WEBVTT 00:00:02.479 --> 00:00:04.919 Have you ever had the kind of nightmare that 00:00:04.919 --> 00:00:07.839 caused you to awaken from your deep sleep and 00:00:07.839 --> 00:00:11.720 to lay there in bed wondering what ogre Was in 00:00:11.720 --> 00:00:14.939 the room with you your heart was pounding your 00:00:14.939 --> 00:00:18.600 eyes Looking into the darkness to see the monster 00:00:18.600 --> 00:00:21.899 Well, I suppose from time to time all of us have 00:00:21.899 --> 00:00:25.019 had that When you're young you get out of bed 00:00:25.019 --> 00:00:28.239 and go in lay down with mom and dad and feel 00:00:28.239 --> 00:00:31.160 like everything is going to be all right But 00:00:31.160 --> 00:00:33.020 when you get older, you just kind of lay there 00:00:33.020 --> 00:00:37.719 and wonder, now who do I hug? Nebuchadnezzar 00:00:37.719 --> 00:00:41.219 had that kind of a dream. It was a nightmare. 00:00:41.420 --> 00:00:44.880 It caused him to awaken out of his deep sleep, 00:00:45.280 --> 00:00:48.659 and he was unable to get back to his rest. It 00:00:48.659 --> 00:00:52.380 was a terrifying experience to him. The story 00:00:52.380 --> 00:00:55.399 about this is told in our text in Daniel chapter 00:00:55.399 --> 00:01:00.109 2, which is one of the most significant chapters 00:01:00.109 --> 00:01:05.290 of Bible prophecy. Its scope is breathtaking, 00:01:05.709 --> 00:01:09.750 for it outlines with complete accuracy the history 00:01:09.750 --> 00:01:15.129 of hundreds of years and even reaches down to 00:01:15.129 --> 00:01:18.709 the end of this age in which we are living. The 00:01:18.709 --> 00:01:22.469 chronology as to when this dream took place is 00:01:22.469 --> 00:01:26.709 a little uncertain. Verse 1 tells us that it 00:01:26.709 --> 00:01:30.290 was the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar. 00:01:31.489 --> 00:01:35.409 Now that probably means that it was during the 00:01:35.409 --> 00:01:38.450 time that Daniel and his three friends were in 00:01:38.450 --> 00:01:45.030 training. to put that all together with how Daniel 00:01:45.030 --> 00:01:47.469 was honored at the end of the chapter, but frankly 00:01:47.469 --> 00:01:50.310 it's not a big problem to me. It says it was 00:01:50.310 --> 00:01:52.810 that second year and so we understand that Daniel 00:01:52.810 --> 00:01:56.030 and his friends were not with the rest of the 00:01:56.030 --> 00:01:59.230 magicians and the wise men and so on, hence the 00:01:59.230 --> 00:02:02.329 chapter falls out as it does in the narrative. 00:02:03.609 --> 00:02:05.829 They were only trainees and were not a part of 00:02:05.829 --> 00:02:09.129 the official corps yet at this time. Daniel would 00:02:09.129 --> 00:02:13.560 have been, no perhaps 17 years of age when all 00:02:13.560 --> 00:02:16.960 of this took place. The chapter falls into four 00:02:16.960 --> 00:02:20.439 divisions as the narrative unfolds to us. The 00:02:20.439 --> 00:02:23.280 first division is verses 1 through 13 in the 00:02:23.280 --> 00:02:27.740 King's demand. It says Nebuchadnezzar had dreams 00:02:27.740 --> 00:02:31.539 and his spirit was troubled, his sleep left him. 00:02:32.099 --> 00:02:34.800 And so he gave orders to call in the magicians, 00:02:34.960 --> 00:02:38.740 the conjurers, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans. 00:02:39.289 --> 00:02:42.189 Well, these were different groups of men who 00:02:42.189 --> 00:02:46.469 served him as advisors. The magicians were those 00:02:46.469 --> 00:02:50.830 who utilized charts to try to answer questions 00:02:50.830 --> 00:02:53.469 that the king might have as to the meaning of 00:02:53.469 --> 00:02:59.189 things like dreams. They were a part of religious 00:02:59.189 --> 00:03:03.810 rituals that were used to try to discern the 00:03:03.810 --> 00:03:08.020 meaning of things. Those who were conjurers were 00:03:08.020 --> 00:03:13.840 enchanters and used spells and words to work 00:03:13.840 --> 00:03:18.199 effects on behalf of the king. The sorcerers 00:03:18.199 --> 00:03:21.479 were those who were specialized in the use of 00:03:21.479 --> 00:03:25.759 potions and black magic, and they attempted to 00:03:25.759 --> 00:03:29.520 contact the dead, the purpose being to tell the 00:03:29.520 --> 00:03:34.719 future. The final term, the Chaldeans, is used 00:03:34.719 --> 00:03:37.819 in Daniel sometimes as reference to all of the 00:03:37.819 --> 00:03:41.800 Babylonians, but here there seems to be a special 00:03:41.800 --> 00:03:46.020 class of wise men that are involved. Daniel calls 00:03:46.020 --> 00:03:49.039 everybody in, his whole cabinet if you please, 00:03:49.639 --> 00:03:54.099 and the king puts them to the test. The king 00:03:54.099 --> 00:03:57.439 said to them, I had a dream and my spirit is 00:03:57.439 --> 00:04:02.139 anxious to understand the dream. So, the Chaldeans 00:04:02.139 --> 00:04:05.240 spoke up first to the king in Aramaic, and it 00:04:05.240 --> 00:04:08.099 should be noted that at this point, the book 00:04:08.099 --> 00:04:11.479 of Daniel, as it was written, begins to be written 00:04:11.479 --> 00:04:15.000 in the Aramaic language, not the Hebrew language 00:04:15.000 --> 00:04:21.060 any longer. And probably the words in Aramaic 00:04:21.060 --> 00:04:24.540 are in parenthesis, and the Chaldeans simply 00:04:24.540 --> 00:04:27.420 spoke to the king in the parenthesis in Aramaic, 00:04:27.639 --> 00:04:31.259 the writing goes on. And they say, Oh, King, 00:04:31.519 --> 00:04:33.620 live forever. Tell the dream to your servants 00:04:33.620 --> 00:04:37.319 and we will declare the interpretation. These 00:04:37.319 --> 00:04:40.759 folks had a pretty good thing going. Because 00:04:40.759 --> 00:04:42.899 who's going to dispute them about the meaning 00:04:42.899 --> 00:04:47.060 of a dream? So they say, King, you tell us the 00:04:47.060 --> 00:04:50.759 dream and we'll tell you what it means. Well, 00:04:50.800 --> 00:04:53.079 the king answered and said, The command from 00:04:53.079 --> 00:04:56.720 me is firm. If you do not make known to me the 00:04:56.720 --> 00:05:02.279 dream, and its interpretation, you will be torn 00:05:02.279 --> 00:05:05.100 limb from limb and your houses will be made a 00:05:05.100 --> 00:05:08.160 rubbish heap." You get the idea that he was pretty 00:05:08.160 --> 00:05:11.980 serious about this, don't you? But if you declare 00:05:11.980 --> 00:05:14.560 the dream and its interpretation, you will receive 00:05:14.560 --> 00:05:18.500 from me gifts and a reward and great honor. Therefore 00:05:18.500 --> 00:05:23.000 declare to me the dream and its interpretation. 00:05:23.100 --> 00:05:25.420 Now these fellows were in a real difficult spot. 00:05:27.120 --> 00:05:29.360 because they didn't know what the dream was. 00:05:30.240 --> 00:05:32.759 And if they didn't come up with the answer, they 00:05:32.759 --> 00:05:35.740 weren't long for the world. And their houses 00:05:35.740 --> 00:05:39.139 were going to be turned into garbage pits. Well, 00:05:39.180 --> 00:05:41.779 they answered a second time and said, let the 00:05:41.779 --> 00:05:43.579 king tell the dream to his servants and we will 00:05:43.579 --> 00:05:45.519 declare the interpretation. And he answered, 00:05:45.660 --> 00:05:47.480 I know for certain that you're bargaining for 00:05:47.480 --> 00:05:52.649 time. We've all done that on occasion. Inasmuch 00:05:52.649 --> 00:05:55.009 as you have seen, the command from me is firm, 00:05:55.009 --> 00:05:56.990 and if you do not make the dream known to me, 00:05:56.990 --> 00:06:00.029 there is only one decree for you." And he's already 00:06:00.029 --> 00:06:03.589 given that. For you have agreed together to speak 00:06:03.589 --> 00:06:07.029 lying and corrupt words before me until the situation's 00:06:07.029 --> 00:06:10.050 changed. Therefore, tell me the dream, that I 00:06:10.050 --> 00:06:14.189 may know that you can declare to me its interpretation. 00:06:15.410 --> 00:06:20.930 And so, he threatens them. He promises them reward. 00:06:21.759 --> 00:06:26.139 and they respond rather desperately. In verse 00:06:26.139 --> 00:06:30.199 10, they say, there is not a man on earth who 00:06:30.199 --> 00:06:33.459 could declare the matter for the king, inasmuch 00:06:33.459 --> 00:06:36.639 as no great king or ruler has ever asked anything 00:06:36.639 --> 00:06:41.519 like this of any magician, conjurer, or Chaldean. 00:06:42.259 --> 00:06:44.680 Moreover, the thing which the king demands is 00:06:44.680 --> 00:06:48.129 difficult. That's saying the least. And there 00:06:48.129 --> 00:06:50.649 is no one else who could declare it to the king 00:06:50.649 --> 00:06:54.009 except gods whose dwelling place is not with 00:06:54.009 --> 00:06:56.029 mortal flesh." Now these fellows come up with 00:06:56.029 --> 00:06:58.589 an interesting confession at this point. They're 00:06:58.589 --> 00:07:00.230 the ones who are supposed to be able to talk 00:07:00.230 --> 00:07:05.430 to the gods and get the answer. And now they 00:07:05.430 --> 00:07:07.430 acknowledge in the king's presence that they've 00:07:07.430 --> 00:07:09.970 got a communication problem with the Babylonian 00:07:09.970 --> 00:07:14.110 gods. Well, King Nebuchadnezzar doesn't exactly 00:07:14.110 --> 00:07:17.689 take kindly to this whole situation. In fact, 00:07:17.790 --> 00:07:21.649 in verse 12 it says, he became indignant and 00:07:21.649 --> 00:07:26.029 very furious. Now why was he so angry? Well, 00:07:26.110 --> 00:07:29.290 perhaps three reasons. In the first place, because 00:07:29.290 --> 00:07:33.769 of disappointment. He wanted an immediate answer 00:07:33.769 --> 00:07:36.589 to that which had troubled him so deeply, and 00:07:36.589 --> 00:07:40.110 he was not getting it. He was probably angry, 00:07:40.350 --> 00:07:44.579 too, because of disgust. at these people who 00:07:44.579 --> 00:07:48.500 were supported by the kingdom, who were his advisors 00:07:48.500 --> 00:07:51.060 and supposed to help him, and yet they were incapable 00:07:51.060 --> 00:07:55.819 of doing so. Then thirdly, he was probably displeased 00:07:55.819 --> 00:07:59.519 because of their criticism of him, which is not 00:07:59.519 --> 00:08:03.160 very well -masked in verse 10. They said, no 00:08:03.160 --> 00:08:05.500 one in the history of the world has ever asked 00:08:05.500 --> 00:08:09.620 anything like this, Nebuchadnezzar. And you didn't 00:08:09.620 --> 00:08:12.350 exactly say things like that too often. to a 00:08:12.350 --> 00:08:15.889 king like Nebuchadnezzar, because you see, Nebuchadnezzar 00:08:15.889 --> 00:08:18.430 had many virtues, but self -control wasn't one 00:08:18.430 --> 00:08:22.889 of them. In fact, he was so angry and upset that 00:08:22.889 --> 00:08:25.790 it says he gave orders to destroy all the wise 00:08:25.790 --> 00:08:29.930 men of Babylon. And so the decree went out that 00:08:29.930 --> 00:08:34.450 every one of them was to be put to death. And 00:08:34.450 --> 00:08:38.210 that order embraced those who were still in training. 00:08:38.820 --> 00:08:43.820 like Daniel and his three friends. Well, we come 00:08:43.820 --> 00:08:46.879 now to the second division, and that is Daniel's 00:08:46.879 --> 00:08:50.440 response, verses 14 to 30. You'll notice that 00:08:50.440 --> 00:08:54.240 Daniel was not with them, that is, these magicians. 00:08:54.720 --> 00:08:58.240 We see his separation here. Daniel wanted to 00:08:58.240 --> 00:09:02.240 be identified differently. He did not want to 00:09:02.240 --> 00:09:04.580 be in the same group with all of the rest of 00:09:04.580 --> 00:09:09.009 these charlatans, if you please. these religious 00:09:09.009 --> 00:09:12.950 charlatans and tricksters who lived off the king. 00:09:13.610 --> 00:09:17.529 He kept separate from them. And so when Ariok, 00:09:17.649 --> 00:09:20.029 the captain of the king's bodyguard, who seems 00:09:20.029 --> 00:09:24.100 to be also the chief of the executions, went 00:09:24.100 --> 00:09:27.299 to get Daniel, Daniel replied with discretion 00:09:27.299 --> 00:09:29.639 and discernment. You see a real contrast here, 00:09:29.639 --> 00:09:33.059 by the way, between the sovereign who is absolutely 00:09:33.059 --> 00:09:35.580 out of control, and as we will go on through 00:09:35.580 --> 00:09:37.440 the book, we'll see it's not the only occasion 00:09:37.440 --> 00:09:41.820 that he was that way, and Daniel, the man of 00:09:41.820 --> 00:09:45.259 God, who is absolutely in control, a 17 -year 00:09:45.259 --> 00:09:49.620 -old young man who answers with discretion and 00:09:49.620 --> 00:09:56.059 discernment to the king. and to Ariok, his servant. 00:09:57.879 --> 00:10:00.700 And he said, for what reason is the decree from 00:10:00.700 --> 00:10:03.720 the king so urgent? And then Ariok informed Daniel 00:10:03.720 --> 00:10:08.100 about the whole thing. And then we come to Daniel's 00:10:08.100 --> 00:10:11.519 initiation, verse 16. He went in and requested 00:10:11.519 --> 00:10:15.120 of the king that he would give him time. Now 00:10:15.120 --> 00:10:17.480 again, this is highly unusual. You simply did 00:10:17.480 --> 00:10:20.340 not go in to see the king without being bidden 00:10:20.340 --> 00:10:24.570 to come in. without being invited. So Daniel 00:10:24.570 --> 00:10:27.649 took a real chance here in one sense in that 00:10:27.649 --> 00:10:32.950 he went into the king and asked for time and 00:10:32.950 --> 00:10:35.350 said that he would declare to him that interpretation. 00:10:36.850 --> 00:10:40.389 And it is implied obviously that he got that 00:10:40.389 --> 00:10:44.330 time and it seems as though perhaps at this point 00:10:44.330 --> 00:10:47.750 the killing stopped. It had been underway. There 00:10:47.750 --> 00:10:51.549 were wise men who were killed. But at this point, 00:10:52.049 --> 00:10:54.590 there seems to be a hold put on everything. And 00:10:54.590 --> 00:10:59.570 Daniel goes back now to his friends, and they 00:10:59.570 --> 00:11:06.029 together begin to pray. And it says that they 00:11:06.029 --> 00:11:08.350 prayed that they might not be destroyed with 00:11:08.350 --> 00:11:10.590 the rest of the wise men of Babylon. Nothing 00:11:10.590 --> 00:11:13.769 wrong with that prayer. And they ask God to give 00:11:13.769 --> 00:11:16.070 them the interpretation. And the mystery was 00:11:16.070 --> 00:11:20.600 revealed to Daniel in a night vision. Verse 19. 00:11:20.759 --> 00:11:22.539 Now technically there's a difference between 00:11:22.539 --> 00:11:27.659 a dream and a vision. A dream comes while one 00:11:27.659 --> 00:11:32.539 is in a state of sleep. But a vision comes when 00:11:32.539 --> 00:11:36.840 one is conscious. And so Daniel was in the night, 00:11:37.059 --> 00:11:40.659 undoubtedly praying, asking God for the interpretation. 00:11:41.379 --> 00:11:44.299 And God gave to him a vision so that with his 00:11:44.299 --> 00:11:48.049 eyes He was able to see the very same thing that 00:11:48.049 --> 00:11:52.470 Nebuchadnezzar had seen in that dream. And Daniel 00:11:52.470 --> 00:11:55.870 blessed the God of heaven. You will notice that 00:11:55.870 --> 00:11:58.889 term, the God of heaven, in verse 18, again in 00:11:58.889 --> 00:12:04.070 verse 19. The God of heaven rules over the affairs 00:12:04.070 --> 00:12:07.870 of men. And Daniel blessed the Lord, and we see 00:12:07.870 --> 00:12:11.799 a marvelous prayer of adoration. Some beautiful 00:12:11.799 --> 00:12:14.679 phrases here that you and I can adapt for our 00:12:14.679 --> 00:12:18.299 own times of prayer before the Lord. And we learn 00:12:18.299 --> 00:12:20.700 a great deal. We could preach a whole sermon 00:12:20.700 --> 00:12:24.080 on the prayer, but that's not our purpose tonight 00:12:24.080 --> 00:12:28.399 specifically. And then Daniel in verse 24, after 00:12:28.399 --> 00:12:32.519 having this time of prayer, went to Ariok again. 00:12:33.649 --> 00:12:37.309 And he spoke to him, saying, Do not destroy the 00:12:37.309 --> 00:12:39.629 wise men of Babylon. Take me to the king's presence. 00:12:39.690 --> 00:12:41.870 I will declare the interpretation to the king. 00:12:41.990 --> 00:12:45.129 And Ariok hurriedly then brought Daniel into 00:12:45.129 --> 00:12:48.710 Nebuchadnezzar's presence. And notice how he 00:12:48.710 --> 00:12:54.830 says this, verse 25, I have found a man. So you 00:12:54.830 --> 00:12:58.490 see a guy who's trying to take advantage of the 00:12:58.490 --> 00:13:00.870 whole situation, make a good point with the king, 00:13:00.909 --> 00:13:06.690 Nebuchadnezzar, I came up with the man who can 00:13:06.690 --> 00:13:12.710 tell you what the vision is all about. And so 00:13:12.710 --> 00:13:16.929 Daniel answered, or the king rather, answered 00:13:16.929 --> 00:13:20.570 to Daniel and he said to him, make it known to 00:13:20.570 --> 00:13:26.240 me. And so Daniel declares to him, As for the 00:13:26.240 --> 00:13:29.000 mystery about which the king is inquired, neither 00:13:29.000 --> 00:13:31.799 wise men, conjurers, magicians, diviners are 00:13:31.799 --> 00:13:35.080 able to declare it. However, there is a God in 00:13:35.080 --> 00:13:38.120 heaven. Notice again that very similar phrase. 00:13:38.259 --> 00:13:41.840 There is a God in heaven, Nebuchadnezzar, and 00:13:41.840 --> 00:13:46.220 he reveals mysteries. He's made known to the 00:13:46.220 --> 00:13:49.940 king what will take place in the latter days. 00:13:50.919 --> 00:13:53.659 And so Daniel now begins to tell the king what 00:13:53.659 --> 00:13:58.139 this dream was all about. King, God, the God 00:13:58.139 --> 00:14:03.539 of heaven, not Marduk, the God of your pantheon, 00:14:03.639 --> 00:14:06.480 the head of your pantheon, but the God of heaven 00:14:06.480 --> 00:14:09.679 has made known to you what is going to happen 00:14:09.679 --> 00:14:14.600 in the future. This was your dream and the visions 00:14:14.600 --> 00:14:16.940 in your mind while on your bed. As for you, O 00:14:16.940 --> 00:14:19.620 King, while on your bed your thoughts turn to 00:14:19.620 --> 00:14:23.039 what would take place in the future. And he who 00:14:23.039 --> 00:14:25.539 reveals mysteries has made known to you what 00:14:25.539 --> 00:14:28.500 will take place." And so Daniel not only tells 00:14:28.500 --> 00:14:30.600 what the dream was, but he tells what was on 00:14:30.600 --> 00:14:32.860 the king's mind that night he had the nightmare. 00:14:34.539 --> 00:14:36.919 He says, you were thinking about the future and 00:14:36.919 --> 00:14:40.399 what was going to happen. And God gave you a 00:14:40.399 --> 00:14:44.799 dream to answer your concern. As for me, he says, 00:14:45.210 --> 00:14:47.570 This mystery has not been revealed to me for 00:14:47.570 --> 00:14:51.289 any wisdom residing in me more than in any other 00:14:51.289 --> 00:14:56.549 living man." Notice the humility of Daniel. Not 00:14:56.549 --> 00:15:00.149 at all desiring to take advantage of this situation 00:15:00.149 --> 00:15:02.429 to promote himself. He says, there's nothing 00:15:02.429 --> 00:15:06.490 in me. He said, but for the purpose of making 00:15:06.490 --> 00:15:08.450 the interpretation known to the king and that 00:15:08.450 --> 00:15:10.549 you may understand the thoughts of your mind. 00:15:11.710 --> 00:15:14.110 And so now we come to the third division of the 00:15:14.110 --> 00:15:17.970 chapter. It is the interpretation of the dream, 00:15:18.590 --> 00:15:23.629 its revelation, verses 31 through 45. You, O 00:15:23.629 --> 00:15:27.210 King, were looking and behold, there was a single 00:15:27.210 --> 00:15:32.049 great statue. And that statue, which was large 00:15:32.049 --> 00:15:35.450 and of extraordinary splendor, was standing in 00:15:35.450 --> 00:15:38.990 front of you, and its appearance was awesome. 00:15:39.750 --> 00:15:43.120 Now here is an image. It is not an idol. that 00:15:43.120 --> 00:15:47.980 was to be worshipped, but it was a statue. And 00:15:47.980 --> 00:15:52.200 it was a magnificent thing, apparently very large 00:15:52.200 --> 00:15:55.340 and of splendor because of what it was composed 00:15:55.340 --> 00:15:59.440 of. And it says in verse 32, the head of the 00:15:59.440 --> 00:16:03.539 statue was made of fine gold, its breast and 00:16:03.539 --> 00:16:08.120 its arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, 00:16:08.259 --> 00:16:10.899 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and 00:16:10.899 --> 00:16:15.679 partly of clay. You continued looking until a 00:16:15.679 --> 00:16:18.399 stone was cut out without hands and it struck 00:16:18.399 --> 00:16:22.220 the statue on its feet of iron and clay and crushed 00:16:22.220 --> 00:16:26.539 them. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the 00:16:26.539 --> 00:16:30.220 silver, and the gold were crushed all at the 00:16:30.220 --> 00:16:34.899 same time and became like chaff from the summer 00:16:34.899 --> 00:16:38.059 threshing floors. The wind carried them away 00:16:38.059 --> 00:16:41.110 so that not a trace of them was found, but The 00:16:41.110 --> 00:16:44.490 stone that struck the statue became a great mountain 00:16:44.490 --> 00:16:48.429 and filled the whole earth. And so, you see the 00:16:48.429 --> 00:16:51.710 picture first of all of Nebuchadnezzar just in 00:16:51.710 --> 00:16:56.629 awe before this great statue. And as he beholds 00:16:56.629 --> 00:16:59.710 it, the statue didn't do anything, but then he 00:16:59.710 --> 00:17:04.130 saw a stone that was cut out of a mountain. But 00:17:04.130 --> 00:17:08.529 it was not cut out by masons. It was cut out 00:17:08.529 --> 00:17:12.119 without hands. In some means, we're not told 00:17:12.119 --> 00:17:17.140 how. And he saw that stone then come flying like 00:17:17.140 --> 00:17:23.240 a meteorite at that statue. And it hit the statue 00:17:23.240 --> 00:17:28.819 at its feet. And having hit the statue, the whole 00:17:28.819 --> 00:17:32.759 thing collapses. And though it was made of precious 00:17:32.759 --> 00:17:35.740 metals in part, the whole thing goes to dust. 00:17:36.900 --> 00:17:40.359 And it just flies everywhere like the wind carrying 00:17:40.359 --> 00:17:43.940 away the chaff of wheat at a threshing floor. 00:17:45.240 --> 00:17:47.660 And then an amazing thing happens. As he watches, 00:17:47.960 --> 00:17:51.500 that stone, cut out without hands, begins to 00:17:51.500 --> 00:17:55.380 grow and grow and grow until it becomes a great 00:17:55.380 --> 00:17:59.900 mountain itself. And it says that it filled the 00:17:59.900 --> 00:18:03.299 whole earth. And so there was the dream. The 00:18:03.299 --> 00:18:06.250 magicians couldn't come up with this. But God 00:18:06.250 --> 00:18:10.390 revealed it to Daniel. And Daniel now has revealed 00:18:10.390 --> 00:18:13.009 the dream to Nebuchadnezzar. And so Nebuchadnezzar 00:18:13.009 --> 00:18:16.690 can know now that this interpretation that is 00:18:16.690 --> 00:18:19.730 given is accurate. I mean, if Daniel can give 00:18:19.730 --> 00:18:24.049 the dream, the interpretation is to him perhaps 00:18:24.049 --> 00:18:29.269 even a lesser thing. And so he says, now we shall 00:18:29.269 --> 00:18:34.269 tell the interpretation before the king. He says, 00:18:34.369 --> 00:18:40.990 you, O king, are the king of kings, that is a 00:18:40.990 --> 00:18:43.230 title meaning that Nebuchadnezzar did in fact 00:18:43.230 --> 00:18:48.029 rule over many kingdoms, lesser kings, to whom 00:18:48.029 --> 00:18:50.730 the God of heaven, notice again that same title, 00:18:51.250 --> 00:18:54.529 has given the kingdom, the power, the strength 00:18:54.529 --> 00:18:57.730 and the glory and wherever the sons of men dwell 00:18:57.730 --> 00:19:00.490 or the beasts of the field or the birds of the 00:19:00.490 --> 00:19:03.299 air. He has given them into your hand and has 00:19:03.299 --> 00:19:06.359 caused you to rule over them all. You are the 00:19:06.359 --> 00:19:10.640 head of gold." Now, the language here means that 00:19:10.640 --> 00:19:14.359 as far as there was civilization known in that 00:19:14.359 --> 00:19:19.019 day, Nebuchadnezzar was going to be the ruler 00:19:19.019 --> 00:19:23.880 over it. And I would imagine Nebuchadnezzar was 00:19:23.880 --> 00:19:28.980 rather thrilled with point number one. And Daniel 00:19:28.980 --> 00:19:31.579 didn't tell it to him to flatter him. But you 00:19:31.579 --> 00:19:34.380 had to know that when he said, you're the head 00:19:34.380 --> 00:19:40.960 of gold, the Nebuchadnezzar's eyes lit up. But 00:19:40.960 --> 00:19:44.900 he says, after you, well now there's a little 00:19:44.900 --> 00:19:49.440 let down. Sometimes kings like to think that 00:19:49.440 --> 00:19:51.940 they're going to last forever, but not even Nebuchadnezzar 00:19:51.940 --> 00:19:57.500 did. There will arise another kingdom inferior 00:19:57.500 --> 00:20:01.640 to you. Then another third kingdom of bronze, 00:20:02.400 --> 00:20:04.400 which will rule over all the earth. And again, 00:20:04.559 --> 00:20:08.619 that's the known civilization of that day. Then 00:20:08.619 --> 00:20:12.720 there will be a fourth kingdom, as strong as 00:20:12.720 --> 00:20:17.220 iron, inasmuch as iron crushes and shatters all 00:20:17.220 --> 00:20:21.579 things. So like iron that breaks in pieces, it 00:20:21.579 --> 00:20:27.519 will crush and break all these in pieces. And 00:20:27.519 --> 00:20:30.880 in that you saw the feet and toes partly of potter's 00:20:30.880 --> 00:20:33.059 clay and partly of iron, it will be a divided 00:20:33.059 --> 00:20:36.059 kingdom. Better understanding of that, it will 00:20:36.059 --> 00:20:42.599 be a composite kingdom. But it will have in it 00:20:42.599 --> 00:20:45.559 the toughness of iron inasmuch as you saw the 00:20:45.559 --> 00:20:50.299 iron mixed with common clay. And as the toes 00:20:50.299 --> 00:20:52.900 of the feet were partly of iron and partly of 00:20:52.900 --> 00:20:56.220 pottery, so some of the kingdom will be strong, 00:20:56.440 --> 00:20:59.660 and part of it will be brittle. And in that you 00:20:59.660 --> 00:21:02.960 saw the iron mixed with common clay, they will 00:21:02.960 --> 00:21:05.660 combine with one another in the seed of men. 00:21:06.380 --> 00:21:08.740 They will not adhere to one another, even as 00:21:08.740 --> 00:21:13.019 iron does not combine with pottery. And in the 00:21:13.019 --> 00:21:15.380 days of those kings, the God of heaven will set 00:21:15.380 --> 00:21:18.099 up a kingdom, which will never be destroyed, 00:21:18.220 --> 00:21:20.279 and that kingdom will not be left for another 00:21:20.279 --> 00:21:23.970 people. It will crush and put an end to all these 00:21:23.970 --> 00:21:26.670 kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever. 00:21:26.769 --> 00:21:30.089 And as much as you saw that a stone was cut out 00:21:30.089 --> 00:21:32.349 of the mountain without hands, and that it crushed 00:21:32.349 --> 00:21:34.829 the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and 00:21:34.829 --> 00:21:37.970 the gold, the great God has made known to the 00:21:37.970 --> 00:21:40.410 king what will take place in the future. So the 00:21:40.410 --> 00:21:44.650 dream is true, and its interpretation is trustworthy. 00:21:46.190 --> 00:21:49.660 Now in this remarkable vision, or dream, rather, 00:21:49.720 --> 00:21:52.460 that was given to Nebuchadnezzar, God gives to 00:21:52.460 --> 00:21:56.380 him understanding of the historical succession 00:21:56.380 --> 00:22:02.819 of several kingdoms or empires. You will immediately 00:22:02.819 --> 00:22:07.700 notice that the quality, the value of the component 00:22:07.700 --> 00:22:11.720 parts of the image decrease as you start with 00:22:11.720 --> 00:22:14.720 the head and work down to the feet and to the 00:22:14.720 --> 00:22:19.859 toes. It diminishes in weight, that is, in specific 00:22:19.859 --> 00:22:23.819 gravity, which would lead us to understand that 00:22:23.819 --> 00:22:28.559 this great image, this statue, is top heavy. 00:22:29.740 --> 00:22:33.099 It is top heavy, and it does not have a sufficient 00:22:33.099 --> 00:22:36.480 foundation for its weight, and therefore must, 00:22:36.480 --> 00:22:42.039 at some time, collapse. Each part of it is distinct, 00:22:42.960 --> 00:22:47.150 you notice. And yet there is a commonality to 00:22:47.150 --> 00:22:50.009 it. There is a unity that runs throughout it. 00:22:50.609 --> 00:22:55.890 And we understand that unity to be gentileness, 00:22:55.890 --> 00:23:01.089 if you please. Because what is given to Nebuchadnezzar 00:23:01.089 --> 00:23:08.410 here is a broad outline of gentile world domination. 00:23:09.170 --> 00:23:12.329 And though there are different empires and different 00:23:12.329 --> 00:23:15.390 races of people, the commonality is that they 00:23:15.390 --> 00:23:19.210 are all Gentiles in the first four of the kingdoms 00:23:19.210 --> 00:23:22.390 that are described. Well, very clearly, the first 00:23:22.390 --> 00:23:27.670 one is Babylon, the head of gold. The second 00:23:27.670 --> 00:23:32.470 one is said to be of silver. And although it's 00:23:32.470 --> 00:23:35.289 not identified here as we look over in chapter 00:23:35.289 --> 00:23:39.130 7 and particularly in chapter 8, we see it specifically 00:23:39.130 --> 00:23:46.210 named. And it is the empire that followed Babylon, 00:23:46.730 --> 00:23:50.849 that indeed destroyed Babylon, and then came 00:23:50.849 --> 00:23:53.809 to power. It was the empire of the Medes and 00:23:53.809 --> 00:23:58.150 the Persians. Daniel lived right until those 00:23:58.150 --> 00:24:02.019 days, until the first years. of that empire. 00:24:02.839 --> 00:24:05.579 We'll be seeing more about that in weeks ahead. 00:24:06.559 --> 00:24:08.660 So although it's not named here, we know from 00:24:08.660 --> 00:24:12.220 additional revelation in the book exactly what 00:24:12.220 --> 00:24:15.380 that empire is all about. You see, it conquered 00:24:15.380 --> 00:24:20.839 and absorbed Babylon into itself. But then the 00:24:20.839 --> 00:24:24.700 Medes and the Persians also were destroyed. By 00:24:24.700 --> 00:24:28.180 the third empire that arose, Again, it's not 00:24:28.180 --> 00:24:30.720 named here, but it is named for us specifically 00:24:30.720 --> 00:24:34.740 in chapters 7 and 8 in particular, and it is 00:24:34.740 --> 00:24:39.480 Greece. And the armies of Alexander the Great, 00:24:39.660 --> 00:24:44.000 who is prophesied in particular in this book 00:24:44.000 --> 00:24:47.519 of Daniel, destroyed the Medes and the Persians 00:24:47.519 --> 00:24:50.059 and then absorbed the Medes and the Persian Empire 00:24:50.059 --> 00:24:53.799 into it. And so you have this great nation of 00:24:53.799 --> 00:24:57.200 Greece under Alexander the Great and then his 00:24:57.200 --> 00:25:01.559 successors. And that brings us to the fourth 00:25:01.559 --> 00:25:04.019 kingdom, which is not named anywhere in the book. 00:25:06.519 --> 00:25:10.079 But as we look at it in light of world history, 00:25:11.099 --> 00:25:15.119 we understand that the fourth kingdom was Rome, 00:25:16.400 --> 00:25:21.819 which again destroyed the empire of Greece, absorbed 00:25:21.819 --> 00:25:28.119 the Hellenistic influence into itself, and continued 00:25:28.119 --> 00:25:35.200 Gentile world domination. However, an interesting 00:25:35.200 --> 00:25:40.759 thing happened with Rome. It began in 63 BC, 00:25:42.480 --> 00:25:46.220 but it had no ending officially like the others 00:25:46.220 --> 00:25:51.180 did that preceded it. Rome over the several hundred 00:25:51.180 --> 00:25:55.559 years of its existence grew in power and might, 00:25:55.839 --> 00:26:00.640 and as it talks here about the strength of Rome, 00:26:00.839 --> 00:26:04.519 this fourth empire, was the strength of its armies. 00:26:05.460 --> 00:26:09.619 Wherever they tramped, they conquered, and they 00:26:09.619 --> 00:26:12.859 held great power over peoples, and the empire 00:26:12.859 --> 00:26:15.440 stretched from the Atlantic Ocean all the way 00:26:15.440 --> 00:26:21.380 over to the border of what is today India. And 00:26:21.380 --> 00:26:25.140 from the north it went into the southern part 00:26:25.140 --> 00:26:28.119 of what is Russia and middle Europe today, down 00:26:28.119 --> 00:26:33.859 to northern Africa. It was a vast, vast empire. 00:26:35.140 --> 00:26:37.480 It sought to bring together lots of different 00:26:37.480 --> 00:26:42.339 kinds of peoples and cultures. It never did successfully 00:26:42.339 --> 00:26:46.380 form a conglomeration. They never congealed, 00:26:46.380 --> 00:26:50.890 but there was a forced unity because of the power, 00:26:51.329 --> 00:26:54.950 the strength of Rome to crush any opposition. 00:26:56.490 --> 00:26:58.509 The thing that is so unique about Rome, as you 00:26:58.509 --> 00:27:01.970 know, is that it did not become conquered from 00:27:01.970 --> 00:27:04.609 the outside, but it decayed from the inside. 00:27:06.009 --> 00:27:10.910 And although Rome was eventually conquered, the 00:27:10.910 --> 00:27:16.430 city of Rome, nonetheless the Roman Empire, in 00:27:16.430 --> 00:27:21.670 its influence, did not cease. It was absorbed 00:27:21.670 --> 00:27:24.970 into the Roman Catholic Church and other political 00:27:24.970 --> 00:27:28.589 entities and the world entered into what is sometimes 00:27:28.589 --> 00:27:33.829 called the Middle Ages, the Dark Ages and Rome 00:27:33.829 --> 00:27:39.549 just sort of petered out. Its influence still 00:27:39.549 --> 00:27:43.289 there but certainly under the surface. We can 00:27:43.289 --> 00:27:47.740 still say that today Rome's influence is felt 00:27:47.740 --> 00:27:51.440 in our own culture. We are the descendants, if 00:27:51.440 --> 00:27:58.319 you please, most of us of the Roman Empire. And 00:27:58.319 --> 00:28:04.019 then an amazing thing happens. There is a pause 00:28:04.019 --> 00:28:11.640 in this flow, a pause that lasts who knows how 00:28:11.640 --> 00:28:15.700 long, but... I'm going to say about 1 ,500 years. 00:28:17.039 --> 00:28:20.059 Because an amazing thing takes place as Daniel 00:28:20.059 --> 00:28:24.380 interprets this vision. That which sort of just 00:28:24.380 --> 00:28:29.960 passed away because of decay from within is reconstituted. 00:28:31.500 --> 00:28:37.299 That which was not conquered but simply lost 00:28:37.299 --> 00:28:42.380 its political influence in the latter days is 00:28:42.380 --> 00:28:46.460 seen as coming back together, as redeveloping 00:28:46.460 --> 00:28:51.539 in the feet and in the toes in particular of 00:28:51.539 --> 00:28:56.759 this image. Now verse 42 really picks it up at 00:28:56.759 --> 00:29:00.640 that point. As the toes of the feet were partly 00:29:00.640 --> 00:29:03.299 of iron, partly of pottery, so the kingdom will 00:29:03.299 --> 00:29:06.500 be strong, part of it will be strong, and part 00:29:06.500 --> 00:29:10.289 of it will be brittle. And that you saw the iron 00:29:10.289 --> 00:29:12.849 mixed with common clay, they will combine with 00:29:12.849 --> 00:29:15.009 one another in the seed of men, but they will 00:29:15.009 --> 00:29:18.470 not adhere to one another, even as iron does 00:29:18.470 --> 00:29:22.809 not combine with pottery." That's a similar description 00:29:22.809 --> 00:29:26.490 in verse 41, yet it's repeated, isn't it? Which 00:29:26.490 --> 00:29:30.609 seems to indicate that in one sense, as Rome 00:29:30.609 --> 00:29:34.329 was when it disintegrated, so it will sort of 00:29:34.329 --> 00:29:42.980 reappear. It is very interesting to think of 00:29:42.980 --> 00:29:45.700 the developments taking place in that part of 00:29:45.700 --> 00:29:49.579 the world, particularly in Europe, today, in 00:29:49.579 --> 00:29:56.779 light of all of this. The idea that there could 00:29:56.779 --> 00:30:01.220 even be an economic unity, not to mention political 00:30:01.220 --> 00:30:05.160 unity, but economic unity in that part of Europe 00:30:05.160 --> 00:30:08.400 was just, it was unthinkable, except to people 00:30:08.400 --> 00:30:12.059 who believe the Bible. But because of the wall 00:30:12.059 --> 00:30:14.420 of communism that cut right down through Europe 00:30:14.420 --> 00:30:17.220 and through the very territories that belong 00:30:17.220 --> 00:30:19.839 to the Roman Empire that were the heart of its 00:30:19.839 --> 00:30:26.380 of its empire in its day and Yet amazingly in 00:30:26.380 --> 00:30:30.500 the last few months we have seen that wall come 00:30:30.500 --> 00:30:35.619 down to some degree and Those nations that were 00:30:35.619 --> 00:30:38.359 divided economically are talking. How can we 00:30:38.359 --> 00:30:43.009 help each other? West Germany and East Germany, 00:30:45.089 --> 00:30:47.470 Poland going to these other European countries 00:30:47.470 --> 00:30:50.130 for help, Czechoslovakia doing the same thing. 00:30:50.349 --> 00:30:53.970 Those countries, in part at least, were members 00:30:53.970 --> 00:30:57.130 of that, the land belonged to the Roman Empire. 00:30:59.109 --> 00:31:01.589 You say, well how is all this going to come together 00:31:01.589 --> 00:31:05.440 and what are the ten toes? Well, We're not going 00:31:05.440 --> 00:31:07.460 to look at it tonight, but over in the book of 00:31:07.460 --> 00:31:10.319 Revelation there is a description of ten kingdoms 00:31:10.319 --> 00:31:17.859 that come together that are parallel to the ten 00:31:17.859 --> 00:31:22.759 toes of Daniel. You say, what are those ten kingdoms, 00:31:22.940 --> 00:31:25.940 those ten countries? I don't know. I don't think 00:31:25.940 --> 00:31:29.640 we can know today, but I do expect that as time 00:31:29.640 --> 00:31:33.500 progresses and This whole thing gets closer to 00:31:33.500 --> 00:31:38.279 reality. It's all going to fall into place It 00:31:38.279 --> 00:31:42.559 will become clear to us Assuming that we're still 00:31:42.559 --> 00:31:45.299 living that this is the generation that the Bible 00:31:45.299 --> 00:31:48.640 speaks about in which we live It'll become increasingly 00:31:48.640 --> 00:31:52.640 clear to us how Europe is going to be fashioned 00:31:52.640 --> 00:31:57.079 into ten kingdoms that will cooperate together 00:31:57.079 --> 00:32:00.529 in which as we will see later in Daniel and then 00:32:00.529 --> 00:32:04.269 again in Revelation out of which Antichrist comes 00:32:04.269 --> 00:32:11.230 forth. Isn't it interesting that it says part 00:32:11.230 --> 00:32:13.809 of the kingdom is strong and part of it's weak? 00:32:16.769 --> 00:32:20.730 There is an attempt it seems by the powers in 00:32:20.730 --> 00:32:24.690 this last period of the Roman Empire again to 00:32:24.690 --> 00:32:27.849 bring together different kinds of people, different 00:32:27.849 --> 00:32:31.609 races and cultures of people. Isn't that part 00:32:31.609 --> 00:32:33.930 of the struggle right now in those countries 00:32:33.930 --> 00:32:37.809 of middle Europe? You've got Czechoslovakia with 00:32:37.809 --> 00:32:39.930 three different cultures within that political 00:32:39.930 --> 00:32:43.529 realm. The same is true with other countries 00:32:43.529 --> 00:32:46.769 there. And there will be an attempt yet in these 00:32:46.769 --> 00:32:50.589 last days to bring together, unsuccessfully in 00:32:50.589 --> 00:32:54.549 the end, but to try to bring together a power 00:32:54.549 --> 00:32:59.460 block. out of those nations that will comprise 00:32:59.460 --> 00:33:06.099 the reconstituted Roman Empire. But the most 00:33:06.099 --> 00:33:08.940 exciting part of the passage is what is said 00:33:08.940 --> 00:33:14.700 concerning this stone that is seen hewn out of 00:33:14.700 --> 00:33:18.160 the mountain without the aid of human hands and 00:33:18.160 --> 00:33:22.910 which absolutely destroys the statue. Daniel 00:33:22.910 --> 00:33:27.150 says that this is the kingdom that God will establish. 00:33:27.210 --> 00:33:30.910 We understand it as the kingdom of the Messiah. 00:33:31.049 --> 00:33:33.910 This is the kingdom of Jesus Christ that is spoken 00:33:33.910 --> 00:33:39.690 of. This reconstituted empire of Rome that we 00:33:39.690 --> 00:33:43.490 will see, I think, developing in coming months 00:33:43.490 --> 00:33:48.509 and years is going to be a very important player 00:33:48.509 --> 00:33:55.539 in the days of the tribulation. And when the 00:33:55.539 --> 00:33:59.960 Lord Jesus Christ comes again, He is going to 00:33:59.960 --> 00:34:06.880 destroy that empire and its leader, Antichrist, 00:34:07.099 --> 00:34:10.219 and He's going to destroy it thoroughly. We learn 00:34:10.219 --> 00:34:12.460 several things here about Christ's kingdom. In 00:34:12.460 --> 00:34:15.059 the first place, as we've said, it's established 00:34:15.059 --> 00:34:20.300 by God, not by men. It's concerning to me that 00:34:20.300 --> 00:34:27.079 there's a sect, a splinter group of basically 00:34:27.079 --> 00:34:29.559 the charismatic movement that is what is called 00:34:29.559 --> 00:34:34.920 the Kingdom Now people. They are teaching that 00:34:34.920 --> 00:34:39.539 it is up to Christians to by force if necessary 00:34:39.539 --> 00:34:43.500 take over the government and establish the law 00:34:43.500 --> 00:34:50.280 of God in this nation. And dominion theology 00:34:50.280 --> 00:34:53.440 is another name for it. You may pick it up in 00:34:53.440 --> 00:34:55.699 some of the books that are written on prophecy. 00:34:55.900 --> 00:34:58.460 You need to be watchful for that. But the whole 00:34:58.460 --> 00:35:01.559 idea is that it's up to us to bring about the 00:35:01.559 --> 00:35:05.900 kingdom by taking charge. God's given us authority. 00:35:06.019 --> 00:35:08.940 Let's take charge of the political realm, and 00:35:08.940 --> 00:35:12.480 so on. Now listen, the kingdom of Jesus Christ 00:35:12.480 --> 00:35:16.639 will come without the aid of men. God will establish 00:35:16.639 --> 00:35:20.139 this kingdom. It is a stone that is hewn out 00:35:20.139 --> 00:35:23.860 without human hands. It is an earthly kingdom. 00:35:24.960 --> 00:35:29.260 Just as earthly as the first four, so will be 00:35:29.260 --> 00:35:32.719 the kingdom of Jesus Christ. Now there is an 00:35:32.719 --> 00:35:35.599 aspect to the kingdom that now exists, the invisible 00:35:35.599 --> 00:35:39.179 aspect, the hidden aspect. But do not let that 00:35:39.179 --> 00:35:41.300 make you think that there will never be a kingdom 00:35:41.300 --> 00:35:45.000 on the earth. For there will be, just as literally, 00:35:45.099 --> 00:35:48.639 just as truly as there was a Babylon, a media 00:35:48.639 --> 00:35:54.019 Persia, Greece, Rome, and a final Rome. So there 00:35:54.019 --> 00:35:57.179 will be the kingdom of Jesus Christ on the earth. 00:35:57.480 --> 00:36:01.619 And it will be established at the time when these 00:36:01.619 --> 00:36:06.019 ten kingdoms come back together as the Roman 00:36:06.019 --> 00:36:10.840 Empire. We notice that it comes suddenly and 00:36:10.840 --> 00:36:14.119 decisively. It's not progressive, it doesn't 00:36:14.119 --> 00:36:17.400 happen slowly, it's not the gospel permeating 00:36:17.400 --> 00:36:20.880 culture and eventually turning everything around 00:36:20.880 --> 00:36:25.480 and Christianizing the world. But rather it is 00:36:25.480 --> 00:36:29.980 the kingdom coming like a meteorite, quickly, 00:36:30.440 --> 00:36:34.619 decisively, suddenly, and it strikes the statue 00:36:34.619 --> 00:36:39.860 at its feet in that final form of Gentile domination. 00:36:40.349 --> 00:36:43.130 And as a result of it striking the feet and the 00:36:43.130 --> 00:36:48.909 toes, the whole thing collapses. For you see, 00:36:49.250 --> 00:36:52.130 all of these kingdoms fit into one another. There 00:36:52.130 --> 00:36:55.630 is a certain sense in which each one became a 00:36:55.630 --> 00:36:58.809 part of the succeeding empires. So that when 00:36:58.809 --> 00:37:02.110 that final form of it is destroyed, they're all 00:37:02.110 --> 00:37:06.630 destroyed at the same time. It quickly then, 00:37:06.809 --> 00:37:10.219 this kingdom of the Christ, becomes worldwide. 00:37:11.019 --> 00:37:14.340 Let me just read to you a statement that I think 00:37:14.340 --> 00:37:17.519 is a good one by Chuck Swindoll. He says, as 00:37:17.519 --> 00:37:20.300 the smiting stone in Nebuchadnezzar's dream, 00:37:20.480 --> 00:37:24.420 the Lord will not absorb, restructure, or adapt 00:37:24.420 --> 00:37:29.119 to previous kingdoms. He will totally annihilate 00:37:29.119 --> 00:37:32.940 them and set up his own monarchy, which will 00:37:32.940 --> 00:37:37.119 be absolutely perfect politically, morally, economically. 00:37:37.559 --> 00:37:41.760 and religiously. And then he will rule over the 00:37:41.760 --> 00:37:44.699 earth for his reign of a thousand years and his 00:37:44.699 --> 00:37:48.579 reign will go on throughout eternity. It is Laman 00:37:48.579 --> 00:37:51.420 Strauss who points out to us that in the progression 00:37:51.420 --> 00:37:55.280 of the Gentile powers we start out with an autocratic 00:37:55.280 --> 00:38:00.420 kingdom. We have a king who rules with absolute 00:38:00.420 --> 00:38:04.920 authority in Nebuchadnezzar. Then we have an 00:38:04.920 --> 00:38:10.659 oligarchic kingdom. in Mediapersia. And then 00:38:10.659 --> 00:38:18.239 when we come to Greece, we have an imperialistic 00:38:18.239 --> 00:38:22.960 kind of kingdom. When you come to Rome, and these 00:38:22.960 --> 00:38:24.800 all then flow into one another, then when you 00:38:24.800 --> 00:38:27.639 come to Rome, you have an emphasis on a democratic 00:38:27.639 --> 00:38:31.860 kind of kingdom. Rome, you see, tried to combine 00:38:31.860 --> 00:38:35.139 the strength and the power of the Senate and 00:38:35.139 --> 00:38:39.199 of Caesar with democracy, the rule of the people, 00:38:39.820 --> 00:38:42.559 and that will be the ploy of the last days too, 00:38:42.940 --> 00:38:47.599 and yet it will not succeed. Well, we have to 00:38:47.599 --> 00:38:50.400 conclude by looking now at this last division 00:38:50.400 --> 00:38:53.739 of the chapter. It is the King's response to 00:38:53.739 --> 00:38:56.019 all of this. Notice that Nebuchadnezzar fell 00:38:56.019 --> 00:38:59.940 in his face. Critics of the Bible say now here 00:38:59.940 --> 00:39:04.159 is proof that this is absolute nonsense. for 00:39:04.159 --> 00:39:09.280 no king ever fell on his face before a prophet." 00:39:09.280 --> 00:39:12.880 Well, they're wrong. Nebuchadnezzar fell on his 00:39:12.880 --> 00:39:17.280 face and did homage to Daniel and gave orders 00:39:17.280 --> 00:39:20.960 to present to him an offering in fragrant incense. 00:39:22.519 --> 00:39:24.960 The king answered Daniel and said, surely your 00:39:24.960 --> 00:39:31.030 God is a god of gods and a lord of kings. and 00:39:31.030 --> 00:39:33.389 a revealer of mystery since you have been able 00:39:33.389 --> 00:39:37.869 to reveal this mystery. I don't understand this 00:39:37.869 --> 00:39:40.789 so much as Nebuchadnezzar worshipping Daniel 00:39:40.789 --> 00:39:46.489 as his worshipping the God of Daniel by what 00:39:46.489 --> 00:39:49.730 he did here. Not that he was converted from his 00:39:49.730 --> 00:39:54.510 polytheism at this point. He was still a worshiper 00:39:54.510 --> 00:39:57.489 of many gods. He didn't become a monotheist now. 00:39:58.170 --> 00:40:01.449 Maybe he did later. We'll talk about that. But 00:40:01.449 --> 00:40:03.849 not at this point. And yet he recognized the 00:40:03.849 --> 00:40:09.150 supremacy, the superiority of Daniel's God. And 00:40:09.150 --> 00:40:12.170 the king promoted Daniel, gave him many great 00:40:12.170 --> 00:40:15.250 gifts. And he made him ruler over the whole province 00:40:15.250 --> 00:40:19.250 of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise 00:40:19.250 --> 00:40:23.250 men of Babylon. So Daniel was put over everybody. 00:40:24.849 --> 00:40:28.610 This is why it's a little tough. to understand 00:40:28.610 --> 00:40:32.409 this as being during his training period, that 00:40:32.409 --> 00:40:35.250 three -year period you remember when he was a 00:40:35.250 --> 00:40:39.610 trainee. Maybe the promotion waited until after 00:40:39.610 --> 00:40:41.889 that. It's a little tough to put all that together, 00:40:41.929 --> 00:40:44.590 but the point is that because of what God did 00:40:44.590 --> 00:40:47.289 through Daniel, Daniel was placed into that position. 00:40:48.070 --> 00:40:50.309 And then Daniel made requests to the king and 00:40:50.309 --> 00:40:53.809 had Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego appointed 00:40:53.809 --> 00:40:57.579 as his helpers. and they assisted him in the 00:40:57.579 --> 00:41:00.679 administration. Daniel's office was in the White 00:41:00.679 --> 00:41:03.840 House, and then these other three fellows were 00:41:03.840 --> 00:41:06.239 in the executive office building across the street, 00:41:06.820 --> 00:41:10.420 and they helped him carry out certain administrations 00:41:10.420 --> 00:41:14.340 for King Nebuchadnezzar. Well, I tell you, this 00:41:14.340 --> 00:41:19.500 is an amazing chapter, and we only get the broad 00:41:19.500 --> 00:41:22.460 sweep of it here. As we get on to further visions 00:41:22.460 --> 00:41:25.920 in Daniel, We're going to see more specifics 00:41:25.920 --> 00:41:29.159 exposed regarding the things that are said in 00:41:29.159 --> 00:41:30.860 this chapter. I hope you'll hang in there with 00:41:30.860 --> 00:41:34.559 us. I want you to go away tonight with this thought. 00:41:36.440 --> 00:41:42.800 That the God of heaven rules over the affairs 00:41:42.800 --> 00:41:49.800 of earth. Not just in the kingdoms of the world, 00:41:51.059 --> 00:41:56.900 but also in your life. If you're his child tonight, 00:41:57.260 --> 00:41:59.559 God is sovereign, friend, and whatever you're 00:41:59.559 --> 00:42:03.699 passing through, will you trust God? Will you 00:42:03.699 --> 00:42:07.639 realize that God is bigger than Nebuchadnezzar, 00:42:08.039 --> 00:42:11.519 and God is bigger than Cyrus, and God is bigger 00:42:11.519 --> 00:42:14.820 than Alexander the Great, and God did away with 00:42:14.820 --> 00:42:19.300 the Caesars, and God has now, we think, begun 00:42:19.300 --> 00:42:22.579 to put together the empire of Rome that he said 00:42:22.579 --> 00:42:26.039 long ago, would be put back together. God is 00:42:26.039 --> 00:42:28.699 bigger than all of that. God can take care of 00:42:28.699 --> 00:42:32.420 your life and mine. He's a big God. So let's 00:42:32.420 --> 00:42:36.460 trust Him with our lives this week and let's 00:42:36.460 --> 00:42:43.380 be obedient to Him. Let's pray. Now Father, we 00:42:43.380 --> 00:42:45.880 worship you as the God of heaven who reveals 00:42:45.880 --> 00:42:49.599 mysteries. We acknowledge to you that there are 00:42:49.599 --> 00:42:53.269 many questions that Remain unanswered in our 00:42:53.269 --> 00:42:56.150 minds, even regarding this text and some of its 00:42:56.150 --> 00:43:00.710 implications and fine points. There are some 00:43:00.710 --> 00:43:03.730 things you have not chosen to reveal to us, but 00:43:03.730 --> 00:43:11.230 my, what an amazing revelation this is. We acknowledge 00:43:11.230 --> 00:43:17.050 you as the God of history. We acknowledge you 00:43:17.050 --> 00:43:21.179 as our Father. and that this is your world in 00:43:21.179 --> 00:43:24.860 which we live. We hold your hand and you hold 00:43:24.860 --> 00:43:29.619 ours and we walk with you. So we entrust our 00:43:29.619 --> 00:43:37.920 today and our tomorrow to you. In Jesus' name, 00:43:38.599 --> 00:43:38.920 Amen.