Exilic Prophecies from Babylon

Daniel and Ezekiel were taken as exiles to Babylon, but from there, they faithfully proclaimed God's messages, including predictions of the coming Messiah.

While Jeremiah was prophesying in the rubble of Jerusalem and Egypt, the LORD was speaking in Babylon through two of His other prophets. Ezekiel was sharing a message with the same themes as Jeremiah. He told of a time when God’s people would no longer be pushed around. Instead, God would appoint a king from David’s line to be a shepherd over His people. Even though Ezekiel did not use the term “New Covenant,” he spoke of it, revealing the fact that during that time, the LORD would give His people a new heart and put His Spirit in them to enable them to live by His commands.

Daniel (God’s other prophet in Babylon) and Ezekiel were taken captive to Babylon in 605 and 597 B.C., respectively. Just as God elevated Joseph to a position of power and honor in Egypt, so He did with Daniel. God enabled him to predict the rise and fall of nations and the transfer of global power—some of which happened during his lifetime and shortly after (within 200 years), some of which is still to come.

The king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, had a disturbing dream. He asked his advisors (of which Daniel was one) to interpret the dream for him—but first, they had to tell him the dream! The king offered money and rewards to the one who could tell him his dream and its interpretation. After it was clear no one could do it, Daniel stepped forward, told the king to keep his money, and declared:

“No mere human—no wise man, enchanter, magician, or diviner—can unlock this mystery. But there is a God in Heaven who unlocks mysteries. He is unlocking this one to let you know what will happen in the future. King, in your dream, you saw a massive, striking, terrifying statue. Its head was made of gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, and its feet were made of an iron/ceramic mixture. As you looked at the statue, a rock cut by invisible hands hit and smashed the feet, causing the entire statue—clay, iron, bronze, silver, and gold—to fall and break in smithereens. The wind came along and blew the statue’s dust away while the rock became a huge mountain, dominating the whole earth.

“Now, king, here is what your dream means: The God of Heaven has made you a glorious, powerful king over the entire world. You are the head of gold. Another kingdom, inferior to yours, will come next. Then that kingdom will be taken over by a third—the bronze—ruling over all, followed by a fourth as strong as iron. Just as iron breaks other metals, so this kingdom will break up and smash the previous kingdoms.

“But the feet and toes iron/ceramic mixture will deteriorate into a hybrid kingdom which still will have some remains of iron (strong), but mixed with pottery (weak, easily broken). Eventually, the kingdom won’t hold together any more than an iron/ceramic mixture can hold together.

“At that time, God will build His kingdom, which will never be destroyed nor fall to another kingdom. Christ the King will crush all other kingdoms once and for all and stand for eternity just as the rock crushed the metals and filled the earth.”

The king was amazed and fell on his face before Daniel, declaring, “Your God is the God of all gods and the master of all kings, revealer of mysteries.”

Later, Daniel was reading a prophecy God had given to Jeremiah, which clearly indicated that the exile would last 70 years. Realizing those 70 years were nearly over, Daniel prayed excitedly for God to fulfill the prophecy and deliver them. Then God sent an angel to deliver to Daniel another amazingly specific revelation: Even though the 70 years were coming to an end, allowing Jews to return to the land soon, God would require 490 more years to atone for their wickedness. But when those 490 years were completed, the Anointed One would come. The countdown was on! Excitement grew for some as they anticipated the Anointed One’s coming. But Daniel also predicted that the Anointed One would be killed.