Title: Eternal Empire
The book of Daniel tells the Israelites who lost their faith in God in the face of the severe persecution of Antiochus Epiphanes IV of Syria and were wandering and frustrated, <Even though evil is strong, the truth is stronger. When we live according to the truth, we will face difficulties. Even if we fall over a dark veil on the road ahead of us, God will be with us to give us victory in the end. > These are the words of God written to give you the assurance of faith.
In today's era of unlimited competition, among us living in the IMF system, the tragedy of losing a job, indebtedness, family destruction, marriage separation, leaving children in a welfare center and separation, and mass suicide by driving the whole family into a car and crashing into a large truck This is becoming more and more widespread. What is the cry of pain of those who have reached this point? What are these people's prayers? < Ah! Where is God! > Wouldn't it?
This text is God's answer to the question thrown in the midst of such frustration and pain.
2. 起 / Find out the dream I forgot last night!
King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream one night while he was sleeping. It was a very scary and very meaningful dream. However, even in the dream, I was tired of the fear and significance of the dream, and I could not remember the dream. When the dream was awakened, the king summoned the best wise men and magicians of the Babylonian Empire and said, "I had a great and dreadful dream last night, and I cannot remember the dream. Now, find out the dream I had, and interpret the dream so that it can be known to me! If you let me know this, I will give you a great reward. If not, I will split your body and turn your house into a manure place.”
3. 承 / Only God can reveal secrets!
As the Babylonian magicians said, this is truly a rare thing in the world. Who can find out the dreams of others? The wise men and magicians of Babylon, as well as Daniel and his three friends, had to die. Only the LORD will reveal secrets. Daniel had no choice but to pray to God. God showed Daniel the dream he had given to Nebuchadnezzar Ut.
The dream God showed the king was:
< What the king saw in his dream was a large, dazzling, and terrifying image, with its head of gold, breast and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its calves of iron, and some of its legs. It is made of iron, and some of it is made of earth. However, a non-man-made <one-piece stone> flew in from somewhere and struck the iron and clay foot parts to break them, and the great idol, a composite of clay, iron, bronze, silver, and gold, collapsed and scattered. There was no such thing, but the <cut-out stone> that struck the idol became a great mountain>.
4. 轉 / Tin-in stones have formed a great mountain, and the whole heaven and earth are filled!
The interpretation of the dream is as follows.
< The great, dazzling, and terrifying image is the gold and gold of Nebuchadnezzar's empire, the silver and bronze are the empires inferior to the Babylonian empire of King Nebuchadnezzar that will come after him, iron is Alexander's Macedonian empire, and iron and earth are Alexander the Great's dead. It symbolizes the four kingdoms of Macedonia (Casander dynasty), Thrace (Lusimachus dynasty), Egypt (Ptolemy dynasty), and Syria (Seleucid dynasty). And the fact that the “cut stone” hit the earth and iron parts and filled the whole earth to form the Great Mountain is not an empire built by man, but an eternal empire established by God, but the beginning of that kingdom is very small. It seems that he will blow all the world's empires of gold, silver, bronze, iron, and earth like dust to the threshing floor, and he will make it stand tall in the universe.
5. 結 / Eternal Empire
Now the people of Israel are going through a truly unbearable struggle under the reign of an unprecedented, vicious and cruel tyrant named Antiochus Epiphanes IV. But there was no sign that this heinous empire would ever collapse. It seemed to go on forever. But God is saying that this mighty empire will be shattered and scattered like dust on a threshing floor, leaving no trace.
If you look at the history of mankind, you can see the great ancient empires, Sumer, Babylon, Macedonia, Rome, the Qing Dynasty, the Han Dynasty, etc., and institutionally, slavery, serfdom, city-state, Machiavellianism, communism, etc. were there. All those great and great empires and institutions were majestic as if they were going to last forever from the standpoint of that time, but looking back today, they were like the morning mist that disappears for a short time. .
All the man-made things were not made by man's hands, but a <cut-out stone> sent by God will shatter like an earthen vessel with an iron rod. He promises that an eternal kingdom will be established. The <cut out stone> is God's word, power, providence, and judgment, and it is God's eternal empire that will be accomplished through Jesus Christ, God's Son, whom he will send when the time is fulfilled. This is a country where there are no tears, no frustration, and where justice and love flow like a river.
6. Closing story /
In today's society, there are so many people who struggle in indescribable pain and frustration, such as economic pain, frustration due to illness, tears of foreign workers, extreme anxiety of those who have lost their jobs, families that are collapsing and children who are abandoned in the midst of this. a lot. < How long, God? >, the cry of lamentation is high. The text clearly states it. Don't be afraid! Now, the <cut off stone> sent by God, not man's thoughts or plans, will shatter all anxiety and pain and set you free in the kingdom God has established.