Measuring U.S. Decline Using Nebuchadnezzar
I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all of whose works are truth, and His ways justice. Those who walk in pride He is able to put down. - Daniel 4:37
I am teaching through the book of Daniel on Tuesday mornings and the book of Ezekiel on Friday mornings at Istoria (watch LIVE at 7:00 am Central Time).
To know of Ezekiel and Daniel, two buddies born the same year (622 BC), raised in Jerusalem, and taken into Babylon as slaves - Daniel in 605 BC at the age of 17, and Ezekiel in 597 BC at the age of 25 - you must be familiar with the Babylon Empire and its king who reigned during Daniel’s and Ezekiel’s lifetimes.
King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon (b. 630 BC - d. 561 BC) is one of the most important biblical and historical leaders that few in the West know about. When he died at age 68 in 561 BC, he was considered the most powerful man in the world.
During my preparation for my studies in Ezekiel and Daniel, I came across a startling discovery.
The economic, social, educational, and cultural decline of the United States can be traced to the decline of the use of Nebuchadnezzar’s name in published books.
The Google Books Ngram Graph below shows the percentage decline of the use of the word ‘Nebuchadnezzar’ in English speaking books.
The two red X’s correspond to two events.
AD 1857 - The formation of the National Education Association.
AD 2000 - An almost 70% increase in home schooling and private education.
There are some people who don’t understand why students in public schools should be taught the Bible. It’s not about making people Christians. To ‘make someone a Christian’ is as impossible as ‘a leopard removing his spots’ (Jeremiah 13:23)
For U.S. citizens to understand the importance of Western Civilization and its protection of inalienable rights from the Creator God (the right to life, liberty, and possession of private property), citizens must be taught about Nebuchadnezzar.
If you think the Bible should not be taught, then I would like to quiz you about your knowledge of Nebuchadnezzar. The refusal to teach children about Nebuchadnezzar is closely tied to the decline of the United States.
What do you know about Nebuchadnezzar? Do you know:
A Nebuchadnezzar is a 15 to 20-liter bottle of wine or champagne?
Nebuchadnezzar Disease is treated in psychiatric hospitals across the nation?
Nebuchadnezzar is the first to see the Creator raise up Western Civilization?
Though all the above are true, every U.S. citizen should know the latter.
When people read Daniel 4 and Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar’s conversion to faith in YHWH in Daniel 4 (see the verse at the top of this post), written in Aramaic by his own hand, one might forget the kind of prideful man Nebuchadnezzar was before his conversion.
The Biblical Record of Nebuchadnezzar’s Brutality
The Sieges of Jerusalem (605, 597, 586 BCE) - 2 Kings 24-25, Jeremiah 39
He destroyed Jerusalem and its temple in 586 BC.
He burned the city and took Temple treasures to Babylon.
He killed many inhabitants, including nobles.
He enslaved and exiled the Jewish people to Babylon.
The Execution of Zedekiah's Sons - 2 Kings 25:7, Jeremiah 39:6-7
He forced King Zedekiah to watch his sons executed.
He then blinded King Zedekiah afterward and dragged him to Exile.
Massacres and Atrocities Against Judah - Jeremiah 52:10-11
He executed Judah’s nobles and princes at Riblah.
He took high-ranking officials from conquered nations captive.
Threats Against His Own Wise Men (Scientists) - Daniel 2:12-13
He ordered the execution of the Magi for failing to interpret his dream
He only stopped after Daniel intervened and interpreted the dream.
Fiery Furnace for Disobedience - Daniel 3
He threw Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego into a fiery furnace to be burned alive for not bowing to an image of himself and worshiping him as a god.
From top left to right - Euphrates River and ancient Babylon, the Hanging Gardens, Babylon Ziggurat, and the Ishtar Gate (now at the Berlin Museum). The Historical Records of Nebuchadnezzar’s Brutality
He Sieged the City of Tyre (585-573 BCE) - Josephus
He conducted a 13-year campaign of intimidation.
He forced the people to surrender after starving them.
Conquest of Egypt (568 BCE) - Greek Historian Megasthenes
He invaded and plundered Egyptian cities.
He executed many Egyptian captives.
His soldiers were told to rape the women.
Mass Deportations of Conquered Peoples - Babylonian Chronicles
Displaced entire populations (Jews, Philistines, Tyrians, Egyptians)
Forced thousands into slavery in Babylon
Destruction of Ashkelon (Philistine City) - Babylonian Records
He slaughtered and exiled the survivors.
Brutal Rebellions Suppression
He ruthlessly crushed uprisings across his empire.
He lived for his own power and pleasure, doing as he wanted, when he wanted.
No proud human being, even in your family, is beyond God’s power to humble and save.
Nebuchadnezzar’s Conversion (568 BC)
The God of heaven broke Nebuchadnezzar. You can read the story of his brokenness in Daniel 4. It took seven years, but when his humbling came to an end, Nebuchadnezzar declared:
Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all of whose works are truth, and His ways justice. And those who walk in pride He is able to put down. - Daniel 4:37
The God of heaven removes proud countries. He brings down proud cultures. He’s made it clear, the only civilizations that survive and prosper are those that acknowledge the Creator and protect the inalienable rights of human beings.
Where Was Babylon?
Babylon was East, not West.
The ancient city was located about sixty miles south of modern-day Baghdad, Iraq. The city is in ruins now, but back in Nebuchadnezzar’s day, the city of Babylon was beautiful and prosperous. It was like the New York City of the East. It’s walls and hanging gardens were TWO of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
God revealed to Nebuchadnezzar in a dream that the East would be defeated by the West
When Greece defeated Persia in the great naval battle of Salamis (480 BC), and after Alexander the Great (Greece) killed Darius, King of Persia at the battle of Gaugamela (331 BC), the West took over from the East.
Nebuchadnezzar was the first person, through Daniel, to see the rise of Western Civilization.
Western Civilization, which began in Greece and Rome during the 5th century B.C., eventually spread into the new countries of Europe and North America.
Western Civilization is known for the protection of inalienable rights that come from God, not government (the right to life, liberty, and possession of private property), and for Western Civilization culture to continue, Nebuchadnezzar must be known.
In addition to understand Western Civilization art, Western Civilization literature, and Western Civilization music, one must know the Bible because it is in the Bible that the beginnings of Western Civilization are recorded first.
It was God who made the West rise and prosper.
Without understanding that human pride and and unmeasured personal lust brought near-East king Nebuchadnezzar and his kingdom down, the West is destined to follow.
More importantly, no nation (even the United States), and national leader (including Donald Trump) ever supplants the unshakeable Kingdom of the God of Heaven, who makes to rise or removes all earthly kingdoms at His will. As Nebuchadnezzar beautifully states near the end of his life in 561 BC.
‘The God of Heaven’s dominion is an eternal dominion;
His kingdom endures from generation to generation.
All the peoples of the earth
are regarded as nothing.
He does as he pleases
with the powers of heaven
and the peoples of the earth.
No one can hold back his hand
or say to him: ‘What have you done?’ - Daniel 4:34-35.
It’s time our English-reading books start mentioning Nebuchadnezzar again.
Excellent review!