Journey Through The Bible Daniel: Prophet to the Nations

Journey Through The Bible

Daniel: Prophet to the Nations

Bible Reading: Daniel 2:1-49 (Page 625)1

Tuesday, 28 October 2014

Shadrach, Meshach, Abednegoare Thrown into the Furnace

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King Nebuchadnezzar is Humbled by God

• “And at the end of the time I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me; and I blessed the Most High and praised and honoured Him Who lives for ever: For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, And His kingdom is from generation to generation.” (Daniel 4:34, NKJV)

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Belshazzar’s Feast4


Daniel in the Lions’ Den5


• “In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure for ever.” (Daniel 2:44, NIV84)

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• “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was One like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into His presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshipped Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and His kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.” (Daniel 7:13–14, NIV84)

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• “Now listen and understand! Seven sets of seven plus sixty-two sets of seven will pass from the time the command is given to rebuild Jerusalem until a Ruler—the Anointed One—comes. Jerusalem will be rebuilt with streets and strong defences, despite the perilous times. “After this period of sixty-two sets of seven, the Anointed One will be killed, appearing to have accomplished nothing, and a ruler will arise whose armies will destroy the city and the Temple. The end will come with a flood, and war and its miseries are decreed from that time to the very end.” (Daniel 9:25–26, NLT)

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• “And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some to everlasting life, Some to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise shall shine Like the brightness of the firmament, And those who turn many to righteousness Like the stars for ever and ever.” (Daniel 12:2–3, NKJV)

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Life of Daniel• Taken to Babylon in 605 BC among the first group of exiles.

• He lived in Babylon for around 70 years until 536 BC. He never returned to his homeland.

• Daniel was called Belteshazzar which was the name of a Baylonian god.

• He was given an education program to make him fit in.

• He suffered attacks and intrigues from jealous and hostile colleagues.

• He was put under great pressure to abandon his faith and conform to the idolatry around him.

• He had to work for autocratic and unpredictable employers.10


Four Personal Commitments

• He made a personal commitment to remain 100% loyal to God.

• “But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way.” (Daniel 1:8, NIV84)

• All who live in a fallen society need to determine where they will draw the line over which they will not cross in every aspect of life.

First Commitment

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• The second commitment was personal prayer.

• Even when threatened with death, Daniel did not stop his habit of prayer.

• “But when Daniel learned that the law had been signed, he went home and knelt down as usual in his upstairs room, with its windows open toward Jerusalem. He prayed three times a day, just as he had always done, giving thanks to his God.” (Daniel 6:10, NLT)

• Regular meaningful communication with the Lord through prayer is critical to your ability to resist the pressure of the world.

Second Commitment

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• Commitment to reading the Scriptures.

• “In the first year of Darius son of Xerxes (a Mede by descent), who was made ruler over the Babylonian kingdom— in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the Word of the Lord given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years. So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with Him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes.” (Daniel 9:1–3, TNIV)

• Daniel read, believed, studied and applied the Word of God. Today we have the complete revelation of God in the Bible. This is our reference point for all we do.

Third Commitment

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• The fourth commitment that was critical to Daniel's survival in a hostile work environment was his commitment to professional excellence.

• “Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent.” (Daniel 6:3–4, NIV84)

• His professional reputation at work was a testimony that could be understood by those who had no understanding of God or Daniel's relationship with Him.

• If you are known to be a Christian and a have a bad work reputation you will bring Christ into disrespect.

Fourth Commitment

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• God reveals things to Daniel through dreams, visions in the night or through angelic messengers.

• “while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the first, came to me in swift flight at the time of the evening sacrifice. He made me understand, speaking with me and saying, “O Daniel, I have now come out to give you insight and understanding. At the beginning of your pleas for mercy a word went out, and I have come to tell it to you, for you are greatly loved. Therefore consider the word and understand the vision.” (9:21-23 ESV)

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• The vision of the great statue of gold, silver, bronze, iron and clay. The interpretation makes it clear that these are five successive empires.

Six Visions of the FutureFirst Vision: The Great StatueChapter 2

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• Four great and monstrous beasts that arise out of the sea:

• A lion with wings

• A great bear.

• A leopard with wings

• A beast with iron teeth and ten horns that totally destroyed the other beasts

Six Visions of the FutureSecond Vision: The Great BeastsChapter 7

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• “I, Daniel, was grieved in my spirit within my body, and the visions of my head troubled me. I came near to one of those who stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of these things: ‘Those great beasts, which are four, are four kings which arise out of the earth. But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.’” (Daniel 7:15–18, NKJV)

• The beasts are God's view of these idolatrous and bloody empires full of slavery and human suffering.

Six Visions of the FutureSecond Vision: Parallel to the Vision of the Statue

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• The vision of a goat and a ram. Then an angel tells him that this concerns the future events in Israel

• The Angel Gabriel tells him the vision also concerns the end times.

Six Visions of the FutureThird Vision: The Goat and RamChapter 8

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• A detailed message about the coming of the Messiah and the end of the world with a specific time frame.

• It has been proved that Jesus entered Jerusalem and was greeted as King and Messiah – Palm Sunday) exactly on the day foretold by the angel to Daniel.

• In the timing given by the angel there is a gap between the death of the Messiah and the beginning of the predicted end times events.

• We are in that gap of an unknown number of years between the death of the Messiah and the events that are predicted to begin the end-times and the return of Christ.

Six Visions of the FutureFourth Vision: The Seven SevensChapter 9

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• This is a more detailed prediction of the conflicts between the kingdoms surrounding Israel from 200 – 100 BC.

• Shown to be historically accurate.

Six Visions of the FutureFifth Vision: The Kingdoms of the North and SouthChapters 10 - 11

Sixth Vision: The ResurrectionChapter 12

• The final vision concerns the end time events that predict a time of tribulation and a general resurrection.

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• The visions of the future in the book of Daniel tell us that God truly is in control of the future of this world.

• God already knows what has happened and what will happen. He knows the beginning and the end. God knows what will happen in great detail.

• Jesus says, “Are not two sparrows sold for only a penny? But not one of them falls to the ground without your Father knowing it.” (Matthew 10:29, NIrV)

The Future is in God’s Hands

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• “God is our Refuge and Strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.” (Psalm 46:1–3, NIV84)

• “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” (Psalm 46:10, NIV84)

OUR Future is in God’s Hands

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Journey Through The Bible Daniel: Prophet to the Nations

Spiritual

Transcript of Journey Through The Bible Daniel: Prophet to the Nations