KINGDOM DOWN: The spirit of Babylon vs The Spirit of God
- Election year will dominate the news and make a lot of noise
- Christians will be pulled left & right
- I want you to go up & live Kingdom down in Babylon
- Babylon – ancient nation, demonic spirit creating counterfeits
- Rev.17:5 “mother of prostitutes”, “Babylon the great” falls (Rev. 14,16,17,18)
- Sodom & Gomorrah, Nazi Germany, N Korea, Iran, cartels, trafficking, political platforms, media, entertainment, social media – wants to overtake every sphere
The spirit of Babylon wants to topple you
1:1-2 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with some of the vessels of the house of God. And he brought them to the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, and placed the vessels in the treasury of his god.
· 605 BC (Ezekiel, Jeremiah, possibly Habakkuk)
· Lev 25:1-4,26:34,42 rest land 7th yr, ignored 490, owe 70 (2 Chr 36:21,Jer 25:1-14)
Is 39:6-7 the days are coming, when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up…shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left…your own sons…shall be taken away, and…be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon
Daniel
- Teenager – book covers 69 years into 80’s
- POW/Trafficking – 700 mi walk – abused, hungry, dehydrated, exhausted, scared
- Innocent & suffering (God disciplines His kids)
King Jehoiakim
- Only Jewish King in Daniel, godless 17th king burned Scriptures (Jeremiah 36:23)
- In taking the vessels, they think their god are stronger (superstitious)
spirit of Babylon (counterfeit)
- Shinar Genesis 11:2 is Babel/Babylon, today Iraq (#1 military & economic power)
- Slavery – the spirit of Babylon wants to own and control you
God
- 2 realms (seen/unseen) – “the Lord gave” (1 of 3 times chapter 1)
- God is in control of who is in control. God’s Kingdom is over every nation.
The spirit of Babylon wants to train you
Daniel 1:3-5 Then the king commanded Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to bring some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family and of the nobility, youths without blemish, of good appearance and skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding learning, and competent to stand in the king’s palace, and to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans.
- Daniel & friends – high IQ, high EQ, handsome, royal family
- Eunuch – never consummated marriage or conceived a child
spirit of Babylon
- Reverse evangelism
- Brainwash – schools and curriculum, colleges. 1). Stay away 2). Bring God in
Daniel
- No generational rebellion, youthful indiscretion, adolescence
The spirit of Babylon wants to tempt you
Daniel 1:5-7 The king assigned them a daily portion of the food that the king ate, and of the wine that he drank. They were to be educated for three years, and at the end of that time they were to stand before the king. Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah of the tribe of Judah. And the chief of the eunuchs gave them names: Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego.
3 Kinds People in Daniel
1. Godly – tempted w/comfort, food, drink, rebellious identity (teen boys)
2. Godless – doing tempting
3. Ungodly Believer? – lukewarm, backslid, reversible jersey Believer or Babylonian?
Hebrew Name Babylonian Name
Daniel “God is my judge” Belteshazzar “Bel protects his life”
Hananiah “Yahweh is gracious” Shadrach “The command of Aku”
Mishael “Who is what God is?” Meshack “Who is what Aku is?”
Azariah “Yahweh is my helper” Abed-Nego “Servant of Nebo”
They never refer to themselves by their new name.
- Daniel “God is my judge” – live for audience of 1
- The world can change your name. God can change your nature.
- Don’t let what others put on you get in you
The Spirit of God sends you
Daniel 1:8-16 But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king’s food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself. And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs, and the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who assigned your food and your drink; for why should he see that you were in worse condition than the youths who are of your own age? So you would endanger my head with the king.” Then Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had assigned over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, “Test your servants for ten days; let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then let our appearance and the appearance of the youths who eat the king’s food be observed by you, and deal with your servants according to what you see.” So he listened to them in this matter, and tested them for ten days. At the end of ten days it was seen that they were better in appearance and fatter in flesh than all the youths who ate the king’s food. So the steward took away their food and the wine they were to drink, and gave them vegetables.
- spirit of Babylon vs Spirit of God – Daniel 4:8, 4:18 spirit of Elohim in Daniel
Witness at work
- Counterfeit communion w/Satan (Gen. 3) – offered to pagan demon gods like Marduk
- May have violated kosher OT laws
- Courteous & respectful in disagreement, gave option
- His “boss” liked & sympathized w/them
- Faith is giving up control of the future
- Do what is right even if everything goes wrong (need miracle, God did not promise)
The Spirit of God strengthens you
Daniel 1:17-20 As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. At the end of the time, when the king had commanded that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. And the king spoke with them, and among all of them none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Therefore they stood before the king. And in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his kingdom.
- Naïve vs wise
- You need the Spirit in you and godly friends around you
- Like Jesus they grew in wisdom, stature, & favor as young men by the Spirit
The Spirit of God sustains you
Daniel 1:21 And Daniel was there until the first year of King Cyrus.
- 1:21 king of Persia/Iran conquered Babylon/Iraq
- Lived 69 years into 80’s & outlived Babylonian empire (13 kings 14 kingdoms)
- 1:2 “the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand”
- 1:9“God gave Daniel favor” (2 of 3X)
- 1:17 “God gave them learning & skill”
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
Jesus is the greater Daniel. Both went from the glory royalty, to the humility of poverty, and returned to glory in royalty. Both went from their home to enter into a world that was dark and opposed to them and all that they believed. Both were filled with the Holy Spirit. Both travelled with a few faithful friends through adversity and hardship. Both had tremendous wisdom for making ethical decisions under duress. Both were given incredible authority helping rule over the kingdoms of Babylon (Daniel) and Heaven (Jesus). Neither married a woman or fathered children. Both were forced to walk to their doom in chains. Both stopped to pray for wisdom throughout their arduous journey through this world. The Bible has nothing bad to say about either man. Both men were wrongly accused and arrested on false charges, even though the political leaders overseeing the process declared them innocent. Both men were placed in a tomb/pit with a stone covering the entrance from which they were both miraculously delivered alive. Both men had exemplary character, humbly stood against demonic evil, and suffered greatly for their loyalty. Today, both men are together and Daniel is serving King Jesus in the Kingdom of God.