the

stump of the tree with its roots...

means that your kingdom

will be restored to you...

when you acknowledge

that the Most High rules.

Therefore, oh king,

be pleased to accept my advice.

Renounce your sins

by doing what is right...

and your wickedness

by being kind to the oppressed.

Seek the Lord

while he may be found,

and it may be that

your prosperity will continue.

But the memory

of kings is often short,

and 12 months later...

when the king was walking

on the roof of the royal palace

of Babylon...

In all the world

is there anything like this?

No, my king.

My great wall which

mountain-like cannot be moved.

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