Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

We do live in chaotic times when people don’t know what gender they are meant to be, kids kill the mothers, and fellow students without apparently batting an eye.

The politicians are more concerned about myths than about border security, churches are more concerned about putting on a concert/show than they are about proclaiming the Word of God.

People are living for the moment rather than planning for the future, namely, the future in eternity.

As we explored in past sermons this dream the king had was greatly disturbing to him and rightly so.

He had a dream, knew it must have been very important and no way to decipher it using the conventional means of his time.

But God is the author of that dream and He has man/teenager, who will be able to interpret it for him.

And so we look at this dream:

An exceedingly large image, bright and shining.

made up of various metals, and clay, then a stone cut out by no human hand appears and strikes the image on its feet of clay/iron and breaks the image into pieces like chaff of a threshing floor and wind carries them away so no trace of them could be found.

While the stone became a mountain and fills the earth.

The image completely disappears, but the stone remains.

The colossal image is dissolved replaced by a colossal stone filling the earth.

The image is dazzling- it was made of gold, silver and bronze mostly so it would have reflected the sunlight like mirrors.

It was a frightening image to the king.

It was extraordinarily dazzling,

It’s appearance was dreadful, it made him afraid.

At the very least in awe of it.

I think the fear was of what it could mean.

As the king watches a rock was cut out of the ground without hands and smashes the image at its feet.

It crumbles to powder and was blown away by the wind.

The rock grows into a mountain and fills the earth.

This is probably what scared him.

Does his mind run away with him thinking that a rock is going to hit and destroy him.? Is he going to die soon?

He was terrified.

Notice the features of the rock:

supernatural in origin

all powerful in annihilating the image

global in scope

Then in v.36-45 we read the interpretation of the dream.

Where Daniel says, “You, king Nebuchadnezzar

You, king Nebuchadnezzar

God has given you your kingdom to rule over all

You are the head of Gold.

v.36-38

He was the greatest king, but Daniel points out that is only because God has made him so.

Notice the emphasis in these verses on the Sovereignty of God in his reign:

-He has given thee a kingdom, 37

-He has given into your hand, 38

-He has made thee ruler, 38

The king can take no credit for any of his accomplishments in the expansion of his rule.

It is all given to him by God.

The other designations of metals are the second, third and fourth kingdoms to come after you to rule the earth.

39-40

The Babylonian kingdom lasted forty three years under king Nebuchadnezzar and then only another 23 under his son and grandson.

Then the Medo-Persian empire under Cyrus the great/Darius replaced them,(539-330bc) he was the chest of silver, symbolized by a bear in chapter 7,8 and also a two-horned ram in 8:20.

Then the third kingdom of brazz/bronze was Greece,(330-63bc) and then finally the fourth the Roman empire.

(63bc-475ad).

the fourth kingdom is singled out as one that is the iron that will crush the previous ones.

it will be divided kingdom, strong as iron, but fragile as clay.

That one will fall.

40-43

you can mix some metals and they become stronger as an alloy, but you can melt clay and iron together and when they cool they will still be separate, and the clay will crumble.

Notice the power this empire exerts: breaks, subdues, breaks, break in pieces, bruise are all words the signify the power this kingdom will exert as it destroys the others.

The last part of this fourth kingdom is the ten toes.

The fourth kingdom will start off with one king, then divide into four kings, then into ten.

The rock is the coming kingdom of God.

It will be eternal and universal

God’s kingdom, v.44-45a

it is eternal kingdom

an invincible kingdom -never to be destroyed, break in pieces all other kingdom,

not left to another, shall stand forever

The dream is about what comes after your kingdom.

It is certain

it’s interpretation is sure

Four lessons:

I. God is in control of the world we live in.

He is sovereign.

He gives wealth ;

He does all that he pleases

; He works all things together .

..., As far as evidence of His control in Daniel, cf.

1:1,2,9,17; 2:20-23,28,29,37,38,44,45,47; 4:3,17, 24-26,32, 34-35; 5:18,19,21; 6:22, 26,27; 7:13-14 referring to the Son of Man; 7:22, 25,27; 9:1 according to the word of the Lord to Jeremiah, 9:3ff the content of Daniel’s prayer presumes this, 9:24; 10:12-14; 11:29, 36,40,

He works all things together .

…

As far as evidence of His control in Daniel, there are at least, by my count, 43 verse where His control is referenced.

He gives power to kings, wisdom to the wise, cf.

1:2,9,17; just in this chapter alone we have these references2:20-23,28,29,37,38,44,45,47;

there are many more (4:3,17, 24-26,32, 34-35; 5:18,19,21; 6:22, 26,27; 7:13-14 referring to the Son of Man; 7:22, 25,27; 9:1 according to the word of the Lord to Jeremiah, 9:3ff the content of Daniel’s prayer presumes this, 9:24; 10:12-14; 11:29, 36,40).

Is there any doubt in your mind that God is in control of this world.

It may look chaotic to you.

But what is chaotic to you is what God is exacting on man.

Man is being given over to reprobate mind as we see in the next lesson.

But the fact that God is in control ought to give you great comfort.

II.

The Dark side, 39-44

II.

The Dark side, 39-44

a. the decline of man, 39-41

the progress of man is in decline, he points out the next one is inferior.

Not that it was in size or splendor, but in moral decay.

1 Tim.

We do see our society growing worse in every way, politically, socially, domestically, even in our environment.

Just read the headlines.

We see in our text, Notice the value of the metals declines as we move down the image.

Gold is 10x heavier than clay, silver is 5x heavier than clay.