May 31: MAN’S GLORIFICATION OF MAN
And King Nebuchadnezzar sent word to gather together the satraps, the administrators, the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Daniel 3:2
Our God bends low to reach down to us and lift our gaze toward heaven. He communicates to us in terms that we can understand. In sending the dream of the statue to King Nebuchadnezzar, He used a visual to symbolize the idolatrous pagan kingdoms that would directly obscure and oppress true religion, that of the worship of the only true God. He demonstrated the downward direction that fallen man and his manmade kingdoms are taking. Each successive empire was symbolized by a metal of lesser value, though each successive metal was harder than the previous one. With the passage of time, fallen man only becomes more brutal, shallow, and self-centered. Some of this shallowness is covered with a veneer—a pretense—of polish, but more and more evil is shamelessly promoted. The false idea of our evolution toward betterment is the opposite of what is actually happening. The reality is this: mankind’s “evolution” increases brutality and decreases refinement, exactly as the dream depicted.
The gracious heavenly message given to Nebuchadnezzar using the vision of the statue was well-received at the time. The first part of the interpretation, “You are this head of gold” (2:38) had had a certain appeal to his ego. But the message in its entirety was one that he did not like. Fallen human nature again took control of the king’s focus. His return to idolatry became the center of all his efforts. The enormous golden image was a lavish display of the wealth of Babylon. The design of the statue was based upon the image he had seen in the dream, yet all covered in gold.
The invitation to the dedication of the image went forth—far and wide—for a great fanfare of pomp and ceremony. The extensive list of dignitaries that were invited further signified the king’s enthusiasm for making known the greatness of his empire.
The symbolic imagery by which the LORD had revealed to the king and the people His divine purposes in the coming future — eternal! — kingdom of glory had been co-opted and misused for the glorification of human power. Daniel’s interpretation was being pushed aside and forgotten for the human purpose of misinterpreting God’s message and twisting the truth. The symbol divinely designed to unfold important events of the future to the minds of men was “stolen” by the enemy to hinder the spread of the true knowledge that God desired to impart. Such is happening across Christendom today, and a great show of it is being made. The world is on the verge of a massive counterfeit revival that will deceive millions…
He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived. Revelation 13:13-14