Do I know this King of whom Nebuchadnezzar spoke? This is the question I must ask myself! It is true that many who profess to know the King of heaven do not, but whether they know Him or not will make no difference to the condition of my soul. Even so, all who read this should ask themselves this question in the same manner. For you it is not seeking to find out if I the writer knows God or not, or if this or that person knows God or not. We all should ask ourselves a question. Do I know this King?

Nebuchadnezzar came to see that God is the most High, who liveth forever, whose dominion is an everlasting one, and whose kingdom is from generation to generation (Dan. 4:34). He came to see that God is The Supreme One, thus all other gods are idols of mere stone, wood or the imagination of men. As "God" they do not even exist; as "gods" there are many which exist materially or in the imagination. God's dominion (reigning authority) is an everlasting one and His kingdom (the realm over which He reigns) is from generation to generation. Nebuchadnezzar knew this authority and realm to be much more than God ruling supreme over a so-called spiritual kingdom only, or over the physical kingdoms of the earth only.

Here is where we all must be careful to note who we actually profess to know as God! Do I know this God of whom Nebuchadnezzar spoke? Do I know the God who rules over all things, heavenly and spiritual, but earthly and material also. Can you and I see that Nebuchadnezzar came to "know" the God of heaven, but he also came to "know" that God is the God of heaven and earth who does as He pleases among and with all beings, heavenly or earthly, with none being able to stop God from doing as He will or even being able to question what He does? Nebuchadnezzar came to know God in spiritual light, but not just that God rules in a spiritual kingdom but over the physical earth and the inhabitants thereof. God gave back Nebuchadnezzar his earthly kingdom with excellent majesty (Dan. 4:36) which God at His own pleasure had given at first and taken from him (4:1-33). In theological terms this is called "sovereignty."

There is a very prevalent false view about God in our day, which in fact is a view of a "god" who is not God at all. Maybe you can see the fallacy of this view. It goes something like this: God is sovereign, but when it comes to a person's physical or spiritual condition and their temporal and eternal destiny then man's will makes the final choice. While God is supreme He is not supreme over all things without exception. Now I must ask myself a couple of questions. Is this the God whom Nebuchadnezzar came to see? Is this the god whom I call God? The answer to the first question is quite clear to any whom God has been pleased to abase or bring low from having walked in their own pride. God is supreme in doing His will among all things and beings, and He cannot be stopped from doing it! Nebuchadnezzar was brought by God to see God as supreme in both his spiritual and physical condition. His pride blinded him from having any spiritual knowledge of God, but God brought him low and enabled him ["at the end of the days" (Dan. 4:34), days God had ordained (4:16,23-26)] to "lift up his eyes" as it were. While this was no doubt a physical act it was done through the free and sovereign grace of God in giving spiritual ability to Nebuchadnezzar as well. He was enabled by grace to see God as He is and bless and praise and honour God as He is. As to the second question. Is this the god whom I call God? Is God sovereign in theory only but not in actuality? Is it God's sovereign will to let man's will be sovereign? My answer is no! The "god" many call God is not the God I know. Moreover, this is not the Jesus I know. Many profess that Jesus Christ is God with their lips. Yet, here is another question I must ask myself: Is the Jesus I call God the actual one who is the God of heaven and earth? Since the Father and the Son are one (Jn. 10:30) is this the Son whom I believe? Jesus Christ Himself warned of imposter Christ's and the apostle Paul warned of another Jesus which was not the Jesus he preached. Why would one believe in a Jesus who is less than God (the most High confessed by Nebuchadnezzar) and yet profess with their lips that he is God manifest in the flesh? The answer is they truly do not know God the most High in the person of Christ. To deny the Son is to be without the Father (I Jn. 2:23). The light of the knowledge of the glory of God is revealed in the face of Jesus Christ (II Cor. 4:5-6). Any "face" (this word is used in the Greek for implication and it implies Christ's person) which is less than the face or person of God is not the Son of God.

As it was with Nebuchadnezzar so it is with all others who see God as He is. It is a result of God's own sovereign choice and doing. If you profess to know God as he has revealed Himself in scripture then how, in actuality, did you come to that place? Can you relate to Nebuchadnezzar's pride and that it was God Himself who brought you low and enabled you to lift up your eyes to God? Everything else is a mere religious experience and not the direct work of God in sovereign grace. If the most High is the God you know and yet you retain some ideas you know are not consistent with this knowledge, especially ideas about Jesus Christ, then throw them off for what they are -- the trappings of the religion of this world and the very spirit which is already in the world -- the spirit of antichrist. Because there are many false prophets gone out into the world we are to be very careful not to believe every spirit, and we are to try them for their legitimacy (I Jn. 4:1). The God confessed by Nebuchadnezzar is the one and only God, and He is revealed in the Son who is God manifest in the flesh. Do you know this Christ?

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