E M P I R E S
OUR LAST SESSION (DAN.1) GAVE US A HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF THE BOOK OF DANIEL FROM THE TIME THAT HE AND HIS 3 FELLOW EXILES WERE FIRST TAKEN TO BABYLON. THEN IT TELLS US ABOUT AN OVERT ATTEMPT BY THE BABYLONIAN AUTHORITIES TO STRIP DANIEL AND COMPANY OF THEIR HEBREW HERITAGE, GIVING THEM NEW BABYLONIAN IDENTITIES (ASSIMILATING THEM), BY USING THE 4 MAIN ELEMENTS THAT MAKE UP THE IDENTITY OF A PERSON, (ESPECIALLY IN THOSE ANCIENT TIMES) - LOCATION, NAME, EDUCATION AND DIET. AND WE SAW DANIEL PASS THE TEST WITH YAHUAH AND WAS NOT ONLY SUPERNATURALLY SUSTAINED AND ELEVATED IN STATUS, BUT WAS GIVEN SPIRITUAL GIFTS ALSO. SO WITH THAT ESTABLISHED, DANIEL CHAPTER 2 TAKES US FROM MERELY THE REALM OF HISTORICAL ACCOUNT TO FUTURE PROPHECY!
D A N I E L . 2
1During Nebuchadnezzar’s second year as King, he had dreams that troubled his spirit so much that he couldn’t sleep. 2So the King called his wise men (since they practiced magic, astrology and witchcraft to try and learn what would happen in the future). The King ordered them (as well as some Chaldeans) to tell him what he’d dreamed, so they came to the King.
3And the King said to them, “I had a dream that deeply troubles me, and I want to know what it means.” 4Then the Chaldeans answered the King in Aramaic and said, “Our King, live forever! We are your humble servants, so please tell us your dream, and then we’ll say what it means.”
5Then King Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “No, you must tell me the dream, and then you must tell me what it means. If you don’t ...
... I will give an order for you to be cut into pieces, and will order your houses to be destroyed until they are nothing but piles of dust and ashes. 6But if you tell me my dream and explain its meaning, I will give you gifts, rewards, and great honour. So tell me about my dream and what it means.”
7Again the wise men said to the King, “Please Master, tell us about the dream, and we will tell you what it means.”
8Then King Nebuchadnezzar answered, “I know that you’re just trying to buy more time. You know that I meant what I said. 9You know that you'll be punished if you don’t tell me about my dream. So now you’ve all agreed to lie to me in the hope for more time, so that I'll forget what I want you to do. Now tell me the dream now! If you can tell me the dream, then I’ll know that you are capable of telling me what it really means.”
10The Chaldeans answered the King, “There is not a man on earth who can do what the King is asking! No King has ever asked the wise men, the men who do magic, or the Chaldeans to do something like this. Not even the greatest and most powerful King has ever asked his wise men to do such a thing. 11You’re asking the impossible! Only the gods and goddesses could tell the King his dream and what it means, but they don’t live down here in flesh with the people.” 12And when the King heard that, he became furious, and gave an order for all the wise men of Babylon to be killed.
THE KING DECIDED THAT THEY WERE (AS A GROUP) FAKE-ARSE PHONIES, AND SHOULD DIE (JUST THOSE IN THE CITY WHERE HIS PALACE WAS, NOT THE WHOLE NATION). SUCH WAS THE POWER OF THE ANCIENT ORIENTAL KINGS, AND NEBUCHADNEZZAR’S EDICT OF DEATH FOR AN ENTIRE CLASS OF PEOPLE (JUST TO SATISFY HIS OUTRAGE) WAS NOT AN UNUSUAL PRACTICE AT ALL.
13When the King's order to kill all the wise men was announced, the Guards were sent to look for Daniel and his friends to kill them also. 14Arioch was the Commander of the King’s Guards, so when he approached Daniel and his mates to kill them, Daniel spoke to him very politely with wisdom, 15saying, “What's the deal? Why'd the King order such a severe punishment, and what’s the great urgency?” So Arioch explained to Daniel the whole story about the King’s dreams, and he understood. 16Then Daniel went to King Nebuchadnezzar and asked him to give some time, then he'd tell the King what his dream meant.
17So Daniel went to his house and explained the whole story to his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. 18Then he asked his friends to pray to the Alahim of Heaven that He would be kind to them and help them understand this secret. Then Daniel and his friends would not be killed with the other wise men of Babylon.
19During the night, YAHUAH explained the secret to Daniel in a vision of his own.
So Daniel praised the Alahim of Heaven, 20saying, “Praise YAHUAH’S name forever and ever! Power and wisdom belong to Him. 21He changes the times and seasons. He gives power to Kings, and He takes their power away. He gives wisdom to people, so they become wise. He lets people learn things and become wise. 22He knows hidden secrets that are hard to understand. Light (SUPERNATURAL PURITY) lives with Him, so He knows what is in the dark and secret places. 23Alahim of my ancestors, I thank You and praise You for giving me wisdom and power, in revealing the secret of the King’s dream.”
THE SECRET CAME IN A `NIGHT VISION', WHICH ISN’T NECESSARILY 'A DREAM'. SINCE THE WORD DREAM (IN ARAMAIC) IS `CHELEM’, BUT THE WORD VISION IS `CHEZEB`, WE CAN KNOW THAT THESE WERE TWO DIFFERENT KINDS OF EXPERIENCES. THE KING HAD A DREAM (CHELEM) AS HE SLEPT - BUT DANIEL WAS INFORMED OF THE SUBSTANCE OF THE DREAM AND WHAT IT MEANT, THROUGH A VISION (CHEZEB) WHILE HE WAS FULLY AWAKE. IT’S JUST THAT THIS VISION OCCURRED AT NIGHTTIME. YAHUAH SPOKE TO DANIEL IN A SUPERNATURAL EXPERIENCE DURING THE NIGHT.
DANIEL COULD HEAR YAHUAH'S VOICE!
24Then Daniel went to Arioch, the man who King Nebuchadnezzar had chosen to kill the wise men of Babylon. And Daniel said to Arioch, “Don’t kill the wise men of Babylon. Take me to the King and I’ll tell him what his dream means.” 25So immediately, Arioch took Daniel to the King and said, “I’ve found a man among the exiled captives from Judah who can tell the King what his dream means.” 26The King asked Daniel (Belteshazzar) a question, “Are you able to tell me what my dream was about, and what it means?”
27Daniel answered, “King Nebuchadnezzar, no wise man, or magician, or astrologer, and no Chaldean could tell the King the secret things he's asked about. (WHICH IS WHAT HIS WISE MEN HAD ALREADY TOLD HIM!) 28But there is a living Alahim in Heaven who tells secret things. King Nebuchadnezzar, YAHUAH has given you this dream to show you what will happen in the latter days. (A HEBREW CONCEPT FOR SOME FUTURE TIME IN WHICH YAHUAH WILL BE DEALING WITH THE HUMAN RACE AND IT INCLUDES THE INVOLVEMENT OF THE HEBREW MESSIAH - FOR MANY IT WAS YAHUSHA'S FIRST COMING THAT THEY WAITED FOR, BUT FOR US TODAY IT IS OBVIOUSLY HIS SECOND COMING!) . . .
Daniel said, "I'll tell you your dream, and what you saw while lying on your bed. 29Great King, as you were lying there, you began thinking about what might happen in the future. Did you know that YAHUAH can stir up secret things in people? And He's shown you what will happen in the future. 30YAHUAH also revealed this secret to me, not because I have greater wisdom than other men, but so that you, O' King, may know what it means. And that way you'll understand the thoughts of your heart.
31Great King, in your dream you saw a large statue in front of you that was very large and shiny. And it was very impressive. 32The HEAD of the statue was made from pure gold. Its CHEST and ARMS were made from silver. The BELLY (and thighs) were made from bronze. 33The LEGS were made from iron. But its FEET were a mixture of iron and clay. 34Then while you were looking at the statue, you saw a rock that was cut loose, but not by human hands.
Then the rock hit the statue on its mixed feet of iron and clay and smashed them. 35Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold broke to pieces all at the same time. And all the pieces became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summertime. The wind blew them all away, and there was nothing left. And no one could even tell that a statue had ever been there. Then the rock that hit the statue became a very large mountain and filled up the whole earth.
36That was your dream ... and this is what it means!
THE STATUE IN THE DREAM WAS ONLY AN IMAGE. IT WAS NOT AN IDOL, NOT MENACING, NOT ALIVE AND DIDN'T EVEN MOVE.
FIRST, NOTICE THAT THE STATUE WAS ONE PIECE, AND EACH SUCCESSIVE PART OR PORTION MELDED INTO THE NEXT. IT WAS A UNITY. AND WHAT WE CAN KNOW (IN HINDSIGHT) IS THAT IT REPRESENTS THE GENTILE EMPIRES THAT WILL DOMINATE THE WORLD, IN SUCCESSION, UNTIL YAHUSHA RETURNS AT THE END ... (NIMROD!)
THE STATUE
SECOND, NOTICE THAT THE ONLY UNDIVIDED PART OF THE STATUE IS THE UNIFIED HEAD OF GOLD. THEN BEGINNING WITH THE SILVER CHEST AND ARMS THE STATUE IS DIVIDED, BECOMING AN AMALGAM OF PARTS (THAT IS, THE TWO SEPARATE ARMS ARE JOINED TOGETHER BY THE CHEST). THE SAME OCCURS WITH THE BRONZE BELLY THAT IS THE JOINING POINT OF THE HIPS AND THIGHS, AND THEN WITH THE IRON LEGS WE HAVE TWO SEPARATE PARTS THAT DON’T EVEN HAVE A CLEAR JOINING POINT AND YET THEY WORK TOGETHER. THE FEET ARE DIFFERENT IN THAT THEY ARE A MIXTURE OF IRON AND CLAY.
THE HARDNESS OF THE METALS INCREASES AS WE GO FROM HEAD TO TOE, BUT THE SPECIFIC WEIGHT (AND VALUE) OF EACH METAL DECREASES FROM HEAD TO TOE, SO THERE IS OBVIOUS SYMBOLISM HERE NOT ONLY IN THE METALS CHOSEN BUT IN WHAT ORDER THEY ARE STACKED - THINK SUPERNATURAL OPENESS, THINK HUMAN HEARTS, THINK MORALITY, CHARACTER & PURITY!
WE HEAR DANIEL SAYING THAT NEBUCHADNEZZAR IS THE KING OF KINGS AND HAS BEEN GIVEN THE KINGDOM, THE POWER, THE STRENGTH AND THE ESTEEM. SO LET’S DISPEL THE COMMON ERROR THAT NEBUCHADNEZZAR WAS EVIL IN YAHUAH’S EYES! HE WAS NOT LOOKED AT AS A WANTON BARBARIAN WHO WAS RUTHLESS AND WICKEDLY HARMED THE HEBREWS, FOR YAHUAH HAD RAISED HIM UP, AND GIVEN HIM GREAT HONOUR, AND AWARDED HIM WITH TREMENDOUS POWER.
37"King Nebuchadnezzar, you are the King of all Kings, for the Alahim of Heaven has given you a Kingdom, power, strength and esteem. 38He has given you control, and you rule over people and the wild animals and the birds. Wherever they live, YAHUAH has made you ruler over them all. King Nebuchadnezzar, you are that HEAD OF GOLD on the statue!
39And another Kingdom (silver) will come after you, but it won’t be as great as your Kingdom. Next, a third Kingdom will rule over the earth - that is the bronze part. 40Then there will be a fourth Kingdom. That Kingdom will be strong like iron. And just as iron breaks things and smashes them to pieces, that fourth Kingdom will break all the other Kingdoms and smash them to pieces.
( ROME >> THE NWO >> URI )
PART OF THE PURPOSE OF THAT POWER WAS TO BE USED BY YAHUAH’S TO JUDGE AND PUNISH HIS PEOPLE FOR THEIR SYNCRETISM, UNLOYALTY AND IDOLATRY. YAHUAH WAS WELL-PLEASED WITH THE KING, AND SAYS THIS ABOUT HIM:
JEREMIAH 43:10 "TELL THEM: 'THIS IS WHAT YAHUAH OF HOSTS, THE ALAHIM OF YISHARAL, SAYS: "I SUMMON NEBUCHADNEZZAR THE KING OF BABEL, MY SERVANT, SO TAKE HIM AND SET HIS THRONE ON THESE STONES I LAID HERE, FOR HE WILL COME AND SPREAD HIS ROYAL CANOPY OVER THEM".
BUT THEN DANIEL 2:38 GOES ON TO SAY THAT WHEREVER PEOPLE DWELL ON EARTH THE ANIMALS AND THE BIRDS HAVE ALSO BEEN HANDED OVER TO HIM (NEBUCHADNEZZAR). YAHUAH HAS GIVEN DOMINION OVER THE EARTH’S CREATURES TO THIS KING. DOES THAT HAVE A FAMILIAR RING TO IT?
GENESIS 1:28 "ALAHIM BLESSED ADAM AND EVE AND SAID TO THEM, 'BE FRUITFUL, MULTIPLY, FILL THE EARTH AND SUBDUE IT. RULE OVER THE FISH IN THE SEA, THE BIRDS IN THE AIR AND EVERY LIVING CREATURE THAT CRAWLS ON THE EARTH."
THIS SPEAKS OF THE AUTHORITY THAT YAHUAH GAVE TO ADAM AND EVE IN THE GARDEN OF EDEN. NOW IN THE 6TH CENTURY B.C. YAHUAH WAS HANDING THIS AUTHORITY OVER TO THIS GENTILE KING. BUT THIS SHOULDN’T COME AS A SURPRISE TO US AND I’M SURE IT WASN’T TO DANIEL EITHER, BECAUSE JEREMIAH HAD PROPHESIED EXACTLY THIS:
JEREMIAH 27:6-7 “FOR I HAVE GIVEN OVER ALL THESE LANDS TO MY SERVANT NEBUCHADNEZZAR THE KING OF BABEL AND I HAVE GIVEN HIM THE WILD ANIMALS TO SERVE HIM. ALL THE NATIONS WILL SERVE HIM, HIS SON AND HIS GRANDSON, UNTIL HIS OWN COUNTRY GETS ITS OWN BACK".
THROUGH JEREMIAH YAHUAH EMPHASISES HIS INTENTIONS:
JEREMIAH 28:14 "FOR HERE IS WHAT YAHUAH OF HOSTS, THE ALAHIM OF YISHARAL, SAYS: "I HAVE PUT A YOKE OF IRON ON THE NECKS OF ALL THESE NATIONS, SO THAT THEY CAN SERVE NEBUCHADNEZZAR KING OF BABEL - AND THEY WILL SERVE HIM - AND I HAVE GIVEN HIM THE WILD ANIMALS TOO."'
SO DANIEL IS MERELY ACKNOWLEDGING THAT WHAT YAHUAH SAID HE WOULD DO, HE HAS DONE. BUT NOTICE IN JER 27 THAT THIS YAHUAH-ESTABLISHED DOMINION IS TO LAST ONLY 3 GENERATIONS: NEBUCHADNEZZAR, HIS SON, AND HIS GRANDSON. AFTER NEBUCHADNEZZAR’S DYNASTY HAS ENDED, YAHUAH’S WRATH WILL TURN FROM HIS OWN PEOPLE TO BABYLON. NOT BECAUSE NEBUCHADNEZZAR AND HIS OFFSPRING WERE SEEN BY YAHUAH AS EVIL (EVEN THOUGH YAHUAH HAD HELD OFF ON JUDGMENT). BUT RATHER BECAUSE WITH THE KINGS THAT FOLLOWED NEBUCHADNEZZAR AND HIS ROYAL DESCENDANTS, BABYLON CEASED BEING FAIR AND ACCOMMODATING TO YAHUAH’S PEOPLE, AND CEASED SERVING YAHUAH’S PURPOSES, EVEN THOUGH THEY DIDN’T FULLY REALISE THE FRUITS OF THEIR ACTIONS.
AFTER BABYLON ANOTHER, BUT INFERIOR, KINGDOM/EMPIRE (REPRESENTED BY THE ARMS AND CHEST OF SILVER) WILL REPLACE IT. THESE DESCRIPTIONS OF THE VARIOUS EMPIRES ARE VERY BRIEF. THE ONE THAT GETS THE MOST ATTENTION IS THE 4TH KINGDOM OF IRON. SO FOLLOWING THE 2ND EMPIRE (SILVER) WILL BE A THE THIRD (BRONZE) EMPIRE. THEN THERE WILL THEN BE A 4TH KINGDOM OF IRON. AND SINCE IRON IS THE HARDEST OF ALL THE METALS IT CAN OVERCOME ANY OF THE 3 WEAKER METALS (GOLD, SILVER, BRONZE).
FROM THE CONTEXT OF THE ANCIENT WORLD, THIS SYMBOLISM MAKES PERFECT SENSE. EMPIRES ARE BUILT THROUGH WARFARE. GOLD IS NOT USABLE FOR WEAPONS BECAUSE IT IS SO RARE AND EXPENSIVE, BUT IS SO SOFT AND USELESS FOR IMPACT. SILVER IS A BIT HARDER, BUT ALSO IS TOO SOFT AND EXPENSIVE TO BE USED FOR WEAPONS. BUT BRONZE IS DIFFERENT, FOR IT IS HALFWAY BETWEEN COPPER AND IRON IN HARDNESS, AND IS FAR HARDER THAN SILVER. SO BRONZE WAS USED FOR WEAPONRY AS IT COULD HOLD A SHARP EDGE. BUT IRON TRUMPED THEM ALL. AN IRON SWORD COULD LITERALLY BREAK A BRONZE SWORD. THE TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT OF IRON CHANGED THE WORLD AND IT ALTERED THE BALANCE OF POWER AMONG NATIONS. SO SINCE IT WAS COMMON KNOWLEDGE THAT IRON COULD BREAK ANYTHING (AT LEAST ANYTHING KNOWN TO THE ANCIENT WORLD), THEN SO WOULD THIS 4TH KINGDOM CRUSH ALL THE PREVIOUS ONES. NO CONTEST.
41Great King you saw that the feet and toes of the statue were a mixture of partly clay and partly iron. That means the fourth Kingdom will be a divided Kingdom. It will have some of the strength of iron in it just as you saw the iron mixed with clay.
THE SCRIPTURE INTERPRETS WHO THE STATUE'S FOUR EMPIRES ARE, AND (AS ALREADY STATED) BABYLON IS THE HEAD OF GOLD, BUT WHAT ABOUT THE CHEST OF SILVER? LATER DANIEL HAS ANOTHER VISION ABOUT THESE WORLD EMPIRES BUT THEY ARE SHOWN AS ANIMALS INSTEAD OF A STATUE :
DANIEL 8:20 “YOU SAW A RAM WITH TWO HORNS WHICH ARE THE KINGS OF MEDIA AND PERSIA". SO, WE LEARN THAT THE 2ND OF THE EMPIRES (THE SILVER EMPIRE) IS RULED JOINTLY BY THE KINGS OF MEDIA AND PERSIA.
WHAT ABOUT THE THIRD EMPIRE (BELLY AND THIGHS)?
DANIEL 8:21-22 “THE SHAGGY HE-GOAT IS THE KING OF GREECE, AND THE PROMINENT HORN BETWEEN ITS EYES IS THE FIRST KING. AS FOR THE HORN THAT BROKE AND THE FOUR WHICH ROSE UP IN ITS PLACE, FOUR KINGDOMS WILL ARISE OUT OF THIS NATION, BUT NOT WITH THE POWER THE FIRST KING HAD".
SO THE THIRD EMPIRE OF THE GOAT IS GREECE!
THE FOURTH EMPIRE OF THE IRON LEGS (NOT SPECIFICALLY STATED IN SCRIPTURE, YET OBVIOUS IN HISTORY) IS ROME. AND ALL FOUR OF THESE KINGDOMS REIGNED AND CONQUERED AS DANIEL SAW :
42The toes of the statue were partly iron and partly clay also. So the fourth Kingdom will be partly strong like iron and partly weak like clay. 43You saw the iron mixed with clay, but iron and clay don’t mix together properly. So in the same way the people of the fourth Kingdom are mixing themselves with the seed of men, and not clinging to each other. They're a mixture, and will never be united as one people! AGAIN THINK SUPERNATURAL - HUMAN HEARTS, MIXING MORALITY, CHARACTER, BEHAVIOURS WITH THE WORLD!
SCRIPTURE STATES THAT THE IRON MIXED WITH CLAY MEANS THAT ALLIANCES BY INTERMARRIAGE WILL OCCUR (MIXING THE SEED OF MEN). NOW THE END RESULT PROBABLY IS INTERMARRIAGE. BUT IN THE LAW OF MOSES WE'RE TOLD THAT SEEDS OF TWO OR MORE VARIETIES ARE NEVER TO BE PLANTED IN THE SAME FIELD, FOR TO MIX SEEDS OF DIFFERENT SPECIES IS FORBIDDEN. THE MIXING OF DIFFERENT SEEDS ON THE SAME PIECE OF LAND IS (SAYS YAHUAH) AN ILLICIT/ILLEGAL MIXTURE. AND WE ARE TAUGHT THAT AN ILLICIT MIXING OF ANYTHING PROHIBITED BY ALAHIM CREATES TEVEL (CONFUSION). SO THIS MIXING OF CLAY AND IRON BROUGHT ABOUT BY THE MIXING OF THE SEED OF MEN IS SPEAKING OF AN ILLICIT MIXING, A PROHIBITED MIXING, AND IT IS SYMBOLIC OF THE MIXING OF PEOPLE WHO OUGHT NOT TO BE MIXED, AND THE END RESULT IS CONFUSION. AND IT IS THIS CONFUSION THAT LEADS TO CHAOS THAT CREATES THE CONDITIONS FOR THE DOWNFALL OF THIS 4TH EMPIRE. NOW TO BE QUITE CLEAR: THIS IS NOT REFERRING TO THE MIXING OF RACES (AS WE MAY THINK OF IT TODAY). RATHER THIS IS REFERRING TO A MIXING OF VARIOUS CULTURES, SOCIETIES, CUSTOMS AND BEHAVIOURS. ALL THE SHADOW-TEACHINGS GIVEN TO MOSES WERE TO INSTRUCT YISHARAL (NOW YAHUSHA'S BRIDE) TO NOT COMPROMISE AND BLEND IN WITH THE CUSTOMS AND PRACTICES OF THEIR SURROUNDING PAGAN NATIONS ... BUT TO BE SEPARATE, SPECIAL AND SET-APART!
YAHUSHA HATES US MIXING BEHAVIOURS WITH THE WORLD!
ILLICIT MIXTURES IN LEV.
44During the time of the Kings of the fourth Kingdom, the Alahim of Heaven will set up another Kingdom that will continue forever, and it will never be destroyed, but will be the kind of Kingdom that cannot be passed on to other people. This Kingdom will crush all the other Kingdoms and will bring them to an end, but that Kingdom itself will continue forever. 45King Nebuchadnezzar, you saw a rock cut from a mountain, but no one cut that rock. The rock broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold to pieces. And in this way YAHUAH showed you what will happen in the future. The dream is true, and you can trust that this is what it means.”
THE STONE CUT FROM THE MOUNTAIN (ETERNAL ZION) THAT DESTROYS THE WHOLE STATUE (THE STONE THE BUILDERS REJECTED) IS OF COURSE YAHUSHA MESSIAH. DURING THE ROMAN OCCUPATION OF YISHARAL, YAHUSHA CAME INTO THIS WORLD AS A FLESH AND BLOOD MAN AND ESTABLISHED A NEW REIGN (WAY OF THINKING AND BEHAVING) ... BY CONQUERING SIN AND DEATH, APPEARING IN HEAVEN AS THE SLAIN LAMB AND BOOTING THE DEVIL OUT! A MIGHTY BLOW INDEED. THE DESTRUCTION OF THE STATUE'S WORLD EMPIRES MARKS THE MOMENT OF YAHUSHA'S RETURN, WHERE ALL THE ELEMENTS WILL FRACKLE AND MELT WITH INTENSE HEAT, A NEW HEAVEN AND EARTH WILL BE CREATED AND A NEW ETERNAL EMPIRE ESTABLISHED.
46So King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face and bowed before Daniel, praising him, and gave an order that an offering and incense be given to honor Daniel. 47Then the King said to Daniel, “I know for sure that your Alahim is the Alahim over all others and the Master over all Kings. He tells people about things they cannot know. I know this is true because you were able to tell me these secret things.”
48Then King Nebuchadnezzar gave Daniel many expensive gifts, made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and put him in charge of all the other wise men. 49Daniel asked the King to make Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego important officials over the province of Babylon also, and the King did as Daniel asked. So Daniel himself became one of the close advisors who was always near the King.
OBEDIENT LOYALTY = FAVOUR >> GIFTS >> MATURITY
JAMES 4 "Do you know where your fights and arguments come from? They come from the selfish desires that make war inside of you.2You want things, but you don’t get them. So you cause drama and are jealous of others. But you still can't get what you want. So you argue and fight more in your stubbornness! And you don’t get what you want because you don’t even ask YAHUSHA.3And when you do ask, you don’t receive anything, because the reason you ask is completely wrong. You only want things to use for your own pleasure. 4You people are not loyal to YAHUSHA! Don't you know that loving what the world says and does is the same as hating YAHUSHA. So anyone who wants to be friends with this evil world becomes YAHUSHA'S enemy.5Do you think the Scriptures mean nothing? The Scriptures say, “The Spirit YAHUAH made to live in us wants us only for himself.” 6But the kindness YAHUSHA shows is much greater. As the Scripture says, “YAHUAH is against the proud, but He is kind to the humble.” 7So give yourselves to YAHUSHA. Resist and stand against the devil, and he will flee from you.8Come near to YAHUSHA and He will draw near to you. You are sinners, so clean the sin out of your lives. You are trying to follow YAHUSHA and the world at the same time! Make your thinking pure!9Be sad, be sorry, and cry! Change your laughter into crying. Change your joy into sadness.10Be humble before YAHUSHA, and He will lift you up".
