Sermon - Daniel 7:15-28 - Vision Explained - Littleby Baptist Church - July 5, 2020
In the first apocalyptic vision Daniel received we have
talked about how four winds of heaven stirring up the great sea, meaning that
God has and is orchestrating the events we have been discussing.
Four beasts representing the different kingdoms or periods
that God put in place to achieve His plan. The first beast was Babylon under
Nebuchadnezzar, the second beast was the Mede-Persian Empire, the third beast
was the time of Alexander the Great, and the fourth started with the Roman
Empire and still exists today.
Looking in a little more detail about the fourth beast we
are told in Revelation that the dragon, or the devil, gave its power, throne,
and authority to the antichrist. The antichrist or the little horn that grew
out of the fourth beast was blasphemous and persecuted all who follow Jesus. The
fourth beast will exist until the antichrist is judged
Then we got to the part of the vision that points us to the
second coming of our Lord and Savior. It started with Him being escorted into
the presence of the Ancient of Days, God the Father, who was sitting on His
throne of flaming fire ready to pass judgement, including the antichrist. It will
be at this point that the antichrist’s rule comes to an end and the Son of Man,
Jesus, was given dominion, glory, and a kingdom.
As King Jesus, His dominion, His kingdom, His reign will
have no end. There will be no way of destroying it. So far in the vision we
have seen that no matter what happens, as bad as it is going to get with the
antichrist in control of this world, Jesus is King. He is our Lord and Savior
today and, in the end, He will win.
That is a rough summary of what we have reviewed over the
last couple of weeks. Let’s keep digging.
Daniel 7:15-16
“15 “As for me, Daniel, my spirit was
deeply distressed within me, and the visions in my mind terrified me. 16 I
approached one of those who were standing by and asked him to clarify all this.
So he let me know the interpretation of these things:”
Daniel has just had a vision of some horrific beasts, a
blazing throne of fire, God the Father, the Savior Jesus, and the antichrist
being judged. Is it a surprise to anyone that this vision would get to Daniel?
Here he has a glimpse of the future and instead of being the one God used to
provide the interpretation, Daniel is at a complete loss. He was terrified by
seeing this vision and even more so by not knowing what it means.
No surprise there. Not wanting to be left in the dark and
hoping to bring some peace to how he was feeling, Daniel approached one of the
angels and asked if he would explain it to him. The rest of the chapter is that
explanation.
Daniel 7:17
“17 ‘These huge beasts, four in
number, are four kings who will rise from the earth.”
Some translations say
four kings, and some say for kingdoms. Dynasty’s, eras, kingdoms, or ages are
good ways to put it for us. They were not limited to one king as the first
beast would have been Babylon starting with Nebuchadnezzar and ending with his
grandson Belshazzar. When we think about the fourth beast, it might be easy to
think how we break things up as the kings who have ruled in history, but it is not
that clear cut. The antichrist has not have come to power yet, but the world we
live in is his kingdom.
Daniel 7:18
“18 But the holy ones of the Most
High will receive the kingdom and possess it forever, yes, forever and ever.’”
Last week we talked a little about when judgement finally
comes the ‘times of the Gentiles’ will come to an end. Here we are being told
that after that judgement, after the fourth beast, the antichrist, is destroyed
that the kingdom is handed over to Jesus.
Revelation 20:6
“6 Blessed and holy is the one who
shares in the first resurrection! The second death has no power over them, but
they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a
thousand years.”
The Jews who believe that Jesus is the Messiah will be the
Lord’s priests and will rule by His side.
Daniel 7:19-20
“19 “Then I wanted to be clear about
the fourth beast, the one different from all the others, extremely terrifying,
with iron teeth and bronze claws, devouring, crushing, and trampling with its
feet whatever was left. 20 I also wanted to know about
the ten horns on its head and about the other horn that came up, before which
three fell—the horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spoke arrogantly, and that
looked bigger than the others.”
With the first beast being history or close to it for
Daniel, he probably caught the symbolism with that one. He may have had an inclination
on what the second one represented and the third seemed like it and were what
he may think was normal. It was this fourth beast, the one with ten horns, and
the little horn that knocked three out of its way as it made its way out. The beast
with the horn that said arrogant and blasphemous things that concerned him.
Something was different with the fourth beast and Daniel wanted
to know what it all meant and could not figure it out on his own.
Daniel 7:21
“21 As I was watching, this horn
waged war against the holy ones and was prevailing over them”
Earlier in this chapter we have seen that the new horn comes
after the ten, it uproots or knocks away three of them, it has knowledge or
intelligence, and it was arrogant and blasphemous. The arrogant horn will persecute
the saints of God, he will overpower the nation of Israel, and ultimately, he
will be judged by God.
The horn is the antichrist, who will come to the forefront
at some point still in our future. During the Tribulation he will wage war
against Israel and take it over, but that is not where it ends.
Daniel 7:22
“22 until the Ancient of Days arrived
and a judgment was given in favor of the holy ones of the Most High, for the
time had come, and the holy ones took possession of the kingdom.”
Earlier the title Ancient of Days was refereeing to the
Father, but here it is referring to Jesus who comes and ultimately is given the
kingdom to rule.
Revelation 17:12-14
“12 The ten horns you saw are ten
kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they will receive authority as
kings with the beast for one hour. 13 These have one
purpose, and they give their power and authority to the beast. 14 These
will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will conquer them because he is
Lord of lords and King of kings. Those with him are called, chosen, and
faithful.””
The antichrist will attack Israel and in turn make war with
the Lamb, our Lord, but it will be short lived. Jesus, the King of kings, will
be triumphant.
Daniel 7:23
“23 “This is what he said: ‘The
fourth beast will be a fourth kingdom on the earth, different from all the
other kingdoms. It will devour the whole earth, trample it down, and crush it.”
The angel continues by filling Daniel in on how ferocious
the fourth beast will be.
Revelation 13:7
“7 And it was permitted to wage war
against the saints and to conquer them. It was also given authority over every
tribe, people, language, and nation.”
The antichrist will rule with an iron fist. It will conquer
the entire earth; it will crush all who oppose it. When the antichrist comes to
power, he will establish a one world government that will silence any who do
not agree with it. Lies will be believed and those who do not agree will be
persecuted. They will be devoured, trampled, and crushed. When the one world
government comes to power it will not be pleasant for those of us who see it
for what it is.
Daniel 7:24
“24 The ten horns are ten kings who
will rise from this kingdom. Another king, different from the previous ones,
will rise after them and subdue three kings.”
As we have established the ten horns represent ten kings and
the horn that rises up is another king that will subdue or replace three as he
rises to power.
This fourth kingdom is one of iron and clay, it is not
solid, it is not as strong as those that came before it, it has divisions, and
clay will breakdown easier than the metals that came before it. It could be
said that as we draw closer to the antichrist revealing himself that the world
will be weak, governments will be deteriorating, and people will be divided.
Sounds like what we see on the news today.
Daniel 7:25
“25 He will speak words against the
Most High and oppress the holy ones of the Most High. He will intend to change
religious festivals and laws, and the holy ones will be handed over to him for
a time, times, and half a time.”
The antichrist will oppose God’s authority, conquer Israel
and occupy Jerusalem, and will role out a new religion and new laws. He will
try to setup his kingdom with him having complete authority. For a time, one year,
for times, two years, and half a time, half a year, for a total of three and
one-half years. Which matches the forty-two months found in Revelation 11 and 13
and is pretty close to the 1,260 days mentioned in Revelation 12. The
antichrist will setup a one world government and one world religion for three
and a half years.
Daniel 7:26-28
“26 But the court will convene, and
his dominion will be taken away, to be completely destroyed forever. 27 The
kingdom, dominion, and greatness of the kingdoms under all of heaven will be
given to the people, the holy ones of the Most High. His kingdom will be an
everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will serve and obey him.’ 28 “This
is the end of the account. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts terrified me greatly,
and my face turned pale, but I kept the matter to myself.””
The time of the antichrist will come to an end and all will
be passed to our Lord and Savior.
2 Thessalonians 2:7-8
“7 For the mystery of lawlessness is
already at work, but the one now restraining will do so until he is out of the
way, 8 and then the lawless one will be revealed. The
Lord Jesus will destroy him with the breath of his mouth and will bring him to
nothing at the appearance of his coming.”
As we look at Daniel chapter seven and how it ties to our
future, we need to know that this time is coming. We will not know when, but we
need to be watching. We are in the time of the fourth beast. The antichrist
could be alive and positioning himself to take control even today.
Whether you are looking at local issues or international
politics, the world we live in today is divided. We see governments around the
world cracking down on people and stripping away their rights and we see other
governments do nothing to restore order, both are signs of division and
weakness. Values and morals have deteriorated to a low that has not been seen since
the days of Noah. Are we there yet? It is getting hard to say.
Thankfully as we saw in Daniel chapter seven the continued
deterioration of our world and the reign of the antichrist is not the end. Our
Lord will return! He Will Be Triumphant! He will Reign!
Watch for the signs, but keep putting your hope in the One
and Only Jesus Christ!
God Bless,
Robert
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