Daniel 4 is not a story of an ancient king, but an inner drama between states of awareness. Through Neville Goddard’s Law of Assumption, Nebuchadnezzar symbolises a proud, outwardly-focused self-concept that must be broken down for true understanding to emerge.
The dream, the fall, and the restoration all take place within: they chart the movement from prideful separation to the recognition that imagination—awareness of being—is the only true ruler. This chapter shows the inevitable collapse of any state built on forgetfulness of the I AM, and the peace that returns when consciousness reclaims its rightful dominion.
Daniel and Belteshazzar: The Inner Wisdom Within Outer Identity
In Daniel 4, Daniel is also called Belteshazzar, his Babylonian name given by the king’s officials. Symbolically, this reflects the inner wisdom or higher awareness (Daniel) operating within the framework of the external world’s language and identity (Belteshazzar).
It reminds us that the truth of imagination and conscious awareness is often veiled by outer conditioning, but ultimately it is this inner voice that guides the transformation of the self from pride to true understanding.
Daniel 4:1–3 — A Testimony from a Changed State
Nebuchadnezzar the king, to all people, nations, and languages, who dwell in all the earth;
Peace be increased to you.
I thought good to show the signs and wonders that the Most High God has done for me.
How great are his signs! and how mighty are his wonders!
his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his government is from generation to generation.
Commentary:
These verses are a retrospective testimony from a transformed state of consciousness. Nebuchadnezzar is no longer speaking as the proud king who relied on external strength; rather, he speaks from a higher awareness—the awakened state.
He acknowledges the “Most High God” not as a deity separate from himself but, in Neville’s terms, as the I AM within—the creative power of imagination. The “kingdom” and “government” are eternal because they represent the inner realm, where assumptions are made and the outer world is formed.
This opening sets the tone: we are about to hear the story of how a man’s reliance on external power fell, and how he came to know imagination as the true source of all creation.
Daniel 4:4–5 — The Disturbance in the Comfort Zone
I Nebuchadnezzar was at rest in my house, and flourishing in my palace:
I saw a dream that made me afraid, and the thoughts on my bed and the visions of my head troubled me.
Commentary:
The “rest” and “flourishing” symbolise a surface-level sense of control and satisfaction. The palace represents the structure of identity he has built. But the “dream” intrudes—a disturbance from the deeper self.
In Neville’s framework, this dream is the subconscious attempting to reveal the instability or falseness of the current assumption.
The king has assumed he is the source of his power. The troubling dream is the natural discomfort that arises when our lived world is based on a false premise—that the outer self is the cause, rather than the inner feeling.
Daniel 4:6–7 — Seeking Interpretation from Outer Faculties
Therefore I made a decree to bring all the wise men of Babylon before me...
Then came in the magicians, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers...
but they did not make known to me the interpretation.
Commentary:
The king turns to outer wisdom—symbolic of human reasoning, intellectual knowledge, and reliance on appearances. These faculties correspond to what Neville would call the senses and the rational mind.
But they fail to provide true insight. Why? Because the origin and meaning of your inner world cannot be explained by external logic. Only imagination—Daniel—can interpret the dream, because it came from within.
This marks a turning point: when all external analysis fails, one is forced to look inward.
Daniel 4:8–9 — The Introduction of Daniel (Imagination)
But at last Daniel came before me...
In whom is the spirit of the holy gods...
for I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you, and no secret troubles you...
Commentary:
Daniel, whose name means “God is my judge,” represents the inner creative faculty—imagination, as Neville teaches. He is described as having the “spirit of the holy gods,” meaning he draws not from the external world, but from divine inner insight.
When everything external fails to resolve our confusion, we turn to the only true revealer: the imagination, which knows no boundaries and is not disturbed by appearances. “No secret troubles you” means that Daniel (imagination) sees clearly because it looks through symbols, not facts.
Daniel 4:10–12 — The Vision of the Great Tree
I saw, and behold a tree in the middle of the earth...
the height of it was great...
The beasts of the field had shadow under it...
and the birds of the air dwelt in its branches... (BBE)
Commentary:
The tree is the self-concept, the central assumption from which everything grows. Its placement “in the middle of the earth” shows that your inner state is the axis of your world. It is “great” because the king’s assumption is dominant, widely accepted, and successful in appearance.
That the animals and birds shelter in it means all aspects of consciousness—both higher thoughts and base instincts—are nourished by your main assumption. This is Neville’s principle in action: “All things follow your assumption.”
When your concept of self is grand (even if based on ego), your world aligns with it. But the root is faulty—it’s built on pride in the outer self, not the I AM within.
Daniel 4:13–14 — The Descent of the Watcher
I saw in the visions of my head on my bed, and behold, a watcher and a holy one came down from heaven...
Hew down the tree...
shake off its leaves...
let the beasts get away from under it...
Commentary:
This “watcher” is the higher self, the observing consciousness that sees the illusion in the proud state. It is the moment where the deeper mind begins to dismantle a false assumption.
In Neville’s terms, the current self-concept has fulfilled its course and must die so that a new state of being may emerge.
Cutting down the tree symbolises the removal of a dominant assumption. The outer world, fed by this assumption, will scatter—“the beasts get away.” This may appear as crisis or loss, but it is actually grace in disguise—a necessary breakdown to clear space for truth.
Daniel 4:15 — The Preservation of the Root
Nevertheless leave the stump... with a band of iron and brass...
and let it be wet with the dew of heaven...
Commentary:
Though the false identity is removed, the core of creative power is never destroyed. The stump remains—meaning your ability to assume and imagine is preserved, though temporarily bound (the iron and brass).
Being “wet with the dew of heaven” symbolises renewal from above—the subconscious soaking in the truth of being. This is a period of dormancy and preparation, where you are no longer living from the old state, but not yet fully restored.
Neville would call this the in-between stage, where the old man is dead, but the new man is not yet fully assumed.
Daniel 4:16 — The Descent into the Animal Mind
Let his heart be changed from man’s, and let a beast’s heart be given to him;
and let seven times pass over him.
Commentary:
The “heart” is the core of your emotional nature—your assumed identity. This verse marks a descent into reactive, bestial consciousness, where instead of creating from I AM, the individual lives by instinct, fear, and outer appearances.
This is symbolic of the state where you forget your power and begin reacting to the world as if it were causative.
“Seven times” passing over him suggests a complete cycle, as seven symbolises spiritual completion. This represents the inevitable outworking of a false assumption and its dissolution.
Daniel 4:17–18 — The Message is for All
This matter is by the decree of the watchers...
so that the living may know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men...
This dream I, Nebuchadnezzar, have seen.
Now, O Belteshazzar (Daniel), declare the interpretation of it...
Commentary:
The decree is made so that the living—those aware—may understand: power and rulership belong not to outer titles or worldly status, but to the Most High—your own consciousness, the I AM.
This entire dream is given not just to Nebuchadnezzar, but to “the living,” meaning all who are capable of spiritual awareness. It is a universal warning against identifying with the ego and forgetting the source.
And now Daniel—imagination—is called upon to interpret. The stage is set for the internal revelation: that your world is yourself pushed out, and it must be reimagined from within.
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