From Splendor to Shadow

The King Is Humbled

The king was convinced. In humility he “fell upon his face, and worshiped,” saying, “Your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret.” SS 258.6

Nebuchadnezzar revoked the decree for the destruction of the wise men. Their lives were spared because of Daniel's connection with the Revealer of secrets. And “the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon ... . Then Daniel requested of the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel sat in the gate of the king.” SS 258.7

In history, the growth of nations, the rise and fall of empires, appear as if dependent on the will and prowess of man. But in the Word of God the curtain is drawn aside, and we behold the agencies of the All-merciful One, silently, patiently working out the counsels of His own will. SS 259.1

Hundreds of years before certain nations came on the stage of action, the Omniscient One looked down the ages and predicted the rise and fall of the universal kingdoms. God declared to Nebuchadnezzar that Babylon should fall and a second kingdom would arise. Failing to exalt the true God, its glory would fade. A third kingdom also would pass away; and a fourth, strong as iron, would subdue the nations of the world. SS 259.2