Copyright © 2006 by The Voice of Prophecy

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SECOND COMING #3

Odds-On Favorite

I heard a story about a young man who grew up in South Florida. He couldn’t wait until he turned 18 because he wanted to go to the dog track, As he walked in, however, he noticed something—something which instantly told him that gambling on these beasts was a losing proposition. He saw the ticket windows, 12 of them. The only problem was—10 windows took your money, and only 2 gave money back! Thus, right there before his eyes he could see that the odds of winning at the track were, clearly, 5-to-1 against him.

Not too good of odds, huh? I wouldn’t want to bet the farm on odds like that, no way!

Friends, this week we’re studying the greatest promise in the Bible, the promise of Jesus’ Second Coming. We’ve seen, so far, two things: 1) Numerous times the Bible talks of Jesus’ return; 2) That Christ’s death at His first coming is the surety, the guarantee, of His Second coming. But there’s something else, something else that gives us great reason to trust in the promise of the Second Coming. In fact, it all but gives us odds—odds much better than you’ll ever find at any race track.

We go the Old Testament book of Daniel, written over 2600 years ago. The story unfolds in ancient Babylon, under its greatest King, Nebuchadnezzar. Ancient Babylon sits today in a corner of Iraq, nothing but ruins from one of the world’s greatest empires.

Now, the gist of the story is this: King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream that he couldn’t remember. He demanded that someone not only tell him his dream, but interpret it for him.

Eventually, the Hebrew lad Daniel, a captive in Babylon, was given a vision in which he was told the king’s dream and its interpretation. Here, in his own words, is Daniel telling the king the dream that the king himself couldn’t remember:

“You, O king, were watching; and behold, a great image! This great image, whose splendor was excellent, stood before you; and its form was awesome. This image's head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed together, and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; the wind carried them away so that no trace of them was found. And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. This is the dream. Now we will tell the interpretation of it before the king” (Daniel 2:31-36 NKJV).

The king saw a statue made of various metals, a statue that was eventually crushed and obliterated. That was the dream.

Daniel then gave the king the interpretation he sought: The head of gold in that statue was, Daniel said, King Nebuchadnezzar himself, who stood for the great empire of Babylon. Daniel then says that after Babylon another kingdom will arise, symbolized by the silver in the arms and the chest. After that kingdom there would be a third one, symbolized by the bronze in the belly and thighs. Finally, there will be a fourth empire, a empire of iron. This fourth empire, instead of disappearing, will remain down to the time of the end, where it will break up and remain but in pieces. This was symbolized by the mixture of iron and clay in the feet and the toes.

Thus we see that this was a dream about the history of the world--only told long before much of it happened!

Now friends, look at what we have here.

First there was Babylon, the head of gold, which came and went--just as Daniel predicted.

Thus, Daniel was one for one.

After Babylon came the next kingdom Daniel described, the arms and chest of silver. History shows that it was Media-Persia. It, too, came and went--just as Daniel had predicted.

That’s two for two.

After Media Persia, another kingdom arose, the brass in the belly and the thighs. History shows that this third great empire was ancient Greece, the Greece of Alexander the Great. And it too vanished from history--again, just as Daniel said.

That’s three for three.

According to the prophecy, after this third kingdom, Greece, another one would arise, an iron kingdom, the iron of the legs. This was, of course, the great iron empire of pagan Rome, the Rome of the Caesars, which ruled the ancient world for centuries. All this unfolded just as Daniel predicted.
That’s four for four.

Now here’s where things get very interesting. Unlike the powers before it, the pagan Roman empire didn’t disappear. Daniel described the fate of the pagan Roman empire exactly as it unfolded centuries after Daniel was gone. What did he say?

Listen to what Daniel said about these feet and toes: “Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay. And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile. As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay” (Daniel 2:41-43 NKJV).

What an accurate depiction of the fate of pagan Rome! Instead of vanishing, it was broken up into what are today the nations of modern Europe. And despite all sorts of alliances, treaties and unions--even despite all kinds of intermarriage between royalty in the past of these nations, or even intermarriage between their citizens today--they are still divided into separate political and national entities, some of which are weak and some of which are strong. All this just as Daniel had predicted 26 centuries ago!
That’s five out of five.

What’s left? In the dream, during the time of the feet and the toes, a giant stone crushed the whole image. What does that mean? Daniel explained: “In the time of those kings [the nations of Europe] the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever” (Daniel 2:44).

Friends, that’s the Second Coming of Jesus. That’s when He establishes His kingdom. “My kingdom,” Jesus said, “is not of this world” (John 18:36 NKJV). No, it’s not of this world. That’s why all of the kingdoms of this world will be destroyed, and Jesus will once and for all establish His eternal kingdom, a kingdom unlike any of the others that existed before it.

Paul, in the context of the Second Coming, said: “Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power” (1Co 15:24 NIV).

This is what we are promised at the Second Coming. These worldly kingdoms will come to an end--and God’s kingdom, one without war, suffering, poverty, crime, and death, will be established forever.

Look at what we have seen:

Babylon came and went, as predicted.
Media-Persia, came and went, as predicted.
Greece, came and went as predicted.
Pagan Rome, came and went as predicted.
Modern Europe has come and exists as predicted.
Daniel was right on the money, five out of five. Pretty good odds. In fact, they are very good odds. You’re not going to find odds like that at any race track, that’s for sure.
The only one of his predictions that hasn’t come true yet is the last one, the one about the Second Coming and Christ’s eternal kingdom.
But, friends, with him right regarding the first five out of five kingdoms, who would want to bet against Him on the last one? Certainly not me!
Standing where we are in the flow of history, we can look back and see how these others kingdoms did exactly what Daniel had predicted. He’s been right on all these others, how foolish to bet against him on the last one, the one that Jesus sets up when He returns, the only one of these kingdoms that last forever!
Yes, Jesus is coming back--and God has given us something as solid, as immovable, and as verifiable as the unfolding of world history to help show us that we can trust the promise of His return.
I’m not a gambling man, no sir. But if I were, I’d be putting my money on Jesus. Indeed, considering how accurate Daniel was on all the other kingdoms—then the Second Coming of Jesus, and the establishment of His eternal kingdom, seems like one bet you surely can’t lose.
Don’t you think it’s time to know Jesus for yourself? Don’t you think it’s time to let Jesus into your life? Yes, Jesus is real, He died for your sins, and He has promised us that He’s coming back. And not only is He coming back, but with the prophecy of Daniel 2 He’s given us powerful evidence to help us trust that promise. Friend, grasp that promise, and make it your own.
This is Lonnie Melashenko reminding you that it’s always true, friend, God loves you.