Hope in Him
Living in Babylon: An Exposition of Daniel

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All right, good morning, church! It is good to see all of you this morning. We’re continuing our series through the book of Daniel. We began last week and we’re picking up in chapter two. We’re taking a chapter a week. This is a twelve-chapter book, so we’re going to be in Daniel for a little while.

Out of curiosity, how many of you were here last Sunday for chapter one? Lift your hands if you were here. All right, a good majority were here last Sunday. I’ll do a little introduction again this morning for those of you that weren’t here last week. It will help to catch you up.

We’re excited to be going verse by verse through the book of Daniel. We’ve entitled this series, “Living in Babylon.” You’ll find this word, “Babylon,” reoccurring from Genesis to Revelation. The word, “Babylon,” is symbolic for the world system, for the world religion, for the world government and the world economy. When we talk about living in Babylon, what we’re talking about is similar to the life of Daniel, who was a citizen of Jerusalem and was carried off in exile to Babylon. Similarly, we are citizens of heaven as followers of Christ and for this season of life, we are as exiles living in this world. We’re living in Babylon.

As we read the book of Daniel, we’re looking for how Daniel lived according to the grace, mercy and power of God in that foreign land and how God used him to bring glory to Himself. Particularly in chapter two, we’re going to see how God elevates Daniel by allowing him to not only dream the same dream that King Nebuchadnezzar had, but also interpret it and, as a result of being the only one able to do that by the power of God, he shows Nebuchadnezzar and all the people of Israel, as they were able to read the book of Daniel, what was coming, in terms of the progression of human nations and how, ultimately, the nation, the Kingdom of God would be the one that would be the everlasting kingdom and at the end of all things. This is a powerful chapter, a chapter that has been largely fulfilled, yet still has a piece at the end that is yet to be fulfilled. This is the power of the word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit as he reveals these things to us in the book of Daniel.

As we look at chapter two, I was thinking about what it would have been like to be an Israelite, to have lost your homeland and to have been carried off in exile. It would have created a sense of hopelessness, don’t you think? A sense of now what? You know, this was our hope. Their hope was in Jerusalem. Their hope was in the temple. Their hope was in their nation. They were the people of God. All of this was taken away. This is what can happen to us when we put our hope in nations, kings, political parties or in temporary things. It will always fall short.

This past week, I had the privilege of attending the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C. I have never thought of going to anything like this. I knew that it existed. It’s been going on for over forty years. It began under President Eisenhower, and it’s been going on every year since then. About eight months ago, some dear friends of mine and my wife’s invited us to go. I thought I was saying, “Yes” to one day; it’s a prayer breakfast. I thought that we would go to Washington D.C., go to breakfast and come home. It turned out that it was a week. I didn’t know I was saying “yes” to that and they had already paid their way, so we felt obligated to go . They spent a fortune on us; it was a blessing to us. It was awesome. I didn’t realize that the National Prayer Breakfast is four breakfasts, four lunches, four dinners and meetings all day long from 6 am in the morning until 10 pm at night. As many of you know, I’ve been suffering from some sort of “creeping crud,” cough, cold and a sick stomach. It was rainy and cold the whole time that we were there. I had a hard time physically but it was still wonderful to meet so many different people from around the world. Every time I’d be sitting at a different table assignment; I’d be sitting next to people from different countries.

The first night, I was thinking, Why am I here? I don’t really care about meeting dignitaries. You are my dignitaries. I live in a small town . I’m happy to live in a small town. Why am I here? So the first dinner I’m attending, I hear introductions; we are all going around the room introducing ourselves. The delegation from Guatemala introduced themselves. As soon as the dinner is over, I go over to the table where the ambassador from Guatemala, his wife and his whole entourage are sitting. They’re all so sweet to me; we start exchanging information and they give me personal invitations to things in Guatemala. Then, on the same day, I met a delegation from Uganda and I met a member of the Ugandan Parliament who wanted me to come to the Ugandan National Prayer Breakfast. I’m going to see if I could figure out how to get Pastor George to go to that Prayer Breakfast. Maybe I could get him an invite; this would raise his credibility in his own country.

I could just tell story after story; here is one of the interesting things that happened at the National Prayer Breakfast. I kept hearing everybody say, “Jesus;” I thought that they would pray and they would say “Almighty God” and things like that. They wouldn’t say, Everybody pray in the name of Jesus. They said they had agreed whether they were Muslim, Buddhist, Protestant, Catholic, etc. that as a group of nations coming together, they had all agreed that Jesus was one name that they could agree on. They weren’t saying, to be clear, that they were followers of Jesus, but they were saying that they were admirers of Jesus. I thought, Okay, let’s see where this goes. I’m still chewing on that a little bit, but it surprised me that they were all talking about His greatness and His model, etc. What I pray is that they would all know Him as Savior and as Lord, but it’s a start. I was hoping to report just a little bit of that to you. It’s ironic, I think, that I was at the National Prayer Breakfast meeting with national leaders. Here’s little old Gary just going around and they’re treating me like I’m somebody. I’m not; I’m nobody, but I was invited.

I started thinking about chapter two of Daniel, where we find out that all nations of man will cease and that the Kingdom of Heaven will replace it all and will stand eternal. This is what we’re going to study today in chapter two.

Where’s your hope? Is your hope in some political party, some movement or some vote? I’m not saying that those things might not be important, but I am saying that they’re temporary. What matters is putting your hope in Christ. That’s what Daniel and his friends did. They put their hope in the everlasting God, the God of Heaven revealed to Daniel that in the end He will replace all human kingdoms with His own everlasting kingdom.

In chapter two, you’ll find it with me as we “unpack” it today, that there is a stone. There is a stone in the dream that was given to Nebuchadnezzar. There is a stone that will strike the image of the nations, and it will cause all the nations to cease to exist. This is the point that I will preach to you today. It’ll take me a little while to get to the stone because it’s a long chapter, so bear with me. When I am reading God’s word, I’m always looking for Christ because that’s what the whole book is about. Chapter two is, ultimately, about Christ. It’s a long narrative; you’re going to find it very interesting and engaging, I hope, as much as I do. It’s a wonderful story; join me in looking for Christ. May I, also, offer this thought to you as you look at the narrative, to examine your own life as you look at the journey you’ve been on. Look for Christ; look for where He’s already been at work in your life. He’s always been there working, and He’s even there now. Even if you haven’t received Him yet, He’s already calling to you and asking for you to put your hope in Him. As Christians, our hope is to be in Christ alone, Whose coming kingdom will replace all other human kingdoms.

This is a “why?” sermon. We’re going to answer the question why you should put your hope in Christ alone. We’ll give you three reasons as we go forward. It’s a long chapter, so let’s get started.

Daniel 2:1-13 (ESV) 1 “In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his spirit was troubled, and his sleep left him. 2 Then the king commanded that the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans be summoned to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king. 3 And the king said to them, “I had a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream.” 4 Then the Chaldeans said to the king in Aramaic, “O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.” 5 The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, “The word from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be torn limb from limb, and your houses shall be laid in ruins. 6 But if you show the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. Therefore show me the dream and and its interpretation.” 7 They answered a second time and said, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show its interpretation.” 8 The king answered and said, “I know with certainty that you are trying to gain time, because you see that the word from me is firm— 9 if you do not make the dream known to me, there is but one sentence for you. You have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till the times change. Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can show me its interpretation.” 10 The Chaldeans answered the king and said, “There is not a man on earth who can meet the king’s demand, for no great and powerful king has asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or Chaldean. 11 The thing that the king asks is difficult, and no one can show it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.” 12 Because of this the king was angry and very furious, and commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be destroyed . 13 So the decree went out, and the wise men were about to be killed; and they sought Daniel and his companions, to kill them.” This is God’s word. Amen.

Why our hope must be in Christ alone: Because …

1. He is the supreme revelation of God’s nature.

If you look at these first thirteen verses, it’s difficult to find Christ at all. But what we do see is an aching desire for such a possibility. Look at verse 11, “The thing that the king asks is difficult, and no one can show it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.” If only God was in the flesh, he could do it, but no one could do this. There’s an aching already in humanity here, and the reason I can see Christ here is because I’ve read the whole chapter, and so I’m working from the stone backwards. It’s hard to preach it that way because the chapter is so long. Stay with me and trust me, we’ll get there.

What I do see here now is the aching for the fulfillment of “if only god would come in the flesh.” If he would only come in the flesh and reveal himself to us, if only he would. And so we see them aching for this and saying if he could come in the flesh, he could reveal this to you.

Now there’s something ironic about this. Nebuchadnezzar’s name, as we talked about last week, comes from the God Nebo, the Babylonian God. Nebo is the god of wisdom. So here’s the one whose name comes from the god of wisdom and he’s in the dark. He’s walking in the dark; he can’t find wisdom anywhere in his Babylonian gods. He’s saying, I need to know about that dream now.

The thing that you must know about people, from the Middle East to this day, is that they believe in dreams. They trust dreams. They think dreams are important. They think God is trying to speak to them in their dreams. Nebuchadnezzar is a man from the Middle East, and they really haven’t changed in this regard to this day. If they have a dream, they want to know what it means.

This particular dream, as we’ll find out in a moment, troubled Nebuchadnezzar greatly. Possibly, because he thought, Here I am in my second year, (as it says in verse one of chapter two.) Maybe this means my kingdom is about to come to an end. He thinks it has something to do with his kingdom. He’s right about that. The other thing, I think, he’s troubled by, maybe you could relate to this, is the dream has upset him. Have you ever had a dream that upset you so badly that, maybe, you woke up crying or maybe you woke up trembling and afraid? For that moment, you could remember every detail. Maybe you got up and tried to tell your spouse or you tried to tell a friend. And the minute you tried to tell it, it would, just like a cloud, slip away, and you could only remember a few words. Then, it sounds ridiculous; it sounds weird. It made sense in your head in the dream, but not now as you are trying to explain it. Do you know what I’m talking about? I think, maybe, that’s what has happened to Nebuchadnezzar.

My wife has dreams. She remembers her dreams every day. I very rarely remember my dreams. My wife always remembers hers and she always wants me to listen to her dreams. She wants to tell them to me and they never make any sense, but they have this one constant thing. I’m a loser and she’s a hero every time. Every time she has a dream, she has to rescue me. Always in her dreams, she isthe hero and I’m a loser. I can’t do anything right in her dreams. She says, I think it’s because you’re always strong and I want to be strong in my dreams.

In Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, (maybe he can’t remember it, maybe that’s what it is) he’s really troubled. He comes up with this ridiculous ask for his wisemen; notice that it doesn’t mention that Daniel and the three friends are even present. I don’t think they are. This is the second year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, so this is probably the year they graduated. The way they counted years in those days, the ascension year would count before they even started. And so, this was really the beginning of the third year, which would have been when Daniel and his friends were graduating from Babylonian. They’re not yet in the room. The way they find out that this has happened is when the king’s guard comes to kill them.

Look at Verse 11; you can see this desire, this aching need for God to come in the flesh. It reminds me of John 1:14 (ESV) “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” I find it wonderful that the name that the Holy Spirit gives to John for Jesus is the Greek word ( ). He’s the fullest communication of God’s nature. He is “the Word become flesh.” No one has ever seen God, but Jesus makes him known.

Do you want to know the Father? There’s only one way to know the Father if you want to know your true identity. There’s only one way, really, to know yourself; you can’t find yourself in yourself. The only way to know your true purpose for existence is to know Jesus. He is “the Word become flesh.”

In the Book of Hebrews, the author says, Hebrews 1:1-3 (ESV) “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature.” You know, you can’t look directly at the sun without going blind, but you can look at the sun’s rays, the sun’s radiance. You can see its light as it strikes the earth and the spectrum of light is exposed. You can see the glory of the sun, but you can’t look directly at the sun. In similar fashion, the author of Hebrews, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, is saying that Jesus is the glory of God that has been revealed to you. He’s the beauty of God revealed. He’s the supreme revelation.

I don’t know the details about the future, and neither do you. We will see later in this chapter that some details have been revealed. Ralph Abernathy said this wonderful quote. “I don’t know what the future may hold, but I know who holds the future.” Have you heard that quote before? If we place our hope in worldly wisdom, it always fails us. Place your hope in Jesus. He is the supreme revelation of the Father. Let’s keep reading; we have a lot of the story to catch up on.

Daniel 2:14-23 (ESV) 14 Then Daniel replied with prudence and discretion to Arioch, the captain of the king’s guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon. 15 He declared to Arioch, the king’s captain, “Why is the decree of the king so urgent?” Then Arioch made the matter known to Daniel. 16 And Daniel went in and requested the king to appoint him a time, that he might show the interpretation to the king. 17 Then Daniel went to his house and made the matter known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, 18 and told them to seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions might not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. 19 Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. 20 Daniel answered and said: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. 21 He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding; 22 he reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him. 23 To you, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for you have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we asked of you, for you have made known to us the king’s matter.”

Daniel went to bed looking for mercy. That’s our second reason for why we trust in Christ alone and our hope is in Christ alone.

Why our hope must be in Christ alone: Because …

2. He is the ultimate expression of God’s mercy.

Daniel is courageous; he goes to Arioch, the captain of the King’s Guard, and he says, Hey, hold up. Don’t kill us. Let’s go to the king and ask for 24 hours and I’ll give him the interpretation. By the way, he has no clue what’s going on. He wasn’t even in the room. He has no clue. He’s sticking his life, literally, on the life of all the other wise men on the mercy of God. That’s what he says, ‘I don’t know anything, but I know that God is merciful. I know that He didn’t bring me this far just to get me killed. I’ve been through all of this, and I’m here for a reason. I have a sense that I’m here for a reason. Give me 24 hours and I’ll call on God’s mercy.’ He just said, ‘Hey, give me 24 hours and I will give you the answer.

Then he goes to his three friends and he asks them to pray for God’s mercy. Do you think those boys prayed? Have you ever been in a situation like that, where, if God doesn’t move, somebody is going to die. ‘God, show us mercy. Show us mercy;’ that’s how they prayed.

Verse 4, “Then the Chaldeans said to the king in Aramaic, “O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.” Daniel, in his writing, switched from Hebrew to the Aramaic language. Here for a few chapters, he is actually writing in the Aramaic language, which is related to the Middle Eastern language. It’s the language that Jesus spoke, by the way. It’s the language where Jesus is quoted in the New Testament many times. It was always in Aramaic.

The word, “mercy,” could be expressed as “compassion.” The dictionary says, “compassion” or “forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one’s power to punish or harm.” Daniel knows that the king says that he’s going to kill us . But the true power of whether I live or die is not in Nebuchadnezzar’s hands. It’s actually in God’s hands, so he doesn’t go to the king and ask for mercy. He asked the king for time, but he went to the true King and asked for mercy, the highest expression, the ultimate expression of God’s mercy.

If you want to know how merciful God is, you must look at the face of Jesus. You must look at the cross of Christ. You must see Jesus if you want to know what mercy is. See how He reacts to children in the Gospels. If you want to see how merciful He is, see how He reacts to the leper who no one would go near. Jesus touches him and heals him. He could have healed him from a distance, but He touches and heals. If you want to know the mercy of God, look at Jesus.

Here again, I see an aching, a desire for mercy that will later be expressed in Christ. I,also, see that Daniel has the same dream that Nebuchadnezzar has. He has the interpretation given to him, and he wakes up and he writes a brand new song in verses 20 and 21, 20 Daniel answered and said: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. 21 He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding;” Then, in verse 23, it says, “and have now made known to me what we asked of you, for you have made known to us the king’s matter.” Daniel jumps up and tells his three friends, ‘I’ve got it, I’ve got it! Praise the Lord, I’ve received the mercy of God.’

The book of Ephesians says this, Ephesians 2:4-5 (ESV) “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.” It’s being rich in mercy that caused Him to move this way.

In I Peter, it says, 1 Peter 1:3 (ESV) “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”

Daniel prayed for God’s mercy, and God was merciful and revealed to him the mysteries that he needed to know the answer to. Have you ever heard of the “Jesus prayer?” It’s probably better known in eastern Christianity from the Greek Christians, but it’s an ancient prayer. It goes like this, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” A simplified version of that you might pray, is ‘Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.’ An even simpler version would be, ‘Jesus, have mercy on me.’ When you don’t know how to pray, when you don’t even know which choices that you’re trying to make, when you’re in a haze, when you’re too weak to put into words what is needed, but you know the name, Jesus, that’s enough. He is the ultimate expression of God’s mercy. Perhaps a Jesus prayer is in order at times like that . ‘Jesus, have mercy on me,’ not because of me but because of You, because You are merciful according to Your nature and according to Your promise. Have mercy on me, a sinner.’ That’s a prayer that He will answer every time. He is the ultimate expression of God’s mercy. He answered this prayer of Daniel and his three friends, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. The mystery unfolded unto them.

Well, we have more of the story to read. Here’s the biggest bite. Let’s pick it up at verse 24 we’ll finally get to the stone that I’ve been preaching all along.

Daniel 2:24-49 (ESV) 24 “Therefore Daniel went in to Arioch, 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.” 25 Then Arioch 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 the interpretation.” 26 The king declared to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to make known to me the dream that I have seen and its interpretation ?” 27 Daniel answered the king and said, “No wise men, enchanters, magicians, or astrologers can show to the king the mystery that the king has asked, 28 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: 29 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 youwhat is to be. 30 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. 31 “You saw, O king, and behold, a great image. This image, mighty and of exceeding brightness, stood before you, and its appearance was frightening. 32 The head of this image was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its middle and thighs of bronze, 33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. 34 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. 35 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. 36 “This was the dream. Now we will tell the king its interpretation. 37 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, 38 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. 39 Another kingdom inferior to you shall arise after you, and yet a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. 40 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. 41 And as you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s 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. 42 And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle. 43 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. 44 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, 45 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.” sure.” 46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face and paid homage to Daniel, and commanded that an offering and incense be offered up to him. 47 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 able to reveal this mystery.” 48 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. 49 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.” There we have chapter two.

Why our hope must be in Christ alone: Because …

3. He is the Cornerstone of God’s kingdom.

Verse 24 says this, ”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.” All of the way back to the third century, bible students have looked at that. Many have pointed to the virgin birth – a stone cut out by no human hand. This is Christ; the stone is Christ. Daniel is revealing this to Nebuchadnezzar that there’s One coming. It starts out small, just a stone, and it comes at a certain time. I want you to know some details about the stone. It’s a divine origin. It was cut out by no human hand. It has extraordinary power. It strikes the image and and it’s broken in pieces so that it becomes like chaff. It had worldwide scope. It fills the whole earth. It starts out as a stone, but it grows into a mountain that fills the earth and it’s eternal. It shall never be destroyed. It shall stand forever.

This prophecy is one of the most amazing prophecies in the bible . It’s, also, one of the reasons that it comes under so much attack by liberal scholars Liberal scholars want to date the book of Daniel in the second century BC because of the accuracy of this particular prophecy that shows the progression of the four kingdoms up to the time of the coming of the stone, which is Christ. Daniel got it so accurate; therefore, they wanted to date it later.

However, I believe that God is a miracle worker, and I believe that He can give prophecies of the future accurately. I think the date was sometime toward the end of Daniel’s life, probably in 500 BC; 500 years before the coming of Christ. Daniel saw that stone that was coming, and I believe that this chapter, particularly, was of great hope. It gave great hope to the people of Israel, as they saw that Daniel had risen to this prominence of power, in a place where he should have been a nobody. Daniel is elevated to this place, even to the point where Nebuchadnezzar says, in verse 47, “Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings,”

I want to touch on that vision, that image. Conservative scholars have not disagreed with how this lays out because it’s just so obvious. Daniel interprets this, so we don’t have to guess; he says, 32 “ The head of this image was of fine gold,” Nebuchadnezzar was the head of gold; his kingdom was the head of gold and would only last for 70 years. It was a huge kingdom and very influential, but it was only a “flash in the pan.” It went so quickly; it lasted for 70 years and then wasoverthrown . His grandson, Bellshazzar , was overthrown by Cyrus and Darius the Mede –this is the silver; this was the kingdom of the Medes and the Persians. Then, their kingdom was overthrown by Alexander the Great; the Greeks took over and they took over the known world – that’s the bronze. Then, the inheritors of the Greek kingdom was Rome – that was the iron. Daniel even spoke of the strength of the iron; it wasn’t as valuable as the others. They were less valuable because, if you look back, Cyrus had absolute power. Once the Persians once wrote it in the law, they couldn’t rewrite it. They had to follow it. Rome was like iron . It was during the time of Rome that the stone came, when Jesus came.

Now, it goes on to say details about the clay feet; the ten toes, who seemed to be made up of the residue or what was left of Rome. There is much supposition about what that represents. Some time ago, people were going with the European Union that had ten nations, coming from former Rome.

Here’s what I know; I know the One who holds the future. According to this prophecy, ultimately, all human kingdoms will cease and the kingdom of Christ will begin. He is the cornerstone, this I know. I don’t know the latter details. It’s easier to know the previous ones because they have already happened, but it gave Israel great hope that the Lord was still in charge.

Nebuchadnezzar’s response to Daniel’s interpretation to the dream was that he fell upon his face and paid homage to Daniel. He elevated him to be the prefect over the wise men and over Babylon. Daniel started out as this little teenager graduating from “Babylon U.” Now, Daniel is the “number two” man. God did that because God wants to get the glory. In this world, if you will put Jesus first, He wants to put you in a position where you have an ever increasing opportunity to give Him glory.

I’m going to give you several verses to show how Jesus picks up that picture of this stone, so that you know that when you see the stone, you’ll see the stone is Christ:

Luke 20:17-18 (ESV) But he [Jesus] looked directly at them and said, “What then is this that is written: “‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’? Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.” There’s this stone that breaks things to pieces. If you fall on it or it falls on you, you had better get inside the stone; you had better become part of the stone.

Ephesians 2:19-22 (ESV) So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

Colossians 1:13-14 (ESV) “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” He’s already come and He came small. He came small, but He is growing into a mountain, so even now, it’s the gospels going out . The kingdom is expanding, but ultimately it will be forever, and it will replace all human kingdoms. This is the promise and this is what’s beautiful about Daniel, chapter two. It’s largely fulfilled, but not yet. That last little part we still wait for, when Jesus will be King and we will dwell with Him forever.

Can you imagine the hope that was built up in the Jews? It’s the same hope that should be built up in us today. I enjoyed being at the National Prayer Breakfast and meeting people from around the world, but I was also mindful that I had started studying and writing this sermon before I left. Every conversation I was having with somebody, for some reason, I would say, “You know what? In the book of Daniel….” I preached the book of Daniel to people from China, Guatemala, Uganda… “You know what? We’re all going to be part of one nation under Jesus for those of us that follow Him.”

1 Peter 2:4-6 (ESV) “As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”

Do you know this cornerstone, this one Who made us for Himself, Who died for us, Who lives today and is coming again? He is Lord over all nations. He sets up nations and He deposes nations. One day, He will rule.

Let’s pray. Lord Jesus, I thank You that You reveal the Father to us, that You are the one Who shows His ultimate expression of mercy and that You are the cornerstone. Lord, we don’t have to fear; we can know You personally and, therefore, know the Father and be part of that coming kingdom. Even though we live as exiles now, we are called into that kingdom of light. Lord, I pray for that one, this morning, that might be far from You, that still walks in darkness. If that’s you, my friend, I pray right now that you would come into the light. That you would receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior. You can do it right now by expressing, by faith, these words: ‘Lord Jesus, I’m a sinner. I’ve made a mess of my life. Would You come into my life? Will You forgive me of my sins? I believe that You died on the cross, that you rose from the grave and that You live today. Come and live in me and make me what You would have me. I want to be a child of God.’ If you are praying that prayer, believing, Jesus will save you. This is why He came. He is God’s mercy and He will answer a prayer when you call upon Him. I also pray for all of us, Lord, that you would remind us that You’re becoming a mountain, a movement in the world of the gospel going forth. Your kingdom is coming and it is already here, but it’s not yet fulfilled. Lord, we are part of that kingdom; we are Your kingdom servants. Lord, help us to set aside every encumbrance and everything that would slow us down so that we focus on that which matters. May we have the faith of Daniel, to give You all the glory and to stand up for You. We pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.