Living under a Beastly Empire (12-Mar-2006)
(The sermon can be heard online at: http://www.tenth.ca/audio.htm)
Living Under a Beastly Empire
BIG Idea: Even Under Beastly Empires God is in Control and if we stand with God we will be victorious and our lives will have meaning.
Daniel M 6 Living Under Beastly Empires (KSS Hocklyn—check the word count)
What was biggest surprise at last Sunday night’s Oscars? In the opinion of many, it was that Crash, the edgy, film about urban racism, produced by Canadians won the Oscar for Best Picture of the Year.
The odds makers had listed Brokeback Mountain as the odds on favorite to win best picture.
Do you remember when, Pope John Paul II died? Las Vegas bookies were listing what the odds were for a various cardinal being selected as the next Pope.
Monday Night Football is a popular show largely because it’s a quality show, but also in part because many who lost their bets on Sunday games, are trying make up their losses on the Monday night game.
Many human beings seem to have this incurable bent to want to predict the future whether it’s the Oscars, the next Pope, some Sporting event, the stock market, the real estate market, the weather…
Some people approach Daniel 7-12 with a passion to be able to predict the future of the world…. Or they look this revelation, with it “apocalyptic” images of beasts that symbolize… uh… er… who knows what and they say forget it… I’m stopping at Daniel 6 at Daniel and Lions…that I understand…
Both approaches of wanting to predict future events with real precision from certain Bible passages or avoiding the symbolic/prophetic revelations of the Bible are both not the way to go…
For while the prophetic parts of the Bible do give us images of the future they are not intended to encourage us to make specific predictions about the stock market or about how specific government unfold, but they are intended to help live in a crazy, chaotic world.
We see this in Daniel 7:
1 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream, and visions passed through his mind as he was lying on his bed. He wrote down the substance of his dream.
2 Daniel said: "In my vision at night I looked, and there before me were the four winds of heaven churning up the great sea. 3 Four great beasts, each different from the others, came up out of the sea.
Daniel’s vision begins with him seeing fours winds of heaven churning up a great sea…
Last summer my wife on I were on a sailboat making our way toward the Georgia Strait with intention to sail to Vancouver Island, winds were wiping across the straight, creating what looked liked 6-8 foot swells… Our skipper and coach said, I’ve never experience water here this rough, we’re going to have to turn around and head back to False Creek…
There’s something about being about wind about a restless sea as it whipped by the wind that feels mysterious and dangerous.
The sea in this ancient Babylonian culture would have especically symbolized danger and chaos…
In the famous Babylonian account of creation the Enuma Elish the “god” Marduk battles with Tiamat, a huge, bloated female dragon that personifies the seas. Marduk destroys the Tiamat and from her body makes the earth and from her water the seas, but the seas continues to threaten creation…
Now the point of the myth is not to say this is how it actually happened, but to say that in ancient Babylonian culture, the sea would have represented mysterious danger…
So, this vision of the four winds churning up the sea would have been very troubling for Daniel…
Then vision gets more horrifying…
3 Four great beasts, each different from the others, came up out of the sea.
4 "The first was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted from the ground so that it stood on two feet like a man, and the heart of a man was given to it.
A lion emerges with the wings of an eagle…
What does this animal symbolize? (powerpoint)
In vs. 17 were told that four great beasts represent four kingdoms that arise from the earth.
This first beast seems to represent Babylon… a Kingdom that is as fierce as a lion and as swift as an eagle…
The prophet Jeremiah chapters in 4 and 50 describes the Kingdom of Babylon as both lion and eagle…
Daniel is receiving this vision in the first year of Belshazzar’s reign, the last King of Babylon and so this is an image about the Kingdom he is living in now, the following images will concern the future….
Notice vs. 5 "And there before me was a second beast, which looked like a bear. It was raised up on one of its sides, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, 'Get up and eat your fill of flesh!'
The second beast is a bear…
3 summers ago, my wife and I were hiking in Waterton National Park on the Alberta/Montana border and a big grizzly passed right by us…
Bears are nice to look from your car, but they frightening when they pass you on the trail…
The second Kingdom may represent the Medo-Persian Empire, a fierce Empire which follows Babylon…
What do the three ribs in the bear’s mouth between its teeth symbolize? The fact Medo-Persia loved Tony Romas AND forgot to use dental floss? No. Perhaps, the 3 principle of conquests of the hybrid Kingdom Medo-Persia: Lydia (modern day Turkey), Babylon, and Egypt.
6 "After that, I looked, and there before me was another beast, one that looked like a leopard. And on its back it had four wings like those of a bird. This beast had four heads, and it was given authority to rule.
The third beast… is a leopard…. On its back it had four wings like that of a bird….
What do you think when you think of a leopard?
This image of the leopard may refer to the Kingdom that would follow the Medo-Persian Empire… The Kingdom of Greece which, under Alexander the Great, which could strike with great speed…
7 "After that, in my vision at night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast—terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns.
The fourth beast had large iron teeth and crushed everything in it’s path—what many scholars believe is the Kingdom the follows Greece, the Roman Empire… with its brutal as “iron teeth… (or if you interpret as Medo-Persia two empires, then the bear could be Empires of the Medes, the leopard Persia, and this fourth beast could be Greece.)
These prophetic revelations given to Daniel concern things that will happen in the future…
But, Biblical prophecy often speaks of something that will have an initial fulfillment in the near future… but also have a later greater fulfillment.
For example in Daniel in 7 and Daniel 8 we read about a prophecy of a horn. The prophecy about little boastful horn is clearly referring to a figure hostile toward God. This hostile figure forbids God’s people to sacrifice and desecrate worship and commit what called in Daniel 11 as abomination that causes desolation. Many scholars believe these prophecies refer to the reign of Antiochus Ephipanes IV 175 to 164 B.C. who forbids the people of God to make sacrifices to God, commits a great abomination by setting up an altar to Zeus in the temple of the living and sacrifices a pig on the altar which would have been an unspeakable offense to Jewish people… AND Bible scholars believe that about the horn hostile to God will also have a later greater fulfillment in an anti-Christ figure or spirit.
Another example of prophecy having a nearer fulfillment and a later greater fulfillment would be Isaiah 7:14. In Isaiah 7:14 we have the prophecy that a virgin shall conceive and shall be called Immanuel—which means God with us. The prophecy refers to a young woman in Isaiah’s world, perhaps Isaiah’s 2nd wife a young woman who would conceive… (a virgin can simply mean young woman in addition to a woman who has never had sex).
The prophecy of Isaiah 7:14 says that a virgin would conceive and give birth to a son who will be called Immanuel, has a later greater fulfillment through Mary… a literal virgin who conceived supernaturally through the Holy Spirit….
If a rich aunt says, I’m going to help you become an artist. That may mean that she’s going to pay your tuition at Emily Carr this spring, but perhaps in 5 years she’s going set you up so you can study with some of finest art teachers in Paris. The word, I will help you become artist, may a fulfillment in the near future, but also a later greater fulfillment.
Why do I say this?
Because the revelations of the beast of Daniel 7 refer not only to things that will unfold in Daniel’s near future… they have later greater implications as the history of the world unfolds…
Daniel as he is given these revelations about the future is told by the messenger of God that he is receiving visions concerning the End Times…
We’re living in the end times. I can say without any fear of contradiction because
According to the writers of the New Testament the “End times” refer to the period of time between Christ’s first coming and second coming. We’re living in these “end times” and according to Daniel’s revelation these end times will be marked by Beastly Empires and evil…
We ought to work hard toward for social justice, particularly for the poor and hold governments accountable, but the prophecy is telling us is that there will always be evil empires that ill oppress until the coming of the second coming of the Christ, also known as the Ancient of Days….
Part of the reason, people and in Daniel’s day and we get these revelations is to help us understand that even in the midst of great chaos and evil God is still in control.
Can you imagine living in Daniel’s day and being a Hebrew child of 10 and being depressed that your country had lost in war to Babylon… and then as some time as an adult you read… in Daniel 1:1-2 we read how in the third year of King Jehoiakim, the LORD delivered him into the hand of King Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon.
And you then you keep reading in Daniel how God raise up Kings and sets them down and how God foretold through the prophets the very things you are now experiencing!
You read in the prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah that because your people had been sinning through violence, injustice, oppressing the poor your people would be taken over by Babylon and be in exile for 70 years… and sure enough about 70 years after the exile, as senior citizen of 80 you find yourself waking back to Jerusalem…
That experience would likely convince you that even in times of chaos and violence of our world, God is working out his purposes in the world. Or the very least, there is a God!
These words are given to us to show us that there will be chaos and evil of our world, but God is in control and working out his purposes.
As Darrell Johnson has said things are not as they seem!
Daniel shows that God us has the power to raise up rulers and depose of them.
Who could have envisioned some of the tyrants of the world coming to justice in their heyday? But with benefit of hindsight, we how these ancient Kingdom in accordanc with God’s word were brought low. In more relatively recent times we’ve seen Saddam Hussein was caught in little square hide out underground, Romania Ceaceseau taken down by the very people he oppressed, we see Hitler ending his life in his bunker.
In vss. 9 ff we read of the Ancient of Days and one coming with the clouds of heaven, a symbol of power and authority.
9 "As I looked,
"thrones were set in place,
and the Ancient of Days took his seat.
His clothing was as white as snow;
the hair of his head was white like wool.
His throne was flaming with fire,
and its wheels were all ablaze.
10 A river of fire was flowing,
coming out from before him.
Thousands upon thousands attended him;
ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him.
The court was seated,
and the books were opened.
11 "Then I continued to watch because of the boastful words the horn was speaking. I kept looking until the beast was slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire.
13 "In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. 14 He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and women and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.
The revelation tells us of King whose Kingdom will be greater than all other kingdoms, one who worshipped by countless people of every language… this prophecy points us to the Messiah, the Christ…
As is case with many prophecies there is an initial fulfillment prophecy in first coming of Jesus Christ, we who worship the Ancient of Days are part of the fulfillment of this prophecy, but as Scripture points out, there will a later greater fulfillment where the Ancient Days of comes not as suffering servant, but as a reigning conquering King…
What are implications for Daniel and us?
Though the visions are frightening and somewhat bizarre—we can know that even in chaos and hardship God is in control.
Things are not only as they seem.
When I was watching, the Olympic women’s figures figure skating final on TV I was watching it on video, as I had a commitment during the time it was broadcast… and I hoping that Shizuka Arakawa would win the gold. I’m originally from Japan and Japan hadn’t one any medals… and I was watching her skate, it wasn’t a perfect routine, as NBC commentators pointed out she made some mistakes, but I had great peace, I knew things would go well… I knew she would win… (I had heard from my wife she won).
We experience many ups and downs, much chaos in the world and in our lives…
There’s something about knowing that in the end God wins, that doesn’t totally feel free anxiety, but can give real perspective and peace…
We know in the end the Ancient of Days, Christ wins, good wins….
If we are with Christ, we will share in that victory….
Knowing how things will end gives us peace…
Knowing how things will end will also give a peace about something else…
Daniel has experienced all kinds of injustices and discrimination… he’s been the object of envy. He’s been falsely accusation by colleagues as being disloyal to the King. He ends being thrown into a pit of hungry lions because of this… but he does not need not exact vengeance because knows God’s in control…
At end of the book Daniel 12:2 describes the final destiny of human beings: we read how multitudes who sleep in the dust of earth will wake, some will rise to everlasting life and some everlasting shame and contempt…. Daniels knows God is God and the future is in God’s hand and that there will a day of reckoning, a day of judgment…
Bible teaches we don’t need to take vengeance in this life because God will avenge wrongs either in this life or the next…
If there is no God, no judgment, we would feel compelled to avenge our wrongs….
We’d be compelled to take the advice, get even… or as Ivan Trump, don’t get even, get everything…
Some of us here have been hurt, by partner, or maybe a boss or colleague like Daniel, maybe by a family member… and in many parts we know people have suffered because of evil tyrants…
The fact that God is control and God will bring people to justice… if not in this life or the life to come… free us from a spirit of vengeance and give us peace
And finally, if God is in control it means that our lives on earth are meaningful….
Daniel as an adolescent experiences his own country being defeated, he’s taken forcefully taken from his country, his family, away from temple he loves, never to return and lives of his days exiled in foreign country…
He best friends in Babylon…and are thrown into a fiery furnace because of their faith in the living God.
He rises to prominence in Babylon because of his excellent spirit, but when the King he’s closely connected to die, he’s discarded for prime years of his.
As older man Daniel is falsely accused by colleague as being disloyal to the King and is thrown into a pit of hungry lions.
As far as we know Daniel never marries, never has children…
But as we seen, his life was the Ancient of Days and his life matters… and so you will yours, and so will yours it echo on eternity if you are connected to God of Daniel, the God of Jesus Christ.
Daniel 7
Daniel's Dream of Four Beasts
1 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream, and visions passed through his mind as he was lying on his bed. He wrote down the substance of his dream.
2 Daniel said: "In my vision at night I looked, and there before me were the four winds of heaven churning up the great sea. 3 Four great beasts, each different from the others, came up out of the sea.
4 "The first was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted from the ground so that it stood on two feet like a man, and the heart of a man was given to it.
5 "And there before me was a second beast, which looked like a bear. It was raised up on one of its sides, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, 'Get up and eat your fill of flesh!'
6 "After that, I looked, and there before me was another beast, one that looked like a leopard. And on its back it had four wings like those of a bird. This beast had four heads, and it was given authority to rule.
7 "After that, in my vision at night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast—terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns.
8 "While I was thinking about the horns, there before me was another horn, a little one, which came up among them; and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth that spoke boastfully.
9 "As I looked,
"thrones were set in place,
and the Ancient of Days took his seat.
His clothing was as white as snow;
the hair of his head was white like wool.
His throne was flaming with fire,
and its wheels were all ablaze.
10 A river of fire was flowing,
coming out from before him.
Thousands upon thousands attended him;
ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him.
The court was seated,
and the books were opened.
11 "Then I continued to watch because of the boastful words the horn was speaking. I kept looking until the beast was slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire. 12 (The other beasts had been stripped of their authority, but were allowed to live for a period of time.)
13 "In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. 14 He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.
The Interpretation of the Dream
15 "I, Daniel, was troubled in spirit, and the visions that passed through my mind disturbed me. 16 I approached one of those standing there and asked him the true meaning of all this.
"So he told me and gave me the interpretation of these things: 17 'The four great beasts are four kingdoms that will rise from the earth. 18 But the saints of the Most High will receive the kingdom and will possess it forever—yes, for ever and ever.'
19 "Then I wanted to know the true meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others and most terrifying, with its iron teeth and bronze claws—the beast that crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. 20 I also wanted to know about the ten horns on its head and about the other horn that came up, before which three of them fell—the horn that looked more imposing than the others and that had eyes and a mouth that spoke boastfully. 21 As I watched, this horn was waging war against the saints and defeating them, 22 until the Ancient of Days came and pronounced judgment in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came when they possessed the kingdom.
23 "He gave me this explanation: 'The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on earth. It will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it. 24 The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom. After them another king will arise, different from the earlier ones; he will subdue three kings. 25 He will speak against the Most High and oppress his saints and try to change the set times and the laws. The saints will be handed over to him for a time, times and half a time. [a]
26 " 'But the court will sit, and his power will be taken away and completely destroyed forever. 27 Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be handed over to the saints, the people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him.'
28 "This is the end of the matter. I, Daniel, was deeply troubled by my thoughts, and my face turned pale, but I kept the matter to myself."
Footnotes:
a. Daniel 7:25 Or for a year, two years and half a year
Living Under a Beastly Empire
BIG Idea: Even Under Beastly Empires God is in Control and if we stand with God we will be victorious and our lives will have meaning.
Daniel M 6 Living Under Beastly Empires (KSS Hocklyn—check the word count)
What was biggest surprise at last Sunday night’s Oscars? In the opinion of many, it was that Crash, the edgy, film about urban racism, produced by Canadians won the Oscar for Best Picture of the Year.
The odds makers had listed Brokeback Mountain as the odds on favorite to win best picture.
Do you remember when, Pope John Paul II died? Las Vegas bookies were listing what the odds were for a various cardinal being selected as the next Pope.
Monday Night Football is a popular show largely because it’s a quality show, but also in part because many who lost their bets on Sunday games, are trying make up their losses on the Monday night game.
Many human beings seem to have this incurable bent to want to predict the future whether it’s the Oscars, the next Pope, some Sporting event, the stock market, the real estate market, the weather…
Some people approach Daniel 7-12 with a passion to be able to predict the future of the world…. Or they look this revelation, with it “apocalyptic” images of beasts that symbolize… uh… er… who knows what and they say forget it… I’m stopping at Daniel 6 at Daniel and Lions…that I understand…
Both approaches of wanting to predict future events with real precision from certain Bible passages or avoiding the symbolic/prophetic revelations of the Bible are both not the way to go…
For while the prophetic parts of the Bible do give us images of the future they are not intended to encourage us to make specific predictions about the stock market or about how specific government unfold, but they are intended to help live in a crazy, chaotic world.
We see this in Daniel 7:
1 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream, and visions passed through his mind as he was lying on his bed. He wrote down the substance of his dream.
2 Daniel said: "In my vision at night I looked, and there before me were the four winds of heaven churning up the great sea. 3 Four great beasts, each different from the others, came up out of the sea.
Daniel’s vision begins with him seeing fours winds of heaven churning up a great sea…
Last summer my wife on I were on a sailboat making our way toward the Georgia Strait with intention to sail to Vancouver Island, winds were wiping across the straight, creating what looked liked 6-8 foot swells… Our skipper and coach said, I’ve never experience water here this rough, we’re going to have to turn around and head back to False Creek…
There’s something about being about wind about a restless sea as it whipped by the wind that feels mysterious and dangerous.
The sea in this ancient Babylonian culture would have especically symbolized danger and chaos…
In the famous Babylonian account of creation the Enuma Elish the “god” Marduk battles with Tiamat, a huge, bloated female dragon that personifies the seas. Marduk destroys the Tiamat and from her body makes the earth and from her water the seas, but the seas continues to threaten creation…
Now the point of the myth is not to say this is how it actually happened, but to say that in ancient Babylonian culture, the sea would have represented mysterious danger…
So, this vision of the four winds churning up the sea would have been very troubling for Daniel…
Then vision gets more horrifying…
3 Four great beasts, each different from the others, came up out of the sea.
4 "The first was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted from the ground so that it stood on two feet like a man, and the heart of a man was given to it.
A lion emerges with the wings of an eagle…
What does this animal symbolize? (powerpoint)
In vs. 17 were told that four great beasts represent four kingdoms that arise from the earth.
This first beast seems to represent Babylon… a Kingdom that is as fierce as a lion and as swift as an eagle…
The prophet Jeremiah chapters in 4 and 50 describes the Kingdom of Babylon as both lion and eagle…
Daniel is receiving this vision in the first year of Belshazzar’s reign, the last King of Babylon and so this is an image about the Kingdom he is living in now, the following images will concern the future….
Notice vs. 5 "And there before me was a second beast, which looked like a bear. It was raised up on one of its sides, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, 'Get up and eat your fill of flesh!'
The second beast is a bear…
3 summers ago, my wife and I were hiking in Waterton National Park on the Alberta/Montana border and a big grizzly passed right by us…
Bears are nice to look from your car, but they frightening when they pass you on the trail…
The second Kingdom may represent the Medo-Persian Empire, a fierce Empire which follows Babylon…
What do the three ribs in the bear’s mouth between its teeth symbolize? The fact Medo-Persia loved Tony Romas AND forgot to use dental floss? No. Perhaps, the 3 principle of conquests of the hybrid Kingdom Medo-Persia: Lydia (modern day Turkey), Babylon, and Egypt.
6 "After that, I looked, and there before me was another beast, one that looked like a leopard. And on its back it had four wings like those of a bird. This beast had four heads, and it was given authority to rule.
The third beast… is a leopard…. On its back it had four wings like that of a bird….
What do you think when you think of a leopard?
This image of the leopard may refer to the Kingdom that would follow the Medo-Persian Empire… The Kingdom of Greece which, under Alexander the Great, which could strike with great speed…
7 "After that, in my vision at night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast—terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns.
The fourth beast had large iron teeth and crushed everything in it’s path—what many scholars believe is the Kingdom the follows Greece, the Roman Empire… with its brutal as “iron teeth… (or if you interpret as Medo-Persia two empires, then the bear could be Empires of the Medes, the leopard Persia, and this fourth beast could be Greece.)
These prophetic revelations given to Daniel concern things that will happen in the future…
But, Biblical prophecy often speaks of something that will have an initial fulfillment in the near future… but also have a later greater fulfillment.
For example in Daniel in 7 and Daniel 8 we read about a prophecy of a horn. The prophecy about little boastful horn is clearly referring to a figure hostile toward God. This hostile figure forbids God’s people to sacrifice and desecrate worship and commit what called in Daniel 11 as abomination that causes desolation. Many scholars believe these prophecies refer to the reign of Antiochus Ephipanes IV 175 to 164 B.C. who forbids the people of God to make sacrifices to God, commits a great abomination by setting up an altar to Zeus in the temple of the living and sacrifices a pig on the altar which would have been an unspeakable offense to Jewish people… AND Bible scholars believe that about the horn hostile to God will also have a later greater fulfillment in an anti-Christ figure or spirit.
Another example of prophecy having a nearer fulfillment and a later greater fulfillment would be Isaiah 7:14. In Isaiah 7:14 we have the prophecy that a virgin shall conceive and shall be called Immanuel—which means God with us. The prophecy refers to a young woman in Isaiah’s world, perhaps Isaiah’s 2nd wife a young woman who would conceive… (a virgin can simply mean young woman in addition to a woman who has never had sex).
The prophecy of Isaiah 7:14 says that a virgin would conceive and give birth to a son who will be called Immanuel, has a later greater fulfillment through Mary… a literal virgin who conceived supernaturally through the Holy Spirit….
If a rich aunt says, I’m going to help you become an artist. That may mean that she’s going to pay your tuition at Emily Carr this spring, but perhaps in 5 years she’s going set you up so you can study with some of finest art teachers in Paris. The word, I will help you become artist, may a fulfillment in the near future, but also a later greater fulfillment.
Why do I say this?
Because the revelations of the beast of Daniel 7 refer not only to things that will unfold in Daniel’s near future… they have later greater implications as the history of the world unfolds…
Daniel as he is given these revelations about the future is told by the messenger of God that he is receiving visions concerning the End Times…
We’re living in the end times. I can say without any fear of contradiction because
According to the writers of the New Testament the “End times” refer to the period of time between Christ’s first coming and second coming. We’re living in these “end times” and according to Daniel’s revelation these end times will be marked by Beastly Empires and evil…
We ought to work hard toward for social justice, particularly for the poor and hold governments accountable, but the prophecy is telling us is that there will always be evil empires that ill oppress until the coming of the second coming of the Christ, also known as the Ancient of Days….
Part of the reason, people and in Daniel’s day and we get these revelations is to help us understand that even in the midst of great chaos and evil God is still in control.
Can you imagine living in Daniel’s day and being a Hebrew child of 10 and being depressed that your country had lost in war to Babylon… and then as some time as an adult you read… in Daniel 1:1-2 we read how in the third year of King Jehoiakim, the LORD delivered him into the hand of King Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon.
And you then you keep reading in Daniel how God raise up Kings and sets them down and how God foretold through the prophets the very things you are now experiencing!
You read in the prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah that because your people had been sinning through violence, injustice, oppressing the poor your people would be taken over by Babylon and be in exile for 70 years… and sure enough about 70 years after the exile, as senior citizen of 80 you find yourself waking back to Jerusalem…
That experience would likely convince you that even in times of chaos and violence of our world, God is working out his purposes in the world. Or the very least, there is a God!
These words are given to us to show us that there will be chaos and evil of our world, but God is in control and working out his purposes.
As Darrell Johnson has said things are not as they seem!
Daniel shows that God us has the power to raise up rulers and depose of them.
Who could have envisioned some of the tyrants of the world coming to justice in their heyday? But with benefit of hindsight, we how these ancient Kingdom in accordanc with God’s word were brought low. In more relatively recent times we’ve seen Saddam Hussein was caught in little square hide out underground, Romania Ceaceseau taken down by the very people he oppressed, we see Hitler ending his life in his bunker.
In vss. 9 ff we read of the Ancient of Days and one coming with the clouds of heaven, a symbol of power and authority.
9 "As I looked,
"thrones were set in place,
and the Ancient of Days took his seat.
His clothing was as white as snow;
the hair of his head was white like wool.
His throne was flaming with fire,
and its wheels were all ablaze.
10 A river of fire was flowing,
coming out from before him.
Thousands upon thousands attended him;
ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him.
The court was seated,
and the books were opened.
11 "Then I continued to watch because of the boastful words the horn was speaking. I kept looking until the beast was slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire.
13 "In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. 14 He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and women and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.
The revelation tells us of King whose Kingdom will be greater than all other kingdoms, one who worshipped by countless people of every language… this prophecy points us to the Messiah, the Christ…
As is case with many prophecies there is an initial fulfillment prophecy in first coming of Jesus Christ, we who worship the Ancient of Days are part of the fulfillment of this prophecy, but as Scripture points out, there will a later greater fulfillment where the Ancient Days of comes not as suffering servant, but as a reigning conquering King…
What are implications for Daniel and us?
Though the visions are frightening and somewhat bizarre—we can know that even in chaos and hardship God is in control.
Things are not only as they seem.
When I was watching, the Olympic women’s figures figure skating final on TV I was watching it on video, as I had a commitment during the time it was broadcast… and I hoping that Shizuka Arakawa would win the gold. I’m originally from Japan and Japan hadn’t one any medals… and I was watching her skate, it wasn’t a perfect routine, as NBC commentators pointed out she made some mistakes, but I had great peace, I knew things would go well… I knew she would win… (I had heard from my wife she won).
We experience many ups and downs, much chaos in the world and in our lives…
There’s something about knowing that in the end God wins, that doesn’t totally feel free anxiety, but can give real perspective and peace…
We know in the end the Ancient of Days, Christ wins, good wins….
If we are with Christ, we will share in that victory….
Knowing how things will end gives us peace…
Knowing how things will end will also give a peace about something else…
Daniel has experienced all kinds of injustices and discrimination… he’s been the object of envy. He’s been falsely accusation by colleagues as being disloyal to the King. He ends being thrown into a pit of hungry lions because of this… but he does not need not exact vengeance because knows God’s in control…
At end of the book Daniel 12:2 describes the final destiny of human beings: we read how multitudes who sleep in the dust of earth will wake, some will rise to everlasting life and some everlasting shame and contempt…. Daniels knows God is God and the future is in God’s hand and that there will a day of reckoning, a day of judgment…
Bible teaches we don’t need to take vengeance in this life because God will avenge wrongs either in this life or the next…
If there is no God, no judgment, we would feel compelled to avenge our wrongs….
We’d be compelled to take the advice, get even… or as Ivan Trump, don’t get even, get everything…
Some of us here have been hurt, by partner, or maybe a boss or colleague like Daniel, maybe by a family member… and in many parts we know people have suffered because of evil tyrants…
The fact that God is control and God will bring people to justice… if not in this life or the life to come… free us from a spirit of vengeance and give us peace
And finally, if God is in control it means that our lives on earth are meaningful….
Daniel as an adolescent experiences his own country being defeated, he’s taken forcefully taken from his country, his family, away from temple he loves, never to return and lives of his days exiled in foreign country…
He best friends in Babylon…and are thrown into a fiery furnace because of their faith in the living God.
He rises to prominence in Babylon because of his excellent spirit, but when the King he’s closely connected to die, he’s discarded for prime years of his.
As older man Daniel is falsely accused by colleague as being disloyal to the King and is thrown into a pit of hungry lions.
As far as we know Daniel never marries, never has children…
But as we seen, his life was the Ancient of Days and his life matters… and so you will yours, and so will yours it echo on eternity if you are connected to God of Daniel, the God of Jesus Christ.
Daniel 7
Daniel's Dream of Four Beasts
1 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream, and visions passed through his mind as he was lying on his bed. He wrote down the substance of his dream.
2 Daniel said: "In my vision at night I looked, and there before me were the four winds of heaven churning up the great sea. 3 Four great beasts, each different from the others, came up out of the sea.
4 "The first was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted from the ground so that it stood on two feet like a man, and the heart of a man was given to it.
5 "And there before me was a second beast, which looked like a bear. It was raised up on one of its sides, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, 'Get up and eat your fill of flesh!'
6 "After that, I looked, and there before me was another beast, one that looked like a leopard. And on its back it had four wings like those of a bird. This beast had four heads, and it was given authority to rule.
7 "After that, in my vision at night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast—terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns.
8 "While I was thinking about the horns, there before me was another horn, a little one, which came up among them; and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth that spoke boastfully.
9 "As I looked,
"thrones were set in place,
and the Ancient of Days took his seat.
His clothing was as white as snow;
the hair of his head was white like wool.
His throne was flaming with fire,
and its wheels were all ablaze.
10 A river of fire was flowing,
coming out from before him.
Thousands upon thousands attended him;
ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him.
The court was seated,
and the books were opened.
11 "Then I continued to watch because of the boastful words the horn was speaking. I kept looking until the beast was slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire. 12 (The other beasts had been stripped of their authority, but were allowed to live for a period of time.)
13 "In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. 14 He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.
The Interpretation of the Dream
15 "I, Daniel, was troubled in spirit, and the visions that passed through my mind disturbed me. 16 I approached one of those standing there and asked him the true meaning of all this.
"So he told me and gave me the interpretation of these things: 17 'The four great beasts are four kingdoms that will rise from the earth. 18 But the saints of the Most High will receive the kingdom and will possess it forever—yes, for ever and ever.'
19 "Then I wanted to know the true meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others and most terrifying, with its iron teeth and bronze claws—the beast that crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. 20 I also wanted to know about the ten horns on its head and about the other horn that came up, before which three of them fell—the horn that looked more imposing than the others and that had eyes and a mouth that spoke boastfully. 21 As I watched, this horn was waging war against the saints and defeating them, 22 until the Ancient of Days came and pronounced judgment in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came when they possessed the kingdom.
23 "He gave me this explanation: 'The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on earth. It will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it. 24 The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom. After them another king will arise, different from the earlier ones; he will subdue three kings. 25 He will speak against the Most High and oppress his saints and try to change the set times and the laws. The saints will be handed over to him for a time, times and half a time. [a]
26 " 'But the court will sit, and his power will be taken away and completely destroyed forever. 27 Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be handed over to the saints, the people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him.'
28 "This is the end of the matter. I, Daniel, was deeply troubled by my thoughts, and my face turned pale, but I kept the matter to myself."
Footnotes:
a. Daniel 7:25 Or for a year, two years and half a year
posted by Shigematsu at 6:55 PM
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