Introduction: Two of the most impressive prophecies in the Bible are
the linked prophecies found in Daniel 2 and Daniel 7. Since Daniel’s
life was jeopardized by the one prophecy, he might have preferred to
avoid it. However, the prophecy that Daniel revealed through
inspiration is one of the most prominent proofs that God is in charge
of the powerful nations on earth. Let’s jump in and see what we can
learn!
- Losing Your Head
- Read Daniel 2:1-3. Our lesson tells us that the book of
Daniel, chapter 2 contains one of “the most incredible
faith-building prophecies.” Why would God give a prophecy
like that to a guy like Nebuchadnezzar? Why give it to a
fellow who would immediately turn (v.2) to “magicians,
enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers” for help?(Three
reasons. First, by giving the prophecy to the most
powerful ruler on earth, you raise the profile of the
message. Second, this is the “opening shot” in the lesson
that God is in control of the world. Third, you raise the
profile of the followers of God over the followers
(sorcerers, etc.) of Satan.) - Read Daniel 2:4-6. How much do you think Nebuchadnezzar
trusted his top magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and
astrologers to give him honest answers? (He apparently had
some doubts. He decided that if they really knew their
stuff, they should be able to tell him what he dreamed. In
that way the King could “test” their ability.) - It turned out (naturally) that the wise men did not know
“their stuff.” The King decided that he had been feeding
them long enough. Read Daniel 2:11-13. How would you like
to be Daniel and his friends at this moment? - Would you feel like a new partner in Arthur Anderson
or a new executive in Enron? Your life is coming
apart for reasons that had nothing to do with you? - Read Daniel 2:14-16. What kind of relationship do you
think Daniel had with Arioch? What kind of relationship
did Daniel have with the King? - Why didn’t Daniel and his friends try to run away?
- Read Daniel 2:17-18. To whom did Daniel turn in times of
emergency? (Our God!) - Notice the timing of this. Daniel went to the King
and asked for time before he summoned his “prayer
group” to ask God for help. What lessons do we learn
from this? (Daniel did not run away from the problem.
He went to the king with confidence that God was with
him. Either God was going to help Daniel in this
emergency, or God was going to let them die. In any
event, Daniel placed his trust in God. Daniel also
showed by his example the power of group prayer.) - When we are studying the Bible, and we do not
understand God’s message, what does Daniel’s example
teach us? - Read Daniel 2:19-22. How about God’s timing? What do we
learn about who controls the rulers of our country? Does
this mean that Bill Clinton was God’s choice for
president? Was George Bush God’s choice for president? - What about Stalin, Hitler or Pol Pot: are they too,
God’s choices? (This is sort of like saying, “Was
Satan God’s choice?” God did choose to allow Satan to
live and do evil? (See Job 2:3-6.) God allows evil
“breathing room” so that the relative justice of
God’s way and Satan’s way is clearly apparent.) - What lesson do we learn about political activism from
this text in Daniel? If you disliked Bill Clinton and
thought his pro-abortion (particularly partial-birth
abortion) policy was evil, what would be best to do: - Contribute money, time and your vote to the
Republican party? - Pray? ( Daniel 2:21 tells us that God will give
us wisdom to know how best to promote the gospel
and combat evil, but the “bottom line” is that
God, and God alone, holds the power to promote
and depose rulers.) - Read Daniel 2:26-28. Would you have answered the King in
this way? (I think I would have said “Yes” first, and then
explained later instead of saying “No” first.) - The First Vision
- Read Daniel 2:31-35. What do you think about each of these
different metals making up one (v.31) “awesome” statute? - Why do the metals get worse as you work your way
down? Wouldn’t you put the best metal in the bottom –
the foundation? - Was the King’s dream designed by God to benefit
Daniel? - Read Daniel 2:36-39. Remember that I asked you about God
modifying the dream for Daniel’s benefit? What if the head
of the statue was made of clay? What if it were made of
iron or rock? (God was looking out for Daniel because the
interpretation stroked the ego of Nebuchadnezzar (“head of
gold”), while at the same time making clear that God was
above Nebuchadnezzar.) - What about the symbolism makes the other kingdoms
“inferior” to Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon? (Each of
the other kingdoms is represented by less valuable
metal and a lower part of the body. The fact that
they are one co-ordinated body shows God’s order and
organization.) - What are these other three world-ruling kingdoms?
(The head of gold is Babylon, the silver chest and
arms are Medo-Persia, and the bronze mid-section is
Greece.) - Read Daniel 2:40-43. What kingdom is represented by the
legs of iron? (Roman Empire) - What do we learn about God’s control over the nations
in this dream and its interpretation? - What do we learn about God’s understanding of the
future? - Why did God reveal this to Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar?
Why reveal it to us? (Daniel saw the change in the
kingdom from Babylon to Persia. He lived through
those times of change. However, I think we are the
primary people for whom this prophecy is intended.
This prophecy gives us confidence in times of
change.) - What is this “toe” kingdom? Does it exist today? (The
world is not united in a single kingdom today. Our
world today is composed of various nations of various
strengths.) - Will any nation ever dominate the world
according to this prophecy? - If you said, “No,” is that consistent with
Revelation 13:11-12. Doesn’t this “beast”
have authority over the entire world? If
so, isn’t that inconsistent with the “toe
picture” of Daniel 2? (The two pictures
can be reconciled. Without having military
authority, a nation might have “moral”
authority. This could be applied to the
world today. The United States does not
have actual control over other nations as,
for example, the Roman Empire had over
other nations. However, the cultural
influence (music, movies, etc.) of the
United States extends even to such
unlikely places as China.) - Read Daniel 2:44-45. What is this “rock” that breaks up
the statue? (Jesus’ Second Coming.) - When does Jesus come? (During the “toe time.”)
- How does that make you feel? (The good news is that
Jesus is coming during “our time!”) - How can we be sure about the rock coming? (Just as
the nations arose as predicted, so Jesus will come
again as predicted.) - What significance do you see in the image being made
mainly of metals and the symbol of Jesus being made out of
rock? - Why does verse 45 stress that the rock was not cut
out of the mountain “by human hands?” (Gold, silver,
bronze, iron are all natural materials that were
ultimately “man made” in their final form in the
statue. God’s point is that humans create these
nations within the “permission” of God. God’s power,
however, is not man-made in any way. The natural rock
destroys what man has made.) - Read Daniel 2:46-47. This is unusual behavior for a king.
What should be our reaction to God’s revelation of the
future? (The same as Neb’s reaction. Our God is the true
God – Lord of Lords and King of Kings – because He can
tell the future and control the events of man.) - Read Daniel 2:48-49. Is there a lesson in this for us?
What is it? (Out of the most terrible test of faith comes
promotion.) - The Second Vision
- Read Daniel 7:1-7. Who is given the vision this time?
(Daniel) - When was this vision given? (The date is clearly
towards the end of the Babylonian empire because
Belshazzar was king. According to F.F. Bruce, this
makes it about 553 B.C.) - Why is the date important? (This gets back to
the old question of the God of the Bible being
the true God because He can accurately predict
the future.) - Why did Daniel write down the vision? (Doesn’t it
make you feel good to know that even Daniel was
concerned about being forgetful? Daniel wrote this
down because he thought it was important and he
wanted to be accurate.) - How many beasts do we have in all? (Four.)
- Read Daniel 7:15-19. How does this vision parallel the
dream given to Nebuchadnezzar? (It seems to portray the
same four kingdoms. The identification of these four
kingdoms as I have described them above, and our
conclusion that the second vision is a repetition of those
same kingdoms, has been “mainstream” Christian teaching
and understanding for hundreds of years.) - Why would God repeat the same dream message, but with
different symbols? (Did you ever repeat your
instructions to your children? You do that if you
want them to “get it.”) - Why was Daniel troubled by this vision? (Daniel
realized that this was a very important vision and he
wanted to be sure he properly understood it.) - Can you think of any reason why God gave these prophecies
in the time of Daniel? - Why did God give those prophecies then? Why not to
Adam and Eve? Why not to Moses? (Daniel and the Jews
were in captivity in Babylon. Their nation had been
destroyed. At this discouraging time in their
history, God wanted to reassure them, and His
followers for generations to come, that He was in
charge of kings and kingdoms.) - Friend, if God is in charge of kings and kingdoms, are you
willing to trust Him with your life? Are you willing to
turn the problems in your life over to Him? - Next Week: The Son of Man and the Final Judgment.
