His Glory Blog

Nebuchadnezzar (King of Babylon) – Daniel 1-4

The King of Babylon, after his first dream is interpreted, “falls upon his face” and promotes Daniel to “Ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon (Daniel 2:48)” He tells Daniel “Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery. (Daniel 2:47)” Then immediately afterward made an image of gold that he required the people to “fall down and worship” when they heard “every type of music.” (Daniel 3:1-7) The refusal to worship this false idol is why Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were sent into the fiery furnace where God reveal His power again over the king. The king responded: “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God.Therefore I make a decree: Any people, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins, for there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way.(Daniel 3:28-29)” Then in Daniel 4:3 the king says: How great are his signs, how mighty his wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion endures from generation to generation. After this in verse 4:30 the king claims Babylon for his glory and not the glory of the God he has proclaimed repeatedly: “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?” God immediately, “while the words were still in his mouth,” took the kingdom away from Nebuchadnezzar and he was driven out. “O King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: The kingdom has departed from you,and you shall be driven from among men (Daniel 4:13a-32b)

The story of King Nebuchadnezzar shows a striking resemblance to satan who longed to be worshipped in Heaven. He thought himself great and worthy of the same glory as God. He was the leader of worship (music) and was cast out because of his defiance of the supremacy of the One True God.

Prince of Tyre – Ezekial 28:2

“Because your heart is proud, and you have said, ‘I am a god, I sit in the seat of the gods, in the heart of the seas,’ yet you are but a man, and no god, though you make your heart like the heart of a god.

Here is the pride of satan imagining he is seated in the seat of God. The pride that blinds him from the realization that creation is not greater than the Creator drive his defiance of the authority of God.

Reading the words of the prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel there are descriptions of God’s reaction to the Kings of Babylon and Tyre that resemble descriptions of satan. Many people deny the descriptions are focused on satan and are meant for specific people. What we see above are kings with attributes that belonged to their god satan. These kings did not worship the True God. There is fleeting recognition and then immediate self-gratification and defiance of the King of kings. These reactions of God are in fact the reaction to the king of this world, satan and his influence over these people of leadership on earth. The reactions of Isaiah and Ezekiel speak to the fallen angel and his continual attempts to thwart the power of Lord God.

“How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north;  I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit. (Isaiah 14:12-15)

“You were the signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle; and crafted in gold were your settings and your engravings. On the day that you were created they were prepared. You were an anointed guardian cherub. I placed you;^[d] you were on the holy mountain of God; in the midst of the stones of fire you walked. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, till unrighteousness was found in you. In the abundance of your trade you were filled with violence in your midst, and you sinned; so I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God, and I destroyed you, O guardian cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. I cast you to the ground; I exposed you before kings, to feast their eyes on you. (Ezekiel 28:12-17)