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Daniel episode 2: Nebuchanezzar's dream

God helps Daniel interpret Nebuchadnezzar's dream.
Contributed by David & Goliath (DG)
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During the second year of King Nebuchadnezzar's reign he had a bad dream that troubled him greatly. – Slide 1
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He was so worried about what the dream might mean that he could not sleep. – Slide 2
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When morning came and King Nebuchadnezzar woke up, what do you think happened? Well, the king no longer remembered his dream so the problem had become even more complicated. – Slide 3
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He immediately called for all of the wise men including the fortune tellers. The king told them, ‘I had a strange dream and I'm very eager to know what it means.’ – Slide 4
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‘May you live forever our king,’ the wise men responded. ‘Tell us your dream and we will interpret its meaning.’ <br/>‘No, I have forgotten the dream,’ the king replied. ‘I expect you to tell me what I dreamt and the meaning of the dream or you will all be killed. But if you tell me my dream then you will be rewarded with many gift and riches. – Slide 5
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The fortune tellers were puzzled and could not understand why the king needed them to tell him what was in his dream. – Slide 6
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With trembling voices they said, ‘There is no one on earth who can do what the king is asking. It is too difficult.’ – Slide 7
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‘There is no one who can give the king what he asks, except for the gods who do not live among people.’ – Slide 8
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When the king heard those words he became angry and very, very upset. He got so angry that he ordered for all the wise men of Babylon to be killed. And that included Daniel and his three friends. – Slide 9
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When Daniel heard what happened at the King's court, he immediately asked to see the king. Once he arrived at the palace, Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar, ‘Great king, if you will give me a little time I will find out your dream and explain its meaning to you.’ The king accepted Daniel's offer. – Slide 10
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Immediately Daniel hurried back to his three friends, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah to share with them what had happened and to tell them about the King's order to kill the wise men. It meant all their lives were under threat. They knew God was the only one who could help Daniel understand this secret dream and they prayed for God’s help. With a sincere heart Daniel prayed for God’s wisdom. – Slide 11
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That night, God showed Daniel the King's dream and its meaning. Daniel was extremely grateful and praised God, ‘Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever. Wisdom and power are His. He gives and takes away the power of king. He gives wisdom to the wise. He makes known secrets that are deep and hidden. He knows what is hidden in the darkness and light comes from Him. I praise and glorify you God because you have listened to my prayers and revealed the King’s dream.’ <br/>Immediately Daniel went to the captain of the King's guard and told him not kill the other wise men but instead take him to the king. – Slide 12
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So Daniel was once again brought in front of the king. The king listened attentively as Daniel explained. ‘As you were falling asleep, God showed you what was going to happen in the future. In your dream you saw a huge and shiny statue of a man. Its head was made of gold, its chest and arms of silver and its belly was made of bronze. Its legs were made of iron and its feet were made partly of iron and partly of baked clay.’ – Slide 13
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Daniel went on, ‘Then you saw a rock rolling towards the feet of this huge statue. The rock came from a mountain, where it had been cut out by someone who was not human. The rock hit the statue's legs and the whole statue fell to the ground and broke into pieces.’ – Slide 14
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‘As you watched the rock became bigger and bigger till it became a very large mountain that filled the whole earth.’ – Slide 15
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King Nebuchadnezzar nodded, remembering his dream and all the details. Daniel continued, ‘I will tell you the meaning of this dream. The big statue represents four kingdoms of the world. Your Kingdom is first and is shown by the golden head. Another Kingdom will come after yours, not as great, and is represented by the silver chest and arms. The third is shown by the bronze parts and the fourth Kingdom by the iron feet and clay toes. <br/>God will then set up a Kingdom that will not be destroyed. His Kingdom is represented by the rock, untouched by human hands, that rolled into the statue. God will enlarge His Kingdom until it covers the whole earth and all other kingdoms will be broken to pieces. This is the meaning of your dream.’ – Slide 16
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The King was amazed and thought that Daniel was a god. He was ready to fall face down on the ground in front of him. Daniel said, ‘God revealed this secret to me. You should know I do not have greater wisdom than other people, it is God who speaks through me.’ – Slide 17
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Then King Nebuchadnezzar replied, ‘Your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, for you were able to reveal this mystery.’ – Slide 18
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Nebuchadnezzar fell face down on the ground before Daniel, then he got up and gave the order to bring sacrifices in honour of the God most High. He gave Daniel many gifts and made him ruler over the land of Babylon. From then on, Daniel was put in charge of leading all the wise men of the Kingdom. <br/>At Daniel's request his three friends were made leaders over the land of Babylon too. These young men were given new Babylonian names, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. – Slide 19
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