The King's Forgotten Dream

One night, King Nebuchadnezzar had a really strange dream. When he woke up, he was scared and confused. He forgot what the dream was, but he knew it was important!

The king called all his wise men. 'Tell me my dream and what it means!' he demanded.

'But Your Majesty,' they said, 'tell US the dream first, and we'll explain it!'

'No!' the king shouted. 'If you're really so wise, you should know what I dreamed! If you can't tell me, I'll punish all of you!'

The wise men were terrified. 'That's impossible! No one can do that except the gods!'

The king got so angry that he ordered ALL the wise men in Babylon to be punished—even Daniel and his friends!

When Daniel heard this, he asked the king, 'Please give me a little time.' Then Daniel ran home to his friends. 'We need to pray RIGHT NOW!' he said. 'We need to ask God to show us the king's dream!'

That night, while Daniel was sleeping, God showed him the WHOLE dream in a vision! When Daniel woke up, he praised God: 'Thank You, God! You know everything! You can do anything!'

Daniel went to the king. 'I can tell you your dream! Not because I'm smart, but because there is a God in heaven who knows all mysteries!'

Daniel told the king: 'You saw a huge statue! Its head was shiny gold, its chest was silver, its belly was bronze, its legs were iron, and its feet were part iron and part clay. Then a special rock—not cut by human hands—smashed the statue into tiny pieces! The rock grew into a huge mountain that filled the whole world!'

'That's IT!' the king exclaimed. 'That's exactly what I dreamed! But what does it mean?'

Daniel explained: 'The statue shows different kingdoms that will come and go. But God's kingdom—that special rock—will last forever! It will never be destroyed!'

The king was amazed. He bowed down and said, 'Your God is the greatest God of all!' He gave Daniel an important job and honored his friends too.

God showed everyone that He knows the future, and His kingdom is the best kingdom of all!