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Get the latest important news each day on our A MESSAGE OF HOPE FROM DR. JACK VAN IMPE Daniel 2:25 – 30 Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said thus unto him, I have found a man of the captives of Judah, that will make known unto the king the interpretation. The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Art thou able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation thereof? Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the sooth sayers, show unto the king; But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the King Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these; As for thee, 0 king, thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed, what Should come to pass hereafter: and he that revealeth secrets maketh known to thee what shall come to pass. But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but for their sakes that shall make known the interpretation to the king, and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart. Glory to God Alone Daniel now had the king’s attention. He also continued to remind the king that the wisdom he was sharing was from the one true God and not from his own knowledge. What integrity! Daniel could have made this a public relations spectacular for himself by taking all the credit, comparing himself to the other wise men (who failed to speak the dream or interpret it), saying, "Hey, King, look at me. I’m the man. You can always count on me for the answers to your tough questions." But that is not the Daniel of this book. He took no glory for himself, but instead insisted that only God in heaven could do what the king had requested. I can almost see King Nebuchadnezzar’s mouth begin to drop as Daniel set him up. Nebuchadnezzar was probably saying something like, "Come on, Daniel, enough of this ‘My God’ stuff. What’s my dream? More importantly, what does it mean? And why are you making me wait?" But Daniel was not to be rushed. He was in control of this particular discussion and, once again, the king was compelled to wait for the time when this young Jew would come forth with his secrets, which he finally shared when he said: Daniel 2: 31 – 35 Thou, 0 king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. This image’s head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. I imagine the king was startled, and dumbfounded, probably exclaiming something like, "I can’t believe this, Daniel. You’re a genius! You’ve done what my most seasoned astrologers and magicians could not do. You’re amazing. . . and you’re still so young!" Daniel just stood there and listened politely, continuing to assert that God gave him the dream. He probably reminded the king of what he’d already told him, "But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets"(2:28). Wouldn’t you like to have seen Nebuchadnezzar’s face as Daniel spoke the dream one scene at a time? The king’s heart rate must have increased as Daniel talked about an image so large and brilliant that it was virtually impossible to look at for any length of time. His blood pressure must have climbed as Daniel described the statue from head to foot—the head of gold; breast and arms of silver; belly and thighs of brass; legs of iron; and feet and toes of an unstable mixture of iron and clay. The Dream Interpreted Then, thundering from a distance came a stone cut out without hands—that is, not of human origin—crashing into the statue with such meteoric force that it dissolved the image into chaff, blowing away any semblance of the statue. Where the image had stood—this is what had to give King Nebuchadnezzar pause—the stone, now a large mountain, "filled the whole earth" (2:35). If you were a superstitious Babylonian king constantly looking over your shoulder at the slightest movement of your enemies—or wondering if inside-the-palace intrigue might one day do you in—what would you think if you had a dream like this? Without waiting for the king’s response—or perhaps because Nebuchadnezzar was too dumbfounded to respond—Daniel proceeded with the interpretation of his dream. Daniel 2: 36 – 45 This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king. Thou, 0 king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold. And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in Pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength o the iron, foras much as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle Themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God bath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure. Not So Fast, O King Daniel was anything but timid, for God had removed any spirit of fear from his heart as he stood eye-to-eye with Nebuchadnezzar, giving him the message from God. Nebuchadnezzar undoubtedly saw himself as a self-made king—powerful, in control, able to make heads roll at a snap of his finger. Yet Daniel says, "Wait a minute, King. Not so fast. You are only where you are because my God has given you dominion, power, and glory. Yes, you’re a mighty and powerful king, but your reign simply cannot last." Daniel consistently gives God the credit in the preface of all his prayers and speeches. The king would probably rather not have to sit there and listen to these extended preambles, but this was young Daniel’s moment. And Nebuchadnezzar would have to be patient. Daniel’s description of Babylon’s place in world history is fully in sync with other historical references. Babylon was the greatest power of the day. It had always been a superlative empire, with its great beauty, economic position as a center of commerce, and fabled hanging gardens—one of the exquisite wonders of the ancient world. But even all these accomplishments, Daniel would argue, were not Nebuchadnezzar’s doing—but God’s. Although Nebuchadnezzar was the "gold head" in his dream, the inference was that he would not be in charge of his kingdom in perpetuity: Daniel’s message was that God was in control, and that his heavenly Father would have the final say as to who would and who would not occupy all earthly thrones—including Nebuchadnezzar’s. CHANGED LIVES-one at a time Dear Dr. Van Impe I began watching your program a few years ago, late on Sunday nights, when there seemed to be nothing else to watch. As I began to watch and listen t6o your words, I quickly became aware of the power and clarity of your message, and that you were only speaking from the love of God, and not for your own gain. Being a single man in my mid-twenties at the time, me peers/friends immediately seized the opportunity to ridicule you, and me, about your program. But Dr. Van Impe, the most amazing thing has happened to me in the past few years; the Lord opened my eyes, and showed me the beauty of His love, given me a peace of knowing He is sovereign, and given me a hunger for knowledge of Him, and a burning desire for His glorious return. Jesus Christ is Lord, and He died for us all, that we may live, and for the first time in my life, I know this is true. Thank you Dr. Van Impe for being on the television those late Sunday nights, for awakening a part of me that was nurtured for many years in a small country church, but had been suppressed by the deceitfulness of the world. I look forward to seeing you either here in this life, or as you so accurately say, here in the next life. A world without end, and love without end; how wonderful and good is God. God bless you and your wife in all you do. Sincerely Jason HIGHLIGHTED PRODUCT OFFERS The Roadmap to Peace: Potholes and Road Rage For centuries, Jews, Christians, and Moslems have been powerfully concerned about the birthplace of the Savior and the lands He walked on this earth, as well as the first places the Apostles carried the good news of the Gospel. Today the entire world is focused on the Middle East and American President George W. Bush has committed himself to a "roadmap to peace" in the region. But is it a plan for peace or a recipe for disaster?! Dr. Jack and Rexella Van Impe's dynamic new video teaching shows you the facts and the only truth about a roadmap for the Middle East, and it is the plan sketched out in ages past, by God Himself, in Bible prophecy. This video is perfect for every believer who wants the facts, and makes a great witnessing tool for any non-believer interested in Middle East events today.
Time Changer An exciting new movie starring:
The year is 1890 and Bible professor Russell Carlisle (D. David Moran) has written a new manuscript entitles "The Changing Times". His book is about to receive a unanimous endorsement from the board members of the Grace Bible Seminary until his colleague Dr. Norris Anderson (Gavin MacLeod) raises an objection. Dr. Anderson believes that what Carlisle has written could greatly affect the future of coming generations. Using a secret time machine, Anderson sends Carlisle 100 years into the future, offering him a glimpse of where his beliefs will lead. WE ACCEPT PRAYER REQUESTS HERE We receive prayer requests from far and wide via the mail, fax, phone, email and now through the prayer section of our website. FEEDBACK: Please help us with your valuable input. Let us know if you enjoyed this electronic newsletter. Thank you!!!!!!!!!!! CONTACT INFORMATION: E-MAIL: jvimi@jvim.com PHONE: (248) 852-5225 (8am-4:30pm Eastern Time) FAX: (248) 852-2692 MAIL: Jack Van Impe Ministries JVIM FAMILY OF WEBSITES: JVIM PROPHECY PORTAL ON THE WEB Privacy Notice: Jack Van Impe Ministries is a non-profit, religious corporation registered in the state of Michigan in the U.S.A. and a registered charity in the province of Ontario in Canada. Our policy has been and will always be to never sell, rent, or barter the names and/or information about those who contact our international ministries. Stewardship: Independent CPA reporting confirms that only 5% of JVIM income is used for fundraising and only 7% is used for administrative costs, including all salaries. A full 88% or more of JVIM income is used directly to fulfill its non-profit mission to share the Good News of salvation and Christ's soon return with the world. |
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