I invite you this morning to take your Bibles and turn in them to Daniel chapter 7. If you still use an old-fashioned Bible like I do, it has a ribbon. You might want to put a marker there because we're going to compare Scripture with Scripture. Otherwise, you can just flip around on your phone or whatever your device is. But today, we're back in the book of Daniel. And this is the ninth study now in the book of Daniel. We've been going essentially chapter by chapter, and we're going to slow down a little bit today and take chapter seven in two parts. But what we're going to see in chapter seven today is no less amazing than what we've seen already in previous chapters, as this is a book filled with miracles and God's power on display in people's lives, as well as his omniscience on display as he knows the future and tells us in advance. Now living here in the United States just a week or so before a coming election, you knew I had to comment on it at some point, many people are wondering what the future holds. How is the country going to go? Where is our world headed? Well, I can tell you this based on Daniel and what we've studied so far and we'll study today, that things are going to get worse before they get better, but they will get better. And yeah, we may be in for a bumpy ride, but we have a glorious future ahead. And the Lord wants to encourage us, and that's why he's told us in advance in his word what the future holds. And we will see that today in successive world empires or kingdoms, spelled out by the prophet Daniel in chapter 7. Now why? Is Israel or Judah and Daniel a Jew in the land of Babylon? Well, we know that they were deported there because the Lord allowed under his divine hand of chastening the Babylonians to come and lay siege to Jerusalem and take away its inhabitants and carry them off to a far land, the land of Babylon. This was an act of God's discipline upon the nation because of its idolatry over many centuries. And Daniel was a bright spot among the Jews of his day, a very righteous and faithful man by the grace of God. And he is in the land of Babylon in this chapter of seven in Daniel that we're going to study this morning. But just by way of review, what we've seen so far in the book of Daniel is in chapter one, Daniel as well has his three Hebrew friends who were also teenagers were taken captive and brought to the land of Babylon, where though it was a spiritually dark place to live, they were a bright testimony there. In faith, they dared to be different for the Lord, and they were a testimony. That's chapter one. Then in chapter two, Daniel is still in his later teens, and God allows him to be able to understand King Nebuchadnezzar's dream was, and to be able to interpret its contents, therefore. And this truly had to be a gift from God because no one else could have known what was in the mind of Nebuchadnezzar. And then in chapter three, we know that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into the fiery furnace because they refused to bow down and worship the giant image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up, probably an image of himself. And because they were faithful to the Lord, They stood their ground and refused to bow down when the rest of the world did. And again, the Lord undertook for them and preserved them as there was one like the Son of God in the fire with them. And of course, that was a pre-incarnate appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ. And then in chapter 4, King Nebuchadnezzar is boasting in his accomplishments. And in his pride, God says, I'm going to bring you low and show you who really gave you this kingdom and why it was given. You see, all that he was given, all that we have been given, is to be used as stewards here in the nasty now and now to glorify the Lord. And so he was humbled for seven years until he came to his senses. And then he praised the Lord and wrote what is documented in Daniel chapter four. And then in chapter five, there's the succeeding administration after Nebuchadnezzar, the administration of Belshazzar. And he didn't have a heart for the Lord. And by the end of his rule, there was handwriting on the wall, literally, as God said, I'm going to spell out for you the doom and the end of your kingdom. And that very night, the kingdom of Babylon was conquered by the Medes and Persians. and Daniel was there to interpret the writing on the law. And then in chapter six, Daniel is now about 83 years old, and he is put in the lion's den under a new administration, under King Darius. Again, because he was faithful and he did not follow the king's command, an edict to not bow down or worship to anyone else besides the King Darius himself. And so the mediation of prayers was to be done all through him. But instead, Daniel bowed towards Jerusalem and continued his prayer life just as he did before. And there were consequences. He was put in the lion's den, but again, God miraculously preserved him, it says, through his angel. And so in chapters one through six, we have essentially in Daniel the narrative portion, great stories and very vivid and powerful lessons to learn from. But now in the rest of the book of Daniel, chapters seven through 12, it shifts in focus to being primarily prophetic with a little bit of narrative mixed in. And this is where we've come this morning, as we see in chapter 7 that Daniel is going to get a dream, a dream about successive world empires or kingdoms. And in chapter 7, we're going to cut this in half for our purposes, for study, and just cover the first 14 verses. But we'll see in verses 1 through 14, first of all, the setting and context for this dream. verses 1 through 3, and then the dream itself of four beastly kingdoms in verses 4 through 8, and then in verses 9 through 14, a continuation of what was in this dream, we'll see the triumph of good over evil, literally of God over evil, and these evil world empires. So this is what's in store for us this morning. And then next time, we'll study the second half of chapter 7. But let's begin in chapter 7, verse 1. We'll read together. In the first year of Belshazzar, king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream and visions of his head while on his bed. Then he wrote down the dream, telling the main facts. And we see here that he was given a dream of divine revelation. This wasn't just an ordinary dream. I mean, people have dreams every night. When I woke up early this morning, I was dreaming about something pertaining to this church. And it wasn't divine revelation, I assure you. But in this case, this was a divine revelation through the medium of a dream in Daniel's life. He wrote it down. It was inspired scripture. And this all occurred in the year 553 BC. How do we know it was that year? Because that was the first year of Belshazzar's reign. just as this passage says. In fact, just put a finger here, turn over to chapter 8, and look at chapter 8, verse 1. Chapter 8 is a prophecy about what's going to follow with Alexander the Great and the Greek Empire. We'll hold off on that for a future study. But notice what it says in verse 1. In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar, a vision appeared to me, to me, Daniel, after the one that appeared to me the first time. So we have two statements about the rule of Belshazzar and the timing of the prophecies given in relationship to this Babylonian king. And what this tells us is that Daniel was given the revelation of chapters 7 and 8 before the historical events that we've already studied in chapters 5 and 6. If you recall, from our chronological chart here that under the Babylonian administration first it was rule under Nebuchadnezzar and then it shifted to Belshazzar and so the actual date for chapter 7 here is 553 BC and then 551 as we get to chapter 8. And as we think of what we've already read in chapters 5 and 6, we read about the end of the Babylonian Empire and the handwriting on the wall in chapter 5, as that night they were conquered by the Medes and the Persians. And then we read in chapter 6 about the rule of Darius and the Medo-Persian Empire. Well, now we're back in time, jumping back to the reign of Belshazzar, and we're back to Babylon in chapters 7 and 8. And how old is Daniel then in Chapter 7? Well, he would be in his mid-60s. He was early 80s when he was lowered into the lion's den in Chapter 6. Now we're jumping back in time probably about 20 years or so as we come to Chapters 7 and 8. Now, why is this not chronological in the flow of chapters in Daniel 1 through 7? Well, Daniel has an intentional chiastic structure. You say, what does chiastic mean? Well, it comes from the Greek letter chi or key. You see that red indentation there? Oftentimes in scripture, you'll see these chiastic structures and they're intentional to put a certain focus on certain things or to help us in terms of our memorization of the main points of these chapters or passages. As you see in this, Chiastic structure of chapters 2 through 7. Chapters 2 and 7 mirror one another as they are about revelation of successive empires, as we'll see. And then chapters 3 and 6 mirror one another as they are about preservation by God for standing for the Lord in terms of faithfulness. And then chapters 4 and 5 mirror one another. because they reflect two different types of kings who are object lessons. Nebuchadnezzar, who was proud but was humbled and came to his senses and glorified God, versus, in contrast, the other Babylonian king, Belshazzar, who did not humble himself and was humbled by the Lord. And so we see this intentional structure here, and this plays out with chapter seven, as we'll see as it mirrors chapter two. Now going on, verse 2 says, Daniel 7 verse 2, Daniel spoke, saying, I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea. And the winds of heaven reflect the activity of God as he is the one who's controlling nature, and he's allowing the seas to be stirred up. But what are the seas? Well, the great sea symbolizes the masses of fallen humanity on earth. You know, as we often talk about a sea of humanity, that's how God looks at the world as well. And the stirring is most likely the conflict among Gentile world powers that God and his sovereignty is overseeing. Of course, he utilizes man's will and allows man to exercise his will even when man chooses to revolt against him. He says, I've outmaneuvered you. I'm the master chess player. You think you're going to do this? I'm going to take your volition and use it this way for my greater purposes. And so we see his sovereignty on display. But just so we see what the C's represent themselves, here's a verse from Isaiah 17, verses 12 and 13. Woe to the multitude of many people who make a noise like the roar of the seas, and to the rushing of nations that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters. The nations will rush like the rushing of many waters, but God will rebuke them and they will flee away, et cetera." And so we see a parallel there. Also Isaiah 57 verses 20 and 21. But the wicked are like the troubled sea when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace, says my God, for the wicked. Very sobering verses. Now continuing on, verse 3 we read. And four great beasts came up from the sea, this great stirred-up sea, each different from the other. Now, what do the four beasts of verse 3 speak of? And how do they relate or compare to chapter 2 and what we already saw in Daniel? Well, again, Nebuchadnezzar has this vision, this dream, and he keeps it hidden from everyone else, and only Daniel is able to tell him the contents of his dream. In essence, he's saying, I know what your thoughts are, and I'm going to tell you what you're thinking. No one else could do that. That had to be from God. And so he tells Nebuchadnezzar in chapter 2, you saw this giant statue made of different metals. The head was of gold representing you, Nebuchadnezzar, and your Babylonian empire. And from there, the quality of the metals deteriorate. The next empire to come after you will be the Medo-Persian Empire, represented by a chest and arms of silver. And by the way, it had two components to it, Medo or Media and Persia. And then they would be conquered by Alexander the Great and the Greek Empire, and thus the waist of bronze. And then the legs of the Roman Empire that would follow the Greek Empire were of iron, as it was a very powerful empire. And again, two legs or two branches as it had a western and an eastern component to it. And we know that in that great statue as well, there were 10 toes that were mixed with clay. And those 10 toes represent 10 kings, as we'll even see today, of the last phase of the Roman Empire, a revived Roman Empire that is yet to come, though I think it's already, the preparation for it is already in the works. And so in chapter 7, this time Daniel has a vision that we just read of four beasts, and it parallels in many ways this statue that we're going to Study in greater detail here. And so Nebuchadnezzar has this dream. And in his dream, keep in mind the culmination of that dream. With that statue, there was a final empire that would start with a crushing stone from heaven not cut out with human hands. And it would knock over and smash to pieces that statue representing the empires of man. And Daniel, again, was the only one who could tell what was in Nebuchadnezzar's head. And he told the contents to Nebuchadnezzar, and Nebuchadnezzar was blown away. He said, surely the spirit of the living God must be in you. And so there is a definite parallel between these two chapters, Daniel 7 and Daniel 2. God conveying truth from two different sides, but essentially the same coin. And as we think of this, we're reminded again that There are times of the Gentiles Jesus spoke of in Luke 21, 24. And God is going to allow the Gentile nations to fight it out, to express their ambitions and their will on the global stage, while God is in heaven moving chess pieces around. And though man thinks that his will is being implemented, God says, oh no, you're doing everything as I've predicted. And everything's going to fall right into place as he predicted. Because God is always a zillion steps ahead of Satan and mankind. And that's the era that we're in now. The Church Age is a subset of the times of the Gentiles, which technically started back in 586 BC with the conquering of Jerusalem by the Babylonians. Hence, the first empire was the Babylonian one, the head of gold. And there'll be these successive world empires right until the return of Jesus Christ and the reestablishment of his kingdom in Jerusalem. and fulfillment of Old Testament promises. But verse 3 here says, in Daniel 7, that there were four great beasts that came up from the sea, and each one was different from the other. And there are important distinguishing features between each one. If you want to know, from Daniel's standpoint, what the future is, God says, I'm going to tell you what's coming. And he conveyed it with amazing accuracy. What do we see now in verses four through eight? We see these different beasts. By the way, from Nebuchadnezzar's standpoint, he saw a statue that was metallic and impressive to the human eye gate. And as a human king, he thought in terms of human glory and power. So he was very impressed by this statue until a stone came out of heaven and just knocked it to smithereens. But now we come to chapter seven, and God peels back the covering of metal, so to speak, and he shows you what these empires are really made of. He shows us their true character, that they're beast-like. The Schofield note has a very interesting description down below. We won't take the time to read that paragraph. But he says here that these empires of the Gentile world government are rapacious, like a raptor coming upon its prey, and they are warlike, and they reflect the sinful heart of mankind. And we see that even with the first empire in verse four. It says, the first was like a lion and had eagle's wings. I watched till its wings were plucked off and it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand on two feet like a man and a man's heart. was given to it. This beast was a lion with eagle's wings, and this symbolized King Nebuchadnezzar in the Babylonian Empire, which was swift on the battlefield and ferocious. They devoured everything that they came upon. They were the king of the jungle, so to speak, there in the Middle East, though there was no jungle. In fact, it's interesting as you look at the gate coming into the city of Babylon, the Ishtar Gate, They had, it was a big lion there on the gate with the wings of an eagle. So historically, this is what symbolized the Babylonian Empire. In fact, there were depictions even of Nebuchadnezzar with these eagle's wings. Very interesting that God chose to say that's definitely Babylon there. Now what about this statement here that it was lifted up, its wings were plucked off, it was humbled, God took the wings away from Nebuchadnezzar, so to speak. He was brought down to the earth, but then he was made to stand on two feet and given a heart like a man. Remember, he was given a heart like a beast initially to humble him, but then God restored him and lifted him up again. And I think that's what he's referring to there in verse four. So this is definitely the Babylonian Empire. Now going on, verse five, we read about the second empire. And suddenly another beast, a second like a bear. It was raised up on one side and had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. I don't know if he had barbecue sauce, but he enjoyed his ribs. And they said thus to it, arise, devour much flesh. Beast number two is represented by a bear. And it's the Medo-Persian Empire, which wasn't as fleet-footed as a lion, but still just as ferocious. By the way, as you're thinking of these animals to represent nations and empires, don't we still do that today? I mean, what is America depicted by? The eagle, right? I think even Nazi Germany had an eagle as their emblem back in the 1930s and early 40s under Hitler. You know, Russia is represented by what? The bear, right? And other nations do the same. Even China is represented by a dragon. That's part of their heritage and history and so forth. Not on their flag or anything, but you get the point. And so the Medo-Persians are represented by a bear. Now, why does he have three ribs in his mouth? Well, because? He conquered Lydia, Babylon, and Egypt, or the Medo-Persians did. This was the territory that they conquered. And why is he lifted up on one side? Because one half of the Medo-Persian empire became greater than the other half. The Persians eventually eclipsed the Medes in terms of strength, and it fits perfectly, historically, this statement in verse five. And so that's the second beast. The third beast is stated in verse six, and I think it represents Greece. It's a leopard known for its cunningness and swiftness, aptly represented by the Greek empire, which succeeded the Medo-Persians in the 330 or so. Verse six says, and after this I looked, and there was another like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird. The beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it. Well, this is really strange, a leopard with four heads and different wings to give it swiftness. What is this representing? Well, this is the Greek Empire under Alexander the Great, and they conquered a vast amount of territory all the way to India, as well as Egypt, all the way from Greece and Macedonia, and they conquered the land of Israel as well. But Alexander the Great was known for his blitz. He invented the idea of blitzkrieg before the Germans did in World War II. They were very swift, and his 35,000 men who swept through the Middle East and just would come upon nations and armies before they even knew what hit them, and they were subjugated. In fact, one commentator, John Walvard, says this, with the swiftness of a leopard, Alexander the Great conquered most of the civilized world, all the way from Macedonia to Africa and eastward to India, 334 to 331. Very short time span to accomplish all this. The lightning character of his conquest is without precedent in the ancient world, and this is fully in keeping with the image of speed embodied in the leopard itself and the four wings on its back. Now, it was given four wings, like a bird, and it also had four heads. Isn't that interesting? What does that refer to? Well, historically, we know that when Alexander died very young, he didn't have a line of succession established after him. He didn't have a living will or anything like that. And so, his four generals took over. So, Lucas, Ptolemy, Cassander, and Lysimachus. And they took that whole region that had been conquered and they divided it up among themselves into four regions. And this was true historically. And this is all depicted here right in Daniel. And so we've seen three world empires and now we come to the fourth that is the strangest beast of them all. Reading on, verse seven, it says, and after this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth. It was devouring, breaking in pieces, trampling the residue with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had 10 horns. Who is this in reference to? Well, this beast is unique, not represented by any known living animal, but it symbolizes the Roman Empire, the Romans. When it says they were dreadful and they crushed everything to smithereens and their pieces as they advanced and marched, that describes the Roman Empire. Maybe you've seen documentaries, I like to watch some of these, where you see these guys locking their shields together and they form just a tight wedge. and they marched through and they just cut through armies that are greater in number, and they tread down everything that was in their path. They were brutal in terms of military might, and they were very effective that way. But they were known for their brutality as well. That's why they didn't invent crucifixion, but they utilized it more than anyone else as they crucified our Lord. That empire also, Probably crucified Peter, according to tradition. They beheaded Paul. They persecuted the early Christians. They banished the apostle John to the island of Patmos. They burned Christians as candlesticks at their garden party, Caesar Nero. Used them as torches. And they persecuted and killed Christians for three centuries, as anyone who's gone to Rome can testify. But they were great in terms of their outreach. They expanded the empire to the West, to North Africa, and even up towards Britain. And so they had quite the reach. But is this all that this fourth beast is referring to? Just ancient, historical Rome 2,000 years ago? No, I don't think so. There are those who say, well, yes, those preceding empires Daniel literally predicted them, and they were literally historically fulfilled, but everything that we're going to read about going forward is all figurative and spiritualized. Really? You know, one great advantage we have as dispensationalists is that we interpret the scriptures literally, recognizing there's figures of speech at times, but that's all part of literal interpretation. A figure of speech can point to something quite literal. But we follow a normal grammatical historical approach to reading the scriptures. We don't suddenly switch and we come to miracles that we don't accept, that we can't think are literal, like Jonah being swallowed by a whale, and we say, well, that's all spiritual. That's figurative, not literal. No, no, we are consistently literal. Isn't it interesting that the leaders of the creation movement in the 1960s, 70s, and so forth, were biblical dispensationalists. They interpreted the first several chapters of Genesis the same way they interpreted end times prophecy, with the same hermeneutic, a literal, grammatical, historical approach. And you know what? They're onto things, scientifically. And when it comes to prophecy, we interpret it literally as well. There is a literal empire that is yet coming, a revived form of the Roman Empire, and that's where the 10 horns or the 10 toes on the statue come in, 10 horns now on this fourth beast come in. Verse 7 ends by saying that it was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had 10 horns. What do these horns represent? Well, horns are a symbol of power in the Bible, and we're told in Revelation chapter 17 that in the future, when the Antichrist comes, there are those in world government that are going to throw their power behind this Antichrist and follow him. Revelation 17, 12, and 13 tell us, the 10 horns which you saw are 10 kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour, a short time, as kings with the beast, that's the Antichrist. These are of one mind and they will give their power and authority to the beast. And I've said this before, I'll expand on this a little more next time as we look at the second half of chapter seven, but it is interesting that the club of Rome in the late 60s, took a map of the entire world and said, let's divide it up into 10 regions. And then let's work towards bringing down national sovereignty of the 180 plus nation states in the world to compress it into regions that will eventually have representative heads so that we can get towards one world government. That's where all this is headed. And Daniel predicted it. in the sixth century B.C. Now what does this little horn represent? It says, verse eight, I was considering these ten horns and there was another horn, a little one. And I love how the Lord says, yeah, the Antichrist, he thinks he's gonna run the world. I view him as just this little, you know, pimple. He's a little horn. There was another one, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots, and there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words." And I have to laugh. Do you think God has a sense of humor? When the Antichrist comes on the scene, he's going to be boastful. In fact, someone has called him Mr. Big Mouth as a title for him. And yet God says, you're just a little horn. That's all you are. And so this is the Antichrist that is being referred to here in verse eight. And Revelation chapter 13 gives us quite a bit of detail regarding this man. It says in verses one and two that he comes up out of the sea. And I stood upon the sand of the sea, John writes, and I saw a beast rise up out of the sea one of these world empires, having seven heads and 10 horns, and upon his horns 10 crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power, that would be Satan, and his seat. and great authority. So there is a man coming who will be the Antichrist, who will be empowered by Satan, who will be in the line of succession of these world empires during the times of the Gentiles. And this tells us something, that Satan has been at work to get his man in place and his plan in place. And so I want you to think about that every time you think about our American form of government, that Satan is trying to squeeze America into his mold to get it to fit with his agenda, to fit this 10-member Confederacy that's coming, of 10 regions probably, with 10 heads, so that he can have his Antichrist in place. And doesn't that boil it down quite simply to tell us what all this politics and turmoil is all about? It's ultimately a spiritual battle, isn't it? It's not just about this policy or that policy, it's about following Jesus Christ versus Antichrist. That's where the whole world is headed. And by the way, isn't it interesting that John here, when he records these successive empires, he describes them in reverse order from what Daniel saw in chapter 7 of Daniel. Remember Daniel 7, he speaks of the lion first, followed by the bear and then the leopard. John turns that around because he's looking backwards in time now at those empires that have already come, and he describes them in reverse order. But all this tells us something very important, dear saints, that history is unfolding just as God predicted it would, and nothing surprises the Lord. In fact, he not only knows what's coming, but he's in charge of everything that's coming. He's sovereign, and he's greater in power than any world empire, and he's going to let it all tank before it gets better. The ship's going down. There's no doubt about it. So if you look back and you're chewing your fingernails off right down to the skin, they're bleeding, relax. God's got this. Jesus Christ said, I'm coming back one day, and I'm going to set up my kingdom. And I'm going to preserve my church all along the way. And the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. This also tells us something when it comes to a worldview of history. The judgment is coming. There's no way to avoid it. You know, there are certain philosophies of our day that are really religious in nature. Secular humanism, atheistic evolutionary materialistic science, so-called. that seeks to push God right out of the field of science and try to explain his handiwork without the creator artist. And they do that because they want to push away this whole idea of having to give account to the Lord. Romans 1 tells us this, that they suppress the truth in unrighteousness. This is the philosophy of our world. And yet they can do that all they want. The fact is everyone's going to die and after death comes the judgment, Hebrews 9.27. It's been appointed unto man once to die. Everyone's got a divine appointment. And after that, the judgment. It doesn't matter who you are. It doesn't matter if you're Albert Einstein, a great scientist. It doesn't matter if you are, you know, in the 1800s, Charles Darwin, who promoted evolution. You're going to meet your maker, and you're going to have to give an account. The same is true with believers in Christ. We'll give an account of our life after we were saved, not to determine heaven or hell, that's already been determined for us, but our eternal reward. And so everyone will give an account. And you know, it's not just a matter of cycles of history, everything continues, where the good and the evil all just coexist and we've just got to live with it. Talk about discouraging. That is the secular worldview. But the biblical worldview is very different. It says, yeah, you might have some things that repeat in the past, but it's all moving towards a predetermined end that God predicts and tells us about in advance so that we would have hope, that we would not be surprised when it happens, that we would be able to put everything, our entire life in context on a timeline. Do you know where you are on the timeline? I don't know how long I'll live, but I know that my life is towards the end of this church age that we're in, and the next event is the rapture, and after the rapture is the tribulation where this revived Roman Empire is coming, and then Jesus is coming back at the end of that, and then there's the eternal kingdom. Man, we're getting close. That gives me hope. That makes me want to continue on. That makes me excited instead of depressed. That makes me want to go out and share the gospel and the good news with those who are on the Titanic that's going down. You see how prophecy is very practical when you let the word of God speak to you? And don't just brush it off as too many weird details. No, it's fascinating. It's very encouraging. Now let's go back to Daniel chapter 7 and move past this Mr. Big Mouth in verse 8, who's boasting. Typical politician, right? Verse 9, it switches now. And it says, I watched until thrones were put in place, and the Ancient of Days was seated, and then it goes on to describe him. What are these thrones that we read about? Well, the rest of scripture goes on to describe that there are thrones going to be set up for believers who have been persecuted and rejected by the world, just like the Lord Jesus Christ, who endured their cross, so to speak, and then one day they get their crown. And so this is a description of believers. It says in Revelation 20 verse 4 that those who were beheaded for their testimony for Jesus Christ and because they wouldn't take the mark of the beast in the tribulation time, that they're going to be seated on thrones. It also says in 2 Timothy 2.12 that we'll reign with him if we endure in our Christian life in terms of a greater reward. I think we get a reward by virtue of being members of the body of Christ, his bride, but we get reward above and beyond that. by the degree of faithfulness in our Christian life. So again, dear saints, this is right here in the word of God, verse nine, to encourage you, that there will be thrones set up in the kingdom, and your rule will be based on and predicated on, to a large degree, how faithful you were, even now. Now, instead of that being discouraging, that should be an incentive to you to persevere in the midst of the devil's world system. Now, going on, we read in verse 9 about the Ancient of Days. Who is this? Well, this is a description of God the Father who is seated on His throne. And how is He described? The Ancient of Days was seated on a throne, his garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head was like pure wool. His throne was a fiery flame, its wheels a burning fire." And then verse 10, a fiery stream issued forth from there. This is a reference to God the Father as we know biblically that God is triune, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Three persons within the one being who is God. The Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit's not the Father. They are distinct persons, and yet they all share the exact same nature or characteristics, being fully God, each of them. So that's who this is here in verse nine. It describes fire all around the Ancient of Days. His throne was a fiery flame. It had wheels of burning fire. and a fiery stream issued and came forth from before him." What does this speak of? Well, this speaks again of the holy character of God. And even when it comes to the judgment he's about to pour out on his enemies, it says in a couple of places in scripture that our God is a consuming fire. And he's about to pour out some of this holy judgment on his adversaries, as we'll see in the passage. And so we read on, verse 10. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him. A thousand thousands ministered to him. Ten thousands times 10,000 stood before him. The court was seated and the books were opened. Who are these thousands that are referenced as encircling this fiery throne? Well, they are the innumerable angels that are in heaven, that scripture speaks of. Too many to name exactly in terms of number. A finite number to be sure, but a number that no man can fully count. That's amazing. It says in Revelation chapter 5, then I looked and heard the voice of many angels around the throne, just like here. Living creatures, and they are some sort of angelic heavenly creature as well that's separate from believers. And the elders, who I think represent the church in the context of Revelation 5, and the number of them was 10,000 times 10,000 and thousands of thousands. And they praised the Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ. Can you imagine what it's going to be like in that day? You know, we have a choir that over the years has been getting smaller and smaller. You know, we might have 15 or 20, and we really appreciate that. But can you imagine being part of a choir where you can't even count how many are part of this choir? The largest choir I was ever part of was like 300 people. I went to a conference once, and the whole stage was filled, about 150 men and 150 gals. It was amazing. I can't even imagine what this is going to be like. But it'll be wonderful, because we're going to be praising the one who's worthy, Jesus Christ. He is the Son of Man that is going to be described here in this passage in just a moment. But they all are gathered around this throne, and Jesus Christ is described later in verses 13 and 14 as the Son of Man, fully God, just like the Ancient of Days, God the Father. Now, what are these books that are opened at the end of verse 10? Well, I think these are the records of people's deeds, especially part of these empires that are coming under judgment, including the Antichrist and the false prophet. And all this is in seed form here in Daniel 7. It gets developed in the book of Revelation, the end of the Bible. But what we see here too in verse 11 and 12 is the beast again. He is slain, and this will occur at the return of Jesus Christ. just like Daniel chapter two described, where the stone that was made without hands crushes all earthly kingdoms. Verse 11 says, and I watched then because of the sound of the pompous words which the horn was speaking. Daniel was stunned, perhaps sickened, as he looked at this antichrist. It was probably like watching a train wreck. You know, he couldn't hardly take his eyes off it was astounded by it. He marveled at it in not a positive way. I watched till the beast was slain and its body destroyed and given to the burning flame. What happens to the Antichrist or the beast? Well, according to this passage, very clearly he's thrown into the open flame. You know, over the years, I've read numerous books about the Old Testament, especially, and about heaven and hell and the afterlife. And I am just blown away how many times critics of the Bible say that the Old Testament really doesn't have a doctrine of the afterlife. And you won't find any hell in the Old Testament, as though, you know, Christians invented it and made it up, and it's not really biblical. That is totally false. Here you have an explicit verse, verse 11, that refers to the doctrine of punishment and the afterlife. Turn with me, just put a marker here, we'll come back. Turn to Revelation chapter 19. And again, we'll see how Revelation complements and substantiates what Daniel 7 is saying. Revelation 19. What happens to the Antichrist? Well, he is thrown into the lake of fire, Revelation 19 says. Verse 19, 19, 19. And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, those would be the present kings of the earth, at the time of the tribulation that are under the sway of the Antichrist, and their armies, which by the way had gathered together to attack Israel in this context, at the Battle of Armageddon, they had gathered together to make war against Christ, who sat on the horse, the white horse, and against his army. Then the beast was captured, verse 20, and with him the false prophet, who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire, burning with brimstone. There you have the destiny of the Antichrist. But skip ahead with me to chapter 20, and let's read verse 10. We're jumping ahead 1,000 years, and guess who's still in the lake of fire? The Antichrist and the false prophet. Revelation 20.10, the devil who deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and false prophet are, and they will be tormented day and night forever. and ever. Does the Bible describe conscious eternal torment? Absolutely. And here they still are. They haven't been incinerated. They haven't been burned up. While we're in Revelation, go back with me to chapter 14. And it's not just the Antichrist and false prophet. We read in chapter 14, verses 9 through 11, of the fate of those in the tribulation who took the mark of the beast. Verse 9, Then the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of his indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. Does that sound to you like people are being annihilated, incinerated, so that their suffering ends? Not to me. Not at all. It doesn't fit with what scripture teaches, this doctrine of that's popular today, either of annihilation, that people will just get burned up. If you're lost, don't worry about it. It'll be like going to sleep. You'll just be euthanized for eternity. Or some say that, no, no, the Bible doesn't really teach a literal hell. All will be reconciled back to God. That's what's called universal reconciliation, and that's undergoing a resurgence in our day. I'm not saying you should go on YouTube and look it up, but it's all over YouTube, people advocating for this and arguing against hell. You know, I don't like this doctrine, I'll be honest with you. It's hard. It's a heart-wrencher, isn't it? It's hard to wrap your mind around. But then again, I think we depreciate how bad sin is to an infinitely holy God, and we have to look at it from his perspective. And we have to follow what the word says. Like what Jesus said in Matthew 25 regarding the doctrine of the judgment of the sheep and the goats. In that context, he says in verse 41, then he will say, Jesus Christ, to those on the left hand, depart from me. And I always find this pretty shocking. Because in the present age, Jesus is saying what to the world? Is he saying, get away from me? Depart from me? No, no. He's saying, come unto me. Come, come, come now, because one day the door will be shut. And if you reject Christ, he will say to you, depart from me." Isn't that sobering? Depart from me, you cursed into the everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. And then a few verses later, he says, these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. And the word for eternal and everlasting are exactly the same, and it modifies either punishment or life. It amazes me that people who want to reject the doctrine of hell today are saying, oh, but we still believe in heaven, and we still believe it's eternal, and we're going to dwell there in bliss for eternity. But you don't want to take the other half that Jesus spoke of, even though he used eternal to describe both. Well, which is it? If you are enjoying conscious, eternal bliss in heaven, Doesn't this passage imply that there will be conscious, eternal punishment for the lost? It certainly does. But you know, this weakening of the doctrine of hell leads to a weakening of the idea of sin, of the need for God and his justice to exercise judgment. It eventually then leads to a denial of the doctrine of the penal substitutionary atonement of Christ. You say, well, what is all that? Well, penal means punishment, right? Substitutionary means he died in our place to pay our penalty that we had to pay for the wages of sin is death. We all deserve to die and be separated from God for eternity. Christ bore that for us. And instead what they do is they shift then to this softer doctrine. Well, he didn't die as a penalty for our sin. He did die to put away sin because sin is not pleasant. So he wanted to put it away from the human race. And then I've noticed a pattern, too, that those who embrace this new doctrine of universal reconciliation or annihilationism, they begin to shift as well, and they're not comfortable with the word saved. You say you're saved? Well, that implies that you could be lost and face judgment. So they shift on that. And before you know it, you're preaching a social gospel instead of a gospel of salvation. And when churches go that route, what then ends up happening is they're all into social welfare plans instead of saving the lost. And they poo-poo and look down on those who go out and share the gospel and do evangelism and do missions, the very thing that the Lord called us to do until he comes back. That's our commission. Do you see how doctrine affects our practice? And so this is what Daniel chapter 7 very clearly teaches as we go back there. Daniel 7, let's flip back and we'll wrap up this section here. Daniel 7 and verse 11 ends with the Antichrist being given to the burning flame. And verse 12 says, and as for the rest of the beast, they had their dominion taken away, yet their lives were prolonged for a season and a time. they were being preserved, I believe, for the great white throne judgment, is the idea. But they had their kingdoms kind of shift right into the kingdom of the Antichrist, and so they lost their kingdom, and their judgment was yet to come as well. And by the way, now we come to what I think is the climactic section of this chapter here, or at least what we've read so far. Everything's been building to this view of the coming kingdom, Jesus Christ's kingdom. Matthew chapter 6, the disciples asked Jesus, could you teach us to pray? You know what Jesus said? Pray like this. He didn't say pray this prayer. He said pray like this. Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be your name, set apart, holy, sanctified is the idea. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven, et cetera. Now that's not a rote prayer he was saying we should all get up and recite. He was saying to the disciples that from a Jewish perspective in that dispensation of law, they looked forward to the promise of the coming kingdom and they prayed for that. And you know what? That kingdom still hasn't come yet. We're still looking for that kingdom. We just know the rapture is going to happen first. And that's what we read about then, not the rapture, but this king and his kingdom in verses 13 and 14. This passage and section ends, I was watching in the night visions and behold one like the son of man coming with the clouds of heaven. He came to the ancient of days, God the Father, and they brought him near before him. Then to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom that all peoples, nations, languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away and his kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed." Notice, whose kingdom is this? Jesus Christ. It's called His kingdom or His dominion twice, and it points back to this Son of Man. So what do we see in verses 13 and 14? That the Son of Man is coming on clouds of heaven to receive the eternal kingdom, and that's no one less than Jesus Christ Himself. How do we know this is Christ? Well, amazingly, and we didn't plan it this way, but our scripture reading today in Matthew 26 covers Jesus' testimony before the Sanhedrin, the night before his crucifixion, or the morning of his crucifixion, where they ask him point blank, are you the Messiah? Are you the Christ? And do you remember how he replied? Here's Mark's version, Mark 14, 61 and 62. But he kept silent and answered nothing. Remember Isaiah 53? He was like a lamb before its shears, silent. Again, the high priest asked him, and in Matthew's account it says he adjured him and put him under oath. So Jesus felt compelled by the oath to answer his question. The high priest asked him, saying, are you the Christ, the son of the blessed? The blessed one is a reference to God. Remember, Jews were all about alternate names so that they wouldn't commit blasphemy by mispronouncing the sacred name of God. Are you the son of the blessed? Jesus said, I am. Now if you know from the Gospel of John what I am means, that's a statement of deity. Over and over in John's Gospel, Jesus is called the I am, pointing back to Moses at the burning bush. when he went into Egypt to lead Israelites out of Egypt, and he said, who shall I say sent me? Tell them, I am that I am sent you. God is the great I am. So when Jesus answered, I am, he knew exactly what he was saying to these religious leaders. And then he adds to it, and he says, and you will see the son of man sitting at the right hand of the power coming with the clouds of heaven. And you know what the high priest did at that point? He tore his robes and said, this is blasphemy. We have grounds to put this man to death. You know, again, as I think of critics of the Bible, I've read over the years where many have said, Jesus never claimed to be God, so therefore we don't have to believe he was fully God. That's not true. He said in countless different ways that he was God incarnate. And yes, it's true. He didn't say, I am the son of God here in this passage. He could have, but he chose to say, I'm the son of man. Why? Because he was hearkening back deliberately to Daniel chapter 7 verses 13 and 14, drawing the dots to connect them for these blind religious leaders and say, I'm that guy. I am that Messiah spoken of in Daniel 7. And that's why they reacted the way they did. Did Jesus refer to himself as the Son of God? Yes. But also as Son of Man? And over and over you will see in the Gospels that Jesus' preferred self-description is Son of Man rather than Son of God. Though he said that too. But He identified with His mission in coming as the Son of God to be a man, to become one of us, except sinless, so that He could die in our place and be our Savior, and be the Messiah and the Redeemer of mankind, to lift us from sin and Satan's oppression as He stole away that dominion from Adam and Eve in the very beginning. And that's what this is all about, going back to the very beginning. We are in a battle that stretches across ages, across nations, across eras, movements, ethnic groups. It's not even about all that. It's about Jesus Christ and the satanic conflict that's going on, that is coming to a head. Can you feel it? Do you see it when you listen to the news today? Everything's moving in that direction. And it's all about Christ. Now as we think of Daniel 7, 13 and 14, how is his kingdom described here? Verse 13 or 14 rather, This kingdom is going to be glorious. Will it be a regional kingdom like the previous ones? No. Then all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. It'll be universal. And by the way, they're serving him, meaning there's going to be worship of Jesus Christ in that kingdom. And then verse 14 concludes, his dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away. There's no term limit on it. He'll always be president of the universe. and his kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed." In other words, it will be eternal and it'll be indestructible. No one can overthrow it. And that administration, dear saints, is coming. And I believe it could be coming very soon. But a question here at this point, maybe you're here today and you're listening to all this and you're saying, well, I sure hope I get in the kingdom. I sure hope I get eternal life, this kingdom that initially will be a thousand years and then eternity after that, as it'll never end once it starts. How can I get in that kingdom? I remember years ago, I was drawing out a prophetic timeline for an unbeliever. Actually, we were talking about these events, and I drew it out for him so he could see rapture, tribulation, second coming to the earth, the kingdom after that. And he stops me, and he goes, hold on a minute. He went back to the rapture, and he circled it, and he goes, how can I get in on that one? He was catching on. He needed to be saved. But the fact is, after the rapture, at some point, at least seven years, then the kingdom will come. And that's going to be where believers will be. But are you one of those? That's the million-dollar question here today. You see, in the very beginning, God did not design for mankind to have sin. He created Adam and Eve sinless, but He gave them a choice. And I believe that this is the state, the sinless state, that He wants in eternity future. except it'll be even better than sinless, will be glorious. But we know what Adam and Eve did, they chose to sin, they disobeyed God. Sin entered the human race and with sin came this downfall, this separation from God. Physical death and spiritual death ensued. And now all are born sinners separated from God and need to be born again. By recognizing that Jesus Christ came and died for my sin. Even if you were the only one on planet Earth, even if you were the only Adam or the only Eve, Christ would have come and died for you because it was your sin that put him on that cross and mine. But when it comes to the kingdom, Jesus said to a religious leader in his day, John 3, three through five, he answered and said to Nicodemus, most assuredly I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. And I remember the very first time somebody made a statement to me at UMD. He said, you're religious, and you say you hope to go to heaven, but do you know that you're going? And have you been born again? And I kind of beat around the bush a little and said, well, I've been baptized. No, but have you been born again? He said. Because Jesus said, unless you are born again, you can't see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus said to him in response, verse four, how can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born? He's thinking physical birth. Jesus flips it back to spiritual birth. Jesus answered, most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water, a womb birth, amniotic fluid, natural birth, that which is flesh is flesh. He goes on to say, two verses later, versus a spiritual birth, a second birth, unless you're born physically and then spiritually, you can't enter the kingdom of God. So how do you become born spiritually if you're physically alive? You believe that Jesus Christ died for you on that cross, paying for your sins, and that God raised him from the dead. He's alive today, a living Savior. And the resurrection proved that the work on the cross was fully accepted by God. Your debt was paid in full. That penalty was paid. You don't have to pay it. You trust in that work on your behalf. It's already paid in full. No good work that you can do can add to what Jesus did. That's why I love this church sign that someone put up in our recent days of high inflation. Somebody sent me this recently. Everything has gone up in price except salvation. It is still a free gift paid in full by Jesus. Amen? Amen. But how do you get that free gift? If Jesus paid it all, is it automatically applied? No, you've got to receive it just like gifts. And you receive it by faith. John 3.16 says, same chapter as the Nicodemus conversation, And that includes everybody. It doesn't matter how sinful you are or how much you doubt that you will ever go to heaven because you're so bad. We're all covered under the whosoever. Isn't that wonderful? And under the world. He died for the world. That whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. All you have to do is believe. That means put your trust or faith in Jesus Christ and what he did for you. And if you will receive his work on your behalf as a gift of God, not a reward for doing good. you can have the assurance of eternal life, and you will be in that kingdom. As John 5, 24 says, Jesus promised this, most assuredly I say to you, he who hears my word and believes in him who sent me, God the Father, sent me as the Messiah and Savior, that person has, present tense, everlasting life, and shall not, future tense, come into judgment, but has past, past tense, from death into life. That's how you can know for sure you will be in the kingdom for eternity with the Lord Jesus Christ to worship him in glory. I hope that describes you. And how does all this apply to you if you're a believer here already today and you have that assurance? Well, I hope you're encouraged that despite the downward trajectory of our present age and world, you don't have to live like a glass half empty kind of person, but rather You live in light of the blessed hope that Christ is coming back. And you've got a purpose and a reason for being here. And it all points to Jesus Christ. No matter how loud the mouths in politics and elections are speaking, it's not really ultimately about that. It's about Christ. Let's pray. Father, thank you so much for your son and for the assurance your word provides You are the sovereign one over all kingdoms. And one day, very soon, we believe, it appears, that kingdom is coming. And the king is coming. We want to see him most of all. So we thank you for Jesus Christ, our Redeemer who loved us and gave himself for us. And I pray for anyone who may be here today who hasn't placed their faith in Christ and doesn't know with assurance that they're going to be in. heaven and eternity that today would be the day for them that they'd make that decision and put their trust in Christ alone. And I thank you for the body of believers, these dear saints who have that assurance as part of Duluth Bible Church. May we just keep our eyes fixed on Christ until he comes again for us. In his name we pray. Amen.