NOTE.--The union of the divine and human in the person of Christ is "the mystery of godliness," or "the mystery of the kingdom of God." In the case of the seed which is sown in the field, this same principle is illustrated by the union of the reproducing power with the material form. As the seed is thus capable of multiplying itself, so Christ reproduces His own character in believers, by making them partakers of the divine nature. At His coming He bestows upon the subjects of the kingdom the gift of immortality (1 Cor. 15:51-53), and so the kingdom will stand forever. It is quite likely that the wise men of Babylon did not understand about the incarnation of God in the flesh in the coming Messiah, but in their statement that the dwelling of the gods was not with flesh they announced the fundamental error of Babylon, both ancient and modern, and really denied the vital principle of Christianity. This was the essential secret, or mystery, of the kingdom of God, which needed to be known in Babylon, and which is still to be proclaimed throughout the world.
17. Concerning what did Daniel and his companions pray?
"Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions: that they would desire mercies of the God of heaven _concerning this secret_." Verses 17, 18.
18. What would have been the result of failure on their part to obtain a knowledge of this mystery?
"That Daniel and his fellows should not _perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon_." Verse 18, last part.
19. How was the secret concerning the king's dream revealed, and thus the mystery of the kingdom of God made known in Babylon?
"Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel _in a night-vision_. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven." Verse 19.
NOTE.--The most vital truth of the gospel of the kingdom of God was denied in the religion of Babylon. This made it necessary that this very truth should be preached in Babylon. This mystery of the kingdom of God was the real and essential secret which the wise men of Babylon could not make known to the king, and which could be learned only by revelation. This is the mystery which "from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God" (Eph. 3:9); and the "riches of the glory of this mystery" is "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Col. 1:27), or "the mystery of the gospel" (Eph. 6:19).