At the end of the day… we win.
Read Time: 10 mins
“During the reigns of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed or conquered. It will crush all these kingdoms into nothingness, and it will stand forever. That is the meaning of the rock cut from the mountain, though not by human hands, that crushed to pieces the statue of iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold. The great God was showing the king what will happen in the future. The dream is true, and its meaning is certain.”
Daniel 2:44-45 NLT
It doesn’t matter if it’s OKC, KFC, or the UFC… Lakers in 5.
If you haven’t heard a statement like this before, odds are that you were not a part of the NBA fan community. Sports commentator Shannon Sharpe is well known for his support of “G.O.A.T. James” and the Los Angeles Lakers. He has often shown his support by predicting the outcome of the Lakers' playoff series with clever quotes that follow this pattern. You can look it up for yourself to see what I’m talking about, but as a LeBron fan, I have to share a few of my favorites. Whether it’s Serge Ibaka, Chewbacca, or Waka Flocka… Lakers in 5. James Harden in Madison Square Garden with a presidential pardon, and it’s still Lakers in 5! It can be divorce court, child support, or Lu Dort… say it with me now… Lakers in 5.
Doesn't matter if it's Chris Paul, Cliff Paul, Jake and Logan Paul.. bring 'em all! Lakers in 5! Jason Kidd or Billy the Kid–did y'all see what Luka did? Lakers in 5! Y’all are about to get me preaching! Could be The Thunder, a Boost Mobile Bundle, WWE Royal Rumble… don’t matter… Lakers in 5! The idea is that regardless of who or what LeBron and the Lakers face, they will succeed.
Now, to be honest, Lakers fans typically look a little delusional when it comes to this. This blind belief looks crazy to onlookers, however, I want us all to take the same confidence Shannon Sharpe takes into Lakers games into our daily lives. LeBron in his prime made almost anything on the teams he was on possible and our king does the same for us. LeBron has dragged two of the worst three teams to the NBA Finals since 1985. That means regardless of who he’s with or what the situation is, impact is possible. He is the wild card. Adding him to a situation throws out all sorts of excuses, and the same is true for our King.
We often lose our sense of hope based on the world around us. It can be the president and the policies they’re pushing. There are wars and rumors of wars that steal our sense of safety and stability. There are health problems and pestilence we cannot seem to run from. The Earth seems to be unraveling at the seams as natural disasters increase and global warming continues. Maybe your stress is coming from other areas. Those in power are oppressing the poor. Selfishness, greed, hatred, and fear are running rampant. Maybe your hope is waning because of society and the direction it’s going. Maybe it’s the economy and the ways it’s impacting you and your loved ones. Whatever it is I’m not here to say your concerns aren’t valid or that you don’t have a right to feel the real pressure and effects of these problems… but I am here to say that no matter the weapon that forms or the kingdom rises against you, you like a Lakers fan can still put your faith in the king. Follow me through this story, and I’ll show you why.
The Dream & The Request
King Nebuchadnezzar awoke one night in a cold sweat after a vivid and disturbing dream. The dream wouldn’t leave his mind no matter how much he tried to sleep so he made a call for the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and astrologers of his kingdom to come at once. When those who he assumed were the best and brightest made it to his quarters, he demanded that they tell him the meaning of his dream.
The assembly asked the king to tell them what he dreamed so that they could think up a potential meaning, but the king asserted that he was serious about this one. So serious in fact that he couldn’t risk any false answer or derived meaning. He couldn’t leave room for the magicians and astrologers to do what they do best and dream up a believable narrative through illusion. So the king demanded that they not just tell him the meaning of the dream, but tell him the dream itself. That way, he would know they aren’t just pulling meaning out of a hat.
The king's invitees kept asking the king to tell them the dream so that they could derive some meaning from it, however, the king was stubborn in his desire. They said that no one on earth could possibly accomplish this request. They said that no one but the gods could tell the king both what he dreamed and what it meant, but the king stood firm. When they couldn’t supply him with an answer he became furious and demanded that all of the wisemen in the kingdom be executed.
Daniel’s Response
While Daniel was not initially invited to interpret this dream, this decree of death came to his doorstep too, as one of the kingdom's wise men. The king's guards went out immediately to round up and exterminate all of the wisemen in the kingdom. When Arioch, the commander of the king's guard, came to Daniel’s house to put him to death, the Bible says that Daniel handled the situation with tact, wisdom, and discretion.
Daniel slowed Arioch down enough to ask what was going on, and Arioch told Daniel all that had transpired. So Daniel went to the king himself to ask for more time to tell the king what his dream meant. The Bible says that after that, Daniel called his inner circle to pray through this situation together. They held a personal prayer party as they passionately petitioned the throne of God. They asked that God would show them mercy by revealing this secret so that they, along with the other wise men, would not be executed, and the Bible says that it was that very night that their prayer was answered and the secret was revealed to Daniel in a dream.
If you were placed in such a precarious situation, would your first response be to boldly approach the throne of grace? Do you have friends who would partner with you in petitioning God in an all-night prayer service? Along with Daniel’s Spirit-given tact and wisdom to engage with Arioch and the king, Daniel shows us the pattern of prayer and principle of partnership that we should seek to graft into our own lives. Prayer should be our response, and partnership with praying friends should be our priority.
After spending some time praising and thanking God for answering their prayer, Daniel goes to Arioch. He then asked him not to kill the other wisemen but to take him to the king so that he may give meaning to his dream. Arioch quickly takes Daniel to the king and introduces him as someone who can interpret the dream. The king asks Daniel if this is true, and Daniel’s first response is to cite his source.
In the creative world, whether that be in literature, music, or design and development, it is important that you don’t steal intellectual property. You cannot take credit for the work, accomplishments, or creations of someone else. You must cite your sources.
Daniel cites his source well because before he even tells the king what he has, he tells him how he got it. He starts by telling the king that there are no wise men, magicians, enchanters, or fortune tellers who could accomplish this task, but there is a God who can. Daniel wants it to be clear that while he is confident in what he is about to accomplish, the miracle he is about to perform is not all in his own strength. The power he possesses is not a power he derived from himself. He has a different source.
God wants to do the miraculous through you, too. You, like Daniel, will have opportunities to let God shine through you. You, too, can be confident enough in your call to walk boldly into a king's quarters with death dangling over your head because you believe in what God has given you. But don’t act for one second like you did it on your own. There is a God in heaven who routinely does what no one on earth can do. You are strong, but only because He is the source of your strength.
The Explanation
After citing his source, Daniel begins to explain the dream. Beginning in verse 29, Daniel explains that while the king was sleeping, he dreamed of a coming reality. The king saw a statue of a man. The head of the statue was gold. The chest and arms were silver. The belly and thighs were bronze. Its legs were of iron, and its feet were a combination of iron and clay.
As the king looked at the statue, a rock was cut out of a mountain without any human intervention. The rock was hurled towards the powerful statue and struck its feet at its base. The entire statue exploded into bits and was crushed into powder. Then the once powerful edifice was casually blown away as casually as someone snapped away like Thanos. What was once powerful was not a forgotten dust.
I can imagine the king was stunned that this man was able to perfectly explain what he saw in his dream. Daniel masterfully recalls a dream that another man dreamt that he had at that point told anyone about. And all this with the pressure of a potential death looming over his head. This is insane, but it gets even more impressive.
Daniel continues in verse 37 by not just describing the dream but interpreting its meaning. He continues to talk to the king and says,
“Your Majesty, you are the greatest of kings. The God of heaven has given you sovereignty, power, strength, and honor. He has made you the ruler over all the inhabited world and has put even the wild animals and birds under your control. You are the head of gold. But after your kingdom comes to an end, another kingdom, inferior to yours, will rise to take your place. After that kingdom has fallen, yet a third kingdom, represented by bronze, will rise to rule the world. Following that kingdom, there will be a fourth one, as strong as iron. That kingdom will smash and crush all previous empires, just as iron smashes and crushes everything it strikes. The feet and toes you saw were a combination of iron and baked clay, showing that this kingdom will be divided. Like iron mixed with clay, it will have some of the strength of iron. But while some parts of it will be as strong as iron, other parts will be as weak as clay. This mixture of iron and clay also shows that these kingdoms will try to strengthen themselves by forming alliances with each other through intermarriage. But they will not hold together, just as iron and clay do not mix. During the reigns of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed or conquered. It will crush all these kingdoms into nothingness, and it will stand forever. That is the meaning of the rock cut from the mountain, though not by human hands, that crushed to pieces the statue of iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold. The great God was showing the king what will happen in the future. The dream is true, and its meaning is certain (Daniel 2:37-45 NLT).”
Daniel explains that each rung on this statue represented a world ruling power. The head represented Nebuchadnezzar and his kingdom of Babylon. While Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom of Babylon was great and God had allowed him to rule over much, it would come to an end. History tells us that the next dominant kingdom to overthrow the Babylonians was the Medes and Persians. We see part of this story in Daniel chapter 5. After them we see the rise of the Greco-Macedonian Empire with Alexander the Great at the helm. After that we see the Romans come to prominence.
Now you may have seen charts explaining this and pulling out more fun facts about the history we see unfolding in this prophecy. It’s truly interesting, but in my experience, something has typically been missing. We talk about who each of these kingdoms represent. We compare these ideas to visions and dreams in Daniel 7 and 8. We compare those to John’s visions in Revelation 12 and 13. We talk about how in the Old Testament, Daniel seems to be looking forward to what will happen but in the New Testament, John seems to be looking back into what already happened. But so many of us get stuck there. We neglect the point.
Build Faith & Not Fear
We forget the main point of the prophecy and that’s the fact that while kingdoms will rise and fall, at the end God will set up a kingdom that will remain forever. Like it’s cool to know the history and how statues connect to beasts… but do you know who wins? It’s great to know the devil’s playbook but do you realize we already know who won the game? Yes, kingdoms come, but they are defeated. Beasts arise, but they are slain. Daniel and Revelation can look and feel like a horror film instead of a feel good romantic comedy that would leave my mom crying when you stop short of the prophecies climax.
But wait Pace, why would it feel like a Rom-Com? I’ve never heard of Daniel and Revelation belonging on Hallmark or Lifetime… and that is the problem. The entire Bible is about Jesus coming to redeem His bride. While there is action, drama, hurt and heartache, the story centers around a marital rescue mission and love story. Stop reading them through the lens of defeat. We may be in the “toe nails of time”, but that just means we’re closer to our victory. That should lead to a sense of excitement and not indictment.
Understanding prophecy is important, and we should seek to learn it. But make sure you see it as a way to build faith and not fear. Jesus gave it for a reason. In John 16, Jesus explains that He tells us what will happen before it happens so that we will have faith when it happens. If we knew that He knew what was coming when it came, we could trust Him when it comes. Nothing is a surprise to Him. He has it handled. If He was telling the truth about what He prophesied in the past, then we can trust His prophecies of victory in the future. The whole point of this isn’t to scare you. It’s to liberate you. The point isn’t to promote fear, it’s to promote faith.
Yes, there will be kingdoms. Yes, there will be oppression and slavery and conspiring and persecution. But God reminds us to calm down, stand in confidence, and take courage because He has overcome the world. It doesn’t matter what you face. It doesn’t matter what’s coming down the pipeline. It doesn’t matter who the pope or the president is. It doesn’t matter what gets overthrown or defunded. Stop being so scared. Babylon has already fallen. Don’t let fear lead you to abandon your faith. Don’t just trust His power, trust His plan.
God is setting up a kingdom that was established without human intervention or coercion. He doesn’t need your schemes to make His kingdom work because it’s not one that will be confined to this country or even this world. He is thinking much bigger. Don’t be like Judas, who abandoned the principles his God under the guise of pushing Him to political prominence. That’s a whole different message, but it’s very important. He doesn’t need you to create a political superpower or “theocratic” dictatorship to force others to become His pseudo-disciples. We don’t fight the same way others fight. His kingdom is one that will crush everything else we deemed powerful into nothingness in His way, in His timing.
The stone that has long been rejected by others is now the chief cornerstone that all must be built on. Jesus, the rock of our salvation, is the stone that will demolish any Goliath-esque structure or kingdom that goes against it. The point of prophecy is to prove to you that He has a plan. He isn’t caught off guard. He already knows He has won, and He wants you to rejoice in victory with Him.
Be not dismayed, whate’er betide… he’s already won, so Lakers in 5.
Sorry, I couldn’t resist lol
If these messages have blessed you, please send them to 5 people and help them subscribe the same way you did. Tell them why you appreciate these messages and why they should sign up and help them through the process. Anyone can sign up by going to the “subscribe” tab on this website, filling out their information and confirming that they’d like to receive devotional text messages.
If you appreciate these devotional messages, please considering donating through Cash App to $ThoughtsByPace. Your support is appreciated more than you know.
This week is the one year anniversary of my first book, Just Jesus. If you have not ordered a copy for you, your friends and your church group, please go to Amazon and start your order!
