SERMON: “The Kingdom of the Living God” (Dan. 6:25–27)
“The Kingdom of the Living God”
(Dan. 6:25–27)
Series: “Daniel:
God’s Sovereign Plans” #16 Text: Daniel
6:25–28
By: Shaun
Marksbury Date: November 16, 2025
Venue: Living Water Baptist Church Occasion: PM Service
I.
Introduction
What are we praying when we pray, “Thy kingdom come?” There is a lot of disagreement among
Christians as to the nature of God’s kingdom, with some thinking it is only
spiritual and heavenly. However, in the
Lord’s prayer, Jesus instructs us to pray for the kingdom to “come,” that it be
“on earth as it is in heaven.” This passage
introduces us to the kingdom, and we’re considering that again today.
Last Lord’s Day, we read of the shutting of the mouths of
lions. Darius was the Persian king who
had been maneuvered into sentencing Daniel to death, but God used the situation
to prove Himself. The Lord vindicated
Daniel, providing ultimate deliverance even when King Darius could not.
It’s within this context the pagan Darius issues a decree
that reverberates across every province of the Medo-Persian empire, one that
confesses massive truths about God. Tonight,
we linger on the final four verses of the chapter, considering the nature of
Darius’s decree. At first glance, these verses
seem like a tidy epilogue. However, they
give insight into the nature of the kingdom of God and open a theological door into
the entire second half of the book.
God’s deliverance of Daniel exalts His own kingdom and
guarantees the prosperity of His people.
We will see three movements: A universal proclamation (v. 25), an
indestructible kingdom (vv. 26–27), and an unbroken prosperity (v. 28). Let’s consider the first of these.
II.
First, a Universal Proclamation (v. 25)
Then Darius the
king wrote to all the peoples, nations and men of every language who were
living in all the land: “May your peace abound!”
Darius has seen enough to make some decisions about the
true, living God. As one study notes,
Darius “expressed himself as if he had come to a point of personal trust in God
for his salvation such as Nebuchadnezzar (cf. 4:1–3, 34–37).”[1] Having done so, he does not whisper them in
the palace. Rather, like Nebuchadnezzar
before him, he writes an official edict that would be dispatched to every
satrapy from India to Ethiopia (cf. Est. 1:1).
It may seem like the “peoples, nations, men of every tongue”
is a standard greeting for an empire which covered so many ethnic regions. It is, though there is a hint here as to the
kingdom of God. This phrase echoes the
table of nations in Genesis 10, and it anticipates the kingdom of the Son of
Man in Daniel 7:14 — “And to Him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, that
all the peoples, nations and men of every
language might serve Him.” This carries
forward in the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19. Moreover, in Revelation 7:9, we see the
gathering of “a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and
all tribes and peoples and tongues,” one
that will comprise the present and future kingdom of God.
So, the Persian Empire’s
provinces become a pulpit for the living God and an early hint of what is to
come.
Darius continues, “May your peace abound!” Again, this may seem standard, but there is
something beyond courtesy here in the providence of God. In imperial letters, “peace” signals
covenantal well-being under the sovereign’s rule, so Darius (perhaps unwittingly)
pronounces the blessing of Yahweh’s kingdom over the entire known world.
Every deliverance of God’s people is designed to broadcast
His name to the ends of the earth.
Scripture says, “Recount His
glory among the nations, His wondrous deeds among all the peoples” (Psa. 96:3). When the Lord would send the Holy Spirit to
His apostles, they were to be His witness to “the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Considering that the rest of the Book of
Daniel deals with all the nations of the earth, such a universal greeting is
necessary.
Yet, it is important for the whole world to see the truth
about God’s kingdom. That brings us to
the next point:
III.
Second, an Indestructible Kingdom (vv. 26–27)
I make a decree
that in all the dominion of my kingdom men are to fear and tremble before the
God of Daniel; for He is the living God and enduring forever, and His kingdom
is one which will not be destroyed, and His dominion will be forever. He delivers and rescues and performs signs
and wonders in heaven and on earth, who has also delivered Daniel from the
power of the lions.
It’s at this point that we get to the decree proper. You might wonder how he can make this decree
at this point based on what we read earlier in this chapter, but as one study
notes, “Darius’s original 30-day
decree (vv. 6–9) had probably expired.”[2] Here, we read some interesting points
about Darius’s confession, and they tell us about God and His kingdom.
We’ll consider more about the Kingdom of God in the next
chapter, when it is given to the Son of Man (7:13–14). For now, it’s worth noting that God’s kingdom
is present and over the kingdoms of men, and in the future, it will also be on
earth. As we consider this, we’ll see the
commands before God’s Kingdom, the four attributes of God and His kingdom, and
finally, the proof of His kingdom. Let’s
begin with the commands for the nations.
A.
The Command Before God’s Kingdom
Darius gives two participial verbs here which we can read as
commands. These are two things the king
wants of the people within his domain, and they are words to which all nations
should harken. This will be clear in the
final chapters of this book.
First, the nations are to “fear… God.” This is reverential awe that orients
allegiance. As Proverbs 1:7 says, “The
fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and
discipline.” Moreover, Psalm 33:12 says,
“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom He
has chosen for His own inheritance.” The
pagan peoples fear and honor other things, so they need to reorient
themselves to a proper view of God
A second command here communicates that. They are to “tremble before the God of Daniel.” This is a visceral dread before unstoppable
power. We read the warning in Isaiah
2:19, for instance, “Men will go into
caves of the rocks and into holes of the ground before the terror of the Lord and
the splendor of His majesty, when He arises to make the earth tremble.” They should shake before God.
So, this is the first imperial order in history to mandate
worship of the true God. Some might
wonder why these commands are so dire; why not just tell people to love
God? The truth is that the unregenerate
lack a capacity to properly love, and they are filled with injustice and
violence. Just like any lost person, the
bad news of our condition must first capture the attention before the good news
can be given a serious hearing.
Again, the remaining chapters of Daniel deal with the
nations. In the visions that follow, the
empires of this world are likened unto brutish figures — beasts. Everything culminates in the leadership under
the “Little Horn,” which is ultimately the antichrist. In 8:25, we read, “And through his shrewdness
he will cause deceit to succeed by his influence; and he will magnify himself in his heart, and he will
destroy many while they are at ease. He will even oppose the Prince of princes, but
he will be broken without human agency.”
The nations need to fear and tremble rather than follow this antichrist
way.
To be clear, this applies to individuals. In 12:2, we read that some of the dead will
awake “to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt.”
Reverencing and honoring God is vital, for judgment is coming. And we see that with the attributes Darius
lists next.
B.
The Attributes of God and His Kingdom
Darius lists four attributes about God and His kingdom
here. Each of these exalt the Lord and
His kingdom over the gods of Persia and the Medo-Persian Empire itself. Since this empire is part of the nations of
man God set forth in the image of Daniel 2, then this tells us that it
references all the nations of the earth.
1.
First, God’s Kingdom is Ruled by a Living God
Understand that this is in a world of idolatry. However, God stands apart from the lifeless statues
and images of the world. These idols may
be “the work of skilled men,” but “the Lord is the true God; He is the living
God and the everlasting King. At His
wrath the earth quakes, and the nations cannot endure His indignation” (Jer.
10:10). Idols don’t move, but God is
living!
This continued to be true into the New Testament error. Paul praised the believers of Thessalonica,
saying how “you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God” (1
Thess. 1:9). That’s because God isn’t
just living, He’s everlasting; and that brings us to the next point:
2.
Second, God’s Kingdom is Ruled by a God Who
Endures
This goes with the fact that He is a living God. Scripture describes God as eternal and self-existent,
an attribute theologians refer to as “aseity.” Psalm 90:2 says, “Before the mountains were
born or You gave birth to the earth and the world, even from everlasting to
everlasting, You are God.” God is not
dependent upon any outside force for His existence or His continued
endurance.
In fact, it is the rest of the universe that is reliant upon
Him. In reference to the eternal Son,
Colossians 1:16–17 says, “For aby Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth,
visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities — all
things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all
things hold together.” Just like the
rest of the cosmos, the nations themselves were created and sustained by the
word of His power, and He can bring them to an end.
By contrast, God’s Kingdom goes on, never-ending. That brings us to the next point:
3.
Third, God’s Kingdom is Indestructible
Darius says, “His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed.” Other nations rise and fall, just like
Babylon. The Persians are on top at this
moment, but they will fall eventually to the Greeks. The Greeks will then fall to the Romans.
This again goes back to the statue of Daniel 2. Daniel explained the rise and fall of these
nations in vv. 36–43, and then the stone crushes these kingdoms. In v. 44, we read that “the God of heaven
will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed.”
We also read that this kingdom will “put an end to all these
kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever,” paralleling the final attribute
here.
4.
Fourth, God’s Kingdom is Without End
Darius reports that “His dominion will be forever.” This has
been translated “unto the end” (LSB), and “His dominion has no end” (HCSB).
We can rightly see this as an already existing kingdom since God exists,
but there is more to it than that.
This prepares for the Son of Man in the next chapter. We noted already that He will receive the
kingdom of God (7:13–14). We read the same things about His kingdom: “That
all the peoples, nations and men of every
language might serve Him. His dominion
is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; and His kingdom is one which
will not be destroyed.” This means that
the Kingdom of Christ is integral to the kingdom of God.
At Christ’s coming, we see the mediation of His reign. Scripture defines this as being a
thousand-year kingdom (Rev. 20:1–4).
After this, comes the new heavens and the new earth, ushering in the
eternal kingdom of God. Paul describes
this time as when “Christ hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He
has abolished all rule and all authority and power” (1 Cor. 15:24). Thus, the kingdom will continue on unabated,
without end.
How do we know? That
brings us to the next point:
C.
The Proof of God’s Kingdom (v. 27)
God corroborates His claims.
He does not demand blind faith, though we don’t always have the full
picture in front of us. We see there are
three aspects to this that Darius describes.
First, he describes God has one who delivers and rescues, as
seen with His deliverance in the past. God
is never at a loss for means. He can deliver us from whatever trial we
face, even lethal ones. He can rescue us
from the mouth of that roaring lion, the devil.
If we trust Him to save our souls from damnation, then we can also trust
Him with the future!
Second, God is
one who “performs signs and wonders.” As one study notes, “Miracles are not wrought
by God to ‘show off’ but to demonstrate to a lost world that he is the true God
and should be honored.”[3] These are acts of God Almighty, attesting to
His Word, and Nebuchadnezzar also acknowledged this in Daniel 4:2–3. That these signs are “in heaven and on earth”
show that God is not limited to a particular jurisdiction like the pagan gods
are. This speaks of His total
sovereignty over both realms (cf. Phil. 2:10).
Third, God “delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.” This was “Exhibit A” for Darius, confirming
all the other stories he had heard. The
handwriting on the wall, the decree of Nebuchadnezzar, the deliverance of
Daniel’s friends, and the prophecy naming Cyrus were all further confirmed.
It is amazing that Darius came to understand all of
this. As one study notes, “In contrast
to Nebuchadnezzar, Darius did not need any dramatic humbling to arrive at this
conclusion.”[4] Darius was convinced, though, and we see that
in the final point:
IV.
Third, An Unbroken Prosperity (v. 28)
So this Daniel
enjoyed success in the reign of Darius and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.
The chapter ends with a familiar refrain. God caused Daniel to prosper (ESV, NET,
N/KJV) in this reign, just like the others.
This is the same we read of Joseph (Gen. 39:2–3, 23). God’s people can prosper through regime
change because prosperity is not merely political; it’s wrought of God.
The chapter that began with a 30-day decree against prayer
(v. 7) ends with a permanent decree for the fear of God (v. 26). The man who was cast down into the pit (v. 16)
is lifted up to prosperity in two kingdoms (v. 28). This was near the end of Daniel’s life, but
God watched over Daniel in his 80+ years of life.
If this is the end of Daniel’s life, how does the book
continue, then? Next time, we will see
that the book switches from a narrative structure to begin focusing on the
visions Daniel himself had throughout his career. We’ve already begun seeing that tonight, but
for now, let’s give some final thoughts on this passage.
V.
Conclusion
This is an incredible decree from a pagan king, one that
evidences a changed man. While he may
not have had the full knowledge of God that the rest of Scripture’s revelation
gives to us, this seems to reflect a humility and recognition of the supremacy
of God. Like Nebuchadnezzar, he may well
be a Gentile convert that we will see in glory.
This decree also serves as a
good transition point into the rest of the book. For instance, the living God here will be the
Ancient of Days in chapter 7. His indestructible
kingdom is the kingdom given to the Son of Man in the next chapter. Finally, the prosperity of Daniel becomes reflected
in the prosperity of the saints of the Highest One.
Until the end of the times of the Gentiles, there will
continue to be hungry lions. Unfortunately, the decrees still shift with
the wind, where we will sometimes shift between success and persecution. Yet, the living God still shuts mouths, still
publishes His name, and still prospers His people until the Son of Man receives
the kingdom and returns.
[1] John MacArthur Jr., Ed., The MacArthur Study Bible, electronic ed., (Nashville, TN: Word
Pub., 1997), 1238.
[2] Earl D. Radmacher, Ronald Barclay Allen, and H. Wayne
House, The Nelson Study Bible: New King
James Version, (Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers, 1997), Da 6:26.
[3] Stephen R. Miller, Daniel,
The New American Commentary, (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers,
1994), 18:189.
[4] John D. Barry, Douglas Mangum, Derek R. Brown, Michael
S. Heiser, Miles Custis, Elliot Ritzema, Matthew M. Whitehead, Michael R.
Grigoni, and David Bomar, Faithlife Study
Bible, (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012, 2016), Da 6:26.