Daniel 2:31-45 | Sovereignty Over Nations

Yeah, many of us have, many of us have family that are there, so.

Well, none of us are under 60, so I don't think it'll be too long before we're there.

My grandfather on my dad's side died of a heart attack at age 57. And my dad died of a heart attack at the age of 77. And being an engineer, I had to do the math, because he said, I'm good until 97. I've got a long ways to go.

It's geometric, it's beyond that. I'm not going to be as old as Methuselah, but we are going to talk in Daniel chapter 2. And Jeff has taken us through a couple of teachings on the concept of prophecy, false prophets, true prophets, and stuff like that.

And so now, starting in verse 31, we know that Nebuchadnezzar has had a dream, and he was upset by this dream. And so what did Nebuchadnezzar do after he had the dream? He wanted more than interpretation.

Correct. So he was challenging the magicians, the seers, for their veracity. He said, if you really are all that you say you are, tell me my dream, and then nobody can do it. And so the edict was that they were all going to be put to death.

But there was one. There was one. There was Daniel. So what we're going to be in today, starting in verse 31, you saw O king, behold a great image. We're going to actually go into what Daniel has to say to Nebuchadnezzar.

And it is a fascinating section of Scripture, but in considering what does this passage of Scripture, how does it contribute to the overall discussion of Daniel and of the whole Bible, what have we said is one of the main themes of the book of Daniel?

Sovereignty. Sovereignty of God. The first six chapters, we see the events that occur, and God's sovereignty through those events. So the last six chapters, as we see proclamation of things to come, we can trust because of God's sovereignty proven, that God's sovereignty will make it happen.

So we're in this section right now of Nebuchadnezzar's vision, and he's going to see an image, and then eventually Daniel's going to talk to him about that image. I'm going to open up with a question, because big parcel to this is the concept of nations.

What is a nation? That is a good definition. I think that's a good, it's partial, but that is a good definition. What else would you say about a nation?

All the people that aren't Israel.

Okay, there you go. The nations.

Aren't Israel.

Yes, because, yes, you're right. In fact, if you go to Lancaster, we were just there last week, you have the Amish and the English.

Yes.

Everybody that's not part of their sect is an English.

Anyway.

They have language and customs in common.

That's a good answer, too, because, yeah, absolutely. Language and customs in common.

Leadership.

Leadership is going to be a very big, important concept. Often nations have this perception of superiority over other nations. You can go into the 1930s, and the Third Reich believed that they were the supreme Aryan nation, and so they would take over other countries because it was their authority.

Japan had this belief at the same time that it was their destiny to have the entire rim of the Pacific. And so they were gradually overtaking everything. And so they were very aggressive in expanding the roots of their nations.

And so nations often have what they believe is the calling to dominate other nations.

Banzai. I'm sorry? Banzai.

Banzai, yes. What is the origin of nations? What we're going to talk about first as we get into this, because I think we need to understand the thought of nations as we get into this dream and its interpretation.

Well, obviously, during a time when they were building the Tower of Babel, or as Australians would say, Babel.

Okay.

But as they were building that, God wanted to separate them, and they were going to build a tower to leave the heaven, and they were going to stay there. So God confused their languages, and they left.

And that is the origin of nations as we know it today. If we go back to the very, very beginning, in Genesis 2 -7, we know that God created man in his own image. He created woman taking the rib out of man.

What was the edict? What was the charter that God gave man at that point in time? It's in Genesis 2, verses 7 and 8, Genesis 2 -15. Well, give me Genesis 2 -15 if you want to put that. So God makes man, and he puts him in the garden, and it's like he's going down to Cancun, and it's an all-inclusive resort.

Anything he can want, he can go windsurfing. No, that's not what it said. What does it say in 2 -15?

The Lord took the man and put him in the garden and gave him to work it and keep it.

That was man's call. Now, as God creates man, we believe, Scripture teaches, he created Adam the first man, Eve the first woman, put them in the garden, and they had two things. They had a calling to be in relationship with him, and they had a calling to be in relationship with the world.

They were to work the world. They were supposed to procreate, but they were also called to be in relationship to him. He was their king. He was their God. And so the relationship is set up with him. We know how that all falls apart.

We know how Lucifer calls himself, I will be like most high gods, and then he brings Adam and Eve along with him. And so then we get into where, you were talking about Babel, and if we get into Genesis chapter 6, before Babel occurs, the whole world is gone bad.

We think we've got it tough right now. How many families were holding true to God? That's not none.

One.

Noah and his family. And God basically, he says, I relent on having ever created man. They've gone wicked, beyond wicked. The entire universe of mankind, which is at this time one nation, if you want to call it that.

Their leader was God, if you would. And so if anybody's ever seen, not that I endorse him anymore, but Bill Cosby's routine on Noah.

Get in there, fat hippo.

Bill the Millionaire.

What?

What's an arc?

What's an arc? Anyway, but we do know the account. And he was allowed to bring his sons and their wives and his wife, and that was it for mankind. The rest of mankind is going to be wiped out. After the flood, after the water recedes, God says that he'll never again destroy the world by water.

He will by fire. But he'll never again destroy it by fire. And so now we're back to one family that supposedly is going to be true to God, but we know how that works out. It doesn't work out quite that well.

We move on further now to Genesis 11, and apparently the wickedness has prevailed again. The man was created in the image and likeness of God, in fellowship with God, rebelled. The man who comes out of the ark, having been saved by the ark, once again is going to rebel to the point where it's pervasively bad.

And Rob, what is it they plan to do?

Build a tower.

Why?

To reach God.

To reach God. Once again, they're seeking to replace God in his rightful place as the Lord, and they're seeking to make that all of themselves.

And interestingly important, too, is that Satan fell for the same reason, and went to be like over God. Then he tempts Adam and Eve with the same three areas, lust of flesh, lust of mind, pride of life.

And then he does the same thing to Christ.

He does the same thing to Christ.

He has it.

That's in all of our lives.

Absolutely.

We struggle with every one of us here.

So God looks down at what's going on, and he says, the intent of their hearts is evil upon evil. We must stop this. And I love the way it's in the first person plural. There's the Trinity, if you would.

So he confounds their languages, which makes them drive. That is the beginning of the plurality of nations. Prior to that, there was one mankind, and now we go into the differentiation of people, groups.

That's really the beginning of nations.

One of the other reasons they built the tower was that they might be held in higher esteem by any other nations that might... I was reading that they used... They used brick instead of stone, and tar instead of mortar.

Then they said, come on, let us build ourselves a city with a tower that reaches to the heavens so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the earth. So it was a dichotomy of opposites here.

One, we want to be all together, and we want to make a name for ourselves and not be scattered. And the Lord said,.

That's what you're going to get. So we want to make a name for ourselves, and God says, well, I got news for you. There are going to be many names for yourselves. As we go further now into Genesis, in chapter 12, the covenant promise to Abram, and he said, and through you, all the families will be blessed.

So there's now a recognition that it's no longer just going to be his chosen people,.

The Jews, the Hebrews,.

As they eventually... By the way, why are they called Hebrews? When are they first called Hebrews? And it wasn't at Starbucks.

No, no, no.

Was it after circumcision?

No, it was in Egypt. They called them the Wanderers, which becomes, in the Aramaic of the time,.

Hebrew.

Anyway, it's not them. It is now... God recognizes the multiplicity of nations, and all nations will be blessed through you. And when you go into Genesis 14, you now get the king of so-and-so and the king of so-and-so and the king of so-and-so, and they made alliance with the king of so-and-so.

And so just in the book of Genesis, the establishment, the reality of nations is all there. Within nations, then, there is going to be kings, people that are put in authority over them. 1 Samuel 8...

Did you already read Rick,.

Or did I just bypass you? Go ahead and get 1 Samuel 8, 19 and 20.

Got it.

Go ahead.

But the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel, and they said, No, that there shall be a king over us, that we may also be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us.

And fight our battles.

Why did Israel desire a king?

They wanted to be like the other nations.

Why did they want to be like the other nations?

Because they didn't have a king to judge them.

Okay, now we're doing a circle. They want to be like other nations so they can have a king. They want to have a king so they can be like other nations.

Why?

To go out and fight their battles.

Okay.

Which is the moral,.

The moral physical,.

Tangible.

Tangible, and they wanted this sense of control. They wanted this sense of not being, just living by faith under God, who was their appointed king, but they wanted to have, they wanted to have a sense of control over their own destiny.

And again, this has to do with rebellion against God. Well, this does not take God by surprise. The people are complaining and God realizes that their rebellion against Him, but He always planned in His sovereignty that there would be a king of Israel.

Now who's the first king of Israel?

Saul.

And if you go into there, God says, and I have chosen and I have chosen. So this is not a plan B. It really isn't, but this is a reality that God sets up kings, God ordains kings. After Saul goes bad, what happens?

He takes the spirit away from Saul and he says, I have chosen one and His kingdom will never end. And one of His offspring will sit on the throne forever. The reality of God's, again, establishing the kingdom of Israel is not just, God establishing kings is not just limited to Israel.

Romans 13, Ivan, if you want to get that, please. And John 19, Rich, John chapter 19, verse 11. And then Daniel 2, Sue, if you would get that.

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.

This is a statement of God. It's His sovereignty. Whatever the rule is, whatever the nation is, there is no authority except established by God. Hitler, established by God. Ayatollah Khomeini, established by God.

There are no rules except those established by God. And it's not just His nation. God is, God is the master over all. John 19?

John 19, verse 11. You have no authority over me,.

Jesus answered,.

Unless it were given to you from above. Therefore, He who delivered me,.

Over you.

So this is proclamations from Scripture that we should, and we need to keep this into account as we read into, now, this dream that He's getting. Did you have Daniel 2? This was last week.

31?

No, Daniel 2, 19 to 21.

Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. So Daniel blessed the God of heaven. Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and night are His, and He changes the times and the seasons.

He removes kings and raises up kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding.

He is the one. He is the one. Now this is how Daniel has already been informed. Now, let's consider what has happened as we lead up to this point in time. The nation of Israel, broken into two sections, the northern and southern.

The northern, evil upon evil, they're gone. And totally lost track of them. The southern has been protected for a while. What has stopped the assault? What has prevented the final assault on Jerusalem and on the temple?

The Shekinah glory. The Shekinah glory in the Holy of Holies has prevented the final assault. Nobody goes in there. Nobody goes in there unworthily. Eventually, because of the wickedness, God removes the Shekinah glory.

Israel, Jerusalem is now vulnerable and the siege succeeds and they're taken captive. Daniel goes into Babylon and under the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, he is given the opportunity to be taught and fed and nourished.

And he says, no, I will stay true to my God. We know that story from Daniel chapter 1. But Nebuchadnezzar, although he is seeing something different about Daniel, he is still king of Babylon. And at this point in time, Babylon is the biggest and the strongest of all nations on the earth.

And he is their king. So now he has a dream that disturbs him. And he's going to want to know what it is so that you can interpret it to me. Bob, I'm going to ask you to read verses 31 to 35, please.

You looked, O king, and there before you.

Stood a large statue,.

An enormous, dazzling statue also in appearance. The head of the statue was made of pure 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 baked clay.

While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed it. Then the iron and clay and the bronze and silver and the gold were broken to pieces at the same time and became like chaff on a threshold floor in the sun.

The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth.

Okay, I want us to look at a couple of things we're going to get into this dream in just a minute. But first of all, Daniel is still being very submissive and respectful of authority. You know, oh great king, behold there was a great image.

He is acknowledging the God-given position that Nebuchadnezzar has. He's not coming in, man, dude, you really messed it up this time. He's coming in with respect. Now he's going to talk about worldly power because this image, mighty and exceeding brightness, stood before you and its appearance was frightening.

This image of what we're going to see, it represents the Gentile kingdoms of the world. But it's described as being exceeding bright. The rationale behind that is that although there are kings and kingdoms represented, who is the ultimate source of all of this anyway?

It is God. So if you're going to be looking at kingdoms and thinking it's the kingdoms that are self-sufficient, it's the kingdoms that are self-promoting, that's debunked right away because of the brightness.

This really shows up several times in scripture. I'm thinking first of all of Moses and he can't even look at God because it would be too much for him to see. I'll put my hand over here, you'll see my back as I pass by and as he comes down, just the presence of God has made him shine so that a veil goes over his head.

Then we can go into Isaiah and in chapter 6, somehow Isaiah is transformed into the very presence of God and the radiance and the glory and holy, holy, holy of what he perceives when he is there. We can go to Matthew 17 in the Mount of Transfiguration where Peter, James, and John are seeing God now in his radiant glory.

This image that is seen is not bright and majestic and awesome because the nations themselves are bright and majestic and awesome. It's that God is the source behind it all.

With Moses in the prophet, or Moses in Elijah, in John, or Matthew 17, it says that Jesus appeared to the law and the prophets.

Absolutely, he has. So these are the realities of nations that are just in this very beginning. It's not the significant power of you. One of the things that nations have done and do, kings have done and they do, is to set up images of power.

Images of power. First Samuel 5, Roderick asked me to get that one out and I'll talk to some of the others. If you have First Samuel 5.

First Samuel 5?

One through five.

Okay, First Samuel 5.

This is one of my favorite stories about kingly statues.

Go ahead.

Now the Philistines took the Ark of God and brought it to Epimeter to have it. When the Philistines took the Ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon and set it by Dagon. When they had it after the night, it arose early the next morning.

Behold, Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the Ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and set him in place again. But when it arose early the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the Ark of God.

And Dagon's head and both palms of his hands were cut off of the threshold and only the trunk of Dagon was left to him. And therefore, neither the priests of Dagon nor all who enter Dagon's house tread on the threshold of Dagon in Asdon to this day.

They would set up these idols, these things. And sometimes they were actually images of themselves. And we go into Daniel 3 and you've got this image, this massive image that is made. And they are representations of majesty and power.

They're not broken into pieces unless the Ark of the Lord is there, in which case he got his nose broken. That's just the power of God. So what is the image that Nebuchadnezzar had?

Probably one of himself.

What's unique about this image that's different than these other things that they set up?

It's gold.

What did you just say, Ivan?

Many different parts.

Many different parts.

Multiple metals.

Multiple metals. Multiple parts. This is not the way that their images would be. Their images would be majestic. They'd be powerful.

They would be something like that.

This is a strange image. And in fact, the head is gold. And the chest and the arms are silver. And the middle, the waist and the thighs are bronze. And the legs are iron. By the way, how many legs are there?

Two.

We'll get to that in a minute. There's two legs. And the feet are a mixture. This is a very confusing image because first of all, why would somebody be setting up an image of power that's made up of such diverse materials?

But then it goes on and it says, and then there was a stone. And it broke this image into pieces. And the stone grows up to like a mountain.

And isn't it important for us, when we know the conclusion of this, to recognize, as you said right at the beginning, God's sovereignty and allowing this to be built for a purpose.

Yes. Yes. This stone, not cut by human hands. This stone, not cut by human hands. And it destroys the rest of the image so that there is not even a trace left to it. Who is this stone? We shall find out as we now go into the interpretation.

Barb, can you read this next section for me?

36 to 43.

This was a dream, and now we will interpret it to the king. You, O king, are king of kings. The God of heaven has given you dominion and power and might and glory. In your hands he has placed mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds of the air.

Wherever they live, he has made you ruler over them all. You are the head of both. After you, another kingdom will rise, inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over the whole earth.

Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, for iron breaks and smashes everything. And as iron breaks things into pieces, it will crush and break all the others. Just as you saw that the feet and the toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron, so this will be divided kingdom, yet it will have some strength of iron in it, even as you saw iron mix with clay.

As toes were parted, iron partly, and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. And just as you saw the iron mix with the baked clay, so people will be a mixture and will not remain united and more than iron mixes with clay.

We have now the Gentile nations. And Jeff mentioned this last week that it starts, there is a change of the way the book is presented in Daniel 2, verse 4, and they spoke in Aramaic. Up until that point in time, chapter 1 and the first three verses of chapter 2, it's in Hebrew.

That is the language for the Jews. And then when we start into this section, it is now Aramaic. This is a language to the Gentile nations in their relationship to the Jews. Eventually, it's going to go back into Hebrew.

But right now we're in this section where God is proclaiming His message against or on the Gentile nations that are there. And so He lists this image. And it starts out with Babylon, you are gold, you are the head.

And some of the descriptions of Babylon are things like God has given to you. That's such an important concept for somebody like Nebuchadnezzar to receive. He didn't get this from his father, Nebuchadnezzar, I guess his name was.

Never plastered, whatever. Nebuchadnezzar. It was not his birthright. This was God's given authority to him. But some of the things, the power and the might and the glory, wherever you are, the beasts of the field, everyone, you rule over everything.

Babylon was one of the most immense, sprawling kingdoms of man at that time. But he says this isn't going to last because then there's another kingdom that's going to come, the arms of silver, that's Medo-Persia.

And although they're going to be a powerful nation, they're inferior to you. That's what God is saying here. The gold is supreme. The silver is not as supreme as the gold. It is inferior. And so we know from Daniel chapter 5, after Nebuchadnezzar, the next king, which was Balthasar, has his big feast and the handwriting on the wall.

And that evening he dies. And we know the story. The Medes and the Persians come in and they set up Darius. So the Medes and Persians took over at 539 and had a reign of a couple hundred years. The next one is the middle and the thighs of bronze.

That's Greece. Alexander the Great. Between 334 and 330 we have the conquest and the defeat of Medo-Persians and they take over and they are again ruling over all of the earth. They're a powerful, powerful king.

But that is going to be replaced by legs of iron.

Rome.

And Rome was actually a split empire. We had the east and the west. Two legs. Iron is known to be the strongest of all the metals known at that time. It was stronger than the gold, stronger than the silver, stronger than the bronze.

It was the most powerful, the strongest of all.

The least valuable.

Yes, the least valuable of all. And he introduces the toes. How many toes do most people have? Something like 12. How many toes do most people have?

10.

There appears now to be a projection beyond the actual Roman Empire itself, which falls when Nero is fiddling. And there seems now to be a projection of a ten nation, of a ten nation confederate that comes together.

But it's iron mixed with clay, which is not going to survive. Because eventually God is going to take a stone and he's going to swap them all. This is the history of the nations of the Gentiles in their being in authority over the Jewish people.

It's the Aramaic portion of it, if you would. It starts out with Babylon, it goes to Medo-Persia, it goes to Greece, it goes to Rome, and then it goes beyond Rome into what we would have now. And that's the image of the ten toes, where there is a multiple of nations, but not that strong.

Each of them vulnerable in their own might. There are many that looked at the European Union and said, this is prophecy being fulfilled. I can't sit here and tell you that is a fact. I can't sit here and tell you that nowhere in Scripture is the United States.

I'm not going down that path. But what I am going to say is that in God's economy of what's going to happen, there is this season where he allows the nations of the world to be primed, to be premiered.

It's not over yet.

The nation of Israel had never returned. It was always, until 1947, 48? And the Jews returned to Israel, but not to the full extent that needs to be for the fulfillment of prophecy. They don't have all the land, and they don't have all 10, 12 tribes.

It's still got to come. That will happen in Revelation. Yes, it did. So there are so many, we're told we should be aware because there are so many pointers. It says the time is near. The harvester's right, few are the workers.

All of these things. Let's get into 44 and 45. Janet, if you would read 44 and 45, please. This stone, different from the image, will never be destroyed. This stone, different from the image, is not going to be broken into pieces.

This stone, different than the kingdoms of man, is not set up by people. There are no human hands involved with the establishment of this stone. And this stone, if you read in verse 35, is going to become a great mountain.

The stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. Who's the stone?

Jesus. Messiah.

The kingdom of God.

It is the Messiah. In Psalm 118 and in Isaiah 8 -14, we have words like the stone that was rejected becomes the cornerstone. It is the image, in the Old Testament, the stone is the image of the Messiah who is to come.

And the reality that his kingdom, this says it's never going to end, it's not going to be defeated, it's going to become, it is definitely a fulfillment of 2 Samuel 7. Let's read that, if you would. 2 Samuel 7, verses 13 -17.

And Sandy, I'm going to let you get Revelation 19, 11 -16 ready. Go ahead. 2 Samuel 7, 13 -17.

When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men and the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you.

And your house and your kingdom.

Shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever. In accordance with all these words, and in accordance with this, and with all these visions, make them so that they may be fulfilled.

There are so many aspects to this proclamation, to this prophecy. One is that there will be a time where your iniquity is going to mandate judgment. And so the nation would eventually go into captivity, and then they would kill their Messiah, and we have now what we know as this time of the Gentiles.

There is a time where the Gentile nations will rule over you, but my love, it says, will never leave you. My love will never leave you. You think about individuals that are going through persecution and difficulty.

Right now my heart goes out to our brothers up in Canada who are trying to hold true to the word Canada.

It's like...

I mean, we expect that in places like North Korea,.

The Arabic countries.

We expect that in China, but there is a time where persecution comes. The nation of Israel is judged for their wickedness, but the promise is, my love will never ever leave you. I think that Loretta's holding on to that promise right now.

I think she's holding on to that promise.

Yeah, Rich?

I think it's interesting that even though David is identified as a man after God's own heart, he has a prophet to speak truth to him in the person of Nathan.

Thanks for bringing that up. We can read the account of David, and we can say, seriously, dude, you took this woman and had her husband. Seriously, dude? But his heart was broken for her. And he repented of it.

And he heard it.

It's an indictment for those who say, no harm, no foul. It's not a biggie. No, he is a man over God's own. But the promise that God said that that throne, and so Jesus comes from the line of David. And although he is not sitting physically on the throne today, he is still sovereignly over all.

And we know that that millennial time is coming when he's going to come. The kingdoms of the world are going to fall apart, it says in Revelations 11, and the kingdom of the Lord will be established. And as he comes in this glorious, we call it the parousia, the glorious return.

Sandy's going to read Revelations 19.

And I saw heaven opened, and behold, it had a horse, and he who sat on it is called Faithful and True. And in righteousness he judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems.

He has a name written on him which no one knows except himself. He is clothed with the robe dipped in blood, and his name is called the Lord God. And the armies which are in heaven clothed in fine linen, white and king, are following him on white horses.

From his mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it he may strike down the nations. And he will rule them with a rod of iron. And he treads the winepress of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And on his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of Kings, Lord of Lords.

Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly to mid-heaven, Come, assemble for the great supper of God, so that you may eat the flesh of kings.