Nebuchadnezzar esteems and praises Daniel: This world uses esteem and praise over the need for Jesus Christ

Daniel 2:46-49

Click for a description of the mark of the beast.
Click for a description of the image of the beast.

Daniel had just made known the dream of Nebuchadnezzar (Danel 2:31-45). The dream concerned the image of a man, made of a gold head, silver chest and arms, bronze thighs, iron legs, and feet of iron and clay. It pretty much describes that the number of the beast is the number of the man because it is not spiritual in nature at all and has nothing to do with the human spirit nor the Spirit of Christ. It is more like something we would calculate, “Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666.” Revelation 13:18 (click here for a post concerning that).

The “666” is blaspheme of God (6), discarding the need for Jesus Christ (6), and trampling on the Holy Spirit (6). For a post on “666” click here.

After the interpretation of the dream, Nebuchadnezzar profusely thanks Daniel to the point of falling on his knees and worshipping Daniel. Praise and worship are to be directed towards God, not other human beings and not even angels, “Now I, John, saw and heard these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things. Then he said to me, “See that you do not do that. For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.” Revelation 22:8

• Worshipping the creature more than the Creator.
• Compelled to worship the image of the beast.
• Worship of God through Jesus Christ is considered inhumane.
• Praise and esteem of those who bless worldly authority.
• Materialism, prestige, and authority are given to those who please the governing authority.
• Angry consequences of punishment face those who reject the image of the beast.

Worshipping the creature more than the Creator. “Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, prostrate before Daniel, and commanded that they should present an offering and incense to him.” Daniel 2:46 Today, praise of the individual comes by lifting up self-esteem, promoting human dignity and respect but at the same time denying God and discarding the need for the remission of sin through Jesus Christ. In a sense, each individual is their own god and people worship, or esteem, whatever the person identifies themselves with. We are living in the days of humanism empowered by the image and mark of the beast.

The image of the beast is given life to speak and live through a person by the thing which has the ability to form what we think, feel, and do. As it lives and speaks through a person they are conformed to their place in life, their mark in life, people are groomed to the mark of the beast. People are being praised and esteemed for allowing the image of the beast to live and speak through them.

Compelled to worship the image of the beast. The image of the beast is being esteemed, praised, honored, and worshipped which resides in the person, “It was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed.” Revelation 13:15 (for a related post on that click here). The purpose of removing the idea of sin is so that each person can be praised and esteemed for who they are, such as everyone in the LGBQT+ community etc. It is really the image of the beast within a person that is being esteemed, praised, and honored.

Examples of promoting human dignity and respect while discarding the need for Jesus Christ comes in many ways. One way is to call the killing of the unborn, “Reproductive Rights,” that way no one’s feelings are hurt for what they are doing. Another way is to promote the LGBTQ+ lifestyle through the “Respect for Marriage Act.” And still another way is to cancel Christianity by promoting a “Democratic Society.” The list goes on. The need for Jesus Christ is discarded as human dignity and respect is lifted up.

Worship of God through Jesus Christ is considered inhumane. To talk about the need for Jesus Christ is offensive to those who believe in esteem and praise of the person over the need to praise and worship God. They consider the teachings of the Bible to be belittling, degrading, hateful, unloving, unsupportive, etc. The thing that shapes what we feel, think, and do wants to live in us and to be esteemed, worshipped, and praised, “…it opposes and exalts itself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that it sits as God in the temple of God, showing itself that it is God.” 2 Thessalonians 2:4 Our body is the temple of God where it wants to sit.

Praise and esteem of those who bless worldly authority. “The king answered Daniel, and said, “Truly your God is the God of gods, the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, since you could reveal this secret.” Daniel 2:47 Nebuchadnezzar had not yet given his life to God when he was esteeming and praising the God of Daniel. In fact, when people caused good things to happen for him, he was filled with praise and esteem towards those who blessed him. He treated them like a god. Unfortunately, when Nebuchadnezzar was offended and not given esteem and praise, he was filled with murder and rage against the offender.

Those who govern through the image and mark of the beast, relating to the thing which forms thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, expect to be highly esteemed and praised. Criticism towards the masses of the “democratic” society of the beast is treated harshly. In contrast, when a person respects the “democratic” society then they are esteemed, praised, and shown social approval. The “democratic” society only esteems the person’s god which is rooted in the image of the beast which lives and speaks through them by the thing which forms what they think, feel, and do.

Materialism, prestige, and authority are given to those who please the governing authority. “Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many great gifts; and he made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon.” Daniel 2:48 Nebuchadnezzar was rewarding and esteeming Daniel, not God, but Daniel was truly serving God. The way Nebuchadnezzar responded to receiving what he needed reveals the world we live in today.

Behavior modification is a huge part of today’s world. There are many positive rewards for esteeming the image of the beast within a person, and many negative consequences for rejecting the image of the beast. Money, possessions, authority, physical comforts, and social approval are given to reinforce those who live by the image of the beast, and those rewards are taken away from those who reject the image of the beast.

Those who live by the thing which forms what a person thinks, feels, and does is rewarded in many ways that enables them to succeed in life above others. For example, it endows a person with uncanny knowledge, heightened intuition, extraordinary skills, amazing physical feats, authority, physical comforts, sensual pleasures, physical healings, applicable emotional responses, etc. Others are not equipped with what is needed to succeed above those who esteem the image of the beast.

Angry consequences of punishment face those who reject the image of the beast. “Also Daniel petitioned the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego over the affairs of the province of Babylon; but Daniel sat in the gate of the king.” Daniel 2:49 While Nebuchadnezzar was filled with praise and gifts when everything went his way, he was filled with rage and murder when he was rejected. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into the fiery furnace for refusing to worship the image which the king had set up (Daniel 3).

Today, those who govern by the thing which forms what we think, feel, and do will make you feel like royalty as long as you worship the image of the beast. The image of the beast relates to living by the mark of the beast (for a post on the mark of the beast click here). However, refusing to esteem the image of the beast in others leads to negative consequences from those who govern for the beast.

Nebuchadnezzar found himself in a conflict of interest a few times. It’s impossible to be partly for God and partly not, it causes a lot of instability, conflict, and divisions. It’s like the clay mixed with iron in the feet of the image spoken about in Danel 2:31-45.

---

“….to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets,“
‘I will not impose any other burden on you, except to hold on to what you have until I come.’”
“I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.”
Revelation 2:24-25, 3:1