Daniel 2: The Hand that Guides the Future

[Music] does God really exist and if he does do you really think he pays much attention to us as we hurtle through space on a little blue planet or is he more like an absentee landlord who started the planets spinning a long time ago and then just forgot about us today we're going to look at an ancient kings amazing dream that gives startling evidence for the existence of God and proves that not only does he notice us but his hand is still steering history towards one incredible final event so stay tuned to hear about the Kings dream that baffled the world's leading magicians psychics and astrologers as well as modern historians but presents compelling rational evidence that not only does God know the future but he has revealed it to us as well [Music] [Music] they were two of history's greatest generals and also two of history's greatest adversaries the Duke of Wellington and Napoleon Bonaparte but what comes as a great surprise is that the Duke of Wellington and Napoleon Bonaparte had a lot in common both of them were born on an island in 1769 both of them lost their fathers in early childhood and both had four brothers and three sisters both attended military school in France at the same time both excelled at mathematics and both became lieutenant Colonel's within one day of each other and perhaps most importantly both of them are remembered for what happened at the Battle of Waterloo they were evenly matched with similar backgrounds similar education and even similar armies but Napoleon lost and the Duke of Wellington won and if you ask a historian why it happened they'll point out a number of things first of all they'll tell you that the terrain they were fighting on was the kind that Wellington Light so he had the home team advantage so to speak secondly Napoleon didn't count on the Prussian army going 20 kilometres out of their way to join the fight and lastly historians point out that Napoleon just didn't have the same kind of courage and energy he had before his exile so there are lots of ideas as to why Napoleon lost but one thing that many people agree on is that he probably could have won and the map of Europe would look a lot different today if he had yet something tipped the scales decidedly in Wellington's favor and it wasn't just strategy or coincidence or the size of an army or fatigue or weather or any of those things it was something more there was an invisible hand that refused to allow Napoleon to win in fact something happened 2,500 years earlier in an ancient Babylonian Kings bedroom that determined what would happen that day at Waterloo the Bible talks about it in the Book of Daniel chapter 2 and verse 1 now in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign Nebuchadnezzar had dreams and his spirit was so troubled that his sleep left him it was the middle of the night and the most powerful man on earth suddenly woke up in a cold sweat his heart pounding and his pillow soaked with sweat even though he had been on the battlefield many times even though he had seen the ugly reality of death close-up he was now afraid of a dream so he got out of bed and called an emergency meeting of some of the most trusted advisors in his empire the men who claimed to be able to read minds and foretell the future they claimed to know the very secrets of the universe the Bible continues in Daniel chapter 2 and verse 2 then the king gave the command to all the magician's the astrologers the sorcerers and the Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams so they came and stood before the king and the king said to them I have had a dream and my spirit is anxious to know the dream then the Chaldeans spoke to the king and Aramaic Oh King live forever tell your servants the dream and we will give the interpretation no problem they said King Nebuchadnezzar you just tell us the dream and we'll tell you what it means and as the astrologers and magicians pulled out their charts and dream interpretation books the King suddenly smelled a rat he became suspicious that the men who had been guiding the affairs of his kingdom might not really know what they were talking about so he refused to tell them the dream but still insisted that they figure it out if you are what you claim to be he said you should be able to figure out the dream and the interpretation and if you can't I'll put every last one of you to death a cold shiver must have run up and down their spines because in their hearts they knew that their books and charts were fraudulent and were completely powerless to help them not one of them could reach inside the Kings mind and extract the information he demanded so they pleaded for more time but Nebuchadnezzar was on to them you've been lying to me for years haven't you my word is final either you figure out what I dream and tell me what it means or you're all going to die but we can't do that your majesty we just can't read your mind here's how the Bible tells the story in Daniel chapter 2 and verse 10 the Chaldeans answered the king and said there is not a man on earth who can tell the Kings matter therefore no King Lord or ruler has ever asked such a thing of any magician astrologer or Chaldean and there is no other who can tell it to the king except the gods whose dwelling is not with flesh for this reason the king was angry and very furious and gave the command to destroy all the wise men of Babylon you know I find it very interesting but when something important happened that changed the course of history forever the psychics and astrologers didn't know anything about it and believe me even though late-night TV is still full of people who have psychic hotlines and star charts those people still don't know what's going to happen if God has something important to say he doesn't use tarot cards or star charts or crystal balls to say it he just comes out and says it now watch how this works the second chapter of daniel tells us that because the so-called wise men couldn't perform nebuchadnezzar rounded them all up to be put to death and as they went through the kingdom to find all the Chaldeans and wise men they knocked on the door of a hebrew captive named Daniel who was considered a wise man because of his royal blood his great intelligence and his godly life three years earlier Nebuchadnezzar and his armies had struck out westward on a mission of conquest and as part of their mission they attacked the city of Jerusalem they besieged and plundered the city looted the temple and carried off many of the sacred golden vessels Daniel a young prince was taken captive and with the creme of the city's youth carried off to Babylon as a war hostage where he was trained to be a servant of the king and one of the Empire's wise men now although Daniel knew nothing about this incident surrounding the Kings dream the soldiers came for him as well because he was considered a wise man but Daniel wasn't a fraud like the other so-called wise men of Babylon in fact he was the real thing a genuine prophet of God so he asked to see the king in person and was granted permission here's what the Bible says in Daniel chapter 2 and verse 16 so Daniel went in and asked the King to give him time that he might tell the king the interpretation for some reason the King trusted Daniel maybe because he had proven himself in the past and he gave Daniel the time he asked for so Daniel then went back to his friends Shadrach Meshach and Abednego and they got down on their knees and prayed for answers because they knew that if it was important God would tell them and sure enough he did the very next day they brought Daniel back to the king notice what it says in Daniel chapter 2 verses 27 and 28 Daniel answered in the presence of the king and said the secret which the King has demanded the wise men the astrologers the magicians and the soothsayers cannot declare to the king but there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days your dream and the visions of your head upon your bed were these from that point on Daniel tells the Kings something that has changed the course of world history it is affected the way you live today in fact it's even the real reason Napoleon lost at Waterloo here's what the Bible says the King dream you Oh King were watching and behold a great image this great image whose splendor was excellent stood before you and its form was awesome this images head was a fine gold its chest and arms of silver and its belly and thighs of bronze its legs of iron its feet partly of iron and partly of clay you watched while a stone was cut out without hands which 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 were crushed together and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors and the wind carried them away so that no trace of them was found and the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth suddenly Nebuchadnezzar was excited that's it Daniel I can't believe it that's exactly what I dreamed it was a giant statue made of different metals it had a golden head and silver arms and brass thighs and iron legs and clay feet and then a giant rock flew out of the sky and smashed it to pieces but what in all the world does it mean what we're about to read proves beyond the shadow of a doubt that were not alone in the universe because thousands of years in advance the Bible predicted the rise and fall of every major world empire it proves conclusively that nothing is left to me a chance the invisible hand of God steers the affairs of men here's what Daniel told the King in Daniel chapter 2 verses 37 and 38 you O king are a king of kings for the God of heaven has given you a kingdom power strength and glory and wherever the children of men dwell or the beasts of the field and the birds the heaven he has given them into your hand and has made you ruler over them all you are the head of gold the golden head of the statue represents Nebuchadnezzar in the Babylonian Empire it was the greatest of empires the most decadent literally drenched in luxury and gold the head of all empires but it didn't last forever but after you shall arise another Kingdom inferior to yours history tells us that the babylonian empire crumbled when the Medes and Persians sacked the city in 539 BC and it didn't matter that they weren't as talented on the battlefield as the Babylonians because an unseen hand tipped the scales in their favor wherever God steers history that's where it's going to go and he has a very specific destination in mind the Medes and Persians represented by the chest and arms of silver ruled the Middle East until 331 BC when another army destroyed them then another a third kingdom of bronze which shall rule over all the earth the third kingdom represented by the belly and thighs of brass was the Greek Empire of Alexander the Great one of the greatest military geniuses of all time Alexander managed to conquer on foot 20 million subjects in over 3 million square kilometers in something like four years all by the time he was 32 years old he was completely unstoppable because he had the unseen hand of God allowing him to win but Alexander too came to an end in 168 BC that's when the fourth Empire destroyed them as the Bible predicted in Daniel chapter 2 and verse 40 and the fourth Kingdom shall be as strong as iron in as much as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything and like iron that crushes that Kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others now if you remember your school history classes you already know which empire humbled the Greeks it was the Romans of course the same Empire that ruled the world when Jesus Christ was born they were more ferocious than any army the world had ever seen and they literally stomped all over Europe and the Middle East subjecting everything in their path here's how the famous historian Edward Gibbons described them amazingly in his book decline and fall of the Roman Empire and the images of gold silver or brass that might serve to represent the nations and their kings were successively broken by the iron monarchy of Rome it's as if Gibbons were familiar with the Bible because that's exactly what God said would happen it's even the same language the head of gold was Babylon the chest and arms of silver were medo-persia the belly and thighs of brass were greece and the roman empire the legs of iron eclipsed them all because of the unseen hand of God nobody stood a chance in the face of a Roman army but Rome too would fail and now please follow me very carefully because we're going to see the real reason Napoleon didn't win Daniel chapter 2 and verse 41 continues whereas you saw the feet and toes partly of potters clay and partly of iron the kingdom shall be divided yet the strength of the iron shall be in it just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay and as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile as you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay they will mingle with the seed of men but they shall not adhere to one another just as iron does not mix with clay Daniel told the King more than a thousand years in advance that the Western Roman Empire would crumble and break into ten pieces like the ten toes on the feet of the great metal image and it happened exactly the way God said it would because barbarian tribes brought Rome to its knees by 476 ad and the Western Empire broke into ten pieces not nine not eleven but exactly 10 and those barbarian tribes at least the ones that survived became the nations of Western Europe today it all happened exactly the way God said it would and furthermore the Bible tells us that try as they might those ten tribes will not cleave or adhere to each other the great unseen hand of God has tipped the scales against anybody who tries to put the Western Roman Empire back together again he says they shall not cleave one to another that's why every single attempt every experiment to unite Western Europe has failed miserably the Royal Family's tried to use marriages to do it but it never worked the warrior king charles v almost did it but just as he closed in on uniting western europe a revolution broke out and he was forced to abdicate the throne louis xiv the son king tried to unite Europe but other countries fought back and the French King was defeated and then came Napoleon he thought nothing could stop him so in 1812 Napoleon marched on Russia and God tipped the balances against him it had nothing to do with the Russian military might but it had everything to do with God it started to snow and out of more than 600,000 French soldiers who went to Russia 500,000 never came home and from that miserable defeat and after a humiliating exile Napoleon went to Waterloo Andy loss because God said nobody would reunite the Western Roman Empire everybody who's tried has failed the Kaiser failed even though he probably could have done it Hitler failed even though in 1942 it looked like he might win they all failed because God said they shall not cleave one to another on Thursday the 23rd of June 2016 the British people stunned the world with a vote to leave the European Union for the first time ever one of the 28 member nations of the European Union had voted to leave the British decision has unsettled the European Union and raised uncertainty about its future it's a reminder of how uncertain unstable and divided Europe is try as they might they will never bring the Western Roman Empire under one ruler or one king again it just can't happen because God said they shall not cleave one to another the nations of Western Europe will remain divided until the rock in Nebuchadnezzar's dream comes and smashes the kingdoms of earth Daniel chapter 2 and verse 44 says and in the days of these Kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed and the Kingdom shall not be left to other people it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms and it shall stand forever Nebuchadnezzar said Daniel do you see what's going to happen one day your Babylonian Empire is going to collapse and after that there will be three more empires then there'll be a time of a divided Empire and finally God Himself is going to set up a kingdom that will last forever you and I are living down in the very toenails of the great image and the next event in this prophecy is the setting up of God's kingdom that happens when Jesus Christ returns notice what it says in Matthew chapter 25 and verse 31 when the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the holy angels with him then he will sit on the throne of his glory four world empires and every one of them has already come and gone then a divided Western Roman Empire which is still with us today you and I are living under the last human governments described in Daniel chapter two the next event is the second coming of Jesus Christ the rock of ages' the corner stone that the builders rejected is going to fill this planet with his glory and set up his own kingdom let me ask you are we just an insignificant speck in the universe absolutely not God Himself is eventually going to move to Planet Earth please notice what it says in Revelation chapter 21 and verse 3 and I heard a loud voice from heaven saying behold the tabernacle of God is with men and he will dwell with them and they shall be his people God Himself will be with them and be their God it's almost over we're almost there and if you've been worried about recent world events stop worrying because the unseen hand of God is still at work no matter what happens nothing will stop Jesus Christ from coming back he's coming to establish his kingdom and you can be part of that all children asked just one question when they're on a journey don't they are we there yet my parents used to tell me to watch for certain landmarks God's children want to know - are we there yet and God in His love gives us great landmarks of history to watch for so let me ask you since we're almost there are you ready have you made things right with your God now you might ask yourself why God bothers with a little insignificant planet like ours but don't forget he's made a huge investment in the human race he bought us with his own blood and Jesus has become one of us a part of the human race his greatest desire is to come and put an end to earthly kingdoms and set up his own if you'd like to be a citizen in that Kingdom why not confirm that decision right now as we pray dear Lord with the way the world is we sense that we're running out of time we long for Jesus to come and set up his kingdom because we're tired of human governments our eyes are fixed on Jesus we want to know him better and love him more guide us as we study the Word of God so that we will be ready when he comes and we ask this in Jesus name Amen the amazing prophecy of Daniel chapter 2 and the great mental image has amazed and inspired people all over the world there's a lot more to it than we can study in just half an hour so if you'd like to know more about Bible prophecy and what the future holds for you and your family then I'd like to recommend the free gift we have for all our viewers today it's a booklet called a king and ream and you and in addition to that will enclose a lesson from our Bible course that will start you on the path to understanding the prophecies of daniel for yourself these are our gifts to you and both are absolutely free there are no costs or obligations whatsoever thousands have been blessed and inspired by this book a king a dream and Jew so make the most of this wonderful opportunity to receive the gifts we have for you today here's the information you need phone or text us at 436 triple three triple five in Australia or Oh - OH four double - 204 - in New Zealand or visit our website tij dot TV to request today's free offer and we'll send it to you totally free of charge and with no obligation write to us at GPO box 274 Sydney New South Wales 2001 Australia or p.o box seven double six seven three Manukau Auckland - two for one New Zealand don't delay call or text us now be sure to join us again next week when we will share another of life's journeys together until then remember the ultimate destination of life's journey now I saw a new heaven and a new earth and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes there shall be no more death nor sorrow nor crying there shall be no more pain for the former things have passed away you [Music]

Channel: The Incredible Journey

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Keywords: daniel 6, Prophet Daniel, daniel in the lions den, prayer, the incredible journey, bible story, lions den, bible, bible study, faith, faithfulness, keeping the faith, psalm 91, refuge, hiding place, Corie Ten Boon, The Lord is my refuge, Ravensbruck, help in trouble, den of lions, life of obedience, Christian Documentary, daniel and the lions den, Jan Hus, John Huss, John Huss Faith, daniel in lions den, book of daniel, Gary kent the Incredible Journey, Bible prophecy

Id: IIvFfqIR24Q

Length: 28min 30sec (1710 seconds)

Published: Fri May 29 2020