The Nations of the Future
Book of Daniel
Chapter 2; 7 verses Chapter 2:31-45
What is the theme of
the Book of Daniel? God sits upon His throne and He sets up the
rulers of all lands, but He also takes them down.
Every ruler in his
own way will try to gain domination, wealth, and control of his own
nation and as many others that he is able to, but it is Jehovah God
who determines, who controls and He overrules them so the world will
do all things according to His plan!
If we pay attention
to all the prophets of God, we do not have to worry that one of these
rulers will cause world-wide war, until after the Church is in Heaven
and then Jehovah Himself will destroy this world and then rebuild it.
Pro 8:13 The fear
of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way,
and the froward mouth, do I hate.
Pro 8:14 Counsel is
mine, and sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength.
Pro 8:15 By me
kings reign, and princes decree justice.
Pro 8:16 By me
princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth.
Pro 8:17 I love
them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.
Dan 2:21 And he
changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up
kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that
know understanding:
Dan 2:22 He
revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the
darkness, and the light dwelleth with him.
All things happen
according to God's timetable, which is far different than our own.
If things get to bad
where you live, move and quit complaining or blaming someone else.
If the water is
rising to close to your house, move and quit complaining or trying to
blame someone else.
If you cannot live
according to the Word of God where you live, then move, seek out a
place where you can put your roots in and serve the Lord.
God will not do
things that we can do ourselves!
He tells us what to
expect in our lives!
He expects us to be
a missionary wherever we live!
He is with us from
the moment we are saved, until the moment this old body dies, and our
soul joins Him in Heaven.
Jesus said He went
back to heaven to prepare us a place. You either believe Him or not!
If the Holy Spirit
directs us away from our home, then the Lord has a reason for this!
We must never think
that we are alone in this world! The Lord Jesus Christ is our new
owner and He will take care of us!
Job 34:21 For his
eyes are upon the ways of man, and he seeth all his goings.
Psa 34:15 The eyes
of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their
cry.
God is on our side
and we must trust the Word of God and grow into the saints of God, no
matter where we live!
*****Dan 2:28 But
there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to
the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream,
and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these;
Dan 2:29 As for
thee, O king, thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed, what
should come to pass hereafter: and he that revealeth secrets maketh
known to thee what shall come to pass.
Dan 2:30 But as for
me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more
than any living, but for their sakes that shall make known the
interpretation to the king, and that thou mightest know the thoughts
of thy heart.
Dan 2:31 Thou, O
king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose
brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was
terrible.
Dan 2:32 This
image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his
belly and his thighs of brass,
Dan 2:33 His legs
of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.
The first thing the
Church and the World needs to understand is, there is a God and His
name is Jehovah, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy
Spirit!
Daniel clearly
understood there is a God and Daniel knew who this God was!
The God of Daniel is
full of wisdom and knowledge!
He is a powerful
God.
He is a just God.
He is a great God.
He is a good God.
He is a merciful
God.
He is a faithful
God.
He is a Holy God.
He is a God of Love.
He can reveal
secrets, because nothing can be hidden from Him!
He knows all things!
He knows the
beginning and the ending, and He knows both these things all at the
same time.
He does not wait to
see what happens!
Nothing can catch
Jehovah by surprise!
God can reveal
things to His people that no one else can know.
God could reveal the
thoughts and the dreams of Nebuchadnezzar to Daniel, even if
Nebuchadnezzar had forgotten his dream!
Daniel realized that
these things were things of the future.
This king would lay
awake at night making plans for his future and the future of his
nation and how he would dominate this world and leave it for his
sons.
There are many such
men who are alive today!
Jehovah took this
time to show Nebuchadnezzar that all these things were out of his
control.
Just like Joseph,
Daniel knew he did not have the power of interpreting dreams. Only
Jehovah could show him the meaning of these things!
Gen 40:8 And they
said unto him, We have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter
of it. And Joseph said unto them, Do not interpretations belong to
God? tell me them, I pray you.
Gen 41:15 And
Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I have dreamed a dream, and there is none
that can interpret it: and I have heard say of thee, that thou canst
understand a dream to interpret it.
Gen 41:16 And
Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, It is not in me: God shall give
Pharaoh an answer of peace.
We need to have a
clear understanding of our Savior so we can understand it is our God,
Jehovah who determines the workings of all nations of the world, and
who is to be ruler, and when their time will cease and He will name
another ruler in their place.
It is Jehovah God
who is guiding our world along according to His own plan and there is
no power on earth that can change the plan of God!
In this dream of
Nebuchadnezzar were the powers upon this earth in the times leading
up to the coming of the Messiah, but God's prophets saw far into the
future even further than the days we live in now.
This dream was the
extent of the dream of Nebuchadnezzar.
Nebuchadnezzar had
seen into the future far enough to see all these powerful nations
come to an end!
*****Dan 2:34 Thou
sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the
image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to
pieces.
We can now see there
is a power behind the workings of our world that only the Children of
God are made aware of.
Remember the Bible
is written for believers!
This statue had a
head of pure gold. (Babylon)
Its chest and arms
were silver. (Medo-Persian)
Its belly and thighs
were bronze. (Greece)
Its legs were iron.
(Rome)
Its feet were part
iron and part clay.(European Nations)
While Jehovah had
given Nebuchadnezzar this dream of a great statue, Nebuchadnezzar now
saw a great stone cut out of a mountain while it rolled down the
mountain side and collided with the great statue and destroyed this
statue made of so many metals.
Because the feet of
this statue was a mixture of iron and clay, it could not stand the
force of this stone and the entire statue crumbled and fell in
complete destruction.
You see none of
these governments were standing on a solid foundation!
Suddenly where this
statue stood this stone cut out by the hands of God grew until it
filled the whole earth.
Any and every
government that is not founded on the foundation of Jehovah God, the
Lord Jesus Christ, will not rise as a lasting nation.
1Co 3:11 For other
foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
1Co 3:12 Now if any
man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood,
hay, stubble;
1Co 3:13 Every
man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it,
because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every
man's work of what sort it is.
There is only one
foundation for every government, and it is the Holy Ghost filled
Church:
Eph_2:20 And are
built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ
himself being the chief corner stone;
There is only one
foundation that is sure:
2Ti_2:19
Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal,
The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth
the name of Christ depart from iniquity.
What we know up
until this time in history, no nation has stood on the foundation of
the Lord Jesus Christ.
The United States of
America was born on the foundation of Jesus Christ, but is now
falling away from that only true foundation.
Even though he is
far from perfect our last hope may lie with our president today,
Donald Trump and those who follow him.
All these things are
in the hand of the Lord Jesus Christ, but they still require our vote
when that time comes.
Until Christian
Democrats are willing to take a stand on the Lord Jesus Christ, they
do not deserve our vote.
We can be a part of
this of this great stone or we can crumble just like all the great
nations that have gone before us!
So Daniel began to
explain these things to the King.
*****Dan 2:35 Then
was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken
to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer
threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was
found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great
mountain, and filled the whole earth.
Dan 2:36 This is
the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the
king.
The truth is that
there has been a succession of world powers since the time of King
Nebuchadnezzar.
There were great
nations before Babylon, but they did not seek world domination as did
this king.
The king went to bed
at night thinking that one day he might rule the world.
Today as 2019 is
gone and we begin 2020 we see the same things going on today.
Puny national
leaders dreaming of ruling the world, rejecting the fact that they
only hold their position because Jehovah God has placed them in their
positions, because it fits into His plan!
Psa 37:10 For yet a
little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently
consider his place, and it shall not be.
Psa 37:11 But the
meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the
abundance of peace.
Psa 37:12 The
wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his
teeth.
Psa 37:13 The Lord
shall laugh at him: for he seeth that his day is coming.
We can either get on
the side of Jesus or we will die an eternal death!
No one can deny the
truth of this Book of Daniel! History has proven its truth!
Let's listen to
Daniel present God's meaning behind this dream of King
Nebuchadnezzar.
*****Dan 2:37 Thou,
O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a
kingdom, power, and strength, and glory.
Dan 2:38 And
wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and
the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made
thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold.
At this point in the
life of King Nebuchadnezzar, no other king had been able to stand
against the armies of King Nebuchadnezzar. So in this sense he was
king of the kings of that day.
This meaning was
that King Nebuchadnezzar was the most powerful king at that time and
history tells us that this was true.
Nebuchadnezzar ruled
in the years 605/604-562 BC and was the greatest King of ancient
Babylon during the period of the Neo-Babylonian Empire which existed
from (626-539 BC). It was his father who was its founder,
Nabopolassar who ruled from 626-605 BC. It was Nabopolassar who had
defeated the Assyrians with the help of the Medes and liberated
Babylonia from Assyrian rule. He then continued his conquest of that
region of the world.
These things are
true history, so they match the dream of Nebuchadnezzar. The god of
Nebuchadnezzar was the idol that killed babies in sacrifice.
Nebuchadnezzar
believed the false god Marduk had given him the power to rule the
world, until the Lord caused him to change his mind.
Dan 4:34 And at the
end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and
mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and
I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an
everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to
generation:
Dan 4:35 And all
the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth
according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the
inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto
him, What doest thou?
Nebuchadnezzar was
that head of gold.
Then Daniel showed
this king that his empire would soon be ruled by someone else.
*****Dan 2:39 And
after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another
third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.
What do we know from
history and the Bible? It was the Medes who first overran Babylon
beginning with the death of Belshazzar the grandson of
Nebuchadnezzar.
More than once God
had said this would happen.
Isa 13:17 Behold, I
will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver;
and as for gold, they shall not delight in it.
Isa 13:18 Their
bows also shall dash the young men to pieces; and they shall have no
pity on the fruit of the womb; their eye shall not spare children.
Isa 13:19 And
Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees'
excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.
Jer 51:11 Make
bright the arrows; gather the shields: the LORD hath raised up the
spirit of the kings of the Medes: for his device is against Babylon,
to destroy it; because it is the vengeance of the LORD, the vengeance
of his temple.
Jer 51:12 Set up
the standard upon the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, set up
the watchmen, prepare the ambushes: for the LORD hath both devised
and done that which he spake against the inhabitants of Babylon.
Dan 5:30 In that
night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain.
Dan 5:31 And Darius
the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years
old.
Just a quickly, the
Persian Empire spread by uniting with the Medes.
Dan 8:20 The ram
which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia.
The 2 horns represented the Medes and the Persians.
The two arms of the
statue and the horns of the goat signified the two divisions of this
empire.
Also there was
another fulfillment of prophesy.
Isa_44:28 That
saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure:
even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy
foundation shall be laid.
Isa_45:1 Thus saith
the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden,
to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to
open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be
shut;
Ezr 1:2 Thus saith
Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD God of heaven hath given me all the
kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house
at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.
This Kingdom lasted
from 539-331 BC
These would be the
kingdom of silver, but there would also be the kingdom of brass.
This kingdom of
brass is the kingdom built by Alexander the Great!
This thing happened
during the quiet years between the Old Testament and the New
Testament.
This Kingdom lasted
from 331 to 146 BC.
Alexander the Great
quickly swept across the Medo-Persian Empire easily defeating the
armies of Persia.
It was during this
time that many Jews ended up in Egypt.
Dan 8:5 And as I
was considering, behold, an he goat came from the west on the face of
the whole earth, and touched not the ground: and the goat had a
notable horn between his eyes.
Dan 8:6 And he came
to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing before the
river, and ran unto him in the fury of his power.
Dan 8:7 And I saw
him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with choler against
him, and smote the ram, and brake his two horns: and there was no
power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him down to the
ground, and stamped upon him: and there was none that could deliver
the ram out of his hand.
This Kingdom was
great until the death of Alexander. Alexander overdosed on alcohol!
Dan 8:8 Therefore
the he goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn
was broken; and for it came up four notable ones toward the four
winds of heaven.
Dan 8:9 And out of
one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great,
toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land.
Dan 8:10 And it
waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the
host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them.
It is the breakup of
Alexanders Kingdom after his death, that allowed the Roman Empire to
develop.
Rome may never have
defeated Alexander!
*****Dan 2:40 And
the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron
breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh
all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.
We are foolish if we
cannot see the hand of the Lord in building up and tearing down of
kingdoms!
Joh 19:10 Then
saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not
that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee?
Joh 19:11 Jesus
answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it
were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee
hath the greater sin.
This Empire of Rome
existed in the time of Christ, but even this empire developed because
it fit into God's plan!
Rom 13:1 Let every
soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of
God: the powers that be are ordained of God.
The Roman Empire was
a time of great cruelty throughout the world and much of this cruelty
still exist today!
It is during this
time of cruelty that the Church was established, and the "Gospel"
made its way through the Roman Empire and into Europe and eventually
to America.
The first Christian
in Europe was a young lady name Lydia.
Act 16:14 And a
certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of
Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord
opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.
Who established the
first Church in Europe in her own home!
We should keep in
mind that the world of Rome was a male dominated world and a very
cruel and sinful world.
The empire of Rome
lasted some 600 years and some say it still exists.
Then we come to
those toes made part of clay and part of iron.
*****Dan 2:41 And
whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and
part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it
of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed
with miry clay.
Dan 2:42 And as the
toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom
shall be partly strong, and partly broken.
Dan 2:43 And
whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle
themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to
another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.
It is toward the end
of the time of Rome that a federation of nations began to appear.
It is these 10
European nations where the military and commercial power of the world
settled for a time, all according to God's plan of taking the "Gospel
of Jesus Christ" to "whosoever" would trust in the
Lord.
These nations
battled themselves over and over till in the end we know that
England, France and Spain became dominant for a period of time.
And soon after this
there was an explosion of knowledge.
Dan 12:4 But thou,
O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of
the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.
Do these 10 nations
reflect the things we read in Chapter 7?
Dan 7:20 And of the
ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and
before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth
that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his
fellows.
Dan 7:21 I beheld,
and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against
them;
Dan 7:22 Until the
Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the
most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.
Dan 7:23 Thus he
said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which
shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth,
and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.
Dan 7:24 And the
ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and
another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the
first, and he shall subdue three kings.
Dan 7:25 And he
shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the
saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they
shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing
of time.
Rome ruled by
absolute power, but Rome failed because of corruption and wickedness
in its government which passed on to its people!
Alexander ruled and
was not so cruel, but his kingdom failed because of wickedness and
alcohol.
These are all things
in Prophesy that we see from the truth of the Scriptures.
Many have written
their thoughts and it would be good to look at all those things that
are written, but there is one thing we know for sure!
*****Dan 2:44 And
in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom,
which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to
other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these
kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.
Dan 2:45 Forasmuch
as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without
hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the
silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what
shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the
interpretation thereof sure.
To be cut out of a
mountain without hands teaches us the omnipotent power of our Divine
Lord and Savior!
In the end there
will be only one kingdom and it will be the kingdom of King Jesus!
King Jesus will
begin His rule with a rod of iron.
Psa_2:9 Thou shalt
break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a
potter's vessel.
Rev_2:27 And he
shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall
they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.
Rev_12:5 And she
brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of
iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.
Rev_19:15 And out
of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the
nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth
the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
This "rod of
iron" will be based upon the love of God and because God loves
us, we must follow and obey His commandments, so we do not get caught
up in the things of this world, which always end in destruction!
God's kingdom will
begin during the period of these kings and reach fulfillment when the
Lord returns to claim His Kingdom!
God's Kingdom will
triumph over all the kingdoms of this world!
God's Kingdom will
endure forever!
God's Kingdom is a
sure thing!
Daniel said: "the
great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass
hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof
sure"
This is Jehovah's
guarantee of a time that much of it has not yet come!
Amen
Let's Pray!
