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The Untold Story of Prophet Daniel_ Faith_ Fire _ the Lions_ Den Explained · truthunedited

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  Speaker 1: What if I told you that a captive teenager in
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  Speaker 1: ancient Babylon saw your future? That over 2,500 years ago,
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  Speaker 1: a prophet decoded dreams that revealed every major empire that
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  Speaker 1: would rise and fall until the end of the world.
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  Speaker 1: Daniel didn't just predict the future, he gave us the timeline.
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  Speaker 1: He saw kingdoms that didn't even exist yet. He prophesied
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  Speaker 1: the exact year the Messiah would appear. He described the
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  Speaker 1: final world leader who would defy God himself. Scholars called
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  Speaker 1: him the prophet of the apocalypse. His visions terrified him
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  Speaker 1: so much that he became physically ill. Angels appeared to
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  Speaker 1: him calling him highly esteemed by heaven. Kings trembled at
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  Speaker 1: his words. His prophecies are so eerily accurate that skeptics
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  Speaker 1: refused to believe he wrote them before the events happened.
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  Speaker 1: But here's what makes Daniel truly extraordinary. He was given
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  Speaker 1: visions about the time of the end, And biblical scholars
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  Speaker 1: believe we're living in that time right now. The beasts
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  Speaker 1: he saw rising from the sea, the little horn that
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  Speaker 1: speaks blasphemies, the abomination of desolation, the resurrection of the dead.
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  Speaker 1: Daniel saw it all, and he saw it for us.
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  Speaker 1: This isn't just ancient history. This is a message sealed
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  Speaker 1: for the end times, and the seal is being broken.
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  Speaker 1: Are you ready to discover what Daniel knew? Are you
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  Speaker 1: ready to see what he saw? Welcome to the story
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  Speaker 1: of the man who looked into eternity and lived to
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  Speaker 1: tell about it. The book of Daniel opens with a
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  Speaker 1: moment that changed everything. As we read in chapter 1,
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  Speaker 1: verse 1, In the third year of the reign of
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  Speaker 1: Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem,
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  Speaker 1: and besieged it. Picture this scene in your mind. The
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  Speaker 1: most powerful army in the world surrounds the holy city.
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  Speaker 1: The Babylonians have conquered nation after nation, and now they've
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  Speaker 1: come for Jerusalem. This wasn't just another battle. This was
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  Speaker 1: the city of God, the city where Solomon's temple stood,
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  Speaker 1: the city where God's name dwelled. And now Babylonian soldiers
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  Speaker 1: surrounded its walls, their siege engines ready, their armies stretching
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  Speaker 1: as far as the eye could see. The people inside
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  Speaker 1: must have been terrified. Verse 2 tells us what happened next.
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  Speaker 1: And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand,
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  Speaker 1: along with some of the articles from the temple of God.
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  Speaker 1: These he carried off to the temple of his God
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  Speaker 1: in Babylonia and put in the treasure house of his God.
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  Speaker 1: Notice something crucial here. The Bible doesn't say Nebuchadnezzar won
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  Speaker 1: because he was stronger. It says the Lord gave Judah
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  Speaker 1: into his hand. This was God's judgment on his people
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  Speaker 1: for their unfaithfulness. But the defeat went deeper than just
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  Speaker 1: losing a battle. The sacred vessels from Solomon's temple were taken.
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  Speaker 1: These were the golden lampstands that had burned for hundreds
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  Speaker 1: of years, the altar implements that priests had used in
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  Speaker 1: daily worship, the bowls and cups that had been part
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  Speaker 1: of temple ceremonies since Solomon's time. These weren't just valuable objects.
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  Speaker 1: They represented God's presence with his people. And where did
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  Speaker 1: they end up? In the temple of a false god
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  Speaker 1: in Babylon. This was a statement. It was as if
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  Speaker 1: the Babylonians were saying that their gods had defeated the
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  Speaker 1: God of Israel. For the people watching this happen, it
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  Speaker 1: must have felt like the end of the world. But
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  Speaker 1: Nebuchadnezzar didn't just want treasure. He wanted people. Specifically, he
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  Speaker 1: wanted the best and brightest young men from the nations
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  Speaker 1: he conquered. Verse 3 describes his strategy. Then the king
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  Speaker 1: ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring into
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  Speaker 1: the king's service some of the Israelites from the royal
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  Speaker 1: family and the nobility. This was deliberate and calculated. Nebuchadnezzar
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  Speaker 1: didn't want random captives. He wanted young men from the
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  Speaker 1: top families in Judah, the royal family, the nobility, the
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  Speaker 1: sons of the people who had been running the country.
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  Speaker 1: These were young men who had been raised with education. privilege,
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  Speaker 1: and expectations of leadership. Verse 4 gets even more specific.
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  Speaker 1: Young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for
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  Speaker 1: every kind of learning, well-informed, quick to understand, and qualified
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  Speaker 1: to serve in the king's palace. Look at that list.
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  Speaker 1: No physical defects. They had to be healthy and strong, handsome.
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  Speaker 1: They had to look the part, showing aptitude for learning.
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  Speaker 1: they had to be smart well-informed they needed good education
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  Speaker 1: already quick to understand They needed to learn fast. Qualified
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  Speaker 1: to serve in the palace, they needed social skills to
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  Speaker 1: function at high levels of government. He wanted perfection, the
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  Speaker 1: absolute best that Judah had to offer, and he wanted
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  Speaker 1: them young, old enough to have received good education in
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  Speaker 1: their homeland, but young enough that their identities weren't completely
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  Speaker 1: formed yet. The verse continues, he was to teach them
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  Speaker 1: the language and literature of the Babylonians. This reveals the plan.
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  Speaker 1: These young men weren't going to be slaves doing hard labor.
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  Speaker 1: They were going to be educated in Babylonian culture and
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  Speaker 1: then placed in positions serving the king. Why would a
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  Speaker 1: conquering king do this? Because Nebuchadnezzar understood that if he
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  Speaker 1: could take the best young minds and turn them into
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  Speaker 1: loyal Babylonian officials, they would be far more useful than slaves.
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  Speaker 1: They could help him rule. They could serve as examples
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  Speaker 1: to their own people that resistance was futile. So Ashpenaz
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  Speaker 1: had his orders. Out of thousands of captives brought to
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  Speaker 1: Babylon from Judah, he was to find the ones who
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  Speaker 1: met these high standards. Among all those young captives, four
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  Speaker 1: stood out. Verse 6 introduces them. Among those who were
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  Speaker 1: chosen were some from Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.
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  Speaker 1: Just four names, simple and direct. But these four names
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  Speaker 1: would become legendary. Their story would be told for thousands
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  Speaker 1: of years. We don't know much about their backgrounds. The
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  Speaker 1: Bible doesn't tell us about their families in detail. We
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  Speaker 1: don't know their exact ages, though they were clearly young,
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  Speaker 1: probably in their mid to late teens. We don't know
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  Speaker 1: if they were friends before captivity or met in Babylon.
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  Speaker 1: The scripture doesn't give us those details. But here's what
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  Speaker 1: we do know. They were from Judah. They had been
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  Speaker 1: raised in the ways of the Lord. They knew the
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  Speaker 1: law of Moses. They had worshipped at the temple in Jerusalem.
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  Speaker 1: They had been taught about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They
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  Speaker 1: knew the stories of how God delivered their ancestors from Egypt.
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  Speaker 1: They understood what it meant to be part of God's
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  Speaker 1: chosen people. And now all of that was gone. Their
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  Speaker 1: homes were hundreds of miles away. Their families were either dead, scattered,
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  Speaker 1: or still back in Judah under Babylonian rule. The temple
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  Speaker 1: where they had worshipped was empty. Everything familiar was gone.
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  Speaker 1: They were teenagers in a foreign land, surrounded by strangers
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  Speaker 1: who spoke a different language, in a city filled with
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  Speaker 1: temples to false gods. Among people with completely different values
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  Speaker 1: and beliefs, they were outnumbered. They had no rights, no freedom.
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  Speaker 1: They were alone. Think about what that must have felt like,
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  Speaker 1: being ripped away from everything you know at that age.
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  Speaker 1: No family to turn to, no familiar places, no community
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  Speaker 1: of faith, no friends who understand what you believe. Just
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  Speaker 1: you and a few others like you, trying to survive
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  Speaker 1: in a world that wants to change who you are.
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  Speaker 1: They had every reason to give up, every reason to
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  Speaker 1: be angry at God, every reason to decide that their
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  Speaker 1: faith didn't matter anymore. every reason to just go along
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  Speaker 1: with whatever the Babylonians wanted. But something in these four
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  Speaker 1: young men was different. The Bible just gives us their names, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, Azariah,
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  Speaker 1: four young men standing at a crossroads, four young men
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  Speaker 1: who had to decide who they really were. The Babylonians
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  Speaker 1: had a detailed plan for these young men. It wasn't
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  Speaker 1: thrown together. This was a systematic program designed to transform
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  Speaker 1: Hebrew boys into Babylonian men. Verse 4 had told us
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  Speaker 1: the king wanted them taught the language and literature of
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  Speaker 1: the Babylonians. But verse 5 adds crucial details. The king
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  Speaker 1: assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from
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  Speaker 1: the king's table. They were to be trained for three years,
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  Speaker 1: and after that they were to enter the king's service.
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  Speaker 1: Three years. That's how long the program would last. Three
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  Speaker 1: years of intensive training. Three years of being surrounded by
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  Speaker 1: everything Babylonian. The language, the writing system, the literature, the customs,
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  Speaker 1: the beliefs. Everything. From morning until night. Every single day.
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  Speaker 1: This wasn't just education. This was transformation. The goal was clear.
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  Speaker 1: Take these Hebrew boys and turn them into Babylonian men.
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  Speaker 1: Make them forget where they came from. replace their identity
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  Speaker 1: as children of Abraham with a new identity as servants
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  Speaker 1: of Nebuchadnezzar. They would study the Chaldean language, the language
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  Speaker 1: of the educated class in Babylon. It was complex and sophisticated,
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  Speaker 1: completely different from Hebrew. They would have to master it
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  Speaker 1: not just to survive, but to excel at the highest
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  Speaker 1: levels of government. They would read Babylonian literature. This included
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  Speaker 1: epic poems about Babylonian gods and heroes. stories about how
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  Speaker 1: their deities created the world, myths about divine battles, religious
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  Speaker 1: texts that presented a completely different worldview from what they
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  Speaker 1: had been raised with, historical accounts that glorified Babylon, wisdom
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  Speaker 1: literature that taught Babylonian values, They would learn Babylonian science
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  Speaker 1: and mathematics. The Babylonians were advanced in astronomy, keeping detailed
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  Speaker 1: records of stars and planets. They had sophisticated mathematical systems.
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  Speaker 1: They studied the natural world through their own cultural lens.
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  Speaker 1: They would be taught how the Babylonian empire worked, the
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  Speaker 1: political structures, the social hierarchies, how to navigate court politics,
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  Speaker 1: how to be useful to the empire, how to serve
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  Speaker 1: the king effectively. Day after day, for three solid years,
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  Speaker 1: they would be immersed in this world. No breaks to
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  Speaker 1: go home. No visits back to Judah. No time off
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  Speaker 1: to be with other Hebrews and remember their own culture.
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  Speaker 1: Total immersion. Constant pressure. Relentless conditioning. The pressure to conform
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  Speaker 1: would be enormous. Everyone around them would be Babylonian. Everyone
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  Speaker 1: would worship Babylonian gods. Everyone would think Babylonian thoughts. To
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  Speaker 1: stand out, to be different. That would require incredible strength,
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  Speaker 1: but the Babylonians went even further. They went after something
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  Speaker 1: more fundamental. Verse 7 records what might seem small, but
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  Speaker 1: was actually a massive assault on identity. The chief official
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  Speaker 1: gave them new names. To Daniel, the name Belteshazzar, to
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  Speaker 1: Hananiah Shadrach, to Mishael Meshach, and to Azariah Abednego. In
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  Speaker 1: the ancient world, names carried enormous weight. Your name wasn't
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  Speaker 1: just a label. It was a statement about who you were,
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  Speaker 1: where you came from, and who your God was. Names
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  Speaker 1: had meanings. They told stories. Let's look at what these
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  Speaker 1: young men were losing. Daniel's name meant, God is my judge.
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  Speaker 1: Every time someone called him Daniel, it was a reminder
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  Speaker 1: that there was a God in heaven who judged with righteousness.
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  Speaker 1: It was a statement that ultimate authority... didn't belong to
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  Speaker 1: earthly kings, but to the God of heaven. Hananiah's name meant,
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  Speaker 1: the Lord is gracious. It was a testimony to God's character,
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  Speaker 1: to his kindness and mercy. Every time you said Hananiah,
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  Speaker 1: you were making a statement about who God is. Mishael's
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  Speaker 1: name meant, who is like God. It was a rhetorical
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  Speaker 1: question with an obvious answer, no one. No king, no empire,
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  Speaker 1: no false god could compare to the true God of Israel.
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  Speaker 1: The name itself was an act of worship. Azariah's name
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  Speaker 1: meant the Lord has helped. It was a testimony to
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  Speaker 1: God's faithfulness throughout Israel's history. A reminder that God had
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  Speaker 1: always been there for his people. These weren't just nice
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  Speaker 1: sounding names. These were theological statements. These were declarations of faith.
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  Speaker 1: These were connections to heritage, to people, to God. Every
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  Speaker 1: time someone said their names, it was a reminder of
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  Speaker 1: who they really were. Now those names were being taken away.
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  Speaker 1: Daniel became Belteshazzar, which meant something like Bell, protect his life.
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  Speaker 1: Bell was one of the chief gods of Babylon. So
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  Speaker 1: Daniel's new name was literally a prayer to a false god.
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  Speaker 1: Every time someone called him Belteshazzar, It was an acknowledgement
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  Speaker 1: of Babylonian religion, Hananiah. Mishael and Azariah became Shadrach, Meshach,
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  Speaker 1: and Abednego, names connected to Babylonian deities and culture. They
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  Speaker 1: were names that fit in Babylon, names that didn't make
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  Speaker 1: uncomfortable statements about the God of Israel. This was psychological warfare.
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  Speaker 1: Every time they heard their new names, and they would
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  Speaker 1: hear them constantly, They were supposed to be reminded that
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  Speaker 1: they belonged to Babylon now, that their old identity was gone.
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  Speaker 1: The Babylonians were trying to rename not just their persons,
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  Speaker 1: but their very souls. Along with the education and name
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  Speaker 1: changes came another element that seemed like a privilege, but
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  Speaker 1: created a serious problem. Daily provisions from the king's own table.
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  Speaker 1: Verse 5 had mentioned this. The king assigned them a
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  Speaker 1: daily amount of food and wine from the king's table.
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  Speaker 1: This was royal food, the finest cuisine in the entire empire.
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  Speaker 1: The best meats, the richest dishes, the finest wines. Most
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  Speaker 1: people would have been thrilled. Most captives would have considered
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  Speaker 1: this amazing luck. Here they were, prisoners from a conquered nation,
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  Speaker 1: and they were being fed like royalty. They were eating
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  Speaker 1: the same food served to the king himself. But for
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  Speaker 1: Daniel and his friends, this created a crisis of conscience.
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  Speaker 1: The food from the king's table wasn't just any food.
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  Speaker 1: Much of the meat would have been from animals that
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  Speaker 1: the law of Moses specifically said the Israelites shouldn't eat.
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  Speaker 1: Pork was common in Babylonian cuisine, shellfish, various animals that
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  Speaker 1: weren't killed according to proper method, Even worse, in Babylonian culture,
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  Speaker 1: food served from the king's table had often been dedicated
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  Speaker 1: to idols first. It was part of their religious practice
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  Speaker 1: to offer food to their gods before eating. The wine
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  Speaker 1: was used in pagan ceremonies, so eating this food wasn't
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  Speaker 1: just about dietary laws. It meant participating, even indirectly, in
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  Speaker 1: the worship of false gods. For these young men, this
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  Speaker 1: wasn't about being difficult. This wasn't about personal preferences. This
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  Speaker 1: was about the law of God. This was about commands
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  Speaker 1: given to Moses on Mount Sinai. This was about staying
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  Speaker 1: faithful to what they had been taught since childhood. The
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  Speaker 1: law included detailed instructions about what Israelites could and couldn't eat.
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  Speaker 1: But these laws weren't arbitrary. They were meant to set
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  Speaker 1: God's people apart, to make them different, to remind them
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  Speaker 1: constantly that they belonged to God. Every meal was supposed
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  Speaker 1: to be a reminder of their unique identity, but refusing
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  Speaker 1: the king's food was dangerous. It could be seen as
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  Speaker 1: insulting the king. After all, the king had been generous.
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  Speaker 1: To reject it might be interpreted as rebellion, and rebellion
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  Speaker 1: could cost you your life. Nebuchadnezzar was known for harsh punishments.
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  Speaker 1: Everything else had been taken from them. Their country, their freedom,
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  Speaker 1: their families, even their names. But this, what they put
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  Speaker 1: in their mouths, this was something they could still control.
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  Speaker 1: This was a choice they could still make. This was
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  Speaker 1: where they could still be faithful. This was the line
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  Speaker 1: in the sand. Here's where we see Daniel's wisdom shine through.
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  Speaker 1: He had a decision to make, and how he handled
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  Speaker 1: it reveals something important about his character. Verse 8 tells us,
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  Speaker 1: But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal
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  Speaker 1: food and wine, and he asked the chief official for
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  Speaker 1: permission not to defile himself this way. Notice the first part.
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  Speaker 1: Daniel resolved. He made up his mind. He decided. This
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  Speaker 1: wasn't a spur-of-the-moment reaction. This was a settled decision. He
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  Speaker 1: had thought about it, prayed about it, and determined what
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  Speaker 1: he was going to do. The word resolved suggests firmness
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  Speaker 1: and conviction. but notice what he did next. He didn't
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  Speaker 1: stage a protest. He didn't make a scene. He didn't
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  Speaker 1: stand up and announce he was too righteous for the
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  Speaker 1: king's food. He simply, quietly, respectfully approached the person in charge.
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  Speaker 1: He asked the chief official for permission. Think about that.
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  Speaker 1: He asked. He requested. He didn't demand his rights. He
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  Speaker 1: didn't threaten. He asked for permission. This was incredibly wise.
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  Speaker 1: He understood he was a captive in a foreign land.
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  Speaker 1: He understood these people had all the power. He was
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  Speaker 1: firm in conviction, but respectful in approach. Verses 9 and
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  Speaker 1: 10 show what happened. Now God had caused the official
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  Speaker 1: to show favor and compassion to Daniel. But the official
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  Speaker 1: told Daniel, I'm afraid of my lord the king, who
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  Speaker 1: has assigned your food and drink. Why should he see
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  Speaker 1: you looking worse than the other young men your age?
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  Speaker 1: The king would then have my head because of you.
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  Speaker 1: first notice God was at work. God had caused the
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  Speaker 1: official to show favor and compassion to Daniel. This wasn't
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  Speaker 1: just luck. God was preparing the way, softening hearts, creating opportunities.
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  Speaker 1: This is how God works, often quietly in ways we
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  Speaker 1: don't see at the time. But even though the official
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  Speaker 1: liked Daniel, he had a problem. He was scared and
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  Speaker 1: his fear was reasonable. He explained, I am afraid of
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  Speaker 1: my lord, the king. He had been given orders directly
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  Speaker 1: from Nebuchadnezzar. If he disobeyed, there would be consequences. The
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  Speaker 1: king would then have my head because of you. This
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  Speaker 1: wasn't a figure of speech. The official was literally saying
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  Speaker 1: that if Daniel and his friends looked unhealthy, the king
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  Speaker 1: would execute him. So the official liked Daniel but valued
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  Speaker 1: his own life more, which is understandable. So Daniel tried
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  Speaker 1: a different approach. He went to someone lower in the
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  Speaker 1: chain of command. Verses 11 and 12 tell us, Daniel
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  Speaker 1: then said to the guard whom the chief official had
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  Speaker 1: appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, Please test your
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  Speaker 1: servants for ten days. Give us nothing but vegetables to
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  Speaker 1: eat and water to drink. The guard was directly responsible
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  Speaker 1: for their daily care. Then Daniel made him a proposal.
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  Speaker 1: Notice the word please. Notice he called himself and his
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  Speaker 1: friends your servants. He was being humble and respectful. And
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  Speaker 1: what did he propose? Test your servants for ten days.
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  Speaker 1: Just ten days. Not forever. Not even for the full
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  Speaker 1: three years. Just ten days of eating vegetables and drinking water.
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  Speaker 1: Just ten days to see what would happen. Verse 13 continues.
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  Speaker 1: Then compare our appearance with that of the young men
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  Speaker 1: who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in
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  Speaker 1: accordance with what you see. He was saying, Look, I
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  Speaker 1: understand your concern. So let's do an experiment. Give us
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  Speaker 1: ten days. Then judge for yourself based on what you see.
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  Speaker 1: If we look worse, we'll eat the royal food. But
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  Speaker 1: if we look fine, let us continue. This was brilliant.
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  Speaker 1: He wasn't demanding or arguing theology the guard wouldn't understand.
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  Speaker 1: He was being practical and reasonable. He was suggesting a
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  Speaker 1: test with observable results. He was giving the guard an
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  Speaker 1: easy out. The guard didn't have to understand Hebrew dietary laws.
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  Speaker 1: He just had to look at them after ten days
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  Speaker 1: and compare. Daniel was putting the decision in the guard's hands.
• 20:54
  Speaker 1: based on results, not religious arguments. He was showing flexibility
• 20:59
  Speaker 1: in methods while remaining firm in conviction. This showed that
• 21:03
  Speaker 1: faithfulness to God doesn't require being confrontational. Verse 14 gives
• 21:08
  Speaker 1: the result. So he agreed to this and tested them
• 21:11
  Speaker 1: for ten days. The guard said yes. The test was on.
• 21:15
  Speaker 1: Ten days passed. Every day Daniel and his three friends
• 21:20
  Speaker 1: ate their simple meals of vegetables and water. Meanwhile all
• 21:23
  Speaker 1: the other young men continued eating the rich food from
• 21:26
  Speaker 1: the king's table, the finest meats, the richest dishes, the
• 21:30
  Speaker 1: best wine. And every day the guard watched. At the
• 21:34
  Speaker 1: end of ten days the moment of truth arrived. The
• 21:37
  Speaker 1: guard looked at Daniel and his friends. He compared them
• 21:40
  Speaker 1: to the others, and what he saw must have shocked him.
• 21:43
  Speaker 1: Verse 15 describes it. At the end of the ten days,
• 21:47
  Speaker 1: they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the
• 21:50
  Speaker 1: young men who ate the royal food. Read that carefully.
• 21:54
  Speaker 1: They didn't just look okay. They looked healthier and better
• 21:58
  Speaker 1: nourished than any of the young men who ate the
• 22:01
  Speaker 1: royal food. Not some, not most. All of them. This
• 22:05
  Speaker 1: made no sense by normal standards. They had eaten only
• 22:08
  Speaker 1: vegetables and drunk only water. The others had eaten rich
• 22:12
  Speaker 1: meats and fine foods and drunk wine. By every reasonable expectation,
• 22:17
  Speaker 1: Daniel and his friends should have looked worse. But they
• 22:20
  Speaker 1: looked better, healthier, stronger. This was obviously God's doing. God
• 22:25
  Speaker 1: was honoring their faithfulness. God was showing that obedience to
• 22:29
  Speaker 1: him leads to blessing, even when it doesn't make logical sense.
• 22:33
  Speaker 1: Verse 16 tells us, So the guard took away their
• 22:37
  Speaker 1: choice food and the wine they were to drink and
• 22:41
  Speaker 1: gave them vegetables instead. The test worked. They were allowed
• 22:45
  Speaker 1: to continue. Their faithfulness was honored, but the story doesn't
• 22:49
  Speaker 1: end there. God's blessing went far beyond just physical health.
• 22:54
  Speaker 1: Verses 17 through 20 describe something extraordinary. To these four
• 22:58
  Speaker 1: young men, God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds
• 23:02
  Speaker 1: of literature and learning. and Daniel could understand visions and
• 23:06
  Speaker 1: dreams of all kinds. At the end of the time
• 23:09
  Speaker 1: set by the king to bring them into his service,
• 23:12
  Speaker 1: the chief official presented them to Nebuchadnezzar. The king talked
• 23:17
  Speaker 1: with them, and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael,
• 23:21
  Speaker 1: and Azariah. So they entered the king's service. In every
• 23:25
  Speaker 1: matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them,
• 23:30
  Speaker 1: he found them ten times better than all the magicians
• 23:33
  Speaker 1: and enchanters in his whole kingdom. God gave. This wasn't
• 23:38
  Speaker 1: just natural intelligence. This was a supernatural gift. God gave
• 23:42
  Speaker 1: them knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning.
• 23:46
  Speaker 1: Everything they were being taught, they mastered. They excelled, and
• 23:50
  Speaker 1: Daniel received something extra. He could understand visions and dreams.
• 23:54
  Speaker 1: This gift would become crucial to his entire story. After
• 23:58
  Speaker 1: three years, they were brought before King Nebuchadnezzar. The king
• 24:02
  Speaker 1: personally questioned them, tested their knowledge, evaluated their abilities, and
• 24:07
  Speaker 1: his verdict was clear. He found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael,
• 24:13
  Speaker 1: and Azariah. Out of all the young men in the program,
• 24:17
  Speaker 1: these four stood out. But verse 20 makes it even
• 24:20
  Speaker 1: more dramatic. In every matter of wisdom and understanding about
• 24:24
  Speaker 1: which the king questioned them, he found them ten times
• 24:28
  Speaker 1: better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom.
• 24:31
  Speaker 1: Ten times better. Not just a little better. Ten times
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: better than all the professional wise men who had spent
• 24:37
  Speaker 1: their entire lives studying Babylonian wisdom. These four young men,
• 24:43
  Speaker 1: who had been in Babylon only three years, who had
• 24:46
  Speaker 1: started as captives, were ten times better than all the experts.
• 24:51
  Speaker 1: The king was so impressed, he immediately gave them positions
• 24:54
  Speaker 1: of influence. They had started as prisoners, but they had
• 24:58
  Speaker 1: refused to compromise. They had stayed faithful in what seemed
• 25:01
  Speaker 1: like a small thing, their diet. And God honored their
• 25:05
  Speaker 1: faithfulness with supernatural wisdom and success. Verse 21 adds one
• 25:10
  Speaker 1: final detail. And Daniel remained there until the first year
• 25:14
  Speaker 1: of King Cyrus. Daniel would serve through multiple kings, through
• 25:19
  Speaker 1: the entire span. of the Babylonian Empire. His faithfulness in
• 25:23
  Speaker 1: this first test was just the beginning. Time had passed
• 25:27
  Speaker 1: since Daniel and his friends had entered the king's service.
• 25:31
  Speaker 1: Now in the second year of his reign, something happened
• 25:34
  Speaker 1: that would change everything. Chapter 2, verse 1 tells us,
• 25:38
  Speaker 1: In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams.
• 25:42
  Speaker 1: His mind was troubled and he could not sleep.' Picture
• 25:45
  Speaker 1: the most powerful man in the world, lying awake in
• 25:48
  Speaker 1: his bed. This was the king who had conquered nations,
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: the man who commanded the greatest army on earth, the
• 25:55
  Speaker 1: ruler of an empire that stretched farther than anyone could
• 25:58
  Speaker 1: travel in months. And yet he couldn't sleep. A dream
• 26:02
  Speaker 1: had come to him, and it had shaken him to
• 26:04
  Speaker 1: his core. This wasn't just any dream. Something about it
• 26:08
  Speaker 1: felt different.' Something about it felt important. It wasn't like
• 26:11
  Speaker 1: the normal confusion of dreams that fade away in the
• 26:15
  Speaker 1: morning light. This dream had weight. It had power. It
• 26:19
  Speaker 1: carried a sense of significance that the king couldn't shake off.
• 26:22
  Speaker 1: But here's the problem. When Nebuchadnezzar woke up, the details
• 26:26
  Speaker 1: began to slip away. Have you ever had a dream
• 26:29
  Speaker 1: that felt incredibly important, but when you woke up, you
• 26:33
  Speaker 1: couldn't quite remember it? That's what happened to the king.
• 26:36
  Speaker 1: The images faded. The details became fuzzy. The memory eludes
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: him like trying to grab smoke with your hands. Yet
• 26:43
  Speaker 1: the feeling remained. The sense that he had witnessed something significant,
• 26:48
  Speaker 1: something that mattered deeply, wouldn't leave him. It haunted him.
• 26:53
  Speaker 1: It kept him awake. It filled him with anxiety and desperation.
• 26:57
  Speaker 1: He knew he had seen something important, but he couldn't
• 27:00
  Speaker 1: remember what it was. And this drove him nearly mad
• 27:03
  Speaker 1: with frustration. The king wasn't the type of man to
• 27:07
  Speaker 1: sit around feeling helpless. He was used to getting what
• 27:10
  Speaker 1: he wanted. He was used to having problems solved. So
• 27:13
  Speaker 1: he did what any Babylonian king would do. He called
• 27:16
  Speaker 1: for his wise men. Verse 2 describes this. So the
• 27:19
  Speaker 1: king summoned the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and astrologers to tell
• 27:24
  Speaker 1: him what he had dreamed. When they came in and
• 27:27
  Speaker 1: stood before the king, he said to them,' I have
• 27:30
  Speaker 1: had a dream that troubles me, and I want to
• 27:32
  Speaker 1: know what it means.' These were the professionals, the experts,
• 27:38
  Speaker 1: the people who were paid to interpret dreams and predict
• 27:42
  Speaker 1: the future. In Babylonian culture, dreams were taken very seriously.
• 27:47
  Speaker 1: They were believed to be messages from the gods, and
• 27:50
  Speaker 1: these wise men were supposed to be the ones who
• 27:53
  Speaker 1: could decode those messages. But then Nebuchadnezzar made an unprecedented demand.
• 27:59
  Speaker 1: Verse 3 continues, Then the astrologers answered the king, May
• 28:04
  Speaker 1: the king live forever. Tell your servants the dream, and
• 28:07
  Speaker 1: we will interpret it. This was the normal way things worked.
• 28:13
  Speaker 1: You tell them your dream, and they tell you what
• 28:15
  Speaker 1: it means. Simple, but the king had a different idea.
• 28:19
  Speaker 1: Verse 4 records his response. The king replied to the astrologers,
• 28:23
  Speaker 1: This is what I have firmly decided. If you do
• 28:26
  Speaker 1: not tell me what my dream was and interpret it,
• 28:29
  Speaker 1: I will have you cut into pieces and your houses
• 28:32
  Speaker 1: turned into piles of rubble. Let that sink in. The
• 28:36
  Speaker 1: king wasn't just asking them to interpret a dream he
• 28:39
  Speaker 1: would tell them. He was demanding they tell him what
• 28:42
  Speaker 1: the dream was first, and then interpret it. He wanted
• 28:46
  Speaker 1: them to read his mind, to know what he had dreamed,
• 28:49
  Speaker 1: without him telling them. Why would he do this? Maybe
• 28:53
  Speaker 1: he suspected his wise men were frauds who just made
• 28:56
  Speaker 1: up interpretations. Maybe he wanted to test them to see
• 28:59
  Speaker 1: if they really had supernatural powers. Maybe he thought that
• 29:03
  Speaker 1: if they couldn't tell him the dream, they couldn't be
• 29:06
  Speaker 1: trusted to interpret it correctly. Whatever his reason was, He
• 29:10
  Speaker 1: had made up his mind. Verse 5 makes it even clearer.
• 29:14
  Speaker 1: The king answered, I am certain that you are trying
• 29:18
  Speaker 1: to gain time, because you realize that this is what
• 29:22
  Speaker 1: I have firmly decided. If you do not tell me
• 29:25
  Speaker 1: the dream, there is only one penalty for you. You
• 29:28
  Speaker 1: have conspired to tell me misleading and wicked things, hoping
• 29:32
  Speaker 1: the situation will change. So then tell me the dream,
• 29:36
  Speaker 1: and I will know that you can interpret it for me.
• 29:30
  Speaker 1: The wise men were terrified. Verses 10 and 11 record
• 29:32
  Speaker 1: their response. The astrologers answered the king, There is no
• 29:35
  Speaker 1: one on earth who can do what the king asks.
• 29:38
  Speaker 1: No king, however great and mighty, has ever asked such
• 29:41
  Speaker 1: a thing of any magician or enchanter or astrologer. What
• 29:59
  Speaker 1: the king asks is too difficult. No one can reveal
• 30:02
  Speaker 1: it to the king except the gods, and they do
• 30:05
  Speaker 1: not live among humans. They were basically saying, what you're
• 30:11
  Speaker 1: asking is impossible. No human being can do this. Only
• 30:15
  Speaker 1: the gods could tell you what you dreamed, and the
• 30:18
  Speaker 1: gods don't talk to us like that. It was an
• 30:21
  Speaker 1: honest answer, a reasonable answer, but it was the wrong
• 30:24
  Speaker 1: answer to give this king. Nebuchadnezzar didn't respond well to
• 30:29
  Speaker 1: being told something was impossible. Verse 12 tells us, This
• 30:33
  Speaker 1: made the king so angry and furious that he ordered
• 30:36
  Speaker 1: the execution of all the wise men of Babylon. Think
• 30:40
  Speaker 1: about that for a moment. All the wise men. Not
• 30:43
  Speaker 1: just the ones who had failed to answer his question.
• 30:46
  Speaker 1: Not just the magicians and enchanters who were standing in
• 30:49
  Speaker 1: front of him. All of them. every wise man in
• 30:52
  Speaker 1: the entire kingdom of Babylon. It was a sweeping, brutal
• 30:56
  Speaker 1: death sentence issued in a moment of rage. Verse 13 continues,
• 31:01
  Speaker 1: So the decree was issued to put the wise men
• 31:04
  Speaker 1: to death, and men were sent to look for Daniel
• 31:07
  Speaker 1: and his friends to put them to death. Here's where
• 31:11
  Speaker 1: it gets personal for Daniel. He and his three friends
• 31:14
  Speaker 1: were counted among the wise men of Babylon. They had
• 31:17
  Speaker 1: entered the king's service. They were part of that group.
• 31:21
  Speaker 1: And yet, they hadn't even been brought before the king.
• 31:24
  Speaker 1: They hadn't been given a chance to try. They hadn't
• 31:27
  Speaker 1: been consulted at all. But it didn't matter. The death
• 31:31
  Speaker 1: decree included them anyway. Imagine Daniel going about his day,
• 31:36
  Speaker 1: doing his work, serving faithfully as he always did. And
• 31:40
  Speaker 1: then suddenly, armed men show up to arrest him and
• 31:44
  Speaker 1: his friends. Not because they had done anything wrong. Not
• 31:47
  Speaker 1: because they had failed at anything. but because the king
• 31:51
  Speaker 1: had made a blanket decree, and they happened to fall
• 31:54
  Speaker 1: under it. The executioner's name was Ariok. He was the
• 32:00
  Speaker 1: commander of the king's guard, and his job was to
• 32:03
  Speaker 1: carry out the death sentence. Verse 14 tells us, When Ariok,
• 32:07
  Speaker 1: the commander of the king's guard, had gone out to
• 32:10
  Speaker 1: put to death the wise men of Babylon, Daniel spoke
• 32:13
  Speaker 1: to him with wisdom and tact. Notice that phrase, wisdom
• 32:17
  Speaker 1: and tact. Daniel didn't panic. He didn't argue. He didn't
• 32:22
  Speaker 1: resist arrest. He didn't try to run. Instead, he spoke
• 32:27
  Speaker 1: to Ariok with wisdom and tact. Even in a life
• 32:30
  Speaker 1: or death situation, Daniel kept his head. Verse 15 continues.
• 32:36
  Speaker 1: He asked the king's officer, Why did the king issue
• 32:39
  Speaker 1: such a harsh decree? Ariok then explained the matter to Daniel.
• 32:44
  Speaker 1: Daniel asked questions. He wanted to understand what was happening.
• 32:48
  Speaker 1: Why was the king so angry? What had led to
• 32:51
  Speaker 1: this death sentence? And Ariok, perhaps because he respected Daniel,
• 32:56
  Speaker 1: or perhaps because he saw no harm in explaining to
• 32:59
  Speaker 1: a man about to die, told him the whole story.
• 33:02
  Speaker 1: He explained about the dream, about the king's impossible demand,
• 33:06
  Speaker 1: about the wise men's failure to answer, and that's when
• 33:10
  Speaker 1: Daniel made a remarkably bold move. Verse 16 tells us,
• 33:16
  Speaker 1: At this, Daniel went into the king and asked for
• 33:19
  Speaker 1: time so that he might interpret the dream for him.
• 33:22
  Speaker 1: Read that again. Daniel went into the king, the king
• 33:27
  Speaker 1: who had just ordered all the wise men executed, the
• 33:31
  Speaker 1: king who was furious and unpredictable, the king who had
• 33:35
  Speaker 1: absolute power of life and death, and Daniel, a young
• 33:39
  Speaker 1: man from a conquered nation, a captive who had been
• 33:42
  Speaker 1: in Babylon just a few years, walked right in. and
• 33:46
  Speaker 1: asked for time. This took incredible courage. Remember, the other
• 33:50
  Speaker 1: wise men had just failed spectacularly. They had told the
• 33:54
  Speaker 1: king his request was impossible, and the king's response had
• 33:57
  Speaker 1: been to order them all killed. Now Daniel was going
• 34:01
  Speaker 1: to that same king and saying, Give me time, and
• 34:04
  Speaker 1: I'll do what they couldn't do. I'll tell you your
• 34:07
  Speaker 1: dream and interpret it. Why would the king listen to him?
• 34:11
  Speaker 1: Why would the king give him a chance when he
• 34:13
  Speaker 1: had just condemned all the other wise men? We're not
• 34:16
  Speaker 1: told exactly. Maybe Daniel's reputation for wisdom had already reached
• 34:21
  Speaker 1: the king's ears. Maybe God gave Daniel favor in that moment.
• 34:25
  Speaker 1: Maybe the king figured he had nothing to lose by
• 34:28
  Speaker 1: waiting a little longer. Whatever the reason, the king said yes.
• 34:33
  Speaker 1: He gave Daniel time. The execution was postponed. and Daniel
• 34:39
  Speaker 1: left the king's presence with a massive problem to solve.
• 34:43
  Speaker 1: He had bought time, but now he had to deliver
• 34:46
  Speaker 1: on his promise. He had to do what no one
• 34:48
  Speaker 1: else in Babylon could do. He had to tell the
• 34:51
  Speaker 1: king his dream. Daniel didn't go off by himself to
• 34:55
  Speaker 1: try to figure this out. He didn't rely on his
• 34:58
  Speaker 1: own intelligence or wisdom. He knew exactly where to turn.
• 35:02
  Speaker 1: Verse 17 tells us, Then Daniel returned to his house
• 35:06
  Speaker 1: and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.
• 35:12
  Speaker 1: These were the same three friends who had stood with
• 35:14
  Speaker 1: him years earlier when they refused to eat the king's food.
• 35:19
  Speaker 1: The same three who had been faithful to God alongside him.
• 35:23
  Speaker 1: The same three who were now facing execution along with him.
• 35:27
  Speaker 1: Daniel went straight to them. Verse 18 tells us what
• 35:32
  Speaker 1: he said to them. He urged them to plead for
• 35:35
  Speaker 1: mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so
• 35:40
  Speaker 1: that he and his friends might not be executed with
• 35:43
  Speaker 1: the rest of the wise men of Babylon. Notice what
• 35:46
  Speaker 1: Daniel did. He called a prayer meeting. He gathered his
• 35:50
  Speaker 1: closest friends, the people who believed the same things he did,
• 35:54
  Speaker 1: and he said, We need to pray. We need to
• 35:57
  Speaker 1: ask God for help. We need to plead for mercy.
• 36:01
  Speaker 1: Daniel understood something crucial. He understood that this wasn't a
• 36:06
  Speaker 1: problem he could solve with human wisdom. No amount of
• 36:09
  Speaker 1: cleverness or education or intelligence was going to tell him
• 36:13
  Speaker 1: what Nebuchadnezzar had dreamed. This required divine intervention. This required
• 36:20
  Speaker 1: God to reveal something that no human could know and
• 36:24
  Speaker 1: notice what was at stake. Verse 18 mentions it clearly,
• 36:28
  Speaker 1: so that he and his friends might not be executed
• 36:31
  Speaker 1: with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. Their
• 36:34
  Speaker 1: lives were on the line. If God didn't reveal this mystery,
• 36:38
  Speaker 1: they would die. Not just Daniel, but Hananiah, Mishael, and
• 36:43
  Speaker 1: Azariah too. And not just them, but all the other
• 36:46
  Speaker 1: wise men in Babylon as well. But there was something
• 36:50
  Speaker 1: else at stake too, something even bigger. This was an
• 36:55
  Speaker 1: opportunity to demonstrate God's supremacy. All the magicians and enchanters
• 37:00
  Speaker 1: and astrologers had failed. They had admitted that only the
• 37:04
  Speaker 1: gods could reveal such things. Now, if the God of
• 37:08
  Speaker 1: Israel revealed this mystery through Daniel, it would be a
• 37:12
  Speaker 1: powerful witness to Nebuchadnezzar and everyone in Babylon. It would
• 37:16
  Speaker 1: show that the God of heaven was real and powerful
• 37:20
  Speaker 1: in a way that Babylonian gods were not. So the
• 37:23
  Speaker 1: four young men prayed. They pleaded for mercy. They asked
• 37:27
  Speaker 1: God to reveal the mystery. And then they waited to
• 37:30
  Speaker 1: see what God would do. They didn't have to wait long.
• 37:34
  Speaker 1: Verse 19 tells us, During the night, the mystery was
• 37:38
  Speaker 1: revealed to Daniel in a vision. During the night. While
• 37:42
  Speaker 1: Daniel was sleeping, or perhaps in a trance-like state, God
• 37:46
  Speaker 1: showed him what he needed to know. God revealed the mystery.
• 37:50
  Speaker 1: God showed Daniel exactly what Nebuchadnezzar had dreamed. Not just
• 37:55
  Speaker 1: the interpretation, but the dream itself. Every detail, every image, everything.
• 38:00
  Speaker 1: Can you imagine what that must have been like? Going
• 38:03
  Speaker 1: to sleep with your life hanging in the balance, not
• 38:06
  Speaker 1: knowing if you'll live to see another day. And then
• 38:09
  Speaker 1: God gives you the answer. God shows you exactly what
• 38:13
  Speaker 1: you need to know. The relief, the gratitude, the overwhelming
• 38:17
  Speaker 1: sense of God's faithfulness. Daniel's immediate response wasn't to run
• 38:22
  Speaker 1: to the king. It wasn't to celebrate with his friends.
• 38:26
  Speaker 1: His first response was worship. Verse 19 continues, Then Daniel
• 38:31
  Speaker 1: praised the God of heaven. Before he did anything else,
• 38:34
  Speaker 1: Daniel stopped to thank God. He stopped to praise God.
• 38:39
  Speaker 1: He stopped to acknowledge God. that this answer came from God,
• 38:42
  Speaker 1: not from his own abilities. Verses 20 through 23 record
• 38:47
  Speaker 1: Daniel's prayer of praise. Praise be to the name of
• 38:51
  Speaker 1: God forever and ever. Wisdom and power are his. He
• 38:55
  Speaker 1: changes times and seasons. He deposes kings and raises up others.
• 39:00
  Speaker 1: He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.
• 39:03
  Speaker 1: He reveals deep and hidden things. He knows what lies
• 39:07
  Speaker 1: in darkness, and light dwells with him. I thank and
• 39:11
  Speaker 1: praise you, God of my ancestors. You have given me
• 39:15
  Speaker 1: wisdom and power. You have made known to me what
• 39:18
  Speaker 1: we asked of you. You have made known to us
• 39:20
  Speaker 1: the dream of the king. Listen to what Daniel says
• 39:23
  Speaker 1: about God. God has wisdom and power. God controls history.
• 39:28
  Speaker 1: He changes times and seasons. He removes kings and sets
• 39:32
  Speaker 1: up new ones. God is the source of all wisdom
• 39:36
  Speaker 1: and knowledge. God reveals mysteries. God knows everything, even things
• 39:41
  Speaker 1: hidden in darkness. And God answers prayer. This wasn't just
• 39:45
  Speaker 1: a generic thank you. This was Daniel declaring who God
• 39:48
  Speaker 1: really is. This was Daniel acknowledging God's character and God's sovereignty.
• 39:53
  Speaker 1: This was Daniel making sure everyone knew, including himself, that
• 39:58
  Speaker 1: what was about to happen was God's doing, not his own.
• 40:03
  Speaker 1: Now Daniel was ready to go to the king. But
• 40:06
  Speaker 1: first he had something important to do. Verse 24 tells us,
• 40:10
  Speaker 1: Then Daniel went to Ariok, whom the king had appointed
• 40:13
  Speaker 1: to execute the wise men of Babylon, and said to him,
• 40:17
  Speaker 1: Do not execute the wise men of Babylon. Take me
• 40:20
  Speaker 1: to the king, and I will interpret his dream for him.
• 40:24
  Speaker 1: Notice what Daniel said first. Do not execute the wise
• 40:28
  Speaker 1: men of Babylon. Daniel wasn't just trying to save his
• 40:32
  Speaker 1: own life. and the lives of his three friends. He
• 40:36
  Speaker 1: was trying to save all the wise men, even though
• 40:39
  Speaker 1: those other wise men worshiped false gods, even though they
• 40:42
  Speaker 1: had failed where Daniel was about to succeed. Daniel didn't
• 40:46
  Speaker 1: want them to die. He showed compassion even to people
• 40:49
  Speaker 1: who weren't like him. Verse 25 continues, Ariok took Daniel
• 40:54
  Speaker 1: to the king at once and said, I have found
• 40:57
  Speaker 1: a man among the exiles from Judah who can tell
• 41:00
  Speaker 1: the king what his dream means. Ariok was apparently eager
• 41:04
  Speaker 1: to bring good news to the king. He rushed Daniel
• 41:07
  Speaker 1: into the king's presence. And notice how he described Daniel,
• 41:11
  Speaker 1: a man among the exiles from Judah. Daniel was still
• 41:15
  Speaker 1: known as a captive, a foreigner, someone from a conquered nation.
• 41:19
  Speaker 1: But now this captive was about to do what no
• 41:22
  Speaker 1: Babylonian wise man could do. Verse 26 says, records the
• 41:26
  Speaker 1: king's response. The king asked Daniel, also called Belteshazzar, are
• 41:32
  Speaker 1: you able to tell me what I saw in my
• 41:34
  Speaker 1: dream and interpret it? The king was skeptical. Can you
• 41:38
  Speaker 1: blame him? All his most experienced advisors had failed. They
• 41:42
  Speaker 1: had told him it was impossible. And now this young
• 41:45
  Speaker 1: man from Judah was claiming he could do it. The
• 41:48
  Speaker 1: king wanted to know, are you really able to do this?
• 41:51
  Speaker 1: And here's where Daniel made something absolutely clear. Verses 27
• 41:55
  Speaker 1: and 28 record his answer. Daniel replied, No wise man, enchanter, magician,
• 42:03
  Speaker 1: or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he
• 42:06
  Speaker 1: has asked about. But there is a God in heaven
• 42:10
  Speaker 1: who reveals mysteries. He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will
• 42:14
  Speaker 1: happen in days to come. Your dream and the visions
• 42:18
  Speaker 1: that passed through your mind as you were lying in
• 42:20
  Speaker 1: bed are these. Daniel started by agreeing with the other
• 42:24
  Speaker 1: wise men. They were right. No human being can do this.
• 42:28
  Speaker 1: No wise man, no enchanter, no magician, no diviner. None
• 42:32
  Speaker 1: of them have the power to read someone's mind and
• 42:35
  Speaker 1: tell them what they dreamed. That's beyond human ability. But
• 42:39
  Speaker 1: then Daniel pointed to a different source. But there is
• 42:42
  Speaker 1: a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. not the gods
• 42:46
  Speaker 1: of Babylon, not the gods who don't live among humans,
• 42:49
  Speaker 1: but the God of heaven, the true God, the God
• 42:52
  Speaker 1: who does reveal things to his people. And notice what
• 42:56
  Speaker 1: Daniel didn't say. He didn't say, I can tell you
• 42:59
  Speaker 1: your dream. He didn't take credit. He didn't make it
• 43:02
  Speaker 1: about himself. He made it clear from the beginning that
• 43:05
  Speaker 1: if he was about to tell the king his dream,
• 43:08
  Speaker 1: it was because God had revealed it to him. This
• 43:11
  Speaker 1: was going to be God's moment to shine, not Daniel's,
• 43:15
  Speaker 1: Verse 29 continues, As your majesty was lying there, your
• 43:19
  Speaker 1: mind turned to things to come, and the revealer of
• 43:22
  Speaker 1: mysteries showed you what is going to happen. Daniel was
• 43:25
  Speaker 1: explaining that the dream came to Nebuchadnezzar because he was
• 43:29
  Speaker 1: thinking about the future. And God, who reveals mysteries, chose
• 43:33
  Speaker 1: to show him what was going to happen. This dream
• 43:36
  Speaker 1: wasn't random. It was a message from God about the
• 43:40
  Speaker 1: future of the world. And then, in verse 30, Daniel
• 43:43
  Speaker 1: made absolutely sure the king understood where this information was
• 43:47
  Speaker 1: coming from. As for me, this mystery has been revealed
• 43:51
  Speaker 1: to me. not because I have greater wisdom than anyone living,
• 43:55
  Speaker 1: but so that your majesty may know the interpretation and
• 43:59
  Speaker 1: that you may understand what went through your mind. Daniel
• 44:03
  Speaker 1: was saying, I'm not smarter than everyone else. I'm not
• 44:06
  Speaker 1: more gifted than everyone else. God revealed this to me
• 44:09
  Speaker 1: for one reason. So you, King Nebuchadnezzar, would know the interpretation.
• 44:15
  Speaker 1: This is for you. This is God speaking to you.
• 44:18
  Speaker 1: Daniel completely removed himself from the equation. He was just
• 44:22
  Speaker 1: the messenger. God was the one with the message. Now
• 44:25
  Speaker 1: came the moment everyone had been waiting for. Would Daniel
• 44:28
  Speaker 1: really be able to tell the king what he had dreamed?
• 44:31
  Speaker 1: Verse 31 begins the description. Your majesty looked, and there
• 44:36
  Speaker 1: before you stood a large statue, an enormous, dazzling statue,
• 44:42
  Speaker 1: awesome in appearance. Can you imagine the king's reaction? As
• 44:46
  Speaker 1: soon as Daniel said, a large statue, the king must
• 44:50
  Speaker 1: have felt a jolt of recognition. Yes, that's what I saw,
• 44:54
  Speaker 1: a statue. Daniel was describing exactly what Nebuchadnezzar had dreamed.
• 45:00
  Speaker 1: Verse 32 continues with more details. The head of the
• 45:04
  Speaker 1: statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms
• 45:08
  Speaker 1: of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs
• 45:12
  Speaker 1: of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of
• 45:15
  Speaker 1: baked clay. Daniel described it piece by piece, starting from
• 45:19
  Speaker 1: the top. The head was pure gold, gleaming and brilliant.
• 45:24
  Speaker 1: The chest and arms were silver. The belly and thighs
• 45:27
  Speaker 1: were bronze. The legs were iron. and the feet were
• 45:31
  Speaker 1: a mixture, partly iron and partly clay. This was a
• 45:34
  Speaker 1: statue made of different metals, getting progressively less valuable as
• 45:38
  Speaker 1: you moved down from head to feet, but getting progressively
• 45:41
  Speaker 1: stronger too, until you reached the feet, which were weak
• 45:45
  Speaker 1: because they were mixed with clay. The king was listening intently.
• 45:49
  Speaker 1: This was exactly what he had seen. Every detail matched,
• 45:53
  Speaker 1: but the dream wasn't finished yet. Verse 34 describes what
• 45:57
  Speaker 1: happened next. While you were watching, a rock was cut out,
• 46:01
  Speaker 1: but not by human hands. It struck the statue on
• 46:04
  Speaker 1: its feet of iron and clay and smashed them. A
• 46:07
  Speaker 1: rock appeared. But this wasn't a normal rock. It was
• 46:11
  Speaker 1: cut out, but not by human hands. This was a
• 46:14
  Speaker 1: supernatural rock. It came from God. And this rock struck
• 46:18
  Speaker 1: the statue right at its weakest point, the feet made
• 46:21
  Speaker 1: of iron and clay. Verse 35 tells us what happened
• 46:25
  Speaker 1: when the rock hit the statue. Then the iron, the clay,
• 46:29
  Speaker 1: the bronze, the silver, and the gold were all broken
• 46:32
  Speaker 1: to pieces and became like chaff on a threshing floor
• 46:35
  Speaker 1: in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving
• 46:38
  Speaker 1: a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became
• 46:42
  Speaker 1: a huge mountain and filled the whole earth. The entire
• 46:45
  Speaker 1: statue was destroyed. Not just the feet. Everything. The iron,
• 46:50
  Speaker 1: the clay, the bronze, the silver, the gold. All of
• 46:53
  Speaker 1: it shattered into pieces so small they were like chaff.
• 46:57
  Speaker 1: Like the light husks that blow away when grain is threshed.
• 47:01
  Speaker 1: And they disappeared completely. The wind swept them away. No
• 47:04
  Speaker 1: trace left, but the rock didn't disappear. Instead, it grew.
• 47:09
  Speaker 1: It became a huge mountain. And that mountain filled the
• 47:12
  Speaker 1: whole earth. It didn't just occupy one place. It expanded
• 47:16
  Speaker 1: until it covered everything. Nebuchadnezzar was listening in astonishment. This
• 47:20
  Speaker 1: was exactly what he had dreamed. Every single detail. The
• 47:24
  Speaker 1: statue with its different metals. The mysterious rock. The destruction
• 47:29
  Speaker 1: of the statue. The rock becoming a mountain. All of it,
• 47:33
  Speaker 1: word for word, image for image. Daniel had done the impossible.
• 47:37
  Speaker 1: He had told the king his dream... Verse 36 records
• 47:41
  Speaker 1: Daniel's next words. This was the dream, and now we
• 47:45
  Speaker 1: will interpret it to the king. Daniel had passed the
• 47:48
  Speaker 1: first test. He had proven that God had truly revealed
• 47:52
  Speaker 1: the mystery to him by describing the dream perfectly. Now
• 47:55
  Speaker 1: came the second part, the interpretation. What did this dream mean?
• 48:00
  Speaker 1: What was God trying to tell the king? But that
• 48:02
  Speaker 1: explanation would have to wait, for now the king knew
• 48:06
  Speaker 1: one thing for certain. The god of Daniel was real,
• 48:09
  Speaker 1: and he truly did reveal mysteries. Time had passed since
• 48:14
  Speaker 1: Daniel interpreted the king's dream. Nebuchadnezzar had seen himself represented
• 48:19
  Speaker 1: as the head of gold in that great statue. Perhaps
• 48:22
  Speaker 1: that image stayed with him. Perhaps it planted an idea
• 48:25
  Speaker 1: in his mind. Or perhaps he had other reasons. Whatever
• 48:29
  Speaker 1: motivated him, the king decided to build something that would
• 48:33
  Speaker 1: be remembered forever. chapter 3. Verse 1 tells us, King
• 48:40
  Speaker 1: Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, 60 cubits high and
• 48:44
  Speaker 1: 6 cubits wide, and set it up on the plain
• 48:47
  Speaker 1: of Dura in the province of Babylon. This wasn't a
• 48:51
  Speaker 1: small statue. 60 cubits high, that's about 90 feet tall,
• 48:55
  Speaker 1: as high as a nine-story building. 6 cubits wide, about
• 48:59
  Speaker 1: 9 feet across. This was an enormous golden image that
• 49:02
  Speaker 1: could be seen from far away. It dominated the landscape.
• 49:06
  Speaker 1: You couldn't miss it. The king had it set up
• 49:09
  Speaker 1: on the plain of Dura. This was a flat open
• 49:12
  Speaker 1: area in the province of Babylon where large crowds could gather.
• 49:17
  Speaker 1: The location was deliberate. This image was meant to be
• 49:20
  Speaker 1: seen by thousands of people. It was meant to make
• 49:23
  Speaker 1: a statement. We're not told exactly what the image looked like.
• 49:27
  Speaker 1: Was it a statue of a god? Was it a
• 49:29
  Speaker 1: representation of the king himself? Was it some kind of
• 49:32
  Speaker 1: symbol of the empire? The Bible doesn't say. What matters
• 49:36
  Speaker 1: is that Nebuchadnezzar had it built. and he expected everyone
• 49:40
  Speaker 1: to treat it with the highest reverence. Some people think
• 49:44
  Speaker 1: the king was inspired by his dream, the dream where
• 49:47
  Speaker 1: he was the head of gold. Maybe he liked that
• 49:50
  Speaker 1: idea so much that he decided to make an entire
• 49:53
  Speaker 1: statue of gold. Maybe he wanted to extend his reign.
• 49:58
  Speaker 1: to make his kingdom last forever, unlike what the dream
• 50:01
  Speaker 1: had prophesied. Or maybe this was about unity. Nebuchadnezzar ruled
• 50:06
  Speaker 1: over many different peoples with many different religions. Perhaps he
• 50:10
  Speaker 1: thought that if everyone bowed to the same image, it
• 50:13
  Speaker 1: would create unity in his empire. Whatever his reasons... The
• 50:17
  Speaker 1: king had created a monument to power, and he was
• 50:21
  Speaker 1: about to demand that everyone acknowledge that power in a
• 50:24
  Speaker 1: very specific way. The king didn't just build the image
• 50:29
  Speaker 1: and leave it standing there. He planned an elaborate ceremony
• 50:32
  Speaker 1: for its dedication. This was going to be a major event.
• 50:36
  Speaker 1: Verse 2 tells us, He then summoned the satraps, prefects, governors, advisors, treasurers, judges, magistrates,
• 50:44
  Speaker 1: and all the other provincial officials to come to the
• 50:46
  Speaker 1: dedication of the image he had set up. Look at
• 50:50
  Speaker 1: that list. Satraps were the governors of large regions. Prefects
• 50:54
  Speaker 1: were military commanders. Governors managed cities and districts, advisors counseled
• 50:59
  Speaker 1: the king, treasurers managed finances, judges handled legal matters, magistrates
• 51:04
  Speaker 1: enforced laws, and all the other provincial officials, everyone who
• 51:08
  Speaker 1: had any position of authority or importance in the empire.
• 51:13
  Speaker 1: This wasn't optional. This was a command from the king.
• 51:16
  Speaker 1: Everyone who was anyone in the Babylonian empire had to
• 51:20
  Speaker 1: attend this ceremony. Verse 3 continues, So the satraps, prefects, governors, advisors, treasurers, judges...
• 51:28
  Speaker 1: magistrates and all the other provincial officials assembled for the
• 51:32
  Speaker 1: dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
• 51:37
  Speaker 1: And they stood before it. Can you picture this scene?
• 51:40
  Speaker 1: Thousands of officials from all over the empire gathered on
• 51:43
  Speaker 1: the plain of Dura, standing before this massive golden image,
• 51:48
  Speaker 1: the sun reflecting off the gold, making it shine brilliantly,
• 51:52
  Speaker 1: the crowd stretching as far as you could see, the
• 51:55
  Speaker 1: sense of power and pageantry. Then something happened that changed everything.
• 52:00
  Speaker 1: Verses 4 and 5 tell us, Then the herald loudly proclaimed,
• 52:04
  Speaker 1: Nations and peoples of every language, this is what you
• 52:08
  Speaker 1: are commanded to do. As soon as you hear the
• 52:11
  Speaker 1: sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe, and
• 52:14
  Speaker 1: all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship
• 52:17
  Speaker 1: the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.
• 52:21
  Speaker 1: A herald, an official announcer, shouted out the king's command.
• 52:26
  Speaker 1: And he made sure everyone understood. This command was for everyone.
• 52:30
  Speaker 1: Every nation. Every people. Every language. No exceptions. When you
• 52:35
  Speaker 1: hear the music, and he listed all the instruments, horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe,
• 52:41
  Speaker 1: and all kinds of music, you must do something specific.
• 52:44
  Speaker 1: You must fall down. You must worship the image. This
• 52:47
  Speaker 1: wasn't a suggestion. This wasn't an invitation. This was a command.
• 52:52
  Speaker 1: And verse 6 makes clear what would happen if you
• 52:55
  Speaker 1: didn't obey. Whoever does not fall down and worship will
• 52:59
  Speaker 1: immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace. The penalty was death,
• 53:04
  Speaker 1: not prison. Not a fine, not exile, death. And not
• 53:08
  Speaker 1: just any death. Being thrown into a blazing furnace, one
• 53:12
  Speaker 1: of the most horrible ways to die imaginable. Burned alive
• 53:16
  Speaker 1: and noticed the word immediately. There would be no trial.
• 53:20
  Speaker 1: No chance to explain yourself. No appeal. If you didn't
• 53:23
  Speaker 1: bow down when the music played, you would be thrown
• 53:25
  Speaker 1: into the fire right away. The king had made his
• 53:29
  Speaker 1: demand crystal clear. The consequences were laid out for everyone
• 53:33
  Speaker 1: to hear. Now all that remained was to see who
• 53:36
  Speaker 1: would obey and who would refuse. Verse 7 tells us
• 53:40
  Speaker 1: what happened next. Therefore, as soon as they heard the
• 53:43
  Speaker 1: sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, and all
• 53:47
  Speaker 1: kinds of music, all the nations and peoples of every
• 53:50
  Speaker 1: language fell down and worshipped the image of gold that
• 53:54
  Speaker 1: King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. The music played, and everyone bowed,
• 53:59
  Speaker 1: all the nations, all the peoples, every language. Thousands of
• 54:03
  Speaker 1: people falling down on their faces before the golden image.
• 54:07
  Speaker 1: Everyone obeyed the king's command. Everyone except three men, but
• 54:12
  Speaker 1: some people noticed. Verse 8 says, At this time some
• 54:16
  Speaker 1: astrologers came forward and denounced the Jews. These were Babylonian officials,
• 54:22
  Speaker 1: likely some of the same magicians and astrologers who had
• 54:25
  Speaker 1: failed to interpret the king's dream years earlier. They had
• 54:29
  Speaker 1: seen Daniel and his friends promoted to high positions. They
• 54:33
  Speaker 1: had seen these foreigners given authority and honor. And they
• 54:37
  Speaker 1: didn't like it. This was their chance to get rid
• 54:39
  Speaker 1: of them. Verses 9 and 10 record what they said.
• 54:43
  Speaker 1: They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, May the king live forever.
• 54:47
  Speaker 1: Your majesty has issued a decree that everyone who hears
• 54:50
  Speaker 1: the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe,
• 54:54
  Speaker 1: and all kinds of music must fall down and worship
• 54:57
  Speaker 1: the image of gold. and that whoever does not fall
• 55:00
  Speaker 1: down and worship will be thrown into a blazing furnace.
• 55:04
  Speaker 1: They started by reminding the king of his own decree.
• 55:08
  Speaker 1: They repeated it word for word. They wanted to make
• 55:11
  Speaker 1: sure the king remembered exactly what he had commanded and
• 55:15
  Speaker 1: what the penalty was. They were building their case. Then
• 55:18
  Speaker 1: came the accusation. Verse 12. But there are some Jews
• 55:22
  Speaker 1: whom you have set over the affairs of the province
• 55:25
  Speaker 1: of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who pay no attention
• 55:29
  Speaker 1: to you, your majesty. They neither serve your gods nor
• 55:33
  Speaker 1: worship the image of gold you have set up. Notice
• 55:36
  Speaker 1: how they worded this. They didn't call them by their
• 55:39
  Speaker 1: Hebrew names. They used the Babylonian names the king had
• 55:42
  Speaker 1: given them, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They reminded the king
• 55:47
  Speaker 1: that he had given these men positions of authority. You
• 55:50
  Speaker 1: have set them over the affairs of the province of Babylon.
• 55:54
  Speaker 1: And then they made it personal. These men pay no
• 55:57
  Speaker 1: attention to you. They're not just breaking a rule. They're
• 56:01
  Speaker 1: disrespecting you personally. They neither serve your gods. They reject
• 56:05
  Speaker 1: your religion. Nor worship the image of gold you have
• 56:08
  Speaker 1: set up. They reject your authority. This was a calculated
• 56:13
  Speaker 1: accusation designed to make the king angry. And you'll notice
• 56:17
  Speaker 1: something interesting. They only mentioned three names. Where was Daniel?
• 56:22
  Speaker 1: The Bible doesn't tell us. Maybe he was away on
• 56:25
  Speaker 1: official business. Maybe he was sick. Maybe for some reason
• 56:28
  Speaker 1: he wasn't at the ceremony. We don't know. But his
• 56:32
  Speaker 1: three friends were there, and they had refused to bow down.
• 56:36
  Speaker 1: The accusers had seen them standing while everyone else was
• 56:39
  Speaker 1: on their faces. They had watched these three Hebrew men
• 56:43
  Speaker 1: remain upright while thousands around them bowed down. And now
• 56:47
  Speaker 1: they were reporting it to the king, hoping for the
• 56:49
  Speaker 1: king's fury to fall on these foreigners. The accusation had
• 56:53
  Speaker 1: its intended effect. Verse 13 tells us, Furious with rage,
• 56:58
  Speaker 1: Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. So these men were
• 57:03
  Speaker 1: brought before the king. The king was furious. These were
• 57:06
  Speaker 1: men he had personally promoted, men who owed their positions
• 57:09
  Speaker 1: to him, men who should have been grateful and loyal.
• 57:12
  Speaker 1: And they had defied his direct command in front of
• 57:16
  Speaker 1: thousands of witnesses. But interestingly... the king didn't immediately throw
• 57:21
  Speaker 1: them into the furnace. He gave them a chance. Verse
• 57:24
  Speaker 1: 14 records what he said, And Nebuchadnezzar said to them,
• 57:28
  Speaker 1: Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do
• 57:32
  Speaker 1: not serve my gods or worship the image of gold
• 57:35
  Speaker 1: I have set up? He asked them directly, Is this true?
• 57:39
  Speaker 1: Did you really refuse to bow down? He wanted to
• 57:42
  Speaker 1: hear it from them. Maybe he hoped the accusers had
• 57:45
  Speaker 1: been wronged. Maybe he hoped there was some explanation, or
• 57:48
  Speaker 1: maybe he just wanted to give them one more chance
• 57:51
  Speaker 1: to submit. Verse 15 continues, Now when you hear the
• 57:55
  Speaker 1: sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe, and
• 57:59
  Speaker 1: all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall
• 58:01
  Speaker 1: down and worship the image I made, very good. But
• 58:05
  Speaker 1: if you do not worship it, you will be thrown
• 58:08
  Speaker 1: immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be
• 58:11
  Speaker 1: able to rescue you from my hand? The king laid
• 58:14
  Speaker 1: it out clearly. Here's your second chance. When the music
• 58:18
  Speaker 1: plays again, if you bow down, everything will be fine.
• 58:21
  Speaker 1: All will be forgiven. You can keep your positions. You
• 58:25
  Speaker 1: can keep your lives. Just do what everyone else did.
• 58:28
  Speaker 1: But if you refuse again, you will be thrown into
• 58:31
  Speaker 1: the furnace immediately. No more chances. No delays. And then
• 58:35
  Speaker 1: the king added something revealing. Then what god will be
• 58:38
  Speaker 1: able to rescue you from my hand? This was no
• 58:41
  Speaker 1: longer just about enforcing a decree. This was personal. This
• 58:45
  Speaker 1: was the king's pride speaking. He was essentially saying, you
• 58:49
  Speaker 1: think your god can save you from me? I'm the
• 58:52
  Speaker 1: most powerful man in the world. I command armies. I
• 58:55
  Speaker 1: rule an empire. What god can stand against my power?
• 58:59
  Speaker 1: This was a direct challenge, not just to the three men,
• 59:02
  Speaker 1: but to their god. Nebuchadnezzar was throwing down the gauntlet.
• 59:06
  Speaker 1: He was saying, let's see if your god is real.
• 59:10
  Speaker 1: Let's see if he can save you from my furnace.
• 59:13
  Speaker 1: The king had turned this into a contest between himself
• 59:16
  Speaker 1: and the God of Israel. The three men didn't need
• 59:20
  Speaker 1: time to think about their answer. They didn't ask for
• 59:22
  Speaker 1: a moment to discuss it privately. They didn't try to
• 59:25
  Speaker 1: negotiate or find a compromise. Their response was immediate and clear.
• 59:30
  Speaker 1: Verse 16 begins, That's a remarkable way to start. They
• 59:33
  Speaker 1: weren't going to make excuses. They weren't going to explain
• 59:35
  Speaker 1: or justify their actions. They weren't going to defend themselves.
• 59:50
  Speaker 1: What they were about to say would speak for itself.
• 59:54
  Speaker 1: Verses 17 and 18 continue, If we are thrown into
• 59:58
  Speaker 1: the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to
• 1:00:01
  Speaker 1: deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from
• 1:00:04
  Speaker 1: your majesty's hand. But even if he does not, we
• 1:00:07
  Speaker 1: want you to know, your majesty, that we will not
• 1:00:10
  Speaker 1: serve your gods or worship the image of gold you
• 1:00:13
  Speaker 1: have set up, Let's break down what they said. Because
• 1:00:16
  Speaker 1: this is one of the most powerful statements of faith
• 1:00:19
  Speaker 1: in the entire Bible. First, they affirmed their faith in
• 1:00:23
  Speaker 1: God's power. The God we serve is able to deliver
• 1:00:27
  Speaker 1: us from it. They had no doubt that God could
• 1:00:30
  Speaker 1: save them. God had the power to protect them from
• 1:00:33
  Speaker 1: the fire. God could deliver them from the king's hand.
• 1:00:37
  Speaker 1: They believed this completely. Second, they expressed confidence that God
• 1:00:41
  Speaker 1: would deliver them. and he will deliver us from your
• 1:00:45
  Speaker 1: majesty's hand. They trusted that God would act on their behalf,
• 1:00:49
  Speaker 1: but then, and this is crucial, they added something that
• 1:00:53
  Speaker 1: shows the depth of their faith. But even if he
• 1:00:57
  Speaker 1: does not, we want you to know, your majesty, that
• 1:01:00
  Speaker 1: we will not serve your gods. or worship the image
• 1:01:03
  Speaker 1: of gold you have set up even if God doesn't
• 1:01:06
  Speaker 1: save us even if we die in that furnace even
• 1:01:09
  Speaker 1: if the outcome isn't what we hope for even then
• 1:01:12
  Speaker 1: we will not bow down we will not serve your
• 1:01:15
  Speaker 1: gods we will not worship your image this is faith
• 1:01:19
  Speaker 1: that doesn't depend on getting what you want this is
• 1:01:22
  Speaker 1: faith that says I'll trust God even if he doesn't
• 1:01:25
  Speaker 1: do what I think he should do this is faith
• 1:01:28
  Speaker 1: that obeys regardless of the consequences They weren't bargaining with God.
• 1:01:34
  Speaker 1: They weren't saying, God, if you save us, we'll serve you.
• 1:01:37
  Speaker 1: They were saying, we'll serve God no matter what happens
• 1:01:40
  Speaker 1: to us. Whether we live or die, we belong to him.
• 1:01:45
  Speaker 1: And notice they made this statement directly to the king.
• 1:01:48
  Speaker 1: We want you to know, your majesty. They looked the
• 1:01:51
  Speaker 1: most powerful man in the world in the eye and
• 1:01:54
  Speaker 1: told him calmly, clearly, and with complete conviction, We will
• 1:01:58
  Speaker 1: not bow to your image. Our loyalty to God is
• 1:02:01
  Speaker 1: not negotiable. You can kill us, but you cannot make
• 1:02:04
  Speaker 1: us worship false gods. The king's reaction was immediate and extreme.
• 1:02:09
  Speaker 1: Verse 19 tells us that Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach,
• 1:02:14
  Speaker 1: and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered
• 1:02:18
  Speaker 1: the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual. The king
• 1:02:22
  Speaker 1: was beyond angry. He was furious. His face changed. Literally,
• 1:02:28
  Speaker 1: the text says, the appearance of his face changed toward them.
• 1:02:32
  Speaker 1: His expression twisted with rage. How dare these men defy him?
• 1:02:36
  Speaker 1: How dare they choose their god over his command? And
• 1:02:39
  Speaker 1: he didn't just order them thrown into the furnace. He
• 1:02:42
  Speaker 1: ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual. Seven times.
• 1:02:47
  Speaker 1: This was overkill. The furnace was already hot enough to
• 1:02:50
  Speaker 1: kill someone. But that wasn't enough for Nebuchadnezzar. His pride
• 1:02:54
  Speaker 1: had been wounded. His authority had been challenged. He wanted
• 1:02:58
  Speaker 1: these men to suffer. He wanted their death to be
• 1:03:01
  Speaker 1: a spectacle. He wanted to make an example of them
• 1:03:04
  Speaker 1: so terrifying that no one would ever dare disobey him again.
• 1:03:10
  Speaker 1: Verse 20 continues. Why? Maybe because he thought these three
• 1:03:30
  Speaker 1: men might resist. Or maybe because the heat would be
• 1:03:34
  Speaker 1: so intense that only the strongest men could get close
• 1:03:37
  Speaker 1: enough to throw them in. Either way, he was taking
• 1:03:40
  Speaker 1: no chances. Verse 21 adds a detail that seems small
• 1:03:45
  Speaker 1: but becomes significant. So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans,
• 1:03:50
  Speaker 1: and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace.
• 1:03:55
  Speaker 1: They were bound up, tied with ropes so they couldn't escape.
• 1:03:58
  Speaker 1: and they were thrown in fully clothed. The king didn't
• 1:04:02
  Speaker 1: even give them time to remove their outer garments. He
• 1:04:05
  Speaker 1: wanted them dead immediately. The robes, the trousers, the turbans,
• 1:04:09
  Speaker 1: the other clothes, everything went into the fire with them.
• 1:04:13
  Speaker 1: Then comes verse 22, which describes something unexpected. The king's
• 1:04:18
  Speaker 1: command was so urgent that and the furnace so hot
• 1:04:22
  Speaker 1: that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who
• 1:04:24
  Speaker 1: took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. The furnace was so
• 1:04:28
  Speaker 1: incredibly hot that the soldiers who threw the three men
• 1:04:32
  Speaker 1: in were killed by the flames. Just getting close enough
• 1:04:35
  Speaker 1: to throw them in was fatal. The heat was so
• 1:04:38
  Speaker 1: intense that these strong soldiers, these men chosen specifically because
• 1:04:42
  Speaker 1: they could handle difficult tasks, died instantly from the heat.
• 1:04:48
  Speaker 1: Think about that. The furnace was hot enough to kill
• 1:04:51
  Speaker 1: someone just from being near it. And Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego...
• 1:04:56
  Speaker 1: had been thrown into the middle of it. Verse 23 confirms,
• 1:05:00
  Speaker 1: And these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace,
• 1:05:04
  Speaker 1: they fell into the fire. Tied up, unable to move,
• 1:05:07
  Speaker 1: wearing all their clothes, they dropped into the flames. By
• 1:05:11
  Speaker 1: all human logic, by everything anyone knew about fire and
• 1:05:14
  Speaker 1: heat and human bodies, they should have been dead in seconds.
• 1:05:18
  Speaker 1: Their bodies should have been consumed immediately. This should have
• 1:05:22
  Speaker 1: been the end of their story, but it wasn't. something
• 1:05:25
  Speaker 1: happened that no one expected, something that defied all logic
• 1:05:29
  Speaker 1: and reason. Verse 24 tells us, Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped
• 1:05:34
  Speaker 1: to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, Weren't
• 1:05:38
  Speaker 1: there three men that we tied up and threw into
• 1:05:41
  Speaker 1: the fire? The king suddenly jumped up. He had been watching,
• 1:05:45
  Speaker 1: probably from a safe distance, and he saw something that
• 1:05:48
  Speaker 1: made him leap to his feet in shock and amazement.
• 1:05:51
  Speaker 1: He turned to his advisers and and asked them a
• 1:05:54
  Speaker 1: question that should have had an obvious answer. Weren't there
• 1:05:57
  Speaker 1: three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?
• 1:06:01
  Speaker 1: Of course there were three men. Everyone had just watched
• 1:06:04
  Speaker 1: it happen. Why would the king ask such a strange question?
• 1:06:08
  Speaker 1: Verse 24 continues, They replied, Certainly, your majesty. The advisors
• 1:06:13
  Speaker 1: confirmed it. Yes, three men. We all saw it. We
• 1:06:17
  Speaker 1: all watched them get thrown in. What's the problem? And
• 1:06:20
  Speaker 1: then the king said something that changed everything. Verse 25
• 1:06:24
  Speaker 1: records his words. He said, Look, I see four men
• 1:06:28
  Speaker 1: walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the
• 1:06:31
  Speaker 1: fourth looks like a son of the gods. Four men,
• 1:06:35
  Speaker 1: not three, four, and they were walking around, not lying still,
• 1:06:39
  Speaker 1: not being consumed by flames, walking, moving, alive, and they
• 1:06:44
  Speaker 1: were unbound. The ropes that had tied them up were gone.
• 1:06:47
  Speaker 1: They were free and they were unharmed. The fire that
• 1:06:50
  Speaker 1: had killed the soldiers who threw them in, The fire
• 1:06:53
  Speaker 1: that was seven times hotter than usual wasn't hurting them
• 1:06:56
  Speaker 1: at all. But the most shocking part was the fourth man.
• 1:07:01
  Speaker 1: Where had he come from? Three men had been thrown
• 1:07:03
  Speaker 1: into the furnace. Now there were four. Who was this
• 1:07:07
  Speaker 1: fourth person? The king said he looked like a son
• 1:07:10
  Speaker 1: of the gods. In Nebuchadnezzar's pagan understanding, this was the
• 1:07:14
  Speaker 1: only way he could describe what he was seeing. This
• 1:07:18
  Speaker 1: fourth figure didn't look like a normal human. There was
• 1:07:20
  Speaker 1: something divine about him. something supernatural, something that spoke of
• 1:07:25
  Speaker 1: the presence of deity. Who was this fourth man? The
• 1:07:29
  Speaker 1: Bible doesn't tell us explicitly here, but most people believe
• 1:07:33
  Speaker 1: this was a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus Christ, what theologians
• 1:07:37
  Speaker 1: call a Christophany. This was God himself in visible form
• 1:07:42
  Speaker 1: walking in the fire with his faithful servants. When they
• 1:07:46
  Speaker 1: were thrown into the furnace, they weren't alone. God was
• 1:07:49
  Speaker 1: with them. the God that Nebuchadnezzar had challenged, what God
• 1:07:53
  Speaker 1: will be able to rescue you from my hand, had
• 1:07:56
  Speaker 1: answered that challenge, not by preventing the three men from
• 1:08:00
  Speaker 1: being thrown into the fire, not by putting out the flames,
• 1:08:03
  Speaker 1: but by entering the fire with them, by being present
• 1:08:07
  Speaker 1: with them in their suffering, by protecting them in the
• 1:08:09
  Speaker 1: midst of the flames. Nebuchadnezzar's response to what he saw
• 1:08:14
  Speaker 1: was immediate. Verse 26 tells us, Nebuchadnezzar then approached the
• 1:08:19
  Speaker 1: opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,
• 1:08:24
  Speaker 1: servants of the Most High God, come out. Come here.
• 1:08:27
  Speaker 1: The king who had just condemned them to death was
• 1:08:30
  Speaker 1: now calling them to come out. And notice what he
• 1:08:33
  Speaker 1: called them, servants of the Most High God, not rebels,
• 1:08:37
  Speaker 1: not traitors, but criminals. Servants of the Most High God,
• 1:08:41
  Speaker 1: He acknowledged that they served a god higher than him,
• 1:08:44
  Speaker 1: a god who was, in fact, the most high. The
• 1:08:48
  Speaker 1: king approached the opening of the furnace, probably as close
• 1:08:51
  Speaker 1: as he could get without being burned himself, and shouted
• 1:08:55
  Speaker 1: for them to come out. This was an order, but
• 1:08:57
  Speaker 1: not an angry one. This was shock. This was awe.
• 1:09:01
  Speaker 1: This was a man who had just witnessed something that
• 1:09:03
  Speaker 1: shattered his entire understanding of reality. Verse 26 continues, So Shadrach, Meshach,
• 1:09:11
  Speaker 1: and Abednego came out of the fire. They walked out
• 1:09:14
  Speaker 1: calmly in their own time. They came out of the
• 1:09:17
  Speaker 1: blazing furnace that had been heated seven times hotter than usual,
• 1:09:22
  Speaker 1: the furnace that had killed the soldiers who threw them in.
• 1:09:25
  Speaker 1: They walked out alive, and what did people see when
• 1:09:27
  Speaker 1: they emerged? Verse 27 describes it. And the satraps, prefects, governors,
• 1:09:33
  Speaker 1: and royal advisors crowded around them. They saw that the
• 1:09:37
  Speaker 1: fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair
• 1:09:39
  Speaker 1: of their head singed. Their robes were not scorched, and
• 1:09:43
  Speaker 1: there was no smell of fire on them. All the
• 1:09:46
  Speaker 1: high officials who had gathered for the dedication ceremony crowded
• 1:09:50
  Speaker 1: around to see. And what they saw was impossible. The
• 1:09:53
  Speaker 1: fire had not harmed their bodies at all. Not burned skin,
• 1:09:57
  Speaker 1: not blistered flesh, nothing. Not a hair of their heads
• 1:10:00
  Speaker 1: was singed. Think about that. Hair burns easily. It catches
• 1:10:05
  Speaker 1: fire quickly. But not one hair on their heads had
• 1:10:08
  Speaker 1: been burned. Every hair was intact. Their robes were not scorched. Remember,
• 1:10:13
  Speaker 1: they had been thrown in fully clothed. Those robes should
• 1:10:16
  Speaker 1: have been burned off their bodies immediately. But the robes
• 1:10:19
  Speaker 1: looked like they had never been near fire, and there
• 1:10:22
  Speaker 1: was no smell of fire on them. When you're around fire,
• 1:10:26
  Speaker 1: even if you don't get burned, you smell like smoke afterward.
• 1:10:30
  Speaker 1: Your clothes absorbed the smell, but these three men didn't
• 1:10:33
  Speaker 1: even smell like they had been near fire, much less
• 1:10:36
  Speaker 1: inside a furnace. The only thing the fire had destroyed
• 1:10:40
  Speaker 1: was the ropes that bound them. They had gone in
• 1:10:42
  Speaker 1: tied up and come out free. The fire had released
• 1:10:45
  Speaker 1: them from their bonds but touched nothing else. This was
• 1:10:49
  Speaker 1: a complete, total, undeniable miracle. And everyone saw it. This
• 1:10:54
  Speaker 1: wasn't something that happened in private that only a few
• 1:10:57
  Speaker 1: people witnessed. All the important officials from across the Empire
• 1:11:01
  Speaker 1: were there. They all saw these three men thrown into
• 1:11:05
  Speaker 1: the fire. They all saw them walk out unharmed. There
• 1:11:08
  Speaker 1: was no way to deny what had happened. Verse 28
• 1:11:12
  Speaker 1: records Nebuchadnezzar's response. Then Nebuchadnezzar said, Praise be to the
• 1:11:17
  Speaker 1: God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his
• 1:11:21
  Speaker 1: angel and rescued his servants. They trusted in him and
• 1:11:24
  Speaker 1: defied the king's command. and were willing to give up
• 1:11:27
  Speaker 1: their lives rather than serve or worship any God except
• 1:11:31
  Speaker 1: their own God. The king praised God, the same king
• 1:11:35
  Speaker 1: who had built the golden image and demanded everyone worship it,
• 1:11:39
  Speaker 1: the same king who had asked, What God will be
• 1:11:42
  Speaker 1: able to rescue you from my hand? Now he was
• 1:11:45
  Speaker 1: praising the God of Israel. He acknowledged that God had
• 1:11:48
  Speaker 1: sent his angel, his way of describing the fourth man
• 1:11:51
  Speaker 1: in the fire, and rescued his servants. And the king
• 1:11:55
  Speaker 1: acknowledged something else. These men had trusted in God. They
• 1:11:59
  Speaker 1: had defied the king's command because of that trust. They
• 1:12:03
  Speaker 1: had been willing to die rather than worship any other god.
• 1:12:08
  Speaker 1: And their god had proven worthy of that trust. Verse
• 1:12:12
  Speaker 1: 29 continues, Therefore I decree that the people of any
• 1:12:16
  Speaker 1: nation or language who say anything against the god of Shadrach,
• 1:12:20
  Speaker 1: Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces, and their houses
• 1:12:23
  Speaker 1: be turned into piles of rubble. For no other god
• 1:12:27
  Speaker 1: can save in this way. The king issued a new decree.
• 1:12:31
  Speaker 1: Anyone who spoke against the god of Shadrach, Meshach, and
• 1:12:34
  Speaker 1: Abednego would be severely punished. Why? Because no other god
• 1:12:40
  Speaker 1: can save in this way. Nebuchadnezzar had witnessed something that
• 1:12:44
  Speaker 1: proved beyond doubt that this god was real and powerful
• 1:12:48
  Speaker 1: in a way that no other god was. And then...
• 1:12:51
  Speaker 1: Verse 30 tells us the final outcome. Then the king
• 1:12:55
  Speaker 1: promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.
• 1:13:00
  Speaker 1: They didn't just get their lives back. They didn't just
• 1:13:03
  Speaker 1: get their positions back. They were promoted. They received even
• 1:13:07
  Speaker 1: higher positions than before. The men who had been condemned
• 1:13:10
  Speaker 1: to death for refusing to bow were now honored for
• 1:13:13
  Speaker 1: their faithfulness. They had stood firm. They had refused to compromise.
• 1:13:19
  Speaker 1: They had been willing to die for their faith, and
• 1:13:22
  Speaker 1: God had vindicated them in the most public, most dramatic
• 1:13:25
  Speaker 1: way possible. Years had passed since the fiery furnace. Daniel
• 1:13:30
  Speaker 1: had grown older, and kings had come and gone. Now
• 1:13:33
  Speaker 1: a new king named Belshazzar sat on Babylon's throne, and
• 1:13:36
  Speaker 1: in the first year of his reign, something happened to
• 1:13:39
  Speaker 1: Daniel that would change everything. God was about to show
• 1:13:43
  Speaker 1: him the future in a way he had never experienced before.
• 1:13:47
  Speaker 1: Chapter 7 Verse 1 tells us, Daniel wasn't interpreting someone
• 1:13:50
  Speaker 1: else's dream anymore. God was giving him his own visions,
• 1:13:52
  Speaker 1: and what he saw was so important that he immediately
• 1:13:55
  Speaker 1: wrote it down. He didn't want to forget a single detail.
• 1:13:57
  Speaker 1: Verse 2 describes how it began. Daniel said, In my
• 1:14:19
  Speaker 1: vision at night I looked, and there before me were
• 1:14:22
  Speaker 1: the four winds of heaven churning up the great sea.
• 1:14:26
  Speaker 1: Picture this. Daniel saw the great sea being stirred up
• 1:14:29
  Speaker 1: by winds coming from all four directions. The water was turbulent, violent, churning.
• 1:14:35
  Speaker 1: This wasn't a calm scene. This was chaos. Verse 3 continues,
• 1:14:39
  Speaker 1: Four great beasts, each different from the others, came up
• 1:14:43
  Speaker 1: out of the sea. Four beasts. Not normal animals. These
• 1:14:47
  Speaker 1: were creatures unlike anything in the natural world. Each one
• 1:14:51
  Speaker 1: was different, and they came up from the churning sea.
• 1:14:55
  Speaker 1: Verse 4 describes the first beast. The first was like
• 1:14:58
  Speaker 1: a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle.
• 1:15:01
  Speaker 1: I watched until its wings were torn off, and it
• 1:15:04
  Speaker 1: was lifted from the ground so that it stood on
• 1:15:06
  Speaker 1: two feet like a human being, and the mind of
• 1:15:09
  Speaker 1: a human was given to it. A lion with eagle's wings.
• 1:15:14
  Speaker 1: The lion was the king of beasts. The eagle was
• 1:15:17
  Speaker 1: the king of birds. But then its wings were torn off.
• 1:15:21
  Speaker 1: It was made to stand on two feet like a person.
• 1:15:23
  Speaker 1: And it was given a human mind. Verse 5 describes
• 1:15:27
  Speaker 1: the second beast. And there before me was a second beast,
• 1:15:31
  Speaker 1: which looked like a bear. It was raised up on
• 1:15:34
  Speaker 1: one of its sides, and it had three ribs in
• 1:15:36
  Speaker 1: its mouth between its teeth. It was told, Get up
• 1:15:40
  Speaker 1: and eat your fill of flesh. The bear raised up
• 1:15:43
  Speaker 1: on one side, and in its mouth were three ribs,
• 1:15:46
  Speaker 1: as if it had already devoured three victims. Then it
• 1:15:49
  Speaker 1: was commanded to eat more flesh. Verse 6 describes the
• 1:15:53
  Speaker 1: third beast. After that I looked, and there before me
• 1:15:56
  Speaker 1: was another beast, one that looked like a leopard, and
• 1:15:59
  Speaker 1: on its back it had four wings, like those of
• 1:16:02
  Speaker 1: a bird. This beast had four heads. and it was
• 1:16:05
  Speaker 1: given authority to rule, a leopard with four wings and
• 1:16:08
  Speaker 1: four heads. This beast was given authority to rule, and
• 1:16:12
  Speaker 1: its rule would be swift. Then came the fourth beast.
• 1:16:16
  Speaker 1: Verse 7 describes it. After that, in my vision at night,
• 1:16:19
  Speaker 1: I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast,
• 1:16:23
  Speaker 1: terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth.
• 1:16:27
  Speaker 1: It crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever
• 1:16:31
  Speaker 1: was left. It was different from all the former beasts,
• 1:16:35
  Speaker 1: And it had ten horns. This beast was so terrifying,
• 1:16:38
  Speaker 1: Daniel couldn't even compare it to a known animal. It
• 1:16:42
  Speaker 1: had iron teeth and it crushed everything. And it had
• 1:16:45
  Speaker 1: ten horns. Verse 8 continues, While I was thinking about
• 1:16:49
  Speaker 1: the horns, there before me was another horn, a little one,
• 1:16:53
  Speaker 1: which came up among them, and three of the first
• 1:16:56
  Speaker 1: horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like
• 1:16:59
  Speaker 1: the eyes of a human being, and a mouth that
• 1:17:02
  Speaker 1: spoke boastfully. A little horn appeared and uprooted three of
• 1:17:06
  Speaker 1: the other horns, and this horn had human eyes. and
• 1:17:09
  Speaker 1: a mouth that spoke boastfully, suddenly the vision shifted. Daniel
• 1:17:14
  Speaker 1: wasn't looking at beasts anymore. He was seeing something that
• 1:17:17
  Speaker 1: took place in heaven itself. Verse 9 describes what he saw.
• 1:17:21
  Speaker 1: As I looked, thrones were set in place, and the
• 1:17:24
  Speaker 1: Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was as
• 1:17:28
  Speaker 1: white as snow. The hair of his head was white
• 1:17:30
  Speaker 1: like wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its
• 1:17:34
  Speaker 1: wheels were all ablaze. Thrones were set up. This was
• 1:17:37
  Speaker 1: a courtroom scene. a place of judgment. And the Ancient
• 1:17:41
  Speaker 1: of Days took his seat. This was God himself. His
• 1:17:44
  Speaker 1: clothing was pure white. His hair was white like wool.
• 1:17:48
  Speaker 1: His throne was on fire, burning with holy judgment. Verse
• 1:17:52
  Speaker 1: 10 continues, A river of fire was flowing, coming out
• 1:17:56
  Speaker 1: from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him. Ten thousand
• 1:18:00
  Speaker 1: times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated
• 1:18:03
  Speaker 1: and the books were opened. Fire flowed out from God's throne,
• 1:18:07
  Speaker 1: and surrounding him were countless attendants. The court was in session.
• 1:18:11
  Speaker 1: The books were opened. This was judgment day. Verse 11
• 1:18:15
  Speaker 1: tells us what happened to the fourth beast. Then I
• 1:18:18
  Speaker 1: continued to watch because of the boastful words the horn
• 1:18:22
  Speaker 1: was speaking. I kept looking until the beast was slain
• 1:18:25
  Speaker 1: and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire.
• 1:18:30
  Speaker 1: The little horn kept speaking boastfully. But then judgment came.
• 1:18:34
  Speaker 1: The fourth beast was killed and thrown into fire. Verse
• 1:18:37
  Speaker 1: 12 adds, The other beasts had been stripped of their authority,
• 1:18:42
  Speaker 1: but were allowed to live for a period of time.
• 1:18:44
  Speaker 1: The other three beasts lost their power, but continued to
• 1:18:48
  Speaker 1: exist for a while. Then Daniel saw something amazing. Verses
• 1:18:52
  Speaker 1: 13 and 14 describe it. In my vision at night
• 1:18:56
  Speaker 1: I looked, and there before me was one like a
• 1:18:59
  Speaker 1: son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He
• 1:19:02
  Speaker 1: approached the Ancient of Days and and was led into
• 1:19:05
  Speaker 1: his presence. He was given authority, glory, and sovereign power.
• 1:19:10
  Speaker 1: All nations and peoples of every language worshipped him. His
• 1:19:13
  Speaker 1: dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away,
• 1:19:17
  Speaker 1: and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.
• 1:19:21
  Speaker 1: One like a son of man. This figure looked human,
• 1:19:26
  Speaker 1: but came with the clouds of heaven. He approached God,
• 1:19:29
  Speaker 1: and was given authority, glory, and sovereign power. All nations
• 1:19:33
  Speaker 1: would worship him. His kingdom would last forever. Time passed,
• 1:19:37
  Speaker 1: and Daniel received another vision. Chapter 8, verse 1 tells us,
• 1:19:41
  Speaker 1: In the third year of King Belshazzar's reign, I, Daniel,
• 1:19:46
  Speaker 1: had a vision, after the one that had already appeared
• 1:19:48
  Speaker 1: to me. This was the third year of Belshazzar's reign.
• 1:19:52
  Speaker 1: God was giving Daniel another vision with more specific details
• 1:19:57
  Speaker 1: about the future. Verse 2 describes where Daniel was. In
• 1:20:02
  Speaker 1: my vision, I saw myself in the citadel of Susa
• 1:20:06
  Speaker 1: in the province of Elam. In the vision, I was
• 1:20:09
  Speaker 1: beside the Ulai Canal. Daniel wasn't physically in Susa, but
• 1:20:14
  Speaker 1: in the vision, he saw himself there, standing beside the
• 1:20:18
  Speaker 1: Ulai Canal. Verse 3 describes what Daniel saw. I looked up,
• 1:20:24
  Speaker 1: and there before me was a ram with two horns,
• 1:20:27
  Speaker 1: standing beside the canal, and the horns were long. One
• 1:20:31
  Speaker 1: of the horns was longer than the other, but grew
• 1:20:33
  Speaker 1: up later, a ram with two horns. Both horns were long,
• 1:20:37
  Speaker 1: but one was longer, and had grown up later. Verse
• 1:20:41
  Speaker 1: 4 continues, I watched the ram as it charged toward
• 1:20:44
  Speaker 1: the west and the north and the south. No animal
• 1:20:47
  Speaker 1: could stand against it, and none could rescue from its power.
• 1:20:51
  Speaker 1: It did as it pleased and became great. This ram
• 1:20:54
  Speaker 1: was powerful. It charged in three directions and conquered everywhere.
• 1:20:59
  Speaker 1: No animal could stand against it. Then something new appeared.
• 1:21:03
  Speaker 1: Verse 5 tells us, As I was thinking about this,
• 1:21:06
  Speaker 1: suddenly a goat with a prominent horn between its eyes
• 1:21:10
  Speaker 1: came from the west, crossing the whole earth without touching
• 1:21:14
  Speaker 1: the ground. A goat appeared from the west. This goat
• 1:21:18
  Speaker 1: was incredibly fast. It crossed the earth without touching the ground,
• 1:21:23
  Speaker 1: and it had a prominent horn between its eyes. Verse
• 1:21:26
  Speaker 1: 6 describes what happened. It came toward the two-horned ram
• 1:21:30
  Speaker 1: I had seen standing beside the canal and charged at
• 1:21:33
  Speaker 1: it in great rage. The goat charged at the ram
• 1:21:37
  Speaker 1: with great rage. Verse 7 continues, I saw it attack
• 1:21:41
  Speaker 1: the ram furiously, striking the ram and shattering its two horns.
• 1:21:46
  Speaker 1: The ram was powerless to stand against it. The goat
• 1:21:49
  Speaker 1: knocked it to the ground and trampled on it, and
• 1:21:51
  Speaker 1: none could rescue the ram from its power. The goat
• 1:21:55
  Speaker 1: completely destroyed the ram. It shattered both horns. The ram
• 1:21:59
  Speaker 1: that had been so powerful was now powerless. Verse 8
• 1:22:02
  Speaker 1: tells us what happened next. The goat became very great,
• 1:22:07
  Speaker 1: but at the height of its power the large horn
• 1:22:09
  Speaker 1: was broken off, and in its place four prominent horns
• 1:22:13
  Speaker 1: grew up toward the four winds of heaven. The goat
• 1:22:16
  Speaker 1: became very great, but at the peak of its power
• 1:22:20
  Speaker 1: the large horn was broken off, and four prominent horns
• 1:22:24
  Speaker 1: grew in its place, but the vision wasn't finished. Verse
• 1:22:27
  Speaker 1: 9 describes something else. Out of one of them came
• 1:22:30
  Speaker 1: another horn, which started small, but grew in power to
• 1:22:34
  Speaker 1: the south and to the east and toward the beautiful land.
• 1:22:38
  Speaker 1: Out of one of the four horns came another horn.
• 1:22:40
  Speaker 1: This one started small, but grew toward the south, the east,
• 1:22:44
  Speaker 1: and toward the beautiful land, Israel. Verse 10 continues. It
• 1:22:51
  Speaker 1: grew until it reached the host of the heavens, and
• 1:22:54
  Speaker 1: it threw some of the starry host down to the
• 1:22:56
  Speaker 1: earth and trampled on them. This horn grew so great
• 1:23:00
  Speaker 1: it reached toward heaven. It threw down some of the
• 1:23:03
  Speaker 1: starry host and trampled on them. Verse 11 makes this clearer.
• 1:23:07
  Speaker 1: It set itself up to be as great as the
• 1:23:09
  Speaker 1: commander of the army of the Lord. It took away
• 1:23:12
  Speaker 1: the daily sacrifice from the Lord, and his sanctuary was
• 1:23:16
  Speaker 1: thrown down. This horn exalted itself to be equal with God.
• 1:23:21
  Speaker 1: It took away the daily sacrifice offered to God, and
• 1:23:24
  Speaker 1: it threw down God's sanctuary. Verse 12 continues, Because of rebellion,
• 1:23:30
  Speaker 1: the Lord's people and the daily sacrifice were given over
• 1:23:33
  Speaker 1: to it. It prospered in everything it did, and truth
• 1:23:36
  Speaker 1: was thrown to the ground. Because of rebellion, God's people
• 1:23:40
  Speaker 1: were given over to this horn. The daily sacrifice stopped.
• 1:23:44
  Speaker 1: The horn prospered. Truth was thrown to the ground. Then
• 1:23:48
  Speaker 1: verse 13 tells us, Then I heard a holy one speaking,
• 1:23:52
  Speaker 1: and another holy one said to him, How long will
• 1:23:55
  Speaker 1: it take for the vision to be fulfilled, the vision
• 1:23:58
  Speaker 1: concerning the daily sacrifice, the rebellion that causes desolation, the
• 1:24:03
  Speaker 1: surrender of the sanctuary, and the trampling underfoot of the
• 1:24:07
  Speaker 1: Lord's people? Daniel heard angels talking. One asked, How long
• 1:24:11
  Speaker 1: will this last? Verse 14 gives the answer. He said
• 1:24:14
  Speaker 1: to me, It will take three hundred evenings and mornings.
• 1:24:18
  Speaker 1: Then the sanctuary will be reconsecrated. The answer was specific,
• 1:24:23
  Speaker 1: two to three hundred evenings and mornings. After this time,
• 1:24:27
  Speaker 1: the sanctuary would be cleansed and restored. Daniel was trying
• 1:24:30
  Speaker 1: to understand what he had seen. Verse 15 tells us,
• 1:24:34
  Speaker 1: While I, Daniel, was watching the vision and trying to
• 1:24:37
  Speaker 1: understand it, there before me stood one who looked like
• 1:24:41
  Speaker 1: a man. Someone appeared who looked like a man. This
• 1:24:45
  Speaker 1: was an angel. Verse 16 continues, And I heard a
• 1:24:49
  Speaker 1: man's voice from the Ulai calling, Gabriel, tell this man
• 1:24:54
  Speaker 1: the meaning of the vision. A voice called out, commanding
• 1:24:58
  Speaker 1: the angel. Gabriel, explain this vision to Daniel. This is
• 1:25:02
  Speaker 1: the first time Gabriel is named in the Bible. Verse
• 1:25:06
  Speaker 1: 17 describes what happened. As he came near the place
• 1:25:10
  Speaker 1: where I was standing, I was terrified and fell prostrate.
• 1:25:13
  Speaker 1: Son of man, he said to me, understand that the
• 1:25:16
  Speaker 1: vision concerns the time of the end. Gabriel approached, and
• 1:25:20
  Speaker 1: Daniel was terrified. He fell face down. Gabriel told him
• 1:25:25
  Speaker 1: this vision concerns the time of the end. Verse 18 continues,
• 1:25:30
  Speaker 1: While he was speaking to me, I was in a
• 1:25:32
  Speaker 1: deep sleep, with my face to the ground. Then he
• 1:25:35
  Speaker 1: touched me and raised me to my feet. Daniel fell
• 1:25:38
  Speaker 1: into a deep sleep. But Gabriel touched him and raised
• 1:25:42
  Speaker 1: him up. Verses 19 and 20 record Gabriel's explanation. He said,
• 1:25:48
  Speaker 1: I am going to tell you what will happen later
• 1:25:50
  Speaker 1: in the time of wrath, because the vision concerns the
• 1:25:54
  Speaker 1: appointed time of the end. The two-horned ram that you
• 1:25:57
  Speaker 1: saw represents the kings of Media and Persia. Gabriel explained
• 1:26:02
  Speaker 1: the ram. The two horns were Media and Persia, joined
• 1:26:06
  Speaker 1: together as one empire. Verse 21 continues, The shaggy goat
• 1:26:11
  Speaker 1: is the king of Greece, and the large horn between
• 1:26:14
  Speaker 1: its eyes is the first king. The goat was Greece,
• 1:26:18
  Speaker 1: and the large horn was the first king, Alexander the Great,
• 1:26:22
  Speaker 1: who would conquer Persia with incredible speed. Verse 22 adds,
• 1:26:27
  Speaker 1: The four horns that replace the one that was broken
• 1:26:30
  Speaker 1: off represent four kingdoms that will emerge from his nation,
• 1:26:34
  Speaker 1: but will not have the same power. When Alexander died,
• 1:26:39
  Speaker 1: four kingdoms would emerge from his empire, divided among his generals.
• 1:26:44
  Speaker 1: but none would have Alexander's power. Verses 23 through 25
• 1:26:49
  Speaker 1: describe the little horn. In the latter part of their reign...
• 1:26:54
  Speaker 1: When rebels have become completely wicked, a fierce-looking king, a
• 1:26:58
  Speaker 1: master of intrigue, will arise. He will become very strong,
• 1:27:02
  Speaker 1: but not by his own power. He will cause astounding
• 1:27:05
  Speaker 1: devastation and will succeed in whatever he does. He will
• 1:27:10
  Speaker 1: destroy those who are mighty, the holy people. He will
• 1:27:13
  Speaker 1: cause deceit to prosper. and he will consider himself superior.
• 1:27:17
  Speaker 1: When they feel secure, he will destroy many and take
• 1:27:20
  Speaker 1: his stand against the prince of princes. Yet he will
• 1:27:23
  Speaker 1: be destroyed, but not by human power. This fierce king
• 1:27:27
  Speaker 1: would arise when wickedness reached its peak. He would be cunning.
• 1:27:31
  Speaker 1: He would become very strong through another power. He would
• 1:27:35
  Speaker 1: cause terrible devastation. He would destroy God's people. He would
• 1:27:39
  Speaker 1: prosper through lies. He would exalt himself even against God.
• 1:27:44
  Speaker 1: But he would be destroyed, not by human power, but
• 1:27:47
  Speaker 1: by God. Time passed, and Daniel was studying Scripture. Chapter 9,
• 1:27:53
  Speaker 1: verse 2 tells us, In the first year of his reign, A.
• 1:27:57
  Speaker 1: Daniel understood from the scriptures, according to the word of
• 1:28:01
  Speaker 1: the Lord given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation
• 1:28:04
  Speaker 1: of Jerusalem would last 70 years. Daniel was reading Jeremiah's
• 1:28:09
  Speaker 1: prophecy about 70 years of desolation. Their time was almost up.
• 1:28:14
  Speaker 1: So Daniel prayed. His prayer in verses 3 through 19
• 1:28:17
  Speaker 1: was a confession of sin. He acknowledged that Israel had
• 1:28:21
  Speaker 1: rebelled against God. had not obeyed his laws. He pleaded
• 1:28:25
  Speaker 1: for God to restore Jerusalem and his sanctuary. While Daniel
• 1:28:29
  Speaker 1: was praying, verse 21 tells us, While I was still
• 1:28:32
  Speaker 1: in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the
• 1:28:35
  Speaker 1: earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the
• 1:28:38
  Speaker 1: time of the evening sacrifice. Gabriel appeared again, flying swiftly
• 1:28:44
  Speaker 1: to Daniel at the time of the evening sacrifice. Verse
• 1:28:47
  Speaker 1: 22 continues, He instructed me and said to me, Daniel,
• 1:28:51
  Speaker 1: I have now come to give you insight and understanding.
• 1:28:55
  Speaker 1: Gabriel came to give Daniel insight. Verse 23 records, As
• 1:28:59
  Speaker 1: soon as you began to pray, a word went out,
• 1:29:02
  Speaker 1: which I have come to tell you, for you are
• 1:29:04
  Speaker 1: highly esteemed. Therefore consider the word and understand the vision.
• 1:29:10
  Speaker 1: As soon as Daniel started praying, God sent the answer.
• 1:29:13
  Speaker 1: Gabriel told Daniel he was highly esteemed by God. Verse
• 1:29:17
  Speaker 1: 24 states, Seventy sevens are decreed for your people and
• 1:29:22
  Speaker 1: your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end
• 1:29:26
  Speaker 1: to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness,
• 1:29:31
  Speaker 1: to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the
• 1:29:35
  Speaker 1: most holy place. Seventy sevens, seventy weeks of years, or
• 1:29:40
  Speaker 1: 490 years, were decreed for Israel and Jerusalem. During this time,
• 1:29:45
  Speaker 1: six things would be accomplished— Transgression would finish, sin would end,
• 1:29:50
  Speaker 1: wickedness would be atoned for, everlasting righteousness would come, vision
• 1:29:55
  Speaker 1: and prophecy would be sealed, and the most holy place
• 1:29:59
  Speaker 1: would be anointed. Verses 25 and 26 provide detail. Know
• 1:30:04
  Speaker 1: and understand this. From the time the word goes out
• 1:30:08
  Speaker 1: to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the anointed one, the
• 1:30:12
  Speaker 1: ruler comes, there will be seven sevens, and sixty-two sevens.
• 1:30:18
  Speaker 1: It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but
• 1:30:22
  Speaker 1: in times of trouble. After the sixty-two sevens, the anointed
• 1:30:26
  Speaker 1: one will be put to death and will have nothing.
• 1:30:29
  Speaker 1: The people of the ruler who will come will destroy
• 1:30:32
  Speaker 1: the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like
• 1:30:35
  Speaker 1: a flood. War will continue until the end, and desolations
• 1:30:40
  Speaker 1: have been decreed. From the decree to rebuild Jerusalem until
• 1:30:45
  Speaker 1: the Messiah comes would be 69 sevens, 483 years. After this,
• 1:30:51
  Speaker 1: the anointed one would be cut off, put to death.
• 1:30:55
  Speaker 1: A coming ruler's people would destroy the city and sanctuary.
• 1:30:59
  Speaker 1: Verse 27 adds, He will confirm a covenant with many
• 1:31:03
  Speaker 1: for one seven. In the middle of the seven, He
• 1:31:07
  Speaker 1: will put an end to sacrifice and offering, and at
• 1:31:09
  Speaker 1: the temple he will set up an abomination that causes
• 1:31:12
  Speaker 1: desolation until the end that is decreed is poured out
• 1:31:16
  Speaker 1: on him. One final seven remained. A ruler would make
• 1:31:23
  Speaker 1: a covenant but break it halfway through, stopping sacrifices and
• 1:31:28
  Speaker 1: setting up an abomination in the temple. More years passed.
• 1:31:32
  Speaker 1: Babylon had fallen and Persia ruled. Chapter 10 verse 1
• 1:31:36
  Speaker 1: tells us In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia,
• 1:31:40
  Speaker 1: a revelation was given to Daniel, who was called Belteshazzar.
• 1:31:44
  Speaker 1: Its message was true, and it concerned a great war.
• 1:31:48
  Speaker 1: The understanding of the message came to him in a vision.
• 1:31:52
  Speaker 1: Daniel was now an old man. He had served through
• 1:31:55
  Speaker 1: multiple kings. In the third year of Cyrus, he received
• 1:31:59
  Speaker 1: a final detailed revelation. Verses 2 and 3 describe what
• 1:32:03
  Speaker 1: Daniel was doing. At that time, I, Daniel... mourned for
• 1:32:07
  Speaker 1: three weeks. I ate no choice food, no meat or
• 1:32:11
  Speaker 1: wine touched my lips, and I used no lotions at
• 1:32:14
  Speaker 1: all until the three weeks were over. Daniel had been
• 1:32:18
  Speaker 1: fasting for three full weeks, praying and seeking God. Verses
• 1:32:23
  Speaker 1: 4 through 6 describe what happened. On the twenty-fourth day
• 1:32:28
  Speaker 1: of the first month, as I was standing on the
• 1:32:30
  Speaker 1: bank of the great river the Tigris, I looked up
• 1:32:33
  Speaker 1: and there before me was a man dressed in linen
• 1:32:37
  Speaker 1: with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist.
• 1:32:41
  Speaker 1: His body was like topaz, his face like lightning, his
• 1:32:45
  Speaker 1: eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the
• 1:32:48
  Speaker 1: gleam of burnished bronze, and his voice like the sound
• 1:32:51
  Speaker 1: of a multitude. Daniel saw a glorious being by the
• 1:32:56
  Speaker 1: Tigris River. He was dressed in linen with a gold belt.
• 1:33:00
  Speaker 1: His body looked like topaz. His face was bright like lightning.
• 1:33:05
  Speaker 1: His eyes blazed like torches. His arms and legs gleamed
• 1:33:09
  Speaker 1: like bronze. His voice sounded like a great crowd. Verse
• 1:33:14
  Speaker 1: 7 tells us, I, Daniel, was the only one who
• 1:33:18
  Speaker 1: saw the vision. Those who were with me did not
• 1:33:21
  Speaker 1: see it, but such terror overwhelmed them that they fled
• 1:33:25
  Speaker 1: and hid themselves. Others were with Daniel but didn't see
• 1:33:28
  Speaker 1: the vision, yet they felt terror and ran away. Verse
• 1:33:32
  Speaker 1: 8 describes Daniel's reaction. So I was left alone, gazing
• 1:33:36
  Speaker 1: at this great vision. I had no strength left. My
• 1:33:40
  Speaker 1: face turned deathly pale and I was helpless. The vision
• 1:33:43
  Speaker 1: drained Daniel completely. His face turned pale. He felt helpless.
• 1:33:49
  Speaker 1: The being spoke to Daniel, explaining that his prayers had
• 1:33:52
  Speaker 1: been heard from the first day. The being had been
• 1:33:55
  Speaker 1: sent to answer but was delayed by spiritual opposition. This
• 1:33:59
  Speaker 1: reveals spiritual warfare happening in heavenly realms, the being delivered
• 1:34:04
  Speaker 1: detailed prophecies about conflicts between kingdoms. Chapter 11 describes wars, alliances,
• 1:34:12
  Speaker 1: and persecutions in remarkable detail. Verse 36 describes a coming ruler.
• 1:34:19
  Speaker 1: The king will do as he pleases. He will exalt
• 1:34:23
  Speaker 1: and magnify himself above every god and will say unheard
• 1:34:26
  Speaker 1: of things against the god of gods. He will be
• 1:34:30
  Speaker 1: successful until the time of wrath is completed, for what
• 1:34:33
  Speaker 1: has been determined must take place. This king would exalt
• 1:34:39
  Speaker 1: himself above every god, even speaking against the true god.
• 1:34:44
  Speaker 1: The final vision reaches its climax in chapter 12. Verse
• 1:34:47
  Speaker 1: 1 begins, At that time, Michael, the great prince who
• 1:34:51
  Speaker 1: protects your people, will arise. There will be a time
• 1:34:55
  Speaker 1: of distress such as has not happened from the beginning
• 1:34:58
  Speaker 1: of nations until then. But at that time, your people,
• 1:35:02
  Speaker 1: everyone whose name is found written in the book, will
• 1:35:05
  Speaker 1: be delivered. Michael would stand up for Daniel's people. There
• 1:35:09
  Speaker 1: would be a time of distress unlike anything in history.
• 1:35:13
  Speaker 1: But God's people, those whose names were written in the book,
• 1:35:17
  Speaker 1: would be delivered. Verse 2 states, Multitudes who sleep in
• 1:35:21
  Speaker 1: the dust of the earth will awake, some to everlasting life,
• 1:35:25
  Speaker 1: others to shame and everlasting contempt. The dead would rise,
• 1:35:30
  Speaker 1: some would awake to everlasting life, others would awake to
• 1:35:33
  Speaker 1: shame and contempt. This was a clear prophecy of resurrection.
• 1:35:37
  Speaker 1: Verse 3 adds, Those who are wise will shine like
• 1:35:41
  Speaker 1: the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many
• 1:35:44
  Speaker 1: to righteousness like the stars forever and ever. The wise
• 1:35:48
  Speaker 1: would shine brightly forever. Those who led others to righteousness
• 1:35:53
  Speaker 1: would shine like stars. Verse 4 gives Daniel a command.
• 1:35:57
  Speaker 1: But you, Daniel, roll up and seal the words of
• 1:36:01
  Speaker 1: the scroll until the time of the end. Many will
• 1:36:04
  Speaker 1: go here and there to increase knowledge. Daniel was told
• 1:36:08
  Speaker 1: to preserve this prophecy until the time of the end.
• 1:36:12
  Speaker 1: Daniel asked in verse 6, How long will it be
• 1:36:15
  Speaker 1: before these astonishing things are fulfilled? He wanted to know
• 1:36:18
  Speaker 1: when this would happen. Verse 7 gives an answer. The
• 1:36:22
  Speaker 1: man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of
• 1:36:26
  Speaker 1: the river, lifted his right hand and his left hand
• 1:36:29
  Speaker 1: toward heaven, and I heard him swear by him who
• 1:36:32
  Speaker 1: lives forever, saying, It will be for a time, times,
• 1:36:36
  Speaker 1: and half a time. When the power of the holy
• 1:36:38
  Speaker 1: people has been finally broken, all these things will be completed.
• 1:36:44
  Speaker 1: The answer was, A time, times, and half a time.
• 1:36:48
  Speaker 1: likely three and a half years. Daniel didn't understand, so
• 1:36:53
  Speaker 1: he asked again in verse 8, I heard, but I
• 1:36:56
  Speaker 1: did not understand. So I asked, My Lord, what will
• 1:37:00
  Speaker 1: the outcome of all this be? Verse 9 answered. He replied,
• 1:37:04
  Speaker 1: Go your way, Daniel, because the words are rolled up
• 1:37:07
  Speaker 1: and sealed until the time of the end. Daniel was
• 1:37:11
  Speaker 1: told not to worry. The words were sealed until the
• 1:37:13
  Speaker 1: end times. Verses 10 through 12 continue. Many will be purified,
• 1:37:19
  Speaker 1: made spotless and refined, but the wicked will continue to
• 1:37:23
  Speaker 1: be wicked. None of the wicked will understand, but those
• 1:37:27
  Speaker 1: who are wise will understand. From the time that the
• 1:37:30
  Speaker 1: daily sacrifice is abolished and the abomination that causes desolation
• 1:37:35
  Speaker 1: is set up, there will be 1,290 days. Blessed is
• 1:37:37
  Speaker 1: the one who waits for and reaches the end of
• 1:37:39
  Speaker 1: the 1,235 days. The righteous would be purified. The wicked
• 1:37:48
  Speaker 1: would remain wicked. Specific time periods were given, 1,290 days
• 1:37:54
  Speaker 1: and 1,135 days. Finally, verse 13 gives Daniel a personal promise.
• 1:38:00
  Speaker 1: As for you, go your way till the end. You
• 1:38:04
  Speaker 1: will rest, and then at the end of the days
• 1:38:06
  Speaker 1: you will rise to receive your allotted inheritance. Daniel was
• 1:38:10
  Speaker 1: told to go on with his life. He would rest.
• 1:38:13
  Speaker 1: He would die. but at the end of days he
• 1:38:16
  Speaker 1: would rise. He would be resurrected and receive his inheritance
• 1:38:20
  Speaker 1: for a lifetime of faithfulness. If this story has impacted you,
• 1:38:25
  Speaker 1: if Daniel's faith has challenged you, if these prophecies about
• 1:38:29
  Speaker 1: the end times have opened your eyes to what's coming,
• 1:38:32
  Speaker 1: don't keep it to yourself. Share this video with someone
• 1:38:36
  Speaker 1: who needs to hear it. Click that subscribe button so
• 1:38:40
  Speaker 1: you don't miss more stories that reveal God's power and
• 1:38:43
  Speaker 1: faithfulness throughout history. And leave a comment telling us what
• 1:38:47
  Speaker 1: spoke to you most about Daniel's life. The end times
• 1:38:51
  Speaker 1: are approaching. The prophecies are being fulfilled. The question is,
• 1:38:56
  Speaker 1: will you be ready? Will you stand firm like Daniel?
• 1:39:00
  Speaker 1: Will you shine like the stars forever and ever? The
• 1:39:03
  Speaker 1: choice is yours. But Daniel's story shows us that faithfulness
• 1:39:08
  Speaker 1: is always worth it because God always keeps his promises.