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Bro. Bill Nichols
We've got this set up, but I know I know this is not right.
Yeah, I don't know how to I don't hide even works.
We've borrowed them and then forgot to bring them back was the problem.
If you undo that black one, it'll let it turn like that.
Try to put it in wrong wasn't I?
Because I need I knew it needed to tilt up.
So they wouldn't fall out.
It's okay.
It's okay there I can see past it.
It may be just a tiny bit that way.
It's it's okay.
It's okay there.
I can see past it.
Get it out of my field of vision.
I think that still is.
I think that's still going to pick it up good.
Okay, I guess we can get started we're going to Begin today with the
fourth chapter of Daniel.
But before we do I'd like to take a moment for prayer most gracious Heavenly Father.
Thank you for giving us this place where we might come together and worship you.
Thank you for giving us this time and Thank you for giving us your Holy Scripture.
Also, thank you for your Holy Spirit that you gave us to help us to understand the
scripture and to understand the messages.
That you want to give each one of us, but most of all thank you for your son that you gave to come into this world
to redeem us from our sin.
Thank you.
Go through the day with us.
Go through those other services in Jesus name.
We pray Amen.
Okay, I see two more people just walking in right now, so I'm gonna wait a second.
Well, I thought I saw Ron and his wife, but Okay so
Okay, so I'll go ahead and get started.
I'm not going to say anything really important up front anyhow.
What's going to follow is in Daniel chapter 4 is a first
person account written by a Gentile King and Attached
to the book of Daniel as part of the inspired or God breathed
Scripture that in it's in and of itself is an interesting thing.
That part of the Bible was written by Gentile King attached
to the scripture as part of the inspired Word of God.
What do you think God can speak through a Gentile if God can speak
through a donkey?
He can speak through a Gentile.
I like that.
What we want to read is an account written eight years after Daniel
interpreted Nebuchadnezzar's second dream
it was written I believe to praise the God that he has finally come to realize is the only true
God as We start out this chapter.
You want to see that Nebuchadnezzar is still in the place where he identifies God as
Daniel's God.
But he's going to come to a place when he identifies God as the one true God
the God that he has heretofore Referred to as the God of Daniel of Shadrach
Meshach and Abednego.
So here is verse 1.
Nebuchadnezzar the king unto all people nations and languages.
That dwell in all the earth peace be multiplied unto you.
I Thought it good to show the signs and wonders that the high God hath wrought toward me.
Nebuchadnezzar begins and ends his experience in chapter 4 by praising God.
We will of course look at the beginning first and we'll look at the end later.
He goes on to say how great are his signs?
How mighty are his wonders?
His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom and his dominion is from generation to
generation.
Now if you remember back in chapter 2, I believe it was Nebuchadnezzar had a
dream and he had a dream of a giant statue and
the statues head was of gold and his Breast was of silver and his torso was of
brass and his legs of iron and his feet are mixed with clay and that
Troubles Nebuchadnezzar and he tried to get his soothsayers and his wise men
to interpret the dream.
But he first of all made them tell him the dream.
Now out of that this is what Nebuchadnezzar got.
He got the understanding that he was the superior of all the Kingdoms
he was.
They had a gold so he made a statue of himself.
He made a statue all the way gold all the way from the head to the foot.
He understood the part about the gold.
He didn't understand the part about the silver and the brass and the iron and the iron mixed with clay.
He just let that pass right over him and Then he decided that he since he was a chief
chief King that he was higher than God himself.
And so he made or attempted to make all of his subjects Bow down and worship it.
Well, most of them did but three didn't.
Shadrach Meshach and Abednego didn't so he'd had him tossed into the fiery furnace and
Succeeded in burning off the ropes and killing his
top four or five Captains who were the ones that threw him into the fire.
Well, we did that before.
He never quite got the idea that his kingdom would not last
forever.
Well at this point He says how great are his signs
talking about the high God and how mighty are his wonders.
His kingdom Is an everlasting kingdom and his dominion
is from generation to generation.
This is a tacit recognition that it's only the kingdom of God that is everlasting.
Not he is.
There's an end to his kingdom.
He knows that now at the time he's writing This
chapter.
He didn't know that at the beginning of the chapters or you can see you can see kind of how he grows Through the course of
this eight years.
He didn't grow much in the first years you'll see I Nebuchadnezzar was at rest in
my house and flourishing in my palace.
All seems well with Nebuchadnezzar.
But not but all was not as it seemed.
I saw a dream which made me afraid and The thoughts upon my bed and the vision of
my head troubled me.
And as I said before you recall in chapter 2 Nebuchadnezzar was disturbed by the dream with the
statue made with four metals.
He used that dream to test his soothsayers and To get a glimpse at
his future and at the that of the kingdoms that would follow his.
But as much as the first dream troubled him this one was even more troublesome.
Whereas the first dream laid out the five earthly kingdoms That were established prior to
their being all destroyed and replaced by the millennial kingdom.
Implying that all the kingdoms would come to an end.
This dream including Nebuchadnezzar's this dream focuses on the specific troubles
that Nebuchadnezzar will have in his Coming years in his
kingdom before it falls.
So this is what's worrying.
Therefore I made a decree To bring all the wise men of Babylon before me that they might make
known unto me the interpretation of the dream.
Well, he's not totally given up on the wise men has he He sent for them.
He had no success last time.
They couldn't even tell him what the dream was.
But he brings them in and Then came in the magicians the astrologers the
Chaldeans and the soothsayers and I told them the dream.
But they did not make known unto me the interpretation thereof and why didn't they?
This time they knew the dream.
Why didn't they make the interpretation known?
Okay, they couldn't.
But as we as we read through this Dream I
Could have made an interpretation of it.
Daniel's well, no, no, no, no, and you all will too before we get through I'm gonna say I'm gonna ask you
What do you think this is talking about?
And you're gonna say this is Nebuchadnezzar and what do you think's gonna happen to him?
He's gonna be cut down and What else is gonna happen?
Well, he won't be totally cut down.
There'll be a stump left.
You you you you'll go through and you'll be able to Imagine the dream so if it
wasn't the fact that they couldn't make up a story.
Yes, I
Think that's exactly the case.
I think this time he told him the dream they said Nebuchadnezzar, why don't you why
don't you know what this dream means even we do.
They don't want to say that they don't want to say what's gonna happen because Even Daniel was
brought bothered as you'll see.
But you're absolutely right.
I think and when when I tell you something like that, it's my fault not reality.
This time he told them the dream and they still did not interpret it
Verse 8 but at last Daniel came in before me whose name was Belteshazzar according to
the name of my God in Whom is the spirit of the Holy Gods?
Now I want to get back to Nebuchadnezzar in his dream in just a minute, but I couldn't help.
I couldn't pass this.
Without going on a rabbit trail.
You might notice that he still identifies Bale as his God.
Yet he recognizes that there is something different and special about Daniel and
his God.
I'd like to spend a couple of minutes considering the concept of my God.
Have you ever heard once someone say my God would or would not do something?
Can you give me an example?
My God would not destined all sinners to go to hell and be there forever.
I've heard that My God is a loving God.
He hates no one.
He does hate one.
But that's your God.
That's not.
Well, let me say That's the God that's not your God.
He hates the workers of iniquity, but my God wouldn't hate the workers of iniquity.
My God would love the Sinners and hate the sin.
That's what my God would do.
That's a God of my creation.
My God would do exactly what I want him to do because I created him.
They are 100 accurate their God would always do exactly what they wish it
wish him to do.
Because he is their God a God they created.
It is not the God who created them.
I Couldn't say that like I tried with mrs. Mitchell.
I tried to say Not your God, but If your God
is the God then your God is the God.
But if your God is the God of your creation your God is the God that belongs to you.
He belongs to you rather than you belonging to him and maybe that's a better way to say it,
but there is an issue.
We hope that sometime Those people that say my God would or my God would not do this
thing.
That they will come to the point in their understanding.
That they like Nebuchadnezzar might say this.
I'm gonna look down in Daniel 4 to verse 34.
If you want to pick this up, I'm gonna leave out two words.
I Lifted up my eyes unto heaven and my understanding returned unto
me.
I Bless the Most High and I praised and honored him that liveth forever
whose dominion is an everlasting dominion and his kingdom is from generation to
generation and all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing and he
doeth according to his will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth and
None can stay his hand or say unto him what doest thou?
We're going to get to that passage today.
But right now we're still way at the beginning in verse 8.
So if you'll go back to verse 8, I'll reread it and then we'll pick up with what the king is going to tell
Daniel.
But at last Daniel came in before me whose name was built to shazer according to the name of my God
and Who is the spirit of the Holy Gods and before him?
I told the dream saying Oh Belta sazer Master of the magicians because I
know That the spirit of the Holy God is in thee and no secret trouble of
thee.
Tell me the vision of my dream that I have seen and the interpretation thereof.
You said he's no longer testing Daniel.
Nor is he testing the wise men.
He knows who's who He tells the dream and he only asked for the rebel before the interpretation.
So here's the dream.
Thus were the vision of my head in my bed.
I saw and behold a tree in the midst of the earth and the height thereof was great and
the tree grew and was strong and the height thereof reached into the heavens and
the sight thereof to the end of all the earth.
The leaves thereof were fair and the fruit thereof much and in it was meat
for all the beast of the field had shadow under it and the foul of
the heaven dwelt in the bowels thereof and All flesh was fed of it.
And I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed and behold a watcher and a holy one
came down from heaven.
He cried aloud and said thus you down the tree and cut off the branches.
Shake off his leaves and scatter his fruit.
Let the beast get away from under it and the fowls from his branches nevertheless
Leave the stump of his roots in the earth.
Even with a band of iron and brass in the tender grass of the field.
Let it be wet with the dew of heaven and let his portion be with the beast in the grass of the earth.
Let his heart be changed from man's and let the beast heart be given unto him.
Let seven times pass over him.
This matter is by the decree of the Watchers and The demand by the Word of the Holy
Ones to the intent that the living man living may know that the Most High ruleth
in the kingdom of men and giveth it and giveth it to Whomsoever he will and
set up Over it the basis of men.
This dream I and Nebuchadnezzar have seen.
Now O Belteshazzar declare the interpretation thereof.
For as much as all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known unto me the
interpretation.
But thou art able for the Spirit of the Holy Gods is in thee.
Now I read through all of his statement now for
verse 19.
Then Daniel whose name was Belteshazzar was astonished for an hour and his
thoughts troubled him and the king spake and said Belteshazzar let not the
dream nor the interpretation thereof trouble thee.
And Belteshazzar answered and said my lord the dream be to them that
hate thee and the interpretation thereof to thine enemies.
So what did he tell.
What did he tell the king then if you think I'm troubled?
I'm not troubled by not being able to interpret the dream.
I am troubled by what is the substance of the dream what you're dreaming about?
King is probably exactly what you think it is.
But it's a dream that would be relished and enjoyed by your enemies not by your friends.
I have no pleasure in telling you this dream.
That's what I think he's saying there.
So now he goes on the king has given him permission and said don't worry about what the interpretation is.
He has a suspicion that it's not going to be a good interpretation.
Nebuchadnezzar does the tree that thou sawest which grew and was strong and
Whose height reached into the heaven and the sight thereof?
Unto all the earth.
Well, who do you think that is?
Who do you think who do you think is represented by the tree?
Nebuchadnezzar and his kingdom whose leaves are fair and the fruit thereof much and
In it was meat for all and under which the beast of the fields dwelt and upon the branches the
fowls of the heaven had their habitation.
So now he's going to tell him verse 22.
It is thou O King that hath grown strong and become
that hath that are grown and becomes Strong for thy greatness is grown and it
reaches unto heaven and that dominion to the ends of the earth.
King.
You are ruling the entirety of the earth.
You have grown grown strong
and great you are the tree.
And whereas the king saw a watcher and a holy one come down from heaven and say
Hugh Hugh the tree down and destroy it yet leave the stump of the roots
thereof in the earth.
Even with a band of iron and brass in the tender grass of the field and let it be wet with the dew of heaven.
And let his portion be with the beast of the field till seven times pass over thee.
So Who's the watcher
the king?
Saw a watcher and a holy one come down from heaven.
Saying Hugh down the tree and destroy it.
Who do you think the watcher is?
Either God himself.
God as a as a Theophany or a
holy angel.
At least it's an agent bringing the message of God from God to Nebuchadnezzar.
And he gave it to him in his dream.
So it the watchers an angel and the angel takes part a
Messenger and the messenger takes part in God's judgment of
Nebuchadnezzar.
So what's the stump?
What does the stump tell us?
I'm sorry.
Oh, it very well could have been the same angel in the fire.
Yes, indeed Nebuchadnezzar identified it as the Son of God.
We weren't quite able to definitively say it's Jesus a Theophany or it
is just a holy angel, but we know one of two things.
It's either an angel or it might even be the Son of God himself.
So that's who the watcher is that's who the angel is.
Probably the same angel.
But what does the stump indicate to us?
It wasn't totally destroyed.
The tree was cut down, but there was some of it left.
There's a remnant left of His kingdom.
The kingdom is not totally destroyed.
There's a there's a remnant of it left.
The stump indicates That the king will be brought down for a period of
time probably seven years.
The seven times.
We're not definitively sure that seven times means seven years.
But it probably does.
Daniel uses the word times a lot of time in the book of Daniel.
To represent a year and we'll get to that later on and this is the first Use of that word
to indicate a period of time being a year.
So it's probably seven years sir, his hair and nails
had to have time to grow during that seven years.
Yes.
The bend of the bend of iron and brass is a guarantee.
It's a guarantee that after the prescribed time of years His kingdom
will be restored to him.
So the tree is cut down.
The the kingdom is scattered.
But There's a remnant that remains.
It's not totally destroyed.
After seven years, it's going to be restored to him.
Now.
It's probable and I don't have any indication that That this is the case.
I want to lay it up front.
This is my speculation entirely.
Who do you think looked out for the king?
While he was running around for seven years out in the field eating grass.
Okay, God, we know that God did.
Did you think God assigned anybody to watch over.
I think it was probably Daniel.
I Think probably all these other soothsayers are running around.
They would have been glad to see Nebuchadnezzar go and be replaced but somebody
Watched over him.
Well, we know that God did.
And probably Daniel did as well.
Verse 24.
This is the interpretation O king and this is the decree of the Most High which has come upon
my Lord The king so he said okay.
This is what it said.
You're going to be cut down.
You're not going to your kingdom will be Damaged it will not be totally destroyed.
It will be preserved and after a period of time.
It will be restored to you.
That's what's going to happen.
That's the decree.
Oh king of the Most High.
That is the decree of God and it will come upon my Lord the king
that they shall drive thee from men and thy dwelling shall be with the beast of the field and there shall make
thee to eat grass as oxen and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven and Seven
times shall pass over thee till thou know The Most High ruleth the kingdom of
men and giveth it to whomsoever.
He will.
So what's he going to recognize?
He's going to recognize At the end of this seven -year period that it is not his power
That preserves him.
It's not his strength that sustains him.
It's not he that seized the Empire it was God that gave it to him and
He will give the kingdom to whomsoever.
He wishes and they'll come a time when it no longer belong to you and yours so it
at the end of this Seven -year period Nebuchadnezzar knows that his time
on earth is limited and his kingdom on earth is limited as well and
Whereas they commended to leave the stump of the tree roots thy kingdom shall be sure unto
What does that mean?
The kingdom shall be sure unto thee.
It'll be restored to you.
Your kingdom will be given back to you.
After that thou shall have known that the heavens do rule.
So at some point in time, he's going to know who is in charge of everything.
It is not he Even though he built a statue to himself of solid go off
at least covered entirely with gold and Had his servants worship him and
Proclaimed that he was Eternal because see his statue went all
the way from the top the golden statue that he built.
He didn't stop here and make it silver.
He kept on going he didn't even stop at the little toes and making Clay he
went all the way from the top to the bottom gold.
He said to God when he put that statue up.
My kingdom will last forever and God
said no your kingdom will only go to here and then it'll be taken over and
That kingdom will only last a year and it will be taken over and the following kingdom and the following kingdom and in
the end They will all be destroyed and there will only be one remain and that will be the kingdom of
Jesus Christ.
That's what he told them.
So what he's saying the kingdom will be sure to thee after a period of judgment.
The king will be restored To power so then Daniel gives him some
advice.
Have any of you ever been given good advice?
That you didn't take.
Well, that's what Nebuchadnezzar got good advice that he didn't take.
So is it?
Okay King wherefore O King let thy count let my counsel be acceptable
unto thee and break off thy sins by righteousness and that
iniquity by showing mercy to the poor if It may be a lengthening of
thy tranquility Doesn't necessarily had to be
eight years worth of misery.
Mr. King You can postpone it
had he heeded Daniel's advice.
Things might have been different for him.
So this is a warning, but it's a warning for Nebuchadnezzar that he does not heed.
All this came upon the king Nebuchadnezzar.
So he walks around
For a year at the end of 12 months.
He walked in the palace of the king of the kingdom of Babylon.
At the end of the 12 at the end of 12 months.
He walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon.
One year after the dream was interpreted and the king spake and
said Is not this great Babylon?
That I have built For the house of the kingdom by the
might of my power and for the honor of my majesty.
Now I might ask you Whose might power and honor were really
on display with this?
Establishment of this mighty Babylon.
Was it Nebuchadnezzar's power.
Whose power was it?
It was God's power.
God gave him the kingdom.
God made it strong.
God made it what it was but
It's going to.
While the word was still in the king's mouth There fell a voice from heaven saying
Okim Nebuchadnezzar To thee it is spoken.
Thy kingdom is departed from thee.
What the voice is saying is.
Now we see what real power and what real might you have.
And what will that be?
Not even enough to refrain from eating grass
they shall drive thee from men and Thy dwelling shall be with the beast of the field and
they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen and.
And Seven times shall pass over thee till thou know that the most high
Ruleth in the kingdom of men and giveth it to whomsoever.
So he's saying to Nebuchadnezzar what you have Is what God
gives you and you have it for whatever time he gives it to you.
When he chooses he can give and when he chooses he can take
the same hour.
The thing was fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar and He was driven from men and did eat grass
as oxen and his body was wet with the dew of heaven.
Till his hairs were grown like eagles feathers and his nails like bird
claws.
That's exactly what he dreamed.
But that dream didn't last forever.
Did it?
It lasted for just exactly as long as the Lord said it would last.
It lasted for seven more years and at the end of the
days, I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes
Unto heaven and my understanding returned unto me and I blessed
the Most High and I praised and honored him that liveth forever.
Whose dominion is an everlasting dominion and His kingdom is from generation
to generation.
Now we read that just a minute ago and all the inhabitants of
the earth are reputed as nothing and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven
and among the inhabitants of the earth and None can stay his hand
or say to him what doest thou?
So what happens at the same time?
My reason returned unto me
and for the glory of my kingdom and my honor and Brightness
returned to me and my counselors and my Lords sought unto me and I was
established in my Kingdom and excellent majesty was added to me.
So now he is actually in better condition than he was before.
What's the difference in his condition now than before the dream?
He knows who he got all of his stuff back.
He got all of his honor back.
He got all of his advisors back.
He got all of his kingdom back.
But now he understands one thing.
He understands the source of it.
He understands how he got it.
And now at the end we have his final statement of praise and
I nebuchadnezzar praise and exalt and honor the king of heaven.
All whose works are truth and his ways judgment and those that walk
in Pride he is able to abase.
So he's saying Don't be too prideful.
Don't be too excited about what you can do about what your accomplishments are.
They belong to God.
Now that is the last verse in chapter 4 and went quicker than I expected.
But we can have a short discussion if you wish.
One does not mock God and get away with it.
That's entirely true.
I didn't know that.
Not even God could sink the Titanic.
There is no I in God.
I think I think that this is the point where he
Understood his Master.
Like there comes a time when we understand what our master is.
Brother, Otis will always say there comes a time when you're informed and
There comes a time when you know who your master is.
If you're if you belong to God, he's always your master by the way if you don't belong to God
He's your master anyhow.
Because that Satan Satan is your direct master, but Satan can only take you where God allows you to
go.
But yes, I I personally think that Nebuchadnezzar is a
Saved man that he will be one of the people that we meet when we
Go into the next realm.
But I may be wrong.
It doesn't definitively say I wish he had said I wish he'd have said in
In verse 37 I Nebuchadnezzar praise and exalt and honor the king of heaven the
only true God that I finally recognize is the true God and thank God for allowing me to
recognize that and Thank him more so for protecting me all the time when I
thought I was the most powerful thing in the world and even through That time when I recognized that it was nothing but an
animal eating grass in the field that God protected me the whole time.
I wish he'd have said that.
Then I would have understood and I could have said Nebuchadnezzar is a man that is in heaven.
But as it is I can say I believe he is
anything else.
Mm -hmm.
It is that of course that of course the kingdom the kingdom lasted longer than he did There came a time
when he passed away and his son and his grandson took
control of the kingdom and it was at that time that The total
kingdom Fell and was replaced by the next kingdom the kingdom.
Represented by the silver part.
Yeah,
even
at
the
beginning.
He recognized that Daniel's God was special and that Daniel was special.
But he didn't claim Daniel's God as his God.
He said this is Daniel's God my God.
His name is Belteshazzar named after my God the God of my creation.
Now he is saying there is a most high God and I submit to him and that's a different thing.
You're exactly right.
Well, I see the other people coming in.
So we'll end with a prayer.
Most gracious Heavenly Father Thank you for this day and thank you for Giving us this story
where we might see the power of God and Recognize
that his ways are truth and his ways are judgment.
Those that walk in pride he is able to abase and those that walk in humility. He is able
to exalt.
Most gracious Heavenly Father.
Thank you for all that you've given us.
Go through the rest of the services today And bring us home
Safe to you in the end in Jesus name.
We pray. Amen.