It is hard for us to imagine the crisis the conquest of Israel by Babylon caused in people’s faith. They were God’s chosen people, given the “promised land,” miraculously protected and provided for. What’s more, they now had the temple in Jerusalem, the place of God’s dwelling in the “Holy of Holies.” The popular thinking of the day was that God would always protect and care for His chosen people, His nation.

But, God had warned them repeatedly through prophets that if they didn’t turn from their immorality, they would be punished. And, there were small punishments by foreign nations– battles lost, invasions. After repentance, God would deliver them again and things would get back to normal. These were more like small spankings compared to what now happened. The idea of everything being conquered and even the temple being destroyed was beyond their comprehension. Certainly God would never let that happen to His chosen ones. Jeremiah was one of those prophets who actually named Babylon as the nation that would punish Israel for their sin. And it did happen just as Jeremiah said it would, as we saw last week. Nebuchadnezzar came and conquered, hauling the nobility back to Babylon and captivity in 605 B.C. Even the temple was desecrated and destroyed. The nation seems to be gone, deported people living in a foreign land. These exiles had to feel forsaken and abandoned by God. Many I’m sure were questioning their faith. If God is all powerful and He cares for us, how can this happen? Amid these questions and circumstances Daniel and his three friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abendnego, live courageously and faithfully.

The dream Nebuchadnezzar has is the first of the apocalyptic visions in Daniel, and the only one we’ll be looking at in this series. Daniel divides into two parts. The first six chapters are the stories of heroism and adventure we’re looking at in this series. Chapters 7-12, the second half, deal with visions of the future. Another interesting thing happens in Daniel. In this chapter, at verse 4 when is says, Then the astrologers answered the king in Aramaic... Daniel, in his writing, moves from Hebrew to Aramaic and continues writing the book in Aramaic through chapter 7. Aramaic was the common language of commerce in that day. In switching to Aramaic, Daniel is saying these matters need to be known by the Gentiles, not just the Hebrews. Then, in matters dealing with Israel’s history, he returns to Hebrew in chapter 8.

As we’ve read, Nebuchadnezzar has a dream and refuses to disclose the content. That’s one way to make sure your interpreters are not just blowing smoke. But I came across one commentator that suggests he may have forgotten his dream! Some of us can relate to that. You wake up with
the emotions, feeling upset but can’t recall the details. But if someone could tell you what it was, you’d know it. Either way, it is a God-inspired dream and Nebuchadnezzar senses it’s importance. Because his magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers couldn’t tell him what he dreamed, he ordered the execution of all the wise men of Babylon. The “wise men” included Daniel and his three friends. How does Daniel handle this crisis?

PRAYER

When Daniel was informed of his death sentence by Arioch,
“Daniel spoke to him with wisdom and tact. He asked the king’s officer, “Why did the king issue such a harsh decree?” (14-15)
Notice again this courteous respect on the part of Daniel we noted in chapter one. He may have thought the king an idiotic, arrogant despot, but he is kind, gracious and respectful. He speaks carefully, referring to it as a “harsh decree.” Of course when you’re talking to the one who holds your life in his hands, you’d better be careful! But Daniel’s attitude goes along way toward helping him gain an audience with the king. He requests a time when he can interpret the dream for the king.

Daniel was already under a death sentence, so this may not have been the most courageous request. But, met with a seemingly impossible situation, Daniel knows God is able to do the impossible. Remember, the magicians, enchanters and astrologers had just said to the king,
“No one can reveal it to the king except the gods, and they do not live among men” (11).
The gods of the Babylonians were not involved in human affairs. They had that right. The role of humanity was to please them, keep them happy. But as far as doing anything practical like revealing secrets, forget it. But Daniel knows the true God– Jehovah, the God of Israel and the universe. He is involved with His people, acting supernaturally on their behalf. On that basis we can approach God with our needs. As Daniel later tells Nebuchadnezzar, There is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries (28).

Now that Daniel has his appointment, you can sense a bit of, “Now what have I done?”
Then Daniel returned to his house and 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. (Dan 2:17‑19)
Facing a death sentence can intensify prayer! Daniel is no lone ranger here like so many Christians try to be. He knows he needs help in prayer. So, at least he and his four friends have a prayer meeting. Perhaps others were called in. Uniting in prayer with others intensifies the power of prayer. Daniel knew that, and certainly those prayers were answered in a spectacular way. For one thing, could you even sleep to have a dream knowing you were going to be executed? But I think Daniel and his friends had the peace of God that passes understanding after their prayer meeting and went home for a good night’s rest.

I think many of us are too reluctant to call upon others to join us in prayer. We think, “God knows my needs. I’d like to just keep it private, between God and me.” Or, “I don’t want to bother others with my needs. There’s a lot bigger needs out there to pray for than mine.” It may sound humble, but in reality you are depriving the church of the great gift knowing you more intimately and interceding for you. Being vulnerable, sharing with one another is part of being in God’s family. How would you feel if your brother or sister kept it from you that they had cancer, saying they didn’t want to bother you with their troubles? You’d feel hurt, shut-out, wouldn’t you? Let’s be open and eager in joining with other believers in prayer.

Also note, they are not merely concerned about their lives being saved, but also praying for all the other pagan wise men to be saved. There is real love and compassion here. These so-called wise men are all frauds. Here’s a chance to expose them as such. But there is only love and concern. What God’s power can do in our lives can be severely limited when we are angry and vindictive. Faith involves love and relinquishment, both of which we see in this prayer meeting. That night, the prayer is answered in the dream Daniel was given.

Now, let’s continue our reading of this chapter– vs. 24-49.

THE DREAM
This dream is a fascinating study in fulfilled and unfulfilled prophecy. Daniel was most likely written about 530 B.C., prior to any of the events prophesied except the Babylonian Empire. Certainly, only one who is in control of the events of history can predict the future with 100% accuracy. This dream is a powerful statement that there is one God in absolute control of all things and who is all knowing. Daniel provides objective proof that the Scriptures are God’s Word. For only God can reveal what is going to happen before it happens.

As an aside, it is interesting to note that liberal theologians up until the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls generally held that Daniel was largely fiction. It had to be composed no earlier than the second century B.C. to try to explain this prophetic dream. They saw the Bible as human writing, and no human could predict the future. Even so, their identification of the kingdoms involved in the dream were quite a stretch. However, the Dead Sea Scrolls, discovered in 1947 proved Daniel was written much earlier– real proof that Daniel is inspired, words given by God and God does reveal the future.

Four kingdoms of this dream can be identified with some certainty since they have already been fulfilled.
1.         The head of gold is Babylon, as Daniel tells us.
2.         The silver chest and arms are predicting an event that will take place in Daniel’s lifetime, the invasion of Babylon by Medo-Persia, 539 B.C.
3.         The bronze belly and thighs represent the Greek Empire that followed the rule of the Medo-Persia when Greece conquered them in 330 B.C. under Alexander the Great.
4.         The iron legs represent the Roman Empire which followed Greece in 63 B.C.
The fifth kingdom depicted by an iron-clay mixture could either be our current situation or a kingdom yet to be.

It is interesting to note the symbolism of the metals and the downward progression in value.

1.         Gold is appropriate to represent Babylon for two reasons. First, their chief god, Marduk was called the god of gold. Second, Babylon used gold extensively in buildings, images, and shrines. Herodotus, the ancient Greek historian, visited Babylon 90 years after Nebuchadnezzar and was astonished at the amount of gold. Even walls and buildings were overlaid with gold.
2.         Silver for Medo-Persia is also fitting. In ancient times, silver signified money. Medo-Persia was noted for basing its power on money collected through an extensive tax system. Also, Medo-Persia is a combination of two peoples: the Medes and the Persians, united together under one king in 550 B.C. to form a superpower. Thus, the two arms coming together in the chest of the statue.
3.         The bronze belly and thighs are an excellent fit for the Greek Empire. The Greeks developed bronze extensively, using it in many of their implements of war. But also, the bronze moving down into two thighs is accurate. When Alexander the Great died, remember the kingdom was divided up among his four leading generals. However, only two of those generals (the ones in Syria and Egypt) ended up playing a leading role in history.
4.         Iron legs represent Rome. Rome was noted for its use of iron in weapons of war. As Daniel indicates, Iron is strong and able to smash bronze. Rome conquered Greece. And, the two legs fit for Rome since in its extensive rule it had an Eastern and Western division. In fact, in 364 A.D., the two halves were even divided politically.
5.         The iron-clay mixture is treated as an extension of the Roman Empire. Note again Dan. 2:40-43
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.

The Roman Empire ended in 476 A.D. The territory it ruled divided into a mixture of strong and weak nations, not holding together.

This latter mixture is tempting to speculate on. It may well describe our current world situation. However, some look for a revival of the Roman Empire as a loose confederation of nations before the end, such as the European Common Market. What about the ten toes? Does that mean ten main nations? Do they correspond with the ten kings in the vision in Daniel 7? But sometimes in apocalyptic literature the number ten can be merely symbolic, signifying completeness. And it is possible we are now in the beginning of the final kingdom, a coming finally realized in Christ’s triumphant return in glory. The best policy is to just wait and see. As Mark Twain once said, “The art of prophecy is difficult, especially with respect to the future!.”

Then, the final kingdom arrives– God’s kingdom. A great rock of divine origin (“cut, but not with human hands...”) smashes the statue and all the kingdoms of earth. Dan 2:35 puts it,
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.
It happens during the iron-clay mixture of kingdoms.
"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." (Dan 2:44‑45)

Again, the symbolism in incredibly on target for Nebuchadnezzar. The Babylonians believed their gods came from the sacred mountain of the earth. Their temples were imitations of mountains (ziggurats). How better to convey the kingdom of God to Nebuchadnezzar? This mountain fills the whole earth– there are no other gods. Can you see God’s love and grace toward this heathen nation and king? He is giving a clear witness to bring them to knowing the true God. He wants all people, not just Israel to know Him. By giving the vision to Nebuchadnezzar, he honors him and in love reveals to him and the nation His plans so they can come to trust God. The dream wouldn’t have had near the impact if given to Daniel alone. You can’t miss the evangelist, reaching-out heart of God in this.

That final kingdom is the kingdom for which we all wait and pray. While things may look out of control and evil has its hey-day, in the long run we are assured the kingdom of God will come and it will last forever and ever. Suffering, disease, injustice, all the hurtful things, and even death itself will be done away with for all of eternity. This is the kingdom over which our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ will reign.

CONCLUSION
The words of Rev 19:11‑16 speak of Christ’s return to establish that kingdom and form a fitting close.