Well last night we said
that we are here for 4 reasons,
00:00:14.34\00:00:16.96
and I'd just like to
quickly reiterate those 4.
00:00:16.99\00:00:18.98
The first reason we are
here is to try and demonstrate
00:00:19.02\00:00:21.88
that we are living in the time
of the end, that we are living
00:00:21.92\00:00:25.97
in strange times, unusual times,
and it is my studied conviction
00:00:26.01\00:00:30.03
that we are living in
the very time of the end,
00:00:30.06\00:00:31.89
foretold in the
Bible, and particularly in
00:00:31.92\00:00:34.10
the great
prophecies of Revelation.
00:00:34.13\00:00:36.43
The second reason that we're
here is we want to show you
00:00:36.47\00:00:39.63
from a Biblical perspective
how this world is going to end.
00:00:39.67\00:00:42.63
Many people are insecure
about that very thing, they know
00:00:42.67\00:00:45.72
that things don't seem
quite right, there's something
00:00:45.76\00:00:48.85
in the air, something
says that we are on the verge
00:00:48.88\00:00:51.90
of something big, so we want
to take a look from a Biblical
00:00:51.94\00:00:55.02
perspective, not just from 1
man's perspective, or 1 man's
00:00:55.05\00:00:58.07
idea, but from the Bible's
perspective, how is this whole
00:00:58.11\00:01:01.10
thing going to wrap up?
The third reason we're here
00:01:01.13\00:01:03.84
is so we can be ready
for these things because this
00:01:03.87\00:01:06.72
is not just an intellectual
exercise, we actually want
00:01:06.75\00:01:09.27
to be ready for the
things that are being foretold
00:01:09.31\00:01:11.76
in the Bible, can you say amen
to that? [Audience says amen].
00:01:11.80\00:01:13.83
That's Nr.3, to be ready,
and Nr.4 is to stay ready,
00:01:13.86\00:01:17.38
that's why we're here, and
I hope that's why you're here.
00:01:17.42\00:01:19.87
In getting started with
our message tonight everyone
00:01:19.90\00:01:21.73
should have received a study
guide as you came in tonight,
00:01:21.77\00:01:24.94
I hope you did, we ask that
as you come in night by night,
00:01:24.98\00:01:27.66
you just have to register
1 time, that's not something
00:01:27.69\00:01:29.94
you have to do every night,
we just want you to register
00:01:29.97\00:01:32.15
that once, that helps us to know
how many materials to prepare,
00:01:32.19\00:01:35.16
we'll be giving away some
books later in the seminar,
00:01:35.19\00:01:37.56
and also some
magazines and other materials,
00:01:37.59\00:01:39.31
so it's very helpful for us
to know exactly how many people
00:01:39.35\00:01:42.15
we're dealing with.
If you'd like to take out
00:01:42.18\00:01:44.00
that study guide
there, let's just take a look
00:01:44.03\00:01:45.78
at the opening paragraph,
and as we did last night,
00:01:45.82\00:01:48.45
you remember, you can basically
follow along the entire
00:01:48.49\00:01:51.09
presentation right
there on your study guide.
00:01:51.12\00:01:53.12
Did you get all of your blanks
filled in last night, yes or no?
00:01:53.16\00:01:55.99
- [Audience replies] Yes.
- Okay, who got all of them
00:01:56.02\00:01:57.90
filled in? Oh, I
have to slow down
00:01:57.93\00:02:00.12
a little bit, I'll do my best.
So let's take a look at our
00:02:00.16\00:02:03.10
opening paragraph on
study guide number 2 it says:
00:02:03.13\00:02:06.55
Many are wondering when
or if the world will ever
00:02:06.58\00:02:09.97
come to an end. This
question has intrigued
00:02:10.00\00:02:13.29
mankind since the dawn
of time, but does the Bible
00:02:13.33\00:02:16.94
have anything to
say about this subject?
00:02:16.97\00:02:19.69
The answer is yes,
it has much to say.
00:02:19.72\00:02:22.37
In fact, the Bible is the
only reliable guide concerning
00:02:22.41\00:02:26.33
this subject, as
we will soon see.
00:02:26.36\00:02:28.66
Before going into the details
of one of the Bible's most
00:02:28.70\00:02:32.35
incredible prophecies, let
us first note the 4 essentials
00:02:32.38\00:02:36.00
of Bible prophecy.
00:02:36.03\00:02:39.71
Someone said to me last night
as we concluded our presentation
00:02:39.75\00:02:43.06
that the B.I.B.L.E is
an acronym that stands
00:02:43.09\00:02:47.16
for "The Basic Instructions
Before Leaving Earth",
00:02:47.20\00:02:51.80
have you heard that
before? "The Basic Instructions"
00:02:51.83\00:02:55.26
"Before Leaving Earth",
and I want to thank Kevin
00:02:55.30\00:02:58.40
for sharing that with
me. Last night we looked
00:02:58.43\00:03:01.46
at this verse, Isaiah 46:9,10,
God says: [text on screen]
00:03:01.50\00:03:04.69
That is the
definition of prophecy.
00:03:17.56\00:03:19.76
You remember from last night's
presentation that a prophecy
00:03:19.80\00:03:22.87
is a foretelling of
future events, or a predication.
00:03:22.90\00:03:26.75
God says in Isaiah 46:
"I'm God, no one else is God,"
00:03:26.79\00:03:30.18
"and I'll prove it, I know
the end from the beginning,"
00:03:30.22\00:03:33.93
"and I can declare the
future before it takes place."
00:03:33.96\00:03:36.80
Then we went to the New
Testament, the very words
00:03:36.84\00:03:39.61
of Jesus in the gospel of John,
4th book of the New Testament,
00:03:39.65\00:03:42.73
John 14:29, Jesus
said: [text on screen]
00:03:42.76\00:03:47.50
Now that just makes good
sense, a historian can tell us
00:03:56.93\00:04:00.16
about the past, a news
anchor person could tell us
00:04:00.19\00:04:03.54
about the present
and the current events,
00:04:03.57\00:04:05.77
but God is saying: "I
could tell you about more than"
00:04:05.81\00:04:08.03
"just the past, more than
the present, I can tell you"
00:04:08.06\00:04:10.25
"about the future
with perfect accuracy."
00:04:10.28\00:04:14.86
Jesus says "I'll tell you before
it happens so that when it does"
00:04:14.90\00:04:18.77
"happen just as I've
said, you may believe."
00:04:18.80\00:04:21.66
I used to not be a
Bible believer, in fact,
00:04:21.69\00:04:24.48
I shared that with you
briefly last night, I've been
00:04:24.52\00:04:26.74
a Christian for exactly 9
years, and I praise the Lord
00:04:26.77\00:04:28.96
for what He's done in
my life, but until the age
00:04:28.99\00:04:30.99
of 23 years old, I
didn't believe in the Bible,
00:04:31.03\00:04:32.96
I didn't believe in a God, I
didn't believe in any of that,
00:04:33.00\00:04:34.88
I thought it was all
fairy tails and foolishness,
00:04:34.91\00:04:37.51
but when I encountered the very
prophecy that I'm going to share
00:04:37.55\00:04:41.30
with you tonight, it literally
changed my life, 1 prophecy
00:04:41.33\00:04:46.17
changed my life, and I'll tell
you a little bit more about that
00:04:46.21\00:04:48.56
as the seminar goes on.
Let's look at the 4 essentials
00:04:48.59\00:04:51.42
of Bible prophecy.
You'll not these in your study
00:04:51.45\00:04:53.59
guide. Nr.1
says: [text on screen]
00:04:53.62\00:04:57.69
Our story tonight, our prophecy
tonight will be a perfect
00:05:13.08\00:05:16.49
illustration of point
Nr.1, prophecy is given to set
00:05:16.52\00:05:19.66
the God of the Bible
apart from other gods as
00:05:19.69\00:05:22.16
the true God; Nr.2, the 2nd
essential of Bible prophecy:
00:05:22.20\00:05:28.10
[text on screen]
00:05:28.13\00:05:30.31
Of course, it just
stands to reason that if someone
00:05:35.02\00:05:37.63
or some being could
consistently, perfectly,
00:05:37.66\00:05:40.63
accurately tell us what was
going to happen in the future,
00:05:40.67\00:05:43.53
we would put confidence in
what that person has to say.
00:05:43.57\00:05:46.40
Some people wonder
about Nostradamus, they say
00:05:46.43\00:05:48.70
"Oh, look at this guy, he
knew the future", and when
00:05:48.74\00:05:50.98
statisticians go back and look
at his predictions, he was right
00:05:51.02\00:05:53.61
some 10-15% of the time,
I want to give you some news
00:05:53.64\00:05:56.93
tonight, God is
right 100% of the time.
00:05:56.96\00:06:03.07
In fact, we're going to
look at a prophecy tonight
00:06:03.11\00:06:05.90
that is just so thrilling,
so powerful in its ability
00:06:05.93\00:06:08.69
to create faith in
the heart of the hearer.
00:06:08.72\00:06:10.86
So reason 1: to set the God of
the Bible apart from any other
00:06:10.90\00:06:14.25
god as the true God, and number
2, to create faith in the Bible
00:06:14.29\00:06:17.61
as God's inspired word. 3rd
essential of Bible prophecy,
00:06:17.64\00:06:21.73
and this is a
critical one: [text on screen]
00:06:21.76\00:06:24.89
I want to say something
here that's very important:
00:06:32.06\00:06:34.76
we don't put on these
Bible prophecy seminars merely
00:06:34.79\00:06:37.46
as an intellectual
or an academic exercise,
00:06:37.49\00:06:41.05
we are not just here
to satisfy idle curiosity,
00:06:41.08\00:06:44.57
can someone say amen to
that? [Audience replies] Amen.
00:06:44.61\00:06:46.31
God didn't give these prophecies
in the Bible like a circus trick
00:06:46.35\00:06:49.47
or a card trick, "Hey,
look at Me, I'm God, I can pull"
00:06:49.50\00:06:52.50
"a rabbit out of a hat",
no no, when God gives us these
00:06:52.53\00:06:55.46
prophecies, it's to let us know,
God is saying: "I'm alive,"
00:06:55.50\00:07:00.00
"I'm real, and I should
be the pre-eminent priority"
00:07:00.03\00:07:03.64
"in your life." When
we start thinking about
00:07:03.67\00:07:07.02
things more important
than sports, entertainment,
00:07:07.06\00:07:09.76
and must see TV, and all of the
accoutrements and paraphernalia
00:07:09.80\00:07:13.15
that clutter our lives, we start
thinking about ultimate things:
00:07:13.19\00:07:16.51
"Why am I here?
Where am I going?"
00:07:16.54\00:07:18.47
"Where am I from?"
We start thinking about
00:07:18.51\00:07:20.53
the real things that matter
in life, God is at the center
00:07:20.57\00:07:24.14
of all those things.
00:07:24.17\00:07:26.70
We start thinking
about prophecy, God says:
00:07:26.74\00:07:28.35
"I'm going to put my
finger on the pulse of what's"
00:07:28.39\00:07:30.73
"really important if you life."
We're going to see that tonight,
00:07:30.77\00:07:34.19
to reveal to the hearer
the thoughts and the priorities
00:07:34.22\00:07:36.43
of His heart, God is not
just here to give us prophecy
00:07:36.47\00:07:38.65
so we can stand back
in an art gallery and say:
00:07:38.68\00:07:41.15
"Oh, isn't that marvelous?
Isn't that beautiful?"
00:07:41.19\00:07:43.63
"Isn't that tricky?
Isn't that wonderful?"
00:07:43.66\00:07:47.96
No, God gives us
prophecy to change us.
00:07:48.00\00:07:52.23
In fact, you find this
consistently in the Bible,
00:07:52.27\00:07:54.26
it says that the wise don't
understand, but the foolish
00:07:54.30\00:07:57.24
do understand, in other
words, it's not your wisdom
00:07:57.27\00:08:00.14
that enables you to understand
the Bible, it's your willingness
00:08:00.18\00:08:03.16
to obey what God says in
the Bible that affects your
00:08:03.19\00:08:05.72
ability to understand
it. Here's the simplest way
00:08:05.75\00:08:08.21
to remember that, "I will"
is more important than "I.Q.".
00:08:08.25\00:08:13.13
[Audience
laughs] Did you get that?
00:08:13.16\00:08:16.59
"I will" is more important
than "I.Q." when it comes
00:08:16.63\00:08:19.55
to understanding the
Bible. As we said last night,
00:08:19.58\00:08:22.47
the Bible was written
for the common person.
00:08:22.50\00:08:24.97
Is it a blessing to the
scholar? Is it a blessing to
00:08:25.01\00:08:27.12
the
academician? Of course it is,
00:08:27.15\00:08:29.08
but the common person
can understand the great
00:08:29.12\00:08:31.63
and wonderful
things in the Bible.
00:08:31.66\00:08:34.49
And number 4, and probably
most importantly of these 4
00:08:34.53\00:08:38.50
essentials is: [text on screen]
00:08:38.53\00:08:41.27
Those are the 4
essentials of Bible prophecy.
00:08:46.71\00:08:49.88
Notice right at the
bottom, just bellow that on your
00:08:49.92\00:08:53.26
study guide it says:
"These 4 essentials constitute"
00:08:53.29\00:08:56.60
"the core reason that
Bible prophecy was given."
00:08:56.64\00:08:59.58
"Bible prophecy is not
given merely to accommodate"
00:08:59.61\00:09:02.51
"and satisfy mankind's
curiosity about the future,",
00:09:02.54\00:09:06.04
and I love this next sentence,
"Bible prophecy serves"
00:09:06.08\00:09:09.55
"a moral purpose, that
is to effect conversion"
00:09:09.58\00:09:13.70
"and transformation in
the heart of the hearer."
00:09:13.74\00:09:17.83
If this makes sense
I want you to say amen.
00:09:17.86\00:09:20.15
- [Audience replies]
Amen. - These are 4 essentials
00:09:20.19\00:09:22.55
of Bible
prophecy. Take Hebrews 4:12:
00:09:22.58\00:09:26.16
[text on screen]
00:09:26.19\00:09:28.69
It's not an antiquated
book, it's not simply an ancient
00:09:28.73\00:09:31.11
book, dusty with the
annals of time, no no,
00:09:31.14\00:09:34.28
the word of God is living,
and active: [text on screen]
00:09:34.32\00:09:38.08
The author of Hebrews
says God's book is alive,
00:09:48.97\00:09:51.71
the Bible is alive and God's
word can put the finger of God
00:09:51.75\00:09:55.97
on your heart in a way to really
let you know what is important
00:09:56.00\00:10:00.19
in life, what
really are your priorities.
00:10:00.22\00:10:03.45
And then 2 Peter
1:19: [text on screen]
00:10:03.48\00:10:06.68
"more sure" - he's actually
talking in context about
00:10:07.07\00:10:10.04
the evidence of his senses,
he says we have something
00:10:10.08\00:10:13.02
more sure than the
evidence of our senses,
00:10:13.05\00:10:16.01
what is more sure than the
evidence of your senses Peter?
00:10:16.05\00:10:19.43
[text on screen]
00:10:19.46\00:10:21.47
In the context, the
morning star is Jesus Christ.
00:10:32.26\00:10:35.54
What Peter is saying is "pay
attention to the prophecies"
00:10:35.58\00:10:38.69
"because the purpose of the
prophecies is to cause Jesus"
00:10:38.72\00:10:41.80
"to be seen in your
heart and in your life."
00:10:41.83\00:10:45.47
Okay, Arion Niyu, Darlene Niyu,
this baby needs its mother,
00:10:46.57\00:10:52.42
so if that's you, you need
to go see your little baby.
00:10:52.45\00:10:55.97
We're going to go to the
book of Daniel, why don't you
00:10:58.13\00:11:00.71
turn there with me, the
book of Daniel, we're on page 2
00:11:00.74\00:11:03.52
of our study guide now.
Daniel, you say: "where is"
00:11:03.55\00:11:07.06
"the book of Daniel?"
It's in the Old Testament,
00:11:07.09\00:11:10.53
if you open your Bible right
to the middle you'll probably
00:11:10.57\00:11:14.25
be in Psalms, go forward through
Isaiah, through Jeremiah,
00:11:14.28\00:11:17.93
through Lamentations,
Ezekiel and you'll arrive
00:11:17.96\00:11:20.21
in the book of Daniel. Daniel 2.
00:11:20.24\00:11:23.79
We're at the top of
page 2 on your study guide.
00:11:26.33\00:11:31.73
The paragraph at the top says:
"This prophecy given roughly"
00:11:36.60\00:11:41.76
"2500 years ago is precisely
calculated to give us hope"
00:11:41.79\00:11:46.79
"and courage in these strange
times. Most people recognize"
00:11:46.82\00:11:51.79
"that the world is seemingly
spinning out of control,"
00:11:51.82\00:11:55.30
"violence, immorality,
war, pollution, terrorism,
00:11:55.33\00:11:58.13
"and a host of other factors
at unprecedented degrees"
00:11:58.17\00:12:00.89
"are causing thinking people
to wonder how much longer"
00:12:00.92\00:12:03.61
"can we go on like
this?" In fact, tomorrow night
00:12:03.64\00:12:05.87
we're going to take a
very specific look at these
00:12:05.91\00:12:08.07
so called "signs of the times",
and that will be an awesome
00:12:08.11\00:12:11.09
presentation. I've
been doing some brand new
00:12:11.12\00:12:13.41
research on some cutting edge
signs of the times, as to how
00:12:13.45\00:12:17.19
we know for sure that this
world can't continue to last
00:12:17.22\00:12:20.08
as it is, I want to invite
you to come back tomorrow night,
00:12:20.12\00:12:22.95
you'll not want to miss
that. Notice what it says:
00:12:22.98\00:12:25.04
"Yet as distressing as these
times are, the Bible tells"
00:12:25.08\00:12:28.42
"of a better day to come,"
00:12:28.45\00:12:33.33
"and gives us true
hope and security even now."
00:12:33.37\00:12:36.58
Setting the context, let's
set the context for our prophecy
00:12:36.62\00:12:39.60
tonight, found in
the book of Daniel.
00:12:39.63\00:12:41.42
First of all, this foundational
prophecy is found in the book
00:12:41.46\00:12:43.69
of Daniel, that's what you'd
write in on the line there,
00:12:43.72\00:12:46.35
chapter 2. Approximately
when was the book written?
00:12:46.38\00:12:51.75
600 BC, that is 600 years
before the time of Christ.
00:12:51.79\00:12:57.13
Who wrote the book?
It was written by Daniel,
00:12:57.16\00:12:58.76
except chapter 4 which
was written by Nebuchadnezzar
00:12:58.80\00:13:00.88
the king, we'll
talk about that later.
00:13:00.91\00:13:03.19
Where was the book written?
It was written in Babylon.
00:13:03.23\00:13:07.56
The story is basically a
sad one, it's a terrible one.
00:13:07.60\00:13:11.54
The people of God had been
consistently and obstinately
00:13:11.58\00:13:15.19
disobedient to God's law,
to God's covenant, and to God's
00:13:15.23\00:13:18.34
word, and finally God said
"Listen, if you won't hear Me"
00:13:18.37\00:13:21.45
"in times of prosperity,
I'll send you adversity."
00:13:21.48\00:13:24.42
It was C.S. Lewis, the
great Christian author who said
00:13:24.46\00:13:27.65
that God whispers to us in
our pleasures and shouts to us
00:13:27.68\00:13:30.84
in our pain.
Sometimes if we won't listen
00:13:30.87\00:13:33.82
to God when things are
going well, He'll shake us up
00:13:33.86\00:13:36.77
a little bit, isn't that
true? And it's not because He
00:13:36.80\00:13:39.59
doesn't love you, it's precisely
because He does love you,
00:13:39.63\00:13:42.39
and that's what you
find in the Old Testament.
00:13:42.42\00:13:43.70
God had a people that He loved
dearly, the nation of Israel,
00:13:43.74\00:13:46.82
and He pled with them, and
He urged them, and He rebuked
00:13:46.85\00:13:49.55
them, and He tried to compel
them through His prophets,
00:13:49.59\00:13:52.28
and consistently, obstinately
they refused, and finally
00:13:52.32\00:13:54.95
He said "if you won't pay
attention, I'm going to send"
00:13:54.98\00:13:57.54
"another nation, the nation of
Babylon that are going to come"
00:13:57.58\00:14:00.49
"they're going to destroy
your city, destroy the temple"
00:14:00.52\00:14:03.38
"and carry away some of your
finest and best young people",
00:14:03.41\00:14:06.24
and that's exactly what
happened. The Babylonian armies
00:14:06.28\00:14:09.09
under Nebuchadnezzar,
that was the Babylonian king,
00:14:09.13\00:14:12.45
came and absolutely destroyed
Jerusalem to the ground,
00:14:12.48\00:14:16.00
thousands, tens of
thousands were destroyed in that
00:14:16.03\00:14:19.54
terrible conflagration.
Nebuchadnezzar took some
00:14:19.58\00:14:23.17
of the best, the "A"
students, the chief, the tops,
00:14:23.20\00:14:26.50
out of Jerusalem and he
marched them 800 miles across
00:14:26.54\00:14:29.51
the Babylonian desert,
brought them back to Babylon
00:14:29.55\00:14:32.45
where he would train them
in the customs and the society,
00:14:32.49\00:14:36.42
and the government, and
the culture of the Babylonians.
00:14:36.45\00:14:39.66
Then he would take them and
set them up as puppet rulers
00:14:39.70\00:14:42.88
over various
provinces of Babylon.
00:14:42.91\00:14:45.84
Daniel was one of those
who was led out of Jerusalem
00:14:45.88\00:14:49.53
to Babylon, and endured
the schooling and almost
00:14:49.56\00:14:53.14
brainwashing of the Babylonians.
That helps us to set
00:14:53.18\00:14:56.64
the context a little
bit. Notice, "Why was Daniel"
00:14:56.67\00:14:59.49
"taken from his homeland?",
you know the answer now.
00:14:59.53\00:15:02.32
"What does the
name 'Daniel' mean?"
00:15:02.35\00:15:04.98
The name "Daniel" comes
from a juxtaposition of 2 words,
00:15:05.02\00:15:08.35
"Elohim" and the word
"Dan", which means "judge",
00:15:08.38\00:15:13.98
the word "Daniel" means
"God alone is my judge".
00:15:14.01\00:15:19.54
When Daniel arrived in
Babylon one of the first things
00:15:19.58\00:15:22.72
they did was to change
his name because his name
00:15:22.75\00:15:25.89
reminded him of Jerusalem, his
name reminded him of the true
00:15:25.93\00:15:29.96
God, they changed his name
to Belteshazzar, which is a name
00:15:29.99\00:15:33.99
of one of the
Babylonian gods. Took him away.
00:15:34.02\00:15:37.57
Shadrach, Meshach and
Abednego, you've heard
00:15:37.61\00:15:41.09
those names before, but those
were not the original names
00:15:41.13\00:15:43.53
given those Hebrews boys,
those were the Babylonian names,
00:15:43.57\00:15:45.94
their real names were
Hananiah, Azariah and Mishael.
00:15:45.97\00:15:49.09
They would take these
boys, the cream of the crop
00:15:49.12\00:15:52.07
and they would put them
into these Babylonian schools
00:15:52.10\00:15:54.98
and educate them in Babylonian
customs, and government, etc,
00:15:55.02\00:15:58.70
and then they would train
them to be among the wise men
00:15:58.73\00:16:01.93
in Babylon.
That sets the context
00:16:01.96\00:16:04.64
for Daniel 2. Daniel 2:1.
00:16:04.67\00:16:10.22
In Daniel 2 we find an
ancient king, a name by the name
00:16:11.10\00:16:16.10
of Nebuchadnezzar, having a
dream, a nightmare if you will.
00:16:16.13\00:16:21.10
Daniel 2:1, are we all
there? We had lots of time
00:16:21.13\00:16:24.57
to get there, it says:
"Now in the second year"
00:16:24.61\00:16:27.98
"of Nebuchadnezzar's
rein, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams"
00:16:28.02\00:16:31.90
"and his spirit was so troubled
that his sleep left him."
00:16:31.94\00:16:35.02
"Then the king gave the
command to call the magicians,"
00:16:35.05\00:16:38.10
"the astrologers, the
sorcerers and the Chaldeans"
00:16:38.13\00:16:40.31
"to tell the king his
dreams, so they came and stood"
00:16:40.35\00:16:42.58
"before the king. And the
king said to them, I have had"
00:16:42.61\00:16:45.17
"a dream and my spirit is
anxious to know the dream."
00:16:45.21\00:16:47.70
"Then the Chaldeans spoke to
the king in Aramaic", that was
00:16:47.74\00:16:50.61
the official language
of the Babylonian court,
00:16:50.64\00:16:52.61
"O king, live forever,
tell your servants the dream"
00:16:52.65\00:16:56.83
"and we will give you
the interpretation", verse 5,
00:16:56.87\00:17:00.98
"The king answered and said
to the Chaldeans, My decision"
00:17:01.02\00:17:03.00
"is firm, if you do not
make known to me the dream"
00:17:03.03\00:17:07.28
"and its interpretation,
you shall be cut into pieces",
00:17:07.32\00:17:11.04
it is safe to say that the
king had a very short temper,
00:17:11.08\00:17:14.49
"cut into pieces, your houses
will be made an ash heap",
00:17:14.53\00:17:17.89
verse 6, "however", this
is the good side of the story,
00:17:17.93\00:17:21.26
"if you can tell the
dream and its interpretation"
00:17:21.29\00:17:24.11
"you shall receive from me
gifts, and rewards, and great"
00:17:24.15\00:17:28.06
"honor, therefore tell me the
dream and its interpretation."
00:17:28.09\00:17:31.62
Verse 7, "They said again, O
let the king tell his servants"
00:17:31.65\00:17:35.15
"the dream and we
will..." make up, come up with,
00:17:35.18\00:17:38.47
invent, an interpretation.
00:17:38.50\00:17:41.97
Notice that Nebuchadnezzar
wants 2 things, it's the middle
00:17:42.01\00:17:45.11
of the night, he's woken
from his sleep, he's troubled
00:17:45.14\00:17:47.77
by this dream, and he
can't quite remember the dream,
00:17:47.81\00:17:50.47
but something tells him
it's important, so he's trying
00:17:50.50\00:17:53.21
to recall the dream and
when he can't do it, he calls in
00:17:53.25\00:17:56.28
his wise men, magicians,
the astrologers, the Chaldeans,
00:17:56.31\00:17:59.31
who were the PhD's
of the Babylonian court.
00:17:59.34\00:18:01.32
He calls them in, he
says: "Fellas, I've had a dream"
00:18:01.36\00:18:03.79
"and there's something
about the dream that tells me"
00:18:03.83\00:18:05.89
"that it's important, but
I can't remember the dream,"
00:18:05.93\00:18:08.66
"I need you to tell me
the dream and what it means."
00:18:08.69\00:18:11.29
They had probably gone
through this before, and they've
00:18:11.32\00:18:13.51
probably been woken up in
the middle of the night before,
00:18:13.55\00:18:15.71
and the king had some
strange dream because he ate
00:18:15.74\00:18:18.54
too much before he went
to bed, "I had this dream",
00:18:18.58\00:18:20.71
and they'd say "Oh king,
this is what it means..."
00:18:20.75\00:18:22.81
"Oh, okay, well that's good",
and they'd go back to sleep
00:18:22.85\00:18:24.71
and everything was fine.
But tonight was different,
00:18:24.74\00:18:26.65
he couldn't remember it, he
couldn't remember the dream,
00:18:26.69\00:18:29.60
so he said "I
need to know the dream"
00:18:29.63\00:18:31.94
"and the interpretation",
they said "Hey, listen,"
00:18:31.98\00:18:34.04
"you tell us the dream and we'll
give you the interpretation."
00:18:34.08\00:18:36.65
He said "Listen, I don't have
it, if you can't give me both,"
00:18:36.69\00:18:39.23
"the dream and its
interpretation, it's going"
00:18:39.26\00:18:42.89
"to be over for you."
Notice what happens next,
00:18:42.92\00:18:46.48
verse 8: "The king answered
and said, I know for a certain"
00:18:46.52\00:18:49.74
"that you would seek to
gain the time because you see"
00:18:49.77\00:18:52.35
"that my decision is firm."
Verse 19, here it is again,
00:18:52.39\00:18:54.93
"If you do not make known
the dream to me, there is only"
00:18:54.96\00:18:57.61
"1 decree for you, for you
have agreed to speak lying"
00:18:57.64\00:19:00.33
"and corrupt words before
me till the time is changed,"
00:19:00.36\00:19:02.94
"therefore tell me the
dream," the king was no dummy,
00:19:02.97\00:19:05.48
"and I will know that you
can give me the interpretation."
00:19:05.52\00:19:11.40
Verse 10: "Then the
Chaldeans answered and said,"
00:19:11.43\00:19:13.54
"there is not a man on earth
who can tell the kings matter,"
00:19:13.58\00:19:16.43
"therefore no king,
lord or ruler has ever asked"
00:19:16.46\00:19:19.19
"such a thing of any magician,
astrologer, a Chaldean."
00:19:19.23\00:19:22.02
Notice verse 11 carefully:
"It is a difficult thing"
00:19:22.06\00:19:24.73
"that the king requests,
and there is no other who can"
00:19:24.77\00:19:29.28
"tell it to the king
except the gods who's dwelling"
00:19:29.31\00:19:33.75
"is not with the flesh. For
this reason the king was angry"
00:19:33.79\00:19:37.75
"and very furious, and
gave command to destroy"
00:19:37.78\00:19:40.73
"all the wise men of
Babylon. So the decree went out"
00:19:40.77\00:19:44.42
"and they began killing
the wise men of Babylon"
00:19:44.45\00:19:46.91
"and they sought Daniel and
his companions to kill them."
00:19:46.95\00:19:51.29
This sets the stage for
our story, very heavy drama.
00:19:51.32\00:19:54.21
the plot thickens.
The king was not just
00:19:54.24\00:19:57.25
whistling Dixie, he was deadly
and earnest about understanding
00:19:57.29\00:19:59.99
this dream, they couldn't
give him the dream, the couldn't
00:20:00.03\00:20:02.70
give him the interpretation,
he says: "That's it!"
00:20:02.73\00:20:05.80
We might think that the
king was being a little extreme,
00:20:05.84\00:20:07.80
we might think that the king
was being a little over the top,
00:20:07.84\00:20:10.45
but think about it for
just a moment, the king paid
00:20:10.48\00:20:13.41
these people to know things that
ordinary people didn't know.
00:20:13.45\00:20:17.52
The job of the magician,
the job of the sorcerer,
00:20:17.55\00:20:20.27
the job of the astrologer,
the job of the Chaldean
00:20:20.31\00:20:23.27
was to be in touch with
spirits and the netherworld,
00:20:23.30\00:20:26.28
so that they knew things
that common people didn't know.
00:20:26.32\00:20:29.23
The king would call on them in
these kinds of difficult times,
00:20:29.27\00:20:32.53
and he had the reasonable
expectation that they would
00:20:32.56\00:20:35.90
be able to deliver on
what they said they could do.
00:20:35.93\00:20:38.77
And the moment he realizes
he has a bunch of phonies
00:20:38.81\00:20:41.64
on the divine payroll, he
basically says: "If you can't"
00:20:41.68\00:20:44.96
"deliver the goods, it's over
for you so called wise men",
00:20:45.00\00:20:48.25
and he sends out the
decree in his frustration,
00:20:48.28\00:20:50.87
"destroy all the
wise men of Babylon."
00:20:50.90\00:20:53.92
Well, Daniel and his 3
companions, Shadrach, Meshach,
00:20:53.96\00:20:56.57
and Abednego, had gone through
the schools of the Babylonians
00:20:56.61\00:21:00.92
so they were
numbered among the wise men.
00:21:00.95\00:21:03.55
And a man by the
name of Arioch, he was
00:21:03.59\00:21:06.12
the captain of the king's
guard, he showed up one evening
00:21:06.16\00:21:08.86
and he begins to
knock on Daniel's door.
00:21:08.89\00:21:13.00
I wonder what that conversation
was like as Daniel opens
00:21:13.04\00:21:15.35
the door in the
middle of the night and says:
00:21:15.38\00:21:16.60
"Yeah, Arioch,
what can I get for you."
00:21:16.63\00:21:18.69
"Daniel, I'm here to kill you."
00:21:18.72\00:21:22.33
"Whoa, really?! Pinch
myself, oh, I'm not dreaming,"
00:21:22.37\00:21:25.75
"I wish I was. Why? Why
are you here to kill me?"
00:21:25.79\00:21:29.10
And he made the thing known
to Daniel, "Well, the king"
00:21:29.14\00:21:31.29
"has had a dream and he
wants to know the dream,"
00:21:31.32\00:21:34.19
"and the interpretation,
nobody can tell it to him."
00:21:34.23\00:21:37.03
Pick it up with me in verse 14:
"Then with council and wisdom"
00:21:37.07\00:21:41.79
"Daniel answered Arioch,
the captain of the king's guard"
00:21:41.82\00:21:44.59
"who had gone out to
kill the wise men of Babylon."
00:21:44.62\00:21:47.21
"He answered and said to Arioch,
the king's captain, why is"
00:21:47.25\00:21:50.74
"the decree from the king
so urgent. Then Arioch made"
00:21:50.77\00:21:53.48
"the decision known to Daniel."
Notice verse 16, "So Daniel"
00:21:53.52\00:21:59.01
"went in and asked the king
to give him time that he might"
00:21:59.05\00:22:04.51
"tell the king
the interpretation."
00:22:04.54\00:22:06.89
Think about that for just a
moment, Daniel goes in before
00:22:06.93\00:22:09.55
the king, quick question for
you: does Daniel know the dream
00:22:09.58\00:22:12.17
at this point?
No. Does Daniel know
00:22:12.20\00:22:14.91
the interpretation
at this point? No.
00:22:14.94\00:22:17.58
But Daniel knows the
One who knows the dream.
00:22:17.62\00:22:20.41
He goes in before the king,
do you think that took faith,
00:22:20.45\00:22:22.47
yes or no? [Audience] Yes.
00:22:22.50\00:22:24.58
What he basically said is:
"King, I don't have it now,"
00:22:24.62\00:22:27.65
"but I know who does have
it and if you'll give me time"
00:22:27.68\00:22:30.68
"I can deliver the goods."
00:22:30.71\00:22:33.19
Well, then Daniel did the
same thing that you would do.
00:22:33.23\00:22:36.73
Verse 17: "Then Daniel
went to his house and made"
00:22:36.76\00:22:39.47
"the decision know to
Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,"
00:22:39.51\00:22:42.15
that's Shadrach, Meshach and
Abednego, his companions, why?
00:22:42.19\00:22:44.98
Verse 18: "So that they might
seek the mercies from the God"
00:22:45.02\00:22:47.78
"of heaven concerning
this secret so that Daniel"
00:22:47.81\00:22:49.98
"and his companions
might not perish with the rest"
00:22:50.02\00:22:52.18
"of the wise men of Babylon."
In other words, they went
00:22:52.21\00:22:54.34
and prayed about it,
isn't that what you'd do?
00:22:54.37\00:23:00.31
I mean, if your neck was on
the line, and you knew you had
00:23:00.55\00:23:02.93
to come up with the
goods, you would pray about it.
00:23:02.96\00:23:06.98
You know the proverbial airplane
that takes off the tarmac
00:23:07.02\00:23:09.71
and it's filled with
300 sinners, and they get up
00:23:09.74\00:23:12.07
about 30,000-40,000 feet
up into the air and they begin
00:23:12.11\00:23:15.20
to encounter some turbulence,
and all of a sudden you've got
00:23:15.24\00:23:17.78
300 saints onboard. "Oh
Lord, if You just get me"
00:23:17.81\00:23:21.39
"off this place, I'll
live my life for You,"
00:23:21.42\00:23:23.36
"I'm so...", and the captain
gets the thing under control
00:23:23.40\00:23:25.73
and it lands safely,
and 300 sinners walk off.
00:23:25.76\00:23:28.99
[Audience laughs]
You know how it is.
00:23:29.02\00:23:32.28
When the going gets
tough, when tough times come,
00:23:32.32\00:23:35.08
we know what's most important
in life, don't we? Yes or no?
00:23:35.12\00:23:39.08
- [Audience replies]
Yes. - Absolutely, in fact,
00:23:39.11\00:23:40.14
we're going to have a message
entitled, if you've looked
00:23:40.17\00:23:42.16
at your advanced schedule
that says: "how to face death"
00:23:42.19\00:23:44.35
"unafraid and with
absolute confidence."
00:23:44.38\00:23:47.23
You don't have to be afraid
to face death if you've put
00:23:47.27\00:23:50.28
your faith in Him who's already
faced death and has conquered it
00:23:50.32\00:23:54.42
We'll come back to
that, don't get me to preach
00:23:55.42\00:23:57.68
on that tonight, I've
got stuff to talk about.
00:23:57.72\00:23:59.91
So look here, we're on
verses 1-12, we should easily
00:23:59.95\00:24:03.59
be able to fill these blanks
in. King Nebuchadnezzar had
00:24:03.63\00:24:07.24
a dream in the second
year of his rein. He called
00:24:07.27\00:24:10.44
for the wise men, the
astrologers and the Chaldeans.
00:24:10.47\00:24:14.47
Could the give the help
that the king wanted? No.
00:24:14.50\00:24:18.88
What 2 things did the
king want? He wanted the dream
00:24:18.92\00:24:23.27
and the interpretation.
00:24:23.30\00:24:26.27
According to the king's
counselors who alone could give
00:24:26.31\00:24:29.40
the information
that the king wanted?
00:24:29.43\00:24:31.39
- [Audience replies]
God. - That's exactly right,
00:24:31.43\00:24:32.55
they knew it, they said: "Hey,
listen, what you're asking"
00:24:32.59\00:24:34.97
"is strange, it's unusual,
no king or lord has ever asked"
00:24:35.00\00:24:38.13
"this of any wise man or
astrologer, only gods know this"
00:24:38.16\00:24:41.26
Notice the next part, Daniel was
sought, Daniel asked the king
00:24:42.15\00:24:45.02
for time. What
did Daniel do after
00:24:45.05\00:24:48.47
visiting with the
king? He went and prayed.
00:24:48.51\00:24:51.29
What would you have done?
You would have prayed too.
00:24:51.33\00:24:54.52
Now, look at verse
19. What is the first word
00:24:54.55\00:24:58.74
of verse 19? My
Bible it says: "Then".
00:24:58.77\00:25:04.35
I want you to think about
that for just a moment, "then"
00:25:04.39\00:25:07.04
is a chronological term, it's
a term that has to do with time.
00:25:07.08\00:25:12.26
Now look at it, verse 19,
"Then the secret was revealed"
00:25:14.07\00:25:18.53
"to Daniel in a night vision,
so Daniel blessed the God"
00:25:18.57\00:25:23.00
"of heaven." Wouldn't you?
00:25:23.03\00:25:25.28
I mean, Daniel's
praying, Hananiah's praying,
00:25:25.32\00:25:27.28
Azariah's praying,
Mishael's praying, "Oh God,"
00:25:27.32\00:25:29.21
"our head's on the block and
all of these other phonies' "
00:25:29.25\00:25:31.53
"heads are on the
block, and we don't want"
00:25:31.56\00:25:33.58
"only to lose our own
lives, we want to preserve"
00:25:33.62\00:25:35.64
"the lives of these people.
O God, give us the dream."
00:25:35.68\00:25:39.43
And God came through right
on time, isn't that awesome?
00:25:39.47\00:25:43.19
Have you ever had
God answer a prayer?
00:25:43.22\00:25:45.14
You know that sense, that
feeling that God is at work.
00:25:45.18\00:25:48.19
So the Bible says Daniel
blessed the God of heaven,
00:25:48.23\00:25:51.17
notice what he says in verse 20,
he has a little praise session
00:25:51.21\00:25:54.03
there, Daniel answered and said:
"Blessed be the name of God"
00:25:54.06\00:25:56.85
"forever and ever, for
wisdom and might are His,"
00:25:56.88\00:25:59.88
"and He changes the times
and the seasons, He removes"
00:25:59.92\00:26:03.28
"kings and raises up kings,"
this gives you a little hint
00:26:03.31\00:26:06.64
into what the dream is actually
about, "knowledge to those"
00:26:06.68\00:26:09.75
"who have understanding, He
reveals deep and secret things,"
00:26:09.78\00:26:12.82
"He knows what is in
the darkness, and the light"
00:26:12.85\00:26:15.87
"dwells with Him. I
thank You and praise You"
00:26:15.90\00:26:18.85
"O God of my fathers."
Wouldn't you be thanking Him
00:26:18.89\00:26:21.24
and praising
Him? Sure you would.
00:26:21.27\00:26:23.87
"You have given me wisdom and
might, and have now made known"
00:26:23.91\00:26:26.71
"to me what we asked of you,
for you have made known to us"
00:26:26.75\00:26:29.52
"the king's demand."
Notice in your study guide
00:26:29.55\00:26:32.48
it says: what was the
first word of verse 19?
00:26:32.51\00:26:35.57
The word is "Then". Why
is this word so important
00:26:35.60\00:26:38.48
in this setting?
Because the Bible teaching is
00:26:38.52\00:26:41.37
"you have to ask
before God can give."
00:26:41.40\00:26:45.51
Did you hear that?
You have to ask before God
00:26:45.55\00:26:49.83
can give you many of the things
that you so desperately need.
00:26:49.87\00:26:53.07
Why? Because God's a gentlemen,
00:26:53.10\00:26:54.15
He doesn't want to violate
your free will, He doesn't want
00:26:54.19\00:26:56.36
to violate your free choice,
God says: "ask and ye shall"
00:26:56.39\00:26:58.47
"receive", in fact, that's the
next page of your study guide.
00:26:58.51\00:27:00.56
Turn the study guide over,
remember the words of Jesus
00:27:00.59\00:27:03.11
in Matthew 7:7: "Ask and it
will be given you, seek and you"
00:27:03.15\00:27:08.90
"will find, knock and
it will be opened to you,"
00:27:08.93\00:27:11.74
"for everyone who asks,
receives, he who seeks, finds,"
00:27:11.78\00:27:15.42
"and to him who
knocks, it will be opened."
00:27:15.45\00:27:17.54
Notice how easy this is to
remember "ask", "seek", "knock",
00:27:17.58\00:27:21.20
spells
"A.S.K.", isn't that easy?
00:27:21.23\00:27:25.91
Beloved, that is a
principle of the Bible.
00:27:25.95\00:27:28.61
"Ask and ye shall receive.
Seek and ye shall find."
00:27:28.65\00:27:31.53
"Knock and the
door shall be opened."
00:27:31.56\00:27:33.17
Why is it that God could
come through in that tight spot?
00:27:33.21\00:27:35.99
Why is it that God could
deliver the answer to the prayer
00:27:36.03\00:27:38.78
right on time?
Because they asked.
00:27:38.81\00:27:44.07
Now, this is where the
plot really thickens, this is
00:27:45.75\00:27:48.04
where the drama intensifies.
00:27:48.07\00:27:49.39
We pick it up in verse
24: "Therefore Daniel went"
00:27:49.43\00:27:51.64
"to Arioch, whom the
king had appointed to destroy"
00:27:51.67\00:27:53.98
"the wise men of Babylon.
He went and he said to him,"
00:27:54.01\00:27:56.68
"do not destroy the wise
men of Babylon, take me before"
00:27:56.72\00:28:00.33
"the king and I will tell
the king the interpretation."
00:28:00.37\00:28:03.95
What a tremendous
act of faith, he says:
00:28:03.98\00:28:06.70
"Take me before the king,
I'm going to tell him what he's"
00:28:06.74\00:28:09.40
"looking for." Verse 25,
"Then Arioch quickly brought"
00:28:09.44\00:28:11.80
"Daniel before the king and
he said to him, I have found"
00:28:11.84\00:28:14.17
"a man of the captives
of Judah", makes you wonder
00:28:14.20\00:28:16.24
who really found who,
but that's beside the point,
00:28:16.27\00:28:18.61
"who will make known to
the king the interpretation."
00:28:18.65\00:28:20.74
"The king answered and
said to Daniel who's name was"
00:28:20.77\00:28:22.83
"Belteshazzar, Are you
able to make known to me"
00:28:22.86\00:28:25.03
"the dream which I have
seen and its interpretation?"
00:28:25.07\00:28:27.36
Notice the king hadn't changed
his mind, he still wanted
00:28:27.40\00:28:29.66
both things; "The dream
and the interpretation,"
00:28:29.69\00:28:34.61
"can you do it?"
I want you to think
00:28:34.64\00:28:36.71
about the scene for just a
moment, Daniel is basically
00:28:36.75\00:28:40.23
a Hebrew slave. For
all practical purposes,
00:28:40.26\00:28:43.90
he's a Hebrew bondservant,
his country, his nation had been
00:28:43.94\00:28:48.79
utterly destroyed and
subjugated by the Babylonians,
00:28:48.82\00:28:52.29
and here he is
probably a 19-21 year old boy,
00:28:52.32\00:28:55.62
standing before the most
powerful man in the world,
00:28:55.66\00:28:58.99
and the most powerful
man in the world is intensely
00:28:59.02\00:29:02.32
interested in
what Daniel has to say.
00:29:02.35\00:29:04.31
Never forget this lesson,
if you have knelt before God,
00:29:04.35\00:29:07.49
you can stand before kings.
00:29:07.52\00:29:10.94
If you have knelt
before God with humility,
00:29:10.98\00:29:13.32
you can stand before
kings with confidence.
00:29:13.36\00:29:15.63
And the king looks at Daniel
and says: "can you give me"
00:29:15.67\00:29:17.50
"the dream?" And
this would have a been
00:29:17.53\00:29:19.75
a perfect opportunity for
Daniel to say: "O yeah king,"
00:29:19.79\00:29:22.09
"I'm the man, I've got
the goods, I can tell you"
00:29:22.12\00:29:24.52
"what it is
because I'm so smart."
00:29:24.55\00:29:26.89
But I want you to notice
what Daniel does, verse 27,
00:29:26.93\00:29:29.11
"Then Daniel answered
in the presence of king,"
00:29:29.14\00:29:32.05
"the secret which the king
has demanded, the wise men,"
00:29:32.09\00:29:34.19
"the astrologers, the
magicians, and the soothsayers"
00:29:34.22\00:29:38.31
"can't declare to the king,
but there is a God in heaven"
00:29:38.35\00:29:42.41
"who reveals secrets,
and He has made known"
00:29:42.44\00:29:45.49
"to king Nebuchadnezzar what
will be in the latter days."
00:29:45.53\00:29:49.55
Notice Daniel takes no
credit whatsoever for himself,
00:29:49.58\00:29:53.60
he says "it's not about me
king, it's about God, and God"
00:29:53.64\00:29:56.71
"has shown you this dream
so you can know what happens"
00:29:56.74\00:29:59.78
"in the latter days."
"Your dream in the visions"
00:29:59.81\00:30:02.33
"of your head upon your
bed were these:", verse 29.
00:30:02.37\00:30:04.82
"As for you, O king, thoughts
came about into your mind"
00:30:04.86\00:30:07.93
"while you were on your
bed about what would pass"
00:30:07.96\00:30:09.89
"after this", notice that in
verse 28 he said "latter days",
00:30:09.93\00:30:12.85
in verse 29 he says: "the
dream has to do with what takes"
00:30:12.89\00:30:15.78
"place after this".
"...and He who reveals secrets"
00:30:15.81\00:30:18.98
"has made known to you
what will be", 3 times he says
00:30:19.01\00:30:22.15
it's about the future.
00:30:22.18\00:30:25.54
Verse 30, notice the
humility in Daniel's voice here,
00:30:26.40\00:30:29.34
"But as for me, this secret
has not been revealed to me"
00:30:29.38\00:30:32.26
"because I have more wisdom
than anyone living, but for our"
00:30:32.29\00:30:35.14
"sakes who make known the
interpretation to the king,"
00:30:35.17\00:30:38.63
"and that you may know the
thoughts of your own heart."
00:30:38.67\00:30:41.97
Hey, that's one of our 4
essentials of Bible prophecy,
00:30:42.00\00:30:45.27
remember that?
Wasn't that one of our 4
00:30:45.30\00:30:47.17
essentials of Bible
prophecy? Sure it was, go back
00:30:47.21\00:30:50.06
and look, that's number
3. 1 of the purposes of Bible
00:30:50.09\00:30:53.10
prophecy, 1 of the core
reasons that prophecy is given
00:30:53.14\00:30:57.26
is to reveal to the hearer
the priorities of his heart.
00:30:57.30\00:31:01.35
And Daniel, a 21 year old Hebrew
boy standing before the most
00:31:01.39\00:31:04.53
powerful man in the world says:
"I've got new for you king,"
00:31:04.56\00:31:07.73
"you're a Pagan king, but
God cares about you", that's the
00:31:07.77\00:31:10.91
God of the Bible, the
God of the Bible is a God
00:31:10.94\00:31:13.40
who cares about everyone,
even Pagan kings who had
00:31:13.43\00:31:15.86
ransacked His people.
00:31:15.89\00:31:18.62
"He wants to show you the
thoughts the intents of your"
00:31:18.66\00:31:22.74
"heart, Nebuchadnezzar."
Verse 31, notice the absolute
00:31:22.77\00:31:26.51
confidence with which Daniel
speaks, "You, O king, were"
00:31:26.54\00:31:30.39
"watching and behold, a great
image. This great image who's"
00:31:30.43\00:31:34.25
"splendor was excellent
stood before you, and its form"
00:31:34.28\00:31:38.37
"was awesome." He begins
to recount to him the dream.
00:31:38.40\00:31:42.05
"This image's head was of
fine gold, its chest and arms"
00:31:42.08\00:31:45.66
"of silver, its belly and thigh
of bronze, its legs of iron,"
00:31:45.70\00:31:49.72
"its feet partly of
iron and partly of clay."
00:31:49.75\00:31:52.24
"You watched while a
stone was cut out without hands"
00:31:52.28\00:31:55.00
"which struck the image
on its feet of iron and clay"
00:31:55.03\00:31:57.68
"and broke them in pieces.
Then the iron, the clay,"
00:31:57.72\00:32:00.30
"the bronze, the silver and
the gold were crushed together"
00:32:00.34\00:32:03.23
"and became like chaff",
that is dust, "from the summer"
00:32:03.27\00:32:05.96
"threshing floors. The
wind carried them away so that"
00:32:05.99\00:32:08.84
"no trace of them was found,
and the stone that struck"
00:32:08.87\00:32:11.69
"the image became a
great mountain and filled"
00:32:11.72\00:32:14.35
"the whole earth." Notice
verse 36, "This is the dream."
00:32:14.39\00:32:20.26
He doesn't say: "Did
I get it right king?"
00:32:20.59\00:32:23.46
"Is this the dream? I
mean, I did my best king."
00:32:23.50\00:32:26.70
No no, when God gives
you an answer, it's always
00:32:26.74\00:32:29.91
the right one. He doesn't say:
00:32:29.94\00:32:32.40
"I hope this is the dream",
"I'm really anxious that this"
00:32:32.44\00:32:35.06
"might be the dream", he
says "this IS the dream."
00:32:35.09\00:32:39.41
Notice the rest of that
verse: "Now we will tell"
00:32:39.44\00:32:43.73
"the interpretation
of it before the king."
00:32:43.76\00:32:46.04
As far as we know Daniel
is standing alone in that
00:32:46.08\00:32:48.58
great hall, who's
"we"? Daniel and his God.
00:32:48.61\00:32:54.25
Once again, Daniel refuses
to take credit for himself,
00:32:54.28\00:32:57.98
he says "we will tell the
interpretation of it before you"
00:32:58.01\00:33:01.89
Go to your study guide
now, Daniel returns to the king.
00:33:01.92\00:33:05.80
According to Daniel, who
alone could reveal the dream?
00:33:05.83\00:33:09.68
God. Did Daniel take any credit
00:33:09.71\00:33:12.00
for his ability to
reveal the dream? Not 1 drop.
00:33:12.04\00:33:15.23
According to verse 28, to
what time does the dream apply?
00:33:15.27\00:33:19.51
The latter days.
00:33:19.54\00:33:21.55
According to verse 30,
why did God give the king
00:33:22.03\00:33:25.65
this incredible dream? So
he would know the thoughts
00:33:25.68\00:33:29.27
of his heart.
Now the dream itself,
00:33:29.30\00:33:31.38
the king saw a great
metal man, you can look at it
00:33:31.42\00:33:34.24
on the screen, you can
also look at our image here,
00:33:34.28\00:33:37.87
he saw a great metal man.
The head was made of gold,
00:33:37.90\00:33:41.42
the chest and arms of silver,
the belly and thighs of bronze,
00:33:41.46\00:33:47.00
the long legs of iron, and the
feet were made of both iron clay
00:33:47.04\00:33:52.55
I can just imagine that
as Daniel is recounting this
00:33:52.58\00:33:55.67
to the king, the king's probably
still sitting there in his
00:33:55.71\00:33:58.36
royal nighty, with his royal
night cap on, and he scoots
00:33:58.40\00:34:00.98
to the edge of his royal throne
and he's thinking to himself:
00:34:01.02\00:34:03.23
"That's what I saw!"
00:34:03.26\00:34:07.07
"I saw a great
statue, its head was of gold,"
00:34:07.11\00:34:09.26
"its chest and arms of silver,
its belly and thighs of bronze,"
00:34:09.30\00:34:12.28
"long legs of iron, that's
right Daniel, you've got it,"
00:34:12.31\00:34:14.57
"that is what I saw, its feet
were made of iron and clay,"
00:34:14.60\00:34:16.83
but that wasn't the
whole dream, Daniel says,
00:34:16.86\00:34:18.65
"then you know what
you saw? It was amazing,"
00:34:18.68\00:34:20.40
"a stone was cut out of
the mountain without hands"
00:34:20.44\00:34:25.67
"and it smashed the image in
the head", is that what it said?
00:34:25.71\00:34:30.97
"It smashed the
image in the chest"? No.
00:34:31.00\00:34:33.87
"It smashed the
image in the legs"? No.
00:34:33.90\00:34:36.70
"It smashed the image in
the feet", you've got it.
00:34:36.74\00:34:40.06
"Then that stone that
smashed the image in the feet"
00:34:40.10\00:34:43.88
"grew and became a great
mountain, filled the whole"
00:34:43.92\00:34:47.67
"earth." In
fact, that's the rest
00:34:47.70\00:34:50.12
of it there, what happened to
the image in the king's dream?
00:34:50.16\00:34:52.38
It was smashed. What
happened to the stone?
00:34:52.41\00:34:54.65
It filled the earth.
00:34:54.68\00:34:58.39
This is the dream, I can just
imagine standing before the most
00:34:58.43\00:35:02.53
powerful man in the world
saying with absolute confidence
00:35:02.56\00:35:05.03
because he had knelt before
God, he could stand before
00:35:05.07\00:35:07.51
that king and he said:
"This is what you saw",
00:35:07.54\00:35:10.71
but Nebuchadnezzar
wanted 2 things, didn't he?
00:35:10.74\00:35:13.84
He wanted the dream,
but what else did he want?
00:35:13.87\00:35:17.93
He wanted the interpretation,
that's exactly right.
00:35:17.96\00:35:21.99
Let's go to the
interpretation, verse 36.
00:35:22.02\00:35:24.88
"This is the dream, now we will
tell the interpretation of it"
00:35:24.92\00:35:28.24
"before the king", verse
37. "You, O king, are a king"
00:35:28.27\00:35:32.17
"of kings, for the God of
heaven has given you a kingdom"
00:35:32.21\00:35:35.39
"and power and strength
and glory," notice he even lets
00:35:35.42\00:35:39.02
king Nebuchadnezzar know
that he's just a subject of God,
00:35:39.06\00:35:42.52
a great king, yes, but nothing
compared to the infinite God
00:35:42.56\00:35:45.99
of the universe.
Verse 38: "And wherever"
00:35:46.02\00:35:49.15
"the children of men dwell,
or the beasts of the field,"
00:35:49.19\00:35:52.03
"and the birds of the heavens,
He has given them into your"
00:35:52.06\00:35:54.85
"hand, He has made you
ruler over them all," and notice
00:35:54.88\00:36:01.31
with me the next 6 words,
"you are this head of gold."
00:36:01.34\00:36:07.74
He says it in plain
language, he doesn't equivocate,
00:36:08.77\00:36:11.58
you can go to Christian book
stores right now and you can
00:36:11.62\00:36:14.61
buy books right now in
the Christian book store
00:36:14.64\00:36:17.13
that will tell you that the
head of gold is representing
00:36:17.17\00:36:20.40
the European economic
community, that the head
00:36:20.43\00:36:22.87
of gold represents
the European Union.
00:36:22.90\00:36:24.66
I mean, there are so many
fallacious, egregious, and just
00:36:24.70\00:36:27.90
plain wrong interpretations
out there, Daniel said:
00:36:27.93\00:36:31.57
"You are this head of gold", the
Bible is its own interpreter.
00:36:31.61\00:36:39.15
Doesn't take a rocket scientist
to figure this one out,
00:36:39.18\00:36:41.43
he says: "what does the
dream mean?" and he begins
00:36:41.53\00:36:43.32
by saying "you're the head
of gold, O king, you're kingdom"
00:36:43.36\00:36:46.27
"is an awesome kingdom. God
has given you this kingdom,"
00:36:46.31\00:36:49.19
"you're it." And
I can just imagine
00:36:49.22\00:36:52.26
the king there, his
buttons bursting a little bit
00:36:52.30\00:36:54.83
and thinking:
"yeah, that's right."
00:36:54.86\00:36:56.78
"Head of gold baby,
don't ever forget it!"
00:36:56.82\00:36:59.02
[Audience laughs]
00:36:59.05\00:37:01.65
The ancient kingdom of
Babylon was an amazing kingdom.
00:37:01.81\00:37:05.26
The ancient kingdom of Babylon
was on the scene, historians
00:37:05.30\00:37:09.14
tell us, from 605-539
BC, that is before Christ.
00:37:09.17\00:37:15.45
Nebuchadnezzar was a king who
was a great military conqueror,
00:37:15.49\00:37:19.35
a great political leader, and
he was intoxicated with the idea
00:37:19.39\00:37:23.00
of his Babylon lasting forever.
In fact, this is an actual
00:37:23.03\00:37:26.84
picture of a letter from
Nebuchadnezzar, a clay tablet
00:37:26.88\00:37:30.62
letter from Nebuchadnezzar, and
in this letter part of it says:
00:37:30.66\00:37:33.91
"The whole earth bows
prostrate before Babylon."
00:37:33.94\00:37:38.36
Nebuchadnezzar was
almost inebriated with this idea
00:37:38.39\00:37:42.78
that it would go
on for ever and ever.
00:37:42.81\00:37:45.47
Here's the Babylonian clay
tablet right inscribed there:
00:37:45.51\00:37:48.55
"may it last
forever", so when Daniel said:
00:37:48.58\00:37:52.31
"You are this head of gold,
I'm sure that Nebuchadnezzar
00:37:52.35\00:37:54.16
liked that, he said:
"that's right, I'm the head"
00:37:54.19\00:37:56.97
"of Gold, may she last forever."
00:37:57.00\00:37:59.74
But I'm sure that Nebuchadnezzar
did not like what Daniel
00:37:59.78\00:38:02.19
said next. Notice verse 39,
00:38:02.22\00:38:07.92
"But after you", what 2 words?
"After you", I'm sure king
00:38:07.96\00:38:15.25
didn't like this part at all,
"...shall arise another kingdom"
00:38:15.29\00:38:20.49
"inferior to yours."
As if that wasn't enough,
00:38:20.52\00:38:24.34
that another kingdom was
going to come, he had to throw
00:38:24.38\00:38:26.18
salt in the wound and say
it's going to be an inferior
00:38:26.21\00:38:27.98
kingdom. "But
after you shall arise"
00:38:28.01\00:38:30.73
"another kingdom inferior
to yours, then another third"
00:38:30.77\00:38:33.58
"kingdom of bronze, which shall
bear rule over all the earth,"
00:38:33.62\00:38:36.94
"and the 4th kingdom
shall be as strong as iron."
00:38:36.97\00:38:39.61
"In as much as iron
breaks in pieces and shatters"
00:38:39.64\00:38:42.21
"everything, and like iron
that crushes, that kingdom will"
00:38:42.25\00:38:45.35
"break in pieces and crush
all the others, and whereas"
00:38:45.38\00:38:48.38
"you saw the feat and
toes partly of potter's clay,"
00:38:48.42\00:38:51.02
"and partly of iron, the
kingdom shall be divided,"
00:38:51.06\00:38:53.63
"yet the strength of
the iron shall be in it,"
00:38:53.66\00:38:55.73
"just as you saw the
iron mixed with ceramic clay."
00:38:55.77\00:38:58.98
Wow this dream isn't so hard
to understand after all, is it?
00:38:59.02\00:39:02.37
What he's basically saying
is "this image represents"
00:39:02.40\00:39:06.12
"a timeline."
00:39:06.15\00:39:08.42
He says "Babylon is the head of
gold, but after you would come"
00:39:10.41\00:39:13.48
"another kingdom, and
then another kingdom,"
00:39:13.51\00:39:16.48
"and then another kingdom,
and that kingdom would be"
00:39:16.52\00:39:18.63
"divided." All
of these kingdoms,
00:39:18.66\00:39:21.63
by the way, are not sure little
regional powers, just little
00:39:21.67\00:39:24.62
regional entities, he says:
"another kingdom that would"
00:39:24.65\00:39:28.17
"rule over all the world."
These were the great nations
00:39:28.21\00:39:31.70
of antiquity.
Remember that Daniel is written
00:39:31.73\00:39:35.15
600 years before the time of
Christ, he lived during the time
00:39:35.19\00:39:39.28
of Babylon. The
great Ishtar gate, which is
00:39:39.31\00:39:42.45
even now in the
Pergamon Museum in Berlin,
00:39:42.48\00:39:45.55
this is the very gate that
archaeologists have excavated
00:39:45.59\00:39:48.61
that Daniel would have
walked through in our story.
00:39:48.64\00:39:51.20
That's the very gate that
he would have walked through,
00:39:51.23\00:39:53.72
his heart pitter-pattering,
and yet, still with confidence
00:39:53.75\00:39:56.05
as he stood before the
most powerful man in the world,
00:39:56.08\00:39:58.35
that's the gate
archaeologists have excavated;
00:39:58.38\00:40:01.14
we'll talk more about
that in another session.
00:40:01.18\00:40:04.99
He says: "after you
another kingdom would come."
00:40:05.02\00:40:08.76
Despite Nebuchadnezzar's
desires, and despite his hopes
00:40:08.80\00:40:11.31
and his plans, and his
ambitions, Babylon did not
00:40:11.34\00:40:14.07
continue forever and
indefinitely, it was eventually
00:40:14.10\00:40:17.31
conquered by the kingdom
of Medo-Persia, which ruled
00:40:17.35\00:40:20.53
from 539-331 BC,
00:40:20.56\00:40:27.10
it's called the Medo-Persian
Empire because it wasn't
00:40:27.14\00:40:30.56
just the Medes or the Persians,
these 2 nations leagued
00:40:30.59\00:40:33.94
together to form what historians
call the Medo-Persian Empire.
00:40:33.98\00:40:38.58
In fact, it's really
quite a remarkable story,
00:40:38.61\00:40:40.39
we talked a little
bit about it last night.
00:40:40.42\00:40:42.13
A man by the name of Cyrus
the Great diverted the river
00:40:42.17\00:40:45.88
Euphrates into a field, Babylon
was one of the great cities
00:40:45.92\00:40:49.60
of antiquity; 15
miles on each side square,
00:40:49.63\00:40:54.12
in fact, the walls were
200 feet high in some places.
00:40:54.16\00:40:57.04
One of the 7 wonders of
the world was in that city,
00:40:57.07\00:40:59.93
the great Hanging
Gardens, and the river Euphrates
00:40:59.96\00:41:02.75
flowed right through the
middle of this city of Babylon,
00:41:02.79\00:41:04.90
it was an awesome city.
Cyrus came to that city,
00:41:04.93\00:41:07.86
the story is told, historians
tell us that they came
00:41:07.90\00:41:10.23
to the city and they saw
those tall walls and they knew
00:41:10.27\00:41:12.57
"there's now way we
could ever siege the city,"
00:41:12.60\00:41:14.59
"no way we could ever surmount
those walls", so what they
00:41:14.63\00:41:16.71
did on a certain night when the
Babylonians were in a riotous,
00:41:16.75\00:41:20.74
drunken feast, what Cyrus
did in an act of military genius
00:41:20.78\00:41:24.30
is he went upriver several
miles, he dammed the river,
00:41:24.33\00:41:27.82
and diverted the river
off into an adjacent field
00:41:27.85\00:41:30.50
so that down river the
river went down, down, down,
00:41:30.54\00:41:33.12
and then they marched in through
the river underneath the gates,
00:41:33.16\00:41:36.93
and Babylon, that
great city of antiquity,
00:41:36.96\00:41:39.47
fell in a single night.
00:41:39.50\00:41:44.25
He met basically no
resistance. God had said
00:41:44.29\00:41:48.02
that another kingdom
would come and what God says
00:41:48.06\00:41:51.32
always comes to
pass. Can someone say amen?
00:41:51.35\00:41:54.32
Even the most powerful kingdom
in the world can't resist
00:41:54.36\00:41:56.54
the decree of God. But
a 3rd kingdom would come,
00:41:56.57\00:41:59.84
a 3rd kingdom of bronze, which
would rule over all the earth.
00:41:59.88\00:42:04.53
Which kingdom was it that
succeeded the Medo-Persian
00:42:04.56\00:42:07.53
Empire? The
mighty kingdom of Greece,
00:42:07.56\00:42:10.98
331-168 BC. I might get myself
00:42:11.01\00:42:15.74
into a little trouble here
because I'm in the Macedonian
00:42:15.78\00:42:18.31
Cultural Art Center, so I
should be perfectly candid
00:42:18.34\00:42:20.80
and remind us all that Alexander
the Great was a Macedonian
00:42:20.84\00:42:24.11
more than a Greek. A
great Macedonian Empire,
00:42:24.14\00:42:27.96
that'll get me go in
good with Gore in here,
00:42:27.99\00:42:32.28
ruling from 331-168 BC.
Alexander the Great was one
00:42:32.31\00:42:36.57
of the greatest
military minds of all time.
00:42:36.60\00:42:39.46
In fact, Napoleon followed
the very battle strategies
00:42:39.50\00:42:42.87
of Alexander the
Great. Arian said in his
00:42:42.90\00:42:45.29
historical library, book
17, chapter 12: [text on screen]
00:42:45.33\00:42:48.84
Alexander the Great
conquered the then known world
00:43:04.14\00:43:07.16
at the age of 31 years old,
but he died in a drunken feast
00:43:07.20\00:43:11.37
at the age of 32. One
of the historians, Hugo,
00:43:11.40\00:43:14.44
said he could conquer the world,
but he couldn't conquer himself.
00:43:14.48\00:43:19.72
It is said of Alexander
the Great that on one occasion
00:43:19.75\00:43:24.07
he wept because said he
there was no one left to kill.
00:43:24.11\00:43:27.65
Alexander the Great prevailed
over the great Medo-Persian
00:43:27.68\00:43:31.19
Empire. History of Rome, book 3,
00:43:31.22\00:43:33.54
chapter 10: [text on screen]
00:43:33.58\00:43:35.87
So we have the
head of gold - Babylon;
00:43:44.94\00:43:47.31
the chest and arms
of silver - Medo-Persia;
00:43:47.35\00:43:49.84
and then the bronze,
or the brass, representing
00:43:49.87\00:43:52.29
"the brass clad Greeks",
that's what Homer called them
00:43:52.33\00:43:56.17
in his book "The Odyssey",
"the brass clad Greeks",
00:43:56.20\00:43:59.69
God predicted it all
long before it came to pass.
00:43:59.72\00:44:03.18
But who would
come after the Greeks?
00:44:03.21\00:44:06.24
Of course, the great
iron monarchy of Rome.
00:44:06.28\00:44:10.48
Ruling not just for
100 years, or 150 years,
00:44:10.51\00:44:18.34
but from 168 BC-476
AD, roughly 700 years
00:44:18.38\00:44:26.14
the great nation of Rome ruled.
The iron monarchy of Rome,
00:44:26.18\00:44:31.41
that's exactly
what the Bible had said.
00:44:31.44\00:44:33.97
Daniel said "The 4th kingdom
shall be as strong as iron."
00:44:34.01\00:44:37.86
Iron crushes all of the
metals, iron could crush gold,
00:44:37.90\00:44:41.72
iron could crush
silver, iron could crush bronze,
00:44:41.75\00:44:44.18
he said "This kingdom,
the long legs of iron,"
00:44:44.22\00:44:46.58
"would be a kingdom unlike
the others, it would utterly"
00:44:46.62\00:44:48.97
"destroy, and smash,
and obliterate the kingdoms"
00:44:49.00\00:44:52.14
"before it", the
great iron monarchy of Rome.
00:44:52.17\00:44:55.24
"All roads leads to Rome."
"Rome wasn't built in a day."
00:44:55.28\00:44:59.91
"When in Rome do as the Romans."
Rome is the greatest empire
00:44:59.94\00:45:04.54
of antiquity, and
God foresaw it all.
00:45:04.57\00:45:09.09
Jesus Christ was nailed
to a Roman cross in 31 AD.
00:45:09.13\00:45:13.68
Jesus Christ was watched
by Roman soldiers in 31 AD.
00:45:13.72\00:45:18.24
Jerusalem was sacked
by Roman armies in 70 AD.
00:45:18.27\00:45:23.06
Rome.
00:45:23.57\00:45:25.25
Edward Gibbon, the famed
English historian, said in his
00:45:25.29\00:45:28.78
well known series "The Decline
and Fall of the Roman Empire",
00:45:28.82\00:45:32.07
notice what he said,
this is a secular historian;
00:45:32.10\00:45:34.55
in fact, Gibbon was known
for his hatred for organized
00:45:34.59\00:45:37.58
religion, but notice what
he says, look at this imagery:
00:45:37.62\00:45:40.58
[text on screen]
00:45:40.61\00:45:42.90
Let me ask you a question,
where do you think the historian
00:45:53.05\00:45:55.57
Gibbon, got that imagery,
gold, silver, brass, and iron,
00:45:55.61\00:45:58.10
to represent the
sweep of history?
00:45:58.13\00:46:00.66
Where do you
think he got it from?
00:46:00.69\00:46:03.15
He got it from the Bible,
and particularly from the book
00:46:03.19\00:46:05.53
of Daniel. So this is amazing.
00:46:05.56\00:46:08.11
The king has a dream and it's
this statue, a head of gold,
00:46:08.15\00:46:11.13
chest and arms of silver,
belly and thighs of bronze,
00:46:11.16\00:46:13.70
long legs of iron, and this
image is basically a timeline.
00:46:13.74\00:46:20.35
He said: "You're this
head of gold, but after you"
00:46:20.86\00:46:23.17
"comes another kingdom, and
after you, another kingdom,"
00:46:23.21\00:46:25.00
"and after you, another kingdom,
and after you, the great"
00:46:25.03\00:46:26.79
"iron monarchy of
Rome." Absolutely fascinating,
00:46:26.82\00:46:31.38
600 years before the time of
Jesus, God is looking forward
00:46:31.42\00:46:35.88
and He can declare it perfectly
and plainly because God alone
00:46:35.92\00:46:40.35
knows and can
declare the future.
00:46:40.38\00:46:43.56
Well, this raises the question,
who conquered ancient Rome?
00:46:43.60\00:46:46.71
I mean, Medo-Persia
conquered Babylon, and Greece
00:46:46.74\00:46:48.74
conquered Medo-Persia,
and Rome conquered Greece,
00:46:48.78\00:46:50.75
but who conquered
Rome? The answer is no one
00:46:50.78\00:46:54.58
conquered Rome, Rome was
not conquered from without,
00:46:54.62\00:46:58.77
it was divided from within.
Notice that, look in Daniel 2,
00:46:58.81\00:47:05.60
Daniel 2:40: "And the 4th
kingdom shall be as strong"
00:47:06.44\00:47:13.85
"as iron, in as much
as iron breaks in pieces"
00:47:13.88\00:47:17.35
"and shatters everything,
and like iron that crushes,"
00:47:17.39\00:47:19.44
"that kingdom will break in
pieces and crush all the other",
00:47:19.48\00:47:21.93
but notice verse 41:
"whereas you saw the feet"
00:47:21.96\00:47:24.49
"and toes partly of potter's
clay and party of iron,"
00:47:24.53\00:47:29.39
"the kingdom shall be
divided." God said 600 years
00:47:29.42\00:47:34.25
before the time of Jesus
the kingdom will be divided,
00:47:34.29\00:47:38.86
and the kingdom was
divided, that's exactly right.
00:47:38.90\00:47:42.40
The kingdom was divided,
and that's what's represented
00:47:42.44\00:47:45.91
by the feet partly of
iron and partly of clay.
00:47:45.94\00:47:49.44
Partly strong and partly weak.
The kingdom will be divided,
00:47:49.48\00:47:52.43
and that's the day we're living
in right now, divided Rome,
00:47:52.47\00:47:55.39
or the so called
"nations of Europe".
00:47:55.42\00:47:58.58
Europe today, has essentially
divided Rome from 476 AD
00:47:58.62\00:48:01.82
to the present tense, there
is nothing bellow the statue,
00:48:01.85\00:48:05.02
it's just head, arms
and chest, belly and thighs,
00:48:05.05\00:48:07.88
long legs, and
the feet, that's it,
00:48:07.91\00:48:09.51
you don't have
anything else after your toes.
00:48:09.55\00:48:13.36
Partly of potter's
clay, and partly of iron,
00:48:13.39\00:48:17.13
the kingdom will be divided.
Here's a chart that depicts
00:48:17.17\00:48:21.37
the invasions and fragmenting
of Rome, that began in 100 AD,
00:48:21.41\00:48:24.90
they say here "CE", which is
the "common era", that's fine,
00:48:24.94\00:48:28.45
and the fragmentation, the
Vandals moving up from the north
00:48:28.48\00:48:31.96
of Africa, and the
Saxons up there in England,
00:48:31.99\00:48:34.41
and all of these Barbarian
tribes begin to basically
00:48:34.45\00:48:37.49
pick Rome apart at the
seems until eventually,
00:48:37.52\00:48:39.90
as my dad used to say to
me, "you're getting too big"
00:48:39.94\00:48:42.19
"for your breeches
boy", and it fell apart.
00:48:42.22\00:48:46.03
That's history.
00:48:46.06\00:48:48.52
The kingdom divided, and
today we live in this very time.
00:48:49.36\00:48:53.48
Modern Europe, Europe is
nothing more than divided Rome.
00:48:53.51\00:48:57.60
In fact, if you look
at the divisions of Rome,
00:48:57.63\00:48:59.50
here they are. [Text on screen]
00:48:59.53\00:49:02.19
We'll talk more about
that in another night.
00:49:16.15\00:49:18.17
All of these barbarian
tribes today form what we call
00:49:18.21\00:49:22.31
Europe. The
kingdom remains divided.
00:49:22.34\00:49:27.21
I want you to go back to your
Bible, go back to your Bible
00:49:27.25\00:49:31.02
and look at verse 42 as
we come to the end of this
00:49:31.05\00:49:34.72
remarkable prophecy.
"And as the toes of the feet"
00:49:34.76\00:49:38.36
"were partly of iron and
partly of clay, so the kingdom"
00:49:38.40\00:49:42.10
"shall be partly
strong and partly fragile."
00:49:42.13\00:49:45.67
"As you saw iron mixed
with ceramic clay, they will"
00:49:45.71\00:49:48.37
"mingle themselves with the
seed of men", that is they will
00:49:48.41\00:49:51.41
intermarry, "but they
will not stick to one another,"
00:49:51.44\00:49:55.90
"just as iron
doesn't mix with clay."
00:49:55.93\00:49:59.49
The old King James
says: "they will not cleave",
00:49:59.53\00:50:02.97
my version says "they
will not adhere", they won't
00:50:03.01\00:50:06.42
stick together. Let
me ask you a question,
00:50:06.45\00:50:08.50
if I had a bucket here,
and I put into that bucket
00:50:08.54\00:50:12.08
clay, soft, malleable
clay, and iron shavings,
00:50:12.12\00:50:15.59
and I began to stir it,
how long would I have to stir
00:50:15.63\00:50:18.76
the iron and clay
before I had "cliron"?
00:50:18.79\00:50:21.15
[Audience laughs]
How long would I have
00:50:21.19\00:50:23.49
to stir it? I
could stir it forever
00:50:23.53\00:50:25.76
and I'd still have clay
and iron, because clay and iron
00:50:25.80\00:50:28.46
don't mix, are we
all together on that?
00:50:28.49\00:50:30.84
That's what God says, they're
going to try and stick together.
00:50:30.88\00:50:35.21
Have there been efforts
to unite Europe, yes or no?
00:50:35.24\00:50:38.13
- [Audience
replies] Yes - Oh sure,
00:50:38.16\00:50:39.93
let's just look at a
few of the men who tried
00:50:39.97\00:50:42.12
to outsmart God.
00:50:42.15\00:50:44.05
Charlemagne, on his rampage
to recreate the so called
00:50:44.09\00:50:47.58
Holy Roman Empire: unsuccessful.
Charles V of Spain:
00:50:47.62\00:50:53.60
unsuccessful. Louis XIV of
France, bathed Europe in blood,
00:50:53.63\00:50:59.78
unsuccessful, Napoleon,
unsuccessful. In fact, Napoleon
00:50:59.81\00:51:03.29
himself, we're told,
was shown this prophecy.
00:51:03.32\00:51:06.27
There is a tradition
that Napoleon himself,
00:51:06.31\00:51:08.82
was shown this very
prophecy that Europe could not,
00:51:08.86\00:51:12.07
yea, would not be divided,
and as the tradition goes,
00:51:12.11\00:51:15.29
he took the Bible and
threw it across the room,
00:51:15.32\00:51:17.86
and when he lost his
battle at Waterloo, he said:
00:51:17.89\00:51:20.40
"God Almighty has
been too much for me."
00:51:20.43\00:51:23.62
[Audience laughs]
00:51:23.65\00:51:25.19
And of course, Hitler.
These are men who tried
00:51:25.23\00:51:27.64
to outsmart God, but God
had said they will not cleave.
00:51:27.68\00:51:29.94
There have been significant
efforts by some of the so called
00:51:29.98\00:51:33.30
great men of history, to bring
Europe back under a single,
00:51:33.34\00:51:36.63
unified head, but
none have succeeded.
00:51:36.66\00:51:40.15
God had declared they
will not cleave together.
00:51:40.19\00:51:44.54
Today we are living in
the time of divided Europe.
00:51:44.57\00:51:48.85
Have there been efforts even
in modern times to unite Europe?
00:51:48.89\00:51:51.53
Yes or no? Sure, sure.
00:51:51.56\00:51:54.29
Here is a very interesting
parallel of this painting here,
00:51:54.33\00:51:58.73
which was a famous painting by
the Flemish Renaissance painter,
00:51:58.77\00:52:03.83
his name is
escaping me, Brueghel.
00:52:03.86\00:52:06.49
The famous Renaissance
painter, Brueghel, painted in
00:52:06.53\00:52:08.43
the 16th century
of the tower of Babel.
00:52:08.46\00:52:11.44
You know the story
of the tower of Babel?
00:52:11.48\00:52:14.39
Man was going to construct this
great artifice to his glory,
00:52:14.43\00:52:17.57
and look at this,
isn't this very interesting?
00:52:17.60\00:52:19.81
When the European
Economic Community first came
00:52:19.85\00:52:21.99
on the scene, this was the
official poster, do you see
00:52:22.03\00:52:24.97
the similarities? It's
just basically a modern
00:52:25.00\00:52:28.72
characterization of
Brueghel's old famous painting
00:52:28.75\00:52:32.44
of the tower of
Babel, and notice this:
00:52:32.47\00:52:34.30
"Europe, many
tongues, one voice."
00:52:34.33\00:52:37.16
Has there been a
push to unite Europe?
00:52:37.20\00:52:39.96
Sure, but we're not interested
in the politics of it,
00:52:40.00\00:52:42.36
we're not interested
in the economics of it,
00:52:42.39\00:52:44.23
we're not interested in
any of that, the fact is,
00:52:44.27\00:52:47.98
God had said these
nations would remain divided,
00:52:48.01\00:52:51.40
and any effort, whether
military, or intermarriage,
00:52:51.44\00:52:54.72
or political, to unite
Europe is doomed to failure
00:52:54.76\00:52:58.01
because God has said
they'll remain divided.
00:52:58.04\00:53:00.26
If that makes sense say
amen. [Audience replies] Amen.
00:53:00.30\00:53:04.17
>From ancient
Babylon on, so there it is.
00:53:04.20\00:53:07.45
Let's go back
there. The dream is certain
00:53:07.48\00:53:10.66
and the interpretation
is sure, there's the dates,
00:53:10.70\00:53:13.35
see if you can them
all down. [text on screen]
00:53:13.39\00:53:16.01
Despite some of the so
called great men of history
00:53:43.93\00:53:46.14
trying to unite Europe, and
even political maneuverings,
00:53:46.18\00:53:49.19
and economic maneuverings, and
intermarriage, there was a time
00:53:49.23\00:53:52.12
when Queen Elizabeth was called
"the grandmother of Europe"
00:53:52.15\00:53:55.01
because the duchess of
this country would marry
00:53:55.04\00:53:57.50
the duke of this country,
and the princess of this country
00:53:57.54\00:54:00.60
would marry the prince of
that country, and the king
00:54:00.63\00:54:03.63
of this country would
marry the queen of that country,
00:54:03.67\00:54:06.43
but it never could cause
them to stick together, why?
00:54:06.47\00:54:09.20
Because God said
it wouldn't happen.
00:54:09.23\00:54:12.20
Let's finish up the prophecy,
it's basically done, verse 43:
00:54:12.24\00:54:17.94
"As you saw iron mixed
with ceramic clay, they will"
00:54:17.97\00:54:20.40
"mingle themselves with the seed
of men through intermarriage,"
00:54:20.44\00:54:23.51
"but they will not cleave
one to another, just as iron"
00:54:23.54\00:54:27.48
"does not mix with clay.
And in the days of these kings",
00:54:27.51\00:54:31.42
what kings? These
kings right down here,
00:54:31.45\00:54:33.91
the toes partly of iron
and partly of potter's clay,
00:54:33.95\00:54:36.87
"in the days of these kings,
the God of heaven will set up"
00:54:36.91\00:54:40.77
"a kingdom which
shall never be destroyed."
00:54:40.80\00:54:44.96
"The kingdom will not
be left to other people",
00:54:44.99\00:54:49.08
unlike Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom
which was left to other people,
00:54:49.12\00:54:52.06
"it will break in pieces
and consume all these kingdoms"
00:54:52.09\00:54:55.70
"and it will stand
forever. In as much as you saw"
00:54:55.73\00:55:03.79
"that the stone was cut out
of the mountain without hands"
00:55:03.83\00:55:06.16
"and that it broke in pieces
the iron, the bronze, the clay,"
00:55:06.19\00:55:08.49
"the silver and the gold,
the great God has made known"
00:55:08.52\00:55:12.77
"to the king what will
come to pass after this,"
00:55:12.80\00:55:14.88
and notice the last part
here, "the dream is certain,"
00:55:14.92\00:55:20.17
"and the
interpretation is sure."
00:55:20.20\00:55:23.46
Daniel knew that he was
giving the right answers
00:55:23.50\00:55:25.84
because the
answer came from God.
00:55:25.87\00:55:30.43
Absolutely incredible, 600
years before the time of Jesus.
00:55:30.47\00:55:36.63
I want you to think
about that for just a moment,
00:55:36.66\00:55:38.29
what if you had to predict the
next 25 years of human history,
00:55:38.33\00:55:41.59
could you do it? The
2500 years of human history,
00:55:41.62\00:55:43.73
could you do it?
00:55:43.76\00:55:45.57
>From the time of Daniel,
600 BC, until present time
00:55:45.61\00:55:49.09
is some 2500 years of human
history and in approximately
00:55:49.13\00:55:53.38
150 words, Daniel gives
us a sweep of human history,
00:55:53.41\00:55:57.59
do you think you could do that?
2500 years of human history
00:55:57.63\00:56:02.29
with absolute
perfect accuracy and clarity?
00:56:02.32\00:56:05.92
The first time I ever saw
this prophecy, I looked at
00:56:05.96\00:56:08.09
that book and I said: "there's
only 2 possible options here,"
00:56:08.13\00:56:11.86
"either someone is
playing a very big trick,"
00:56:11.89\00:56:16.03
"or this book is
supernatural." Are you with me?
00:56:16.07\00:56:20.14
To be able to predict, and this
is just 1 of many prophecies
00:56:20.18\00:56:23.19
incidentally, but to be
able to predict with that kind
00:56:23.22\00:56:25.41
of clarity, that kind
of accuracy, is absolutely
00:56:25.44\00:56:28.79
beyond the kin of
man, it must be God.
00:56:28.82\00:56:34.35
Now, I'm not a
gambling person, maybe you are,
00:56:34.39\00:56:37.76
I always lose, so
I just stop gambling,
00:56:37.79\00:56:40.22
but there is a safe
gamble. Think about it
00:56:40.26\00:56:42.62
from this perspective, if
you were a gambling person
00:56:42.66\00:56:45.67
and God said there would be
Babylon, and there was Babylon,
00:56:45.71\00:56:47.61
that's 1. God said
that there would be
00:56:47.64\00:56:49.41
Medo-Persia, and there
was Medo- Persia, that's 2.
00:56:49.45\00:56:51.73
God said that there would be
Greece, and there was Greece,
00:56:51.77\00:56:53.94
that's 3. God said
that there would be Rome,
00:56:53.97\00:56:56.65
and there was Rome, that's 4.
00:56:56.68\00:56:58.56
God said that Rome would be
divided, and Rome was divided,
00:56:58.60\00:57:00.85
that's 5. God said
that Rome would remain
00:57:00.88\00:57:03.38
divided despite
significant efforts to unite it,
00:57:03.42\00:57:06.47
that's 6. The very
next thing that God
00:57:06.50\00:57:08.62
says would happen is that He
would set up His own kingdom,
00:57:08.66\00:57:13.30
that's the 7th thing,
now if you're a betting man,
00:57:13.33\00:57:15.71
Nr.1 happens, Nr.2 happens,
Nr.3 happens, Nr.4 happens,
00:57:15.75\00:57:18.58
Nr.5 happens, Nr.6 happens,
what do you think about Nr.7?
00:57:18.61\00:57:21.41
[Audience says] It'll happen.
00:57:21.44\00:57:22.98
Do you think that's a safe bet,
yes or no? [Audience says] Yes.
00:57:23.02\00:57:25.52
The stone that struck the image
became a mountain and filled
00:57:25.55\00:57:28.02
the whole
earth. When God sets up
00:57:28.05\00:57:30.51
His kingdom at the second
coming of Jesus, that kingdom
00:57:30.55\00:57:33.93
will never be conquered,
it is an eternal kingdom
00:57:33.96\00:57:37.05
for the saved, and for
those who have put their faith
00:57:37.08\00:57:40.14
in the God of the
Bible. Can someone say amen?
00:57:40.17\00:57:42.88
- [Audience] Amen.
- Absolutely, friends,
00:57:42.91\00:57:45.40
what can be trusted
in these uncertain times?
00:57:45.43\00:57:48.13
What can be trusted
in these strange times?
00:57:48.17\00:57:50.80
God's word can be trusted.
In a world of uncertainty,
00:57:50.84\00:57:55.95
Bible prophecy
provides us with certainty.
00:57:55.98\00:58:00.16