Heaven Rules

13 “I saw in the visions of my head as I lay in bed, and behold, a watcher, a holy one, came down from heaven. 14 He proclaimed aloud and said thus: ‘Chop down the tree and lop off its branches, strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the beasts flee from under it and the birds from its branches. 15 But leave the stump of its roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze, amid the tender grass of the field. Let him be wet with the dew of heaven. Let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth. 16 Let his mind be changed from a man’s, and let a beast’s mind be given to him; and let seven periods of time pass over him. 17 The sentence is by the decree of the watchers, the decision by the word of the holy ones, to the end that the living may know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will and sets over it the lowliest of men.’ 18 This dream I, King Nebuchadnezzar, saw. And you, O Belteshazzar, tell me the interpretation, because all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known to me the interpretation, but you are able, for the spirit of the holy gods is in you.”
Daniel 4:13-18
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Heaven Rules
Nebuchadnezzar’s dream revealed a sobering truth: all earthly power is subject to the authority of heaven. A holy watcher announces judgment, not merely as punishment, but to drive home this truth: “The Most High rules the kingdom of men.” Kings rise and fall, not by their own strength, but by God’s will. This humbling message echoes throughout Scripture. Our pride must be cut down like the great tree in the dream. But even in judgment, God shows mercy. The stump is left, with roots and a band of iron and bronze, pointing to the hope of restoration. At the cross, Christ bore the judgment we deserved. He humbled Himself unto death so that we might be raised with Him. Now exalted, He reigns, not with tyranny, but with mercy and truth.