Beast Mode | Sunday, July 23, 2023

Before we get into the Scriptures, there are a couple of things I wanted to say. You may not know this, but 17 years ago, I won the lottery. I did, because 17 years ago today, my wife and I got married. So, I definitely won the lottery! As for her, I don't know what she got.

On that note, ladies, you saw in the announcements that we have a women's breakfast coming up next month. My wife is going to be sharing at that, so if you really want to hear from the one who does all the work, that's the one you need to listen to. Come on out to that!

Also, if you look around here this morning, you may have noticed that at the second service, it is a little bit more difficult to find a seat, which is a wonderful thing. Many of you have been inviting newcomers to come to the church. You take these cards every week and invite friends to join us. I want to thank you for that. If you're new to Cross Connection Church, welcome! We're so glad that you're here.

I want to let some of our old-timers know that we have a first service with more seats, and it starts at 8:30. You should come on out if you're looking for a little bit more room to stretch out and put your Bible on the chair next to you.

With that, would you take out your Bibles this morning? We're going to be in the Old Testament book of Daniel. If you don't have a Bible, you can raise your hand, and one of our ushers will bring you one. This summer, we're making our way through the 12 chapters of Daniel, and we've made it to the halfway point.

For many years, Pastor Mark and I have joked that if you really want to get people to come to church and fill up this room, all you have to do is talk about sex and the end times. This week, we're going to talk about the end times. Next week, we won't be talking about sex, but we will be discussing more about the end times here in Daniel.

As we look at where we are today, the book shifts. Over the last seven weeks, we did an introduction and covered a chapter a week through the first six chapters of the Book of Daniel. As my friend Greg Watson, who shared last week, pointed out, in the opening six chapters of Daniel, you have a number of stories that fit a certain kind of pattern that is very similar to other literature from the period of time 2,500 years ago in the ancient Near East. They follow...

What is called a court narrative or court story has a very clear pattern to it. However, when we come to Daniel chapter 7, there is a pivot. We move out of the narrative story form and into the dreamscape, the apocalyptic dream state.

When I use the word "apocalyptic," it's kind of like that Disney animated film, The Lion King, where they kept saying "Mufasa." It gives people chills. For many people in our culture, when they hear "apocalyptic," they think of Armageddon. They think of Ben Affleck destroying an asteroid before it destroys us. They envision chaos in the world, asteroids falling, and all this insanity, whether they go to church or not. "Apocalyptic" brings certain visions or pictures to people's minds.

That's not necessarily a bad thing, except that the word "apocalyptic" is not really connected to Armageddon and the end times as much as it is to Revelation. The word "apocalypsis" in Greek means to reveal—the revealing of a mystery. In our culture, sometimes when we think of a mystery, we think of things that are unsolved or can't be solved. However, a Biblical mystery is intended to be understood or known, but it is not known unless there is an apocalypsis and a revealing.

It's very similar to when you exchange gifts at Christmas. That Christmas gift, wrapped as it is, is intended to be revealed. It's not meant to always stay in the wrapping, but you have to wait for the apocalypsis—the revealing, the opening—for you to see what it is.

What God does in apocalyptic literature is reveal and unfold His plan for the world. When we come into passages like this, we need to recognize the challenge in comprehending and interpreting them.

How many of you have ever had a strange dream that troubled you? Most of you. How many of you have ever had a strange dream that troubled you, but you also had this sense that there was something important to the dream? Some sort of thing that needed to be revealed from the dream? Like, this means something. Dreams are an interesting and fascinating thing.

Dreams are fascinating because, in part, we don't entirely know where they come from. There is a very large segment of society that thinks dreams are just manufactured, produced by biochemical firings of neurons in the brain. They believe that dreams originate from within the mind. However, there is an equally large, if not greater, segment of people who are convinced—maybe you are like this, and I certainly am—that sometimes dreams don't come from within but from a source outside ourselves.

When we get into this passage in Daniel, we will see that the dream Daniel has comes from another source, and it troubles him. Look at verse 15 of Daniel chapter 7: "I, Daniel, was grieved in my spirit within my body, and the visions of my head troubled me." Daniel, in this chapter, has a dream that troubles him, and he can tell it has some sort of relevance to the future, some sort of importance for him and the children of Israel, and perhaps not just for them but for the whole world.

Dreams are fascinating, but they can also be frustrating. They can be unclear and fade so quickly. I'm sure you've had this experience before. Dreams happen at the end of a sleep cycle, as you are coming up out of sleep. Sometimes, the things happening in the world around you find their way into your dreams. Have you ever experienced this? An alarm goes off—your alarm to wake you up—and that beeping sound enters your dream. Next thing you know, in your dream, you have to clip the right wire, or else everything is going to explode.

We had our connect group last night, and I made pulled pork for the first time. The smell of the smoking pork was coming into my dreams for some reason. Dreams can be frustrating because they are unclear, filled with a lot of weird things in that dreamscape, and then they fade so quickly. You wake up, and it almost feels as if the moment you wake up, the dream is just gone, like morning mist in the summer sun. You can remember parts of it, but it’s strange.

You don't know the details; they can be fascinating and frustrating. With that in mind, we come to this passage with Daniel's dream. Let me say very clearly that Daniel's dream, both here in chapter seven and in chapter eight, is fascinating. There have been Bible scholars and commentators who have been thinking about, writing on, and examining this passage in chapter seven for a very long time. It is fascinating, weird, cryptic, and apocalyptic. It seems to have relevance to the future, but it is also frustrating because there are some strange things going on in this dream.

Before we even get into the dream, I want to make the point that anyone who tells you they fully and perfectly understand what is happening in Daniel chapter seven or chapter eight, or the rest of this book, is clearly wrong. It would be hard for you to give a perfect interpretation or explanation of the dream you had last night. Similarly, it is impossible to give a perfect interpretation of this passage. However, there are some things we can certainly glean from it because the interpretation is given in the text, which is very helpful for understanding the general aspects of what is happening in this section of Scripture.

We should not expect perfect clarity in our understanding when we come to passages like Daniel chapters seven through twelve, or when we read the book of Revelation, the middle chapters of Ezekiel, or some of the passages in Isaiah. There are some strange things you will find as you go through these texts. It is wise for us to keep in mind this point: the clarity around future things revealed in the Scriptures is about as clear as the dream you had last night.

There is a doctrinal idea among Christians that you would read about in a theology book or if you took a theology class, called the perspicuity of Scripture. Now, perspicuity is just a big word that theological types like to use to confuse everybody. It simply means clarity. Sometimes you read these words and wonder why they couldn't have just said "clarity." They like to sound smarter than they are.

The perspicuity of Scripture, or the doctrine of the clarity of Scripture, asserts that the Bible is clear regarding the gospel message. Even the smallest children can understand this. We see this in children's ministry; we started explaining the truths of the Gospel to our own kids as soon as they could talk. By three years old, we were teaching them the truths of the Gospel in a way they could comprehend. The perspicuity of the Gospel message means that it is clear.

However, when we encounter passages like Daniel chapter 7, they are far from clear and can be quite challenging. This means that when we read, study, or discuss these passages with other Christians—especially those from Daniel, Revelation, or Ezekiel—we need to do so carefully, prayerfully, and, importantly, humbly. We must be humble in our interpretations and acknowledge that the things we feel very certain about may, in fact, be wrong regarding future events and what the Bible has to say about them.

I believe that the Bible does have some things to say about the future, even from our vantage point here in 2023. However, we have a lot of ideas, speculations, and opinions. Let me tell you, I have many ideas and speculations on these matters. I have taught at a Bible college level on books of apocalyptic literature and prophetic passages. Yet, when I teach this and when you study it, we should each recognize that the probability of being entirely right about our opinions, ideas, and speculations is quite low.

This means we should not and cannot divide over things that are unclear and not doctrinally significant—issues that would be referred to as second-order or secondary issues of doctrine. These are not dividing issues. You might disagree with my interpretation of some aspects of apocalyptic literature, and that is okay. I am fine with disagreement. I have very good friends who are pastors, Bible teachers, and commentators who have written on these topics, and we often disagree on our interpretations. We have had long conversations about our differences, but we remain friends and continue to get along.

Great! When we get to heaven, they will realize that they were wrong. As simple as that, and I'm okay with that.

As unclear as the future is, even in light of the eschatological passages—things having to do with the end times in the Scriptures—we should recognize that the Bible does have some great things to say about the future. It is quite good in its predictive power. In fact, the passage that we're going to look at in Daniel chapters 7 and 8 reveals some things that God shows to Daniel through his dreams and visions. These revelations are so specific that they cause those who are skeptical of God's existence, or skeptical of God's omniscience and omnipotence, to question whether these things were actually written by Daniel in the 6th century BC. They will say this is so right on the dot, so perfectly on target, that Daniel could not have written this hundreds of years before these things took place.

You will read much critical scholarship from historians on these passages that argue Daniel could not have been written in the 6th century BC; it must have been written in the second or third century BC after the events took place. However, the evidence for the early dating that I hold—that these things were written down by Daniel while he was in Babylon during Israel's exile in the 6th century BC—is compelling. It reveals that the Bible's predictive power is awesome, something that we can even identify in our day.

For example, in Isaiah chapter 66, God, through the prophet Isaiah, predicted, "Who has seen such a thing, that a nation would be born in one day?" Then, on May 14, 1948, less than a hundred years ago, Israel—the modern state of Israel—became a nation in one day, in fulfillment of what I believe is prophesied in Isaiah chapter 66.

What does that reveal? I like to say this: when we look at the predictive passages of Scripture and the clarity with which they predict things, it reveals the divine fingerprints here in this world. God has left behind some clues that He is. That's how He announces Himself: "I am."

I am the ever-existent One, the One who was, and is, and is to come. He knows all things, and so He has left His fingerprints to provide some clues along the way. In Isaiah chapters 40 through 45, God even says to the people of Isaiah's day, "Listen, I am the only God that you know of who is able to tell you the end of the thing before it happens." He says, "Test me in this." He reveals His awesomeness through predictive prophecy.

Now, a couple more things before we get into the text of Daniel chapter seven. I realize this is a bit of a preface, but when we encounter passages like this, we need a good preface. I think it's important for us to see and acknowledge that everyone, whether they believe the Bible, read the Bible, or go to church or not, has an eschatology. Every person you meet—your co-worker, your neighbor, friends who don't go to church, family members—has a worldview.

This worldview might be influenced by passages like Daniel chapter 7, Matthew 24, the Book of Revelation, or Ezekiel 36-39, or it may be a secular Western perspective. Regardless, everyone has an eschatology. These eschatological themes are what make the summer blockbuster hits that generate the biggest box office revenues. Every single Marvel movie you see is an apocalyptic drama that poses an end-time scenario.

What is the common thread through every one of those stories? There is a hope of a deliverer who comes to save in the midst of the Armageddon. Every culture has this narrative. All of our blockbusters reflect this; this is how we entertain ourselves and, at the same time, freak ourselves out every single summer.

It's important for us to remember this when we're having conversations with people. When you interact with your co-worker and they start to talk about end-of-the-world scenarios that make them afraid, consider that if you back up 40 years ago, it was Russian nukes that inspired fear. This fear has shaped our cultural narratives and discussions.

Dawn, how many of you saw "Red Dawn"? Come on, be honest. All the guys will raise their hands, while all the ladies are wondering, "Is there a love story in 'Red Dawn'?" Yes, we love guns!

If you fast forward to the early 2000s, the end-of-the-world scenario probably involved Islam. Today, it's aliens, asteroids, artificial intelligence, and climate change. When you talk to your friends or co-workers who don't go to church, they have their own end-time scenarios that they are fearful about. They think we need to fix this; we have to find a way to deal with AI, Skynet, and the Terminator. It's coming, right? Hopefully, John Connor will come and save us all.

Everyone has their own end-time scenario. Here's the interesting thing: when you interact with a friend or co-worker and they tell you about the thing they are afraid of that will bring doom to the planet and humanity—whether it's aliens, asteroids, climate change, or something else—you might hear them talk and think, "You sound like a nut job. That is insane fiction." To you, their facts seem like fiction. And here's the thing: to them, your facts seem like fiction as well. Their idea of what's coming is crucially important and essential. They want you to grasp this and understand it, urging you to use that blue waste bin for your recycled goods so we don't all die. You might respond, "Come on, really?" But understand that this is how they view your worldview.

We should be compassionate with people when we engage in these discussions. When we start to have these conversations, it's important to recognize that you better have a better story. More on that in just a moment.

Another thing that I think is really crucial for us to consider when we talk about eschatological end-times issues is that I don't necessarily care exactly what your eschatological position is, but you should. You should care because your beliefs affect your behavior.

Your thoughts affect your actions. Every single one of you knows somebody who may not have an eschatological view informed by the Bible, but they do have an eschatological worldview shaped by what they're hearing from science, media, or whatever it is. They are afraid, and it has changed the way they live in such ways that you just look at it and scratch your head, wondering what they are thinking. Yet, they really hold on to these beliefs. I have not yet met a person who does not have an eschatological end-time scenario running through their mind.

We should be compassionate. Point number two, if you're taking notes: everyone has an eschatology, and very few bring any peace, hope, and joy. If you are a Christian, your eschatological worldview should bring peace, hope, and joy. If your view of what is coming down the pipeline to a city or nation near you causes you anxiety, and everyone you talk to feels fear or walks the other way because they think you are nutty, you might need to re-examine your view in light of the Scriptures.

The apocalypsis, the revelation in the Scriptures, is one that brings hope, peace, and joy. That is the underlying current of the apocalyptic genre of literature. This is what Dr. Watson mentioned last week. The things given to us in the apocalyptic genre are intended to give the people of God hope in the midst of whatever trial, tribulation, or difficulty they find themselves in.

I have said for many years here at Cross Connection Church that we want everything we do to be done with joy because we have an optimistic vision of the future. Listen, a lot of your friends and neighbors do not have an optimistic vision of the future. So, when you interact with someone and they share their end-time scenario with you, and you are scratching your head, thinking, "You really believe this?" and they are freaked out, here is what I think you should tell them: it is much worse than you think.

They are not going to like that. When they are telling you their fears, don’t try to say, "No, that’s not what’s going to happen. That’s stupid." Don’t do that. Just say, "Oh man, I guarantee you it is a thousand times worse than you think."

They’re going to look at you and ask, "What are you talking about?" If that freaks them out, it should. Why? Because the person who does not have Christ does not have hope. Here’s what they have to look forward to: this will trip out your friends when you say it’s much worse than you think.

“Oh really? Wow! So does all this stuff scare you?” Yes, it scares me. That’s right. The Book of Hebrews says all you have to look forward to is a certain fearful expectation of judgment and fiery indignation. That’ll sell really well, I promise. They’re going to be like, “What? I thought you were supposed to encourage me.” No, listen. If you don’t have Jesus, that’s all you have to look forward to. That’s what Hebrews chapter 10 says: a certain fearful, fiery expectation of judgment and indignation. That’s a big, bad word, and it should cause the person who does not know Christ to be fearful.

The optimism that I have is only found in Jesus Christ. You see, the Book of Revelation is actually called the Revelation of Jesus Christ. What does it ultimately reveal about Him? He is going to come again to bring His kingdom and His righteous reign. When He does, He will wipe away every tear. There will be no more sickness, sorrow, or death. He will destroy death. That is the joyful, optimistic vision that we have, which brings hope.

So, you have to have a better story. Let me tell you, the story we find in here is a better story. Church, it’s such a good thing to share. I think that’s enough preface.

Look at Daniel chapter 7. Daniel chapter 7, verse 1: "In the first year of Belshazzar." This gives us what we call a temporal marker. What is happening here in Daniel chapter 7 is that the storyline has jumped backward. You see, Daniel chapters 1 through 6 are pretty chronological. They follow the story of Daniel’s life from when he came with Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah to Babylon in about 605 BC until the end of their time in Babylon, when the Medo-Persian Empire comes and releases the children of Israel to go back to their homeland. So, that’s the broader outline of the story from about 605 BC to about 539 or 540 BC.

What happens in chapter 7 is that Daniel jumps back to the time of Belshazzar. You were introduced to Daniel by Pastor Garrett, and Belshazzar, the king of Babylon, was mentioned back in Daniel chapter 5 when you remember the handwriting on the wall. Belshazzar was the foolish king of Babylon at that point in time.

Now we come back to the first year of his reign, which puts us right about 553 BC. We can mark in history that this is probably 553 BC. Daniel is somewhere in his 60s at this point in time. In the first year of Belshazzar, king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream and visions of his head while on his bed. He wrote down the dream, telling the main facts and giving just the basic outline of it.

Daniel spoke, saying, "I saw in my vision by night, and behold, there were four winds of heaven stirring up the great sea. Four great beasts came up from the sea, each different from the other. The first beast was like a lion that had eagle's wings. I watched till its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand on two feet like a man, and a man's heart was given to it.

Suddenly, another beast, a second, like a bear—not a bear, but like a bear—was raised up on one side, and it had three ribs in its mouth. It was a bear that liked barbecue between its teeth, and they, whoever they are, we don't know, thus said to it, "Arise, devour much flesh."

After this, I looked, and there was another beast, like a leopard—not a leopard, but like a leopard. It had on its back four wings of a bird, and the beast also had four heads. Daniel had a crazy vision; he must have had some weird falafel the night before. Dominion was given to this fourth beast, or this third beast with the four wings and the four heads.

After this, I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth and was devouring and breaking in pieces, trampling the residue with its feet. It was different from all the other beasts that came before it; it had ten horns. I was considering the horns, looking at them, thinking this is the strangest thing I've ever seen. Then there was another horn, an eleventh horn, a little one coming up from among them.

The ten horns, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots—what on Earth is this? And there, in this horn, were eyes, like that of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words. I watched till the horns were, or till thrones were put in place, and the Ancient of Days was seated. His garment was as white as snow, and the hair of His head was like pure wool. His throne was fiery aflame, its wheels burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before Him. A thousand thousands ministered to Him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. The court was seated, and the books were opened.

I, Daniel, watched then because of the sound of the pompous words which the horn was speaking—the horn with all the eyes. I watched till the beast, that fourth beast, was slain; its body destroyed and given to the burning flame. As for the rest of the beasts, the previous three, they had their dominion taken away, yet their lives were prolonged for a season at a time.

I was watching in my night visions, and behold, one like the Son of Man came with the clouds of heaven. He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. To Him, this one like the Son of Man was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away, and His kingdom, the one which shall not be destroyed.

What in the world is going on here? Having that kind of strange dream, you can understand why we would read in the very next verse: I, Daniel, was grieved in my spirit within my body, and the visions of my head troubled me. He was troubled by this, and might I say that if ever you come to a passage of Scripture that troubles you and stands out to you, and you wonder what on Earth this means, listen, you're in good company. Daniel had that sort of mindset.

But follow Daniel's lead. Look at verse 16. I came near to one of those that stood by—some angelic being, some watcher, if you will—that was there in the dream, and I asked him the truth of all this. So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of these things. Listen, I just want to encourage you as you're reading or studying through the Scripture, and you come to passages that trouble you or seem weird or don’t make sense. It is wise to ask the One who...

Inspired by the Scriptures, the psalmist in Psalm 119 says, "Open my eyes that I may behold wonders from your word." That's a prayer: "God, help me to understand and comprehend this." There is not a week that goes by as I study through the Scriptures that I don't say, "God, would you help me to understand what these things mean?"

It is very important, especially when we come to strange apocalyptic passages like Daniel, Revelation, and Ezekiel, to understand that apocalyptic literature is filled with weird symbols and images that are hard for us to comprehend and interpret if they stand alone. Without any other framing, we may struggle to look at them or understand and interpret them. Therefore, it is always very helpful and important to try to interpret Scripture with Scripture. Many times, the symbols that you come across are used in other places, and explanations are given as to what they mean.

Additionally, when you look at other literature from the same period of time, you begin to see that there are other writings outside of the canon of Scripture that also use very similar imagery, which provides us with understanding. For example, when we see a troubled, chaotic sea from which these beasts arise, that troubled, chaotic sea represents the chaotic world in which we live. This imagery is something you see in many Babylonian and Neo-Babylonian period pieces. The troubled sea symbolizes the world in its chaos, and from that chaos arise different beasts, often depicted in bizarre forms. Many times, these beasts have imagery associated with certain people or nations during that time.

For instance, we read about a lion that has wings. Have you ever seen a lion with wings? This imagery comes from the walls of Babylon, established by Nebuchadnezzar during the time that Daniel was there. The Ishtar Gate features such imagery, which connects historical elements to our understanding of these passages. However, when we study these things, it can be challenging for people living in our time. We often only grasp the general idea but miss the specific sense of what is going on, and many times, we lack the fuller understanding.

What the Bible speaks about often becomes clear only after the fact. Take, for example, the prophecy I mentioned earlier in Isaiah, chapter 66. Who has seen such a thing, that a nation would become a nation and one day be born in one day? Post-May 14th, 1948, we look at that differently than we did prior to that date. You can even find this in commentary literature; books written before the event look different than those that came after it.

This phenomenon is also seen in the Gospels. In John, chapter 2, Jesus tells a group of people, "Destroy this Temple, and in three days I will raise it up." John notes that they didn't understand this until after He rose from the dead, and then it made more sense. This is often the case when we read passages like this; we come to them with our own interpretations.

Many Christians have real certainties about what these things mean, how they relate to us, and what we should do in response. However, I want to emphasize that we should hold these interpretations lightly, with a humble heart and mindset. We should take these interpretations with a grain of salt.

Point number three for those taking notes: the future is not as fixed and certain as we might imagine or interpret it to be. Our imaginations and interpretations are far less certain about the future than we would like to admit. If you really knew what was coming down the line, you would likely drive a much nicer car than you do now. The truth is, we cannot tell the future. We are given the general outline, not the specifics. We see dimly for now; we know in part, but then we shall know even as we are known.

So, what is the general sense? Look at verse 17; this is key. Daniel asks the being he meets in his vision, "What do these things mean? Help me to comprehend this." The being responds in verse 17, "Those great beasts, which are four, are four kings which arise out of the earth." The sea represents the earth, and the beasts symbolize these kings that rise out of it.

Now note this: "But the Saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever." This being says to Daniel, "Hey, here's the general sense of all this."

The world is going to be chaotic. The beasts are going to go around causing more chaos and craziness, going all beast mode on the Earth. But here's the end of all things: the Saints of the Most High are going to receive the kingdom and possess it forever and ever.

Point number four: in the end, God wins and reigns, and we receive and possess the kingdom forever. Hey, listen, church, that's the ultimate story that gives us peace, hope, and joy, even in uncertain and tumultuous times. I don't know if you've noticed, but the last few years have been a little uncertain and tumultuous. Has anybody noticed?

Here's the interesting thing I've discovered over the last few years: a lot of Christians have a lot less hope than they should. I've met many Christians over the last several years—maybe you have as well—who are all panicky and freaked out because they believe the end of the world has come. They think we're all going to die and that everything is going to collapse. It's like, hey, have you read the story? In the end, God wins and reigns, and we receive and possess the kingdom forever.

Here's the question: do you actually believe that? If you truly believe that, it will give you hope in uncertain times. That's what it did for the children of Israel during the time they were exiles in Babylon. That's what it did a few hundred years later when they were under the control of the Greek Empire and faced a raving lunatic named Antiochus Epiphanes, who rose up and desecrated and destroyed the temple in his time.

What was it that gave the people of God hope? It was this reality: in the end, God wins and reigns, and His people receive and possess the kingdom forever and ever. Amen. When we go through difficulties, this should be what gives us hope, joy, and peace in the midst of trouble.

This is an awesomely evangelistic reality. If you actually live like that is true, your friends—who have no hope because there is no hope without Jesus—will see that you have a steady consistency in the storm. They will have to admit, "I don't have that." It is so important that we live this way.

According to that belief, remember what I said: your belief affects your behavior. Sometimes, I have seen this a lot over the last few years. The behavior of people, in light of all the things that are going on in the world, has changed so much that they have abandoned the beliefs they once had to adopt new ones.

I have seen this with a whole bunch of Christians who have moved away from the futurist hope that I have, which is found in the Scriptures. I know a lot of people within Calvary Chapel who have shifted away from a futurist view, at least in their behavior, to what we would call a post-millennial view. This view suggests that it is all on us; we have to fix it and take control. If you have met anyone in the church today with a Christian nationalistic mindset, you will see that they have shifted their beliefs in light of the circumstances in the world in a way that I don't think is healthy. I have some close friends who pastor Calvary Chapel churches and have abandoned that hope, adopting a new mindset that we need to lay hold of the strings of power. I don't find that in the New Testament, and you should be highly suspect of that.

Another key thing to note, which may jolt some people, is that the previous six chapters of this book we have been studying teach us something very important that we have a hard time recognizing. The people of God, the faithful remnant of God, do not always escape tribulation. Azariah did not escape having to go into the fiery furnace, and Daniel did not escape having to go into the lion's den. However, God protected these individuals by His grace as they went through those challenges.

We should take careful note of this because, in American Christian culture, we have the view that we, as the faithful ones, will never have to go through any of that. Look at the rest of the world, where many Christians, both now and throughout all of Christian history, have gone through the fire and the lion's den. Here is where their hope lies: in the end, God wins and reigns.

We will rule and reign with Him, and even though we die in this world, we will rise to newness of life with Him. That is our hope; we are brought through by the power of God.

Now, presumably, this angelic messenger gives Daniel the general outline of what is going to come to pass. The world is going to be chaotic, and there are going to be these kingdoms that rise up and cause chaos, but God is going to win in the end. However, Daniel needs more.

Look at verse 19. I am totally out of time, but we are going to keep going. Verse 19 states, "Then I wished to know the truth about the fourth beast, which was different from the previous three, exceedingly dreadful. Its teeth were of iron, its claws were of bronze. It devoured in broken pieces and trampled the residue with its feet."

These ten horns that were on its head and the one horn that came up before which the three fell, namely the horn which had eyes all over it and a mouth which spoke pompous words, had an appearance greater than its fellows. I was watching, and the same horn that rose up from this fourth beast was making war against God's people, against the saints. Not only was it making war against God's people, but it was prevailing against them.

Daniel says, "I need more than just the general outline because I am really troubled by this. It seems like God's people are getting destroyed by this beast that is going to come up at some point in the future, one that devours, breaks in pieces, and tramples. It makes war and prevails against God's people. What is going on here?"

Now, I don't have time to get into all of it, but if you look at this dream connected to Nebuchadnezzar's dream back in chapter two, you realize there is the same basic outline, just different imagery. Nebuchadnezzar saw four kingdoms; Daniel sees four kingdoms. Nebuchadnezzar saw that there was going to come one like unto the Son of Man, this stone not cut with hands that was going to destroy the fourth kingdom. Daniel now sees the one coming like the Son of Man who is going to ultimately destroy this fourth beast.

Daniel is grieved because he sees the people of God being destroyed by this fourth beast, and he wants to understand what is going on. The fourth beast devours God's saints and prevails against them. But look at the first word of verse 22: "until." The fourth beast prevails until the...

The Ancient of Days, that's God, came, and the judgment was made in favor of the saints of the Most High. The time came for the saints to possess the kingdom. There is a set time in God's calendar; I don't know when that is. Jesus's earliest followers asked, "Jesus, will you now restore the kingdom?" Jesus replied, "Of the times and seasons, you do not know, but my Father in Heaven knows." There is a time set.

Thus, he said, "The watcher," verse 23: "The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom on the earth, which shall be different from all other kingdoms." It's not going to come for one small period of time in one place; it shall devour the whole earth, trample it, and break it into pieces. The ten horns are ten kings who shall arise from this kingdom, and another shall arise after them. He shall be different from the first kings or kingdoms and shall subdue the three kings. He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, persecute the saints of the Most High, and intend to change times and law. The saints shall be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time.

You can read volumes of books on this section of Scripture, where all kinds of scholars, commentators, and Bible teachers will tell you what every single one of these things means in perfect clarity, and they're all wrong. I don't know what this means perfectly; I know the general sense. I know that there is a kingdom that would come up after the Greek Empire, which was the third beast, and after the Medo-Persian Empire, which was the second beast, and after the Babylonian Empire, which was the first beast.

I know there's another kingdom that arises, which is the Roman Kingdom. But that Roman Kingdom extends throughout the entire world, as it has for the last two thousand years. At some point, someone from that kingdom will rule and destroy God's people. However, there is a time coming when that one will be destroyed.

Point number five: I will try to wrap up. The beasts of the earth will have their way with the saints of God for a set and established time. God knows when that is. The fourth beast will bring destruction.

Upon God's people, the Beast will seem to prevail against them for a time, times, and half a time. But the court in heaven shall be seated, and they shall take away the dominion of the Beast to consume and destroy it forever. The kingdom, dominion, and greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the Saints of the Most High. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him.

This, Daniel says, is the end of the account. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts greatly troubled me, and my countenance changed, but I kept the matter in my heart. This angelic being says to Daniel, "Listen, the things that are coming in the future are going to be tumultuous, coming out of the chaotic sea here in the world until the time is fulfilled." When will we see the Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven to bring His kingdom? I don't exactly know, but I know that He has promised to come, one like the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven.

In Daniel chapter 7, verse 13, it states, "To Him will be given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away."

Jesus, on the morning before His crucifixion, was standing before a council that was brought to try Him and condemn Him to death. They were trying to catch Him in some sort of way that they could condemn Him to die. One of the priests said to Him, as recorded in Matthew chapter 26, "I put you under oath before the living God. Tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God."

Tell me if this sounds familiar to you. Jesus said to him, "It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power and coming on the clouds of heaven." Jesus was making a claim to be the Son of Man here in Daniel chapter 7.

Then the high priest tore his clothes, saying, "He has spoken blasphemy! What further do we need of witnesses? Look, now you have heard it; His blasphemy. What do you think?" And they all answered and said, "He is deserving of death." Jesus is the Son of Man.

When will He come? Ephesians chapter 1 says, "In the dispensation of the fullness of times," when the time is complete, when God the Father says, "Now is the time." Apparently, He hasn't said so yet because we're still here.

So, what next? Well, we're here until we finish the work that He has called us to do during this time. We are to go into all the world and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. We are to teach them to observe all things whatever I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always, even till the end of the age.

Now, we have totally run out of time. But Jesus, on the night before He was crucified, took bread. He gave it to His disciples and said, "This is my body which is broken for you." He took wine and gave it to them, saying, "This is the blood of the New Covenant, my blood. This do as often as you drink it in remembrance of me."

Then He said to them something very important. The night before He would be put to death, and they would see Him arrested, beaten, and condemned to death, He said, "But I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of this vine from now until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father's Kingdom."

The last thing He left with His disciples as they partook of the bread and the cup was not, "Hey guys, tomorrow's going to be really, really bad. It's going to be horrible and terrible, and it's going to look like we lost." Instead, He said, "I'm not going to drink with you again until I see you anew in my Father's Kingdom."

For the last two thousand years, the church has partaken of the bread and the cup of communion, proclaiming the Lord's death until He comes again. We take this in joyful anticipation of the day when we'll drink it anew with Him in our Father's Kingdom. And let me tell you, the grape juice is going to be a lot better then.

Father, I pray that You would help us to rejoice in joyful anticipation of what is coming, even though we might endure difficulty in this life amidst the chaos of this world.

The beasts come, and we are reminded that You are the King of kings and Lord of lords, and You reign. Help us to remember that. Help our countenance to display the joy of that in our behavior, the peace, rest, and hope of that. We pray in Jesus' name.

Listen, we will sing a song together, and we are going to partake in just a moment. So just hold on to these. If you don't have any, you can raise your hand, and one of the ushers will bring you one.

Let’s rejoice in the Lord! This is not a somber thing. While we remember His death and burial, we also remember that He rose from the dead and will come again. We will drink anew with Him in the Kingdom. Amen! Let’s rejoice.