[0:00] I want to encourage you to turn to Daniel chapter 7. Providentially, we're here in Daniel chapter 7.
[0:11] ! There was supposed to be another message, another person preaching on this day, and we weren't going to actually cover Daniel chapter 7.
[0:22] Quite honestly, I was trying to avoid all of the apocalyptic literature. That is just a confession. I wanted to stay in the spaces that were a little bit easier, but here we are. We're in Daniel chapter 7, and we're going to try to kind of bring the theme of Daniel 7 to 12, which really speaks about this coming kingdom, this eternal kingdom of God, kind of bringing it home to us and provide some implications.
[0:49] What does it mean that the Ancient of Days is establishing his throne? Why does it matter that the Son of Man is the one who is receiving this kingdom?
[1:00] What does that do for us in the here and now? And really, providentially, this is the theme that kind of runs its way through the entire book of Daniel. Daniel, and so here we are. We're at Daniel chapter 7, and it will be, I trust, a blessing to all of us as we come to remember who God is and what God plans to do in establishing his kingdom on the earth.
[1:26] You know, the world has been fascinated by the future. It's always been fascinated with what is coming, what's going to happen, what do we know is going to be taking place in the future here?
[1:37] Every age has been marked by those who have had, or at least assumed to have, some ability to forecast the future. From ancient Greece, it was a priestess who prophesied at a place called Pytho.
[1:53] In the 1500s, it was a man named Nostradamus who seemed to predict the London fire or the French Revolution. In the 1900s, a woman rose to prominence. Her name was Jean Dixon.
[2:09] And she is said to have been able to predict the JFK assassination. She advised President Roosevelt during World War II and also Richard Nixon. Oprah says that she was instrumental in forecasting her rise to fame.
[2:25] But the question is, was she really the kind of forecaster that is worth trusting? In 1964, she assured her readers that the war in Vietnam would be over in 1965, just a year later.
[2:43] When it wasn't over in 1965, she predicted it was going to happen and finish in 1966. When it didn't happen in 1966, she gave up. And 10 years later, in 1975, the Vietnam War finally came to conclusion.
[3:00] In 1958, she predicted that in that year, Red China and the United States would be at war with each other. And here we are, some 60 plus years later, and still not at war.
[3:12] In 1959, she predicted that Red China would be admitted to the United Nations. That wouldn't happen for another 12 years until 1971.
[3:24] In 1964, she predicted that Walter Ruther would be the candidate for president. Well, he didn't even run for president. In February of 1968, she predicted that the Democratic nominee for president would be Lyndon Johnson.
[3:41] It was actually Hubert Humphrey. In 1968, she predicted that before the election, Dean Rusk would resign as Secretary of State. He didn't. In 1967, she predicted that there would be a cure for cancer in that year.
[3:57] And on and on it went. I suppose that you make enough predictions, eventually one of them will come true. But we are a people who are fascinated by the future.
[4:10] Weather, in particular. We want to know what this coming week is going to be. Is it going to be cooler or is it going to continue to be warm? We have things like the Farmer's Almanac that seeks to predict weather patterns.
[4:23] And what will this next season look like? We have things like Groundhog Day to predict whether winter will last longer or spring will come sooner.
[4:35] Of course, we have predictions about investments or predictions about sports. Many of you probably are part of things like March Madness. We really want to know what the future holds.
[4:49] Some of us even really enjoy those fortune cookies at Chinese restaurants. What does my fortune have for me today? We want to know what's coming.
[5:02] We want to anticipate this future. We want to make sense of the uncertainty. And what we're going to find in our passage today in the book of Daniel is that God will lay out, once again, this pattern of future events for Daniel that are history for us.
[5:19] And he lays them out in such specificity that it is without question the word of God. And God has come to demonstrate his integrity of not only knowing what the future holds, but being able to work out the details of the future.
[5:38] It is this single fact that helps to establish and to distinguish God from any other supernatural being. In Isaiah chapter 46, verses 9 and 10, God says this of himself.
[5:51] He says, Remember the former things of old, for I am God. There is no other. I am God. There is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand.
[6:08] I will accomplish all my purposes. It is God's predictive power, his knowledge of the future, and his ability to work those details out that helps to establish, once and for all, that God is who he says he is.
[6:25] God is the God in heaven. He is the one true God. The only God. And as we'll see in our passage today, these predictions, these promises that God makes will begin to come to fruition.
[6:39] Things that were predicted 2,500 years ago and hundreds of years before they actually occurred help to demonstrate that God is who he says he is.
[6:51] As we come to our passage this morning in Daniel chapter 7, we're going to begin to see this rise and fall of empires. The rise and fall of empires that will begin here in verse 1 and kind of sets the context for us.
[7:07] I'm not going to read all of these verses but help to describe them for us as we move along the way. The rise and fall of empires. First, in verse 1, it says this, In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel saw a dream and visions of his head as he lay in his bed.
[7:27] Then he wrote down the dream and told the sum of the matter. In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon. Now, right here at the very beginning of our time together, we need to kind of pause mentally because as we were in Daniel chapter 6 last week, we were now in the Persian empire and Darius was the king.
[7:50] Now, all of a sudden, we're going back in history and Daniel's beginning to spell out this promise, this vision that he receives during this first year of Belshazzar. We're back in the Babylonian empire.
[8:02] We're back underneath the reign of Belshazzar. Nebuchadnezzar would reign from 605 to 562, about 42, 43 years.
[8:14] And the subsequent kings that would come after him, finally leading to Nabonidus, who was Belshazzar's father, Nabonidus would reign for about 17 years in total, but in his third reign, Belshazzar would become his co-regent.
[8:33] So we're about 14 years away from Daniel chapter 6 moving back in history, about 14 years into history. The book of Daniel is silent about what Daniel has done during this time.
[8:50] We do get a glimpse of the fact that he was a part of some sort of administrative responsibilities. We look at Daniel chapter 8, verse 27, and it suggests that he was about the king's business.
[9:04] But for all intents and purposes, Daniel has faded into the background. Daniel has almost been driven into obscurity. His faithfulness to serve the king's business is still evident, but he is not in the forefront as he was before.
[9:20] This is important for us to consider right at the outset of our time together. It's important for us to recognize that God has other plans for Daniel during this at least 14-year stretch, and probably as long as 23 years.
[9:36] It's been 23 years since Nebuchadnezzar ceased from power. But it's important to note that while Daniel is removed from position, Daniel is not removed from usefulness.
[9:53] Daniel might not be in the forefront, but God has plans for Daniel, how to use Daniel instrumentally during this season. Daniel in chapter 7 to 12 will have a series of visions that will be significant to kind of paint the timeline of future kingdoms that will rise and fall.
[10:13] And what we find from chapter 7 to 12 is these visions and interpretations that spell out these subsequent kingdoms leading ultimately to the kingdom of God, this eternal kingdom that is in view.
[10:26] God sends this confirming word to Daniel regarding God's future reign, a reign that he has already revealed in some measure to Nebuchadnezzar back in Daniel chapter 2, this vision of this image that is glistening in the sun with all of these metallic properties.
[10:47] Now confirming this testimony to Daniel here in chapter 7 using different symbols. The timing of this vision is significant. About 180 years before this vision, the northern ten tribes were essentially decimated and captured and absorbed into the Assyrian Empire.
[11:06] And now here are the remaining two tribes of Judah and Benjamin in captivity now in Babylon. It would have been very easy for those living in exile to think, has God's promises to his people failed?
[11:23] Is God able to make good on his word to Abraham and to David? Has God forgotten about us? Does God really care about our situation?
[11:36] And God will reveal this vision to Daniel not only to confirm his word from the past, but to help encourage and establish this continuing promise of God establishing his kingdom sometime in the future.
[11:52] His word has not failed. Daniel 2 will describe the various kingdoms that will rise and fall, Babylon being the head of gold, Media Persia being the arms and chest of silver, Greece being the waist and thighs of bronze, and Rome being the legs of iron.
[12:13] And now transitioning to Daniel chapter 7. Those same kingdoms in the same order are now described in a different way. We find in verse 4 of chapter 7, notice Babylon that's described as the lion with eagle's wings.
[12:29] In verse 5, Media Persia is described as a bear raised up on one side with ribs in his mouth. Greece is described in verse 6 as a leopard with four wings and four heads.
[12:41] Rome, in verse 7, is described as a beast with iron teeth which devoured and broke in pieces and crushed everything with its feet. The section concludes with verse 8.
[12:53] In verse 8 of chapter 7, we find, I considered the horns and behold there came up among them another horn. One little horn before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots.
[13:07] And behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of men and a mouth speaking great things. This horn represents this future leader.
[13:19] A future leader of this future kingdom who has eyes of a man which helped indicate his wisdom, helped indicate his intellectual superiority, his genius, as it were, and his mouth that speaks great things.
[13:37] His ability to influence with words, to articulate and to capture attention. His ability to wow the crowd, as it were, to gain a following so that the entire world seems to be under his sway.
[13:52] Meanwhile, while all of this is taking place on the earth through these kingdoms, we find this hurry and activity on the earth is now contrasted by this calmness and activity that's taking place in heaven.
[14:09] And that's our next major point this morning where we're going to spend the bulk of our time. We're going to see now the glorious king and his coming kingdom. The glorious king and his coming kingdom beginning in verse 9.
[14:21] Notice, As I looked, thrones were placed and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was white as snow. The hair of his head like pure wool.
[14:33] His throne was fiery flames. Its wheels were burning fire. A stream of fire issued and came out from before him. A thousand thousands served him and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him.
[14:47] The court sat in judgment and the books were opened. As we make our way through these next several verses, I want to just draw attention to the various features of this king and the various features of his kingdom moving through them one by one.
[15:06] We see there at the beginning of verse 9 his throne. His throne. As I looked, thrones were placed. It says right there at the beginning. These thrones that were placed is in the intensive form of the grammar.
[15:22] This action that has happened in the past that has present and future results. Immediately we come to understand that whatever is taking place in heaven seems to be independent, seems to be removed from the things that are taking place on the earth.
[15:39] That whatever kingdom is taking place and being established in heaven is not built upon the kingdoms of the earth but is separate. It's removed. It's not built on the previous kingdom.
[15:53] It's not a throne that had been previously occupied. It's not a kingdom that has been overthrown in any way and a new power has come. This kingdom is being established separately.
[16:05] this kingdom and this throne that's set up seems to always have been waiting for the right time and the right place and now in Daniel chapter 7 the time is right.
[16:18] you get the sense that whatever is happening here is happening independent of the situations that are taking place on earth but as those things are happening now the right time has come for this king to establish his throne.
[16:33] The throne is being put in place and the ancient of days will take his seat as we find in the next part of verse 9. First his throne and now his name the ancient of days.
[16:46] As I look thrones were placed the ancient of days took his seat. This title has obvious implications. Refers to his eternality of this king.
[16:58] It refers to only God himself as the ancient of days. Before the beginning of the world his pre-existing quality his authority this king now comes into the forefront.
[17:11] Of course we know that God's authority his reign on the earth has been established since the beginning of creation. that God has always been the one to oversee and to provide authority over all the earth.
[17:24] We find that throughout the entire Old Testament but especially in the Psalms. Psalm 45 verse 6 will point to the enduring quality of God's throne and he says your throne oh God is forever and ever the scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of righteousness.
[17:42] righteousness. In Psalm 47 verse 8 it says God reigns over the nations God sits on his holy throne. In Psalm 93 verses 1 and 2 the Lord reigns he is robed in majesty the Lord is robed he has put on strength as his belt yes the world is established it shall never be moved your throne is established from of old you are from everlasting.
[18:09] Psalm 99 1 the Lord reigns let the peoples tremble he sits in throne upon the cherubim let the earth quake Isaiah chapter 6 verse 5 this is the scene where Isaiah is standing before the throne and the cherubim cry holy holy holy and Isaiah in response says this woe is me for I am lost I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips for my eyes have seen the king the Lord of hosts the prophet Isaiah will say in chapter 33 verse 22 for the Lord is our judge the Lord is our lawgiver the Lord is our king it is he who will save us God's kingdom has been from ancient of days from the very beginning the enduring quality of his reign has always existed he rules heaven and earth his authority and power have been from before the world even began now the ancient of days will take his place on his throne the time has come for him to exert his authority in a real intangible way he is the ancient of days in the next couple verses will see several of the features of his kingdom his features verse 9 it says
[19:44] I looked the throne were placed and the ancient of days took his seat his clothing was white as snow the hair of his head like pure wool his throne was a fiery flame its wheels were burning fire a stream of fire issued and came out from before him a thousand thousands served him and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him the court sat in judgment the books were opened these features of the ancient of days that we'll touch on just briefly first his clothing that points to his perfection to his righteousness his clothing was white as snow symbolizing his purity signifying his justice signifying his perfection his purity white as snow we're familiar with this phrase lifted out of Psalm 51 verse 7 that speaks to purity purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean wash me and I shall be whiter than snow all that God does is right all that God does is good all that God does is righteous and pure and one of the key components of his kingdom in contrast with the kingdoms of this world is he is righteous his righteousness stands as a core component of his kingdom in Psalm 89 verse 14 it says righteousness and justice are the foundations of your throne steadfast love and faithfulness go before you
[21:23] God's rule is marked by purity by righteousness and perfection there is no hint of immorality of corruption of immorality he is pure his hair now points to his wisdom also purity is coming through but it's amplifying the significant point of his wisdom as well the hair of his head like pure wool the image of this ancient of days having pure white hair is similar to the picture that we get in Revelation chapter 1 verse 14 speaking of Christ so that Christ in the ancient of days shared this quality the hairs of his head were white like wool like snow his eyes were like a flame of fire and throughout the Proverbs we come to understand the significance of a white or a gray head that resembles this elderly individual and the wisdom that they have and all throughout the book of Daniel we see attention that is drawn to the wisdom and knowledge and understanding of the God of Jacob
[22:35] Daniel chapter 2 verses 20 to 22 this is in response to Daniel Daniel has asked for the interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's dream and when God reveals this interpretation Daniel praises God with this prayer notice he says he answers and says blessed be the name of God forever and ever to whom belong wisdom and might he changes times and seasons he removes kings and sets up kings he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding he reveals deep and hidden things he knows what is in the dark and light dwells with him God's wisdom and knowledge again are one of the foundations of his throne one of the foundations of his rule he is not limited in understanding he is fully informed so that every decision that God makes every action that he puts into place is informed by the information his foreknowledge of all the events everything is exposed nothing is hidden from his sight so that in Psalm 139 12 the psalmist says even the darkness is not dark to you the night is bright as the day for darkness is light with you next we find his throne his throne which points to his right to judge his throne which points to his right to judge his throne he says was a fiery flame its wheels were a burning fire fire is often a picture of either judgment or purification and so
[24:16] God is after the purity of his people and he promises to judge those who are wicked those who stand outside of his law Hebrews chapter 12 verses 28 and 29 in speaking about the kingdom of God says therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship with reverence and awe for our God is a consuming fire God is the one to whom we are accountable and God will rightly judge those who disobey the wheels that are here you can imagine wheels as if they were on a chariot and they are reminiscent of what we find in Ezekiel chapter 1 the wheel that's spinning within a wheel and it is helps to represent the action and the engagement this living God who is present who is active who is engaged in life and affairs motion is purifying and judging authority of God next we see a stream of fire which points to his authority it says a stream of fire issued and came out before him this fire comes out from before God it exerts authority on the earth it does not just remain with him this river of fire coming from the throne describes God's judgment as being poured out upon the wicked particularly upon the kingdom of the little horn and the beast when Christ returns the ministry of Jesus was described in this way
[25:55] John the Baptist will say of Jesus in Luke chapter 3 verse 16 John says I baptize you with water but he who is mightier than I is coming the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire that fire signifying the judgment that Christ would bring through his ministry Paul in writing to Timothy will say in 2nd Timothy 4 1 he says I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus who is to judge the living and the dead and by his appearing and his kingdom God is the judge and every one of us are accountable to the judge his authority next we find his servants his servants which point to his glory and notice a thousand thousands served him and 10,000 times 10,000 stood before him this innumerable number of servants that are standing and serving before the ancient of days throughout the scripture we see this host of heaven and the angelic servants of God standing before him in service
[27:11] Revelation 5 11 says then I looked I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands of course those angels will be accompanied by a host of people who will also be ushered into heaven Revelation chapter 7 verses 9 and 10 I looked and behold a great multitude that no one could number from every nation from all tribes and peoples and languages standing before the throne and before the lamb clothed in white robes and palm branches in their hands and crying out with a loud voice salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the lamb the glory of God the servants who stand before him in worship both from the angelic hosts and also from the representation of peoples and nations and languages who have given their heart to him because of faith in Jesus for what Christ accomplished on the cross his death his resurrection and the invitation that is available to us salvation belongs to our God this morning do you know the God of heaven do you know the ancient of days have you come to a place in your life of recognizing your sin asking for forgiveness and understanding that salvation only belongs to him will you be part of the company of those who on this day in Revelation chapter 7 stand before the ancient of days and worship before his throne next we find his courts and books that point to his impartiality the books in court that point to his impartiality it says the court sat in judgment and the books were opened there's not only a throne that we see here in this vision but we see in judgment that's taking place accountability that's happening the judge will take his seat on the and judge the nations and throughout the scriptures we understand that God's judgments are not arbitrary
[29:27] God's judgments are certain they're based on facts he does not judge on a whim he does not judge with partiality he judges in a way that is discerning and unbiased he records the activities of words and works in his book in his scroll a number of passages that we could go to but the ones that stand out the most are in Revelation chapter 20 verses 12 and 15 I saw the dead great and small standing before the Lord or before the throne and the books were opened then another book was opened which is the book of life and the dead were judged by what was written in the books according to what they had done and if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life he was thrown into the lake of fire is your name written in the book of life have you enjoyed the forgiveness and cleansing that comes from God himself and God alone has God washed you and blotted out though our sins are as scarlet they shall be made white as snow we find in Isaiah that's the promise for all who place their trust in him now we come to his power his power which is captured for us in verses 11 and 12 now it looks back at this picture that was happening in verse 8 this horn that is promoting itself and notice in verse 11
[30:58] I looked because of the sound of the great words that the horn was speaking and as I looked the beast was killed its body destroyed and given over to be burned with fire as for the rest of the beast their dominion was taken away but their lives were prolonged for a season in a time we don't have time to go into the details of this vision but there are some things that we can know for certain first we discover that this chapter is speaking about this final leader of this final kingdom we saw in verse 8 his unrivaled power we saw in verse 8 his ability to influence and capture the sway the attention of the peoples by his articulate speech later in this chapter chapter 7 verse 21 we find that this fourth beast makes war with the saints and prevails over them notice in verse 21 as I looked this horn made war with the saints and prevailed over them this fourth beast is also talked about in Daniel chapter 11 where we get a prophecy of an event that was still future for Daniel but is somewhat past and partially fulfilled for us in Daniel 11 31 it talks about this abomination that makes desolate
[32:19] Jesus will pick up on this prophecy and build on it in Matthew chapter 24 verses 15 to 18 who is this final beast who is this last horn Jesus will say so when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel standing in the holy place let the reader understand let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains let the one who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak Jesus builds on the prophecy of Daniel speaks about a future abomination of desolation that is still yet to occur Revelation describes this ruler it uses many of the same figures of speech some of the same descriptions that we find from Daniel when we look at Revelation chapter 13 notice I saw the beast rising out of the sea with ten horns seven heads with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its head the beast that I saw was like a leopard its feet were like a bear's its mouth was like a lion's mouth and to it the dragon gave his power and his throne in great authority does that sound familiar the very figures that were used to describe the previous empires are now all combined in this final beast and this final leader who in verse 5 of chapter 13 we find out more the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words there's our description from Daniel chapter 7 verse 8 it was allowed to exercise authority for 42 months it opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God blaspheming his name and his dwelling that is those who dwell in heaven also was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them and authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation and all who dwell on the earth will worship it everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the lamb who was slain this same figure from
[34:40] Daniel chapter 7 and Daniel chapter 11 shows up again for us in Revelation chapter 13 and we see this continuing promise of this future ruler that is going to come but all of this culminates in the next chain of events which Daniel describes in verses 13 and 14 for all of the strength for all of the power for all of the unrivaled influence that this leader seems to have we come to understand that it is nothing in comparison with the power of God verse 13 and 14 we find the son of man I saw in the night visions and behold with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man he came to the ancient of days he was presented before him and to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom that all peoples nations and languages should serve him his dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away in his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed in this vision that
[35:49] Daniel has the son of man is presented to the ancient of days who is this son of man none other than Jesus Christ himself this is Christ's favorite designation of himself throughout the gospels used some 82 times 30 times in Matthew 14 times in Mark 25 times in Luke 13 times in John Jesus will take this designation this identity this title son of man he will place it on himself to allow and to help those living during the first century to know that he in fact is the Messiah that he in fact is this son of man son of David son of God who will rule the promises that were given to Israel will be fulfilled in Jesus Christ Jesus takes this title used of him in Daniel and applies it to himself throughout his ministry the Jews including the religious leaders could not conceive of
[36:51] God coming this way and while Jesus would come in humility during his first coming ultimately he will come in power in some future day we expect the authority and might of the son of man coming to exert his power and judgment on the earth he will take his throne he will have his place in psalm chapter 2 verses 7 and 9 it speaks of this future day I will tell the decree the Lord said to me you are my son today I begotten you ask of me and I will make the nations your heritage and the ends of the earth your possession you shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel Jesus the only begotten son of God son of man is this one who will take his throne who will take his seat will exercise authority over the earth the angel Gabriel when delivering this message of
[37:53] Jesus conception to Mary says this of Jesus in Luke chapter 1 verses 31 to 33 behold you will conceive in your womb and bear a son you shall call his name Jesus he will be great and will be called the son of the most high the Lord will give to him the throne of his father David he will reign over the house of Jacob forever!
[38:27] chapter 2 this stone that was carved out of the mountain with no human hand it was cast at the image it shatters the image into pieces breaks it into dust and then this stone will grow and fill the earth not only is it a kingdom that is strong and powerful it is a kingdom that will fill the entire globe finally we see in verse 14 his eternal kingdom it is an eternal kingdom the very last part of this says his dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed this word kingdom is used 57 times throughout the book of Daniel more than any other book in the Bible Matthew the gospel of Matthew will also use this word 55 times and Matthew which emphasizes Jesus as the king this eternal kingdom which has been the theme throughout the book of
[39:33] Daniel we see this in chapter 2 in chapter 4 and then in chapter 6 we see it time and time again this theme of this eternal everlasting kingdom so that Nebuchadnezzar will say in Daniel chapter 4 verse 34 and 35 he says at the end of my days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted my eyes to heaven my reason returned to me I blessed the most high and praised and honored him who lives forever for his dominion is an everlasting dominion and his kingdom endures forever we see we see we see the son of man who takes his throne so that all peoples nations and languages will serve king Jesus the Abrahamic covenant will finally come to fruition it will finally be fulfilled where God has promised Abraham in
[40:34] Genesis chapter 12 he says in verse 2 I will make of you a great nation I will bless you and make your name great so that you will be blessing I will bless those who bless you and him who dishonors you I will curse and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed and God's promise to Abraham will finally be realized in the son of man who is given the throne by the ancient of days the king reigns the ancient of days God reigns and because of his reign there are certain implications I just want to end with a couple of implications of this truth why does it matter for us that the king reigns and the king is coming first the future has been written and God wins the future has been written and God wins so as we look around ourselves around this world as we see the uncertainty and we understand the turmoil we see the chaos that consumes our everyday and we wonder if all of this is going to spiral out of control and we come to this passage and we come to understand that
[41:54] Jesus is king and his kingdom will be established and the future is written and God wins second we know the nations will come and go but God remains nations will come and go but God reigns and so as we come to evaluate our lives as we come to evaluate our hearts we must ask ourselves the question who are we putting our confidence in who are we putting our trust in where does our security come from does it come from man who will fail his power will fail or will come from God whose word and power is sure do we trust in God who remains third God who raises up and brings down he does this for the sake of his purposes and for his glory and so wherever you fit in the flow of the rising and the falling of God pushing you into the front like
[42:56] Daniel was pushed into the front to serve or pull into the backdrop is there a security in our heart to trust that God is over all of that in a willingness to be faithful and useful wherever God places us fourth we need to understand that God's coming is imminent the judge is coming and his coming is imminent are you ready to meet the king are you ready to stand in judgment before the king by having placed your faith in Jesus Christ is the only means of salvation so that you can stand with those servants before the throne and worship and honor and glorify and praise the king of kings and the lord of lords is your heart ready to meet the king let's pray Lord we praise you for this truth this morning thank you that the ancient of days is preparing to place his throne and that the son of man will have his day of power and authority and establishing once and for all his kingdom on this earth
[44:17] Lord may we not be unsettled help us to be ready as your people ready for the return of the king may the expression of our lives day by day reflect and anticipation and a joy and a confidence and a hope in your future coming that you are in control of what happens today and that you ultimately will come and reign as king on this earth God thank you for this truth may our lives demonstrate a security a perseverance and a faithfulness because of what we know to be true about who you are in Jesus name amen God bless you have a great week