Daniel 7

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.

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