"The king reflected and said, 'Is this not Babylon the great, which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?'" (Dan. 4:30).

These were the words of the "great Nebuchadnezzar" - the man who had much pride and bondage when it came to the building of the "great Babylon." If you have done much reading in the book of Revelation, you will have discovered that Babylon will show its face one more time. This city has always been a thorn in God's side. It has, and will again, pride itself in wisdom, wealth, and power. In the case of King Nebuchadnezzar, he was turned over to a depraved mind for making such arrogant claims.

"Immediately the word concerning Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled; and he was driven away from mankind and began eating grass like cattle, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair had grown like eagles' feathers and his nails like birds' claws" (Dan. 4:33).

Why is God so offended by man or the Antichrist being so attached to wealth or external things? The answer is really too simple for the average mind to embrace. God knows that all who place their focus on wealth tend to forget Him. The other critical factor is people with wealth or excessive material things tend to think it was by their hand. This ultimately provokes God to jealousy (Deut. 8:11, 17-18).    

What means did God use to break Nebuchadnezzar of his pride? It would behoove all of us to review chapter four of Daniel. But the simple overview is this: God took all the externals away from the king until he was able to give God all of the honor, glory, and credit for the existence of wealth. That took seven years!! Yes, seven years of eating and looking like a beast. Even though there are many parallels here regarding the Great Tribulation of the Antichrist, God is making a clean and clear statement about man, money, and how he stewards it.  

Thankfully, in Nebuchadnezzar's case, he repented and put his focus on the Creator. Not all people do that after such humbling. In fact, "Neb" himself lost his focus again. Unless they are yielded to God, wealth and possessions will be seductive in nature. God has three primary requirements when it comes to money:  

GIVING: Being free from the bondage of the love of money begins with following the guidelines God laid out for us in biblical giving. When we give...  read more here