Resolved: Revelation Revealed
Be Resolved: Book of Daniel • Sermon • Submitted
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· 5 viewsGod gives revelation of the dream interpretation to the king
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Resolved brings confidence
Resolved brings confidence
Daniel has already shown to be a man who is resolved. When you are resolved, confident in something you don’t fear, you boldly put forth the things you are resolved in. Our passage today is further proof of this by the bold giving of the interpretation of the king’s dream.
Previously displays of being resolved:
Resolved to not defile self (Dan1:8)
Resolved in God to give interpretation of dream (Dan2:16)
Resolved to faithful prayer (Dan2:17-18)
Resolved to stand before the king in confidence (Dan2:27-28)
Resolved in revealing the dream to the king (Dan2:29-35)
Today we are looking at further resolve of Daniel as he now gives the interpretation of the dream to the king. I want you to pay attention as we go, who does it, and who does Daniel give the credit to?
I think I see it this way when looking at our passage.
God gives (Dan2:36-38)
God reveals (Dan2:39-43)
God sets up (Dan2:44-45)
God’s results (Dan2:46-49)
It is a long passage so let’s look at it together in the breakdown I have so it is manageable bites of scripture
God Gives
God Gives
We know we have a loving, caring, just God who loves to give to. In our section here, notice who God gives to.
36 “This was the dream; now we will tell its interpretation before the king. 37 “You, O king, are the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, the strength and the glory;
38 and wherever the sons of men dwell, or the beasts of the field, or the birds of the sky, He has given them into your hand and has caused you to rule over them all. You are the head of gold.
Dan2:36-37
What do you see, notice, what sticks out to you?
(God Gives Picture Inserted Here)
Now I said God gives, so now in looking at the passage let’s see what God gives here.
God gives interpretation to Daniel to give to the king (v.36)
God gives kingdoms (v.37)
God gives power, strength and glory (v.37)
God gives authority (v.38)
(Head of gold - Babylon picture inserted here)
God gives revelation through Daniel now and it is a clear picture. Hey Nebuchadnezzar You are the head of Gold
The kingdom of Babylon was ruled by absolute dictator (Dan5:19; Jer51:7)
19 “Because of the grandeur which He bestowed on him, all the peoples, nations and men of every language feared and trembled before him; whomever he wished he killed and whomever he wished he spared alive; and whomever he wished he elevated and whomever he wished he humbled.
and Jeremiah mentions the kingdom as a cup of gold.
7 Babylon has been a golden cup in the hand of the Lord, Intoxicating all the earth. The nations have drunk of her wine; Therefore the nations are going mad.
The kingdom was given by God for God’s intended purpose, that God would accomplish His good and perfect will then, and will still do the same now.
The Babylonian kingdom reigned from 636 - 539BC
God Reveals
God Reveals
So God gives and sometimes it is to unlikely people (Gentile king) and God reveals purpose to as you will see in this next section. The revelation started with the head (v.38) but we will go from there.
39 “After you there will arise another kingdom inferior to you, then another third kingdom of bronze, which will rule over all the earth. 40 “Then there will be a fourth kingdom as strong as iron; inasmuch as iron crushes and shatters all things, so, like iron that breaks in pieces, it will crush and break all these in pieces.
41 “In that you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, it will be a divided kingdom; but it will have in it the toughness of iron, inasmuch as you saw the iron mixed with common clay. 42 “As the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of pottery, so some of the kingdom will be strong and part of it will be brittle.
Dan2:
43 “And in that you saw the iron mixed with common clay, they will combine with one another in the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, even as iron does not combine with pottery.
What do you see, what do you notice, what sticks out to you?
( dream picture)
Some general questions then will get more into the verses
what do you know from (v.39)? - there will be another kingdom, it will be an inferior kingdom, meaning will not have the strength of the Babylonian kingdom, And then yet another kingdom of bronze.
Now you see from the picture that the chest and arms of silver but you don’t see that her in (v.39) but you do see that back in (v.32)
32 “The head of that statue was made of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze,
Head of Gold = Babylonian Kingdom (636-539BC)
Chest/Arms Silver = Medo-Persian Empire (539 - 330BC) (Dan5:30-31; Dan6:1-3)
So the Babylonian kingdom was gold and was the head, now the breast and arms, which is the 2nd kingdom which is interpreted to be the Medo-Persian empire that started with the Medes until the Persians under Cyrus defeated the Medes and took over the Babylonian rule under King Darius (Dan5:30-31)
30 That same night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was slain. 31 So Darius the Mede received the kingdom at about the age of sixty-two.
I
Now it said that the other kingdom would be inferior, under the Medo-Persian empire they had a king, but the kingdom was ruled by Satrups (governors)
1 It seemed good to Darius to appoint 120 satraps over the kingdom, that they would be in charge of the whole kingdom,
2 and over them three commissioners (of whom Daniel was one), that these satraps might be accountable to them, and that the king might not suffer loss. 3 Then this Daniel began distinguishing himself among the commissioners and satraps because he possessed an extraordinary spirit, and the king planned to appoint him over the entire kingdom.
Dan
that is why they were inferior, they were not under absolute dictatorship as it was under Nebuchadnezzer (Babylonian Kingdom)
Maybe better put scripture back up here again so can still glean and discuss.
Now having said that, maybe better put scripture back up here again so can still glean and discuss.
39 “After you there will arise another kingdom inferior to you, then another third kingdom of bronze, which will rule over all the earth.
40 “Then there will be a fourth kingdom as strong as iron; inasmuch as iron crushes and shatters all things, so, like iron that breaks in pieces, it will crush and break all these in pieces.
What do you learn here? -there was going to be a 4th kingdom, as strong as iron, it would destroy, crush, shatter things as it went. This is a picture of
What can you learn about the third kingdom? - it would be represented by bronze, it would rule over all the earth.
Belly, thighs bronze = Grecian Kingdom (330-68BC) -Hellenistic period
(belly, thigh of bronze picture)
This is by the historians, the theologians and the like to be the Grecian Kingdom that started under Alexander the great. Alexander died in 330 BC and the kingdom was then divided into four kingdoms, but under Alexander it was a fierce time fighting forward and he took all kingdoms along the way, destroying kingdoms in a very short period of time and was considered the ruler of the world.
Bronze being stronger than gold or silver, but the strongest was yet to come. What do we know about a divided kingdom?
24 “If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
Whereas when together it was stronger, but after the death of Alexander and the kingdom was split into four parts (regions) that lasted until the 4th kingdom came. The regions were run under generals and they were.
Regional reigns after death of Alexander:
Lysimachus ruled in Asia Minor
Cassander ruled in Macedonia and Greece
Ptolemy I ruled Palestine and Cilicia
Seleucus I ruled the rest of Asia including Mesopotamia, Persia
This Hellenistic period would last until the rise of the Roman empire (Kingdom).
Now back to the scripture again.
40 “Then there will be a fourth kingdom as strong as iron; inasmuch as iron crushes and shatters all things, so, like iron that breaks in pieces, it will crush and break all these in pieces. 41 “In that you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, it will be a divided kingdom; but it will have in it the toughness of iron, inasmuch as you saw the iron mixed with common clay.
42 “As the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of pottery, so some of the kingdom will be strong and part of it will be brittle. 43 “And in that you saw the iron mixed with common clay, they will combine with one another in the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, even as iron does not combine with pottery.
Dan4:42-43
What do you see, what do you notice, what sticks out to you?
Legs iron, Feet and toes Iron/clay = Roman empire (63BC-475AD)
The Roman empire was a republic, they had strong laws, organization and military might.
They were influenced by many, so there is where the weakness came in too. That is the mixture of iron and clay
Now there is a theology that gives much into the “toes” and makes them kingdoms in the unknown future some believe in Eastern Europe, others all throughout the world. but look again at (v.42) and see what it says
42 “As the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of pottery, so some of the kingdom will be strong and part of it will be brittle.
Kingdom! not kingdoms, and if you know people who believe otherwise, well this is not a salvation issue, love them as those who loved me when I had that belief at one time.
Now this leads us to what I said when we began:
God Sets Up
God Sets Up
Prophesy given and prophesy fulfilled. Today we see the prophesy that was given and know that today that prophesy was fulfilled. God set’s things up, let’s look at what He sets up in our passage.
44 “In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever.
44 “In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever. 45 “Inasmuch as you saw that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands and that it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold, the great God has made known to the king what will take place in the future; so the dream is true and its interpretation is trustworthy.”
45 “Inasmuch as you saw that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands and that it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold, the great God has made known to the king what will take place in the future; so the dream is true and its interpretation is trustworthy.”
What do you see, what do you notice, what sticks out to you?
What was going to transpire in (v.44)? -God will set up a kingdom, what can we know about the kingdom? What about the power of this kingdom? And, what about the length of this kingdom?
Now look at (v.45) tell me about the stone, how was it created? What does the stone do? When was it going to take place?
Finally what was Daniel’s assurance to the king here (v.45)?
May it be put forth the common belief what this kingdom is from the scripture.
I think this is so exciting, I was going to summarize each of the verses, but God’s Word is powerful and true and it is better than any words I can use.
This kingdom, cut stone, is the Church (Rev5:9-10)
9 And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. 10 “You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.”
This is the eternal kingdom prophesied to David (2Sam7:16)
16 “Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever.” ’ ”
2sam7
This kingdom is the one John the Baptist proclaimed (Mt3:2)
2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
This kingdom is the one John the Baptist proclaimed (Mt3:20
Mt3:20
What kingdom, the eternal kingdom, the kingdom o heaven was at hand!
This kingdom is the one Jesus said is fulfilled and at hand (Mk1:15)
15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
The kingdom that is eternal, that is of heaven that is at hand, and Jesus calls it the kingdom of God and to repent and believe.
This kingdom would come with power (Mk9:1)
1 And Jesus was saying to them, “Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.”
This kingdom whose power came in the Spirit (Act1:8)
8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
Internal power to become outpouring power from local to the remotest part of the earth.
This is the kingdom that Jesus sits on the throne (Ps110:1-6: Act2:30-36)
1 The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.” 2 The Lord will stretch forth Your strong scepter from Zion, saying, “Rule in the midst of Your enemies.”
This is the kingdom that Jesus sits on the throne (Ps110:1-6: Act2:30-36)
3 Your people will volunteer freely in the day of Your power; In holy array, from the womb of the dawn, Your youth are to You as the dew. 4 The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind, “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.”
5 The Lord is at Your right hand; He will shatter kings in the day of His wrath. 6 He will judge among the nations, He will fill them with corpses, He will shatter the chief men over a broad country.
Hallelujah - in the midst of this sinful, crooked, perverse generation, in the presence of the enemies our Lord is there, ruling the kingdom. H
This is the kingdom you are a part of (Col1:13; Rev1:6, 9)
13 For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son,
Can you say amen to that? Amen to the Lord of Lords to the King of Kings who qualified us for entrance into the Kingdom?
6 and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Not only are you in the kingdom, you are a kingdom, of priests! Servants to God the Father through Christ the Son under the power of the Holy Spirit, may we always ige him dominion over our heart, over our actions, over our mouths, forever and ever. - - - - now one more point to make
God’s results
God’s results
So now the end results of the revelation being revealed. Notice who gets the glory!
46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face and did homage to Daniel, and gave orders to present to him an offering and fragrant incense. 47 The king answered Daniel and said, “Surely your God is a God of gods and a Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, since you have been able to reveal this mystery.”
48 Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many great gifts, and he made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon. 49 And Daniel made request of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego over the administration of the province of Babylon, while Daniel was at the king’s court.
What do you see, what do you notice, what sticks out to you?
What did the king do (v.46)? (fell, paid homage, gave orders)
What did the king acknowledge (v.47)?
What did the king do in (v.48)?
What did Daniel do for his friends in (v.49)?
Kings actions (v.46)
Now he prostrated himself and commanded homage to be given to Daniel
Kings words (v.47)
King addresses Daniel and acknowledges the sovereignty of God
Kings
King tells why he acknowledges, because of the revelation of the dream revealed to him with interpretation
Kings instructions (v.48)
Promote the man!
Give him gifts
Make him a ruler
oh yeah, put him over all the wise men who wanted to lie to me.
Daniel spoke up in the first place to stop the death sentence and it ended well for Daniel, but that was not the end of it.
Daniels response (v.49)
Daniel spoke up, petitioned on behalf of his friends who were his prayer partners, who were resolved not to defile self with the kings delicacies before.
Summary close:
God gave kingdom
God revealed the mystery
God sets up an eternal kingdom
God’s perfect results
God is in charge and in control of Daniel’s life, it is apparent of Daniel’s resolved faith, The Lord of Lords sits on the throne in Daniel’s life. May we each have the Lord sit on the throne of our heart and be the Lord of our lives. PRAYER / CLOSE