Today on the verdict with Pastor John Monroe. We believe that the kingdom referred to in Daniel 2, 44 and 45 is the kingdom which will be established when Christ returns with power and glory and crushes the kingdoms and the powers of this world. This kingdom will never end. Welcome to the verdict, featuring the Bible teaching of Pastor John Monroe. Today, we're continuing in the book of Daniel and exploring an amazing prophecy about the past and future kingdoms of this world.
No matter how strong a nation may seem, there is no comparison to the kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, a kingdom which will never end.
So let's join Pastor John Monroe for today's lesson titled Kingdoms Rise and Fall. As a wee boy in Scotland, I learned about Daniel being in the den of lions. But there's much more to learn about Daniel. He's taken captive by King Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, who conquers Jerusalem and takes some of the elite of Israel back to Babylon as his prisoners. Although the Babylonians try to indoctrinate Daniel, he holds fast to his belief in the one true God.
He takes a stand for God. He honors God. And God honors him in that stand. And Daniel becomes known as a very wise, exceptional man of God.
So it's not surprising that when Nebuchadnezzar has disturbing dreams, he sends for Daniel. And in the purposes of God, Daniel gives the clear interpretation of the dreams. Let's learn more then of Daniel's interpretation of these visions. 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 thirty-one through thirty-five, the dream given. 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. His legs of iron. Its feet partly of iron and partly of clay.
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 became a great mountain and filled the whole Earth.
Now we have in verses thirty-six through forty-five the dream interpreted. Let's read verse thirty-six. Here is 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.
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 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. 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 its 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 thirty-four and forty-five, 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.
Look 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. which has become the cornerstone. Jesus Christ is presently The cornerstone of the church.
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.
So that his kingdom Fills the whole. Earth. Daniel is telling Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel two 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. We believe that the kingdom referred to in Daniel two, forty four and forty five is the kingdom which will be established when Christ returns with power and glory and crushes the kingdoms and the powers of this world. This kingdom will never end as the one year reign of Jesus Christ, what we call the millennium, will usher in the eternal state. Yes, there will be a future literal earthly reign of Jesus Christ on earth As king of kings and lord of lords, the millennial kingdom will follow the second coming of Jesus Christ.
and will be literally fulfilled by a one thousand year reign of Christ on earth. That is, Jesus returns prior to, pre the millennium. We are pre millennialists.
Now here are very quickly some reasons for believing That verses 44 and 45, this fifth and final kingdom, refer to the second coming of Christ and not his first coming. There are some who say this refers to his first coming. And I'm saying from our study of Scripture, no'. This refers to the second coming of Jesus Christ First, Christianity did not fill the whole earth at Christ's first coming. The kingdom of God has not yet verse thirty five filled the whole earth.
Look at the world today. Is Christianity worldwide? Answer no. Christ's first coming, it is true, took place in the days of the Roman Empire. But Rome did not have ten kings then.
The Roman Empire, furthermore, was not destroyed at Christ's first coming. The Roman Empire continued after the first coming of Jesus Christ. In fact, In AD seventy, the Romans destroyed Jerusalem. They desecrated the temple so that not one stone was left on top of another. and the Jewish nation was scattered for hundreds and hundreds of years.
The kingdom Represented by this stone can't be the church. The church of Jesus Christ is not a political entity. It has not caused the cataclysmic destruction of the Gentile kingdom. No, it is Christ. himself Personally, it is Christ who will smash in pieces the Gentile nations.
Remember Psalm 2, verse 9? You shall break them, referring to the nations, you shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. Not very politically correct, is it? But the word of God, all of the nations which oppose Christ Just as a potter takes a rod and smashes The part So is that wonderful prophecy in Psalm two that the coming Messiah Is going to smash all opposition into pieces. Another way of saying the same thing that we're learning in Daniel chapter 2.
Two. The church, therefore, is not the fifth kingdom. The phrase in verse thirty five fill the whole earth argues for an earthly aspect. for this kingdom. as does the fact that it replaces earthly kingdoms.
The The Millennial Kingdom is a kingdom on earth. as opposed to an our millennial view of the kingdom which is purely spiritual. The Church, contrary to the views of some, will not Christianise the world. Brothers and sisters, we by ourselves are not going to usher in the kingdom of God. Gods.
Not the church. We will set up his kingdom. and his kingdom As we see in Daniel 2, as we read in Revelation 19, his kingdom comes suddenly, not gradually. When the King of Kings returns defeats all of the kingdoms of this world. Christ as has been prophesied, will beat his enemy's swords into ploughshares.
The fact that this kingdom destroys earthly kingdoms indicates it has an earthly aspect. The fact that it endures forever emphasises that it has a heavenly aspect. The Millennial Kingdom will begin within space-time history on earth and then continue into the eternal state. That's the sequence of events in Revelation nineteen, twenty eight, twenty one and twenty two. Revelation nineteen, our Lord Jesus returns with power and might and smashes into pieces the opposing nations of the world.
Revelation twenty, the Millennial Kingdom. Revelation twenty one and twenty two the eternal state. Wonderful to know That God, as we've been learning, that God is in charge. We don't need to panic, we don't need to be fearful. God's kingdom.
is coming. It will come with great power. and glory.
Now the results of the dream Finally, the dreams' results Verses forty-six through forty nine. As Nebuchadnezzar hears, The interpretation, he's impressed and awed, but he's not converted. Verse 46. Then came King Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face. and paid homage to Daniel and and commanded that an offering and incense be offered up to him.
The king answered and said to Daniel, Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings, and the revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery. Although he is very impressed It doesn't lead to a personal relationship. With God, but Daniel is promoted and honoured. Verse 48. Then the king gave Daniel high honours.
and many great gifts. and made him ruler Over the whole province of Babylon, and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon. Daniel made a request of the king And he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the affairs of the province of Babylon. But Daniel remained at the king's court. What a great passage, isn't it?
Daniel chapter two. To me this is a very, very exciting study. Vernon Grounds, former President of Denver Seminary, tells the story of some seminary students. playing basketball in the nearby public school. And the elderly janitor waited patiently.
And every time the seminarians came, he waited patiently until they finished playing. And invariably, as he sat waiting, for the students to finish their game of basketball. He was reading his Bible. One day one of the students asked him what he was reading. The man answered, I'm reading the book of Revelation.
Surprise, they Young man. Perhaps a little patronizingly. After all, he's a seminary student, and we know they know everything. The young man asked. The elderly janitor.
If he understood the book of Revelation Oh, yes, the man assured him. I understand it. Seminary student was Bit surprised, he said, Well, what does it mean? Very quietly, the janitor answered, It means that Jesus is going to win. I like that.
We learn from Daniel too. But in spite of the tremendous opposition, of these terrible ungodly kingdoms like Babylon. Like the Medes, like the Persians, like the Greeks, like the Romans with all of their gods. that Jesus Jesus is going to win. And praise God, brothers and sisters, if we are believers in Jesus Christ, we are on the victory side.
I realize it doesn't always look like that. But as Paul says, if God be for us Is he? Of course he is. If God is for us, who can be against us? The kingdoms of this world Babylon, the Medes and the Persians, Greece, Rome All of the kingdoms of the world Them and more, they rise, they seem so powerful, they seem that they will never be defeated.
Think of The Third Reich. Think of the British Empire. Think of Communism, think of Marxism, think of the various Empires and kingdoms of this world in human history, all coming, all seem very, very powerful, all seeming unconquerable, whether it's Napoleon or whether it's Hitler. Whoever it is. They rise.
and inevitably they all fall. And I realize that some of the kingdoms of this world today, as I speak, seem very, very strong. Think of the rising kingdom of atheism, even in our own country. Think of the rise of the kingdom of militant Islam. the kingdom of secularism, the kingdom of materialism All of these kingdoms of spiritual darkness but like Babylon, like Medo Persia, like Greece, like Rome.
They will all fall. They will all be destroyed. And Daniel is saying. The scripture is attesting to this great truth yet future that the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory. of God.
And when Jesus Christ returns with power and glory. He will break in pieces all of the kingdoms of this world. and establish his kingdom which will never end. That kingdom will come suddenly, yes, like a thief in the night. Nothing, nothing.
And no one can stop him. Christ perhaps seemed like a little stone today. Perhaps ridiculed. Patronized by people saying, Well, he taught some great things. A great insight person, one who helps us in our way, in the path to enlightenment.
But it will be demonstrated. that he is no small stone. His kingdom is the all-powerful kingdom. It is an everlasting kingdom. And brothers and sisters, this is not science fiction.
This is fact. This is going to happen. The question I have for you is this. Are you seeking The kingdom of God. Remember Jesus said, Seek you first.
the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all of these things, these things we worry about, these things we panic about, these things that keep us awake at night, all of these things I'll take care of. But make sure you seek first the kingdom of God. Are you ready to meet the king? If the king were to come today, are you ready to meet the king? Have you received them into your heart and your life?
First of all, as your personal Saviour. Turning from your sins and looking to Jesus alone for salvation. That's why he came the first time. His name is Jesus. As we sang, what a mighty name.
Why is it so mighty? Because his name is Jesus, for he saves his people. from their sins. As Peter says, neither is there salvation in any other'. For there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must.
Must be saved. Why must we be saved? Why can't we worship some other God? Why can't we be part of another kingdom Because this kingdom is the only kingdom that will last forever. And Jesus himself said, unless you're born again, you will not see.
You will not even enter the kingdom of God. You must become like a little child and humble yourself and bow before me and acknowledge that you can't get to God by yourself. And that God, in His grace and in His great love, has come into time space. Dying our death, burying our sins, rising from the dead, demonstrating that He is God, that He is the cornerstone of the church. And that we in time He calls us to do what?
to bow before him. to acknowledge that he is the king. You find it difficult to hand over control? Isn't it smart to hand over control to the one who is in control? The one who is going to set up this kingdom which will never end today if you are here without Jesus Christ, will you trust him?
Will you believe in him? And brothers and sisters, those of us who claim to be followers of Christ, will we today, will we this moment afresh? Bow before him. If you're like me, you sometimes stray, don't you? And you get your eyes off the king.
You're perhaps trying to build your own little kingdom, and you forget who really is in charge, that he is the Lord of lords and king of kings, and afresh consecrate our lives, our resources, our all to that kingdom which will never end. Will you do that? He is coming back. And he's coming back soon. Therefore, love.
and seek And pray. And serve the king of kings and lord of lords, even as we say. Even so come. Lord Jesus. Father.
As we think of this great panorama, of human history, going right on into eternity, we are truly humbled. And we have to confess that, bizarre as it sounds, we sometimes try and build our own little kingdom. as if we can do better. Forgive us, Father. I thank you for this reminder that you are in Charge And that Jesus Christ is the only King of Kings and Lord of Lords afresh.
We bow, prostrate ourselves before our Saviour and our Lord and our King. And may all of us seek first the kingdom of God. And for those outside of Christ, open their eyes, Father, to see their sin and to see the wonder of Christ who loved them. and gave himself for them. We respond.
as we look forward to that great day. As we say, even so come. Lord Jesus. 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. Through this special resource, John shares his personal testimony, along with a careful examination of Scripture, to offer us clarity on matters of eternity. Get your copy today by visiting our website at theverdict.org.
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Now, here's Pastor John Monroe.
Well, what's your verdict? Aren't you fascinated by these dreams and interpretations? All of the kingdoms of this world, without exception, come and go. Make sure. You're part of the unending kingdom of God.
Jesus says that the kingdom of God is to be received as a little child. Today, come with humility to our Lord Jesus Christ. Trust Him as Lord and Savior of your life, and you will be part. of the kingdom of God. Join me next time when we meet Daniel and his three friends, Shadrick, Meshach, and Abednego.
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.
