The God of Heaven Reveals Secrets: Unveiling Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream in Daniel 2

October 24, 2025

He Reveals Deep and Secret Things

In Daniel 2, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon awoke troubled by a dream so disturbing that he demanded his magicians, astrologers, and wise men not only interpret it—but first tell him what he had dreamed. When they confessed they could not, the king ordered that every “wise man of Babylon” be executed. (Daniel 2:12)

Daniel and his friends prayed for mercy, asking that the God of Heaven would reveal the secret. “Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. So Daniel blessed the God of Heaven.” (Daniel 2:19–20)

Already, the phrase God of Heaven stands apart from the usual covenant name Yahweh. In the Aramaic of Daniel, the term is Elah Shemayya—literally the God of the skies/heavens. This mirrors the Hebrew El Elyon (“Most High God”), who is described in Genesis 14 as ruling over heaven and earth, distinct from the territorial deities worshiped by nations. Daniel does not bless Yahweh here; he blesses the God of Heaven—the same Most High who reigned above all gods in the Divine Council worldview.

“Blessed Be the Name of God Forever and Ever”

Daniel’s blessing continues:

“Blessed be the name of God forever and ever,
For wisdom and might are His.
And He changes the times and the seasons;
He removes kings and raises up kings;
He gives wisdom to the wise
And knowledge to those who have understanding.
He reveals deep and secret things;
He knows what is in the darkness,
And light dwells with Him.” (Daniel 2:20–22, NKJV)

The Aramaic term translated “God” again is Elah, not YHWH. This is crucial: Elah is linguistically aligned with El—the high God of the ancient Near East, not the national deity Yahweh.

Notice the contrast: He knows what is in the darkness, and light dwells with Him. This God is aware of darkness but not identified with it. The light dwells with Him—He is not shrouded by darkness.

Compare this to Yahweh’s portrayal in the Hebrew Scriptures:
“He made darkness His secret place; His canopy around Him was dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.”(Psalm 18:11)
“The LORD said that He would dwell in the thick darkness.”(1 Kings 8:12)
“Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was.”(Exodus 20:21) “*God spoke from the fire, cloud, and deep darkness.”(Deuteronomy 4:11)

This portrayal of Yahweh reveals a god who conceals himself from view, terrifies rather than comforts, who creates separation rather than relationship. Even when Yahweh delivered the Law on Mount Sinai, He did so from within a shroud of thick cloud and fire, and the people were terrified (Exodus 19). Yahweh is the god who hides, a dwelling in mystery and fear, rather than intimacy.

Yet Jesus later declares, “God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.”(1 John 1:5) “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”(John 8:12) “I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.”(John 12:46) “He who has seen me has seen the Father.”(John 14:9) “I and the Father are one.”(John 10:30) “No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.”(John 1:18)

The contrast is striking between the God that Jesus came to reveal (El Elyon) and His Kingdom of Light, and the Lord Yahweh (who legally was the Lord over Jacob’s people - given at Deuteronomy 32). Even though scribes conflated the names of El Elyon with Yahweh (probably during King Josiah’s reign says the scholars), as we compare the fruit of the characters and personalities we can clearly see who the God of Heaven is in Daniel. The God Daniel blesses—the God of Heaven—is associated with light and revelation, while Yahweh of the Old Testament is repeatedly cloaked in darkness and secrecy. Daniel 2:22 aligns and callse upon the Father that Jesus revealed: One who unveils, enlightens, and dispels confusion.

The Dream and Its Meaning

Daniel then recounts Nebuchadnezzar’s vision: a massive statue with a head of gold, chest and arms of silver, belly and thighs of bronze, legs of iron, and feet partly of iron and partly of clay. Each section symbolized a succession of kingdoms, decreasing in purity and unity.

“The fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron… it shall break in pieces and crush all the others.” (Daniel 2:40)
“Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided.” (Daniel 2:41)

Then Daniel delivers the prophecy that reaches to our age:

“And in the days of these kings the God of Heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed… it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.” (Daniel 2:44)

Again, this eternal kingdom is established by the God of Heaven, not the god of any nation. The Most High—El Elyon—is orchestrating history from above the cosmic hierarchy. His kingdom transcends the fallen dominions of the earth.

El Elyon and the Everlasting Kingdom

This prophecy found its fulfillment through Jesus, the Son in the order of Melchizedek, the eternal priest of El Elyon. (Genesis 14:18; Hebrews 7:1–3)
Jesus came proclaiming, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.”(Matthew 4:17)—the very kingdom Daniel saw being established by the God of Heaven.

Psalm 82 shows that the Most High called the divine rulers to account for unjust governance: “You shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.”(Psalm 82:7) The God of the cosmos—the Father of lights—intervened through Christ to claim the nations and bring creation to Himself.

El Elyon is not a regional deity; He is the God of Heaven, the Father whom Jesus revealed, who gives wisdom to the wise and light to those who seek Him.

Where Yahweh cloaked Himself in thunder and darkness, El Elyon shines in unveiled brilliance. Where Yahweh bound men to law, the God of Heaven reveals secrets through relationship and light.

Revelation for Today

Nebuchadnezzar’s dream still speaks. The empires of gold, silver, bronze, and iron have all fallen. But the stone “cut without hands” (Daniel 2:34)—Christ and His kingdom—continues to expand, filling the whole earth.

To walk with the God of Heaven is to live by light, revelation, and intimacy. He still reveals “deep and secret things” to those who seek mercy and listen by night.

“He knows what is in the darkness, and light dwells with Him.” (Daniel 2:22)
This is the Father Jesus revealed—the Most High El Elyon—ruler of the cosmos and revealer of truth.

Want to Go Deeper?

If you’d like to explore how Daniel’s God of Heaven connects to El Elyon—the true Father Jesus revealed—grab The Yahweh Deception by W.R. Selvig at AbbaUnveiled.com. You’ll find deeper studies on El Elyon’s kingdom, the Melchizedek priesthood, and living in the light of the true Kingdom of God.