Daniel 2:31-45 God decrees Our Future

We do live in chaotic times when people don’t know what gender they are meant to be, kids kill the mothers, and fellow students without apparently batting an eye. The politicians are more concerned about myths than about border security, churches are more concerned about putting on a concert/show than they are about proclaiming the Word of God. People are living for the moment rather than planning for the future, namely, the future in eternity.

As we explored in past sermons this dream the king had was greatly disturbing to him and rightly so. He had a dream, knew it must have been very important and no way to decipher it using the conventional means of his time. But God is the author of that dream and He has man/teenager, who will be able to interpret it for him.

And so we look at this dream:

An exceedingly large image, bright and shining. made up of various metals, and clay, then a stone cut out by no human hand appears and strikes the image on its feet of clay/iron and breaks the image into pieces like chaff of a threshing floor and wind carries them away so no trace of them could be found. While the stone became a mountain and fills the earth.

The image completely disappears, but the stone remains. The colossal image is dissolved replaced by a colossal stone filling the earth.

The image is dazzling- it was made of gold, silver and bronze mostly so it would have reflected the sunlight like mirrors. It was a frightening image to the king. It was extraordinarily dazzling,

It’s appearance was dreadful, it made him afraid. At the very least in awe of it. I think the fear was of what it could mean.

As the king watches a rock was cut out of the ground without hands and smashes the image at its feet. It crumbles to powder and was blown away by the wind. The rock grows into a mountain and fills the earth. This is probably what scared him. Does his mind run away with him thinking that a rock is going to hit and destroy him.? Is he going to die soon? He was terrified.

Notice the features of the rock:

supernatural in origin

all powerful in annihilating the image

global in scope

Then in v.36-45 we read the interpretation of the dream. Where Daniel says, “You, king Nebuchadnezzar

You, king Nebuchadnezzar

God has given you your kingdom to rule over all

You are the head of Gold. v.36-38

He was the greatest king, but Daniel points out that is only because God has made him so.

Notice the emphasis in these verses on the Sovereignty of God in his reign:

-He has given thee a kingdom, 37

-He has given into your hand, 38

-He has made thee ruler, 38

The king can take no credit for any of his accomplishments in the expansion of his rule. It is all given to him by God.

The other designations of metals are the second, third and fourth kingdoms to come after you to rule the earth. 39-40

The Babylonian kingdom lasted forty three years under king Nebuchadnezzar and then only another 23 under his son and grandson.

Then the Medo-Persian empire under Cyrus the great/Darius replaced them,(539-330bc) he was the chest of silver, symbolized by a bear in chapter 7,8 and also a two-horned ram in 8:20.

Then the third kingdom of brazz/bronze was Greece,(330-63bc) and then finally the fourth the Roman empire. (63bc-475ad).

the fourth kingdom is singled out as one that is the iron that will crush the previous ones. it will be divided kingdom, strong as iron, but fragile as clay. That one will fall. 40-43

you can mix some metals and they become stronger as an alloy, but you can melt clay and iron together and when they cool they will still be separate, and the clay will crumble.

Notice the power this empire exerts: breaks, subdues, breaks, break in pieces, bruise are all words the signify the power this kingdom will exert as it destroys the others.

The last part of this fourth kingdom is the ten toes.

The fourth kingdom will start off with one king, then divide into four kings, then into ten.

The rock is the coming kingdom of God. It will be eternal and universal

God’s kingdom, v.44-45a

it is eternal kingdom

an invincible kingdom -never to be destroyed, break in pieces all other kingdom,

not left to another, shall stand forever

The dream is about what comes after your kingdom.

It is certain

it’s interpretation is sure

Four lessons:

I. God is in control of the world we live in.

He is sovereign. He gives wealth ;

He does all that he pleases

Psalm 115:3 ESV

Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.

Psalm 135:6 ESV

Whatever the Lord pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps.

; He works all things together . ..., As far as evidence of His control in Daniel, cf. 1:1,2,9,17; 2:20-23,28,29,37,38,44,45,47; 4:3,17, 24-26,32, 34-35; 5:18,19,21; 6:22, 26,27; 7:13-14 referring to the Son of Man; 7:22, 25,27; 9:1 according to the word of the Lord to Jeremiah, 9:3ff the content of Daniel’s prayer presumes this, 9:24; 10:12-14; 11:29, 36,40,

He works all things together . …

As far as evidence of His control in Daniel, there are at least, by my count, 43 verse where His control is referenced. He gives power to kings, wisdom to the wise, cf. 1:2,9,17; just in this chapter alone we have these references2:20-23,28,29,37,38,44,45,47;

there are many more (4:3,17, 24-26,32, 34-35; 5:18,19,21; 6:22, 26,27; 7:13-14 referring to the Son of Man; 7:22, 25,27; 9:1 according to the word of the Lord to Jeremiah, 9:3ff the content of Daniel’s prayer presumes this, 9:24; 10:12-14; 11:29, 36,40). Is there any doubt in your mind that God is in control of this world. It may look chaotic to you. But what is chaotic to you is what God is exacting on man. Man is being given over to reprobate mind as we see in the next lesson.

But the fact that God is in control ought to give you great comfort.

II. The Dark side, 39-44

a. the decline of man, 39-41

the progress of man is in decline, he points out the next one is inferior. Not that it was in size or splendor, but in moral decay.

1 Timothy 3:13 ESV

For those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

2 Timothy 3:13 ESV

while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.

1 Tim.

We do see our society growing worse in every way, politically, socially, domestically, even in our environment. Just read the headlines. We see in our text, Notice the value of the metals declines as we move down the image. Gold is 10x heavier than clay, silver is 5x heavier than clay. This is image is top heavy. Though the kingdoms seem strong, they are really weak and are maintaining a delicate balance to stay in power. It was a dazzling image, but its base was iron and clay, destined to topple. Man appears to be improving in some ways, like technology, but in other ways the decay of man morally is quite evident. Things are getting worse, not better.

Notice the value of the metals declines as we move down the image. Gold is 10x heavier than clay, silver is 5x heavier than clay. This is image is top heavy. Though the kingdoms seem strong, they are really weak and are maintaining a delicate balance to stay in power. It was a dazzling image, but its base was iron and clay, destined to topple. Man appears to be improving in some ways, like technology, but in other ways the decay of man morally is quite evident. Things are getting worse, not better.

We have the destruction of the family, with same sex marriage, abortion, divorce, children raised in single parent homes, often without the father present. I gotta hand it to women and men who try the single parent thing, It isn’t easy. But Daniel is showing us very clearly that mankind doesn’t get better but worse no matter how hard we may try.

b. fall of the kingdoms of this world, 42-44

The empires will crumble in the end. There will be a semblance of unity, but the reality is the various cultures will clash and break apart, like clay and iron. Each new empire seems to be making strides humanly, as they try to be lasting, but each one meets the same end, overthrow.

Alexander Fraser Tytler, Lord Woodhouselee FRSE was a Scottish advocate, judge, writer and historian who served as Professor of Universal History, and Greek and Roman Antiquities at the University of Edinburgh.

The following quotation has been attributed to Tytler, although it has also been occasionally attributed to Alexis de Tocqueville:[17]

A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's greatest civilizations from the beginning of history has been about 200 years. During those 200 years, these nations always progressed through the following sequence: From bondage to spiritual faith; From spiritual faith to great courage; From courage to liberty; From liberty to abundance; From abundance to selfishness; From selfishness to complacency; From complacency to apathy; From apathy to dependence; From dependence back into bondage.

In my own studies of the Roman Gladiators I came to the conclusion that many of the same things that were going on during the time of Jesus and later that led to her downfall are happening in this country now, Illegal Immigration, non-citizens voting for the candidate who fed them best, put on the greatest games, rampant immorality, failure to protect the unborn, failure of the family with father, Mother and children, corruption in politics all of that is occuring now. And according to our text, each of these subsequent kingdoms meet the same fate.

There is no reliable record of Alexander Tytler's having written any part of the text.[18] In fact, it actually comprises two parts which didn't begin to appear together until the 1970s. The first paragraph's earliest known appearance[19] is in an op-ed piece by Elmer T. Peterson in the 9 December 1951 The Daily Oklahoman, which attributed it to Tytler:

Two centuries ago, a somewhat obscure Scotsman named Tytler made this profound observation: "A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the majority discovers it can vote itself largess out of the public treasury. After that, the majority always votes for the candidate promising the most benefits with the result the democracy collapses because of the loose fiscal policy ensuing, always to be followed by a dictatorship, then a monarchy”.[20]

The list beginning "From bondage to spiritual faith" is commonly known as the "Tytler Cycle" or the "Fatal Sequence". Its first known appearance was in a 1943 speech by Henning W. Prentiss, Jr., president of the Armstrong Cork Company and former president of the National Association of Manufacturers, delivered at the February 1943 convocation of the General Alumni Society of the University of Pennsylvania. The speech was subsequently published under the titles "The Cult of Competency"[21] and "Industrial Management in a Republic".[22]

In this case the kingdom will crumble to powder and be blown away into oblivion.

Man is clay at best. Paul said we are jars of clay, clay jars were the slop jars of that day. Throw aways, like styrofome and paper today. Just discards of momentary usefulness.

So this is the dark side, the slow demise of man into deep darkness and evil from which we cannot extricate ourselves.

But there is hope!

III. The Bright Side

Christ will return, v.44,45

His kingdom will rule, destroy all the other kingdoms. His will be eternal.

Christ is often referred to as a stone in the bible. He is the rock in the wilderness

1 Corinthians 10:4 ESV

and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ.

He is the stone the builders rejected

Psalm 118:19–24 ESV

Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter through it. I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation. The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Psalm 118:;; the stone of offense and rock of stumbling, ; the foundation stone of ; the crushing stone of ; then Peter sums it up in .

the stone of offense and rock of stumbling,

Isaiah 8:14 ESV

And he will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

; the foundation stone of ; the crushing stone of

the foundation stone of

Isaiah 28:16 ESV

therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation: ‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.’

; the crushing stone of

the crushing stone of

Matthew 21:44 ESV

And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”

Finally, Peter preached Christ to the people after he healed the lame man on the temple steps,

Peter preached Christ to the people after he healed the lame man on the temple steps,

Acts 4:10–12 ESV

let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Acts 4:11 ESV

This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.

; the stone of offense and rock of stumbling, ; the foundation stone of ; the crushing stone of ; then Peter sums it up in .

Conclusion

Here is the point my friend, God is in control of this world, believe it.

Mankind is on the decline morally, and in every other way, The powers of this world are falling, giving rise to another in its place until that final kingdom of The Lord Jesus Christ. We are but jars of clay. in ourselves there is no hope.

Only in Christ is there hope,

Recognize your need for Christ and Cry out to him for rescue.

I close with a quote from Warren Wiersbe who just recently went home to be with the Lord, “When we consider these truths, our response ought to be one of joyful confidence, know that the Lord has everything under control and will one day reign on this earth. While God’s people should do everything they can to alleviate suffering and make this a safer and happier world, our hope is not in laws, political alliances, or moral crusades. Our hope is in the Lord. People’s hearts need to be changed by the grace of God, and that means God’s people must be witnesses to the ends of the earth. The only kingdom that will stand forever is Christ’s kingdom, and the only people who will be citizens of that kingdom are those who have trusted Him and been born again by the Spirit of God ().”

My Friend if you know the Lord, rejoice he is in control and there is a bright side to this dark world.

If you have not put your faith in the Lord, would you consider repenting of your sin and crying out to him today?

Related Media

Related Sermons