Daniel's God is the one true God in heaven who reveals secrets, standing in complete contrast to Babylon's powerless idolatry.
In Daniel 2, Babylon's wise men, astrologers, magicians, and soothsayers could not recover the king's forgotten dream, while Daniel, by divine revelation, did. Les Feldick emphasizes that from the Tower of Babel the human race was saturated with idolatry, yet Daniel testified before Nebuchadnezzar that there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets (Daniel 2:28).
Daniel 2:28 — This is the verse Daniel used to distinguish the true God in heaven from the powerless Babylonian religious experts.
Daniel 2:37 — Daniel tells the pagan king that the God of heaven gave him his kingdom, showing God's sovereignty over Babylon itself.
Chapter 2 of Daniel records that Nebuchadnezzar had a troubling dream and demanded that his wise men both tell him the dream and its interpretation. Because they could not, the king ordered all the wise men of Babylon to be killed. Daniel, having asked for time, received the revelation by night. Daniel 2:19 says, "Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision, and Daniel blessed the God of heaven." When brought before the king, Daniel did not credit himself or the Babylonian gods. Daniel 2:27-28 says, "Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, shew unto the king; But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days." Daniel also told the king, "Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory" (Daniel 2:37). The Scripture itself contrasts the failure of Babylon's wise men with the true God in heaven who reveals secrets.
Les Feldick explains that beginning at the Tower of Babel, the whole human race was saturated with idolatry. The pagan gods of the ancient world were female goddesses, mythological gods, frogs, animals, the sun, and the moon. Israel alone, through Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the twelve tribes, had knowledge of the one true God. Daniel, though a young man, stood before the pagan king Nebuchadnezzar and declared that there is a God in heaven whom the king knew nothing of. Les emphasizes that the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision because the almighty sovereign God was at work—not human happenstance. He also points out that Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar that the God of heaven had given him his kingdom, power, strength, and glory, showing that even Babylon's empire was under Daniel's God. Les further notes that when dealing with Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians, the term of deity associated with the Gentile world is "the Most High."
Scripture records Nebuchadnezzar's demand that the wise men tell him both the dream and its interpretation. Les notes that the ancient Oriental kings were ruthless and ready to put men to death if they could not fulfill their requests. The magicians were right on the line, and the king was angry and furious because they could not deliver the dream.
Les explains that from the Tower of Babel the whole human race was saturated with idolatry. The gods people worshipped were female goddesses, mythological gods, frogs, animals, the sun, or the moon. Israel alone, through Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the twelve tribes, had knowledge of the one true God.
Daniel answered in the king's presence that the wise men, astrologers, magicians, and soothsayers could not show the secret, "But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days" (Daniel 2:28). Les points out this was a testimony of "the God that Nebuchadnezzar knew nothing of." He also emphasizes that the revelation came in a night vision and was the almighty sovereign God at work—not human happenstance.
Les teaches that when the book of Daniel deals with Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians, the term of deity associated with the Gentile world is "the Most High." The Gentile nations as a whole are addressed with this title.
Nebuchadnezzar's Impossible Demand
The king demanded that his magicians tell him both the dream and its interpretation, leaving them facing death—demonstrating why human wisdom could not answer.
Israel's Unique Knowledge of the True God
Les explains that every other nation was lost in pagan idolatry—goddesses, mythology, frogs, animals, sun and moon—while Israel alone had the knowledge of the one true God passed from Abraham through Isaac, Jacob, and the twelve tribes.
Daniel's Testimony Before the King
Les emphasizes Daniel's declaration that no wise man, astrologer, magician, or soothsayer could show the king the secret—there was a God in heaven whom Nebuchadnezzar did not know, and that from the Tower of Babel idolatry had saturated the whole human race.
The Almighty Sovereign God Reveals Secrets
Les points out that Daniel was only a young man, yet the secret was revealed to him in a night vision—the almighty sovereign God at work, not human happenstance.
God Gives Babylon Its Power
Les shows Daniel telling Nebuchadnezzar that the God of heaven gave him his kingdom, power, strength, and glory—so even Babylon's dominion was under Daniel's God.
Why Is Nebuchadnezzar's Dream Still Relevant Today? Daniel 2
"...for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, strength, and glory, and wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field, and the fowls of heaven, hath He, the sovereign God, given into thy hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all." Now, he was an absolute totalitarian dictator king. He didn't have to consult with anybody to make a decision. His power was absolute.
Daniel's Rise Through the Dream
Les recalls that Daniel, a young Jew trained by Babylonians for the king's service, was brought to a place of preeminence by interpreting the dream Nebuchadnezzar's magicians could not recover.
The God of the Gentiles: Most High
Les explains that when dealing with Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian/Gentile world, the term of deity associated with them is "the Most High."
Daniel 2:19: Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision, and Daniel blessed the God of heaven.
This shows that the knowledge of the dream did not come from Daniel's own ability but from divine revelation.
Daniel 2:27: Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, shew unto the king;
Daniel explicitly disconnects Babylonian expertise from the ability to reveal the king's secret.
Daniel 2:28: But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these;
This is Daniel's central contrast between the false gods of Babylon and the true God in heaven.
Daniel 2:37: Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory.
Daniel makes clear that even Nebuchadnezzar's own empire was given to him by the God of heaven.
Daniel's God is the true God in heaven who reveals secrets. Babylon's gods were idols—goddesses, mythological figures, frogs, animals, the sun, and the moon—and none could reveal the king's dream. Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar that there is a God in heaven who makes known what will happen in the latter days (Daniel 2:28).
The Bible says they could not, and Daniel openly said so before the king. Les adds that from the Tower of Babel onward, the human race was saturated with idolatry, so Babylon's wise men had no knowledge of the true God who reveals secrets.
Les teaches that it is. When dealing with Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians, the term of deity is 'the Most High,' a title associated with the Gentile nations in the book of Daniel.
Watch the Teaching: Daniel's Dream, the Antichrist & the Mark of the Beast