The book opens with some background in chapter 1 (in which Daniel and his friends, best known as “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,” arrive at court) and then the stories begin. In the first part of chapter 2, we learn that King Nebuchadnezzar has been anxious because of a mysterious recurring dream. He summons “dream interpreters, enchanters, diviners, and Chaldeans” – anyone who might be able to provide any insight – hoping that they could help him. But of course, being an unreasonable biblical king (which seems to be the only flavor they come in) he refuses to tell them what happens in the dream, and he throws in a threat for good measure: if they can’t both describe AND interpret the dream, they’ll be “torn limb from limb, and [their] houses will be turned into trash dumps.” Only Daniel’s intervention stops the king from carrying out this sentence.
Although this approach seems almost comical in its absurdity, I think that it actually reflects a very human desire. The reason Nebuchadnezzar calls the dream interpreters to him in the first place is because he’s anxious about not understanding something. He wants to understand so badly that he sets impossible standards to ensure that he’s not being duped. He doesn’t like the feeling of not being in control of the situation. And murderous threats aside, isn’t that actually pretty relatable?
As we eventually discover, Nebuchadnezzar’s particular anxiety stems from wanting to know what will happen in the future. How often have you ever wanted a window to the future, the chance to just KNOW something, instead of living in suspense? To know, for example, whether or not moving out of state was the right call, or whether he’d be able to stay sober, or whether she’d get that job, or whether you’d still feel safe after the next election. If you could just KNOW, you’d either be able to stop worrying, make the necessary adjustments to your expectations, or change your circumstances before it’s too late.
Of course, we CAN’T know – at least, not without the patience to find out the old-fashioned way. But while most of us have made our uneasy peace with the fact that we’ll probably never have that window to the future, there are still some people out there who are determined to find one. Recently, there’s been an uptick in people pointing to apocalyptic scriptures as predictions of current events, and of course we’ve all heard of the “end of the world” calculations that certain religious leaders insist are encoded in the Bible itself.
As much as we might want these “windows to the future” to be real, they don’t hold up to logical or theological examination. First of all, remember that prophets were never understood to be clairvoyants or psychics, but messengers. Every prophecy in the Bible was given *to address an immediate concern* facing God’s people. A prophet was sent to either warn the people to change their behavior or to encourage them – which, it seems to me, is a lot more helpful in the moment than divination, anyway.
Beyond that, though, biblical predictions of the future don’t make any theological sense. If the Bible were one big, coded message offering a window to OUR future, it would be tying God to a single fixed course of action. And we KNOW that’s not how God works. God ALWAYS leaves room for both free-will and divine mercy in God’s plans; we see that over and over again in both the First and New Testaments. If we believe in God’s grace or God’s sovereignty, then a window to the future simply can’t be possible.[1]
But then what do we do with those parts of scripture (especially the dreams) that DO seem to reveal the future – if not OUR future, then at least the future of those who are doing the dreaming? When Daniel interprets Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in today’s reading, he does seem provide a window of sorts with his interpretation – he even declares, “A great God has revealed to the king what will happen in the future.” But let’s be honest: the future described in the dream was never actually in question. It’s the sort of future that’s inevitable, no matter what happens in the meantime. No one can reasonably believe that any human kingdom or empire, no matter how great or powerful, will last literally forever. As difficult as it may be to accept, our cherished institutions will ALL one day come to an end – and somewhere deep inside, all human beings know this, including Nebuchadnezzar. So God hasn’t actually revealed anything to Daniel about the future that the king couldn’t have figured out for himself.
But that doesn’t mean that Daniel’s report to Nebuchadnezzar is a scam to trick him. God DID reveal a mystery to the king – just not the one he may have expected. Daniel says it himself: “This mystery was revealed to me…so that you might know the thoughts of your own mind.” Although it seems clear to Daniel that Nebuchadnezzar is worried about his legacy, the king doesn’t seem to realize it himself! His own mind is pointing out to him through his dream that even the most powerful empire cannot last forever, that only God’s kingdom is eternal, but apparently, he isn’t able to understand that this is what’s causing his anxiety without Daniel’s help.
As unknown as the future is, our own minds are capable of being just as mysterious, if not more so. Our subconscious mind can hold onto memories that our conscious mind may have pushed away or even forgotten, which can then manifest in physical ways.[2] Many people never learn how to identify the nuances of their own feelings – and speaking of which, what even ARE emotions, an opposed to thoughts? Scientists remain completely mystified by the nature of human consciousness (which, given all the recent advancements of AI, may be a good thing in this particular case). And we *still* don’t fully understand the biological purpose of dreaming. So while we may *wish* for a window to the future from God, a window into our own minds is an equally miraculous divine gift.
In this way, biblical dreams can still be “apocalyptic” even if they aren’t telling us the future, in the sense that they reveal information that was previously hidden to us about our own minds. And one could argue that this sort of “apocalypse” is far more valuable than the cosmic ones that we so often search for in scripture. Knowledge of the future could never be certain anyway, since it’s always subject to God’s will. But knowledge of yourself is yours forever; it’s a gift that will never be taken from you. THAT’S our window to the future – the chance to SHAPE it by better understanding the anxieties, the hopes, and the motivations that will carry us there.
Unfortunately, that’s not the choice he winds up making. Although he’s smart enough to make Daniel one of his advisors following this encounter, Nebuchadnezzar continues to rule mercurially and violently – including the infamous events involving the fiery furnace and the lion’s den. Ultimately, his kingdom falls to the Persians, who finally allow the Jewish people to return to Israel – because it turns out that God was actually in control the whole time. As a result, the meaning of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream seems even less like a window into the future and more like a self-fulfilling prophecy.
But as for us, we still have that choice to make. We can spend our time trying to figure out what the future will be, or we can do the self-examination necessary to figure out what we’re capable of MAKING it. We can spend our time and energy combing through scripture for non-existent cyphers to provide us with secret knowledge, or we can pay attention to the apocalypse of the self that God is revealing to us every single day – through our dreams, yes, but also through our new experiences, our interactions with others, and our choices. All we have to do is pay attention. We have the chance to be a part of something that will endure long after we’re gone by making sure that every single thing that we learn about ourselves – the good, the bad, and the ugly – is embraced and used in service to God’s eternal kindom.
A window to the future is available to us after all – but it’s one that looks inward before it looks out. It’s the last place many of us want to examine, perhaps, but it’s the one place where we’re guaranteed a clear view – as long as we’re willing to put in the work to look. Once we do, we won’t need any secret codes or special knowledge to understand the path forward that God is showing us. Knowing the future belongs to God alone. But determining the way you get there – that belongs to you. Amen.
------------------------------------------------
[1] This, of course, is complicated to a degree by the idea of predestination. But if we consider this doctrine as more about God knowing which choices we will make of our own freewill that will lead us either into heaven or hell than about GOD’S choices, the apparent conflict disappears. Also, this assumes that one believes in the traditional doctrines of predestination and hell at all, which is certainly not a given.
[2] I recommend the book The Body Keeps the Score by Dr. Bessel Van Der Kolk to learn more.
No comments:
Post a Comment