Daniel 2: God Is in Control of History | Dr. Conrad Vine

Extracted Verses and Quotes from the Sermon

Biblical Verses

Daniel 2:1-3

“In the second year of many’s reign, many dreams and his spirit was troubled and sleeping. So the king commanded the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers and the Chaldeans, summoned the king of dreams and stood before the king. He said to them, ‘I have had such a dream that my spirit is truly troubled.’”

Daniel 2:37-38

“You, oh king, the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, power, the might, and the glory, to whose hands he has given human beings wherever they live, wild animals of the field, and the birds of the air, to whom he has established as ruler over them all. You are head of gold.”

Daniel 5

“…this is the writing that is inscribed on the wall. Mene, Mene, Tekel, Parsin. God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end. You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting. Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”

Daniel 8

“I looked and I saw a ram standing beside the river. It had two horns, both horns were long, but one was longer than the other. The longer one came up later. I saw the ram charging westward and northward and southward. All beasts were powerless to stand it, and no one could rescue from it. It did as it pleased and became strong. The ram which you saw with the two horns are the kings of Media and Persia.”
“Then a male goat came from the west, across the face of the whole earth, without touching the ground. The goat had a horn between its eyes, came toward the ram with savage force, struck the ram and broke its two horns. The goat represents the kingdom of Greece, and the large horn between its eyes is the first king, Alexander the Great.”

Daniel 2 (on the divided kingdom)

“As you saw the feet and toes partly of iron and partly of clay, it shall be a divided kingdom, but some of the strength of iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with clay. They will not all unite, just as iron does not mix with clay.”

Matthew 6:10

“Pray… ‘Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.’”

Revelation 21:1-2

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no more sea. I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.”

Jeremiah 29:11

“Surely I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a future and a hope.”

Jeremiah 29:12-13

“Do you call upon me and come to me, I will hear you. When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart, I will let you find me.”

Daniel 2:46-47

“Then the king fell on his face and worshiped Daniel, and said, ‘Your God is one of gods and kings and a revealer of mysteries. You have been able to fulfill this.’”

Psalm 139:4-7 (paraphrased)

“Jesus says you know the hairs on our heads; we know when a sparrow falls to the ground.”

Memorable Quotes

“I can walk with confidence because I can see what’s done so that we can walk with confidence into the future.”

“The Bible tells us that God revealed the future upon the world.”

“Nebuchadnezzar’s dream gives us a pictorial representation of history, from Babylon through Persia, Greece, Rome, and beyond.”

“God is in control of the rise and fall of empires, not ministers or princes.”

“The kingdom of God is coming — a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor left to another people. It shall crush all these kingdoms and stand forever.”

“This prophecy was given in 604 BC, and the modern nations of Europe really only come into existence in the last 200 years. It’s a prophecy that almost no one can deny.”

“The stone that strikes the statue represents the arrival of the kingdom of God.”

“Jesus taught us to pray, ‘Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.’ That kingdom of God in all its glory has not yet come but is still an eventual future event.”

“Human history is summarized by Daniel as terrifying, overwhelming, and degrading — because empire is empire, and empire is enslavement and injustice.”

“All of our societies today have elements of all those empires and their survivors in one way or another.”

“The kingdom of God is not built on oppression, conquest, enslavement, or injustice. It is coming to wipe away every disease and sorrow; there will be no more pain.”

“There is a God of the future who has told us what is coming and invites us to trust Him.”

“Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face and worshiped Daniel’s God, recognizing Him as the Lord of history.”

“God has planned for each one of us welfare and a future with Him — He is not willing that any should perish.”

“Tonight, may every person be able to face their future with faith rather than fear, knowing the Lord of history walks side by side with them.”

Other Quotations

Napoleon Bonaparte

“Jesus alone of this day millions will die for one of the greatest generals in human history and Jesus taught us kingdom come thy will be done as it is in heaven.”