God, Lord, we pray we'll continue to be faithful to us
as we continue to be faithful to him
in holding forth not ourselves
and not building a big program
or a big building or a big anything,
but that we would hold forth the gospel of Jesus Christ
and that he would build his church.
If you're wondering,
the stained glass window is over here in the side
so you can look at it after the service.
If you're wondering, where in the world is that?
I've never seen that.
It's because it's over here.
All the parents know it
because they go to children's ministry.
All right.
I'm going to ask you this morning to stand
for the reading of God's word.
We're looking at Daniel chapter seven this morning.
And as usual, I forgot the page number.
It's 744.
So if you want to pull out your pew Bible
and read along with us,
we're going to read the whole chapter.
And I thought it'd be good for us
to stand to honor God's word
and to stretch our legs.
So let's read God's word together.
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.
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 the four wings of a bird on its back.
And the beast had four heads
and the 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 it in pieces
and stamped what was left with its feet.
It was different from all the beasts
that were before it.
And it had 10 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 on his head was like pure will.
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 10,000 times 10,000 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 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 for the truth
concerning all this.
So he told me
and made known to me
the interpretation of these 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,
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
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 to pieces.
As for the ten horns,
out of this kingdom
ten kings shall rise
and another shall rise 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 dominion
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.
Their kingdom
shall be an everlasting kingdom
and all dominions
shall serve
and obey them.
Here is the end
of the matter.
As for me, Daniel,
my thoughts greatly
alarmed me.
My color changed.
But I kept the matter
in my heart.
This is the reading
of God's word.
Let's say,
thanks be to God.
Thanks be to God.
Take a seat
and let's pray.
God,
we pray for help
this morning.
As we encounter
this text
and we recognize
indeed how foreign
this text is
to the way we think
and the way we communicate
in our day
and age today,
Lord,
we ask for your spirit
to give us wisdom
and insight
that we might know
the truth
that you are speaking
to us through it.
Lord,
thank you
for the many
who have gone before
who can help us
to understand this rightly.
And Lord,
we pray that
as we hear
this word spoken
to us
that we might have,
Lord,
great confidence
in you.
Lord,
that though this world
with devils filled
should often threaten
to undo us,
we will not fear
for Lord,
you have triumphed
through us.
We praise you
for that this morning.
Lord,
I ask for your help
as I speak
that I might speak
your words
and Lord,
for all of our hearts
that we'd be receptive
to what you have
for us today.
We pray this
in Jesus' name.
Amen.
At the risk
of sounding
like Chicken Little,
the sky is falling.
Or at least
that's what it feels
like a little bit.
We live in a world
that is today
perhaps
feeling,
to me at least,
a little chaotic,
a little scary,
a little troubling.
regardless of your
election cycle,
your election predilections,
whichever side
you fall on,
the sky is falling
if the other person wins
and the world
seems like it will end.
If we open
the nightly news,
what you will hear
is about war
and rumors of war
and famine
and natural disasters.
If you turn
to a more benign thing
like the health page,
you find stories
of super viruses
and things
that are outpacing
our ability
to try to treat them
and take care of them.
You turn
to the environmental section
and you hear
about global warming
and the increased
severity
of natural disasters.
Maybe you don't
think about this
every day,
but if you have
eyes to see,
the world is
a chaotic
and a scary place
to be
often.
And that's just
on a global scale,
on an impersonal scale.
How about your own life?
What does your workplace
look like?
Peaceful,
serene,
everyone gets along,
they work together
for the benefit
of your workplace
and the success.
Is that what it looks like?
Or does it look
chaotic,
competitive,
striving against
one another
for success,
uncertain about
the future,
what it's going
to look like?
What's the nature
of your extended family?
Is it characterized
by sniping
and gossip
and power struggles?
how about for those
of you who are in school?
Those of you
who are in high school,
what is it like
as you walk down
the class,
down the hallway
between classes?
The clicks,
the glances,
the whispers,
the condemnation,
the rivalry,
who's in,
who's out,
who's cool,
who's not.
It can be a frightening
world to live in.
You may be facing
any number
of personal crises
where your internal
world may be
falling apart
even as you feel
like you're trying
to hold it together
on the outside.
It can be a chaotic
and a frightening
world to live in.
And where do our
hearts go
at this time?
It's easy,
isn't it?
In times like this,
to become like Daniel
in a reading
we just had.
I was anxious.
The color drained
from my face.
I was afraid.
And of course,
Daniel had good reason
to be that way.
If you remember
or if you're here
visiting and you
haven't been keeping
up with us,
we're preaching
through the book
of Daniel
and what we've learned
in the first six chapters
is that Daniel
has been uprooted
from his childhood home.
He's been taken
forcibly into exile
as functionally
a slave
and he has now
lived through
probably at this time
of Daniel 7
probably close
to 50 years
of seeing
foreign king
after foreign king
rule over his country.
Rule over his life
where he's been
taken into exile.
And not only that,
but he's seen
these kings
throw those
that oppose him
into fiery furnaces.
And he will,
he hasn't gotten
there yet,
but he will see
them thrown
into lion's dens.
The Babylonian kingdom
was not
a pleasant place.
Certainly not
for a slave,
an exile,
and an outsider.
They faced
lots of uncertainty.
What is the next ruler
going to be like?
Nebuchadnezzar
seemed like
he might be
moving towards God
through the course
of his life.
But here in chapter 7,
Daniel is receiving
this vision
under one of his
successors,
Belshazzar.
And if you remember
Greg preaching
on chapter 5,
Belshazzar
had no regard
for God.
He was proud
and arrogant
and he exalted
his own power
and his own person
in a way that
if you've ever been
in a place like that,
it's frightening
and scary
to know that
that person
has all the power.
It feels like
they have power
over your life.
It feels like
your success
or your failure,
your happiness
is completely
in the hands
of someone else
who doesn't love you
and doesn't care for you.
And it's alarming
and it's frightening.
But Daniel 7
has a word for us
this morning.
Daniel 7
tells us that
in the midst
of the terrifying
beastliness
of the world
that we live in,
that there is one,
a God most high
who will come
and with his people
he will triumph
over all of those kingdoms
and he will reign
forever.
And that's a word
of hope for us today.
So let's dive in
a little bit
to this passage.
As we do that though,
we need to remember
a little bit about
where we are
in the book of Daniel.
Daniel 7
is in many ways
a bit of a hinge
chapter.
The people have been,
the people of God
have been brought
into exile.
They are under
a foreign ruler.
They are in a place
where the dominant culture
and the power brokers
worship another God.
And there is
an overall question,
what will happen
to God's people?
Where is God
in the midst of this?
This is a part
of what the book
of Daniel
was written to address
to remind them
of God
being with them
in the midst of it.
And then as we come
to chapter 7,
this hinge chapter,
I call it a hinge
for two reasons.
One is that,
if you remember
as we explained,
when the book of Daniel
was originally written,
chapter 1
and chapters 8
through 12
are written in Hebrew.
Chapter 2
through chapter 7
seem to have been
written in Aramaic.
And so chapter 7
is the end
of this section.
The end of this section
where it seems
what the writer
has been doing,
what Daniel
has been doing
is giving an account
of what God
has done
in Aramaic,
which was the trade
language of the day,
so that all the nations
would hear
of what God
was doing
and how God
had acted
for his people
in the midst
of this incredibly
difficult circumstance.
And so this is
the end
of that chapter.
And interestingly,
there's some parallels
with chapter 2
where, if you remember,
there was a vision
of a statue
in four kingdoms
and that those kingdoms
would fall.
And so,
just for your
further research,
you can see
that this section
was bookmarked
by this theme
that we're looking
at today.
But it's also
a hinge chapter
because at the beginning
it's very easy
to split Daniel
into 1 through 6
and 7 through 12.
And the reason is,
as you heard
this morning,
this is not like
what we saw
in chapter 6.
Chapter 6
is a nice
narrative story.
We're familiar
with that.
It tells about
a person
doing real things
in the real world.
And suddenly,
Daniel,
the content
of most of this
chapter
is a vision
and you just think,
what in the world
do I do with this?
This is called
apocalyptic literature
and we will see
that this is the nature
of the book
for the rest of the way out.
That it's apocalyptic literature.
What does that mean?
What it means
is that
the Bible
is written
in different literary genres
to communicate truth
through different forms.
And so,
there are stories,
narratives,
that tell truths
about how God
has acted in the world.
There is poetry
in the Psalms
that remind us
of the nature of God
in various ways.
There are gospel narratives
that tell about
the life of Jesus.
There are letters
from the apostles
written to the church.
And in all of these
different literary forms,
God is communicating
truth to us
about who He is
and what He's doing
in the world
and what He calls us to
in response to Him.
Apocalyptic literature
is perhaps
the most foreign
and most unknown
to us,
particularly,
of these genres.
Genre is just a word
for a literary form.
What does that mean?
Well,
here are a couple of things
that are true
about apocalyptic literature.
I'm just going to go
through this real quick,
but I feel like
it's going to be helpful.
First of all,
it's metaphor rich.
It gives you lots of likes
and as
and pictures,
not of what is really true,
but pictures that help you
think about something.
This is the second thing
that's true about.
Not only does it give you
those pictures,
but it teaches by analogy.
That is,
it talks about something
you don't know anything about
by referring it to
or making it like
something that you
do know something about.
So it doesn't mean
there are actual beasts.
It just means
what I'm picturing
is like a beast,
for example.
Third,
we need to recognize
that images
in this kind of writing,
they speak truly
and accurately,
but not precisely.
images preserve mystery
about the ideas
that are,
in trying to communicate
about ideas
that at some level
are beyond our comprehension.
Tremper Longman,
an Old Testament scholar
and one of the
real leading ones
on this kind of literature
says this,
it is a travesty
to interpret
apocalyptic images
too finely,
to press them
in their details.
Because that's the nature
of how it communicates.
Those details are meant
to give an image
or an impression,
not to give us
an allegory
where every little detail
has some corresponding
reality to it
that we must identify.
And so,
apocalyptic literature
is a different form
than what we're used to.
And we're going to be in it
for about five weeks,
so buckle your seatbelts
and get ready
because here we go.
Apocalyptic literature.
So what do we do
with this chapter
in light of it?
How do we understand
its meaning?
Well,
as I've already said,
I think the main idea
of this chapter
is that the terrifying kingdoms
of this world
will ultimately
be overcome
by the triumphant kingdom
of the Most High
and His saints.
And in that,
you see there are basically
two main points
that he's putting forth.
One is,
there is this frightening vision
of the kingdoms
of the world
and then there is
the vision of the King
of the God Most High
who will come
and triumph over them.
So we're going to look
at them in that order.
As we look at the first one then,
the terrifying kingdoms
of the world,
the images he uses
are beasts
and then the fourth beast
has horns
and there are horns
that grow out of horns
and horns that overcome
and pluck out horns
and again,
you recognize
this is not a literal description,
right?
It's pointing
towards something else
and so thankfully,
in verse 17,
in the middle of this chapter,
it gives us
the interpretation of it
so we don't have to wonder,
oh,
what are we talking about here?
Look with me
at verse 17.
Verse 17,
Daniel asks people
in this vision,
there are others around him
who are hearing this
or who are seeing this
and he asks them,
what is this about?
Verse 17,
the four great beasts
are four kings
who shall arise
out of the earth.
Okay,
so this is what we want to know.
First and foremost,
these kingdoms,
these beasts represent
kingdoms of this world,
kingdoms of humanity
that will rise out
and what do we learn
about them?
Well,
we learn a whole lot of things
by the images,
right?
First of all,
we recognize
that they come out
of the earth
so that they are earthbound,
they are not heavenly kingdoms,
they are earthly
but not only that
but look at where
the beasts come from,
the beasts come from the sea
and if you study
the ancient Near East,
you recognize
that the sea
is almost always
pictured as a,
an image of chaos,
an image of disorder.
Think about even
how God accommodated this
and addressed it
when he wrote about
how God began
to make order
out of the chaos
of the ocean
in the creation narrative
when he talked
in Genesis
about how he put boundaries
on the ocean
and how he did those things.
Those were speaking
about the chaotic nature
of the sea
that would have been understood
in the ancient Near East
that we don't really think about
unless you happen to live
in North Carolina
or Louisiana
or a few other places
where you've seen
the terrifying nature
of the ocean
when it comes into your backyard.
So,
here's,
so,
you have this image
of chaos and disorder,
something that is not out of,
not under control.
You see this idea
that from the four winds,
these kingdoms
are going to cover
the whole part of the earth.
The four tends to be
connected to the four points
to the compass.
So,
these winds come
from the north
and south
and east
and the west.
And so,
there's a sense
of the universal picture
of it.
And the beasts,
without trying to identify
them specifically right now,
what are they?
Well,
whatever they are,
they aren't natural.
They are not normal.
You have a lion
with eagle's wings.
You have a leopard
with wings.
You have a bear.
All of them
are being unnatural
in various ways.
And you see
in the third one,
the command,
arise and devour
the flesh.
They are fierce animals.
They are things
that if you met
in your backyard,
you would be terrified.
That's the impression
that you're supposed
to get.
Whatever these,
whatever these beasts are,
whatever these kingdoms are,
they're terrifying
and they are powerful.
They're predatory.
And then,
we get to the fourth one
and Daniel begins
to lose his language for it.
Well,
it's not like anything.
It's actually different.
He says it's different
four times
in verse 7
and verse 19
and verse 23
and verse 24.
He says,
whatever the fourth one is,
it's going to be
different
in some ways
and yet it still shares
the same characteristics.
And as we saw,
as we read through
the whole chapter,
this was a more violent,
there was more internal strife,
there was more violence
towards others.
This little horn
that would come up
out of this kingdom
and be a part,
it seems like
that's referring
to a particular human ruler
maybe
because it's given
human eyes
and a human mouth
to speak
but also,
it is a boastful person.
It is a boastful kingdom
and in this boastful kingdom
it wages war
specifically
against the saints
of the Most High.
And so there is
this picture
of these kingdoms
that are fearsome
and scary
and that are attacking
God's people.
And this is the overall impression
that we ought to get
from these visions.
Now,
typically,
as people have tried
to map them
onto human history,
they have said
the first beast
seems like it's Babylon,
the second beast
seems like it's
the Persian Empire,
the Medes
and the Persians,
the third one
seems like it's Greece
and the fourth one
seems like it's Rome.
But again,
the fourth one
seems to defy category here.
I think it's probably
something bigger
than just that.
And Pastor Greg
will get more
into the identity
identity
of the little horn
next week
because the little horn
comes back
in chapter eight
and in fact
is more central
and we'll see
how it seems
that the best
understanding of that
might be
that it connects
to the Greek Empire.
But I'm going to let him
cover that next week.
So come on back
or make sure you go
to the website
and hear that.
So this is the picture,
this is the vision
that God is giving Daniel.
Fierceness,
frightening,
overpowering,
predatory nations.
I don't know
how that strikes you.
So I was meditating on it.
I realized that,
you know,
we in America particularly,
we live in a world
where we just really think
things are going
to get better.
We always think
it's going to get better.
Right?
That the best thing
is just around the corner.
It's the next thing
to come
and we live in this world
of improvement.
Now, here's the thing.
God in his grace,
in his common grace
to this world,
there's lots of good things
that are happening.
People don't die
in childbirth
at the same rate
that they used to,
either the women
or the children.
Diseases that used
to ravage people
no longer ravage them.
There is lots
to be thankful for.
But friends,
let us put on our
eyes of history
just a little bit
to recognize
that the development
of human history
has not been moving
from chaos to order.
But the story
of human history
has always had
both God's common
grace of goodness
and the kingdoms
of the world
rising up
and railing
with ferocity
and devouring people.
I was a history major.
Just think about
the 20th century.
Go back to the slaughter
of the Armenians
by the Turkish government
where Idi Amin's rule
in Uganda
or Mao
and the Cultural Revolution
in China
or Stalin
in Russia
the Civil Wars
in Rwanda
and South Sudan
the Shining Path
in Peru
and I could go on
and on and on
and talk about
how much
in the last 100 years
our world has been
characterized by that.
And lest we
in our North American
cocoon
think that we are
above all of this
recognize that we are
the ones
who dropped
the atomic bomb
and killed
millions of people.
Not only that
on a global
sociopolitical level
but think about it
on a societal level.
We in America
who believe
that we are progressing
that we are getting better
that we are doing better
at treating one another
friends
is this really happening?
We've lived
through the last two years
where racial division
and racial violence
have been devastating.
We live in an election cycle
where the things
that have been talked about
have been
just disgusting.
And the attitudes
that have embodied
hatred
sexism
racism
it's been terrible.
and let us
not think that
lest you think
that I'm standing
on one or other side
of this
this election thing
recognize as well
that the social
progressive policies
of the elite
can be just as destructive
in some ways
as maybe
the more blatant
nature
on the other side.
I am not hopeful.
I see our political system
and I am
I am not hopeful.
I think
beasts
that are ferociously
devouring
is far more
characteristic
than anything else.
And friends
recognize that
in the middle of this
the persecution
of God's people
has simply increased
in the last
100 years.
There are more martyrs
in the 20th century.
Some of that's just
population growth
but some of it
is the reality
of opposition
to God's kingdom.
I searched online
currently over
100 million
Christians
are living
in a place
where persecution
against the church
is regular.
And interestingly
one statistic
I found
statistics aren't
always true
but it said
70% of the world
lives in a
religiously intolerant
context.
Friends
the beasts
ravage
our world.
The kingdoms
of this world
are not
going to save us.
They are going
to devour us.
And recognize
that it's not
just out there.
Recognize
that it's probably
in your own life
as well.
think about
how the fierce
teeth of divorce
or abuse
rip apart
your soul.
Recognize
how the
claws of
success
and achievement
tear
at your
meaningful
work
and study.
Recognize
that the
fierce competition
in your
workplace
makes it a
battleground
where others
are adversaries
instead of
partners.
Recognize
that in our
materialistic
world where
we cling
to those
things
where we
are living
in the
most materially
well provided
country
probably ever
yet
lack of
home
lack of
medical
care
social
isolation
and poverty
continue
to characterize
some of
your
lives
even
today.
Recognize
that in
the world
we live
in
here
in New
Haven
that the
educated
elite
can be
condescending
arrogant
superior
in a way
that is
not
sharing
and building
but is
destroying
what is
good about
this
world.
There are
beasts.
Now
the good
news is
this is not
all that is
true
and please
hear me
when I
said earlier
God's grace
is still
working
it is not
all bad
in this
world
there is
a place
for us
to be
working
to counteract
and fight
against those
things
and to
contribute
to the
world
being
a better
place
but that is
not the
message of
Daniel 7
the message
of Daniel 7
is to
exiles
who are
experiencing
life
like that
who are
seeing that
this is
really true
and they are
wondering
how can
we endure
God
where are
you
and this
is what
the second
half
of the
chapter
the second
part of
it
a vision
there is
a vision
that comes
up
and we
know
that in
this
vision
of the
courtroom
that those
beasts
will be
defeated
verse 11
and 12
and verse
18
show
that none
of those
beasts
ultimately
will stand
none of
them will
last
forever
in fact
there is
a striking
transition
in the
vision
from 3
to 8
it is
all visions
and little
horns
and fierceness
and destruction
and then
in verse
9
it almost
shifts
abruptly
to something
else
it is like
the one
who is
giving
the vision
wanted us
to say
okay
now you
know what
your context
is but
look
this is
what I
want you
to really
see
this is
what I
really
want you
to understand
there is a
vision of a
courtroom
a heavily
courtroom
and in that
courtroom
the ancient
of days
sits
that ancient
of days
is a picture
of moral
purity
and perfection
with his
whiteness
his white
hair
and his
white
robes
those are
pictures of
moral
perfection
and purity
in the
imagery
we also
see that
he is
one from
whom
flows
fire
which is
a picture
of judgment
and so
this ancient
of days
comes and
he sits
like the
judge
and you
see that
in this
courtroom
the books
are open
and he
is ready
to begin
to pronounce
judgment
and he
sits in a
place of
high authority
where thousands
and ten
thousand
serve him
and come
before him
and we
see just a
little further
on in
verses
14 and
15
that he
is the
one to
whom
the second
person in
this vision
of hope
comes
there is
one who
is like
a son
of man
and he
comes
to the
ancient
of days
and the
ancient
of days
gives
to him
the
dominion
and the
power
forever
he is
the one
who
receives
the
ultimate
rulership
over the
world
now who
is this
son of
man
what do
we know
about him
well there
are a couple
things we
know one
is that the
term son of
man in the
bible is
used a lot
if you read
the book of
ezekiel you
would see that
that was the
common designation
that god would
call ezekiel
son of man do
this son of man
go speak for
me and in
that sense as
it does in like
psalm 8 what
is man that you
are mindful of
him or the
son of man that
you are take
thought of him
it simply means
you are part of
humanity as
opposed to being
divine or
angelic so at
some level it's
saying this is
this is a real
human being but
interestingly he is
a son of man who
who comes riding or
sitting on the
cloud and again
this imagery if you
read through your
old testament the
cloud is an image of
god's presence over
and over again as
they left exile in
in egypt god went
before them a cloud
of fire and a
cloud of
a pillar of fire
and a pillar of
cloud right
when god descended
on the temple and
said i am now going
to dwell among my
people it was he
came down in a
cloud and further
and further on you
see this imagery of
god's presence of
divinity and so
there is this picture
of one like a son of
man both divine and
human and it says
in verse 14 and to
him was given
dominion and glory and
a kingdom and all
the peoples and
nations and languages
should serve him and
his dominion is an
everlasting dominion
which shall not pass
away and his kingdom
one that shall not be
destroyed and this is
then reaffirmed again
at the end in chapter
27 there's a little
footnote that you might
wonder about who's
ruling at the end is
it is it god's people or
is it the son of man is
it a plural or a
singular and they have
it in in the text one
way and in the footnote
the other way but i
believe that in the end
the vision is going to
bring those things
together we'll talk about
that in just a minute
verse 27 says in 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
so what we see is this
one who comes and the
ancient of days who is
the judge of all gives
him dominion over all of
these beasts and over all
of their kingdoms and over
all of their and all of
their fierceness and all of
their power and all of
their chaos and all of
their devouring will end
and friends i'm sure many
of you know but when you
go to the new testament
when jesus christ comes to
earth this is his favorite
name for himself nobody
else actually calls him the
son of man but he calls
himself the son of man
self-referentially over and
over and over and over again
often in relationship to his
authority often in
relationship to his
suffering in mark 13 as
he's talking about the
days to come this is a
little apocalyptic part of
the gospel of mark he says
but this is chapter 13
verse 24 but in those days
after the tribulation the
sun will be darkened and
the moon will not give its
light and the stars will be
falling from heaven and the
powers in the heaven will be
shaken and then they will see
the son of man coming in the
clouds with great power and
glory and then he will send
out the angels and gather his
elect from the four winds from
the ends of the earth and the
ends of heaven and then one
chapter later as jesus is
standing trial before the
jewish leaders in caiaphas and
they're asking him are you the
christ the son of god jesus says
this i am and you will see the
son of man seated at the right
hand of power and coming with the
clouds of heaven
jesus was very comfortable saying
i am he i am the one who has
come to fulfill what daniel was
pointing to i am the son of man
who will come and i am the one who
the ancient of days will give all
dominion and power to
jesus presents himself as the victor
he is the victor over sin and death
as he lives a perfect life and dies a
death that he didn't deserve because
he was sinless and rose again from
dead to to defeat the power of sin
and death so that we could be free
from the worst beast and the most
ferocious power in our lives which is
the power of sin and death but not
only has he done that but he has
promised that he will come back and
when he comes not only will sin and
death be defeated but all the kingdoms
of this world will be brought into
alignment as paul says in philippians
2 that when jesus exalted to the
heavens when he returns every knee will
bow and every tongue will confess that
jesus christ is lord to the glory of
god
he is the one who will reign he is the
one who will defeat all the enemies
and yet here's the most wonderful
thing and it must have been great for
daniel to hear this because it's not
just him but it's all of his saints with
him did you see that it was listed
twice it was smoking twice for once in
verse 27 and then once again um in
oh i lost it uh verse 19 no 18 i think
i didn't put my glasses back on so you
have to bear with me um so but twice we
see it's not just jesus or this son of
man who will have that dominion but all
of his saints with him can you imagine
how wonderful that would have been for
daniel to hear
oh my
though i live in this world where i feel
like they have all the power and all the
control and all the suffering that i am
enduring and all the trials and even the
death that i might face for being faithful
to my god
but i'm gonna reign over them one day
i will have this victory over them not in
this world in the world that's to come
but i will reign the ultimate victory does
not happen now in this chapter the ultimate
victory is at the end and when that victory
comes when judgment comes the beast will be
shown to be nothing and the saints of the most
high will sit with those with him who reigns
over all and has this everlasting kingdom
and so friends this is what we are to take
from daniel though we live in a world that
is chaotic and is frightening there is a king
who will come and rule these things will not end
last forever because one day he will come
and he will have the everlasting kingdom and we
who have faith in him will be with him in it
so what does this mean first of all it means
don't be surprised this is what peter wrote in the
passage it was read earlier don't be surprised when you face
various trials don't be surprised that we live in a world full of ferocious
beasts whether they be political kingdoms or little power kingdoms in
your world don't be surprised this is normal this is real in our
world and it will be until that day when jesus returns and ends it all
so gear yourself up for it get ready for it at one level it's not getting better
not in the short term it's going to be hard so gear up for that
but secondly know that evil will not win
and i know this is hard sometimes when you faced it personally when you've been
the victim of it when you in a tender conscience you look at the world and you
think why does it seem like why does it seem like evil is winning
daniel says no it is not going to win there is one who will come and when he
comes he will reign in righteousness
and evil will be judged and evil will be punished and evil will end and what
continues forever is this kingdom of righteousness that he will bring
and so endure with patience to the end know that you are not going to be on the
losing side as you cling to him and third recognize that your life is in the hands
of the one who will have all dominion you are not outside of his hands even now in the
midst of your suffering god has not forgotten you even now in the most frightening circumstances
god is not far off but he is near to you this is what we've seen in all of daniel
one through six in these narratives now we see it in a very different way communicated the same message
what jesus said before you send it into heaven and lo i am with you always to the end of the age
he has not forsaken you you are in his hands
and he's the king
and one day his kingdom will be ours to share in
and so on november 9 no matter who is elected
or as you head back to your workplace tomorrow morning
and you see the scars and the claws are out again
as you face your own private stories of the ravages of this world
know
know that there is one
there's one who has come
one who has won the victory
at the cross and at the resurrection
and one who in whose hands your life is even today
by faith in him
hold fast to him
and keep going
don't give up
one day you will reign with him
let's pray
lord we thank you for this
word of hope and encouragement
lord we
acknowledge that
there are times when we doubt
lord when we face the ravages of this world
when we see how fearsome
it can be
lord we shrink back
but lord thank you that you are gentle
and kind
in reminding us
lord
that
that's not the whole story
and that as we fix our eyes on you
and remember that you are
the victorious risen one
and the coming conquering king
lord that will help us
in these moments
to walk in faith
and to trust in you
and to have hope
hope not that this world will get better now
but hope that you will come back
and make it one day
and that we will reign with you
what a great hope that is
we pray these things in jesus name
amen