Well, please do take a seat. We're in the book of Daniel again, and if you just take your Bibles and open them again, I'll carry on where Charlie finished.
Thank you so much, Charlie, for saving me to read 49 verses all by myself and everyone here from falling asleep as I do so.
So verse 19 of Daniel chapter 2.
During the night, the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision.
Then Daniel praised the God of heaven and said, Praise be to the name of God forever and ever.
Wisdom and power are his.
He changes times and seasons. He deposes kings and raises up others.
He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.
He reveals deep and hidden things. He knows what lies in darkness and light dwells with him.
I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors.
You have given me wisdom and power. You have made known to me what we asked of you.
You have made known to us the dream of the king.
Then Daniel went to Ariok, whom the king had appointed to execute the wise men of Babylon, and said to him,
Do not execute the wise men of Babylon. Take me to the king, and I will interpret his dream for him.
Ariok took Daniel to the king at once and said,
I have found a man among the exiles from Judah who can tell the king what his dream means.
The king asked Daniel, also called Belteshazzar,
Are you able to tell me what I saw in my dream and interpret it?
Daniel replied, No wise men, enchanter, magician or diviner,
can explain to the king the mystery he is asked about.
But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries.
He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come.
Your dream and the visions that pass through your mind as you were lying in bed are these.
As your majesty was lying there, your mind turned to things to come,
and the revealer of mystery showed you what is going to happen.
As for me, this mystery has been revealed to me,
not because I have greater wisdom than anyone else alive,
but so that your majesty may know the interpretation,
and that you may understand what went through your mind.
Your majesty looked, and there before you stood a large statue,
an enormous, dazzling statue, awesome in appearance.
The head of the statue was made of pure gold,
its chest and arms were silver, its belly and thighs of bronze,
its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay.
While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands.
It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them.
Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were all broken to pieces
and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer.
The wind swept them away without leaving a trace,
but the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth.
This was the dream, and now we will interpret it to the king.
Your majesty, you are the king of kings.
The God of heaven has given you dominion and power and might and glory.
In your hands he has placed all mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds in the sky.
Wherever they live, he has made you ruler over them.
Oh, you are the head of gold.
After you, another kingdom will arise inferior to yours.
Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over the whole earth.
Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, for iron breaks and smashes everything.
And as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others.
Just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron,
so this will be a divided kingdom.
Yet it will have some of the strength of iron in it, even as you saw iron mixed with clay.
As the toes were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle.
And just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a mixture and will not remain united
any more than iron mixes with clay.
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 forever.
This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands,
a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces.
The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future.
The dream is true and its interpretation is trustworthy.
Then king Nebuchadnezzar fell prostrate before Daniel and paid him honor and ordered that an offering and incense be presented to him.
The king said to Daniel, surely your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries,
for you were able to reveal this mystery.
Then the king placed Daniel in a high position and lavished many gifts on him.
He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and placed him in charge of all his wise men.
Moreover, at Daniel's request, the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego chief ministers over the province of Babylon,
while Daniel himself remained at the royal court.
Let's pray.
Father God, we read in this passage that you're the revealer of mysteries.
Father, you're the God who makes plain what otherwise we could not see.
So we invite you now to come by your spirit to make this word alive,
to speak to us, to inform us more of yourself,
that we might leave here trusting wholeheartedly in him,
your son, the glorious one who will reign forever.
So bless us and help us, we pray in his glorious name.
Amen.
So we're in Daniel chapter 2 and we call this,
there is a God in heaven.
And I wonder what would be different if you knew the future?
What would be different if you knew the future,
if you knew perhaps exactly what would happen next month or next year?
Well, I dare say if we knew the future,
lots of us might have put money on Leicester City
and could have a lovely summer holiday with our winnings.
We would make shrewder investments,
better and more confident choices.
We would know which hires and advanced hires to take,
which university courses to pursue.
We would know who to marry,
where to buy a house and which fashions to adopt to stay on point.
We would know whether to Brexit or not.
We would be confident whether Nicola and her SNP
were the people to lead us for the next five years.
Knowing the future would alleviate all risk.
We wouldn't be gambling on what is to happen.
Many people here, actually,
their job involves predicting what the future will look like.
So we have economists who are trying to predict
whether things will go up or things will go down.
We have people here who are writing government policy
to future-proof Scotland and to improve society.
We even have actuaries who work crunching data
to work out risk,
whether you're a person for whom the insurance company,
the pension company will win
and the insurance company will win.
Knowing the future would enable us to make informed decisions.
Even in our modern scientific world,
people will try anything to get the inside track on the future.
I read this week that 25% of Britons regularly read horoscopes.
And of that, 8%,
the horoscope informs the decisions that they make.
There is a booming industry in psychics and mystics and tarot reading
and crystals and fortune-telling.
For example, this guy, Jonathan Kaner,
who actually died on Tuesday.
He was the UK's leading astrologer,
earning £4 million a year,
predicting people's horoscopes
and what their futures would hold.
We even consult people like Paul the Octopus
to try and predict the scores.
I thought Paul the Octopus might get a chip
because he's obviously predicting England would lose.
And I thought that might appeal to some of you.
As well as Paul the Octopus,
we have Flopsy the kangaroo,
Shaheen the camel,
Madame Shiva the guinea pig,
and Big Head the sea turtle,
all claiming psychic ability
in predicting future sporting results.
Well, our fascination with the future is nothing new.
And in fact, is the very subject of Daniel chapter 2.
And so the big theme of Daniel chapter 2 is this.
God is the revealer of mystery,
the conductor of history,
and the founder of eternity.
As repetition is the mother of education,
perhaps we could all say that together,
God is...
You need to join in properly.
So half-hearted this morning.
God is the revealer of mystery,
the conductor of history,
the founder of eternity.
That's what we see here.
And the first thing we see in our Daniel chapter 2
is that there is a restless ruler.
Verse 1,
Nebuchadnezzar wakes up in a sweat
because for another night running,
he's been woken up by the strangest dream.
This king is the mightiest king
of the ruling nation of the earth.
And yet he cannot capture a good night's sleep.
He's plagued by this weird dream.
And so verse 2,
he summons the department of futurology
from the University of Babylon.
He calls in the magicians,
the divination experts,
the enchanters,
the sorcerers,
and the astrologers.
These people are massively experienced.
They'd be the highest earners in Babylon.
They had consulted Nebuchadnezzar in the past
on where to invade,
and when to invade,
and what to build,
and what to do.
They are the people,
he thinks,
to decode this vexing vision.
However,
when they appear before Nebuchadnezzar,
Nebuchadnezzar's moved the goalposts.
Because they say,
tell us your dream
and we'll give you the interpretation.
And Nebuchadnezzar says,
no,
you tell me the dream
and give me the interpretation.
If you've really got a direct line to the gods,
then telling me what I dreamt
should not be too difficult for you.
And he says,
there's a carrot and a stick.
If you get it wrong,
I will kill you
and reduce your household to rubble.
If you get it right,
there'll be gifts
and honor
and a place
at the king's table.
Whatever you say
about Nebuchadnezzar,
you cannot accuse him
of being half-hearted.
He's an all-or-nothing
kind of guy.
Verse 7,
the gathered professionals
try to pull a fast one.
Tell us the dream
and we'll give you the interpretation.
And Nebuchadnezzar says,
no,
you tell me the dream
and give me
the interpretation.
And it seems that the carrot
is quickly gone
and all that's left
is the stick.
Well, verse 10,
the astrologers come clean.
There is no one on earth
who can do what the king asks.
No king,
however great and mighty as ever,
are such a thing
of any magician
or enchanter
or astrologer.
What the king asks
is too difficult.
No one can reveal it
to the king
except the gods
and they do not live
among humans.
They've kind of been rumbled.
They've been saying,
Nebuchadnezzar,
if you want to know
the future,
we're the guys.
And now,
they say,
actually,
we've kind of been
making it up
all along.
Well,
Nebuchadnezzar
has heard enough,
shaking with rage,
almost like someone
who hasn't got enough sleep
over the past few weeks.
he flies off the handle
and says,
all the wise people
are going to die.
We're going to enact genocide.
And if you claim
to have special knowledge
from the gods,
you're obviously lying.
You're obviously leading me
up the golden path
and I'll have your head.
And just to heighten
the tension,
verse 13,
we realize that Daniel
and his friends,
who are still training
at the Babylon University,
their names
are on the execution warrant.
Verse 14 is intriguing.
We hear of this guy,
Ariok,
who is the one
who's told,
you've got to carry out
the execution.
And so what does Daniel do?
He goes to find
the executioner.
That's weird.
It's like turkeys
voting for Christmas.
He'd be the last person
you'd want to go and see
as the guy with the hood on
and the axe in his hand.
And Daniel spoke to him
with wisdom and tact.
Well, if ever you're
going to be polite,
it's going to be to the guy
who's likely to chop off
your head.
Yet again,
continuing the pattern
established in Daniel 1.
Daniel says,
I'll interpret the dream
before he knows
what the dream is about.
Do you see that?
Verse 16.
At this time,
Daniel went into the king
and asked for an appointment
so that he might interpret
the dream for him.
Daniel's just heard
what the problem is.
He doesn't know
what the solution is.
He's saying,
God,
I need you to intervene
in this situation
or else we're all
going to be dead.
And the timescale
is not a 10-day experiment
concerning their stomachs.
It is a one-day stay
of execution
to stop their necks
being sliced.
Brave on two counts.
God, you need to intervene.
God, you need to give us wisdom.
So Daniel goes home
to his small group.
He gathers his friends
and he says,
we need to pray.
This prayer meeting
is actually a matter
of life and death.
That if God doesn't intervene,
we will not see tomorrow night.
But Daniel also
is a staunch monotheist.
He knows Isaiah.
These are some of his
favorite scriptures.
Isaiah 43.
Bring out the people
who have eyes
but are blind,
who have ears
but are deaf.
Gather the nations
together.
Assemble the people
of the world.
Which of the idols
has ever foretold
the future?
Which could predict
what will happen tomorrow?
Where are the witnesses
of such predictions
who can verify
that they spoke the truth?
A little later
in Isaiah 46,
particularly addressing
the gods of Babylon.
Remember the things
I have done in the past
for I alone am God.
I am God
and there is none like me.
Only I can tell you
the future
before it even happens.
Everything I plan
will come to pass
for I do
whatever I wish.
Daniel knows his God
and he has confidence
in his God
that if this dream
is really from God
then it is his God
who will be able
to interpret it.
If Nebuchadnezzar
really did have a dream
from God
then it is only
Daniel's God
he will be able
to reveal it
and interpret it.
And so isn't that
a lesson for us
that the more we know
about God
the more we will
depend on him
the more we'll
trust him
the more we'll say
God I don't understand
but I need your
wisdom
I need your
help
I need you to
guide me through this
because left to
my own foolishness
it will only go bad.
Daniel's knowledge
of God
gives him confidence
in God's presence
and help
in this situation.
After a restless ruler
we see a prayerful
plea.
Daniel gathers
his small group
he explains
the situation
if we're
unsuccessful
we're dead.
Verse 19
during the night
the mystery
was revealed
to Daniel
in a vision.
Suddenly
the tension
that's been building
since Daniel
2 verse 5
has suddenly
been lifted.
This great mystery
that plagued
the king
that caused him
to fly into
a genocidal rage
has a chance
of being stayed
and not being
enacted.
And so
wouldn't you
do what
Daniel did
in verse 20
he praises
the God
of heaven.
Praise be
to the name
of God
forever and ever
wisdom
and power
are his.
He changes
times and seasons
he deposes
kings and raises
up others.
He gives
wisdom
to the wise
and knowledge
to the discerning.
A prayer
about the
sovereignty
of God
the wisdom
of God
the power
of God
the mercy
of God
the grace
of God
the fact
that their
God intervenes
in history
he doesn't
just wind it
up and retreat
to the edge
of the universe
to look on
but he's
involved
and he cares.
For Daniel's
first readers
this would be
very encouraging
the people
reading this
in exile
the people
whose whole
lives have
been spent
under the
heel of a
foreign oppressor
and to
hear that
it is
their
God
who
deposes
kings
and raises
them up
gives them
great hope
that it
won't always
be like
this
that this
is in
the end
they won't
be Babylon
captives
forever and
ever
but the
standing
behind the
despotic
Nebuchadnezzar
is the
God of
the universe
who governs
everything
according to
his sovereign
will in
accordance with
his sovereign
plan
the God
who gives
wisdom
to the
wise
the God
who is
ready to
give us
help
knowledge
in order
that we
might live
skillfully
in the
world
Daniel
and his
friends
pray
earnestly
for
wisdom
and living
in our
confusing
world
in our
world
that has
become
unanchored
from
faith
in the
God
of the
Bible
the one
thing we
need
above
everything
is
wisdom
how to
live
skillfully
in this
world
if you
look at
the 25
extended
prayers
of Paul
in the
epistles
16
of those
prayers
involve
would you
give us
wisdom
and
knowledge
would you
be with
us
and guide
us
as we
get through
this
confusing
situation
what we'll
see as we
go on in
Daniel
the two
things that
mark his
life
are wisdom
and holiness
he lives
skillfully
and he lives
differently
and what
starts out
in chapter
one as a
bit of
assimilation
will by the
end become
total
persecution
meaning that
he has to
go into
the lion's
den
because his
life is
marked by
wisdom
and holiness
I love
verse 25
made me
smile all
week
Ariok took
Daniel to
the king
at once
and said
I have
found a
man
among the
exiles
he did
not find
Daniel
found him
but he
would like
a little
slice of
the pie
if blessing
is going
to be
distributed
well the
next 23
verses of
Daniel
chapter 2
involve this
vision and
what it
means
and so
what we
see is a
fragile
future
Daniel is
very clear
that in
stark contrast
to the
failed
futurology
department
his wisdom
and revelation
does not
originate in
himself
it's not
because he's
better or
wiser
it's because
the God
who is
all wise
has given
him
understanding
Daniel
then describes
what Nebuchadnezzar
had dreamt
he speaks
of this
colossal
dazzling
statue
made of
five different
materials
from head
to foot
then in
graphic detail
describes
the rock
cut out
not by
human hands
that rolls
and strikes
the statue
smashing it
reducing it
to powder
that is then
blown in the
wind
like on a
threshing
floor
this rock
is then
the only
thing left
and it
grows into
a giant
mountain
no wonder
it's a
troubling
dream
today
Nebuchadnezzar
would be
told to
stop
snacking
on cheese
before
bedtime
but there's
something way
more in
this
from
verses
36 to
45
Daniel
then
interprets
the dream
Nebuchadnezzar
would have
loved hearing
the first
part
a description
of Nebuchadnezzar's
dominion
and power
all topped
off by the
declaration
Nebuchadnezzar
you're the
golden head
who wouldn't
like to hear
that
you have
the pinnacle
and most
precious kingdom
Nebuchadnezzar
is loving
Daniel
but verse
39 would be
scary to
declare
to a
despotic
ruler
after you
Babylon
won't last
forever
it would have
been hard
to fathom
if you were
on the
streets of
Babylon
in this
great
civilization
with its
impenetrable
walls and
enormous
skyscrapers
if you were a
Babylonian citizen
you would think
we're here to
stay
but Daniel
is quite clear
after you
another kingdom
will come
this time of
silver
slightly less
precious
and after that
will come another
kingdom
this one of
bronze
and then one of
steel that will
be
really hard
and will crush
everything in its
wake
then that kingdom
will be split
apart
in this kingdom
made of clay
and iron
lots and lots
of ink is built
trying to interpret
which kingdom
is which
the general
consensus is
that Babylon
is gold
I guess we
know that
after that
Medo-Persia
is silver
Greece under
Alexander the Great
is the bronze
belly and thighs
and the iron
legs are
Rome
however the
vision is not
primarily about
specificity
but wisdom
knowledge and
revelation
challenging
Nebuchadnezzar's
view of his
Babylonian gods
that they're just
making it up
as they go along
they're writing
history as it
goes along
they're literally
playing dice
Daniel says
no outside of
creation
there is an
omnipotent
omniscient
God
a God who
is conducting
intervening
and unveiling
history under
his sovereign
control
according to
his sovereign
will
Nebuchadnezzar
is now
confronted
with the
real
God
and the
only
God
verse 45
the great
God has
shown the
king what
will take
place in
the future
the dream
is true
and its
interpretation
is trustworthy
because the
God who gave
it now
gives the
interpretation
well Daniel
has won the
jackpot
verse 46
Nebuchadnezzar
the most
powerful man
in the world
falls down
before him
and paid
him honour
and ordered
him
that an
offering and
incense be
presented to
him
the declaration
from the
king
the king
whose chief
god was
Marduk
the chief
of the
Babylonian
pantheon
and Nebuchadnezzar
says surely
your God is
the God of
gods and
the Lord of
kings and
a revealer of
mysteries for
you were able
to reveal
this mystery
what a
declaration from
a pagan
king as
one who
lives a
holy and
wise life
helps him
in his
hour of
need
Daniel gets
promoted
lavish with
gifts
everyone in
his small
groups get
a bump
in pay
and a bump
in status
as well
and a death
sentence
has been
replaced by
promotion to
high ranking
diplomats
looking back
to what
Daniel saw
we now see
with great
clarity
the end
of the
vision
the Lord
Jesus would
identify himself
clearly in
geological
terms
he would
refer to
himself again
and again
as a rock
as a stone
a stone
not made
by human
hands
that destroys
and supersedes
all earthly
kingdoms that
have gone
before
he would
say in
Matthew 21
have you
never read
in the
scriptures
the stone
the builders
rejected
has become
the corner
stone
the Lord
has done
this
and it
is marvelous
in our
eyes
therefore I
tell you
that the
kingdom of
God
will be
taken away
from you
and given
to a
people
who will
produce
its fruit
anyone
who falls
on this
stone
will be
broken
to pieces
anyone
on whom
it falls
will be
crushed
it is
the kingdom
of this
Jesus
that will
eventually
supersede
and dominate
all
other
kingdoms
it is
as Jesus
describes
in the
peril of
the mustard
seed
something
that starts
small
but in
the end
will grow
and dominate
just as
Daniel
encouraged
exiles in
Babylon
that this
wasn't the
end of
the story
so Jesus
himself
encourages
us
fear not
little
flock
for it
is your
father's
good pleasure
to give
you the
kingdom
a great
truth
that earthly
kingdoms
will rise
and fall
there'll be
Nebuchadnezzar's
and Alexander
the greats
and Caesar's
that will
come and
go
but in
the end
there will
be one
who rules
and rules
absolutely
over absolutely
everything
for absolutely
ever
and his
name will
be Jesus
the one
who identifies
himself as
the stone
not cut
out by
human hands
so the
big theme
of Daniel
chapter 2
is
that God
is the
revealer of
mystery
the conductor
of history
and the
founder
of eternity
and so
what can we
take away
well the
truth is
that we
can trust
this God
who was in
control
is still
in control
he hasn't
taken a
backward
step
he hasn't
moved to
a hammock
to wear
slippers
he is still
the alpha
and the omega
the beginning
and the end
he has
history
under his
control
if he says
I've got
eternity
worked out
then I
think we
can trust
him with
tomorrow
if we
know this
God
then the
sleepless
night that
plagues
Nebuchadnezzar
need not
be our
experience
that as
we lie
down to
sleep
our God
is in
control
and when
the alarm
clock goes
off that's
just his
message to
us saying
I had it
all sorted
even when
you were
asleep
and so
whatever's
worrying
us
whatever
we're
anxious
about
know that
this
God
is in
control
and he's
able to
give us
wisdom
to get
through
secondly
I think
it gives
us great
hope
that if
there's one
thing we
see in
this passage
it is that
it won't
always be
like this
so whatever
you're struggling
with
illness
stress
bereavement
strife
injustice
anguish
infirmity
then know
that this
God
in the
end will
bring a
kingdom
where none
of those
things are
present
and that
gives us
great hope
as we
suffer now
knowing that
we'll be
with him
then in
a kingdom
that will
never be
destroyed
where the
righteous
judge of
all the
earth
worships
rightly
and where
the prince
of peace
is in
absolute
control
and ushers
in his
kingdom
of peace
and thirdly
we see
some urgency
what
Nebuchadnezzar
saw Daniel
confirmed
and Jesus
fulfilled
that in
the end
there will
be one
kingdom
and the
only thing
that will
remain
are citizens
of that
kingdom
with this
king
Jesus
there is
nothing
more important
than being
a citizen
of this
kingdom
because
everything
else
will be
destroyed
and blow
away in
the wind
like dust
and therefore
we all have
a choice
we can
either
build our
lives on
this rock
the Lord
Jesus
or we can
stumble over
him and be
crushed by
him in
the end
to be on
God's
mountain
forever
with God
and with
all his
people
there is no
greater joy
and what
we know
in this
life is
just the
national
anthem
before the
kickoff
of eternal
life
don't be
left out
don't be
absolutely
nailed by
this rock
as Jesus
inaugurates his
kingdom forever
and so our
God is the
revealer of
mystery the
conductor of
history and
the founder of
eternity
shelly
percy the
great english
poet wrote
a poem
i met a
traveler from
an antique
land who
said two
vast and
trunkless legs
of stone
stand in
the desert
near them
on the
sand
half sunk
a shattered
visage lies
whose frown
and wrinkled
lip a sneer
of cold
command
tell that
it's
sculpture
sculptor
well those
passions
read
which yet
survive
stamped on
these
lifeless
things
the hand
that mocked
them and
the heart
that fed
and on
the pedestal
these words
appear
my name
is
Ozymandias
king of
kings
look on
my works
ye mighty
and despair
nothing
beside
remains
round the
decay of
that colossal
wreck
boundless
and bare
the lone
and level
sands
stretch far
away
a monument
to a bygone
time
where this
guy
Ozymandias
thought that
he was
the lord
of all
he surveyed
and yet
later on
a traveller
comes and
all that's
left is
this broken
statue
let's be
clear
whatever
pedestal
we're
building
our lives
on
or whatever
statue
we're making
for ourselves
unless our
lives are
linked to
this Jesus
it will just
be a monument
in the sand
that people
mock
and ridicule
in the end
let's pray
together
father we
praise you
because you're
the god
forever and
ever
who has a
complete monopoly
on wisdom
and power
father you
change times
and seasons
you depose
kings and you
raise others
up
and so lord
we pray you
give wisdom
to those who
are wise
and knowledge
to those who
are discerning
father you
would continue
to reveal deep
and hidden
things about
your son
thank you
that you
know what
lies in
darkness
and thank
you that
light dwells
with you
father thank
you that
that ultimate
light has
shone in
the person
of your
son and
so lord
may we
live our
lives in
that light
and you
might be
glorified in
us and
through us
as we
live lives
of wisdom
and holiness
in response
to your
grace
bless us
we pray
in Jesus
name
amen
ah