So anyways, as I was saying, we're going to be in chapter 7 of Daniel tonight, a very well-known for being difficult text and passage. You can please open your Bible up to there. And while you're getting there, I thought I'd mention something that I came across that's relevant to our text for the evening. something that came through our church mailbox, and we get a lot of mail here, unsolicited. It's probably a very normal thing for a church to get these sort of parachurch and ministry flyers and related things. And the other day we got something that was for the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. It's coming up, actually. It's coming up this Sunday, November 3rd, is this International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. Probably it originated, I think, I'm not sure, but with the voice of the martyrs, that ministry that exists to support the Persecuted Church. And I actually heard today there was a man, Bo Schuyler, who was killed in the missionary field just this past week out in Angola I believe it is I saw just today so it's a this international day of prayer to pray for those who are persecuted is a Cross-denominational effort to have the church praying for those who are suffering persecution and that's very appropriate to think about in light of the text that we have before us this evening and it's honestly probably something that we neglect and part of that is just because we have been so blessed and we have such an abundance of grace here in the United States where we live but that intense so much so that intense and violent persecution here is is a rare thing and perhaps also Because, sadly, what Bode Bauckham has recently said is true. And he's simply following Francis Schaeffer. And he says that we live in a post-Christian society. And the church has just, in many ways, caved to secularism. And she rarely stands for the truth. And so what is there to persecute if we live like that? But the reality that we must remember, friends, is that persecution against Christ's church still happens daily across the world. And what the apostle said in 2 Timothy 3 will always be true of this age at varying degrees at various places. And that is that all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. And it's one thing to count the cost of obedience, but the rich gospel truths of Daniel 7 will help us to put that cost in perspective. Let's read our text and then we'll ask the Lord God for help in prayer. We'll begin at verse 15 and read through the end of the chapter. God's Word says, as for me, Daniel, my spirit within me was anxious, and the visions of my head alarmed me. I approached one of those who stood there and asked him the truth concerning all this. So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of the things. These four great beasts are four kings who shall arise out of the earth, but the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever and ever, forever. Then I desired to know the truth about the fourth beast, which was different from all the rest. exceedingly terrifying with its teeth of iron and its claws of bronze and which devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left of its feet. And about the ten horns that were on its head and the other horn that came up and before which three of them fell, that horn that had eyes and a mouth that spoke great things and that seemed greater than its companions. As I looked, this horn made war with the saints and prevailed over them. until the Ancient of Days came and judgment was given for the saints of the Most High, and the time came when the saints possessed the kingdom. Thus he said, as for the fourth beast, there shall be a fourth kingdom on earth which shall be different from all the kingdoms, and it shall devour the whole earth. and trample it down and break it to pieces. As for the ten horns, out of the kingdom ten kings shall arise, and another shall arise after them. He shall be different from the former ones, and he shall put down three kings. He shall speak words against the Most High, and he shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and shall think to change the times and the law, and they shall be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time. But the court shall sit in judgment and his dominion shall be taken away to be consumed and destroyed to the end. And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, his kingdom. shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominion shall serve and obey him. Here is the end of the matter. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts greatly alarmed me, and my color changed, but I kept the matter in my heart." Let's pray. Our Father in heaven, we come to your word tonight with dependence upon you, Holy Spirit asking of you to help us understand. We know this is a difficult passage, much debated by people who love you, and certainly we read the response to Daniel after seeing this vision, how it alarmed him and his color changed. Even God, we want to approach your text with such a reverence as well. Help us, God, to honor you and to glorify you. Bring us into all truth for Christ's glory's sake. And it's in Jesus' name that we pray. Amen. All right, well, Daniel's vision, this night vision that he has here in chapter seven, as we've seen, it maps out the future of these four kingdoms, these ancient Middle Eastern kingdoms, and it does it with God-given accuracy. Daniel's vision was received around 550 BC, The first year that Belshazzar was king of Babylon, but it covers historical developments preceding it until the rise of the Roman Empire, which comes four centuries later. And that fourth empire, by the way, of apocalyptic imagery that becomes typical, typological of earthly kingdoms in this age between Christ's first and second coming. The Millennium, in other words. So remember that Daniel sees this vision, these four creatures, fierce and frightening beasts, which represent those same successive empires that Nebuchadnezzar's dream had back in Chapter 2 with that metallic statue. Remember that there was the Babylonian Empire, the Persian Empire, the Greek Empire under Alexander the Great and his successors, and then finally the fourth and most powerful and frightening beast of all. empire of all, that Roman Empire, in that statue. But this isn't just a mere history lesson in ancient Near Eastern history. Daniel's vision is given five centuries in advance, before these events actually occur, most of them that is, but that's not all. Daniel was also given a vision of God's heavenly court. We read about that last time. He sees one that's described as the ancient of days. presiding, and he's ruling, and he's reigning, with one like the Son of Man being led into his presence, possessing a glory beyond all human comprehension, with thousands and tens of thousands in his attendance. Angels, certainly, those were, if you remember from a couple weeks back, and likely also saints as well. Daniel sees what many people across God's ages have desired to see. a glimpse of what heaven is presently like in this age and what transpires therein at this very moment. What readers of the New Testament know, which Daniel likely didn't know, is that this one like son of man whom Daniel sees as none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, we're giving a glimpse here of the post-resurrection and now ascended Christ Jesus, and he's ruling and reigning here in this age. And remember when interpreting Nebuchadnezzar's second dream of the metallic statue, Daniel describes what he sees. He sees the same thing that Daniel sees here in his dream now in chapter 7, the kingdom of the Lord Jesus' rule, the end of that description for Nebuchadnezzar's dream in Daniel 2. 44 to 45 Says this and in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed Nor shall the kingdom be left to another people It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end and it shall stand forever just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand and that a broken pieces the iron the bronze the clay the silver and the Gold the great God has made known to the king what shall be after this the dream is certain in its interpretation sure And so friends, we need to be clear here. You're living right now in the time of this kingdom, what he was describing there. It's not coming in the future, it's been here for millennia. And if you are trusting in Christ, you are in fact part of that kingdom. Now, coming about a generation, two generations or more later, Daniel's dream recounted in chapter seven reveals the missing element of Nebuchadnezzar's dream. Who or what is that stone which crushes the metallic statue? Specifically, that fourth empire. Yahweh reveals to Daniel that it is he, this great God, who directs all of human history to the ends of which he has determined through the person and the work of this son of man. This son of man who we understand and we know is Jesus, who is the mysterious stone in Nebuchadnezzar's dream. No human empire. no matter how great it might seem to human eyes, none of them will escape Yahweh's verdict, which will be legally administered on Judgment Day, which is pictured by the court scene in our text from last time. When Jesus returns to raise the dead, to judge the world, to make all things new, God at that time will crush all the kingdoms of this world which rise to challenge his divine authority, and it's likely that Daniel certainly did not comprehend the full meaning of what he sees in this vision. I'm not saying that we are, even, as well, but we are greatly benefited, being that we have the New Testament, and that interprets the Old for us, and we know, as we saw last time, we know that who Daniel saw, this son of man, was none other than the Lord Jesus. In both visions, Nebuchadnezzar's in chapter two and Daniel's in chapter seven, if you remember the fourth empire, which is Rome, plays a critical role in the future oppression of God's people. Future from Daniel, right? The fourth beast, the empire of Daniel's vision is the most frightening of all, and it does terrible harm to the people of God. Yet Yahweh we see will inevitably bring each of these empires to ruin, including Rome, including the empire of the beast and the dragon from Revelation that is in opposition to Christ in this age, which if you remember from our series in Revelation, which Rome was part of and typified. And so understand why God reveals these things to Daniel, to us, even. It's to reassure us that God controls and judges these empires. And it's of great comfort to Daniel and to those Jewish exiles then in Babylon, who have been under this oppressive heel of a pagan empire, you know, Babylon, that first beast or the metal head of the statue, which forcibly, remember, took many of these young Jews into Babylon and eventually, 70 years later or so, Daniel is now getting this prophetic dream about it. It's really remarkable. Daniel's vision maps out the future course of human history as it impacts God's people presently living in Babylon, who will eventually return to their homeland. and rebuild Jerusalem and Yahweh's temple. We'll get to that later when we get to Daniel chapter 9 actually. So remember, don't miss the point that we talked about often when we were in Revelation last year. The reality for Israel Babylon and the life that they experience while in Babylon. It is typological for us. And it tells us something about the life that we are living now. We are God's people presently living as pilgrims in Babylon. And when Christ returns, he will return his bride to her true homeland, the new Jerusalem, the new heavens, and the new earth. It also reminds us that Daniel, as he stands before the greatest men of his age, I mean he's standing before Nebuchadnezzar, he stands before Belshazzar, And Daniel knows, he's been taught, just as these kings have been taught, that they are only ruling by Yahweh's permission. They're not outside of God's control. No matter how cruel, how powerful, how sovereign these oppressors might appear to be, even while they're pursuing their own ends, they're not thinking of doing things for Yahweh. It's just a smoke screen because what they are actually doing is accomplishing Yahweh's sovereign purposes and then fulfilling his will. One of my favorite verses, I mean, it's hard to reject the sovereignty of God based upon this verse, Proverbs 21.1, the king's heart is like a stream of water in the hand of the Lord. He turns it wherever it wills, wherever he wills. So while this is future, the majority of this dream, it's future from Daniel's point of view, the content of the visions are much more than a history lesson for him or a history lesson for us. They remind us that God is in control of all human affairs, and that human history will one day, at God's time, come to the end which God has decreed for it. And that can't be. that won't be changed by elections, it won't be changed by wars, it won't be changed by technological advance. All of it, all of that is all subject to God's plan, what he is working as part of his providential plan that he is moving to the end, which he has already decreed. Therefore, Daniel's vision grants God's people in every age, even in the most dire of circumstances, even in the most, what would appear to the human eye to be helpless situations, that the most important thing that any of us could possess in times of trial and uncertainty is hope. It's hope, true hope, because of who God is and what we know of his will to work for the good of his people and to the glory of his name, which we rejoice in. The vision tells us that Yahweh will win in the end. No matter how bad things look and no matter how bad they appear to us, Yahweh is in complete control of all people and nations. And that, friends, that is true eschatological optimism. You know, the Son of Man, His kingdom is everlasting. And like all the great empires which arise in this age, and they all have a shelf life on them, his does not. His will never come to an end. his kingdom will endure forever, as we read. And long after the kingdoms of this world are all destroyed, his kingdom will remain all in throughout eternity. So before we consider the second half of these night visions, let's remember those details from the first half in this night vision, this dream. Back to Daniel chapter 7. Remember he sees, so we didn't read the text again tonight, but he sees these four frightening beasts. The first of them is described in verse 3. It's like a lion, and that was the symbol for Babylon. It has wings with an eagle, which were plucked off, informing us that Yahweh limits his conquest. The beast is made to stand and given a mind of a man, possibly recalling that account of the situation with Nebuchadnezzar when he's humbled and then he's brought, he's restored to himself and he praises God after his moment of insanity and his breakdown or it could just be, you know, the loss, symbolizing the loss of the ferocity of the nation. The second beast is in verse 5. It's like a bear with three ribs in its mouth and those three ribs are likely symbolic of three smaller empires that it previously devoured before overcoming Babylon. We know that that happens. The Persian empire was made to rise and it's directed to devour as Yahweh instructs it to do. A third beast appears in verse six. That one was like a leopard with four wings. So these are all not your normal beasts so far, right? They're all fantastical in a way. And that four wings likely refers to the fact of the speedy rise of the Greek empire, which under Alexander the Great defeated the Persians. That beast had four heads, which is likely symbolic of how this empire was so vast. Remember, there's that interesting quote where Alexander says that, basically, he has nothing left to conquer. And so the foreheads of this animal likely refer to, in apocalyptic literature, the four corners of the world, north, south, east, west, just communicating the vastness of his kingdom. And that beast also was given authority to conquer by Yahweh. But it's the fourth beast that gets a lot of attention. it's the one that frightens Daniel the most. Verse 7, he tells us after this, that is after the previous three empires rose in succession, he says, I saw the night visions and behold a fourth beast, terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth. It devoured and broken pieces and stamped what was left of its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it. It had ten horns. So as we saw last time, that beast corresponds to the fourth empire of Nebuchadnezzar's vision that he had in Daniel chapter two, the feet of iron mixed with clay, which devours all of those who oppress it. It's interesting to remember Daniel doesn't compare this beast with any earthly creature. There's nothing presently walking the earth that captures its power and terror. The other beasts, you know, they were more than what presently was walking the earth, but this is just as different as ten horns. symbolic of its great power and ferocity. The very sight of the creature just terrifies Daniel. And what's more, in verse eight, Daniel tells us, I considered the horn and the horns, and behold, there came up among them another horn, a little one, which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots. And behold, this horn, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth speaking great things. Very, very strange, right? This other horn seeks to control the actions of the beast, but it's restrained and therefore able to pluck up only three of the ten horns. But it's boastful speech, it's speaking of great things, coupled with the fact that it possesses eyes and a mouth suggests that it's some sort of a ruling type of figure that arises up out of the fourth empire. John Gill says perhaps actually a false kingdom in a way. We'll learn more about this horn in just a few minutes, but Dr. Riddlebarger says, that it's clearly an Antichrist figure of some sort speaking blasphemies against God and waging war upon the saints, you know, the people of God. And then the vision just shifts. really in sharp contrast to the danger and the calamity and the chaos represented by the creatures and the empires that they represent. And there's the scene and the vision shifts to the heavenly court, which is already in session. And there, there is peace and there is order in contrast to the chaos brought by the four beasts. And Daniel attempts to describe what he says in 9 through 10, but words essentially fail him. He's trying to describe what he sees. It's one of the few glimpses that we're given in all of the Bible of Yahweh and the glory surrounding his heavenly throne. And remember, it's highly symbolic language here, right? Because Yahweh doesn't have those things that are mentioned. He's not a man. So he doesn't have white hair or a beard, those types of things like that. Daniel is just describing, he's trying to use words to describe the God who can't really be described by words, yet he's given us words to accommodate to our understanding, to try and help us what he's like. And those things point to the fact that he's holy, that he's righteous, that he's pure, that he's full of wisdom, and he's, a sovereign judge in all of that as well. And the attendants there at that scene are the angels and the redeemed saints, but suddenly the courtroom scene is interrupted, and we're reminded of the vision of the beast that's still going on. So it seems as if, like, you know, he's seeing the beast over here and what's happening, and then here, you know, there's this courtroom scene, but the beast thing is still going on. It's just that the glory of God had drew Daniel's attention away from it. And so the little horn and the blasphemies come back into focus in verse 11 and 12. It says, So while this little horn continues its blasphemies, Daniel is given a graphic view of the fierce beast upon which the horn appears being killed. He's destroyed and he's burned with fire and the same fate, mind you, that the beast described by John in Revelation 19 undergoes. The beast, remember, you remember is Rome and it's in this time the kingdom of the kingdom that's mentioned here that the Son of God is incarnated right when was Jesus born of a virgin, he took on flesh. Who was in power at the time? It was Rome. It was during the time of this kingdom. And so in that, Rome becomes typological, becomes a type of the kingdom of this world, which stand opposed to Christ here in this age. And I mean, it's not even hard to imagine that, right? You remember what happened upon Jesus's birth. You know, Herod tries to kill all of the babies. He sends out a decree. And so it's Rome, and it's the time when Jesus came in was raised up and elevated by God so that when the mediator between God and man would come into this world, he would stand there as opposed to Christ and to his kingdom and be typological of the kingdoms of this world all throughout this age. Greg Beal, Dr. Greg Beal, God bless you, who has a very helpful commentary on Revelation. He notes that the Roman Empire is the fourth kingdom and it transcends many centuries and represents all world powers who oppress God's people until the culmination of history. And so the little horn then What's that? Symbolic of these powers that arise within these worldly powers. Most modern commentators actually only think political powers here, meaning or many citing Rome's future emperors, who certainly were anti-Christ, blaspheming God and waging war upon God's people. But older commentators do better, I think, seeing religious influence as well. And that really is in step with what we read about in John's revelation. And plus, remember as well, too. all the Roman Caesars, they were all, in a sense, deified. You had to confess Caesar is Lord and offer up incense to Caesar. Yeah, deified. And so there has that mixture. And the older commentators recognize that, see that, seeing this religious influence as well. And again, that's in step with John's vision in Revelation, the apocalypse. in Revelation, the beast is described as having political, sensual, and religious powers, if you remember. And so early on in the millennium, early on after Christ's first advent, you have Rome going against the Church. Nero, who is deified, who, you know, declares it of himself, you may know he put both the Apostle Paul and Peter to death in Rome during his reign. Yahweh though, he's aware of all this and he's going to vindicate his servants and righteous cause once and for all the day of the final judgment, which makes perfect sense in light of what Daniel sees next in the text as the vision shifts back from the little horn to the Son of Man. So 13 to 14, remember it says that I saw in the night visions behold in the clouds of heaven there came one like the Son of Man. and he came to the ancient of days and was presented before him and to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom that all people nations and languages should serve him his dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed so Daniel Now he captures this glimpse of Jesus, who in the New Testament, Jesus identifies himself as the Son of Man. The Son of Man is complete and utter contrast to the beasts and their empires, which Daniel had just attempted to describe in the previous verses. And his glory goes far beyond anything that he's ever seen on the earth. And it's an everlasting dominion, an everlasting kingdom. And all the nations of the people of the earth will one day serve this one whom Daniel sees. And that's clearly described in the closing chapters of the Book of Revelation, and as well as the Apostle Paul does the same thing in Philippians 2, 6 through 11. You could turn there, keep your finger in Daniel if you like. Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians. Notice what Paul says in chapter 2. And it's really about verse 8. Let's start the 6. And he's speaking of Jesus here. Philippians 2.6, yeah, who though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God as a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likes of men, and being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even the death on a cross. Now verse 9, therefore, God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name so that the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. That every knee bowing That's speaking of the same thing that Daniel is seeing here in his vision. So the Apostle Paul's perspective on Jesus' reign is that after the Lord's suffering, death, resurrection, and ascension, his mediatorial work, which continues on into heaven, as he reigns. And while Daniel doesn't have all of that in view yet, all of those details about Jesus and his work of mediation, what Daniel sees is his glory in heaven. Now when it comes to verse 15, we have Daniel's reaction to the vision, and it's still part of the vision itself. As for me, he says, Daniel, my spirit within me was anxious, and the visions of my head alarmed me. I approached one of those who stood there and asked him the truth of concerning all of this. So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of the things. Prophet Daniel was almost overwhelmed by what he had seen in his mind. It alarmed him, and so, In his state of alarm, somehow, he walks up to this angel, apparently, and asks him what it all means. John Gill notes that it could have been the Son of Man, even, that he's approaching, a pre-incarnate Christ in view, and his night vision, for sure. The creatures in the little horn frightened him because of their chaotic power. Well, Daniel is one who is witnessing how that power would be used against the people of God. He's been taken from Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, so it makes sense that it's all terrifying. He was just a young boy when this all happened, and now he's an older man. And by this time, Judah's capital had been destroyed, and Yahweh's temple was demolished, and all of its goods were brought back to Babylon, and Daniel knows full well of what these beasts were all capable of. And the fourth beast is going to bring even more harm upon God's people than the first one did. And so it makes sense that Daniel would be alarmed. And interestingly enough, guess, or remember even, if you don't want to guess, what John's prophecy in Revelation said about Rome. If in John's apocalypse, Rome is described as none other than Babylon, and in fact, what John does is he uses multiple prophecies from Jeremiah relating them, which were about Babylon, and he relates them to Rome in his day. Why? Well, because Rome had become like Babylon. Historical prophecies, you see, they're usually not exhausted. They establish a pattern and they set a trajectory. And so you have, for example, Peter writing from Rome in the first century, 1 Peter 5.13, and he says, you know, those from Babylon greet you. Why? because Rome had taken on the anti-God, anti-Christ characteristics of Babylon. In other words, in some sense, Babylon still continued on in the Roman Empire, ideologically, I guess you could say. And you could and you should take it out even further. Babylon continues today. And don't think that, well, of course Babylon continues today. Saddam Hussein was trying to rebuild it, right? It's in Iraq. That's not the way the New Testament actually compels us to think about it. The New Testament compels us to think about it in terms of spiritual realities. And so you're in Babylon now, here in Antioch. You are in Rome, especially, since you live in California, right? But perhaps, also, we should rightly think that some of his head alarm that he has is due to, or is being attributed to him seen as a mere creature, the one who created him. In all of his glory, there's a right fear of God there as well. That's not something that you can just take in casually, you know? And think of how most people responded in the New Testament to seeing an angel. They almost died. They're undone. And so that's got to play into part of Daniel's alarm I think as well. But the answer given Daniel by this unnamed or undescribed being of these great heavenly events must have brought this prophet comfort, but it seems like only for just a moment, since this information only stirs Daniel's curiosity all the more. In verses 7 to 18, the witnesses give Daniel the cliff note summary of what Daniel had seen. They tell him, in these two verses, the four great beasts, or the four kings, who shall arise out of the earth, but the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, forever, and ever. In effect, you know, the witness summarizes the first half of Daniel's vision, verses 2 through 8, and then in verse 17, and then that heavenly scene is summarized in verse 18. And we know from the New Testament that these saints, they're the people of God. They're the church. That's who the saints are. It's not just a special class of believers who have done verifiable miracles. It's everyone who is trusting in Christ. Those looking forward to the coming of the Messiah in the Old Testament, along with baptized believers in Jesus Christ in the era or the time of the new covenant, the time that we are now in. Daniel is no doubt comforted by the fact that the Ancient of Days and the Son of Man will conquer these four kings and destroy with fire their kingdoms which arise from the earth and oppress and persecute the people of God. God's ultimate victory is a joy for those who love Him. But once his head is no longer alarmed, and his fear is put away somewhat by the heavenly vision, and when he has that reassurance of the fact that the fourth beast will not ultimately triumph, Daniel's curiosity is piqued, and he wants to know more. What is this fourth beast? The one that was terrible, the one that couldn't be described by a perversion, a monstrosity of an earthly creature, just a pure monstrosity itself. What will it do to the people of God? Will it destroy them? Will it thwart Yahweh's purposes? The prophet tells us in verse 19-20, And then I desired to know the truth about this fourth beast, which was different from all the rest, exceedingly terrifying, with his teeth of iron and claws of bronze, and which devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet, and about the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn that came up, and before which three of them fell. The horn that had eyes and a mouth that spoke great things and that seemed greater than its companions. The fourth beast is just so terrifying. is so much more worse than the other beasts that he saw. And he wants to know more about it, especially about these teeth. And now we read bronze claws also. We didn't get that in the first description of it. And he wants to know more about this blasphemous little horn, which speaks great things. It boasts and claims divine glory and prerogatives, certainly. and how this horn attempts to overcome the other horns. What does it all mean? The parallels between this fourth beast and that fourth part of Nebuchadnezzar's dream statue are quite obvious. if redemptive history is essentially about the story of God saving sinners, and saving them only in and through the person of Jesus Christ, whose saving work is revealed to God's people in the covenant of work and the covenant of grace, then one of the continuing subplots throughout redemptive history is the struggle that exists between Christ and the Antichrist. between the seed and the serpent, a struggle which Antichrist really, of course, wages in vain. A major revelation of that subplot unfolds in the second half of Daniel 7, when Daniel's attention shifts back to this little horn. And so according to verses 21 and 22, Daniel sees his little horn, and this little horn makes war with the saints, the people of God. And he prevails over them. You know, it's not just makes war and gets smacked around by the saints, but it's prevailing over them until the Ancient of Days comes and judgment was given for the saints of the Most High and the time came when the saints possessed the kingdom. So in this short declaration from Daniel, We have this big picture, this panoramic view of the future course of redemptive history once this fourth empire arises, which of course was past. At some point when this fourth beast appears, beginning with the rise of the Roman Empire and its self-proclaimed divine emperors, in addition to speaking great things, blasphemies against God and claims to divine privileges and prerogatives, this little horn we read wages war upon the saints. even prevailing over them until Yahweh comes to rescue his people and to usher in judgment. The first question then is who or what is this little horn? Calvin, John Calvin, identifies the horn as this series of ten Caesars who persecute God's people. Calvin is smart. He's brilliant even, but no. Many commentators identify the horn as Antiochus Epiphanes. And since he clearly is the little horn, which is going to be mentioned in Daniel chapter 8, who wages war on the Jews during the time of the Maccabean Wars, he's the one who sacked and desecrated the rebuilt temple in Jerusalem in 168 BC. But that's actually speaking of the third beast. in chapter 8, not the fourth beast, which is being discussed here in chapter 7. So there's kind of this, I guess you could say, like a little horn pattern that you could say is symbolic of the enemies of God. But here in Daniel 7, we're again, we're dealing with the fourth beast, not the third beast. So I don't think it's Antiochus Epiphanes, Antiochus the fourth Epiphanes, here in Daniel 7. Still, others believe that Daniel is referring to expressions of Antichrist, spoken of as a present reality in this New Testament age which we are now living, that which the New Testament authors wrote of a number of times. You're probably thinking of the text which mentioned that even, who by speaking great things, here we read in Daniel 7, refers to how these These antichrists who are opposed to Christ, who are opposed to Christ's church, pervert the gospel, how they pervert the word of God and confuse law and gospel. And many of these same commentators argue that this antichrist does not reach full power and expression and fury until the very end of the age, until the second coming of Christ. And really, with that view, I agree. We talked a lot about that in our series through John's Apocalypse. What Daniel sees when he sees this blaspheming little horn, which wages war on the people of God, that again, I mean, it's certainly characteristic of Antiochus Epiphanes, but it's not completely fulfilled by his reign of terror that ends in Jerusalem in 168 BC. It's clear from the New Testament, from Revelation 13, one through 10, actually, that Daniel's little horn is in view there. When in verses one and two in Revelation 13, John describes the beach which he has seen, he sees this. He says, I see a beast rising out of the sea with 10 horns and seven heads, with 10 diadems on his horns and blasphemous names on his head. And the beast I saw was like a leopard, its feet were like a bear, its mouth was like a lion, and to the dragon he gave his power and a throne of great authority. Furthermore, I mean, very similar to what we read in Daniel 7, we talked about that last time. Furthermore, the beast John sees in verses five through eight of Revelation 13, manifests many of the same characteristics of the little horn of Daniel's vision. So in Revelation 13, five through eight, you see, and the beast was given a mouth, uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for 42 months, and it opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven. Also, it was allowed to make war on the saints to conquer them, and authority was given to it over every tribe and people and language and nation, and all who dwell on the earth will worship it. Everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain." So clearly, Daniel's fourth beast and John's beast rising out of the sea are overlapping. They're one and the same. This is Rome. This is Babylon. This is the satanically empowered state and its series of self-proclaiming deities. proclaimed ruling deities with religious and political powers. For example, again, like Nero, who ruled from the city and waged war on Christ's people, and a series of horrific persecutions in various portions of the Roman Empire, graphically described by the church father, Eusebius, and his history. Yet, in 2 Thessalonians 2, one through 12, the apostle Paul speaks of this figure that he calls a man of sin, a man of lawlessness, which is also echoed here in this vision by Daniel. Dr. Riddlebarger notes, again, this man of sin is an end times enemy who deceives the people of God, a connection with an end times apostasy, which occurs immediately before the day of the Lord. In other words, that day when Jesus returns to judge the world, will raise the dead and make all things new. Trying to think of all this together, who is he? Who is this little horn? Who is this antichrist? I know I want to know. I know you probably want to know. Is he Barack Obama? You remember hearing that, don't you? I remember hearing that. Is he Nikolai Karpathia or whatever that guy's name is from the Left Behind books, where he was this political guy who was raised up, someone like him from Left Behind Infamy? Who is he? I mean, can you plug his address in Google Earth and find out where he lives? Well, kinda, you actually can, I think. It's 00120 Vatican City. See, the little horn of Daniel 7 likely does not refer to just one specific person, but to a series of individuals who will arise until Jesus returns, speaking blasphemous things, claiming divine rights and privileges for themselves, waging war upon the people of God, and which will finally be manifested in a last end times Antichrist. So you might see this type of character rise up in different places at different times, but I would side with the majority of the reformers and Puritans who didn't see this Antichrist as a singular individual, that that's future, that's actually fact, a Roman Catholic way of thinking about the Antichrist. It's interesting that it became so popular to think this way with the left-behind books and that there would be the singular future political ruler person because, you know, those are books, of course, that are, you know, they want to be based off of Bible but they come from a Protestant background. But the reality is, it's Roman Catholic to think that there's just one Antichrist. The earliest Protestants saw the Antichrist as being represented by the office of the papacy, the Pope, not just a singular person. A singular person was kind of the view of the Roman Catholic Church. So some quotes here. The Second Lenten Confession, chapter 26.4. Our church confession says, the Lord Jesus Christ is the head of the church in whom by the appointment of the father all power for the calling institution order or government of the church is invested in a supreme and sovereign manner. Neither can the Pope of Rome in any sense be head thereof, but is that antichrist. that man of sin and son of perdition that exalts himself in the church against Christ and all that is called God, whom the Lord shall destroy with the brightness of his coming." So not just, you know, the Pope that was alive at the time of the writing of the Second Lenten Confession, but they're talking about the stream of these false teachers that sit at the head of what, you know, by that time was known as the Roman Catholic Church. Matthew Henry and John Gill both speak of the papacy here in their commentaries on Daniel. And again, not just a singular pope, there will be a last and final one, but it's the seat of the papacy that's in view. Particular Baptist Benjamin Keech said the marks of the man of sin described by Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2-3 exactly match those of the papacy. The Complete Christian Dictionary, which is an old Christian dictionary, defines the term that antichrist So distinguishing from the many antichrists and culminating in a final end times enemy, says this, one singular and special enemy of Christ, who pretended himself to be Christ's vice-regent, which the Pope claims to be, does in a notable, strange, and disguised manner impugn and strive against the gospel and glory. This is revealed now more fully than ever to be the papacy. And I believe that to be right. Rome is no friend of Christians. There could be Christians numbered among Rome, but the Pope is a deceiver and a liar. He is a deceiver and a liar. He is leading people to hell. And there is no peace with Rome. And it turns out, of course, good timing, because obviously tomorrow is Reformation Day. And Reformation is still needed in Rome. Reformation is needed in the Protestant church. Don't mishear me. But Rome is an apostate faith. And they need to repent and get out from under the pope. Because that man is Antichrist. His seat is Antichrist. And the fact that Rome does get many things right, well, that is what makes it so effective and so dangerous, that waging war with the saints. And notice here in Daniel, by the way, how long should we think that we're going to have to contend with perversions of the gospel and perversions of the truth? in general, and from Rome specifically, you know, it's not gonna go away one day by our own efforts. The language of scripture is clear. Daniel is clear. It's this whole age that we are living in until Christ returns. We're going to have to contend with Antichrist, with the spirit of the serpent, in other words. Daniel 7, 21 through 22, as I looked, this horn made war with the saints and prevailed over them until the Ancient of Days came and judgment was given for the saints of the Most High, and the time came when the saints possessed the kingdom. Thankfully, Daniel is told of the ultimate fate of this series of God-hating persecutors of the saints. In verse 22, namely, that despite Antichrist's efforts, the time came when the saints will possess the kingdom, and will dwell in glory and peace and forever with Christ, with God. It will be lovely, but what of the frightened activities of the fourth beast, from which the horn comes? It too is opposed to the church. The witness tells Daniel in 23 and 25, he tells him there that this fourth beast is going to trample down all of the earth. It's going to devour the kingdoms and it'll break into pieces. And as for the 10 horns out of this kingdom, 10 kings will arise and another shall arise after them. different from the former ones and put down three kings. He's talking there about that in Little Horn again. He'll speak words against the Most High and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and shall think to change the times and the law, shall be given into his hand for a time at times and a half a time. Now no doubt, of course, this is the Roman Empire far and away the the greatest empire of the ancient world. Unlike those other three empires that are described in Nebuchadnezzar's vision and Daniel's vision, Babylon, Persia, and Greece, Rome was not displaced by another empire. It fell. It crumbled in on top of itself from internal troubles, economic woes, bad public policy, which is frankly ominous, I think, for us, isn't it, today? The ten horns are symbolic of the great power of this kingdom. Ten kings rising and ruling and the little horn seeks to rule the entire kingdom but is prevented from doing so and so able to displace only three of the horns. It has power but its power isn't as great and still Yahweh is directing all of this, accomplishing his purposes. sets the little horn apart from the others is that it speaks against the Most High, the Ancient of Days in it, and it wears out the saints through prolonged persecution. The horn also, we read, shall seek to change the times and the laws, which is perhaps a reference to the Jewish feasts and holy days or to an arrogant attempt, you know, to try to change the times and the seasons set in place by God or Or really, as we understand the little horn to be Antichrist and the Antichrist to be the seat of the papacy, then it's more really, I think, of the returning to old covenant practices that Rome even still currently does. Moving away from the simplicity of new covenant worship of spirit and truth, seven sacraments instead of two. works righteousness, the office of a priest in the body, the seat of the pope, and the list could go on and on. As for the law, Daniel's readers would have certainly understood this referred to the law of Moses, you know, especially the Ten Commandments, the Holy Days, the Feasts and the Ceremonies. As for The duration of the fourth beast rule, Daniel sets it at a time, time, and a time and a half, which, as we'll see when we get to the famous messianic prophecy in Daniel chapter 9, is, if you might remember, is interpreted by John in Revelation as a reference to the entire period of time in between our Lord's first and second advent, between His first and second coming, the millennium, in other words, the time that we're living now in. And so this wearing out of the saints happens in that whole time is the point. But the witness does not leave Daniel without any doubt of the final outcome of these events. He reports and he explains this all in 26-27, but the court shall sit in judgment and his dominion shall be taken away to be consumed and destroyed to the end. Well, amen. I mean, that is good news. The kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High. His kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom and dominions shall serve and obey him. It's given to us, not taken by us. It's given. There might be chaos on the earth. There has been and there will continue to be upheaval of empires, political anarchy, war, the persecution of God's people, the toleration for a time of blasphemy of God by this little horn. But the heavenly court has already ruled its verdict, hasn't it? He's already told us. And that time came when the fourth beast will lose its dominion and it will be destroyed. And today, we could go to Rome and visit the ruins of this once great ancient empire. You can do that with all, most powers as well, but you'll never be able to do that with Yahweh's kingdom. His kingdom will endure. It's going to reign forever. There will never be ruins of it. In fact, we participate in this kingdom through word and sacrament every Lord's Day. And when it's all over, Daniel can confess in verse 28, here is the end of the matter. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts greatly alarmed me, and my color changed, but I kept the matter in my heart. Lots of color changing going on in Daniel's book. But he now knows that Yahweh wins in the end, and that everything is going as planned. He's lived that even, hasn't he? As a pilgrim in Babylon? So what do we, what can we say in terms of application thinking about this? First, you need to remember that persecution is real. We need to think about that more, be praying more for those who are persecuted. In many places, you need to register your church with the government, and they will have to give you an okay on what you're allowed to preach, what it is that the Bible contains, your holy book contains. I could read to you off horrific, intense stories of persecution just from the last couple of years. Again, like I said, I just saw today online that this Beau Shrier, Shiler, looks like he had four or five kids. He died in Angola, sharing the gospel. Ex-police officer, now pastor, now in glory, reigning and ruling with his master. Persecution is real. The whole history of the Church, since the ascension of Christ, is just littered with stories. Things that even the Pope and Cardinals have sanctioned. These aren't isolated events. Understand, what we enjoy here in the United States is an anomaly. For 2,000 years, I don't know that the church has had it this good. It's definitely had it good at other times and other places. But have they had it this good? I don't think so. God's people have always suffered persecution. And the question that we have to ask ourselves as we read Daniel chapter seven, as we consider actually the real world that we are in, this real world that is around us, is are we actually living in the real world? Do we love to play church and to put on a smile on Sunday and get in our Sunday best and gather for a little bit and then go back on about life as if nothing else is going on out in the world or nothing else could ever happen? I would remind us, friends, that this war is real. This war is absolutely real. It's a spiritual war. It's a war that is fought in the spiritual realm of principalities and powers, and it often will have display in physical suffering and persecution and death as well. And there are many times and many places of this world where men and women that are followers of Jesus have paid the ultimate price, price with their life. for just for simply saying, I believe in Jesus Christ. Just for simply saying that Jesus is Lord. I often, I wonder, you know, what would happen? What would happen? And you might, you know, think to yourself, well, we live in a Christian country. Well, I mean, forget that. I guess, for one, you know, that Vodibachan, like I mentioned earlier, acknowledges, like, again, going back to Francis Schaeffer, maybe even before him, that we're living now in a post-Christian country, but If you're banking your hope to never suffer persecution on the fact that somehow we're going to recover our Christian heritage and have this incredible revival, and that's your hope, I mean, maybe, I mean, there's certainly some new apostolic reformation charismatic types that think that's gonna happen with Trump, even, I think. It seems like that's what they are thinking. But if that's the only thing that you're preparing for, well, you're not being realistic. That's not the real world response that we, we can't just live in that lane alone. Do I hope that happens? Well, of course I hope that happens. Of course I want it to be better and safer for us as believers and to have the freedom to worship and to see everybody appreciate God's good law. Of course we want that. But we don't have any guarantee that that's going to happen for us unless Christ returns. And nobody has that guarantee. But what we do have a guarantee of, what God's word does make very clear and plain to us, is that the beast and the little horn will wage war against the church in this age. And it wears the saints out. And if I read my Bible right, and I think I do, it's likely that things are going to even get a lot worse before Christ wins at the end of the age. It's not being pessimistic. The world is vast. It could be better at one place and not so great at another. I mean, that's kind of how it is for us right now. It's been really better for us, for us Christians. It's been really not so good in many other places for Christians. And we live in an anomaly as far as a nation. And there have been other times in history where Christians have enjoyed freedom and prospered with minimal persecution, but there are places right now, today, this very day, that if you go there, Christians have it extremely bad. You can't even be a Christian in some places because if you were to be a Christian in those places and the government finds out, you're dead. Or the other religion that is dominant there finds out, you are dead. And it very well could be that this wonderful place that we live in right now, which is already far less wonderful than it was four years ago. I mean, that's not even a long time. And you know, what could happen? Let's say, I mean, it could start to look more like China, could start to look more like the UK. I just saw something last week, some guy arrested for praying, for praying publicly. Remember, we cannot forget this or pretend like it didn't happen. I hate bringing it up, but it was only four years ago when they told us that we couldn't gather for worship. Y'all remember that. Most of you guys were here. A bunch of nonsense opened, though, right? A bunch of nonsense opened. When our government so benevolently granted us permission to gather, they had all of these ridiculous, stupid rules like wear a mask, no singing, only outside, temperature checks, hand sanitizer. I hate hand sanitizer stations. To this very day, even. Wash your hands. No touching. Elbow bump. Social distancing. Restricting drugs that would actually help people. Putting people on vents which actually killed people. Listing COVID as the cause of death for things that didn't have anything to do with COVID. And it was almost the worst here in California, it seemed like. Thankfully, you know, we didn't abide by many of those rules for very long. But I mean, what would it take for things to get much worse? Not much. Not much. Maybe all it takes is four more years. Seriously, that maybe is all that it could take. We're currently hoping and, of course, praying for a Trump-Vance presidency as to set off this tide of evil. But imagine what could happen in just four more years. And if it gets worse, friends, the question is, where will we be? What will we do? If it's against the law, if it becomes illegal to worship Christ, where are you gonna be? What are you going to do? If the war against the Saints actually takes on a dimension here in the United States where your life is on the line, we hope it doesn't, but where are you going to be if it does? We've seen examples in the earlier parts of Daniel on how to act. Many of them have been instructive, building us up, giving us that foundation to where when we get here and we have to think about this, we've seen some examples in that. And we know earthly kings and tyrants conquered by the sword, they use military, political, and economic power to capture their enemies and extend their kingdoms. they hate the church of Jesus Christ because they hate God and they confess and because we confess that Jesus is our Lord and that they are not our Lord. But as Daniel so powerfully reminds us, friends, all such kingdoms are doomed to fail. They'll be destroyed by Jesus Christ at the sign of his coming who establishes an everlasting kingdom by his life of perfect obedience by suffering and dying, by rising again from the dead, and in so doing, so conquering our greatest enemy, the enemy of death. And the time came when the the saints, they saw Jesus ascend to heaven to take his right rightful place at the right hand of the Father. It's talked about in Acts chapter two, it's talked about here in Daniel chapter seven. And he presides by the ancient of days to preside over the heavenly court and to direct all of the creatures of the world to the end for which he created them. And the time will come when that same Jesus comes again, that he who ascended will descend And he will come to earth and raise the dead and judge the world and he'll make all things new. And until that day, friends, we need to live with one eye towards the heavenly scene revealed by Daniel. That's where our hope lies, that Christ is reigning and that Christ is coming again. And the other eye should be on daily life as well. We fight against sin, we fight against all beastly kingdoms and horns by trusting in the same Jesus who saved us from our sins, by living faithful lives of gratitude before him and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom to all who will listen. Let's pray. Our Father in heaven, We're so grateful for this vision that you give to Daniel, which we know we need, Lord. We're so thankful that we have had it so comfortable here in the United States to practice the faith once and for all delivered to the saints. And we know that many of your people don't have that privilege. They don't have that same grace that we do, but we know that our salvation is the same as theirs even, for you are the only mediator between God and man, our Lord Jesus. And so we pray that you would help us to obey you and not man, that you would cause us to be bold, to remember that we are in a real war all the time, and just because it might seem like peace around us, let us never forget that the war is still raging on even and physically and violently for many of our brothers and sisters in other places, many who we will spend eternity with even. So let us think of them more. We pray for your mercy upon this nation, especially with the election coming up. We know that you are sovereign over all things. We know that your word says that you give to wicked nations women rulers. We know that. Remember, Brother Calvin said that you give to a nation wicked rulers in order to judge them. So we pray, Lord God, that you would have mercy upon us. We know that there's no man who can be perfect like Christ was. We're not looking for a savior and a leader, but we do pray and ask that you would have mercy upon this nation for the sake of your saints, for the sake of your church, that we might honor and glorify you, but prepare us to honor and glorify you, whether it doesn't happen that way as well. We pray that your will would be done, and we ask all this in Jesus' name, amen.