Discover the enigmatic prophecies of the ancient text of Daniel as we navigate the striking vision of King Nebuchadnezzar and its profound implications for the past, present, and future. In our latest episode, we dissect the divine interpretation of the colossal statue in the king's dream, traversing through the golden head representing Babylon to the stone that becomes a mountain, and everything in between. You'll gain an understanding of how these symbols not only foretold the rise and fall of empires but also cemented the concept of God's unyielding sovereignty over the realm of human rulership. Daniel's wisdom shines a light on our understanding of God's role in anointing leaders and shaping nations, offering a poignant reflection on His immutable control over the course of history.
This episode doesn't just recount biblical narratives; it connects the dots to our present world, integrating a Christian perspective that addresses pressing global developments and the overarching prophetic timeline laid out in Scripture. We wrestle with the complex themes from the rise of the Antichrist to Christ’s millennial kingdom, assuring you that despite the tumult of our times, the tapestry of history is being woven according to a divine pattern. Embrace our call to truth-telling and spiritual warfare, and let's collectively face the future with a steadfast hope, knowing that God's eternal kingdom is the ultimate destination. As we conclude with Dr. Popple's Devotions Beyond Medicine, we're reminded to carry forth this message of hope, and we look forward to sharing more thought-provoking discussions that fortify your faith and understanding.
Discover the enigmatic prophecies of the ancient text of Daniel as we navigate the striking vision of King Nebuchadnezzar and its profound implications for the past, present, and future. In our latest episode, we dissect the divine interpretation of the colossal statue in the king's dream, traversing through the golden head representing Babylon to the stone that becomes a mountain, and everything in between. You'll gain an understanding of how these symbols not only foretold the rise and fall of empires but also cemented the concept of God's unyielding sovereignty over the realm of human rulership. Daniel's wisdom shines a light on our understanding of God's role in anointing leaders and shaping nations, offering a poignant reflection on His immutable control over the course of history.
This episode doesn't just recount biblical narratives; it connects the dots to our present world, integrating a Christian perspective that addresses pressing global developments and the overarching prophetic timeline laid out in Scripture. We wrestle with the complex themes from the rise of the Antichrist to Christ’s millennial kingdom, assuring you that despite the tumult of our times, the tapestry of history is being woven according to a divine pattern. Embrace our call to truth-telling and spiritual warfare, and let's collectively face the future with a steadfast hope, knowing that God's eternal kingdom is the ultimate destination. As we conclude with Dr. Popple's Devotions Beyond Medicine, we're reminded to carry forth this message of hope, and we look forward to sharing more thought-provoking discussions that fortify your faith and understanding.
Welcome to More Than Medicine, where Jesus is more than enough for the ills that plague our culture and our country. Hosted by author and physician, dr Robert Jackson.
Speaker 2:
Papa, can you tell me a story? Do you really want me to tell you a story? Well, you go, get your brother and your sisters and I will tell you a story. Welcome to Devotions with Dr Papa. Gather around, grab your bibles as we look into the written word, which reveals to us the living word, which is our Lord Jesus Christ.
Speaker 2:
Well, we're still in the book of Daniel and we are completing the dream, the vision in the night that King Nebuchadnezzar had that he could not recall, he could not remember, and God blessed Daniel with a vision in the night of his own. He went to sleep after praying and God gave him in the night a revelation of the mystery. In a night vision, of course, being a God worshiper. Daniel woke up and he blessed and praised God for the revelation that God gave him, the explanation of the vision. Daniel took no credit. He gave all the credit to the true and living God. And so today I want us to discuss the King's dream. So the first point in today's lesson is the dream's divine interpretation. We're in Daniel, chapter two. We're going to go through from verse 31 to verse 49. So, beginning in verse 31, daniel said you, o King, were looking and behold, there was a single great statue. That statue, which was large and of extraordinary splendor, was standing in front of you and its appearance was awesome. The head of that statue was made of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. You continued looking until a stone was cut out without hands and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and crushed them. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were crushed all at the same time and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors, and the wind carried them away so that not a trace of them was found, but the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. This was the dream. Now we will tell its interpretation before the King. Now let's stop there a moment.
Speaker 2:
Recall that the King could not remember his dream. He demanded that the wise men not only tell him his dream, but its interpretation as well. Now what was their response? In chapter 2, in verses 10 and 11? Well, they told the king there is not a man on earth who could declare the matter for the king In as much as no great king or ruler has ever asked anything like this of any magician, conjurer or chaldean. Moreover, the thing which the king demands is difficult, and there is no one else who could declare it to the king except God, whose dwelling place is not with mortal flesh. Ha ha ha. You see, they set the standard for impossibility, but, as we know, nothing is too difficult with God. All things are possible for our God. And as Daniel prayed in chapter 2, verses 22 to 23, you see, it is God who reveals the profound and hidden things. He knows what is in the darkness and the light dwells with Him. To you, o God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for you have given me wisdom and power Even now. You have made known to me what we requested of you, for you have made known to us the king's matter. You see, this was not hard for God. It was not difficult for the true and living God to reveal to his man in Babylon the king's dream. And then Daniel explains the dream. So that leads us to a divine interpretation. Let me read this to you now.
Speaker 2:
In Daniel, chapter 2, verse 36. Daniel explains this was the dream. Now we will tell its interpretation before the king. You, o king, are the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, the strength and the glory. Now you notice that Daniel attributed to the God of heaven the sovereign privilege of giving Nebuchadnezzar his kingdom, his power, his strength and his glory. And he goes on to say and wherever the sons of men dwell, or the beast of the field, or the birds of the sky, he has given them into your hand and has caused you to rule over them. You are the head of gold. So the statue with the head of gold, the very preeminent position, belong to Nebuchadnezzar. And then, brave, briefly, he describes the arms and shoulders that were silver and the torso that was bronze. And this is all it says about it.
Speaker 2:
After you, there will arise another kingdom inferior to you, then another third kingdom of bronze, which will rule over all the earth. Now, from history, we know that the Medo-Persian Empire followed after Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon, and we know that the Greek Empire, led by Alexander the Great, followed after the Medo-Persians and conquered them. And then it goes on to describe the fourth empire. Then there will be a fourth kingdom as strong as iron in as much as iron crushes and shatters all things, so, like iron that breaks in pieces, it will crush and break all these end pieces, in that you saw the feet and toes partly of potter's clay and partly of iron. It will be a divided kingdom, but it will have in it the toughness of iron in as much as you saw the iron mixed with common clay, as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of pottery. So some of the kingdom will be strong and part of it will be brittle, and in that you saw the iron mixed with common clay. They will combine with one another in the seed of men, but they will not adhere to one another, even as iron does not combine with pottery.
Speaker 2:
Now, what in the world can all of that mean? Well, historically we know that the legs and the feet made of iron and mixed with clay refers to the Roman Empire and all of the Caesars and all of their greatness, and they were able to crush and break all other kingdoms. But it was iron mixed with common clay and it was mixed with multiple nationalities, multiple races and multiple kingdoms, all combined together, some of it strong, some of it brittle, and, as you could and as we know from history, this kingdom did not stand Now. It lasted for many years but in the end it fell apart because it was mixed with multiple nationalities and they never could agree together and ultimately it fell.
Speaker 2:
But then there's a description of a last kingdom, a divine kingdom, and here's its description in the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed and that kingdom will not be left for another people. That's in distinction to all these previous kingdoms that were left to someone else, which will not be left for another people. It will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever. In as much as you saw that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands and that it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold, the great God has made known to the king what will take place in the future. So the dream is true and its interpretation is trustworthy. Oh my, from history we know that all of these predictions came true.
Speaker 2:
How did Daniel know this so far in advance? Because God sees the end from the beginning. He is the ruler of the kings, of all the nations. He changes the times and the epochs. He removes kings and establishes kings. He gives wisdom to wise men and knowledge to men of understanding. Nothing happens on this planet that is not first sifted through his all-knowing and all-loving hands. That's how Daniel knew. He knew and understood the God of history, who is a revealer of the deep and hidden things of this earth.
Speaker 2:
But let's look at that last kingdom a divine kingdom, a kingdom established by the God of heaven. It's an eternal kingdom, never destroyed and will not be left for another people. It will crush and terminate the other previous kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever. What kind of kingdom could this be? It was represented by a stone that was cut out without human hands, ie of divine origin. All the other kingdoms were crushed and became like chaff, and then there was no trace left of them. But the new divine kingdom became a mountain that filled the whole earth. This could be none other than the kingdom of God, the spiritual kingdom of God, whose head is the Lord Jesus Christ and whose people are a kingdom of priests purchased with his blood. It is a spiritual kingdom that leavens a lump of dough that grows quietly, that grows unseen and unobtrusively, yet inexorably, until the whole lump is leavened until the whole world is influenced. Can you stop the influence of the leaven once it is introduced into the lump of dough? Of course not. Can persecution or obstruction stop the spread of the divine kingdom of God? Can it stop the spread of the gospel? Of course not. The greater the heat, the faster the spread of the leaven in the lump of dough. The greater the persecution, the faster the spread of the kingdom of God.
Speaker 2:
In Isaiah, chapter 9, verses 6 and 7, there's a fascinating scripture that we usually share just at Christmas time and you know this scripture well For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us, and the government will rest on his shoulders and his name will be called wonderful counselor, mighty God, eternal father, prince of peace. There will be no end to the increase of his government or of peace on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness. From then on and forever more, the zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this. What a perfect description of the spiritual kingdom of God and the fact that it's an eternal kingdom, a spiritual kingdom that has no end. And the passage tells us that the zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this, goodness gracious. How did Daniel know this so many years before? It's because he knew the hidden hand of God that's behind all of history, and he knew the God who is a revealer of the hidden things, the secret things.
Speaker 2:
Why is all of this important to you and me today? You see, it affects our worldview. It affects the lens with which you and I look at life today. It affects the grid through which you and I look at future events. You see, I know folks today, even Christian folks, who fret constantly about world affairs. They fret constantly about the World Economic Forum and the World Health Organization and the Davos Global Elites, plans for a One World Government and World Domination. But listen to me, brothers and sisters, you know what God thinks about that. Let me give you a scripture so that you can understand God's worldview, god's perspective on the matter.
Speaker 2:
In Psalms, chapter 2, the Bible says why are the nations in an uproar and the people's devising a vain thing? Why are the Davos elites devising a vain thing? The kings of the earth take their stand, the global elites and the multi-billionaires take their stand, and the rulers take counsel together every year in Davos. Ha ha, ha, ha. Against the Lord and against his anointed saying Let us tear their fetters apart and cast away their cords from us. Now, here, clearly. What God's response to that is? He who sits in the heavens laughs. The Lord scoffs at them. Then he will speak to them in his anger and terrify them in his fury, saying but as for me, I have installed my king upon Zion, my holy mountain. Now there's a whole lot more in Psalms, chapter 2, and I don't have time to read it all. But you need to read it all and you need to include it in your worldview, your understanding of what's going to happen in the future. Now listen, my friend.
Speaker 2:
We know the end of the story. We know and understand that all of time and history marches inexorably to a God ordained, predetermined conclusion. We know that there will be wars and rumors of wars. We know that the man of perdition must come. We know that Antichrist will one day appear and will construct a one world government, a one world economy, a one world financial system. He'll even have a one world army. We know that he himself will arrange a treaty with Israel, but will break that treaty in the middle of the Great Tribulation period.
Speaker 2:
I believe that the church will be taken up in the rapture at the beginning of the tribulation. We know that Jesus will return at the end of the second time, at the end of the tribulation, to conclude the battle of Armageddon, destroying all of his foes with the breath of his mouth and establishing his physical, earthly throne in Jerusalem for a thousand years. We know that Satan will be bound for a thousand years in the bottomless pit. We know that Antichrist and the beast and the false prophet will be cast into the lake of fire. You see, that's the worldview of Ezekiel, daniel and John the Revelator. That's our worldview. So don't fret, just look up and say even so, come quickly, lord Jesus. But what do we do in the meantime? Do we run for the hills and hide until Jesus comes? Oh, no, no, no, brothers and sisters, a thousand times. No, there are no chicken littles in Scripture.
Speaker 2:
The Bible doesn't tell us to let our hands hang limply at our sides in passivity and fear. The Bible says to stand firm, to act like men, to put on the full armor of God, to take up the sword of the Spirit, to gird up your loins with the belt of truth, to contend for the faith to possess the land. These are all commands of action. These are commands of spiritual warfare. You understand, there's always a tension between the church and the state. There's always tension between the church and the pagan culture.
Speaker 2:
The church that's you and me. We're called to provide a prophetic voice, always speaking truth and love. In my exam room, at my office, in your lunch room, at your workplace or in the conference room where you meet with folks at your work, christian people are called to speak the truth at the dinner table on Sunday lunch, at the negotiating table at work, it doesn't matter where you are. As a Christian, your and my responsibility is to speak the truth in love. Our worldview gives us confidence and boldness and freedom from anxiety, regardless of what's happening around us in the world. We are able to smile at the future because we belong to a kingdom not made with hands that endures forever. You see, that's the lesson of King Nebuchadnezzar's dream and that's why it's important for you and me to know and understand the meaning of Daniel's interpretation of that King's night vision.
Speaker 2:
Well, you're listening to Devotions with Dr Popple. If you like it. I wish that you would like follow or share and tell your friends about Devotions with Dr Popple and we'll be back again next week. May the Lord bless you. Real good.
Speaker 1:
Thank you for listening to this edition of More Than Medicine. For more information about the Jackson Family Ministry, dr Jackson's books or to schedule a speaking engagement, go to their Facebook page, instagram or their webpage at JacksonFamilyMinistrycom. This podcast is produced by Bob Sloan Audio Production at bobsloancom.
