I have the joy and privilege of introducing our guest speaker this morning.
Nick Kidwell serves in Covenant Fellowship Church.
You guys know this church because we've had several speakers in from this church.
It's a powerhouse of a church in Pennsylvania.
Nick graduated from the Sovereign Grace Pastors College last year.
So some of you who have thought about that, you could talk to him and happy.
And he just passed the last of his three ordination exams.
So yeah.
And so he will be ordained very soon by his church as a pastor.
And he's there right now as a church planting resident.
He's going to be sent out with his family.
He already has a place in Melbourne, Pennsylvania, where he'll be planting a church.
He's been married to his wife, happy for 10 years, happy he's right here with us as well.
And they brought their 8-year-old daughter, Anna, with them.
And if you can guess Anna's ethnicity, you get extra credit.
But Nick and Happy have been a pleasure to get to know.
They're a humble couple.
And Nick's a gifted preacher.
And their testimony, their life story, it's real witness to God's faithfulness that we've been singing about.
And God leads his people to what they've called them to.
So I'm really excited for you guys to hear from Nick.
Nick, please come up and preach for us.
We were hanging out with the Woos last night.
And we were looking at their board games.
And I got a board game down for the kids.
And Sean's like, you won't have to use the chair.
See, and Sean's trying to put the mic up there.
A little bit taller.
Well, I'm so glad to be here with you guys this morning.
As Sean said, I'm Nick Kidwell.
My wife, Happy.
Daughter, Anna, and I all came up from Covenant Fellowship in Glen Mills, PA.
I've been there since 2010.
We just got back from the pastor's college earlier last year.
And one of the things I love so much about our experience at the pastor's college and even coming back is this.
Getting to be a part of and experience other churches in Sovereign Grace.
It's such a joy to get to partner together, knowing that God's people are much bigger than myself and bigger than our church in Glen Mills.
And we just have so much to gain and benefit from one another.
So we just had such a joy with the Woos last night and receiving their warmth and hospitality and care.
Made me all the more eager to be here with you this morning.
And you've not let me down.
You guys have been just very welcoming and inviting for those of you I've gotten to meet.
And I'm excited to meet more of you later.
So thank you for having us this morning.
I'm excited for us to get to spend time together in God's Word.
I'm excited for the passage that we're going to be in this morning.
So we're going to be in the book of Daniel, which isn't one that I think normally we spend a lot of time in.
And I'm excited for us to be there this morning.
And I think it's a particularly encouraging passage for us as we stand at the beginning of a new year.
New years are times of reflection.
Even thinking we're sitting at the beginning of a new month.
And we tend to plan things by chunks of time.
And so we're thinking about this year ahead, 2022.
And I think this passage helps us as we look forward.
And I think for all of us as we're looking forward into 2022, we're probably hoping for good news and good things to come.
As we all know, the past few years have been chaotic.
There's been a lot of instability.
A lot of things have just felt very uncertain.
And it can be easy for us, for Christians and non-Christians alike, to slip into doom and gloom mentalities.
We look around and we think, we've lost.
You know, the world is going down the toilet and evil and the enemy has gotten the upper hand.
Well, that's why passages like ours this morning in the book of Daniel are so important for us to spend time in,
to help us with those mentalities that we can slip into.
So turn with me, if you would now, to the book of Daniel, chapter 7.
And I love so much, I was looking at the table back there.
I love this little card that you guys have as a resource on Bible study.
This is fantastic.
And so we're going to hit right now, you know, some of this understanding of the genre and the background of this book.
It's just so helpful for us as we dive into God's Word to understand it better, to know what's coming.
So this is a great resource.
If you haven't used this, I'm taking one home.
It's a good reminder.
So the book of Daniel was written by its namesake, Daniel, during the 7th and 6th centuries BC.
This was a time of upheaval for the Jewish people.
Prior to Daniel's time, the kingdom of Israel had split into two.
And about 100 years before Daniel's time, northern Israel had been taken captive and exiled by the Assyrians because of their sin.
And now, during Daniel's day, southern Judah is also experiencing the same kind of judgment from God.
First by the Babylonians, then the Persians, and Daniel is alive for all of this, much of this.
And he starts early in the exile, and then he sees this all happening.
And during this time, you know, he's thrown into a lion's den.
His friends are thrown into a furnace.
He sees many kings come and go.
So he witnesses a lot of things.
But during all of this time, God met Daniel in very profound ways.
And fortunately for us, God had Daniel write many of these things down for our edification.
Now, for all of its value, Daniel can be a challenging book to approach.
And it can be unfamiliar to us in many ways.
You know, there's a lot of those stories that we do know.
Like I just said, you've got Daniel in the lion's den, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the furnace, the writing on the wall.
And a lot of these come from the first six chapters in Daniel, which are a lot more narrative in nature.
But as you move beyond chapter six and you start into chapter seven, things start to get a little weird.
You get four-headed beasts and fiery thrones and dueling rams and goats, indecipherable calendars, and a man with flaming torches for eyes.
And what you've stepped into is apocalyptic literature.
We heard some of that this morning as we read from the book of Revelation, which is heavy in apocalyptic literature.
Swords coming from mouths and fiery eyes.
And actually, the book of Revelation reflects and pulls a lot from the book of Daniel, which is where you hear some of that common terminology.
And it can be a challenging genre for us, especially if you're not, I don't tend to be someone who thinks flowery poetry doesn't, you know, strike a chord with me generally.
So this type of language for me is a little more challenging for me to receive.
And I know it can be for others as well.
So that's why it's important for us to know what we're walking into.
So apocalyptic literature, it's characterized by a focus on future events.
And it's told through imagery and symbols and numbers.
Now, people tend to go one of two ways with this.
You either give up reading it because it's too hard to understand.
Or people can become obsessed with it, trying to unlock and decipher exactly what all of the historical fulfillments
and the meanings of each of these things are.
God doesn't want either of those outcomes for us.
God in his kindness has given us things such as Daniel's vision here to stir up our emotions,
to give us helpful images that we can take away and to use those images to teach us deep truths about who God is and what he intends for this world.
So don't be afraid of this type of imagery, but also don't walk away trying to figure out all of the exact fulfillment of all of these things.
There's some fruit in that.
It's encouraging to see how prophecy gets fulfilled.
God wants us to marvel at that, not to be surprised as history unfurls.
But knowing those exact times and places isn't his primary concern.
And it won't be ours today either because there's some timeless and universal truths that God wants us to have,
that he wants to impress upon our hearts through these visions and the events that they represent.
And there's one truth that's very prominent through the book of Daniel
and is on full display in our passage that God reigns victorious over all.
Nothing that happens surprises him.
He knows and he decrees all that will come to pass and he is greater than any power.
What a comfort that truth would be to a people who were trampled and conquered under oppression and persecution,
living in a foreign land with foreign godless rulers,
a people who lacked stability, were subject to fear and confusion,
confusion of people who wondered, where is God at in the midst of all of this mess?
And we can often ask those same kind of questions.
Where is God at in the midst of this?
Well, Daniel helps us to answer that question.
So let's read together.
This is Daniel's first recorded vision in chapter 7.
I know it says 1 to 14 up there.
I'm actually going to go to verse 18 in reading this.
But let me pray for us as we enter into God's word.
Father, we just ask that you would meet with us this morning.
We are just aware of our need for you to help us by the power of your spirit to receive what your word has for us.
Impress truth upon our hearts.
Help us to have a bigger vision of who you are,
to understand your mercy and your grace for us.
God, we thank you that you are mighty and that you can even help us in our understanding.
You know our hearts.
You know our minds.
Be with me now as I preach your word.
Father, may it bless us.
May your word bless us now.
We pray this in Jesus' name.
Amen.
All right.
And one of the things as you read this, that if you want, you don't have to.
You know, but try and imagine.
Because it is very imagery heavy.
So really try and picture it as you're reading.
And maybe just listening and closing your eyes, however it helps you.
But we're supposed to visualize these images.
They're very vivid.
So, 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 he 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.
Then I looked and 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 the three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots.
And behold, in this horn were the 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.
Amen.
There's a lot going on there.
And you might be thinking, what was that all about?
We're going to walk now together through this vision and we're going to focus on three things.
Evil will rage.
God will judge.
And Christ will reign.
So first, evil will rage.
We look at the four beasts.
The passage begins and it makes known to us that the vision took place in the first year of King Belshazzar.
Now this was King Nebuchadnezzar's grandson, if you know that name.
He was not a humble man.
He, like many before and many after him, elevated himself rather than praising God.
Daniel at one point calls out Belshazzar for lifting himself up against the Lord of heaven
and for praising the gods of silver and gold,
even though Belshazzar had seen the power of God marvelously displayed.
And it's during this time of proud defiance that God speaks to Daniel
and he lays out this vision of the future for him.
Now remember, Daniel saw the fall of Judah.
God's land, God's people, God's house were destroyed just as God had foretold.
So as Daniel receives this vision from the Lord about the future,
I'm certain that if he was hoping for something,
it would be that it would speak of immediate relief from their enemies,
immediate restoration.
But instead, he sees this, a series of four beasts.
Four beasts that represent rulers and kingdoms, just like Belshazzar,
proud and arrogant, setting themselves up against God and his people.
In verse 2, he sees the four winds kicking up the great sea.
And out of this sea, these four great beasts arise.
In the ancient Near East, this would have conjured up thoughts of universal and widespread evil,
the four winds being the four corners of the earth,
showing that these beasts aren't just local.
They're not small.
They're not contained.
But they're global in their scope.
And they're coming from the sea.
The sea and the oceans were associated with chaos that needed to be tamed.
So this vision is clear.
What's coming is not good, and it's not of God.
Not what Daniel was hoping for, I'm sure.
Well, the first beast to arise is a lion with wings.
Now this beast gets lifted up, its wings removed,
it stands like a man on its two feet with a mind of man given to it.
This likely is representing Nebuchadnezzar,
but it sets the stage for us.
Because these kings, these kingdoms which oppose God,
they lack the humanity that they were created for.
This is true for all of us.
Though God made us to rule and to reign on this earth
in line with his heart and his ways, glorifying his name,
we've all turned away.
And in doing so, we follow our own paths.
We elevate our own names and become fools in the process.
Fools who tear one another apart like animals.
Fools who behave no better than the beasts of the field around us.
Don't have to think very hard to imagine images
that we've all seen of humans beating one another,
berating one another, assaulting one another
with just complete disregard for each other.
It's beastly behavior.
And we do it in small ways towards one another as well.
Like little birds just picking at each other.
We do that.
You know, we go at each other.
Nebuchadnezzar, when he was alive,
he was vividly reminded of this.
We see in the book of Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar stands on his rooftop
and he declares,
Is not this great Babylon which I have built by my might and power
as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?
Well, God immediately took the kingdom from him,
gave him a crazed mind like an animal,
and caused him to wander around out in the fields for seven years.
Then we're told in chapter four of Daniel
that when he finally lifts his eyes to heaven
and humbles himself,
the mind of a man is restored to him.
That's what we're seeing in this vision.
He blessed God and God declared that it's God's,
and he declared that it's God's kingdom
that's an everlasting kingdom and not his own.
Being given the sound mind of a man
means honoring God for who he is.
It means acting in line with his good intentions for humanity.
Unfortunately, this first beast, though,
is the closest thing that we get to humanity.
Things begin a steady descent after that.
We see the second and the third beast,
a bear and a leopard,
likely representing Persia and Greece.
These beasts reflect the brutal nature
of the kingdoms that they're showing.
We see three ribs in the bear's mouth.
It seems to be showing the victim of a previous hunt
still fresh on the lips
as it arises to devour more flesh
and a leopard with four wings and four heads
which allow it to swoop and dash this way
and that attacking any and all that it desires.
These kingdoms are on the hunt.
They take pleasure in their conquest,
and their brutality would only increase as time went on.
Their hands are wet with blood.
And again, it's not hard for us to imagine forces such as this.
In the 20th century alone,
it's estimated that 108 million people were killed by war,
possibly as many as 11 million Jews were slaughtered in the Holocaust.
This list could go on.
It's the kind of things that Daniel's being made aware of here in this passage,
this kind of brutality.
Well, Scripture tells us Daniel was disturbed by these visions,
and we can certainly understand why he was.
I can't help but picture someone
in the sea being pummeled by waves.
You know, wave after wave,
and you're trying to catch your breath just as you think you do.
Another wave gets you,
and you go down over and over again
until a giant swell comes and just pushes you.
The future ahead of Daniel and God's people
seemed to be evil power
overtaking evil power
overtaking evil power.
And the worst
was yet to come.
The fourth beast,
the most fearsome,
the final swell of this wave,
not only has this kingdom lost its humanity,
but this beast no longer even resembles a man.
It can't even be described,
Scripture says.
This beast was terrifying and dreadful
and exceedingly strong.
It's got iron teeth that breaks nations into pieces
and tramples them underfoot.
It's adorned with ten horns,
symbols of power.
And out of the horns comes this little horn.
It has eyes like a man,
with a mouth that speaks,
and it seems to be talking about
a particularly arrogant ruler
who would set himself up boastfully
in opposition against God.
This fourth beast is dreadful.
And one of the most dread aspects of this beast
is easy to miss.
If you've noticed with the other beasts,
there's an unnamed player regulating them.
The first beast is made to stand,
and the mind of man was given to it.
The second beast is told,
arise and devour.
The third beast, it says,
dominion was given to it.
It's clear God's setting limits,
setting boundaries for these kingdoms,
for these rulers.
But of this fourth beast,
we don't hear the same language of
it was given or it was told.
Where was God in this?
Is all hope lost?
I believe Scripture wants us to ask this question
in this moment.
Was God's divine hand now out of the picture?
Is it ever out of the picture?
Where is God when it feels like
he's nowhere to be found?
I wonder if some of you here today
might be asking those same kinds of questions.
You feel like that person caught
in the waves of the sea.
Situation after situation in your life
just seems to keep pummeling you.
As you think about it,
you just can't catch your breath,
whether it's a health issue
or financial burdens
or relational heartbreak
or other things,
they just seem to keep coming.
And for all you can tell,
there's no change on the horizon.
You wonder,
has God lost control?
Does God not care?
Is God not good?
Well, hear God today
as he speaks through Daniel.
The answer to all of those questions
is definitively,
no,
he has not lost control.
He does care
and he is good.
And this is where our vision pivots.
And what proceeds
would have been a great comfort
to Daniel
and to Israel
and should bring us great hope
in our own day.
the future that God offers us
does not end in despair.
Nothing is out
of his sovereign control.
In contrast
to the evil kingdoms
and their limited rule
on the earth,
we now see a vision of God.
Mighty
and glorious.
God
who stands
as judge
over these evil powers
that rage.
So evil will rage,
but God
will
judge.
Verse 9,
As I looked,
the thrones were placed
and the ancient of days
took his seat.
This description of God
as the ancient of days
serves as a contrast.
All of these rulers
that have come before,
they rose up for a time
and they were replaced.
But this one,
God,
he is of old.
His days
are eternal.
His reign
extends
beyond all others
into eternity
past,
present,
and future.
This is the God
who was in the beginning
and who spoke
and brought all things
to being.
Everything
stands as fleeting
in his sight.
We now see the one
who's been providentially
working throughout
these beasts,
plucking them up,
setting their times,
appointing their seasons.
We're told that God's clothing
is white as snow
and his hair
like pure wool.
Now,
we shouldn't walk away
thinking of God
as some gray-headed old man
sitting up in the clouds.
That's not what this is
teaching us here.
It's, again,
figurative language.
We're in apocalyptic literature.
It's meant to convey
majesty,
purity,
perfection
of God's character.
His garments
are white as snow.
They're unstained.
Those beasts,
their hands are wet with blood,
but this one is pure.
He's holy.
He's righteous.
His woolen hair
connotes wisdom
that only age
can bring.
His throne
is fiery flames
and it appears
to be set atop
a chariot
who has flaming wheels.
Fire not only evokes
power,
but judgment.
Fire can't be touched
without destruction.
The fire
proceeding from the throne
and the stream of fire
that issues out
before him
should cause
his enemies
to quake?
and his people
to rejoice,
which is why we see
that before this pure
and righteous
fiery throne
there's 10,000 times
10,000 of his servants
and worshipers.
He's worthy of praise.
The contrast
between this one,
the Ancient of Days,
and the beasts
couldn't be more stark.
The image of God
is now complete.
The powerful,
wise,
and righteous judge
who brought the heavenly
court into session
takes his seat
and the books of judgment
are opened.
So we ask,
what will God do
with these beasts?
Specifically,
what will he do
with this last
and this greatest beast
who seems unparalleled
and utterly opposed
to all things
pertaining to God?
And that's the question
that Daniel's asking.
Verse 11,
he turns to look
because of
the great words
that this little horn
is speaking.
Now,
these aren't great
as in good.
Other translations
actually use boastful.
You know,
I read from the ESV here.
These words
are boastful words,
arrogant words,
big and lofty words.
So you picture this.
This eternal,
righteous,
flaming being
has come onto the scene,
and yet this little horn
stands arrogantly boasting
of his strength
and his power
and his might.
That's the absurdity
of man's rebellion
against God.
There's nothing little
about the Ancient of Days.
We boast of our strength
and we don't even take notice
of God's presence.
Then we get what I like to call
the uh-oh moment
in the story.
You know,
you can picture it,
this beast standing there
talking all his arrogant things
and this big,
towering presence
comes up behind him,
seems unaware
that it's there,
you know,
maybe even gives his shoulder
a little tap.
He turns around
and sees him.
And then it happens.
Verse 11,
And I looked,
the beast was killed
and its body destroyed
and given over
to be burned with fire.
Poof!
Like that,
this little horn,
this fourth beast
is destroyed.
This beast is given
twelve lines of text
to describe it,
to set up
how terrifying it seemed.
And then in less than
two lines,
it's gone.
There's no battle here.
There's no struggle.
Daniel wanted to convey
that God was mighty
over this beast.
The book was open,
judgment was decided,
and the beast was done.
And the three other beasts,
they lose their dominion
and experience God's judgment
as well.
What a comfort.
As followers of Jesus Christ,
what a comfort.
This will be the outcome
for every evil power
that stands in opposition to God.
This will be the outcome
for all of sin.
This will be the outcome
for Satan himself
who will be thrown
into the lake of fire.
For all his raging,
he will meet a quick
and timely end.
With a blink,
with a thought,
God can defeat any enemy.
And he will defeat
all his enemies.
While God is telling Daniel
about some specific kingdoms
to come,
he's giving him an image
that can apply
to all of history.
When you look around
and you see evil raging,
don't be dismayed.
Don't be surprised.
Scripture tells us
not to be surprised
as the fiery trial
comes upon us
as though something strange
were happening to us.
In this broken
and sin-stricken world,
evil will rage.
God knows
and will one day
bring all things
to account.
And if you've trusted
in Jesus Christ
as your Lord and Savior,
you can rejoice
knowing that even
your sinful raging
against God
has been dealt with
through the sacrifice
of our Lord.
If you're here though
or you're listening
and you haven't trusted
in Christ
as your Savior,
this vision
should cause you
to quake.
We will all stand
before the judgment
seat of God
just like these beasts.
We've all failed
to live up
to the humanity
we were intended to be.
I appreciate
just the confession
of sins
during the service,
that reminder
of we haven't
honored God
as we ought.
And we in many ways
walk as half-human,
half-beast hybrids
raging against God
and without someone
to intercede
on your behalf,
you will be met
with the same end
as these beasts.
Maybe you're aware
of this.
Maybe you feel
very aware
of your shortcomings.
You've done things
you aren't proud of.
And if that's the case,
let's look now
at the end
of this passage.
As you'll see,
judgment is not
the end
of this vision.
Judgment doesn't
have to be the end
of your story either.
God's got something
on the other side.
He's got a plan.
Daniel would have known
that despite man's
sinfulness,
God still planned
to bring about
a good king,
a ruler who would be
all that humanity
was intended to be
and more.
So this takes us
to the final turn
in the vision,
the entrance of the one
like a son of man
where we see
that Christ will reign.
So evil will rage,
God will judge,
and Christ will reign.
Verse 13,
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.
Whereas the beasts
were destroyed,
this one who was to come,
he's able to approach
the throne of God
and with confidence
he's able to enter in.
We're told two things
about this one.
He comes with the clouds
of heaven
and he's like a son of man.
Whereas the previous images
emphasize the beastly nature
of the earthly kingdoms,
this one,
he's like a son of man.
Son of man was a title
used in the Old Testament
to highlight humanity.
This one who was to come
was in nature
and appearance
like a human,
reflecting the fullness
of what humanity
was meant to be.
No hint of beastliness
in this one.
However,
this ideal human,
he's more than that.
Remember,
he's said to be like
a son of man.
Though human
in appearance
in nature,
he's something more.
This one comes
with the clouds of heaven.
The beast arose
out of the chaos
of the evil sea.
This one comes
out of heaven.
And it's not just
that he comes
from the heaven.
The clouds tie him
directly to God himself.
God,
throughout scripture,
is depicted
as riding on the clouds.
Isaiah 9,
1,
the Lord rides
on a swift cloud.
Psalm 18,
9,
he parted the heavens
and came down.
Dark clouds
were under his feet.
This son of man
would come
and would not only
be allowed
into the presence of God,
into his very throne room,
but he would be akin
to God himself.
And he would be given
glory and dominion
and a kingdom.
And scripture makes
abundantly clear to us
that that kingdom
is one of light
and one of peace
and joy
and hope
and love.
In this kingdom,
there's no place
for beasts.
And unlike the failing nature
of the beastly kingdoms,
the king and this kingdom
would never pass away.
It would never
be destroyed.
Verse 14
reiterates that for us.
God's good intentions
for humanity
would be completed
in this son of man
and he freely shares
this kingdom
with those
that are his.
When Daniel asks
for the interpretation
of this dream,
he's told
that the coming kingdom
would belong
to God's saints.
In the vision,
the kingdom's given
to the son of man
and in its interpretation,
it's being given
to the saints
of the most high.
The saints are so united
with the coming king
who is to come
that what's been given
to him belongs
to them also.
It's astonishing.
And as people
who live on this side
of the cross,
we get to experience
this kingdom,
this reality.
We've come to know
that the one
like the son of man
is none other
than Jesus Christ himself.
Son of man was in fact
Jesus' preferred term
in describing himself
when he came.
This would have brought
great excitement
in Jesus' day.
As he proclaimed
that the son of man
had come
by linking himself
to the son of man
from Daniel's vision,
Jesus was also declaring
that the kingdom of God
promised in Daniel
had come.
That's why when Jesus came,
the blind could see,
the lame could walk,
the dead rose from the grave
because this glorious kingdom
was bursting forth
upon the earth.
The gospel of Mark
begins with Jesus saying,
the time is fulfilled
and the kingdom of God
is at hand.
Repent and believe
in the gospel.
This vision,
which was only the future
for Daniel,
is present for us.
But,
we can look at Christ's
first coming,
and I'm sure many did,
and say,
well,
this doesn't seem
to be everything
that Daniel
and others spoke of.
As we've said,
evil is still raging.
The time of final judgment
hasn't come,
and that's true,
which is why we cling
so tightly
to this vision in Daniel.
Because we need to hear it
in our day as well.
The kingdom has come,
but the fullness
of the kingdom
has yet to be.
Christ came first
to die for our sins
and open the way
of salvation
to the whole earth
so that judgment
does not have to be
the end of our story
if we trust in him.
And through the gospel,
the kingdom advances
on this earth.
You guys have been
in the book of Acts.
It's watching this,
the gospel go forth,
and the fruits
of the kingdom
bearing upon all peoples
and all nations.
But Daniel's vision
also forecasts
not just that first coming,
but his ultimate return.
As Hebrews says,
at present,
we do not yet see everything
in subjection to him.
As Daniel's vision shows,
the beasts are allowed
to remain for some time.
In fact,
revelation seems to indicate
that there's still
a great beast yet to come.
And there will indeed
be many beasts
that face the people of God
as they continue to live
on this side of eternity.
As the light of Christ
shines brighter in the world,
the darkness that remains
will rage all the harder.
Jesus made clear
that in the times of the end,
which encompasses
all of history
from his resurrection
to his final return,
that there would increase wars
and rumors of wars.
Antichrist would come.
Famine and natural disasters
would increase and persist.
Christ,
we experience the kingdom
in part now,
amidst a dying world.
That's what makes
the church of God
so precious.
When we meet together,
we get to experience
the fruits of that kingdom.
And we await Christ's return together.
And he will return.
Just as Jesus said
the Son of Man had come,
he also said
that the Son of Man
was yet to come.
Jesus said,
then will appear in heaven
the sign of the Son of Man
and then all the tribes
of the earth will mourn
and they will see
the Son of Man
coming on the clouds of heaven
with great power and glory.
This is pulled right from Daniel.
The conquering Christ will return.
And he will put an end
to all sin.
This will happen.
This isn't a story.
This isn't just a vision.
This is truth.
And just as surely
as Christ came the first time,
Christ is coming again.
And all evil earthly powers
on that day,
all the beasts,
all those who align
against God
seeking to destroy him
and his work,
death itself
will be destroyed.
Hear this familiar passage
that the Apostle John writes
in his vision
of this coming kingdom.
And I saw the holy city,
New Jerusalem,
coming down
out of heaven from God,
prepared as a bride
adorned for her husband.
And I heard a loud voice
from the throne saying,
Behold,
the dwelling place of God
is with man.
He will dwell with them
and they will be his people.
And God himself
will be with them
as their God.
He will wipe away
every tear from their eyes
and death shall be no more.
Neither shall there be mourning
nor crying
nor pain anymore
for the former things
have passed away.
This is the kingdom of God.
This is the kingdom
that Christ Jesus
is bringing
and this is our future.
This is the future
that's promised in Daniel.
So when we look ahead
to 2022,
to the rest of our week,
whatever it is
that we're counting
and we fret
and we fear
or we wonder,
is it going to be good?
We can say,
come what may,
because we know
the ultimate future
that awaits us.
The book of Daniel,
for all of its puzzling aspects,
is abundantly clear
in its message
that the God,
the Lord of heaven,
the ancient of days,
the son of man,
rules and reigns
over all of the affairs
of mankind
and cannot be stopped
in his purposes
and his purposes are good.
The events of our times
leave us unsettled
and we can hope for things.
We can hope for politicians
or policies
or cultural changes
to finally bring about peace,
but the peace that we seek
can only come
from Jesus Christ
and from the kingdom
that he's ushering in.
If we're not with Christ,
then we're serving
and aligning
with the earthly kingdoms,
doomed and destined
for a destruction
that they will face.
And again,
if that's you,
Jesus stands eager
and willing to welcome you
into this kingdom,
into this life,
into this peace
that he offers.
For those of us
who have trusted Christ,
as we go this week,
when you see evil
showing its head,
when you experience
the pain
and the evils
of sin
and the fall,
look with eyes
to see.
Know that there is
a sovereign hand
who's Lord
over all of these things.
And let the predictions
that have already
been fulfilled
and the promises
kept serve
to strengthen your faith
as you await
the final return
of the Son of Man
who says in Revelation,
surely I'm coming soon.
He's coming soon.
He does not tarry.
He does not delay.
He will not let you down.
Read the book of Daniel.
See how Daniel
trusts in God
rather than man
and that trust
is not misplaced.
God is trustworthy
and true
and his glorious kingdom
awaits us.
Let's pray together.
Father, we thank you
that these things are true,
that your word is true,
that evil will not triumph.
Evil will not have
the final say, God,
but you will reign
and you do reign
and you will one day
bring all things to account.
Help us to entrust ourselves
to that truth.
Help us to entrust ourselves
to you,
to look to you
as our source of hope
and strength.
Help us in our times
of difficulty and trial
to remember
that you are coming again,
that you appoint times
and seasons and purposes
that we might endure
and have hope.
And we thank you
for your Son, Jesus Christ,
that he died in our place,
that we can have this hope.
Let us go with that today.
We pray this in Jesus' name.
Amen.