Sermon Tone Analysis

! Introduction:

The second chapter of Daniel had been called the backbone of Bible prophecy.

And I think it’s been rightly called so.

For Daniel chapter 2 really unlocks the rest of the prophecies of the book of Daniel, which in turn unlock the prophecies of the book of Revelation.

If you are going to have a good handle on eschatology, (a fancy word which means /a study of end times)/ then you need to be thourghly familiar with the book of Daniel and to have a handle on chapter 2 specifically.

*/Daniel in the Critics Den/*

Now Daniel wrote the second chapter and as he was writing, keep in mind that he was writing prophetically, that is, the events that he was speaking of had not yet come to pass.

Today in 2003 we have a huge advantage because we can look back and see historically, how much of Daniel chapter 2 has already been fulfilled.

And there is something about fulfilled Bible prophecy is, “that it /confirms /our faith, and /confounds/ the critics.

If Daniel spent one night in the lions den, his book has spent several centuries in a /den of critics.

/The book of Daniel confounds the critics so much that they have argued /“really Daniel really didn’t write the book, someone at a later time writing in the name of Daniel wrote about these prophecies after they had taken place./

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The book of Daniel claims to have been written in the sixth century before Christ.

It claims to be the fruit of the ministry of a Jewish captive named Daniel who occupied high positions in the courts of the kings who ruled Mesopotamia.

When it comes to /canonicity/ of the Bible, in other words, /which books really belong in the Bible,/ or /authenticity/, /did Daniel write this at the time he said he did?

/You can develop arguments historically, linguistically, but listen, when all is said and done, a very simple and persuasive argument must be used: /“You get back to Jesus”./

Many colleges will teach that the Bible is nothing more than literature, and much of the Bible shouldn’t even be in the bible.

This is why we need to /“Get back to Jesus.”/

Jesus called Daniel, /“The beloved prophet”/ and quoted extensively from Daniel and developed his end time teachings in (Matthew 24 & Luke 21) by quoting Daniel the prophet.

Jesus quoted Daniel.

So either Jesus was:

1.             */Ignorant/*/.  /Didn’t have the knowledge that these critics today have and didn’t understand that He was quoting someone that didn’t really exist, in other words, Jesus was ignorant of the scholarship that we have available to us today.

2.             */A Deceiver/*/./

He was deceiving people of the truth.

3.             */Speaking the Truth./*

By quoting Daniel, he putting His divine seal upon everything that Daniel said and Daniels prophecies are to be taken literally.

*/Christ Viewed Historical Incidents as Factual History/*

1.

He acknowledged that Adam and Eve were created by God (Matt.19:3-5;

Mark 10:6-8).

2.             He verified events connected with the flood of Noah’s day (Matt.

24:38-39; Luke 17:26-27).

3.

He authenticated God’s destruction of Sodom, & the historicity of Lot & his wife (Matt.24:38-39;

Lk.17:26-27).

4.

He accepted as true the story of Jonah (Matt.

12:40).

5.

He acknowledged the historicity of Isaiah – Matt.

12:17, Elijah-Matt.

17:11-12, Daniel-Matt.

24:15, Abel-Matt.

23:35, Zechariah-Matt.

23:35, Abiathar-Mark 2:26, David-Matt.

22:45, Moses & his writings-Matt.

8:4; John 5:46, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob-Matt.

8:11; John 8:39.

6.

Christ did not merely allude to these stories, but He authenticated the events in them as factual history.

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*/Time For Decision/*

An obvious conclusion is that Jesus Christ held a very high view of Scripture, affirming its inspiration in the entire Old Testament-the various books of the Old Testament, the precise words, and the actual letters-and He pointed to the inspiration of the New Testament.

*Our response should be as Paul when he said to* “Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly” (Col.3:16).

Our minds should be a tablet where the Word of God is written.

We are to read it, study it, obey it, and apply all of its teaching to our lives.

It has been estimated that in one lifetime the average person will consume 150 head of cattle, 2,400 chickens, 225 lambs, 26 sheep, 310 pigs, 26 acres of grain, and 50 acres of fruits and vegetables.

How much of the Word of God are you consuming?

Again, take everything back to Jesus, /“what did Jesus say about these things?”/

*The Lord declared* "I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself" (John 12:32).

Now I understand that He was speaking of His death upon the cross, but I also believer there is a very important principle that we must embrace, that is, LIFT UP THE LORD AND THE LORD WILL DRAW ALL MEN TO HIMSELF.

This chapter contains the prophecy that covers, in a general way, all the major events of *human history*.

Daniel is given the ability to interpret a dream that reveals all the major world empires that will arise on the scene, as well as God’s ultimate plan for the world.

This prophecy must be understood since it can be viewed as the *foundation* upon which all other prophecies are to be added.

When a person has a strong understanding of this chapter, they are then ready to study all the other prophecies in the Bible.

Walvoord writes the following about chapter 2 in his commentary:

 

“No where else in Scripture…is a comprehensive picture given of world history as it stretched from the time of Daniel, 600 years before Christ, to the consummation at the second advent of Christ.”

The interpretation of this chapter also lays the foundation for all three systems of understanding known as Amillennialism, Postmillennialism and Premillennialism.

The key points which divide these systems are found in *verse 34 *on how one interprets ‘the rock which comes out of heaven and destroys the image’.

Once again Walvoord writes these helpful words on the importance of this chapter:

 

“Few chapters in the Bible are more determinative in establishing both principle and content of prophecy than this chapter; and its study, accordingly, is crucial to any system of prophetic interpretation.”

*Verse 1 The Dream*

*/Verse 1/*

!! A.            God at Work

!!! 1.             God has used dreams and sleeplessness in the past to speak to unbelievers and to further His plan as seen in the case of *Abimelech *(Gen 20:3), *Pharaoh *(Gen 41:1-8) and of Ahasuerus.

!!!! a)             There Are Many Other Examples As Well:

!!!!! (1)           Jacob (Gen.28:12-17)

!!!!! (2)           Jacobs son Joseph (Gen.37:5-9)

!!!!! (3)           Solomon (1 Kings 3:5-15)

!!!!! (4)           Joseph, the step father of Jesus (Matt.1:20,

21; 2:13, 19, 20)

*In Acts Chapter 2, Peter the Apostle said *"For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only the third hour of the day; but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel: ‘And it shall be in the last days,’ God says, ‘That I will pour forth of My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, And your young men shall see visions, And your old men shall dream dreams; " (Acts 2:15-17, NASB95)

!!!! b)            God Is The Only Interpreter Of Dreams (Gen 40:8; 41:16; Da 2:27-30; 7:16).

!!!!! (1)           I’m convinced that the Lord speaks through dreams because sometimes it’s the only time were quiet enough to listen.

!!!!! (2)           Don’t think that every dream is from God.

Not every dream is by */inspiration/*, some are */indigestion/*.

!!!! c)             Nebuchadnezzar’s Spirit Was Troubled About the Future.

!!!!! (1)           Psychologist tell us that 90% of a persons free mental time, that is, when a person is not occupied by doing something with his mind that requires concentration, is either reliving or thinking about the past, wondering or worrying about the future.

Nebuchadnezzar was worrying about what the future had for him.

*Verses 2-3—The Best of the Babylonians*

*/Verse 2/*

!! A.            The Titles

!!! 1.

The term *‘/wise men/’* is added in verse 27 and appears to be a general term to describe all the types; The same may be true of the term ‘/Chaldeans’/ or it may refer to a group of astrologers.

!!! 2.             The term *‘/magicians/’* has its roots in the Hebrew word for pen or stylus and may refer to a scholar.

!!! 3.             The term *‘/astrologers/’* is also translated enchanter and carries the idea of communicating with the dead or those skilled in the study of the stars (astrology).

!!! 4.             The *‘/sorcerers/’* are those who practiced magic through incantations and spells.

!!!! a)             What Does God Say About These Practices?

!!!!! (1)           Fortune telling, witchcraft, magic, sorcery, wizardry, palm reading, joujy board,

!!!!! (2)           Omen (a sign used by magicians and fortune tellers to predict future events),

!!!!! (3)           Necromancy (the practice of communicating with the spirits of the dead in order to predict the future), casting spells, divination techniques, charms, potions, transfiguration, dark arts, and medical magic.

!!!!!! (a)           God commanded His people to keep themselves from cultic practices (Ex.

20:3–5).

!!!!!! (b)           Attempting to control evil spirits were expressly forbidden (Deuteronomy 18:9-14).

/Among These Practices Were:/

!!!!!! (c)           Eating & drinking blood (Lev.

19:26) & rounding off their hair and beards (v.27; 21:5)

!!!!!! (d)           Slashing their body for the dead (Lev.19:28; 1 Kings 18:28) & or for their god.

!!!!!! (e)           Boiling a young goat in its mother’s milk (Deut.

14:21) hoping that fertility and productivity would be increased (cf.

Ex. 23:19; 34:26).