DANIEL: THRIVING IN A GODLESS CULTURE

III: God's Encouraging Overview Of Future World History

(Daniel 2:24-49)

I. Introduction

A. As believers living in a spiritually decaying, godless culture, we need to live affirmatively in victory over sin.

B. Daniel as a young man was taken captive by godless Babylonians, and he lived through Persia's conquest of Babylon, righteously and wisely serving the Lord in a godless culture as a great example for us.

C. We view Daniel 2:24-49 on God's encouraging overview of future world history to Daniel for our edification:

II. God's Encouraging Overview Of Future World History, Daniel 2:24-49.

A. After God informed Daniel of Nebuchadnezzar's dream and its meaning, He used its message to encourage Daniel in captivity, and thus to encourage all believers in history on their ultimate destiny, Daniel 2:24-45:

1. Having gained knowledge of the king's dream and its interpretation in answer to prayer, Daniel notified the captain of the guard, and he quickly brought Daniel to Nebuchadnezzar who asked Daniel if he was able to make known to him what he had dreamed with its interpretation, Daniel 2:24-26.

2. Daniel gave full credit to the Lord for revealing the king's dream and its interpretation, testifying that God had used the dream to reveal to Nebuchadnezzar what would occur after his kingdom, Daniel 2:27-28.

3. God had even revealed to Daniel that before the king had fallen to sleep to dream his dream, he had wondered what would occur after him, so God had used the dream to address that concern, Dan. 2:29-30.

4. The prophet Daniel then told the king about the dream the king had experienced, Daniel 2:31-35:

a. Nebuchadnezzar had dreamed about an awesome image with a head of pure gold, its breast and arms of silver, its trunk and thighs of brass, its legs of iron and its feet of a mixture of iron and clay, Dan. 2:31-33.

b. Then, a stone had been cut out without hands, implying it came from God, and it had struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, breaking it to pieces, followed by the rest of the image being similarly broken up into tiny pieces like chaff so that the wind carried them all away, Daniel 2:34-35a.

c. The stone then grew into a mountain, filling the earth in vast conquest over the image, Daniel 2:35b.

5. Daniel then interpreted the dream (v. 36), and we add to Daniel's words what history and later prophecies have also since then revealed, Dan. 2:37-45 (Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, 1978, ftns. to Dan. 2:39 and 2:40):

a. The head of gold represented Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom of Babylon, Daniel 2:37-38.

b. After Babylon would rise a nation inferior to Babylon -- Medo-Persia (silver), Daniel 2:39a.

c. After Persia would rise a third nation inferior to Medo-Persia -- Greece (brass), Daniel 2:39b.

d. After Greece would rise a fourth naion inferior to Greece, but strong and dominant -- Rome (iron), v. 40.

e. Since Rome really never fell, a fifth kingdom inferior to Rome, but partly of Rome itself, what we know from Revelation 17:1-18 will be the Revived Roman Empire of the Great Tribulation Period, would rise, Dan. 2:41. Its mix of iron and clay would typify a divided society, part strong and part weak, and it would be racially and politically divided as the seed of men would not mix or be united, Daniel 2:41-43.

f. In the final days of that kingdom when the ten toes typifying ten kings of the Revived Roman Empire would rule in the Great Tribulation (Dan. 7:24; Rev. 17:12), God would set up a kingdom of His saints, Christ's Kingdom, and it would replace all the former kingdoms and rule the world forever, Dan. 2:44-45.

B. Thus, Daniel and his three Hebrew companions who had prayed with him for insight into the king's dream were highly rewarded and honored by Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel 2:46-49:

1. Nebuchadnezzar was amazed at Daniel's revelation, so he greatly honored and rewarded him, giving praise to Daniel's God as the God of gods, Daniel 2:46-48.

2. Daniel spoke for his three Hebrew companions who had prayed for him to obtain the dream from God, and Nebuchadnezzar placed them over the province of Babylon while Daniel ministered to the king, Dan. 2:49.

Lesson: God encouraged not only Daniel and his Hebrew companions, but all saints since then who face oppression by godless kingdoms that they will participate in God's righteous, eternal reign over the whole world.

Application: (1) May we be encouraged that no matter how troublesome it is for us to live under godless rule today, we believers will be part of God's final, righteous kingdom that will forever rule the world! (2) Today, we are in the kingdom of mixed iron and clay at the feet level prior to the ten toe kings who rule in the Great Tribulation! Today's partly strong, partly weak society with its racial and political disunity will be replaced by Christ's Kingdom that will rule the entire world forever, so may we optimistically hope for that kingdom of which we will be a part!