Dr. Pothana's Teaching

2. Daniel 2
 King
Nebuchadnezzar
had a dream that
even he could not
remember
 He demanded that
his wise men tell
him the dream

3. “Wise Men” of Babylon
 Who were these “wise men” serving in the
court of Nebuchadnezzar?
“Enchanters” – trained to keep the gods happy
“Magicians”/ “sorcerers” – kept people happy by
warding off demons/evil spirits
“Astrologers” – studied stars and predicted future
“Chaldeans” – general term for elite ruling class
of Babylon

4. Daniel 2
 The magicians told him, “That is too difficult for
men. No one can reveal it to the king except the
gods, and they DO NOT LIVE AMONG MEN!”
v. 11

5. Daniel 2
 The king declared that all the wise men in the
kingdom should be put to death (including
Daniel and his three friends)
 Daniel approached the servant of the king and
then the king himself and asked for time to
interpret the dream
 Then Daniel and his friends pleaded with God
for mercy and for help – v. 18

6. Daniel 2
human
wisdom
without help
of God is
meaningless

7. Daniel 2
 Daniel receives the interpretation from God
and praises God with a beautiful poem:
verses 20-23.

8. Daniel 2
 Daniel goes
before the king
 Daniel tells him
that only God
can reveal
dreams and
tell the future!
2:27,28,30

9. Daniel 2
 Daniel tells him
that he saw an
image in his dream

10. Daniel 2

11. Daniel 2
God is kind enough to even
interpret the dream for
him:
Head of gold – Babylon
and Nebuchadnezzar
Chest and arms of silver -
kingdom after Babylon
Belly and thighs of
bronze – kingdom that
will rule the whole
world

12.  Legs of iron – a strong
kingdom that smashes
everything
 Feet and ten toes of iron
and clay – a kingdom that
will be divided with some of
the remaining strength of the
iron – partly strong and
brittle – will never be united
 Rock – Kingdom of God –
will break all the other
kingdoms and reign forever

13. Daniel 2
 The king was very
happy with Daniel
and awarded him
and his three
friends high
positions in his
kingdom

14. Daniel 2
 Was prophecy
fulfilled?
 What happened
after
Nebuchadnezzar
and Babylon?

15. Daniel 2
 Babylon was
conquered by
Cyrus the Great
(Medo-Persian
kingdom) in 539
B.C. and ruled the
“world” until 331
B.C.

16. Daniel 2
 331 B.C.
Alexander the
Great and the
Greeks conquered
the Medes and the
Persians and ruled
until 168 B.C.

17. Daniel 2
 In 168 B.C. Rome
became dominate
and ruled the
“world” until 476
A.D.
 They were very
violent and
“smashed” other
countries

18. Daniel 2
 After Rome, 10 tribes divided up the
western Roman empire and became
present-day Europe:
1. Ostrogoths 6. Visigoths
2. Franks 7. Vandals
3. Suevi 8. Alamanni
4. Anglo-Saxon 9. Heruli
5. Lombards 10. Burgundians

19. Daniel 2
 These tribes would never “join together”
 Has anybody tried to unite Europe?
1. Charlemagne (8th century AD)
2. Charles V (16th century AD)
3. Napoleon (19th century AD)
4. Kaiser Wilhelm II (20th cent. AD)
5. Adolph Hitler (20th century AD)
6. European Union (present)

20. Daniel 2
 Then the rock
comes and sets up
the kingdom of
God
 Has this happened?

21. Daniel 2
 Who is the Rock?
 1 Corinthians 10:4 – the
Rock was Christ
 Isaiah 28:16, Luke
20:17,18 – Jesus is the
“cornerstone”

22. Daniel 2
 God’s kingdom: Jesus preached that the
kingdom of heaven is at hand. Matthew
4:17, 10:7
 Did Christ’s kingdom come already when
Jesus died on the cross?
 John 6:1-15 – the people then wanted Jesus
to bring an earthly kingdom – and defeat
the Romans

23. Daniel 2
 Somebody once asked Jesus when the
kingdom of God would come, and Jesus
said, “The kingdom of God does not come
visibly… for the kingdom of God is within
you.” Luke 17:20,21
 Jesus said that the kingdom of God is like
yeast that a woman stirs into the bread or
like seeds in a field. Matt. 13:13, Mark
4:26-29

24. Daniel 2
 However, the kingdom that Daniel saw
came after Europe – and Jesus lived before
Europe
 Matthew 25:31,34 – the Son of Man will
come in His glory and sit on His throne
 Matthew 26:29 – Jesus will be with us again
in His Father’s kingdom

25. Daniel 2
 The Rock
breaking the
image represents
the second coming
of Christ

26. Daniel 2 - Review
1. Head – Babylon (605-539 B.C.)
2. Chest – Medo-Persia (539 –331 B.C.)
3. Waist – Greece (331-168 B.C.)
4. Legs – Rome (168 B.C.-476 A.D.)
5. Feet – Europe (476 A.D. – present)
6. Rock – Second coming of Christ

27. Daniel 2
 The next event in
history that the
Bible foretells is
the second coming
of Christ. Are you
preparing for that
day?

28. Second Coming of Christ
 Jesus said that it will be as
it was in the days of Noah
at the second coming. Matt.
24:37
36“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the
Son, f but only the Father. 37As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming
of the Son of Man. 38For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking,
marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39and they knew
nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is
how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40Two men will be in the field; one
will be taken and the other left. 41Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one
will be taken and the other left.

29. Second Coming of Christ
 God gave
warnings through
Noah – but
people refused to
obey the
command to go
in the ark

30. Second Coming of Christ
 Have you heard
Christ knocking
on the door of
your heart? Rev.
3:20
 God does live
among men.
Isaiah 7:14

31. Daniel 3 & 4
3: The Fiery Furnace
4: The Pride of a King

32. Daniel 3
 Nebuchadnezzar formed
a new government that
was composed of many
nations
 He forms a huge statue
and wants all nations to
be united in the
religion of Babylon
 Happened approximately
in 594 BC

33. Daniel 3
 He invited
representatives of all
nations to the opening
ceremony of this new
symbol of unity in the
empire
 Zedekiah, king of
Judah, was probably in
attendance

34. Daniel 3
 Even with the
threat of death
Daniel’s three
friends didn’t bow
down to the statue
when the music
sounded
 They were loyal to
their upbringing
that centered on the
commandments of
God

35. 2nd Commandment
 10 commandments: “You shall not make for
yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven
above or on the earth beneath or in the waters
below. You shall not bow down to them or
worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a
jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of
the fathers to the third and fourth generation of
those who hate me, but showing love to thousands
who love me and keep my commandments.”
Exodus 20:4-6

36. Daniel 3
 The king is enraged
and calls the three
young Hebrews and
threatens them with
death if they don’t
bow down to the
image. He says that
“no god” will be able
to save them if that
happens. 3:14,15

37. Daniel 3
 The young men refuse
to worship any other
God but the true God
and proclaim that He is
able to save them – and
even if He doesn’t save
them, they still will not
worship the image.
Daniel 3:16-18

38. Daniel 3
 In his rage the
king commands
the furnace to be
heated 7 times as
hot as usual and
that the young
Hebrews be
thrown in.

39. Daniel 3
 The king is amazed
– he threw in three
young men and now
there is four! And
none of them are
burning up!

40. Daniel 3
 More than 100 years before
this story God promised
through the prophet Isaiah:
“When you walk through
the fire, you will not be
burned; the flames will not
set you ablaze. For I am
the Lord your God, the
Holy One of Israel, your
Savior.” Isaiah 43:2,3

41. Daniel 3
 The Babylonians
thought that the gods
lived far away from
humans. The god of
Israel showed that He
will always be next to
those who honor Him
and keep His
commandments.

42. Daniel 3
 The king was so impressed that he ordered
everyone in the empire to worship the God
of Daniel and his three friends.
 Government religion is never the solution
for the social problems of society.
 “Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is
freedom” 2 Cor. 3:17

43. Daniel 4

44. Daniel 4
 The king had another dream and again – he
couldn’t understand it! (5)
 He gathered all the wise men of Babylon (6)
 Again they couldn’t interpret it! (7)
 By this time the king realized that the “Spirit of
the holy gods” was in Daniel (8)
 So he told the dream to Daniel and gets the
interpretation

45. Daniel 4
 In the vision the a great tree appeared that
was very fruitful. It was cut down for 7
years, but the stump and roots were left.
 Daniel told the king that the dream was
again about him – he would lose his mind
for 7 years, be driven away from people
until he realized that the God of Israel is
“sovereign over the kingdoms of the earth”
v.25 – but he won’t lose his kingdom
completely.

46. Daniel 4
 Afterwards, Daniel recommends to the
king: “Renounce your sins by doing what is
right, and your wickedness by being kind to
the oppressed. It may be that they your
prosperity will continue.” (27)

47. Daniel 4
 In his great summer palace there hung a
plaque with the following engraved on it:
“May the evil, unrighteous person not
enter!” This was to show off the grandiose
security system that he had installed.
 And now Daniel had the boldness to tell
him that he was that evil, unrighteous
person!

48. Daniel 4
 A year later the
king was strolling
on the roof of his
royal palace
enjoying the
majesty of his
city.

49. Daniel 4
 He exclaimed,“Is
this not the great
Babylon that I have
built as the royal
residence, by my
mighty power and
for the glory of my
majesty?” (30)

50. Overview of History of Babylon
 698 BC – Assyrians destroyed Babylon
 Surrounding nations began to demand that it be
restored since it was the residence of the gods
 Nabopolasser (father of Nebuchadnezzar) helped
to rebuild it
 Nebuchadnezzar enlarged it three times over and
by the time of this vision it was the largest city in
the world

51. Babylon
 Nebuchadnezzar
built three massive
palaces – one of
which housed the
world famous
“Hanging Gardens
of Babylon” (one of
the seven wonders
of the ancient
world)

52. Babylon
 He built wide walls and colored them with many
different colors. It was thought to be invincible –
walls were from 60-90 ft. high and 20-90 ft. wide.
 Much gold was used in the building of the
buildings of Babylon
 He built a beautiful bridge across the Euphrates
 He himself went on an excursion to Lebanon to
cut down cedar trees and float them down the
Euphrates

53. Babylon
 He built 53 temples, 955
small sanctuaries, and
384 street altars in honor
of the gods!
 The main temple was the
7 storied Etemanki (300
feet high)

54. Pride
 It makes sense
that he felt some
sense of pride
when he would
look out upon the
most beautiful city
of the world.

55. Daniel 4
 However, the Bible says that pride leads to
disaster – Proverbs 16:18
 God hates the pride of humans – Proverbs 8:13
 A government without the worship of the
Living God will not last very long.
 Why? When we are proud, we don’t treat
people kindly.
 Daniel encouraged the king to “show mercy”
(27)

56. Daniel 4
 The king received God’s
judgment – and he
wandered around the fields
of Babylon like a wild
beast for 7 years.
 At the end of the time God
gave him back his sanity –
and he became a worshiper
of the Living God of Israel

57. Daniel 4
 God loves the rulers
of the earth and wants
them to be saved.
 God has put all kings
in place on the earth.
Romans 13:1-5
 Kings of the earth will
be in Heaven – Rev.
21:24
The nations will walk by its light,
and the kings of the earth will
bring their splendor into it.

58. Next lesson
 Will God deliver the Jews from their exile
in Babylon?
 Will God deliver Daniel from his enemies?
 Daniel 5 and 6

59. Respond @
Dr. Pothana
+91-8309511427
bhaktapothana@gmail.com