Well, if you would turn to Daniel Chapter 8, that's where we'll be tonight, and doing the second half. I won't do a long review of the first half, but I thought I would just read through that. Remember, after the first chapter of Hebrew, then five chapters of Aramaic, we're back into Hebrew in Chapter 8, and from here to the end, primarily in part because of it's God directing his message to his people for much of what remains in this book is really directed to them and their future that they would have to struggle with. So this is the third vision. as it were, that parallel each other, the dream of Nebuchadnezzar and Daniel 2, the vision of Daniel himself and Daniel 7, and now this vision of these two beasts, which are kingdoms of three and what, no, two and three of the other sets of visions. So let me just read, we went through it, be a little bit of repetition, but let me just read through what we covered last week. In the third year of King Belshazzar's reign, I, Daniel, had a vision, after the one that had already appeared to me. two years earlier. In my vision, I saw myself in the citadel of Susa in the province of Elam. In the vision, I was beside the Ulay Canal. And 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. 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. So that's Medo-Persian Empire. And we have the goat. As I was thinking about this, suddenly a goat with a prominent horn between his eyes, Alexander the Conqueror, Emperor, came from the west crossing the whole earth without touching the ground. He came toward the two-horned ram that I had seen standing beside the canal and charged at him in great rage. 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. And then what happens? 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. So Alexander's kingdom, he died. His kingdom was broken up into four portions. In verse 9, out of one of them came another horn which started small but grew in power to the south, to the east, and toward the beautiful land. It grew until it breached the host of heavens and it threw some of the starry host down to the earth and trampled on them. It set itself up as the prince of the host. It took away the daily sacrifice from him and the place of his sanctuary was brought low. Because of rebellion, the host of the saints and the daily sacrifice were given over to it and it prospered in everything it did and truth was thrown to the ground. Then I heard a Holy One speaking, and another Holy One said to him, ìHow long will it take for the vision to be fulfilled, the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, the rebellion that causes desolation, and the surrender of the sanctuary and the host that will be trampled underfoot?î He said to me, ìIt will take 2,300 evenings and mornings, then the sanctuary will be reconsecrated.î So that's what we surveyed last week. Regarding that last little bit of data, the 2300 days, Ian Duguid thought a very encouraging observation. He says, what's particularly striking about the mention of the number of days is that God has a precise calendar for the events of world history, a calendar that is accurate to the day. yet at the same time utterly inscrutable to all human efforts to decode it. I find that really very encouraging, especially even thinking of our own circumstances, you know, with COVID-19. And, you know, we think we know a lot, but we probably don't know anything. And the, but God knows. He knew when it was coming. He knows when it's going to leave, even as you and I kind of muddle through. And I find that very encouraging, not just for that, but, you know, just for all the circumstances of our life, that God has a precise calendar. And that's just a great, great, great encouragement. Well, we come to the explanation of the third vision, beginning in verse 15 through the end of the chapter. And in verses 15 and 18, we have poor Daniel who is still struggling with these visions. And I don't want to be too hard on him. I don't want to be hard on him at all. I can't imagine getting a vision and then not being overwhelming. And we find that truly in him. While I, Daniel, verse 15, was watching the vision and trying to understand it, there before me stood one who looked like a man. Maybe the son of man, maybe an angel. And I heard a man's voice from the Uli calling, Gabriel, tell this man the meaning of the vision. So that man he sees is probably Gabriel. And he came near the place where I was standing. And I was terrified and I felt prostrate. And he says, son of man, he said to me, understand that the vision concerns the time of the end. So we have him, he's trying to figure it out and God sends Gabriel to him to tell him, explain the vision to him, which we'll get to that in a moment. But the two things in that last verse we read that I just want to kind of highlight, one is he calls him son of man. And it's a different, same phrase, but different usage than we saw in Daniel 7. Remember in Daniel 7, the Son of Man approaches the Ancient of Days, and he's given the kingdoms of this world. So there, the Son of Man is a title used for the Son of God as he approaches the Ancient of Days. And here, it's just describing his humanity, Son of Man. Listen. And the thing that he's told to understand at this point is understand that these visions concern the time of the end. Now, I'm a broken record on this, but when you read the time of the end, you have to ask the end of what? The time of the end is a phrase used in several different contexts and frameworks in the scriptures. Is it the end of the world? as some interpreted Daniel 7 to be the end of the world, you know, that I interpreted it as the end of the old covenant age when Christ would come and all of the kingdoms would be brought down and Jesus' kingdom would be established and begin being erected. And I think that's the same reference here. Of course, Jesus is going to return again, but the time of the end that this is referring to is the time of the end of the old covenant. Because we know from the explanation that's about to come and how we looked at the two beasts last time that the events that is being referred to in the vision of these two beasts is the events that are going to come upon Israel just prior to the coming of Christ. And so the end that he's looking toward in this instance is the end of the Old Covenant, the end of the Mosaic period, the end of the Old Covenant age. Antiochus is not the very end, but it's in the last days of the Old Covenant. So I want to take you to a couple of places in the New Testament for a minute. Turn to Hebrews chapter 1. verses 1 and 2, as we think about some comparable descriptions in the New Testament, In Hebrews chapter 1 verse 1, it says, in the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his son. whom he appointed heir of all things and through whom he made the universe. So Jesus has spoken to us in the last days. And again, the last days of what? We have to think about that. Jesus came in the last days of the old covenant to establish his kingdom. and on this earth through his death, burial and resurrection and ascension. And so he brings God's word to us in the waning days of the old covenant. Now, look at chapter 12, Hebrews 12, verse 25. The contrast that he's building up is he's talking about how God spoke to them from Mount Sinai, and now he's speaking to them from glory. And in verse 25, it says, see to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, Sinai is the background to that, how much less will we if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? who's warning us from heaven? Well, it's Christ warning us through the preaching of the apostles. Verse 26, at that time, at Sinai, his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heavens. The words once more indicate the removing of what can be shaken, that is created things, so that what cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire." Now, we indeed can apply this to our lives in thinking about that this world will be shaken and fall apart. And we're looking forward to a kingdom that won't be shaken, the new heavens and the new earth. So that's definitely an application for you and I. But as we think about this book, the contrast with Sinai in this particular point, what was said in the first couple of verses of Hebrews, and as we think about why Hebrews was written. It was written to Jewish believers, Christians, who were being tempted to go back to Judaism. Because the temple was still there, and the temple was very glorious, and Christianity was kind of meager. I mean, here we are, we have a nice building, although we don't need it, we would be fine just us wherever we are. And the church doesn't look as glamorous as the temple did. The temple and all the priests and the glory of the temple, and the Jewish people were thinking, man, I'd like to go back to that. And the writer of Hebrews in a variety of ways through the book is saying, no, that's passing away. We have the new covenant now. And so in that context, talking to those kind of people, We have a communication to them, a warning to them, don't be tempted to do that because God is shaking that, he's shaking that temple. And it's interesting that he describes that he's shaking the heavens and the earth. And for a Jew to lose the temple was the end of the world. It was hugely traumatic. And so I think what he's trying to communicate to these believers to keep them from being tempted to go back is to say that all that Old Testament economy is being shaken and it's going to pass away. But we're receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken. And so let us worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire. The old covenant is being removed. The new covenant cannot be shaken and will never pass away. Well, we come back to Daniel 8 to continue on. So, that gives you some food for thought in thinking about these things, these visions are for the time of the end. We have Daniel's description in verse 18, again, his own trauma. While he was speaking to me, I was in a deep sleep with my face to the ground, then he touched me and raised me to my feet. So, it's a very traumatic experience that he's dealing with, both with the vision and now the encounter with the angel Gabriel. But in verses 19 to 22, we have the description then of the beasts. And it says, he said, I'm going to tell you what will happen later in the time of wrath because the vision concerns the appointed time of the end. Again, the end of what? The two-horned ram that you saw represents the kings of Media and Persia. And the shaggy goat is the king of Greece. And the large horn between his eyes is the first king. And the four horns that replace the one that was broken off represent four kingdoms that will emerge from his nation, but will not have the same power. So as we anticipated in looking at it last week, shows you how smart I am, right? It's exactly what I told you it was. See, don't you think how great that was? But no, we all were looking ahead, weren't we? We knew that's what it was. The interpretation's there. So the ram was Medo-Persia. The goat is Alexander the Great and his conquering. And then when he died, his kingdom was broken up into the four pieces. And it took about 20 years for those to get sort of settled, but the one that concerns us, concerns Israel, is the Seleucid element of that, the Seleucid kingdom, out of which came several different rulers. The one that is most notable for the persecution of Israel is Antiochus Epiphanes. Epiphanes means God manifested in our We don't follow the church calendar strictly, but if you did follow the church calendar strictly, in the early part of the year, you have Christmas. After the first of the year, you have Epiphany, the appearance of God, Christ coming, the wise men's visit. So, Antiochus Epiphanes, so he was arrogating to himself, I think he named himself this, I'm not sure other people did. He's arrogating to himself the character of God. as we'll see in his actions. And in verse 23 and 24 and 25, we have a description of his particular reign, repeating a few of the things that we encountered earlier. In the latter part of their reign, when rebels have become completely wicked, a stern-faced king, a master of intrigue, will arise. He will become very strong, but not by his own power. He will cause astounding devastation and will succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy the mighty men and the holy people. He's a stern-faced king and a master of intrigue, and he becomes strong, but notice it's not by his own power. He does not become strong because he is so great. He becomes strong because God has ordained it. Again, even in this period of darkness in Israel, it's God's sovereign plan that's being executed. What's interesting, he didn't become strong by his own power. God did it, and we're going to see in a few verses, and he didn't remain by his own power, but God destroyed him. But at this point, it's just focusing on his strength and what he is doing. He's bringing devastation. He's going to cause worship to cease. He's going to profane the altar. He's going to persecute God's people. It was a terrible time of persecution. I do encourage you sometime to read the two book of Maccabees and the Apocrypha. There's some great testimonies of faith. You know, if you ever wonder, did God's people have faith between Malachi and Christ? And the answer is, yes. There are powerful demonstrations of faith in God's people under that intense, terrible time of persecution. It was just an awful time. He'll destroy the mighty men, probably the rulers in Israel and the holy people. He's going to persecute and put to death God's people. And those attacks didn't end with Antiochus Epiphanes or even the Roman Empire. We know they continue until today. And so it's important for us to remember that if someone comes to power persecuting God's church, it's not because if his power, it's because God for some reason in his inscrutable and good plan has chosen for that to be the case. In verse 25, it tells us further about him, he will cause deceit to prosper and he will consider himself superior. He's a proud, arrogant man. When they feel secure, he will destroy many and take his stand, notice this, against the prince of princes. Yet he will be destroyed, but not by human power. So we'll come back to that last phrase. But notice here that he opposes God himself. He raised himself against the Lord God Almighty. And that's the arrogance of man. that he would do such a thing. And the reason that God allowed him, because we do wonder why does God allow this to happen? Why did God allow that to happen to those people? There, verse 12 gave us the answer. It's because of the wickedness that the host, that's the host of God's people, was given over to it, that is, to that authority, to that little horn. Just as God gave the people of Israel into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, he gave them into the hands of Antiochus Epiphanes. And the testimony of one of the martyrs in the period of the Maccabees was this, the last words of one of the martyrs, we are suffering like this through our own fault, having sinned against our own God, and the result has been terrible. Sometimes God has to refine his church. Sometimes he has to purify his people. Sometimes it's that he's putting them through the crucible so that they might grow stronger in him. Learn not only their own wickedness, but learn their own need of him. Even as Solomon, remember when he prayed, Lord, if the day comes when you send the people into a foreign land and they suffer and they cry out to you, hear their prayer. And God was answering that through Daniel, through Ezekiel, through these sufferings they're going through in exile and will in the people of Israel under Antiochus Epiphanes. Well, he's going to be destroyed even though he is arrogant and arrogates himself against the Lord. He's going to be destroyed but not by human hands. He died in December of 164 and it's reported that he died excruciating death. Now, 1 Maccabees records it as he died of melancholy. Well, that's not too excruciating, it seems to me. So, I kind of discount, we'll just forget that. There's another account that you'll enjoy. It's in 2 Maccabees 9, the all-seeing Lord, the God of Israel, struck him with an incurable and unseen complaint. He was seized with an incurable pain in his bowels, and with excruciating internal torture, he suddenly hurtled from his chariot, and the violence of his headlong fall wracked every bone in his body." Now, that's what I'm talking about. That's the way we want somebody like the Antiochus to die, right? They need to get it at the end. It doesn't always happen, but that gives us some satisfaction. It reminds us, turn to Acts chapter 12 for a moment. I know I'm running a rabbit trail here, but it reminds us of the story in Acts chapter 12 of the death of Herod, a persecutor of the church. In Acts chapter 12, verse 20, let's see. He had been quarreling with the people of Tyre and Sidon. They now joined together and sought an audience with him. Having secured the support of Blastus, a trusted personal servant of the king, they asked for peace because they depended on the king's country for their food supply. On the appointed day, Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. And they shouted, this is the voice of a God, not of man. Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died." Again, that's the way a wicked man should die, right? God knows how to take care of the wicked, and we need to not despair. God will deal with them. Job wrote, can he who hates justice govern? And he answers that, they die in an instant. In the middle of the night, the people are shaken and they pass away. The mighty are removed without a human hand. So we have Antiochus Epiphanes and he is arrogant and he aligns himself against the Lord. and God destroys him and takes him away. But the one thing that might be apparent or as we just reflect on Antiochus is he laid his hands on God's people and he definitely arrayed himself against the Lord God Almighty, but obviously he couldn't put his hands on God himself because God's in heaven, Antiochus is on earth. How can he actually attack God? But the interesting comparison, and this is part of a point just to reflect on and to draw our attention to it, it was 150 or so years later, maybe more like 170 or 80, but when the Messiah had come, God in the flesh, and the leaders of Israel and the powers of the civil authority joined together and laid their hands on the Son of God. And they cried out, crucify him. And while Antiochus couldn't get his hands on God, they could get their hands on the Son of God. And they did with him as they pleased. And the cross, you see, has a twofold message that cross is the reminder of the abominable rebellion of sinful man against God. Because they would take God from the throne and throw him down if they could. And when they could get their hands on the son of God, they killed him. The cross is the demonstration of the abomination of the wrath of men against, and the rebellion of men against Almighty God. But it's the second message of the cross. It's the message that in the cross is God's answer to man's rebellion. He will put an end, not to all men's rebellion, but he will put an end to rebellion in men by conquering them by the gospel and by grace. And so Antiochus is a gripping example of the hatred of men that God allows to keep for a time and so is the cross. The cross also is a reminder of the victory of God over the wrath of men. That God will end the wrath of men, ultimately for many in hell. But for those who come to know him, it's in grace. It's in mercy. It's in conversion. It's in repentance. It's in faith. And so we see them walking through this valley of deep darkness. We see Jesus walking through the valley of deep darkness. But we need to see, in contrast, the glorious revelation of the mercy and sovereign power of Almighty God to put away sin by the sacrifice of Christ. Well, just a few more things in this chapter, coming back to Daniel 8 in verse 26. We have this statement, the vision of the evenings and the mornings that has been given to you is true, but seal up the vision for it concerns the distant future. If you turn over to Daniel 12 verse 9, we have a repetition of this idea of sealing. It says, he replied, go your way, Daniel, because the words are closed up and sealed until the time of the end. Now they're not sealed to hide them from God's people, that's really not the point. They're sealed because to be preserved for God's people. Because it's going to be a couple hundred years before these events take place. And so the point of them being sealed, again, is not to hide them. It's not the people of Israel aren't reading them through these next couple hundred years. They are, but it's that those words are protected for the day of fulfillment. So that when the days of fulfillment come, then the people can read them and say, oh, this is what God was talking about. This is what he was prophesying, and this is what we were told and warned about. And so that's the idea of being sealed. Now, there's an interesting contrast if you would turn to Revelation 22, Revelation 22 verse 10, here near the very end of the book. It says, then he told me, do not seal up the words of the prophecy of the book because the time is near. Now, there's going to be various interpretations of these things, but this is the contrast I want you to think about. The reason Daniel had to seal it up was because it's going to be down the road a bit before it's fulfilled. So seal it up, hold it for the people. In a couple hundred years, they're going to need this. Whereas in Revelation, he says, now don't seal it up, because the people of God need it right now. And it allows you at least to think about what is Revelation talking to us about. There's differences of opinion, obviously, and I'm not going to get into that particular debate. But again, it's still the contrast between seal this up and preserve it for God's people for a couple hundred years. Revelation is don't seal it, give it to them right now because they need it right now. And then the last segment of the book, the last portion of the book is, I, Daniel, was exhausted and I lay ill for several days. Then I got up and went about the king's business. I was appalled by the vision. It was beyond understanding. So again, he expresses his reflection of his own distress at this vision. He couldn't figure it all out. Again, it's for a long time down the road, and he's not necessarily gonna understand all these things. He was exhausted and lay ill, but this is the interesting thing. It says that when he got up, he went about the king's business. Ian Duguid has a wonderful sermon on this verse alone. And it's very interesting, and I'm just going to draw a couple little thoughts from that. And the thing about Daniel and what he does, he couldn't figure out the vision. He didn't know what was going on. He was exhausted by it and kind of overwhelmed by it. But what did he do? He got up and he went to work. He did what God had called him to do. And there's a great, Encouragement to you and to me. We don't have to have all the answers. We don't have to know everything. We have to know the one who tells us these things, but we don't have to understand or know everything. Work at it. You know, study. Think about it. Read good books. All of that. But in the final analysis, get up and go to work. Do what God's called you to do. That's your responsibility. It's doing God's will. That's our duty. That's our responsibility. Oftentimes in doing the work that God has given to us, in the course of time, a lot of things begin to make sense. But he doesn't want us just to sit. There have been those believers at different periods of time in history who, studying prophecy from different points of view, will go out on a mountainside or a hilltop and they'll sit and they'll wait because they know that Jesus is returning that day and they're going to wait for him to return. And Daniel would say, no, go to work. Don't go out on a hill and sit and wait. Go to work. Do what God's told you to be. Be a husband and a father and a mother and a wife and a sister or brother. Be a friend. That's what you need to do. You don't need to go out and sit on a hill. If he comes, great. If he doesn't come, it doesn't matter. You're doing what God wants you to do. You're carrying on the work that he's given you to do. That's what you need to do. And this chapter, along with all of Daniel that we've been reflecting on and thinking about, is a great encouragement to us because we know that even until today, God's people are being persecuted in various parts of the world. And there's valley of darkness that many believers have to walk through. But God has a plan. And God will be victorious. And on the last day, On the last day, Jesus will return and he will put all evil to an end. And the glory of his kingdom in fullness will be ushered in. And it's that hope and that encouragement and that promise that helps us keep persevering through the difficult days of our lives now. And may you and I receive that encouragement and rest in that. by God's grace. Amen. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, thank you so much for your love and faithfulness. Thank you for this vision of Daniel. And even as we get puzzled with some of these things, we know that ultimately it's telling us that you are the one that's on the throne, that no one comes to power except by your hand, and you will bring them to ruin by your hand. We pray, O Lord, that you will help us to walk in faith and rest in your providence and your power and your peace, that we might be faithful in what you've called us to in our lives here and now, that you would be the one that would receive all glory and honor, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.