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Pamphlet 5027 KC Daniel 9-1

"How in the world could a tree seduce mother Eve", one will ask?

In our last study we saw king Nebuchadnezzar turn up the burning fiery furnace to spiritual maximum, "7" times hotter than it was wont to be, as the "mightiest men in his army" were commanded to take hold of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and "bind them" and "cast them" into the burning fiery furnace.

Hey, talk about being put on the hot seat!

It doesn't get any "spiritually hotter" than that and unless a person has on the whole gospel armour of God, he or she would never be able to survive such an intense ordeal.

But these three servants of the Most High God had the gospel armour on and in place and they took a stand and they gave witness to all the princes and governors and counsellors who were gathered there for the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar had set up, of the awesome power of Almighty God.

You "see", the Lord was with them when they took a stand against the king of Babylon and He protected them to the point that when they were cast into the fiery furnace, not one hair on their heads was even singed and they were loosed of their bonds, for Satan cannot bind those who are set free by Jesus Christ and the truth of His Word.

And you know what else we discovered is so fascinating?

We read in the fourth verse of the Song of the Three Children that they all sang the victory song, the Song of Moses, just as the overcomers are seen doing in Rev. 15 who overcame the beast and his image did sing.

This is so fitting because these three servants of God did have the victory over the beast and his image, and over Satan's fire, and the pit of hell which is the grave.

What a marvelous type our Father has given for His servants in these last days.

We now we move forward to the year 454 BC in this fourth chapter.

Daniel is 59 years old and fast approaching the age of Medicare eligibility.

So it has been some time now since Nebuchadnezzar's last lesson in determining who is the Supreme Ruler and Judge.

Would that be the world's most powerful ruler (himself) or the God of Heaven, the one who created the universe and even ol' king Nebuchadnezzar's very soul?

You would think after witnessing the power of God when he cast Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego into the fiery furnace, surely that experience alone would always remind him of The Most High God.

But, how quickly man forgets.

You would also think after witnessing such miracles as the parting of the Red Sea that the Israelites would not forget the power of God, but in less than 40 days while Moses ascended the mountain to receive the Ten Commandments, they began building a golden calf.

The other thing we need to keep in mind as we study this fourth chapter is that Nebuchadnezzar was a flesh and blood man, and although he was used as a type of the king of Babylon of these last days to fulfill Father's purpose in giving us a type and forerunner to teach His servants concerning the abomination of desolation, he will be converted and even write one of the most beautiful prayers in God's Word.

This ties in with what it is we are supposed to learn from this chapter which is that God has all power and authority and He will use whomsoever He will, even the basest of men, in fulfilling His great plan.

Furthermore, we are to understand in this chapter that what appears to be a negative part of His plan is actually what brings about the positive result of conversion.

To that end, He even calls this one Nebuchadnezzar His servant in Jer. 43:10 and gave him authorship of this fourth chapter.

Therefore He expects us to use the wisdom He has given to us and be able to discern between that which is happening to the man Nebuchadnezzar and his role as an ensample and a type of the king of Babylon of these last days.

If you are familiar with your Father's Word, then you will find that this is not difficult at all but rather quite simple and elementary as most of the teachings in Father's Word are.

It is man who complicates things when he tries to insert his own ideas into the Word instead of allowing the simplicity of that which is written to be understood.

Daniel 4:1
Nebuchadnezzar the king, unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you.
If this sounds a little strange coming from the king of Babylon, it is only because this is said after the events we are going to learn about in this chapter take place, for we are going to be given what they call in the movies a "flash back" where king Nebuchadnezzar is going to go back and tell us the story of what happened and bring us forward to this point.
[2] I thought it good to shew the signs and wonders that the high God hath wrought toward me.
Again, this is after His conversion when he is so filled with praise and admiration for God that he wants to make a proclamation and tell the whole world how great His works are, and how mighty are His wonders, and how everlasting His kingdom is!

That's quite a turn about to go from extreme self-exaltation to wanting to proclaim God's greatness to all peoples, all nations (races), and all languages (tongues), i.e. the whole world.

[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.
One might ask "how is it that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has come to the point of being so humble and full of praise?"

We will find out in this chapter as we see God deal with him and as we come to understand how and by what means He converts him.

As with all of the Book of Daniel, this fourth chapter is also given to the wise of these last days to understand concerning the abomination of desolation, even the purpose of his coming... for our Father has great purpose in using the king of Babylon else he would not send that abominable one.

Because one thing we know for sure and that is that although Nebuchadnezzar whom God uses as a type, will be converted, Satan cannot and will not ever be converted.

He's history, a goner!

Judgment has already been passed upon him and the sentence decreed for him to perish in the lake of fire and be turned ashes from within (Ezek. 28:18).

That is why he is called the son of perdition.

[4] I Nebuchadnezzar was at rest in mine house, and flourishing in my palace:
Nebuchadnezzar has now taken us back to 461 BC as he begins to tell us how things were and what happened to him.

Obviously he was doing quite well then as supreme world ruler.

He was enjoying a period of time where he had "peace" (rest) and "prosperity' (flourishing). Uh oh!

That's when great tribulation comes about, which is when people begin to believe their blessings are of their own doing!

That is when they are easily drawn away from the Word of God. Such is declared in the great Song of Moses pertaining to this final generation (Deut. 32:15).

[5] I saw a dream which made me afraid, and the thoughts upon my bed and the visions of my head troubled me.
This is Nebuchadnezzar's second dream as it seems we've got a little deja vu going on here and it is time once again for the religious community to give answer as to what is happening.

So go ahead, Neb, consult the multi-faith community and see if you can find any wisdom and understanding among them!

[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.
He tried this before, you know, and it didn't work!

Let's see if it works this time.

[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.
Nope, didn't work again. He even told them the dream this time.

Just goes to show you what we said before in that even if he would have told them the dream of the first awesome image he saw with the head of gold, etc., they would not have been able to interpret it, though they at least would have come up with something back then, because their very lives were at stake!

The point is, the religious community is clueless about these two dreams which give the wise understanding.

The first dream gives us the understanding of who, what, where, and when, and this second dream gives us the great why, the purpose, the reason the king of Babylon comes in the final generation.

[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,
So at the last, after Nebuchadnezzar got another real good look at the ignorance and lack of understanding of the entire religious community, in walks "God is (my) Judge", Daniel, whose Chaldean name is "Protect Thou (O Bel)", and the king proceeds to tell him his dream.
[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.
The king remembered it was Daniel who interpreted his earlier dream when he first recognized the spirit of God was in him.

Now the king wants to know what this dream means and this one Daniel, whose name means "God is Judge", who is rich in knowledge and wisdom from God's Word, will be used to declare the interpretation thereof.

Note to the deeper students: Remember that it is written in Joel chapter two which was quoted in Acts chapter two by Peter the Petros that in the last days, the young men would see visions, which means they would understand the visions of the prophets and teach them to their brothers and sisters, and the old men (elders rich is wisdom and knowledge) would understand "dreams dreamed", which is an Hebrew expression you will find associated with Pharaoh of Egypt before whom Joseph was brought and the king of Babylon before whom Daniel was brought. Mark 13:9 "... and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them." A word to the wise!

[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.
Before we continue, we need to talk about "trees" which are used throughout the Word of God to symbolize persons, including men, Satan, Jesus Christ, and even the God Himself who likens Himself to an "evergreen" fir tree in Hosea 14:8. In fact "trees symbolizing people"  are one of the first things a person learns when his or her eyes are touched and opened to the truth of God's Word.

Let's check it out in Mark chapter eight.

Mark 8:22-25
And he cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man unto him, and besought him to touch him.
It is the desire of many of us to have our spiritually blind brothers and sisters and loved ones touched by the Word of God who alone can open their eyes.

Now take heed to the example Jesus Christ set for us.

[23] And He took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw ought.
He first took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town... to the garden?

In other words, He took his mind away from the hustle and bustle of the traditions of men, and led Him (spiritually... understand) to where He could take some living water from His mouth, the Word of God, and then anoint His eyes.

Then He put His hands upon him (worked with him) and asked him if he saw anything.

He did NOT "pound it into him".

[24] And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking.
Wow! Now that he's been taken by the hand (worked with) and been touched by the Word of God instead of the traditions of men, he's now got the picture that the "two trees" in the midst of the garden are not fruit trees at all... but rather "men"... walking!

(The question is which one will you walk with or follow after, the Tree of Life or the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil?")

You "see", this is foundational knowledge which if one does not understand, he or she cannot see clearly to understand any tree or its branches.

Most of us have been told a fairy tale all of our lives that Eve ate an apple from a fruit tree which was in the midst of garden.

We didn't even know that the word apple is not to be found in the book of Genesis.

No, mother Eve was "seduced" by the Tree of the Knowledge and Good and Evil!

"How in the world could a tree seduce mother Eve", one will ask?

Well, he walked right up to her!

That tree of the knowledge of good and evil was none other than that beautiful and charismatic one called Satan who "walked" to and fro in the midst of the garden! (By the way, fruit trees cannot walk... nor do they have any knowledge of good or evil because they are as dumb as a baseball bat, which some of them actually become).

In other words, literal trees are brain dead which is because they have no brains at all... literally! Allow the Word of God to touch your mind and come out of the city and away from the silly traditions of men!

Now notice Jesus did not leave the man with only partly seeing the whole picture but rather worked him (put his hands on him) until he could see every man clearly!

[25] After that He put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly.
Hey, let's go out of town ourselves to the garden of God and check out the walking trees (men).

Let's go read Ezekiel 31 where God is describing the Assyrian (a type of that same king of Babylon, Satan) as a tree.

Ezekiel 31:3-9
Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with fair branches, and with a shadowing shroud, and of an high stature; and his top was among the thick boughs.
The word "Assyrian" in Hebrew is "te-ashshur" which means a "box-tree" or "box-cedar", a low grade tree but who was tall and cast a dark shadow!
[4] The waters made him great, the deep set him up on high with her rivers running round about his plants, and sent out her little rivers unto all the trees of the field.
Revelation 17:15 will explain to you that waters are symbolic of "peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues".

You "see", it is the people that made him great and gave him his power!

Understand that without their support he is nothing... and I mean NOTHING!
(Liberal politicians take heed!)

[5] Therefore his height was exalted above all the trees of the field, and his boughs were multiplied, and his branches became long because of the multitude of waters, when he shot forth.
His branches began to extend worldwide!
[6] All the fowls of heaven made their nests in his boughs, and under his branches did all the beasts of the field bring forth their young, and under his shadow dwelt all great nations.
Hey, that's a pretty big tree if all great nations can dwell under its shadow, wouldn't you say?

(Again, a shadow is darkness.)

[7] Thus was he fair in his greatness, in the length of his branches: for his root was by great waters.
He couldn't do much if only the little third world countries gave him their support!

No, his "root" was by GREAT WATERS!

[8] The cedars in the garden of God could not hide him: the fir trees were not like his boughs, and the chesnut trees were not like his branches; nor any tree in the garden of God was like unto him in his beauty.
No person in the garden of God could compare to him in beauty.

This is not really difficult at all, is it?

Do you see ought?

[9] I have made him fair by the multitude of his branches: so that all the trees of Eden, that were in the garden of God, envied him.
We forgot to mention that trees can't envy other trees.

Of course that should go without saying since they have no brains with which to think.

They may be dumb saps but let's not be dumb saplings ourselves.

It's really quite simple.

Symbolically speaking throughout the Word of God, trees represent people.

Think about it while you stretch your limbs!

Nevertheless, notice that this te-ashshur was in Eden, the garden of God!

In fact, he was in the midst of the garden and was the tree from which Adam and Eve were told not to eat the fruit thereof.

[10] Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast lifted up thyself in height, and he hath shot up his top among the thick boughs, and his heart is lifted up in his height;
This tree exalted himself above the other trees by using corrupt means of trafficking and merchandising coupled with liberal feel-good wisdom (which is no wisdom at all) to gain their support!

Now let's return to Daniel 4:11 and continue where Nebuchadnezzar is describing his dream to Daniel who has not yet heard the whole story and so has not yet given him the interpretation.

However, now that we "see men as trees" it will sure take most of the mystery out of the dream he is describing.

Amazing, isn't it?

In other words, because of the knowledge and wisdom we have gained from the Word of God, we can now readily "see" that he's talking about a person (trees = men)... who in this case is Satan himself... let's see... the one who becomes the strongest, tallest, most visible tree (person) on earth before he is hewn down.

Has to be the king of Babylon, but we don't even need to figure it out because Daniel will later tell us outright that's who it is!

Daniel 4:11
The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth:
We are talking world wide here!.
Daniel 4:12
The leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all (fed everybody): 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.
If trees are symbolic of people, then "leaves" are not really "tree leaves" at all, but rather the covering or attributes of a person.

You "see", his leaves are fair, meaning he appears as a beautiful person because of his covering leaves, and it is his promise (if the people continue to support him) to provide peace and prosperity and protection and 401K's... and free health insurance and a "liberal education" for all the little children of the whole wide world (www.thebeastprovides.com).

Remember, the king of Babylon, who is Satan, who is Anti-Christ, who is the Dragon, who has many aliases, is coming (for real) to take captive, spiritually, all those who will bow down to him.

He will set up his worldwide kingdom, which is all but ready for the taking.

Look out your window at the world political/economic scene now.

What do you see?

Global Economy, the Euro Dollar, World Court, UN Security... in short... THE NEW WORLD ORDER.

His shadow about covers the world, wouldn't you agree?

[13] I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and, behold, a watcher and an holy one came down from heaven;
A "watcher and an holy one" is a figure of speech (called an Hendiadys) and it means "an holy angel", a singular entity.

Your Companion Bible will document that a "watcher" is a Chaldean name meaning "an angelic being watching over the affairs of men".

 That's why the pronoun beginning the next verse is the singular "He".

[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:
Does your knowledge of trees tell you that Nebuchadnezzar is about to take a great fall and lose his kingdom and his beautiful appearance and influence over the nations.

We will look more closely at his personal experience during Daniel's interpretation knowing that the coming king of Babylon, the false messiah, who is Satan, is also cut off and hewn down and loses his kingdom and influence over the nations at Christ's return when the kingdoms of this world become the kingdom of God.

Rev. 11:15
And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
This corresponds to what the angel, the "watcher", said in his crying out (heralding) in the 13th and 14th verses of Daniel chapter four that we just read.

The seventh angel!

Amazing isn't it?

Do you know what happens to Satan at Christ's return?

Well, you should know because we just read it... but let's hear it through a second witness.

Rev. 20:1-3
And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
[2] And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
Put a little iron and brass chain around the stump.
[3] And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
Hey, that old stump is going to come up again at the end of the Millennium for a little season!

That will be his last!

So we see the tree being "hewn down" at the end of the "shortened season" at the and of this flesh age and we see it is "hewn down" (and cast into the lake of fire... leaving no stump) at the end of the "short season" at the end of the Millennium, so before we read the next few verses let's also pick up the original "hewing down" of the king of Tyre, Satan, at his rebellion when he had his great kingdom in the first earth age at which time he deceived 1/3 of the stars (Rev 12:4), God's children, into following after him.

In other words, we have a "little season" at the end of all three measures (see Mat. 13:33).

Let's go briefly to Ezekiel 28 where Satan will be likened unto the king of Tyrus which is just another analogy like the king of Babylon giving us more insight into his MO and character.

Whereas "Babylon" means "the state or land (lon) of confusion (babel)", "Tyrus" means "rock", as in little rock with a little "r" for as it is written in the Song of Moses, the song of the overcomers in Rev. 15, "For their rock is not as our Rock... (Deut. 32:31)".

So since we are talking about the same entity as the tree, pay close attention to "his leaves" in the next verse, which is the description we will be given of this "beautiful person", that same one who was in the garden of Eden (see vs. 13 below)!

Ezekiel 28:12-18
Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.
A lamentation is a sad song or a sad story which certainly applies to Satan!

Now did you notice his description? I mean, this one had it all... the sum, the epitome, of wisdom and beauty.

There is nothing mentioned whatsoever about a little red suit, or horns on his head, neither a three pronged pitch fork in his hand!

This next verse will document that we are not talking about the earthly king of Tyrus, but that same tree who was in the midst of the garden of God!

[13]Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.
Do you know what these stones are?

They are the stones which go in the breastplate that the Levitical Priests wore.

In fact, you can match them stone for stone with Exod. 28:17-21 where the breastplate is being described.

(Note: The Septuagint includes the fourth row of stones here in Ezek. 28.)

Exodus 28:17-21
And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, even four rows of stones: the first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this shall be the first row.

[18] And the second row shall be an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond.

[19] And the third row a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst.

[20] And the fourth row a beryl, and an onyx, and a jasper: they shall be set in gold in their inclosings.

[21] And the stones shall be with the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, like the engravings of a signet; every one with his name shall they be according to the twelve tribes.

So what we have learned in Ezekiel 28:13 is that Satan was a priest among the people of God who had the responsibility of walking "straight up and down" and keeping everyone focused on the mercy seat from whence truth and justice flowed!

In our next study we are going to learn that Satan was not only a priest but a prince (a star) among the people!

My how he has fallen!

Don't miss the next study for in it we shall learn how this fallen one fits into the wondrous and marvelous plan of God.

Live Link to- The Book of Daniel Table of Contents
It is important that YOU Read it all!

Jesus said, "the book of Daniel was where one could go read and gain understanding"

Jesus Christ told us in Matthew 24 and Mark 13 when He sat upon the Mount of Olives and gave His disciples the seven seals concerning the knowledge and the events that would transpire during the final generation of the fig tree, that the book of Daniel was where one could go read and gain understanding concerning the abomination of desolation, that abominable desolator (antichrist) who would come stand in the holy place claiming to be God.
The book of Daniel is the Apocalypse of the Old Testament
and a sister book to the Apocalypse of the New Testament,
the book of Revelation.

To study the Bible is the noblest of all pursuits; to understand it, the highest of all goals.
We pray that with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, you accomplish both.


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