That They May Know I Am The Lord
Aim: To show how Daniel predicted a timeline of both Jewish and Gentile history.
Text: Daniel 4:17, 25 &32
Introduction: The book of Daniel is one of the most important books of the Old Testament. Of course we mention Daniel and immediately we think of the prophet in the lion’s den. That is about as much as most people know about this great prophet, but the book of Daniel is a link between the past and the future. The book is one half history and one half prophecy, it preserves the link to the past whilst providing a key to the future.
The events of the first six chapters are well known to us, Daniel being taken captive to Babylon is chosen to train and to serve in the court of king Nebuchadnezzar, alongside three other young men, whom we best know by their Babylonian names, Shadrach, Meschach & Abednego. There he faces various trials of faith, all of which he passes with flying colours and proving himself unwavering in his commitment to the truth and to the God of Israel.
Now our opening verses reiterate the purpose of this book. Last week, in Ezekiel, we saw the recurring phrase, “That they may know that I am the Lord’” now we find in Daniel (and understand Daniel and Ezekiel are contemporaries), that God purpose I this prophecy is, “to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.” And this is a truth relevant not only to the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, but for all time, which is where the prophetic element comes in.
In this book we find two foundational prophecies that must be understood if one is to, first of all, understand the book of Daniel, but secondly, to understand God’s prophetic purposes.
The first of these prophecies reveals the timeline of the Gentile peoples, but the second relates specifically to the Jewish people and to Jerusalem.
I. Nebuchadnezzar’s Image – Daniel 2:31-45
A. In chapter 2 of this book we read that King Nebuchadnezzar dreamed a dreams.
1. It was a nightmare really, because what the king saw disturbed him, and caused him sleeplessness.
2. So he sent for the court magicians, the astrologers & sorcerers to explain it - an impossible task, and so the king was set to destroy every so called wise man in his court, when Daniel heard about the king’s predicament.
3. The young Jew offered to implore the God of heaven so that the dream could be interpreted, and the passage we have just read is both a description and explanation of King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.
B. King Nebuchadnezzar saw a statue - a “great image” - how big it was we are not told, but its size and accompanying glory were such that this king, who ruled a large part of the world at the time was filled with fear.
1. The image had a golden head
2. Breast and arms of silver
3. An abdomen and thighs of bronze and
4. Legs of Iron
5. And it stood upon feet that were composed of iron and baked clay - or pottery.
C. So real and vivid was the dream that King Nebuchadnezzar dearly wanted to know what it meant - imagine his surprise when he discovered that it was pictorial of four kingdoms, and among those kingdoms his was represented by the golden head - Dan 2:37-38
1. This dream wasn’t so bad after all - King Nebuchadnezzar was depicted as a king of kings, as having such authority that even the animal kingdom submitted to his rule - his was a reign of Divinely appointed power and strength.
2. With the hindsight of history we know what these three successive kingdoms were that followed on after the demise of the Babylonian Empire, so that we can fit in the missing pieces of Daniel’s prophetical jigsaw.
D. The Babylonian Empire was succeeded by the rule of Darius who headed the kingdom of the Medes and the Persians (represented by silver arms and torso, hence this kingdom is pictured as having arms.)
E. The third kingdom, which overtook the Medo-Persian Empire was the Greek Empire, championed by Alexander the Great.
1. In time Alexander having built an empire spanning 1.5 million square miles i.e., most of the known world; pronounced himself a god, provoked rebellion and died a broken man, at the age of 32.
2. His kingdom fragmented and out of it came a man who Daniel 8 calls a little horn - history calls him Antiochus Ephiphanes, and he proved himself to be one of the greatest persecutors of the Jew - a type of the antichrist.
a. Epiphanes’ name means God made manifest, and of course one of the characteristics of antichrist is that he will sit “in the temple of God showing himself that he is God.” (2Thess 2:5)
b. Just as antichrist will descrate the temple, so too, In 168 BC Antiochus Epiphanes entered the Holy of Holies, and desecrated the sanctuary by offering unclean animals upon the alter of burnt-offerings, polluted the whole building by sprinkling it with water in which flesh had been boiled, dedicated the Temple itself to Jupiter Olympius, and erected the statue of that deity and plundered the temple treasures.
c. So his actions in many ways mirror that which we know antichrist shall exhibit.
F. Then came the Romans, represented by the two legs of iron, who overthrew the Greek Empire.
1. Now there is continuum from the head of gold to the legs of iron, and whilst each kingdom is distinct from the others, each draws on the one that proceeds it.
2. Medo-Persians adopted many of the Babylonian customs, as indeed the Greeks learnt from the Persians, and the Romans were heavily influenced by the philosophies of the Greeks.
3. Each metal in order is deemed lesser in value than the one that precedes it showing that the quality of government diminished with each, and as far as Rome was concerned her rule was with iron, she was a kingdom built upon brute force and military strength, the legs representing her Eastern & Western dominions.
G. Finally we arrive at the feet, a mixture of pottery and clay.
1. The feet and toes represent the Roman empire in its last stage, iron depicting imperial power and clay picturing commonality or if you like democracy.
2. One historian has written, “The so called Dark Ages that followed in western Europe could not eradicate the profound imprint left by the Roman civilisation. Roman law is still alive; the Romance languages are but modifications of Roman speech. Roman Catholicism for fifteen centuries was the only religion and the main cultural force of Western Europe. The fall of Rome marked no abrupt ending of an era, for the Barbarians who filled the gap left by the disappearance of the old order were quick in accepting what vital elements there remained of it. The survival of the East Roman Empire and the creation of the Holy Roman Empire showed what vitality there was left in the imperial ideal.”
4. So in a real way the influence of the Roman Empire is felt until the end of time - which brings us back to the feet and toes.
H. In Daniel’s dream the feet are struck all of a sudden by a “stone cut without hands” - vs 34.
1. That the stone is “cut without hands” is indicative of something supernatural, divine. That stone is a person - it pictures Jesus Christ.
2. When Christ comes the kingdoms of the world shall fall - the fact that he strikes at the feet of this images intimates that there must be a time gap between the period represented by the legs and that represented by the feet and toes.
3. We speak about the Roman Empire as a something from a past historical period - yet we know that He did not destroy the Empire at His first coming, therefore this must relate to His Second Coming and intimates that there must be some renewal, or revival of the Roman Empire yet to come.
4. 1. The revival of this empire will come in the form of a ten-power kingdom as taught in Daniel 2:32-45.
5. Today, before our very eyes, we are witnessing the fulfillment of these ancient prophecies of Daniel.
6. Europe has reunited into a revived Roman Empire that is expanding rapidly in size.
7. As it grows, and as national identities are de-emphasised, it will most likely be divided into ten administrative areas, just as Daniel prophesied.
a. You see already he French plan for a unified Europe is for the member countries to be divided into 10 or 12 provinces each presided over by a governor or president.
b. That doesn’t sound terribly far away from the Bibles prediction of a ten-nation confederacy.
c. But for such a scheme to work individual nation states would have to surrender a large proportion of their sovereignty.
d. And this is where the so-called “Lisbon Treaty” comes in, the latest in a series of efforts by Europe to have European nations transfer their sovereignty to the EU.
e. This treaty, if ratified, allows for a politician to be chosen as President of the European Council for two-and-a-half years, replacing the current system where countries take turns at being president for six months and creating a new post combining the jobs of the existing foreign affairs and external affairs, to give the EU more clout on the world stage.
f. There can be no doubt this is the realisation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in action.
g. Time prohibits us from saying more.
II. Daniel’s Seventy Weeks - Daniel 9:24-27.
A. This is the prophecy of the Seventy Weeks - and the seventieth week correlates with the Great Tribulation.
1. Now, before we begin, we must understand that the weeks referred to here are not weeks of days, but weeks of years.
a. The term week refers to a unit of seven.
b. As Western Europeans we are used to thinking of time in terms of tens, decades, but the Jews always worked in sevens:
(i) Seven days = 1 week
(ii) The 7th day = Sabbath
(iii) Every 7th year a Sabbath year
(iv) Seven sevens brought them to the year of jubilee
c. In this context seventy “weeks” or sevens = 490 years.
(i) We know it cannot be days, as 490 days would not be long enough to allow the events predicted to occur.
• Besides had it been days Daniel no doubt would have specified this as he did in 10:2-3 (lit. three sevens of days”).
(ii) This is true also of seventy literal weeks, which would only make 3430 days or 9.5 years, so we take the weeks to intimates weeks of years.
B. So as Daniel like all captives longs to be restored to his homeland.
1. He knows from the prophets and revelation that 70 years of captivity has been ordained of God for the Jews and he prays asking for forgiveness for Israel.
2. But as he is praying his prayer is interrupted by the presence of the angel Gabriel - see vss 20-21, who delivers the prophecy of the seventy weeks.
C. Now this prophecy centres about Israel and the Jew.
1. Notice - “Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, . . .” (Daniel 9:24a).
2. That of course is the Jews and Jerusalem.
D. Also in this prophecy two princes are mentioned.
1. The first is obvious in his identity - vs 25 “the Messiah the Prince” - well that can only man one Person, our Lord Jesus Christ.
2. The second is “the prince that shall come” vs 26 “who shall destroy the city (Jerusalem) and the sanctuary (the Temple). We understand this to mean antichrist.
E. The purpose of the predetermined seventy weeks is clearly stated in verse 24 – by the time these 490 years run their course sic great purposes of God for Israel will be completed.
1. To finish the transgression – Israel’s sin will be brought to an end
2. To make an end of sins – her sin shall be removed (Eze 37:23, Rom 11:20-27)
3. To make reconciliation for iniquity – that is lit. to atone for their wickedness, of course their atonement is provided for in Christ’s death, but it is not realised until the end.
a. In other words the Day of Atonement is prophetically fulfilled when Israel as a nation are redeemed, reconciled unto God and cleansed for His use throughout His coming kingdom
4. To bring in everlasting righteousness – the word “everlasting” here means “ages”, this prophecy tells us that God will establish amn age characterised by righteousness.
5. To seal up the vision and the prophecy – everything God has promised He will do.
6. To anoint the Most Holy – this may be a reference to the dedication of the millennial temple, or indeed the coronation of Christ as King of kings and Lord of lords.
F. Now, watch how the years are broken down.
1. There are three divisions in the time allotted.
a. It would be seven weeks (49 years) before Jerusalem would be rebuilt, following its destruction by Nebuchadnezzar.
b. This was fulfilled and we read about it the books of Ezra & Nehemiah.
2. Then it would be a further 62 weeks (434 years) before Messiah the Prince would come, and be “cut off” killed.
a. So from the time the command was given to rebuild Jerusalem God began a countdown to Calvary - 7 weeks +62 weeks = 69 weeks or 483 years.
3. Now watch the accuracy of this prophecy, understanding that the Jewish year was a period of 360 days.
a. The command to restore and build Jerusalem was decreed by king Artaxerxes on Nisan, 445 B.C - (Nehemiah 2:4-6).
(i) 483 years x 360 days = 173880 days
(ii) Nisan, 445 B.C (which is around 14th March, 445 B.C.) + 173880 days = 6th April, 32 A.D.
(iii) What happened on that day? On that dayJesus entered Jerusalem upon a donkey and offered Himself as their Messiah, Luke tells us, “when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least IN THIS THY DAY, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.” (Luke 19:41-42)
c. From that moment on Jesus was destined to be crucified.
d. Daniels says, “And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself.” (Daniel 9:26).
G. Coming back to Daniel’s prophecy there is still one outstanding week - Daniel’s seventieth week - or if you like seven outstanding years.
1. During these years another prince - a man arising out of that revived Roman Empire, a European, will arise. Antichrist.
a. Remember He is a prince of the people that will come and destroy Jerusalem and the temple.
2. That occurred in 70 A.D. when Jerusalem was besieged by Titus & the Temple destroyed under Roman Imperial rule.
3. He will make a covenant with Israel for one week - vs 27 - how long is one week in this prophecy? Seven years.
4. In the midst of the seven years he shall break his word and shall persecute the people and the city until the consummation, that is the until Christ comes a second time and destroys him..
7. Since the 69th week effectively concluded at Calvary the world has continued 2000 years. So what happened to the seventieth week?
H. There is a gap between the 69th & 70th weeks, a parenthesis if you like.
1. Following Jesus death God put his finger on time and stopped the clock - he would complete His business with the Jews, but first there is a pause in God’s programme in which God inserts the church age, and that is where we are, historically, right now
Conclusion: Justin Martyr said, along time ago, “To declare that a thing shall come to be, long before it is in being, and then bring about the accomplishment of that very thing according to the same declaration, this or nothing is the work of God.” Isaiah says much the same thing: See Isaiah 41:21-23
My friend, what we see in the writings of Daniel is the work of God. A prophecy borne out by history, and still unfolding. Here is a proof of the inspiration of Scripture. More than that here is testament to the veracity of God. How very true it is “that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.” And the One to whom He ultimately wills to give it is Jesus Christ.
God gave us these prophecies so that we might know how to live today with tomorrow in mind. The good news of Daniel’s prophecy is that our God is a living God, and He is at work in the affairs of men and nations. We need not fear even though terrors reign of evil nations rise up around us. God as we have seen both last week and this, is over all, and we who know Him and walk with Him through His Son Jesus Christ will ultimately overcome.
The choice that you and I must make then, is a choice between being willing or unwilling tools in His hand, whether we receive the blessings that come through faith and obedience, or the judgment that issues from rebellion.
In the light of these things would you no be wise to turn from sin and turn to Christ? Or if you are already a Christian, realising the lateness of the hour should you not seek to lay up treasures in heaven, to prepare to meet thy God. To serve Him here and now before we meet Him face to face.
Let us read one last word from Daniel – See Daniel 12:1-4.
