Dream of the empires.

Shalom beloved ones,

Today we will focus on the book of Daniel chapter 2.

Abit of background: Nebukadnezar was one of the greatest kings of the neo babyloniens, he conqured Israel. He carried away numbers of captives like Jerusalem and the temple of Salomon. He took dome of the brightest young people of Jerusalem. Who were: Daniel, Ananias,Michael et Azaria.

Isaiah the Prophet told king Hezekiah the following: because of your pride when the babyloniens ambassadors came to visit everything they looked at was going to be carried off to Babylon including your descendants. Which were the 4 young people. Babylon became wealthy and Nebukadnzar was wondering how long it would last and one day,he had a dream à very vivid one, from the time of Nebukadnezar up until the 2nd coling of Jesus.

Now people wonder can a dream tell the future.

Do you believe the Bible can foretell the future?

Pastor says He believes that the Bible and the prophecies do tell us what's coming. He believes that because of the evidence of fulfilled prophecy. Thats why it id important to believe that prophecy is true.

He gives advices when you hear a sermon to tell someone else cause otherwise you have heard the sermon and it can go away from your mind and you light forget about it, but when you go around and tell others about it,it will stay in your memory and has a positive impact in your life.

Questions+ Notes :

Q1: Why did God give this Babylonian king this dream?

Daniel2v28(There is a God in heaven who reveals secrets)

This dream is talking about the future and God chose to give this dream to Nebukadnezar. Just like Pharaoh of Egypt had a dream and didnt know what the dream meant and he had to call his wisemen and they didnt know what the dream meant.and there was a Hebrew in prison who was able to interpret the dream.

Daniel 2:1-2(spirit of King Nebukadnezar was troubled because of the dream)

In verse 5 the King commanded that they shall make the dream known to me and tell me the interpretation.

Q2:When the king's counselors failed to reveal and interpret the dream, what was Nebukadnezar's command?

Daniel2v12 He gave the command to destroy all the wisemen of Babylon.

(This wasnt very wise,cause if you execute all the widemen then what do you have left?)

Q3:When Daniel learned about this death degree,what did he ask of the King and what did he tell his friends?

Daniel said why is this decree from the king so hasty? And he says to the guard if the king let me talk to him and gives me time then I believe that we can tell king Nebukadnezar what his dream is about.(Daniel2v16)

Daniel read about Genesis and read about it because of Joseph's faithfulness, God used Joseph to help lead this kingdom towards God.

the other names of these individuals in the Bible are: Belteshazzar (Daniel), Shadrach (Ananias), Meshach (Michael), and Abednego (Azaria).

Daniel and his friends as written in Daniel1v18-20, were ten times wiser than all the other wisemen in the kingdom.

Now Daniel and his friends had a heartfelt prayer meeting and in that prayer meeting.

Now what does the Bible says when we lack wisdome,let them ask to God.

They prayed and went to sleep and Daniel had Nebukadnezar 's dream, written in Daniel2:31-35

Now in that dream you see there's a panorama because the Angel of the Lord guided Daniel in interpreting the dream.

Q4: when the Lord revealed the dream to Daniel to whom did he give praise and credit?

To God(Daniel2v23,28)

I thank You and praise You,

O God of my fathers;

You have given me wisdom and might,And have now made known to me what we asked of You,

For You have made known to us the king’s demand.

just like Joseph did he took no credit he said I am not able but there is a God in Heaven and God will give the answer.

God knows everything that is going to happen in the world and this terrible experiment with sin that is happening in our planet there's a limit to it, starting point and ending point. There's a purpose in it all.

Q5: What 2 objects did Daniel say the king saw in his dream?

Daniel 2:31 “You, O king, were watching; and behold, a great image!

2nd shall not make any graven image and bow down do it, do not make idols. (Exodus20v4-5).

When the Philistines placed the captured Ark of the Covenant in the temple of their god dagon, the statue of dagon kept falling face down before the Ark. Eventually, they realized the power of the God of Israel and decided to return the Ark. So there is no comparison between the living Mighty God and a porcelain statue that people pray to.

Apocalypse 13v15 The second beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed.

2nd part you watched while a stone was cut without hands.(Daniel2v34)

God was careful to encourage the Israelites to not make statues.

The statue of Babylon in Daniel 2 was made of different materials:

1. The head of the statue was made of gold, symbolizing Babylon as the first kingdom and its wealth.

2. The chest and arms were made of silver, representing the kingdom that would come after Babylon.

3. The belly and thighs were made of bronze, symbolizing the third kingdom that would rule over the land.

4. The legs were made of iron, representing the fourth kingdom, strong and powerful.

5. The feet were made of iron mixed with clay, symbolizing the divided nature of the final kingdom.

Q6: What does the head of Gold represent?

Daniel 2v38

So now Daniel tells the king the dreamd and the king is on the edge of his throne listening to Daniel explain it. And He says to the king you are the head of Gold. And king Nebukadnezar felt pretty good about it because Babylon was a fantastic kingdom. He lasted for 42 years he was a brilliant general and a powerful administrator things began to unravel. The tower of Babel Genesis 11 the construction of that was interrupted by God Himself.

Isaiah13v19-21.

Q7:Would the Babylonian kingdom last forever?

No. The Bible says in Daniel2v39 But after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours; then another, a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth.

These 4 metals respresent 4 world empires. The dream was dealing with empires but not about all the empires of the world. These 4 empires occupied God's peoples and the reason why they are mentioned is because these are the ones who have the greatest impact on God's peoples

1Babylon conquered Israel.

2Persia conquered Israel.

3Greececonquered Israel.

4Rome conquered Israel.

And the last kingdom affects God's peoples around the world.

Belshazar threw a big party and started mocking Nebuchadnezzar for worshipping Jehovah instead of their gods: so Belshazzar hosted a lavish banquet where he used the gold and silver vessels taken from the temple in Jerusalem to drink wine and praise the babylonian gods. During the feast, a mysterious hand appeared and wrote on the wall, causing great fear among the guests. No one could interpret the writing except for Daniel, the writing revealed that the message was about Belshazar's downfall for his arrogance and disrespect towards God by using the sacred vessels for his own pleasure. Later that night, Belshazzar died, and the kingdom passed to the Medes and Persians. So sad.

Isaiah 45(prophecy of Isaiah)

Josiah and Jesus were named before they were born, and it really happened so you can see that the Bible has stories of many prophecies that really came out.

Q8: what metal would represent the kingdom that followed Medo-Persia?

Daniel2v39 a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth.

Q9: What metal represents the fourth kingdom?

Iron. Answer is in Daniel2v40 And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others.

Gold represents Babylon from 612 to 539 BC,

Silver symbolizes Medo Persia from 539 to 331 BC,

Bronze signifies Greece from 331 to 168 BC,

Iron represents Rome from 168 BC to AD 476.

Q10: what would happen after the fall of the Roman Empire?

It tells us that the Kingdom will be divided(Daniel2v41 Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay)

The vandals were people from North Africa and they didnt believe in Idolatrie and when the Christians back in the days in Rome started making idols.

The vandals would break off the heads of the idols and they called it vandalism.

Q11: who would these ten kingdoms ever succeed in uniting?

No. Daniel2v43 They will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another,just iron does not mix with clay.

Q12: who will set up the final kingdom?

Daniel2v44

There will never again be a world empire, we are living in the days of iron and clay right now..those same divisions the united nations,how successful have they been at uniting the nations?

Q13: What does the stone do to the other world kingdoms?

Daniel2v34

Who is the stone?Jesus the rock of ages, what did David use to bring down Goliath? Stones...

What is the word of God compared to Jesus Christ said he that hears these words of mine and does them is building on the rock. Christ is thst rock of ages,he strikes the image on its feet of iron and clay. The stone can wear down iron.

Daniel2v45

What kingdom is the Kingdom that will last?

The kingdom of stone which is Christ.(the new Jerusalem)

Exciting news Jesus Christ is coming again!

Q14: after hearing Daniel's clear interpretation of the dream,what did Nebukadnezar say about the Lord?

Nebukadnezar said truly your God is the God of gods. (Daniel2v47The king answered Daniel, and said, “Truly your God is the God of gods, the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, since you could reveal this secret.)

Q15: recognizing that God is in full control of earthly events are you willing to let him have full control of your life?

God wants you to know these things because He wants you to be ready for His return all the Bible prophecies are going to come true. GOD is in full control of earthly events. God loves you and cares for you. surrender your life unto Him.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." - John 3:16

Be blessed, dont forget to share with a loved one.