Sunday Morning 11.13.11
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jmichaelwalls
Nov 13, 2011, 6:38:48 AM11/13/11
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LEARNING TO STAND ALONE FOR THE LORD IN A WORLD THAT HATES GOD
The Dream Recited and Interpreted to Nebuchadnezzar with the Promotion of
Daniel
Daniel 2:31-49
Introduction: Previously we saw the dream of Nebuchadnezzar that woke him
up. When he assembled his "dream team", they could not tell him neither
the dream nor the interpretation of it. They asked the king to tell them
the dream and they would interpret it. He realized that the "dream team"
was a bunch of frauds. These men were no more able to tell what the dream
meant than I could.
This revelation of fraud made the king furious. In fact, he made an
irrational decision to kill all the "wise men" of Babylon. It is good to
note that Daniel had not consulted in this problem with the dream. But he
was marked for death. He asked the king for an extension of time. He was
granted this extension. His three friends came with him to an
old-fashioned cottage prayer meeting. They asked the Lord to give Daniel
the dream and interpretation thereof. They believed God.
Daniel stands before the king in our section of scripture today. He is
going to recite the dream to Nebuchadnezzar and give him the
interpretation of the same.
Let�s examine this passage of scripture and see what was done when Daniel
stands before the king.
I. THE RECOVERY OF THE DREAM
Vs. 31-35
It is remarkable that Daniel is able to give the dream. By reading down
further, you can see that the king knows that this is the dream that he
had. If you would search out the annals of written history, you will find
that there were three basic truths about this dream.
There had never been a dream like this dream before.
There had never been before such shock as a dream had before this time in
the Babylonian kingdom.
There had never before been such prophecy like this. Basically the plans
of time had not been reveal in such clarity as it was in the book of
Daniel. God is going to give clear revelation of the time of the Gentiles
to our prophet Daniel.
This was an odd image. It is made up of gold, silver, brass, iron and
clay and iron mixed. Normally you would not mix these items together.
Why? They would not hold together. But in the plan of God, they would mix
until God�s time to break them apart. The image was mostly like a very
tall image. If it were a small statue, it would not have most like would
not have awaken the King. It is the stone that broke the image that
probably awaken the king. It seems to be a picture of a superman if you
wish. It shows deterioration from head to toe. Many times people see
themselves and their achievements bigger than they really are.
II. THE RENDERING OF THE DREAM
Vs. 36-43
The head of gold represents the Babylonian kingdom in which
Nebuchadnezzar was ruler. The gold was fitting for the Babylonian
kingdom. One hundred years after Nebuchadnezzar died, a Greece historian
visited Babylon and wrote that he had never seen so much gold. Of course,
God beat him to the punch with some passages in the Old Testament. Isaiah
14:4
"That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and
say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased!"
Jeremiah 51:7
"Babylon hath been a golden cup in the LORD�S hand, that made all the
earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the
nations are mad."
God had raised up Nebuchadnezzar as king. I am sure that he thought he
had been elevated by his military power and might. If the words of
Daniel, you can almost read these words in it. "Nebuchadnezzar, you might
think that you are top dog now but you are just take one more step in the
direction of ruin." This is basically what the Lord is trying to tell
Nebuchadnezzar.
Jesus reminds another ruler of who is really in charge of the affairs of
men.
John 19:10-11
"Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not
that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee? Jesus
answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were
given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the
greater sin."
The chest and arms of the image was silver and represented the kingdom of
the Medo-Persia. It is interesting to know something here that when
Nebuchadnezzar dreamed this dream that Persia was a servant state of the
Babylonian, the Greeks were basically a group of warring tribes and Rome
was a village on the Tiber River. There is no way a human could have seen
the raising up of these kingdoms against Babylon. Only God could have
known this!
Silver is a precious commodity but is basically inferior to gold. The
Medo-Persia king was inferior to the Babylonian kingdom but it lasted
over two hundred years where as the Babylonian kingdom was only about
seventy years. The two arms represented the two groups that will come
together to rule over the kingdom.
C. The belly and the thighs of brass represented the kingdom of the
Greeks under Philip and his famous son, Alexander the Great. His kingdom
lasted approximately ten years. He was the conqueror that cried after he
conquered the entire known world because there was no more kingdoms to
conquer.
The brass was the right depiction of this kingdom. Alexander began
dressing his soldiers in brass armaments. His men had brass helmets,
breastplates, shields and swords.
D. The legs made of iron represents Rome. Rome is never specifically
identified as the fourth kingdom but history indicates that Rome
conquered Alexander�s empire through what is called the "iron legions of
Rome". The word iron is mentioned fourteen times in eight verses in this
chapter.
The Roman legions were noted for their ability to crush all resistance
with an iron heel. There is little that was constructive in the empire of
this empire in spite of Roman law and its roads and civilization. Its
destructive work outweighed all else. You can see this with the phrase
"shall it break in pieces and bruise". That is a double verb describing
what this empire would be like.
History does not record any other rule like the Roman rule. It was over
five hundred years of tyranny. It was under the Roman rule that put our
Saviour on the cross. It was under the Roman rule that ninety percent of
the Christians in the first few centuries after the death of Christ were
martyred.
E. The feet of Iron and clay represent the coming Antichrist coming
kingdom. No other kingdom or empire has came even close to this. The
Antichrist will have a ten-kingdom confederacy that will rule with the
Beast in the Tribulation period. It is basically the revived Roman
Empire.
God gave all this to Nebuchadnezzar in that vision. With the exception of
the final kingdom, all came to past like the Lord had given it. The final
kingdom will do so also. You don�t need to doubt this. God brought the
other to pass. He can do the same with final kingdom.
III. THE ROCK OF THE DREAM Vs. 44-45
We find many times in the Bible referring the Lord Jesus as a rock or a
stone. This is one of the better known symbols of our Lord Jesus. When
you think of stone, you think of strength, stability and security. Let me
give you four instances of Jesus as a stone and how it relates to the
nation of Israel, the church, the nations and the world. This will help
understand about this stone cut out without man�s hands.
As a stone, Jesus was a stumbling stone for Israel. They stumbled over
His birth. They stumbled over His words. They stumbled over His miracles.
He was rejected by the nation of Israel as the coming Messiah. Because
they stumbled over Him, they were scattered abroad like something that is
dropped on a rock and shatters and scatters.
As a Stone or a Rock, the church is built upon the Lord Jesus.
Matthew 16:16-18
"And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the
living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon
Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my
Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter,
and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall
not prevail against it."
He is the chief cornerstone. When a building is built, if the cornerstone
is crooked or defective, then the building will crumble and fall. Since
we are built upon the Lord Jesus, the gates of hell may try to prevail
against the church but they can not because Jesus is our foundation. He
is a living stone according to 1st Peter chapter two and verses number
four.
C. As a stone, Christ shall break Gentile power. One day when our Lord
will come from heaven at the end of the Tribulation period and He will
destroy the rule of the Gentiles. He will grind their power to pieces.
Matthew 21:44
"And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on
whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder."
Man has tried to rule this world since the Tower of Babel. He has failed
over and over again. But God will destroy the Gentiles power like a stone
cut out without man�s hands.
D. As a stone, the World will one day be filled with the glory of Christ.
His kingdom will stand forever. The stone that has the power to smitten
also has the power to stand. His kingdom will be a supernatural Kingdom.
It will be a severe kingdom. He will break His enemy to pieces. It will
be a sovereign kingdom. He will rule over all of the earth.
Psalm 72:11
"Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him"
It will be a successful kingdom because God is setting it up. It will
never be destroyed.
IV. THE REWARDING OF DANIEL
Vs. 46-49
The king understands that God is in control. God reveals the dream to
Daniel. He honors the Lord with oblation and sweet odours. Daniel does
not forget his friends that prayed with him. He asks for their promotion.
Nebuchadnezzar promotes Daniel and also his three friends.
Conclusion: We have seen that God is the revealer of secrets. One day He
will reveal all our secrets also. That is probably one of the scariest
parts of the Judgment Seat of Christ for the Christian. So live your
lives in such a way that honors the Lord.
He is King of kings and Lord of lords. May our prayer and praise be like
John�s in the closing of the Bible! Revelation 22:20
"He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus"
The Dream Recited and Interpreted to Nebuchadnezzar with the Promotion of
Daniel
Daniel 2:31-49
Introduction: Previously we saw the dream of Nebuchadnezzar that woke him
up. When he assembled his "dream team", they could not tell him neither
the dream nor the interpretation of it. They asked the king to tell them
the dream and they would interpret it. He realized that the "dream team"
was a bunch of frauds. These men were no more able to tell what the dream
meant than I could.
This revelation of fraud made the king furious. In fact, he made an
irrational decision to kill all the "wise men" of Babylon. It is good to
note that Daniel had not consulted in this problem with the dream. But he
was marked for death. He asked the king for an extension of time. He was
granted this extension. His three friends came with him to an
old-fashioned cottage prayer meeting. They asked the Lord to give Daniel
the dream and interpretation thereof. They believed God.
Daniel stands before the king in our section of scripture today. He is
going to recite the dream to Nebuchadnezzar and give him the
interpretation of the same.
Let�s examine this passage of scripture and see what was done when Daniel
stands before the king.
I. THE RECOVERY OF THE DREAM
Vs. 31-35
It is remarkable that Daniel is able to give the dream. By reading down
further, you can see that the king knows that this is the dream that he
had. If you would search out the annals of written history, you will find
that there were three basic truths about this dream.
There had never been a dream like this dream before.
There had never been before such shock as a dream had before this time in
the Babylonian kingdom.
There had never before been such prophecy like this. Basically the plans
of time had not been reveal in such clarity as it was in the book of
Daniel. God is going to give clear revelation of the time of the Gentiles
to our prophet Daniel.
This was an odd image. It is made up of gold, silver, brass, iron and
clay and iron mixed. Normally you would not mix these items together.
Why? They would not hold together. But in the plan of God, they would mix
until God�s time to break them apart. The image was mostly like a very
tall image. If it were a small statue, it would not have most like would
not have awaken the King. It is the stone that broke the image that
probably awaken the king. It seems to be a picture of a superman if you
wish. It shows deterioration from head to toe. Many times people see
themselves and their achievements bigger than they really are.
II. THE RENDERING OF THE DREAM
Vs. 36-43
The head of gold represents the Babylonian kingdom in which
Nebuchadnezzar was ruler. The gold was fitting for the Babylonian
kingdom. One hundred years after Nebuchadnezzar died, a Greece historian
visited Babylon and wrote that he had never seen so much gold. Of course,
God beat him to the punch with some passages in the Old Testament. Isaiah
14:4
"That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and
say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased!"
Jeremiah 51:7
"Babylon hath been a golden cup in the LORD�S hand, that made all the
earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the
nations are mad."
God had raised up Nebuchadnezzar as king. I am sure that he thought he
had been elevated by his military power and might. If the words of
Daniel, you can almost read these words in it. "Nebuchadnezzar, you might
think that you are top dog now but you are just take one more step in the
direction of ruin." This is basically what the Lord is trying to tell
Nebuchadnezzar.
Jesus reminds another ruler of who is really in charge of the affairs of
men.
John 19:10-11
"Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not
that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee? Jesus
answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were
given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the
greater sin."
The chest and arms of the image was silver and represented the kingdom of
the Medo-Persia. It is interesting to know something here that when
Nebuchadnezzar dreamed this dream that Persia was a servant state of the
Babylonian, the Greeks were basically a group of warring tribes and Rome
was a village on the Tiber River. There is no way a human could have seen
the raising up of these kingdoms against Babylon. Only God could have
known this!
Silver is a precious commodity but is basically inferior to gold. The
Medo-Persia king was inferior to the Babylonian kingdom but it lasted
over two hundred years where as the Babylonian kingdom was only about
seventy years. The two arms represented the two groups that will come
together to rule over the kingdom.
C. The belly and the thighs of brass represented the kingdom of the
Greeks under Philip and his famous son, Alexander the Great. His kingdom
lasted approximately ten years. He was the conqueror that cried after he
conquered the entire known world because there was no more kingdoms to
conquer.
The brass was the right depiction of this kingdom. Alexander began
dressing his soldiers in brass armaments. His men had brass helmets,
breastplates, shields and swords.
D. The legs made of iron represents Rome. Rome is never specifically
identified as the fourth kingdom but history indicates that Rome
conquered Alexander�s empire through what is called the "iron legions of
Rome". The word iron is mentioned fourteen times in eight verses in this
chapter.
The Roman legions were noted for their ability to crush all resistance
with an iron heel. There is little that was constructive in the empire of
this empire in spite of Roman law and its roads and civilization. Its
destructive work outweighed all else. You can see this with the phrase
"shall it break in pieces and bruise". That is a double verb describing
what this empire would be like.
History does not record any other rule like the Roman rule. It was over
five hundred years of tyranny. It was under the Roman rule that put our
Saviour on the cross. It was under the Roman rule that ninety percent of
the Christians in the first few centuries after the death of Christ were
martyred.
E. The feet of Iron and clay represent the coming Antichrist coming
kingdom. No other kingdom or empire has came even close to this. The
Antichrist will have a ten-kingdom confederacy that will rule with the
Beast in the Tribulation period. It is basically the revived Roman
Empire.
God gave all this to Nebuchadnezzar in that vision. With the exception of
the final kingdom, all came to past like the Lord had given it. The final
kingdom will do so also. You don�t need to doubt this. God brought the
other to pass. He can do the same with final kingdom.
III. THE ROCK OF THE DREAM Vs. 44-45
We find many times in the Bible referring the Lord Jesus as a rock or a
stone. This is one of the better known symbols of our Lord Jesus. When
you think of stone, you think of strength, stability and security. Let me
give you four instances of Jesus as a stone and how it relates to the
nation of Israel, the church, the nations and the world. This will help
understand about this stone cut out without man�s hands.
As a stone, Jesus was a stumbling stone for Israel. They stumbled over
His birth. They stumbled over His words. They stumbled over His miracles.
He was rejected by the nation of Israel as the coming Messiah. Because
they stumbled over Him, they were scattered abroad like something that is
dropped on a rock and shatters and scatters.
As a Stone or a Rock, the church is built upon the Lord Jesus.
Matthew 16:16-18
"And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the
living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon
Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my
Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter,
and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall
not prevail against it."
He is the chief cornerstone. When a building is built, if the cornerstone
is crooked or defective, then the building will crumble and fall. Since
we are built upon the Lord Jesus, the gates of hell may try to prevail
against the church but they can not because Jesus is our foundation. He
is a living stone according to 1st Peter chapter two and verses number
four.
C. As a stone, Christ shall break Gentile power. One day when our Lord
will come from heaven at the end of the Tribulation period and He will
destroy the rule of the Gentiles. He will grind their power to pieces.
Matthew 21:44
"And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on
whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder."
Man has tried to rule this world since the Tower of Babel. He has failed
over and over again. But God will destroy the Gentiles power like a stone
cut out without man�s hands.
D. As a stone, the World will one day be filled with the glory of Christ.
His kingdom will stand forever. The stone that has the power to smitten
also has the power to stand. His kingdom will be a supernatural Kingdom.
It will be a severe kingdom. He will break His enemy to pieces. It will
be a sovereign kingdom. He will rule over all of the earth.
Psalm 72:11
"Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him"
It will be a successful kingdom because God is setting it up. It will
never be destroyed.
IV. THE REWARDING OF DANIEL
Vs. 46-49
The king understands that God is in control. God reveals the dream to
Daniel. He honors the Lord with oblation and sweet odours. Daniel does
not forget his friends that prayed with him. He asks for their promotion.
Nebuchadnezzar promotes Daniel and also his three friends.
Conclusion: We have seen that God is the revealer of secrets. One day He
will reveal all our secrets also. That is probably one of the scariest
parts of the Judgment Seat of Christ for the Christian. So live your
lives in such a way that honors the Lord.
He is King of kings and Lord of lords. May our prayer and praise be like
John�s in the closing of the Bible! Revelation 22:20
"He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus"
Pastor Mike Walls
Freedom Baptist Church Smithfield, NC
http://freedombaptistchurchnc.wordpress.com/
http://iglesiabautistalibertad.wordpress.com/
____________________________________________________________
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