If you'll turn back with me now
to the Book of Daniel. I want you to understand that
the reason for this series on the minor prophets is to show
you the importance and the value that these passages, these little
books here in the Old Testament, Our ever wit is as important,
they're as much the word of God as the book of Romans, the book
of Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John, the book of Revelation. This
is the word of God. This is the word of God. It's
the thinking of my generation that these things ought to be
included in the word of God for history's sake. but there's nothing
really worthy of study, nothing really worthy to be preached
in these books. So I remind you once more that
when Christ came into this world, that there was just one source
of information as to who he was, and as to why he was coming,
and as to what he would accomplish, and where he was going to go. Just one source of information,
and that was the Old Testament. There was no New Testament yet. They had the Old Testament scriptures. When you read through the book
of Acts, they're not preaching from Matthew, Mark, Luke, and
John. They're preaching from the Old Testament. There was
no New Testament yet. We know nothing of God except
what he's been pleased to tell us in his word. And after a short
summation of the birth of Christ and his ministry, his death and
his resurrection, Peter then made this declaration in Acts
chapter 10 in verse 43. Now listen to this. To him, this
one who came, this one who lived, this one who suffered and died
and rose from the dead and ascended into glory, to him give all the
prophets witness. Well, what did they say? Did
they predict a time? Did they tell us what tribe he
would come from? Yes, they did all of that. But
to him, give all the prophets witness that through his name,
whosoever believeth on him should receive remission of sins. What's
Daniel about? It's about the Lord Jesus Christ.
That's what it's about. And you can find all kinds of
things in there to satisfy your curiosity, but you won't find
anything that'll do your soul any good until you discover Christ
in the book of Daniel. God's name is given to ignorant
fallen sinners that they might believe and be saved. Did you
know that Ethiopian eunuch, he wasn't reading the book of Romans
when God's Preacher came up and began to run along beside him.
He was reading the book of Isaiah. And what did God's man do when
he got up in the chariot with him? He asked him, he said, do
you understand what you're reading? He said, how can I except some
man tell me? He said, scoot over. And he said,
beginning at that passage, he preached Christ to him. Huh? In the book of Isaiah? Oh yeah,
to him give all the prophets witness. that through his name,
whosoever believeth in him should receive remission of sin. You
know what that old Ethiopian eunuch did? Soon as he heard,
he said, what does hinder me from being baptized? Well, where'd
he get any idea about baptism? The book of Isaiah. Huh? Now come on, there wasn't any
other book. Wasn't any other book. God has purposed for men
to hear His gospel, none other name under heaven given among
men whereby we must be saved. This name as it's given to men
is called the gospel, the God spell, the good news. And God has purposed for men
to hear it, perceive it, perceive it through the preaching of the
gospel and believe it through the power of God's Holy Spirit.
But Paul tells us that this gospel is a mystery. It's a mystery. You sat down with no knowledge
of Christ and read the book of Daniel and you're gonna come
away doing this. It's a mystery. Paul tells us that this gospel
is a mystery. He said, I preach the wisdom
of God in a mystery. Even the hidden wisdom which
God ordained before the world unto our glory, which none of
the princes of this world knew, for had they known it, they would
not have crucified the Lord of glory. If they understood the
book of Daniel, they wouldn't have crucified the Lord of glory. If they understood the book of
Micah, they wouldn't have crucified the Lord of glory. If they understood
the book of Zechariah, they wouldn't have crucified the Lord of glory.
But it was a mystery. And then Paul quotes Isaiah the
prophet. And he said, for it's written,
I hath not seen nor ear heard. Now listen to this. Neither have
entered into the heart of man. the things that God has prepared
for them that love him. But he hath revealed them unto
us by his Spirit. Huh? God hath revealed them unto
us by his Spirit. But he don't stop there. And
people tell me this all the time. You don't know anything about
me. No, but God does. God does. I don't need to know anything
about you. All I got to do is read the Word of God. I can read
you like a book through the Word of God. I can tell you things
that you don't understand, just like Daniel told that king. He didn't want to just know the
interpretation, he wanted to know the problem. He wanted to
know the dream. I have the word of God, and the
word of God is a discerner, it says. The word of God is a discerner
of the thoughts and intents of the heart. I don't need to know
you. God knows you. God knows you. It's God's word. And there's
no creature, he said, that's not manifested in his sight,
but all things are naked and open under the eyes of him with
whom we have to do. And in this introduction to the
book of Daniel, I want you to see that our great God is the
revealer of secrets. Nebuchadnezzar come to see that. He can reveal things we don't
even know. And most people, most people,
now listen to me, when God arranges in His providence, and He's working
in this man's heart, He's going to bring him to Christ. He's
got all kinds of problems. Everything in the world seems
to be going south. Things are upside down or sideways
and he's seeking something and don't know what he's seeking.
He's hearing something and don't know what he hears. He's thinking
things and now they're serious things. You know, it's one thing to drive
down the road and you see that little baby Jesus over there
in the manger and you just go on down the road. It's another
thing when you find yourself lost. Now you want to know something
about that baby. What's he doing here? What did he actually do?
Can he do something for me? Huh? God is the revealer of secrets. And the book begins in chapter
one, telling us the names of his servants, Hananiah, and Mishael,
and Azariah, and Daniel. And then in Daniel 1.17, it says,
as for these four children, God gave them knowledge. Who did? God did. They wasn't any different
than you and I. No difference whatsoever. They
were just common people living in Jerusalem. They didn't understand
why Nebuchadnezzar all of a sudden come down there in power and
stomped Jerusalem into firewood. They didn't understand any of
that. What's going on? He took them captive. He saw
something in them. How come? Why did Nebuchadnezzar
see something in them? Because God put something in
them. These four children, God gave
them knowledge and skill in learning and wisdom. Christ is our wisdom. We didn't know anything at all
about God until he saved us. All of a sudden then we open
the scriptures up and we read in there, we know that the Son
of God has come and given to us an understanding. Where'd
you get it from? God gave it to you. If you know
anything at all about God, God gave it to you. He singled these
four out. Why these four? I don't know.
Reasons known only to him. He singled them out and he gave
them, it says, knowledge and skill and learning. They were able to read things
and learn and hear things and learn. And wisdom, wisdom to apply that
learning. Now watch this. And Daniel, he
singled Daniel out all by himself here. Now listen to what he says. Had understanding in all visions
and dreams. Nobody else knew what they mean,
but he did. He did. How come? God gave it
to him. God gave it to us. Those who preach the gospel to
us in our day have an understanding and ability to look into the
mysterious things of God and interpret them, not because they're
smart, not because they're above average people, but because God
gives them this knowledge and understanding. Who maketh thee
to differ? Huh? What have you gotten that
you haven't received? And if you received it, why do
you act like you didn't? Nebuchadnezzar, who conquered
Judah, besieged Jerusalem in the providence of God, chose
these four men to serve him in his house. That's God's providence,
ain't it? The next thing God tells us is
that this great Babylonian king had a troubling dream. So he
called for the magicians. Whenever I think about these
preachers out here, I don't want to act like I'm talking down
to them because I was among them before God gave me some wisdom.
But this is what I think about. I think about magicians, sleight
of hand, tricky in their speech, astrologers, looking to see if
the stars all line up. And the Chaldeans, wise men,
wise men. And he sought these men to tell
him what all this was about. And they said, tell us the dream
and we'll tell you. He said, you tell me the dream. If you have the ability that
you say you have, you tell me the dream. He told them, he said, things
gone from me. If you won't tell me the dream,
I'm gonna hew you in pieces. So after a little more discussion, they
said the same thing again. The king answered and said, I
know of a certainty that you would gain time. You're just
stalling for time because I've already told you the thing's
gone from me. And if you will not make known
the dream and its meaning, there's just one thing left for you,
one decree left for you. I'm going to hew you to pieces
and make your houses like dunghills." And in a panic, they said, nobody
on earth required it. Who would ask anybody to do this? Nobody could do this. And then
Daniel woke up. and said, if you'll give me just
a little bit of time, I'm gonna tell you the dream, and I'm gonna
tell you what the dream means. Daniel 2.47, the king answered
and said, if Daniel of a truth it is that your God is a God
of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing
thou couldest reveal this secret. Brethren, when God sends his
messenger, he alone can tell you both what's troubling you
and what it means. If he can't tell you what's troubling
him, God didn't send him. And the trouble is, we're sinners.
That's the trouble. That's why all these things are
coming upon you, you're sinners. You're sinners. What's that mean? It means you need a savior. That's
what it means. The revelation comes by God,
and it comes through a man. God could have spoke to Nebuchadnezzar.
He didn't need Daniel. But he purposed to do it through
Daniel, didn't he? Just like he said, it pleased
God through the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
He could save people without a preacher, but he didn't purpose
to do it that way. He purposed to use a preacher. Paul said, God hath revealed
these things unto us by spirit, for the spirit searcheth all
things, yea, the deep things of God. Now, he said, we have
received not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is
of God, that we might make known, that we might know the things
that are freely given to us of God, which things also we speak,
not in words, which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy
Ghost teacheth, comparing spiritual things. was spiritual. These things that we have received
of the Spirit of God, he said, that's what we tell. Daniel didn't
have anything to tell until God revealed it to him. Oh, I'll
tell you, if you're a messenger of God and he reveals that thing
to you, now you're ready to tell it. I love what old Barnard used
to say. He said, you can't tell what
you don't know anymore, and you can come back from somewhere
you haven't been. And that's the truth. That's the truth. Daniel was seen as a man of wisdom
and great worth in Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom, and he gave Daniel the
cheapest place over all the governors of Babylon. He swarmed in with that army
and crushed Jerusalem. Him and his soldiers walked into
the holy temple of God and spoiled the vessels out of it. And if
you go to the book of Jeremiah, it'll list everything that he
took. It was amazing. He took wagon loads of it. snuffers
and shovels and candles and all these things out of the temple
of God. And he took them all back to Jerusalem, went in his
ungodly, idolatrous temple, and put those vessels in there. And
wasn't a thing anybody could do about it. But you know what
I read to you earlier about that kingdom? Nothing's gonna harm
that kingdom. He looked over those people and
he said, hmm, I think I'll get Daniel and these three over here. Isn't that something? And God
probably did. And then he brings them up and
just like Joseph of old, he gives them the interpretation of the
dream. He brings them into favor with
the king. And now here they are in high
positions with a man who just come down and took them into
captivity. This is the main function of
God's ministers. They tell others what they cannot
learn anywhere else. So what was the vision? Well,
in Daniel 2.32, it says this image, its head was of fine gold,
and its breast and its arms were of silver. And his belly and
his thighs were of brass, and his legs of iron, and his feet
part of iron and part of clay. So as he looked, he saw this
image, golden head, silver breast, brass here, iron, and then iron
and clay on his feet. And he's standing there looking
at this image. And it terrified him to look at it. And all of
a sudden, he looked over here and here's this big mountain
and a stone without hands. Nobody used it. This big stone
just comes out of the mountain. We had a fellow that went to
13th Street Baptist Church. He was driving home. And he was
coming down on the Ohio side of the Ohio River. And he was
going through this place called Hanging Rock. And they was huge. I can't even describe them. They
were five times the size of a house. And they were just hanging out
where they blasted through and made this road. And he's doing
60 mile an hour. And here he is. He's going west
on Route 52 alongside that river. These rocks have been hanging
up there for who knows how many centuries. All of a sudden, that
rock broke loose. And he comes down the road. And
here's this rock comes down right on top of that car. It was so
massive, it mashed the car clear into the pavement. And they did
news stories about that for months after that. That's what Nebuchadnezzar
saw. He saw this image, and here's
a great mountain. This image is standing there
before the mountain. What's that mountain? That's
God. And a stone comes out of that mountain. And it comes down
and it hits that idol in its feet and crushes it, just crushes
it. And then that stone begins to
grow and it becomes a mountain in itself. Huh? The vision before the king was
an image of all these kingdoms, all these kingdoms. A little
of this and a little of that. And what Daniel interprets to
the king is that his vision was of Christ and of antichrist. That's what he's telling them.
That God has purpose to establish his kingdom in this world and
that all the other kingdoms of this world are but servants to
accomplish his will with his kingdom. All of these kingdoms
that Daniel spoke of were in opposition to God's kingdom.
Every last one of them. They were in opposition to God's
kingdom, God's people, God's messengers, and God's redeemer.
That's what antichrist means, contrary to Christ, against Christ. And this world and its rulers
are in league with antichrist. What I told you earlier, go up
to Washington, D.C. and see what the National Cathedral
is. Look around there, any notable
cathedral in Washington, D.C. that has the name nation or national
attached to it, it's all false religion. Nebuchadnezzar spoiled the temple
in Jerusalem, took its vessels to the Temple of Babylon. And
the image before that pagan king and all who would follow him
was an image Doomed to be destroyed. God speaks in this image of deity. Not a church out here that doesn't
talk about God. They all gonna use the word God. Brass, what's that? That's an
alloy. Silver has to do with redemption.
They all talk about redemption. None of them know what it is,
but they all talk about it. Brass is an alloy, that means
it's a mixed, a mixed mess, is what we're talking about. Iron
has to do with strength. They're strong, there are many
in number. Legs of iron, man, they just keep on going, keep
on going. But the feet is iron and clay.
Iron and clay. That clay just means it's earthy.
Antichrist is a beast of an unholy mixture. It professes deity,
claims redemption. Stomach speaks of what it eats
and his thighs of his walk. It's an unholy alloy of doctrine,
powerful with its legs of iron but vulnerable. It's a horrible image, it cannot
be understood by vision alone, you don't just see it and perceive
it. Only God's messengers can give the ungodly man a true interpretation
of what he's seeing. And then a rock comes out of
the mountain, a rock with no help from man, no hand to hew
it, no saw to cut it. And it comes at the will of God,
to shatter this image. It's gonna bust this image into
powder. And it grows then and grows into
a mountain in itself. And God's message through his
prophet is this. God ruleth. That's what he's
telling us. Did you know that's what Daniel's
name means? God ruleth. That's his name. That's his message. He was born
for it. That's the reason God gave him
his existence. God gives the interpretation. He said, in the days of these
kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall
never be destroyed. They're gonna try. They'll try
every way to destroy it, but they're not gonna destroy it.
And the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it
shall break in pieces and consume all their kingdoms, and it'll
stand forever. And there'll always be a continuation
of ungodly kingdoms in this world. That's what Daniel's telling
us here. He's showing us this in this image. ruled by fallen men and their
ungodly principles and religious ideas, but in the end, God's
kingdom is going to reduce them all to powder. And John saw this same thing
in Revelations 11, verse 15, and he said, the kingdoms of
the world are become the Lord's kingdoms. And if you'll read
carefully the introduction to the book of Daniel, but especially
that of Jeremiah, He'll show you there that Nebuchadnezzar
was his servant, and he was sending his servant in judgment upon
Israel. That ought to tell us something
today about what's going on. The kingdoms of the world have
become the kingdoms of our Lord and his Christ, and he's gonna
reign forever. And there is, though many kingdoms
spoken of, only two that's clearly revealed. And that's the kingdom
of God and the kingdom of Antichrist. Not a single man or earthly body,
but a whole system of false religion. Did you know Babylon? That's
where Nebuchadnezzar reigned. He was the king of Babylon. Do
you know that Babylon, all through the scriptures, is typical of
false religion? And in the book of Revelation,
he said that's its name, Babylon. Babylon. Daniel describes him in Daniel
8 and verse 23. He said, in the latter time of
their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king
of fierce countenance and understanding dark sentences shall stand up,
and his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power. And
he shall destroy wonderfully and shall prosper and practice
and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. And through
his policy also, he shall cause craft to prosper." Craft's gonna
prosper in his hand. And he shall magnify himself
in his heart and by peace shall destroy many. What's Isaiah say
about him? He'll cry, peace, peace. where
there is no peace. He shall also stand up against
the prince of princes, but he'll be broken without hand, that
is, without any help from man. This rebel ruler is identified
throughout the book of Daniel in Daniel 8 and 9 as the little
horn come down from the north. In Daniel 8.23, the stern-faced
king In Daniel 9.26, the ruler who
will come. In Daniel 9.27, the ruler who
sets up the abomination that maketh desolate. And then in
Daniel 11.36, the king who exalts himself. And this conflict will
continue unto the end. One kingdom after the other,
one religion after the other, until just before the end, when
this world passes a point of no return. Now, this might be
talking about the same thing that he says over in Revelations
20, where he says there's a little space where he turns Satan loose. I'm telling you, the book of
Revelations and the book of Daniel, you're just almost reading the
same book. And Daniel said, he shall destroy
the mighty and the holy people. And then he speaks of the daily
sacrifice being taken away. Daniel 8, or I mean verse 11. And the daily sacrifice of Israel
was typical of the continual ministry of Christ. There was
under the law a daily sacrifice. They had to offer that sacrifice
every day. And this was typical of the continuing
ministry of Christ and his perpetual efficacy of his sacrifice. His
sacrifice, that's our hope every day, isn't it? Yeah, that's our
hope. That's my life. That's what Paul
said. Or if you wanna even shorten
it down even more, it's talking about his gospel ministry in
this world. And the place of his sanctuary,
it says in Daniel 8, 9 through 11, was cast down. What's going
on in our day? Well, the gospel is just a speck
in this world, being mocked by the religion of the world, and
in our day, it's not the very place of worship under attack.
What does Antichrist say to you? You don't have to worship there.
You can worship on the mountain. God said you can't. He said that's
idolatry, go up on that mountain and build you a grove or find
you a little pretty place up there somewhere and go up there
and worship. That's an abomination, he said before me. Every good
king he ever raised up went up and tore those groves down. The gospel is just a speck in
this world. And Antichrist teaches you can
worship wherever you want. You can worship on the lake,
in the mountain, just wherever. And this ain't the first time
he ever sung that song. That's how these groves and how
all of these statues of Baal and Barak and Buddha and all
these other ones. What is a sanctuary? You ever think about it? What's
a sanctuary? Another religious term we hear
and file it away somewhere. What is a sanctuary? The sanctuary
is the place where saints gather to worship. Is that right? That's a sanctuary. The place of the sanctuary was
cast down. In the place of the sanctuary,
he sets up what the Holy Ghost calls the abomination that maketh
desolate. What's that? It's nothing short
of a false gospel. Instead of preaching salvation
by the will and power of God, they preach salvation by the
will and power of man. Instead of preaching the free
grace of God, they preach the free will of man. Instead of
preaching the person and work of Christ, they preach the person
and work of man. And instead of preaching salvation
by the righteousness of Christ, they preach a self-righteousness
by their own obedience to the law. But Christ who rules over all
things shall overcome antichrist. Now look at this with me here
in Daniel 12. Turn over and read with me here, Daniel 12. I hope
I'm not losing you in this. I'm just trying to give you an
introduction into this book and tell you what this book is all
about. Daniel 12 verse one. And at that time, Michael, you
see that word there? That's Christ. That's Christ. Just scratch in the word Christ
there, because that's what he's talking about. At that time shall
Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children
of thy people. And there shall be a time of
trouble such as never was since there was a nation even to that
same time. And at that time thy people shall
be delivered, every one that shall be found. Now watch this,
written in the book. Who's he gonna deliver? Every
man that's written in the book. Our Lord said this. He said if
it were possible in that day, the very elect would be deceived.
But it's not possible. He's gonna deliver everybody
whose name is written in that book. Antichrist is not gonna
overcome them. Their kingdom's gonna flourish.
And when it's all said and done, all these kingdoms are just gonna
be dust. Just one kingdom standing, and
that's his. That's his. Christ is God, and
as God, he ruleth. He ruleth. There ain't no question
about it. He's not running for office.
He's seated on the throne at the right hand of God. He's ruling. He's arranging. Well, you say,
how's he ruling? He rules over everything. What
is it he don't rule? He rules over creation. Boy,
we won't go jump and crawl in a hole every time the sky gets
a little cloudy. We're gonna run and jump in a
hole somewhere. He rules. These things are not accidental,
they're arranged of God. You couldn't outrun, the instrument
of death is already prepared. And if he's got your name on
it, you can't outrun God. Somebody saw one of these storm
movies where they show the big tornadoes and everything. And
these people crawled up in a pipe, you know, and a tornado went
over and they lived. So the farmer went home and he
was out in his field and he saw this big tornado come and he
jumped off there and got in that pipe. Well, that tornado come
by a different way and it sucked him right out of the pipe. Ain't
nowhere to hide from God. He rules, he rules over everything. My soul, he made iron to float. He made Jordan back up at flood
stage and they walked across on, he split the sea. He froze everything in time for
24 hours. These scientists went back, and
they're trying to figure out this and that, and they went
back, and they're 24 hours missing. It ain't missing. God just froze
everything in time. He froze it. He turned the water
into wine, didn't he? These boys, they worried about
taxes. Don't you think we ought to just
not pay taxes? He said, whose image is on there?
Well, Caesar. Well, give it to Caesar. We ain't
got it. You just go down there, take
your little fishing rod and throw it out there. You gonna catch
a fish? Your tax money's in his mouth. You think he don't rule? He rules over everything that
is. Everything. Creation. Salvation. He's arranging all things. We
got nothing to fear. That's what Daniel, that's what
his whole message always, God ruleth. Yeah, but we're gonna
throw you in a lion's den. God ruleth. We're gonna throw
you in a furnace. God ruleth. Looked in there and
saw three men and four men and one of them like under the sun
of God. He ruleth. Oh, my soul. Take that in your
heart. Rest in him. Rest in him. All right. Thank you.