Daniel 2:31-43 – Forwarding to the Past – Bible study

Daniel 2:31-43 Forward to the Past In my opinion, Daniel is "the Foundation to End Time Prophecy," meaning that if you do not get Daniel correct, you probably will not get much of the end time prophecies correct Let me share with you a truth about prophecy – We cannot know for certain that our interpretation of prophecy is correct until the prophecy is fulfilled. I know some would disagree with that statement, but it is true anyway. The religious leaders in Jesus day, missed Jesus mainly because they thought they knew what was going to happen and they knew nothing at all. What we must dowhat I pray that I am doingis to examine as many valid interpretations as we can, then eliminate the false views until we are left with the one that is most likely correct. Even so, it is possible that as time progresses, what was impossible may become possible and what was possible may become impossible. The first 25 verses of this chapter gives us another great passage on Daniels character and what our character as a Christian should be like. Under great duress and threat of death, Daniel and his three companions pray and God reveals to Daniel what another man dreamed. Thats pretty impressive! But it is the dream that we want to focus on for it gives us understanding concerning the end times. I. The dream dealt with five kingdoms. A. \#31-33\ What these two men dreamed was of a giant image with a head of gold, chest of silver, belly and thighs of brass, and legs of iron. 1. Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar that the four metals represent four kingdoms. Daniel 2:38 Thou art this head of gold. 39 And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. 40 And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. 2. Notice the use of the word "kingdom." a. These kingdoms are world kingdoms, like Babylon, the first one mentioned. b. These kingdoms are sequential, that is, they are listed in the order they will come. That is obvious by the phrase "And after thee" \#39\ along with the numbers that given (i.e. third and fourth). c. Each kingdom lessened in glory as is indicated by the metals used to describe the kingdoms. (1) Gold is more glorious [valuable] than silver. Silver is more glorious than brass. Brass is more glorious than iron. (2) This could refer to lesser culture, lesser education, lesser civility, or perhaps any number of other things. (3) But I think it refers to their relationship with God. (a) Nebuchadnezzar gets saved. (b) Darius has Daniel. (c) Alexander had no one. (d) Rome crucified Jesus, cast the Jews out of their land, and persecuted the Christian. (e) There is a lessening in their fear and respect of God. d. Yet, each kingdom gained in strength as indicated by the increasing strength of the metals. (1) Gold is weaker than silver. Silver is weaker than brass. Brass is weaker than iron. (2) Perhaps by having a longer rule, perhaps by having a greater reach, perhaps having more people under its control, perhaps by leaving a greater influence in its wake. B. The big question then is who are the four kingdoms. 1. We know the first one. It was Babylon because Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar he was the head of gold \#37-38\ 2. I cannot take the time this morning to prove to you who I believe these kingdoms are. a. There are some hints given in the book of Daniel. b. I believe history bears out who they were. c. Let me just give them to you: (1) Head of gold – Babylon (2) Breast of silver – Persian (3) Belly and thighs of brass – Greece (4) The legs of iron – Rome 3. Of the four, history tells us that Rome was the largest, most powerful empire in world history. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Empire a. In the opinion of those who know history, Rome would have to be the kingdom of Rome because iron is the strongest of metals. b. These are and have been the most likely fulfillments of these kingdoms. If something happens that changes that, we can adjust our interpretation; but for now, most Bible believers accept this as the most likely interpretation of the first four kingdoms. C. What about the fifth kingdom? Daniel 2:44 And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. 45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure. 1. \#44\ The fifth kingdom is clearly identified as Gods kingdom. a. \#44\ It will last forever. b. \#45\ It is called a kingdom made "without hands" implying it does not originate from man. c. Gods kingdom breaks into pieces of all mans attempts to rule. 2. This is the kingdom that God has promised both the Jews and the Gentiles. a. Today, Christians most often refer to it as the millennial reign of Christ. b. Just to help keep things in order, we believe the millennial reign of Jesus comes after the rapture and and the seven years of tribulation. c. It is obvious, if our interpretation of end time prophecy is correct that every vision and passage does not detail everything. II. Lets Summarize and see a problem. A. Daniel describes four world powers arising that will rule until Jesus comes to establish His worldly kingdom. B. Brother Hall says that the first four have already come: 1. Babylon, 605-562 BC 2. Persian, 550-336 BC 3. Greek, 334-31 BC 4. Rome,31 BC to 476 AD 5. (The dates are not exact because these kingdoms existed before and after their empires. When they became and ceased to be "the" world empire is subjective.) C. The Catcher – The Bible speaks of only four world empires 1. Together they form the single image. 2. But Daniel said the image would stand until the Jesus sets up His kingdom. 3. In fact, Jesus kingdom destroys the image, the combined four kingdoms. D. Problem – If there are only four kingdoms and they have already come and gone, how can the image still be standing when Jesus sets up His kingdom? 1. Doesnt that last kingdom still have to be around when Jesus sets up His kingdom? 2. The short answer is YES. 3. How do we answer this? a. If you do not believe the Bible is true, it cant and you just got more evidence as to why no one should believe the Bible. b. If you do believe the Bible is true, you will conclude that God is not finished with that fourth kingdom yet. (1) You might come to the same conclusion that many others have come to, namely, that God is going to revive the Roman empire again. (2) This revived Roman empire is described in the dream. Daniel 2:41 And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. 42 And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. 43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. (a) \#41\ Notice that the feet and toes are still part of the fourth kingdom, but that kingdom is divided into 2 parts, one when it is pure iron and one when it is iron mixed with clay. (b) The iron represented the strength of the fourth kingdom but there is no interpretation for the clay except that it is weak. (c) The word used for clay indicates a baked clay, dried and brittle. (d) Daniel did not interpret the meaning of the ten toes at all. i. He only mentioned them. ii. However, 10 will be mentioned later and it will refer to the number of leaders in the kingdom. (Dan 7, Rev 12, 13, Rev 17) c. My beliefs. (1) I firmly believe in the "Revived" Roman Empire, that God is going to create a government from the same region of the world as the Roman Empire with so many similarities to the original Roman Empire that it will shock you. (2) I believe it will begin with ten leaders or perhaps 10 nations or even 10 zones of nations. (3) It will begin with the inherit weakness of every one of the ten leaders having an equal voice, but that will change as a single leader rises from their midst to take the helm. (a) That leader is not even hinted at in this prophecy so I will not mention him, yet. (b) But that leader will return to the strength of Rome to empire by governing like Rome did, ruthlessly and will great power. (4) We are seeing this happen today. (a) America, who has been the world political leader for at least 100 years, is losing its influence. (b) The dollar, which has been the worlds currency for as long or longer than that, is rapidly losing its value. (c) The economies of many nations are weak and becoming weaker as they abandon sound fiscal standards and move toward socialism. (d) 10 years after our last economic crash and the world continues to titer on the next one. (e) Eventually, there will be a restructuring of the world economy and the world map. (f) While some of this may seem impossible today, wait for the tomorrows will prove it to be so. (5) In fact, it is interesting to me that Rome was never conquered. (a) It just kind of disintegrated. (b) I believe God is going to put it back together again. (c) Why? In part because of this dreams interpretation as given by Daniel. III. What does this mean for us today? A. It means there have been a lot of futile wars. There will be only FOUR world empires, yet many more have attempted it. 1. The many Turkish empires 2. Napoleon in 1800 3. Germany and Japan 1930s and 40s 4. Islam has it as a goal today. 5. All of the death and destruction could have been avoided. 6. There will be only four. B. It means that we, the church, is not in this. 1. What is happening now, at the end of the church age, is that God is setting things back to the way it was before there was a church. 2. Hence, the title of the message, "Forward to the Past." 3. Look at a few of the ways we are recreating the past. a. Israel existed when Jesus died, then it did not, now it does again. b. The Jewish language was spoken when Jesus died, the it did not, now it does again. c. The Jews lived in the land of Israel when Jesus died, then they did not, and now they do again. d. The church did not exist when Jesus died, it has, but it will be removed and then God will deal with Israel again. (1) That is another of the reasons why I believe in the premillennial, pretribulational return of Jesus for the church. (2) God stopped the Jewish clock when the Jews rejected and killed His Son. (3) God will remove the church and its influence before He starts that clock back again. (If you do not know what I mean by the "Jewish clock," hang around and I will get to it.) (4) So you and I are living in the falling away \#2Thess 2:3\. That is the period in which the churchs influence wanes and diminishes. Can I prove everything that I believe? No. But this passage does say that there will be only four world kingdoms and that their combined presence will be destroyed by Jesus.