Watch out for Falling Rocks, part II

One sign you seldom see in Kansas and Nebraska on the highway is "Watch out for falling rocks." But in Colorado you see them on a regular basis. The legend is told that an old Indian chief lost his son. The chief went through all the mountains of the west putting up signs for people to look for his son. The signs said, "Watch for Falling Rocks." Okay, that was bad, but it is true that on many roads in Colorado you need to watch for falling rocks.

While I attended and later taught at Intermountain Bible College in Grand Junction, Colorado I spent a great deal of time up the Colorado River in the metropolises of Grand Valley (now Parachute) and Rifle. I was only a freshman at IBC when I began traveling to Grand Valley with Harry Scates who was the senior minister there. Our route was to go through the Debeque Canyon where the Colorado River has cut out the canyon in the sandstone creating high bluffs and spectacular scenery. But sometimes the scenery took a notion to move and when it did it was not uncommon for a big 100 ton rock to wind up in the middle of the highway. Two of these events come to mind.

The first was in 1957-58. On this occasion it was more than a big rock, but the entire mountainside moved almost damming up the Colorado River. The highway was closed for several weeks while they rerouted the road and shoved the mountainside into the riverbed. Harry and I even took the train one weekend to get to Grand Valley. There was a road around the canyon, but it was graveled only and slow going. If I were to take to the Debeque Canyon I could show you the exact spot of the landslide.

A footnote to this event. A man was traveling down the canyon when he realized the slide was coming. The speed limit was 60 mph, so he was going way too fast to stop. The man jammed on the brakes locking the rear wheels of the car. He shifted the car into reverse, gunned the engine and the transmission and drive line miraculously handled the shock, and the car shot backwards just barely missing the slide.

The next experience with a big rock was in 1967-68. On this particular day I was commuting from Rifle where I was preaching to Grand Junction to teach. Coming around a blind corner I saw a huge rock in the highway ahead. Fortunately it had already landed and I had ample time to get stopped. There was room to get around it and I was able to go on. I remember my passenger, the elderly Otto Duckworth, about had a heart attack when he saw the rock. It was big enough that if it had hit railroad engine it would completely destroyed it with room to spare.

Living in Colorado gave us an awareness of the power of big rocks and what they could do. My father came close to death when a rock dropped from the ceiling of an underground mine. The miner's helmet he wore saved his life.

Today as we look at Daniel we are going to witness the story of another big rock. Jesus talked about this rock when he said, "Jesus said to them, "Did you never read in the Scriptures,

The stone which the builders rejected,

This became the chief corner stone;

This came about from the Lord,

And it is marvelous in our eyes?

Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people, producing the fruit of it. And he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.""(Matthew 21:42-44 NASB) 

Jesus is echoing a spectacular event in the book of Daniel. It is a story about the power of one amazing big stone. And now to that story we turn in the book of Daniel.  

The Background of Daniel

Daniel was a teenager when along with a number of other young me he was taken to Babylon as a hostage by Nebuchadnezzar II in 605 BC. In less than 20 years Babylonia had risen from an unknown entity to the leading nation of the world. Babylonia had conquered all comers, including the once powerful Assyrians and Egyptians. The world stood in awe of this power. Theologically, all nations believed that their power was dependent on their gods. Obviously Babylonia's gods were the most powerful. In fact no god was able to stand before them and as far as the world knew that list included the God of Israel—Yahweh.

What they did not know was that Yahweh had given Babylonia its power In order to punish the adversaries of Israel and of greatest significance to punish Israel for her unfaithfulness to Him. Jeremiah and Habakkuk especially discuss this in their prophecies. 

Along with Daniel were three other fine young men—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. These boys were dumped into a quagmire of pagan, idolatrous worship and threatened with being overpowered by the demonic forces at work in Babylon. Imagine four teenage boys separated from all the restrictions they had previously known. No prophets of Yahweh preaching doom anymore. No parents telling them to pick up their dirty clothes and wanting to spoil their fun. No government leaders making demands. These boys were free to do whatever the Babylonian society allowed. The sky was the limit. These boys would learn about spiritual warfare at its highest (lowest?) levels. They were in a "get-down-and-dirty" spiritual world. Remember, these boys are teenagers? How many teenagers do we know today who were dropped into such circumstances survive? I know a few. I also know those who fall to the lure of what the devil has to offer. In a college town we see hundreds of them taking the plunge into hedonism and sin.  

Just like Joseph, over a thousand years earlier, these boys were thrust into a situation where they could do what they pleased because no one was watching. For all of them, someone was watching. That unseen force would keep them in line in all circumstances.  

They are not in the city of Babylon very long when they are recognized as being quite handsome and talented. I've never had to deal with either gift, but I know those who do. They are given by the grace of God a greater challenge than us common folk. The Hollywood crowd is so proud of itself that it regularly performs public acts of self-adulation. In February we had the Oscars in which those who consider themselves the best of society in turn chose the ones they considered the best in their sub-culture. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego were blessed with that issue. Note what the book of Daniels says: 

3     Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, the chief of his ²officials, to bring in some of the sons of Israel, including some of the ³royal family and of the nobles,

     4     youths in whom was no defect, who were good-looking, showing intelligence in every branch of wisdom, endowed with understanding and discerning knowledge, and who had ability for ¹serving in the king's ²court; and he ordered him to teach them the ³literature and language of the Chaldeans.

     5     The king appointed for them a daily ration from the king's choice food and from the wine which he drank, and appointed that they should be ¹educated three years, at the end of which they were to ²enter the king's personal service.

     6     Now among them from the sons of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah.

     7     Then the commander of the officials assigned new names to them; and to Daniel he assigned the name Belteshazzar, to Hananiah Shadrach, to Mishael Meshach and to Azariah Abed-nego.  

Several things to note about these boys:

• They were high bred and came from high class families in Israel. Actually God rescued them from a culture that was rapidly becoming more pagan than what they would find in Babylon. Their move here was an act of protection. They most likely had received whatever education the nobility of Jerusalem received—primarily reading and understanding the Torah. What else they may have learned we do not know.
  
• They were good looking with no defects. Imagine being checked over by someone to see if you have defects. In Israel only priests had to be free of defects. As far as we know these boys were not from priestly families. This may have been one of the considerations for their selection to go to Babylon in the first place. Nebuchadnezzar had a habit of taking the best of people he found to be in his country where they could be productive for him. His hope was that he would win their loyalty and their commitment to him and his country. Young boys would be especially malleable
  
• The boys were intelligent and capable of being trained. They had the characteristics that would make them do well in school. They were the kind of scholarly material for which the Babylonian government looked. They would serve well in government and ultimately provide strength for the government. They were to be taught Babylonian language and literature. That would be the Aramaic language and of course Aramaic literature. This would have been written in a cuneiform style script. Simply, these boys were to be given the best education that Babylonia could provide. In a special way God was preparing leaders by giving them an excellent education. They would be trained for three years and then enter the King's service. That means they would have a place on the king's advisory staff, be well paid, have nice homes, and all the amenities that accompanied such positions. Smith says about this:  

Those selected were to undergo a thorough program of education and indoctrination—a virtual Babylonian brainwashing! They studied the literature and language of the Chaldean people.⁵ The subject matter no doubt included language, astronomy, mathematics, natural history, mythological literature, agriculture, and architecture. These young men were not being trained as soothsayers, but as upper-level administrators and advisors.⁶ Nonetheless, the purpose of this curriculum was to change the way these young men thought—their worldview, their value system (1:4b). 

• Daniel and his friends were to be given the best of food from the king's table—best wine, best desserts, richest cuts of meat. But here a problem arises. For the first time in the history of the Bible there is a dietary challenge presented. Prior to this, except that it is mentioned in the Law of Moses, little consideration is given to what can or cannot be eaten. Another aspect of brainwashing is being employed. The goal here was to change the lifestyle of these young men.
  
  
• New names. Look at the comparison chart. The young men would give up their God/Yahweh honoring names and take on names that honored Babylonian deities. This time the goal of the government is to change the loyalties of the boys. Their teachers knew that the boys came from a religious background. Religion was also important to the Babylonians and they wanted the boys to recognize and serve the gods of Babylon.  

BRAINWASHING THROUGH NAME CHANGE
HEBREW NAME	MEANING	BABYLONIAN NAME	MEANING
HANANIAH MISHAEL AZARIAH DANIEL	"The Lord is Gracious" "Who is What God is?" "The Lord has helped" "God is my Judge"	SHADRACH MESHACH ABED-NEGO BELTESHAZZAR	"Command of Aku" "Who is what Aku is?" "Servant of Nebo" "May Balak protect"

What the Babylonians were to learn was simple. You can change my name and you can send me to school, but you are not going to change the "main man" that is down inside me. Daniel made the decision that he would not defile himself by eating the king's food.  

"Defile" here is in reference to the laws of Moses. Food was a large issue in the law of Moses. There were rules about the kind of meat you could eat, the kind of birds you eat, the kind of seafood you could have and even the bugs you could eat. "Defile" is in reference to moral and spiritual defilement. Daniel knew that if he ate from the king's table he would be morally and spiritually defiled. This is the only time in the Old Testament where we have a Jewish person taking issue with the food being served. But the issue of defilement looms large in the time of Daniel and the period after the Babylonian exile.  

Seventh Day Adventists today point to this passage to bolster their claims that we should all be vegetarians. But there are much larger issues here. The demonic forces plan to use food to help lure Daniel and his friends away from the worship of the True and Living God. Daniel asked for a special dispensation and willingly submitted himself to a test to prove that he was right. The official was concerned. If Daniel and his friends looked sickly then it could be his head. Daniel asked for ten days to demonstrate that the diet would work. If not, they would eat the food from the King's table. The test—eat only vegetables or grains for ten days. No meat of any kind and no wine. Water only.

We do not know why Daniel made such a decision. Was he trying to demonstrate his faith or to display his confidence in his faith. One suggestion is that he had a heavenly vision that told him to do this. Because of Daniel's closeness to God, this may well be the case. Issues that would have prompted Daniel were:

• The meat could have been unacceptable. Babylonians ate pork and horsemeat. Both were forbidden by the Law of Moses.
  
• Any meat provided would not have been prepared in a kosher style. This refers first to the way the animal is killed and then to how the blood is handled from the animal.
  
• There was strong likelihood that any meat provided had previously been offered to an idol which would make it sacred meat. Probably this is the only type of meat the king used because it would afford him spiritual power and special physical strength. Even in his eating he was worshiping his deities. Though this is never an issue in the Old Testament it certainly does become one in the New Testament. Paul clearly warns his followers not to eat meat sacrificed to idols. The meat has not changed, but the message the meat sends has.
  
• Wine was often poured out as drink offerings (libations) to the gods, so there was even a religious
  
• Daniel can eat grains and vegetables because these were not likely to be offered to idols.  

Some factors to be considered:

At first glance this request seems simple enough, but a number of factors rendered this a courageous act. Stephen Miller makes the following points: 

• To refuse the royal diet could have been taken as an insult to the king and as an act of direct disobedience to Nebuchadnezzar's orders.
  
• Pressure from Daniel's peers most certainly made the decision difficult. Everyone else was doing it. By choosing this course of action, Daniel and his friends were setting themselves apart from the others. Now they were different, strange.
  
• Such unorthodox behavior could have jeopardized their chances for advancement.
  
• The quality of food would have been attractive. It was the best in the land.
  
• Their new location may have tempted them to be unfaithful. Judah was nine hundred miles away; parents and friends would never know whether or not they kept God's laws. Yet Daniel and his friends were aware of a very important fact. Other people might not know their actions, but God would know, and someday all will give an account of themselves to him.
  
• It would have been natural to argue that since God had not protected them from captivity—this horrible situation—they did not have to be careful to obey his commands. They could have become bitter toward God during this time. Sometimes believers fall into this trap. All of these factors could have caused some people to compromise, but Daniel and his friends remained faithful to their God. 

The chief eunuch or overseer allowed Daniel and his friends to take the test. At the end of the ten days he saw that the Hebrew boys looked better than those who ate from the king's table. They were not more chubby, but their flesh had a better texture to it. He removed the four from the royal diet permanently. Most likely the other boys had indulged a little too much in the rich food from the king's diet and had more wine than they needed; thus they didn't look so good.  

When the time of education was complete the four boys were interviewed by Nebuchadnezzar himself. The conclusion of the author of Daniel says that the boys were ten times wiser than anyone in the kingdom of Babylonia. Daniel would serve in the king's court until the days of Cyrus when the Persians defeated the Babylonians (539 BC). With the help of God Daniel passed the course with flying colors.  

But God is beginning to quietly demonstrate his power over the Babylonians. Probably even Daniel did not know the real agenda that was represented by the food. "The change in the appearance of the young men was the result of God's grace, not the properties of the foods consumed."

Nebuchadnezzar's personal encounter with the Big Rock

As we move into chapter two of Daniel we are immediately brought face to face with a serious problem that could radically affect the lives of Daniel and his three friends.

First, we learn that Nebuchadnezzar experienced a bad dream. The dream troubled his spirit and kept him from getting any more sleep. Remember, these people placed much more stock in dreams than we do today. So a bad dream might very well be bad news. Note the parallels between this event and the story of Joseph.

Joseph and Pharaoh	Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar
Joseph brought out of prison	Daniel brought from Jerusalem into exile
Pharaoh has bad dreams	Nebuchadnezzar has a very bad dream
Pharaoh does not understand his dream	Nebuchadnezzar does not understand his dream
Pharaoh tells the dream to his advisors	Nebuchadnezzar demands his advisors tell him the dream and explain its meaning
Pharaoh's advisors are unable to explain the dream	Nebuchadnezzar's advisors are unable to tell the king his dream. They offend the king further by suggesting that "no real king" would make such a demand
	Nebuchadnezzar threatens to kill all the advisors and turn their homes into public toilets
Joseph is brought forward and he is able to explain the dream	Daniel pleads for time and is able to explain the dream
As a result of Joseph's skill in explaining the dream he is made number 2 in all of Egypt	"Then the king gave Daniel high honors and many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon.49 Daniel made a request of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the affairs of the province of Babylon. But Daniel remained at the king's court." Daniel 1:31

 

King Nebuchadnezzar had a bad dream. The usual procedure for such an experience would be to bring the matter to court where all the advisors were, tell the dream, and then the advisors would play with it for a while in an attempt to explain the dream. But they had never been challenged like this before. Nebuchadnezzar may have had a bad dream, but he is not going to tell them what it was. Perhaps he was weary of their phony ministrations and explanations when it was that they had no idea about that of which they spoke. Perhaps he was weary of fawning men in front of him who were currying favor with him so that they could make special requests. Perhaps Nebuchadnezzar was a shrewd, intelligent man who had seen through their little game. Right after the dream is mentioned, Daniel switches to Aramaic. The book of Daniel is in Aramaic from Daniel 2:4 to the end of the seventh chapter.

Now the pressure is on. And to make it worse, some advisor who was long on lip and short on brains suggested that no real king would make such a request. Even if the statement were true, it was not a smart political move. The person who has little respect for life is the one to make such a demand. Nebuchadnezzar became extremely angry and ordered his guard to begin the execution of all the wise men in Babylon. This would include Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. Daniel did not attend the fateful meeting, but it wasn't long before the king's guard was at Daniel's home. Their intent was to arrest and execute Daniel. Daniel boldly went to the king and requested an audience so that he could explain the dream. Then he rushed home and told his friends they needed to do some serious praying to gain God's assistance in resolving this life-and-death issue.

Remember these are not older, seasoned warriors, but young men who have barely graduated from the University of Babylon. Suddenly they are thrust into the crisis mode. Up to this point the test of their faith was over what they would eat. Now the test is whether or not God is going to allow them to live. They put their trust where it ought to be—in God and the power of prayer. Later we will discover that these men are willing to die for their faith rather than go against God's will. But at this moment they cannot be sure of what is going to happen.

Daniel 2:19 says, "Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven." (NASB). Daniel praises God for his greatness and thanks him for the wisdom he needed to tell and explain the vision which Nebuchadnezzar had. When Daniel appears before the king, Daniel explains that no human could tell and explain the vision, but there is a God in heaven who able to do so.

This brings us to the heart of matter—Nebuchadnezzar's bad dream. Nebuchadnezzar saw a giant image made up of different types of metal. In the conclusion of the dream he also saw a stone cut out of a mountain that came and destroyed the image. Following is a simple chart explaining the dream. We also need to be aware that this chart is also the basic outline of the book of Daniel. This chart will be expanded in later visions that Daniel has, but they will all follow the same pattern. The chart is the development of history. It goes far beyond the time of Daniel. If we believe that Daniel wrote this book, then we have to believe that God revealed him this information. Modern scholars have challenged this idea claiming that Daniel did not write the book, but someone in 165 BC wrote the book, purporting it to be prophecy when in reality is was a description of the history from Daniel's time to the time of the Romans. Later in the book of Daniel the detail will become even more significant. Thus one is forced to make a choice. Can God foretell history with this sort of accuracy? Or is this really history put in prophetic form?

The "Parts" of the Dream	The meaning of the parts
A single great statue, large, extraordinary splendor, appearance awesome	World history
The Head of fine gold	Babylonia	2:36-38
Breast and arms of silver	Medo-Persian	2:39a
Thighs of Bronze	Greece	2:39b
Legs of iron	Roman empire	2:40
Feet of clay mingled with iron	Roman empire with its satellite states, usually ruled by local rulers, not Romans	2:41-43
Stone from the mountain	Kingdom of God	2:44-45

We have to remember that Nebuchadnezzar is the most powerful man in the world at this time. He has been granted this power by the God of heaven, but Nebuchadnezzar either credits his own gods or even worse, credits himself. He is a great man because of what he has accomplished. Without his direct knowledge, Nebuchadnezzar is also being directed by Satan in his activities. Later Daniel will tell us that there are demonic forces who are influencing world empires. Daniel tells us that God's angels are responding in kind to the demonic forces. 

As we often see in the Bible, Satan assumes he has won a great victory because of his success over the people of God. He has effectively tempted them and led them into sin. In some situations he has participated in their downfall and destruction. But God has other plans for his people who are in Babylonia. He is determined to protect them in order that he may bring them back to Israel after 70 years.

What we have here is a direct frontal attack on Daniel and his friends. The attack is like the one Satan used to try to destroy Jesus at his birth. Herod the Great sent his army into the little town of Bethlehem and had all of the young boys, two years and younger, put to death. Herod's plan was to wipe out Jesus which likewise was Satan's plan. What better way to end God's program of salvation than to nip it in the bud—destroy the child before he can do anything? This is exactly the same plan facing Daniel. Satan arranged for the death of all the wise men in Babylonia which of course included Daniel and his three friends. They are still young and by destroying them Satan can minimize any opportunities the four would have to do good for Israel or for the worldwide kingdom of God.

They statue may be big and awesome, but it is vulnerable if a big rock fall on it. That big rock represented the power of God.

Nations will rise and fall, but all will come under the stone of the Kingdom of God. No kingdom or nation is too big. Satan may advise and guide, but he will not be ultimately successful.

Big Rock Falling!

The Babylonian Empire came to an end in 539 BC and today if you go to the city of Babylon you will find only ruins. The last inhabitants of Babylon disappeared around AD 600. Since that time no one has lived there. When archaeologists began to uncover the old city during the 1800s, they could not get workers to stay in the city. The workers said the city was full of evil spirits and they were not about to stay there.

The Medo-Persian Empire would come to a terrible end at the hands of Alexander the Great around 323 BC.

The Greek Empire started by Alexander the Great would be taken over by the Roman Empire by 150 BC.

Finally, the Roman Empire, and the later Holy Roman Empire, would come to an end as well.

But the Rock, the Kingdom of God is still rolling along. The power of God will ultimately rule over all the world.