Lesson 46: “A Kingdom, Which Shall Never Be Destroyed”

Daniel 2
Doctrine & Covenants 65

Purpose: To strengthen class members’ testimonies of the restored Church of Jesus Christ and encourage them to help build the kingdom of God on earth.

Scripture Discussion and Application

1. Daniel receives a revelation in which he is shown King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and given its interpretation.
2. Daniel describes and interprets Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.

Write Millennium on board; ask for its meaning. Underline Mill and en and explain, if necessary, its literal meaning; accept with little comment class ideas of what will occur during that period.

When will the Millennium come?

Matthew 24:36

36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

Many religious figures and groups – and we are not going to make fun of any of them – have predicted specific dates for the end of the world or of the Second Coming; I read through some material this morning that listed at least two dozen dates since the year 2000 on which the world was supposed to come to an end.

Where, so far as you know, do people find the ideas that cause them to calculate a given date as the end of the world? [This introduction is intended to establish the ambiguity of prophecy and the difficulties that come from trying to interpret prophecy too specifically. Lead discussion to discover that many of those who predict such dates base their predictions on Biblical verses, and that often such predictions are based on interpretations of current events, and that when people feel persecuted or feel that the world is especially wicked, the end of the world seems both desirable and imminent. Do not allow mockery.]

Joseph Smith recorded his own experience in asking the Lord about the timing of the Second Coming

Doctrine and Covenants 130:14-17 (February 1835)

14 I was once praying very earnestly to know the time of the coming of the Son of Man, when I heard a voice repeat the following:

15 Joseph, my son, if thou livest until thou art eighty-five years old, thou shalt see the face of the Son of Man; therefore let this suffice, and trouble me no more on this matter.

16 I was left thus, without being able to decide whether this coming referred to the beginning of the millennium or to some previous appearing, or whether I should die and thus see his face.

17 I believe the coming of the Son of Man will not be any sooner than that time.

Does Joseph Smith conclude, then, that the Second Coming will occur in 1890 or 1891, when he would have been 85 years old? What does he conclude?

Despite Joseph’s acknowledgment that there were several reasonable ways to understand the Lord’s statement, many Latter-day Saints seemed to see only verse 15, and looked for the Second Coming in 1890 or 1891. If you were a Latter-day Saint living in the 1880s, why might the idea that the Millennium would open in 1890 be especially attractive to you? [Briefly discuss the intense persecution of the years leading up to the Manifesto, suggesting that in times of especially harsh persecution, the relief of the Millennium could be especially attractive.]

Thankfully, in my opinion, we as Latter-day Saints do not at the time being fall into the trap of trying to pin down what the Lord has already told us he will not announce to us – yet even so, within the past five years, on two occasions former members of our ward have tried to convince me that they could deduce the precise sequence of events leading up to the Second Coming – and, not coincidentally, their deductions coincided precisely with their political ideologies. We need to be careful how we interpret prophetic scripture, to be sure that we’re not deceived by our own wishful thinking, or worse.

Let’s turn now to the Old Testament, and another prophecy that has been the subject of a great deal of discussion over the years.

Daniel 2

1 And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, wherewith his spirit was troubled, and his sleep brake from him.

2 Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to shew the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king.

3 And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream.

What kinds of dreams do you have that trouble you when you awaken? What do you do about it? Our knowledge of Babylonian history is detailed enough that we know that in the year 603 BC, the second year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, Babylon faced some heavy military involvement. Two years later, Nebuchadnezzar would invade Egypt, unsuccessfully, and he was probably already planning this expedition, concerned about its success. So he called his advisers together – the magicians and astrologers who were believed to be able to read the future, and also the “Chaldeans.” Nebuchadnezzar himself was a Chaldean, so these men were his courtiers, men who were seeking the king’s favor and hoping to move up in rank.

It is these flatterers, the Chaldeans, who speak first, speaking in “Syriack,” or Aramaic, the Nebuchadnezzar’s mother tongue.

4 Then spake the Chaldeans to the king in Syriack, O king, live for ever: tell thy servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation.

That sounds fair enough, doesn’t it? In one of the first prophetic dreams recorded in the Bible, Pharaoh dreams of the seven lean cattle who devour the seven fat cattle. Pharaoh tells his dream, and Joseph interprets it. That is the normal course of things in the ancient Near East – the commentaries tell me that there are many recorded cases of men telling their dreams, and others interpreting them. There is only one single case of a king demanding that the dream itself be described before the interpretation is given. That case is here in Daniel.

5 The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is gone from me: if ye will not make known unto me the dream, with the interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill.

6 But if ye shew the dream, and the interpretation thereof, ye shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great honour: therefore shew me the dream, and the interpretation thereof.

7 They answered again and said, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation of it.

8 The king answered and said, I know of certainty that ye would gain the time, because ye see the thing is gone from me.

9 But if ye will not make known unto me the dream, there is but one decree for you: for ye have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me, till the time be changed: therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that ye can shew me the interpretation thereof.

Do you think Nebuchadnezzar really had forgotten his dream? Put yourself in the shoes of the courtiers for a moment – do you have anything to lose by guessing? The courtiers don’t seem to be entirely sure whether Nebuchadnezzar really has forgotten – they don’t dare to make something up, and instead try to convince the king that what he asks is impossible.

10 The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is not a man upon the earth that can shew the king’s matter: therefore there is no king, lord, nor ruler, that asked such things at any magician, or astrologer, or Chaldean.

11 And it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is none other that can shew it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.

We all know, of course, what is about to happen – Daniel will successfully describe the dream and give its interpretation. So why didn’t the writer of the book of Daniel just start with Daniel – what is the point of starting with the failure of these Chaldeans to do what the king asked?

When Nebuchadnezzar has had enough of the stalling of his advisers, he orders them all destroyed, even those who were not, apparently, part of the story so far.

12 For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.

13 And the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain; and they sought Daniel and his fellows to be slain.

14 ¶Then Daniel answered with counsel and wisdom to Arioch the captain of the king’s guard, which was gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon:

15 He answered and said to Arioch the king’s captain, Why is the decree so hasty from the king? Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel.

16 Then Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would give him time, and that he would shew the king the interpretation.

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.

Who are Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah?

While we’re looking at these verses I would like to point out one detail that really isn’t essential to our discussion, but suggests how much more there is to reading the Old Testament than we ever give to it in our Gospel Doctrine classes. Notice in these verses that Daniel goes to see the king. How much difficulty does he have, apparently, in going in to the king’s presence? What does that suggest about his relationship with Nebuchadnezzar? Then why did Nebuchadnezzar order that Daniel should be destroyed along with all the other wise men of Babylon, even though he was not apparently part of the group that Nebuchadnezzar asked to tell his dream?

Now let’s look at verses 24-25:

24 ¶Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had ordained to destroy the wise men of Babylon: he went and said thus unto him; Destroy not the wise men of Babylon: bring me in before the king, and I will shew unto the king the interpretation.

25 Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said thus unto him, I have found a man of the captives of Judah, that will make known unto the king the interpretation.

What contradiction is there between this verse and the one above where Daniel apparently had free access to the king? So which is it – is Daniel a trusted advisor who can come and go as he pleases, or is he an unknown person who is being introduced to the king for the first time, one who needs the escort of the king’s guard in order to approach the king?

This is a seemingly very small detail, but there are enough such contradictions in the book of Daniel that, taken together, and with careful study of Near Eastern history, have convinced most scholars that the book of Daniel was not written at the time of the events, but was written and rewritten and edited and combined with other material until it reached its final form perhaps 400 years later.

Why would it matter if the book were written 400 years after the events? In a few minute we’ll talk about one specific consequence of its later date.

Let’s go back to our story. The Lord reveals the dream and its interpretation to Daniel, who then expresses his gratitude to God in a poem of thanksgiving:

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.

Now let’s read straight through Daniel’s audience with Nebuchadnezzar:

[If time is running short, ask class members to summarize the dream, and read the interpretation in verses 36-44.]

24 ¶Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had ordained to destroy the wise men of Babylon: he went and said thus unto him; Destroy not the wise men of Babylon: bring me in before the king, and I will shew unto the king the interpretation.

25 Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said thus unto him, I have found a man of the captives of Judah, that will make known unto the king the interpretation.

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.

31 ¶Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible.

32 This image’s head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass,

33 His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.

34 Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.

35 Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.

36 ¶This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king.

37 Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory.

38 And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold.

39 And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.

40 And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.

41 And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay.

42 And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.

43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.

44 And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.

45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.

46 ¶Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odours unto him.

47 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.

48 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.

49 Then Daniel requested of the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel sat in the gate of the king.

Look again at Daniel’s interpretation of the dream. Notice that he interprets the parts of the statue as referring to different kingdoms that would follow Babylon … but he does not identify those kingdoms. That is, he does not say that the silver chest and arms refers to Media, or that the bronze belly and thighs refers to Persia or to Greece or to any other specific kingdom. He only says that Nebuchadnezzar will be followed by a succession of other kingdoms, of gradually descending power and importance.

Now, in most LDS Sunday Schools, classes spend a great deal of this lesson time on naming the various kingdoms represented by parts of the great statue. Would it surprise you to learn that we usually identify the kingdoms different from others?

I mentioned before that most scholars believe that the book of Daniel was written perhaps 400 years after the events it describes. One reason for that is that the book of Daniel mentions four kingdoms that rose and fell after Nebuchadnezzar. Because people tend to interpret prophecy according to their own recent history and their immediate expectations, Daniel’s four kingdoms represented by the parts of the statue are understood by most people to be those four ancient kingdoms. The Jews, conquered by other nations, looked forward passionately to the coming of the Messiah who would destroy the kingdoms of the world – which they identified as the recent kingdoms they were most familiar with.

The usual Latter-day Saint identification of the kingdoms, however, arose in the late 19th century. Just as the Jews from 2,000 years earlier interpreted Daniel’s words according to conditions in their world, we interpreted the vision according to conditions in our own world. The last kingdom – the feet of mixed iron and clay – is, in Latter-day Saint terms, most often identified as the nations of Europe. That has continued to be our typical interpretation for well over a hundred years – although that interpretation allows no room for the rise of the United States as a world power, or of the Soviet Union, or the nations of the Middle East or of China which seem poised to play major roles in the decades to come. It is an interpretation that arose during a time of great persecution, when it seemed that the only possible survival of the Church would be the Second Coming of Christ, to crush wicked oppressors and usher in the Millennium.

I know of no prophet of this dispensation who has claimed this identification to have come by revelation – as far as I can discover, this interpretation has been repeated simply because it is “ours.” We are not bound by it, but we are free to consider and interpret it anew. But just as it is unwise to put too much weight on any unauthorized claims about the timing of the end of the world, it would be unwise to make more of Daniel’s interpretation than is warranted. We run the risk of interpreting the rise and fall of kingdoms according to our political ideas, rather than revising our political ideas according to scripture.

[Time will probably not permit further discussion. If the class has moved along more rapidly than expected, spend the remainder of the time discussing the “stone cut out of the mountain without hands.”]

Conclusion

[Testimony – feelings about prophecy in general, this prophecy, and about the eventual triumph of the Kingdom of God.]

-oOo-

Thanks to Ben S, and Benjamin the Scribe, for material used in this lesson.