Thy Kingdom Come
Daniel 7 & 8 (& 2:29-45)
(There is a very helpful powerpoint that went with this message. email me and I would be happy to send it to you.)
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Good morning.
We are taking a major turn in our Series through Daniel today. The book of Daniel can be divided nicely into 2 parts. The first 6 chapters make up the first part and deal chronologically with some of the major experiences of God’s work in Daniel’s and his friends lives.
The last 6 chapters are the second part and deal with the visions and prophecies Daniel received concerning future earthly kingdoms as well as events concerning the coming of the messiah and the coming Kingdom of God.
Now before we even start, I want to ask a question. Who cares? Who cares about some prophecy from a few thousand years ago about some coming kingdoms? Most of these have already come and gone? Why do I need to know this?
Well, I think this is important to know for a couple of reasons.
First, it helps us to be assured that God is in control over the affairs of men and governments and countries. He is able to tell us about these coming kingdoms through Daniel because it is part of His ultimate plan.
Secondly, because of the prophecies given that have been fulfilled in very literal ways, even if imagery has been used, we can be assured that the rest of the prophecies, the ones that have not yet come to fulfillment between the time of Daniel and today, will be fulfilled in a similar way.
This should give us great hope and confidence in standing strong and following the Lord even in the midst of governments and rulers who may not be supporters of a godly lifestyle.
Transition
Now, this morning, we are going to be synthesizing Scripture from 3 different chapters in Daniel; Chapter 2, 7, and 8. In each of these chapters, there is prophecy given, using different imagery, but pertaining to some of the same coming kingdoms in relation to the time of Daniel.
We are going to begin by reading some parts of each of these chapters that pertain to these kingdoms and I am going to help you organize these kingdoms in your own mind with a chart that relates them all.
Now, going back to chapter 2 of Daniel, if you recall Nebuchadnezzar had a dream of a statue and Daniel tells him what his dream was and then interprets it for him.
This is how Daniel describes the statue to the Nebuchadnezzar.
Daniel 2:32-35
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32 The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, 33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay. 34 While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were broken to pieces at the same time and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth.
Ok, so in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, you have these 4 parts of a statue and a big rock that destroys the statue and fills the earth.
Now in Daniel 7, Daniel has a vision of 4 beasts.
Dan 7:2-8, 13-14
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"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.
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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.
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.
So in Daniel 7 we have four beasts, but the fourth beast has something different about it and then there also is the Son of man that comes after these beasts and has a kingdom that will never be destroyed.
We will come back to this, but now I want to take a look at some verses in Daniel 8 that give a little more detail about a couple of these kingdoms.
In chapter 8, Daniel has a vision of a ram and a goat.
Daniel 8:3-9
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I looked up, and there before me was a ram with two horns, standing beside the canal, and the horns were long. One of the horns was longer than the other but grew up later. 4 I watched the ram as he charged toward the west and the north and the south. No animal could stand against him, and none could rescue from his power. He did as he pleased and became great.
5 As I was thinking about this, suddenly a goat with a prominent horn between his eyes came from the west, crossing the whole earth without touching the ground. 6 He came toward the two-horned ram I had seen standing beside the canal and charged at him in great rage. 7 I saw him attack the ram furiously, striking the ram and shattering his two horns. The ram was powerless to stand against him; the goat knocked him to the ground and trampled on him, and none could rescue the ram from his power. 8 The goat became very great, but at the height of his power his large horn was broken off, and in its place four prominent horns grew up toward the four winds of heaven.
9 Out of one of them came another horn, which started small but grew in power to the south and to the east and toward the Beautiful Land.
Ok, so what do all of these dreams and visions have to do with each other?
Well, they are all pointing to some of the same kingdoms that would rule the world around Israel during and after the time of Daniel.
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In fact, Scripture gives these interpretations itself.
Daniel 2:36 – 40 interprets the image of the statue as 4 powerful kingdoms
Daniel 7:17 says, ’The four great beasts are four kingdoms that will rise from the earth.
Daniel 8:20-22 says, “The two-horned ram that you saw represents the kings of Media and Persia. 21 The shaggy goat is the king of Greece, and the large horn between his eyes is the first king. 22 The four horns that replaced the one that was broken off represent four kingdoms that will emerge from his nation but will not have the same power.”
From these verses in Daniel 8, we know that 2 kingdoms that were coming were the Medo-Persian empire and the empire of Greece
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and Daniel 2 tells us the first Empire was the Babylonian Empire which was at its peak under Nebuchadnezzar.
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Medo-Persian Empire
We saw 2 weeks ago that Daniel was alive for the beginning of the Medo-Persian Empire because they conquered Babylon when Belshazzar ruled. The prophecy of chapter 7 we learn at the beginning is given in the first year of Belshazzar’s reign, so this prophecy occurred about 13 year before the events of chapter 5 when Belshazzar was overthrown by the Medo-Persian Empire.
Greek Empire
Following the Medo-Persian empire, according to the prophecy of Daniel 8 and according to history, was the Greek Empire ruled by Alexander the Great, the large horn on the goat in Daniel 8. Alexander conquered much of the known world with great speed and he died at the height of his power when we was only 32 or 33. His empire was ultimately divided between 4 of his generals, just like Daniel 8 prophesied.
Daniel 8:8 - The goat became very great, but at the height of his power his large horn was broken off, and in its place four prominent horns grew up toward the four winds of heaven.
Out of one of those 4 parts of this divided kingdom, rose up a man named Antiochus Epiphanes (who reigned from 175-164BC), who it would appear fits much of the description of the other horn that came out of one of the four that “started small but grew in power.” (8:9).
So those are some of the details of the first 3 empires prophesied about; the Babylonian Empire, the Medo-Persian Empire and the Greek Empire.
It is amazing how closely the events of history follow these prophecies that were made hundreds of years earlier.
Fourth Kingdom
Now Daniel speaks of a 4th kingdom in both Daniel 2 and 7. That would be the legs of iron and the monster or terrifying and frightening beast.
In Daniel 7, Daniel himself desires to know more about this beast that represents this fourth kingdom because it is so different than the others, so Daniel asks an angel in his vision and it says in
Daniel 7:23-27
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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 (believed to be 3.5 years)
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.’
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When we look back in history, we don’t see all of these prophecies being fulfilled in the next empire, but some of them are.
The Roman Empire is the next empire which is arguably the greatest empire of all in regards to its power, influence, length, etc. It was also a very brutal empire.
It was the Roman Empire that was in existence at the time Jesus came into the world.
Now, the Roman Empire as we know it fits some of this prophecy.
It ruled with and iron fist through its strong military and was exceeding large in its expanse and devoured territories with its strong military.
But other parts of the prophecy, from verse 24 of chapter 7 on, don’t seem to reflect what we know of the Roman Empire and in fact don’t seem to find any correlation that we know of throughout history that matches what was prophesied there.
How could something that has been so accurate, now be so inaccuarate?
Understanding OT prophecy
I want to pause here and seek to help us gain an understanding of Old Testament prophecy and its purpose.
Whenever we come across prophecies in the Old Testament, they are nearly always in relation to how Israel will be affected or having to do with a time when Israel is the focus.
In fact, sometimes, the same prophecy can have components of what we today would call Christ’s first and second coming, and leave out completely the church age, or age of the gentiles, because Israel is not primarily the focus.
Let me give you an example
In Isaiah 61:1-2, there is a prophecy regarding the Messiah and the things he will do.
Jesus quotes this prophecy in Luke 4:18-19, and Jesus stops in mid sentence of what Isaiah prophesied.
Luke 4:18-19
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18 "The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor."
And then he goes on to say in verse 21, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."
He quoted from Isaiah 61:1-2 and verse 2 says
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Isaiah 61:2 says. …”2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God,”
Why did Jesus stop in mid-sentence what he was quoting?
Why did not Jesus quote that part?
I’ll tell you why.
It is because that last part of the Scripture had not been fulfilled yet.
It is because the day of his vengeance will becoming when he removes the church in the rapture and his attention again turns to fulfilling His plan for Israel and brings this world to judgment.
But notice that in one prophetic sentence through Isaiah the prophet, you have in view both Jesus’ first and second coming.
The prophecy in Isaiah completely skips over the church age. That is because this prophecy, like most prophecies in the OT, is for the purpose of telling Israel the things to come concerning them.
And in the prophecy of Daniel, why we don’t see any empire that seems to have the characteristics that are prophesied with 10 kings, and another king rising up and taking out 3 kings and the others giving them their power, is because this is referring to the time when Israel is again in focus and there is a revived Empire that comes out of the area of the Roman Empire, which is the area of Europe, Eastern Europe, the middle east, and the north coast of Africa around the Mediterranean.
One of the reasons I think this is yet to come and has not yet been fulfilled, is because there is a prophecy that is similar to this prophecy of Daniel found in Revelation.
Listen to what was revealed to John in Revelation about the coming anti-Christ.
Revelation 13:1-7
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And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. He had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on his horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. 2 The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority. 3 One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was astonished and followed the beast. 4 Men worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, "Who is like the beast? Who can make war against him?"
5 The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise his authority for forty-two months. (3.5 years) 6 He opened his mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. 7 He was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them. And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation.
This prophecy that is yet to come sounds similar to the prophecy of Daniel 7.
I believe that is because the prophecy of Daniel 7 is in relation to the first Roman Empire AND a revived empire out of the area that once was the Roman Empire, namely the European and Mediterranean areas.
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The prophecy is dealing with both in this one section, even though there is a separation between the 2 kingdoms of many hundreds of years. That is because the history that is occurring in between the first Roman Empire and the uneasy union of 10 kings and the anti-Christ does not have Israel as its focus, but the church.
What is still to come, according to this prophecy, is some kind of union or alliance of 10 different kings who are separate but unite together and out of this area, and from here the anti-Christ will rise to power. This will be the feet of iron and clay and the union of the 10 kings and little horn.
This is why Bible prophecy people are so interested in the politics of Europe and the European Union. They wonder if it could be some form of this union that ultimately brings fulfillment to these prophecies.
We do not know, but what I do believe is that the fulfillment of this prophecy will be much like the fulfillment of the prophecies that preceded it and be fulfilled in a very real way.
But it is also important to note that when these kings come to power and the Anti-Christ rises, the end is near.
Now for those who believe in Jesus Christ as Savior, I don’t think we have much to worry about during this time. That is because I believe as this occurs, the church will be raptured, and primary focus will again turn to Israel and much of Israel will come to recognize that Jesus is the Messiah and as the Anti Christ rises and persecutes and makes war against the believers, Jesus will return and usher in His Messianic Kingdom
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This is the kingdom spoken of in Daniel 2 as the stone or rock that is cut out but not by human hands that crushes and destroys the statue of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.
This is the kingdom that begins with what Daniel 7 says is the coming of the Son of man on the clouds whose kingdom will never be destroyed.
This is the kingdom spoken of in
Revelation 14:14-16
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14 I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one "like a son of man" with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. 15 Then another angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, "Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe." 16 So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.
And it goes on to say that the grapes were harvested and gathered and thrown “into the great winepress of God’s wrath.” (Revelation 14:19)
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This is where the prophecy of Isaiah that Jesus skipped over when he said today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.
This is “the day of vengeance of our God” (Isaiah 61:2)
This is ultimately what all prophecy is eventually leading to.
This is the Millennial Kingdom when the Messiah will reign for 1000 years on this earth.
Application
Ok, so that is the meaning of these prophecies of Daniel 2, and 7 and 8.
So what?
Why is it important to know this?
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How does it help to know that God made these prophecies and they have been fulfilled?
I think there are several things that knowing the truth of these prophecies should do in our lives.
First,
Knowing these things should give us Peace
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We should have a peace that even though we may not understand all that is going on, God is in full control. He has brought into creation a world where he stands outside of time and space and sees the beginning and the end and is fully in control.
We may not understand all of the why’s of what is happening. But when we know the Who, who is in control, then we can have great peace.
We could easily be fretting over out upcoming Presidential election. While I do believe we need to strive to elect leaders that are godly, no matter who wins, God is still in control and his purposes will be accomplished and we can continue to follow Him.
Now, as we have seen through Daniel, depending on the leadership of the country, even though God is in control, it can get more difficult and costly to follow the Lord.
That brings us to another reason that I think it is important to know the truth of these prophecies and believe in the real fulfillment to come of the future prophecies.
Because
Knowing these things should give us Courage
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No matter what we are facing, as we understand more and more the sovereignty of God, then even in the face of suffering, even in the face of government that wants to limit our ability to worship the Lord, we can take courage and continue to worship and obey Him, because we know that even if it leads to suffering for us, God has worked so that our suffering is not eternal because He is coming back
I believe that knowing these things is what gave Daniel courage.
These prophecies he received came to him before the events of chapter 5 and 6.
He knew these things before he had to make a choice about continuing to pray and be thrown into the lion’s den.
I believe that it was knowing these prophecies and believing them that gave him courage to obey and persevere and I believe that as we learn and believe the truth of these prophecies and that God is in control and will be coming back, we can have the courage we need to live for Him and His glory.
Finally I believe knowing these prophecies that have been fulfilled in our history and knowing the prophecies that have been given that are still to come Should give us Hope
Knowing these things should give us Hope
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Hope. What is hopeful about ungodly kingdoms that seem to get more and more corrupt and oppressive?
That is just it. We can be hopeful, because knowing these prophecies and knowing the author of these prophecies, should help us NOT to put hope in this world or in the kingdoms or governments of the world because they will all come to nothing. All the great empires of the world have always come to an end, they have been destroyed.
No, we should have hope, not in these kingdoms, but in the Kingdom to come, the Kingdom of the Lord that is coming just as surely as we saw all of the other prophecies fulfilled regarding the empires and kingdoms of history. That is where we should have our hope.
That is something we can be assured is coming because we have seen that He knows and has orchestrated the events of history because it is really His Story!
In Revelation 17, when we see John talking about the beast with 7 heads and 10 horns, similar to what Daniel prophesied, we read this in 17:17.
Revelation 17:17
For God has put it into their hearts (speaking about the 10 kings) to accomplish his purpose (God’s purpose) by agreeing to give the beast their power to rule, until God’s words are fulfilled.
God is fully in control and even those who are against God are subject to His will, and every word that is spoken by Him in His word will be fulfilled.
We can have hope because we can be assured that just as his words have been fulfilled in the past, these words regarding the future will be fulfilled as well.
Revelation 22:12-13, 17 - Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
And it goes on in verse 17 to say, “The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.”
Conclusion
Have you partaken of the free gift of the water of Life?
Hope begins in drinking of the free gift of the water of life, the salvation that is offered by believing in and receiving Jesus as your Savior.
It is from this hope that you will also be able to experience courage to live life for the Lord and the peace that comes along with that.
If you need to enter into that relationship, then the Bible tells us that when we believe, we should confess that belief and receive His salvation
Romans 10:9 - if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
If you want hope, you want Jesus, because He is the only hope for anyone.
And if you have received Jesus already but you are missing out on peace and courage he offers, I want to pray for you too.
That is available to us after we have the hope of Christ indwelling us, but it comes through growing deeper in relationship, through prayer and being in His word and being in fellowship.
I want to pray for you that you will take those steps that help you know Him more so you too can experience the peace and courage and hope that comes through Him until His Kingdom comes.
Let’s pray.
