 at chapter two today. Hopefully those of you who are aware of that have already gone through the chapter and are prepared. And as you look at this chapter, it's a long chapter, 49 verses. And we're having communion. I forgot that we're having communion. And so let's see how it goes, shall we? Beginning at verse one reading to verse three, Daniel chapter two. Now in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams and his spirit was so troubled that his sleep left him. Then the king gave the command to call the magicians, the astrologers, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king. And the king said to them, I have had a dream and my spirit is anxious to know the dream. Okay, so the second chapter, I'm going to give you some background, develop it so that as I flow through it with you, you'll have an idea of its flow of what it has to say to us and all. And I'll give you a little bit of information and then we'll just go through several verses at a time as we go through this chapter. Let me begin by saying the second chapter of the book of Daniel is one of the most famous chapters in the entire Bible because it records the most thorough picture of world history from 600 BC to the second coming of Christ. There's a writer, commentator passed by the name of H. A. Ironside. And H. A. Ironside in his lectures on Daniel said this. He said, I suppose it contains the most complete and yet the most simple prophetic picture that we have in all the word of God. And so this is a period of world history. This period of world history, for those of you who may be interested, I'll give you this very briefly, this period of history is referred to in Scripture as the times of the Gentiles. So what we're going to be looking at is related to that. The time of the Gentiles is the time that the Gentiles, the non-Jews, the Gentiles are going to dominate, but they dominate Israel. Somebody said the times of the Gentiles include all of the 70 weeks, the 490 years, of Daniel's prophecy found in Daniel 9, as well as the church age from Pentecost to the rapture, the seven year tribulation found in Daniel 70th week that is predicted in Daniel chapter 9 and explained in Revelation chapters 6 through 19. And so this is a time when the Gentiles are going to dominate Israel. So in this chapter we have two questions that are answered. What does the future hold for the nation of Israel and with the destruction of the temple, will Israel cease to exist as a nation? And so as we look at this, this begins to supply those kinds of answers. And so this particular event that we're looking at here, according to verses 1 through 3, occurs in the second full year of King Nebuchadnezzar's reign. That would be the third year of Daniel's captivity. And we see Daniel, who is now serving before the king, because remember he had gone through three years of training and his three years are now over. And now he is serving before the king, King Nebuchadnezzar. And as we just saw, the king has been having a series of very troubling dreams. He's upset. He cannot sleep. His dreams are about the future. We'll see that in verse 29. And they were so vivid that it left him agitated. So he's troubled. And when he was troubled, what did he do? Well, he's troubled. So he seeks help from his religion. You see, verses two and three say the king gave a command to call the magicians, astrologers, sorcerers, Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king and the king said to them, I've had a dream. My spirit is anxious to know the dream. And so this speaks concerning what would be called a class of men. And these people that are being referred to here are actually giving to us various aspects of the religion of Babylon. It speaks of the magicians. Notice that the word magician is a word that actually has, as it's a root word, a pen and a pen that you write within. And so the magicians are speaking of the scholars, those who are learned in writings, those who are learned in magic, as well as astrology. You also have the astrologers, those who study the stars to predict the future. It's also a word that speaks of an enchanter or conjurer. It can even speak of somebody who conducts exorcisms. It has sorcerers. The sorcerer of somebody is using drugs. They use potions. They had incantations. They practice witchcraft. And the word Chaldean there speaks of a priestly class. It's the highest level of the wise men in Babylon. So these are the ones that are called as religious instructors, those who are going to be sharing with him. He hopes an understanding of his dreams and why he's so troubled. And so verse three says that the king said to them, I have had a dream, my spirit's anxious to know the dream. So I'm very, very anxious. I haven't been able to sleep and I need some help. And seeing that you are the religious leaders here in my kingdom, naturally I'm calling on you to help me to understand what is taking place. And so all of this is something that we could see would be normal under societies such as the Babylonians. Well, verse four says the Chaldean spoke to the king in Aramaic. Aramaic is a language that was prominent during that day. And from this point on, until the end of chapter seven, the actual writings that you see, if we were to be looking at this in its original language, is in Aramaic. And so they're speaking to the king in this language, Aramaic. And this is what they say, oh king, live forever. Tell your servants to dream and we will give the interpretation. Notice they said that we will give the interpretation. Now, the Chaldeans address the king in typical Oriental courtesy, oh king, live forever. And then they say, well, tell us your dream. We'll give you the interpretation you desire, but notice what happens in verse five. The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, my decision is firm. If you do not make known the dream to me and its interpretation, you shall be cut in pieces and your houses shall be made an ash heap. That's kind of mean. Okay, my decision is firm. That phrase, and I'll just touch this for a moment. My decision is firm is a phrase that has been disputed. There are those who say that it's a way of saying I have forgotten the dream. But there are others who say that he doesn't completely trust them and their abilities. So he's saying, tell me the dream or you're going to die. He obviously doubts their accuracy. He's tired. He's cranky. He doubts their abilities. And so he says, no, I'm not going to tell you anything. You need to tell me now. In context, we need to remember that these people were commonly recognized as at experts in analyzing dreams. Now in the Old Testament, God occasionally communicated through dreams in numbers 12 verse six. It reads, he said, hear now my words. If there's a prophet among you, I, the Lord, make myself known to him in a vision. I speak to him in a dream. In the Old Testament, you will see that that on occasion, the Lord would communicate through the use of a dream. We have incidents in scripture when God used dreams to even speak to those who didn't know him to unbelievers. Remember, there was something that occurred in the life of Abraham, the father of the Jewish nation and his wife, Sarah. In Genesis 20, verses one through three, it says Abraham journeyed from there to the south and dwelt between Qadash and Shur and stayed in Gerar. Now Abraham said of Sarah, his wife, she's my sister, and a bimlic king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. But God came to a bimlic in a dream by night and he said to him, indeed, you're a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken for she is a man's wife. So you can see there were times in the Old Testament that the Lord would speak not only to his prophets, but he would also communicate on occasion to those who didn't know him. Well, in the case of this king, King Nebuchadnezzar, God has given him a dream and the dream has disturbed him. So he calls his dream analyst, if you will, he wants to find out what it means. And so they do what they normally do. They ask, well, what was the dream that we might interpret it for you? Well, it says in verse six, first he had said, I'm not going to let you know. And then in verse six, he says, however, if you tell the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts, rewards and great honor. Therefore, tell me the dream and its interpretation. Well, he's saying, listen, if you tell me the dream and you interpret it, I'm going to lavish upon you riches. But all you need to do is tell me what I dreamed. Well, they're not about to go for that. Verse seven, they answered again and said, I'll let the king tell his servants the dream and we'll give its interpretation. King answered and said, I know for certain that you would gain time because you see that my decisions firm. If you do not make known the dream to me, there's only one decree for you, for you have agreed to speak line and corrupt words before me till the time has changed. Therefore, tell me the dream and I shall know that you can give me its interpretation. So he demands, tell me the dream. Tell me the dream that'll that'll make me believe that you can give an interpretation. Because if you can tell me the dream, that that that lets me know that you can help. But if you can't, you're charlatans, you're phonies, and you're going to be executed immediately. Well, the Chaldeans verse 10 answered the king and said, that's not a man on earth who can tell the king's matter. Therefore, no king, lord or ruler has ever asked such things of any magician, astrologer or chaldean. It's a difficult thing that the king requests. And there's no other who can tell it to the king, except the gods whose dwelling is not with flesh. For this reason, the king was angry and very furious and gave the command to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. The decree went out. They began killing the wise men. They sought Daniel and his companions to kill them. And so they're confessing their obvious inability. We're limited. We can't do this. There's no way we can do this. We know who you are. You're the king. And we know what you can do. You can annihilate us. We're aware of that. But what you're asking is too hard for us. Now, it's interesting. In verse four, they had said, well, tell me the dreaming will give an interpretation. But now they're admitting that they really can't do such a thing. You see, this has never been requested before. And they're saying it's simply unfair. In verse 11, they say it's a difficult thing that the king requests. No human being on earth can fulfill a request like that. Only gods can do what you're asking. And we don't have contact with them. Now, God in his word has made it clear that he is the one who determines who speaks on his behalf. These people did not speak on his behalf. These people are false teachers. These are people who don't have a connection. They're even admitting it, even as they say what they're saying just now. There's not a man on earth. It's a difficult thing. There's no one who can tell the king this and all of that. And they said only the gods could do something like that. And they say in verse 11, whose dwelling is not with flesh, there's no human being on earth can do something like that. Well, again in scripture, God has made it clear that he's the one who determines who speaks on his behalf. In the book of Isaiah 47, 13, he says, you are wearied in the multitude of your councils. Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticator stand up and save you from what shall come upon you. You put your trust in the wrong things. You put your trust in something that cannot save you. You're thinking that people who have no connection to me, God was saying, are able to direct you in the footpaths that I would have you to walk. It doesn't work that way. You want to depend on these pagans? Well, go ahead and see if they can save you. And so the king is right. Why should such a thing be impossible for actual wise men? And so verses 12 and 13, tell us that the king is angry and he's furious and he gives command to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. The decree went out. They began killing the wise men and they sought Daniel and his companions to kill them because they can't obey his command. He begins rounding up the wise men of Babylon. Now, these wise men, my dad used to call them the wise guys, these wise men were centered in the city of Babylon. That would include Daniel and his friends. And what he's doing is he's rounding them up and he's going to hold them for public execution. So in verse 14, then with council and wisdom, Daniel answered Ariok, the captain of the king's guard who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon. He answered and said to Ariok, the king's captain, why is the decree from the king so urgent? Then Ariok made the decision known to Daniel. So Daniel went in and asked the king to give him time that he might tell the king the interpretation. Notice how I want to develop this for just a second because this is practical to us. Notice how Daniel answers. Now notice how the scripture says that it was with council and wisdom that Daniel answered Ariok. What does he do? He engages him in conversation. And he's asking a question, why is the king pressing this so quickly? Notice with me that instead of fearfully or angrily protesting, he speaks with respect. He actually initiates conversation. He uses discretion. He answers with calmness. He answers with wisdom. One of the things, if we speed this up and make it into a 21st century application, one of the things that the church needs to remember is that it's always wise for us to answer questions or to present our case with wisdom and with council. Whenever something happens that gets you upset, be very careful that you don't try and right a wrong by committing another wrong. Be very careful that you don't get so angry that even if your cause is just, people won't listen to you because you come off so harsh. It's very easy, especially in days like we're living in today when there are so many things that we can disagree with. And I think rightfully so, to be honest with you. But the way that we present ourselves sometimes can give the world the idea that we're mad at everybody all the time. I have a friend of mine who had kind of a quick temper and one of his friends one time walked up and said, you know, what is pastor so and so mad about today? I mean, he was known for always being angry about something or other. And I really believe, and this is a practical application, that we need to learn how to respond to things because sometimes we can get so so in the flesh or so angry, even have an indignation that is that is rooted in something that is right. It's right for us to be upset about something. But the way that we approach it, it just sometimes it doesn't work. One of the scriptures the Lord gave me a long time ago is Proverbs 1511. Proverbs 1511 says a soft answer turns away wrath, but harsh words stir up anger. A soft answer, a gentle answer. It has a way of creating an atmosphere where you can actually have a conversation and you can actually present your thoughts and your cause. Again, today it seems that there are many who would prefer just arguing. And for some it seems that there really aren't two sides of the situation. It's my side and yours doesn't matter. It's that old saying, you know, if I wanted your opinion, I would give you it. You know, it's that mentality that people can have today and they don't reason very well. Many don't seem to reason. Well, at least when I watch the news and I see the protests and the anger and the argumentation, it's like they're shouting past each other. They're angry and they're shouting past each other. Any married person in this room knows that gets you nowhere in relationships. I mean, if you try and raise your voice to out shout your mate, that's just not a way to be able to come to a reconciliation or to reach an agreement. And so it's wise to have a soft answer. And by the way, some of you have already discovered this. I have found this to be true and it's actually been demonstrated through various, in various seminars and all people will point this out, that when voices begin to raise, nobody's really listening. And one of the ways that over the years I've learned how to be able to communicate in a tense situation is instead of raising my voice, I lower it. When you lower your voice, they have to listen if they're planning on it. And when they do, you can actually turn the volume down. But if they raise theirs and you raise yours, you're going nowhere. So that may be a practical thing for some of you in this room who were so mean, but just teasing. So what is he doing here? He's asking for time. I need some time. Why is the decree verse 15? Why is the decree from the king so urgent? The word urgent can also be translated harsh. And so Daniel went in and asked the king to give him time. Verse 17, Daniel went to his house. Now notice this and made the decision known to Hananiah, Michelle, and Azariah, his companions whom we know by the names Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednagal. Remember, the names have been changed. And so he made the decision known to Hananiah, Michelle, and Azariah, his companions. Notice verse 18, that they might seek mercies from the God of heaven concerning the secret, so that Daniel and his companions might not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. And the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. So Daniel blessed the God of heaven. So notice what he did. He called a prayer meeting. And in the meeting, God gave them an answer. Jeremiah 33, 3, call unto me and I will answer thee and show thee great and mighty things which thou know as not. Call unto me and I'll answer you, and I'll reveal things to you. How does that come, Jeremiah? He said, well, God invited me to pray. And that's what they did. They took their need to the Lord. There are so many people who say, you know, we got to do something and when all else fails, we pray. But the best way to do it is to pray first and seek God's will and direction in that. It's not a cop out. It's wise. Daniel knows that they're going to lose their head. He knows that. They're already rounding them up. So what does he do? Does he argue with Ariah? No. He tells him, give me some time. He speaks and speaks and asks for time. And then he takes his friends and he says, we need to take this before God. We need to pray and seek the Lord. We need an answer and we need direction. And notice in verse 18, what they're doing, they're seeking the mercy of God and they were very specific in their prayer. And then verse 19 says the secret was revealed to Daniel in what is called a night vision. God gave him a night vision. What is a night vision? Well, it's obvious, you know, something happens at night, but it's a supernatural revelation. I was looking at the time and I'm thinking, I'm wasting time. I ought to make a decision, right? Give me a night vision. Oh God, should I? The Lord still communicates in various ways. I don't see anywhere in scripture that says that he still doesn't speak through dreams, communicate in that way in the last days. I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh and sons and daughters shall prophesy. And he says in your old men shall dream dreams. I do believe that the way for us to know the will of God will always be first and foremost the word of God always. God also in various times in various ways has communicated. He has used night visions and dreams. And he can do that before this church began. Before this church, I'll tell you a quick application of that. I was asleep. It was early in the morning. I was awakened. I know this sounds crazy. That's why I hesitate to say it, but it's take it for what it's worth. There was a glow in the room and it wasn't just my smile. I still remember I was on my left side and right in front of me. There were two young people in my room. They weren't my kids. Two young people. And I remember opening my eyes and saying, who are you and what are you doing in here? And they said, and believe us or not, you know, I, I hesitate to tell you this, but I'll tell you it. They said, we've been sent from the Lord to anoint you for the suffering that you're going to go through. I said, you're angels. And they said, yeah, well, one of them, they look like Mexican kids. So one was angel. The other was chewy. And as we, but they really did, I don't know why they appeared that way. I still to this day wouldn't know. All I know is that they say, we've come to anoint you for the suffering you're going to go through. And one of them reached over, touched my forehead. I still remember it was like yesterday, the warmth that went through my body. I awakened my wife, Marie sugar or angels in our room. And she goes, yeah, go to sleep. I didn't realize that that what had happened right after that, we went through, Marie and I began to go through something that was the most difficult thing I've ever gone through in my life. And I still remember how the Lord said, no, I'm going to be with you. And that's, I do believe that God can still do that. No, I'm not saying go to bed tonight and ask for a night vision. But the Lord has ways that he communicates. He always will communicate first and foremost by his word, by his spirit. But he can also in the old, he did it in the new, he did it and does it. He can also make known to us in various ways through angelic visitations. I have no doubt in my mind about that. Do I seek them? No. Do they happen? Well, that's a different story. Yes, they do. There are too many stories of, of people in Muslim countries who have had angelic visitations where they've come to faith in Christ and, and shared the gospel. There's just too many testimonies of those things occurring. Well, in this particular case, God gave him a night vision. Now, when we're going through the book of Job in chapter 33, those of you who traveled there with me might remember verses 14 through 16, where it says in Job 33, God may speak in one way or in another, yet man does not perceive it in a dream, in a vision of the night. When deep sleep falls upon men, while slumbering on their beds, he opens the ears of men and seals their instruction. And so what's happening is, is this is going to clarify for Daniel some things. Now in verse 20, it says Daniel answered and said, blessed be the name of God forever and ever for wisdom and might are his. He changes the times and the seasons. He removes kings and raises up kings. He, he gives wisdom to the wise, knowledge to those who have understanding. He reveals deep and secret things. He knows what is in the darkness and light dwells with him. I thank you and praise you, O God of my fathers. You have given me wisdom and might you and have, and have now made known to me what we asked of you, for you have made known to us the king's demand. So he immediately goes into praise and he says, thank you, God for answering. Thank you for giving me the dream as well as an understanding of it. The, the wise men were not able to know such things, but, but God, you granted me this and, and I now know. Notice in verse 21, how it says he changes the times and seasons. He, he removes kings and raises up kings. He's in charge of history. He's in charge of who has authority. And what he's doing is he's acknowledging the sovereignty of God, a God who is greater than any king. And then he goes on in verse 24. Therefore, Daniel went to Ariach whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said thus to him, do not destroy the wise men of Babylon. Take me before the king and I will tell the king the interpretation. Then Ariach quickly brought Daniel before the king and said thus to him, I have found a man of the captives of Judah who will make known to the king the interpretation. The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Baltic czar. Are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen in its interpretation? And Daniel answered in the presence of the king and said the secret which the king has demanded, the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians and soothsayers cannot declare to the king, but there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream and the visions of your head upon your bed were these. And so he begins to respond. He begins to answer. Daniel knows that God has given him the dream and its interpretation. It's interesting here in verse 25. I want to point this out briefly, but notice this with me in verse 25. Notice how it says, Ariach quickly brought Daniel before the king and said thus to him, listen to this. I have found a man of the captives of Judah. I have. Oh really. He takes the credit. I know no politicians ever take credit for something somebody else did. I realize that, but isn't this interesting? This is so common even to this day. He takes the credit. I have found a man. I want the reward, whatever it may be. And so in verse 26, the king answered and said to Daniel, are you able? Well, that gives Daniel opportunity. He has an opportunity here, by the way, of either stealing the glory from God and taking credit or to give the glory to God. And he refuses to take the glory from God. It says in verse 27 and 28 that he answered in the presence of the king. And he says, listen, this knowledge I have did not come in a natural way. This is a knowledge that I can share with you that has actually been given to me by God. This has been revealed to me by God. He doesn't take any of the glory. And then he says in verse 28, there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets and he has made known to king Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days your dream and the visions of your head upon your bed were these. These are things that will be notices in verse 28, the phrase in the latter days. This pertains to what happens when the God of Israel will establish his future kingdom. This is a prophetic vision. And so in verse 29, as for you, old king, thoughts came to your mind while on your bed about what would come to pass after this. And he who reveals secrets has made known to you what will be. But as for me, this secret has not been revealed to me because I have more wisdom than anyone living. But for our sakes who make known the interpretation to the king and that you may know the thoughts of your heart, you old king were watching, and behold, a great image, this great image whose splendor was excellent stood before you, and its form was awesome. This image's head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. You watch while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, broke them in pieces. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were crushed together and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors. The wind carried them away so that no trace of them was found. And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. Can you imagine? Nebuchadnezzar's listening to him as he's describing something that only God would really know because the king himself may very well have forgotten that, or he had hidden that knowledge from others so that the true person who could do that would be exposed by being able to tell him all of that. So this is what he's saying to him, in your dream, God has made known what will be. He said that in verse 29. This understanding was given because of God's mercy and not by my own efforts. Why is that? Well, according to 1 Corinthians 129, so that no flesh should glory in his presence. So this has been given. It wasn't my effort. It wasn't my wisdom. It wasn't anything about me. This was given from God, so that God would be exalted. And so he says in verse 29 to 35, this is what came to your mind. You see, in your dream, God is made known to you what will be, and he has revealed a panorama of history. And what he did is he did so through an image that was made up of various metals. When you look at these metals and you look at them clearly, notice in verse 32, the image's head was fine gold, its chest was silver, belly and thighs bronze, legs of iron, feet partly of iron, partly of clay, ceramic. And so what you have here is you have a progressive picture of metals that are inferior, starting from gold and going all the way down to something of very little value. And what that's intended to do is to reveal the quality of the kingdoms that men can establish. What we're going to see is the metals will be revealed as empires that will one day arise. And these ruling nations are going to be seen more clearly. And I'm going to be very careful not to spend time with you about it here, because we're going to see it more clearly in chapter 7, 8, as well as chapter 11. But these are progressive nations that will arise. And so what he's doing here is he's beginning to give him the sense of what took place. And so in verse 36, he says, this is the dream. Now we will tell the interpretation of it before the king. You, O king, are a king of kings. For the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength and glory. Wherever the children of men dwell or the beasts of the field and birds of heaven, he's given them into your hand and has made you ruler over them all. You are the head of gold. But after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours than another, a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. The fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron in as much as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything. And like iron that crushes that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others. Whereas you saw the feet and toes partly of potter's clay, partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided. Yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay. And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron, partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, partly fragile. As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men, but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay. And in the days of these kings, the God of heaven will set up kingdom, a kingdom which shall never be destroyed. And the kingdom shall not be left to other people. It shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. In as much as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces, the iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold, the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, its interpretation is sure. So we are being introduced to the kingdoms that will be progressive over time. Later we will receive more detail, but notice this, the image is that of a man. Verses 37 and 38 tell us that Babylon is the head of gold. Babylon ruled from 605 to 538 BC and had absolute authority. Verse 39, the first portion speaks of another kingdom. It's what is called the Medo Persian. It's the chest and arms of silver. They overwhelmed and took Babylon in 538 and ruled until 330 BC. We're going to be looking all of this in a little more detail, but they were not ruling by absolute authority because they are bound by their own laws. In verse 39 also we see another kingdom. It's the kingdom of Greece. It's bronze, and it ruled from 330 to 30 BC. They conquered the Medo Persians under Alexander the Great. It was called a military aristocracy. And then you have verse 40, you have Rome, legs of iron and feet that are a mixture of iron and clay. Rome was an empire that was bound by law and it practiced religious worship to Caesar. Rome's military strength was famous for its ability to crush all resistance with an iron heel. So what he's giving to us, and I'm doing this on purpose, I'm going to give you more detail as we go through, especially when we get into chapter seven and a couple of other after that. I'll give more detail about it. I just want to touch on this a little with you. He's just giving the vision of progressive kingdoms and he's pointing out that Nebuchadnezzar is the head of gold, the authority. But there'll be other kingdoms that come out from underneath after you, Medo Persia, Greece and Rome. So he says in verses 41 and through 43, you saw the feet and toes, they were a potter's clay and partly of iron. Well, this is a kingdom that will be a mixture. It will have strength and it will have weakness. And the final form of this kingdom, according to verse 43, will include diverse elements, various things like race and political parties and sectional interests, cultural diversities. And these things will prevent the final form of the kingdom from having unity. When the kingdom and the kingdom of Rome, the Roman Empire did this and I'm really hesitating. I don't want to go into this because we have communion in a few minutes. Rome splintered from within. Rome ceased having unity. It didn't have anything that held it together because when Rome conquered, Rome would bring into its military the various militaries in the places it conquered. So if it conquered Greece, they'd have Greek soldiers. If it went into Europe, whatever places in Europe that they went and conquered, they would get soldiers from the various places that they went into. And these soldiers continued to identify themselves by their native language, customs, and religions to the degree that there was no agreement amongst them. And ultimately what happened, instead of being unified as a single military of Rome, it diversified into a variety of camps that had no unity. And in the division because of my language, because of my culture, because of my religion, because of these things, it ended up fragmenting. And when Rome ultimately did fall, it fell because it first decayed from within. The rise and fall of the Roman Empire has been written by Gibbons, I believe, and it's a huge book and everything. But it actually outlines so many things that if you were to read even some of the things that he points out that ended up with the destruction of Rome in its fall, there are things that you right now, if you look around your own nation, you'll see them. They're evident right now. Jesus said it this way. He said a house that is divided cannot stand. No house can stand if it's not united. And what we have is a snapshot. Again, we're going to look at this in more detail. But this is what's happening. You're saying these are the progressive kingdoms. It starts out with absolute authority with Babylon. I mean, you saw the king saying, I'm just going to cut you up and burn you up. He didn't even think about it. He didn't have anybody to talk to. But you go to the Middle Persians, you go to the Greece, you go to the Romans, and they had different forms of government. And so what happened is they ultimately ended up with disunity. And at the end times, you'll be seeing the same kind of thing. And so I'll just leave that there and move in. Now, the 10 toes represent a prophetic overview. That represents the last form of the Roman Empire. And the last form of the Roman Empire will have 10 nations. He says in verse 44, in the days of these kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed. The kingdom shall not be left to other people. It shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. In as much as you saw that the stone was cut out, the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces, the iron, bronze, clay, silver, gold, the great God is made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain. Its interpretation is sure. This is a prophetic picture of Jesus Christ, the Messiah. It's a picture of the second coming of Christ. It's a picture of the final defeat of the Gentile world powers. It's the kingdom of God. It's the kingdom of his Christ. It's Jesus that is the stone that crushes all opposition to the rule of God. Remember in Luke chapter 20, verses 17 and 18, it says, Jesus looked at them and said, what then is this that is written? The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. Whoever falls on that stone will be broken, but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder. So this is a picture of Christ. And Revelation 19 as we saw recently, verse 11 following, gives us a more firm picture of the second coming. Well, he's given him a picture of the future. And so in verse 46, and I'll read this and touch it and then close, King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face and broke his nose. No, he fell on his face, prostrate before Daniel and commanded that they should present an offering and incense to him. The king answered Daniel and said, truly, your God is the God of gods, the Lord of kings and a revealer of secrets. Since you could reveal the secret, the king promoted Daniel and gave him many great gifts. He made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, the chief and chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon. And Daniel petitioned the king and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the affairs of the province of Babylon. But Daniel sat at the gate of the king. He gave him great honors, the picture here. And we'll close with a couple of thoughts that I think are very practical. I want you to notice that Daniel didn't seek this position. He didn't attempt to become such a prominent man. Daniel did not seek glory from man and he did not seek a position to exalt himself. Daniel, this is a key, Daniel was placed there by God. And because God placed Daniel there, Daniel was able to do good for his people. In Psalm 75, six and seven, it says, no one from the east or the west or from the desert can exalt themselves. It is God who judges. He brings one down. He exalts another. Daniel did not seek greatness for himself. Daniel was faithful to God, fell on his face before the Lord said, God show us mercy. And God did. A second thing, notice that he spoke on behalf of his friends because Daniel and his friends together had united in prayer seeking the Lord. Now, the friends are given certain kinds of honors, but they're not given honor equal to Daniel. Daniel became a counselor to the king and he was put in a position. Daniel was made a servant of the court and he served with authority. He was the king's counselor, but he didn't forget those who were with him. And if there's anything that I've seen, and I'll say it from a, from a ministerial perspective that I, that I have seen in the past that, that we need to remember this lesson from Daniel is that sometimes when a pastor has been given a position, they forget about those who are with them and helping them to achieve those things. We always need to remember who we were and how we got to where we are. That is such an important principle. Never forget where you were and never forget who helped you and never forget to give glory to God, but always be a blessing to those who are united with you so that you someday could hold a position of influence. But they also shared because they were there with you in ministry. I say it like this in ministry, 40 years and people keep, keep, keep saying to me, oh, how does it feel 40 years of ministry in the church? It's very easy. I can say it very quickly. I didn't do it. I didn't do it by myself. God has been gracious to the whole time. He's always brought people who wanted to serve him. And all I've ever had to do is get out of the way and let God use them and to give them thanks for what they've done and never forget them and to love them and to be appreciative of them. And I know that beyond a shadow of a doubt. Nobody receives a position unless God gives it to him, unless he's got selfish ambition and fights to get it. And if he does, he ends up hurting for it. But when God puts you in a position, you never forget who were with you, who were alongside of you, and you want them to be blessed to. And that's what happened with Daniel. His friends prayed with him. He remembered his friends. Let's remember ours. Father, we ask that you would work in us to that end. We ask that you would always remind us that you're the one who puts one person here and puts the other there. This is an abbreviated study. I realize, Lord, but we look forward to seeing more as we go through this book. And I ask, Lord, that we, your church, that we would realize the days that we're living in and that, Lord, we would be faithful to you. And even as our eyes are closed and our heads are bowed, there may be some in this room right now, the Holy Spirit is speaking to. And perhaps the Lord is speaking to you in one way or another recently that you need to get right with him. In a moment, we're going to be taken of communion. And it's of utmost importance that you're in right standing with the Lord. And so I would ask, if you need to get right with him even right now, if you don't know him and you need to come to know him, to know this God that Daniel served through Jesus Christ, this is your opportunity to give your life to him, to ask God to forgive you or to return to him or just to yield yourself to him. And if you need prayer right now for that, I want to pray for you. Would you raise your hand and let me pray for you right where you're at? Father, you see these hands. You know the reason why they're being raised to you right now. Lord, I ask that their hearts as they're opening to you, Lord, as they're purified by your blood that they would just even now sense your presence in a beautiful way. So Father, we open up to you now and we ask, Lord, that you would just fill with your presence. Thank you, Lord, for your forgiveness and we will follow you and we bless you. You can put your hands down and Jesus, please keep moving in us to your glory in your name. Amen.