The Dream is Certain

So... Alright. Well, the title of our study today is The Dream is Certain. The Dream is Certain. Let's open our Bibles together and turn to Daniel chapter 2, if you will. Daniel chapter 2, and we're going to begin to set the foundation of our sermon study today, Daniel chapter 2. And we're going to begin reading in verses 31 through 35 as we come to Daniel's description of King Nebuchadnezzar's magnificent vision of a great image. So Daniel chapter 2 verses 31 through 35. Let's read now this prophetic vision here. Daniel 2 verse 31. You, O King, were watching, and behold a great image.

This great image, whose splendor was excellent, stood before you, and its form was awesome.

This image's head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its partly of iron and partly of clay. You watched while stone was cut without hands, which struck the image on the feet of iron and clay and broke them in pieces.

Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, the gold were all crushed together and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors. And the wind carried them away so that no trace was found, of them was found. And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. Let's stop there. Well, we come to this section here in second chapter of Daniel, and it's important when we come to this apocalyptic section to know that it wasn't written just simply to intrigue us, but rather this was written to reassure us.

It was written to reassure us that God is still on His throne and that His kingdom is one that will never be destroyed. And my hope is today that that truth will be reassured to you and I today. Do you believe that? That God is still in His throne and that there will never be an end to His kingdom once it is established. Now, as we begin here, let's take a moment to remind ourselves where we are at this moment here in chapter two and leading up to this moment. What we have recorded here was a message that was given from God in the form of a vision, and the vision was given to King Nebuchadnezzar for Daniel to interpret.

And this message from God was one that was desperately needed to be received from those that were now living in Babylon, the Israelite exiles. If you remember from chapter one that those Israelites had been overtaken by this foreign kingdom here, and they found themselves not only removed from their homeland, but also removed from their place of worship. They were completely removed from everything that they knew of their previous life, all as a result of this arrival of this evil king, King Nebuchadnezzar, who had besieged and overtaken them. And many of God's people that were overtaken here, they would have taken them by quite a surprise because many would have been convinced that something like this could never happen, because many would have believed that they would have been able to continue their lives, uninterrupted and undisturbed until the Messiah, the Son of God, would come. They would have never expected such adversity to come upon them in this way. So this was a harsh wake-up call for God's people, as they literally were awoken by the Babylon soldiers coming into their city, kicking open their doors and taking their children. Everything changed at this point. Everything had gone horribly wrong as they were taken over. Their family lives were crushed in an instant. Their religious foundations were destroyed. And as a result of this overflow, Daniel, his family, his three friends, Daniel's king, all of Daniel's fellow people were taken into captivity. And so, again, the truth of this apocalyptic vision here that's conveyed in the verses 31 through 35, it was sorely needed. Because there would have been some there that would have been tempted to believe that somehow or another things had gone terribly long in God's plan for them and for God's purpose for them. Many would have been succumbed to that belief that somehow God in His kingdom was now being overtaken as well and losing out to now Nebuchadnezzar and His kingdom. But what we're going to see here in chapter two is that God draws back the curtain and allows Daniel and allows his readers to see that there is an assured victory of God in the end. A victory that's already been determined, a victory that's already been achieved.

And make no doubt, this vision here, it spoke loudly, loudly to these exiles here that this was an assured victory in the end. They needed to hear this. That there was going to be victory even over whatever forces at the moment seemed to be destroying God's people and His plan for them. I'll repeat that. This vision here in chapter two announced loudly to the exiles that victory was assured even over whatever forces at the moment seem to be destroying God's people and His plan. They needed to hear this. They needed to be reminded of this truth. And I wonder if some here today need to be reminded of this as well. Now, from the human perspective, if you try to think about these things that had transpired here leading up to this, and you think about what would be the Babylonian mindset as we enter into chapter two here, you can just imagine some of the conversations that would have been taking place with the leadership here of Babylon as they had successfully overtaken the Judah and Daniel's people. You would have had them there at this point, filled with such pride.

You know, as they recounted how well they've executed this strategic offense, saying to the king, Ah, King, King Nebuchadnezzar, live forever, you king, you are the king of kings. This leadership in overtaking these people is unmatched. Yes, another would say, and I want to compliment Mr. Ashbinaz for choosing such a great group of young children of Israel, the perfect Israelites to bring back to serve into the king's palace. If you turn back one chapter here to chapter one in verse four, we see this after the besieging, the bringing back of the children of Israel is recorded for us here. Let's remind ourselves of this briefly. So after the takeover, look at chapter one in verse three of Daniel here. Chapter one in verse three.

And the king instructed Ashbinaz, the master of the eunuchs, to bring back the children of Israel, the master of the eunuchs, to bring some of the children of Israel and some of the king's descendants and some of the nobles, young men in whom there was no blemish but good-looking, gifted in all wisdom, possessing knowledge and quick to understand, who had ability to serve in the king's palace, in whom they might teach the language and literature of the Chaldeans. We'll stop there. So we discover here that, of course, among those that were brought back were Daniel and his three friends Hananiah, Meshe, Azariah, later to be named Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, we know. And Daniel was renamed to Belshazzar. So chapter one here, Nebuchadnezzar and those in authority after the takeover had eventually discovered these four young men that became head and shoulders above the others here, where Daniel and his three friends at the end of their time of not eating that food which would have defiled them. There in chapter one, they came out healthier, you will remember, came out looking better than those that ate the king's portions. So we have the conclusion of all this in chapter one in verse 19 and 20. Chapter one, verse 19 and 20, it says, then the king, that's Nebuchadnezzar, interviewed these three and among them none was found like them, or these four, Daniel, Hananiah, Meshe, and Azariah. Therefore they served before the king, and in all matters of wisdom and understanding about which the king examined them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians, astrologers who were in all his realm. So then again, you can imagine how the abalone leadership must have been patting themselves on the back at this time.

You know, congratulating each other for the establishment of this re-education program. It was really a kind of a university system they had created, applauding one another. Boy, we did a good job. We did a terrific job. This three-year reorientation program, what a success! We've been able to re-educate them, these children of Israel. Look at these four young men who have emerged, O king, to serve you. Oh, their head and shoulders above them all. Look how it all worked out. The raid, the capture, the result, all of it. Such a great success. Cheers to us. And from the human perspective, it would have seemed like they had done all this themselves. Ah, but what they didn't realize, it was God. It was the sovereign God who was working out His purposes for His nation in the lives of these people, and particularly in the lives of these four individuals. After all, you'll notice, staying here in chapter one, go up to the beginning here. Look at verse two. Let your eyes fall up. Go up to verse two of chapter one, and we notice that it was God himself who gave Judah into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar. Look at this. Fascinating. Chapter one, verse two.

The Lord gave Jehoakim, king of Judah, into his hand. That's into Nebuchadnezzar's hand. So God was and is in control of it all. Think about that. God is still in His throne. God still reigns. Now it is to that truth in which chapter one ends, and it's to that truth, which it becomes much more evident then as we move into the exciting and dramatic events of chapter two here. So it is to this vision and to chapter two in which we'll now come. So let's go back to the beginning of chapter two here and read the opening verses that lead up to this apocalyptic vision here. So chapter two, verse one through thirteen. Here's the next challenge that Daniel was facing now in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign. Chapter two, verse one through thirteen. Now in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams, and his spirit was so troubled that his sleep left him. Then the king gave the command to call the magicians, the astrologers, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams.

So they came and they stood before the king, and the king said to them, I've had a dream, and my spirit is anxious to know the dream. Verse four. Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic, O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will give you the interpretation. The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, My decision is firm. If you do not make known the dream to me and its interpretation, then you shall be cut to pieces, and your houses shall be made an ash heap. However, if you tell the dream in its interpretation, you shall receive gifts, rewards, great honor. Therefore, tell me the dream in its interpretation. Verse seven. They answered again and said, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will give its interpretation. The king answered and said, I know for certain that you would gain time, they're stalling for time, because you see that my decision is firm. If you do not make the dream known to me, there is only one decree for you. For you have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till the time has changed. Therefore, tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can give me its interpretation. The Chaldeans answered the king and said, There is not a man on earth who can tell the king's matter. Therefore, no king, lord, or ruler has ever asked such a thing of a magician, astrologer, or Chaldean. It is a difficult thing that the king requests, and there is no other who can tell the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not it with flesh. For this reason, the king was angry, very furious, gave the command to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. So the decree went out, they began killing the wise man, and they sought Daniel and his companions to kill them. Let's stop there. Amazing. So what do we know? What do we know?

Well, we know that King Nebuchadnezzar was powerful. He was a powerful man. In fact, he was the leader of the most significant nation and mighty nation on the face of the earth.

He was the leader of the then known world. So the people of that day would have been looking around, and if they see him moving around, they would have just been awestruck by the magnificence of him, and the awe and the leadership aura that he would put off. And so they would have been quite surprised to know that behind it all, that this mighty man here, in human terms, was being troubled, so troubled, tormented really by these dreams, dreams that just ultimately stopped him in his tracks. They were sort of a reoccurring nightmare to him. A vision of this huge statue of a man was entering into his dreams. And that scene that we read from earlier, this great statue, with the head of gold and the chest and arms of silver, belly and thighs of bronze, legs of iron and clay, this image came to Nebuchadnezzar in the night and just chilled him to his bones.

And there in verse 1, we saw that his spirit was troubled and his sleep left him. He was stirred to his very core. So what does he do? Well, he does what all kings would do at that time. He called the wise men, you know, these characters, astrologers, magicians, sorcerers, chaldeans, the so-called wise men, some of them at all. It's straightforward request. Tell me the dream and tell me its interpretation. The response, of course, as we read, well, oh king, live forever, live forever, you know. You know, if you tell us the dream, we'll give you the interpretation. We can do that. Oh, no, no, he says. That's not what I asked. You need to tell me the dream. Make it known to me and its interpretation. Or in verse 5, I'll have you cut to pieces and your houses burned down. King, thank you for the opportunity. We really appreciate this, you know. Now, he does give them an incentive. You'll notice that in verse 6. This is nice of him. You know, if you tell me the dream and its interpretation, you will receive gifts, rewards, great honor. They ask a second time verse 7, let the king tell us the servants of the dream and we will give its interpretation. I see what you're doing here, the king says. You're trying to stall for time. Well, I'm putting away the incentive. It's gone. And now there's only one decree for you.

You're lying, you're corrupt words, you're stalling for time.

If you don't tell me, it's all over for you. To which they reply, verse 10, there is not a man on earth who can tell that the kings matter.

Therefore, no king has ever asked such wise men, they say. But really, if you think about it from the king's perspective, the only way that he can know that they were on the up and up, of course, if they told the dream and its interpretation here, we could be wise men of that time. Oh, yeah, tell me the dream. I'll give you the interpretation. You know, I'll have one for you. So here he is. The emperor has no clothes, if you will.

And the king can't see what the dream is. The wise men are trying their best to say that they can give it to him. They can see it. If only a little help would be given.

No one knows what the dream is or what it's about. So there in verse 12 and 13, he summons the decree to kill them all off. And in that, you see the absolute evil in this man, don't you?

Absolute evil. It's quite amazing, really. That might make you think of another king who was threatened on his throne when he found out that someone with a capital S was born, apparently the king of the Jews, and unable to handle the thought of a threat to his power. He calls for the slaughter of all these innocent babies. That's King Herod, of course. So this king is doing all the same all these years before. But this is really not an unusual phenomenon by any means. We see it in history's past. We see it in recent history. If you think about it, so many rulers driven to such depravity. And we could probably confidently say that the main driver to drive them to this depravity is pride. You know, pride. So many evil dictators have the blood of innocent, the blood of so many innocent on their hands that they're put forth in this way. And we know that they are influenced by the one, the prideful one, who said, I will ascend to heaven and I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. And I will ascend to the heights of the clouds. I will be like the Most High.

So all these leaders are influenced and they're the same. I must be the master of my own destiny.

Have that security. Be in charge of what happens to me. So we ought not be surprised that this king who believed himself to be so powerful, so significant, would then turn that insecurity and that pride into rage against these so-called wise men who've been proven to be useless, declares them all to be destroyed. So the decree goes out to the wise man of Babylon, and as a result, Daniel and his three friends are now thrust into the picture.

And it goes out on the street. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, the king's looking for you. They might have thought how chapter one ended. Oh, he might be looking for, give us another promotion, of course. Well, not so much. He's actually looking to come kill you. Sorry to let you know that, unfortunately. And they were the wisest around, so their head was on the line. Now, you'll notice Daniel and his friends' reaction here. What do you think it was? How do you think they responded?

Well, let's see. Verse 14 through 19. Look at this. Verse 14 through 19.

Then with counsel and wisdom, Daniel answered Ariach, the captain of the king's guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon. He answered and said to Ariach, the king's captain, this is Daniel, why is the creed from the king so urgent? Then Ariach made known the decision to Daniel. So Daniel went in and asked the king to give him more time, that he might tell the king the interpretation. And Daniel went into his house and made the decision known to Hananiah, Meshech, and Azariah, his companions, that they might seek mercies from God of heaven concerning this secret so that Daniel and his companions might not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. So Daniel blessed the God of heaven. So you'll notice no panic on the part of Daniel. What would you have I done? I wonder, you know, there's no indication here of God, you know, his getting with his buddies. You see, let's head for the hills, guys. Grab your stuff. You know, they're coming. That might have been a natural reaction, wouldn't you say? No, rather, he calls his friends together. And where do they turn? They turn to God. Verse 18 again, they go to the house that they might seek mercies from the God of heaven concerning this secret there. We don't want to die, dear God. Could you have mercy upon us? Help us to understand this mystery so that we don't die? And then verse 19 tells us that God in a night vision reveals the mystery to Daniel, answers their prayers, pulls back the curtain of the future for Daniel and his friends in order that he might give it to the king. And what does God show them? What does God show them? He shows them that God is still on the throne. That's what he shows them. And this kingdom, the kingdom of God will last forever. And while earthly kingdoms will come and go, God's kingdom will reign forever. And again, make no doubt, this message that Daniel, this is a message that Daniel sorely needed, and the exiles at that time sorely needed this message and this truth. And I believe it's needed for us today, here today. It's a simple truth, really. Nevertheless, it should mean everything to us.

The truth. While earthly kingdoms come and go, the kingdom of God will last forever.

I wonder if you believe that.

You'll notice after this revelation here, in verses 23-23, after Daniel is reminded of this truth, and you can almost picture him saying, ah, that's right. Sorry, Father, I forgot. I forgot who you are. Look at this. He's reminded of God's absolute control, sovereignty, power. Daniel is overwhelmed by it, and, wonderfully, we have the response of Daniel, and he just comes out with these praises to God. Look at this. Look at his response here, after being reminded that God is still on his throne. Verses 23-23, Daniel answered and said, blessed be the name of God forever and ever. His wisdom and might are his. Wisdom and might are his. And he changes the times and the seasons. He removes kings and raises up kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding. He reveals deep and secret things. He knows what's in the darkness, and light dwells with him. Ah, I thank you and praise you, O God of my fathers. You have given me wisdom and might, and you have made known to me what we ask of you, for you have made known to us the king's demand. So Daniel blesses God. His name is forever and ever.

Wisdom and might are his. Think of what Daniel is saying here in these verses.

Verse 21, God changes times and seasons. That's the God you worship. God removes kings. God raises them up. God gives wisdom and knowledge to those who have understanding. God reveals the deep and hidden things. God knows what's in the darkness, even when we don't.

Awesome. Absolutely awesome.

God is the God who made the heavens and the earth. God is the God who is in charge of the seasons. In other words, he's ultimately in charge of it all. He's in control, declaring the end from the beginning. But you see, you know, just like in Daniel's day, that's what our culture will not tolerate.

You know, our culture, they don't mind if we have some little gods in our life, little g-gods. But if we're going to go and start saying that the name of our God is forever and ever, and he is the only one who knows what's in the darkness, well then eventually we might find ourselves in this very position of Daniel and his friends.

Let's continue. So, Ariac in verse 25 brings Daniel before the king. And in verse 25, I have found a man of the captives of Judah, who will make known to the king the interpretation. And the king declared to Daniel, verse 26, "'Are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen and its interpretation?' Daniel says, "'Oh no, no man.'" Look at verse 27.

Daniel answered in the presence of the king and said, "'Now the secret to which the king has demanded, no wise man, astrologers, magicians, or soothsayers can cannot declare it to the king. But, but,' verse 28, "'but there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream and the visions of your head upon your bed were these, as you, O king, thoughts came to your mind while you were on your bed about what would come to pass after this, and he, God, who reveals secrets, has made known to you what will be.

But as for me, the secret has not been revealed to me because I am, I have more wisdom than anyone living. But for our sakes who make known the interpretation to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your heart.'" There's such humility there. So Daniel begins to explain first what the dream is to Nebuchadnezzar. That's verse 31 through 35 again.

Let's just read it again. Verse 31 through 35, "'You, O king, were watching, and behold, a great image, a great image whose splendor was excellent. It stood before you, its form was awesome. This image's head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron and feet, partly of iron and feet, and of clay.

You watched while a stone was cut without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, broke them into pieces, and then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, the gold, were all crushed together, became like chaff from the summer threshing floors, and the wind just carries them all away. No trace of them was found, and the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.'" You know, you can just imagine that scene.

What a scene that would be, just that, you know, fills the whole earth. And then in verse 36 and following, Daniel says, and now let me tell you the interpretation. And you'll notice he starts off wonderfully here. You know, you, O king, you are the head of gold. I just want to get that out there as soon as possible. You know, that's verse 36 through 38. This is the dream. Now we will tell the interpretation of it before the king.

You, O king, are the king of kings, for the God of heaven has given you the kingdom, power, strength, and glory, and wherever the children of men dwell, or beasts of the field, and the birds of the heaven. He has given them into your hand and has made you ruler over them all.

You are the head of gold. There it is, you know. I think at this point that would have made the king feel quite well, you know. Yes, Daniel, you are correct. I agree with your interpretation. I am the head of gold. I knew we shouldn't have killed you. But you'll notice here, and I don't think King Nebuchadnezzar got it, there's actually something that Daniel is telling the king here. I wonder if we saw it.

Look at verse 37 and 38. You'll see that he's letting Nebuchadnezzar know that he needs to know something. Of all that you enjoy, Nebuchadnezzar, of all this influence, prosperity, all of it, do you realize it's all been given to you by the God of heaven? That's the second part of verse 37. Second part of verse 37, for the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength, and glory.

Verse 38 again, and wherever the children of men dwell, or the beast of the field, and the birds of heaven, he has given them into your hand and has made you ruler over them all. Okay? So you, O king, O king, you king of king, do you know why you are where you are? Let me tell you, you are solely where you are because of the God in heaven has given it to you. That's it. God gave it to you. You are the head of gold, but you are only the head of gold because my God has said that you should be and decided upon you to be the head of gold. And you know, that fact, that truth would have mattered greatly to the exiles. Why? Because again, presumably, they would have been tempted to believe that somehow or another evil has triumphed over good. So they need to understand that the God who made a covenant with them, a covenant of love, is the one who's in charge of the fact that they've been dragged into this position. You read it in chapter 1 and verse 2, and the Lord gave Jehoiakim, king of Judah, into his hand. And that this evil king, he's on his throne and he's only there because God has put him there.

They had to get this truth. I mean, they had to get it. Otherwise, this situation, they would have been crushed with hopelessness. You know, if they were going to begin to live by sight, they were in trouble because everything they saw, evil was triumphing and good was not.

Somehow, this king Nebuchadnezzar has overruled their God. So Daniel's wanting to know and God's wanting to know, don't live by sight. Live by what you know. Live by your faith. That's what you live by. Because if you start to live by sight, you might as well give up. Give in. Because all you're going to see is hopelessness. What do you know? What's your faith? What do you believe? They had to know and remember that God is still in His throne.

And I want you to think about the sovereignty in this. Look at the sovereign control of God.

I wonder if you notice an aspect of this. Did you notice that God has chosen an evil king as to be the means by which He reveals His purposes, not only to the nations, but to humanity itself? I don't want you to miss that. Yes, Daniel was given the gift of interpreting the dream, but he was interpreting the dream of an evil king, a man who didn't walk with God. In fact, he was polytheistic for sure. Worshipped all kinds of gods. Lower-gee gods, of course. No gods at all. And yet, God was sovereignly working in the mind of an evil king in his dreams. God was revealing to and through an evil king what He had planned for the purposes of His people, nations, and ultimately for all of humanity. Think about that.

I think in recognizing that, that can be a great help to us as we are looking at the troubling times that we face in the world and even individually. Do you not believe that God was still in control and still on His throne, for example, during the horrible totalitarian Nazi regime? Are we going to say that the horrible brutality of the German regime came to an end as a result of military prowess or clever political agendas? No. Never. It was God. It's always God.

God is sovereign over all the affairs. He's sovereign over evil kings and rulers. Therefore, we ought not get too worried about the things we get worried about. No matter what encroaching, terrorism, threatens, whatever it is, whoever it is, whoever seemingly about to pounce, you need to know this exile. You need to know this and believe this.

And I want to bring this to you personally. Think about something in your life, personally, that you're struggling with.

I want you to think about this personally. If God is even sovereign over the dreams of evil kings, do you think He's not sovereign over your circumstances? Let me ask you, what difficult, overwhelming circumstance in your life has caused you somehow to remove God from His throne?

In your mind, where you feel like in your mind, you've removed His power. You've removed His sovereignty. I'll let you think about that. We'll come back to that. Let's continue here. So continuing, you are the head of gold. He goes on to say, that's the good news.

I need to tell you, there's other kingdoms that will arise, and they will take over you. Look at these successive kingdoms here. Verse 39 through 45.

Think of God's sovereignty as we're reading this. But after you shall arise another kingdom, inferior to yours, and then another, a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth, and a fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks the pieces and shatters everything. And like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break into pieces and crush all others. 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 and its toes of the feet were partly of iron, partly of clay, so the kingdom should be partly strong and partly fragile. Think of the details of this.

As you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay, they shall mingle with the seed of men, and they shall not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay. And in the days of these kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, and the kingdom shall not be left to other people. It shall break into pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. Inasmuch as you saw the stone cut out of the mountain without hands, and it broke into pieces, the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold, the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure.

Now, we know these four kingdoms have been traditionally known and understood, and I believe accurately so, as Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greek, Greece, and Rome. It's very interesting to look at the history. It's in the history books. These successive governments and kingdoms, just as Scripture foretells in all the details. It's quite a picture that's painted for us here, but you have to be careful. We can't get too close to the portrait. Sometimes you might miss something if you're too close, so we need to step back from the painting a little bit. What's the actual message here that God's conveying? What is it? If you step back from the painting, what is the overarching story of this painting? Well, he's saying God sets up and brings down kingdoms. Again, earthly kingdoms come and go. One day, though, He will establish a kingdom that will never come to an end. It'll never be passed on to someone else.

The dream is certain. The interpretation is sure. God's kingdom is indestructible. It'll never be destroyed, never be replaced. That's what it is. Human history is under the control of God.

To that which He has purposed, He will achieve. God will eventually replace all the kingdoms with His everlasting kingdom. And as sure as we have seen, the Babylonian kingdom was overtaken by the Medo-Persians. The Medo-Persians were overtaken by Greece. Alexander the Great eventually came to halt. The Roman Empire came to rule. The Roman Empire rules the world. But, while the Romans ruled in a small city of Nazareth to a young girl, Gabriel would appear. Gabriel was sent by God to marry.

That's Luke 1, verse 26, if you want to look that up later.

Luke 1, verse 26.

So again, I want you to think of something that has given you deep insecurity and anxiety today.

Are you going to tell me that, well, God is sovereign over a lot, I know, but He's not sovereign over this. Get that out of your mind today. Get it out. God is sovereign over evil kings' dreams. He's even sovereign over a womb out of which the Son of God would come. Listen, God is sovereign over your circumstances in your life.

And He knows what He's doing. He has chosen you since the foundation of the world.

He's chosen you to come to and fulfill these days that we're commemorating.

God is sovereign. So what are you going to allow to separate you from fulfilling the purposes in which God has chosen you for?

Don't remove Him from His throne. Don't do it in your mind.

Again, this message of Daniel's to the exiles, they needed it. Their lives were shattered, absolutely shattered. Their sons were ripped from their arms.

And so Daniel was pointing them to Jesus Christ, the stone. The stone, stone fashioned without hands, hits this statue, you know, collapses it. That gold head's, you know, falling down, hurling to the ground. Maybe not such a good idea to be that gold head anymore, you know. This poetic picture, there's this mountain that fills the earth, fills the earth. Does this strengthen your legs today? Does this calm your knees?

Whatever's happening in your life, hold this up to it. Be strengthened by this.

A picture of a rock becoming a huge mountain. We found that picture in prophecy.

Keep your hand here in Daniel, if you will. You can put one of these marker thingies here, if you want to. We're going to come right back. Let's turn to Micah chapter 4.

Micah chapter 4, and we'll begin to conclude here. Micah chapter 4, with this wonderful reality here, this prophetic future, detailed to us in Micah. Micah 4, let's read verses 1 through 5. Here it is. Here's the conclusion that's been retold to us over and over again. The mountain which shall come to pass, it'll be exalted above all, all the hills. Look at this. Future. Micah chapter 4, let's read verses 1 through 5.

This is the future from our sovereign God. Micah 4 verse 1. Now it shall come to pass, then the latter days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills, and people shall flow to it. Many nations shall come and say, Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, and he will teach us his ways, and we will walk in his pass. For out of Zion the law shall go forth, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem, and he shall judge between the peoples, rebuke strong nations afar off. They shall beat their swords into plowshares, their spears into pruning hooks. Nations shall not lift up sword against nation, neither should they lure war anymore. Verse 4, But everyone, everyone shall sit under his vine, under his fig tree, and no one shall make them afraid. For the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken. For all people will walk each in the name of his God, and we will walk in the name of our Lord, our God. Here it is forever and ever. There you have it. Ah, this is our ultimate security told to us here, and it also comes to us via a prophetic dream some 600 years before Christ's coming, his birth. And Jesus Christ then comes, he stands on the stage of human history, and he says it's all fulfilled. I am the representative of that coming kingdom of God. So we see interwoven here in this vision, this evil king's dream, the coming together of all of God's great purposes for mankind. Let's go back to Daniel for just a moment as we again, as we conclude Daniel chapter 2. You know, Daniel speaks out to this king Nebuchadnezzar. He speaks out through the corridors of time, and he says, never forget God is sovereign over it all. He knows the end from the beginning. His purposes will be fulfilled. So don't let the sight of apparent evil's victory in your life cause you to forget who God is. That's what the exiles needed to know. It's what you and I need to know today. Again, Babylonian forces had come in, decimated everything, decimated their worship, their security, their freedom, everything snatched up their brightest and best, took them away. They even took the vessels that they used to worship God and put them in some citadel, some pagan citadel. God, horrible! But what were the exiles being told now? This was now unfolding to them. They're making the discovery, the rediscovery of actually who is in control of these kingdoms, of these worlds. He sets them up. He takes them down, and when his kingdom comes in, when it's established, it shall never come to an end. So may we never forget in the face of incredible adversity.

Never remove in your mind God from His throne. So we're going to finish with Daniel's words here, with these words we'll conclude. I hope these words fill this room today. Ah, let this be our prayer for the day. Let it fill us, each of us here today, and give us strength.

Let it straighten your posture today. If you felt a little down, ah, come out of this. And when we go into this next song, have straight shoulders. Know the God that you worship. He loves you, and He's taking care of us all. In it all. So let's conclude, verse 44 through 45.

And in the days of these kings of God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, and the kingdom shall not be left to other people. It shall break into pieces and consume all the kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. Verse 45. Inasmuch as you saw the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and it broke into pieces, the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. The great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this.

The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure.