27 Jun Kingdom Down #7 – King Jesus is Coming on the Clouds! (Daniel Ch. 7)
– All right, if you got a Bible, go to the book of Daniel we’re in chapter seven and let me tell you this. Most of the time preachers will preach the first six chapters and then quit and in an hour, you’ll know why. This is an impossible text. This text is going to at certain points, stretch your imagination in mind and I’m going to strain with human language to explain supernatural things. By way of preface, let me just tell you that there are two basic ways to view human history. One is that the future is open, uncertain and the possibilities are endless that anything could happen, that everything hangs in a precarious balance. If you believe that you will live a life of anxiety, you will be stressed and depressed, especially during an election year. Just throwing it out there. If you think that the future is ruled and controlled by God that it is closed, that He is in charge, that He is good, that He is working all things for His glory and the good of His people and that God ultimately has a destiny and plan for history, you will sleep better. You will turn your phone off. You will not cast at the nightly news. You will live differently with less anxiety. My whole goal today is to prove to you from the perfect prophetic word of God, that God knows, rules the future and as the kid’s song says, He’s got the whole world in His hands. So as we get into Daniel seven, just to catch you up, if you are in fact new, the story of Daniel begins in chapter one. He’s a teenager in a nation called Israel. That nation is invaded and overtaken by a pagan foreign king and kingdom, adds judgment and justice on God’s people. He is forced to walk 700 miles. Now he is in the new nation, gets a new name. They try to convert him to a new religion. They brainwash him, they castrate them. All is seemingly lost and hopeless. Nonetheless, Daniel remains resolute and faithful to God in a fallen and horrific empire and he does so for 70 years. So when we jumped to Daniel seven today, The point is just because you’re old doesn’t mean you’re done. You can retire from your job but you don’t retire from your faith and that’s the story of Daniel. And what happens in Daniel seven is we get prophetically literature. Up until this point, people have dreams, Daniel interprets them. Here, Daniel gets dreams and visions. Dreams are when you’re asleep, visions are when you’re awake and an angel comes to interpret them for him. And so what we’re gonna get into is what’s called apocalyptic or prophetic imagery. And the Bible is about 25% prophetic in nature when it was written telling us about the future. You can go to college and study history but not prophecy because apart from the word of God and the spirit of God, all we can do is look at the past but we can’t predict the future. God looks at everything as history and prophecy is His way of telling us what He already knows will happen long before it does. Now, part of what happens in prophetic literature, God uses a lot of creative imagery. And so you’re going to need to use your imagination a little bit. A couple of things I wan say as well, just by way of preface Daniel, but especially Daniel seven, it shifts between the seen and the unseen realms. This is crucial. The Bible is a supernatural book and those who do not believe in the supernatural cannot understand the scripture. And that is that right now, there are human beings and there are divine beings. There is a physical world, there is a spiritual world. Right now behind the world we see is a world that occasionally God lets us speak into. That’s what happens in Daniel seven. You need to know that ultimately that world and this world are connected and work together in the unseen realm are angels and demons, God and Satan and other divine beings, just as there are people in this world and the scenes will ship between them, the scene and the unseen realm. In addition, apocalyptic literature uses figurative language like, or as will be some clues in Daniel seven and other scriptures. Like this as that, this is human language straining to explain things that are supernatural and cause us to have some sort of vision of something that is hard to articulate. Now, that being said, as we get into prophecy, there are things that are in the open hand and things that are in the closed hand. What you’re gonna see in the closed hand today, Jesus Christ is King coming on the clouds. The rest, you’re gonna see. These horns, keep that in the open end. If you’re somebody who says, “I know what all this means,” you don’t, you’re weird, you need help, okay? The scariest people are always the people who show up for the prophecy sermon and they’re like, “I got a chart here on my ammo box. “I wrote with crayon, I got it all figured out.” We love you, you’re nuts. Okay, so we’re gonna keep some of this in the open hand but I will tell you how I see it and what I think it is. First things first God knows the future. He does, just so you know, you don’t know the future but you’re know the one who knows the future. Here’s what it says. Chapter seven verses one through eight. “In the first year of Belshazzar, King of Babylon.” So we go back a few chapters in Daniel. What you’re gonna get here is four beasts, which are four successive kingdoms, predicting prophesying, anticipating human history and this follows the same imagery in Daniel two, where there was this image of this great warrior King and it showed four different nation States that would rise and fall one overtaking the other and expanding the borders and empires. So he’s going back and he’s going to look at these same four kingdoms in the same order. “In the first year of Belshazzar, King of Babylon, “Daniel saw dream and visions of his head as he lie in bed.” Dream, when you’re asleep visions, when you’re awake. Daniel goes to bed. This was some years prior. Babylon was still the ruling nation. Babylon was ruled by an evil King. Daniel had a dream when he was asleep and he’d wake up and then it became a vision. If you wonder what this is like, this is like a screen in our day. They didn’t have screens in their day, but in our day we get to see things. That was God’s version of a screen. He just showed Daniel what was going to happen. “Then he wrote down the dream and told the sum of the matter “Daniel declared I saw in my vision by night and behold, “the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea. “And four great beasts came up out of the sea, “different from one another.” Each of these beasts represents a kingdom. “The first was like a lion and had eagle’s wings.” So a lion with eagle’s wings. “Then I looked at its wings were plucked off “and it was lifted up from the ground “and made to stand on two feet like a man “and the mind of a man was given him.” That’s about Nebuchadnezzar the King, I’ll explain that in a moment. “And behold, another beast, a second one, “like a bear was raised up on one side.” So this is a lumpy bear. This is a lumpy bear, one side’s bigger than the other. Some of you, you’re a lumpy bear. “It had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. “And it was told the rise devour much flesh.” Next slide. “After this, I looked and behold another like a leopard, “a winged leopard with four wings of a bird on its back. “And the beast had four heads and dominion was given to it. “After this I saw in the night visions and behold, “a fourth beast, terrifying, dreadful, exceedingly strong. “It had great iron teeth that devoured and broken pieces “and stamped what was left with its feet. “It was different from all the beasts that were before it “and had 10 horns,” so five times more powerful. “I consider the horns and behold there came up among them. “Another horn, a little one.” I believe the horns refer to Kings and kingdoms. It’ll tell us that in the next few verses. “came another horn, a little one before which “three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots “and behold in this horn where eyes like the eyes of a man “and a mouth speaking great things.” So what he does, he typifies different movements, different nations, different empires with different animals. We still do this, right? So if I told you today, the United States of America is typified by what animal, An Eagle. If you’re a Democrat, donkey. Some guy in the ninth said a naughty word, but it’s a donkey. If you’re a Republican, it’s an elephant. We still use animals as images, as symbols and signs for groups of people and movements. It may be hard for us to understand what the heck is he talking about? But again, 2,500 years from now, because this was written 2,500 years ago. 2,500 years from now, if you’re like, well, the donkey went against the elephant to see who would rule under the Eagle, we’d all be like what? And you’re like, Oh, that’s an election year. Because those symbols for us make sense, just like these symbols probably made sense for them. But it’s 2,500 years, wemove. So let me deal with them in succession. And what it is showing is that God’s people would be under the rule of successive pagan, godless, Gentile kingdoms. Usually when the Bible refers to the sea, it’s talking about nations and people, groups that are far away. Here, it’s talking about the nations and these nations rule over God’s people as discipline for their disobedience. In addition, I believe one of the reasons that the Bible uses imagery of dangerous beast is because behind these empires, these Kings and kingdoms are demonic, supernatural, evil, spiritual forces. That’s why Kings and kingdoms times and places come and go but the same behavior continues because the same evil spirits are at work behind the scenes. So the Bible often speaks of dangerous beasts, both in the physical and the spirit realm to give us an indication that they’re wild, untamed and dangerous. When we moved to Arizona, I didn’t know how many things here could kill you. We have a wild area in the back and I’ve seen at our house, a bobcat. I have seen a rattlesnake, I’ve seen javelinas and coyotes. None of those are domesticated animals. So maybe say like, you could keep a snake. You shouldn’t read Genesis three. It all goes bad once you get a snake, that’s how it goes down. And the point is that God will use imagery of dangerous untamed deadly beast to refer to demons because they are untamed dangerous beasts in the unseen realm. And I believe that’s one of the reasons that he’s using this beastly image. Well, the first image is of a winged lion. That is the nation of Babylon. It ruled previous chapters of Daniel. We looked at this where it was ultimately overtaken, but the nation of Babylon, their symbol was a winged lion. So if you were to go into the ancient city of Babylon, you would pass through something called the Ishtar Gates and the symbol, the icon on the Ishtar Gates, was a winged lion. How do we know that? They have excavated, archeologists have. Eventually archeologists catch up with the Bible. So we appreciate them doing that. The Bible tells us history and eventually they dig it up and confirm what the Bible says. When they dug up the Ishtar Gates, they are on display in Germany and in London, at museums and the Ishtar Gates entering Babylon, winged lion on the gate because that’s the symbol of the city and the nation. So they would have understood this is referring to the Babylonian empire. In addition, when it says that there was one who had his wings blocked, and then his mind was restored, we looked at this previously with King Nebuchadnezzar. He was the most powerful empire and emperor in the world. And then literally God clipped his wings, he got humbled. He came down from his throne and he is literally lost his mind for seven years. And then it says that his mind was restored to him. That’s exactly what happened. The next empire King and kingdom that is given is of the lumpy bear. Okay, the lumpy bear is the Medo Persian empire. The Medo Persian empire came in and conquered Babylon and then expanded its borders. The reason that it’s a lumpy bear, one side bigger than the other, the Medo Persian empire was two empires together, but the Persian empire was much bigger and stronger than the Mede empire. And eventually the Persian empire overtook the Mede empire. That’s why if you study world history, they’ll talk a lot about the Persians, but not so much about Medo Persia, that’s the bear. So the first is Babylon. The second came into existence, that prophecy was fulfilled in Daniel’s lifetime. When the Medo Persian empire came in and toppled Babylon. I believe that was in Daniel five. If you were here, we covered it then. The third is a leopard with wings. How fast is the leopard super fast. If you see a leopard and you’re like, I got to run. Just lay down and surrender, it’s over. You will not outrun a leopard, they are fast. What about if you put four wings on a leopard, they’re really fast. They can outrun anyone and anything and with the wings, that means if something gets in its way, it just goes over it, you cannot stop it. This was a prophecy about Greece and the Greek empire led by historically Alexander the Great. he started ruling and reigning around the age of 23. Within 10 years, he conquered the entire known world. He overtook what was the Babylonian empire and what was the Medo Persian empire and expanded it within 10 years. This guy worked ward fast. History tells us, we’re not sure if it’s true or folklore that after conquering the entire known world at the age of 33, he sat down and wept because there was no one else to conquer. He then died. And it said here that this kingdom would be divided into four horns, which means four rulers. He did not have an heir. Usually when you would die, just like you would leave a company to an heir, you’d leave a nation to an heir. He had no heirs. So when he died at age 33, the Greek empire was divided between four generals that ruled under him. This prophecy was not fulfilled in Daniel’s lifetime. God was here predicting that the Medo Persian empire would fall, that the Greek empire would come, that Alexander the Great would rise up and that Alexander the Great would die and then four generals would take over that kingdom. God is surprised by nothing. Hey, I was thinking of it on the way in. You know that there was a civil war in America, right? Okay, so have you seen those people that do the civil war reenactments? They get into a park and they dress up and they get a musket and they’re gonna reenact. But if you do that, you’re weird. I mean, not as weird as the people at Comic-con but you’re still weird. Now, if you do both, you’re really weird. Oh, Hey, I’m just telling you how it is brother. Okay, so if you knew, let’s say you showed up at a park and they were doing a civil war reenactment, and you knew it was a civil war reenactment, would you freak out? Oh, you’d be like, “I know what this is. “This is a reenactment.” What if you didn’t know about the civil war and about civil war reenactments and you showed up in the park in like muskets rut row, right? Here’s what you need to know for us it looks like war, for God it’s all a reenactment. God sees and knows all, God rules and controls all. History for us seems like the battle could end in any number of ways. For God, everything in history is a reenactment. He already knows and controls of the future. That’s what God is showing you. That’s what God is revealing here. The fourth empire, I believe is the Roman empire. It was the largest empire in the history of the world, bigger than the Babylonian, Medo Persian and Greek empires. It expanded the borders and boundaries. In addition, it was the longest standing empire in the world. 1,700 years, the Roman empire stood. Now you think of America, we’re just a couple of hundred years old. 1700 years, the empire existed. And ultimately the Roman empire, it’s typified as a monstrosity. Parts of different animals, iron, you’re talking about weaponry here. This is like demonic forces coming together into some super power, which is exactly what happened with the Roman empire. Why does it drive forward? Why does the Bible and God and human history drive forward to the Roman empire? Why is that so significant? That is who would be in charge when Jesus Christ entered into human history. He came under the rule of the Roman empire. What God is prophesying here is the first and second coming of Jesus Christ and we live in the middle of the time, between the times. What happens in the days of Jesus, it is the Roman empire that sentences him to death. It is the Roman empire that executes him. He rises from death under the rule of the Roman empire. And the Bible says that “he came in the fullness of time.” Pax Romana, Roman peace was possible because of the Roman empire. It ended a lot of hostility between groups and nations, and it brought peace through military conquest in mind. It also created the Roman road system so that peoples in places that were previously disconnected are now connected. So that when Jesus rises from death, the news of Jesus, the good news of the resurrection of Jesus could go forward to the nations of the world. Previous to the Roman empire had Jesus risen, that news would not go global. It would be confined to the nation state. The point is this, there are multiple ways to view history. If you study history in university, sometimes they will focus on concepts and ideological movements, other times significant dates. Other times, prominent leaders. For God, the center of history is Jesus Christ that everything goes to comes from and focuses on the person in the work of Jesus Christ. And so all of this was driving toward the coming of the Roman empire. And then I believe it jumps to the end, the reconfiguration of the remnants of the ancient Roman empire. We live in the time between the times, the time that Jesus called the time of the Gentiles. The first coming was under the Roman empire. Jesus’ second coming we are told will be under what I believe is prophesied here, a reconstitution of the remnant of the ancient Roman empire, that ultimately everything that God creates, Satan counterfeits, that God is a King and the antichrist is the counterfeit King. He is against Jesus. That the kingdom of God is coming and it is political economic and spiritual. Satan wants to set up a counterfeit kingdom that rules our economy, has one national governmental system and also one world religion, all of which is opposed to Jesus Christ and the kingdom of God. And I believe what he is showing us here at the end is that ultimately the remnants of what was the ancient Roman empire, will be reconfigured. And today, what was the Roman empire exists as nations like Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, Belgium, and Holland. And what it says is that at the end, among these nations, there would rise up a little horn. Show it to you in just a moment. But horn here refers to King and kingdom. Who’s the little horn? No, it’s not Jesus, it’s the counterfeit. That’s usually the right answer. If I ask a question, usually it’s Jesus or carne asada. That’s usually where we go. So no judgments here rather. Then ultimately, this is the antichrist. This is the counterfeit Jesus. This is the counterfeit King. This is the counterfeit kingdom. This is the counterfeit economy. This is the counterfeit army. This is the counterfeit religion. Little, how does he start? Little small insignificant, unexpected. The point is this, Satan always just wants a little start. He just wants you to give into a little temptation, wants you to have a little compromise. Once you’d have a little cowardice, little fear, once you to have a little false teaching, not a lot, just little and like cancer eventually it grows and kills. So it shows here, he starts little, but he gets big. He starts quiet, but he gets loud. If you have allowed Satan and demonic things into your life, this is exactly how it works. A little drugs becomes an addiction. A little alcohol becomes a wrecked life. A little perversion becomes an out of control marriage, true or false? True. That’s how Satan works here and it’s how he always works. And the anti Christ here means two things. Anti can mean against or replacement of. In the new Testament, first and second John are gonna use the language of the antichrist. Paul’s gonna call him the man of lawlessness. He’s spoken a lot of in Revelation. Revelation quotes Daniel seven repeatedly. Daniel seven is quoted or alluded to 58 times in the new Testament. The majority of those occurrences are in the book of Revelation looking at the end of the end. And what it is telling us here is that Satan is always trying to do two things, oppose all that is for Jesus and replace Jesus. This still happens. The antichrist, I believe is a person who is possessed by Satan in the end with extraordinary supernatural power. I believe it is not unlike Judas Iscariot who during the first coming of Jesus was filled with demonic power through Satan. I believe that the spirit of antichrist is at work in every age, every culture. Shows up politically, shows up spiritually, shows up morally, shows up economically that ultimately the spirit of the antichrist against and replacing Jesus exists even in America today. We’re not yet in the kingdom of God. There is no perfect culture that is absent of demonic activity. Behind the world that we see is a world that God sees and occasionally lets us see. Our war is not against flesh and blood, but powers, principalities and spirits. The backdrop of all of Daniel is spiritual warfare. It’s a battle that started in heaven. When Satan and demons declared war on God were thrown down to the earth. They have continued their war and they’re seeking to recruit us to join their side, to be antichrist, to oppose Jesus and/or replace him as the highest authority, our greatest treasure and the person that we love most dearly. The gravitational forces of this fallen world, are always seeking to pull us down and not to rise up to love and serve Jesus. That’s what we see here and it’s prophesied in four nation states. Now how many of you hear this and you’re scared? How many of you, this sounds a little bit like a Scooby Doo episode? You’re like It’s a little scary. The good news is there’s more. The God who rules over the world is coming to rule in the world. “As I looked thrones, that’s dominion, “kingdom, authority were placed and the ancient of days.” Who’s that, God the father. “Took his seat, his clothing was white as snow.” White usually symbolizes purity, perfection and holiness. “The hair on his head,” he’s using prophetic imagery here, “like pure wool. “His throne was fiery flames” that usually symbolizes judgment. “It’s wheels were a burning fire.” In that day, if you wanted something to be portable, you needed to put wheels on it. The point is that God’s justice and his judgment, it extends to all peoples times and places. There is nowhere that the judgment of justice of God does not travel. “A stream of fire issued and came from before him.” And here, it’s talking about divine beings, including angels. “A thousand thousands served him “and 10,000 times 10,000 stood before him.” Right now God the father rules and reigns in a kingdom that is as real as our nation, that the Lord Jesus Christ is seated on a throne ruling and reigning as King of Kings and Lord of Lords And that ultimately God has an army of angelic and divine beings, thousands times thousands and 10,000 times 10,000 beings that remain faithful to him. They did not fall with Satan and demons. These are faithful, loyal servants and soldiers. And God is always at work in human history. God is always at work to love and seek and save and deliver his people. And this angelic army is available for the people of God to enjoy the presence and power of God. This is a reality that you need to see by faith until you see by sight. Occasionally this unseen realm opens, it does for Daniel. It also does for Isaiah says, “I saw the Lord high and exalted seated on a throne, “surrounded by divine beings who are crying. “Holy is the Lord God almighty.” The same thing happens to John in the book of Revelation where he gets a glimpse into the unseen realm. Too little is taught about the supernatural, too little is taught about that, which is angelic and other divine beings. It’s because we have made the center of our theology and Bible teaching practical tips for better living, not how to live as worshipers following the example of angels “The court sat in judgment.” That’s the divine council, I’ll explain that in a moment. “The books were opened.” This is the record of people’s lives and behavior. God sees and knows all. “I looked them because of the sound of the great words “that the horn was speaking. “And as I looked, the beast was killed, “its body destroyed and given over to be burned with fire.” Let me just pause here. When all is said and done, Satan rules nowhere, rules nothing. One of the great false teachings has been Satan rules in hell, God rules in heaven. No, God rules all. He will destroy all that is against him. It says in Revelation that they were tormented forever “In the presence of the lamb and his Holy angels.” Jesus rules hell, Jesus rules heaven. The only difference is grace versus no grace. That’s the only difference. All Satan and demons receive eternally is judgment and justice. Let me tell you this. The only difference between you and me is Jesus versus the demons. You and I have all sin, we have all rebelled. We have joined the demonic side of the fight. Say to the demons, have no possibility for salvation. There is only damnation for them. Jesus didn’t come in the image of a demon, he came in the image of humanity. He lived without sin, he died for our sin. He rose is our savior, he conquered our enemy. He gives us eternity. The only difference between the saints and the demons is the grace of God poured out through the work of Jesus Christ. So don’t lie to yourself and say, well, I’ll just die and go to hell where everybody’s having a good time. Hell is not Vegas? Jesus rules over where? Everywhere, that’s the point. “As for the rest of the beast their dominion was taken away” Satan and demons get nothing, “but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.” That is today. “I saw it in the night, visions and behold “with the clouds of heaven, there came one “like the son of man,” who’s that? It’s Jesus, history’s dark, Satan is winning. Death is coming. The grave is foreboding, all hope is lost. And in the great reversal and turnaround, Jesus says time for me to get up and time for me to enter in He is like the son of man. This is the Bible straining to give us apocalyptic imagery. He’s a man, but he’s not just a man. He’s eternal, he’s with God the father, he’s in heaven. He sits on a throne, he’s with angels, he’s being worshiped. And then he comes to the ministry. He’s like the son of man, he rides on a cloud. Next time you’re on a plane, let’s say you’re in first class. You’re like “I’m in first class,” Look out the window, see a cloud and think Jesus is gonna ride one of those, like a skateboard into human history. You are not in first class. That my friends is first class. He’s gonna ride into human history on a cloud. “There came one like the son of man “and the ancient of days was presented before him “and he was given dominion, he was given glory. “He was given a kingdom “that all peoples nations, languages should serve him.” That’s why Satan tries to counterfeit with a multinational counterfeit kingdom. “His dominion is an everlasting dominion,” no more elections, amen. No more primaries, no more failed apps. Just Jesus, amen.
– [Congregants] Amen.
– Hey, I vote for Jesus, great. That’s it, we’re done, amen. “Shall now pass away His kingdom “is one that will not be destroyed.” What it’s talking about here is that you my friend will die. You will not stand before a majority vote. You will not stand before a mirror. You will not stand to determine your destiny. It’s appointed once for a man to die then judgment, that you will die and stand before this King, Jesus Christ seated on this throne. My job is to tell you about Jesus. Your job is to trust Jesus. Now here, what it’s talking about is the divine council. It says this, it calls it the court in judgment, Psalm 82:1 says that God, Elohim has taken His place in the divine council. It’s the court of judgment. In the midst of the gods, Elohim divine beings. He holds judgment. Our God judges. When someone says, no one can judge me, there is one who can and will. He will open the books of your life and He will judge rightly and justly. He is a judge and King, His name is Jesus and ultimately this court in judgment is like God’s divine staff family. They’re also called throughout the scriptures, the assembly of the Holy ones, the council of the Holy ones, the hosts, the seed of the gods, the amount of assembly, the court and judgment and the heavenly host. This includes not just angels but other divine beings of which there is great and profound mystery. So now we’d be like, “Yeah, I believe in angels.” No, there’s a lot more going on in the Bible than just angels. Angels are probably lower level servants, messengers and ministers. An angel literally means a messenger. We see this in Daniel, we hear of a watcher, a Holy one, the Holy ones, an angel, the host of heaven, the Prince of the host, the angel Gabriel, the angel, Michael, the Prince of Persia, the chief princess, a man ‘clothed in linen’ and a Lord. That ultimately right now in the unseen realm, right now in the presence of Jesus, there is a throne. Surrounding that throne are departed saints, brothers and sisters who died with faith in arcane, Jesus Christ, joining them in addition to God’s human family as his divine family angels and other divine beings. And right now they’re watching human history and they’re waiting for Jesus to get off his throne, to get on his cloud and to ride in and the host of heaven is coming with him and no nation will stand against them. You need to believe that history is closed and it closes with the second coming of Jesus Christ. The story of Daniel continues. He goes on to tell us that worshipers of God will rule with King Jesus. This is good news. The scene starts very dark. Jesus is coming, what will we be doing? Here is what your future, if you belong to Jesus, this is your guaranteed inheritance. “As for me, Daniel, my spirit within me was anxious “and the visions in my head alarm me. Let me just say it. Some people are like, “I wish God would just tell me what’s going to happen.” No, you don’t, you don’t wanna know. You would sleep with a cup on and a helmet and one eye open. You don’t wanna know. “I approached one of those who stood there.” This is an angel or another divine being “And asked him the truth concerning all of this.” So Daniel’s got this vision and there’s an angel there. God’s human and divine family are together again. He walks over to angel’s like explain. Have you ever gotten any revelation from God that confused you or alarmed you? Even as you read Daniel seven, I find it confusing and alarming. Well, that’s how Daniel received it so don’t feel bad. “So he told me and made me know “the interpretation of the things. “These four great beasts are four Kings “who shall rise out of the earth.” You see where Jesus, the son of man comes down from heaven, where did the beast come up? They come up from the pit. You either live heaven down or hell up. God’s kingdom comes down. That kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Satan’s counterfeit kingdom comes up from the pit. These four great beasts are four great Kings who shall arise out of the earth. Again, when I tell you that the beasts are Kings and kingdoms, it’s because the angel interprets the vision and tells us that beasts are Kings and kingdoms. “But the saints,” who are the saints? That’s you. You’re a Saint if you belong to Jesus, that means a Holy one, a righteous one. Something like I’m not holy. Jesus makes you holy. Jesus takes away your sin and gives you his righteousness. God made him who knew no sin to become sin so that in him, we might become the righteousness of God. Your King went to the cross to pay your debt and gave you his holiness, his righteousness and he takes you from sinner to Saint. That’s the people of God. This is amazing Amen. Okay, now let me say this. “The saints of the most high shall receive what the kingdom” I’ve got children, my children are my heirs. At some point, whatever I have for an inheritance, I will give to them. God is your father. He has an inheritance for you. You will inherit the father’s kingdom and you will rule and reign under your King Jesus and possess the kingdom for how long? forever, and ever and ever. No seven or eight double dip in the market, I’m upside down. None of that, forever and ever. Now let me say this. As you hear this, if you worship Jesus, you’ll be with Jesus forever. If you are a Saint and a citizen of the kingdom of God, this is as close to hell as you will ever be. And resurrection, and eternity is all that awaits you. Conversely, if you do not know Jesus, this is as close to heaven as you will ever be. And death and destruction is all that awaits you. And as we hear this, it’s all by the grace of God. Just think of it. Satan demons, there’s no salvation. Sinners can become saints. As you hear this, don’t fall into what I call the modern myth. I was listening to Christian radio, I don’t do it much. But I’m listening to Christian radio and they’re talking about Jesus dying and rising in our place for our sins. And the song basically said, it shows me how much I’m worth. When you see King Jesus entering into human history to die and rise for you, do not think I must be awesome. Think he must be awesome. This is the difference between dogs and cats. Let me explain this. So for you cat people, this is gonna hurt. A cat, if you love a cat, feed a cat, nurture a cat, care for a cat, the cat thinks I must be an awesome pet. If you love care for feed, nurture a dog, they think I’ve got an awesome master. We’re dogs, right? So as you hear all of this, don’t wake up and say, “I must be really worth something.” No, you’re in the same category as a demon. The only difference between you and a demon is Jesus. And that’s not because we’re awesome, it’s because he’s awesome. That’s why we don’t go to heaven and sing songs about us forever. I’m so worthy, so amazing. Good pick Jesus, nice taste, you’re welcome. We don’t have this, that’s in hell. All right, so how about we do some more? This is fun. Give me another slide, please. History gets worse before it gets better. We’re in the time between the times. First Roman empire done, reconfiguration of the remnants of the Roman empire entering of the antichrist into human history. That is forthcoming, we know not when. We live in the time between the times and here’s what happens. Things get worse before they get better. This is because evolution is a joke. It’s a joke, we’re not getting better, we’re not. The world’s not getting better. If you notice this, how many of you feel like I mean, it’s getting so much like heaven. I can barely tell the difference. Our whole technology is being driven by the porn industry and now we’re talking about murdering babies after they’re born. We should reverse the evolutionary chart, we’re going backwards. It’s gonna get worse before it gets better. Somebody’s like, you’re a pessimist. No, I’m a Christian. which means everything that we do is wrong and Jesus comes and makes it right. So my hope for this world, isn’t in this world, it comes into this world with Jesus. “Then I desired to know the truth about the fourth piece.” Daniel’s like, “Explain what’s gonna happen in the end, “which was different from all the rest, “exceedingly terrifying,” Again it’s a demonic monstrosity. “Teeth of iron, claws of bronze, “which devoured and broken pieces “and stamped what was left with its feet “and about the 10 horns.” 10 different nations, Kings kingdoms. “That were on its head and the other horn that came up “and before which the three of them fell, “the horn, the King that had eyes and a mouth.” This is a person that’s demonically empowered, Satanically inspired. “Spoke great things.” Counterfeit preacher, counterfeit gospel, “that seemed greater than its companions. “As I looked, this horn made war,” with who? If you are a saint, you live in a war zone. Human history is a war zone. There’s a war for your marriage. There’s a war for your family. There’s a war for your emotional health. There’s a war for your physical health. There’s a war for your spiritual health. There is a war. How many of you feel it? It feels like you’re at war, I’ll tell you why. You’re at war. Satan declared war on God and if you belong to God, you are an enemy of his enemy. And it goes on to say this. It goes on to say, where was I? “As I looked, made war with the saints, prevailed over them” The Christians are standing firm, they’re holding their ground. They’re opposing all that as opposed to God, but they lose. You know why? Our only victory is from Jesus Goes on to say “Until the ancient of days, “God the father came and judgment was given “for the saints of the most high. “And the time came when the saints possessed the kingdom.” How does that happen? Jesus comes back. We are waiting for Jesus to come back. There is continually an effort to say, if we would all just come together and have unity and agree and set aside our differences, heaven would come to earth. No hell would come to earth. We belong to King Jesus, we serve King Jesus. We worship King Jesus, we’re waiting for King Jesus. Our hope for this world is not in this world. It’s in the unseen realm and comes with a second coming of our King. “Thus he said, ask for the fourth beast, “there shall be a fourth kingdom on the earth, “which shall be different from all the kingdoms.” This is the kingdom that is the demonic counterfeit of the antichrist. It shall devour the whole earth, trample it down, break it into pieces. “As for the 10 horns out of this kingdom, “10 Kings shall arise.” Why did I tell you that horns refer to King and kingdoms? Because that’s what it says. “As for the 10 horns out of this kingdom, “10 Kings shall arise and another shall arise after them. “He shall be different from the former ones, “shall put down the three Kings.” This is the antichrist. “He shall speak words against the Most High.” Does this still happen? Is the spirit of antichrist, giving powerful people, great platforms to proclaim things that are anti-Christ? Still happens. “And shall wear out the saints.” Let me explain this. You and I are finite beings with limited energy. It’s like God gives us a day off. That’s why we got to go to bed at night, we got to hydrate. We got to eat food, we get sick, we get tired. Satan and demons do not share in the limitations of our humanity. Revelation 12:10 says of Satan. “He is the accuser of the children of God “that he accuses them day and night.” How many of you can work day and night? What happens is you and I are in a spiritual war, lies, temptations, false teaching, compromise, fear. And the Bible says to stand firm, to hold your ground, that Jesus won the victory and you hold the line. Now the problem is eventually, you get worn out. How many of you are there? You’re like, I’m just tired of life. I love Jesus. If he would come back, that would be amazing. I feel like I’m knocked out on my feet. It’s because you’re up against demonic forces. Here’s a key, you know that someone is demonic when they have an inexhaustible energy source for evil. Have you ever dealt with somebody who’s evil? You’re like, do they take a day off? Do they ever go to bed? Do they ever get, they’re just wearing me out. That’s demonic. I’ve been preaching the Bible long enough. You preach the Bible long enough, you get some of these people. They never stop, they never quit. They never grow weary. It’s because they are demonically empowered. That’s how you know you’re dealing with a demonic. When it wears you out and has energy that is inexplicable from the human perspective. This is where all of history is going. “Shall wear out the saints of the Most High “and shall think to change the times and the law.” Satan demons are saying, “You know what? “The Bible says that Jesus is coming back “and he’s gonna win but we think we can change that” Today, we would call this a different interpretation. We disagree and we can change the law, whose law? God’s law, Anytime there are those who claim to belong to Christ and are trying to change the law, they are ultimately antichrist. Let me just say this. Most of the time, it’s sexual. And most of the time, people that have a theological problem with the Bible actually have a moral problem with their behavior. Rather than changing their morality, they try to rewrite God’s law. These things are not just what will happen, but what always happens when the spirit of antichrist is at work in the world. One of two things will change, your behavior or the word of God. If you change the word of God instead of your behavior, you’re antichrist. You’re opposing Christ and replacing Christ with you as the highest authority, as the King, as the judge. Friends make no mistake. If you want antichrist, there will always be someone able and capable to preach it in a winsome way to lead you astray. “Shall speak words against the most high, “shall wear out the saints. “Shall try and change the times in the law. “and they shall be given into his hand “for a time, times and half a time. “The saints of God ultimately experienced the victory of God “but the court shall sit in judgment.” The divine council, the heavenly hosts, God’s people and divine family. “And his dominion shall be taken away “and consumed and destroyed to the end.” Satan inherits no one and nothing. “And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness “of the kingdoms under the whole heaven “shall be given to the people “of the saints of the most high.” Just hear me in this, this life is so short and the things that we labor for are so cheap. The life that God has for us never ends and his provision is without measure. You need to keep the long view of things, especially on the hard days. You need to think in eternal scope. God’s people should not be thinking in terms of minutes, hours, days, months, or years, but millennia. That’s what God wants you to see, where you’re going, what he has for you so you have hope and run toward that future. “His kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom “and all his dominions shall serve and obey him. “Here is the end of the matter.” This is all about the end. “As for me, Daniel, my thoughts greatly alarmed me. “my color changed, I was flushed, “but I kept the matter in my heart.” What he’s talking about here is how things get worse before they get better. That God is a King, Satan wants to be the counterfeit King. God has a kingdom, Satan wants a counterfeit kingdom. God wants to provide for us morally spiritually, economically, and politically. Satan wants a counterfeit kingdom that is anti God’s law. And in the end, all of human history is marching toward one final battle. The first battle was in heaven between God and the angels against Satan and the demons who turned against them. They’re now recruiting human beings in human history to join them in their rebellion and it all culminates with nations and religions and economies coming together under the antichrist. The spirit of antichrist exists in every age. I believe there will be a person at the end of time who will be possessed by Satan and they will have extraordinary power. I’ll prove it to you. Paul calls him the man of lawlessness. Second Thessalonians two. “When the man of lawlessness is revealed, “the son of destruction who opposes and exalts himself,” that’s anti-Christ, “sets himself to be God.” Hear this, “The man of lawlessness has revealed “the son of destruction who opposes and exalts himself “against every so-called God or object of worship “so that he takes his seat in the temple of God.” He shows up in the rebuilt temple, he sits on the throne and says, “Jesus is here.” He’s the counterfeit, “For calling out himself to be God. “The coming of the lawless one “is with the activity of Satan, with counterfeit powers, “false signs and wonders.” If you chase power, you will meet Satan. If you chase miracles, you will meet Satan. We don’t chase miracles or power. We chase Jesus and we don’t follow signs, wonders and miracles but we expect signs, wonders, and miracles to follow us as we follow Jesus. What this means is that Satan will do counterfeit, supernatural things to lead you astray. He will heal your cancer if he can damn your soul. So for us, we don’t seek signs, wonders, miracles, we seek the will of God. If that should be a sign or wonder or miracle, we receive it. If it’s death by cancer, we receive that because to live is Christ and to die is gain.
– [Congregants] Amen.
– Let me say this. Let me just quickly. I wish I had like seven more hours. Yeah, well, I mean, we have diabetics, they need to go get a snack. So, he talks about the end of the matter. Again, the Bible book that quotes Daniel seven, the most is Revelation because it’s about the end of the matter. Let me just hit just brief overview. Revelation 13, the antichrist rises up and it seems like he dies and he’s brought back to life. What is that? Counterfeit resurrection. It says that he is brought back to life by a dragon. Who is that? That’s Satan who empowers this person. Says that he makes war against the saints. Same thing that Daniel told us, says that he blasphemes God, same thing Daniel told us that he speaks against God. That he does counterfeit miracles. Revelation 17 adds a little more detail. It says that there will be a beast, that’s the demonic written by the whore of Babylon. Babylon is where we started in Daniel one. At work behind Babylon was the spirit of Babylon, a demonic spirit that is active in any and every age, all the way up until the end. If you see a horse ride by and there’s a woman in the saddle, who’s in charge? The woman in the saddle. The antichrist is ridden by the spirit of Babylon. The spirit of Babylon is a counterfeit to the bride of Christ. Jesus has a bride called the church. Satan has a whore called Babylon. Everything God creates Satan counterfeits. Everything that the spirit of God builds, the spirit of Babylon seeks to break. All of human history will come to pass just as God prophesied and promised. It goes on in Revelation 17 to say that they would martyr the saints that God’s people will ultimately be worn out to the point of death. And then what happens? Friends, what happens then? Then Jesus comes back and he’ll wipe every tear from your eye. And he will call you by name because He loves you by name and He knows you by name and you will leave your grave in a glorified body and you will see God’s human and divine family brought together. And the Lord, Jesus will say, “You get to rule and reign in my kingdom, “I have a little throne for you.” And now I’m going to bring the demons before you, because God’s saints will judge the angels. There is a day coming when Jesus is vindicated and you also get to participate in the victory of Jesus for all eternity. I want you to have hope for the future even if in the moment it seems bleak. Originally, this was written to people who were far from home. Are we far from home? Yes, they were worn out. Are you worn out? They were fearful that the world was getting darker and worse and they were scared for their kids and their grandkids, anyone feel that? And it shows that God is sovereign, that God knows, that God rules, that God reigns and that Jesus Christ is a King and His invisible kingdom will become visible, that His unseen rule will be seen by all. And let me say this. We have far more revelation and information than Daniel did. Daniel saw all of this before the first coming of Jesus, before the rise of the Roman empire. We are in a privileged position of history. We’re a few thousand years removed from Daniel. We can look back and say, wow, Babylon, Middle Persia, Greece, Roman empire, coming of Jesus. That all happened. There’s only one thing that still remains, the second coming of Jesus Christ not in humility but in glory, not in a manger but on a throne after He rides in on a cloud, amen.
– [Congregants] Amen.
– Your Jesus is not just bigger than you think, He’s bigger than you can think and when He is done, everyone and everything will be ruled by Him. All will be good, all will be grand, all will be glorious and all the saints of God will be cheering. That’s what awaits us in the eternal. Let me say this. Your deepest longings will not be satisfied in this life. Daniel’s deepest longing for the coming of Jesus was not satisfied in his life. Today, Daniel is buried in what was Babylon. Your deepest longings will be satisfied after the second coming of Jesus, the Son of Man. Let me give him the final word. Jesus says He’s the Son of Man. Jesus most frequent reference to himself by title is Son of Man. He says it’s some 81 times and He keeps saying, okay, Daniel seven, that’s me. Daniel seven, that’s me Daniel seven, that’s me. Here are some words from Jesus. John 3:13, “No one has ascended into heaven, “except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.” Jesus says in Matthew 9:6, “The Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” Jesus is the Son of Man and He alone can forgive your sin. Mark 10:45, Jesus says “The Son of Man came not to be served,” this is a different King. “He came to serve and give His life as a ransom for many.” There’s no King like Jesus. There’s no King that serves. Every one of us wants to be the King of something so that we can be served. Jesus is the King who comes to serve. Luke 19:20, Jesus says, “The Son of Man came to seek and save the lost.” Were you lost? Did the son of man find you?
– [Man] Yes.
– Amen. Matthew 12:40 is Jonah. People read the Bible and like, do these things happen? Jesus said it did. “As Jonah was three days and three nights “in the belly of a great fish “so will the son of man be three days and three nights “in the heart of the earth. Jesus said, “I’m gonna die, I’ll be back in three days.” That’s what the Son of Man does. He forgives sin and defeats death. Matthew 17:22 through 23. Jesus says “The son of man is about to be delivered “in the hands of men,” Roman hands by the way. “And they will kill Him and He will be raised “on the third day.” Jesus says, “I’m the Son of Man. “They’re gonna kill me, I will rise in three days.” That was a Sunday, that’s why we’re here on a Sunday. Matthew 26:64, what awaits us? He says “You will see the Son of Man “at the right hand of power “and coming on the clouds of heaven.” That’s Daniel seven, friends. Jesus believed Daniel seven so you should believe Daniel seven. Lastly, Matthew 24:44. “You also must be ready.” Are you ready to stand before Jesus? Are you ready to look Jesus in the eye? “You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” Lord Jesus, thank you. Thank you that in the world of counterfeits, we can know the creator. In the world of demonic powers, we can be filled with the Holy Spirit. In a world filled with lies, we can have the truth of your word. Lord God, in a world that is ruled by the whore of Babylon that we get to be part of your bride, the church. Lord God, give us a broken heart for people whose hope is in this world. Their hope is in religious moralism or economic success or political might, all of which is not necessarily godly or good. It can be but it’s not necessarily. Lord God, we thank you that we get this little glimpse. Holy spirit, we confess it’s really difficult for us to get Daniel seven into our mind but maybe the point is not for Daniel seven to be in our mind but for our mind to be in the presence of God, to see and savor Jesus. Jesus right now, we see you as alive. We see you as high and exalted. We see you as a King ruling over a kingdom. We see you surrounded by angels and divine beings and departed saints. We see you keeping a record of behavior and coming again on the clouds of heaven to judge the living and the dead. And God, I just thank you that one day, these dear saints who are weary, they’re going to raise from their graves. They’re going to inherit a kingdom. They will judge demonic angels and they will see the divine family and they will have joy together forever in the presence of Jesus. Son of Man, we look forward to seeing you and by faith, we trust that you are coming. We know not when but we hear your words, help us to be ready in Jesus’ name, amen.
