3.1 KiB
[!question] MANKIND NEEDS BETTER RULERSHIP Notes Here
[!question] Why do human governments fail to meet the needs of their subjects? (Pr 29:2) Notes Here
[!question] Man has neither the right nor the ability to govern himself successfully (Jer 10:23) Notes Here
[!question] The Bible foretells that God’s Kingdom will soon replace human rule (Da 2:44; 7:13, 14) Notes Here
- When did God’s Kingdom begin ruling, and when will it take full control?
[!question] DANIEL CHAPTER 4**—A PROPHETIC DREAM ABOUT RULERSHIP** (5 min.) Notes Here
[!question] Jehovah caused King Nebuchadnezzar to have a dream about rulership (Da 4:10-17) Notes Here
[!question] God inspired Daniel to interpret the dream [Read key portions of Daniel 4:20-27] Notes Here
- The dream was initially fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar himself (Da 4:28-37; dp 82-94)
- The dream emphasizes that Jehovah God has the right to determine who will rule mankind
[!question] THE DREAM FORETELLS THE RULE OF GOD’S KINGDOM (16 min.) Notes Here
[!question] The prophecy has a larger fulfillment in connection with the establishment of God’s Kingdom (it-1 132-135)
[!question] What reason is there to suggest that the dream is more than just an interesting story about the humiliation of Nebuchadnezzar?
- The dream was given at the time when God had just allowed his earthly kingdom to be overthrown
- The person to whom the dream was given was the very one used by God to cut off rulership in Jerusalem
- The theme of the dream is God’s right to rule over the entire “kingdom of mankind” (Da 4:17, 25, 32)
- The dream’s context, the book of Daniel, repeatedly points forward to the rule of God’s Kingdom
- Daniel’s prophecies would not be fully understood until “the time of the end” (Da 12:4, 8, 9)
In the larger fulfillment, the tree represents Jehovah’s rulership