Four World Empires (Daniel Sermon 10)

I. The Visions of Daniel

Please take your Bibles and open to Daniel chapter 7. We come to one of the truly incredible chapters in the Bible, a chapter which has a clear view of all of human history, and also a clear view of the deity of Jesus Christ in the Old Testament. But there’s also a jarring picture as well, in Daniel 7, of the persecution of the saints at the hands of human governments, the suffering children of God.

Recently, I’ve been learning more about that from the Voice of the Martyrs. There’s information in your bulletin, if you want to find out more about them. They need our prayers. And I want to tell you a story about one who lives in Indonesia. Her name is Rika, she’s a teenage Christian girl, she lives in Indonesia. She has a beautiful faith in Jesus Christ, but recently, that faith underwent the most severe testing imaginable, leaving her with some terrifying memories and with a greater trust in Jesus her savior. Rika’s homeland, Indonesia, you may not know, is the largest or the most populous Muslim land in the world. 13,000 islands, huge number of Muslim people. The Indonesian government requires everyone, all their citizens, to carry ID cards, which indicates, among other things, their religious preference.

Approximately 10% of the country claim to be Christians, identify themselves as Christians. Recently, however, the accounts of persecution at the hands of some Islamic fundamentalist groups reads like a horror story that seems to have no end, including rape and torture, burnings of buildings and of people, even beheadings. This program of religious cleansing by Muslim extremists is well-organized. It’s an attack on church buildings and a desire to purify their country, as they believe, from Christianity. Recently, Rika’s high school, Christian high school, had a Bible camp, and they had… It was the first one they’d ever tried, and it was going very well. They had an evening worship service, and they were assembled to worship, they were singing praise songs and giving glory to God, and the local government official came and said that they were singing too loudly, and if they didn’t sing more quietly, it was possible that they might be attacked. Well, they sang a little more quietly, they weren’t trying to offend their neighbors, so they did quiet down a bit, but within an hour, a stone crashed through the window, beginning a night of attack by these Muslim extremists. One of the large rocks hit Rika in the head and knocked her to the ground.

It wasn’t long before the Muslims were in the church building itself. The leader begged the Christians, don’t panic, just pray, and so the Christians got down on their knees, and they’re praying. But the Muslims had come in at this point, and one of them grabbed her by the arms and lifted her to her feet, and was shaking her, and said, “Are you a Christian?” And she said, “All of us are Christians.” The man, she said, was tall, with long hair. She was crying as she told this story. I saw this on video tape and the beautiful face and just tears pouring down her face as she told the story. The man picked up a large shard of broken glass off the ground and pressed it to her stomach, and he said, “Repeat after me.” And then tried to force her to deny her faith in Christ. She cried out in her heart, in prayer to God, that she would not deny her faith, but rather that she would remain strong. And when Rika did not answer this man, he became enraged, even more angry, like Nebuchadnezzar when Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego wouldn’t turn their back on their faith. And so he pressed even harder with this shard, starting to puncture the skin and said, “Do you believe your God can help you now?” Can you imagine that moment? “Do you believe your God can help you now?”

“Yes,” Rika answered. “I belong to God and I believe he will save me.” Then he grabbed a stick and began to beat her across her shoulders. “You think I am not strong?” he said, “You think I am not stronger than you?” he shouted. She just kept praying to God for strength. Finally, when the man realized he was not going to get her to deny her faith, he stopped and he said, “You are stronger than I am.” And he left the building.

Rika, as I said, was crying as she recounted the tale. With tears coming down her face, she said this, “Jesus was willing to die for me, and shed his blood on the cross. He did this for all of us, so it doesn’t matter what happens to me, I am willing to suffer for him.”

Now, that’s a tremendous story, isn’t it? And it’s a story of deliverance, not unlike what we just read about last week in Daniel chapter 6. We like stories of deliverance, don’t we? Daniel 6 is a very popular story. Daniel 7, not so popular. Because in Daniel 6, Daniel escapes the lion’s den, doesn’t he? He makes it out. God delivers him miraculously. But in Daniel 7, it seems that the saints are given over into the hands of a world ruler, who’s going to make war on them and be successful for a period of time. What do you think that means? Well, it means the death of many saints. And how do we understand that? How do we put that together with the vision that we’re seeing of God, that we have seen so far in Daniel, of a sovereign and a powerful king, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the one who just speaks a word and empires rise, and then he speaks and they sink back down into the dust from which they came. How do we orchestrate, how do we organize that thought, of a God who rules so powerfully, and yet his saints are left to suffer at the hands of these governments?

II. Context in Daniel

Now, that is what is being addressed in Daniel chapter 7. In order to understand the context, look at verse 1, it said, “In the first year of Belshazzar, king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream, and visions passed through his mind as he was lying on his bed, he wrote down the substance of his dream.” Now, this sets the historical context. We’re in the first year of Belshazzar. You remember Belshazzar, of course, he was the one that threw that banquet, that feast that was interrupted by some writing on the wall, you remember? And that was the night that the Medo-Persian empire conquered Babylon and put an end to the Babylonian empire. Well, this is approximately 14 years earlier than that, about 14 years from the fall of Babylon. Political circumstances are of upheaval. Nebuchadnezzar has died. He had died nine years before that. There had been a series of rulers, but none of them could hold the power of the Babylonian empire. None of them had his influence, his authority, and so there were assassinations and they were coups and it was just one leader after another, a time of instability, a time of political upheaval.

And so, Daniel, at that point, one night, went up and lay down on his bed, and whether he was awake or asleep, we don’t know, but he had some dreams, and the visions passed through his mind and he wrote them down. Now, this is a fascinating thing. God, just like the writing on the wall, is in the business of writing things down ahead of time and then seeing them come to pass. This is the idea of predictive prophecy. It can’t be explained by human explanation. There’s no way to understand it, how God can know, so specifically, the future. It is the glory of God to know the end of the matter before it happens, and it is the glory and the encouragement of God’s people to read about it in the Bible and to see God’s sovereign control and his knowledge of all history. And so he gives Daniel a vision and Daniel writes it down. Reminds me of what Jesus said in John 13:19, similar time, in a way, he was predicting to his disciples persecution and difficulty. And he said this, “I am telling you this now before it happens so that when it does happen, you will believe that I am.” That I am what? “Well, that I am God, that I know the end from the beginning. I’m telling you about persecution ahead of time before it happens, so that when it happens, you will know that I am.” That’s what Jesus said.

And it says in verse 1 that Daniel wrote down, in effect, the sum of the matter. He couldn’t get it all down. How do you put a vision on paper? There’s nothing wrong with scripture, there’s no errors in here, that’s not the issue. The issue is, you just can’t put a vision perfectly down in writing, but we have enough, we have enough to generate faith. We have enough to see the sovereignty of God, we have enough to believe, but he puts down, it says, in effect, the sum of the matter, and we have these visions.

Now, we’re at a key juncture in the Book of Daniel, aren’t we? The book really just divides in half. Chapters 1-6 and chapters 7-12. 1-6 are the historical accounts of Daniel in the courts of the Gentiles, he’s an important administrator in one Gentile leader after another’s court. And so these are court tales, chapter 1, chapter 2, chapter 3, just stories of things that happened as he interacted with important Gentile leaders, emperors and kings. In chapters 7-12, we have what’s known as the apocalyptic section of Daniel’s book. Apocalyptic means the unveiling, the revealing, the pulling away of the future. Now, we’ve already had some of that, haven’t we, in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. In Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, in chapter 2, it was a dream of a great statue in which all of human history was just unfolded. And if you want to do some careful study, just compare Daniel 2 and Daniel 7. There’s a great deal of comparison between the two. But this is the apocalyptic section of Daniel.

And there’s a book, of course, in the New Testament very much like it, and that’s the book of Revelation. And the two are closely related. So we’re going to see some visions, visions of the end. Now, what is happening in Daniel chapter 7? If you want a summary of the entire chapter, look down at verses 17-18, and that gives, I think, a perfect summary of what this book or what this particular chapter is about. The four great beasts, which we’ll meet in a moment… The four great beasts are four kingdoms that will arise from the Earth, but the saints of the most high will receive the kingdom and will possess it forever, yes, forever and ever. That’s a great summary of what’s going to go on in Daniel 7.

There are four beasts. They rise up out of the sea, they really come up out of the earth, they are human kingdoms. One follows another. The final form of that is given great power to make war on the saints and persecute them, but in the middle of the chapter’s is a vision, which Bill read so beautifully for us, of a heavenly court, not an earthly court, but a heavenly court. And the Ancient of Days seated on his throne. The throne is a fire, and there’s a river of fire flowing from that throne. And then there’s one who’s not the Ancient of Days in that vision, but one like a Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven. He comes into the very presence of the Ancient of Days. Who is the Son of Man? We’ll talk about that next week. You can’t do it in one week.

But the Son of Man comes, and we know who it is, it’s Jesus Christ, the second person of the trinity. And he’s given great authority and power, and people from every tribe and language and people and nation will bow down and worship that one on the clouds. And he brings in a kingdom at a key moment in history. When the persecution’s at its worst, he comes in and he establishes a kingdom, and he gives it to the saints, and they rule over it, forever and ever, under the authority of the most high God. That’s a summary of Daniel 7.

III. Four Beasts from the Sea (vs. 1-8)

Now let’s look at the details, ’cause the details are glorious. In verses 2-8, we meet the beasts, four beasts, from the sea. Daniel said, “In my vision at night, I looked, and there before me were the four winds of heaven, churning up the great sea. Four great beasts, each different from the others, came up out of the sea. The first was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were torn off, and it was lifted from the ground, so that it stood on two feet like a man, and the heart of a man was given to it. And there before me was a second beast which looked like a bear. It was raised up on one of its sides and it had three ribs in its mouth, between its teeth. It was told, ‘Get up and eat your fill of flesh.’ After that, I looked, and there before me was another beast, one that looked like a leopard, and on its back, it had four wings, like those of a bird. This beast had four heads and it was given authority to rule. After that, in my vision at night, I looked and there before me was a fourth beast, terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth, it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the former beasts and it had 10 horns. While I was thinking about the horns, there before me was another horn, a little one, which came up among them, and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth that spoke boastfully.”

So the setting is a sea. Daniel sees a vision of the sea, and he sees the winds playing on the surface of the sea, moving the surface of the ocean or the sea back and forth, and suddenly, up out of the sea, come these four beasts in succession. Now, what is the sea? The sea is symbolic for the turbulent nations of the world, symbolic for the nations of the world. Isaiah said it very plainly in Isaiah 17:12-13. Listen to these verses. “Oh, the raging of many nations, they rage like the raging sea. Oh, the uproar of the peoples, they roar like the roaring of great waters. Although the peoples roar like the roar of surging waters, when he rebukes them, they flee far away, driven before the wind like chaff on the hills.” Isaiah 17:12-13.

So the ocean is just all the peoples and nations and languages, swirling around with all of their conflicts and all of their difficulties, and up out of that turbulence come these four beasts. The four winds are symbolic, perhaps, of God’s sovereign judgement and his initiatives, and all storms and turbulences on the sea are caused by the winds from the four directions. And I love what it says in Revelation 21:1. It says, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new Earth, for the first heaven and the first Earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.” The sea is gone. The turbulent nations are stilled. There’s nothing but the people of God. There’s nothing but the kingdom of heaven at the end. Oh, how we long for that day. But now all you need to do is just get a newspaper or watch CNN, you can see the raging of many nations, the turbulence.

And up out of them come these beasts. Now, what are these beasts? Well, in verse 15 and 16, Daniel is confused, he’s troubled in spirit, and so he asks for information. We’ve already read, in verse 17, the four great beasts are four kingdoms that will rise up out of the earth. Well, why are the kingdoms called beasts? Why the vision of beasts for human kingdoms? Well, I think it’s that human empires of this sort, these kind of huge empires that conquer, usually represent humanity at its worst, humanity at its worst, most bestial, and dominant, raw power, savage fury, total dominance over lesser adversaries, most unlike God, in whose image we were created.

And also, I think we have a contrast between the kingdom of Christ and human kingdoms. Human kingdoms advance by conquest, like a beast, they consume. Christ kingdom advance by self-sacrifice, like a lamb, he is slaughtered. And so it is also for us, and I think it explains also the persecution that Rika and others experience in this world. The kingdom of God is different than the kingdoms of humanity. They advance by ripping and tearing flesh, but our kingdom advances by self-sacrifice. We take up our cross, we follow Jesus, we lay down our lives, we’re willing to witness for him.

Now, the first beast, verse 4, can be none other than Babylon. The description is of a lion with eagle’s wings, a lion as majestic and regal, the king of the beasts. Nebuchadnezzar had a preoccupation with lions. Excavation of Babylon has shown that there were lions decorating all the walls, everywhere they look, there were lions. The Ishtar Gate, for example, had blue ceramic tile with golden lions, and interestingly, the lions had wings, they found a lion with wings, and it was the main entrance to the city, to the royal area of the city. So Daniel must have walked by it all the time. Daniel must have known right away what that lion with the wing was, it was Babylon.

The wings represent mobility, sovereign power. Just as a lion is the king of the beasts, so eagles are kings of the birds. And so there’s a sense of regality here, being a king. But then judgment from God comes on this beast, the wings are torn off, the beast is lifted up from the Earth, interesting. And there’s a human stance given to the beast and a human heart. I really think this refers to what happened to Nebuchadnezzar in chapter 4. You remember what happened? His mind was turned into that of a beast, until he repented and acknowledged that the most high is sovereign over the kingdoms of men.

Do you remember what Daniel said to Nebuchadnezzar before that happened? He said, “King, be pleased to accept my advice. Renounce your sins by doing what is right, and your wickedness by being kind to the oppressed….” Stop oppressing people. Stop ripping them to shreds. Show justice for the oppressed, and mercy. Could it be… We don’t have a record of it, but could it be, after his repentance, that he was a different man? Could it be he had the heart of a man, and some compassion? There’s no record in archaeology, one way or the other, but I’m just trying to understand what happened to this beast, the heart of a man was given to it. Could it be that we’ll find Nebuchadnezzar in heaven, and we can ask him about it? I hope so.

The second beast, verse 5, is Medo-Persia. The description is of a bear eating ribs. A bear is not so regal or elegant, perhaps, as a lion with eagle’s wings, ponderous and slow, powerful and strong. Nothing can stop it, but there’s no sense of lightning quick movements. It’s up on one side, there’s a split kingdom here, perhaps, you’ve got the Medes and the Persians, and, at one point, the Persians gained dominance over the Medes. And so, most of the great leaders of the Medo-Persian empire were Persian, like Cyrus the Great.

Now, this beast is eating three ribs, the commentators are divided, it could refer to three tracks of land that were conquered by the Medo-Persian empire, Lydia, Babylon and Egypt. But the empire’s self-serving brutality is evident here, and so also a command given, “Get up and eat your fill of flesh.” This is what I’m talking about, human kingdoms ripping and tearing, gluttonous, never satisfied.

Now, the third beast, Greece, verse 6, a description is of a leopard with four wings. The leopard is sleek and agile, deadly, a sense of lightning quick movements, even more than happened with Babylon. And not one set of wings but four wings altogether. A sense of lightning quick conquest. We’re gonna talk more about that in Daniel 8, when we meet Alexander the Great, perhaps the greatest military conqueror of all time, who conquered the entire region in four years. Lightning quick conquest. Speed was of the essence, because Alexander did not have long to live. So Greece. The fourth, and also with four heads, could it be it’s referring to the fact that his kingdom would be broken into four sections, as we’ll learn in Daniel chapter 8.

And then, finally, the fourth beast, it’s not described. There’s no title, it’s not called a gorilla or some other kind of animal. As a matter of fact, it’s so terrifying that there’s no animal on Earth that could be used to describe it. That’s why Daniel said that he wrote down the substance of the matter. He said, “I couldn’t get it down on paper. It was a terrifying beast.” Two words are used to underscore just how terrifying it was, and how much fear Daniel felt. It had iron teeth. This harkens back to the vision in chapter 2 of the fourth kingdom, which is Rome, that iron kingdom which crushed everything under its feet. Strong and powerful, it was. Unable to be bent, unyielding and dominant. Iron teeth, it had.

Able to destroy. And there are these 10 horns. Now, I’ll tell you something, we’re getting into the heart of eschatology, end time teaching. And it’s really hard to understand all the symbolism, isn’t it? Do you know anyone that’s got the end times all figured out? I don’t. And people say, “Pastor, I can’t wait till you preach through Revelation, so that we can know what it means, and I’ll say, “I don’t know what it means either.” We just preach through and we try to understand it. End time visions are very difficult. But what are these 10 horns? Some commentators believe it was just 10 emperors in the Roman Empire, one after the other.

The problem is that, in the final form of the vision, one of the horns, the little horn, uproots three of the 10 horns, so they kind of are living all at the same time. And that’s the image, also, in Revelation 17, of the antichrist, which overthrows three rulers, and the other rulers give their power to him, so that he can rule over the whole world. So, this is a complex vision, and some commentators have tried to put it together, because we have a vision of the second coming of Jesus Christ in this chapter, don’t we? And Jesus returns to set up his kingdom, and he returns during the time of the fourth beast. The fourth beast has to be Rome, and so, some commentators put the two together and say there’s going to be a revived form of the Roman Empire, in some sense. Don’t fully understand that, but there’s a continuity, and also a discontinuity.

IV. The Heavenly Throne: Ultimate Victory for the Kingdom of God (vs. 9-14)

Now, in the middle, verses 9-14, we have the verses that were already read for you by Bill, but they’re so good, and I’m going to read them again. Verse 9:

“As I look, thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was as white as snow. The hair on his head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and his wheels were all ablaze. A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him, ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated, and the books were opened. Then I continued to watch because of the boastful words the horn was speaking. I kept looking until the beast was slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire. The other beasts had been stripped of their authority, but were allowed to live for a period of time. In my vision at night, I looked, and there before me was one like a Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days, and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power. All peoples, nations, and men of every language worshipped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.”

Oh, there’s so much in here. The vision of Jesus Christ, the Son of Man, one like a Son of Man riding on the clouds of heaven. But what is the purpose of this little section in the middle of the chapter? The point is that we’ve got this little horn speaking blasphemy, making war against the saints, and a heavenly court is seated. It is God’s court, it is the Ancient of Days, and he will not tolerate this forever. He will not allow the war on the saints to go on forever.

But he’s going to intervene, he’s an interfering God, or else his sovereignty would mean nothing. And he does interfere with the events on Earth. We’ve seen that already, with King Nebuchadnezzar, he gets involved. And so he renders a decision. And so the final form of the empire is destroyed, Jesus Christ returns, and his kingdom is set up. We’ll talk about that more next week.

V. The Fourth Beast and the “Little Horn” (vs. 15-28)

Now, in verses 15-28, we have a zeroing in, a focus on this fourth beast and the little horn. Daniel has an anguish request. He doesn’t get it, he doesn’t understand. In verse 15 and 16, he says, “I, Daniel, was troubled in spirit, and the visions that passed through my mind disturbed me. I approached one of those standing there and asked him the true meaning of all this. So he told me, and gave me the interpretation of these things. The four great beasts are four kingdoms that will rise from the Earth, but the saints of the most high will receive the kingdom and will possess it forever, yes, forever and ever.”

23:28 S1: So Daniel doesn’t understand, he doesn’t get it. And he does the right thing, he asks for wisdom. James 1:5 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” And Jesus said, “I no longer call you servants because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, because everything I’ve heard from the Father, I’ve made known to you.” Isn’t that beautiful? Jesus isn’t holding back any secrets. Anything you need to know, he will tell you, so you come and you ask. If you lack wisdom in your life, come and ask. If you want to understand the Bible, better, come and ask. If you want to be fruitful, come and ask, and he will give wisdom.

Our God is a giving God, and he says, in Amos 3:7, “Surely the sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing it to his servants, the prophets.” Isn’t that beautiful? Amos 3:7. And so, he gives information. We have the terror of the fourth beast, verse 19, Rome caused terror all over the world. And he said, in verse 19, “I wanted to know the true meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others, and most terrifying. With its iron teeth and bronze claws…the beast that crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. I also wanted to know about the 10 horns on its head, and about the other horn that came up, before which three of them fell, the horn that looked more imposing than the others, that had eyes, and a mouth that spoke boastfully. As I watched, this horn was waging war against the saints and defeating them, until the Ancient of Days came and pronounced judgment in favor of the saints of the most high. And the time came when they possessed the kingdom.

Verse 23, “He gave me this explanation. The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on Earth. It will be different from all the other kingdoms, and will devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it. The 10 horns are 10 kings who will come from this kingdom. After them, another king will arise, different from the earlier ones. He will subdue three kings. He will speak against the Most High and oppress his saints, and try to change the set times and the laws. The saints will be handed over to him for a time, times, and half a time. But the court will sit, and his power will be taken away and completely destroyed forever. Then the sovereignty, the power, the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be handed over to the saints, the people of the most high. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him. This is the end of the matter. I, Daniel, was deeply troubled and my face turned pale, but I kept the matter to myself.”

He wanted to know more about this fourth beast, which we know to be Rome. Verse 19. Not merely content to conquer, Rome had to crush its adversaries underfoot. In the Second Punic War, when they defeated Carthage, they weren’t satisfied with just destroying the city, but instead, they went systematically through all the fields around the city, and sowed them with salt, so that nothing would ever grow there again, and nothing has.

This is Rome. It crushes under feet, and it devours its victims, and it tramples what was left underfoot. And then we have these 10 horns. The horn is a symbol of strength and power, usually represents a king, the 10 horns or 10 kings from the fourth beast, the angel actually gives us very little information of them. If you want to know more, you have to read in Revelation 17. I believe that these are four leaders or 10 leaders that exist in the fourth beast, the final form of what we could call the Roman Empire, right before the time of Christ, right before the days of the antichrist, the final antichrist. Others disagree, but I think this is the best interpretation, because they fight against the antichrist all at once, and three of them are conquered, so they must be existing all at the same time.

Now, in verses 20 and 21, and also 24 and 25, we have the rise of the little horn. The horns’ descriptions are that it is little, but then, later, it says it’s imposing, more imposing than all the others. How could it be little and then imposing? Well, I think it speaks of a kind of a growth. It grows up. It starts little and then gets greater, more powerful, more imposing. It has the eyes of a man. There’s a knowledge to it, a sense of wisdom, a kind of an earthly wisdom, and it speaks boastfully. This is a big theme with the antichrist, speaks boastfully against God, especially against God, “He will speak against the Most High.” And what does the horn do? Well, it rises up out of nowhere, and it uproots and subdues the three kings, but, most specifically, it wages war on the saints. Look at verse 21 and verse 25, “As I watched, this horn was waging war against the saints, and defeating them.” Verse 25, “The saints will be handed over to him for a time, times, and half a time.” This is not the triumph of the lions’ den. This is the suffering of the saints. And the scripture is clear, in terms of the church of Jesus Christ, first the suffering, and then the glory.

First the suffering, and then the glory. First, we have persecution, and even martyrdom, and then we have the glory of a worldwide kingdom. Now, this antichrist is permitted by God, for a short time, to persecute the saints. It says, for a time, times, and half a time. As we look across the scripture, we find numerous times referred to a three and a half year period, 1330 days, 42 months, a time, times, and half a time. For three and a half years, this has been called the Great Tribulation, and the saints are crushed and destroyed during this period of time. And it says he changes the set times and the seasons. There’s a rejection of that cycle that was set up by God, six days of creation, and on the seventh, a Sabbath rest. And you are here now, the Sabbath moved over to the first day, because we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the new creation. But there’s a seven-day cycle, isn’t there? He overturns that, set times overturned, because he has power.

VI. The Present and Future Antichrist

Now, we have, therefore, described the issue of the antichrist. Now, where does this term antichrist come?  I believe the scripture teaches that there is a present antichrist or antichrists, and there will be yet a future antichrist. There are antichrists alive today. Some will say to me, “Do you believe the antichrist is alive today?” And I’ll say, “Who knows? Maybe you’re the antichrist?” Oh, I hope not. Is the antichrist alive today? I really have no way of knowing. But is the final antichrist alive? That we don’t know, but we know there are antichrist today, now. How do we know that? Because we’re in the final hour. 1 John 2:18, it says, “Dear children, this is the last hour. And as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, that’s the future antichrist, even now many antichrists have come.”

Now, what is an antichrist? Well, he gives us a definition, 1 John 2:22. “Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ, such a man is the antichrist, he denies the Father and the Son.” So John gives us, really, an effective theological definition of antichrist. 2 John 7, it says, “Many deceivers who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ is coming in the flesh have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist.” So the antichrist is anyone who denies, in a powerful way, perhaps, as a teacher, as a leader, that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. They deny the incarnation. They deny the deity of Christ. This is the spirit of antichrist.

As I’ve said before, Satan has three great attacks on the church, you should know by now what they are, persecution, worldliness, and false doctrine. Those are the three, persecution, worldliness, or corruption by the world, and false teaching. This is the work of the antichrist, and it’s going on right now, even as we speak. But there is yet a future antichrist called The Man of Sin. If you want to know more about him, read 2 Thessalonians chapter 2.

In 2 Thessalonians 2, it describes the Man of Sin. The word antichrist isn’t used there, but this is what it says, “Do not let anyone deceive you in any way, for the final day will not come until the rebellion occurs, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshipped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God. 2 Thessalonians 2:8-9, it says, “The lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan, displayed… “ Listen to this, “In all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs, and wonders.” So the antichrist, the future antichrist will come with great power that no one can explain, a supernatural miracle-worker he will be. And he will sit in God’s temple, and he will proclaim himself to be God. And for, I believe, three and a half years, he will attack the saints, and the saints will be given into his hand, until Jesus Christ comes and overthrows him with the breath of his mouth.

VII. Applications

Now, application. What does this have to do with my life? Is this going to help me be a better employee tomorrow? I’m having trouble with my joints and physical problems. Recently, I’ve had some illness, or I know somebody that’s got an illness. What is this going to do about them? I’ve had car trouble recently. Is this going to help me solve my problem with my car? I’ve had financial trouble. Tax day is coming up. I don’t know how I’m going to pay my taxes. What does Daniel 7 have to do with all those things? Well, nothing, in one sense, nothing, everything, in another sense.

First, I want to say could it be that what God is doing in the world is bigger than any of those problems you listed? Could it be that what God is doing in the world is bigger than even our own lives itself? Even bigger than Rika’s life? Could it be that God is working a plan so majestic and so glorious and we only see one part of it? And so, Daniel 7 lays out a majestic tapestry of all of human history and the second coming of Christ, and that there is no connection to your car trouble, immediately, but there is a connection to how you fit into world history if you’re part of the kingdom of Jesus Christ. He’s giving you a kingdom that will never end.

Well, what does that mean that will never end? Well, we’ve seen kingdoms that have ended one after another. They rise and they fall, but we know that there’s a kingdom coming that will never end. So, in one sense, this chapter has nothing to do with all those problems I’ve listed, but, in another sense, it has everything to do with them. And how is that? Well, I think the verse that I printed in the application section here explains plainly how this verse connects to your life. John 16:33, Jesus said this, “I have told you these things so that, in me, you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble, but take heart. I have overcome the world.” This is a perfect summary of Daniel 7, “I have told you these things,” he says. He’s given it to us. You know what’s going to happen. It shouldn’t be shocking to you when persecution occurs. I have told you these things ahead of time, in many different places and ways. I have told you these things. Well, Jesus, why did you tell us these things?

So, that, in me, you will have peace, not in your earthly circumstances, not in whether your car is running well, or your body feels good, not in whether your finances are all dealt with properly, no, in me, you will have peace. In this world, you will have trouble. If you live in Indonesia, it may mean the end of your life. Stop just a moment. Why is that? Why do Christians die? Why doesn’t God interpose himself? Why doesn’t he stop every time that a shard of glass is pushed to the stomach of a teenager and make sure that she doesn’t die? Why not? That was a good ending, wasn’t it? But others haven’t been good. Why do they die?

Well, God answered that as well. 2 Peter 3, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief…” In verse 15 of 2 Peter 3, “Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation.” He’s waiting and waiting until the full number comes in, he’s waiting and waiting until all who will come to repentance have the opportunity to do so. Every passing generation people get born. Aren’t you glad he waited until the year you were born? And he’s waiting. And meanwhile, there’s suffering. And, by the blood of martyrs, the seed of the church springs into eternal life for many. Daniel chapter 7 unfolds a plan of history which cannot be derailed. God is sovereign over it, and it means salvation for people like you and me. It may be that you have never come to personal faith in Christ.

Can I urge you to not put off a decision or a commitment to Jesus Christ? In a moment, I’m going to stand down here in front. If you have never given your life to Christ, don’t wait. Come to faith in Jesus Christ. He is the Ancient of Days. He is the Son of Man who will come and rule in your life. His death is sufficient for all your sins. Please come. I’m going to close in prayer now, and we’ll have our closing hymn.

I.     The Visions of Daniel
Voice of the Martyrs

II.     Context in Daniel

Four World Empires

Daniel 7, Part 1

A.    Historical: “The first year of Belshazzar”

1.    Date: 553 B.C., 14 years from fall of Babylon

2.    Political circumstances: Nebuchadnezzar’s death (562), successors & chaos

Everything in upheaval, future looks uncertain…fourth ruler of Babylon in nine years

3.    Daniel’s night visions, Daniel’s writings

a.    Daniel laying on his bed… visions from God in his mind

b.    Daniel wrote them down:

i)    the very thing that liberals reject

ii)  God delights in written predictions [Just like the writing on the wall… say it ahead of time, then do it] Isaiah 41:23 “Tell us what the future holds…”

John 13:19 “I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it happens you will believe that I Am…”
c.    THE SUM OF THE MATTER

[some things just can’t be put completely into words]

B.    Context in the Book

1.    Second major section

a.    Daniel 1-6: experiences in Gentile courts

b.    Daniel 1-7: visions of the end

2.    Similarities to chapter 2

a.    Nebuchadnezzar’s statue

b.    four world empires rise and fall

Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome

c.    kingdom of God replaces them all

3.    Additional details: Christ and the Antichrist

C.    Chapter overview

1.    Four world empires, one after another

2.    During the fourth, a blasphemous king

3.    The heavenly throne seated: the Ancient of Days

4.    The fourth beast destroyed and condemned to fire

5.    The Son of Man vision: the eternal king for the eternal kingdom

6.    Daniel’s distressed request: WISDOM

7.    The fourth beast: a close-up

a.    terrifying power, crushing enemies

b.    ten horns = ten kings

c.    one horn rises = the antichrist (described in detail, vs. 20)

d.    three horns fall = three kings conquered by antichrist

e.    warfare against the saints; initial victory over them

f.    intervention by God, the little horn destroyed

g.    ultimate triumph of the saints (vs. 18, 22, 27)

h.    ultimate reign of Kingdom of God

III.     Four Beasts from the Sea (vs. 1-8)

A.    The Setting: A troubled sea & the four winds (vs. 2-3)

1.    The Sea

a.    symbolic for turbulent nations

Isaiah 57:20 “There is no peace for the wicked…”

Isaiah 34:2 “The Lord is angry with all nations, his wrath is against all their armies

Isaiah 17:12-13 “Oh the raging of many nations–they rage like the raging sea! Oh the uproar of the peoples–they roar like the roaring of great waters! Although the peoples roar like the roar of surging waters, when he rebukes them they flee far away, driven before the wind like chaff on the hills.”

Each of the four beasts comes up out of this troubled sea!! So does the Anti-Christ of Revelation 13

Revelation 13:1-2 And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. He had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on his horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. 2 The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority.

b.    symbolic of the great mysterious unknown: the FUTURE

c.    The future glory of heaven: NO SEA!!!

Revelation 21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.”

2.    The four winds: God’s sovereign judgments & initiatives

All storms and turbulence on sea caused by winds from four directions

Revelation 7:1 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree.

B.    What Are the “Beasts”?

1.    Daniel’s confusion (vs. 15-16)

a.    asked the angel

b.    angel replied:

vs. 17 “The four beasts are four great kingdoms that will rise from the earth.”

2.    Why are the kingdoms “beasts”?

Why “beasts”? Human empires usually represent humanity at its worst… most bestial and dominant: raw power and savage fury, total dominance over lesser adversaries; most unlike God… most removed from God’s original intention for man

Also…contrasted with Kingdom of Christ: human kingdoms advance by conquest, like a beast they consume

Christ’s Kingdom advances by self-sacrifice; like a lamb, He is consumed

C.    The First Beast: Babylon (vs. 4)

1.    The description: a lion with eagles wings

a.    lion: majestic, regal “king of the beasts”

b.    Nebuchadnezzar’s preoccupation with lions

c.    the Ishtar gate

Ishtar gate: blue ceramic tile with golden lions; the lions had wings… these gates guarded the entrance to the royal palaces, and Daniel must have walked by them daily

2.    The wings: mobility, sovereign power over a wide area

a.    eagle: king of the birds (as lion king of the beasts)

b.    sense of majesty and power

3.    The judgment from God

a.    wings torn off

b.    lifted from the earth

c.    human stance, human heart

Almost certainly: Nebuchadnezzar’s humbling and repentance [NOTE: Babylon WAS Nebuchadnezzar… he was the “head of gold”]

D.    The Second Beast: Medo-Persia (vs. 5)

1.    The description: a bear eating ribs

a.    ungainly, ponderous, slow

b.    YET powerful and ravenous!

c.    represents Medo-Persia’s power w/o rapid conquest

2.    Up on one side

a.    split kingdom

b.    BUT one side dominant over the other

c.    this represents Persia’s dominance over the Medes

3.    Three ribs

a.    commentators divided

b.    seems representative of three major conquests by Medo-Persians Lydia, Babylon, Egypt

c.    empire’s self-serving brutality in view here

4.    A divine command

vs. 5 “Get up and eat your fill of flesh!”

Again note the contrast: human kingdoms advance by consuming; Christ’s kingdm advances by being consumed!!

a.    speaker not identified

b.    BUT whole message of Daniel: God’s sovereign control over nations

c.    Medo-Persia under divine command to conquer

d.    BUT it will also be judged by God and conquered the same way

E.    The Third Beast: Greece (vs. 6)

1.    The description: a leopard with four wings

2.    Leopard: sleek, agile, deadly

3.    Four wings: even faster than Nebuchadnezzar & Babylon

4.    Four heads: perhaps representing four winds OR division of empire nito four sections

5.    Alexander: immensely rapid and extensive conquest

F.    The Fourth Beast: Rome (vs. 7-8)

1.    Not described!! No beast adequate to represent

2.    Sheer terror: two words used to underscore

3.    “Iron teeth”: clear connection to Daniel 2 “legs of iron”

4.    Crushing power to dominate

5.    Ten horns: horn = kings or rulers

a.    traditional historical interp. fulfilled in ancient Roman empire

b.    premillennial interp. “ten member nations” at time of second coming

6.    “Little horn” (vs. 8)

a.    rises up in front of others

b.    uproots three horns

c.    eyes of a man

d.    speaks boastfully

[Find out more in a moment]

IV.     The Heavenly Throne: Ultimate Victory for the Kingdom of God (vs. 9-14)
A.    Daniel’s Main Lesson: God Rules Over Human Empires

B.    The Heavenly Court Seated, Judgment Reached

C.    Little Horn Destroyed

D.    “Son of Man” Vision: A Universal Worldwide Kingdom

[More next week]

V.     The Fourth Beast and the “Little Horn” (vs. 15-28)

A.    Daniel’s Anguished Request for Wisdom (vs. 15-16)

1.    Deeply distressed over vision & lack of understanding

2.    God’s deep desire: to make us wise

James 1:5 “If any of you lacks wisdom let him ask of God who gives generously to all without finding fault and it will be given to him.”

John 15:15 “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business.

Instead, I have called you friends because everything I heard from the Father I have made known to you.”

Amos 3:7 Surely the Sovereign LORD does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.

3.    Angels there to give the wisdom

vs. 16 “I approached one of those standing there and asked him the true meaning of all this.”

[“one of those standing there” = angels included in heavenly court]

4.    Summary: four beasts = four kingdoms, BUT final victory for the saints

B.    The Terror of the Fourth Beast (vs. 19)

1.    Rome caused terror all over the world

2.    Not content merely to conquer, they sought to crush into the dust forever

e.g. sowing Carthage with salt

vs. 19 “… the beast that crushed and devoured its victims and trampled what was left underfoot.”

C.    The Ten Horns (vs. 20, 24)

1.    “Horn” a symbol of strength and power… usually represents a KING

2.    Ten horns = ten kings from fourth beast (vs. 24)

3.    Angel gives little information about ten horns

D.    The Rise of the Little Horn (vs. 20-21, 24-25)

1.    Horn’s descriptions:

a.    “little” BUT also “imposing”

b.    “eyes like a man” (vs. 8)

c.    “speaking boastfully” (vs. 8, 11) Especially speaks blasphemy against God

vs. 25 “He will speak against the Most High…”

2.    Horn’s actions:

a.    rises up

Implies he comes up out of nowhere… somewhat surprising appearance

b.    uproots (or subdues, vs. 24) three kings

c.    waging war on the saints & defeating them (vs. 21, 25)

vs. 21 “As I watched, this horn was waging war against the saints and defeating them.” vs. 25 “The saints will be handed over to him for a time, times and half a time.

Little horn permitted to crush the saints on earth for a limited period of time

NOTE: “Time, times, and half a time” … recurring theme of 3 1/2 years

d.    changes the set times and seasons

Rejection of cycles of weeks & seasons for worship of God… attack on creation itself

Illus. Russian Communist government experimented with 10-day workweek, no seven day cycle

VI.     The Present and Future Antichrist

1 John 2:18 “Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come.”

A.    “Antichrist” Present

1.    “Many antichrists”

Apostle John the only person who uses the term “antichrist”… def’n is always theolgical

2.    Theological definition:

1 John 2:22 Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist–he denies the Father and the Son.

2 John 7 Many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist.

3.    Three great Satanic attacks on the church

false teaching persecution (especially gov’t)  worldly corruption

4.    Many alive today… the spirit of antichrist lies in all false teachers

1 John 4:1-3 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.

5.    The spirit also alive in all persecutors and corruptors of the church

B.    Antichrist Future

1.    “Man of Sin”: 2 Thessalonians 2

2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. 4 He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.

2 Thessalonians 2:8-9 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders

2.    “The Beast”… Revelation 13, 17

3.    Summary

·        Government leader… human ruler over the whole earth

·        Comes to power by toppling three other world leaders in the final state of the “Roman” empire

·        Openly blasphemous of God… speaks horrible blasphemies against God

·        Wins worldwide worship through a series of deceptive miracles

·        Sets himself up as God by placing himself to be worshipped in God’s temple

·        Makes war on the saints for three and a half year with tragic success and great suffering

·        War culminates in a military attack of some sort

·        Jesus Christ returns with the armies of heaven and destroys the Antichrist with his breath

VII.     Applications
So what?? How does this help my: financial troubles? Marital or parenting troubles? Employment struggles? Health problems?

Why did God give this revelation to Daniel? Why all these visions about the future?

John 16:33   “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

1.    God knows the future and rules over it

2.    The World is a hard place… with a great deal of suffering in store for believers

[Why?? Why does God permit this suffering?? SALVATION!!!]

2 Peter 3:9-10 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness.

He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief.

2 Peter 3:15 Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation

God’s patience… day after day, week after week… means more and more people born, growing up, hearing the gospel, repenting and believing it, and entering Christ’s eternal kingdom

The context of all that is immense suffering in a world which hates Christ and His Kingdom… the attacks of the Anti-Christ are simply the final, most powerful and most organized of these attacks

3.    True peace in this world does not come from comfortable circumstances and earthly favorable outcomes

4.    The final outcome will be one of glorious victory for Christ and all those in His Kingdom

5.    Meanwhile, the Church cries out for its deliverer…

How long, O Lord, how long??!! When will you avenge your people and come to their aid?? God hears each of those prayers and waits for His time

Voice of the Martyrs: Rikka

Rikka is a teen-aged Christian girl living in Indonesia, with a beautiful faith in Jesus Christ. But that faith recently underwent the most severe testing imaginable, leaving her with a terrifying memory and a greater trust in Jesus, her Savior.

Rikka’s homeland, Indonesia, is made up of 13,000 islands in southeast Asia… it has the largest Muslim population in the world

Indonesian government: requires all citizens to carry ID cards including their religious preference Approximately 10% identify themselves as Christians

The accounts of recent persecution in Indonesia read like a horror story that seems to have no end: rape, torture, burnings, even beheadings

Program of “Religious cleansing” by Muslim extremists… a well-organized attack on churches, leaving many hundreds of Christians dead

Recently, Rikka’s Christian high school held their first ever Bible camp Praying, singing energetic worship songs, praising Jesus for their salvation

Local government official came and warned them that if they didn’t quiet down, they might be attacked as one nearby pastor recently had

The worshipers tried to sing more quietly

However, within an hour, a stone crashed through the window, signifying the start of the most terrifying experience of their lives

A band of radical Muslims were throwing large rocks in through the windows One large rock hit Rikka in the head & she screamed

The leader begged the Christians: “Pray, don’t panic”… they got down on their knees and began praying

Soon the Muslims entered the church building and began attacking the Christians; a man shouted at Rikka: “Are you a Christian?” She answered “All of us are Christians!!” The man was tall, with long hair

The man picked up a large shard of broken glass from the floor and held it to Rikka’s stomach: “Repeat after me,” he shouted… then tried to force her to deny Christ

Rikka cried out in her heart in prayer to God: “Lord, please don’t let me deny you!”

When Rikka did not answer the man, he became enraged and pressed it even harder against her stomach: “Do you believe your God can help you now?” he demanded

“Yes,” Rikka answered, “I belong to God and I believe He will save me!”

He grabbed a stick and began beating her across her shoulders: “You think I am not strong… You think I am not stronger than you!!” he shouted… she just kept praying to God for strength

Finally the man stopped: “You ARE stronger than I am” he said, and threw the stick on the ground… the Muslims left the building

Rikka was crying as she recounted the tale, with tears coming down her face: “Jesus was willing to die for me, and shed his blood on the cross. He did this for all of us, so it doesn’t matter what happens to me—I am willing to suffer for Him!”