Sermon - Daniel 8:15-27 - Trust - Littleby Baptist Church - July 26, 2020
Last week we started
looking at the second apocalyptic vision given to Daniel. In some ways it
mirrors part of the vision given in chapter seven but it does focus more on the
third kingdom and how God uses it to bring about judgement on His people who will
turn their back on Him.
The ram was
equivalent, to the Mede and Persian Empire, that ruled for a period of time.
The ram was then attacked and beaten by a goat that moved so fast that it
floated through the air and it had a larger horn than the ram. Which meant that
the goat was more powerful than the ram. When we compare to the vision in
chapter seven the ram was the second beast and the goat was the third.
The goat rules for a
while until its large and powerful horn is broken. This symbolizes the death of
Alexander the Great and then four horns come forward which represents the
splitting of the kingdom into four. While none of these horns grow to the size
of the original, one of them comes to the forefront and represents king Antiochus
who set himself up as a god and expected everyone, include the Jewish people he
conquered, to worship him.
For us, we can look
back and know that these events took place roughly 170 to 160 BC. For Daniel
they were part of his future. Daniel received this vision some 380 years before
the temple was rededicated after Antiochus’ death.
Daniel 8:15-16
“15 While
I, Daniel, was watching the vision and trying to understand it, there stood
before me someone who appeared to be a man. 16 I heard a
human voice calling from the middle of the Ulai: “Gabriel, explain the vision
to this man.””
Historically Daniel
has been the man God used to provide the answers, yet here he is once again not
understanding a vision he has received. Thankfully, someone intervened. It is
not clear who, but someone shouted out to the angel Gabriel and asked him to
explain the meaning of this vision to Daniel.
Daniel 8:17
“17 So
he approached where I was standing; when he came near, I was terrified and fell
facedown. “Son of man,” he said to me, “understand that the vision refers to
the time of the end.””
Two phrases to
clarify in this verse.
Normally when we see
the phrase ‘Son of man’ it is in reference to ‘The Son of Man’ our Lord Jesus.
Here it is stating that Daniel is ‘a’ son of man, meaning he is not some
heavenly being. When the phrase is used to refer to Jesus, it is more of a
title as ‘The’ Son of Man.
The other is ‘the
vision refers to the time of the end.’ Most of the time when we read phrases similar
to this when looking at apocalyptic visions it tends to point to the ‘End of
Days’, as in in Jesus’ second coming or the Tribulation that leads up to it. I
did read one theory that seemed a little far fetched that talked about how this
horn that represents Antiochus’ kingdom could eventually, possibly, maybe,
evolve into one of the kingdoms represented by the ten horns on the fourth
beast.
While God is able to
do anything He wants, these events and these verses do not point to that. I
will say that there are similarities to what we see here in this vision and
what happens with the antichrist, but I would say it is more of a foreshadowing
than a direct prophecy. Referring ‘to the time of the end’ here is talking
about the end of what we will call the prophetic window we are looking at. Kind
of like talking about the end of a tv show, book, or movie. In this case it
would be referring to 164 BC when the Temple was rededicated to the One True
God.
Daniel 8:18-19
“18 While
he was speaking to me, I fell into a deep sleep, with my face to the ground.
Then he touched me, made me stand up, 19 and said, “I am
here to tell you what will happen at the conclusion of the time of wrath,
because it refers to the appointed time of the end.”
The wrath here is
referring to a time of persecution the Jews will face, that at this point in
the explanation we are told it will take place at some point in the future. The
following verses clarify things a bit for us.
Daniel 8:20-21
“20 The
two-horned ram that you saw represents the kings of Media and Persia. 21 The
shaggy goat represents the king of Greece, and the large horn between his eyes
represents the first king.”
We touched on some
of what Gabriel is saying last week. The ram is the Mede and Persian Empire,
which was the second beast from the last vision. They extended their empire to
the west, to the north, and to the south with an army that is estimated to have
had more than 2 million soldiers.
Gabriel goes on to
explain that the goat represents the kingdom of Greece or what we were calling
Macedonia as we looked at chapter seven. The goat is the third beast that
looked like a leopard that ultimately split into four kingdoms. Historically Alexander’s
father united most of what would form the kingdom of Greece, but Alexander is
viewed as the true first king.
A little over 200
years after Daniel received this vision, Alexander led a small, fast, and
powerful army against the Persians in 334 BC. He targeted the Persians out of
revenge for them defeating the Greeks 150 years earlier. As we read in verse 7 ‘the
ram was not strong enough to stand against him.’ The Mede and Persian Empire was
helpless against Alexander and his army.
Daniel 8:22
“22 The
four horns that took the place of the broken horn represent four kingdoms. They
will rise from that nation, but without its power.”
Alexander died
during his prime and as the kingdom was still growing. It ended up being split
into four kingdoms represented by the four horns. These four horns are equal to
the four heads found on the third beast in chapter seven. Macedonia and Greece
were one. Thrace and Bithynia were the second. Egypt was the third and Syria
was the fourth. Each one of these nations ruled, but none of them were equal to
Macedonia under Alexander.
Daniel 8:23
“23 Near
the end of their kingdoms, when the rebels have reached the full measure of
their sin, a ruthless king, skilled in intrigue, will come to the throne.”
Now we jump forward
another 150 years or so and a king will rise out of Syria. One of the four
horns will grow at the same time the Jewish people will have turned their backs
on the One True God.
King Antiochus was a
ruthless man. He killed his own bother and had no respect for the young or old.
He would kill innocent people as quickly as he would soldiers who were fighting
against him. He was cunning, deceitful, and a master of manipulation.
Daniel 8:24
“24 His
power will be great, but it will not be his own. He will cause outrageous
destruction and succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy the powerful along
with the holy people.”
King Antiochus will
have power that is not his own. He will accomplish things that he would not be
able to do on his own if God was not using him to bring judgement on the Jewish
people. We saw the same thing when god used Nebuchadnezzar to punish Judah and
plunge them into the seventy-year exile. Antiochus will invade Israel and he
will slaughter people, destroy towns, and stop them from worshipping their God.
With God giving Antiochus
the power he needs, there is no doubt that he will be successful in all that he
does.
Daniel 8:25
“25 He
will cause deceit to prosper through his cunning and by his influence, and in
his own mind he will exalt himself. He will destroy many in a time of peace; he
will even stand against the Prince of princes. Yet he will be broken—not by
human hands.”
In verse twelve it stated
that this horn, will throw ‘truth to the ground’. Meaning he will distort and
destroy the Word of God. He will turn people away from following the One True
God. King Antiochus did just that and he tried to elevate himself to the level
of a god. The king took the name Antiochus, the Illustrious god and expected
all who he conquered to worship him. He had altars setup in Jerusalem, required
unclean sacrifices to be offered, and ordered the Jews to eat pork. All things
that would throw ‘truth to the ground’, exalt himself, and ultimately challenge
the Prince of princes our Lord Jesus.
King Antiochus set
himself up as a god, forced people to worship him, destroyed those who
resisted, and challenged God.
‘Yet he will be
broken-not by human hands.’ Is Gabriel telling Daniel that the man who
challenges God and does all of these horrible things will not die at the hands
of man, but by the hands of God. King Antiochus died a very painful death on
his way to squash a rebellion in Judea. God may have used the king to punish
Israel, but God did not let the king’s blasphemy continue.
Daniel 8:26
“26 The
vision of the evenings and the mornings that has been told is true. Now you are
to seal up the vision because it refers to many days in the future.”
Gabriel confirmed
that the vision showed that the people will turn away from God for 2,300 evenings
and mornings. Seems like a long time, but it is a reassurance that the
persecution will not last forever and that eventually the people will turn back
to God. Which according to history is the time frame form when Antiochus first
attacked Israel to the point that the temple was restored to a house of worship
of the One Ture God.
By saying that the
vision is to be sealed up, Daniel is being told to document it, preserve it, so
that those who live through it would understand what was going on. As Daniel
oversaw the writing of the Book of Daniel, he made sure to include this so that
those living in the future could reference it.
Daniel 8:27
“27 I,
Daniel, was overcome and lay sick for days. Then I got up and went about the
king’s business. I was greatly disturbed by the vision and could not understand
it.”
Even with Gabriel
taking the time to explain the vision it was overwhelming. Daniel understood
what was going to happen, he knew that kings and kingdoms were going to rise
and fall, but he did not know when it was going to happen. All he knew was that
it will be sometime in the future. He was disturbed by the events and by knowing
that his people would turn their back on God once again. I think it would be disheartening
for a man who has followed God to the best of his ability to know that this was
going to happen.
Now that this vision
is in our past, one of the things we can learn from it is that the visions that
God gives are true. It is confirmation for us that God knows the future and at
times He shares bits and pieces of it with His creation. History has shown us
that this vision is true, which should give us the reassurance that the rest of
God’s Word is true. It should help us to trust in the other prophesies found in
the Bible. It should help us to trust in what the Good Book says, even if we do
not understand all of the details.
Visions like this
remind us that God knows all and that He is in absolute control.
If God knows our
future and if He is in Control of all things, we need to trust in Him.
Trust in His love. Trust
that His words are true. Trust that He will never leave us or forsake us. Trust
that as followers of Christ we can trust in our God.
God Bless,
Robert
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