Daniel: Dreams Do Come True

Reading from Daniel chapter 2, which is on page 884 in the Red Church Bibles there, starting at verse 1.

Daniel 2 · chapter mention

In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams. His mind was troubled and he could not sleep.

So the king summoned the magicians, the enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers to tell him what he had dreamed.

When they came in and stood before the king, he said to them, I have had a dream that troubles me and I want to know what it means.

Down to verse 10.

The astrologers answered the king, there is not a man on earth who can do what the king asks.

No king, however, great and mighty, has ever asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or astrologer.

What the king asks is too difficult. No one can reveal it to the king except the gods and they do not live among men.

This made the king so angry and furious that he ordered the execution of all the wise men of Babylon.

Verse 24.

Then Daniel went to Ariok, whom the king had appointed, to execute the wise men of Babylon and said to him,

Do not execute the wise men of Babylon. Take me to the king and I will interpret his dream for him.

Down to verse 31.

You looked, O king, and there before you stood a large statue, an enormous dazzling statue, awesome in appearance.

The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze,

its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay.

While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands.

It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them.

Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were broken to pieces at the same time

and became like chaff on a threshing floor in summer.

The wind swept them away without leaving a trace,

but the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth.

This was the dream, and now we will interpret it to the king.

You, O king, are the king of kings.

The God of heaven has given you dominion and power and might and glory.

In your hands he has placed mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds of the air.

Wherever they live, he has made you ruler over them all.

You are that head of gold.

After you, another kingdom will rise inferior to yours.

Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over the whole earth.

Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, for iron breaks and smashes everything.

And as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others.

Just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron,

so this will be a divided kingdom.

Yet it will have some of the strength of iron in it, even as you saw iron mixed with clay.

As the toes were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle.

And just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a mixture

and will not remain united any more than iron mixes with clay.

In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed,

nor will it be left to another people.

It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever.

This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands.

A rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces.

The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future.

The dream is true and the interpretation is trustworthy.

Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell prostrate before Daniel and paid him honour

and ordered that an offering and incense be presented to him.

The king said to Daniel,

Surely your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries,

for you were able to reveal this mystery.

Thanks, Kirsty.

Well, keep your Bibles open at Daniel chapter 2.

Daniel 2 · chapter mention

Yes, it is a long chapter.

And no, we're not going to be here forever looking at it all.

But there is so much there.

So let's turn to God's word now.

Amen.

Let's pray.

Father, you are the great God who not only made the world,

but has spoken truth into this world.

And yet we are people who need to understand that word to us.

We need the help of your Holy Spirit to reveal

the mysteries that are contained in your word.

We need your Holy Spirit to show us what the truth is and how it applies to us.

And so we pray that you would be active amongst us,

helping us to see the God who is revealed in this chapter we're about to look at,

the God that we are to trust.

So please help us now.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

So, can anybody tell me what's going to happen next week?

Where will I be?

And what will you be doing?

What's the world going to be like in 50 years' time,

if you're still alive?

Or will the world even exist?

We all think and dream about the future.

Who's going to win the next election?

What's going to happen in Syria and Iraq?

Will Ireland recover financially?

Or is there another recession on the way?

Or perhaps you're more concerned with personal things.

Who will I marry?

Where am I going to live?

What kind of job will I get?

Will I pass my exams?

What will I do when I retire?

We all dream about the future.

And King Nebuchadnezzar, the character we meet in chapter 2,

has a dream.

Look at verse 1.

In the second year of his reign,

Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams.

And his mind was troubled,

and he couldn't sleep.

It sounds a little bit more like a recurring nightmare.

But we know from later in the story

that this was a dream about the future.

Look at verse 45.

The quote at the very end of verse 45.

The great God has shown the king

what will take place in the future.

The dream is true,

and the interpretation is trustworthy.

So this dream that Nebuchadnezzar has

reveals God's plan for the world

and what is to come.

It's about the future.

And like us,

Nebuchadnezzar was desperate to know

what was going to happen.

After all, he was king of the Babylonian Empire,

the world's leading superpower at the time.

So as we encounter Nebuchadnezzar's dream,

there are four things we learn about the future,

especially God's plan for the world.

So here's the first thing we learn from this dream.

And it's this.

The future is hidden from us.

Look at verse 2.

The king summoned together the magicians,

the enchanters, sorcerers, astrologers,

which wasn't just people who looked at the stars,

but wise people,

to tell him what he had dreamed.

So here we have this select group,

which represented the world's best mediums,

astrologers,

analysts,

economists,

and scientists,

all together.

They were highly trained,

university graduates,

all leading experts in their fields.

Collectively,

they had a vast,

vast knowledge

of things that had taken place in the past,

and they had a great understanding

of things that were happening in the world

at the time.

This was the king's,

if you like,

think tank.

His personal advisors

to tell him

what was going to happen

and how they should be prepared

for the future.

And whenever a dream came along,

that was a great opportunity

for them to be involved.

Look at the rest of verse 2.

So they came in

and they stood before the king.

He said to them,

I have had a dream that troubles me

and I want to know what it means.

The astrologers answered,

the king in Aramaic,

which was the language of the whole empire

and even beyond,

so that meant this was a message

that was to be for the whole world.

O king, live forever.

Tell your servants the dream

and we will interpret it.

Give us the dream, O king,

and we'll tell you

what would be good policies to make,

what taxes to introduce,

what nation we should attack next.

But Nebuchadnezzar is no dope.

He knows there are plenty

of phony fortune tellers and analysts

who will see this as an opportunity

for promotion and a little bit more pay.

They could spin any old lie

if they wanted to.

So the king is clever.

He applies a little bit of pressure.

Verse 5.

The king replied to the astrologers,

this is what I have firmly decided.

If you do not tell me what my dream was,

so there to tell him what he was dreaming,

and interpret it,

if you can't tell me these things,

I will have you cut into pieces

and your houses turn to piles of rubble.

But if you tell me the dream

and explain it,

you will receive from me

gifts and rewards and great honour.

So tell me the dream

and interpret it for me.

Nothing like a torturous death

to focus the mind.

No payoffs here if you get it wrong.

It's off with your head.

But even with the threat

of their lives hanging over them,

they still can't deliver.

Verse 10.

The astrologers,

these wise learned men

answered the king,

there's not a man on earth

who can do what the king asks.

No king, however great and mighty,

has ever asked such a thing

of any magician or entranter

or astrologer.

The answer is crystal clear

to the king.

The future,

it's hidden from us.

We simply do not know.

Now,

you mightn't have

your own personal astrologer

or analyst to hand.

But don't tell me

that you've never had

a little peek

at your stars.

Or maybe you're a secret listener

to Mystic Meg.

We might think it's all quite funny

to have a little look

and a little listen.

But you know what,

it's very common

for people to go

to a spiritualist

or a psychic

just to know

what their career prospects

are going to be like.

Or people who go

and have a look

at their hand.

Do you see that long line

that comes down here?

It'll tell you

how long you're going to live.

Only recently,

I talked to someone

who was so concerned

for their family's welfare,

they paid 50 euro

to have a card reading.

It's not just fun.

People seriously believe

that there are those

with special gifts

and abilities

who can tell us

the future.

But perhaps you're a bit

sceptical of the spirit world.

Maybe instead you just like

to listen to what

the economists have to say.

Should we buy

or should we sell?

Do we invest

or do we sit tight?

Looks like Apple's

a good one

to invest right now.

Well,

the fact that we're

still suffering

from a world recession

suggests that

they don't really know

too much either.

Have you ever noticed

that the government

that is in power

always predicts

a bright and beautiful future?

Those in opposition

predict doom.

Well,

look at verse 11.

What the king asks

is too difficult.

No one

can reveal it.

No one can reveal

the future to the king

or to me

or to you

or to anybody else.

You may remember

the famous prediction

by the BBC weatherman

Michael Fish

who told quite confidently

there was no danger

of any hurricane.

The next day

Britain woke up

to find half the country

flattened.

The point is

while astrologers,

scientists,

economists

can't see

into the future

we all

to some degree

live our lives

around what people

say about the future.

Did you hear

what so and so said?

Better adjust my life

to that.

we live life

trusting people,

investing our security

in things

and those people

who really have

no idea

what the future holds

and where the universe

and history

is headed.

Doesn't it all seem

a little bit foolish

to be trusting in people

and what they think

is going to happen?

Well thankfully

there is one

who does know.

Second,

the future

has been

revealed to us.

Well with no answer

for the king,

the king

loses

the rag.

Verse 14

When Ariok,

the commander

of the king's guard

had gone out

to put to death

the wise men

of Babylon,

Daniel spoke to him

with wisdom and tact.

He asked the king's officer

why did the king

issue such a harsh decree?

Ariok explained

the matter to Daniel

and at this

Daniel went into the king

and asked for some time

so that he might be able

to interpret the dream

for him.

So Daniel returned

to his house

and he explained

the matter to his friends

Hananiah,

Mishael and Azariah.

He urged them

to plead for mercy

from the God of heaven

concerning this mystery

so that he and his friends

might not be executed

with the rest of the wise men

of Babylon.

During the night

the mystery

was revealed

to Daniel

in a vision.

Do you see

where Daniel turns?

He doesn't turn

to the financial section

of the Irish times

or the Babylonian times.

He doesn't check out

his star sign.

No.

He turns to

verse 18

the God

of heaven.

This great God

he turns to

in praise

because it is God

who revealed

the mystery.

Look at the end

of verse 19.

Then Daniel

praised the God

of heaven

and said

praise be

the name

of God

forever and ever

wisdom

and power

are his.

He

changes times

and seasons.

He

sets up kings

and disposes them.

He

gives wisdom

to the wise

and he

gives knowledge

to the discerning.

He

reveals deep

and hidden things.

He

knows

what lies

in darkness

and light

dwells with him.

I thank

and praise you

O God

of my fathers.

You

have given

me wisdom

and power.

You

have made

known to me

what we asked

of you.

You

have made

known to us

the dream

of the king.

This

is our

all wise

and sovereign

God

God

who

changes

kings

as quick

as he

changes

the weather.

Here

is our

all

powerful

all

knowledgeable

God

who

reveals

what is

hidden

and he

knows

what is

secret.

In reality

we've got

no idea

at all

what's

going to

happen

this

afternoon

never mind

in 20

years

time.

We

can't

see if

we're

going to

have

good

health

or bad

health.

Whether

we're

going

to

be

successful

or have

a life

of

struggles.

We

don't

know

if

we're

going

to

get

married

or

if

we'll

remain

single.

If

our

children

will

outlast

us

or

if

we

will

outlast

them.

But

there

is a

God

who

does

know.

Verse

22

He

reveals

deep

and

hidden

things.

He

knows

what

lies

in

darkness.

You

see

we

might

think

that

man

has

the

ability

to

see

into

the

future.

That's

what

we're

led

to

believe

every

single

day.

But

it's

God

alone

who

reveals

the

future.

Look

at

verse

25.

Ariad

took

Daniel

to

the

king

at

once

and

he

said

I

have

found

a

man

among

the

exiles

from

Judah

who

can

tell

the

king

what

his

dream

means.

The

king

answered

Daniel

also

called

Belshazzar

are

you

able

to

tell

me

what

I

saw

in

my

dream

and

interpret

it?

Daniel

replied

no

wise

man

enchanter

magician

or

diviner

can

explain

to

the

king

the

mystery

he

is

asked

about

but

there

is

a

God

in

heaven

who

reveals

mysteries.

He

has

shown

King

Nebuchadnezzar

what

will

happen

in

days

to

come.

You

see

Daniel

knows

it's

not

him

it's

God

God

sees

all

of

history

all

of

time

from

beginning

right

to

the

very

end

nothing

that

happens

in

between

is

hidden

from

him

in

fact

it

is

God's

very

intention

that

we

know

what

is

going

to

happen

look

at

verse

29

he

doesn't

want

us

to

be

in

the

dark

he

wants

to

reveal

things

to

us

look

at

verse

29

as

you

were

lying

there

O

king

your

mind

turned

to

things

to

come

and

the

revealer

of

mystery

showed

you

what

is

going

to

happen

as

for

me

this

mystery

has

been

revealed

to

me

not

because

I

have

greater

wisdom

than

the

other

living

men

but

so

that

you

O

king

may

know

the

interpretation

and

that

you

may

understand

what

went

through

your

mind

God

not only

knows

the

future

he

actually

reveals

the

future

to

us

he

reveals

deep

and

hidden

things

so

is

God

going

to

reveal

my

future

does

that

mean

when

I

have

a

dream

God

is

speaking

to

me

about

my

future

or

should

I

expect

and

maybe

ask

God

to

when

I

sleep

at

night

please

God

give

me

a

dream

or

a

vision

about

what's

going

to

happen

to

me

next

week

because

there

are

many

people

who

claim

that

that

is

what

God

actually

does

well

I'm

just

not

quite

sure

about

that

one

not

because

he

can't

but

because

of

what

God

has

actually

said

himself

in

the

Bible

look

at

Hebrews

Hebrews 1 · chapter mention

chapter

1

I

have

it

on

the

screen

there

so

you

can

read

it

from

there

Hebrews

Hebrews 1:1–3

chapter

1

verses

1

to

3

here's

what

it

says

in

the

past

God

spoke

to

our

forefathers

through

the

prophets

through

people

like

Daniel

at

many

times

and

in

various

ways

sometimes

God

spoke

audibly

sometimes

through

a dream

or a

vision

he even

spoke

through

a donkey

but

in

these

last

days

verse 2

he has

spoken

to us

by

or

through

his

son

whom

he

appointed

heir

of

all

things

and

through

whom

he

made

the

universe

the

son

is

the

radiance

of

God's

glory

and

the

exact

representation

of

his

being

you

see

the

climax

of

God's

revelation

is

his

son

the

Lord

Jesus

Christ

God

does

tell us

what the

future

is

but

the

future

is

not

about

us

it's

all

about

his

son

so

we

mustn't

think

of

God

as

our

own

little

personal

fortune

teller

who's

there

to

tell

me

about

my

life

who

I'm

going

to

marry

and

where

I'm

going

to

work

and

what

church

I

should

attend

and

what

I

should

have

for

breakfast

and

whatever

else

you

want

God

to

tell

you

and

the

pastor

down

the

personal

message

for

everybody

after

the

service

by

the

way

after

the

collection

has

been

taken

what

your

life

is

going

to

be

that's

really

not

where

it's

at

claiming

to

have

personal

messages

from

God

just

feeds

our

self

centred

sinful

lives

we're

not

the

centre

of

the

universe

we're

not

to

confuse

our

fuzzy

thoughts

and

our

colourful

pictures

with

God's

spoken

words

yes

God

is

concerned

about

our

lives

deeply

yes

God

does

have

a

plan

for

your

life

but

that

plan

is

revealed

through

his

son

the

Lord

Jesus

Christ

Jesus

is the

climax

of

God's

revelation

salvation

it's

all

about

him

and

the

future

revolves

around

him

not

you

or

me

so

what

is

the

plan

what

is

going

to

happen

well

thankfully

the

future

is

unveiled

for

us

third

God

doesn't

give

each

of

us

a

personal

plan

for

our

lives

he's

not

a

little

magic

genie

where

we

kind

of

have

him

in

the

corner

and

give

him

a

gold

its

chest

and

its

arms

were

of

silver

its

belly

and

thighs

of

bronze

its

legs

of

iron

its

feet

partly

of

iron

and

partly

of

baked

clay

so

we've

got

this

huge

big

statue

in

four

sections

the

gold

the

head

then

we've

got

silver

across

the

chest

then

bronze

for

the

thighs

and

iron

mixed

with

clay

down

at

the

feet

but

look at

verse

34

while

you

were

watching

a

rock

was

cut

out

not

by

human

hands

and

it

struck

the

statue

on

its

feet

of

iron

and

clay

and

smashed

them

what

did

all

this

mean

well

two

big

things

first

oh

I

haven't

got

it

there

you

can

just

listen

here's

the

first

big

thing

man

made

kingdoms

are

destined

to

fall

man

made

kingdoms

are

destined

to

fall

look

at

the

statue

in

verse

36

because

here's

where

the

interpretation

comes

this

was

the

dream

and

now

we

will

interpret

it

to

the

king

you

oh

king

are

the

king

of

kings

the

god

of

heaven

has

given

you

dominion

and

power

and

might

and

glory

the

end

of

verse

38

you

are

the

head

of

gold

so

nebuchadnezzar

yes

you

have

power

but

remember

this

it's

god

who's

given

you

the

power

to

rule

you

are

the

head

of

gold

you're

the

one

who

has

this

great

big

superpower

of

an

empire

but

nebuchadnezzar

verse

39

after

you

another

kingdom

will

rise

inferior

to

yours

your

empire

nebuchadnezzar

is

going

to

be

blown

out

of

the

water

somebody

else

is

going

to

come

along

and

take

your

place

next

a

third

kingdom

one

of

bronze

will

rule

over

the

whole

earth

you

think

your

empire

is

big

well

another

one

is

going

to

come

that's

going

to

even

be

greater

and

bigger

than

yours

finally

verse

40

there

will

be

a

fourth

kingdom

strong

as

iron

for

iron

breaks

and

smashes

everything

and

as

iron

breaks

things

to

pieces

so

it

will

crush

and

break

all

the

others

you

think

a

world

empire

is

big

there's

going

to

be

an

even

greater

one

than

that

now

we'll

come

back

to

these

kingdoms

in

more

detail

when

we

get

to

chapter

7

if

you

want

to

ask

me

about

them

afterwards

you're

welcome

to

but

we'll

get

to

the

detail

later

on

but

for

now

I

want

us

to

look

at

their

downward

spiral

now

sooner

does

one

kingdom

rise

Nebuchadnezzar

and the

Babylonian

empire

then

another

one

comes

along

and

takes

its

place

and

the

further

that

we

seem

to

go

into

the

future

the

more

fragile

the

kingdom

seem

to

be

verse

42

as

the

toes

were

partly

iron

and

partly

clay

so

this

kingdom

will

be

partly

strong

and

partly

brittle

and

just

as

you

saw

iron

mixed

with

baked

clay

so

the

people

will

be

a

mixture

and

will

not

remain

united

any

more

than

iron

mixes

with

clay

yes

the

kingdoms

are

going to

be

strong

and

powerful

they're

going

to

take

over

other

nations

and

they're

going

to

invade

and

they're

going

to

do

all

these

sorts

of

things

but

they

won't

last

they're

going

to

break

up

they're

going

to

divide

they're

brittle

they're

going

to

disintegrate

and

they're

all

going

to

fall

apart

just

think

about

it

for

one

minute

where

is

the

great

Babylonian

empire

today

it's

actually

Iraq

with

its toppled

leader

Saddam

Hussein

and

in

its

place

a

dispersed

people

what

do we

have

a

broken

government

at war

with

ISIS

you

couldn't

get a

more

divided

and

broken

nation

it's

fallen

apart

it's

disintegrated

or what

about

Britain

who

rules

the

waves

even

Scotland

wants

to

break

away

now

one

writer

put it

like

this

kings

and

kingdoms

presidents

and

dictators

democracies

and

tyrannies

and

monarchies

come

and

go

they

rise

and

fall

only

to

enter

the

landfill

of

history

man-made

kingdoms

and

governments

and

rulers

they

are

all

destined

to

fall

so

that's

the

first

thing

we

see

from

this

dream

that's

unveiled

before

us

we

cannot

trust

the

kingdoms

and

rulers