There are certainly things we can learn from Ezekiel, whom God commanded to bake his bread on dung, to show the people where they were headed spiritually, of Isaiah, who was told to walk naked to show that the nation of God was going to be stripped, or Hosea, who was to marry a "fallen woman" to show that although God's chosen bride was acting like a whore, He still considered Himself married to her.

But the next major and outstanding star on the event horizon of God's panel is doubtlessly Daniel, the great prophet in captivity.

Daniel's life shows that one can live piously and make the best of things, even when your entire people has been dragged away by an enemy force as a punishment for its sins. Or that - contrary to what some seem to believe - God does not exclusively care about the Jews alone. For He wanted His message to be heard in Babylon, similarly to the way He once used Joseph to make His greatness known in Egypt.

The first lesson we can learn from Daniel and his 3 friends, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, is that you don't have to eat everything the Devil serves you. If you know that God has given certain rules, and you believe they were given for a purpose, then you can stick to those rules, even if common sense would give you every excuse not to. Daniel and his friends could have said, "Uh-oh, if we're going to complain about this food, we're probably going to get in trouble!" But instead, they told their superior that they would only eat bread and water, and if they wouldn't look healthier than all the rest after 10 days, then they would eat the food that was served them (which obviously wasn't kosher).

Next Daniel shows us that there is no such thing as "impossible" to God. Like many folks in high positions, the king of Babylon seems to have tended toward somewhat unrealistic expectations of his subjects when he demands that his scholars and soothsayers should tell him a frightful dream he had, but that he forgot. He wanted to know what it meant. He knew it had been something significant. But it took a miracle of God to come up with the revelation what the dream had actually been. But God did that miracle for Daniel and his friends, and subsequently was catapulted into a top position at the Babylonian court, quite similar to Joseph in Egypt, centuries earlier.

The king's dream was indeed significant, since it showed how the empires which were to rule from Daniel's day on until the End, were going to deteriorate, not improve, as we may be tempted to delude ourselves. In the dream, the Babylonian empire was pictured as a head of gold, followed by arms and a chest of silver, signifying the following world empire of Medo Persia, loins of bronze (Greece) legs of iron (Rome) and finally, one last empire mixed of iron (totalitarian governments) and clay (democracies), which was going to be hit by a rock slung from the sky, destroy the entire body of man's reign over the earth and grow into a mountain that filled the whole earth, the eternal Kingdom of God.

In other words, in God's eyes the quality of our governments is by no means "evolving," but deteriorating.

While Nebuchadnezzar was a king prone to the usual side effects of top politicians, and eventually became totally insane for seven years during which he acted like an animal, eating grass, he eventually repented and become a truly godly ruler, making Babylon - in God's eyes - the best empire to have ruled the world of all those to come. Unfortunately, his successor didn't show forth the same wisdom and integrity and was found "wanting" in God's balances - he lacked what it took - and thus observed the fulfillment of his father's dream with his own eyes when the Medo-Persians took over Babylon. Darius the Mede was a godly ruler who allowed the Jews to rebuild their city wall and temple in Jerusalem, and we can see thus why God would consider him and his empire "silver." Alexander the Great was still okay. It is said that he was shown manuscripts of Daniel's prophecy about him (Dan.8:21) by the Jews and decided to spare them. Now the Romans were a little less tactful in their world conquest and ruled the world with a rod of iron, but then again, isn't it so that we get the kind of government we deserve?

As with Babylon, the Jews refused to believe their prophets in the case of Rome, refused to submit, and consequently saw the destruction of their country, including their beloved temple.

But what about the iron and clay mystery? The Bible indicates that there is yet one world empire and one world ruler to come, and he will be the last before the establishment of God's final and lasting Kingdom on Earth. The "rock" that's going to "hit" him and his World government will be Jesus, when He returns (1Peter 2:6-8).

Apparently, the Antichrist, as the Bible calls that final world ruler, will raise up an "image" of himself which he will demand the world to worship, similarly to the way Nebuchadnezzar has an image of himself erected in his honor, which the people of Babylon are supposed to bow down to. But just as Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refuse and are yet spared from the king's punishment, and as Daniel is spared from the lions' jaws for "breaking the law" by praying to the true God, so will God also be with His children of the End, those who will have to go through the "Great Tribulation" (Matthew 24:21), preceding the Second Coming of Christ (Mt.24:29,30).

(Heavenly input on Daniel:)