Participants: John Bradshaw
Series Code: IIW
Program Code: IIW001353A
00:01 [Music]
00:07 It has stood the test of time. 00:12 God's Book, the Bible. 00:17 Still relevant in today's complex world. 00:22 It Is Written ... sharing hope 00:27 around the globe. 00:37 [TV Voice] "Yesterday, December 7, 1941, a day 00:46 which will live in infamy, the United States of America 00:52 was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval 00:57 and air forces of the Empire of Japan." 01:04 A day that will live in infamy, President Franklin Roosevelt 01:08 called it. The surprise 1941 attack 01:11 on the Pacific Fleet in Hawaii left 2,400 Americans dead. 01:17 Now later, it was discovered that several opportunities 01:21 had been missed to anticipate and possibly 01:24 avoid the attack. But basically, we never saw 01:29 it coming. Now fast forward seven 01:31 years. Journalists said at the time 01:33 of the disastrous earthquake that hit Japan in early 2011 01:38 that one positive thing was that of all countries, Japan 01:42 was probably the best prepared to meet a disaster 01:44 like that one. Yet that devastating Tsunami 01:47 still claimed thousands of lives and caused massive 01:51 damage. Why was that? 01:54 Because nobody saw it coming. 01:57 It's impossible for us to know the future. 01:59 Now, there is no shortage of those who pretend 02:04 to know the future. Psychics, astrologers 02:07 and fortune tellers claim that they have the ability 02:10 to preview tomorrow's headlines. But the truth is, they wear 02:15 the same blindfolds as everybody else. 02:19 So, is there anyone who really does know the future? 02:22 The answer is: Yes there is. But only one person. 02:27 Today, we are going back to the future. 02:32 Time travel has always been popular in Hollywood movies. 02:35 The Back to the Future trilogy in the 1980's sold 02:40 almost a billion dollar's worth of tickets worldwide. 02:43 And who hasn't dreamed of being able to travel through 02:45 time? When I was a kid growing up, 02:47 Doctor Who was big on television. 02:50 Not that I liked it. The story of a British Time 02:52 Lord who traveled through time and something called 02:55 the "Tardis." Funny how some things don't 02:58 change. That show is still big on 03:00 television all these years later. 03:02 But not all time travel is fantasy. 03:05 Some of it is very real. Let's consider the night an 03:09 ancient king was transported more than 2500 years into 03:14 the future where he visited not only our time but the years 03:19 ahead of us. Previewing the future 03:22 is the special province of Bible Prophecy and what makes 03:26 this form of time travel so fascinating is that 03:29 the future it brings to view is 100% accurate and that 03:34 is because it's revealed by the one person in the universe 03:39 who knows exactly what the future holds. 03:43 We are not talking about the wild guesses of tabloid 03:46 psychics or new age channelers. 03:49 Bible prophecy has never failed. 03:52 And you know, that's a problem for people who claim that 03:56 there is no God or that the Bible cannot be trusted. 04:00 What do people do about prophecies that you just 04:04 cannot argue against? As long as we are all caught 04:07 up in this long war between good and evil, between 04:10 Christ and Satan, it is helpful to know not only what 04:14 has already happened, but what is yet to come 04:18 and it is especially encouraging to know how the war will end 04:22 and when. So today, we travel along 04:25 with an ancient amnesiac king, back to the future. 04:30 The story, as recorded in the second chapter 04:33 of the Bible's Book of Daniel begins with a King who had 04:36 a vivid dream but he could not remember what that dream was. 04:41 Let's listen to Daniel tell his story beginning 04:43 in Daniel 2:1. "Now in the second year 04:47 of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, Nebuchadnezzar had a dream 04:52 and his spirit was so troubled that his sleep left him." 04:56 Nebuchadnezzar was the King who ruled the great Babylonian 04:59 empire from the massive walled city of Babylon, 05:02 more than 600 years before the Birth of Christ. 05:05 The City covered 500 acres on both sides of the Euphrates 05:09 river. The river flowed under 05:11 the walls and through the city. Babylon was located 05:14 in the area of the world known as the Fertile Crescent. 05:17 It had an intricate system of canals that irrigated 05:20 lush croplands. Nebuchadnezzar built the 05:23 hanging gardens of Babylon, one of the Seven Wonders 05:26 of the World. He built them for his wife. 05:30 At the center of great Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar 05:32 built a 300 foot shrine to the pagan God Marduk. 05:37 He plated the walls and roof of the building with gold. 05:41 The altar was solid gold, as were the throne 05:43 and footstool. It was magnificent. 05:49 But this king is perhaps history's most famous 05:51 and significant amnesiac. A powerful king woke up one 05:56 morning and couldn't remember a dream he'd had. 05:58 You've been there - waking up in the morning, knowing 06:01 that you had a dream and the harder you try to recall 06:04 it the further away from you it gets. 06:07 King Nebuchadnezzar called together a phalanx of advisors 06:10 and asked them to tell him what he had dreamed. 06:13 The story is recorded in Daniel chapter 2, and here is how 06:16 they replied: "O king, live forever! 06:21 Tell your servants the dream, and we will give you 06:24 the interpretation." Daniel 2:4 NKJV They figured 06:28 they could analyze the dream and make up some sort 06:31 of interpretation once they knew what the dream was. 06:33 But interpretation wasn't yet the problem - the first 06:38 thing was to remember it! King Nebuchadnezzar saw 06:42 through what they were trying to do, and was not happy. 06:46 "Tell me the dream," he demanded, "and then I'll 06:49 know that you can give me its interpretation." 06:51 That is, you're supposed to be able see into the future! 06:54 Prove it to me now! Tell me what I dreamed. 06:57 But the wise men protested saying: "There is not a man 07:01 on earth who can tell the king's matter; therefore no king, 07:05 lord, or ruler has ever asked such things of any 07:10 magician, astrologer, or Chaldean. 07:13 Daniel 2:10 NKJV "No man on earth who can do what you 07:17 ask" they said. And they were right 07:19 about that. But Nebuchadnezzar wasn't 07:22 about to back off. He knew his dream was important, 07:25 and he wanted to know what it meant. 07:27 He became so angry that he decreed that if the wise men 07:30 couldn't tell him his dream and its interpretation, 07:33 then the wise men in Babylon would be destroyed! 07:38 Now this was a problem for prophet Daniel and three 07:41 of his friends. Shortly after they arrived 07:44 captive in Babylon, they'd been identified as gifted 07:47 in wisdom, they were trained as servants for the king 07:50 and they were recognized as "wise men." 07:54 So the death sentence fell on them too. 07:57 Now Daniel then asked Nebuchadnezzar himself 08:00 for time so that he could pray. He had absolute confidence 08:05 that God would solve the problem. 08:07 In a night vision, God revealed the dream 08:11 and its interpretation to his servant Daniel, and Daniel 08:14 went in to see the king. He told him this wasn't 08:17 something an astrologer or magician could help the king 08:19 with, and he said to the king this, "But there is a God 08:25 in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known 08:29 to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter 08:32 days." Daniel 2:28 NKJV God 08:36 was very clear with Daniel that the king's dream actually 08:39 foretold events that would occur in the last days 08:43 of earth's history. The dream began in the days 08:45 of Nebuchadnezzar, and it moved forward generation after 08:49 generation after generation to the last days of earth's 08:53 history. Daniel went on to tell 08:55 the king what he had dreamed: "You, O king, were watching; 09:00 and behold, a great image! This great image, whose 09:04 splendor was excellent, stood before you; and its form 09:08 was awesome. "This image's head was 09:11 of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly 09:15 and thighs of bronze, "its legs of iron, its feet 09:19 partly of iron and partly of clay. 09:23 "You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, 09:25 which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, 09:29 and broke them in pieces. "Then the iron, the clay, 09:33 the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed 09:36 together, and became like chaff from the summer 09:40 threshing floors; the wind carried them away so that 09:44 no trace of them was found. And the stone that struck 09:47 the image became a great mountain and filled the whole 09:52 earth." Daniel 2:31-35 NKJV You can 09:55 imagine the king saying, "Yes, that's it! 09:58 That's it! That's exactly what I saw!" 10:01 But then he'd have said, "But Daniel, 10:04 what does it mean?" Now notice how Daniel began 10:07 the interpretation: "You, O King, are a king 10:11 of kings . . . you are this head of gold." 10:16 Daniel 2:37, 38 NKJV History tells us the Babylonian Empire 10:21 was the dominant world power from 605 B.C. to 539 B.C. 10:28 History also tells us that King Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom 10:31 was full of gold. In the temple of Marduk 10:35 alone there was 18 tons of gold. 10:39 There was no better way for God to describe 10:41 the Babylonian Empire than by using the symbol of gold. 10:45 Nebuchadnezzar was happy with this interpretation. 10:48 He liked being the head of gold. 10:51 He wanted the head of gold to last forever, but that wasn't 10:55 to be, as Daniel explained in verse 39: "But after you 10:59 shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours;." 11:02 Daniel 2:39 NKJV At the time Nebuchadnezzar had this dream, 11:08 he was secure as the world leader, with no reason 11:11 to suspect that that would ever change. 11:13 But Babylon was to be overthrown by a kingdom represented 11:17 in Daniel 2:32 as "the chest and arms of silver." 11:22 Just a few pages ahead in your Bible, in Daniel 5:28, 11:25 the next world-ruling power is referred to 11:28 as the Medes and the Persians. Again, a fitting symbol: 11:31 the two arms joined at the chest to show two kingdoms - 11:35 the Medes and Persians, who ruled the world 11:39 from 539 B.C. to 331 B.C. Now the story of how 11:44 the Babylonians were overthrown is told in Daniel 5. 11:48 King Belshazzar, grandson of King Nebuchadnezzar, hosted 11:52 a feast for a thousand of his lords. 11:54 He called for the gold and silver vessels captured 11:56 from the temple in Jerusalem to be brought to him. 11:59 Now these were holy - they'd been used in the worship 12:03 of God - yet Belshazzar used them to drink alcohol 12:07 from in the worship of pagan gods. 12:10 In the midst of this drunken party, a mysterious, 12:14 bloodless hand appeared from out of the invisible sleeve 12:17 of darkness and wrote on the wall: MENE, MENE, 12:21 TEKEL, UPHARSIN. The interpretation of these 12:25 words spelled doom for the mighty Babylonian Empire. 12:29 Let's read from Daniel chapter 5. 12:32 "MENE: God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it; 12:38 TEKEL: You have been weighed in the balances, and found 12:41 wanting; PERES: Your kingdom has been divided, and given 12:47 to the Medes and Persians." Daniel 5:26-28 NKJV 12:53 That very night, the Medes and Persians diverted 12:57 the Euphrates River that ran under the massive walls 12:59 of Babylon. They marched their armies 13:02 straight down the dry riverbed and came up 13:05 inside the city. Now incredibly, a hundred 13:09 and fifty years before this, Isaiah not only foretold 13:13 in chapters 44 and 45 just how Babylon would be overthrown, 13:18 but he named the leader of the army who would do it 13:21 all-Cyrus, named him in the Bible. 13:24 Babylon was conquered in one night by the Medo-Persian 13:28 army, led by Cyrus, just as the Bible predicted - 13:31 just as Nebuchadnezzar saw in his dream. 13:34 The Medes and Persians ruled the world for nearly 13:40 two centuries. But Nebuchadnezzar's dream 13:44 doesn't end there, and neither does history. 13:48 Time marches on, one kingdom replacing another kingdom, 13:52 just as God foretold in the dream of Nebuchadnezzar. 13:57 Now don't miss this. What we're seeing is that God 14:01 accurately predicted the rise and fall of two world-ruling 14:06 kingdoms. But what would happen next? 14:11 I'll tell you in just a moment. 14:16 In Matthew 4:4, the Word of God says, "It is written, 14:19 'man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that 14:23 proceeds from the mouth of God. 14:25 Ever Word is a one-minute Bible-based daily devotional 14:29 presented by Pastor John Bradshaw and designed 14:31 especially for busy people like you. 14:33 Look for Every Word on selected networks or watch 14:37 it on-line everyday on our website, itiswritten.com. 14:41 Receive a daily spiritual boost. Watch Every Word. 14:44 You'll be glad you did. Here's a sample. 14:57 Abraham Lincoln's son, Robert, was on a railway 14:59 platform in Jersey City, New Jersey, when he slipped 15:02 between the platform and a moving train. 15:04 But someone behind him grabbed his coat collar 15:06 and lifted him to safety on the platform - 15:08 saving him from serious injury and possibly death. 15:11 The man who saved young Robert Lincoln was Edwin 15:14 Booth, the brother of John Wilkes Booth - who later 15:17 murdered President Lincoln. The brother of Lincoln's 15:20 assassin saved Lincoln's son. Coincidence? Well, you 15:24 decide, but when God is at work in our lives, THAT'S 15:27 "providence". Ecclesiastes 11:5 says, 15:31 "As you do not know what is the way of the wind, 15:34 or how the bones grow in the womb of her who 15:36 is with child, so you do not know the works of God 15:39 who makes everything." Even when you don't see it, 15:42 God is at work. When some see a coincidence, 15:44 you can know that God was there. 15:47 Let's live today by Every Word. 15:52 Planning for your financial future is a vital aspect 15:54 of Christian stewardship. For this reason, It Is Written 15:57 is pleased to offer free planned giving and estate 16:00 services. For information on how 16:02 we can help you, please call 1.800.992.2219. 16:07 Call today or visit our special website: 16:10 www.hislegacy.com. 16:20 Thanks for joining me today on It Is Written. 16:22 Today, we're unraveling one of the most important 16:25 prophecies in the entire Bible. 16:28 I've often called this the Master Key to Bible 16:30 Prophecy, because if you get this foundational prophecy, 16:34 you're in a position to be able to understand later prophecies 16:38 that build upon this one. The prophecy we're looking 16:42 at today is the dream God gave Nebuchadnezzar 16:44 in Daniel chapter 2. And I'll tell you why 16:47 this is the Master Key to Bible Prophecy. 16:50 When it comes to prophetic interpretation, there's 16:52 a principle known as "Repeat and Enlarge." 16:57 That is, God will lay something out in one part of the Bible, 17:00 then He'll repeat it later and enlarge upon it, 17:04 giving more information. In Daniel 2 there's an image 17:07 made of various metals - and each of those metals, 17:10 each component of the statue represents a kingdom. 17:14 In Daniel 7, the prophecy, the same prophecy is repeated 17:18 using different symbols - beasts - 17:21 and the prophecy is enlarged upon as more 17:24 information is given. This follows all the way 17:27 over to the book of Revelation as the principle 17:30 continues to be used by the Bible writers. 17:33 So let's review. In the book of Daniel, 17:35 the greatest monarch of his day had an impressive dream. 17:39 He dreamed of a huge statue made from different metals, 17:43 and discovered that the statue represented the rise and fall 17:46 of kingdoms, including his own. 17:49 It had a head of gold, representing Nebuchadnezzar's 17:53 kingdom of Babylon, and its chest & arms 17:56 were made of silver, representing the Medo-Persian 17:59 kingdom. And young Daniel, almost 18:02 certainly not yet 20 years old, came to the king 18:05 to interpret the dream. To tell him what it was, 18:07 and what it meant. Now here's what happened 18:11 next. The next kingdom is described 18:13 in Daniel 2:32 as the belly and thighs of bronze. 18:19 More than two hundred years before it appeared on the world 18:21 stage, Daniel actually names Greece - in Daniel 8:21 18:26 - as this third kingdom, which overthrew the Medes 18:28 and the Persians. Again, the symbol 18:31 is appropriate: the Greek army was led by Alexander 18:34 the Great, a young man who marched his men 11,000 18:37 miles, conquering almost all of the then-known world 18:40 before he died from malaria at the age of 33. 18:43 What did Alexander's men wear into battle? 18:46 Bronze breastplates, bronze helmets, bronze shields, 18:50 bronze swords. Once again, God chose 18:53 a fitting metaphor to describe the kingdom that would rule 18:55 the world from 331 B.C. to 168 B.C. 18:59 But history doesn't end with this third kingdom. 19:05 Greece didn't rule the world forever. 19:08 There was a fourth metal after the gold of Babylon, 19:11 the silver of the Medes and Persians, the bronze 19:14 of Greece. The next kingdom is represented 19:17 by iron: "And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron." 19:23 Daniel 2:40 NKJV The last kingdom to rule the entire 19:28 known world is described as iron. 19:31 In 168 B.C. the iron monarchy of Rome 19:35 overthrew the Greeks. Just as legs form the longest 19:39 part of the body, Rome had the longest reign 19:41 of any of the world powers. Little by little, Rome rose 19:46 to power, fighting many wars and enslaving many people. 19:49 By the time Jesus was born, most of the then-known world 19:53 was under Roman rule. You will remember that 19:55 Joseph and Mary were on their way to pay taxes 19:58 to the Roman ruler, Caesar Augustus, 20:00 when Jesus was born. For more than 500 years, 20:04 Rome appeared to be invincible -her flag waving from 20:06 the British Isles to the Arabian Gulf, from the North Sea 20:10 to the Sahara Desert, from the Atlantic 20:12 to the Euphrates and beyond. But were the Romans the last 20:17 ruling empire of the world? What did the Bible predict? 20:21 Here is what Daniel wrote: "Whereas you saw the feet 20:25 and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, 20:28 the kingdom shall be divided." Daniel 2:41 NKJV How did 20:34 the Roman Empire break up? The empires before it were 20:38 overcome by other world powers - but not Rome. 20:41 If this prophecy is right, it must predict what actually 20:46 happened in history -that the legs of iron would 20:49 not be succeeded by a fifth world-ruling power. 20:53 History confirms that this seemingly unconquerable 20:56 Roman Empire crumbled in two ways - from within 21:01 and from without. Wealth poured into Rome 21:05 through taxes collected from all over the world. 21:08 The simple Roman life was replaced with luxury 21:10 and ease. The political world brewed 21:14 with corruption, crime infiltrated the streets, 21:16 the work ethic was lost and immorality was rampant. 21:20 And as the mighty Roman Empire weakened from within, 21:23 Rome was attacked from without and divided into ten major 21:28 tribes. Ten is no coincidence. 21:31 The God of the Bible looked down through the ages 21:34 of history and foresaw this division of ten. 21:36 Therefore, this time period of history is symbolized 21:40 by the ten toes of Nebuchadnezzar's image. 21:43 These ten tribes were the Alamanni who settled 21:46 in what has become Germany, the Franks who settled 21:49 in France, the Anglo-Saxons in England, the Visigoths 21:53 in Spain, the Suevi in Portugal, the Lombards 21:57 in Italy, and the Burgundians in Switzerland. 22:01 Originally the Vandals, Ostrogoths, and Heruli took 22:04 over parts of the Roman Empire, but they 22:07 were eventually destroyed. Daniel 2:42, 43 predicted 22:11 history from the time of the downfall of the Roman 22:13 Empire to the end of time. No matter how many battles 22:17 are fought around the world, no matter how many Hitlers 22:20 try to conquer the world, no matter how many Napoleons, 22:23 no matter how many Charlemagnes, no matter how many times 22:27 men try to unite the world as one kingdom, 22:31 they will not succeed. In vain world leaders seek 22:35 to conquer the world. The Bible says that just 22:38 as iron and clay will not mix together, so the world will 22:41 not unite again under one ruler again. 22:45 So where are we living today? In the very toenails 22:50 of history! Every part of this prophecy 22:52 has come to pass except for one. 22:56 "You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, 23:00 which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, 23:03 and broke them in pieces. "And in the days of these 23:07 kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall 23:11 never be destroyed; ...it shall break in pieces 23:14 and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. 23:21 Daniel 2:34, 44 NKJV History has followed this prophecy 23:27 like a blueprint and will continue to do so. 23:30 The political workings of this planet aren't random. 23:34 God has been guiding and controlling all along, 23:38 and only one kingdom remains to rule the world - 23:42 God's kingdom. That rock, cut out without 23:45 hands, that is the one kingdom, which will rule 23:49 forever. John, in Revelation speaks 23:52 about this coming kingdom, he says this: "And there 23:57 were loud voices in heaven, saying, 'The kingdoms of this 24:00 world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, 24:04 and He shall reign forever and ever." 24:09 Revelation 11:15 That's the only kingdom 24:12 left to be established. Soon Jesus Christ, 24:16 the Messiah, born in a stable in Bethlehem 2000 years ago, 24:21 is going to visit us again. The heavens will depart 24:24 as a scroll, and Christ and the angels of heaven 24:28 will descend to the earth and gather the waiting saints 24:31 of God. And as the Bible says, 24:34 "So shall we ever be with the Lord." 24:39 So we've seen two things today: one, the Bible 24:42 can be trusted. This prophecy is startlingly 24:45 accurate, just like so many other prophecies 24:48 in the Word of God. You can have confidence 24:51 in God's Word. And if the prophecy 24:53 is to be trusted - and we've seen that it is - 24:55 then we can know that Jesus is coming back to this world... 24:58 soon. 25:01 Let me ask you, friend. Are you ready? 25:03 Ready for that great day? Do you know Jesus Christ? 25:07 Have you made that simple decision to trust Him, 25:10 to have faith in Him, to accept Jesus as your Saviour? 25:16 If not, you can choose right now and allow Jesus 25:21 to be the centre of your life. Let's do that right now. 25:25 Let's pray. Our Father in heaven, 25:28 what a blessing to know that your Word is sure. 25:31 How thankful men and women around the world can be 25:35 that there is something that can be trusted and someone who 25:38 can be trusted, just as you have traced history 25:42 with unerring accuracy. Lord, we know Jesus will 25:47 soon return and set up that kingdom that will never 25:49 pass away. We want to be part of it. 25:53 So we choose now to choose Jesus. 25:57 We invite you into our lives. I ask you to live in us both 26:02 to will and to do for your good pleasure and let us be 26:05 prepared through Jesus for that great day 26:08 when Jesus returns. This we pray thanking you 26:11 in Jesus' name, amen. 26:38 I hope you'll get the book I'm offering you this week, 26:39 it's called Revelation Today. 26:41 It adds a lot of details to the end-time scenario 26:44 presented in the Book of Revelation. 26:45 This little book is going to help you understand 26:48 what the Book of Revelation is really all about. 26:50 It untangles the end-time prophetic scenario 26:52 to let you see how the battle between good and evil ultimately 26:56 plays out. Just call or write 26:58 and I will send you Revelation Today. 27:00 There is no cost, no obligation. 27:02 It is absolutely free. All you need to do is call 27:04 1.800.253.3000 and ask for Revelation Today. 27:06 You can call 24-hours a day. If the line is busy, please 27:10 just keep on trying. You can also request your 27:12 free copy of Revelation Today by writing to 27:14 It Is Written, Box O, Thousand Oaks, California 91359. 27:19 We'll mail you a copy to your address 27:22 in North America. Please note this free book 27:24 is limited to the supply on hand. 27:27 To get it right away, you can download a free 27:29 electronic version of the book Revelation Today from 27:31 our website, itiswritten.com. 27:34 It Is Written is a faith-based ministry made possible 27:37 by viewers like you. Your tax-deductible gift 27:40 can be sent to the address on your screen or you can 27:42 support us on-line at itiswritten.com. 27:49 Thanks for joining me today. I look forward to seeing 27:51 you next time. Until then remember - 27:54 It Is Written: man shall not live by bread alone, 27:58 but by every word that proceeds from the mouth 28:01 |
Revised 2015-08-07