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We pray, Lord Jesus, again, as we open up your word and consider what you have revealed to Daniel
regarding the end times, we ask that you would give us clarity so that we may properly understand these
revelations, these dreams, so that we may take comfort in the good news that you give us, because you give us
this information in order to give us hope and faith and to sustain us in the midst of persecution.
We ask in Jesus' name, amen.
Okay, so last week we began our primer on how to
understand, how do we properly understand
apocalyptic texts, and always a challenge to do that, and the reason being is because
you always have coded language.
You don't, you know, you have words that kind of deal with codes.
They're similar to parables, and there's a logic to them that you can begin to understand if you
will let the text teach you that logic, and so we'll note then the first vision
or dream that Daniel had was regarding these beasts, these four different beasts, which
represent very different things altogether, and we'll note that the fourth one
was terrifying, all right.
The fourth one was absolutely terrifying, so let me do, let me back up and we'll reread this section.
So in the first year of Belshazzar, king of Babylon, Daniel saw a dream and visions of his head
as he lay in his bed, and then he wrote down the dream and told the sum of the matter.
Daniel declared, I saw in my vision by night, and behold the four winds of heaven were sitting up,
stirring up the great sea, and four great beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another.
The first was like a lion, it had eagle's wings, and then I looked at its wings that they were plucked off.
It was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man, and the mind of a man was given to it.
This is obviously Babylon, and the reference to being, you know, standing up and giving the mind of a man is reference to what we
previously read in Daniel, how Nebuchadnezzar had, well, God punished him by
giving him the mind of a beast for a period of time in order to humble him, all right?
And then, behold, another beast, a second one like a bear, this is the media Persian empire, which
comes after the Babylonian empire.
It was raised up on one side, had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth, and it was told, rise, devour much
flesh.
After this, I looked, and behold, another like a leopard with four wings of a bird on its back.
The beast had four heads, and dominion was given to it, and we'll note that this is a reference to the empire
created by Alexander the Great, and then it was chopped up into four pieces, and after
this, I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, terrifying, dreadful, exceedingly strong,
and we took this, and we did the comparison work between this, what Daniel sees here, and what
is revealed in the book of Revelation, chapters 12 and 13, regarding one of the mega weapons of
the devil, you know, to pursue and wage war against the saints.
It had great iron teeth.
It devoured and broke in pieces, stamped with what was left with its feet.
It was different from all the beasts that were before it.
It had ten horns.
I considered the horns, horns are like kings, you know, like, you know, this is what this represents.
Behold, there came up another among them, another horn, a little one, before which three of the first horns were plucked up
by the roots, and behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth
speaking great things.
Sounds a lot like, you know, the man of lawlessness or things like this.
That's kind of, and so he, this is where he makes his first appearance, and you sit there and go, what is
that, right?
And that's kind of the point, but then the scene changes, and we're going to do a little bit
of work on this one, because this is kind of fun, all right?
This, have you ever heard of, like, non -linear editing, and when it comes to movie making and stuff like this, like,
so, you know, you're watching a movie, and, you know, the story is going forward, and all of a sudden, you're, boosh, you're
back in time, you're in a different time altogether.
My wife has been making me watch this TV series on Netflix, Better Call Saul.
Holy smokes.
It's, it's, it's, it's still a struggle.
Okay, the good guy's a bad guy.
Okay, same with Breaking Bad.
The good guy's a bad guy, and it just, it hurts my brain, but there's some yeah,
right, yeah, crime does not pay, but I, you'll note that in, in good
storytelling, like in Better Call Saul, they, you have, you know, you're, you're going forward in the timeline, and
next thing you know, whammo blammo, you're thrown all the way back, and, and things like this.
We're gonna do a little bit of that here, okay?
So, do you have Cinnabons?
You've watched it too.
Okay, all right, yeah, I, at the moment, I am unsure as to why he ends up
making Cinnabons in Nebraska.
That has, I do not understand the details yet.
So, sorry, I'm only in season one.
So, all right, but all of that being said, we're gonna have to figure out
where in the timeline this part of the revelation goes.
As I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days took his seat.
Now, I'm going to note something here.
The Ancient of Days, that is a statement of a description that only appears
here, and is in reference to God the Father.
This is not the, this is not the second or third person of the Trinity.
This is the first person of the Trinity.
Ancient of Days took his seat.
His clothing was white as snow, the hair of his head like pure wool.
His throne was fiery flames.
Its wheels were burning fire, and a stream of fire issued and came out
from before him, and thousand thousands served him.
Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him.
The court sat in judgment.
The books were opened.
Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, books, I, book, book, books, okay.
I know a thing or two about books.
Books are opened on the day of judgment.
Okay, so note here, we have this picture of this
horrifying beast that, that nobody can withstand, and that has these ten horns,
three of them are plucked up because of this boastful horn that comes up, and then we fast
forward to when the books are opened, day of judgment,
okay, day of judgment.
That's when the books are open.
I looked, then, because of the sound of the great words that the horn was speaking, and
as I looked, the beast was killed, and its body destroyed, and given over to be
burned with fire.
As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.
Then I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven,
there came one like a 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, and all people's nations 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 you're gonna, we're jumping all over timelines here, all right.
So here we got this picture of these beasts, this horrible beast at the end, then you got the day of
judgment, and then it being devoted to fire, you know, it's going to pass away, God's going
to judge it, and then, blammo, we go back in time.
And the reason I say that, back in time, because what is this a picture of in verses 13 and
14?
What is happening here?
May I suggest a proper understanding of the timeline for
this portion?
We go to Acts chapter one.
In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and to teach,
until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy
Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen.
He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during
40 days and speaking about the kingdom of God.
And while staying with them, he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise
of the Father, which he said, you heard from me.
For John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.
So then, so when they came together, they asked him, Lord, will you at this
time restore the kingdom to Israel?
I always like to point this out.
This is like your final year of college, or the final year at university, and
it's the last class, and it's the final final, and you biff it,
okay?
You get an F.
It's like, were you not listening for like three whole years?
Okay, so he said to them, it is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority,
but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all
Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth.
And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.
And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes and
said, men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven?
This Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven will come into the same way as you saw him go into
heaven.
So what's happened here, after Christ's death, burial, resurrection, and then spending
40 days with his disciples, right?
He then ascends into heaven.
This, a good way to think about it, so Jesus's body ascends, the clouds
obscure it so you can no longer see him anymore, then you get to this,
right?
First order of business now is Jesus, the sinless, spotless lamb of
God who has taken away the sin of the world, who has died and risen from the grave, he then, as soon as
he arrives in heaven, having ascended, he is presented before God the Father.
And to him was given dominion and glory in a kingdom, and all people's nations, languages should
serve him as dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away as kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.
So upon Christ's ascension, he now what?
Rules and reigns.
And here's our next cross reference on this.
If we were to take a look at, hang on a second here, I want to go to, I'm going to look for a word, mina.
All right, hang on a second here, and it needs to be in the gospels, not the epistles.
We're going to look for the word mina, Luke 19, that's what I'm looking for.
All right, so in Luke 19, you can kind of see how this plays out.
So here's what it says, they heard these things and Jesus proceeded to tell a parable because he was near
Jerusalem, and because they were, they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately.
He said, therefore, a nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom
and then return.
I'll give you one guess as to who the nobleman is.
Jesus, right?
Okay, to go to a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return.
Okay, we can see what's happening.
So Christ, when he ascends, he goes away to a far country, right?
The kingdom of heaven itself, and he has received a kingdom.
Calling 10 of his servants, he gave them 10 minas and said to them, engage in business until I
come.
I love this parable.
I also love the parable of the talents.
One of the things I don't enjoy about this parable is hearing everybody biff it.
Okay, all right, whose minas are these?
Jesus is minas.
Okay, what are you free to do with them?
Do business.
Okay, you're going to do business in his name with his minas until he comes.
All right, so if we were to think of it this way, then Christ has left the church, his treasures.
Okay, his word, the sacraments, the forgiveness of our sins, and we are to engage in business
until he returns.
Doing what?
Making disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, teaching all that Christ has
commanded.
And you'll note that through these means, then God, well, multiplies his kingdom.
I mean, you and I are all here because somebody in the previous generation did the business
of the kingdom and preached the word or baptized you and then discipled you, right?
You're all here because of that.
And you'll note that some people are at Kongsvinger because of the business that I've been engaging in and the
business you all have been engaging in.
And then when I'm long gone, if Christ hasn't returned, the next fellow should do the same thing.
We got business to do, okay?
You got to get busy doing the business.
And it's Jesus's minas, all right?
It's his stuff.
And pay attention to what happens when he returns.
So he returns, calling 10 of his servants.
He gave them minas.
He said to them, engage in business till I come.
But his citizens, well, here's the part.
His citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him saying, we don't want this man to reign over us.
Think of like the Pharisees.
That's going to do a lot of good.
So when he returned, having received the kingdom, he ordered these servants to whom
he had given the money to be called to him that he might know what they had gained by doing
business.
The first came before him and said, Lord, your mina has made 10 minas more,
What did the work here?
The mina did the work, okay?
You'll note that God's word is the thing that is living and active.
It never returns to him void, right?
So you think of the mina like the word of God.
Your mina, look at this, made 10 more minas, right?
And he said to him, well done, good servant.
Because you have been faithful in very little, you shall have authority over 10 cities.
Say what?
Pay attention to this bit here, okay?
This gives you something of a glimpse of what Christ is up to.
He's literally, he has a kingdom and for the last 2 ,000
years, almost 2 ,000 years, he's been populating that kingdom, right?
The gospel has gone forth.
People have heard the good news.
They've been brought to penitent faith in Christ with the forgiveness of their sins.
And do you think when you get to the new earth that you're going to have nothing to do?
All right?
We believers now, we create the foundational generation
of the new earth.
And Isaiah is very clear on this.
And again, I do not know how the arrangement works.
There's human procreation in the new earth.
Again, marriage isn't a thing, and that makes sense because it's a covenant between two sinners and their families as
for as long as they live.
But I have no idea what's coming, you know, how this is going to work out.
But there are going to be generations after generations of human beings that come after us in the new
earth.
Who comprises the ruling class of this earthly kingdom?
Y 'all do.
Have you ever heard of that we're kings and priests?
Okay?
Now, I do not want you to buy a tiara, okay?
You women out there, and no, you don't get to practice decreeing and declaring or any of that nonsense right now.
But this is a picture of what's coming.
So when Christ returns, not only does it say well done good and faithful servant, he's going to be giving
out inheritance in the new earth and for
lack of a better way of putting it, royal assignments.
So second came saying, Lord, your mina has made five minas.
Boy, those are amazing minas, aren't they?
Right?
And he said to him, you are to be over five cities.
Then another came and.
Saying, Lord, here's your mina, which I kept laid away in a handkerchief, okay?
For I was afraid of you because you are a severe man and you take what you did not deposit and reap what you did.
Not sow, okay?
Now, always and again, when you hear this fellow, you can hear this fellow in this parable and also the parable of the talents in
Matthew chapter 25.
What's your issue here?
This guy has zero faith and what do you think his opinion of King Jesus is?
Very low, right?
He's practically slandering King Jesus, which is why he did nothing with this mina.
Socialist talking points.
Yeah, that's right.
All right.
And then he says, I was afraid because you were a severe man.
Jesus, really?
So Jesus said to him, all right, I'm going to condemn you with your own words, you wicked servant.
You knew that I was a severe man taking what I did not deposit, reaping what I did not sow.
Why then did you not put my money in the bank and at my coming, I might have collected it with interest.
And he said to those who stood by him, take the mina from him, give it to the one who has the 10
minas.
And they said to him, Lord, he has 10 minas.
I tell you to everyone who has more will be given, but the one who has not even what he
has will be taken away.
And what's the operative thing you need here?
Faith, right?
But as for these enemies of mine who sent the delegation, we don't want Jesus to rule over us.
Okay.
As for these enemies of mine who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me.
Wow.
So much for precious moments, Jesus.
I never liked precious moments, Jesus.
That just always annoyed me.
You know, it's like, really?
We're going to turn Jesus into a really kitschy Hummel?
You know, that's, oh, it's just so annoying.
No, no.
Write the prophecy, make it plain so they might run for their lives, right?
So what we're seeing then here in Daniel 13 is
Christ's, the immediate thing that happens after Christ's ascension.
And I would note that Ascension Day historically has been a major feast
in the church and appropriately so.
It always bums me out that I rarely get to preach an Ascension Day sermon.
So I have to sometimes say, we're just going to Ascension Day here.
We're going to have it observed so that we can actually get to these texts because the Christ Ascension is
vital.
And one of the other reasons why it's vital is because you're going to note then is that if you kind of hold to a
dispensational view of theology, what's Jesus
presently doing?
Twiddling his thumbs.
Dad, when do I get to be king?
Right.
Because Jesus doesn't take the kingdom.
He doesn't actually rule and reign until after he comes back.
But Daniel 7 and Luke, the Luke passage we just read, make it clear, Jesus is
currently ruling and reigning.
In other words, I hate to say this, but let's kind of put this out on the table.
I know that we have some pretty inept politicians right now.
And I would note that this is a time -honored tradition among human beings.
We usually pick really bad politicians for ourselves.
I remember my grandfather, back in the 70s, I spent some time with my grandparents in New York.
And my grandfather had this thing.
He had insomnia like you wouldn't believe.
I ended up getting the same problem.
When I turned 18, I started struggling with insomnia, the same way my grandfather did.
And he would be up all hours of the night and I would come down the stairs at his house because I could hear the
television was on and I can hear him grumbling.
And anytime Jimmy Carter came on the television, holy smokes, I did not know that my
grandfather was a sailor.
There's no record of him being in the Navy, but clearly he has to have been.
He had no love for that particular man.
And you'll note that that was also kind of a low watermark in American history relating to
Mr. Carter.
But all that being said, Christ is currently ruling and reigning.
And even if we're given an inept politician or head of state that we don't like, guess
who gave the stamp of approval for that guy?
Jesus.
And here's where you got to kind of get this in your head.
We already know what the plan is.
The plan is that Christ is going to bring all of the kingdoms of the earth to a
cataclysmic end.
And he's going to establish his kingdom on planet earth and he's going to reign
forever.
Remember how the song goes?
We just sang it at Christmas time.
And he shall reign forever and ever.
And then come the Sopranos.
You get the idea, right?
So that means, let me throw in another text here.
Romans 13.
Let every person be subject to the governing authorities.
There is no authority except from God and those that exist have been instituted by God.
But I don't like that person.
Let me read this again.
But they are really wicked and evil.
I know.
Ah, but they're completely opposed to Christians and they're threatening to persecute us.
There is no authority except from God and those that exist have been instituted by God, but they're going to end up
persecuting Christians and making Christianity illegal.
I know, it says that in the book.
There is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.
If Christ has called you to suffer his name, and for the government to take your head off your shoulder
because of your proclamation and your trust in Christ, there is no authority except from God.
Your job, then, is to bend the knee and let them take your head off your shoulder.
Your job is not to resist.
You wanna kill me for confessing Christ?
Booyah, go for it, right?
I cannot believe that I would be so blessed, right?
I would remind you of the apostles.
They took the words of Christ to heart, because Jesus says, blessed are you
when people persecute you and speak all kinds of wickedness against you, falsely, right?
For great is your reward in heaven.
I always like to remind people of the worst prison break ever.
Did that just cut out again?
You did, that was weird, okay.
All right, worst prison break ever.
Hang on a second here.
Acts, is it five?
Let's see here.
Yeah, no, that's when they're freed.
You'll know early on that Peter and John and some of the disciples,
they ended up,.
God, I gotta look for a word, worthy.
And I'm gonna look in the epistles, even though Acts is not an epistle.
There we go, it's Acts five, okay, Acts five.
All right, one of the worst prison breaks ever.
All right, and the resolve on this.
The high priest rose up and all who were with him, that is the party of the Sadducees, filled with jealousy.
They arrested the apostles, put them in the public prison.
But during the night, an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out and said, go and stand in the temple
and speak to the people all the words of this life.
Okay, when you break out of prison, you're supposed to run, okay?
Because that's when they get the dogs and the helicopters and the posse and all this kind of stuff.
You don't return to the scene of the crime.
That's not how this goes.
So the Lord sent an angel who opened the door and then said, go and stand in the temple, speak to all the people the words of this life.
And when they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and they began to teach.
Now when the high priest came and those who were with him, they called together the council, all the senate of the people of
Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought.
But when the officers came, they did not find them in the prison.
So they returned and reported.
We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them, we found no one
inside.
Now when the captain of the temple and the chief priest heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them, wondering what this
would come to.
And someone came and told them, look, the men who you put in prison are standing in the temple teaching the people.
Then the captain with the officers went and brought them, but not by force, for they were afraid of being stoned by the people.
And when they had brought them, they set them before the council, and the high priest questioned them, saying,
we strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet you are here, and you have filled Jerusalem
with your teaching, and your intent is to bring this man's blood upon us.
Well, actually, Jesus's blood is already on you guys.
You're the ones who held that little kangaroo court in the middle of the night, right?
So Peter answered, and the apostle answered, we must obey God rather than men.
Now note here, when a government orders you
to act contrary to the commands of God, and the commands of Christ, you say
to the government, no, sorry.
Okay, governments are instituted for the purpose of punishing the evildoer.
That's their jobs, and they should be busy about that.
Christians are not evildoers, and those who preach Christ are not doing evil.
They are doing good.
The church exists for the purpose of making disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, teaching all that
Christ has commanded.
There are two institutions then.
You got the, and I have to do this backwards.
You have the right -hand kingdom, which is the kingdom of Christ and the church,
and you have the left -hand kingdom, which is the kingdom of the world, governments.
And they each are instituted by God, and they have particular lanes that they have to stay in.
Church stays in its lane, the government stays in its lane, but when the government swerves into the church's lane and
says you can't do your job, we say, pfft, right?
That's what, and do that respectfully, okay.
Respectfully?
Yeah.
So Peter says, we must obey God rather than men.
The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging on a tree.
God exalted him at his right hand, as leader and savior.
Archaigon is our Greek word here.
That's an interesting word, which also strongly suggests that Jesus is currently ruling
and reigning, right?
God has, in fact, let's take a look at what archaigon means because that's one who has preeminent position, the
leader, the ruler, the prince.
The one, okay, that's who Christ is.
So when you say that he's leader, I don't really like that because it doesn't, I think that's a weak sauce
translation, okay?
Jesus is currently the ruler and savior to give repentance to Israel and
forgiveness of sins.
I need that, so do you, right?
And we are witnesses to these things, so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who
obey him.
Note the Holy Spirit always is testifying about Christ.
So when they heard this, they were enraged, right?
They went all Akhmed the dead terrorist on them.
I'll kill you, ah, right?
Always love it when people act rationally in the face of a proclamation of Christ, right?
I'll kill you, all right?
So but a Pharisee in the council named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, held in honor by all the people, that
also happens to be the guy who taught Saul of Tarsus.
Okay, Saul of Tarsus was a student of Gamaliel.
He stood up and gave orders to put the men outside for a little while.
Then he said to them, men of Israel, take care what you are about to do with these men, for before these days,
Thutis rose up claiming to be somebody, you know, kind of like Cindy Jacobs,
and a number of men, about 400, joined him.
He was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing.
After him, Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of the census and drew away some of the people after him.
He too perished, and all who followed him were scattered.
So in the present case, I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone,
for if this plan or if this undertaking is of man, it will fail, but if it's of God, you
will not be able to overthrow them.
You might even be found opposing God.
So they took his advice, and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them
and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and then let them go.
All right, now, my wife will let you know this, okay?
She will confirm.
If I get a hangnail, I need bed rest, okay?
Honey, I need to lay down, I have a hangnail.
Okay, we men are kind of pathetic, right?
And don't even get me started when I have a cold or a flu.
It's like, it's, you know, it's sad, okay?
I assure you, in my present state of thinking, having been beaten, I wouldn't be doing
a jig,.
Going do -do -do -do -do -do.
I'd be going, I need medication and bed rest, right?
Does anybody have any antibiotics?
You know, this is how I behave, right?
I'd be at the, I would be at the ER.
But watch what happens.
They beat them, charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and they let them go.
Then they left the presence of the council rejoicing that they were counted worthy
to suffer dishonor for the name.
And every day in the temple from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ, the Messiah,
is Jesus.
Rejoicing.
So they come out after the beating going, our God is an awesome God, he reigns, right?
This is what they're doing, and it doesn't make any sense.
They're bleeding, they need medical attention, and they're rejoicing.
How is that possible?
Because the government that did this is a rightly instituted government, and this
government is trying to shut them up.
And these are wicked, evil men who crucified Christ.
And by the way, who eventually dealt with these fellows?
God did.
He sent the armies of Rome.
And what did Rome do to Jerusalem?
And what happened to these fellows in that ordeal, right?
So you'll note that the church is to stay in its lane, preaching Christ,
proclaiming repentance and the forgiveness of sins.
And I know it can be a big distraction to get completely bogged up in politics and stuff like this, but
stay in your lane.
Preach Christ and him crucified, and let that be the thing that people are annoyed about, okay, rather
than all your complaints about the current ineptitude of the current crop of politicians because Christ still is on the
throne.
And Christ, in his word, has laid out the plan.
The plan is everything's going to get worse.
Our governmental leaders are going to become more and more evil to the point where they
overtly oppress, persecute, and martyr Christians.
And then there's gonna be a singular man of lawlessness to kind of round up the end of
time, and Christ is gonna kill that fellow with the breath of his mouth.
And our job in the midst of all of this is to what?
Preach the word, proclaim repentance and the forgiveness of sins in Jesus' name, and if you're going to die by
the sword, you're gonna die by the sword.
Get used to that now.
And if you're going to live to the end, you'll live to the end.
And if you're gonna die in old age, you're gonna die in old age.
It's none of your business how you're going to die.
You sit there and go, but it's my death.
I know, but God's the one who's got that old work done.
He's got it worked out already, right?
So while you're breathing, preach Christ.
And when the government starts getting hostile, note that we were told ahead of time this is exactly
what it's going to do, so we shouldn't sit there and go,.
Oh, I don't understand, okay?
You'll note that all the charismatics who are out there believing that the billion souls harvest is just around the corner,
man, these people are delusional.
There is no such thing in the scripture.
And you'll note that belief in these false prophecies does not prepare you for the persecution
that's coming.
It leaves you woefully unprepared to the point where you'll abandon Jesus to save your skin
because you weren't properly prepared to think biblically in the face of persecution and suffering.
So Christ currently reigns.
He's not twiddling his thumbs wondering when he finally gets to be coronated or anything like that.
He's in charge, and he's already told us how things are going to go down, right?
All right, let's come back to Daniel.
So let's take a look at the interpretation.
Remember, this is a primer on apocalyptic literature.
As for me, Daniel, my spirit within me was anxious.
The visions of my head, they alarmed me.
I approached one of those who stood there and asked him the truth concerning all this, and he told me and made known to me the
interpretation of these 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.
All right, I've made this point before, but it bears repeating.
Have any of you ever had to sit for your annual evaluation at work?
Okay, these things are horrifying, okay?
I used to give them.
I'm so glad I don't get them anymore.
Okay, but the way it works, okay?
It's time for your annual review, and some of these reviews, they do the 360 thing.
They don't only talk to your boss.
They talk to your coworkers.
They talk to the people below you if you have a position of authority in order to get a 360 view of
your performance, and then you sit down with your boss, and your boss begins with
the good news.
We wanna let you know that we're very thrilled with these particular things.
You're a good team player.
You're in, you clock in on time, and your productivity seems to be on point.
Then comes the transition word, but, okay?
And but always erases the thing in front of it, okay?
Why do you start with good?
Okay, because all the good that you're doing counts for nothing because now comes the litany of all the things you're not
doing correct, okay?
We don't like the way you tie your shoes.
You know, you need to brush your teeth.
Being around you and your halitosis is really making other people sick.
You know, this is the kind of stuff they talk about, right?
Okay, and so, and you go through all this, and so all the good that you are doing, you can't even remember it anymore,
Note the order here.
These are the four great beasts, the kings who will rise out of the earth, and that last one is terrifying,
but, oh, okay.
The saints of the most high shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, forever and ever.
All right, let me wet my throat here.
Okay, so, note the but erases the thing in front of it.
Don't worry about the four beasts, especially that last one.
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, claws of bronze,
which devoured and broken pieces and stamped what was left with its feet, and about the 10
horns that were on its head, and the other horn that came up, and 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.
And as I looked, this horn made war with the saints, and what
prevailed over them.
All right, so here's our huddle.
Okay, you guys ever played flag football?
Okay, I used to play it poorly when I was a teenager, but I played it nonetheless.
We'd always pick somebody to be the quarterback, and thank God it was never me because I had no skills.
But the quarterback, you get in the huddle, and he'd pull his hand out and says, all right, why don't you go over here on this post, and I want
you to run up about 10 yards, and I want you to start cutting across the middle of you.
I want you to do this, that, that, this.
And then at the end of it, everybody says, all right, and he goes, are you ready?
Break, right?
And you break.
This is what you do, right?
You're in the huddle.
So here's King Jesus in the huddle.
All right, here's your job, are you ready?
You're gonna wage war with this guy, and he's gonna slaughter you.
You ready?
Break.
That's not a typo, okay?
Notice here, Joel Osteen, I've never seen him preach on this text.
Well, what about having my best life now?
If this guy's waging war against me and prevails over me, I'm gonna be dead.
Right, that's the point.
Your job right now is to die.
Take up your cross and follow Jesus.
You don't get to be the one to kill this guy.
He gets to be the one to kill you.
Well, that doesn't sound like a good plan.
You questioning King Jesus?
You questioning God?
He's told you ahead of time.
So no, make war with the saints and prevail over them
until the Ancient of Days came and judgment was given for the saints.
So this fellow's gonna kill Christians by the bazillions.
All right, it'll be an international sport to wage war against the saints
and wherever they are found, they will be locked up.
They will be martyred.
But the but here is God's going to rule in your favor.
He's going to eliminate you from this cursed form of the planet to send you to the
blessed one.
And God rules in your favor.
Remember, the day of judgment is the day of reckoning, not a day before.
So until the Ancient of Days came, judgment was given for the saints of the Most High and the time came when the
saints possessed the kingdom.
Again, not your best life now, not at all.
And knowing this ahead of time, how then do you
feel prepared for what's coming?
We don't know if this is coming in our lifetime or not.
And all along the way, there's been little dress rehearsals for this.
I always like to think of the rise of the Nazis as a dress rehearsal for the rise of the Antichrist and the
man of lawlessness because they came out of nowhere and they took over quick.
And they got busy murdering people as soon as they hit the ground.
So you'll note that the devil can never just make stuff up.
He has to practice like the rest of us.
You got to do dress rehearsals and stuff like that.
So look at the rise of the Nazis as like the dress rehearsal for what's coming for the whole planet, okay?
So when it shows up, you don't have to sit there and go,.
What am I gonna do?
Run, hide, disappear, okay?
Skedaddle, all right?
I like to think that should this all go down in our lifetime.
I like to think that every single day that I'm alive and still pray and praise Christ,
that the Antichrist is going nuts, okay?
That's bothering him like you wouldn't believe, right?
Thus he says, as for the fourth beast, there shall be a fourth kingdom on earth which shall be
different from all the kingdoms.
It shall devour the whole earth.
Which countries are gonna be exempt from this kingdom?
None.
Are you saying the globalists will win?
Yep, for a time.
And no, it will trample the whole earth down and break it to pieces.
This is gonna be a horrible government.
The affliction, the suffering, the injustice, the murder of this thing
is gonna make Stalin look like a schoolgirl, Hitler like a
kindergartner.
We're talking about that kind of holocaust but on a global scale.
As for the 10 horns, out of this kingdom 10 kings shall arise.
I would note that governing the whole earth is gonna be impossible for one human being, right?
So this whole global system will be chopped up into 10 little pieces and there'll be 10 kings
over it.
And then another shall arise after them.
He shall be different from the former ones and shall put down three kings.
So in his ascension, three of the established kings and the 10 kings will be overthrown by
the rise of this one.
He shall speak words against the most high.
He shall wear out the saints of the most high.
He shall think to change the times and the law and they shall be given into
his hand for a time, time and half a time.
So for a period of time, he's gonna wage complete all out
war against the saints.
Now think of it this way.
We don't like totalitarian governments.
We really don't.
We Americans are kind of opposed to the concept.
And we've done a good job of fighting against them in the past although we seem to be on the brink of putting one in place if we're not careful.
But all that being said, when you understand the scriptures
totalitarian governments do not exist for the purpose of taking away
human liberty.
Totalitarian governments exist for the purpose of extinguishing the gospel.
That's their purpose.
So people who are out there who are basically agnostic patriots,
they don't even understand what they're fighting against.
Because every totalitarian government exists for the purpose of squelching the church,
driving it out if they can.
And most of the time they succeed in only driving it underground.
But you'll note that's the purpose of these governments.
Go back to Revelation 13.
The beast exists for the purpose of waging war against the saints.
So now when we talk about totalitarian governments, what's at stake is our ability
to freely proclaim Christ and freely gather publicly for the purpose of worshiping Christ.
But totalitarian governments ultimately have their goal of the silencing of Christians, right?
Now but the court, now we got the but again.
But the court shall sit in judgment.
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 kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of
the most high, all right?
His kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom and all dominions shall serve and obey him.
Ah, okay?
So now we know what's coming.
And it's terrifying.
And a lot of people on planet Earth are going to die.
Straight up.
But what did it say in Romans 13 again?
Christ is going to permit this because he has an end in mind.
And his kingdom will reign forever.
So you'll note in reading Daniel chapter seven, which introduces us, not in
the clearest language, but introduces us to the kingdom of the Antichrist in the end,
we can see that we are given comforting and assuring words that when
this all goes down, and here's the thing, it will.
I can't stop it, you can't stop it, nobody can stop this thing.
The reason why is because Christ has willed that this is how it's gonna go down.
It's as if Jesus is basically gonna take his hands off of humanity and say, let's let evil run its course.
And when you let evil run its course, what does it result in?
The near suicide of humanity is what it's gonna result in.
And so all the conspiracies out there, oh, they're probably all true.
There's probably some nefarious satanic cabal trying to take over the world, and you're not gonna stop them.
Your job is to die.
Jesus will do the rest, and you have a promise of an inheritance in the world to
come, and not only that, the kingdom is given to you.
You'll know that Jesus is really good at delegating, really good.
So you're gonna have responsibilities in a world without end, and we will never again
in the world to come have inept politicians.
Every one of us, sons of the living God, literally resurrected from the dead in
the same kind of body as Christ, and we will know God face to face.
We will have, I just, reading the newspaper would be like one litany of great things happening after
another.
We're here to report another fantastic thing is occurring in the kingdom today, and another thing, and wow, can you believe that
this thing is happening also?
There's gonna be no crime.
There's gonna be no sin.
There's gonna be no death.
No obituaries in the Jerusalem times in the new kingdom.
No obits, can you believe this, right?
Okay, and I will finally stop looking like Santa Claus.
I'm looking forward to this, okay?
So Daniel 7 ends.
Here's the end of the matter.
As for me, Daniel, my thoughts greatly alarmed me.
My color changed.
I kept the matter in my heart.
I think that's as far as we should go.
Now, let me make sure I'm not missing any questions today.
I have a question.
Yes, yes, we have a question.
Yeah,
yeah, that's a tough thing.
Let's take a look, and I'll show you this, because part of studying this out, you need a good study Bible,
May I suggest one?
The Lutheran Study Bible, okay?
Those notes are super helpful, and another good commentary is found at
kretzmannproject .org, okay?
The commentary put together by Paul Kretzmann.
It was a lay -level commentary, so let's see here.
They were opened, and then as for the beast, okay, but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.
All right, let's take a look at, see what the LSB says about this, Lutheran Study Bible.
Okay, first three beasts, until a period of time which is not specified.
Lost their power, but continued to exist for a season and a time, all right?
So you know, Lutheran Study Bible?
Big question mark, okay?
They're not exactly sure what to do with that, and I'll be blunt, in reading it, I'm not
exactly sure what to do with it, and what do you do when you come into a passage when you're not sure how to make
sense of it?
Sometimes you gotta apply yourself to it, and kind of, and study it out.
The best way I can think of it is, texts that don't readily give yourself an understanding of what it's talking about,
oftentimes are mysteries that God intends for you to ponder over, to pray over, to think about, to try
to crack that nut, all right?
But here's the issue with Daniel's prophecy, it's sealed.
So this one's a little tough to get at, because you'll see at the end of his prophecies that all of this stuff,
it's sealed.
So there's a part of it that you just don't know.
Now let me check a different commentary, though.
All right, so what we're going to do is we're going to look at the Concordia Commentary, which is a
commentary written on a pastor's level, if you would.
And let me see if I can get to the commentary bit here, and see if it offers,
well, let me back up.
Ancient of Days, 4 B's, Messiah's Enthronement, we got that part.
Let me see here.
Verse 12 is what I was looking at, right?
Enactment of Psalms 2, that's a good point that he makes, by the way.
Um, yeah, I'm not seeing a
ready explanation even in his, in this commentary, yeah.
Let me see if I can just back up just a little bit and see if, okay, previously of the three earlier beasts, previously
the vision simply told us of the succession of the beast, telling us what happened to them.
And then however that understanding ignores the force of the verb, okay.
As for the rest of the beasts, they took away their dominion, translated as a passive, their dominion had been taken away
with God as the implied agent of the action.
The perfect aspect in Aramaic, as in Hebrew, usually indicates a completed act or state.
And in this context, it indicates that the dominion of each beast has already been taken away.
When it is succeeded by the subsequent beast, the first beast has lost its dominion when it is
succeeded by the second beast, and so forth.
Therefore, in this case, the Aramaic perfect aspect corresponds to the English past perfect, or the pluperfect
tense.
However, the verse also states the following about the three earlier beasts.
Literally, at length, extension of life was given to them.
So after their dominion is taken away, they are allowed to live for a while, alive but powerless, until the judgment of the heavenly
court.
Is handed down and executed.
So here's the argument of the commentary.
And this is a little bit of a note.
Daniel is not originally written in Hebrew.
It's written in Aramaic.
And so I do not read Aramaic.
And so this fellow is making the argument was that a better translation, as for the rest of the beasts, their
dominion has already been taken away, had already been taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a season at a
time, which means you'll note that Alexander the Great's kingdom, it's gone, gone.
Medes and the Persians, gone.
The Romans, gone, okay?
But you'll note that they still sort of kind of live on a little bit because we
are a representative republic.
Elements of democracy continue to this day.
So if you were to then understand that their dominion was taken away,
and that's a passive pluperfect tense, then the idea is that they had already, has already
been taken away.
And so, but they still kind of live on until the Day of Judgment.
That's his way of looking at it.
So that, again, note that the way it's written in the English, it's a little tough to get at.
You have to, and even the LSB can't go into an argument like this because this is a high -level discussion based upon verb
tenses of Aramaic.
So a higher -level commentary will get you at that, so.
You basically said, I mean, for all of these authoritarian or groups,
unless you can kill everybody that thinks this way, those ideas still exist.
Yeah, exactly.
Yeah, they still kind of live on, right?
And here in the United States, we are partly Greek and partly Roman.
Absolutely.
And the whole melting pot concept of the United States is based purely on the Medes and Persians and the
Babylonians.
That's the concept they championed, so.
Indeed, all three of those still kind of live on today,.
Right, so.
Yes, Marilyn.
Okay, what verse again?
27.
Chapter seven, verse 27.
Okay, read it out from yours again.
So this is a textual note.
So I have the latest iteration of the ESV.
The Lutheran Study Bible uses an earlier iteration of it.
And one of the things that we're starting to see happen in Old Testament studies is something that's been happening in New Testament studies for a
while.
We actually are beginning to collect up older manuscripts of the Old Testament.
And there are variant readings that kind of change things.
I would note, if you have an old copy of the NIV, like from the 1980s, that when you
read the book of Jude, it says that God who saved a people out of Israel,
it says that God saved a people out of Israel.
But in the new ESV, it says, Jesus who saved a people out of Israel.
And so when you see minor changes like that, they're based upon the fact that we're finding older and older manuscripts.
And so those are called textual variants.
And so the ESV is very good at basically taking very well -documented textual
variants.
And if they can show that they're an earlier and more reliable text, then
they'll make those slight modifications.
Yeah, that's probably what's happening there.
And that's probably the result of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
So, yeah, yeah.
So I'm glad you pointed that out, though.
Yeah, it's probably based on a variant reading.
So, and then let's see here.
Was Aramaic instituted by Rome?
No, Aramaic was something that was well in place during the
intertestamental period and a little bit before the intertestamental period.
By the time Judea, the Jews were taken into captivity, Aramaic was a very, very strong language at that point.
Kind of a derivative of Hebrew, very much related to Hebrew, but slightly different in how it worked
out.
So, and then Daniel in Germany says that 1 Timothy 6 .6 is a
good way to sustain hope in days like this.
So let's take a look at 1 Timothy 6 .6.
I'll grab that real quick.
1 Timothy chapter six, verse six.
Godliness with contentment is great gain.
Yeah, indeed it is.
Yes, godliness with contentment is indeed great gain.
So be content with the gifts that God has given you and I trust that you will trust the words of Christ.
What awaits us is far better than what we have currently.
Nothing here to hang on to.
Just as it says in the movie Frozen, let it go.
So, all right, we'll leave on that note.
Peace, dear brothers and sisters.
Lord willing, we'll see you next time.