[0:00] We can begin our evening service singing to God's praise from Psalm 103.
[0:14] Psalm 103, and we're reading from verse 17. Psalm 103, verse 17, singing through to the end of the sound.
[0:49] The Lord prepared hath his throne in heaven's firm to stand, and everything that being hath his kingdom doth command. O ye his angels that excel in strength, bless ye the Lord, ye who obey what he commands and hearken to his word.
[1:11] O bless and magnify the Lord, ye glorious hosts of his, ye ministers that do fulfil what their his pleasure is. O bless the Lord, all ye his works, wherewith the world is stored.
[1:25] In his dominions everywhere, my soul blesseth the Lord. Psalm 103, singing from verse 17 to the end.
[1:37] But unto them that do him fear, God's mercy never ends. O bless the Lord.
[2:12] 얼마나 thanen. O Christ, I seleniamo. O Jesus, I selen 연습 all the way.
[2:24] O God, O Lord, with all this once just all I am, now may you live and obey.
[2:41] The Lord be filled with love and heaven's turn to stand.
[2:58] And everything that we have, His kingdom God command.
[3:13] O ye, His angels, an excellent strength, bless thee, the Lord.
[3:28] He who all their holy, O God, and our good to His word.
[3:44] O blessed and magnified the Lord, King, glorious host of earth.
[4:00] He who all their holy, O God, and our good to His word.
[4:17] O blessed and magnified the Lord, King, glorious host of earth. O blessed and magnified the Lord, King, glorious host of earth.
[4:44] O blessed and magnified the Lord. Let us join together in prayer.
[4:55] Let us pray. O blessed God, as we come before you this evening, how we give thanks that we come to come and offer our praise and our thanks to you, our God, the God who is the giver of every good and perfect gift.
[5:17] The God who supplies our needs, be they temporal or spiritual. The one who has made provision for us, even far in excess of our asking.
[5:34] Not one of us can fully comprehend the need that we have as fallen, sinful creatures. For in our sinfulness we imagine ourselves to be something that we are not.
[5:50] We cannot see ourselves with the holy eye of God, even though we have the word that you have given to us. That is spoken of by some as a mirror where we are enabled to see ourselves.
[6:11] And the image that is before us is an image that you have cast. And yet our understanding is blighted by reason of our sinfulness.
[6:22] And our inability is manifold. It confronts us whichever way we turn. And it follows us wherever we go.
[6:34] We acknowledge that even in the night watches, that sometimes you stir up our conscience to remind us of our fallenness and of our need for forgiveness.
[6:49] The need that we have to receive mercy at your hand. And we give thanks that you are willing to do that. To keep that before our mind's eye.
[7:03] In order that we do not succumb to that foolishness that the heart of man is responsible for.
[7:14] We acknowledge, O Lord, our need of you this evening as we come together to worship. As we read your word, may it be presented to our mind's eye as the word of the living God.
[7:29] The God who sits at this very moment upon the throne of heaven and earth. Whose interest in us is precise. So much so that there is not one soul present in this place that you are not looking at, that you are not gazing upon, that you are not able to discern the deepest thoughts that we have.
[7:58] Every single one is before the eye of the God with whom we have to do. And that seems incredible to us. That you would take notice of a place such as this, so small and so insignificant in the scheme of this world's ways.
[8:16] When we know that there are other places that are of more import, perhaps, in the way things are done, the corridors of power.
[8:28] When we think of the various places of worship that there are in our cities, and some of them were presented to us in recent days at the death of our late Queen.
[8:41] The great cathedrals of our cities and the ceremonies connected with it. And yet, you are no more interested in what goes on within these places than you are in what goes on in the village halls of our communities.
[9:00] In the places and the gatherings of the few. And we give thanks for that. And that not only do you have an interest, but that interest is equally revealed to all of us through your word.
[9:16] And we give thanks for it. We pray then that you would encourage us as we read your word, as we think about what it says to us. That it may be blessed to us in accordance with what is ongoing in our lives of the present.
[9:33] Whatever that may be. We remember in your presence those who are unwell, those who have sorrows in connection with physical ailments or mental ailments.
[9:46] Those who have to contend with the sickness of others and who must care for them. In some instances, knowing that these ailments are not able to be remedied.
[10:01] We remember those who are confined to their homes because of the frailties of old age. Those who have been placed in the care of others within care homes in the communities that we belong to.
[10:15] Remember any who may be within the walls of our local hospice. And we commit to you, each one, according to need.
[10:26] Whatever that need may be. As we do that, we pray for those whose role it is to care for them. And even as they do the utmost for them, that they may know that they are the hands of God.
[10:42] And that they are the feet of God. And that they are the eyes of God. And the tongue of God. And if they are able to speak a kindness. And if they are able to bring even a drop of cold water into the experience of your people, you have promised that not one of these deeds would go unnoticed.
[11:03] By the eye of the God of heaven, as we have said. We pray then that you would remember all the needs of our communities. Remembering the grieving and the sorrowful.
[11:14] We pray for the families within our own community that have been visited in recent days by the voice of death. As that is newly felt by them.
[11:25] May the balm of your own love be shared to them. So that they would know the sound of that care.
[11:38] And we remember beyond our borders, the royal family as it continues to mourn the passing of our late queen. And we pray that all that has been done in your name would be sanctified to them.
[11:54] That they would know that there is a kingdom that is beyond the boundaries of this world. That is a kingdom that will know no end at all.
[12:05] And the king whose role is over it is a king that occupies a throne from which he will not be displaced. May their eyes be directed to him.
[12:19] And may they learn to trust in him. We remember our parliaments and pray that you would direct them. No matter our own political leanings, whatever they may be.
[12:30] It is our duty to pray for them and seek wisdom from on high. And seek direction in all that is entrusted to them.
[12:42] However foolish their reckoning may be in the great scheme of things. For the sea time has been the only thing that matters and eternal realities are kept at a distance.
[12:58] But every one of us will stand one day in the presence of God to answer for the things done in the body, good or evil. We remember in your presence the nations of the earth.
[13:13] And especially places that know the sorrows and the griefs of war. We think of Ukraine. We think of the Yemen. We think of Iran at the moment where there is a moment and an uprising of sorts.
[13:32] Where dictatorships suppress their desires to give free reign to their own desires.
[13:43] However sinful these desires may be. If they are not under the tutelage of God. We know that they will result in evil in their lives.
[13:57] No matter how evil and suppression they endure is of the present. So we pray for these nations. And we pray for the places that have had to endure the aftermath of flood or famine or whatever.
[14:15] We pray for these places and remind our God of the things that these men and women under your hands have to endure.
[14:26] We are thankful that we can bring them to your attention and that you give to us that privilege of bearing one another's burdens. And bringing them to a throne of grace seeking mercy and grace to help in time of need.
[14:42] We remember before you our communities here. Especially at a time of communion season. We think of Carloway and Crosobost and other congregations that I have met recently.
[14:55] To remember the death of Jesus Christ until he came. A privilege that is afforded us. Where faith is found that we can handle these tokens that speak to us of the sacrifice for sin given by the Son of the Most High God.
[15:19] The emblems that bring for us of the Son of the Most High God. The suffering and the loss endured. But we give thanks that as we remember him in his death we do so.
[15:32] As those who know that he is a living saviour. Ascended to the right hand of the majesty on high. And there he pleads our cause. And we give thanks for the intercession that has an hearing ear.
[15:46] Even the ear of the God with whom we have to do. Bless us then together. Bless our service. Bless our worship. Overlook anything that is not in accordance with your will.
[15:59] And pardon us in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. We are going to read in the Old Testament scriptures.
[16:10] Reading the book of Daniel. Reading in the book of Daniel. And we are reading this evening chapter 7. Daniel chapter 7.
[16:24] You can read the whole chapter. In the first year of Belshazzar, king of Babylon.
[16:36] Daniel had a dream. And visions of his head upon his bed. Then he wrote the dream. And told the son of the martyrs. Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night.
[16:51] And behold the four winds of the heaven. Prove upon the great sea. And four great beasts came up from the sea. Diverse one from another.
[17:02] The first was like a lion. And had eagle's wings. I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked. And it was lifted up from the earth. And made stand upon the feet as a man.
[17:14] And a man's heart was given to it. And behold another beast. A second like to a bear. And it raised up itself on the one side.
[17:24] And it had three ribs in the mouth of it. Between the teeth of it. And they said thus unto it. Arise, devour much flesh. After this I beheld and lo, another like a leopard.
[17:39] Which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl. The beast had also four heads. And dominion was given to it. After this I saw in the night visions.
[17:51] And behold a fourth beast. Dreadful and terrible. And strong exceedingly. And it had great iron teeth.
[18:02] It devoured and break in pieces. And stamped the residue with the feet of it. And it was diverged from all the beasts that were before it. And it had ten horns.
[18:14] I considered the horns. And behold there came up among them another little horn. Before whom there were three of the first horns.
[18:24] Plucked up by the roots. And behold in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man. And a mouth speaking great things. I beheld till the thrones were cast down.
[18:38] And the ancient of days did sit. Whose garments was white as snow. And the hair of his head was. The hair of his head like pure wool.
[18:49] His throne was like the fiery flame. And his wheels as the burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him. Thousands.
[19:01] Thousands. Thousands ministered unto him. And ten thousand times ten thousand. Stood before him. The judgment was set. And the books were opened.
[19:13] I beheld then. Because of the voice of the great words. Which the horns speak. I beheld even till the beast was slain. And his body destroyed.
[19:24] And given to the burning flame. As concerning the rest of the beast. They had their dominion taken away. Yet their lives were prolonged for a season. And time.
[19:36] I saw in the night visions. And behold one like the son of man came. With the clouds of heaven. And came to the ancient of days. And they brought him near before him.
[19:50] And there was given him dominion and glory. And a kingdom. That all people, nations and languages. Should serve him. His dominion. His dominion is an everlasting dominion.
[20:02] Which shall not pass away. And his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. I, Daniel, was grieved in my spirit. In the midst of my body.
[20:13] And the visions of my head troubled me. I came near unto one of them that stood by. And asked him the truth of all this. So he told me. And made me know the interpretation of the things.
[20:26] These great beasts. Which are four. Are four kings. Which shall arise out of the earth. But the saints of the most high. Shall take the kingdom.
[20:38] And possess the kingdom forever. Even forever and ever. Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast. Which was diverse from all the others. Exceeding dreadful.
[20:50] Whose teeth were of iron. And his nails of brass. Which devoured. Breaking pieces. And stamped the residue with his feet. And of the ten horns that were in his head.
[21:02] And of the other which came up. And before whom three fell. Even of that horn that had eyes. And a mouth that spake very great things. Whose look was more stout than his fellows.
[21:14] I beheld. And the same horn. Made war with the saints. And prevailed against them. Until the ancient of days came. And judgment was given to the saints of the most high.
[21:26] And the time came. That the saints possessed the kingdom. Thus he said. The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth.
[21:37] Which shall be diverse from all kingdoms. And shall devour the whole earth. And shall tread it down. And break it in pieces. And the ten horns out of his kingdom.
[21:48] Are ten kings that shall arise. And another shall rise after them. And he shall be diverse from the first. And he shall subdue three kings. And he shall speak great words against the most high.
[22:02] And shall wear out the saints of the most high. And think to change times and laws. And they shall be given into his hand. Until a time and times. And the dividing of time.
[22:15] But the judgment shall sit. And they shall take away his dominion. To consume and to destroy it unto the end. And the kingdom and dominion.
[22:27] And the greatness of the kingdom unto the whole heaven. Shall be given to the people of the saints. Of the most high. Whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom.
[22:38] And all dominions shall serve and obey him. Hitherto is the end of the martyr. As for me, Daniel, my cogitations much troubled me.
[22:52] And my countenance changed in me. But I kept the martyr in my heart. Amen. And may the Lord have his blessing.
[23:03] Through a reading of his word. And to his name be the praise. We're going to sing now from Psalm 65. Psalm 65.
[23:17] At the beginning. Down to the double verse marked five. Praise which for thee in Zion, Lord. To thee vows paid shall be.
[23:29] O thou that hearer art of prayer. All flesh shall come to thee. Iniquities I must confess. Prevail against me do. But as for our transgressions.
[23:40] Then purge away shalt thou. Blessed is the man whom thou dost choose. And makes the approach to thee. That he within thy courts. O Lord may still a dweller be.
[23:54] We surely shall be satisfied with thy abundant grace. And with the goodness of thy house. Even of thy holy place. O God of our salvation.
[24:06] Thou in thy righteousness. By fearful works. And to our prayers. Thine answer dost express. Therefore the ends of all the earth.
[24:17] And those of fire that be upon the sea. Their confidence. O Lord. Will place in thee. So on these verses. One to five.
[24:28] Psalm 65. Praise which for thee in Zion, Lord. To thee vows paid shall be. O thouiqu Welf.
[24:40] Peace which for thee. In Zion, Lord. To thee dois Auf dever.
[24:54] O thouvat give. Heart of fear. All flesh shall come to thee Iniquities I must on earth Revere against me too But God's foreign transgressions Then parts shall wish of thou Blessed is the man who loved us choose A mix of close to thee
[26:00] That he with thy course O Lord may still the dweller be We surely shall be satisfied With thy abundant grace And with the goodness of thy house Even of thy holy grace O God of all salvation
[27:00] Thou in thy righteousness Fly here for works Unto no prayer Thy answer not express The poor the ends of all the air And those of our that be Upon the sea Their confidence O Lord will praise in thee
[28:01] I'd like us to turn once again To the chapter that we read In the Old Testament Scriptures The book of Daniel And chapter 7 We can read at verse 9 Verse 9 I beheld till the thrones were cast down And the ancient of days did sit Whose garment was swiped as snow And the hair of his head Like the pure wool His throne was like the fiery flame And his wheels thus burning fire By a fiery stream issued And came forth from before him Thousands, thousands ministered unto him And ten thousand times Ten thousand stood before him
[29:02] The judgment was set And the books were opened And so on Most of you will know We have been working our way Chapter by chapter Really through this book of Daniel And up until this evening We have been following What is a narrative An account or a story Of events that took place As they happened But at this point In the book We notice a change And what we discovered Is that most of what Daniel Has to say Is described as apocalyptic Now what that means is That it is
[30:04] Looking forward And doing so By using Or under the influence Of visions Or Images that God Presents to his mind Whether He is awake or asleep When this Takes place The word Apocalypse If you want it You will find it At the very beginning Of the book Of the revelation And it begins The apocalypse Of John The divine The It is translated Revelation It can mean An unveiling Or Something that Was hidden Being made A claim And I suppose In a sense When you read The images
[31:04] That are brought To the attention When you read About them They are anything But plain And I suppose The temptation Is for us To look At these images Almost with the eye Of a forensic scientist Trying to Trying to Understand What All these images Mean And What they Convey to us If there is Spiritual truth Contained Within each of them Or within Every part Of The whole And There is a temptation To do that But I am not Sure If that really Is what Is expected Of us Certainly I wouldn't Venture to do it Probably Because I am not As skilled As others And I don't I lack the Imagination Of some Who would
[32:05] Look at it In such a way I know If you want To understand What is happening Here Daniel Is Under God's Hand Able to Look Into the Future And the Future That he Sees Is portrayed To him Using these Very strange Images But In our Case Not only Are we Able to Read What he Saw But he Is also Given Some Instruction As to What these Images Are meant To convey They are Not Detailed They are Not They were Not Told For example Some people Ask the Question Of One The bear Why What kind Of Mouth Does he Have Here He He's Given An Image Of
[33:05] A Beast That is Quite Strange It has Three It has Three ribs Between the Teeth Of it If you were to sit down and make a drawing of that What kind of picture would you draw A rib in the mouth Three ribs in the mouth Between the teeth How would you actually draw that How would you picture it in your mind's eye And it's difficult to do that But I don't think we're meant to do that And we're not going to Quite simply I'm not going to anyway I'm sure you've heard sermons and read sermons that may have ventured in that direction Another thing that I would say at the very outset is that Quite apart from the fact that
[34:08] That Daniel is conveying to us Truths by way of visions that God has given to him There is a clear understanding that he is not doing it sequentially Historically Historically Because if you remember last week We finished off with chapter 6 And we are We are Hearing the words of Deiris That meet Now At the beginning of this chapter What the person you find That Daniel is dealing with Is Belshazzar And He comes Historically In an earlier Time To Darius And It's clear from that
[35:09] That What Daniel is recording for us here Now remember He says That these visions were written down by him That doesn't compel him to write it There and then And to convey it to us there and then Because clearly that hasn't happened But he wrote down the vision as he saw it At the time that he saw it And then he Subsequently After The rise of Belshazzar And the demise of Belshazzar Conveyed this Truth To us Whatever Whatever The reason for that The reign of Belshazzar Was followed by Darius and Cyrus And some people even suggest that Darius and Cyrus are one of the same person But that's not Really an issue For us But What we see
[36:10] Is that At the heart of what Daniel has to Convey to us And If you bear in mind That again and again This truth was Presented to us Not by way of vision But by way of fact And that is That God Is sovereign And that God Reigns And the kingdoms That rise up And the kingdoms That come to an end All do so Under the sovereign Overrule Of God If you remember Last week The concluding statement That came from The mouth of Darius Was that Concerning The God of Daniel He is the living God Steadfast forever And his kingdom That that That which shall not be destroyed His dominion Shall be
[37:10] Even unto the end That comes From the mouth Of someone Who is A stranger To God In In a real sense But he is still In a position Where he acknowledges that So I think That's where we must Begin We begin To look at this Vision Remembering That while All the parts Of it May be Of interest To us And they Cannot be Ignored That The truth That is Presented To us Is a truth That belongs To this whole Passage Of the whole Book And that is That The events That have taken Place In the experience Of Daniel Have taken Place Under God's Direction He is The one Who ensures The safety Of Daniel And under The sovereign
[38:11] Overrule Of God Daniel's safety Was assured And Daniel's Rise To fame And prosperity And influence Was possible And that Not only Governs the Past It governs The present And it Governs The future However Far into That future You may Gaze God is Able to Say That he Knows What the Future Holds So When we Look At this Passage We are Looking at The unfolding Of events And the Four beasts That are Described The lion The bear The leopard And the Fourth beast That is there Which isn't Given a name I don't think Each of them
[39:11] Have characteristics That mark Them out In the Role That their Kingdom Has Perhaps Perhaps The nature Of their Kingdom Is highlighted By the Things That That are Said Of them Now I Don't know If that is True or Not If you Look at If you Were to To Examine The Role The Role The reigns Of these Kings Which are Represented By these Beasts If you Were going To Look at Them Analytically You might Find You might Find that Some of The things The Description That is Given to You of The beast That it May be Reflected In the Kind of Kingdom That they Ruled Over Or the Kind of Rule that They carried Out
[40:11] Now I Don't have Enough Detail About it And I'm Not really Sure if it Is relevant For us To Go into That detail To see If The images That we Have of These Beasts Is reflected In that Way Or not But one Thing that Daniel tells Us is that There are Four kings And four Kingdoms And most Of the Evangelical Commentators Say these Four kingdoms Are very Simply Recognised In the History of The world The kingdom Of Babylon The Medo Persian Kingdom Followed by The Grecian Kingdom Followed then By the Roman Kingdom A period That is Recognizably Seen In The These Nations And The king
[41:12] That ruled Over them Coming to Power And Dominating The world Or the world As they knew it As far as They were able To To But the Fact of The matter Is that When we Think of These four Kingdoms And we Think of The fact That there Are four That itself Should remind Us or teach Us that These kingdoms Are like Every other Earthly Kingdom They Will Come To An End They Will Prosper For a Time And Then That Prosperity Will Be Brought To a Conclusion Sometimes Quite Quickly Sometimes They May Last For a Time But The Time That they Have Is Limited That's A simple Truth But it's A truth Nevertheless And you Don't Have to Know The history Of the World To know That All you Have to
[42:12] Know Is Even In the 21st Century You Look Back At The Rise Of Various Powers And How They Probably Saw World Dominion In Some Way Shape Or Form Whether It's The Soviet Union Or Germany Before Then You See These Powers Rise Up And Then They Are Brought To An End Now Some People Look At This Passage And They Are Able To Pin Point In Their Thinking With Great Accuracy What Daniel Is Saying And They Identify Especially In The Later Vision The Vision Of The Beast That Is Not Given A Name They They See The Current Situation And They See For Example The
[43:13] When You Understand Rome To Be That Beast And Then The Ten The Number Ten That Comes After That The Satellite States Almost Satellite Kingdoms That Follow On From Rome They Would See And Some Quite Happy To Suggest That The Present Or The Recent Division Of The European Community And They Recognize That As Something That Exists And That It Could Be Suggested As Being A Part Of Daniel's Vision Now We Don't Need To Go Into That Kind Of Understanding To Appreciate The Lesson That Daniel Wishes To Convey To Us Which Is Preeminently The Place That God Has In This World A Place That Cannot Be And Will Not Be Usurped
[44:13] By Any Other No Martyr The The Powers That Rise Up Stuart Oliot Just To Give You An Example And Stuart Oliot Is A Reformed Preacher And He Suggests For Example That Verse 24 The Ten Horns Out Of This Kingdom Are Ten Kings That Shall Arise And Another Shall Rise After Them And He Shall Be Diver From The First And He Shall Subdue The Three Kings Or Subdue Three Kings I Don't For One Moment Say To You That That Is Not Difficult To Understand What The Detail Of That But Oliot Suggests That The Fourth Kingdom Which We Suggested Was The Roman Empire Is
[45:13] Followed By Those That Are Founded Upon That Empire But Not Necessarily Rome Itself It It Ours It Ours Its Origin To The Influence Of Rome But Not Necessarily Being Rome And It Builds Upon That Foundation If You Like And It Is Varied In The Way That It Manifests Itself In The History Of The World And The Number Ten We Can Think Well If You Insist On That Being Exactly Ten Kingdoms I Think Again People Find Themselves In Great Difficulty Because On One Level They're Saying This Is A Vision This Is Something That Is Apocalyptic This Is Something That Is Looking At God's God's Provision
[46:14] And God's Plans And God's Way Of Working Things Out And He's Brought It To Our Attention In This Mystical Way In This Mysterious Way And Yet They Latch On To Specific Numbers And Say Well This Will Happen In Ten Years Or Ten Thousand Years Or Whatever Insist That These Numbers Can Be Understood In That Way Now Very Often When It Comes To Apocalyptic Writing You'll Find It In In The Book Of Revelation For Example You'll Find It In The Book Of Ezekiel Where Numbers Are Taken In Some Numbers Are Used To Suggest Perfection Three For Example Or Seven Or Ten Are Numbers That Frequently Occur And They Are Usually Suggestive Of The Perfection And Or Something Perfect Three Corresponds To The Trinity For
[47:14] Example So Some People Say Where We Find The Number Three Then It Is Suggestive Of The Perfections Of The Trinity So The Number Cannot Be Meant To Be Understood Literally Nor Is It Meant To Be Understood That Ten Is Meant Literally Ten Is More Whatever It Is Whoever It Is Whatever The Kingdom Is Whatever The Power Is And If You Think From The Dissolution Of The Roman Empire As Far As It Being A World Power There There There Are Many Who Have Built Upon What Rome Established And They Themselves Have Established Kingdoms Very Powerful Influential Kingdoms On What Rome Established Before Them But They In Turn Came To Nothing They In Turn Came To An End And That Is What I Think We Need To Remember That What
[48:15] Daniel Is Seeing Here And What God Conveys Through The Vision That Is Given To Daniel Is The Fact That Is Conveyed Again And Again Throughout This That God Is The Only God And King Who Remains The Same If We Look Closely At The Pages Of History We Might See Elements That Are Conveyed To Us Here Fulfilled And We Say Well That's What It Means And This Is How It Means That And Doesn't Stop People From Being Very Inventive In Their Interpretation Of It What We Must State As The Obvious And If We Lose Sight Of The Obvious Then We Do The Scripture An Injustice There Is The Greatest Difference Between Where Men Reign And Where God Reigns We Are To Remember And Always Keep Before
[49:15] Our Mind's Eye That Whoever Rules Wherever They Rule Whenever They Rule Their Reign Is By God's Ordination By God's Appointment He Is The One Who Establishes These Men Even Within The Scripture You Find That God Gives Permission If You Like He He Allows Even The Most Spiritually Vacuous Individuals To Attain To Greatness In Order To Bring His Own People To Heal If That Is The Need Of The Lord Now The Role Of Man Is Exercised No Further Than God Permits Whereas His Kingdom
[50:16] Will Endure And Much Of What Daniel Has Already Said What He Has Already Declared You Find It For Example Many Of The Commentators Say To Us That In If You Remember In Chapter Two When Daniel Was Speaking To Nebuchad Neser He He He Spoke About The Role And The Reign Of God If You Like And He Reminds The King Of A Truth That Is Before Us The Kingdom Of God Is 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 Kingdom And It Shall Stand Forever And
[51:16] In our Day and Generation In our Experience Today When we When we See the Kingdom That we Belong To Change A change Of Power If you Like A new King The The The The Long Established Reign Of Queen Elizabeth Has Come To An End After 70 Years And That Itself Has Implications For Us As A Nation But Inevitably That Was The Way It Was Going To Be There's No Question About It There's No Way That It Could Be Anything Other Than That But That Is Not The Way It Is With God That Is Not How God Sees It And He Reminds Us Of That And It Tells Us Something About Ourselves When We Need To Be Reminded Of It Now John Owen The Puritan Has A Way With Words As We've Often Said
[52:16] And He Looks At These Kings These Kingdoms And He Looks At The Description That Is Given To Us Of These Kingdoms And You Know When We Look At How The Description Comes At The Beginning Of Chapter Seven Four Great Beasts Came Up From The Sea Diverse One From The Other And In Verse Two The Four Winds Of The Heaven Strolled Upon The Great Sea How Does That Work Have You Ever Seen Two You've All Been On The Minch Haven't You I Very Much Doubt If You Haven't But According To Those Who Sail The Minch There's A Part Of The Minch Where You See Two Contrary Currents Meet Right In The Middle And The I'm
[53:17] Not A Sailor But I'll Tell You I Know Exactly When It Hits That Patch In The Minch The The Boat Begins To Toss And Roll Even In Calm Weather These Two Currents Are There And They're In Conflict Now The The The Picture That We Have Here Is Seemingly An Impossible One You've Got Four Winds And They're In Conflict And It Seems An Impossibility That Four Winds Could Simultaneously Work Together And Yet That's The Image That Is Conveyed To Daniel And What Owen Says About This He Says Wind And Seas What Waves What Horrible Storms What Making Of Heaven And Earth What Confusion And Destruction Must Ensue The Fierce
[54:17] Contest Of All Contrary Winds On The Great Sea Such Are The Springs Of Empire And Governments For The Most Part Amongst Men Such Their Entrances And Advancement Wars Tumults Confusions Blood Destruction Desolation Were The Seeds Of Their Greatness In Other Words Where He Sees These Nations Where He Sees These Kingdoms It Is Inevitable That They Will Come To Nothing Because He Sees Them As Described Here By Daniel He Sees Where They Have Come From They Have Come To Power By The Application Power And Soon That Power Will Run Out And Another Power Greater Than Their Own Will Come To
[55:18] Being And Future Past Prophecy Sees Sees That And Is Is Is Able To Identify That Whether It Is In The Immediate Future Or Even Interpreting The Recent Past But Some People As I've Said And We Mentioned All You Just One Of Them They See The Little Horn That Is Spoken Of Here And They See The Future Of This Fourth Kingdom As The Kingdom That Exists Between The Roman Kingdom As And The Future When The Son Of Man Will Come In His Power They See The Gap There And The Ten Kingdoms Whatever It Is That Fills That Gap
[56:18] And Oliot Maintains Amongst Others That This Little Horn That Prophet Referred To That Daniel Referred To Is The Power That Is At Work In The World Against The Gospel Against The Coming Son Of Man And That There Is Going To Be A Time When The Antichrist Or The The Power That Is Going To Oppose The Gospel Revealed In One Man In One Person That Is What Is Suggested By That Or At Least Some People See That Paul's Interpretation Of What Lies In The Future Involves The Coming Of Antichrist Involves The Coming
[57:18] Of The Man Of Sin Involves The Coming Of Someone In Which This Anti Christian Spirit Is Lodged Against The Power Of The Gospel Now Whether We Can Go So Far As To Say This Is What Daniel Is Saying Or Not We Have To As I Said We Have To Guard Against It It Is Not Interpreted The Ten Horns Out Of This Kingdom Are Ten Kings That Shall Arise And Another Shall Rise After Them That Shall Be Diverged From The First And He Shall Subdue Three Kings He Shall Speak Great Words Against The Most High Shall Wear Out The Saints Of The Most High And Think To Change Times And Laws And They Shall Be Given Into his Hand At Times And Times The Divide Times I Can't I Can't Simplify That I Don't Pretend To Be Able To But The Suggestion Is By
[58:19] Some At Least That This Is Finding Its Focus And Its Interpretation In The In The Interim Before The Coming Of The Son Of Man In His Power But There Is An Image There That Is Conveyed To Us By Daniel Where He Is Also Given A Vision Of Glory He Is Given A Vision Of Heaven Itself And The Images Of Divine Judgment I Believe If You Remember The Similar Passage That We Have In The New Testament Scriptures In The Book Of Revelation John The Divine Is Able To Look Into Heaven And What Does He See He Sees A Throne Where Four And Twenty Seats And Upon The Seats I Saw Four And Twenty Elders Sitting Clothed In White Raiment And
[59:19] They Had On Their Heads Crowns Of Gold And Out Of The Throne Proceeded Lightnings And Thunderings And Voices And There Were Seven Lamps Of Fire Burning Before The Throne Which Are The Seven Spirits Of God And So On It's As If This This Revelation This Manifestation That Is Given To Daniel Allows Him For A Moment To Glance Into Glory Itself And He Sees A Heavenly Court And He Sees Thrones And He Sees One Sitting On The Throne Which Can Only Be The God Of Heaven And Earth Matthew Henry Refers To A Rabbinic Understanding Of What Daniel Is Saying And He Says These Two Thrones You've Got God Sitting On The Throne And Alongside The Throne There Is One Who Is The Son Of David But It Is A
[60:19] Rabbinic Not A Biblical Understanding But We Do Know That The Scripture Through The Prophecies Of Daniel And The Vision Of Daniel Point To A Picture Which We Can Hardly Begin To Understand The Glory That Is Spoken Of I Think Matthew Henry Himself Speaks Of The Glories Of God His Glorious Presence The Infinite Nature Of His Being The Brightness That Is Impenetrable The Glory That Cannot Be Fathened Or Measured The Majesty That Is Awful The Dominion That Is Without End All Of These Things You Could Say And You're At Liberty To Say Because It Is True You know The Psalm That We Were Seeing Psalm 103 What Does The Psalmist See He He He He He He Sees What God Allows Him To See Of The Glory That Cannot Be Measured
[61:19] And We Cannot Even Begin To To To Understand The Significance Of It And Here In This Passage When Daniel Is Speaking Of It From Verse Nine Onwards There Are Many Things There When A Fiery Strain Meshire And Came Forth From Before Him Thousand Thousands Ministered Unto Him Ten Thousand Times Ten Thousand Stood Before Him The Judgment Was Set And The Books Were Opened That Picture Are We Meant To Literally Understand What That Picture Conveys I Think It's A Picture Of Greatness A Picture That Is Awesome A Picture That Describes To Us The Myriad Hosts Of Angels In The Presence Of A Holy God Who Are Destined To Serve Him For Time In Memorial And God's Activity On The Throne Is An Activity Where Judgment Is
[62:19] Clearly Before Him Some Of The Divines Would Suggest Otherwise There Is The Understanding By Son For Example That What God Is Doing Here Is Really When It Speaks Of The Otherness Of God Or The Holy Otherness Of God That It Is Really Just Describing To Us Something Something That We Already Know Something That We Already Understand That We Shouldn't You Know Extend Our Overextend Ourselves In Trying To Imagine What Is Before Us But I Think Language Limits Our Experience Because Language Is Not Sufficient To Describe The Indescribable And Yet This Is What Daniel
[63:20] Does The Hair Of His Head Like Pure Wool His Garments White As Snow This Is The Invisible God He's Talking About Truly And Yet He Is The Ancient Of Days Some Of The Older Divine Say No You Can't Talk About Him As The Ancient Of Days Because It Simply Means That He Was Old And Yet Others Say That He Was Somebody Who Was Eternal The Ancient Of Days Somebody Who Has No Beginning And No End Well Again You Have Liberty To Explore That But Daniel Is Conveying To Us A Picture Of A God Who Is Sitting On A Throne That He Occupies The The Tense That Is Used Is A Tense That Requires Us To Understand That It Is A Rule That Is Ongoing
[64:21] It Does Not Change It Does Not End He Will Not Demit Office He Will Not Transfer Power To Another He Will Not Lay Down A Scepter In Order For Another To Lift It Up He Sits On The Throne And His Reign Is Eternal And He Keeps A And He Keeps A Debate Amongst The Divines Which Just What Is This Note That He Is Keeping There What Is This Record The Books That Are Opened The Judgment That Was Set And Some This Is Referring To The Kings This Is Referring To These Beasts And Their Accountability To God Without Question Don't Be Into Any Illusion About That Whether You're A King Or Whether You're A Pauper Accountability
[65:22] Is Yours To God And A Sovereign Is No More Allowed To Think That They Are Not Answerable To God Than Any One Of Us Is Now Whether That Is The Case Or Whether It Is Just A Picture Of What Will Take Place At The General Resurrection When The Books Will Be Open Elsewhere In The Scripture We Are Taught That The Prophet Isaiah Says Of God Who Among Us Shall Dwell Among The Devouring Fire Who Among Us Shall Dwell Amongst The Everlasting Burning This Is The Holy God The God Who Is A God Of Exceeding Great Power And Great Holiness Maybe You're Disappointed With An
[66:23] Endeavour To Understand Some Of The Things That This Passage Possesses It's Well Worth Your While To Think About It For Yourself To Look At These Images To Try And Find For Yourself What These Images Are Me To Convey I Believe At The Heart Of What God Is Saying All Are Subject To Me I Am The King Of Kings And That Will Not Change And Kingdoms May Rise And Kingdoms May Disappear God Invites To Remember That Let Us Pray Return God We Give Thanks That You Are Indeed The Lord God Omnipotent Who Reigns And That Your Kingdom Loves No End And We Repeat That And We Remember It And We Pray That You Would Allow Us To Bring That To Your Attention Even In Our Prayers
[67:24] And In Our Praises Grant To Us A Sense Of That That Where We Are You Know That Precise Moment What Is True Of Us And That Not One Of Them Not One Of Your People That's Outside Of Your Gaze Or Any Other Beside Grant Mercy For Our Sins In Jesus Name Amen Closing Psalm 89 Psalm 89 And Verse 5 The Praises Of Thy Wonders Lord The Heaven Shall Express And In The Congregation Of Saints Thy Faithfulness For Who In Heaven With The Lord May Once Himself Compare Who Is Like God Among The Sons Of Those That Mighty Are Great Fear In Meeting Of The Saints Is Due Into The Lord And He Of All
[68:24] About Him Should With Reverence Be Adored O Thou That Art The Lord Of Host What Lord In Mightiness Is Like To The Who Camp Bust Round Art With Thy Faithfulness These Verses The Praises Of Thy Wonders Lord The Heavens Shall Express The Faces Of Thy Wonders Lord The Heavens Shall Express And In The Conflation Of Change Thy Will Mend Ro X For Who In Heaven Will The Lord Be All
[69:25] And Stell Comfort Who Is Thy God Among The High Amen.
[70:09] Amen. I pray to thee the compass crown, God with thy faithfulness.
[70:56] Amen.