Today on the verdict with Pastor John Monroe. Daniel 2 contains one of the first basic lessons in prophecy. Daniel 2 contains a great prophetic panorama dealing with human history. On a cosmic scale, from the time of the Babylonian captivity. To the return of Jesus Christ to earth to reign as King of kings and Lord of lords.
Welcome to the Verdict with Pastor John Monroe. Throughout history, we see the rise and fall of many kingdoms. Each one falling short of its lofty ambitions to rule the world or create the perfect society. But today on the verdict, we're exploring a fascinating prophecy from the book of Daniel. to better understand God's plan for his kingdom, which will never end.
So let's join Pastor John Monroe with this message. Kingdoms rise and fall. Today we near the end of Daniel chapter 2. Nebuchadnezzar, who is the king of Babylon, is having dreams which disturb him greatly. Although he's the leader of a superpower, he seems a very anxious and a very insecure individual.
His supposed wise men are unable to give the interpretation to the dreams.
So Nebuchadnezzar calls for Daniel, this young man. who's been taken prisoner from Israel and is now living in Babylon. With great courage, Daniel is continuing to worship and serve the one true God. Daniel is a messenger from God. And his clear prophetic interpretation stands in stark contrast to the anxieties of mighty king Nebuchadnezzar.
So let's learn. about these dreams. As we turn to Daniel chapter two. We see that for the first time in Israel's history. A Gentile kingdom, Babylon.
Appears to have total supremacy over the kingdom of God. It appears. that God's kingdom has failed. and that the kingdom of man has triumphed. With the Babylonian Captivity There is what the Bible calls the times of the Gentiles.
The times of the Gentiles begins. and no king From the line of David, the has ever ruled over Israel since Babylon's victory. Today, the nation of Israel, as I speak, is in a very small part of the promised land. and were well aware of the many enemies of Israel who would like literally to sweep them. into the sea.
Does this mean that God has abandoned his ancient people? Absolutely not. The times of the Gentiles will not last forever. The word of God reveals that Israel has a glorious future. And Jesus himself prophesied in Luke 21, verse 24, that Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles.
Until The times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. And that will occur At the glorious return of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. The true Messiah, when he comes to reign. As King of Kings and Lord, of Lords. In our passage, we are being given the basic lesson of prophecy, I believe.
We are given the big picture, the broad Now as we do that, I want to say I'm not a prophet. And I don't believe in sensational preaching. My calling is not to be sensational. Dramatic. My calling is to be a faithful expositor of the Word of God, and I seek in God's grace and with His help to do this this morning.
We want to consider Nebuchadnezzar's dream and its interpretation by Daniel. Let's open our Bibles then to Daniel chapter 2. Where we will see, first of all, in verses 31 through 35, the dream given. We learned last week In the first thirty verses of Daniel two, that Nebuchadnezzar has a dream. And Daniel is about to reveal the dream and its interpretation We saw that Nebuchadnezzar, as he has these dreams, is very, very troubled.
He doesn't understand them. And he calls his wise men and the conjurers and the astrologers, and they also can't tell the dream to Nebuchadnezzar. But after praying with his three friends, Daniel The young Jewish captive is given the content of the dream As well as its interpretation. He's going to tell them, he's going to tell Nebuchadnezzar. This is what you saw in your dream, Nebuchadnezzar, and secondly, this is the meaning.
of your dream. Let's read first of all then verses thirty one through thirty three where we see the description of the statue. Here is Daniel now, young Daniel before King Nebuchadnezzar. revealing the dream. You saw, O King, And behold, a great image.
This image, mighty and of exceeding brightness, stood before you. and its appearance was frightening. The head of this image was of fine gold. His chest and arms of silver. Its middle and thighs of bronze.
It's legs of iron. Its feet partly of iron and partly of clay.
Now, notice that. The statue, verse 31, is great, it's mighty, it's of exceeding brightness. It stands right in front of Nebuchadnezzar. He can't miss it. But its appearance verse thirty one is frightening.
The head is made of fine gold, the chest and arms are made of silver. The middle and the thighs are made of bronze, the legs are of iron. And defeat, verse 33, partly of iron. and partly of clay. Got that in your mind?
No, they're smashing of the statue. The statue is going to be smashed. Verses thirty four and thirty five. As you looked Still talking to Nebuchadnezzar. 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. 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's 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 It became a great mountain and filled the whole Ours.
Nebuchadnezzar, in your dream, not only did you see that statue with its head of gold, its chest and arms of silver. The thighs and middle of bronze, and the legs of iron, and the feet of a mixture of iron and clay. You also saw Nebuchadnezzar a stone. striking the statue on its feet. and breaking them in pieces.
The iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and gold are all broken in pieces. Verse thirty five, they totally disappear. Notice that.
so that not a trace of them can be found And Nebuchadnezzar, that stone in your dream which crushes the statue. It becomes a great mountain. It starts as a small stone. But it becomes a great mountain and it fills, verse thirty-five, the whole earth. That's Nebuchadnezzar's dream.
What a dream.
Now we have in verses thirty-six through forty five the dream interpreted. Let's read verse thirty-six. Here's the interpretation. This was the dream.
Now we will tell the king its interpretation. Verse thirty seven. 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, 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. Another kingdom inferior to you shall arise after you, and yet a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. 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 Thanks. We've read the interpretation.
Now let's see the interpretation. First, As we will see this, Babylon is the head of gold. Babylon was a golden city. Gold was abundant in ancient Babylon. And the mighty kingdom of Babylon lasted from 605 BC to 539 BC.
Nebuchadnezzar is told that although he seems to rule as absolute monarch over the earth, over that territory, one day Babylon will fall, as indeed it did. The second kingdom is represented by the chest and arms of silver, the kingdom of the Medes and the Persians. The two arms representing the two parts of the kingdom Medes and Persians. In five hundred and thirty nine BC, the Medes and the Persians conquered Babylon. And this kingdom is going to last for two hundred years.
and it is defeated by Greece. The Third Kingdom. Under Alexander the Great I'm sure all of us have heard of Alexander the Great Greece comes to power and rules the earth' Paul Johnson writes Alexander's conquests made the subsequent Roman Empire possible And it can be said that as a result of Alexander's imperialism, the world took a giant step forward to civilized unity and globalization. Finally, the Fourth Kingdom, the is the Roman Empire, represented by the legs of iron. Rome, if you know your history, was as strong in iron.
known for its crushing power, Coming to power around one hundred BC, it conquered many countries and kingdoms. Encyclopædia Britannica states that Rome became the supreme power in the civilised world. The legs of iron may represent the two parts of the Roman Empire the eastern and the western part. Rome's power is seen in its iron armies, its laws, its institutions and its roads. The Pax Romana The Roman peace.
ruled the world for many, many years. Getting right up in fact. into the United Kingdom, right to the borders of southern Scotland. The impact of Rome today is felt. In our government, and this felt in our laws.
When I began to study law at Denver University in Scotland, The first class Of the first semester was in Roman law. You think why would a Scotsman be learning about Roman law because Roman law had such a huge impact? on our legal systems, particularly the law. of Scotland, the power and the influence of Rome. has been tremendous in history.
Now we have in verses forty one. forty two and forty three The revived Roman Empire I'm going to call it verse forty one Daniel has not finished his interpretation and his prophecies. And as you saw the feet and the toes, Partly of potter's clay and partly of iron. It shall be a divided kingdom. But some of the firmest of iron shall be in it.
Just as you saw iron mixed with the soft clay. And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, So the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle. As you saw the iron mix 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.
Now the first phase of the Roman Empire is symbolized by these legs of iron. But the second phase is represented by feet and toes partly of clay. and partly of iron. Here we see the confederacy of ten smaller kingdoms symbolized by the ten clothes, a mixture of iron and clay, resulting in weakness.
Now in history there has never yet been ten kingdoms in the Roman Empire. There has also never been a catastrophic and sudden end to all the kingdoms of the world symbolized by that smashing stone.
So many commentators, and I agree with them, believe that verses forty-one and forty-two and forty-three of Daniel two describe a future revived Roman Empire. Remember what Daniel says? to Nebuchadnezzar in verse twenty-eight. There is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Historically, the Roman Empire has fallen that is true.
But the final form of the revived Roman Empire described in these verses still lies in the future.
Some have speculated that the present European Union in some form may be referred to in these verses. What we do know is That during the tribulation period between the rapture of the Church and the second advent of Jesus Christ, Before Jesus Christ returns to set up his kingdom, A ten kingdom confederation will rule over the world. There will be ten kings. Turn over to Daniel seven. And we will see this getting a little bit ahead of ourselves.
But in Daniel seven we have these four kingdoms portrayed as four beasts. The fourth Beast is Rome. Daniel seven verse twenty three. As for the fourth beast, there shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, which shall be different from all the kingdoms, and it shall devour the whole earth, and trample it down and break it to pieces. As for the Ten Horns, Out of this kingdom, ten kings shall arise, and another shall arise after them.
He shall be different from the former ones, and shall put down three kings. Notice the reference to the ten kings. And then turn over to the last book in the Bible. Revelation. Revelation 17.
I said as we began our study of Daniel that we can't understand the book of Revelation in the New Testament, unless we understand Daniel. in the Old Testament. Revelation seventeen Verse twelve. Revelation seventeen, verse twelve, and the ten horns that you saw. Description: What's going to happen in the tribulation period before Christ's return?
And the ten horns that you saw are ten kings. who have not yet received royal power, and But they are to receive authority as kings for one hour together with the beast. It's interesting also that the Antichrist described in Revelation thirteen has ten horns. And He is going to arise from these ten nations.
So as we look back at Daniel chapter two. We must understand that between verses 40 and 41 of Daniel 2, there is a gap of many years. You say, that seems strange. That seems strange to us, but it's not that unusual in Scripture. You remember the disciples at the time of the Lord supposed the kingdom of heaven was to appear immediately?
Luke 19, verse 11. The disciples didn't understand that there was a difference and time gap between the first and second comings of the Messiah. They assumed all of the prophecies relating to the Messiah in the Old Testament were going to occur at his first coming. They would occur in one unbroken sequence of events, but that is not the case. We know that.
There is the first coming of Jesus when he comes to Bethlehem, when he comes as the Saviour. There is a second advent when He comes as conqueror to set up His kingdom. In the same way there is a gap between verses forty and forty one.
Now let's read of this fifth kingdom, verse forty four. And in the days of those kings, The Ten Kings. The God of heaven will set up a kingdom notice this 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.
Isn't that wonderful? 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 this interpretation is sure. I have no doubt, Nebuchadnezzar. That's what I'm saying.
Because this is a revelation. of God. This final form then of the Roman Empire, having this ten nation confederacy, will be in place when the stone smashes the statue. These ten kings represented by the ten toes of the statue, this mixture of iron and clay.
Now you say, who or what is that stone which shatters all of the kingdoms of the world? That's not a difficult question, is it? It is, of course, a picture of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is clearly the stone. He is the one made by no human hands.
That's said in verses 34 and 45, referring to his divinity. He is made by no human hands. Listen to the words of Jesus. Luke chapter 20. As he quotes the Old Testament himself, Luke chapter twenty verse seventeen.
But he looked directly at them and said, What then is this that is written? The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. Everyone who falls on that stone. will be broken to pieces. When it falls on anyone, it will What?
Crush. Him. And again, In Acts chapter four even more explicitly. As Peter is going to quote the same scripture and make it very clear, Acts chapter four, verse Ten. Let it be known to you, to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by him this man is standing before you well.
This Jesus, is the stone. that was rejected by you. Rejected as the Messiah. the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation and no one else.
For there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must. be saved. Jesus Christ is presently The cornerstone of the church. But he is not yet seen as that stone breaking in pieces the kingdom of this world and bringing them all to an end. No, this fifth kingdom verses forty four and forty five clearly refers to the coming of Jesus Christ.
In his power and in his glory to destroy all world powers. He is like a great mountain, beginning as a stone. Defeating all of the kingdoms of this world.
So that his kingdom Fills the whole. Earth. and brings to an end all of the kingdoms. of the world. You say when will that happen?
Turn back to Revelation. Revelation chapter 19. to read of this wonderful event. Daniel, As it were, it is seeing it dimly and is prophesying of this great coming kingdom. This stone which is going to crush all of the kingdoms of the world.
and then is going to fill The whole world. Revelation nineteen Verse eleven. Here is future prophecy. Then I saw heaven opened. And behold, a white horse.
The one sitting on it called faithful and true, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he is a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is the Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which, notice it, to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron.
He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty on his robe and on his thighs. He has a name written, King of kings and Lord. Of Lords. How wonderful that future event when our Lord Jesus Christ shall return and destroy all of the kingdoms of the earth. Then, as Abakuk says, the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord.
as the waters cover The C. Daniel is telling Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 2 that the kingdoms of this world will not last forever. His own one is going to fall. But not only is Babylon going to fall, all of them are going to fall. And that the kingdom of Jesus Christ, the coming Messiah, that stone which smashes the kingdoms of this world, this kingdom.
will stand forever. The kingdom of God is universal. It is indestructible. It is all. Victorious.
This is the verdict, featuring the Bible teaching of Pastor John Monroe. There's still more to hear when John returns in just a moment, so stay with us. From matters of truth and identity, to the subjects of love and grace, our world seems more confused than ever. but to find truth and certainty about who we are and find peace, we must turn our attention away from the world and look to the Word of God. To help you do that, John wrote a booklet titled Eternal Security, Finding Certainty in a Chaotic World.
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Now, here's Pastor John Monroe.
Well What's your verdict? Weren't these amazing dreams given to Nebuchadnezzar and interpreted by Daniel? Kingdoms of this world rise and fall. But the kingdom of God stands forever. Make sure you're part of that kingdom.
Jesus said, unless we're born again, we will not enter the kingdom of God.
So receive Jesus Christ as your Savior. and be part of the unending eternal kingdom of God.
Next time, we'll continue to learn about Nebuchadnezzar's dream and the accurate interpretations by Daniel. Thanks for joining us today on The Verdict. I'm Michelle Davies. Today's program with Pastor John Monroe was produced and sponsored by Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
