8/06/06 - “Prophecy – The Future Told In Advance – Daniel Chapter 2 – Part 1” - 32L - FM
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Hello!  This is Richard Vaughn

Today’s subject –  Prophecy – The Future Told In Advance – Daniel Chapter 2 – Part 1

Today we are beginning an exciting adventure into prophecy. For the next few months or so we are going to discover many wonderful truths regarding the fantastic books of prophecy and its relevance to us today, as we are living right now at a time when many of these prophecies are being fulfilled. 

In particular we will study the books of Daniel in the Old Testament and Revelation in the New Testament. In Revelation 14:9 & 10, we read the most fearful warning ever given in the Bible. The devil wants to keep you so pre-occupied that you won’t take the time to investigate this important message from God. That is the warning against receiving the Mark of the Beast. You do not want to get the mark of the beast, as those who do will suffer God’s wrath in the 7 last plagues and be lost. And let me add, you don’t have to receive the mark as long as you know who the beast is and what the mark is. Everything we study from here on out will lay the foundation for this revelation. It is in these broadcasts that you will learn these important truths, so do follow along on this journey into prophecy and don’t miss a single week.

The first study will be Daniel Chapter 2 where we will discover the whole sweep of history from the time of Daniel until our day. Follow along with me in Daniel 2, the first 13 verses from the King James Version.
And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, wherewith his spirit was troubled, and his sleep brake from him.  
  2:2   Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to show the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king.  
  2:3   And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream.  
  2:4   Then spake the Chaldeans to the king in Syriack, O king, live for ever: tell thy servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.  
  2:5   The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is gone from me: if ye will not make known unto me the dream, with the interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill.  
  2:6   But if ye show the dream, and the interpretation thereof, ye shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great honour: therefore show me the dream, and the interpretation thereof.  
  2:7   They answered again and said, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation of it.  
  2:8   The king answered and said, I know of certainty that ye would gain the time, because ye see the thing is gone from me.  
  2:9   But if ye will not make known unto me the dream, [there is but] one decree for you: for ye have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me, till the time be changed: therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that ye can show me the interpretation thereof.  
  2:10   The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is not a man upon the earth that can show the king's matter: therefore [there is] no king, lord, nor ruler, [that] asked such things at any magician, or astrologer, or Chaldean.  
  2:11   And [it is] a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is none other that can show it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.  
2:12   For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise [men] of Babylon.  
  2:13   And the decree went forth that the wise [men] should be slain; and they sought Daniel and his fellows to be slain.  

We will now look  a little closer at what we have just read. 
In verses 1-13, Nebuchadnezzar had a dream and it had a profound affect on him. God gave him the dream and then made him temporarily forget it. But he had to know what the dream was about. So he called in the magicians, the astrologers, the sorcerers and the Chaldeans, all the supposedly wisest men on his payroll. He tells them he had a dream and he wants them to tell him what he dreamed and to give him the interpretation. They butter him up with kind words and then tell the king that he must tell them what he dreamt and they will interpret. He refuses and tells them what punishment is in store if they don't tell him the dream and its interpretation and what rewards are in store for the one who does reveal it. They again ask for the dream. He again tells them they must tell him the dream and the interpretation. A Chaldean states THERE IS NOT A MAN ON EARTH who can do what the king requests, only the gods who do not dwell with men. The king gave the decree to destroy all the wise men in Babylon.

Now verses 14-18
2:14   Then Daniel answered with counsel and wisdom to Arioch the captain of the king's guard, which was gone forth to slay the wise [men] of Babylon:  
  2:15   He answered and said to Arioch the king's captain, Why [is] the decree [so] hasty from the king? Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel.  
  2:16   Then Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would give him time, and that he would show the king the interpretation.  
  2:17   Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions:  
  2:18   That they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise [men] of Babylon.

In verses 14-18, Daniel and his three friends that were captured with him from Judah, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, lived together and were considered very wise. They were in advanced schooling in Babylon. Daniel's Babylonian name was Belteshazzar and his three friend's Babylonian names were Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego. When the captain of the guard, Arioch came to Daniel and told him the decree he must execute, Daniel was able to tell Arioch that he would let the king know his dream and the interpretation, just give him a little time. Arioch and Daniel became friends on the over 1,000 mile journey from Judah to Babylon. Daniel got the needed time. He then went to his home and consulted with the three friends and they, being strong in faith, sought God for the dream and it's interpretation.

Verses 19-23
2:19   Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.  
  2:20   Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his:  
  2:21   And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding:  
  2:22   He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what [is] in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him.  
  2:23   I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast made known unto me now what we desired of thee: for thou hast [now] made known unto us the king's matter.  

In verses 19-23, God gives Daniel the dream and it's interpretation. Daniels gives God the glory and the praise.

Verses 24-30
2:24   Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had ordained to destroy the wise [men] of Babylon: he went and said thus unto him; Destroy not the wise [men] of Babylon: bring me in before the king, and I will show unto the king the interpretation.  
  2:25   Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said thus unto him, I have found a man of the captives of Judah, that will make known unto the king the interpretation.  
  2:26   The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name [was] Belteshazzar, Art thou able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation thereof?  
  2:27   Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise [men], the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, show unto the king;  
  2:28   But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these;  
  2:29   As for thee, O king, thy thoughts came [into thy mind] upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter: and he that revealeth secrets maketh known to thee what shall come to pass.  
  2:30   But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for [any] wisdom that I have more than any living, but for [their] sakes that shall make known the interpretation to the king, and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart.  

In verses 24-30, Daniel appeals to Arioch to stop the killing of the wise men as he will tell the king what he wants to know. Arioch ushers Daniel into the king and announces he has found a captive from Judah who can reveal the dream and it's meaning. Verse 27, Daniel can't resist rubbing it in about how all his high paid staff couldn't answer his demand. Then in verse 28 he gives tribute to his God in heaven as the source of the revelation.

Verses 31-35
2:31   Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness [was] excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof [was] terrible.  
  2:32   This image's head [was] of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass,  
  2:33   His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.  
  2:34   Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet [that were] of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.  
  2:35   Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.  
In verses 31-35, Daniel describes this great image that Nebuchadnezzar saw having a gold head, chest and arms of silver, thighs of brass, legs of iron and feet part of iron and part clay. Then a rock strikes the image on the feet and destroys it.

Well time is up for today, but next week we will begin the interpretation of the dream.  
Next Week: “Prophecy – The future told in advance – Daniel 2 - Part 2”

Until next week, Jesus said in John 5:39, “Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me”. Come Lord Jesus.