The faithful Daniel stood before the king, not to flatter, not to misinterpret in order to secure favor. A solemn duty rested upon him, to tell the king of Babylon the truth. He said, “My lord, the dream be to them that hate thee, and the interpretation thereof to thine enemies. The tree that thou sawest, ... it is thou, O king.”
Do we regard the kingdom of Babylon as of more importance in the estimation of God than are the instrumentalities and responsibilities He has entrusted to His chosen people, upon whom the ends of the world are come? We have here the workings of the great I AM to change even the heart of a heathen king. There is a Watcher just as really taking cognizance of all the works of human beings, but in a special sense of those who are to represent God by receiving His sacred truth into the heart and revealing it to the world....
In the dream of Nebuchadnezzar, the true object of government is beautifully represented by the great tree “whose leaves were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all; under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and upon whose branches the fowls of the heaven had their habitation.”—Manuscript 29, 1895.
The prophet Daniel interpreted the dream to the king, and he added the solemn admonition “Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thy iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity.” ... For twelve months the king was tested and proved. During this time his actions were weighed in the balances of the sanctuary in heaven.
One morning as he walked in his palace, “the king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?” While the king was swelling with self-importance, even “while the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee.”—Letter 71, 1894. CTr 179
For those who do reform, how bitter the struggle to regain their manhood! And all their life long, in a shattered constitution, a wavering will, impaired intellect, and weakened soul power, many reap the harvest of their evil sowing. How much more might be accomplished if the evil were dealt with at the beginning! MH 351
They shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, ... and seven times shall pass over thee, till thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men. Daniel 4:22-25, KJV