======================================================================== KINGS AND KINGDOMS by Keith Malcomson ======================================================================== Summary: This sermon delves into the prophetic insights of Daniel chapter 2, highlighting the rise and fall of empires from Babylon to Rome, with a focus on the current world events leading to a global government. It emphasizes the importance of understanding God's sovereignty over kings and kingdoms, culminating in the establishment of God's everlasting kingdom on earth. Topics: "God's Sovereignty", "Prophetic Insights" Scripture References: Daniel 2:44, Daniel 2:21, Daniel 2:34, Daniel 2:47, Daniel 2:20, Daniel 2:37, Daniel 2:39, Daniel 2:40, Daniel 2:41 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ DESCRIPTION ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This sermon delves into the prophetic insights of Daniel chapter 2, highlighting the rise and fall of empires from Babylon to Rome, with a focus on the current world events leading to a global government. It emphasizes the importance of understanding God's sovereignty over kings and kingdoms, culminating in the establishment of God's everlasting kingdom on earth. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CONTENT ------------------------------------------------------------------------ I want you to turn with me to the book of Daniel as we come to part two of this Bible study on the book of Daniel. I believe the book of Daniel is a remarkable book for the hour that we are living in. Last week as we began in chapter one and part one, we looked at living in Babylon. We saw how in chapter one we saw the rise of Babylon and how God had Daniel in the right place at the right time. He was right in the exact place where God wanted him as a young man to do the will of God. But we want to go further here. Our entire series is called The Heaven's Rule taken from Daniel chapter four and verse 26. But here tonight, my message, part two of this series, and I've called it Kings and Kingdoms, Kings and Kingdoms, reading from Daniel chapter two and verse one. And Daniel continued even onto the first year of King Cyrus. And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams wherewith his spirit was troubled and asleep break from him. 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 and the king said unto them, I had dreamed a dream and my spirit was troubled to know the dream. Then speak the Chaldeans to the king in Syriac. O king, live forever. Tell thy servants the dream and we will show the interpretation. The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, the thing is gone from me. If you will not make known unto me the dream with the interpretation thereof, you shall be cut in pieces and your houses shall be made a dunghill. But if you showed the dream and the interpretation thereof, you shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great honor. Therefore, show me the dream and the interpretation thereof. They answered again and said, let the king tell his servants the dream and we will show the interpretation of it. The king answered and said, I know of certainty that ye would gain the time because ye see the thing is gone from me. 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. 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, no ruler that asks such a thing of any magician or astrologer or Chaldean. And it is a rare thing that the king requires. And there is none other that can show it before the king except the gods whose dwelling is not with flesh. For this cause, the king was angry and very furious and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. And the decree went forth on the wise men should be slain. And they sought Daniel and his fellows to be slain. Then Daniel answered with counsel and wisdom to Ariok, the captain of the king's guard, which was gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon. He answered and he said to Ariok, the king's chaplain, what is the decree? So why is the decree so hasty from the king? Then Ariok made the thing known to Daniel. Then Daniel went in and desired of the king that he would give him time and that he would show the king the interpretation. Will you pray with me? Let's join our hearts and pray. We are living at one of the most remarkable hours in world history and in church history. We need the Lord. We need revelation. We need the wisdom of God in this hour. And we want to lay a hold of him as the body of Christ, as the church, and ask for divine wisdom. I want you to see here tonight in this message that the heavens do rule over kings and kingdoms. Let's pray. Father, we exalt you. We approach you as the God of heaven. We acknowledge you that it's you that changes the times. It's you that places kings in their position upon thrones. It's you that gives authority unto men with governments of the world. It's you that has raised up new kingdoms, and it's you that has removed men and dashed down entire kingdoms. We don't give that power to men or even to Satan, but it's you that puts men in places. And Lord God, I pray for everyone in this meeting tonight. Open up their eyes. Let them have faith. Lord God, let them believe the word of God, that you have sovereign power, that you have all authority. And Lord God, though we be a small remnant, a small people scattered across the world, yet your eye is upon us. We're the apple of your eye. We are your church. We are your bride. We are the remnant amidst Babylon. And Lord God, as Babylon arises, we must have confidence in the God of heaven, even here tonight in Jesus' mighty name. Amen. Our message, part two of Daniel, is kings and kingdoms here from Daniel chapter two. We don't have time to read it all. I've asked you to read it before this meeting here tonight, but I want you to hear the word of the Lord. Here in this second chapter of Daniel, we see how God is sovereign over the nations, that the heavens do rule. We have already seen that this term, the God of heaven, is used five times in Daniel chapter two, five times the number of grace. This is written here that we won't just see kings or kingdoms or empires or great men of history. No, there's something far greater to see here. When we see secular rulers raised up with great power, empires spreading their influence across the world, when we read our history books or the Bible, do you know where we're meant to go back to? The throne of God and to see the God of heaven, that he is involved in the affairs of man in world history. In Daniel chapter four and 26, we read this term, the heavens do rule. And I want you to see it tonight. It's not Nebuchadnezzar. It is the God of heaven rules over the affairs of men. What does it mean that God rules? It means that the government of heaven rules over every authority upon the earth. Kings come and kings go. Empires come and empires go. But God's government is unchanging. It holds absolute sway and it's here before kings arise and it's here after they are long gone. And do you know what? In every single generation, the throne of God or heaven itself is joined to a small remnant upon the earth. And God's plan, God's heavenly plan is being worked out through a Daniel or a Joseph or a David. This is how the heavens rule. God always has a chosen vessel through whom the heavens are going to rule in that generation. It doesn't matter if Nebuchadnezzar is on the throne, God's kingdom is going to rule through a man called Daniel. When you begin to see this and understand this, then as you see kings and kingdoms and all that's happening in our generation, you see beyond that and you see the God of heaven, that the heavens do truly rule. You won't bow before men. You won't be scared of rules and regulations of men, but your confidence is in the God of the Bible. Let's go to this message tonight. Daniel chapter 2, as we look at kings and kingdoms, it says here in Daniel chapter 2 and verse 1, and in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams wherewith his spirit was troubled and his sleep break from him. We see here this great king that God was raising up and had placed in a position of authority. He's only been king for two years. And this is at the same time that Daniel and his three friends have finished their three years of training in Babylon's schools and universities. Here we have King Nebuchadnezzar on his bed at night. He dreamed dreams. In other words, he didn't just have one dream, but he had plural dreams, several dreams during the night. And we're told that he was troubled in spirit because of these dreams. And these dreams actually took his sleep away from him. He couldn't sleep. They were so troubling to his spirit. It says a bit later, my spirit was troubled to know the dream. Have you ever had a dream in the night and you woke up and it troubled you deeply? You couldn't go back to sleep. You had to get up and pray. You had to go and seek the Lord. I have had those sorts of dreams where I know that dream so disturbed me that I couldn't get back to sleep again. Here is the greatest king of that generation. Never has there been a bigger empire than the Babylonian empire at that time. And here you have the king. He's a young man and he's only on the throne two years and he has a dream, but this is not from what he ate. It's not a natural dream. Neither is it a demonic dream. He is not converted. He is not a follower of the God of the Bible. And yet God himself gives him a dream. And in fact, many dreams, these are not natural dreams. They are divine. And in fact, God uses these dreams to speak to this man. God is speaking through dreams, revealing the future. Only God can do that. And in fact, God is revealing a message concerning kings and kingdoms. Only God can reveal the future and what is happening, what will happen all the way down to the end of the age. Here's this king at night gets so disturbed with this dream. He's a pagan. He's a Gentile. He's unsaved, but he is in government by the power and choice of God. We read in the Bible, various secular kings who had dreams not were from God. In Genesis chapter 20, we read about Abimelech, the king of Gerar. He actually received a dream from God in the days of Abraham, warning him not to touch Sarah. Or what about in Genesis chapter 40, 41, we read about how Pharaoh received dreams from God and Joseph was able to interpret those dreams. And yet Joseph refused the credit, just like Daniel will in this chapter before us. Or what about over in the new Testament and Matthew 27, where we read about Pilate's wife and Pilate was part of the Roman empire. He was a political leader in that hour. And we're actually told that Pilate's wife suffered in a dream because of that man, Jesus. And she told her political husband, don't have anything to do with that man. This night I suffered many things in a dream. So we see that God can use dreams to speak to world government leaders. He has done it in the past and I'm sure he will do it in the future. It is a very real thing. Back in the early 1890s, there was a young man called Winnie who lived in England and young Winnie was sitting with his friend and they had just finished their education. And as they were there, they're talking together and Evans asked Winnie, what are you going to do in the days ahead? Are you going to go into politics or the military or what are you going to do? Young Winnie said, I really don't know. And his friend said, but you must know, you must have some idea. Your father is in politics, maybe you'll become a politician. And Winnie says, I don't know. I don't know anything of what I'm going to do, but I do know certain things. His friend Evans said, what is it? And he says, I know. And he said, I have had dreams of the night and I know beyond any shadow of a doubt that a day is coming when I am going to be the defender of London. There is going to come a great invasion. There is going to come a great attack against London and I am going to be put in a position of power and I will be used to defend and to defeat the enemies that come against London. His friend, Evan was struck by it, shocked by it and said, but how can you know? Well, he said, I know it's going to happen. Do you know, 50 years later, that young man, his name was Winston Churchill, walked into the position of being the Prime Minister of Great Britain. How could a secular man, a normal man have a dream at 16 years old, a young boy who didn't even know what he was going to do in his life, but he said, I know I'm going to defend London from its enemies. Do you know friends that that dream to Winston Churchill at 16 years old, I believe it was of God. I believe God was speaking to him. He wasn't a saved man. He wasn't a Christian, but do you know what? He was raised by a nanny who was a born again Bible believing Christian. Do you know she taught Winston the Bible, taught him to memorize it, to recite it, taught him how to pray at nights. They would kneel down together and said, let's pray to the God of heaven. She taught him the Bible, taught him world history and that never left that man. But when that hour come, God had a political leader in the right place at the right time. This man, Nebuchadnezzar was on his bed at night, on this significant night, he was on his bed. In two years, he'd become the greatest leader the world had ever seen. Governmental power had been put into his hands. He was there on his bed thinking about his dramatic rise to power. And then he began to think about the future. What is the future going to hold? Can this be sustained? Well, do you know that's when God actually gave him a dream on his bed that night. See, God wanted to get his attention and draws attention. You know why? God was involved in world history. And if you don't understand this in Daniel 2, you'll never understand it in our day. Because Daniel chapter 2, it starts in Daniel's day when he's a young man, 19 years old, and it's going to continue straight down to our generation. Daniel 2 finishes with this dream and this vision and interpretation revealing our generation and what's just about to happen in the days ahead. If we can't learn from Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar's day, we'll never understand our own day and generation. Well, we're told that he got up and he called for all of his wise men in the kingdom. Nebuchadnezzar sent for his magicians, his astrologers, his sorcerers, and his Chaldeans. These were what were called the wise men of the Babylonian kingdom. And do you know what he said? I want you wise men to tell me what my dream was and what was the interpretation. Now, who are these wise men? These wise men, we know the magicians, that they were writers of books all about magic spells. They wrote entire volumes. They were scholars. They were intelligent men. The astrologers who he called together, they actually studied the planets, how the planets moved, when comets arrived, or phases of the moon. They're very intelligent men. In fact, the astrologers that were standing before him, who he was saying, show me my dream. They were men who calculated the length of the year. Listen to this carefully. It shows you the quality of these men in Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom and his day and generation. They had calculated that the period of a year was 365 days, six hours, 15 minutes, and 41 seconds. That's what the astrologers of that day had worked out 2,600 years ago. Do you know what? They were wrong, but they were only 26 minutes, 55 seconds out. And do you realize that over 150 years ago, astrologers of the 19th century still were not as great at astrology as those in the kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar? This is a remarkable thing. They could predict solar eclipses, lunar eclipses. And in fact, they tried through studying the planets, they tried to make prophecies and predict the future. We see 600 years later that wise men from the East, from this empire, from this kingdom went to look for a newborn king in Bethlehem. It was the same people, the same system of Babylon where we see great men. Do you realize all these wise men were before Nebuchadnezzar? And he says, I want you to tell me my dream and give me the interpretation. Do you know what they said? They said, king, oh great king, no king has ever asked such a thing. Tell us the dream and we will tell you what it means. The ancient Babylonian wise men, in fact, 500 years before this, or more accurately 3,000 years before this, they used to write books on dream interpretation. In other words, these wise men were experts on interpreting dreams. So they said, give us your dream and we'll tell you what it means. Well, this Nebuchadnezzar is no fool. He said, the thing has gone from me. I can't remember the dream. You tell me the dream and then I know your interpretation will be correct. What a wise king. You see, you're dealing with a head made of gold. Who was this Nebuchadnezzar? He was a real king. He was a king that represented the government of heaven. And he was going to prove it here. He didn't like liars. He didn't like compromisers. He didn't play game. All authority was in his hands. So he said to his wise men, you not only have to interpret my dream, you have to tell me the dream. And I'm not going to tell you what it was. These wise men were awestruck. No king had ever asked such a thing. And he said, if you cannot do this, given me the dream and interpretation, I will make your houses as dunghill and I will cut you off. All of you wise men in one fall sweep, I'll remove all of use. You know what I believe? I believe in two years, he'd saw through these wise men. There's no supernatural element here. He sees them playing games with their position. They've got wealthy on the power of Babylon. What the Bible says in verse 12, for this cause, the king was angry and very furious. And he commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. You know what you're seeing? You're seeing a king who can't be pressured, can't be manipulated. He can't be tricked. And you know what? He's searching for reality. He wants the answer. He's been disturbed. Do you know who done this? It was the God of heaven. The God of heaven gave him a dream, disturbed him, made him forget it. And he actually brought the entire kingdom of Babylon as it began to rise to an extreme crisis. Well, we are told that even Daniel and his three Hebrew friends were caught up in this as well. They had been trained to be wise men in the kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar. And they were going to die just like these other foolish wise men. It says in verse 14, then Daniel answered with counsel and wisdom to Ariok, the captain of the king's guard, which was gone forth to slay the men of Babylon. And he answered and said unto him, why is the decree so hasty from the king? And this servant actually begins to explain them. Look at verse 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. Now notice this for a moment. This is a 19 year old young man who walks with God. For three years, he's been educated, but he's still got his faith in God. Babylon cannot steal his conviction or his faith or his prayer life or his holiness. Since in this church, we're surrounded by Babylon, but there is a faith in God that is greater than all of these things. Daniel goes right into the king's palace here. And in those days, you didn't walk in lightly before the king. And he desired of the king, give me time. All the wise men had asked for time. And you know what the king said? You're trying to buy time. You're playing games. You're liars. You're trying to play this system. But when Daniel asked for time, the king said, okay, you've got the time. What did Daniel do with that time? You see, Daniel didn't have the gift of dream interpretation. He didn't have a book that he could go and look in. Do you know what? He had no ability to tell the future. He had no clue what the dream was, but he said, okay, I'll come back and I'll tell you what that dream is. Do you know what Daniel had? He had the God of heaven. He knew the heavens rule over the greatest empires and the greatest kings. And that when you walk with God, heaven is joined to you. Heaven can reveal the secrets of time unto you. Oh, don't you want to be such a church in this hour? Right in 2020, as we approach 21, don't you want to be a church? The people of God joined to the God of heaven. I fear no man if I'm joined to the God of heaven. Where did Daniel go? It says in verse seven, Daniel went to his house and he made the things known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions. Do you know what he done? He called a prayer meeting. Four of them went to prayer that night. They're not going to sleep that night. You know what? This could be their very last night. If he doesn't get an answer from heaven, this is their last night on the face of the planet. What a crisis. Oh saints, that we would return to this again, where we're desperate in prayer before God, where it's a matter of life and death and we can touch heaven. Listen to what he says, that they would desire the mercies of God of heaven concerning this secret. Verse 19, then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. They went to prayer that night. They didn't sleep. They didn't sleep that night. They were in prayer seeking for the mercy of God. You see, Daniel didn't know the secret. He didn't have a gift in his back pocket. He was praying to heaven, oh God, be merciful and show us the secrets of the king. You know what happened? God revealed it to him. What did they do next? Go back to the king? No, they went back to the king of heaven. They returned and they began to thank the king of heaven. Daniel answered and said, blessed be the name of God forever and ever for wisdom and might are his, and he changes the times and the seasons. He removeth kings and he setteth up kings. He giveth wisdom unto the wise and knowledge to them that know understanding. He revealeth the deep secrets and so he begins to pray and to thank God and to worship. You know what Daniel knew? Daniel knew the heaven's rule. He knew that God has power. He raised up Nebuchadnezzar and he can remove him when he wants. God raised up the Babylonian kingdom and he can remove it whenever he wants. I believe in this hour where we are at and believe me, we are in this chapter. We are in Daniel 2. We stand on the eve of the fulfillment of the end of Daniel chapter 2 and I believe we've got to learn what Daniel learned. We've got to learn the place of prayer. We've got to learn that God is the God of heaven. We've got to learn that God worketh in the hearts of kings and kingdoms and that we are here for such an hour. I believe that God granted this gift to Daniel of dreams and visions of being able to interpret and yet he didn't take the glory for himself. We're told that he went back to the king and said I've got an interpretation. What a confidence to say the king hasn't given you the dream but you've been alone with God. You've been in prayer before God and you go back to the king and say I know what you dreamed and I know the interpretation of it. Here, the Knight Saints, let me try briefly to give you the dream and its interpretation. The four main points of it with a fifth added at the end which is yet to be fulfilled in our day and generation. First of all, let's look at this dream. The dream that Daniel came and said you can measure I've had is of a great statue. In other words, an image of a man. I mean a great image made of four different types of metal and this is what we're going to look at. The four different kinds of metal represented four kings and four kingdoms upon the earth and I want to show you this. We're going to deal with it more in the weeks ahead and it's written about later in Daniel but I want you to learn these four kingdoms. Please study this. Learn these four kingdoms because as you put these prophetic jigsaw puzzles in the place you will begin to understand all of the teaching of prophecy in the Bible. Let's go to the first of the four empires mentioned here. First of all, we have the head of gold. Who was the head of gold? It was Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian empire. Let me prove it to you. He is the head of the statue. He is the first empire or the first kingdom. This image's head was made of fine gold. Look at verse 32. Daniel's speaking to Nebuchadnezzar revealing the dream and then telling him the interpretation. You see when he gave the dream the king knew this young man is in touch with heaven. He knows God. He knows my dreams. So he knew the interpretation was going to be accurate because the dream was accurate. Daniel speaks to Nebuchadnezzar in verse 32 and again in verse 38 and he says, O king, thou art this head of gold. So there's no confusion here. We know what the head of gold is. It is Nebuchadnezzar, this king of Babylon. This golden head not only represented Nebuchadnezzar but also the kingdom of Babylon over which he ruled. Let me prove that for a minute. Over in Daniel chapter 7, we have four beasts. In Daniel 2, you have four parts of the statue. In Daniel 7, you have four wild beasts. These four represent four kingdoms in both chapters. Here it's four different kinds of metal. In chapter 7, it's four wild beasts. Now listen carefully from chapter 7. We read in verse 17 that they are four kings, four empires and he said they are four kings. Then in verse 23, he calls them four kingdoms. So the wild beasts in chapter 7, they are not only four kings but they are also four different kingdoms. So here in chapter 2 as well, we not only have four kingdoms but we have four kings and those primary kings represent the entire kingdom. The entire kingdom is represented in that one great leader. The king is the symbol of his empire. In fact, the entire empire is embodied or represented by its king. So Daniel tells him from the Lord that you are the golden head. He's not only speaking of Nebuchadnezzar but the entire kingdom of Babylon down until it falls. In other words, the entire history of it. Now notice with me for a moment that this statue with its different kinds of metal represent forms of government. The gold of Nebuchadnezzar represents or symbolizes the type of government he forced upon Babylon and all of the nations that they conquered. So that gold is symbolic. You know gold always represents what is divine or what comes from heaven. God put Nebuchadnezzar in there and Nebuchadnezzar very closely represented the cert of government that comes from heaven. In other words, it's an absolute government with absolute authority. And all authority resides within one man, not in his counselors. He gets rid of all of his wise men in one day without a thought and nobody can argue. No law can stop him. You see that's why he is represented as gold. And if you understand that these four types of metal represent forms of different government, then we are going to have our eyes opened here. Also Daniel tells him that the Lord has given you Nebuchadnezzar a kingdom and he's made you a ruler. And in fact, he says, God has made you. My God who revealed the stream has made you a king of kings. You're not a normal king. You're a king that's going to rule over many other kings and many other kingdoms. Do you realize seven years before this, Jeremiah gave a similar prophecy, prophesying that the God of heaven had given all nations into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar. You see, Nebuchadnezzar was not a godly man, not a believer. He didn't believe the Bible, neither did he serve the true God. He wasn't a righteous man. He was a tyrant. He was a very evil and wicked man. But yet I assure you God put him in his place. Jeremiah actually prophesied in chapter 27 that God had put all nations into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar. And in fact, even the wild animals of the field were given into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar. In other words, his rule was divinely irresistible. People may laugh and say, when I say that, I believe God raised up a Trump and put him in position over the past four years. They may laugh at that. They may say, but he wasn't a godly man. He wasn't a moral man. They may say many things about him, but I want to tell you, I believe with all my heart, and I believe I could prove it, that God put President Trump in position for four years to push the pause button on all that was happening on the global scene. God done that. Man didn't do that. And you know what? I believe God has power over kingdoms and nations. Back in 1994, on a Sunday night in Scotland, I was leading a meeting in our church and our guest preacher was driving two hours to be with us. That night as he stood and preached, he said, I had a strange experience this week when I was at work. He worked for BP oil and he flew a lot by plane. And during that very week, he was on a plane in first class and sitting beside him was John Smith, the leader of the Labour Party of Great Britain. And in fact, he was so popular that they said he would be the next prime minister of Great Britain. Everybody was saying it. He rose to power in the Labour Party. Now he was set to become the next prime minister of the nation. As my friend sat there beside him and knowing what everyone was saying about him, he began to pray and said, Lord, do you have a message for this man? What would you have me to say? It can't be coincidence to be sitting here. I believe you must have something to say. Do you know what God said to my friend? Listen, and my friend told me in preaching that night and that Sunday night, this man will not rule. This man will not rule. He was shocked by the answer. And then he began to speak to him and try to share the gospel and preach to him and make him think about eternity. But he never told him that statement. Do you realize only a matter of weeks, if not months later, John Smith died of a heart attack and another politician stepped in called Tony Blair, who was elected prime minister in 1997 and went on to control power for 10 years. What am I telling you? God raises up leaders. Who was this Nebuchadnezzar? Nebuchadnezzar was the first king to conquer Jerusalem and to take the people of Jerusalem captive. You remember in 605 BC, he carried away Daniel and his friends into Babylon, then was raised up to be king. This was the beginning of the Babylonian kingdom, not until they took Jerusalem captive. In other words, these four kingdoms, every time they take Jerusalem, it marks their rise to sovereign power under the hand of God. Daniel was taken captive. And in fact, Nebuchadnezzar ruled for the next 43 years, according to the will of God. Once he died, his son then entered the throne, then to usurpers. And finally, his daughter's son, Belshazzar, who brought the Babylonian kingdom down to its final end. Do you know, Daniel lived through this entire history of the Babylonian kingdom through the 43 years of Nebuchadnezzar's reign. And then he lived down to his daughters, his grandson, Belshazzar. And he's seen the fall of Babylon at Belshazzar's feast. Do you see how God is in control of all of this? And he's revealing in Daniel 2, the rise of kingdoms and the fall of kingdoms. God put Nebuchadnezzar in place. And when he was finished with Babylon, he removed Belshazzar, his grandson. But Daniel was still there. Daniel outlived the Babylonian kingdom. He continued through to the first year of the reign of the next king. That is the head of gold. It was the entire Babylonian kingdom, an absolute tyrannic rule and form of government. Second of all, we have the breast and the arms of silver. Let me tell you what it represents and then let me prove it. What were the breast and the arms made of silver? What kingdom was this? What did it represent? It represented Cyrus the Great and the Medo- Persian empire that would replace Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian kingdom. Look with me in chapter 2 here in verse 39. And it says, and this is Daniel speaking to Nebuchadnezzar in the second year of his reign. And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee. This inferior kingdom is depicted in the statue as the breast and arms of silver, according to verse 32. On Babylon's last night before king Belshazzar, Daniel was called in to interpret the message on the wall. And we'll look at this on another night. And Daniel gives the interpretation. Listen to what it is. Belshazzar, thy kingdom is divided and is given to the Medes and the Persians. Who was it who replaced the Babylonian kingdom? It was the Medo-Persian empire. God actually revealed it. First of all, in this statue, this dream, this revelation. And again, later to Belshazzar, the last king of Babylon, Daniel is there all through it, knowing what's happening. I mean, he knew exactly what was happening. He knew what was coming next. God had revealed it onto him. And that's in chapter 5. Again, this kingdom was led by Cyrus the Great, who replaced the Babylonian kingdom. Cyrus is mentioned in chapter 1, chapter 6, and again in chapter 10. And we'll look at him again later. Do you realize God not only raised up Nebuchadnezzar, but he raised up another man called Cyrus? Who was Cyrus? When he was born, he was a nobody, but God's eye was upon him. He wasn't a believer in God. Saints, I want you to realize tonight that in our generation, God not only works in the church. Yes, he works in Daniel and his three Hebrew friends, but he also works in governments, secular power, atheistic systems, or systems of false religion. When they're in governmental power in our world, God is there working within them. They may be godless, but that doesn't mean that God isn't working in the midst of those systems. You see, God from the beginning had a plan to then bring Babylon down and to raise up Medo-Persia. You know, when this was prophesied, and it was still going to be 40 years before it happened, Persia and Midian were two different kingdoms. In fact, they were opposed. One was smaller than the other, but they were two kingdoms of the Babylonian kingdom. Here is Daniel knowing that these kingdoms are going to be joined and they're going to rise up and they're going to conquer the Babylonian kingdom. It's going to be inferior, yet it's going to conquer it. Who was this Cyrus? Cyrus was mentioned 24 times in our Bible. Do you realize Isaiah talks about Cyrus? He mentions the name Cyrus and Isaiah wrote 150 years before Cyrus arose. And yet Isaiah in the Bible in chapter 44 and verse 28, he prophesies and predicts that this King Cyrus is going to be the servant of the most high God. He also says that this King Cyrus is going to give the command for the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the temple. That is almost 80 years before the temple and Jerusalem is burnt down. In other words, God has all of this planned. He has the name of a secular King. He even says he's going to give the command to rebuild the temple and it's 150 years before it actually happens. Again in Isaiah 45, he says that God would subdue nations before Cyrus. Do you see that the Bible is a remarkable book about how God raises up kings for his plan and his purpose? You know what that tells me? We may get scared at the rise of a Biden or the rise of the EU or the rise of the UN. Do you realize God is working in all of this to bring about his plan through us in this hour and generation? I'm excited about this hour. Yes, it's a fearful hour. Yes, Babylonianism is surrounding us. But can I tell you, this is a great hour for us if we realize the heavens do rule. It's not Nebuchadnezzar. It's not Cyrus the Great. It is our God in heaven. It is the God of the Bible who knows all of world history, who knows the future. The two arms of silver that were crossed are the two kingdoms that are joined together. The Persians and the Medians joined together as one kingdom and it was Cyrus who marched against Babylon and defeated it without firing an arrow. He managed to go into that city and conquer it and claim it without firing an arrow. What a remarkable thing. Daniel had to wait 40 years to see these silver arms and breast, but he's seen it with his own eyes. This is the only part of this vision that Daniel saw fulfilled with his own eyes. Third of all, the belly and thighs of brass. Who was this? This was Alexander the Great and the Greek nation or the Greek empire. Let me prove it to you again. We come to this third kingdom or the third metal in the statue, which actually represented something. It says in verse 32, his belly and his thighs of brass, which he goes on then in verse 39 to say another kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all of the earth. What is going to replace the Medo-Persian empire that Daniel died during? Here he is prophesying about another empire that's going to arise. It's going to be the Greek empire. How do I know that? In Daniel chapter eight, we actually have an entire prophecy and we're going to speak on this later about two animals, a ram and a rough goat. The ram represented the Medo-Persian empire, but the rough goat represented the Grecian empire. It shows in chapter eight how one empire is going to replace the other. This kingdom is revealed in a separate vision of the ram and the rough goat entering a fight and one kingdom replacing the other. Listen to what it says in chapter eight, verse 20. The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of the Media and Persia and the rough goat, which is rising is the king of Grecia and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king. Look at this prophecy. When it is given, there is no first king of the Greeks. There is no Grecian empire. Greece is not a united nation. In fact, Greece is filled with lots of small tribal groups. Some of them as small as a hundred. In fact, Greece is covered by city states all over its entire length. But here's a prophecy about the first king of the Grecians that's going to replace the Medo-Persian empire. Since I'm telling you of things that are revealed in the book of Daniel that showed the rise and the fall of entire kingdoms, a prophecy that a Grecian empire was going to be raised up under a man, under a single king, the first king of the Greeks. Who was the first king of the Greeks? His name was Alexander the Great. He was a remarkable man. In 11 short years, he conquered Macedonia. He went down into Africa, across into India. He conquered 11,000 square miles of territory, everywhere from Greece through to India in a short period of time, barely a decade. And he conquered all that land. Who was he? He was a young man who died at 33 years old. Who do you think raised up this king? Well, it was prophesied before he was born. It was prophesied before there was a Greek nation, nevermind an empire. Who was behind this? You see, if you think that God won't use wicked men, Alexander the Great, Cyrus the Great, Nebuchadnezzar the Great, isn't that amazing? These three men are called the Great in our history books. And each of these three empires replaced each other. And yet my Bible says that before they even were raised up, God prophesied about all three of these men that they're going to conquer, that these empires are going to rule over all nations, that they're even going to conquer Jerusalem itself. You know what these empires had in common? As soon as they conquered Jerusalem, they were in place to be the empire God was going to use to fulfill his plan and his purpose. You know, these men were not godly. All their laws were not godly. All that they'd done were not godly. And yet God is sovereignly in control. They will be held accountable how they live. But God was working, you know what, to raise up his people in each of those generations. Let's come to the fourth and last kingdom in the statue in Daniel chapter two, his legs of iron, as well as his feet, part of iron and part of clay. What are these legs of iron? What empire, what kingdom, what nation conquered the Greek empire at the end of its history? It was the Roman empire. We know that from our own history books, as well as the Bible. Do you realize in Daniel chapter two, more is written about the fourth kingdom than the previous three put together? Three verses for the previous three kingdoms, than 21 verses for this fourth kingdom in Daniel. 21 verses. There's more said about this fourth kingdom than all the previous three kingdoms put together. Let's look at it for a moment. In Daniel 2 verse 40, the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron. That's the thing that marks this kingdom. It is marked by iron. Do you realize when this prophecy was given that the Roman empire wasn't even a nation? All they were, were seven small villages on seven small hills beside the river Tiber. And in fact, at this stage, they probably had only built around them a joint wall around the seven small villages. They were nobodies. They hadn't even conquered Italy. There was no Italian nation. There was no Roman people. But you know what God knew way before, I mean centuries before what was going to happen. God had a plan and he speaks about a fourth kingdom that will replace the Greeks. Do you see God is talking about empires? They're going to replace each other. And none of these empires have arisen yet. And yet God is putting it in the Bible. He is predicting it. Either this Bible is true or it's false. And if it's true about past history, it's going to be true about what is just about to happen in our generation. Since that's my confidence, that's why I'm so bold about Bible prophecy. That's why I'll say to this generation, I know what's going to happen. I'm as confident as Daniel is about what is just about to happen in our world. I can predict it accurately. Why? Because I believe the Bible, the God of heaven has given us the Bible. So this fourth empire is as strong as iron for as much as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things and as iron it breaketh all of these and it shall break in pieces and bruise. This final part of Alexander's kingdom was conquered by the Roman army in the year 63 BC by general Pompey. There were four regions of the Grecian empire left at the end of its history. And those four parts were conquered one by one by the Roman empire. The last one in the year 63 BC before Christ. And you know that same year, 63 BC, general Pompey besieged and captured the city of Jerusalem, the city of Jerusalem. This marked the rise of the Roman empire or this empire of steel. These two legs of iron that God had predicted would rise after the Grecian empire. Do you know who I believe they're embodied in? Augustus Caesar, who began to reign in 27 BC. Why did I say that? He was the first official emperor of the Roman empire. He was a man marked out. And you know what? He's a man mentioned in our New Testament in the Bible. Listen, Luke chapter two, verse one, there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. And you know what? Much later after him in the year 117, Rome reached its greatest extent of power. In other words, the Roman empire was embodied in Augustus Caesar. It began to rise powerfully in his days. This was the fourth empire. These are the two legs of iron that the Bible speaks about. And all of these kingdoms are actually talked about in our Bible. But there's something before we finish here tonight, our Bible study, and I know it's a lot for you to understand and take on board if you haven't heard this before, but you've got to learn these four kingdoms. You've got to understand Daniel two for what I'm just about to tell you as we finish and what we're going to look at in the very weeks ahead. Please note with me that these four empires made of different kinds of gold, there's certain traits in common. They all succeed one another, they come one after the other, but they do not destroy the previous kingdom entirely. They conquer it, they absorb it, they integrate it, and they incorporate it into themselves. And yet many of the influences of these four kingdoms still continue right down to our own day of the Roman empire, the Persian empire, the Babylonian empire, and the Grecian empire. Their influences still affect our world in this day. And the Bible said it would be so. They never annihilated any one of those kingdoms. They just took it into themselves. But all four of those kingdoms also ruled over Jerusalem, one after the other, that marked their prophetic rise to power. And in fact, all of them, their empire surrounded the Mediterranean. As soon as they touched the Mediterranean empire, it showed that they were part of this prophetic picture. Notice with me these four kingdoms, with each metal, the value goes down, the weight goes down, the brilliance of the metal goes down, but their strength increases through all four of them. And the extent of their rule also extend. With all four of these kingdoms in Daniel, we see the beginning of the kingdom, and we see the end of the kingdom. Do you know with this Roman empire, we not only see its rise, we actually see the final days of this fourth kingdom on the earth. And in fact, it's depicted as being just before the God of heaven establishes his kingdom on the earth. Look with me at these iron legs, down to the feet for a moment. Read with me, it says, and whereas thou sawst, this is Daniel speaking in Ebuchadnezzar, thou sawst the feet and the toes, part of clay, part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided. But there should be in it of the strength of the iron, for as much as thou sawst the iron mixed with mary clay, and as the toes of the feet were part of iron and part of clay, so the kingdom should be partly strong and partly broken. This shows the last portion of history of a world empire just before Jesus Christ comes back again. The two iron legs depicted the East and the West Roman empire, one situated in the city of Rome, the other in Constantinople. This is the two legs of the Roman empire that was prophesied here. Even the religious world of the Roman empire was split in two with the Orthodox church and the Roman Catholic church. These two religious systems that stretched down through history of the Roman legs. But let me bring you to the feet here. What do the feet represent? Suddenly we see the feet, it's no longer iron, it's a mixture of iron with clay. We are talking about different forms of government. Each of these four kingdoms represented not only a man, not only a kingdom, but types, kinds of government. And if you learn that, you'll understand this prophecy. It's the governmental rule of the fourth kingdom in its final end day phase is going to be subdivided into 10 toes just before God sets up his kingdom on the earth. Now let's look at this for a moment. This change from the legs to the feet, there's actually a change from iron into the feet and the feet are made not just of iron, but it's mixed with clay. That shows that the government, this form of government in the 10 toes changes from an iron government to a mixture with clay government. It's the last form of government in this statue before God sets up his kingdom upon the earth. These 10 toes represent a world government and yet it's very different to Augustus or to Alexander, Cyrus or Nebuchadnezzar. It is very different. The feet and toes are made of iron and clay and they represent a mixture of strength and weakness, which although united together in ruling this kingdom and trying to cleave together under these 10 kings, yet they cannot make them forge together as they desire. These 10 kings who are the 10 toes trying to forge are trying to create a united government by merging two very distinct types of government. I personally believe we are there and that this process has been slowly coming together and that we are at the very door of it happening. You see, I believe these 10 toes are 10 kings, are 10 regions of our world. Many years ago, we had a visiting speaker called Gary Kahn at our church and he showed me in a booklet after a meeting, a book with the print of the United Nations in it. As he showed me the map, the entire world was regionalized into 10 different regions. If you go back further, there's the Club of Rome. They actually produced this, that the entire world would be broken down into 10 regions. Do you realize the United Nations since 1945 has desired to regionalize the entire world and Europe is only the first part of that. When they managed to begin to unite Europe economically and politically and legally, it was only the first portion of the world, what they want to do worldwide. Since you see what is happening, we are living in an hour where this has not happened yet, but it's trying to happen. In the United Nations, if you go there, you look at one side of the room, you will have communistic governments. You have China, you'll have Sudan, you'll have other forms of government. You look at the other side of the room, you have Great Britain, you have the American government, you have democracies, all of this in this same political building, the United Nations, and they're trying to forge them together. As we've dealt recently with the Great Reset, I gave you this quote from Klaus Schwab of the World Economic Forum. Listen, he says, the fourth industrial revolution, which the Great Reset is trying to bring into operation, is a merger between socialism and capitalism. Two different forms of economic governments, which the World Economic Forum is trying to bring together, that all of our world will create a new form of government. Do you know what I believe they're about to produce? The 10 toes of Daniel chapter 2. Do you see the importance of this chapter? It takes us all the way from the days of Nebuchadnezzar to our generation. I believe Daniel has a message for us. We are living in this hour. We must be like Daniel. We need to be men and women of prayer. Oh God, show us what is happening in this hour. I believe we've come down right to the feet of this image, and I believe we're about to see one of the most remarkable things take place in our hour, in our day. You know when it happens, we're going to say, it's all here in this Bible. We know what is about to happen, and this is our hour to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are told twice that the iron and clay is mixed together, meaning to co-mingle or to intermix. Although they try to merge these two forms of different governments, and I believe it could be communistic with democracy. That's what I believe the iron and the clay represent. Two types of government that they're trying to mix in the 10 toes, and the 10 toes will be a mixture of clay and of iron, and they're going to try to make one world government out of it. Not one man at the beginning, but 10 world leaders, 10 regions of our world, all different forms of government that they're trying to co- mingle together, and we are told that they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men. This statement, I believe, talks about the context of the mixture of iron and clay, and it is actually referring to the clay. Do you know what it says last of all about a fifth kingdom? A fifth kingdom that comes after those toes, and you know what it says about that fifth kingdom? It's not in the statue. It is not of this world. It is not of this man. In chapter 2 and verse 44, it says, and in the days of these kings, in that generation, that hour, when these 10 kings arise, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed and shall not be left to another people. Do you realize when you see this world government forming, since we know we're at the end, it's in the day, the time, the hour of those 10 kings that another king is coming. Another kingdom is coming to reign upon the earth, and I believe we're very, very close. The Lord Jesus Christ is about to return together very soon, and we're told that a stone that was cut out of a mountain, and a mountain represents a kingdom, the kingdom of heaven, and this stone comes and it hits the feet of clay and iron. It hits the feet. It comes in the day of these 10 kings, and you know what? It destroys the entire statue, the entire kingdom of man, and you know what? God's kingdom is going to come on the earth. Daniel chapter 2 is all about God raising up kings and kingdoms, and finally, that he's going to bring in an everlasting kingdom to reign upon the earth, and since we need to get ready, we are being trained in this Babylonian kingdom. In the kingdoms of this world, we are being prepared for a kingdom that's coming from heaven, that's going to be perfect. It's going to be an iron kingdom that puts down all opposition. It's going to be not only a head of gold, but an entire kingdom divinely orchestrated, a kingdom, an authority that's going to rest with Jesus Christ. No one is going to oppose him. He'll put down all powers and principalities. All nations are going to be subdued under him, and while you see the 10 toes begin to form, don't you be afraid tonight. Don't you be scared of what men can do. I'm telling you, a kingdom is coming from heaven. A stone is going to hit the feet, and a great kingdom like a mountain is going to fill all the nations of the earth, and the glory of the Lord, the knowledge of God, of his character, of his word is going to cover all of the nations like the waters cover the sea. Pray with me here tonight as we close. Father, I exalt you. I exalt you as the God of heaven tonight. We bow the knee to you. We acknowledge you in past world history. Every tyrant that arose, every kingdom, every empire, you were allowing that man to reign for a short time, and then you removed them. Again, in these last days, you're going to allow this kingdom of 10 toes, a mixture of governments, of democracy, and of communism or socialism. You're going to allow it to arise, but it doesn't mean you're out of control. You're absolutely in control, and you have a message for us who live in this hour. We're not to fear, but we're to know that the heavens do rule, that our God, the God of the Bible, is the sovereign God. He is absolutely in control, and he's going to work out his plan and his purpose in this hour. Amen. God bless you here tonight in our Bible study. ======================================================================== Video: https://sermonindex2.b-cdn.net/psnTwafjqME.mp4 Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/keith-malcomson/kings-and-kingdoms/ ========================================================================