DANIEL--STUDY TWO
Before moving into the second message in the study of prophecy as given
us in Daniel and the New Testament, we need to review some ground rules.
As a Christian minister-teacher I base these messages on scripture, usually
giving several verses as background. Too many times I read or hear someone
stating a point of view based on a single verse of scripture. Usually the meaning
they convey is far from accurate. When God or Christ tells us something
extremely important, the message can be found in several places of scripture.
You need to cross reference. When information concerning subjects such as
history and culture is given, that information comes from history and reference
material. The cultures of the past, such as Babylon, kept very accurate and
complete histories.
We see some amazing things happening in Daniel, and of course, in the
experiences in the New Testament. We call them miracles because they often
defy science and can only be explained as spiritual. If you cannot accept these
miracles, your Christian commitment is not solid. I'm not judging your salvation
or degree of commitment, because I'm not a judge. That is up to you and God.
I will only say that you either believe all, or you do not have a firm commitment.
If you have access to a Catholic bible, I urge you to read the books not included
in our Protestant bibles. Of special interest are the Books of Maccabees, which
covered an important period of the Chosen's history.
As you read and study Daniel, remember there is usually more to the story of
a miracle than clearly appears at first reading.
As we noted in the first study, God is accomplishing two major things with this
captivity of the Jews. He is judging their nation which has wandered away from
God's direction. The first wave of captives taken to Babylon includes the Jewish
cream of the crop--princes, leaders and learned teachers. Many of these were
not backsliders, but devout followers of God and the Law. Nebuchadnezzar was
a very intelligent man and wanted to gain knowledge and fruit of experience from
these gifted Jews. He was the leader of the greatest empire in the world, both then
and now. There was a time of peace while he reigned as God's anointed.
Daniel and his three friends arranged a deal with the king about eating Jewish
food rather than Babylon food. It was a defiance of the king's directive, and could
have meant death. This was a test of faith. Could you do this? The Jewish young
men were in better condition at the completion of this test, and thus found favor
with the king. This period of captivity was a major part of God's long range plan
to offer salvation to mankind, while at the same time starting the clock to measure
days until the rapture and end time. There is actually not one whit of reason to
try and arrive at a specific date for the "end" because Christ tells us in Matt. 24:36,
"But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My
Father only." Makes you wonder why all these biblical scholars and "teachers" try
to predict a day, doesn't it? In the New Testament, Christ tells us to look at the
conditions in the world to get an idea of the end times. If He doesn't know, how can
we even think we can figure out the answer?
Now God's plan to bring the king into an understanding that God rules the world
and our universe continues. We come to the first test of God's ability to solve a
life or death problem with a miracle. This is the actual beginning of the king's
religious education. Nebuchadnezzar had a dream that none of his wise men or
magicians could solve. The king made it impossible for them because he wouldn't
disclose the dream, and wanted both the dream and interpretation. This they could
not do. When they tell the king (Dan. 2:11) "It is a difficult thing that the king requests,
and there is no other who can tell it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is
not with flesh." The king was infuriated and decreed that all wise men and magicians
should be slain. This group now included Daniel and his three friends. I pray you are
following along with me by reading scripture as we proceed. This is where the king
gets his first understanding that the God of the Jews is the supreme being and
the God in Heaven.
It wasn't any easier for God to convince Nebuchadnezzar that the Jewish God is
the supreme being than it is today, even with professing Christians. I have heard some
good teachers and pastors say the days of miracles and visions has ended. That is not
true, and neither has the day of prophecy ended. If you look at prophecy, you will see
that the prophets usually had bad news for the people because of their conduct. The
exception was the forecast of Christ's birth. I know of churches where people are giving
prophecies every week. God does not mass produce prophecies, and this is another
example of Satan being allowed into worship. I have also had teachers tell me nobody
has visions any more. I direct you to Acts 2:17, "And it shall come to pass in the last
days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your
daughters shall prophecy; Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall
dream dreams." If you want more of a guarantee, check out 2 Cor. 12:1, and Joel 2:28.
God does not make isolated statements. This is why I warn you not to accept single
verses of scripture from anyone who has a personal agenda. Always ask for other
scripture to back up the isolated claim.
Daniel is the key person in God's plan for the future of earth, and he is given the
dream and interpretation after telling the king nobody has to be slain (Dan 2:14-19).
I'm going to quote Daniels' prayer of Thanksgiving here, even though it takes up
quite a bit of space. When we seek answers and receive them, we need to give
proper thanks. (Dan. 2:20-23) "Daniel answered and said: 'Blessed be the name
of God forever and ever, For wisdom and might 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 reveals deep and secret
things; He knows what is in the darkness, And light dwells with Him.'" The key of this
prayer for you is "knowledge to those who have understanding". My messages on
"Understanding" may be helpful to you.
Now to this dream, which is the foundation of all prophecy. It is interesting to note
that all except the last part of the dream has become history. The last part, however,
is God's way of telling us something without us really understanding what He is saying.
This dream, plus the Words of Christ and the Apostles in the New Testament complete
prophecy. Consider the chaos if we did understand this prophecy down to the day and
hour. The period between now and then is our time to prepare and answer to His
directions. We need to study because we face His judgment and will either fail or
pass. For those who don't pass this test--and this is for Christians because we know
the unsaved can't be marked "pass"--there will be extra homework during the tribulation.
Nebuchadnezzar's dream was of an image. The head was of gold and represented
the "king of kings", a king with the greatest empire on earth. (Follow along with your bible
as we go through Dan. 2:31-45). This was Nebuchadnezzar. His kingdom would be
followed by another great kingdom, represented by chest and arms of silver. This referred
to the Media-Persian Empire, which was similar in size to Babylon, but was not governed
as smoothly. As Daniel tells the king about his dream, Daniel is careful to make certain
the interpretation comes from the God in Heaven, not Daniel or man. The second great
kingdom is followed by a third, represented by belly and thighs of bronze. This was the
era of world control by Greece. The fourth great kingdom is represented by legs of iron,
and feet partly of iron and partly of clay. Note that the first three metals are considered for
their value, Iron is measured by its strength, and clay, fashioned into objects, also may
be measured by strength.
We next see a stone cut out without hands which strikes the feet of iron and clay,
breaking them into pieces. Then the iron, clay, bronze, silver and gold are crushed
together and become like chaff from the threshing floor, and the wind carries them
away. No further trace of them is found, and the stone that broke the image becomes
a great mountain and fills the whole earth. It is not difficult to understand that the stone
that destroyed the image is Jesus Christ, and the mountain that fills the entire earth is
Christ's kingdom. The problem biblical scholars have had is understanding the full
meaning of the feet and toes. There has been much speculation, but that's all it is--
speculation. The toes could represent former nations of the Holy Roman Empire,
but that at best is only a guess. God intends to keep the final details His secret.
The important thing to remember from this dream is that the king finally gets an
understanding of the supreme power of the God in Heaven. This is the completion
of the first step in bringing the entire world the Word of God. This is also a major
step ti bringing all of Babylon under the leadership of Daniel and his three friends.
The king is so impressed, the Jewish boys are given control of government. Note
this is the second time God has used a Jewish boy to preserve people--Joseph was
the dream interpreter in Egypt. I could give examples of God's use of dreams and
visions apart from scripture, but this would be of little value. You already are either
interested in these spiritual happenings or you don't believe in them. There have
always been fakes, and there are many, many fakes and apostates today. One of my
messages titled "How Do You Know" deals with your relationship with the Holy Spirit.
Dreams and visions are alive today--refer to the scripture quoted herein. Scripture
is not hit or miss. It is forever. I still hear leaders and church people lamenting they lost
the election and we are doomed. I gave God's direction about submitting to government
from Romans 13 in the New Testament, and now we'll see the same directive in Daniel,
4:17. It is the God in Heaven who rules and places His choice at the head of nations
and governments. Until people understand and accept God's directive, they will continue
to bring judgment on us. We are told in both the Old and New Testaments, mankind is
stubborn and selfish for his own ways. In the next message we'll see another test and
perhaps discover another way God gives us answers.
Rev. Walbear
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