The Rise and Fall of the World, Part 3 B

Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face and worshiped in is it what you doing worshiping Daniel Wood does know Daniel's God, so he figures the only way to get to Daniel's goddess Daniel. Some people deny the whole book of Daniel on this one basis Kingsville falconer.

Therefore, God's people by preaching about the first advent, and less about the second. Of course, our focus should be on the work of Christ in pressing on toward sanctification in the here and now. Yet a careful look at what the Bible says about the future not only reminds us of the all-powerful God we serve.

It also motivates us to proclaim the gospel.

While there's still time we trust John MacArthur's message today on grace to you will do just that. As he continues a compelling look at the end times and God's control over all the nations.

It's part of John series titled the rise and fall of world powers. Now with today's lesson. Here's John Daniel chapter 2 we been studying the whole chapter and I'm not going to for time say go over all the review and everything, but just come in at some point to refresh your thinking and then pick up the closing portion of the chapter having looked at the dream received the dream recall the dream revealed we focus particularly want to look back at this now on the final phase of this world Empire. The final phase is indicated in verse 34 verse 33 I'm sorry the legs of iron that speaks of room but the feet are part iron and part clay, part iron and part clay.

Now go down to verse 40 and the fourth kingdom and is the explanation of that shall be strong as iron for as much as iron breaks in pieces and subdues all things and is iron the brakes all these, it shall break in pieces and crush but doesn't end there.

And whereas now sauce the feet and toes, part of potter's clay that's tile like material part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided. There shall be in it of the strength of iron for as much is now sauce the iron mixed with miry clay and as the toes of the feet were part iron and part clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle and whereas now sauce iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men, but they shall not adhere one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. Now what the final world Empire was ruled right but it appears in two phases. The first part is all iron with two legs. These in the Western empires of Rome, but the final phase changes and it's a mingling of iron with clay as an inherent weakness is more diverse than it is ever been because the weakness the tile represents the seed of men. The final form of the Roman Empire will be a diverse situation trying to mingle strength with weakness and they cannot coexist any more than you can connect iron to clay get to the final form will be partly strong and partly brittle.

The Bible doesn't see the. In between.

The Bible sees Rome as the final world Empire strong and weak. Rome was never conquered by any other world Empire.

No nation is ever taken Rome's place. Did you know that no nation ever conquered Rome in the eastern part of the Empire took 1500 years before they finally kind of faded out. I believe the Bible tells us they wanted to. In abeyance their head was wounded as if they were dead, only to rise again in the future.

Roman Empire simply different disintegrated, but it's influences are still here at the Roman thought Roman law and it doesn't see the.

In between the church age. But that isn't surprising because the Old Testament never did see the church age. That's why in Ephesians 3, Paul says that this is a mystery.

This is a mystery why am a preacher of a mystery. God has given me a message to give you that is a mystery. The dispensation of the grace of God to me is to preach the mistreatment. The mystery was a mystery as something hidden. That is now revealed.

The Old Testament never saw the church age and so were not a bit surprised when we find it interval in the New Testament era that is discussed in the old.

For example, you have passages in the Old Testament the prophesied things about Christ, half of which are of his first coming Of which are the second coming. Yet the Old Testament puts no time.

There why because it doesn't see that mystery.

Known as the church age. That's the mystery that's that which was hidden and is revealed in the New Testament, so there will be a final phase of the Roman Empire involving a European Confederacy that involves 10 nations territorially occupy what was once the Roman Empire were seeing that very exact thing right now how does it end and take long.

Verse 44. This Roman coalition will come together in the end time. It says in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever, stop right there. I was all students of the Scripture that I know anything about in the November read all agree that this is the founding of the kingdom of God may have differences as to just exactly how it comes to pass. But it's clear that this is the God of heaven setting up a kingdom, but I want you to notice something fascinating here.

Verse 44 and in the days of these kings listen to me. In the days of these kings what kings are you talking about there are any kings mentioned here. The only King mentioned in the whole place here in laying out history is Nebuchadnezzar the head of gold really in the days of these kings seem to be an antecedent for the what kings those who do not believe in an earthly kingdom of Christ. Those who do not believe that Jesus Christ is going to come and rain for a thousand years. They use the term millennial a deniability. They say this is referring to the spiritual kingdom of Christ and the spiritual kingdom of Christ will be set up in the hearts of men during the times of these four kings. In other words, during battle in Medo Persia, Greece and Rome. The kingdom of Christ will be set up in the hearts of people during those kingdoms doesn't really make it in the first place. Those are kingdoms not kings in the word kings Molokai in Aramaic is far different from kingdoms which a small laptop and even talking about the same term and not of them not not all of them are even designated as references to kings but rather kingdom what kings that's really easy if you look at it. You go back and you find the Kings can be none other than the toes of the feet. In other words, the 10 toes represent 10 kings in the final form of the Roman Empire, the toes of the CD charge talking about them in verse 42, and any says it in the days of these genes and their Daniel actually interprets the picture the toes represent kings shouldn't be too shocked about that in Revelation chapter 17. Listen to this revelation is the Daniel of the New Testament, giving us the picture of the future it says and the 10 horns which thou saw*10 kings.

And here is talking about the same imagery of 10 kings. Only this time it's 10 horns. If you go to Daniel chapter 7. Look in the very same book you find at the end of verse seven there, there were 10 horns. It says in verse seven. At the end and it had 10 horns to go further in the chapter down to verse 15 and you can begin to read the whole thing you'll see more about the 10 horns. Verse 20 the 10 horns are mentioned again.

Verse 24 the 10 horns, and here's the key on what you see in the 10 horns out of this kingdom are 10 kings that shall arise get Daniel sees this Gentile world power finalizing itself in a 10 King Confederacy and that is precisely what Daniel means when he says in the days of these key at the time of the 10 kings God will set up a sting.

If you make it mean the other four kingdoms doesn't make sense to God set up his kingdom during the time available to God set up his kingdom and Medo Persian God set up his kingdom in Greece.

God set up his kingdom. At the time of the Roman Empire. Of course not God's kingdom as yet has not been established on the earth.

And since the whole of the image is a political picture and since the whole of the images actual history. Whatever final kingdom is entered in must also be actual, historical, political and earthly deceit. You can have a spiritual thing introduced into a very physical historical actual set of images. The kingdom of heaven was not set up in those times, not in its political earthly for so in the days of those final 10 when that Roman Confederacy gets itself together folks that gets a little bit close to home doesn't look at Europe and you see the economic community together now the 10 nation Confederacy and you see the world with the attitude it's got right now toward God.

I tell you this is only one thing that has to happen before Christ can come. That's the voice of the archangel and the trumpet of God were going that happens instantaneously when Nico's what happens further in verse 44, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom. What kind of a kingdom will be. It'll be a kingdom that will never be destroyed. It will be like the other kingdoms and will be one that's never destroyed.

The others were all destroyed and the kingdom shall not be left to other people. It's not going to be the kind of thing that fades in somebody else takes over, but it will break in pieces and consume all kingdoms and all the residue of all the kingdoms that are left at the time, and it shall stand forever. Some people actually taught that this is the church that's foolish, that's absolutely foolish.

This can't be the church in the first place. The Roman Empire went on for centuries after the church was the church didn't destroy attend King Confederacy in Rome. That's ridiculous. Roman Empire went on and on and on. A long time. In fact, you know, the Roman Empire went on longer.

After Jesus bedded down the other empires had gone from Nebuchadnezzar to Jesus.

The church didn't bring a dramatic into anything.

There's no evidence at all for that is not the church.

The actual literal kingdom of Christ on earth. The church isn't even a political entity will even fit the imagery here church doesn't like it says in verse 45 forasmuch as thou saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, the goal of the great God is made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter in the dream a certain interpretation of the church member. The stone it said earlier in the chapter came and smashed the image and it blew away in dust and the stone filled the earth. The church didn't clack cataclysmic Lee destroy all the nations of the year. The church didn't end the times of the Gentiles. Why the church was born, and then came 70 A.D. in the Gentiles really took over Jerusalem.

It cannot be the church. Churches never overcome Gentile world power in the church never will. The church doesn't come in instantaneously fill the whole earth and take over the church grows quietly and perceptibly, not violently catastrophically in a destruction. This is not the church. Churches never broken in pieces the world's kingdoms. This is a literal physical earthly kingdom. But God sets up in the times of the Gentiles.

In this is a political kingdom and you can read all about the Old Testament is a physical kingdom. The Old Testament says Jerusalem will be rebuilt. Israel be stored to the land. The curse will be lifted.

There will be abundance of food.

There will be health there will be healing there will be a high birthrate.

The typography will change.

A new temple will be built on and on literal physical kingdom certainly will have spiritual reality to physical kingdom.

We need one more thought.

It will close this section, it says back up in verse 34 without sauce. The stone cut out without hands, which smote the image on its feet that were of iron and clay and broken to pieces then were the iron, the clay, the bronze us over the goal broken to pieces together and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them in the stone that smote the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. Only thing left is to find out who the stone stone comes and obliterates all of this then fills the earth wind of what is so you because Jesus said, you'll never ever see the end of the times of the Gentiles. Your house will be desolate until you look at me and say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. He's the only one that can end the times of the Gentiles is the only one that can destroy the governments of the world and Isaiah said it, the government shall be upon his way shoulder. He's the only one who has the right to rule when in Revelation 5.

They were searching to find somebody you can open the scroll and then came the lamb and the lamb could open the scroll. Why because he had a right to open the scroll because the scroll was the title deed to the earth, and he and he alone of the right to possess the earth's Christ.

Christ himself who is the stone. In fact, I love it. In Genesis 4924 God is called the stone of Israel in Psalm 118, the stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner and Peter quotes that it refers to Christ Jesus used out of himself.

He said on the stone that the builders rejected, but I am become the head of the corner. God said to the prophet Isaiah, chapter 28 verse 16. I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone a try. Stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation stone. Paul said in first Corinthians 10 for that rock was Christ. Christ is the stone and I believe it is at the coming of Jesus Christ that he smashes Gentile dominion is feet of Zechariah 14 says land on the Mount of olives. There's a cleavage in the mountain from the east to the west.

He splits it wide open and into that valley called the valley of decision come the Gentiles from all over the globe and they are judged with the judgment of God and from then on when judgment has been brought to bear upon them. God sets up his kingdom through Christ in the city of Jerusalem and rains for thousand years. And then on into eternity. What is it mean that he was cut out without hands, I believe, first of all, it is a reflection of his virgin birth. This stone was not a man-made stone. Secondly, I believe it is a reflection on his resurrection, that there was no human agency involved in his resurrection his own power brought in from the grave without a human agency in the normal manner. He was born without a human agency at all.

He was raised from the dead and notice when the stone comes doesn't hit the head the shoulders or anything like that but it smashes the final portion the weakest part, the feet and the entire Gentile tower comes down know when you start to study Jesus as a stone board you get into some fascinating truth.

Bible says he is a crushing stone becomes to crush shattering smiting stone but at the same time.

He is a restoring stone, but no sooner does he smash and crush but that he feels steers. Listen to this. Say Nebuchadnezzar had the strangest dream. Did he really understand it was Nebuchadnezzar's chief God according to the archaeologists who found a lot of things about that time Nebuchadnezzar's chief God was a God that he called Bill Moreau deck now Bill Moreau deck we found in archaeology had a very special name. His name was shot do Rob.

What that means means the great mountain means the great mountain Nebuchadnezzar thought shot do Rob Lee and Bill Moreau was the great mountain, but Daniel said to him that stone that hit that image filled all then became a great mountain, your God is replaced and used his own terms.

God did so we'd understand.

And Daniel says there's only one shot do Rob who you haven't seen the title meant the all-powerful God would Daniel would use this in the presence of Nebuchadnezzar. Believe me, understood. He understood see God gave Nebuchadnezzar a vision in his own terms. So you understand I was a historian well.

I love this to verse 45. By this time.

Summary might be seen what I've heard some things in my time but this takes the cake. This is the wildest thing ever dreamt up by the imagination of some person try to push it off as if it were true crazy image ridiculous story with an incredible fanciful interpretation just in case. That's where you are is a little PS at the bottom of verse 45. It's meant to nail you to the wall. It says this and the dream is certain, and the interpretation of it sure don't mess with this. There are no mistakes. It's sure and it's certain we seen the dream received the dream recall the dream revealed.

This can read this to you. The dream rewarded verse 46. Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face and worship Daniel. He believed it.

Say what you doing worshiping. Daniel would doesn't know Daniel's God, so he figures the only way to get to Daniel. Scott is through Daniel any command, they should offer in oblation and sweet odors under him. King answered him to Daniel instead of the truth is that you are God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings and the revealer of secrets seeing the output must reveal their secret is is your God is the God of gods, your God is the shot do Rob your God is the Lord of the wind, your God, is the revealer of secrets I want to know folks. This is a short conversion. It's the motion of the moment because he bails out will see very soon in the very next chapter, but in this moment is allowing overwhelmed at the display of God's power through Daniel. Then the king may Daniel a great man and gave many great gifts and make them rule over the whole province of Babylon and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon know that folks is known as a promotion for me in the bottom got a total bull run the show.

He was the Prime Minister of the Babylonian empire and I like this when Daniel got his new position.

He figured to use it so we requested of the king and he said Shadrach me shack and Abednego over the affairs of the province of Babylon, but Daniel sat in the gate of the King. He said I got three guys I like to be my vice regents and he brought his friends into strategic places to be used by God.

Some people deny the whole book of Daniel on this one basis. I read some critics of Daniel denied the entire book on one basis.

Kings don't bow to their captives.

Therefore, this is a forgery or know some kings do bow to God. This is not a forgery. You never have to work to get what you want in this world. If you just obey God will put you beyond what you ever dreamed his natural not Daniel is set in as little place over there in Jerusalem.

So now I gotta figure how I can get to be the prime minister about first I got to go to the right school that I gotta meet the right people all I got to marry the right girl strategy. Daniel said I don't care what the king says I'm not even that stuff and use it all to know that is not the strategy, and Daniel became the prime minister about this got if he didn't put himself there enough to worry about staying because it wasn't some he wanted anyway with what God gave them as long as God gave to go to Joe's time seeks things got give them to you as you will be disease, grace to you with John MacArthur.

Thanks for being with us today.

John continued his look at God's sovereign control of the leaders and nations.

It's a compelling look at biblical prophecy that John calls the rise and fall of world powers. John thinking about what we've just heard the dream the statue and what all of it means in your own study of the Bible do you find prophecy anymore difficult to sort through and understand than any of the other areas of theology.

While I think prophecies of the Old Testament would be more difficult to understand if we didn't have the New Testament writing that's why Peter said that even the writers of the Old Testament looked at what they wrote to try to understand what person, and what time these things would be fulfilled.

So if all we had was the Old Testament we could understand what we could understand, but we wouldn't understand fulfillment. But when you get to the New Testament, then you have the historic fulfillment of many of the prophecies literally hundreds of prophecies concerning Jesus were fulfilled in his first coming there many more to be fulfilled in his second coming. So there are things about the second coming that we don't yet fully understand, but we have the New Testament which lays out details of his second coming. For example, in his sermon on his second coming primarily Matthew 24 and 25, and particularly in the book of Revelation. So if you have the Old Testament and the New Testament and carefully interpret both in light of each other. You can come to some pretty clear understanding of what prophecy is actually saying. And of course in order to do that.

You gotta have some source to explain these passages to you and that's where the MacArthur study Bible comes in. You have the Bible in your hand, you have up to 25,000 footnotes explaining the meaning of the text. If you're in a prophetic text in the Old Testament. If you're in the book of Daniel, you'll find in the footnotes exclamations there and you find a lot of cross-references that would take you to the New Testament to Jesus preaching on his second coming, even to the book of Revelation. If you have a MacArthur study Bible. You're not going to only have explanations of prophetic passages but all the rest of the passages as well. You need to get a copy of the MacArthur study Bible. It's a library of Bible interpretation right in one volume. You can get it in the new King James version, the ESB, the NAS, which is what I use. You can get it in English, Spanish, German, French, Russian, Italian, Chinese, Arabic and Portuguese. You can order them from grace to you today and friend as you study God's word with John's notes even the most confusing parts of the Bible can become more clear and that will help you apply more of Scripture's life transforming truth to your life to order the MacArthur study Bible. Contact us today.

Call us at 855 grace or visit our website Jide TY.org the MacArthur study Bible would be an ideal gift for any student of Scripture. You can order a copy in genuine leather or hardcover or leather soft and as John mentioned the MacArthur study Bible comes in the English standard new King James and new American Standard version again to order your copy, call 855 grace shop online at TY.that's our website. When you visit Jide TY.org. Make sure you take advantage of the thousands of free resources that are available where that includes grace stream. It's a continuous broadcast of John's verse by verse teaching begin in Matthew chapter 1 and go all the way through the end of the book of Revelation grace stream is just one of the numerous resources available for free at Jide TY.now for John MacArthur and the grace to use staff. I'm Phil Johnson reminding you to watch grace to you television this Sunday and make sure you're here next week when John looks at the incident that gave rise to the expression. The handwriting is on the wall. John study is called the rise and fall of world powers. Tune in. Starting Monday for another 30 minutes of unleashing God's truth one verse at a time on grace to you