“As the world remembers the passing of Sydney Omarr, a prominent astrologer whose column appeared in more than 300 newspapers across the country including the Washington Post, it is interesting to look back to the days of the Reagan Administration, and the use by the President and First Lady of astrology to guide in the making of important decisions in the White House.” http://www.presidentialufo.com/sydney_omarr,_reagan,_and_astrology.htm
“In 1974, at her request, Assemblyman Ed Z’berg introduced Assembly Bill 3503 which was coauthored by Assemblymen Deddeh, Garcia, Wilson and Senator Gregorio. This legislation was significant because it took astrologers out of the realm of fortune tellers and said the State would permit cities and counties to regulate the practice of astrology for compensation. On August 30, 1974 Governor Ronald Reagan signed this legislation into law which became Chapter 583, and added Section 50027 to the Government Code, relating to astrology. After this legislation was passed, Sacramento licensed astrologers and allowed them to practice for compensation.”
http://janicestork.com/reagan.html
In the Bible we find many verses warning us not to deal with the arts of black magic and fortune telling.
KJV 1 Samuel 15:23
23. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king.
KJV Leviticus 19:26
26. Ye shall not eat any thing with the blood: neither shall ye use enchantment, nor observe times.
KJV 2 Kings 17:17-18
17. And they caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire, and used divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him to anger. 18. Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah only.
It is clear that God does not appreciate people using witchcraft or any form of fortune telling. And we shouldn’t be dwelling in any of this type of belief. This kind of stuff can control us if we allow it. And it does not take much for us to give ourselves over to these type of influences. It is the control part that we never see or expect.
So how was Daniel able to tell Nebuchadnezzar the meaning of this dream in Chapter 4? Let’s take a look at this entire Chapter to see if the answer lies in the story itself.
Daniel 4
1. Nebuchadnezzar the king, unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you. 2. I thought it good to shew the signs and wonders that the high God hath wrought toward me. 3. How great are his signs! and how mighty are his wonders! his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion is from generation to generation. 4. I Nebuchadnezzar was at rest in mine house, and flourishing in my palace: 5. I saw a dream which made me afraid, and the thoughts upon my bed and the visions of my head troubled me. 6. Therefore 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. 7. Then 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.
We see the same thing here that we saw in Nebuchadnezzar’s first dream. The king calls all of his wise men to see if they are able to tell him the meaning of a dream and of course they fail. Why didn’t Nebuchadnezzar just call Daniel in the first place? Didn’t Daniel prove himself with the first dream. Is it a lack of faith in Daniel or a lack of faith in God? Maybe it is because Daniel just doesn’t tell the king what he wants to hear like the magicians and such would.
8. 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, 9. O 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.
We can see that Nebuchadnezzar is still caught up in superstition because of the way he addresses Daniel as the master of magicians. This is a very clear sign that Nebuchadnezzar still has a high regard of himself. Scripture tells us that Daniel is actually appointed to a very high position on the kingdom of Babylon. ” The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of Gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret. Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon.” Daniel 2:47,48
Nebuchadnezzar himself had appointed Daniel ruler over the whole province of Babylon. It was very disrespectful for even the king to refer to Daniel as only the master of the magicians. Nebuchadnezzar also knew of Daniel’s religious convictions and still referred to him as only the master of magicians. Later on we see how this disrespect Nebuchadnezzar has for people has an effect on the actions God takes in an attempt to reach him.
10. Thus 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. 11. The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth: 12. The 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. 13. I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and, behold, a watcher and an holy one came down from heaven; 14. He 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: 15. Nevertheless 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: 16. Let his heart be changed from man’s, and let a beast’s heart be given unto him; and let seven times pass over him. 17. This 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. 18. This 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.
When we read the dream that Nebuchadnezzar had we see that we are given five key words. They are tree, beasts, fowls or birds, iron and brass. Is there a way we can we use these words to help us unlock the secrets of this dream? Will we be able to unlock the secrets of this dream by using the Bible and the Bible only? That means we are not to use any human reasoning or interjections. No assuming nor adding any words or other forms of information.
We will fit describe the physical. The king has a dream or vision. This time he is able to remember it and tell Daniel the dream. He sees a great tree growing with healthy leaves and good fruit that is food for beasts. Birds live in the branches and everything was fed by this tree. An angel of some type comes down from Heaven and announces the tree will be cut down and the branches removed. It will be stripped of it’s leaves and the fruit will be scattered. The beasts under it and the birds in the branches will leave. The stump will be left and banded or covered with iron and brass. Now the dream takes a turn. Instead of being about a beast, it is now about a man whose heart is changed to a heart of a beast. It is also stated, “that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will“. Which makes it clear to see that this dream is about Nebuchadnezzar.
We now need to identify the key words which are tree, beast, fowl, iron and brass. Using a concordance or a Bible search program on a computer we can begin to look up the key words.
Tree
KJV Proverbs 11:30
30. The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.
Here we are shown that the fruit of the righteous is a tree of life. What is the fruit of the righteous? It is simply people that follow God. Here the word fruit is used much like it is today. When we refer to the fruit of our labors we are referring to the gain, pay or income from our labors. Proverbs 11:30 is referring to the tree of life found in Heaven. “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.” KJV Revelation 2:7
KJV Isaiah 61:3
3. To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.
Isaiah 61:3 is referring to quite a different tree. Here is says, “they might be called.” They of course is referring to people.
KJV Jeremiah 17:7-8
7. Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. 8. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.
From these three verses we can see that a tree can represent the tree of life in Heaven or it can refer to people. In Nebuchadnezzar’s dream a tree represents one person, Nebuchadnezzar.
Beast
KJV Numbers 18:15
15. Every thing that openeth the matrix in all flesh, which they bring unto the Lord, whether it be of men or beasts, shall be thine: nevertheless the firstborn of man shalt thou surely redeem, and the firstling of unclean beasts shalt thou redeem.
God directed that the first born of both men and beasts are to be brought to Him. Why does it seem that God makes no distinction between the two in this text? Later on we also see in the book of Acts that God uses unclean beasts as a symbol in Peter’s vision to show him that the word is also to go out to the Gentiles.
KJV Psalms 49:20
20. Man that is in honour, and understandeth not, is like the beasts that perish.
Here a man that rejects knowledge is compared to the beasts that have no understanding.
KJV Psalms 135:8
8. Who smote the firstborn of Egypt, both of man and beast.
This verse shows that God’s judgement is not only upon man but includes beasts. There are many text in the Bible that put man and beast in the same context.
A beast is used to represent people.
Fowl
KJV Psalms 91:3
3. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
David tells us that we may have traps set for us just like traps are set for birds. It also tells us that we will be delivered from these traps.
KJV Psalms 124:7
7. Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are escaped.
Again David tells us that the word of God uses a bird to represent people.
KJV Proverbs 6:5
5. Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.
These three text show that birds can represent people just as the word beast represents people. Referring to the dream we can see that the birds and beasts that relied on this tree for food and shelter are the subjects of Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom.
Iron
KJV Leviticus 26:19-21
19. And I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass:
20. And your strength shall be spent in vain: for your land shall not yield her increase, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruits. 21. And if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me; I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins.
You can almost see in this one text the entire meaning of the dream. We see that God wants to break the pride that can lead us astray. It goes on to say that God will make heaven as iron and earth as brass. No matter which way we turn there will be a trial. Whether we consult the wisdom of heaven or earth our strength will be spent in vain and what ever we rely on for a profit will fail. If we ignore the direction God has given us we will face plagues and trials.
KJV Deuteronomy 4:20
20. But the Lord hath taken you, and brought you forth out of the iron furnace, even out of Egypt, to be unto him a people of inheritance, as ye are this day.
We should not need a detailed explanation to see that when iron is compared to Egypt it is referring to the slavery, bondage and trials Israel faced in Egypt.
KJV Deuteronomy 28:48
48. Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the Lord shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee.
Iron represents a trial or an infliction. It also can represent a restriction placed upon us.
Brass
KJV Deuteronomy 28:23
23. And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron.
In this text it is Heaven that is compared to brass.
KJV Deuteronomy 33:25
25. Thy shoes shall be iron and brass; and as thy days, so shall thy strength be.
What does it mean to have shoes made out of brass and iron? Will they be nice and shiny and of course you would expect them to last just about forever. You would expect them to also be heavy and not every flexible. You would not expect to see a pair of shoes made out of iron and brass in a Nike commercial showing some basketball superstar jumping high in the air to slam dunk the ball. You know those shoes would be made to weigh one down and restrict their movements. Iron and brass can symbolize restricting one’s movements.
KJV 2 Kings 25:7
7. And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters of brass, and carried him to Babylon.
Why did they use brass shackles on Zedekiah? Was it because he was a king that he received some special treatment? Is that why they killed his son’s and put out his eyes? Brass is placed here in the word of God to show what type of trial it can represent. Brass also represents an infliction such as imprisonment.
According to the dream iron and brass were placed on the stump after the tree was cut down. We all know that after a tree is cut down many trees will send up new sprouts from the trunk. To keep this from happening a band of iron and brass were placed around the stump. This showed just how far God was willing to go to keep the bad traits of Nebuchadnezzar from sprouting back up.
We can now create a chart of the key words:
Tree: People, in the case Nebuchadnezzar.
Beast: People
Fowl: People
Iron: A trail
Brass: A trail or confinement
In this example the interpretation of the dream is given in the same chapter.
19. Then 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. 20. The tree that thou sawest, which grew, and was strong, whose height reached unto the heaven, and the sight thereof to all the earth; 21. Whose 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: 22. It 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. 23. And 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;
24. This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the most High, which is come upon my lord the king: 25. That 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.
26. And 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. 27. Wherefore, 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. 28. All this came upon the king Nebuchadnezzar.
When Daniel reveals the meaning of this dream to Nebuchadnezzar we see that the tree does represent the king. We are not told what the beasts and birds represent but from the Bible we can see that these must represent the people of his kingdom. Nebuchadnezzar is told that he will be driven from his people. This is what the iron and brass represent. Nebuchadnezzar is also told to “break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor“. If Nebuchadnezzar had heeded this warning would he have been able to spare himself the trial as told of in the dream?
29. At the end of twelve months he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon. 30. The 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? 31. While 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. 32. And 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. 33. The 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. 34. And 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: 35. And 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? 36. At 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. 37. Now 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.
As the story unfolds we see that Nebuchadnezzar takes all the credit for his kingdom. This bragging is what he was warned against. Immediately the entire kingdom and all that he has was taken away from him He falls to some type of illness that makes him act like an animal and instead of attempting to treat him, his own people drive him out of the city to live in the wilderness. Is this any way to treat your king? And what are his hopes of returning? Do you suppose who ever took over for Nebuchadnezzar would just give up the kingdom once Nebuchadnezzar showed up after being healed? That is not likely.
We see Nebuchadnezzar praising God and at that moment Nebuchadnezzar is healed and his reasoning returns to him. Not only was his kingdom returned to him but Nebuchadnezzar tells us that his counsellers and lords sought him out. We are not told if they looked to him for advise before his sickness but if we look at this situation and compare it to our own experiences we can agree that when we have a boss or manager that takes all of the credit for himself there are other problems that seem to always be attached to that pride. Greed is usually a part of the package. When a person is controlled by their own ambition they usually have a tendency of walking over people without realizing it. This can cause emotional harm to others and can drastically effect the manner in which others will interact with them. This may have been one of Nebuchadnezzar’s problems before God was able to reach him.
I think one of the main points in this chapter is that when we allow the Bible to explain itself we gain so much more of an understanding than what we could have gained based on our knowledge or if we relied on the intelligence of others. We can see based on this study that the hour Daniel spent in astonished and troubled he may have simply been going over the details of the dream and comparing them to the scriptures that were available to him. How did Daniel find the interpretation of this dream? Was it through a vision of God or was it through a study similar to the one we just did? How would we find an answer to that question? We can compare the first dream Daniel interpreted by a vision from God to this second dream.
When we see Daniel interpreting the first dream for Nebuchadnezzar we see that Daniel had a completely different approach to the problem and presented the meaning of the dream to Nebuchadnezzar in quite a different manner.
KJV Daniel 2:17-23
17. Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions: 18. That they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. 19. Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. 20. Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his: 21. And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding: 22. He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him. 23. I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast made known unto me now what we desired of thee: for thou hast now made known unto us the king’s matter.
In the first dream Daniel consulted his friends. In Chapter 2 it is very clear that Daniel receives his answer in a night vision while in Chapter 4 we are told Daniel was only troubled for an hour.
KJV Daniel 2:26-30
26. The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Art thou able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation thereof? 27. Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, shew unto the king; 28. But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these; 29. As for thee, O king, thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter: and he that revealeth secrets maketh known to thee what shall come to pass. 30. But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but for their sakes that shall make known the interpretation to the king, and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart.
Daniel gives all the credit to God for showing him the interpretation of the first dream. We do not see evidence of this same praise to God in Chapter 4. One reason for this may be that Chapter 4 was actually written by Nebuchadnezzar. But when we read again how Nebuchadnezzar was healed one would think that Nebuchadnezzar would have included any details Daniel had made in praising God.
Daniel 4:34. And 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:
Verse 34 shows that Nebuchadnezzar was healed only after praising God. If a person was to write a story that tells about a trial they had gone through and that story included details about how they had praised God and became whole again, would that person leave out details that included another person praising God? I would think this is highly unlikely. Maybe this dream was interpreted using the same method we just used. Even so, the praise must always go to God because we know that all of these things are revealed through the Holy Spirit to those that believe.
Another point that we need to understand in this text is the fact that this Chapter was written by Nebuchadnezzar himself. We see proof of this is verses 1 through 4. This is yet one more example of how God is able to use the most unexpected people. We would expect that God would choose special people to be his prophets and that they would be either Jewish or Christian. We would expect prophets to be followers of God and have a much stronger faith than we could ever have. But that is not always the case with God. Daniel 4 also shows us that it is only through the willingness of Nebuchadnezzar that God was able to use him. We may think we are closer to God than this pagan king was, we may have more knowledge about God, but just like Nebuchadnezzar we can not be used by God until we allow God to use us.
