Sleepless in Chaldea | Sunday, June 18, 2023

Welcome again to Cross Connection Church. If you have your Bible, go ahead and take it out. If not, you can raise your hand, and one of our ushers will bring you one. We are in the Old Testament book of Daniel this morning, so turn to about the middle of your Bible and turn to the right. You'll find the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel. Chapter 2 is where we're going to be.

Have you ever had a sleepless night? Judging by the response, I think all of us have at one time or another. The answer to the question is an absolute yes; every single one of us has. Many times, when we have a sleepless night, I would say often it is due to something that is on our minds related to the future.

Maybe it's something to do with the short-term future. You have the weight of a project that is coming up the next day, an important meeting, a presentation, or an exam. These pressing matters can make it hard for you to fall asleep or stay asleep. Or perhaps it's something much further in the future. Your mind is consumed with thoughts about the long-term future. Am I going to be ready for retirement? Are my kids going to grow up and be functioning citizens in society? Those concerns might weigh upon us, and we find ourselves in a place of mental turmoil.

When we are in this state, we are kind of in a weird stage of being between two worlds: the conscious world and the subconscious world. It is in that place, whether due to our minds being consumed with thoughts of the future or our bellies being filled with some weird pizza, that we can have vivid visions or dreams. Sometimes, the subconscious dream world intermingles with the conscious world of reality.

There's an alarm clock going off in your room, trying to wake you up, but now that alarm finds its way into your dream. The doors are closing, the alarm is ringing, and you're trying to get there as fast as you can before the bomb goes off. Maybe I'm the only one who has those kinds of dreams, but we've all been in that place where we have troubled, muddled thoughts in between being asleep and awake, in between the dream world and the real world.

Turning to a difficult time sleeping, hopefully that was not your experience last night. Maybe it was for some; that certainly was King Nebuchadnezzar's experience in Babylon some 2,600 years ago. We read about it here in Daniel chapter two.

Look at verse one: "Now in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams, and his spirit was so troubled that his sleep left him." Even the most powerful individuals, those with great wealth and a position of power, can be at the mercy of the terror of thoughts in the night, slaves to sleeplessness. All the money, power, privilege, and position are nothing when our thoughts keep us up all night. Nebuchadnezzar was troubled and sleepless, and that sleeplessness caused him to be in a daze, confused by what he was seeing in the dream world.

We read of it here in verse two: "Then the king gave command to call the magicians, the astrologers, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams." So they came and stood before the king. The king said to them, "I have had a dream, and my spirit is anxious to know the dream."

Have any of you ever been in that place? I think probably many people are nodding in agreement. Who has kept up all night by something? As he lay there upon his bed, trying to figure or sort something out, it just pressed upon him to the point that he had to get up. He was in a position there in Babylon, the head of Chaldea, able to call all the astrologers, enchanters, and magicians who were very well known among the Babylonians. This was very much the case in many of the ancient empires: Assyria, Egypt, Babylon, where they would have these individuals.

The astrologers and enchanters of Babylon were renowned at the time, and they were at Nebuchadnezzar's beck and call. He called them in the middle of the night, arousing them from sleep, and said, "My spirit is anxious; I need to know this dream." Then the Chaldeans, in verse four, spoke to the king in Aramaic: "O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will give you an interpretation." That was often the way these individuals would work; they would say, "You tell us what you saw in your vision or your dream, and we'll..."

Tell you what, these guys had to make up their responses on the spot. They all got A's in creative writing at Babylon University, and they said, "You tell us the dream, and we'll tell you what it means." However, the king answered and said to them, "My decision is firm. If you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made an ash heap. However, if you tell the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts, rewards, and great honor. Therefore, tell me the dream and its interpretation."

Now, I'm probably going out on a limb here, but I assume Nebuchadnezzar, early in his reign, was having issues with the enchanters, magicians, and sorcerers. He was probably looking for a reason to get rid of these guys, and now he had a perfect opportunity. He had been kept up all night, was tired, and was angry. He demanded, "You tell me what I dreamed and what the interpretation of the dream is, or you die." This seems a little harsh. As you get to know Nebuchadnezzar a little bit more over the next couple of weeks, you'll see that this is kind of par for the course for him. He has what we might call a hair trigger; he becomes very angry and extremely furious rather quickly. Maybe you have a boss like that.

So, old Nebby was up all night, upset. He said, "You tell me the dream and the interpretation, and you'll receive great gifts and honor. But if you don't, you're dead, and your whole household is destroyed." They answered in verse 7 and said, "Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will give its interpretation. That's the way this works, Nebby. This is how this works: you tell us the dream, and we tell you what it means."

The king answered and said, "I know for certain that you would like to gain time because you see that my decision is firm. If you do not make known the dream to me, there is only one decree for you. You have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me until the time has changed. Therefore, tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can give me its interpretation."

The Chaldeans answered the king and said, "There is not a man on Earth who can tell the king this matter!" There is not a man on Earth that can do this! Therefore, no king, lord, or ruler has ever asked such things. This is beyond anything that anybody can do.

The king had not asked any magician, astrologer, or Chaldean. It is a difficult thing that the king requests; not just difficult, but impossible. There is no one who can tell it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh. For this reason, the king was very angry and furious, and he gave the command to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. If you won't do it, you're dead. He was a bit of a hair trigger; he had been up all night and was not happy. He woke up on the wrong side of the bed in Babylon.

So, the decree went out, and they began killing the wise men. They sought Daniel and his companions because, of course, Daniel and his companions—Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah—were now part of this court of astrologers and enchanters. They were being trained among this group, so they sought Daniel and his companions to kill them.

What is fascinating is that this text in Daniel chapter 2, which we are going to go through, describes the vision or dream that Nebuchadnezzar had 2,600 years ago. This dream caused him to have a sleepless night and has caused many scholars and historians a whole bunch of sleepless nights as well, as they try to understand what is going on in this passage. Nebuchadnezzar said he had been troubled all night long by this dream and by his sleeplessness. He warned that those who could not tell him what it was all about would be in trouble.

Then, with counsel and wisdom, Daniel answered Ariok, the captain of the king's guard who had been dispatched to round up all the wise men in Babylon and kill them. Daniel asked Ariok why this decree from the king was so urgent. Ariok made the decision known to Daniel and explained exactly what was going on.

Daniel then went in and asked the king to give him time so that he might tell the king the interpretation. Afterward, Daniel went to his house and made the decision known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions. They sought the mercies from the God of Heaven concerning this secret so that Daniel and his companions might not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. I love this; Daniel said, "Wait, wait, wait! Hurry up! Time!"

Hold on. Why is this so urgent? Why are you getting us all out of bed now? Are you going to put us to death? What on Earth is going on? This seems a little rushed, a little hasty. Can you tell me what's going on?

Eric says, "Well, here's what's going on." He asks for an audience with the King for just a moment. "King, listen, give me some time. I will tell you the interpretation." He is the only one who says, "Okay, I can do this." Of course, he is not saying it is him, but he expresses confidence in being able to provide the interpretation.

Would to God that you and I might have the same kind of presence of mind and wisdom to answer with this kind of insight, to ask the right questions in a situation, and to seek the mercies of God when we find ourselves under pressure. Maybe not in an identical situation, but at least in a similar one. Why is this so urgent? Why does this need to happen so quickly? Can you just give me some insight to slow things down?

Daniel has an awesome gift here to slow things down. As an aside to this text, I would recommend the wisdom of a pause, which is really hard for us because we live in a very fast-paced culture. I had several conversations just this last week. In fact, I was talking with Pastor Mark about this. He had a friend come visit from out of state, and that friend was commenting to him, "How do you live in this environment where everything seems to be going at one and a half or two speed all the time?"

Do you feel the pressure of the speed of our culture? It is not like this everywhere. It is so hard for us sometimes to try to slow things down, but it is wise to attempt to do so. It is not uncommon for you and me to feel the pressure of the circumstances and situations around us in this culture that moves at ludicrous speed all the time. We are often pressed to make quick decisions, hasty decisions.

However, I have discovered, and you have probably seen this as well, that it is rare for decisions made quickly to be the best decisions. So, it is okay to pause, to take a break, to sleep on it, and to think slowly. I encourage you to remind yourself to do that when you are being pressed to make a quick decision or a snap judgment. I know there have been times when I have frustrated people by saying, "No, hold on. I need to think about this." They respond, "No, you have to make a decision right now." It is very rare that you actually need to make a decision right now, especially when the car salesman says that.

That's a lie; this is the final opportunity. If you want to live a life with less regret, don't make decisions in haste.

It's also worthy of note here in this passage that Daniel recognized and understood that the wisdom and insight needed in this situation came only from God. They sought the mercies of God, asking Him to give them the dream and the interpretation. We see that Daniel had a trust and reliance on God. I think it's really important to point out that our culture even sees faith as a very important key to living life. But listen, it's not faith alone; it's faith in God. There are many things that people have faith in, and those things are not worthy of their trust and confidence.

So, it wasn't just that Daniel had faith; he had faith in God, who is the revealer of secrets. In this passage, we see that there were many different gods in Babylon. Babylon was notorious for its pagan idolatry, and there were many interpreters, enchanters, and magicians among the people. It wasn't that Daniel was a better enchanter or more aware of what was written in the dream books, which were actually a thing in Babylon during that time. We have archaeological evidence of cuneiform tablets that show the dream books of Assyria and Babylon, where the enchanters would have all these different visions and dreams and their meanings.

The enchanters were the ones who were well acquainted with the dream books. Daniel was being trained in the language and literature of Babylon; he was learning about the dream books. It wasn't that he was just better versed in the dream books or a better enchanter than the rest. It was that Daniel had trust and faith in the God of Heaven, who reveals secrets.

In verse 17, we read that Daniel went to his house and made the decision known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, so that they might seek the mercies from God, the God of Heaven, concerning the secrets. This was so that Daniel and his companions might not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. Then, in verse 19, the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision.

The implication of the secret revealed to Daniel in a night vision is that Daniel was having a dream. You have dreams when you are asleep. Think about that for a moment. He has now positioned himself before a rather touchy king, the one who bears all the weight and pressure of this situation for his life, the lives of his companions, and all of the wise men in Babylon. Yet, he is able to sleep. I love that.

Why was he able to sleep? Because his trust was not in his abilities or his capacity to figure this out; his trust was in God. Because he had trust in God, he was able to rest in a restless situation. This is instructive for me and for you as well, because we can find ourselves feeling pretty restless. We live in an anxious and restless culture. Every indication points to that, whether it's your own anecdotal experience or even research that seems to come in constantly from people studying psychology and related issues.

We live in an anxious and stressed culture that seems to lack rest. Yet, the Scriptures say in Psalm 127 that God gives His beloved sleep. I have discovered that God not only gives us sleep, but He gives us rest. Rest and sleep are not the same thing. You may have had a night where you slept, your eyes were closed, and your brain was effectively off, but you woke up restless in the morning. Maybe this is something that happens frequently.

God gives rest. Jesus said, in one of my favorite passages in the Gospels, "Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Is anyone willing to confess today that you are heavy laden and restless? He says, "Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." The prophet Isaiah, who lived and wrote about 150 years before Daniel, said that God will keep him in perfect peace.

Peace is whose mind is stayed on Him because he trusts in Him. Knowing this, Isaiah exhorts us to trust in the Lord forever, for in the Lord is everlasting strength. He will keep you in perfect peace. In Hebrew, the words are "shalom, shalom." Shalom is the Hebrew word for peace, and when the Hebrews would double a word like that—shalom, shalom—it signifies peace squared. How many of you need peace squared? I know I do.

The answer is that He will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Him. I think Daniel probably knew the words of David, who lived several hundred years before him. David wrote what is now a very familiar passage; maybe you've heard it before at a funeral or read it: "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside still waters; He restores my soul." I love that God restores my soul.

Here is Daniel, in this pressure situation, asleep at rest. God gives the vision and reveals the dream. Maybe Daniel dreamed the exact same dream that Nebuchadnezzar dreamed; we don't know. But God answered Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah's prayer and revealed the secret. Notice how Daniel responds.

How might you respond in this situation? You have all the pressure on your shoulders, your life is on the line, and the lives of your friends are on the line. The lives of all the wise men in Babylon are on the line; they are all looking at you as the one to fix this. Now you have the vision. What's the first thing you do? Run to the king and tell him what the thing is? That's not what Daniel did.

Notice what he did. Look at verse 19: "Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in the night vision." So Daniel blessed the God of heaven. Daniel answered and said, "Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and might are His. He changes the times and seasons; He removes kings and raises

You have made known to us the king's demand. The pressing situation was on his shoulders. He has a vision; he knows the answer. His first response is not to immediately run to the king to deal with that. He has the right priority: he goes to God. If at the top of your priorities list is prayer and praise to God, then you are in good company with Daniel.

If, however, prayer and praise are an afterthought, as they far too often are—even with me—then we have to take a moment and consider our priorities. Are they out of whack? There have been more than a few times in challenging circumstances and situations in my life, having been in vocational pastoral ministry for decades, where one of my children will say, "Shall we pray?" Well, yes, that's a great idea! Thank you very much; we should pray. Good job! May it be that prayer and praise to God are priorities and not an afterthought.

Therefore, Daniel went to Ariak. Isn't that a cool name? If you're looking for a name for a boy, Ariak is a good option. It probably means something terrible in the Babylonian language, so maybe you shouldn't use it. Daniel is probably a better option.

Therefore, Daniel went to Ariak, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said to him, "Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon. Take me before the king, and I will tell the king the interpretation." Then Ariak quickly brought Daniel before the king. I love what he says to the king: "I have found a man of the captives of Judah who will make known the king's interpretation." We all know Ariak, don't we? Always ready to take credit for himself.

Then the king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Beltashazar, "Are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen and its interpretation?" Notice this: 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 it to the king." We don't have an answer for you, man. That's kind of gutsy.

On Daniel's part, there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets. Would you highlight or underline that in your Bible? There is a God in heaven who reveals secrets; that's what we find in the Scriptures. This has been my own experience. I was reminded of it even in the first service. It came to mind as I was looking at that verse.

A little more than ten years ago, I was waking up every single morning, having a very hard time sleeping because I had the most horrendous back pain. Has anybody ever had that before? For weeks, it was just the worst. It got to the point where I found myself laying and sleeping on the floor because I thought that maybe the hardness of the floor would be better for my back. For weeks, I would not sleep through the night because my back would hurt so badly.

One morning, I remember it so very well. I was laying there in pain in my bed, and I just prayed, "God, help me. Just help me to figure out what's wrong with my back. Would you just heal my back?" In a moment, I heard this voice in my head. It was not from me; it was a word of knowledge. It said, "It's not your back; it's your kidneys. You're dehydrated. You need to drink more water." I thought, "What in the world is that?"

Did you know that I drank more water that day? A lot more water. The next morning, I had no back pain. Where did that come from? It was not of me; I didn't come up with that on my own. But in a moment, there was a word of knowledge. In fact, in the book of Corinthians, specifically First Corinthians, when we read of the fruit of the Spirit or the gifts of the Spirit, one of those gifts is a word of knowledge. That was a word of knowledge.

There is a God in heaven who reveals secrets. Now, there were many gods, lowercase "g," in Babylon, but none of them were able to reveal this secret. However, there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. This is why so many modern people, or we say post-modern people, love Daniel. They are fascinated by the end times. But not so fast. Your dream and the visions of your head upon your bed were these. Daniel was given insight by the God of heaven who reveals secrets, and Daniel had the right priorities.

Valued and prioritized prayer and praise, but he also walked in humility before God and honored God. He says, "It's not of me; I didn't come up with this king. This is from the God of Heaven. None of us in our little school of the enchanters could figure this out. This is from the God of Heaven." He had the right priorities.

The prophet Isaiah, who lived about 150 years before Daniel, writes this in Isaiah 66:2. God, speaking through the prophet Isaiah, says, "I will look favorably on this kind of person." Every time I read words like that in the Scriptures, which come up from time to time, I always zero in on it. God says, "This is who I will give favor to." When you come across a word like that, take careful note of what it says: "I will look favorably on this kind of person, one who is humble, submissive in spirit, and trembles at my word."

Now, do you notice that our culture thinks that favor is bestowed on those who go and take hold of the world? Those who are aggressive, jump in there, and take on the world? It's so funny; one of my kids was watching something online yesterday, and the theme song was "Take On The World" repeated over and over again. I was thinking to myself, that is just absurd, but that's the way our world thinks. "Take On The World." Yet God says, "I will look favorably on this kind of person, the one who is humble, submissive in spirit, and trembles at my word."

So, all of that to finally get to the vision. Here we are in verse 29. "Oh King, thoughts came to your mind while you were on your bed about what would come to pass after this." You can almost imagine Nebuchadnezzar. Here he is in the second year of his reign, laying on his bed late at night, thinking, "What's going to become of me, great Nebuchadnezzar? I'm the ruler of the world. I have all kinds of power. I live here in this great palace in Babylon." He's thinking about the future, tossing and turning, contemplating what will come next. "Thoughts came to your mind while you were on your bed about what would come to pass after this, and he who reveals secrets, the God of Heaven, has made known to you what will be."

For me, the secret has not been revealed because I have more wisdom than anyone living. That's amazing—the humility of Daniel. But for our sakes, he will make known the interpretation to the king, so that you may know the thoughts that were in your heart.

You, O King, were watching, and behold, there was a great image. This great image, whose splendor was excellent, stood before you, and its form was awesome. That word "awesome" actually means dreadful or terror-inducing. You saw in your mind, as you were thinking about what is going to be the future, what is going to happen to me and my legacy, and my kingdom. You saw this image that was terrible and dreadful.

This image's head was of fine gold, its chest and arms were silver, its belly and thighs were of bronze, its legs were of iron, and its feet were partly iron and partly clay. You watched while a stone was cut from a mountain, a big quarry if you will, but not with hands. It just came out from the quarry, not with hands, and it struck this great, dreadful image at its feet of iron and clay, breaking them into pieces. Not just the iron and clay of the feet, but the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed together and became like chaff on the summer threshing floors. The wind carried them away so that there was no trace of this great image to be found.

The stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the entire earth. This is the dream. You could almost see Nebuchadnezzar sitting forward on his throne, eager to hear the interpretation.

Verse 37: You, O King, are king of kings. You are the ruler of an empire that dominates every other place in its dominion, for the God of Heaven has given you your kingdom. You did not achieve this on your own; God gave it to you. The God of Heaven has given you kingdom, power, strength, and glory. Wherever the children of men dwell, or beasts of the field, or birds of heaven, He has given them into your hand and has made you ruler over them all.

You can almost sense Nebuchadnezzar thinking, "Yes, that's me." Maybe I should put my image on some coins. "Yes, you are the head of gold." "Oh yes, I am."

After you shall arise another kingdom in fury to yours, but then another kingdom, and a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over the Earth. A fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, and as much as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything, like the iron crushes, the kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others.

Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided. Yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay. 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 will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay.

In the days of this kingdom, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed. The kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. Inasmuch as you saw a stone that was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold, the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure.

This is perhaps one of the most amazing dreams and interpretations of dreams in all human history. It's so specific and so clear that it causes skeptical individuals to question the authorship and timing of this book that we call Daniel. The traditional view is that Daniel was written by a young Hebrew man ultimately at the end of his life, who was there in Babylon in the 6th century BC. That's the traditional view that the church has held for a very long time.

Hebrew scholars also held this view for a long time until about the 19th and 20th centuries, when critical scholarship of the Old Testament and New Testament emerged. Critical scholars argue that it could not have possibly been written in the 6th century BC because everything that Daniel writes is too clear and too specific about what would happen after him in world history. They claim it had to be written much later, much closer to our time.

The problem is that the only way they can really play with this is to suggest it had to be written in the second century BC. We count backwards in BC from six, five, four, three, two, one, and so forth. So they say it could not have been written in the...

The Book of Daniel must have been written in the second century BC. Scholars assert this date because we have historical documents that show it existed in that time. They try to push it as late as they possibly can. In fact, if you go to the great website, the Compendium of All True Knowledge, Wikipedia, and read about the Book of Daniel, you will see the opening words state that Daniel is a second-century BC biblical apocalypse with a sixth-century BC setting.

What that tells you is that the article on Wikipedia for Daniel is informed by secular, skeptical scholarship that distrusts anything supernatural. They claim it could not possibly have been written by Daniel in the sixth century because it is just too specific and too clear. Unfortunately for the critical scholars, there is a lot of scholarly evidence to support the traditional view that this was indeed written by Daniel in the sixth century BC.

More importantly for me is that Jesus validates Daniel in the Gospels. At this point, you may be asking, "What is so awesome and amazing about these cryptic, mysterious, enigmatic words that Daniel gives regarding Nebuchadnezzar's dream?" What Daniel reveals is a thought and a dream to Nebuchadnezzar that Nebuchadnezzar had not revealed. That is pretty awesome and amazing.

However, more significant than what Daniel revealed is what the dream reveals about future history from Daniel's point of view and past history from our point of view. Daniel describes a vision that has five different segments: a great and terrible statue with a head of gold, a chest and arms of silver, a body and thighs of bronze, and legs of clay with feet of clay mixed with iron. He then talks about a great stone that was hewn out not with hands, which destroys and crushes all of this. He says these are the kingdoms that are to come.

If you actually look at secular history in that part of the world from that point on, you see that the head of gold was Nebuchadnezzar in the sixth century. The chest and arms of silver represent the next empire, the Medes or the Medo-Persians, which came in the fifth century. After that, you move into the body of bronze and the legs.

They have bronze there, and that moves into the Greek period of time under Alexander the Great. This ultimately transitions into the fourth century, where you encounter the legs of iron and the feet of iron mixed with clay. As you progress into the first century B.C., you find the Roman Empire.

After these four successive kingdoms—the Babylonians, the Medes, the Greeks, and the Romans—there comes one who establishes a kingdom that will endure forever. It is an otherworldly kingdom, not made by human hands and not ruled by men. One scholar who has done extensive research on this period is N.T. Wright. He notes that this passage was regularly interpreted, at least from the early first century, to refer to the Messiah and the kingdom that would be set up through Him. This is a Messianic prophecy indicating that one would come to establish the enduring kingdom of God, the God of Heaven, who would destroy all the kingdoms of this world. This rock would become a mountain to rule all of the world for all time.

In the first century A.D., there was great expectation and anticipation among the Jewish people. They could look back in history and see the head of gold representing Babylon, the chest and arms of silver representing the Medes and Persians, and the body of brass representing the Greek Empire. They recognized that they were living under the kingdom of iron, the Roman Empire, and there was anticipation for the stone to come—the stone that would establish this mountain of a kingdom. His kingdom would be the kingdom of God, the God of Heaven, and that kingdom would never be destroyed.

We can become so focused on how this was specifically fulfilled in Nebuchadnezzar, Alexander the Great, Cyrus, and others that we miss the fuller focus of this being a Messianic interpretation. One writer notes that although this prophecy may be unfamiliar to many modern readers, it was very popular among first-century Jews because it provided them with a timeline for when God would establish the kingdom of God here on Earth. This kingdom would come to destroy and crush the kingdoms of this world and become the kingdom that rules all things. It is fascinating because when we read in Daniel chapter 2, verse 44, we see that this stone, which was not cut with hands, would...

Crush the kingdoms of this world. That word "crush," when the Hebrew Scriptures were translated into Greek in what we call the Septuagint in the third century BC, is the same Greek word that Jesus uses when we read this in the Gospel of Matthew. Jesus said to them, "Have you never read the Scriptures? The stone which the builders rejected has become the Chief Cornerstone. This was the Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. Therefore, I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. And whoever falls on this stone will be broken, but on whomever it falls, it will crush him to powder."

Jesus is making an allusion to Daniel, as He often did in the Gospels. The title that Jesus used to speak of Himself, which appears 68 times in the Synoptic Gospels—Matthew, Mark, and Luke—is the title "Son of Man." When He uses that title, He is referencing the Book of Daniel. We will get there eventually, particularly in Daniel chapter 7, where Daniel speaks of the coming Son of Man who will establish the kingdom of the God of Heaven.

One of the major themes that Jesus teaches on in the Gospels is the Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of God. These terms are used synonymously. Where does this idea of the Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of God come from? It comes from Daniel chapter 2, where Daniel says there is a great stone that is going to come and strike the kingdoms of this world, and it will become the Kingdom of God here upon the Earth.

In Matthew chapter 16, Jesus says, "Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here among you who will not taste death, but they shall see the Son of Man in His kingdom." He was speaking from Daniel. In Jesus' day, because of the visions and the interpretations of those visions from Daniel, the people were anticipating the coming of the Messiah who would build and establish the Kingdom of God. They were looking for the stone, and Jesus shows up and starts to talk about Himself as the Son of Man, referencing Daniel chapter 7 and chapter 8. He begins to preach about the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven, and they are all watching Him because they say, "This is the one."

Why was Jesus crucified? Let me read to you from Jesus' trial in Matthew chapter 26. The high priest arose and said to...

Jesus, do you answer nothing? What these men testify against you? They brought false witnesses to testify against Jesus, and Jesus kept silent. In Matthew 26:63, the high priest answered and said to Him, "I put you under oath by the Living God. Tell us, are you the Christ, the Son of God?"

When Jesus said to him, "It is as you have said," nevertheless, He added, "Hereafter you will see the Son of Man coming at the right hand of power and coming on the clouds of heaven." Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, "He has spoken blasphemy! What further need do we have of witnesses? Look, now you've heard for yourself blasphemy. What do you think?" They answered, "He is deserving of death."

Why did the high priest and the Council of Jews there in Jerusalem say He must die? You may not have known this, but Jesus was quoting the Book of Daniel, chapter 7, verse 13. Daniel has a vision, and he writes, "I was watching in the night visions, and behold, one like the Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven. He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. Then to Him, the Son of Man was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away, and His kingdom, the one which shall not be destroyed."

It's easy to miss this when reading the Book of Daniel because we often try to see ourselves and our time in it. We can quickly gloss over these things, which really had a much more awesome and amazing testament and testimony to the people of God. What we have here is one of the most important Messianic predictions in the Bible, and this is just the first of a number of them that we will find in the Book of Daniel in the coming weeks.

Don't miss the message of Daniel. The message of Daniel was a Messianic message of hope. Point number one, if you're taking notes: it only took me 44 minutes to get there. The primary message of Daniel is a Messianic message of hope for a people that were in exile, for a people who, in the circumstances and situations they were in, you would say were utterly hopeless. God says, "No, I am doing something bigger." We have a Messianic message of hope.

Church, this is why I like to say here at Cross Connection Church that we want everything we do to be done with joy. We have an optimistic vision of the future. What is our optimistic vision of the future? It is the kingdom of God established under Christ here upon the Earth, as the prophets foretold. Isaiah said, "Of the increase of its government and peace there shall be no end," in Isaiah chapter 9. This is why we, the church, for two thousand years have prayed, "Your kingdom come, your will be done on Earth as it is in heaven." We anticipate that prayer will be answered. Amen.

Your kingdom come, your will be done. Daniel is a comforting reminder to a people in exile that their King is coming and His kingdom reigns. Point number two: Daniel is a comforting reminder to God's people of God's everlasting rule.

Well then, Nebuchadnezzar, in verse 46, fell on his face prostrate before Daniel and commanded that they should bring a present and an offering, an incense to Daniel. The King answered Daniel and said, "Truly, your God is the God of gods, the Lord of lords, and revealer of secrets, since you could reveal this secret." Everybody likes to say, "Oh yay, Nebuchadnezzar became a follower of God." Not so fast; just wait till next week.

Then the king promoted Daniel, gave him many gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon. At 17, he was probably only 17 years old. Daniel also petitioned the king and set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the affairs of the province of Babylon, but Daniel sat at the gate of the king.

Now he is there in the court of the king, and people may ask, "Where is God in all the horror of the exile?" Well, He is right there in the court of King Nebuchadnezzar through the ambassadors Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Where is God in my pain? Where is He in my exile, in your trial, in your tribulation, in your test? When you're in a fiery furnace or a lion's den, that's where we're going. Where is God in that? If you look closely, you'll see He is right there with you the whole time, even when you cannot see or sense Him.

Point number three, and we'll close with this: God never forsakes those who trust in and remain committed to Him. Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah—that's what we're going to see in these.

Men, when it seems like there is no hope, they will continue to trust in and remain committed to God, even if it means their lives. What a beautiful example we have in these men! Oh, that we would take note of it. Amen.

Would you stand with me as we close in prayer? Father God, we thank You for Your Word. It is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword. Lord, it is such a good word of encouragement and comfort today because we can look around the world and see the things happening locally or globally. We can become discouraged; we can lose our hope unless we recognize and realize that You are the King of Kings and You rule over a kingdom that will endure forever and ever. So we pray, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on Earth as it is in heaven. Amen.

Good morning, Cross Connection, and Happy Father's Day to all of the fathers represented here at Cross Connection Church! We understand that you, like me, might have lost your 10 millimeter recently. It could be your kid's fault; it might not be. But just in case, we got you a spare. So on your way out today, make sure to grab your spare 10 millimeter socket and a Dad's Root Beer, and just be blessed by that. You can never have too many 10 millimeters, right?

With that, we are going to be having a men's breakfast coming up on July 8th. We encourage you to sign up at events.ccchurch.com sooner than later so we can get a head count. We have a special guest speaker, Steve Neal, who played for the Patriots, and he's going to have a great message for us guys. So again, July 8th—love to see you there! Sign up at ccchurch.com/events.