Empires Rise and Fall

Imperial arrogance is the legacy of Babel, humanity’s first but certainly not last attempt to establish the World Empire. The Tower of Babel incident is echoed in the Book of Daniel when the new ruler of “Shinar,” Nebuchadnezzar, gathered all nations to pay homage to the great golden image that he had set up in the “Plain of Dura.” His empire was not a new political entity, but the latest incarnation of Satan’s ancient effort to unite humanity under his overlordship, a plan that has been underway since human civilization dawned.

In the Book of Genesis, God stopped the rulers of Babel from completing the “high tower” in the “plain of the land of Shinar” by diversifying the single language spoken at the time and dispersing the resulting linguistic groups across the Earth. That story presents the true origins of the later Neo-Babylonian Empire - (Genesis 11:1-9).

[Photo by Stefan Gogov on Unsplash]

Originally, the “whole Earth was of one language.” The descendants of Noah migrated to Mesopotamia and dwelt “in the land of Shinar,” the Hebrew equivalent of ‘Sumer,’ and they began to build a city with a high tower that would “reach the heavens and, thus, make us a name, lest we be scattered across the whole Earth.”

In the beginning, God commanded Adam to “multiply, replenish and subdue the Earth,” the very command reiterated to Noah after the Flood. Nevertheless, instead of heeding the Divine directive, humanity moved to Mesopotamia and built a new civilization to “make a name” for itself. Moreover, in the Bible, ‘Babylon’ is characterized by its presumptuousness and idolatrous conceit - (Genesis 1:28, 9:1, Isaiah 14:13-14, Jeremiah 32:20).

If humanity united under one language, its wickedness would know no bounds. By confounding human languages, God caused the nations to spread throughout the Earth, and He thwarted the first attempt at forming a centralized imperial regime.

The Bible calls this Mesopotamian city ‘Babel’, the place where “Yahweh confounded the language of all the Earth.” The name may be related to the Hebrew word balal, meaning, “confusion.” At that time, the “whole Earth was of one speech.” When men began to dwell in “Shinar” (i.e., Sumer), they built a city with a tower of “great height” in the “plain” to mark their achievements and prevent the dispersal of humanity.

NEBUCHADNEZZAR

Likewise, in Daniel, King Nebuchadnezzar attempted to reverse God’s judgment against Ancient Shinar by gathering representatives from every nation to be educated in the language of Babylon, the “tongue” of the presumptive World Empire. He also commanded all nations to render homage to the “great image” that he had “set up in the plain of Dura,” and then decreed that “all peoples, races, and tongues” should render homage to it.

The whole Earth was to be united under his sovereignty and by the universal use of the Babylonian “tongue” and the worship of the great golden image “set up” by the Babylonian overlord - (Genesis 11:2, Daniel 3:1-7).

Despite appearances, the Book of Daniel insists from its first paragraph that God reigns over the kingdoms of the world and grants rulership to whomever He pleases. It presents a definitive theology of history - (Daniel 1:1-2, 2:20-21, 4:17).

The Book begins by recounting how Nebuchadnezzar overthrew the king of Judah and removed the golden vessels from the Temple to the “treasure-house of his god in the land of Shinar.” In the king’s mind, no doubt, a tribute to the superiority of his god. In fact, the destruction of Judah occurred because “the Lord gave it into the king’s hand.” Nebuchadnezzar was Yahweh’s instrument of judgment on His wayward nation.

The subjugation of Judah created a theological dilemma for patriotic members of Israel since the Babylonians had conquered what remained of the kingdom. Moreover, the name of their new ruler, ‘Nebuchadnezzar’, included the name of the Mesopotamian god ‘Nebo’. From a human perspective, the pagan gods of Babylon had triumphed over the God of Israel.

Furthermore, the latest “King of Babel” was reversing the ancient decree of Yahweh by seizing God’s “house,” gathering scattered nations back to “Shinar,” and imposing his pagan tongue on one and all.  Judah’s tribute included high-ranking exiles sent to Babylon to be educated in its culture and language.

All this constituted a national catastrophe for the Jewish nation, yet the Book of Daniel declares that it was Yahweh who GAVE all this into the hands of the pagan enemy of His people - (Daniel 1:4).

The Hebrew verb rendered “GAVE” in the Book’s opening sentence is applied several more times in its first chapter.  First, God GAVE the kingdom of Judah into the “hand of Nebuchadnezzar.” Second, Daniel was “GIVEN favor and sympathy with the prince of the eunuchs.” Third, Yahweh GAVE Daniel and his companions “knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom.” Fourth, Daniel was “GIVEN” understanding in all visions and dreams.

The Babylonian king put Daniel and his friends to the test and “found them ten times better than all the scribes and enchanters that were in his realm.” Therefore, they were promoted to serve in his court. Despite the disaster that had befallen Judah, subsequent events demonstrated that God was using the lowly Jewish exiles to achieve His purposes and direct the course of human history - (Daniel 1:17-20).

THE KING’S DREAM

In Chapter 2, events occurred in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar, well before the completion of Daniel’s Babylonian education. His successful interpretation of the king’s dream was not attributable to his newly acquired Babylonian knowledge base, but to the “discernment in all visions and dreams” given to him by God.

Nebuchadnezzar dreamed a dream that troubled him, and therefore, he commanded the wise men of Babylon to reveal its contents and meaning, which they were unable to do. Enraged, the king ordered the destruction of all the wise men of Babylon.

But Daniel intervened by requesting a time when he could make the dream’s contents and interpretation known, then he prayed for the revelation of “this mystery.” Yahweh responded by revealing the king’s dream and its interpretation.  In response, Daniel praised the God who - “removes kings and sets up kings… He was the One Who reveals the deep and hidden things…for the matter of the king have you made known to us.”

Daniel next revealed the dream and its interpretation to Nebuchadnezzar. Thus, through the prophet, God showed the Babylonian ruler “what things must come to pass in latter days” - (Daniel 2:19-45).

The king dreamed of a large image with a head of gold, breast and arms of silver, belly and thighs of brass, legs of iron, and feet, part iron and part clay. Then a stone “cut out without hands" struck the image on its feet and shattered it into pieces, after which the stone became a “great mountain that filled the whole Earth.”

The “golden head” represented Nebuchadnezzar. The silver breast symbolized an inferior kingdom that would succeed him, likewise, the brass belly and thighs. The stone carved “without hands” represented the final kingdom of God, one that would “break in pieces and consume all” the preceding regimes. In this, “God had shown the king what things must come to pass after these things” - (Daniel 2:37).

In reaction, Nebuchadnezzar prostrated himself before Daniel and exalted him to rule over the province of Babylon. He declared that Yahweh was “the God of gods, Lord of kings, and the Revealer of mysteries.”

Hence, the mighty pagan ruler acknowledged God’s sovereignty over nations and history. His own sovereignty was derived from the “Most-High God,” and in this way, Yahweh revealed the future of the World Empire, for the rise of empires WAS AND IS under His firm control.

IMPERIAL IDOLATRY

In Chapter 3, the king attempted to implement his dream by “making an image of gold.” However, the entire image that he “set up” was covered in gold, not just its head. He was determined to magnify his achievements and declare to all mankind that his kingdom was an everlasting one. Had he not dreamed it?

At his command, all the “satraps, nobles, pashas, chief judges, treasurers, judges, lawyers, and all provincial governors were assembled to the dedication of the image… and they stood before it.” All were commanded to “render homage to the image that the king had set up,” and anyone who refused would be cast into a fiery furnace - (Daniel 3:1-6).

The “great image” represented the absolute sovereignty of the Babylonian emperor over all the “peoples, races and tongues.” The Aramaic verb rendered “set up” is the same one used in Daniel’s declaration in Chapter 2: It is the God of Heaven who “sets up” and removes kings. Nine times in Chapter 3 the text states that Nebuchadnezzar “set up” his image, a Babylonian challenge to the sovereignty of Yahweh.

Some of the Chaldean “wise men” used the situation to settle scores for their earlier loss of face. Though loyal to the king, the Jewish exiles would not worship the idolatrous image. When Nebuchadnezzar heard this, he gave the three men a stark choice - Give allegiance to the image or suffer a fiery death. After all, “Who is the god that shall deliver you out of my hand?”

The three exiles were cast into the furnace but miraculously survived its overheated flames. Nebuchadnezzar saw them “walking in the fire” with a fourth figure, one he described as “like a son of the gods. With trepidation, he summoned the exiles to leave the furnace and addressed them as the “Servants of the Most-High God.”

Because they had survived unscathed, the king “blessed the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego” since He had “changed the king’s word” by delivering His “servants.” Nebuchadnezzar then issued a decree to “all peoples, nations and tongues” that anyone who spoke disparagingly of Yahweh would be slain - (Daniel 3:13-25).

As before, praise and acknowledgment of God were heard on the lips of the powerful pagan ruler who also acknowledged the three Jewish exiles to be the servants of God. Once more, the ruler of the latest incarnation of the World Empire had acknowledged the sovereignty of the God of Israel over the affairs of men and political powers.

Nebuchadnezzar promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego, and thus, the sovereignty of Yahweh over historical events was demonstrated once more. The presumptions and machinations of even the world’s most powerful political machine could not thwart His purposes.

History remembers Nebuchadnezzar as a great builder and conqueror who established an empire from the Persian Gulf to the gates of Egypt, a realm mightier than any preceding one. In contrast, Scripture remembers him as an instrument employed by Yahweh to achieve His ends, despite the arrogance and plans of the Babylonian king.

The Book of Daniel demonstrates that Yahweh rules over the course of kingdoms, including the rise and fall of empires, emperors, and despots. The plans, intentions, and dictates of even the most powerful human ruler cannot thwart His purposes, and the defeat of His people by a pagan power is no impediment to achieving His redemptive plans for mankind and the Earth.

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