DEEP AND SECRET THINGS
Daniel 2:22 “He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness (that which is hidden), and light (understanding) dwells (originates) with Him.”
Daniel, along with the many wise men of Babylon were being rounded up by the king’s soldiers in order to be put to death.
Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, had a very disturbing dream, so he called on his wise men to tell him the interpretation of his dream.
But for some reason the king doubted the reliability of his wise men, so he added a caveat to his request: If you can tell me what I dreamed, then I’ll know that your interpretation can be trusted.
Daniel 2:5-6 “The king answered and said to the Chaldeans (his inner circle of wise men), ‘My decision is firm: if you do not make known the dream to me, and its interpretation, you shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made an ash heap. However, if you tell the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts, rewards, and great honor. Therefore tell me the dream and its interpretation.’”
You can hear the desperation in their voices as they tell the king that what he is requesting of them is impossible for any man to produce.
Daniel 2:10-11 “The Chaldeans answered the king and said, ‘There is not a man on earth who can tell the king’s matter; therefore no king, lord, or ruler has ever asked such things of any magician, astrologer, or Chaldean. It is a difficult thing that the king requests, and there is no other who can tell it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.’”
The king would not take no for an answer, so he began to round up his so-called wise men and the executions began.
Daniel 2:13 “So the decree went out, and they began killing the wise men; and they sought Daniel and his companions, to kill them.”
There was a certain criteria, that if met, would qualify a person to be designated as a wise men. They had to be of a good lineage, educated, wise, trainable, healthy, gifted, and good-looking.
Daniel 1:3-4 “Then the king instructed Ashpenaz, the master of his eunuchs, to bring some of the children of Israel and some of the king’s descendants and some of the nobles, young men in whom there was no blemish, but good-looking, gifted in all wisdom, possessing knowledge and quick to understand, who had ability to serve in the king’s palace, and whom they might teach the language and literature of the Chaldeans.”
When Israel was conquered and the Israelites were taken into captivity as slaves, some of the young captives were set apart under this category, which included Daniel and his companions.
So when the decree was given to kill all the wise men, they started with the least of them, those on the bottom of the list of those they qualified as wise men, in the hope that those on the top of the list of wise men, the Chaldeans, would get the message that the king was serious.
Now Daniel was not privy to what had taken place in the king’s court, so when they came to kill him, he wisely asked the reason why they were going to kill him and why it was so urgent a matter.
Daniel 2:14-15 “Then with counsel and wisdom Daniel answered Arioch, the captain of the king’s guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon; he answered and said to Arioch the king’s captain, ‘Why is the decree from the king so urgent?’ Then Arioch made the decision known to Daniel”
Once Daniel became informed, he went before the king, asked for time, and told his companions to pray and to ask for God’s mercies, so that they would not have to perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
Daniel 2:19 “Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. So Daniel blessed the God of heaven.”
As we read this story, our natural tendency is to place our focus on the secret that was revealed to Daniel, in regards to the revelation of what the king had dreamed.
But if we take a closer look, the secret that was revealed to Daniel involved a lot more than what the king’s dream was.
How do I know? Daniel’s blessing of the God of heaven reveals that.
Daniel 2:20 “Daniel answered and said: ‘Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and might are His.’”
In our present-day way of thinking, we do not put much stock to the meaning or value of a name. But throughout much of history, everything about a person hinged on the reputation attached to his or her name.
Perhaps the closer that we can come today in regards to the value of a name, is if we see it as a password that allows us access to great and unknown mysteries.
So it is no wonder that the first thing that Daniel blesses and gives thanks for is the name of God, which is what allowed him access to God to begin with.
John 16:24 “Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.”
The most important thing that Jesus has given to us is His name. For it is the name of Jesus that grants us access to the heavenly court.
Since the name of God reveals His nature, the first two qualities of the name of God revealed to Daniel is that God is all knowing and that He is all powerful: Wisdom and might are His.
Since God knows everything, He knew what the king’s dream was, since it was God who gave him the dream to begin with; and He had no problem revealing to Daniel.
But Daniel’s blessing of the name of God goes much farther than just knowing about the dream of a king who had trouble sleeping.
Daniel learned a lot more in his night vision that meets the eye.
Daniel 2:21 “And He changes the times and seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding.”
The second part of the revelation to Daniel was that, the God who knows everything is willing to give wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding.
And in order for us to receive the wisdom and the knowledge that comes from God, it requires that we have a basic understanding of how He changes the times and seasons, and how God is in complete control of their outcome.
It is through our understanding of the times and seasons that He reveals the deep and secret things to us, as in our opening text, for He knows what is in the darkness and light dwells with Him.
Everything that is going on in the world right now is a direct result of the times and seasons that our Lord has set in motion from the foundation of the world.
Nothing that is happening is happening out of chance, be it personal, corporal, or natural. If we want to understand the times that we are living in, we need to understand the timing of God’s seasons and cycles.
According to Daniel, one of the ways that we can observe the changing of the cycles is through the process of the raising and the removing of kings and their kingdoms.
The dream itself revealed as much, to where we can follow Daniel’s interpretation of the dream to our very present day.
Daniel 2:43 “As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they (demonic entities) will mingle with the seed of men (the human race); but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay.”
We are living in the midst of the greatest demonic infusion into our earthly realm since the days of Noah, when the Lord had to destroy every thing that had the breath of life in it.
The sin of rebellion—which is as the sin of witchcraft—opens the doors to these abominable creatures to enter into our physical realm.
The nations of the world have already decided that which is sin, according to the Bible, is acceptable and normal behavior to them.
This world-wide rebellion against the precepts of the Word of God is what allows they, these demonic entities, to mingle with the seed of men.
2 Peter 2:4-6, 9-10 “For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly; and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly...then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment, and especially those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority…”
We have presently come full cycle to the past judgments and it is our turn now.
These deep and secret things have been revealed to those of us who seek for the wisdom and understanding that comes from God and His Word.
It is time for us to put our houses in order, for the days of the end are much nearer than we think, let us be wise in the wisdom of God.
Daniel 12:3 “Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever.”