Title Dream Interpretation 2 (Daniel 2:39)
Lesson 22 Dream Interpretation 2 (Daniel 2:39)
2:39-43
After the king comes another kingdom that is not equal to the king, and a third kingdom will arise that is like bronze, and will rule the whole world, and the fourth kingdom will be as strong as iron, and iron destroys all things and overcomes; just as iron destroys everything, so that kingdom And when the king sees that his feet and toes are some clay of the potter, and some iron, the kingdom shall be divided; and the king shall see that iron and clay are mixed, and the kingdom shall be made of iron. They will have strength, but their toes will be part iron and part clay, and the kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle; and when the king sees iron and clay mixed, they will mix with other races, but they will be in harmony with one another. Not doing it is like iron and clay do not mix.
Let's read the first verse 39 of today's text together. “After the king comes another kingdom that is inferior to the king, and a third kingdom like bronze will rise and rule the whole world.” Today, while studying only this one verse, I will briefly consider the lesson God gives me.
After the dream, King Nebuchadnezzar must have listened to Daniel's interpretation with an anxious mind, fearing when the huge image he had seen would be shattered by a cut stone. Daniel knew the king's heart and reassured the king. Three things reassured the king. First, "You are the King of kings." Second, "The King is the one who has been specially chosen by God to give him the kingdom, authority, power, and glory." Thirdly, "The king is a golden head. That is why he is so precious." By setting up the king like this, he reassured the king.
Let's look at verse 39. "After the king." This means "after the king's reign is over". He said, "There will be other nations that are not as kings." If it was not said "after the king" but "there will be other kingdoms while the king reigns," then this is rebellion. Wouldn't that be usurping the throne? Then how much fear must you have in your heart? But what did you say? He said, "After the king's reign is over, there will be other nations that are inferior to the king. So, the cut stone that Nebuchadnezzar had seen in his dream struck the image and toppled it, but it would not happen while he was still alive. So how reassuring are you?
I hope that all of you will have a precious history this morning in which the worries and worries in your hearts will disappear in an instant like this. With the grace of God, I hope that you will shake off all the anxiety and worries in your heart and have faith and confidence that God will grant you grace and be with you today with a peaceful mind.
See 2:46. “Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell down and worshiped Daniel, and commanded him to offer gifts and spices to him.” What if it were said, "Things will happen in the reign of a king"? Weren't you worried, saying, "Belteshazzar, what should I do? What should I do with this?" However, since this does not happen in his generation, he was able to give Daniel a great reward.
In 2 Kings 20:19 the same thing happened. I'm going to ask a question, so if you know, raise your hand and answer it. It was the time of the king of Judah. Envoys from Babylon have arrived. The king of Judah proudly showed all the treasures and weapons of the kingdom to the Babylonian envoys. Knowing this, the prophet Isaiah came to the king and rebuked the king. "How did you do that? All the treasures and weapons that the king boasted about will be taken away by Babylon. And the descendants of the king who were born in the king's body will be taken into captivity in Babylon and become eunuchs." Then the king said this in 2 Kings 20:19.
“The word of the LORD, which you have spoken, is good.” And he said, “If there be peace and truth in the days of my life, how can it not be good?”
He says that these things will not happen as long as he lives, so the works of God are said to be good. Who is this king? Yes, this is Hezekiah. Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, shows the same picture.
Verse 39 again. He said, “After the king comes another kingdom that is not as good as the king.” The head of the deity was gold. Then what did you say about your arms and chest? The belly and thighs were made of bronze. He said that after the king, another country that was inferior to the king would arise. Isn't silver inferior in quality to gold? Which country did silver represent? The country was divided as if it had two arms. Which country are you in? Medes and Persia. Medes and Persia are historically known for their silver. Babylon loved gold. So King Nebuchadnezzar tried to build a golden city. Medes and Persia were countries with very developed tax systems. So the tribute was collected in silver.
But when the Medes and Persians said they were inferior to Babylon, in what way? In terms of the size of the country, Medo and Persia are larger. And if you look at the explanation of the text about the third kingdom, it says, "A third kingdom like brass will rise and rule the whole world." In terms of territory, the countries that appear next are not at all inferior. So in what way? Silver is inferior in quality to gold. Bronze is inferior in quality to silver. In terms of query, it goes down.
There are two ways to think of what it means to be inferior in terms of quality. One, the moral level is lowered from God's point of view. morally even worse. That is why, in the end, the situation in which there is no choice but to be smashed by the cut stone and to be destroyed is gradually increasing. Another thing, perhaps, can be interpreted to mean that the strong absolute sovereignty and centralized power of King Nebuchadnezzar weakened as the generations passed.
Continue to verse 39. “After the king comes another kingdom that is inferior to the king, and a third kingdom like bronze will rise and rule the whole world.” The second kingdom to rise was the Medes and Persia. Third, it is said that a kingdom like bronze will arise. This third kingdom was called the Greek Empire. The Greek Empire used bronze to make helmets, bronze breastplates and attach them to their breasts, bronze swords and spears, and bronze shields.
He said that this bronze kingdom would rise up and rule over the whole world. I ask one thing. We will test your world history skills, not the Bible story. There was a famous king in the Greek Empire. Literally conquered the whole world. Who is it? This is Alexander the Great. Alexander the Great became king at the age of 20. I made a decision to become a king at the age of 20. "I will conquer all inhabited lands in this world." Alexander the Great conquered every inhabited country. And then he said he cried. There are no more countries to conquer. Alexander the Great built a city called Alexandria after him in every country he conquered. Even now, there are 70 cities called Alexandria in the world. He conquered the world with such force.
In 330 B.C., Alexander the Great made plans to conquer Jerusalem, the holy city, and led a large army to show off his majesty. However, Alexander the Great died prematurely of a fever in the Arabian desert at the young age of 33. And his country, the Greek Empire, which seemed to last forever, has now disappeared without a trace.
Three hundred years have passed since then. A country young man also went up to Jerusalem to conquer the world. He did not ascend as splendidly as Alexander the Great. I climbed on a young donkey. Like Alexander the Great, he did not ascend to rule the world by force or world power, but he humbly climbed on a donkey to conquer the world in the spirit of love, sacrifice, forgiveness, and service. And he went back to the age of 33, the same age as Alexander the Great. Who is it? Yes, it is our Jesus.
But now what? Alexander the Great shed the blood of millions and was branded the world's most expensive aggressor. But Jesus ascended in a spirit of love, forgiveness, and sacrifice, and with love conquered the world. And as in verse 35, the great mountain was formed, and his kingdom filled the whole world.
Even now, all people in the world are going up to Jerusalem, no matter what. There are people going up in the image of Alexander the Great, and there are people going up in the image of Jesus. From the outside, Alexander the Great looks gorgeous. You seem to have authority. But the way of Jesus is narrow. It is the way of the cross. It is a path that demands sacrifice. It is a path that demands suffering. This is the way to ask for forgiveness. However, we need to know that the only way Jesus walked on the cross is the way of victory, the way of blessing, the way of eternal life, and the way that saves us.
Today, I pray in the name of Jesus that you and I all who follow Jesus with joy and joy after carrying the cross that the Lord has entrusted to us on the path that Jesus walked on and on the way of the cross become.