WHEN EMPIRES COLLIDE (Daniel 8:1-27)

This one is challenging. Stay with it. The payoff is great. God's control of the future does not nullify the importance of our choices.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Today we're going to be in Daniel chapter 8. I have to admit to you that the prophecies that we're going to look at are somewhat confusing. I'm going to try to make this as clear as possible, but it might help if you have an open Bible in front of you as you listen. I've entitled this When Empires Collide. In Daniel chapter 8, verses 1 through 4, we read the following words. In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar, a vision appeared to me, Daniel, after that which appeared to me at the first. And I saw in the vision, and when I saw, I was in Susa the Citadel, which is in the province of Elam. And I saw in the vision, and I was at the Uli canal. I raised my eyes and saw, and behold a ram standing on the bank of the canal. It had two horns, and both horns were high, but one was higher than the other, and the higher one came up last. I saw the ram charging westward and northward and southward. No beast could stand before him, and there was no one who could rescue from his power. He did as he pleased, and became great. I remember as a young boy watching a black and white flick of two steam locomotives chugging at full speed in opposite directions. One frame showed one locomotive chugging one way, and the second frame showed the other locomotive going in the other direction. And soon you realize by a third frame that both locomotives are on the same track moving towards each other. They collide, and the impact is massive. Steam bursts from places it shouldn't have, while bolts and metal and small pieces fly everywhere. It was enough to make a young boy just say that is cool. Well, you know, Daniel has a vision of a collision. It's not between locomotives, it's between animals. We're told that this is the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar. The year then would be 551 BC. Now to put this in perspective, this is before Daniel chapter 5. It is also two years after the vision that Daniel receives in Daniel 7 that we've already looked at. This is the vision when he sees the hybrid creatures that signify the four kingdoms of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. Now this third this vision of Daniel chapter 8 is going to spotlight those two middle kingdoms or empires, Medo-Persia and Greece. We generally do not know a great deal about these kingdoms as Bible students, but there may be something for us to learn here. And I think if you'll stay with me, the pay dirt from this study will be significant. The Vengeant of Daniel chapter 8 spotlights again those two middle kingdoms where Daniel sees a ram with two huge but unequal horns. This ram is charging in all directions. Nothing can stop it. But Daniel sees even more. At verse 5 he goes on to explain, as I was considering, behold, a male goat came from the west across the face of the whole earth without touching the ground. And the goat had a conspicuous horn between his eyes. He came to the ram with the two horns, which I had seen standing on the bank of the canal, and he ran at him in his powerful wrath. I saw him come close to the ram, and he was engaged, enraged rather, against him, and struck the ram and broke his two horns, and the ram had no power to stand before him, but cast him down to the ground and trampled on him, and there was no one who could rescue the ram from his power. So we have this ram, and now we have this goat. There's a collision between the two. This male goat does not touch the ground. He has a huge horn. This goat charges the ram in full strength, and a terrible collision breaks the ram's two horns off. Daniel then explains, verse eight, then the goat became exceedingly great, and when he was strong, the great horn was broken, and instead of it came up four conspicuous horns toward the four winds of heaven. So in other words, at the height of his power, this goat's big horn is somehow broken, and four other horns take its place. Now understand that horns are animal horns here, and you don't want to be on the other end of a bull's horn or a ram's horn. Horns stand for strength, might, prowess, power, dominion. And these horns are collapsing, but then others are emerging. Now, something else changes in this collision, though. Verse 9 says, out of one of them came a little horn. In other words, out of the one of the four conspicuous horns came this little horn, which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the glorious land. In other words, this is the four conspicuous horns on this goat, and one of them becomes a little horn. So to put it all together, a two-horned ram is taken out by a big-horned goat, whose big horn breaks into and morphs into four, one of which is going to turn into a little horn. And this little horn grows in power toward the south, that would be Egypt, the east, that would be Babylon, and the glorious land, that would be Israel. This little horn that we're talking about is going to be very disruptive. For one thing, it's going to disturb things even in heaven. Verse 10 says, it grew great even to the host of heaven. And some of the host and some of the stars it threw to the ground and trampled on them. Verse 11, it became great even as great as the Prince of Host. That Prince of hosts could be an archangel, could even be Christ. We don't know. But the point here is that the host of heaven are heavenly powers. You have to understand that Scripture often ties earthly rulers to heavenly powers, or even the stars. And this little horn, then, is disruptive toward these heavenly structures, these powers. It even rivals the Prince of Hosts. But it also disrupts things on earth. Verse 11 goes on to say, and the regular burnt offering was taken away from him. The hymn here probably refers to the Prince of Hosts. So in other words, worship is somehow interrupted. He goes on to say, the place of his sanctuary was overthrown. That means then sacrifice, worship, God's temple, disrupted, desecrated. Verse 12, and a host, that would be a lot of people, will be given over to it. Okay, that would be again the little horn, together with regular burnt offering because of the transgression, Judah sins, and it, the horn, will be though throw truth to the ground and it will act and prosper. This doesn't sound real good. In other words, this little horn is going to be disruptive towards the people of God, to the worship that regularly takes place. He will desecrate what is holy, and nothing can stop him. So the little horn messes with heavenly powers, rivals the Messiah, apparently, disrupts the worship of Yahweh, disturbs God's people, and violates God's truth. Wow. You say, well, how long will this last? Well, the angel apparently expects us to ask. So verse 13, Daniel says, Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to the ones who spoke, For how long is the vision concerning the regular burnt offering, the transgression that makes desolate, and the giving over of the sanctuary and the host to be trampled underfoot. He's not asking how long till the temple worship is disrupted. He's asking how long will it last? Verse 14, and he said to me, For 2,300 evenings and mornings, then the sanctuary will be restored to its rightful state. So in other words, there is going to be an end to this. But the point here is that the temple and its worship are going to be desecrated for a span of time. 2,300 evenings. In other words, six years and four months. Now, if you're confused with all this, you can imagine how Daniel felt. Again, I want to encourage you to stick with us because I think the payoff will be great here. Daniel does not just doodle on his paper or shrug his shoulders. He doesn't just give up. He doesn't just walk away and say, well, it's hopeless. Verse 15, he says, When I, Daniel, had seen the vision, I sought to understand it. Praise God. For those who are interested enough in what God says, they will try to understand it. They won't just walk away because it gets difficult. I would say the same thing for you. If you're listening to this and sticking with it, praise God for you. You're trying to understand what God says. And so God gives Daniel help. Verse 6 15, the rest of the verse says, And behold, there stood before me one having the appearance of a man. And I heard a man's voice between the banks of the Uli, and it called, Gabriel, make this man understand the vision. Now the man is Gabriel, the voice probably is Christ. He orders Gabriel to explain the vision to Daniel. I want you to notice what happens. Verse 17, so he, in other words, Gabriel, came near where I stood, and when he came I was frightened and fell on my face. Notice here that Daniel does not swagger over to Gabriel. He doesn't give him a high five, nor does he yawn and say, Well, whatever. What does he do? He falls down. The rest of verse 17 says, But he said to me, Understand, O Son of Man, that the vision is for the time of the end. In other words, this is end time stuff. And I would suggest you not just Daniel's end, but even our end. Verse 18, when he had spoken to me, I fell into a deep sleep with my face to the ground, but he touched me and made me stand up. Daniel faints, but Gabriel arouses him. Verse 19, he said, Behold, I will make known to you what shall be at the latter end of the indignation. This would be God's fury, for it refers to the appointed time of the end. Again, this is about the end. Now to review, Daniel sees a two horned ram, a goat with a big horn, which somehow gets broken, four horns appear, and a little horn emerges. And Gabriel finally begins to explain. Now look at verse twenty. As for the ram that you saw with the two horns, these are the kings of Media and Persia. The Medes and the Persians become a dual nation. The two horned ram signifies the kings of Medo-Persia, an empire that really lasted from five thirty-six to three thirty-six BC, two hundred years. Cyrus the Persian overthrows Babylon in five thirty nine and deputizes Darius the Mead to control it. We've already looked at that in Daniel chapter five. And now for the bighorn goat. Verse 21. And the goat is the king of Greece, and the great horn between his eyes is the first king. Who is this? This is Alexander the Great, who brings in the short-lived Greek Empire, which basically lasts from 336 to 323 BC. Alexander the Great, as you know by history, conquers the world in twelve years, and by age twenty six he rules everything, and yet he dies at age 33. His horn is broken. And guess what? His kingdom then is parsed out to four leaders. It gives way to four horns. Verse 22, as for the horn that was broken, in place of which four others arose, four kingdoms arise from his nation, but not with his power. And guess what happens? As we know from history, his kingdom is divided among four generals, two of whom play into the promised land's future. And from one of these kingdoms comes the little horn, and he creates real problems but foreshadows someone far worse. If you read on, verse 23 says, And at the latter end of their kingdom, in other words, the four generals' kingdom, when the transgressors have reached their limit, a king of bold face, one who understands riddles shall arise. His power shall be great, but not by his own power, and he shall cause fearful destruction, and shall succeed in what he does, and destroy mighty men, and the people who are the saints. In other words, he will persecute God's people. Verse twenty five, and by his cunning he shall make deceit prosper under his hand, and in his own mind he shall become great. What does that mean? He's going to be a master of lies and arrogance. Without warning, verse twenty-five continues, he shall destroy many, and he shall even rise up against the prince of princes. This is maybe a maybe the Christ, and he shall be broken, but by no human hand. Who is this? Who is this little horn, this ruler? Well, what we know from history is that the Jews eventually come under a king of bold face, a Greek or Syrian ruler named Antiochus IV Epiphanes. This guy who reigns from 175 to 164 BC is brutal. Antiochus comes to Jerusalem in a rage. He forbids all sacrifices, outlaws circumcision, cancels all Sabbaths, disallows the feast days, and destroys nearly every copy of the Hebrew Bible. He loots the temple and sets up a military post there. He builds an altar to Zeus in the most holy place, sacrifices there a pig, forces the Jews to eat pork, and then sacrifices to Zeus. He massacres 40,000 Jews in one day and exiles 10,000 others. Many Jews die in the ensuing revolt until Antiochus IV dies himself in 164 BC. This is what is being forecasted in these verses. But I want you to notice, verse 26, the vision of the evenings and the mornings that has been told is true. But seal up the vision, for it refers to many days from now. And it did. And for the third time, we're told that this vision relates to the end. And it was many days from Daniel's time, obviously. And yet it is believed that this little horn prefigures someone far worse for us than even Antiochus IV Epiphanes was for the Jews. There would be a final little horn coming in our future. We will talk more about this as time goes on. But I simply want you to understand that Daniel's vision stretches not only to his end, to the Jewish nation's end, but even to our end. This vision impacts Daniel. Verse 27, Daniel says, And I, Daniel, was overcome and lay sick for some days. Then I arose and went about the king's business, but I was appalled by the vision and did not understand it. It's no wonder. If you knew all that was going to happen to you in the next five years, you would faint too. I would as well. You know, we crave to know the future, but we can't handle it. And yet God lets us in on what's going to happen before it ever does happen. Just enough to reassure us, but not enough to blow us away. Daniel sees into his future, but what does this mean for us? Here's where I think the payoff is in this passage. I'm going to suggest to you three things that we dare not forget. First, God wants our view of the future to be realistic and hopeful. God says to Israel through Daniel, I'm telling you about these nations and rulers long before they're ever born. I do not want you to be surprised by it. And here's what is around the next bend. Here's what is over the next mountain range. Here is what is 200 miles down the road, or if you prefer, 200 years. You are my people. You are in captivity now, but you will go home. You will leave Babylon and go back to the promised land. I will restore all things, I will not fail you, but you are still going to be under the thumb of godless powers. Things will get better for you, but they're going to get worse before they do. And when things get worse, it is according to plan. Do not get disillusioned, do not be dismayed, do not lose hope. This is what God is telling Daniel. This is what God is telling the exiles in Babylon who are weary from their captivity. He's also saying the same thing to you and to me. God wants your view of the future to be realistic and hopeful. Secondly, God wants us to know his view of the future is accurate. It's amazing because now, 2,600 years later, we can look back and see the visions that God gave to Daniel all happened just as he said it would. Some 375 years into Daniel's future, the little horn appears in the person of Antiochus the 5th or 4th Epiphanes as a Assyrian ruler in 175 to 164 BC. Daniel does not make this up. God tells Daniel who's coming long before they ever emerge, long before they're ever born. Why? Because God knows the future. God controls the future. God's word predicts the future, even our future. And it will all it all happen just as God said it would, and so it will happen for us. A final horn will appear. Our own future will unfold exactly as God said it would. Now that leads me to item number three. God wants us to see that He controls the future, but our choices still matter. Individual and collective choices still count. God has the future mapped out. You may think that because God has it all sorted out, that it really doesn't matter what we do. It does matter. It's been said that the average lifespan before a civilization Collapses into bondage is 200 years. In 1788, Edward Gibbons wrote a classic entitled The History and the Decline of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. And he gave five reasons for Rome's fall. His first reason was, quote, an undermining of the dignity and sanctity of the home, which is the basis for human society. His last reason for Rome's fall was the decay of religion, faith fading into mere form, losing touch with life. These were what Gibbons said led to the fall of the Roman Empire. And yet both of these are choices faith and fathers. Both are huge in the stability and longevity of nations. Faith makes for strong families. Strong families come from strong fathers. Strong fathers make strong nations. Strong nations make good futures. Back in the year 2008, a Father's Day sermon was given at the Apostolic Church of God in Chicago. The speaker said this, and I quote, We know the statistics that children who grow up without a father are five times more likely to live in poverty and commit crime, nine times more likely to drop out of school, and twenty times more likely to end up in prison. They're more likely to have behavioral problems or run away from home or become teenage parents themselves. And the foundations of our community are weaker because of it. Too many fathers are missing, acting like boys instead of men. The speaker on that occasion might surprise you. It was Barack Obama. Strong faith makes strong fathers, strong fathers, strong families, and a strong nation. This makes a future blessed by God. A meteorologist predicts sun or rain. A prophet predicts what is coming. And Daniel says that we are on a collision course with a ruthless nation that is Satan incarnate. And we decide when it comes. History is like a revolving door pushed by the collective choices of those within the door. And when we when enough of us stop pushing, the door slows its turning. The world keeps pushing. But Jesus has overcome the world, and ultimately Christ controls who pushes and how long. And he gets us out of the revolving door. The majority keeps pushing, but we are no longer the majority's slaves. I want to encourage you to push the other way against the culture so that when empires collide, God's kingdom prevails.