All right, well, good morning, everybody. I think we can go ahead and get started. It is nine o'clock on the dot. We have a lot of content to get through today, so I think it'd be okay for us to go ahead and jump in. But welcome back to Sunday School. We are really nearing the end of this study. We started in August, about August 4th, I think. And we have worked through the entire Old Testament, and we're approaching the end. So after today, we have Esther, and then we have Ezra and Nehemiah. That'll be broken into two weeks. And then we have Chronicles, 1 and 2 Chronicles, and that'll end our time. So still thinking about what to do before we start our missions, our summer missionary series. But we'll find something that I think will be helpful. And there'll be a few weeks of kind of us filling some time. But that's where we're headed and I think it'd be wise just for us to begin with a word of prayer. So let's pray Father we are grateful for your blessing to us this morning and giving us the opportunity to gather Pray that as we open up this book book of Daniel pray that you would encourage us pray that you would help us to think rightly father about oppression in the world, evil rulers, and all the different things that Daniel, Lord, forces us to think about. So help us as we study these things, help us, Father, to see Christ in them, and to give you glory. So guide us, we pray. In Christ's name we pray. Amen. Alright, good morning, good morning. Handouts in the front if you don't have one. Probably be a good idea to have one today, so come grab one up here if you need one. But let's go ahead and start by turning in your Bibles to 1 Peter chapter 1. and go ahead and turn to verse one. 1 Peter chapter one, verse one. So Peter says this. He says, Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ to those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who were chosen. Okay, so there's the first part of verse one. And I want us to think briefly about this to set the stage as we turn to the book of Daniel. But what does Peter mean by calling his audience aliens or strangers in the world? What do y'all think? Yeah, citizenship is in heaven, right? And yet the people that he's writing to are still very much a part of the kingdoms of the world, so to speak. Yeah? Yeah, that's right, yeah, good. Yep, so there's definitely some connections here, and I think it's good for us to think about that, and really it leads to a series of good questions for us to ask, and that really comes down to this. What does it mean to live in a world as a stranger, as an alien, and yet still very much live in the world? Okay, we can't escape, we can't completely remove ourself, right? And I don't think the Lord is in any way calling us to do that. So really today, that's what we're gonna be looking at as we study the book of Daniel this morning. So be thinking about that text in First Peter and how the New Testament pitches these ideas as we turn to Daniel. So we may think of the status of alien or stranger as a more, maybe a New Testament concept, thinking about, again, that verse in First Peter. But we're gonna see today that even under the old covenant, the chosen people of God were called to live as aliens and strangers from time to time. Daniel represents such an instance. Any time the people were in exile, in Egypt, earlier in their history, these all represent such times. So when you think of the book of Daniel, the first six chapters, with accounts like the fiery furnace, the lion's den, these are all probably very familiar to you. They're great stories, they're fun to focus on in Sunday school, and there's really good reasons for that. compelling narratives that really paint a very compelling picture. And yet the last six chapters are probably some of the least read chapters in all of scripture. And probably that's because they're just confusing. It's okay to say that, I think. They're pretty confusing. So my hope is that across the next two weeks we can piece this all together as one book. We won't answer every question, we won't be able to resolve every dispute that's in the book of Daniel obviously, but hopefully we'll be able to get a big idea, a big picture of what Daniel's doing, what the Lord's doing through Daniel as he delivers this book to us. Along the way I hope that we learn what it means to live as aliens in this world. So that's our goal. So first let's go ahead and give some context. I will be leaning on the handout quite a bit today so I'll try to make reference to it to help you know where I'm at. But the first bit there, context. So if you didn't catch the lesson from Lamentations last week, I would encourage you. I just got confirmed that it is posted on Sermon Audio. Go back and listen to it if you missed it. Lamentations is a book written by Jeremiah lamenting the destruction of Jerusalem and the people being carried off into exile by the Babylonians. It's a gut-wrenching book. And yet it's also a strangely beautiful book. And Daniel is the only book that we have in our canon that spans the entire exile. So that's why we're teaching this in a little bit of a different order than the order that's represented in your Bibles today. And this is one of the reasons. Lamentations represents the very last of the former writings. All of the former writings are commentary. The latter writings, we're talking about the Jewish ordering of the Old Testament, the latter writings are all narrative. So Lamentations last week was the last of the former writings. commentary about the destruction of Jerusalem. And now we're moving back into this narrative, which is going to continue through the rest of our study. All the books we're looking at are going to be narrative. And Daniel is the only book that spans the entire exile. So Daniel, he was a teenager when when he was taken captive to Babylon during the first wave of exiles. And Daniel was still in Babylon as an old man when the Jews began returning to Jerusalem around 536, 537 BC. So Daniel spends that entire time in the city of Babylon. Daniel is in exile in Babylon for just about his entire life. He actually may not have ever left. He may have died before he was able to leave. So he's a unique prophet in that his entire ministry, his entire life really, was lived in exile. The Babylonians were conquered by the Medes and the Persians in 539 BC. And this is interesting and kind of challenging to wrap your minds around. This is on the historical context, that last point. We'll see this in a minute, but the structure of Daniel really matters in terms of how the book is laid out and how it's structured, but it's not chronological in the way it's presented to you. So the chronology of the historical narrative, which goes from chapters one through chapters nine, that's the narrative portion of Daniel. The chronological order is on your handout. So let's work through that. Chapters 1 through 4 and chapter 7 and 8 occur during the reign of the Babylonians. So chapters 1 through 4, 7 and 8 occur during the reign of the Babylonians. Chapter 5 records the fall of the last Babylonian king and the takeover by the Medes. And chapters 9 and 6 record events that occurred during the reign of the new empire, which is called the Medo-Persian Empire. So God's people, it seems, are just really being caught up as pawns in this great battle for dominance. It's what seems to be going on in much of the book of Daniel. And that really captures the redemptive historical context of the book for us, right? The question on the table is this. Who rules the earth? If you put yourself in this situation as Daniel or as one of his friends or one of the faithful, you can see how this question would be present. Who rules the earth? Is God really in control? Or is he also, just as the Jews have been, is he also at the whims of these various empires who come up, who rise into power and go about their business trying to control things. And maybe equally important, there's an ethical component to this question. How ought the people of God to live or to behave throughout all of this? living amongst a land where nations are rising, nations are falling, there's war, there's people being taken out, there's Julius Caesar type senators stabbing, you know, Ides of March kind of stuff going on. There's all this crazy stuff going on. And how are the people of God to behave through all of this? These are the questions that Daniel will hopefully answer for us this morning. So again, handout, that set the historical context and the redemptive historical context. Now let's go ahead and move on to theme. So the theme that was provided for us in our curriculum is this, and I thought it was good. The most high, this is it, the most high, the God of Daniel, sovereignly rules and reigns supreme over all mankind. Therefore, his people are brave in the face of persecution. So there's one way to state a theme, maybe a bigger picture theme. And we'll see as we move into the writings, there's this idea of promise that comes up again and again in the books that we're going to study over the next few weeks. The promise of God's universal kingdom is reiterated. It's been there the whole time, throughout much of the Old Testament. And we see again, it's reiterated in the book of Daniel. So back to that first theme, the one that starts with the most high. You'll notice that the first sentence, that it didn't refer to God by his covenant name, Yahweh, right? As we have so often seen, really since the book of Exodus, as you see in the Old Testament, much of the references to the Lord are in your all caps, meaning that this is the covenant name of the Lord, some version of Yahweh, Yahweh, right? Well, the reason why we're putting it that way in the theme is because Daniel doesn't really use that name, with the exception of one reference to Yahweh in chapter nine. God is largely referred to in the book as the Most High. So thus the lack of capital letters Lord in your English Bibles when you read through the book of Daniel, what Daniel's doing is emphasizing that his God is God over all the peoples of the earth, not just the Jews. I think that's his broader point. And as you'll recall, these people are in exile. They have been called not my people by Hosea, okay, if you remember that study. They've been called not my people Now they're in exile, so it's fitting that in chapter 9, when the word Yahweh does appear, Daniel is praying about the end of the exile, the Jews returning back to Jerusalem. That's when the name Yahweh reenters David's prayers and reenters the book. And I think that one little hint, the use of God's name in chapter 9, tells us much about the message of this book. So let's go and turn to the book. For some books of the Bible, we can basically wander in and understand what the author's doing. For others, knowing a book's structure can really be quite helpful. And Daniel is most certainly, most definitely falls under the second category. So think about what you know about the book of Daniel. It begins in chapter 1 verses 1-4 with Daniel and the nation of Judah going into exile. Pretty much what we read about in Lamentations last week. Daniel and the nation of Judah going into exile. Then near the end of Daniel chapter 9 Okay, we see that it's time for the exile to be finished. Okay, time for the exile to be finished. Move a little further in, in Chapter 2 focuses on King Nebuchadnezzar's vision of a statue representing four great kingdoms. Now, with the end of the exile in Chapter 9, we move a little bit further, further in and we see in Chapter 7 and 8 more visions of kingdoms, with four kingdoms again in Chapter 7. In all, the context of the first half of the book is recapitulated in the second half of the book. So I'll explain with a little more detail. But what does recapitulated mean? Someone give me a helpful way to describe that. Taken up and repeated or kind of recast. What'd you say? Yeah, like recast in a little bit of a different light. So the first half of the book is recapitulated in the second half. And for those of you who are familiar with that term, the Book of Daniel, like many other places in ancient literature, is structured as a chiasm. We love chiasms, right? It's structured as a chiasm. Do y'all remember what a chiasm is? It's pairs of parallel passages that work from the ends of a book to the middle, which is where the main point lies. Okay, so let me demonstrate that for you. On the back of your handout, we're gonna spend a few minutes working through this, you'll see a study outline for the Book of Daniel. Here's what I mean. So a chiasm is typically structured A, B, C, or A, B, C, D, or however long or how deep the chiasm goes. And it steps in to the focal point, and then it steps back out, pretty much to where it started. So it starts here, works into the main point, and then works itself back out to about where it started. And the whole point of this, chiasms tell us where to look for the main point. That is the point of this style of ancient writing. So let's work through it. Start at A. So first off, notice chapters one through nine. That's that narrative section we've been talking about. Okay, the narrative section, one through nine, and look how this section is structured. A, okay, which is chapter one. Exile, the people of God afflicted. Okay, now go down to the bottom where it says A-. A- means it's corresponding to the first A, but it's not exactly the same thing. So, number one, exile, the people of God afflicted. A-, chapter nine, return from exile, Messiah afflicted. So you can see the parallel ideas in these two chapters. B, chapter 2, four empires brought low by God's king, okay, in history, a type in history. B dash, chapter 8, well really chapter 7 and chapter 8. These are taken together. Chapter 7, four empires brought low by God's king. that corresponds again to the upper B. And then the second B dash, four empires brought low. Okay, so you can see how the top B and the bottom Bs, they correlate. C, the king sets himself up as God and the people of God are afflicted. C dash, Same point, the king sets himself up as God, and the people of God are afflicted. Okay, and then we get to D. Nebuchadnezzar is brought low, D-, Belshazzar is brought low. Okay, so really at the very heart of what we find between those two Ds, we'll see is kind of the main focus of the book. Okay, so work through that on your own as you read through the book and see if you can see it that way. But I think it's a helpful way to see exactly what we're dealing with when we're studying the book of Daniel. So just to review, there's a chiastic mirroring here in the narrative portion of Daniel. The outside labeled A and B are the two parallels, as I just mentioned. And in the middle, the main point, are the two sections labeled with Ds, where we have the stories of the two kings being humbled from what they thought that they were untouchable places of their sovereignty. And set in the middle of those two stories, we find chapter 4, verses 34 through 35. So I'm going to read that because this really does probably represent the heart of the book. And it's right in the smack middle of that chiasm. So chapter 4, verses 34 through 35. this, "'But at the end of that period I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes towards heaven, and my reason returned to me. And I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honored Him who lives forever. For His domain is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom endures from generation to generation. All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, but He does according to His will. And what the hosts of of His will in the host of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth. And no one can ward off His hand, or say to Him, What have You done?" So I submit to you that that is the point of the book of Daniel. God has humbled even the great king Nebuchadnezzar, and He will ultimately humble all rulers of the earth. And then to see the way that Nebuchadnezzar praises the Lord and what he declares about him after he has been humbled. Now for clarity's sake, I think I should point out that some of the parallels in Daniel are really quite clear. Others of them maybe not so much. And there's obviously different ways of trying to structure this chiasm and make sense of all of it. Don't have time to go into all those things today. We'll just simply note that one, the book is built around this amazing theme of the humbling of the kings of men. The rulers of the earth will be humbled. We see that so clearly in the book of Daniel. And just think about how encouraging that would be to a dispossessed people. How encouraging it should be to a church that might live in a nation all over the world where You know, the rulers at the time have set their minds against them. They see them as something to be eradicated or to be, you know, relegated to the side because they don't think they're helpful or they're not getting with the program. Should be an encouragement to them and also to us. And two, it accounts, second, so that was the first, built around this amazing theme of the humbling of the kings of men. in the accounts in the first half, this is the other point, the accounts in the first half can help us understand the visions of the second half. That's the usefulness of the chiasm in trying to interpret these things. So how do we get into this book? Well, to help you understand the structure a little bit better, the way we're going to work through the book of Daniel for the rest of our time, today and next time, is we're going to take the chapters that are meant to reinforce each other and look at them as pairs together. So we're going to start in the middle and work our way out. So in that chiasm, we're going to start with the two D's. That's where we're going to start. And we're going to work our way out for the rest of our time today and also for next time. So now we're on page one of the inside of your handout, for those of you who are taking notes. Let's start in chapters four and five. So in these two chapters we have two prideful kings who believed that they rule by their own might. Okay, the name of the first one is? Nebuchadnezzar. And the name of the second one is? They're in your notes, so perfect. You all are paying attention, right? Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar, those are the two kings representing in chapter 4 and chapter 5. And they each believed that they are the king of kings. They are the lord of lords. They are, you know, nothing can touch them, right? So we'll take them in turn. The first is Nebuchadnezzar, the king of the Babylonians. And in the first part of chapter 4, Nebuchadnezzar has a dream of a large tree with different birds nesting in it, which suddenly is chopped down. By this time, Daniel has risen far up in the Babylonian government, ultimately because of the wisdom that God had given him. He's also shown himself to be an accurate interpreter of dreams. Does this sound familiar to you? Joseph, I heard it. Yeah, this should sound almost identical to the Joseph story. Daniel here is really being portrayed as a new Joseph. There's many similarities between them. They're both captured and oppressed by Gentiles. Daniel in Babylon, Joseph in Egypt, right? They were both young at the time. Okay? They both rise high in the service of the Gentiles, second in command, no less. They're both falsely accused, right? See that in both of their lives? If you read the book of Daniel, you'll see what I mean. And they're both delivered by God in life-threatening situations. Okay, what else do they both do? They both interpret dreams, right? And they both ascribe their ability to interpret dreams to God in the face of others who cannot interpret those dreams by relying on their own religious means. So there's all these interesting parallels between Daniel and Joseph. And the point of all this is most likely to encourage the people of God that he has been with them, that he has been with his people before in a foreign land and protected them, and delivered them, and He will do so again." The first time we saw this on display, we see it in Egypt, and now we see it in Babylon. Afterward, He has brought His people out of Egypt, He will bring them out of Babylon too. Okay, this new Joseph is a sign unto all these things. And both of them, I would submit to you, are types of Christ. Both of them are types of Christ who lead their people out. The great salvation story in the Old Testament is what? What's picked up in the New Testament over and over again is kind of the great example of salvation. The exodus, them leaving Egypt. Just as surely, you know, them leaving Babylon and returning, you know, can be kind of understood in a similar kind of way. And that's exactly what Christ has done for us too, right? So anyway, in chapter 4, verse 24 through 26 of Daniel, the king gives this interpretation of. Daniel gives the king this interpretation of his dream. So this is chapter 4, 24 through 26. And this is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the Most High, which has come upon my lord the king, that you may be driven away from mankind, and your dwelling place be with the beasts of the field, and you be given grass to eat like cattle, and to be drenched with the dew of heaven. and seven periods of time will pass over you until you recognize the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever He wishes. And in that it was commanded to leave the stump with the roots of the tree, your kingdom will be assured to you after you recognize that it is heaven that rules." Okay, so this is Daniel interpreting King Nebuchadnezzar's dream. Now, do we know if Nebuchadnezzar believed Daniel or not? The text doesn't really say, but we do know that the prophecy became, that it came true. In verse 31, as Nebuchadnezzar is reveling in his greatness, a voice from heaven speaks and he is struck with some kind of insanity that strips him of all his ability to rule. He didn't recover until he confessed those verses that we read earlier as the main point of the book. Okay? What happened to Nebuchadnezzar? You all remember? Pretty much what the prophecy said, right? He went about wandering the fields like a wild animal, right? Literally, like an insane person. That's what he did, right? Yes, ma'am? Yeah, yeah. Just imagine, yeah, a kingly person with all the regalia and all that surrounds them, all the glory, to be brought to something like that. I mean, that just shows this ultimate humiliation, right? It's not even that you're gonna be kicked to the streets as a normal person, but you're gonna be kicked out with the animals to behave like them. So, that's exactly right. Now, the story ends with Nebuchadnezzar uttering these words. This is in verse 37. and turn there, chapter four. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt, and honor the king of heaven, for all his works are true, and his ways just. And he is able to humble those who walk in pride. So this coming out of the mouth of Nebuchadnezzar, right, based on what the Lord has taught him, to put it politely. And that last sentence leads us right into chapter four, which is the sister chapter, chapter 5, which is the sister chapter of chapter 4. So, chapter 5. Chapter 5, the Most High delivers the same message to another king. By now Nebuchadnezzar is dead and Belshazzar is running Babylon. However, Belshazzar didn't learn the lessons that Nebuchadnezzar had learned. Instead, he threw himself a big party, right? And he used, as his drinking goblets, y'all remember what he used? Yeah, vessels from the temple that they stole from the temple when they sacked the temple. So they collected all the gold, you know, refinements that were there and being used for worship. And he was like, I'm going to throw myself a big party. I'm going to use the very vessels that were used in the Hebrew worship services to, you know, behave in a debauched way. That's exactly what happened. The sacred vessels from the temple in Jerusalem are what was used. And just like Nebuchadnezzar, he's given a vision from the Most High. Just one more point on that. Like just think about if you're an Israelite in exile and you're watching this king take these beautiful things that were used in an old day for you and you're looking back and remembering whenever these things were used in worship and offering sacrifices and washings and all these things that really recognize God's presence with you, to see a godless king take those things and completely desecrate them out in the open. Like you should, I mean, hopefully that gives you a sense of the horror of what is going on here. It's not just that he picked the gold cups instead of the silver cups that he had in his own cupboard. There was something very deeply offensive going on here. And there's no record of the people protesting in the streets saying, you shouldn't use those, even though, of course, they were right to do so. That's not what they did, right? That we know of. But what God did was something different. Just like Nebuchadnezzar Belshazzar is given a vision from the Most High, this time in the form of handwriting, which is suddenly appearing on the wall, putting a real damper on his merrymaking. But he doesn't know what the writing means, so what does he do? He calls Daniel to interpret. And after soundly rebuking the king, so there's Daniel giving his protest, I suppose. Daniel is no respecter of men, so he says what he knows is right. And he provides the interpretation in verses 26 through 28. So he says, God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end. You have been weighed in the balances and found wanting. Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and the Persians. and that very night Belshazzar is killed. Again, the point of it all is that the Most High will bring no rivals. He alone rules over heaven and earth, and the same is true today. God is not changed. So when His people see kingdoms rising and kingdoms falling and governments acting in godless ways, we need to not fear that the Lord does not see this or fear that He is somehow off of His throne. Okay, that should be hopefully a word of encouragement for you. Any questions or comments up to this point? Oh, okay, go ahead. There also is a drastic difference between Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar. Because Nebuchadnezzar, yes, goes out and is a beast, but he repents and is at least restored for the rest of his life. Whereas Belshazzar hears all of this and he clothes Daniel with a robe and proclaims that he has authority. He does not take this at all. Right. That's right. Yeah. Difference between the two ultimate responses of the two kings. Now will we see King Nebuchadnezzar in heaven? I don't know. Right. Absolutely. And gives proper honor to the Lord. Right. That's exactly right. Which again, as I said earlier, that kind of represents the heart of the book, is the testimony of Nebuchadnezzar after he'd been so humbled. He's wiped out. Right. Yeah. One of them. Yeah. Right. Right. One of them recognized something. Right. Right. That's right. That's really good. Good. Wonderful. Wonderful discussion. All right. Chapters 3 and Chapter 6. So now we're taking a step out. So we took the middle two, 4 and 5. Now we're taking a step out, looking at Chapters 3 and Chapter 6. Okay. Chapter 3 contains that famous story. Really what this is going to focus on is what a theology of divine sovereignty looks like when it runs up against more arrogant kings. So chapters three and chapter six. Chapter three contains that famous story of Daniel's three friends named? Hebrew names? There we go. I knew somebody would get it. That's good. Yep. Everybody knows the Babylonian names, but few know the Hebrew names. Right. I know, that's right. Never referred to in that way. So the three friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace. So Nebuchadnezzar sets up a golden image for himself that all must worship. So remember, we're taking a step back in the chronology here. Well, like proper monotheists who still love their covenant God, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego will not bow down and worship the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up and commanded to be worshiped. Response, Nebuchadnezzar is furious, and he would challenge his universal authority. At the end of verse 15, he says this, and who is the God who will deliver you out of my hands? So that's Nebuchadnezzar, pre his humiliation. Okay, this is where it gives you a thought and account of how he was thinking. Who is this God who will deliver you out of my hands? Well, let's see. In response we find these three men being as brave as Daniel and some amazing words are found in verses 16-18. So again, these are great words just to have on your mind. So, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to the king, this is verse 16, O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter. If it be so, our God, whom we serve, is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire. And he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But even if he does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up." OK, that is some resolute, unflinching backbone. Old fashioned backbone, that's what that is. And we all could use a little more of it from time to time, right? Well, as you can imagine, an answer like that pretty much seals their fate, and into the fire they go, right? Is that the end of the story for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? No. Okay, God rescues them. Not only are they completely protected, but they are joined by a fourth, okay, who, according to the king, looks like a son of the gods, right? So Nebuchadnezzar, who is the God that will deliver us out of your hands? The God of the Jews. He's the one that will do it. And so we see that Nebuchadnezzar is astonished. And in verse 29 we say this, so again you kind of see this initial He's kind of all over the place, isn't he? Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation, or tongue that speaks anything offensive against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb and their houses reduced to a rubbish heap, inasmuch as there is no other God who is able to deliver in this way. So here we see that Nebuchadnezzar recognizes something and changes his policy and really makes a policy in a good direction. Chapter 6, guess what? We have a similar account. Okay, so that was Chapter 3. Now we're moving out to Chapter 6, that sister chapter in the Chiasm. And this time we're talking about King Darius. Okay? And the faithful Jewish victim is none other than Daniel, right? This Daniel into the lion's den, as you all remember. Now by this time, Daniel is an old man. Is there a picture of Daniel up there in the lion's den? There might be. I don't know. But typically, he's portrayed as a young man. You kind of see this young man with the lions. That's probably actually not accurate. Yeah, bottom right corner. Oh, yeah, there he is. He's probably an old man by this point. And the well-known story goes like this. Daniel's enemies. look for a way to trap him, but they can't find anything scandalous in him. So they decide to go after the one thing that sticks out, which is his commitment to pray to God. They convince Darius to pass a decree outlawing prayer to any god but Darius, and then they go and catch Daniel in this criminal act. The punishment? Into the lion's den. Not into the furnace this time, but into the lion's den. And once again, God rescues his servant. Once again, God turns the mouth of pagan kings into his praise. So look at chapter 6, verses 26 and 27. This out of the mouth of King Darius. I make a decree that in all the dominion of my kingdom, men are to fear and tremble before the God of Daniel. For he is a living God and enduring forever. And his kingdom is one which will not be destroyed. and His dominion will be forever. He delivers and rescues and performs signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, who has also delivered Daniel from the power of the lions." The point of highlighting all this is just to show that God is on His throne. Yes, ma'am? No. Not at all. Yeah. Yeah. It is. It's remarkable. And the primary implication of all that we're discussing is really important. Just because the true God reigns, it doesn't mean that His people will not be exempt from persecution or be exempt from very uncomfortable situations. being thrown into a fiery furnace. Seems uncomfortable. A lion's den. Uncomfortable, right? They lived through it, but it's not unusual. In fact, it means that they will be the target, in many cases, of all the more persecution. The allegiance of God's people to Him will appear a challenge to any earthly claim to sovereignty. So God's people will seem to really only be in the way of their very earthly power grab, right? But it's because of that confidence that indeed the Most High does rule over the kingdoms of men, that the persecuted and afflicted people of God are willing to endure great trials and tribulations for the sake of the God that they love. It's because we know that He does rule over the kingdoms of men, that nothing is happening that's outside of His control, that ultimately every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord, that with all these things put ballast in our stern, is that what you say? I think so, that will keep us stable as the waves of persecution and oppression and whatever comes against us. That's the heart of, I think, what Daniel's wanting to teach us. So do you see how God is preparing his people for the age in which we now live? Right? I mean, that's really it. King Solomon, think about him, he hardly could have thought of himself as a stranger and an alien in the world. He ruled for all intents and purposes. His was the very center of the world. That's where Solomon was ruling. But by the time we get to Daniel, God is using his prophets to teach us what it looks like to be citizens of a kingdom that is not of this world. The final culmination of this kingdom is yet to come. Questions or comments before we can close? Hallelujah. I love it. Hallelujah. Alright, so this ends part one of the study of Daniel. Today we saw that even with God's people in the depths of exile, the Lord reigns over all. If godless ruler takes their stand against him and against his people, it will surely not be for any moment longer than he ordains. Daniel gives us a tremendous example of how we are to live during a time in redemptive history where the kingdom of God, although initiated, okay, not fully consummated. Come back next week and we will continue to work through our outline of the book of Daniel and build on these themes. Let's pray and then come back for next week for part two. Father, we are thankful for just the example of Daniel, of the faithful that were in exile in Babylon. We thank you, Lord, that you have taught us this morning that you, Lord, are truly on your throne, and that no earthly king, no matter how strong, how powerful, how intimidating, Father, can do anything outside of what you ordain them to do. And Father, the moment that they are to fall, indeed they will fall. And for that, Lord, we are so thankful. We trust you. And Father, we pray you give us courage and boldness in the face of whatever persecution may come. Help us to have, as Daniel had, have backbone to speak the truth, unwaveringly knowing, Lord, that that gives you glory and gives you honor. So help us in these things we pray, in Christ's name, amen.