I. Understand Who's In Control (vv.1-2).
1. The struggle for power by man (v.1).

2. The true Sovereign of the world (v.2; Isa.39:5-7; Luke 22:31-32; James 1:17; Rom.8:28-31).

II. Understand Worldly Values (vv.3-7).
1. They place much value upon one's outward beauty (vv.3-4a; 1 Sam.16:7).

2. They place importance upon worldly wisdom (v.4b; 1 Cor.1:20-21).

3. They reward those who conform (v.5; Mark 8:36-37).

4. Their goal it to try to remove all reminders of God (vv.6-7).

III. Understand How To Take A Biblical Stand (vv.8-21).

1. It must begin within the heart (v.8a; Prov.4:23; Matt.15:17-20).

2. It must be handled in a humble way (vv.8b-16; Prov.15:1).

3. It will be honored by God (vv.17-21; 1 Sam.2:30).
 
 

I. The Impossible Situation (vv.1-13).
1. The King's troubling dream (v.1).

2. The King's troubling demands (vv.2-13).

A. The King's demand (vv.2-3; 1 Cor.3:19-21).

B. The Worldly Experts Dilemma (vv.4-13; Eph.2:8-9; Heb.10:4, 6; Mark 10:27b; Rom.5:8-10).

2. Take the situation to God in prayer (vv.17-18; Eph.2:4; Matt.7:7; 18:19-20).

3. Look and listen for God to answer (v.19).

4. Give praise where praise is due (vv.20-23; James 4:3).
 
 

I. He's A Revealing God (vv.24-30).
1. Daniel intercedes (vv.24-25).

A. Daniel's prayer is answered, and he intercedes for the others (v.24).

B. Daniel takes no credit for the revelation (v.25).

A. The dream is given and revealed by God (vv.26-28a).

B. The dream is prophetic in content (v.28b).

C. The dream is not based upon man's wisdom (vv.29-30).

A. The image described (vv.31-33).

B. The image's destruction described (vv.34-35).

A. The kingdoms of earth (vv.36-43).

B. The kingdom from heaven (vv.44-45).

A. Nebuchadnezzar's respect to the Jewish captive's God (v.46).

B. Nebuchadnezzar's acknowledges that Daniel is a messenger of the eternal God, the revealer of secrets (v.47).

A. Nebuchadnezzar kept his promise (v.2), and rewards Daniel (v.48).

B. Daniel didn't forget his friends (v.49).
 

I. The Law Of The Land (vv.1-7).
1. Nebuchadnezzar's image (v.1).

A. Nebuchadnezzar - The Head of Gold (chp.2).

B. The dimensions of Nebuchadnezzar's whole golden image.

A. Government officials summoned (vv.2-3).

B. The public command to submit (vv.4-5).

C. The penalty for failure to obey his command (vv.6-7).

A. The wandering eyes of the accusers (v.8).

B. The motive behind the accusations (vv.9-15).

A. They refused to worship any false gods of this world (v.16).

B. They put their faith and trust in true and living God (vv.17-18).

A. His uncontrollable temper (v.19a).

B. His order to execute the three Hebrews (vv.19b-23).

A. The king's amazement in the midst of the furnace (v.24).

B. The 5 things that startled Nebuchadnezzar (vv.24-27).

1) There were 4 persons instead of three in the furnace.

2) Not one of the persons was bound.

3) All 4 persons were walking around in the fire.

4) All 4 person were unhurt.

5) The 4^th person looked like "a son of the gods."

C. Nebuchadnezzar's summons (vv.26-27).

A. Nebuchadnezzar praises the God of Israel (vv.28-29).

B. Nebuchadnezzar rewards the three Hebrew men (v.30).
 
 

I. The Dream Received (vv.1-18).
1. Nebuchadnezzar's official proclamation (vv.1-3).

2. Nebuchadnezzar's dream (vv.4-18).

A. His dread (vv.4-5).

B. His decree (vv.6-7).

C. His decision (vv.8-9).

D. His dream (vv.10-18).

2. The interpretation revealed (vv.24-26).

3. The advise revealed (v.27).

III. The Dream Realized (vv.28-37).
1. Nebuchadnezzar's famous last words (vv.28-30).

2. Nebuchadnezzar's correction (vv.31-33).

3. Nebuchadnezzar's confession (vv.34-37).
 
 

I. The Worldly King (vv.1-9).
1. His worldly ways (vv.1-4).

A. His contempt towards man (v.1).

B. His contempt towards God (vv.2-4).

A. The finger of God (v.5).

B. The king's fright (v.6).

A. For worldly answers (v.7).

B. For un-answerable answers (vv.8-9).

A. That is recognizable by others (vv.10-11).

B. That is recognizable by their character (v.12).

A. The worldly offer (vv.13-16).

B. The godly response (v.17).

A. Guilty of pride (vv.18-22).

B. Guilty of blasphemy (v.23).

A. God's judgment pronounced (vv.24-29).

B. God's judgment carried out (vv.30-31).
 
 

I. Be Promotable (vv.1-3).
1. Be ready for promotion opportunities (vv.1-2).

A. Darius reorganizes the newly conquered kingdom of Babylon.

B. Darius appoints 120 satraps (protectors or princes) to rule over the kingdom of Babylon, and places them under three administrators (i.e., governors or presidents) . . . one of whom was Daniel.

A. Daniel was placed as the number one minister of state, under the king.

B. Daniel stood out from the worldly crowd, because he had "an excellent spirit."

A. Daniel's success and prosperity made him the object of jealousy.

B. Daniel's enemies could find no fault in him.

C. The only weakness that Daniel's enemies could find, was his faithfulness to his God.

A. The exaggeration of claims.

B. The catering to man's vanity.

A. The misuse of the law of the land (vv.8-9, 14-15).

B. The trap is set (vv.10-13).

A. The king's conscience (vv.16-17).

B. The king's sleepless night (vv.18-20).

A. The king's relief (vv.21-23a).

B. The king's joy (v.23b).

A. The wicked will receive their reward (v.24; Psa.37:12-17; Col.3:25).

B. The faithful will be rewarded (vv.25-28; Col.3:24; James 1:12).
 
 

I. The Future Worldly Vision (vv.1-8).
1. The time of the vision (v.1).

A. Chapters 7 & 8, these are not in chronological order with the previous two chapters.

B. Daniel's dream and visions came during the first year of Belshazzar's reign, around 553 B.C.

A. The Great Sea (vv.2-3).

- The Mediterranean Sea, and all of the empires mentioned in this vision bordered on this sea.

B. The four beasts (vv.4-8).

1) The lion with wings: Babylon (v.4).

2) The bear with the ribs: Medo-Persia (v.5).

3) The winged four-headed leopard: Greece (v.6).

4) The terrible beast: Rome (vv.7-8).

A. His thrones of judgment (v.9a).

B. His description (vv.9b-10a).

C. His sovereignty (vv.10b-12).

A. His coming (v.13a).

B. His kingdom established (vv.13b-14).

A. Their rise (vv.15-17).

A. The request to understand (vv.19-22).

B. The clarification given (vv.23-27).

1) It will devour the earth (vv.23-24).

2) It will defy God (v.25).

3) It will be destroyed by God (vv.26-27).

- Alarm and terror.

I. Daniel's Vision Given (vv.1-12).
1. The time and place (vv.1-2).

A. The period in history (v.1).

B. The place of the vision (v.2).

A. The two-horned ram (vv-3-4).

B. The one-horned male goat (vv.5-8).

1) Its destructiveness (vv.5-7).

2) Its death (v.8).

A. Its conquest (vv.9-10).

B. Its contempt (vv.11-12).

A. The question (v.13).

B. The answer (v.14).

A. Gabriel's identity revealed (vv.15-19).

B. Kings & kingdoms identified (vv.20-25).

1) Medo-Persia (v.20).

2) Greece (vv.21-22).

3) Little horn (vv.23-25).

A. Its accuracy certified (v.26a).

B. Its preservation for the future (v.26b).

A. It made Daniel physically ill (v.27a).

B. It left Daniel unable to comprehend it fully (v.27b).

I. Seventy Years Of Babylonian Captivity For Israel (vv.1-19).
1. The reading of the book of Jeremiah (vv.1-2).

A. The time (vv.1-2a).

B. The text (v.2b).

C. The theme (v.2c).

A. Sinfulness confessed (vv.3-14).

1) The acknowledgment of sin (vv.3-11).

2) The acknowledgment of Israel's punishment (vv.12-14).

B. Forgiveness sought (vv.15-19).

1) God's sovereignty confessed (v.15).

2) God's forgiveness requested (vv.16-19).

A. To acknowledge that Daniel's prayer was heard (vv.20-21).

B. To minister and explain to Daniel God's plan (vv.22-23).

A. The number (v.24).

1) Seventy Sevens - 490 years.

2) Beginning with the rebuilding of Jerusalem's walls.

B. The process (vv.25-27).

1) Jerusalem rebuilt (v.25).

2) Messiah crucified (v.26).

3) The great tribulation (v.27).

I. Daniel's Fast (vv.1-4).
1. The duration of his fast (vv.1-3).

- The new revelation from God began, as the 3^rd year of Cyrus's rule over Babylon which was around 536 B.C.

A. The time was the twenty-fourth of Nisan, April 24.

B. The exact place where Daniel was at was by the great Tigris River.

A. The angel's radiance (vv.5-6).

B. Daniel's reaction (vv.7-12).

A. The battle between angelic forces (vv.13, 20).

B. Israel's protector (vv.21, 11:1).

A. One of revelation (v.14).

B. One of strengthening (vv.15-19).

I. The Persian Kings (v.2).
1. The three kings.

A. The first was Cambyses, Cyrus' son, who came to the throne in 530 b.c.

B. He was followed by Pseudo-Smerdis, who reigned a short period in 522 b.c..

C. He was succeeded by Darius I Hystaspes who ruled from 521 to 486 b.c.

A. The forth king was Xerxes, known in the Book of Esther as Ahasuerus.

B. He ruled from 485 to 465 b.c.

A. The mighty king was Alexander whose rise had been foreshadowed by;

1) The bronze belly and thighs of Nebuchadnezzar's image (2:32, 39b).

2) The winged leopard (7:6).

3) The prominent horn of the goat (8:5-8).

B. Between 334 and 330 b.c. Alexander conquered Asia Minor, Syria, Egypt, and the land of the Medo-Persian Empire.

A. At Alexander's death (at the age of 32 in 323 b.c.), his kingdom was divided up between four of his generals.

1) Seleucus ruled over Syria and Mesopotamia.

2) Ptolemy ruled over Egypt.

3) Lysimacus ruled over Thrace and portions of Asia Minor.

4) Cassander ruled over Macedonia and Greece.

B. This division was anticipated through the four heads of the leopard (7:6) and the four prominent horns on the goat (8:8).

A. Seleucus I and Ptolemy I (v.5).

B. Antiochus II vs. Ptolemy II (v.6).

A. Seleucus II vs. Ptolemy III (vv.7-9).

B. Antiochus III vs. Ptolemy IV (vv.10-12).

- Antiochus III vs. Ptolemy V.

- Seleucus IV and Ptolemy V.

2. His conquests (v.24).

3. His confrontations (vv.25-30).

A. With Egypt (vv.25-27).

B. With Israel (vv.28-30).

A. The desecration of the temple (vv.31-32).

B. The murder of the Jews (vv.33-35).

I. The End Time Ruler (11:36-45).
1. His wickedness (vv.36-39).

A. His blaspheming of God (vv.36-37).

B. His idolatry (vv.38-39).

A. His conquest of nations and Israel (vv.40-44).

B. His lonely defeat (v.45).

A. Suffering unlike anything before.

B. Michael, the protector of Israel.

C. Perseverance of the saints.

A. The resurrection to eternal life.

- At the 2^nd Coming of the Lord (Rev. 20:4, 6).

B. The resurrection to eternal shame and contempt.

- At the end of the millennial kingdom (Rev. 20:5; John 5:28-29).

A. Those who accept Christ (i.e., wise) will shine like the stars.

B. Soul-winners will shine like the stars.

A. Sealed (Heb. chatham), this literally means "to affix a seal."

1) This was done in ancient times authenticate a document and assure its integrity.

A) A king or official would close it with an application of clay or wax, stamped with an impression of his seal.

B) The document carried his authority and could not be altered without breaking the seal.

2) The book of Daniel has been sealed (i.e., kept intact and cannot be altered, until the day in which these prophecies come to pass).

B. During the Great Tribulation many will study this prophetic Word and knowledge of it shall increase.

A. This is the second half (3 ½) of the tribulation period (vv.5-7).

B. Daniel's request for additional information beyond this period (v.8).

C. Daniel's request is denied, and told again about the prophecy being sealed until the time that it comes to pass (vv.9-10).

A. Includes an additional 35 days at the end of the tribulation period.

B. This possibly could be the time period that will be required for the judging of the sheep and the goats (Matt.25:31-46; Ezek.20:34-38).

A. 45 days added to the 1,290 days.

B. This possibly could be to put the Lord's government in place for the millennial kingdom (Rev.20:4-6), and will be when the nation of Israel will see all of God's promises to them fulfilled.

1) Israel's spiritual regeneration (Jer.31:31-34).

2) Israel's regathering in the promised land (Deut.30:1-10; Isa.11:11-12:6; Matt.24:31).

A) Possession of all the land (Ezek.20:42-44; 36:28-38).

B) Re-establishment of the Davidic throne (2Sam.7:11-16; 1Chron.17:10-14; Jer.33:17-26).

3) The reign of Jesus Christ (Isa.2:3-4; 11:2-5).

A. Daniel would find rest (death) .

B. Daniel will be resurrected one day and be rewarded.