We're in Daniel chapter 7 this morning, earlier this year in the spring.
We worked our way through the first six chapters of Daniel.
And just to remind you, those first six chapters are typically the ones that most people are very familiar with.
They're narrative, make for good storytelling, good children's ministry lessons.
And then you get to the back half, starting in chapter 7, and things get a little bit weird.
So the back half of Daniel, starting in chapter 7, oftentimes Christians will disagree on how to interpret these verses.
Just a disclaimer, you may disagree with me in some of the things that we'll cover over the next several weeks together.
And let me just say on the front end, that's okay.
We're okay with that.
And I'll be the first one to tell you that I do not fully understand everything in the book of Daniel.
So even still, I'm excited to open it up and hear what God has to say for us this morning.
So if you would, hopefully you found it by now.
Daniel chapter 7.
Would you stand in honor of the reading of God's word this morning?
Daniel chapter 7.
In the first year of Belshazzar, king of Babylon, Daniel saw a dream and visions of his head as he lay in his bed.
Then he wrote down the dream and told the sum of the matter.
Daniel declared,
I saw in my vision by night and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea.
And four great beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another.
The first was like a lion and had eagle's wings.
And then as I looked, its wings were plucked off and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man.
And the mind of a man was given to it.
And behold, another beast, a second one like a bear.
It was raised up on one side.
It had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth.
And it was told, arise, devour much flesh.
After this, I looked and behold, another like a leopard with four wings of a bird on its back.
And the beast had four heads and dominion was given to it.
After this, I saw in the night visions and behold, a fourth beast, terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong.
It had great iron teeth.
It devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet.
It was different from all the beasts that were before it.
And it had ten horns.
I considered the horns and behold, there came up among them another horn, a little one,
before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots.
And behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth speaking great things.
As I looked, thrones were placed.
And the ancient of days took his seat.
His clothing was white as snow and the hair of his head like pure wool.
His throne was fiery flames.
Its wheels were burning fire.
A stream of fire issued and came out from before him.
A thousand thousand served him.
And ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him.
The court sat in judgment and the books were opened.
I looked then because of the sound of the great words that the horn was speaking.
And as I looked, the beast was killed and its body destroyed and given over to be burned with fire.
As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away.
But their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.
I saw in the night visions and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man.
And he came to the ancient of days and 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.
And his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.
As for me, Daniel, my spirit within me was anxious and the visions of my head alarmed me.
I approached one of those who stood there and asked him the truth concerning all this.
So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of the things.
These four great beasts are four kings who shall arise out of the earth.
But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, forever, and ever.
Then I desired to know the truth about the fourth beast, which was different from all the rest,
exceedingly terrifying with its teeth of iron and claws of bronze,
in which devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet.
And about the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn that came up,
and before which three of them fell, the horn that had eyes and a mouth that spoke great things,
and that seemed greater than its companions.
As I looked, this horn made war with the saints and prevailed over them until the Ancient of Days came,
and judgment was given for the saints of the Most High,
and the time came when the saints possessed the kingdom.
Thus he said,
As for the fourth beast, there shall be a fourth kingdom on earth,
which shall be different from all the kingdoms,
and it shall devour the whole earth and trample it down and break it into pieces.
As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings shall arise,
and another shall arise after them.
He shall be different from the former ones,
and shall put down three kings.
He shall speak words against the Most High,
and shall wear out the saints of the Most High,
and shall think to change the times and the law,
and they shall be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time.
But the court shall sit in judgment,
and his dominion shall be taken away,
to be consumed and destroyed to the end.
And the kingdom and the dominion
and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven
shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High.
His kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom,
and all dominions shall serve and obey him.
Here is the end of the matter.
As for me, Daniel, my thoughts greatly alarmed me,
and my color changed,
but I kept the matter in my heart.
And the grass withers and the flower fades,
but the word of our Lord endures forever.
Would you pray with me once more?
Father, we ask now as we open up this chapter
that you would make all things clear.
Father, that your spirit would empower the preaching of your word.
Lord, would you help us to grow in our love for Christ?
Would we submit to his reign and rule even now?
We pray in Jesus' name.
Amen.
You may be seated.
In my hometown, there was a cheap dollar movie theater
that showed movies on their second run,
and it was one of the best, cheapest ways to go out with some friends
and see a movie on the weekends.
And so what we would do is we would go,
we would pick a movie to watch,
we'd go there, pick whatever we wanted to see,
and then we would leave there discussing whatever it was that we had just seen.
And depending on the movie,
sometimes that conversation was quick,
and the movie was simple, easy to understand.
And at other times, we sat there and talked for hours and hours
about what we had just seen.
Sometimes it was difficult to understand,
and even sometimes we went back the following week
to watch the same movie over again
so that we could see those same scenes play again in front of our eyes
and try as best as we could to understand
what in the world we had just seen.
Daniel 7 is a little bit like that.
This is a vision playing out in Daniel's mind as he dreams.
He sees these scenes flashing in front of him.
What he sees is shocking to him.
It's upsetting to him.
It's all a lot to process.
And when he's all done seeing these visions,
when it's all over, he walks away asking,
what in the world did I just see?
And I'm guessing that as I read through Daniel 7 just now,
many of us are feeling the same way.
So what we're going to do before we enter back into the theater
of Daniel's vision once more
and see these scenes play in front of us again,
I want to give us the big idea here from Daniel 7.
The big idea, the message of Daniel 7 is this.
God defeats the kingdom of man by the son of man.
That's the big idea.
God defeats, he triumphs over the kingdom of man
by giving an eternal kingdom to one like a son of man.
And we who belong to him,
we get to enjoy his reign and rule forever.
That's Daniel 7.
So what we're going to see here this morning is
two scenes and a summary.
Two scenes and a summary.
First, scene number one is the scene on earth.
Look there to verse one with me.
Verse one says that this dream came to Daniel
during the first year of Belshazzar's reign.
And so we're actually, we're going back in time here chronologically.
We've already seen Belshazzar come and go.
You remember the story with the writing on the wall.
But we should know prophetic literature
doesn't always write in a straight line.
We shouldn't expect it to.
And so here in the first year of Belshazzar's reign,
we're told Daniel sees this vision.
Verse two says,
The four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea.
And out of this sea come four beasts.
We're told in the second half of the chapter
that these four beasts,
they represent four kingdoms.
And if that sounds familiar to you at all,
that's good.
You have a better memory than I do.
You're thinking back to Daniel chapter two.
You remember from Daniel chapter two,
it was Nebuchadnezzar who had a dream.
And he was dreaming about this statue
that was made up of these four parts.
And the four parts of that statue,
you remember, what do they represent?
Four kingdoms.
What we see here in chapter seven
is that Daniel chapter two
and Daniel chapter seven,
they sync up.
Daniel has sort of an expanded vision,
an expanded view of these same four kingdoms
from Nebuchadnezzar's dream.
What are they?
The first, he says, is like a lion.
It's not any ordinary lion, is it?
This lion has eagle's wings.
And even then, the wings are plucked off.
The lion is lifted up.
It's made to stand on two feet like a man.
A mind of a man is given to it.
Matching it up with Nebuchadnezzar's dream
in chapter two, beast number one is Babylon.
Babylon.
You remember what happened to Nebuchadnezzar,
to Babylon.
God judged his pride.
He plucked off his wings, so to speak,
drove him away from his kingdom.
But at the end, what happened?
He was restored.
And once again, he was given a mind like a man.
The first beast is Babylon.
The second beast, verse five,
he says, is like a bear.
But again, it's not a normal looking bear, is it?
This bear is raised up on one side.
He's got three ribs in its mouth,
between its teeth.
It looks like it just came from a kill.
And it's told, again,
go arise and devour much flesh.
Again, if we're following the pattern from chapter two,
lining up what we're seeing here,
this is the kingdom of Medo-Persia,
which came in after Babylon under Cyrus.
And they took over,
and they devoured the kingdom of Babylon.
And the third beast,
like a leopard,
with four wings of a bird on its back,
and four heads.
And this leopard,
he was given dominion.
It's a beast that's quick,
and it's destructive.
He can strike in all directions,
with these four wings,
and these four heads.
And again, following the pattern of chapter two,
this would be the kingdom of Greece,
under Alexander the Great.
All of this is this chaotic, terrifying scene.
I want you to just place yourself in this vision.
Sometimes we read these accounts,
and we just kind of keep it distant.
I want you to step into Daniel's mind here,
and picture this sea,
this tumultuous sea,
being torn apart by the winds,
and these four beasts coming up.
This is a chaotic, terrifying scene.
But even so,
I want you to notice the language here.
It's as powerful as these beasts are,
they are all passive actors in this scene.
Did you notice that?
It says dominion was given to the third beast.
The second beast was commanded.
Someone's commanding it.
Go devour.
The first beast,
he was brought up.
He had his wings plucked off.
He was brought back up.
He was given a mind like a man.
It's clear there's a greater power at work here,
and soon we'll see exactly who that is.
But first,
Daniel shows us one final beast.
Look there to verse 7.
This fourth and final beast,
Daniel says,
was terrifying,
and dreadful,
exceedingly strong,
teeth of iron,
and it just destroys everything in its path.
And it's clear to Daniel
that as terrifying as all of these beasts are,
this fourth beast is different.
In fact,
it doesn't even have an animal description
like the other three,
does it?
It's as if Daniel's looking at this terrifying beast.
He has nothing to compare it to.
It has ten horns,
and then another horn,
and this other little horn
has eyes and a mouth,
and this little horn can talk.
And if all of this sounds strange to you,
you are normal, okay?
And you're in good company.
This was strange to Daniel as well.
He wants to know,
what in the world am I looking at here?
We'll see soon enough,
but again,
if we're following the pattern of chapter 2,
we can identify this fourth beast
with the Roman Empire.
But for now,
for now,
this first point here,
we should recognize that
this scene from the earth,
this view from the ground,
so to speak,
it is a nightmare, isn't it?
This is a terrifying scene.
This isn't the big,
beautiful statue of Nebuchadnezzar's dream.
Daniel gets a different perspective.
He sees the ugliness of these human kingdoms.
These beasts are hideous,
ugly,
just monstrous creatures.
They're distorted images of God's good creation.
And we need to just pause here
just for a moment here
and recognize
this is how God has chosen
to communicate to Daniel
and to us
the ugliness of the kingdoms of man.
It's as if Daniel is seeing clearly
the ugliness of sin.
This is a picture of our depravity
left to ourselves
and our own natural sin nature.
Mankind is like beasts.
Our sin is ugly.
It deforms God's natural design.
This is not a pretty picture.
The kingdom of man
from Babylon
to Rome
to the present day,
this present evil age
and all who belong to it
are beastly.
Daniel
is looking at all of this
and then
all of a sudden
in verse 9
the scene changes.
He moves from
the scene on the earth
to scene number 2
which is the scene
in heaven.
Look there to verse 9.
Daniel says,
As I looked,
the thrones were placed
and the ancient of days
took his seat.
This is a vision
of God
himself.
Daniel looks up
from the evil
and the beastliness
of the world
and he sees
God,
the holy judge
taking his seat.
What does he say about him?
He says,
His clothing is
white as snow
and the hair of his head
is like pure wool.
This judge
on his throne
is holy,
holy,
holy.
His throne
was fiery flames.
Its wheels
were burning fire
and a stream of fire
issued and came out
from before him.
It says a thousand,
thousand served him
and ten thousand
times ten thousand
stood before him.
These are numbers
of perfection
and completion
and power.
This is a vision
of God
the holy judge
seated on his throne
in glory.
And in comparison
these beasts
don't look so big
and bad now
do they?
Unlike the scene
on earth
where the waters
raged
and the image
was chaotic
here in the throne
room of God
Revelation chapter 4
you can turn there
another time
after the service
Revelation chapter 4
it says the sea
around the throne
of God
in the throne room
of the Lord
the sea is
calm like glass.
like crystal.
That's a good reminder
for us isn't it
that from our
vantage point
here on earth
from our vantage point
here from the ground
everything seems
to often look chaotic
and things are
often chaotic
but we who know
the Lord
have been given
another perspective
haven't we?
We can look up
and remember
that no matter
what happens
here on the ground
our God
is on his throne
reign
and ruling
in heaven
and in heaven
at his throne
all is calm
this totally changes
Daniel's understanding
of the first scene
doesn't it?
Without this second scene
from heaven
there is no hope
what hope is there?
All hope is lost
he would say
I'm here in Babylon
and you're telling me
that more evil
beastly kingdoms
are coming after this
here I am in exile
in the first beast
you're saying
I have three more
to go here
and God says
yes but Daniel
I am holy
I am good
I am sovereign
I am just
I am God
and these beasts
will not have
the last word
the ancient of days
takes his seat
now it says
the court
sat in judgment
and books
were opened
this chapter
is a courtroom
scene
some of you
like to watch
these courtroom
legal drama
television shows
it's too dramatic
for me
and if you ever
watched one
you know that
at some point
a crime is committed
in that scene
in that moment
of the crime
happening
that criminal
is terrifying
they look dangerous
they look evil
they look big and bad
but then
when the moment comes
and they have to go
sit in a courtroom
maybe with their hands
cuffed
and the judge
comes
and the judge
takes his seat
and the judge
opens up his book
and the judge
prepares to give
judgment
they don't look so scary
at that moment
do they
in fact
that's a moment
of terror
for them
it's an anxious
moment
what will the verdict
be
and we
shouldn't move
quickly past
this scene
our God
is a God
of infinite power
he is
perfect
in holiness
perfect
in justice
he is
sovereignly
reigning
over all
the earth
our God
is just
he is the judge
of all
the earth
no sin
will go
unaddressed
every sin
will be dealt
with
Romans 14
12
it says
each one of us
will give an account
of himself
to God
it's a sobering
truth isn't it
God the holy
judge
sees
all
and he
will
bring
justice
which is
why what
Daniel sees
next
really is no
surprise at all
is it
Daniel shifts
his eyes
back to the
earth for a
moment
and as that
big bad
terrifying horn
is speaking
look what
happens
it's almost
like he's
in mid
sentence
he's
speaking
and poof
what happens
when God
is ready
to render
judgment
he is
done
he's
killed
instantly
the body
destroyed
burned
with fire
he doesn't
stand a
chance
as for
the rest
of the
beasts
their
dominion
was
taken
away
but
their
lives
prolonged
for how
long
until the
judge
says
time
is up
this is a picture
of a sovereign
God
reigning
and ruling
over his
creation
not a
moment of
time
here in
this chaotic
world
is outside
of his
control
this is good
news for
us
church
this change
of scenery
changes
everything
doesn't it
the view
from the
air
is completely
different
from the
view
from the
ground
we have
been
given
the gift
of knowing
the ancient
of days
Christian
we have
been given
the gift
of knowing
that God
is on
his throne
sovereign
reigning
and ruling
and yet
far too
often
you and I
we're
we're guilty
of forgetting
this glorious
perspective
aren't we
far too
often
we get
so twisted
up about
what's going
on here
in the
first scene
and the
chaos here
in the
kingdom of
man
that we
forget
we take
our eyes
off of
the second
scene
we take
our eyes
off of
the reign
and rule
of a
sovereign
God
we forget
to remember
the perspective
of God
in heaven
as he reigns
and rules
over all
things
which is why
Paul has
to remind
us
set your
mind
on things
above
where Christ
is
seated
at the
right
hand
of
God
set
your
minds
there
at the
throne
of
heaven
set
your
minds
there
don't set
your
minds
here
on the
beast
you'll go
crazy
set
your
minds
in
heaven
our
sovereign
God
sits
on his
throne
in
heaven
and he
will triumph
over the
chaos
of this
world
and here
in verses
13
and 14
he shows
us
exactly
how
he will
do it
how will
God
triumph
over the
kingdom
of man
look there
to verses
13
and 14
Daniel
says
again
I saw
in the
night
visions
and behold
with the
clouds
of heaven
there came
one
like a
son
of man
and he
came to
the
ancient
of days
and 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
and his
kingdom
is one
that shall
not be
destroyed
see the
plan
now
is getting
clearer
isn't it
this
this is how
God
wins
this is how
God
conquers the
kingdom
of man
all of these
beasts
they fade
into the
background
the worst
of them
is destroyed
and he
brings forth
his own
kingdom
totally
unlike
those four
beastly
kingdoms
that came
before it
this
kingdom
he says
is glorious
it is
universal
all tribes
and languages
and nations
and people
it is
eternal
it will
never
pass away
it is
undefeatable
it cannot
be destroyed
God has
this glorious
kingdom
and then he
gives this
kingdom
to one
Daniel says
like a
son of
man
he's not
like the
beast
that came
before him
is he
clearly
he is
he's human
he's
true
humanity
and yet
there's
clear echoes
of divinity
here as
well
aren't there
he's
coming
with the
clouds
of heaven
that's
language
that's
reserved
really only
for God
himself
Psalm
104
verse 3
this king
he lives
forever
he's able
to receive
this glorious
eternal
kingdom
and out
of all
the beastliness
of the
kingdom
of man
this
son of
man
just
walks
right up
to this
fiery
throne
of God
as one
who has
a right
to this
kingdom
and God
the judge
the ancient
of days
he says
it's yours
you are
worthy
to receive
it
all the
peoples
and nations
and languages
on the
planet earth
will serve
you
this is
your
kingdom
that's
the plan
God
conquers
the kingdom
of man
by the
son of
man
friend
I don't
think I
have to
tell you
there is
no country
here like
that
there is
not a
place
on planet
earth
America
or otherwise
that fits
this description
glorious
universal
eternal
undefeatable
there's no
country here
like that
there's no
leader
here like
this
our heart
ought to
leap from
our chest
when we read
these verses
and say
I want to
be a part
of that
kingdom
I want
to be a
part of
that
glorious
kingdom
I want
to serve
that
glorious
king
I want
to be a
part of
this
eternal
kingdom
I want
to be a
part of
the kingdom
of glory
that will
last
forever
and to
that
I say
good
if that's
the inclination
of your
heart
that's
good
that's
what you
were made
for
you are
welcome
the truth
is the
invitation
to join
the kingdom
of God
is cast
far and
wide
if you
want to
come
in
you
may
come
in
how
by
turning
and
repenting
of
your
beastliness
and bowing
the knee
to the
son of
man
right now
but now
let me
tell you
what that
might cost
you
you need
to understand
exactly
what that
will mean
for you
because when
you become
a citizen
of the
kingdom
of God
you are
now an
exile
in the
kingdom
of man
and when
you become
a citizen
of the
kingdom
of God
guess what
happens
you now
have entered
into a
war
with the
powers of
darkness
you have
now entered
into a
war
that has
been won
the outcome
is decided
it's a war
that's worth
fighting because
God himself
is worthy
but still
church it is a
war
Daniel
considers all
of this
and when he
sees these
things
verse 15
it says that
his spirit
was anxious
within him
he walked
up to
one who
stood there
most likely
this is an
angel
and he
asks a
really
good
question
what
in the
world
have I
just
seen
what
does
all of
this
mean
and so
he gives
a summary
here
of the
vision
in verses
19
through
28
the
angel
he
summarizes
all of
it in
two
sentences
verses
17
and 18
he says
these four
beasts
are four
kings
who shall
arise
out of
the earth
we've seen
this
but the
saints
of the
most high
shall receive
the kingdom
and possess
the kingdom
forever
and ever
but Daniel
needs a little
bit more
explanation
than that
doesn't he
he keeps
pressing
he wants
to know
what we
want to
know
he wants
to know
more about
this fourth
beast
tell me
more about
these ten
horns
who now
Daniel fills
in a little
bit more
of the
picture here
of what
he saw
he says
they had
eyes and
a mouth
that spoke
great things
and it
made war
with the
saints
and prevailed
over them
until the
ancient of
days came
and judgment
was given
for the
saints of
the most
high
and the
time came
when they
possessed
the kingdom
what does
all of
this
mean
this fourth
beast
again
is Rome
but I
think that
is clear
it extends
beyond
Rome
these ten
horns
that are
coming up
out of
that ten
beast
that he
says are
ten kings
that shall
arise out
of this
beastly
kingdom
now listen
I don't
know who
these ten
kings are
I don't
know
necessarily
that they
are exactly
ten
literal
kings
in fact
I'm
inclined
to say
again
ten being
a number
of completion
that this
is
representative
of the
fullness
of the
wicked
kingdoms
in between
the two
comings
of Christ
Christ
enters
into the
world
at the
beginning
of the
Roman
empire
and
there's
evil
and
persecution
and
wickedness
that extends
from the
first to the
second coming
of Christ
but at the
end
out of that
legacy
of evil
one
will
arise
a little
horn
one
final
beastly
king
in verse
25
tells us
what this
little horn
is like
it says
he will
speak
words
against
the
most
high
and he
will wear
out
the saints
of the
most high
he will
think
to change
times
and the
law
in other
words
he will
blaspheme
God
he will
persecute
the people
of God
and he
will try
and make
himself
be like
God
and it's
my belief
that this
little horn
is the
antichrist
Paul tells us
in 2
Thessalonians
chapter 2
he says
the return
of Christ
will not
come
unless
the rebellion
comes first
and the man
of lawlessness
is revealed
the son
of destruction
who
opposes
and exalts
himself
against every
so called
God
or object
of worship
so that he
takes his
seat
in the
temple
of God
proclaiming
himself
to be
God
I believe
this is
the antichrist
now
I cannot
think of
many more
topics
that have
caused
more wild
speculation
than the
topic of
the antichrist
but we
don't need
to speculate
the fact is
God's word
does not
identify
this man
of lawlessness
God's word
does not
tell us
who this
little horn
may be
and so
really we
need to be
okay not
knowing with
certainty what
God has not
revealed to
us
what it does
say however
is that his
main weapons
against the
people of
God
is not
physical
threats
they are
his words
do you notice
what he
continues to
say over
and over
again about
this little
horn
he is
speaking
great things
you notice
that
he is
speaking
against the
most high
he is
wearing out
the saints
I believe
by constant
deception
and pressure
to compromise
the truth
he is aiming
to lead
these saints
away from
true worship
how?
by deceiving
them with
lies
and this is
Satan's
playbook
from the
very beginning
isn't it?
he is
speaking
against
God
to deceive
the saints
and to
distort
the word
of God
I love
how
Andrew
Steinman
puts it
he says
this
he says
the kind
of persecution
that is
most dangerous
for the saints
is not
some future
worldwide
political
ruler
who could
deprive them
of earthly
goods
limit
commerce
require a
numerical
mark on
their bodies
or even
take their
physical
lives
instead
the most
dangerous
persecution
is the
insidious
corruption
of the
gospel
of justification
through
Christ
alone
and its
replacement
by a
false
gospel
that mixes
faith
with works
and false
spirituality
if that's
true
then church
the best
way to
defend
yourself
against
these attacks
to defend
yourself
against him
isn't to
build a
bunker
or to
avoid
microchips
or to
make sure
that your
credit cards
don't end
in 666
but rather
church
to devote
yourself
to the
truth
remind
yourself
of the
gospel
build
your life
on the
word
of God
meditate
on God's
word
day and
night
grow up
into
Christ
so that
you're not
tossed
to and
fro
by every
wind
of false
doctrine
be like
a good
bank
teller
they don't
spot the
fakes
because they
study
the
fakes
they
spot
the
fakes
because
they
spend
every
day
hour
by
hour
handling
the
real
thing
church
give
yourself
to
the
word
of
God
let's
spend
more
time
delighting
in
what
God
has
said
than
obsessing
over
what
he's
left
unsaid
the
word
of
God
doesn't
tell us
who
this
little
horn
is
but
what
does
it
tell
us
verse
26
tells
us
the
court
shall
sit
in
judgment
and
his
dominion
shall
be
taken
away
to
be
consumed
and
destroyed
to
the
end
and
then
the
kingdom
and
the
dominion
and
the
greatness
of
the
kingdom
under
the
whole
heaven
shall
be
given
to
the
people
of
the
saints
of
the
most
high
his
kingdom
shall
be
an
everlasting
kingdom
and
all
dominions
shall
serve
and
obey
him
that's
what
we
ought
to
fix
our
minds
on
church
these
are
reasonable
questions
that
Daniel
asks
worthy
questions
that we
all want
to know
the answer
to
who's
the
beast
who's
the
horn
worthy
questions
but
you
know
what
a
better
question
might
have
been
for
Daniel
and
for
us
who
is
this
son
of
man
who
is
the
son
of
man
he's
the
focus
of
the
passage
is
he
not
he's
the
center
piece
of
history
he's
the
one
who's
worthy
of
our
attention
he's
the
one
who's
worthy
to
receive
this
eternal
kingdom
he's
the
one
that
all
nations
and
tribes
and
languages
will
serve
for
the
rest
of
eternity
who
is
this
son
of
man
we
know
the
answer
don't
we
this
glorious
son
of
man
is
king
Jesus
is
the
one
who's
worthy
to
stand
before
the
throne
of
God
to
stand
before
the
ancient
of
days
as
truly
man
and
truly
God
and
who's
worthy
to
receive
an
eternal
kingdom
why
because
Jesus
Christ
has
come
and
he
has
conquered
the
powers
of
sin
and
darkness
Jesus
Christ
has
come
and
he
is
the
lamb
who
was
slain
he
has
conquered
the
beast
and
he
has
risen
to
the
right
hand
of
God
Jesus
Christ
reigns
and
rules
from
side
of
the
cross
is
that
this
judgment
upon
the
kingdom
of
man
has
already
been
given
the
cross
of
Christ
has
settled
it
the
case
is
closed
Christ
reigns
and
rules
right
now
and
he
will
come
again
soon
to
finish
what
he
started
and
because
he
reigns
and
rules
and
has
conquered
right
now
church
we
who
belong
to
him
the
saints
of
the
most
high
we
get
to
enjoy
the
fruits
of
his
victory
right
now
in
fact
we
reign
with
him
right
now
I
love
the
Heidelberg
Catechism
questions
31
and
32
I
gotta
read
this
to
you
they
ask
question
31
why
is
he
called
Christ
meaning
anointed
the
answer
because
he
has
been
ordained
by
God
the
father
and
has
been
anointed
with
the
Holy
Spirit
to
be
our
chief
prophet
and
teacher
who
perfectly
reveals
to
us
the
secret
counsel
and
will
of
God
for
our
deliverance
our
only
high
priest
who
has
set
us
free
by
the
one
sacrifice
of
his
body
and
who
continually
pleads
our
cause
with
the
father
and
our
eternal
king
who
governs
us
by
his
word
and
spirit
and
who
guards
us
and
keeps
us
in
the
freedom
he
has
won
for
us
question
32
but why
are you
called
Christian
answer
because by
faith I
am a
member of
Christ
and so I
share his
anointing
I am
anointed to
confess his
name
to present
myself to
him as a
living sacrifice
of thanks
to strive with
good conscience
against sin
and the devil
in this life
and afterward
to reign
with Christ
over all
creation
for all
eternity
God
has conquered
the kingdom
of man
by the
son
of man
and soon
he will
come again
to finish
what he
started
church
how then
should we
prepare ourselves
for that
day
three ways
as we
close
one
do not
fear
but hope
do not
fear
but hope
this light
and momentary
affliction
is preparing
for us
an eternal
weight of
glory
beyond
all
comparison
as we
look
not to
the things
that are
seen
but to
the things
that are
unseen
do not
fear
but hope
do not
worry
but trust
do not
worry
but trust
remember
whatever
the chaos
of the moment
happens to be
whatever the
chaos is happening
in the kingdom
of man
remember that
in the throne
room of God
all is
calm
the son
of man
has conquered
and lastly
do not
wait
but bow
the knee
to king
Jesus
right now
fix your
eyes on
Jesus
right now
prepare
yourself
for that
day
by turning
from your
sin
and giving
yourself
completely
to king
Jesus
right now
amen
come lord
Jesus
let's pray
father
we
thank you
for this
good
plan
that you
have
put into
place
a plan
for
the
fullness
of time
that you
would send
your son
as king
to conquer
to reign
and to rule
to defeat
the powers
of darkness
that are
much too
powerful
for us
and lord
we praise
you for
this eternal
kingdom
that awaits
us who
believe
we praise
you lord
that he
reigns and
rules now
and we
with him
lord we
ask now
as we
prepare to
take communion
and remember
this sacrifice
on our behalf
lord would you
fix our eyes
on christ
set our hope
on christ
help us to
trust in christ
we pray in
jesus name
amen