The secret which was revealed to Daniel in a night vision (Dan. 2:19) was not simply the then unknown facts of the world's history. It was rather the revelation of the mystery of the Gospel,—how that the Lord can take the same kind of people as were found in the kingdoms which could not stand, but fell one after the other, and establish in them and through them a kingdom which “shall stand forever.” Dan. 2:44. This is the Gospel of the kingdom, the mystery of the kingdom of God. Here we have revealed in its historical connection the working out of that divine principle which is the very foundation of the Gospel—that principle which is the basis of the first preaching of the Gospel in Eden (Gen. 3:15), and which we have followed in our study of the promises to Abraham and to David. This dream and its interpretation constitute the divine key to the panorama of the world's history, its fall, and the establishment of the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. It is worthy of careful study.
From the different parts of the image mentioned (Dan. 2:32, 33) it is evident that it was the image of a man. It was distinctly stated to Nebuchadnezzar that “this great image . . . stood before thee.” Verse 31. From the interpretation which followed (verses 32 and 33 compared with verses 38 to 43) it is evident that the different parts of this image of a man represented the different kingdoms of the world until the coming of the Lord. In other words, this man included all the men comprising the kingdoms of the world. This man “stood” for a time, but was destroyed by the stone (verse 34), and became as chaff, and was carried away by the wind (verse 35). This is the experience of the ungodly. Ps. 1:4. Of these it is declared that they “shall not stand.” It thus is made clear that this image represented the history of the world of ungodly men, the men who are “without Christ, . . . having no hope, and without God in the world.” These are the very kind of people who are made over into the subjects of the kingdom of God. 1 Cor. 6:9-11. How could a kingdom which “shall stand forever” be made from such material? This is the secret revealed in this chapter.
Of the kingdom which the God of heaven was to set up it was declared that it “shall stand forever.” The word here translated “stand” is the Chaldaic form of the Hebrew word which is used in Isa. 40:8, in the declaration that “the Word of our God shall stand forever.” These two expressions (Dan. 2:44 and Isa. 40:8) connect the Gospel of the kingdom as taught in the dream of Nebuchadnezzar with the message of the prophet Isaiah, which was the message of John the Baptist, which is the message for the present generation. The message in Isaiah, with the associated texts, reveals in express terms the secret which is revealed in its workings in the dream and its interpretation. The message which is to prepare the way of the Lord (Isa. 40:3) is given in verses 6-10. “All flesh is grass; . . . the grass withereth. . . . But the Word of our God shall stand forever. . . . Behold your God! Behold, the Lord God will come.” Compare this with John 1:1, 2, 14. The secret or mystery of the Gospel is found in that mysterious union of divinity with humanity, through which comes the power to make weak mortal flesh “stand forever.” In the religion of Babylon there was no place for such an experience as this (Dan. 2:11), but it is the fundamental truth of Christianity (1 Tim. 3:16). The kingdom which the God of heaven will set up “shall stand forever” (Dan. 2:44), because “the Word of our God shall stand forever” (Isa. 40:8), and because a vital union has been made between the subjects of that kingdom and that living and abiding Word. (1 Peter 1:24, 25).
QUESTIONS.
What was the secret which was revealed to Daniel?
When was this principle first taught to man?
To whom was it afterwards revealed anew in the divine promises?
What ground is covered in the dream of Nebuchadnezzar and its interpretation?
What image did Nebuchadnezzar see?
What is stated concerning the position of this image?
How many men were included in this image of a man?
How long did this image stand? What finally became of it? Whose experience is thus set forth?
Of what class of persons is the kingdom of God composed? What made them fit subjects of the kingdom?
What is expressly declared concerning the duration of the kingdom of God?
In what connection is the same declaration again found?
What message prepares the way of the Lord and prepares for His coming?
By what experience were the weakness of the flesh and the eternity of the Word of God united?
In what way did the wise men of Babylon positively deny the possibility of such an experience?
What is the relation of this experience to Christianity?
What, then, was the secret which was revealed to Daniel, when the dream and its interpretation were revealed to him?
How do men become subjects of this eternal kingdom?
