Daniel: Lord of History

of your church Bible. It's quite a big section, so I encourage you to get yourself a Bible.

You can follow along. There's a lot of detail in these chapters, and therefore it'll help

you keep focused with what it's all about. Before we read chapter 8, just by way of introduction,

and you'll notice that Daniel 1 to 6 is slightly different from Daniel chapter 7 through to the

Daniel 7 · chapter mention

end of the book, and from Daniel 7 onwards, this is called apocalyptic literature. It's a bit of a

mouthful, but it's a kind of writing that uses all kinds of colours and imagery, sometimes numbers,

to tell us two big ideas. First, what's going on in the world, and what God is going to do about it

in the future. So it's a kind of writing with lots of imagery and colours to tell us about what is

going on in the world now, and what will happen in the future. And this is what the vision is all

about. Kirsty is going to come and read for us Daniel chapter 8, verses 1 through to 27.

Daniel 8:1

In the third year of King Belshazzar's reign, I, Daniel, had a vision, after the one that had

already appeared to me. In my vision, I saw myself in the citadel of Susa in the province of Elam.

In the vision, I was beside the Ule Canal. I looked up, and there before me was a ram with two horns,

standing beside the canal, and the horns were long. One of the horns was longer than the other,

but grew up later. I watched the ram as he charged towards the west and the north and the south.

No animal could stand against him, and none could rescue from his power. He did as he pleased,

and became great. As I was thinking about this, suddenly a goat with a prominent horn between his

eyes came from the west, crossing the whole earth without touching the ground. He came towards the

two-horned ram I had seen standing beside the canal, and charged at him in great rage. I saw him attack the

ram furiously, striking the ram and shattering his two horns. The ram was powerless to stand against him.

The goat knocked him to the ground and trampled on him, and none could rescue the ram from his power.

The goat became very great, but at the height of his power, his large horn was broken off,

and in its place four prominent horns grew up towards the four winds of heaven.

Out of one of them came another horn, which started small but grew in power to the south and to the east

and towards the beautiful land. It grew until it reached the host of the heavens, and it threw some

of the starry host down to the earth and trampled on them. It set itself up to be as great as the prince

of the host. It took away the daily sacrifice from him, and the place of his sanctuary was brought low.

Because of rebellion, the host of the saints and the daily sacrifice were given over to it.

It prospered in everything it did, and truth was thrown to the ground.

Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to him,

How long will it take for the vision to be fulfilled, the vision concerning the daily sacrifice,

the rebellion that causes desolation, and the surrender of the sanctuary and of the host

that will be trampled and underfoot? He said to me,

It will take 2,300 evenings and mornings. Then the sanctuary will be re-consecrated.

While I, Daniel, was watching the vision and trying to understand it, there before me stood one who

looked like a man, and I heard a man's voice from the ule calling,

Gabriel, tell this man the meaning of the vision. As he came near the place where I was standing,

I was terrified and fell prostrate. Son of man, he said to me, understand that the vision

concerned the time of the end. While he was speaking to me, I was in a deep sleep,

with my face to the ground. Then he touched me and raised me to my feet. He said,

I am going to tell you what will happen later in the time of wrath, because the vision

concerned the appointed time of the end. The two-horned ram that you saw represents the kings

of Media and Persia. The shaggy goat is the king of Greece, and the large horn between his eyes is

the first king. The four horns that replace the one that was broken off represent four kingdoms

that will emerge from his nation but will not have the same power. In the latter part of their reign,

when rebels have become completely wicked, a stern-faced king, a master of intrigue, will arise.

He will become very strong, but not by his own power. He will cause astounding devastation and

will succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy the mighty men and the holy people. He will cause

deceit to prosper, and he will consider himself superior. When they feel secure, he will destroy

many and take his stand against the prince of princes. Yet he will be destroyed, but not by human power.

The vision of the evenings and mornings that has been given you is true. But seal up the vision,

for it concerns the distant future. I, Daniel, was exhausted and lay ill for several days. Then I got up

and went about the king's business. I was appalled by the vision. It was beyond understanding.

Thanks very much. Well, let's pray. I think we always need God's help. And in particular,

with a vision like this, what does it have to say to us today? Well, let's pray and ask God to help us.

Our Father God, we come before you as the one who is Lord of history.

Therefore, Lord over our lives and Lord over everything.

We thank you that in your goodness you have given to us your word, written down.

We thank you for the book of Daniel.

We thank you for all it contains.

And while some of it is complex to our minds,

we pray that by your Holy Spirit,

you would not just give us intellectual understanding,

but an understanding of the heart,

whereby it causes us

to love you,

the Lord of history,

to trust you

in everything,

both today

and for the rest of our lives.

So please help us, we ask in Jesus' name.

Amen.

You have three choices.

Three choices.

Number one,

you can denounce the Lord Jesus

and live.

Number two,

you can pay a protection tax

to save your life

but have no rights.

Or number three,

you can continue to honour the Lord Jesus

and die.

Thankfully, that's not a choice

we have to make right now.

But it might be.

If you're a follower of the Lord Jesus

and you live in a country like Iraq

or Iran,

those will be the choices

that are put to you.

You can denounce the Lord Jesus

and live.

You can pay a protection tax

to save your life

but have no rights.

Or you can continue to honour the Lord Jesus

and die.

This is the reality

for many of the world's Christians

and with the spread of ISIS

that we hear on the news,

the growing influence of Sharia law,

it will be a reality

for many more people,

even

in Europe.

But this sort of thing

shouldn't surprise us

because this kind of treatment

of Christians

is not new.

It happened during the life of Daniel

as we have seen

under the Babylonian

and the Persian empires.

And in this vision

in chapter 8,

Daniel tells us

that things are going to get

a whole lot worse

before they get any better.

Things are going to get

a whole lot worse

before they get better.

No wonder Daniel felt sick

after what he saw.

Look at verse 27.

After his vision,

he says,

I, Daniel, was exhausted

and lay ill

for several days.

Daniel was completely

and utterly

wiped out

by the vision.

The very thought

of what was to come

made him so weak

that he couldn't

get out of bed.

But,

look at the rest

of verse 27.

Then I got up

and went about

the king's business.

I was appalled

by the vision.

I was so overwhelmed

by it.

It was beyond

understanding.

You see,

somehow,

Daniel

was able

to keep on going,

living for God

in the place

where God

had called him to,

even though

he knew

things were going

to get worse.

Now,

you and I

mightn't face

the same kind

of pressure

that Daniel did

or our fellow

brothers and sisters

in Iraq

had to do.

but sometimes,

and I know

this is true

for some of you,

going into work

or into school

or perhaps

to your lectures

as the only Christian,

some days

that's really

too much.

We feel the pressure

of loneliness.

we feel the difficulty

of being different,

of being misunderstood.

And sometimes,

just simply trying

to live for God

in a world

that is hostile

to God

can be so difficult

and so overwhelming

we just don't want

to get out of bed.

Have you ever felt

like that?

Because I have.

You just don't want

to face

a day.

So what is it

that Daniel saw

that made him

so ill

but

enabled him

to get up

and to get on

with serving God

where he was?

Because if we can

get that right

it's going to help us

living our lives

for him.

So three things

we're going to see

from this vision

that Daniel saw.

Here's the first thing

he sees.

A God who knows

all of history.

Now the book of Daniel

is really quite remarkable

especially these last

few chapters

and particularly

chapter 8.

Let me show you.

Daniel

was written

around 530

BC.

530

before Christ.

But when we read

chapter 8

he is actually

talking about

kings and kingdoms

that came into power

300 to 500

years later.

In other words

this vision

is telling us

that God

knows

all of history.

Let me show you.

Verse 3

chapter 8.

He says

I looked up

and there before me

was a ram

with two horns.

Down at verse 5.

As I was thinking

about this

about the ram

with the two horns

suddenly

a goat

with a prominent horn

between his eyes

came from the west.

What's all this

farmyard

talk about?

Well look at the

interpretation

verse 20.

The two horned ram

that you saw

represents the kings

of Media

and Persia.

The shaggy goat

is the king

of Greece

and the large horn

between his eyes

is the first king

and we know

now that the

first king

of the Greek

empire

was

Alexander the Great.

You see

in this vision

we have

such

precise

detail.

The clarity

and the

accuracy

of this

vision

is incredible.

History

tells us

and you can

look up

the books

for yourself

that after

the Babylonian

empire

came

the Persian

empire

and after

the Persian

empire

came the

Greek

empire

under

Alexander

the Great.

All of that

is fact.

It's all true.

It's undisputed.

But God

through Daniel

was telling him

all these

things

500 years

before they

happened.

You see

God knows

all that

will take

place

before

the end

of time.

God

knows

what's

going to

happen

next year.

God

knows

what's

going to

happen

next week.

God

knows

what's

going to

happen

to us

this

afternoon.

Now

doesn't

that

help

you

to

turn

the

light

on

in

these

dark

mornings

and

begin

to

help

you

to

get

up.

Because

here

we

have

a

God

who

knows

all

of

history.

He

knows

what

empires

will

rule.

He

knows

what

kings

will

lead.

And

if

God

knows

that,

then

God

knows

what

is

happening

in

your

life

and

in

my

life.

Every

single

detail.

He's

not

surprised

by

each

new

day.

He's

not

overwhelmed

by the

circumstances

that you

face

into.

He

knows

the

whole

of

your

life

from

the

first

day

till

your

last

day

and

all

the

little

intricate

details

in

between.

God

knows

all

of

history

and

he

knows

the

history

of

your

life.

The

second

thing

that

Daniel

sees

is a

God

who

rules

over

history.

So he

not only

knows

history,

he

rules

all of

history.

As

Daniel

takes

in this

vision

that he

sees,

all he

seems to

see is

great

upheaval

and

violent

conflict.

Great

upheaval

and violent

conflict.

Look at

verse 4

of

chapter

8.

He

says,

I

watched

the

ram

as he

charged

towards

the

west

and

the

north

and

the

south.

No

animal

could

stand

against

him

and

none

could

rescue

from

his

power.

He

did

as he

pleased

and

became

great.

Now

as we've

seen,

we know

that this

was the

rule of

the

Medo-Persian

empire.

For the

best part

of 250

years,

it ruled

the world

with power

and might.

It

swallowed up

surrounding

nations as

the Persian

empire expanded

its borders

as it

pleased.

But that

was all

soon to be

replaced,

verse 5.

as I

was thinking

about this,

suddenly a

goat with

a prominent

horn between

his eyes

came from

the west

crossing the

whole earth

without

touching

the ground.

This

goat with

the horn,

as we have

seen as

well,

was the

empire of

Greece,

under the

rule of

Alexander the

Great.

With his

vast armies,

he marched

with such

speed and

ferocity,

like a

tidal wave.

It

conquered

everyone and

everything in

its path.

Verse 6.

He came

towards the

two-horned

ram I

had seen

standing beside

the canal

and charged

at him in

great rage.

I saw him

attack the

ram furiously,

striking the

ram and

shattering its

two horns.

The ram was

powerless to

stand against

him.

The goat

knocked him

to the ground

and trampled

on him,

and none

could rescue

the ram

from his

power.

When the

Greeks came

in,

they decimated

the Persians.

But strong

and as

powerful as

the Greek

empire was,

it had its

own internal

conflicts.

Look at

verse 8.

The goat

became very

great,

but at the

height of

his power,

his large

horn was

broken off,

and in

its place

four prominent

horns grew

up towards

the four

winds of

heaven.

What on

earth is

all that

about?

Well, look

at verse 22.

The interpretation

is given.

Verse 22.

The four

horns that

replaced the

one that

was broken

off represent

four kingdoms

that will

emerge from

his nation

but will

not have

the same

power.

Again,

history tells

us that when

Alexander the

Great died,

the Greek

empire was

split into

four smaller

kingdoms,

each of

which was

ruled by

a new

general or

a new

king.

And this

is what

Daniel is

telling us,

even though

he's writing

500 years

before it

happened.

The point

is,

history is

bloody and

violent.

There's this

continued desire

for power

and for

control.

And stuck

in the

middle of

all these

wars and

squeezed in

between all

these conflicts

are God's

people.

People like

Daniel.

Because Christians

are not immune

from this

chaos.

We live in a

troubled world.

We can't

escape it.

And if we are

not careful,

we can begin

to panic and

think that God

has somehow

lost control

of the world

in which we

live.

As we look

out onto the

world today,

it's easy to

think that

nobody rules.

Turn on your

television and

see all the

bad news

that there

is.

The raging

conflicts

across Syria

and Iraq.

The continued

battles between

Russia and

Ukraine.

The upheaval

that we've seen

recently in

Burkino Faso.

power

continually

shifts from

one ruling

party to

another.

Recent

elections in

the US

tell us that

the Republicans

are going to

replace the

Democrats.

And here at

home, the

so-called

saviors of

our economy,

Fina Gael,

are now

bottom of the

popularity

poll.

Because that's

the world we

live in,

a violent

upheaval.

there's

power battles

and power

struggles that

happen around

us all the

time.

And this is

the life we

live in.

We're stuck

in the middle

of it all as

nations and

leaders seek

control.

But we are

not to panic.

We are not

to lose hope.

The message

to Daniel and

to us in

all of this

is that God

rules over

all of

history.

God takes

Daniel into

this vision

and he shows

Daniel what

was going to

take place

into the

future to

show Daniel

that he is

in control.

Nations will

rise.

Kings will

fall.

But I rule

over everyone.

I oversee

the appointment

of every

Taoiseach.

I govern

the fall

of every

party.

I am the

sovereign God

who rules.

So don't

panic.

Now doesn't

that help you

to turn your

light on in

the morning

and begin

to get up?

Because here

we have a

God who

rules over

all of

history.

And if

God rules

over the

affairs of

this world

then that

means he

rules over

the affairs

of your

life and

my life.

That means

when you go

into work

tomorrow

and you've

got a boss

you don't

get on

with.

God rules

over your

boss.

When you

go to

college

tomorrow

and you're

facing into

a situation

you don't

want to

God rules

over that.

He rules

over the

decisions that

come against

you.

He rules

over the

troubles that

you experience.

He rules

over the

health problems

that come to

you.

He rules

over everything

that you

face.

God does

not promise

life is going

to be easy

for the

Christian.

In fact

he was

telling Daniel

things are

going to get

a whole lot

more tough

before they

get better.

But when

we face

into

difficulties

God is

saying this

don't

panic

don't

panic

God

rules

all of

history.

So

God

knows

all of

history

God

rules

all of

history

and

third

Daniel

sees

a

God

who

ends

all

of

history.

What's

clear from

Daniel's

vision

is that

the world

is going

to get

a lot

more

worse

before

it does

get any

better.

Look back

to what

he has

seen in

the vision

so far.

We had

the ram

didn't we

in verse

three

which

represented

the

Persian

empire.

Then

in

verse

five

came

the

goat

which

was

the

Greek

empire

that

overtook

the

Persian

empire.

And

when

Alexander

the

Great

died

that

first

great

leader

of

the

Greek

empire

the

Greek

empire

was

then

split

into

four

smaller

kingdoms.

Look

at

verse

nine.

Out

of one

of them

so out

of one

of these

smaller

four

kingdoms

came

another

horn

another

leader

which

started

small

but grew

in power

to the

south

and to

the east

and towards

the beautiful

land.

The beautiful

land was

the land

of God's

people of

Israel.

So who

is this

new leader

that's going

to arise

from one

of these

smaller

kingdoms?

Well

before we

find out

who he

is

let's

see

what

he

does.

He

will

do

two

things.

The

first

thing

he

will

crush

the

people

of

God.

Verse

10

he

will

crush

the

people

of

God.

Look

at

verse

10.

It

grew

until

it

reached

the

host

of

the

heavens

and

it

threw

some

of

the

starry

hosts

down

to

the

earth.

That's

a

reference

there

to

God's

people.

He

threw

the

starry

host

down

to

the

earth

and

trampled

on

them.

This

leader

who

was

to

come

would

inflict

great

pain

and

kill

the

people

of

God.

But that's

not all

he would

do.

He

would

also

replace

the

worship

of

God.

Look

at

verse

11.

God

it

set

itself

up

to

be

as

great

as

the

prince

of

the

host.

In

other

words

he

saw

himself

as

God.

It

took

away

the

daily

sacrifice

from

him.

Took

away

the

worship

of

God

and

the

place

of

his

sanctuary

was

brought

low.

He

was

going

to

crush

the

people

of

God

and

replace

the

worship

of

God.

Verse

13.

Then I

heard a

holy

one

speaking

and

another

holy

one

said

to

me

how

long

will

it

take

for

the

vision

to

be

fulfilled?

How

long

are

God's

people

going

to

have

to

suffer

under

this

ruler

until

it's

all

over?

How

long

are

they

going

to

have

to

live

with

this

terrible

suffering?

Verse

14.

He

said

to

me

it

will

take

2,300

evenings

and

mornings

then

the

sanctuary

will

be

reconsecrated.

In other

words this

new leader

that's going

to come

will rule

for a set

number of

days

known

only by

God

but then

his end

will come.

you're

going

to have

to live

through

it

but then

the

end

will

come.

So

who

is

this

leader?

We've

seen

what

he

will

do

but

who

is

he?

Well

history

records

for us

in

Greek

and

again

you

can

go

and

check

out

your

history

books

for

this

history

records

for us

a

Greek

leader

that

came

from

this

kingdom

in the

south

one of

these

smaller

kingdoms

his name

was

Antiochus

he

ruled

for about

ten years

from

175

to

164

BC

and

here's

what we

know

about

him

on

the

coins

he

had

his

own

head

his

own

face

printed

on

it

with

the

title

epiphanies

which

means

God's

representative

on

earth

in

other

words

he

took

the

place

of

God

he

sought

to

replace

anything

to

do

with

God

he

set

himself

up

as

being

greater

than

the

prince

of

the

host

that

we

read

about

listen

to

what

was

recorded

during

the

time

of

his

rule

this

comes

from

a

secular

historian

and

this

is

what

was

recorded

he

commanded

that

this

should

happen

to

God's

people

he

said

the

observance

of

all

Jewish

that's

ordinances

all the

things

all the

worship

of

God's

people

was

prohibited

on

pain

of

death

in

every

town

in

Judea

sacrifice

was to

be

offered

to

the

heathen

gods

overseers

were sent

everywhere

to see

that the

royal command

was carried

out

where the

people did

not comply

willingly

they were

obliged

to do

so

by force

once a

month

a check

was made

and whoever

was found

with a

scroll

of the

Torah

or that

is if

they had

a part

of

scripture

in their

homes

they were

put

to

death

what

Daniel saw

in his

vision

all those

years

before

became

true

Antiochus

crushed

God's

people

and he

replaced

the worship

of God

it's

recorded

that over

a period

of three

days

up to

80,000

of God's

people

were either

killed

or sold

into

slavery

what

Daniel

saw

became

a reality

no wonder

he felt

so ill

that he

couldn't

get out

of bed

with what

was to

come

look at

verse 23

in the

latter part

of the

reign

here

it's

talking

about

the

Greek

empire

and

those

four

smaller

kingdoms

in the

latter

part

of their

reign

when

rebels

have

become

completely

wicked

a

stern

faced

king

that

was

Antiochus

a

master

of

intrigue

will

arise

he

will

become

very

strong

but

not

by

his

own

power

he

will

cause

astounding

devastation

and he

will

succeed

in

whatever

he

does

he

will

destroy

the

mighty

men

and

the

holy

people

that's

God's

people

he

will

cause

deceit

to

prosper

and

he

will

consider

himself

superior

when

they

that's

God's

people

feel

secure

he

will

destroy

many

and

take

his

stand

against

the

prince

of

princes

he

will

take

his

stand

against

God

it

was

a

horrific

time

in

history

for

God's

people

but

why

do

we

have

in

chapter

8

why

have

we

got

500

years

of

horrible

history

all

explained

to us

here

why

has

Daniel

been

given

a

glimpse

into

the

future

of

how

difficult

and

terrible

it

will

be

well

I

think

it's

here

to

remind

us

as

it

would

remind

Daniel

that

we

live

in

a

world

where

nations

leaders

and

their

laws

are

continually

in

opposition

to

God

and

God's

people

it's

here

to

remind

us

that

when

we

wake

up

in

the

morning

and

you

go

to

work

or

you

go

to

college

or

you

go

out

with

your

friends

we

go

into

a

place

that

has

replaced

God

with

the

worship

of

other

things

and

other

people

we

go

into

a

world

that's

hostile

because

the world

has

and it

always

will be

a

difficult

place

to live

as a

Christian

we

will

to

some

degree

or

another

face

hostility

the line

that's

in that

song

that says

follow

Jesus

and all

your

problems

will

disappear

it's

really

not

true

become

a