What's in a Dream?
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
We all think about what we want to be when we grow up
2nd grade - architect
8th grade - pilot
Freshman - musician
Senior - mechanic
21 - HR Manager
25 - Pastor
It’s impossible to know our individual future
At 18 I didn’t want to go to college
Now I’ve been in college for almost 14 years!
We can’t know, but God knows!
He’s laid out many secrets about the future of mankind
Today is a great day for the note takers!
Why? This is eschatology 101
Eschatology is the study of the end times
This is the foundation of what we know about the end
It doesn’t start at the end, but it does finish there
Recap last week
Recap last week
Just like Nebuchadnezzar had to wait… you had to wait!
Remember: Hebrew - Aramaic - Hebrew
Aramaic is in “chiastic order”
A-B-C-C-B-A
A: Four kingdoms (statue/creatures)
B: Faith in death (fiery furnace/lion’s den)
C: Interpretations (dream/writing on the wall)
There’s a point to this message
A lot of history
A lot of imagery
But don’t miss this!
This should give you comfort!
How does Daniel know what’s going to happen?
God showed Him
How does God know?
He’s in control
Remember last week, this is a challenge for God
If God passes this test, think of the other tests He can pass!
If God is right about this, He’s right about EVERYTHING!
When God says this is right and this is wrong...
When God says you are forgiven, your slate it clean
When God says you will spend eternity in heaven
When God says the world will one day end
Prayer
Prayer
YouVersion: What’s in a Dream?
We’re in Daniel 2:31-45
Part I: Content of the Dream
Part I: Content of the Dream
31 “You saw, O king, and behold, a great image. This image, mighty and of exceeding brightness, stood before you, and its appearance was frightening. 32 The head of this image was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its middle and thighs of bronze, 33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay.
Huge spectacular statue
Break down components
Notice they descend in value...
The first is pure and valuable
The end is mixed and cheap
What happens to the statue?
34 As you looked, a stone was cut out by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces.
Huge stone hurled by some force
Notice it hits the statue at the feet - important
Everything is then destroyed:
35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, all together were broken in pieces, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.
The destruction of the statue was immense
Reminds me of the fires in California
The fire burns, and it leaves ash on your cars in the morning
Then it just blows away - nothing left
But the stone that hit it survives
In fact, it becomes a mountain and fills the whole earth!
So does that mean we’re all going to die in a meteor strike?!
Part II: Meaning
Part II: Meaning
Let’s let Daniel break it down:
36 “This was the dream. Now we will tell the king its interpretation. 37 You, O king, the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory, 38 and into whose hand he has given, wherever they dwell, the children of man, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens, making you rule over them all—you are the head of gold.
Before we look at the statue, Daniel says some important things:
WE will tell the king it’s interpretation
Who is “WE?”
I think Daniel is reminding us that this is God working through Daniel
2. THE GOD OF HEAVEN has given
Nebuchadnezzar is powerful...
BUT that’s only because God has given him the power
Nebuchadnezzar forgets in chapter 4, and God reminds him
Ok, let’s look at the image:
Babylon
Babylon
Nebuchadnezzar is the head of gold
Notice he starts with the most valuable
Not for size or wealth...
Value reflects the type of government + morality/holiness
Babylon is an absolute monarchy
There is one all-powerful king - best form or government
When Christ establishes His government, He is KING
Louis T. Talbot: “Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom was likened unto gold because it was an absolute monarchy, God’s ideal government. Nebuchadnezzar was not, however, God’s ideal monarch!”
Also, Nebuchadnezzar worships God!
Anyone against God is cut into pieces! (ch. 3)
As we progress through the statue, substance will be less valuable
However, they will also get stronger (until the feet)
Start with GOLD: which is valuable and soft
Valuable - Absolute monarchy, God is worshipped
Soft - Empire overthrown overnight in chapter 5
39 Another kingdom inferior to you shall arise after you, and yet a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth.
Medo-Persia
Medo-Persia
The next kingdom is inferior
V. 32 says arms and chest made of silver
Silver is less valuable, but a little harder than gold
This represents the Medo-Persians
Media and Persia joined forces
I worked at Lifepoint Church in California
Solid Rock (church without building)
Alta Loma Christian Fellowship (church without pastor)
Merged and called Lifepoint
Media (kingdom with power)
Persia (kingdom with strong king)
Merged and formed the Medo-Persian empire
This empire was stronger than Babylon
Look at the map
However, it was monarchial oligarchy
King was surrounded by guys equal to him in all but office
It had diluted power, so it was less valuable
We see King Darius subject to others in chapter 6
We also see God is tolerated, not worshipped
Doesn’t seem to worship God, but there are rules...
Cyrus does allow the Jews to return to Jerusalem
Less valuable - Monarchial oligarchy, God tolerated
Stronger - Stronger military grows much larger empire
Greece
Greece
The third kingdom continues the theme
The thighs and belly of bronze
After Daniel, Alexander the Great comes in
The Greek empire quickly took over the known world
Less valuable government - aristocracy murdering for power
Alexander the Great spent most of his time as a general
It was a government that rewarded greed and sin
Ultimately, Alexander died at age 32 after 12 years without a military loss
Many believe his empire would have been much larger
There was no heir alive; his wife Roxane was pregnant with his son
Asked who his heir should be
He said, “Tee Krat - tis - stoy” (tôi kratistôi)
Means, “To the strongest”
Alexander’s baby and half-brother became king
Civil war broke out everywhere
The kings were murdered
Finally split into four regions
Worshipped the high priest, not God
Diluted Jewish culture
Less valuable - Greedy aristocracy, God ignored
Stronger - Very large empire taken very quickly (could have been larger)
Look at the map
Also had a powerful influence on culture we still see today
Then there’s the 4th kingdom:
40 And there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, because iron breaks to pieces and shatters all things. And like iron that crushes, it shall break and crush all these.
Rome
Rome
By far, the strongest earthly kingdom comes on
This is the famous and powerful Roman empire
The value of government is very low
It is ruled by democratic imperialism
You might be thinking, wait a minute here!
Stay with me, we’ll come back to that!
God was not worshipped… sorta tolerated
But Christians would be murdered!
That’s how Jesus died!
It is the legs made of low-value iron
Although they’re low value, they’re high strength
Rome will be an empire for 500 years!
More than 2x the length of Medo-Persia and 8x as Bablylon
Look at the map
By far the largest empire of the four
This was a brutal, evil, sinful empire
Emperor Commodus didn’t even run the empire
He left that to a prefect, and he hung out in his harem
He had 300 women and 300 boys
He would order kidnappings whenever he saw a boy he liked
Only thing he liked more than sex was the Colosseum
Tash and I visited the one in Rome
Feels just like a stadium today - up to 250,000 people!
Know what their halftime show was?
Tell see-saw story
Low value - democratic imperialism, God persecuted
Very strong - Longest running and largest empire (#17 all-time)
You may think, “Wait! WE’RE A DEMOCRACY! Are you saying that’s bad?”
You tell me...
God isn’t allowed in schools, sin is plastered in all media, we’ve welcomed other gods, we believe our choice is more important that a life, we have made divorce for any reason acceptable, we believe you can choose gender, we have churches run by money hungry liars, we have rioting in our streets...
I’d say democracy itself is a nice idea
Giving the people a right to choose...
The problem is what we’ve chosen!
The only perfect government was the first one: the garden
One rule, you’re good to go
We messed that up, and it hasn’t been perfect since
Slowly, we’ve been pushing God further out of our work
It won’t perfect again, until Christ establishes His earthly reign
No human government is going to be perfect
Doesn’t matter though, sin is not a government problem!
Sin is a heart problem!
You want to make a real change?
Don’t put your faith in a politician
Put your faith in God!
You want to see America become a Godly nation again?
Don’t worry about changing laws
Worry about changing hearts!
Pleasing God doesn’t begin in courtrooms, town halls or the white house
It begins in our homes, our churches and wherever we share the gospel
Now for the last empire:
41 And as you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom, but some of the firmness of iron shall be in it, just as you saw iron mixed with the soft clay. 42 And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle. 43 As you saw the iron mixed with soft clay, so they will mix with one another in marriage, but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay.
There A LOT of interpretations for this kingdom
This is the British Empire
Britain was a part of Rome, hence the iron
This is the European Union
Mixture of countries with no one dominant power
This is the Roman Catholic Church
Man-made, ungodly and founded in Rome
This is the United States
We are certainly a mixture of races and ethnicities
We have a lot of Roman qualities
Government, culture, philosophy, architecture...
This is a future empire to come under the Antichrist
This one makes the most sense to me
I think we see the patterns of it now… but not the fullness
I think this because of the moment of change
Notice we have been looking at a statue...
Where do statues come from? Humans!
This is what mankind has built...
But the dream shifts to something NOT made from human hands
This is a supernatural image now; or God’s project
This supernatural rock (the Messiah) will strike this last empire!
Some say, “Well, Jesus came during the ROMAN empire...”
Yes, but He came to start the church and offer salvation...
This is different. Let me show you:
44 And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever, 45 just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. A great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure.”
This next move will be Christ’s second coming
This will be to destroy man’s rule over the earth
This is to tear down man’s government, and establish His government
This has not happened yet!
15 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.”
This is at THE END of the tribulation
So wait, there’s 4 empires back to back, and then one final empire?
Yes, we have 4 empires, then what’s called the “CHURCH AGE”
How long?
14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
Everything kinda pauses while the bride of Christ is building
Then, we start the end times… that’s what we’re waiting for
That’s what JESUS told us to wait for!
This God-carved rock is going to destroy man’s governments
Then establish a God-led government forever
Part III: The Outcome
Part III: The Outcome
So, how did Daniel do?
More appropriate, how did GOD do?!
The oldest copy of Daniel we have is from 125 years before Christ
Anything it says about Jesus accurately is a miracle!
We’ll REALLY see that at the 70 weeks prophecy
That one will blow your mind!!
But I believe it was written by Daniel when it says it was
That means Daniel NAILED the next 936+ years with this interpretation!
In fact, Jews showed Alexander the book of Daniel!
In the same story we see God navigating history
Then we get a promise for the end of the story
What does that mean for us?
Billy Graham: “I’ve read the last page of the Bible, it’s all going to turn out all right.”
God knows what He’s doing, He’s always known
All you have to do is put your trust in Him
Scripture mentions something called the rapture
17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.
This is the extremely hard time before the rock smashes the image
Christ will pull His church out (His bride) to protect her from His wrath
That leaves you with a powerful question:
Conclusion
Conclusion
Ron Davis story
Wanted to be a grandpa
Dies of esophageal cancer
Have you trusted God today?
Do you believe there’s nothing that can stop Him?
Nothing that surprises Him?
Nothing to change His plans?
Everything Daniel said REALLY HAPPENED
Everything God said will happen, REALLY WILL HAPPEN
BOTTOM LINE: We’re either at the ankles or in the feet!!!!!!!
Times will be hard, worse than they’ve ever been
Christ can rescue you from that
More than that, is what happens after we die...
Eternal punishment is far worse than anything that can happen here
But Christ can rescue you from that too
All you have to do is put your hope in Him
Prayer
Prayer
