Daniel 2:31-49

Scripture Reading:

Last Time

Nebuchadnezzar had a Bad Dream and Commanded His Wise Men to Tell Him the Dream and Interpret it for Him

They Rightfully Claimed that Only a God Could Do Such a Thing

So Nebuchadnezzar Decided to Have All of His Wise Men Killed

Daniel However Asked the King for More Time and it was Granted to Him

He and His 3 Friends Prayed for God to Show Mercy in Revealing the King’s Dream to Them

Daniel Thanked God After He had Received the Information in a Dream of His Own

Daniel Stood Before the King and Told Him What He was Asking was Impossible for Any Human

But it was Possible with the God of Heaven Whom He Serves

Introduction

Daniel Told Nebuchadnezzar that His Dreams Were Given to Him by God to Reveal Future Events

As We Listen to the Dream and its Interpretation, We are Getting to Peer into What the Future Held for Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar and the World

As Big and Mighty as Nebuchadnezzar is, We are Going to Find that He is Only a Supporting Actor in God’s Story

Babylon was an Amazingly Powerful and Superb Kingdom

But it Wasn’t Everlasting

But God Already had Plans for a Kingdom that Would Never End

We are Started Directly Where We Left Off

Daniel is Now Telling Nebuchadnezzar the Impossible

He is Telling Him His Own Dream

Daniel 2:31-49

Daniel 2:31–35 (NASB)

“You, O king, were looking and behold, there was a single great statue; that statue, which was large and of extraordinary splendor, was standing in front of you, and its appearance was awesome.

The head of that statue was made of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay.

You continued looking until a stone was cut out without hands, and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and crushed them.

Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were crushed all at the same time and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away so that not a trace of them was found.

But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.”

Illustration of Statue

Nebuchadnezzar Saw an Amazing Giant Statue that was Made of 4 Metals

We will Learn in a Second that Each Metal Represents Successive Kingdoms

Each of the Metals Decreased in Value But Increased in Strength as You Go Down the Statue

Possibly, They Decrease in Splendor but Increase in Strength and Dominance

Its Base was Made of a Very Strong Metal (Iron)

But it Being Mixed with Clay Makes it Very Fragile

Then a Rock Cut Out Without Hands Completely Obliterated the Entire Statue

This Stone Became a Great Mountain that Filled All the Earth

Daniel 2:36–38 (NASB)

“This was the dream; now we will tell its interpretation before the king. 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;

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.

Daniel Calls Nebuchadnezzar “King of Kings”

But He is Quick to Tell Him Who Gave Him that Kingdom, Power, Strength, and Glory

The God of Heaven Gave Him Everything He Has

It’s Interesting How Daniel Describes the King’s Dominion

He Rules Over, Not Only All People, But Over All Beasts and Birds

What a Strange Thing to Say

Genesis 1:26 (NASB)

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

God Created Humans to Rule Over the Earth

But After the Fall, Humanity Began to Degrade Further and Further into Sin

Much Like this Statue Degrades in Value

But as We will See in a Second, There is Coming a King Who will Truly Rule Over the Earth the Way God Intended Humanity to

God Set Nebuchadnezzar as King of Kings

Daniel 2:39 (NASB)

“After you there will arise another kingdom inferior to you, then another third kingdom of bronze, which will rule over all the earth.”

After Babylon, 2 More Kingdoms will Come in Succession

Daniel 2:40–43 (NASB)

“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.

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.

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.

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.”

Then this 4th Kingdom will be Very Strong, but it will Have Division that Makes it Weak

We Aren’t Going to Bother with Identifying These Kingdoms Right Now

Daniel will Have a Vision in Chapter 7 that will Give Us More Details that We May Discuss Then

But as for Now, All We Need to Know is that There will be 4 World-Dominating Kingdoms in Succession

Daniel 2:44–45 (NASB)

“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.

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.”

Here’s the Most Important Part of this Dream

The Rock that Destroys the Statue is a Kingdom that God Himself will Establish

It will Never be Destroyed

It will Crush and Destroy All of the Other Kingdoms

It will Last Forever

The Dream also Said that the Stone Would Grow to Become a Great Mountain that Fills the Entire World

Isaiah 2:2 (NASB)

Now it will come about that In the last days The mountain of the house of YHWH Will be established as the chief of the mountains, And will be raised above the hills; And all the nations will stream to it.

We Recognize Both of These Prophecies to be about the Kingdom of Jesus Christ

Jesus’ Kingdom will Start Small and Grow to Reach Every Part of the World

It will Never be Destroyed, it will Last Forever, and it will Eventually Put a Permanent End to All of the Other Kingdoms of the World

One Day, After the King’s Return, His Kingdom will be All that is Left

Daniel 2:46–47 (NASB)

Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face and did homage to Daniel, and gave orders to present to him an offering and fragrant incense.

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.”

Nebuchadnezzar Presented Daniel with an Offering and Incense

There is Debate Over Whether this Means He Worshiped Daniel or if He Gave These Things to Daniel so that He Could Worship

I Believe the King Worshiped Daniel as God’s Spokesman

This Wouldn’t be Unbelievable for a Pagan King to Do

But Notice What the King Does Next

He Says that Daniel’s God is Greater than All of the gods of Babylon

That Daniel’s God is the Master of Kings (Including Himself)

And Daniel’s God is the Revealer of Mysteries

Daniel Could Reveal Mysteries that Not of the Wise Men or god’s of Babylon Could Do

Daniel was Rewarded with Great Gifts, Promoted to Rule Over the Province of Babylon, and Was Made Chief Over the Wise Men

And He Requested that His 3 Friends be Promoted as Well and They Were

Application

Don’t Place Your Faith in Human Kingdoms

Human Kingdoms Will Always Fail and Come to an End

This is What Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream was All About

How Kingdom After Kingdom will Rise and Fall

But it’s a Temptation for Many of Us to Trust in the Kingdoms of Men

We Need to Remember the Last Kingdom in the Dream

God’s Kingdom that Will Never Fall

If Some of Us Would Talk about the Kingdom of God as Much as We Talk about American Politics…

We Would Actually Start Making an Impact on Our Family, Friends, and Neighbors

I Can Speak from Experience that Giving Up Watching the News and Following Politics will Improve Your Life Radically

In My Opinion, We Have Too Many Christians Watching Fox News, CNN, or Any of the Other Stations…

And Neglecting Their Bible Study, Prayer Life, and Christian Fellowship

When that’s the Case, Our Faith will Grow Toward the Kingdoms of Men and Away from the Kingdom of God

When All You are Being Fed on a Daily Basis is How the Other Half of America is Out to Get You…

You Start to Grow a Hateful Attitude Toward Those Who Think Differently than You

Daniel Reminds Us that Regardless of Who is President, Governor, or Mayor, God is in Complete Control

I Would Love for Righteous Men and Women to Lead Our Country

But Even if Every Leader was Anti-Christ and Endorsed/Promoted Wicked Laws and Actions…

That Wouldn’t Catch God Off Guard

Nor Would it Destroy His Kingdom

If We are Members of His Kingdom, It Doesn’t Matter What Decisions Our Leaders Make or if America is Taken Over by a Foreign Nation Tomorrow…

My King is Still on the Throne and His Kingdom will Never be Destroyed

We as Christians Can Bicker Back and Forth Over Politics, the Constitution, Our Rights and Freedoms, or Anything Else Involving this Worldly Kingdom…

But it Doesn’t Leave a Lasting Impact for Good on Those Within Our Circle of Influence

And it Doesn’t Bring Christ Glory

We’d All be Better Off by Giving Our Full Attention and Energy to the Kingdom of God than to the Things of this Temporary Kingdom

In Your Mind, are You a Christian First or an American First

Just in Case You’re Feeling Extra Spiritual Right Now, Let Me Help You See the Truth about Yourself More Clearly

Which Kingdom Do You Post About More on Social Media?

Which Kingdom Do You Pray for Most?

Which Kingdom Do You Spend the Most Time Reading About/Studying About?

Which Kingdom Do You Talk about with Your Family, Friends, and Neighbors Most?

It Wasn’t that Long Ago that I’d be Ashamed to Answer Those Questions

Where Does Your Faith Lie?

Place Your Faith in the King of the Everlasting Kingdom

He Offers Lasting Peace Where Man’s Kingdoms Offer Constant Fear

He Offers Lasting Joy Where Man’s Kingdoms Offer Temporary Pleasures

He Offers Assured Salvation and Eternal Life Where Man’s Kingdoms Have Nothing Substantial to Offer at All