Commentary on Daniel Chapter 4 (No. F027iv)

Introduction

Chapter 4 deals with the establishment of the elect in the eyes of the rulers in the system and that they were forced to acknowledge the power of the One True God. In this chapter we see the prophecy of the Seven times in the cutting down of the tree and the binding of the stump. The Seven times is of a dual prophecy of seven years of Nebuchadnezzar or Seven times which is 2520 years (see below). At the end of the period of the empires reason is restored to mankind and the millennial system of the Seventh Thousand year period is established and the Temple rebuilt (cf. The Golden Jubilee (No. 300)) and after that we will reign for evermore (cf. The City of God (No. 180).

The sequence of prophecy in Daniel is based on a prophetic time which is 360 days as a prophetic time and the “Seven Times” that we see in verse 16 was of seven prophetic years and also Seven Times which was the 2520 years on a year for a day basis under the prophetic system. The Seven Times of the Empire was to last for 2520 years from the Battle of Carchemish in 605 BCE to 1916 at the time of Jacob’s Trouble commencing with the battles of the Somme and on the Western Front. The last phase of the Seven times was to be from Cambyses’ invasion of Egypt in 525 BCE, as prophesied by Ezekiel, to 1996 with the end of the Time of the Nations or Gentiles (see below) and the Last Thirty years of the end of the Beast system under the NWO/UN and the Return of the Messiah.

Within that period of Seven Times the persecution of the Churches of God occurred under the Romans over 309 years until the proclamation of Constantine as emperor at York in 309 CE as mentioned in Surah 18 “The Cave” (Q018) and which (with Judah) also occurred within that period over three and a half times of 1260 years from 590 CE under the Holy Roman Empire to 1850 and then on through the “Time of Jacob’s Trouble” through WWI and WWII into the Holocaust which was 1260 days or a time, times and half a time. The entire period is both a civil and a religious persecution testing the obedience of the elect to God and their endurance and faith. The last half completing the Seven years or times will occur in the final section or phase under the rule of the Beast of the NWO or Antichrist system from 2021 to end 2024 with the Wars of the Messiah and the Vials of the Wrath of God, for the treble harvest of 2025 under the Jubilee system.

Time of the Gentiles

The Time of the Gentiles in the Bible structure in the Bible refers to the Nations as gentiles and it covers their period of rule but in Daniel it refers to the Nations under the Mystery and Sun Cults as established from the Babylonian system. As explained above it is a period of “seven times”. The visions were given at the beginning so that the end might be foretold from the beginning. The wisdom of the elect is made evident from this time also, from Daniel to the present, through the Holy Spirit.

Daniel 4:8-9 But at the last Daniel came in before me, whose name was Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods: and before him I told the dream, saying, ⁹O Belteshazzar, master of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in thee, and no secret troubleth thee, tell me the visions of my dream that I have seen, and the interpretation thereof. (KJV)

The seven times are found in Daniel 4:32. This period commenced with Babylon and the end is also of that system.

Daniel 4:32And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. (KJV)

The period of seven times covered 2,520 years from that system, which began in 605 BCE and was consolidated in 525 BCE. The seven times came to an end with the wars of 1914-18 (and especially from 1916 with the battles on the Somme) and continued until the final phases in 1995-96. This process is a continual one of reorganisation. The “time of the nations” is now finished and the period of the end is upon us.

Throughout this entire period God dealt with the Church among the nations. He controlled nations through other nations and prevented the rise of the complete world system so that the Church could not be obliterated and the nations could be accountable. In this way, the earth was protected and kept from destruction. That period ended at Nisan 1996 and the Final consolidation of the NWO began in 1997 through the Beast system using the Banking and UN systems. The Church is not and has never been an international organisation. It was for this reason the Athanasian church was formed from the Council of Constantinople in 381 CE. The Spanish-born Theodosius was appointed by Gratian as the first Athanasian emperor. All his Christian predecessors were Unitarians. They were called Arians by the Athanasians to disguise the nature of the dispute and to conceal the antiquity of the Unitarian position, which dated back to the Apostles and is the structure of the New Testament. The Triune position was finally set in place in the Council of Chalcedon in 451 CE, with the position of the Holy Spirit being established and the Trinity fixed. The real aim of this church was world domination and hierarchical power (cf. the paper Sociniaism, Arianism and Unitarianism (No. 185) (cf. also No 151)

Daniel Chapter 4

¹Nebuchadnezzar the king, unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you. ²I thought it good to shew the signs and wonders that the high God hath wrought toward me. ³How great are his signs! and how mighty are his wonders! his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion is from generation to generation.⁴I Nebuchadnezzar was at rest in mine house, and flourishing in my palace: ⁵I saw a dream which made me afraid, and the thoughts upon my bed and the visions of my head troubled me.⁶Therefore made I a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon before me, that they might make known unto me the interpretation of the dream. ⁷Then came in the magicians, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers: and I told the dream before them; but they did not make known unto me the interpretation thereof. ⁸But at the last Daniel came in before me, whose name was Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods: and before him I told the dream, saying, ⁹O Belteshazzar, master of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in thee, and no secret troubleth thee, tell me the visions of my dream that I have seen, and the interpretation thereof. ¹⁰Thus were the visions of mine head in my bed; I saw, and behold a tree in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was great. ¹¹The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth: ¹²The leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all: the beasts of the field had shadow under it, and the fowls of the heaven dwelt in the boughs thereof, and all flesh was fed of it. ¹³I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and, behold, a watcher and an holy one came down from heaven; ¹⁴He cried aloud, and said thus, Hew down the tree, and cut off his branches, shake off his leaves, and scatter his fruit: let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls from his branches:¹⁵Nevertheless leave the stump of his roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth: ¹⁶Let his heart be changed from man's, and let a beast's heart be given unto him; and let seven times pass over him. ¹⁷This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men. ¹⁸This dream I king Nebuchadnezzar have seen. Now thou, O Belteshazzar, declare the interpretation thereof, forasmuch as all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known unto me the interpretation: but thou art able; for the spirit of the holy gods is in thee. ¹⁹Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was astonied for one hour, and his thoughts troubled him. The king spake, and said, Belteshazzar, let not the dream, or the interpretation thereof, trouble thee. Belteshazzar answered and said, My lord, the dream be to them that hate thee, and the interpretation thereof to thine enemies. ²⁰The tree that thou sawest, which grew, and was strong, whose height reached unto the heaven, and the sight thereof to all the earth; ²¹Whose leaves were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all; under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and upon whose branches the fowls of the heaven had their habitation: ²²It is thou, O king, that art grown and become strong: for thy greatness is grown, and reacheth unto heaven, and thy dominion to the end of the earth. ²³And whereas the king saw a watcher and an holy one coming down from heaven, and saying, Hew the tree down, and destroy it; yet leave the stump of the roots thereof in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the field, till seven times pass over him; ²⁴This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the most High, which is come upon my lord the king: ²⁵That they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over thee, till thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. ²⁶And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots; thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee, after that thou shalt have known that the heavens do rule. ²⁷Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity. ²⁸All this came upon the king Nebuchadnezzar. ²⁹At the end of twelve months he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon. ³⁰The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty? ³¹While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee^.
32And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. ³³The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles' feathers, and his nails like birds' claws. ³⁴And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation:³⁵And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou? ³⁶At the same time my reason returned unto me; and for the glory of my kingdom, mine honour and brightness returned unto me; and my counsellers and my lords sought unto me; and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added unto me. ³⁷Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase. (KJV)

Bullinger’s Notes on Chapter 4

Verse 1

Nebuohadnezzar. What follows is evidently a proclamation. Given probably in the last of the seven years of his "madness", the same year as the decree of Astyages, Daniel being then fifty-nine.

Verse 2

God. Chaldee. "elaha" (emphatic). App-4.

Verse 6

to bring in all the wise men, &c. Probably done from motives of state policy, or acting on Daniel"s own advice. A writer clever enough to be a forger would be wise enough not to leave the loophole alleged.

Verse 9

master of the magicians. Daniel still held the position given him in Daniel 2:48.

Verse 13

a watcher and an holy one. Figure of speech Hendiadys (App-6) = an holy angel.

watcher. A Chaldee name ("ir) for an angelic being, watching over the affairs of men. Compare: Daniel 4:17, Daniel 4:23. Not the same root as in Daniel 9:14.

Verse 15

the stump of his roots = his root-trunk.

tender grass = herbage.

wet = drenched.

Verse 16

Let his heart, &c. The figure here changes from a tree to that of a beast, mentioned in Daniel 4:15.

man"s. Chaldee. "anasha". App-14.

seven times. The inscriptions state that there were several years in which Nebuchadnezzar did nothing,

Verse 19

one hour. Chaldee. sha "ah = a moment, as Daniel 4:33; Daniel 3:6, Daniel 3:15; Daniel 5:5.

Verse 25

drive thee, &c. The mental disease of Nebuchadnezzar is rare. It is called Lycanthropy (from Greek, lukos = a wolf, and anthropos = a man), because the man imagines himself to be a wolf, or some other animal.

Verse 27

counsel = advice. Not the same word as in Daniel 3:24, Daniel 3:27; Daniel 4:36; Daniel 6:7.

break off. This is rendered in the Vulgate (the Authorized version of the Church of Rome) by "redeem"; but the Chaldee perak = break off. First occurs in Hebrew (parak) Genesis 27:40. Exodus 32:2, Exodus 32:3, Exodus 32:24, &c. See note on Psalms 136:24.

righteousness. This is rendered as "almsgiving" in the Vulgate. But Chaldee. tzidkah (Hebrew. tzedakah) = righteousness never signifies alms or almsgiving.

iniquities. Chaldee. "ivya". Same as App-44.

poor = wretched, miserable. Chaldee. "anah. See note on "poverty", Proverbs 6:11. Here referring doubtless to the Jewish captives.

Verse 30

great Babylon. The German Orient Society"s excavations during recent years have shown how "great" it was. See Records of the Past, vol. i, p, &c.

that I have built. Everywhere this is repeated by Nebuchadnezzar on bricks, pavements, walls, &c.

house of the kingdom = the royal palace.

Verse 34

I Nebuchadnezzar, &c. Here the king again speaks. This corresponds with the Proclamation (verses: Daniel 4:1-3), and is the ground of its being made.

the Most High. Compare verses: Daniel 4:17, Daniel 4:32.

I praised, &c. Modern critics are stumbled because Nebuchadnezzar should do this while he was an idolater. But surely it is the token that a great change had taken place. …

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