Last week, again, we were just taking an introduction to the book of Daniel. We were introduced to the place in the unfolding history of God's people that Daniel was sent. The unfolding history of God's people, the unfolding history of his dealings with his people. The place where Daniel was sent, and really three prophets, Jeremiah, Daniel, and Ezekiel. And we had taken note last week that the ruler who conquered Jerusalem in that season of time, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, was arguably the most powerful man in all the world. And it seems that God is purposeful, that seems purposeful, in God's plan to communicate to the world through His word. On record, for perpetual record, for him to bring his people into such close proximity to such a force in the world, to bring them right next to such a force in the world, such a power, seemingly, from at least a human perspective, seemingly autonomous in its strength. but also with a very obvious commitment to false spiritual powers. This Babylon is an entity, culturally, of commitment to powers with names, false spiritual powers, idols. And this is a powerful, powerful nation opposed to God, opposed to His kingdom, opposed to His people. For God, then, to raise up Daniel, and God's word to address, to confront, and to humble that ruler, I just think that's purposeful. The most powerful man on the face of the earth chose to confront him, address him, and humble him. And then when in the same account God shows Himself to be in full control of the destiny of nations. That's what this account does. God in full control of the destiny of nations and faithful to those who entrust themselves to Him. And one who has a kingdom, a kingdom that will never be overcome by a competing force. A kingdom that never ends, there are lessons really to address the whole world across all of time, from the book of Daniel. When I think of an ancient character like Nebuchadnezzar, I notice in myself a difficulty of trying to track with who in the world is that man? What's a day in the life of Nebuchadnezzar? And what does the man think on the inside of his head? And the inside of his heart, what does a man think? It's hard, I'm assuming it's hard for anyone modern to comprehend, a person in the position of despotism that he had. Just hard to, and I think of his wealth. It's incomprehensible resources there. His entourage constantly attending him day by day. A word commands this and people scurry that and his armies and his building projects and his city walls and towers and palaces and monuments and temples. It's hard for me to get in touch with a day in the life of Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. You know, the city of Babylon with its walls and temples and towers and gardens is really legendary in its magnificence and in its aspects. It's a little bit hard to sort through the historical reports of just what it was like. Even a very ancient Greek historian, Herodotus, who's not all that far removed in time, not all that far removed in time from Nebuchadnezzar himself, for him to estimate that the walls of Babylon were 300 feet high is a little strong. It's a little hard to sort through the various reports and compare and whatever, but even the most conservative estimates of the dimensions and magnificence of the city of Babylon are overwhelming in their aspect. These walls, probably the largest city in the world at the time, these walls triple thick for defense. Who's done that? Triple thick for defense and that kind of thing. By the way, in Germany at the Pergamon Museum, Pergamon museum in Germany, there is a model of the Ishtar Gate, a full-size model of the gate, but down here in the museum there's a model of the processional entryway that would come to the Ishtar Gate and the Ishtar Temple behind it. There's a long long corridor, procession corridor, to get you there. And I want you to listen to Nebuchadnezzar's own words. We don't always get Nebuchadnezzar's own words, but there's an inscription on that Ishtar Gate where Nebuchadnezzar said, I placed bulls and ferocious dragons in the gateways and thus adorned them with luxurious splendor so that the people might gaze upon them and wonder. What's a day in the life of Nebuchadnezzar? And what does he think of who he is in the world? Actually, there's a little bit more record inside of Daniel at chapter four of what he thinks when he strolls around. struts around, shall we say, in chapter 4? We haven't gotten there yet, but in chapter 4, he actually recounts of himself that he was walking on the roof of the royal palace, and he said, Is not this great Babylon which I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty? What's a day in the life? What does the man think you get a little taste of some of these things. But in the opening verse of our chapter today, of Daniel chapter 2, Nebuchadnezzar is troubled and he can't sleep. So I think as far as trying to picture Nebuchadnezzar, you've got to picture both. The strutting man on the top of his palace and the man who is turning over in his bed, eyes, eyebrows knit, because he can't sleep. He's troubled. He has seen a dream, and that dream seems like a bad omen. And the omen... I mean, Babylon is a culture of omens. They've got staff members in four or five categories of staff members to interpret omens and seek the powers that be in the unseen world. And he is upset. Yes, we see him stride in the daylight hours. We see him rage. We see him threaten death as he demands of his soothsayers that they give him the omen's meaning. But part of his rage comes from how privately upset he is. This looks like a bad omen, and it's upsetting him, and he cannot sleep at night. Nebuchadnezzar goes back and forth. In chapter 3 we see him at the height of his character as he imagines himself to be. We're going to see him there in chapter 3 again. But again, alone at night, he's unsettled in our chapter. And it happens again. He gets another dream, right? He gets more than one dream. And in chapter 4 he actually uses these words about himself. See, we're trying to get into what does the Scripture testify for the thinking of a man? And he says, I was lying in my bed at chapter four, verse five. The images and visions that passed through my mind terrified me. That's his own words. And it terrified him because, because after all, he was just a man. Even in the position he held, with all the despotic power he exerted, he was just a man. And in this chapter he brushes up, and in chapter four he brushes up, well, all the way through, he brushes up against something much bigger than himself. bigger than his royal splendor, bigger than his palace entourage, bigger than his armies, bigger than his empire, bigger than all the array of his gods. He is brushed up against that, and he is disturbed privately at night, staring at the ceiling, and he cannot sleep. He is rightly unsettled. Why? Because He is just a man. This reminds me, actually, as I read this, and I'm thinking, and we will eventually actually read the passage here, but it reminds me of the words of Isaiah a century earlier. And again, I'm just staggered, helped by the fact that Isaiah also forecasts the future of empires, and which empire will follow which empire. I've been so enamored with what God did with Daniel for that case, because he tells what's coming, what will happen. But Isaiah did the same thing before Babylon was in power. He did the same thing. And he not only predicted that they would come to power, and that they would be the oppressive nation that would conquer Jerusalem, He not only predicted that, but He predicted the nation that would conquer them, by name. He did all of that. But the thing is, in Isaiah, the Word of God, He speaks to Babylon. Chapters 13 and 14, they're powerful in Isaiah, speaking directly to Babylon, and not only to Babylon, but to its ruler-persons. And it says this in chapter 13, verse 19, Babylon, the jewel of kingdoms, the pride and glory of the Babylonians, will be overthrown by God. They're not even in power yet. They will be overthrown, I mean, in ultimate power yet. And this is how, in chapter 14, God addresses such a person as would rule Babylon, Verse 13, you said in your heart, I will ascend to the heavens. I will raise my throne above the stars of God. I will sit enthroned on the Mount of Assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon. I will ascend above the top of the clouds. I will make myself like the Most High. But you're brought down to the realm of the dead. to the depths of the pit. And those who see you stare at you, and they ponder your fate. Is this the man who shook the earth, and made kingdoms tremble?" Do you see how Isaiah the prophet, a century earlier, by God's grace, addresses those who would be the most powerful in all the world? And one of Scripture's most haunting passages is in chapter 14. in Isaiah, as the Word of God comes to the leader of the kingdoms of this earth that way. And let me describe the picture of it. I've done that here before. You may even remember as I get started. But it's a moving image for the king of Babylon to consider. Because what it pictures is other dead kings. other dead kings from the past. Yes, there have been kings who had big cities. Yes, there were kings that had big armies. There were kings that had power, and all that kind of thing. But it says, "...the realm of the dead below is all astir to meet you at your coming." Addressing the king of Babylon, to meet you at your coming, to the realm of the dead. It's what it's all about. And when the image It's just so stirring, the image. It looks in the image like something from Lord of the Rings. Dead wraith kings, I think I've said this before, dead wraith kings from their thrones, their rotting thrones, rising to greet Babylon's king saying, you also have become weak as we are. You've become like us. All your pomp has been brought down to the grave. Along with the noise of your harps, maggots are spread out beneath you and worms cover you. I think I quoted that probably last week. Do we get the picture though of the, how the message is coming together to the powers of this earth and the persons who hold power on the earth. Nebuchadnezzar was not who he supposed himself to be. His gods were not who he supposed them to be. His kingdoms was not what he supposed it to be. He would come and he would go. And from the grave, he would no longer be giving commands and no one would be scurrying around to do his bidding. He would not build or conquer or reign or rule anything at all. No matter his previous position, it would crumble to dust. Nebuchadnezzar was just a man, an ordinary, confined-to-his-skin, finite, mortal man. And he had brushed up against a revelation that there was a more enduring kingdom to consider than his own, and there was a true and living God to grapple with. Let's walk through chapter 2. in Daniel. Book of Daniel, chapter 2, verse 1. In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams. His mind was troubled, and he could not sleep. So the king summoned the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and astrologers. You've probably got different translations there. Chaldeans, astrologers, to tell him what he had dreamed. And when they came in and stood before the king, he said to them, I've had a dream that troubles me, and I want to know what it means. Then the astrologers answered the king in Aramaic, oh, king, live forever, tell your servants the dream, we'll interpret it. The king replied to the astrologers, this is what I firmly decided. If you do not tell me what my dream was and interpret it, I'll have you cut into pieces and your houses turned into piles of rubble. But if you tell me the dream and explain it, you'll receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. So tell me the dream and interpret it for me. See, I think even the rage, even the rage depicts how stirred up he is inside. over this. Well, verse 7, once more they replied, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we'll interpret it. It's like their job is always like that, right? We're just interpreters. And I think this whole passage is kind of revealing about who they were in the world, the astrologers, the magicians, the enchanters, the soothsayers. I don't know what all translations you have there, but it's a lot of staff. And they're from all over, by the way. I think the reason they speak to him in Aramaic is because it's kind of a language that would have been understood in various regions that way. And so they address him, actually, interestingly, the book is in Aramaic from there, right from there, right from there, all the way to chapter 7. It's in Aramaic from there, the original wording of it. Anyway, well, they said, King, tell the servants the dream, verse 7, verse 8. Then the king answered, I am certain that you're trying to gain time, because you realize that this is what I have firmly decided. If you don't tell me the dream, there's just one penalty for you. You've conspired to tell me misleading and wicked things, hoping that the situation will change. So then tell me the dream, and I'll know that you can. interpret it for me. I think he's actually touching on the truth of the matter. They've been staff for the kingdom for a long time, but the truth of the matter is they're always making it up. Or they have some input from demons, I don't know, but they're making it up and they're telling him things that are wicked and conspiring. They're just trying to keep themselves safe and do what they do. But I think he's touching on things that are true. V. 10 The astrologers answered the king, There is no man on earth who can do what the king asks. No king, however great and mighty, has ever asked such a thing of any magician, or enchanter, or astrologer. What the king asks is too difficult. No one can reveal it to the king except the gods, and they do not live among men." I think there is real contrast here, too, between the one true and living God and how He deals with His people. and these gods who don't live among men, and you can't get a word from them." Well, this made the king, verse 12, so angry and furious that he ordered the execution of all the wise men of Babylon. So the decree was issued to put the wise men to death, and men were sent. to look for Daniel and his friends, to put them to death. See, they fell into the category of these staffers, since they had passed muster in the three-year analysis and all of that. They were advisors. And it's particularly Daniel, probably because he could interpret dreams. I don't know how much the king knew about that yet. Verse 14. When Ariok, the commander of the king's guard, had gone out to put to death the wise men of Babylon, Daniel spoke to him with wisdom and tact. He asked the king's officer, why did the king issue such a harsh decree? Ariok then explained the matter to Daniel. that this Daniel went in to the king and asked him for time, so that he might interpret the dream for him. And then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, and he urged them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that he and his friends might not be executed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. Sometimes I think when we think of prophets, we think they already know everything, right? For this moment, Daniel didn't know what the Lord would do, yet. He didn't know whether He would answer and give him an interpretation. And what did he do? He went to his friends to ask them to seek God for mercy, to plead with God for mercy on this occasion. While the mercy was given, verse 19, during the night, the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision Then Daniel praised the God of heaven and said, and I think as we get to here, I think this is all very purposeful in God, too, as He communicates with you and with me. When Daniel praises Him, we're going to learn a lot about Him. We're going to learn a lot about who He is, how He deals. And Daniel praised the God of heaven, verse 20, and said, Praise be to the name of God forever and ever. Wisdom and power are His. He changes times and seasons. He sets up kings and deposes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. He reveals deep and hidden things. He knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with Him. I thank and praise you, O God of my fathers. You've given me wisdom and power. made known to me what we asked of you. You've made known to us the dream of the king." Verse 24, Then Daniel went to Ariok, whom the king had appointed to execute the wise men of Babylon. And he said to him, Do not execute the wise men. of Babylon, take me to the king, and I'll interpret his dream for him." Ariok took Daniel to the king at once, and he said, I found a man among the exiles from Judah who can tell the king what his dream means. The king asked Daniel, also called Belteshazzar, are you able to tell me what I saw in my dream and interpret it? Daniel replied, No wise man, enchanter, magician, or diviner can explain the mystery that he has asked about. But, verse 28, do you have that in front of you? But what? But there is a God. And I think we've got to let our minds grab on to phrases like that. But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come. Your dream and the visions that pass through your mind as you lay on your bed are these." And I want to dwell on a phrase there in verse 28. He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen. God is in charge of what will happen, and He revealed it here. And what I think we glean from that is that we may know Him as the One in charge of what will happen. And beautifully in this, just watch it come together in verse 44. It's coming. I don't want to go ahead of myself here. but watch it coming. What will happen? Well, there's going to be the sequence of empires and all of that, but it's all headed for verse 44. We're going there. He has shown the king what will happen. And this is what you saw in your dreams. Verse 29, then, as you were lying there, O king, your mind turned to things to come, and the revealer of mysteries showed you what is going to happen. As for me, this mystery has been revealed to me not because I have greater wisdom than other living men, but so that you, O King, may know the interpretation, and that you may understand what went through your mind." It seems to me this is real, a certain grace of, revealing to him, the kind of word that could be believed, even for salvation. God is making Himself known. I don't know where Nebuchadnezzar comes out in the end. I mean, the last thing he says is good truth about God. The last thing he says, I don't know where he comes out. But the Lord testified to him. And that's grace, because the Lord could have snuffed him out, could have snuffed him out before all of this, enemy of God and His people, as Nebuchadnezzar was. He could have snuffed him out already. Instead, he lets him know what was on his mind in the dream. Verse 32, I've got to back up. Do you know what verse I'm on here? I've got to learn what verse I'm on here. It's verse 31. You looked, O King, and there before you stood a large statue, an enormous, dazzling statue, awesome in appearance. The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay. And while you were watching a rock was cut out, but not by human hands, it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and it smashed them. I think this is part of what makes Nebuchadnezzar wonder if this is a bad omen. Right? When you see that vision, you don't know what it means. V. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were broken into pieces at the same time, and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace, but the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth. This was the dream, and now we will interpret it to the king." That's one of the graces of God, as well, in the book of Daniel. An image like that is startling, and it hits you, like it hit Him. But the thing is, the Lord grants the interpretation. What does this mean? Always look for that in seeing Bible prophecy and dreams. If the Bible gives the interpretation, that's good. Verse 37, You, O King, are the King of kings. The God of heaven has given you dominion and power and might and glory in your hands. He has placed mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds of the air wherever they live. He has made you ruler over them all. You are the head of gold. After you another kingdom will rise, inferior to yours." See, what is being communicated in a statue is the sequence of empires, after Ewoken. It's interpreted to us. We don't have to wonder. It's interpreted to us. Another kingdom will rise, inferior to yours. Next, the third kingdom, when a bronze will rule over the whole earth. And finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron. For iron breaks and smashes everything. And as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others. just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom. Yet it will have some of the strength of iron in it, even as you saw iron mixed with clay. As the toes were partly iron, partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a mixture, and will not remain united any more than iron mixes with clay." In the time of those kings, verse 44, and I want to say this about verse 44. It is one of the landmark verses in all scripture. Hang on to verse 44. In the time of those kings, The God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands. A rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, The silver and the gold, to pieces, the great God has shown the king what will take place in the future. The dream is true, and the interpretation is trustworthy. Let me dwell a moment on the sequence of kingdoms. Again, Isaiah had said that after Babylon will come the Medes, and the Medes will be the conquering nation. The Medes and Persians, that's Cyrus the Great and all of that kind of thing. So the silver up here is Cyrus. That's the next kingdom coming, the Medo-Persian kingdom. The one after that is Greece. Daniel will mention that by name as time comes on. And then a fourth kingdom. And we have the advantage of being able to look backward. We get to see backward and see a sequence of kingdom. What is the major crushing kingdom that crushes everything after Greece? It's going to be Rome, and in the days of those kings, God will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed. This is when the Lord Jesus Christ came. And interestingly, it's kind of at the first stage of the imperial aspect of Rome. Rome had been around for a long time, by the time Christ comes. But yet Augustus is the first of the imperial, the full-on imperial emperors of that, and in the days of those kings, God brought Jesus Christ. The rock that's cut out, not by human hands, is nothing less than our Lord Jesus Christ." It's a broad reference to the whole kingdom, but it's also direct. It is a rock, and it is our Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 46, Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell prostrate before Daniel, and paid him honor, and ordered that an offering, an incense, be presented to him. The king said to Daniel, Surely Your God is the God of gods, and the Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries. For you were able to reveal this mystery." And Nebuchadnezzar speaks the truth there, but I think he's still speaking it out of his own culture and his own thing. Let's make an incense offering to this guy. He's still speaking out of his own. It's one among many gods. He does say he seems to be the one in charge. or whatever, but then in chapter 3 he's right back to his old ways, at least at this stage. God is revealing himself to him, and he speaks the truth about God, but I don't know exactly where he's at in his heart. Verse 48, Then the king placed Daniel in a high position, and lavished many gifts on him. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon, and placed him in charge of all its wise men. Moreover, at Daniel's request, the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego administrators over the province of Babylon, while Daniel himself remained at the royal court. I realize that's a big walk through a lot of verses. I think there are two things. What do we take home? Yeah, are we supposed to do that today? What do we take home from today? Number one, there's really no kingdom to be part of than the kingdom mentioned in verse 44. There is no such thing as autonomy. There is no such thing as the phrase, my mighty power, my majesty. and even on a much more ordinary level than dealing with the most powerful man in the world. People can walk around feeling no need for God. As he did, saying he's a man in his skin, but he felt no need for God. Why? Because everything seemed to be going his way. My mighty power. My majesty. And people, even on an ordinary level, can walk around quite a bit of the time, feeling like there is no need for God. But we need God. And we need a hope over death itself. We need a hope over death itself. What did the wraith kings say to Nebuchadnezzar? They said, You're going down to the realm of the dead, with all of its imagery, the realm of the dead. but we need a hope, and we have it in Christ. We have this kingdom, we have Christ's kingdom, verse 44. And if you're part of that kingdom, we have a strength over against death itself. And against, and this is kind of point number two, if we have Christ and His kingdom in our hearts, we have a confidence that we can carry in courage, even when Others against Christ are in power positions. Nebuchadnezzar could do some damage. And the damage was experienced by even the people of God. And yet the people of God can have the deeper kingdom and hope in view. And I don't know what it's like for you at night, if you ever can't sleep, wondering about, how are things going to be? next year, five years, ten years, when your mind drifts to the powers-that-be, what's it going to be like? It may not be easy. And yet we know what will be. The Lord's kingdom will never be overcome by others, and it lasts forever. And that's what allows the people of God to hold on while we Wait, shall we say, for Christ's return. I don't know what it's like for you. Are you afraid at night? I worry, too. And I think, where in can I rest my feet on solid ground? Daniel 2, we can do that. Let's pray. Lord, I pray that you would address us in the matter of worry address us with truth and hope in Christ and your kingdom, address us with the courage that will be displayed across the book of Daniel in persons who trusted you under hard circumstances, and we pray that we would be rightly confronted if we ever get proud about anything, and rest and hope in you alone, in Jesus' name. Amen.