20 Feb Counterfeit King and Kingdom
Daniel 3:1-3 – King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits and its breadth six cubits. He set it up on the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent to gather the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up….And they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
God creates. Satan counterfeits. This storyline serves as the backdrop for every book, chapter, and verse of the Bible, especially in the book of Daniel.
God is a King. Satan is always trying to promote a counterfeit king. In ancient Babylon, the demonic king was Nebuchadnezzar who wanted to unite all the nations and peoples he conquered under his total control by combining the state and religion into one thorough worshipping of himself as king and god. The same demonic spirit of Babylon continues in our own day in places like North Korea and Iran where dictators seek to rule the body and soul of every citizen. Counterfeit kings are, like Nebuchadnezzar, the opposite of King Jesus and proud not humble, insecure not secure, rule from fear instead of love, and always take but never give.
God has a Kingdom. Satan is always trying to topple God’s Kingdom and replace it with a counterfeit kingdom. This is the backdrop of the book of Daniel and rest of the Bible. In Daniel 2, God gave the counterfeit king Nebuchadnezzar a dream that his kingdom of gold would come to an end in the vision of a giant warrior king that had a head of gold that would be replaced by other kings and kingdoms typified by silver, bronze, and iron mixed with clay.
Wanting to rewrite history and change God’s prophecy, the counterfeit king built a giant golden statue of himself some ninety feet high, nine feet wide, and likely on a base increasing its height. It was positioned on a flat plain to literally tower over people, thereby forcing them to look up to worship a false god. The same spirit at work in this scene was at work 1500 years prior in the same place as Nimrod, the counterfeit king of his day, tried to set up a counterfeit kingdom of Babel with another object of worship towering above in the form of a tower (Genesis 10-11; Daniel 1:2).
From this scene, we learn three big truths:
- Only God, the real King, knows and controls the future, which no one can change.
- Everyone wants to be a king with a kingdom where they have peace and pleasure.
- People who don’t know God wind up worshipping people.
How have counterfeits showed up in your life recently?
In addition to this introduction to and overview of Daniel, you can find the corresponding sermons, daily devotions, men’s ministry resources, and hundreds of additional sermons and Bible teaching resources for free at markdriscoll.org or on the Mark Driscoll Ministries app.
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