Turn with me in your Bible to Daniel chapter 8, wonderful hymn of assurance, and that's
actually where the book of Daniel is going to get to in chapter 12, is the promise of
resurrection.
We won't see that explicitly in today's passage, but that's the hope that the book is leading
up to.
Daniel chapter 8, page 745 in a pew Bible.
We'll read the whole chapter together.
In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar, a vision appeared to me, Daniel, after that
which appeared to me at the first.
And I saw in the vision, and when I saw, I was in Susa, the citadel, which is in the province
of Elam.
And I saw in the vision, and I was at the Ulai Canal.
I raised my eyes and saw, and behold, a ram standing on the bank of the canal.
It had two horns, and both horns were high, but one was higher than the other, and the
higher one came up last.
I saw the ram charging westward and northward and southward.
No beast could stand before him, and there was no one who could rescue from his power.
He did as he pleased and became great.
As I was considering, behold, a male goat came from the west across the face of the whole
earth without touching the ground, and the goat had a conspicuous horn between his eyes.
He came to the ram with the two horns, which I had seen standing on the bank of the canal,
and he ran at him in his powerful wrath.
I saw him come close to the ram, and he was enraged against him and struck the ram and
broke his two horns, and the ram had no power to stand before him, but he cast him down to
the ground and trampled on him, and there was no one who could rescue the ram from his power.
Then the goat became exceedingly great, but when he was strong, the great horn was broken,
and instead of it there came up four conspicuous horns toward the four winds of heaven.
Out of one of them came a little horn, which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward
the east, and toward the glorious land.
It grew great even to the host of heaven, and some of the host and some of the stars it
threw down to the ground and trampled on them.
It became great, even as great as the prince of the host.
And the regular burnt offering was taken away from him, and the place of his sanctuary was
overthrown, and a host will be given over to it together with the regular burnt offering
because of transgression, and it will throw truth to the ground, and it will act and prosper.
Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to the one who spoke,
For how long is the vision concerning the regular burnt offering, the transgression that makes
desolate, and the giving over of the sanctuary and host to be trampled underfoot?
And he said to me, For 2,300 evenings and mornings.
Then the sanctuary shall be restored to its rightful state.
When I, Daniel, had seen the vision, I sought to understand it.
And behold, there stood before me one having the appearance of a man.
And I heard a man's voice between the banks of the Ulai, and it called Gabriel,
Make this man understand the vision.
So he came near where I stood.
And when he came, I was frightened and fell on my face, but he said to me, Understand,
O son of man, that the vision is for the time of the end.
And when he had spoken to me, I fell into a deep sleep with my face to the ground,
but he touched me and made me stand up.
He said, Behold, I will make known to you what shall be at the latter end of the indignation,
for it refers to the appointed time of the end.
As for the ram that you saw with the two horns, these are the kings of Media and Persia,
and the goat is the king of Greece.
And the great horn between his eyes is the first king.
As for the horn that was broken, in place of which four others arose,
four kingdoms shall arise from his nation, but not with his power.
And at the latter end of their kingdom, when the transgressors have reached their limit,
a king of bold face, one who understands riddles, shall arise.
His power shall be great, but not by his own power.
And he shall cause fearful destruction, and shall succeed in what he does,
and destroy mighty men and the people who are the saints.
By his cunning he shall make deceit prosper under his hand,
and in his own mind he shall become great.
Without warning he shall destroy many,
and he shall even rise up against the prince of princes,
and he shall be broken, but by no human hand.
The vision of the evenings and the mornings that has been told is true,
but seal up the vision, for it refers to many days from now.
And I, Daniel, was overcome, and lay sick for some days.
Then I rose and went about the king's business,
but I was appalled by the vision, and did not understand it.
How do you deal with disappointment?
Last Saturday I was talking with a few guys at the men's breakfast.
We were talking about how we can encourage one another,
and build each other up,
and we were talking about why do we need encouragement as Christians.
And it struck me as we were talking that,
especially the longer you live on this earth,
the more that we face disappointment.
Now, disappointment can take a variety of forms.
Sometimes it involves losing loved ones,
or ending relationships.
Sometimes it involves remaining in a relationship,
a marriage, or a friendship, or a family relationship,
but knowing that right now it's not what you hoped it would be,
and it doesn't seem to be getting fixed soon.
Maybe you feel like your career path has hit a dead end.
You're stuck in a job you don't like with a boss who doesn't like you.
Maybe you've seen the inside of ugly church conflicts,
or moral failures of church leadership.
Maybe you're disillusioned with our national political scene,
and the way our culture seems to be trending.
How do we deal with disappointment without losing hope,
and without latching on to false hopes?
Because false hopes only increase our sense of despair
when they don't come to pass.
I think this is one of the questions that our passage today is addressing.
And what we'll see in this passage is that God is shaping his people's expectations
for the future,
preparing them to face some very trying and difficult circumstances,
but at the same time reassuring them
that he's still on the throne,
and he's going to triumph in the end.
Now, we've been going through the book of Daniel.
We've finished chapters 2 through 7.
If you remember, that's the central section of the book
that was written in Aramaic,
the international trade language of the Persian Empire.
That section had a broader view.
It was sort of addressed to the whole world,
introducing the world to the one true God
who rescues, reveals, and rules.
But at the beginning of chapter 8,
the language shifts back to Hebrew.
The local language of Judah and Jerusalem.
And the focus of the rest of the book
shifts to the particular concerns
of the exiled people of God at the time.
They were asking questions like these.
Will God bring us back home
to the land that he promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob?
Will God provide for the rebuilding of his house,
the temple in Jerusalem, his city?
Will our nation exiled and scattered because of sin
be gathered together under God once again?
And the answer that God gives in these chapters,
chapters 8 through 12,
is on the one hand very hopeful,
and on the other hand very sobering.
On the one hand, he says,
yes, I will bring you home,
just as I promised in Jeremiah 29.
Yes, the temple and the city will be rebuilt.
Verse 11 through 14 of this chapter
only makes sense if there is a temple in Jerusalem.
And yes, I will gather you together
as my people once again.
On the other hand,
the answer God gives here is very sobering.
The world will continue to be dominated
by beastly empires
and arrogant rulers who do not acknowledge God.
Some of these rulers will specifically
persecute God's people
and profane God's temple.
Even after you get back home,
you will face great suffering
and prolonged opposition.
The road ahead is not going to be smooth or easy.
This is what Daniel is saying,
what God's saying to his people
through this vision of Daniel.
He's giving them a hopeful message,
but he's also giving them a very sobering
and realistic picture of the future.
Now, if you think back to the beginning of Daniel,
the people of Israel had just been taken into exile.
They were brought away from their land,
put in the middle of enemy territory.
And many of them in that kind of situation
could have been tempted to despair
and just give up hope
and just decide to abandon their identity
as the people of the one true God.
Perhaps they could have thought,
we've just blown it.
God's given us over to our enemies.
He's done with us.
He's going to wipe us out.
But if you look at what God says to them
at the beginning of the exile,
in passages like Jeremiah 29
or even the first four chapters of Daniel,
it's a message of encouragement.
And God says, I'm right here with you.
God gives Daniel and his friends wisdom
and understanding and favor,
even with the king of Babylon.
God says, yes, you've been exiled because of your sin,
but don't despair.
Don't think that everything's just going downhill from here.
Don't think that there's no hope,
that it's no good trying anymore at all.
I'm with you.
There's hope in the midst of your exile.
But here in chapter eight,
the time of their exile was coming to an end.
And within only a few years,
large numbers of Israelites
would be heading back to Jerusalem
and beginning to resettle the land
and rebuild the city of Jerusalem
and eventually rebuild the temple.
And in that situation,
many of them could have been vulnerable
to embrace false hopes
or unrealistic expectations
that the future would now be easy and smooth.
And so God's preparing his people
for the reality that
it's going to be more complicated than that.
There's a bumpy road ahead.
And there's a long road ahead.
So this brings us to the vision of chapter eight.
Now, this is the third
of four major prophetic visions
in the book of Daniel.
I've included a bulletin insert
to help you see a little bit
about how some of these visions fit together.
So on this side,
you can see the visions of chapter two
and chapter seven, right?
At the beginning and the end of the Aramaic section,
they correspond to each other.
They both have four successive kingdoms
followed by the everlasting kingdom of God.
I've listed two of the most common ways
that scholars have connected
the four kingdoms of Daniel's visions
to historical empires.
Honestly, you can make a good case
for either one.
We can talk later if you're interested
in putting those together.
But then the visions of chapter eight
and chapter 11 in this Hebrew section
focus more narrowly on the trials of God's people
under a particularly hostile ruler
who appears in chapter eight as the little horn.
And we'll get to that.
But they focus specifically
on the Persian and Greek periods.
Now what I want to do today
is walk through Daniel's vision in chapter eight
and its interpretation.
Thank you, Evan.
And just walk through Daniel's vision in chapter eight
and then consider some implications for us today.
All right, so let's go through this.
Verse two, start at the beginning of the chapter.
Verse two, Daniel sees himself in Susa, the citadel.
Susa was 220 miles east of Babylon.
It had been conquered by the Medes
and it would become one of the four capital cities
of the Persian empire under Cyrus.
So it's a fitting location for Daniel's vision
which begins with the empire of the Medes and Persians
represented by the ram.
According to verse 20.
And then later on the kingdom of Greece
which arises later.
Now Daniel wasn't necessarily physically in Susa
but that's where he saw himself in the vision.
Is this city that would become central
in the Persian empire.
And Daniel sees two animals.
A ram and then a goat.
And both would have been recognized symbols of power.
Powerful animals representing powerful rulers
in the ancient near east.
Verse three and four.
The ram has two horns.
Representing Media and Persia.
Now the Medes arose first
in what is now northwestern Iran.
They became prominent after the fall of the Assyrian empire
in 612 BC.
But the Persians were stronger
even though they came later.
Cyrus the Persian who was also of Median descent
defeated the Median king
and united the Medes and Persians
in a single empire in 550 BC.
That's the picture of two horns.
One horn comes up later.
The second horn is the stronger.
And the Persian empire dominated the near east
for 200 years.
So verse four.
See that picture.
The ram charging west, north, south.
Seemingly unconquerable.
He did as he pleased.
He became great.
But then in verse five.
The goat.
Behold.
A male goat came from the west.
Now verse 21.
I'm sort of working with Daniel's vision
and the interpretation.
We're going through both at the same time.
So verse 21.
You see that.
The goat is the king of Greece.
Verse five.
Describes the goat's rapid descent to power.
Coming from the west across the face of the earth
without touching the ground.
He's sort of rapid, rapidly moving.
And he's marked by a conspicuous or prominent horn
between his eyes.
Which verse 21 identifies as the first king of Greece.
Now if you've studied your ancient history,
it's pretty obvious that this is talking about
Alexander the Great.
336 BC.
He became the ruler of Greece.
For the next 12 years, he expanded his empire
from Greece into North Africa,
through the Middle East,
and all the way to Western India.
He was undefeated in battle.
He is seen as one of the greatest military generals
who ever lived.
Verse six to seven says,
he destroyed the ram and stomped on him.
He took over the former Median Persian empire.
He was not only great like the ram,
but verse eight, exceedingly great.
But then, same thing happens to him that happened to the ram.
When he was strong, the great horn was broken.
Alexander the Great fell ill and died suddenly
at the age of only 32 while he was in Babylon.
After his death, his kingdom was divided
between four of his military generals.
They fought over it for a while,
and then eventually it sort of settled into four pieces.
Verse 22 refers to those.
And those four kingdoms endured for 150 years.
And Daniel's vision in chapter 11 focuses in more detail
on two of those four kingdoms,
which he calls the king of the north
and the king of the south,
who were the Seleucids in Mesopotamia
and the Ptolemies in Egypt,
who were right next to the promised land
and had the most impact on that.
So, now, before we go on,
and before you get lost
in all those ancient history details,
let me make two brief observations so far.
First, this is an unstable picture.
Kingdoms rise up, they seem invincible,
they last for a long time,
and then they fall just as quickly as they arose.
Second, this is a very scary vision.
Beastly empires,
arrogant rulers,
dominating the world through violence and intimidation,
seeking to make themselves great,
one after another.
And if you notice,
there's no divine intervention in this vision.
There's no word of guidance from heaven.
There's no comforting word of assurance,
at least not yet.
And then in verse 9 to 12,
the scariest part of it all.
Out of one of them came a little horn.
Daniel spends more time describing this little horn
in verse 9 through 14 and 23 through 25
than either the ram or the goat.
Now, if you remember,
in chapter 7,
there was also a little horn.
So, turn back a page.
Chapter 7, verse 8,
Daniel sees a terrifying beast
with ten horns.
And then verse 8,
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.
And then verse 25
of chapter 7
goes on to describe
the work of this little horn,
this ruler.
And it says,
he shall speak words
against the Most High.
Chapter 7, verse 25,
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.
So this little horn,
as an arrogant guy,
but he's not just
an arrogant ruler,
there's plenty of those,
he specifically attacks
God
and God's people
and God's law.
And for a time,
he succeeds
in doing so.
Now turn ahead
to chapter 8.
This little horn
appears again.
And again,
he's characterized
by extreme arrogance.
Verse 9, 10, 11,
and 25
talk about
he grew exceedingly great.
Verse 10,
it grew great
even to the host of heaven.
He's sort of challenging
the angels of God.
Verse 11,
he became great
even as great
as the prince of the host.
That is God himself.
Verse 25 says,
he shall even rise up
against the prince of princes.
Isaiah 14
had used similar language
when Isaiah was describing
the king of Babylon.
Isaiah said this,
Isaiah said,
you said in your heart,
I will ascend to heaven.
Above the stars of God,
I will set my throne on high.
I will ascend above
the heights of the clouds.
I will make myself
like the most high.
Then of course,
Isaiah says,
but God's going to bring you down.
And so this little horn
is described
in a very similar way,
rising up against God
and in his arrogance
attacking the people of God,
the worship of God
and the truth of God.
Verse 10,
some of the host
and some of the stars
it threw to the ground
and trampled on them.
And verse 12 says,
and a host
will be given over to it
together with
the regular burnt offering.
Now,
these verses
are a bit tricky
to understand.
Okay,
because usually
the word host,
the word host
just means an army.
Okay,
it doesn't mean,
it's not a hospitality word here.
Right?
It means an army.
And so it's usually referring
to either the stars in the sky
or the angels of heaven.
But here,
it seems to actually be referring
to God's people on earth.
There's a connection,
and we'll see this
in a bit again,
but there's a deep connection
between God's people on earth
and God's armies in heaven.
And Daniel shows us
that they're connected together
even in how they're described.
it's not that
it's not that this guy
actually conquers angels,
but that he's attacking
God's people
who are being protected
and who are linked
to the armies of heaven.
Okay?
Verse 11,
so he's attacking the people,
the host of God.
Then,
verse 11,
he attacks the worship of God.
The regular burnt offering
was taken away
and the place of his sanctuary
was overthrown.
In other words,
he takes over
the temple of God
in Jerusalem
where burnt offerings
were offered
every morning and evening.
That was a sign
of total devotion to God.
That was the people
coming before God
every day and saying,
God,
we are seeking
your kingdom first.
We love you.
You are the one
and only true God.
And he takes it away.
He banishes the worship of God.
Verse 12 says,
it will throw truth
to the ground.
He attacks the people of God,
the worship of God,
and the truth of God.
And verse 12 says,
this little horn
will act and prosper.
Now,
if the ram is Median Persia,
if the goat is Greece,
then who fits the description
of the little horn?
Now,
there are a lot of things
that scholars disagree about
when you look
at the book of Daniel
and read different commentaries.
But everyone pretty much agrees
on this one.
Everyone pretty much agrees
the little horn
of chapter 8
is primarily referring
to a man named
Antiochus IV.
He was the Seleucid ruler
who reigned over Syria
and Palestine
and Egypt
from about 175
to 164 BC.
He is also known
as Antiochus Epiphanes,
which is the Greek word
for manifest
or displayed.
On his coins,
there was an impression
of his head
with a star on his head
and the words,
King Antiochus,
God manifest,
bearer of victory.
Now,
why does Daniel's vision
focus so much
on this one guy?
Right?
This vision spans
400 years
and yet he focuses
much of his vision
on this one man,
this little horn.
And the answer is,
the reason why,
is Antiochus
was not just one
among many arrogant
and proud rulers.
He,
specifically,
more than anyone else,
in this 400 year period,
he attempted to wipe out
the people of God,
the worship of God,
and the truth of God.
So what did Antiochus do
just a little bit?
169 BC,
Antiochus invaded Jerusalem.
He needed some cash
for his military campaigns.
So he took
the valuable vessels
from the temple of God.
And then he went back home.
You think,
well,
that's pretty bad,
but Nebuchadnezzar did it too.
But then two years later,
it gets much worse.
167 BC,
he came back
determined
to wipe out
the monotheistic faith,
biblical faith,
of the Jews,
and
determined to make Jerusalem
into a pagan Greek city.
He plundered
and burned Jerusalem,
killed thousands
of Jews,
invaded the temple,
halted the daily sacrifices,
dedicated the temple
to the Greek god Zeus,
offered a pig
on the altar,
burned copies
of the scriptures,
executed people
found in possession
of them,
outlawed circumcision,
put to death mothers
who had circumcised
their sons,
compelled Jews
to offer sacrifice
to idols,
and eat unclean meat
on pain of death.
If you ever read
the books of
1st and 2nd Maccabees,
they're in what we call
the Apocrypha,
they describe these events
in more detail.
It was the most
intense persecution
that God's people
had faced,
perhaps ever
in their history,
and certainly
since the exile
to Babylon.
Many caved
into the pressure
to deny their faith,
many others
were killed
or fled,
and in the middle
of it,
it seemed
that God
did nothing
to stop it.
How could a pagan
idol worshiper
walk into
the holiest place
on earth
that God had said,
I will put my name here,
I will dwell here
with you,
this is my holy place,
how could he
walk in there,
abolish God's commandments,
set up worship
of idols,
and get away
with it?
Seeing a vision
like this
or experiencing
events like these
can provoke
many questions.
Now many of us
haven't experienced
that kind of
persecution
or opposition
to our faith
or trauma
in our lives.
One question
that comes
that might be
asked is why.
Some of the Psalms
ask this question,
Psalm 22,
my God,
why have you
forsaken me?
Why are you
so far
from the words
of my groaning?
I say to God,
my rock,
why have you
forgotten me?
Why do I go
mourning
because of the
oppression
of the enemy?
Sometimes that's
a question
that comes up.
Maybe you've
been through
trauma
of some kind.
Maybe you
can understand
what it's like
to be attacked
and persecuted
in some form
or other.
But the question
that's asked here
in verse 13
is how long,
which is also
a common question
in the Psalms.
Psalm 13,
how long,
O Lord?
Will you
forget me
forever?
How long
will you
hide your
face from me?
How long
must I
take counsel
in my soul
and have
sorrow in my
heart?
All the day,
how long
shall my
enemy be
exalted
over me?
O Lord,
Psalm 94,
O Lord,
how long
shall the
wicked triumph?
God,
in the midst
of torment
and injustice
and persecution
and mistreatment,
the God of the
Bible permits
his people to
ask such
questions.
And in fact,
by teaching us
to pray through
the Psalms,
God teaches us
to include
those questions
in our prayers
and to identify
with fellow believers
who cry out
in pain
and under
persecution,
to call out
to God
when his word
is twisted
and thrown
to the ground
and when his
people are
forcibly
prevented
from worshiping
and praying
together.
How long?
But the
striking thing
here is
look at who
asked this
question.
It's not
Daniel who
asked this
question.
It's not
a human
being who
asked this
question.
It is a
holy one.
That is a
heavenly being
who calls
out on behalf
of God's
suffering and
mistreated
people.
When the
people of God
are attacked,
when the
worship of God
is forcibly
stopped,
when the
truth of God
is thrown
to the ground,
heaven takes
notice,
and the
holy ones
cry out
on our
behalf,
how long?
If you
have ever
been or
will be
persecuted,
mistreated,
opposed,
for the
name of
Christ,
know that
you are
not alone.
Even if
you have
no human
companions,
the heavenly
host is
watching and
crying out to
God on
your behalf.
And in
verse 14,
the answer
comes,
how long?
For
2,300
evenings and
mornings.
Then the
sanctuary shall
be restored to
its rightful
state.
In other
words,
violent
hostility
against God's
word,
God's
people,
and God's
worship will
last for a
while,
but it
won't last
forever.
Antiochus took
over the
temple in
167 BC.
About three
years later,
in 164 BC,
he ended up
provoking a
violent revolt.
And Judas
Maccabeus retook
the city of
Jerusalem with
his army,
rededicated the
temple to
Yahweh, to
the God of
the Bible,
and restored
the worship
of God.
Now,
scholars go
back and
forth about
these 2,300
evenings and
mornings.
Is it 2,300
evening and
morning sacrifices
or 1,150
days?
Close to,
but not quite,
the amount of
time between
the stopping of
the sacrifices
in 167 and
the rededication
of the temple
in 164.
Is it 2,300
days?
Just about the
amount of
time between
the murder of
the legitimate
high priest in
171 to the
rededication of
the temple in
164.
But I think
it's not meant
to be an exact
number.
I think it's
best to see
2,300 evenings
and mornings as
a symbolic or
representative number
for a significant
but limited
period of time.
time.
Just as Daniel
talked about
time, times,
and half a
time in
chapter 7,
verse 25.
The point is,
the persecution
is going to
last for a
while, not
just for a
day or two,
but it's
also not
going to
last forever.
And at the
end of this
frightening vision
in verse 14
and verse 26
and verse 25
and verse 26,
there's finally
a word of
comfort.
the sanctuary
shall be
restored.
Verse 14
and the end
of verse 25,
he shall be
broken.
This little
horn shall be
broken, but
by no human
hand.
Antiochus
died not
when Judas
Maccabeus took
Jerusalem, but
in the next
year.
He died in
163 B.C.
So here's the
point.
Arrogant nations
will eventually
collapse.
Those who
fight against
God's people
will finally
perish.
This was
true of
Antiochus in
the second
century B.C.,
perhaps the
greatest threat
that God's
people faced
over the
course of
several
centuries.
And
throughout
history,
it has
also been
true of
many other
arrogant
rulers who
have
targeted
God's
people,
who have
prohibited
God's
worship,
and who
have
suppressed
God's
word.
They have
prospered
for a
while,
but none
of them
has
lasted
forever.
None of
their
empires
have
lasted
forever.
They have
eventually
been
brought
down.
Now,
what do we
take away
from this
vision?
Well,
let's look
at Daniel's
response
himself in
verse 15
to 18
and verse
27.
First off,
Daniel's
confused.
Verse 15,
he says,
when I saw
the vision,
I sought
to understand
it.
And God
sends an
angel,
Gabriel,
first time
Gabriel appears
in the
Bible by
name,
but God
sends an
angel to
explain the
meaning of
the vision
to him.
But even
after Gabriel
explains it
in verse 27,
the end of
verse 27,
he says,
I still
didn't
understand it.
Now,
isn't that
interesting?
Even when
God himself
gives a
vision about
the future
to one of
his most
faithful and
intelligent and
humble servants,
even when
God sends
an angel
to explain
the vision
to him,
Daniel still
doesn't
fully
understand it.
You see,
the future
is always
going to be
somewhat
veiled
to us.
That's why
you should
be suspicious
of anyone
who claims
to understand
all the
prophecies
in the
Bible
with perfect
clarity
and has
detailed
predictions
of exactly
what's going
to happen
in the future
leading up
to the return
of Christ.
That's not
how we're
meant to
respond to
these visions.
Even as
they reveal
some things,
they also
keep some
things mysterious.
How,
when,
exactly what
it's going
to look
like.
So Daniel's
confused.
His understanding
is limited.
But second,
he's utterly
overwhelmed.
Verse 17.
He's
frightened
and fell
on my
face.
He fainted
with fear.
Verse 18.
I fell
into a deep
sleep with
my face
to the
ground.
He's
completely
overcome.
Verse 27.
Even
after it's
interpreted,
he was
sick in
bed for
many days.
And even
after he
got up
and went
back to
work,
he says,
I was
appalled
by this
vision.
You see,
God doesn't
usually pull
back the
curtain on
the future
as he did
with Daniel
because it
would be
too much
for us
to handle.
I mean,
it would be
too much
for most
of us
to handle
if God
just showed
us some
of our
own personal
future and
what our
life is going
to look like
one,
two,
three,
four,
five years
down the
line.
Most of
us wouldn't
be able
to handle
it.
And so
99.99%
of the time
God wisely
keeps it
concealed from
us and
gives it
to us
one moment
at a time.
But every
once in a
while,
God pulls
back the
curtain and
gives some
insight into
the future
to one of
his servants
because he
wants us to
know that
the future
is in his
hands just
as the past
and the
present are
in his
hands.
He wants
us to
know that
when everything
seems chaotic
and out of
control and
unfair and
overwhelming,
when the
world seems
dominated by
arrogant
beasts,
when God's
people are
persecuted and
attacked,
and when there
doesn't seem to
be any divine
intervention
that you can
see.
God wants us
to know he's
still on the
throne and
evil won't
triumph in the
end.
And he wants
us to know
that God
isn't surprised
by all that's
happening to
us.
He even
gave us a
heads up
beforehand that
it was going to
be difficult,
but he's bigger
than the trial
we're experiencing
and he's going
to bring us
through the
darkness into
the light
once again.
Most of us,
if we've lived
in this country,
haven't experienced
the kind of
persecution that
the Jewish
people did
under Antiochus
Epiphanes.
We're quite
far away from
that.
But whatever
the nature of
the opposition
or being
personally attacked
for no apparent
reason,
whatever the
suffering and
trials you may
be going through,
whatever the
things that are
disappointments
that threaten
to kill your
hope and lead
you to just
despair and
give up,
God wants to
say,
I'm with
you.
It's not
going to
last forever.
You know,
we can also
find comfort
in something
that Daniel
only saw
from a
distance.
Daniel saw
a holy one,
a heavenly
being calling
out on behalf
of God's
suffering and
mistreated
people.
But we see
in Jesus
Christ,
the true
God
manifest.
We see
the holy
God,
who became
a human
being and
who entered
into our
pain and
suffering and
took upon
himself the
consequences of
our sin and
guilt and who
called out when
he hung on the
cross,
my God,
why have you
forsaken me?
And yet he
wasn't saying
that in defiant
rejection of God,
he was saying
that in humble
trust.
God,
because one of
the next words
he said is,
Father,
into your
hand,
I commit
my spirit.
Jesus faced
every one of
our worst
fears,
every one of
our greatest
disappointments,
every one of
the things that
threatened to
crush our
faith and
hope and
love once
and for
all,
and he came
up on the
other side.
he rose
again three
days later
and he
promises what
we just sang
about in that
great hymn,
Jesus lives
and so shall
I.
Jesus lives
and so shall
I for
eternity and
Jesus lives
and so shall
I today and
tomorrow and
this week and
through whatever
we have to
endure during
the time that
we're on this
earth.
on the night
before he was
crucified,
Jesus said to
his disciples,
the world is
going to hate
you because
they hated
me first.
If they
persecuted me,
they'll persecute
you too.
If they kept
my word,
they'll also
keep yours.
And then he
said, I've said
all these things
to you to
keep you from
falling away,
to keep you
from falling
into despair
when life
doesn't turn
out the way
you hoped,
when the
road is
longer and
bumpier and
harder than
you ever
imagined.
And to
keep you from
embracing a
false hope that
your life will
always be easy
and smooth,
that's not what
Jesus ever
promised.
But he said,
I've also said
these things to
you so that
you might have
peace.
In the world
you will have
trouble,
but take heart.
I have
overcome the
world.
Jesus gives
us a very
sobering and
realistic picture
of what to
expect,
but he also
gives us a
very hopeful
word.
Take heart.
I have
overcome the
world.
Let us
pray.
Amen.
Father, we
thank you for
this vision of
Daniel.
We thank you,
Lord, for the
courage that you
have given to
your people in
years and
centuries past,
those who have
stood firm and
who have endured
great trials and
who are that
great cloud of
witnesses that
Hebrews speaks
about that
surround us.
and even in
revelation,
call out to
you, how
long, O
Lord?
And yet,
Lord, we
thank you above
all for Jesus
Christ, the
author and
perfecter of our
faith, who for
the joy set
before him
endured the
cross, scorning
its shame, and
sat down at the
right hand of
God.
Lord, we pray
that we would
consider him who
endured such
hardship so that
we would not grow
weary and lose
heart.
Lord, we pray
that you would
make us a
people who are
hopeful, not
because we embrace
false hopes, not
because we live by
wishful thinking,
but a people who
have our hope
firmly rooted in
you, our
crucified and
risen Savior.
And Lord, that
you would give us
faith and courage
to live for you
day by day.
We thank you in
Jesus' name.
Amen.