Daniel chapter 2, I will be reading verses 24 through 49. Here, for this is the word of the Lord. Therefore Daniel went into Ariok, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said thus to him, do not destroy the wise men of Babylon. Bring me in before the king, and I will show the king the interpretation. Then Ariok brought in Daniel before the king in haste and said thus to him, I have found among the exiles from Judah a man who will make known to the king the interpretation. The king declared to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, are you able to make known to me the dream that I have seen in its interpretation? Daniel answered the king and said, no wise men, enchanters, magicians, or astrologers can show the king the mystery that the king has asked. But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. And he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream and the visions of your head as you lay in bed are these. To you, O king, as you lay in bed, came thoughts of what would be after this. And he who reveals mysteries may know unto you what is to be. But as for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because of any wisdom that I have more than all the living, but in order that the interpretation may be made known to the king and that you may know the thoughts of your mind. You saw, O King, and behold, a great image. This image, mighty and of exceeding brightness, stood before you, and its appearance was frightening. The head of this image was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its middle and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. As you looked, a stone was cut out by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, all together were broken in pieces, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors. And the wind carried them away, so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. This was the dream. Now we will tell the king its interpretation. You, O king, the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory, and into whose hand he has given, wherever they dwell, the children of man, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens, making you rule over them all. You are the head of gold. Another kingdom inferior to you shall arise after you, and yet a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. And there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, because iron breaks to pieces and shatters all things. And like iron that crushes, it shall break and crush all these. And as you saw the feet and toes, partly of pardus clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom, but some of the firmness of iron shall be in it, just as you saw iron mixed with the soft clay. And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle, as you saw the iron mixed with soft clay, so they will mix with one another in marriage. but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay. And in the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever. Just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold, "'A great God has made known to the king "'what shall be after this. "'The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure.' "'Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face "'and paid homage to Daniel, "'and commanded that an offering in incense "'be offered up to him. "'The king answered and said to Daniel, "'Truly your God is God of gods and Lord of kings, "'and a revealer of mysteries, "'for you have been made able to reveal this mystery. Then the king gave Daniel high honors and many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon. Daniel made a request of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the affairs of the province of Babylon. But Daniel remained at the king's court. Thanks be to God for his holy word. When America was in turmoil in the 1950s and 60s, there was a popular song that still resonates with everyone today, even if you don't relate to its original context. The song was called, A Change Is Gonna Come, by Sam Cooke. Change is something that every human looks for and desires, a change for the better. Change is what every politician promises in their political campaign, whether it is a change in policy or a change in leadership. People change and the world changes every day. Change is inevitable. And for the Christian, a change is going to come. No matter how hard it may get in this world, the world that is coming is far better. This is what makes the Christian life primarily future-focused. Daniel chapter two is a great encouragement for what is going to happen for believers in the future. There is a great change coming that is not going to just affect our own nation, but it will be universal and everlasting. Nebuchadnezzar's dream was future-focused. It was a prediction of what was going to come. But he was so troubled by this dream that he called for the magicians, the enchanters, sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, whom we will call the diviners going forward, to one, tell him his dream, and two, interpret his dream. If they did, they would be rewarded. If they didn't, they would be killed. Guess what? They didn't. So the king put out a decree that all the wise men be killed in Babylon. But Daniel stepped up and intervened. Here he is like a mediator of sorts who sought to save not only his own life, but the lives of others, including his three friends who were in exile with him. Daniel told the captain of the king's guard, Ariok, to appoint a time that he would stand before the king that he might show the interpretation of his dream. Now Daniel sounds like the very confident hero of the story. But he wasn't stepping up in his own strength. Because before he went before the king, he gathered with his friends in his house to pray that God would reveal this mystery to him. And so God responded with mercy and revealed it to Daniel. In response, Daniel praised and blessed God Almighty. So this was not about Daniel and his courage nor his status as a hero. This was about the humility of Daniel and the power of God. Daniel knew that he could do nothing without his God. He had no hope of escape without his God. So first we see that his humility stands out here. After Daniel prays and praises God, he goes to Ariak again. He said to him, do not destroy the wise men of Babylon. Bring me in before the king, and I will show the king the interpretation. Throughout this chapter, there have been contrasts between Israel's God and the false gods of Babylon, between Daniel's faith and the misplaced faith of Nebuchadnezzar and the diviners. Now we see another contrast. This contrast is between the self-promotion of Ariok and the humility of Daniel, as Daniel turns our attention away from himself to someone greater. It says that Ariok brought Daniel before the king in haste or in a rush, and he said to him, I have found a man who will make known to the king the interpretation. He is saying that the diviners failed in interpreting the dream since they said there is not a man on earth who can meet the king's demand. But Ariok said, I have found a man. No, he didn't. He didn't find anyone. Daniel is the one who approached him. I think Ariok is seeking a promotion here. Daniel has the gift, but Ariok wanted to reap the reward. This is the way the world is, isn't it? After Nebuchadnezzar asked Daniel if he is able to tell him his dream and interpret it, Daniel answered the king and basically agreed with the diviners. and what they said before that. No wise men, enchanters, magicians, or astrologers can show to the king the mystery that the king has asked. But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in latter days. Your dream and the visions of your head as you lay in bed are these. To you, O king, as you lay in bed, came thoughts of what would be after this, and He who reveals mysteries made known to you what is to be. Daniel doesn't come before the king and begin to promote himself and his gifts. He turns the king's attention to God, unlike Ariadne before him. He tells the king a few things. First, only the one true God can reveal the mystery of the dream. Daniel is not going to take credit for revealing the dream. God is the one who revealed the dream to Daniel, who then would reveal it to Nebuchadnezzar. See, this is not about the ability of man. This is about the ability of God. He continued and said, but as for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because of any wisdom that I have more than all the living, but in order that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your mind." Daniel said, it is not about me, it is not about my gifts, but about the giver of the gifts. Because second, as Daniel said, it is God who reveals mysteries. It is God who gave you this dream in the first place. And thirdly, God gave you this dream, Nebuchadnezzar, to let you know what is going to happen. God is checking Nebuchadnezzar to let him know that he is not the ultimate sovereign. God is the ultimate sovereign here. Now, how many opportunities have we missed to proclaim the ability of God over our own abilities? We have been given many gifts, talents, and various tasks to perform, and instead of giving all the credit to God, we tend to accept the flattery of men as if we did it all on our own, or we practice false humility by performing our righteousness in public for eye service just to be noticed. Then when we're in private, we have no regard for God at all. But I believe we will never understand true humility until we consider Jesus Christ, who was always dependent on his Heavenly Father for all things. His whole life was marked by humble service, directing our attention to God. He associated with the lowly and served them. He endured the harshest treatment from men in order to save them. He served us all the way to the cross where he bore our sins. Our self-promoting humility cannot compare to the humility of Christ, the one who, though who was in the form of God, humbled himself and became a man. True humility can only begin when we turn away from ourselves and bow our heads before the cross of Christ. And there we are to acknowledge and confess that our salvation has nothing to do with what we have done and everything to do with what Christ has done for us. We take no credit for it. And it is this humility that is expected of all who belong to the kingdom of God. This is what Daniel demonstrated. So Daniel shows King Nebuchadnezzar what God had revealed to him. Daniel tells him his dream in verses 31 through 35, and its interpretation in verses 36 through 45. He tells Nebuchadnezzar that he saw a great image. It was the image of a statue of a man, mighty and exceeding brightness, and its appearance was frightening. The body of the statue was divided into five parts. The head was made of gold, its chest and arms of silver, its middle and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, and its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. One thing to keep in mind here is that since it was a statue, it had to be built by human hands. And the quality of the metals regress from best to worst, from gold at the head to iron and clay at its feet. But then there was a stone that, unlike the statue, was cut out by no human hand. And it struck the image on its feet, the weakest part of the statue, made of iron and clay. And then the entire statue was broken into pieces and became like chaff, like dust of the summer threshing floors. And the wind carried them away so that not a trace of them could be found. And what happened to the stone? It became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. Now, what does all this mean? First, Daniel describes the head of gold. The head of gold, he says, is Nebuchadnezzar. And that is the only identity he reveals. But listen to how he describes the head, or Nebuchadnezzar. This language should remind us of Adam, and how Adam was created to rule. He said, You, O King, the King of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory. This is how God created man, a little lower than the angels, and he crowned him with glory and honor, Psalm 8 5. And he has also given him dominion over every creature, wherever they dwell, the children of man, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens, making you rule over them all. See, this interpretation does two things. First, it checks Nebuchadnezzar and reminds him that God gave him his position. He didn't get there on his own or by his own efforts. And secondly, this helps us to interpret who or what is represented by the rest of the body. The various sections of the body, all represent one kingdom replacing another. He says another kingdom, inferior to Babylon, made of silver, shall arise after him. Then another one shall arise after that one, made of bronze. Then a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, although not as valuable as bronze, silver, or gold, yet iron can break and shatter all things and it shall crush all these other kingdoms before it. But then you have the feet partly of clay and partly of iron because it is a divided kingdom. And once you have a divided kingdom, this kingdom becomes partly strong and partly brittle. As you saw, the iron mixed with the soft clay, so they will mix with one another in marriage, but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay. See, there have been many Bible scholars who have tried to identify which nations these four kingdoms represent. There are various theories, but one theory is that the head of gold is Babylon, which the text tells us is the case, the chest and the arms of silver is Medo-Persia, the belly and thighs of bronze is Greece, and the legs of iron and feet made of iron and clay is Rome. But we can go off into these rather weird debates and miss the point of the dream. Notice the text doesn't give us any indication about who is who. It just doesn't say it. I know later on in Daniel, there's more revealed as to who is who, but there's still very little detail about a timeline. So every guess we make is just merely speculation. That is not why the text is here. The dream wasn't given to Nebuchadnezzar so that he could guess the future. That's not the point of the text. The point of the text is not so we can lay out an exact timeline. The point of the dream is to tell Nebuchadnezzar what is going to happen, not when it is going to happen. We're not to get hung up on dates, times, and seasons. All you need to know is that it's going to happen. And what stands out here? One inferior kingdom replaces the kingdom before it, and it repeats itself over and over and over again until listen to the main point. And in the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end. And it shall stand forever, just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. A great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure. For us, we are to look at this, not so we can guess when these things are going to happen, but it is revealing two things. It is revealing to us the power of God and a pattern of human history. God is warning Nebuchadnezzar and all other humans for that matter, that he is the one who gives every kingdom their glory, honor, and power, including the evil kingdoms of the world. He exalts certain people to power and brings them down as well. Also, this is a pattern of human history. What we see in human history is that all human and earthly kingdoms, one, regress, which means they get worse, and two, they all come to an end. The text is revealing to us a pattern of how these human kingdoms always regress. The world and its kingdoms are changing, but unfortunately they are changing for the worse. They're always heading in a downward spiral. We see this pattern over and over again, clearly in scripture. Genesis begins with the creation of man in the Garden of Eden. But it doesn't take long before man was cast out of that garden because of sin. And it is nothing but a regress before you get to Noah and the flood of judgment. Then it wasn't long after Noah and his family got off the boat to rule this new world, so to speak, before there was another regress leading to the Tower of Babel, which is the same location as Babylon. Then we get another hopeful moment with Abraham and the promise of his offspring who will soon come to save his people, but it is not long before God brings judgment to Sodom and Gomorrah. And it goes on and on in history, even in the history of Israel. There is regress in obedience and morality which led to their exile in Babylon. Unfortunately, we see this regress even in the history of the church. And it applies even to the local church. We're only one generation away from falling away from the faith. So since this is a pattern of human history, we're not supposed to be guessing who is who besides what the text has revealed. Anything else goes beyond its interpretation, and so it loses its proper application for us. The truth about this dream is that all earthly kingdoms rise, and all earthly kingdoms fall, but it says, in the days of those kings, what kings? I have no idea. Rome? Maybe. The God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It will be for his people. and it shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end. Has this happened yet? Well, yes and no. We can say it has begun, but it has not come to its full completion yet. Jesus has come to set up this kingdom, but yet we await for the stone. to crush all kingdoms and to become a mountain and take over not just the city, not just the state, not just the country, but the entire universe. This is how Jesus described the kingdom of God, as it begins as small as a mustard seed, but then it is planted and it grows and becomes larger than all garden plants. And Revelation 11, 15 reveals that it won't happen. It won't come to its full completion until the return of Christ, when the kingdom of the world becomes the kingdom of our Lord and His Christ. And He shall reign forever and ever, unlike earthly kingdoms. So this statue does not represent only four or five kingdoms. But it represents all of the kingdoms of men on Earth, including America and all the other superpowers of the world. It is a statue of a man, an Adam figure, representing all of man's earthly kingdoms. And they all start off as valuable as gold, but they end up as brittle as clay, as they break very easily. Why? because they are built on a foundation of clay. Remember, man is only made of clay. He is dust. He is not made of precious metals. Every earthly kingdom ends in weakness, divisions, and destruction because sinners have a craving for power. We desire to become idols. We desire to become this statue. We have a desire to dominate others, and this always leads to divisions in society, which leads to its downfall. This is why Jesus told Pilate, my kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. Unlike earthly kingdoms, who fight for power, Jesus' kingdom was introduced through his own suffering and death. Remember, this is why Christianity was initially ridiculed by the Romans. Because the Christians weren't fighting for power. They weren't fighting for cultural prestige or privilege. We just wanted to exist. We just wanted to be tolerated. But tell me, what happened to Rome? Where are the glories of Rome? They have been blown away like dust. They're gone. And so shall it be for every other kingdom. One day, the kingdoms of man will fall because of another kingdom that will take its place forever. This was the message for Nebuchadnezzar. This is what Jesus told Pilate. This is what the word of God tells us today. It was God who made him king. And one day, he will not be king. Another kingdom will replace his kingdom, and another, and another, until the kingdom of God replaces all of them. So ask yourself, which kingdom are we serving first and foremost? Are you putting a little too much effort in replacing this statue with another statue? Because whether you live under communism, fascism, socialism, a democracy, or a free constitutional republic like the US, this statue represents all of the above. And this should cause us to pause and reevaluate our thoughts of the Christian life and its priorities. But also this text should give us encouragement and hope. In this world right now, the kingdom of God looks like we're in trouble. But we're not to judge by appearances. Our glory is yet to come, whether it is on a church level or a personal level. When things are not going well, when there is sickness, disease, when your faith seems to struggle or fail, when the church is going through turmoil, infighting, battles with sin, this world and its trials are not ultimate. God has promised to complete what he started in you and in his church. Also, when we think that we are part of an earthly kingdom with a head made of gold, I know many of us take pride in the fact that the U.S. is the greatest nation in the world, and that it is. But we need to be reminded that all this will come to an end, and every knee will soon bow to Christ. The question is, are we prepared for that? Are we standing on the rock? Or have you rejected the chief cornerstone? In fact, the stone here is Christ. Interesting enough, Jesus interpreted this text for us. When he was preaching on the coming of the kingdom and the chief priests, scribes, and elders questioned his authority, he told the parable of the wicked tenants. Now this was about a man who planted a vineyard and let it out to the tenants while he was away. And the man kept sending servants to collect from the vineyard, but they kept beating them up and sending them away until finally the man sent his own son. But the tenants plotted to kill the son so that they would collect the inheritance. So they killed him and cast him out. But then Jesus looked directly at them and said, What then is this that is written? The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. For everyone who falls on that stone will be broken into pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him. In this parable, Jesus identifies himself as the son of this man, as the Messiah, and that he was the stone in Daniel chapter two. And he will crush all who reject him when he judges the nations. He is the one. who fulfills what Adam failed to fulfill, what Nebuchadnezzar failed to fulfill, and what we have all failed to fulfill. Let's read again, 37 through 38. He is the King of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory. He has given Jesus dominion over all things forever. This is what he declared when he declared that all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. But also notice that the coming of his kingdom will come through his death and he will freely and graciously accept all who come to him. Unlike the kingdoms of this world, his kingdom doesn't come by worldly conquest and deceitful politics. but it is established through weakness, suffering, and death. It starts off small in this world, but consummates in great glory in the world to come. So if you haven't placed your faith in this Jesus to be part of his kingdom, turn to him by faith today and receive him. But what do we do for now while we live in an earthly kingdom? Right after Jesus told this parable of the tenants, after the religious leaders questioned his authority, they asked, what about Caesar? Do we pay taxes or pay tribute to Caesar? They were trying to catch him. In summary, Jesus said, well, of course. Just because we're to seek the heavenly kingdom above all other kingdoms, it doesn't mean we don't serve earthly kingdoms. It's all about priorities. Just because we know that every kingdom is going to fall, it doesn't mean we isolate ourselves and retreat. That is unbalanced and unbiblical. Notice right after Daniel reveals this dream to Nebuchadnezzar, what was Nebuchadnezzar's response? It was threefold. He fell on his face and paid homage to Daniel. He commanded that an offering and incense be offered up to him. Then the king praised Daniel's God. He said, truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery. And this was a result of Daniel's humble service to the king. This follows what Jesus told his disciples in the Sermon on the Mount. Let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. So then the king gave Daniel high honors and many great gifts and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect, that is, an officer or a governor, over all the wise men of Babylon. Yet we see Daniel's humility again when he requested that his friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be given positions over the province of Babylon while he remained at the king's court. So this helps us to answer Do we remain idle or isolate from the rest of Babylonian society? Well, no. See, as always, we can go off into two extremes. We are either so heavenly minded, we are of no earthly use, where we disengage from society altogether, or we have an idolatrous obsession with transforming the culture while neglecting our heavenly calling. The Bible has a more balanced approach. We are to be so heavenly minded that we're always ready to be of earthly use. They are not opposed to each other. Because if we're truly heavenly minded, we would want to share with others our heavenly service. We are here to bless whatever place, whatever community, whatever nation we find ourselves in. Listen to Jeremiah chapter 29, five through seven, as the Lord spoke to the exiles in Babylon. He says this, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, build houses and live in them. Plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters. Take wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters. Multiply there and do not decrease. And mind you, this wasn't a strategy. Okay? This wasn't a strategy from God to conquer Babylon. I've heard of many Christians who use their children as weapons. They multiply so they can out-multiply other religions. Please do not use your children as weapons. They are a blessing. They are evidence of God's goodness to us. That's what children are. The point here was that they were to seek the welfare of the city. He says, but seek the welfare of the city not the downfall of the city, not the downfall of Babylon, the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile. And pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare, you will find your welfare. Even though all this is temporary, we have a purpose here. We are here to bless and pray for the nation we live in. and we have a good work to do in our families, in our communities, and in our churches. That's what true patriotism means. And also, just as Daniel's service to the king led him to praise God and worship him, that is our ultimate duty while living in this world. Our good works in society has an end, and it is the worship of our God. What an impression it would be if when someone asks you, what are you doing on Sunday? And you responded, I'm going to worship my God who has ultimate control over all things. And he and his kingdom is coming soon. Are you ready for it? Are you looking forward to it? And in the meantime, you should be encouraged by the fact that God reigns no matter who is in power. Joy should fill our hearts and praise should come from our lips whenever we gather because by His shed blood, Christ has secured a kingdom for us that unlike earthly kingdoms will never end. Amen.