And you they will be driving away from men, and with the beasts of the field your dwelling will come to be, and the vegetation is what they will give even to you to eat just like bulls; and with the dew of the heavens you yourself will be getting wet, and seven times themselves will pass over you, until you know that the Most High is Ruler in the kingdom of mankind, and that to the one whom he wants to he gives it.”​—Daniel 4:23-25.

In actuality, down came the mighty Nebuchadnezzar from his imperial throne. The “Ruler in the kingdom of mankind” forced this by striking the king of Babylon with madness, changing his heart from that of a man mighty in rulership to that of a beast, a bull that feeds on vegetation out in the field.

23. Why did the king’s illness not mean Babylon’s downfall?

²³ Did this degradation of King Nebuchadnezzar mean the downfall of the Babylonian Empire? Not by any means! According to the decree of the Most High God this empire was to continue on for some decades yet as the Third World Power, which now corresponded to the banded rootstock of the immense tree seen in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. The prophet Daniel continued on as servant of the demented king, he serving as “the ruler over all the jurisdictional district of Babylon and the chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon.” Also, Daniel’s three Hebrew companions, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, continued having a part in the administration of the affairs of that jurisdictional district. (Daniel 1:11-19; 2:48, 49; 3:30) Certainly these four prominent Jewish exiles in Babylon were measuring the time of the king’s illness and were awaiting the time to receive him back in sanity to his imperial throne as a Gentile monarch who had learned well the lesson that “the Most High is Ruler in the kingdom of mankind and that to the one whom he wants to, he gives it.” At the end of the “seven times” this occurred.

24. On his recovery what did the king say about the Most High?

²⁴ The king himself tells us what happened: “And at the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up to the heavens my eyes, and my own understanding began to return to me; and I blessed the Most High himself, and the One living to time indefinite I praised and glorified, because his rulership is a rulership to time indefinite and his kingdom is for generation after generation. And all the inhabitants of the earth are being considered as merely nothing, and he is doing according to his own will among the army of the heavens and the inhabitants of the earth. And there exists no one that can check his hand or that can say to him, ‘What have you been doing?’”​—Daniel 4:34, 35.

25. So what release did the tree stump experience at that time?

²⁵ At that time, as far as the prophetic dream is applied to Nebuchadnezzar himself, the iron and copper bands around the rootstock of the immense tree were snapped and removed. The literal “seven times” were up, and there was due a restoration of the sane king to power. Nebuchadnezzar makes record of this, as he goes on to say: “At the same time my understanding itself began to return to me, and for the dignity of my kingdom my majesty and my brightness themselves began to return to me; and for me even my high royal officers and my grandees began eagerly searching, and I was reestablished upon my own kingdom, and greatness extraordinary was added to me.” (Daniel 4:36) What a “sign of healing” was thus performed by the Most High God!​—Daniel 4:2; Acts 4:22.

26. What Hebrews likely joined the search for the king, and why?

²⁶ It would seem highly appropriate that Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah as “high royal officers” should be among those who searched for the restored king as a sign of their loyalty to him and of their having safeguarded his imperial interests during his mental illness. (Compare 2 Samuel 19:11-15.) These four worshipers of Jehovah God would particularly be interested in the effect of the king’s humiliating experience upon him at the hands of their God. More than all others in the king’s royal service, they appreciated Nebuchadnezzar’s confession of the Universal Sovereignty of the Most High “Ruler,” whom Nebuchadnezzar called “the King of the heavens,” reigning forever. They saw how this heavenly King gave back kingship to a man who for “seven times” was “even the lowliest one of mankind” in being degraded below the human level to that of a beast of the field. (Daniel 4:17) They understood what Jehovah had been doing!