INTRODUCTION
· SLIDE #1
· Today is the last message in our Binge Reading the Bible series.
· I hope that the series has touched your heart and motivated you to spend more time in the Word.
· Today, we will conclude a look at the Apocalyptic Literature.
· Apocalyptic Literature refers to those books concerning God’s revelation of the ending of this current age and the final advent of his kingdom.
· This revelation is mostly described through visions and prophecies. Apocalyptic Literature in the bible can be found in both the Old Testament and the New, in the books of Daniel, Zechariah, Joel, Amos, 1 Thessalonians, and Revelation.
· We can best understand God’s revelation through these books by knowing that their main concern is to unveil something previously unknown or to release information concerning future things.
· Whether this involves Old Testament prophecies concerning the plight of Israel or the New Testament revelation of Jesus Christ given to John, both instances call for much study due to heavy symbolism, metaphors, and historical context.
· “The word ‘apocalyptic,’ derived from the Greek Word apokalypsis in Revelation 1:1, means ‘revelation’ or ‘unveiling,’ and is applied to these writings because they contain revelations of the secret purposes of God, the end of the world, and the establishment of God’s kingdom on earth.
· After the days of the post-exilic prophets, God no longer spoke to Israel through the living voice of inspired prophecy. … Instead of God’s kingdom, evil kingdoms ruled over Israel: Medo-Persia, Greece, and finally Rome” (Merrill C. Tenney, “Apocalyptic Literature,” Zondervan’s Pictorial Bible Dictionary [Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan], 49).
· Today we need to understand that God reveals himself to humanity through his sovereign control, infinite wisdom, and ability to reveal secrets.
· Here is why this message applies to us yet today.
· We all run into situations that are beyond our control. Situations that scare us that cause us to worry and can cause us to make poor decisions if we are not careful.
· We can learn to trust God through Apocalyptic Literature, by understanding that the future is in his hands.
· We can see that the obstacle that is before us is something that God knew about, and therefore, we can turn to Him knowing He can handle the issue!
· Trust is the key to a relationship; it is the key to possessing a deep relationship with God.
· Now for some background that will help us with the message this morning.
· The setting for the book of Daniel begins with King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon laying siege to the Judah (The Southern Kingdom) in 605 BC.
· That is when Daniel, his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego) were taken into captivity.
· The Babylonians would defeat a kingdom and then take the best and brightest young people and train them in the Babylonian ways.
· Nebuchadnezzar came back in 597 BC and took 10,000 more captives, and he also returned in 587 B.C. and destroyed Jerusalem.
· Babylon fell to the Persian empire in 539 B.C.
· Now back to Daniel and his three friends. These kids were most likely teenagers at this time. When they were taken into Babylon, they would undergo a three-year training program (Daniel 1:5) and then they would be some of King Nebuchadnezzar’s advisors.
· Think about these teenage boys. They had been taken away from their families, their homeland.
· Yet amid all this chaos, a chaos where they most likely would never see their families, or their homeland ever again, these young boys who were led by Daniel were going to have to make some tough choices.
· Now that they are out from under the care of their parents, would the remain faithful to a God who appeared to abandon them and their country, or would they go with the flow of living in Babylon?
· For these young men, they chose faithfulness. Little did they know some of the harrowing experiences they would face, but even as teenage boys, they knew they could trust God.
· I think when we think of the stories of Daniel, we have to understand the context so that we can better appreciate his story.
· Now we are in 603 to 602 BC. We are in the 2nd year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign when he has a dream that is troubling him.
· Nebuchadnezzar calls on the magicians, mediums, sorcerers, and Chaldeans to tell the King about his dream and to interpret the dream.
· These men asked the King to tell them the dream, and they would interpret the dream.
· The King would have none of that because he smelled something fishy.
· From the King, this was an unreasonable and unprecedented (cf. v. 10b) demand, given that dream interpretation was based on historical precedent.
· Whenever a king would share the content of his dream with his experts, they, in turn, would consult their dream manuals.
· These manuals consisted of historical dreams and the events that followed them.
· Without the content of the dream, therefore, the experts had no way to anticipate the events to follow, or, if you will, to interpret it.
· In verses 4 and 7, the experts remind the King that interpretation is based on the content of the dream.
· The King thought they were going to play him so, so he said give me the dream and the interpretation, and THEN I will know you are not a bunch of phonies.
· In verses 10-11 the Chaldeans whined and said only gods could fulfill such a request.
· Nebuchadnezzar would have no excuses, so he ordered all the wise men of Babylon to be put to death.
· Let’s pick up our narrative on Daniel 2:16-29
· SLIDE #2
· Daniel 2:16–18 (CSB) — 16 So Daniel went and asked the King to give him some time, so that he could give the King the interpretation. 17 Then Daniel went to his house and told his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah about the matter, 18 urging them to ask the God of the heavens for mercy concerning this mystery, so Daniel and his friends would not be destroyed with the rest of Babylon’s wise men.
· SLIDE #3
SERMON
I. A true test of faith.
· In verse 13, we find that Daniel and his friends were about to be killed.
· Here is a teenager whose life is on the line. What does he do?
· When the executioner showed up at the door and explained to Daniel what was about to go down and why Daniel, according to verse 14, responded with tact and discretion with the executioner.
· Daniel was able to ask and get the executioner to give him an audience with the King.
· Verse 16 tells us that Daniel asked the King for some more time so that he could fulfill the King's desire.
· Nebuchadnezzar was so troubled by the dream that he granted Daniel his request.
· Think about this, Daniel had to possess a great deal of faith in a God who appeared to let both him and his nation down.
· In chapter one, you will see how Daniel trusted in God to not eat the food from the King's table that would defile him and his friends.
· Daniel did not run did not hide, nor did he just give up and die.
· Daniel had the faith the approach the King and ask for time.
· Once granted the time, what did Daniel do? Look back to verses 17-18 again.
· 17 Then Daniel went to his house and told his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah about the matter, 18 urging them to ask the God of the heavens for mercy concerning this mystery, so Daniel and his friends would not be destroyed with the rest of Babylon’s wise men.
· What was Daniel’s first instinct? To run, to panic, to scheme, to plot, or to PRAY!
· Daniel told his friends what was going on and then URGED them to pray.
· Let me ask you, when you are in a difficult situation, when things get stressful or look impossible, what is your first thought? AHHHHHHHH! J
· Daniel was not looking to figure a way out; he was looking to God to have his back.
· These young men were going to die, this was as bad as it gets.
· This was the reason why Daniel and his friends prayed to God.
· What they prayed for was also interesting.
· Think about the possible opportunity, they could have prayed that God allow all the other heathens Nebuchadnezzar called, to die, THEN Daniel and his friends would have been the last men standing.
· Instead, they prayed that God would reveal the dream so that they AND as well as the rest of Babylon’s wise men would not be destroyed.
· They prayed that God would reveal the mystery of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, and, in so doing, show the reality, power, and wisdom of the one true God.
· Their prayer presupposes the revelatory nature of God, as had been manifest, for example, in the ministries of Israel’s great prophets.
· They wanted God to save all the wise men!
· Look, our faith is tested by fire, for these young men, their faith was tested by the ultimate stress, the reality of losing their life!
· Let’s look at verse 19.
· SLIDE #3
· Daniel 2:19 (CSB) — 19 The mystery was then revealed to Daniel in a vision at night, and Daniel praised the God of the heavens
· SLIDE #4
II. An answer to prayer.
· This point will be very short and sweet!
· God answered Daniel’s prayer!
· God came to Daniel in a vision and gave the answer!
· Daniel was overcome with joy!
· What will Daniel do?
· Look at verses 20-23 with me.
· SLIDE #5
· Daniel 2:20–23 (CSB) — 20 and declared: May the name of God be praised forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to him. 21 He changes the times and seasons; he removes kings and establishes kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding. 22 He reveals the deep and hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness, and light dwells with him. 23 I offer thanks and praise to you, God of my fathers, because you have given me wisdom and power. And now you have let me know what we asked of you, for you have let us know the King’s mystery.
· SLIDE #6
III. Giving credit where credit is due.
· The Psalm of praise that Daniel pours out to God is very revealing to us; it holds the key as to why Daniel and his friends had so much faith!
· Daniel knows that God is in control, even when it does not look like He is!
· May the name of God be praised forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to him.
· Daniel acknowledges God’s power versus that of Nebuchadnezzar in verse 21.
· He changes the times and seasons; he removes kings and establishes kings.
· God has the power to change times and seasons, and he removes and establishes kings.
· God determines when in history events are to take place and how long each process or phase in history is to endure.
· Thus, God not only decreed the fall and destruction of Jerusalem in 587 b.c.—an event future for Daniel in 602 B.C.—but also the exact number of years the captivity would last (cf. 9:2).
· The rulers of earth may imagine they have attained power by their own might, but it is only by God’s choice that they are permitted their transient authority. At any time, he may remove them from their thrones and set up others in their place (v.21a).
· Then Daniel praises God for His wisdom and He thanks God
· Whatever wisdom the wise of this world have attained has come from God, whether or not they recognize this.
· Humans are prone to swell with pride over their growing understanding of nature and its laws when only by God’s gifts do they achieve anything.
· When you know that God has the power and the wisdom, then why would we not trust Him?
CONCLUSION
· God reveals himself to humanity through his sovereign control, infinite wisdom, and ability to reveal secrets.
· We can learn to trust God through Apocalyptic Literature, by understanding that the future is in his hands.
· You can trust the one who has the power and wisdom to see you through life!
