Thriving Spiritually When the Future Seems Devastating
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Text: Daniel 8:15-27
When our first daughter was born, my wife developed a severe case of preeclampsia. It led to a brain hemorrhage in our newborn baby girl. On top of that, she contracted Beta Strep—a deadly infection that could either take her life or leave her severely impaired.
I was a brand-new Christian. Sitting in that hospital room, listening to the beeping monitors and watching the doctors rush around, I remember my dad turning to me and asking, “How can a loving God allow this to happen?”
That question haunted me. But instead of pushing me away from God, it pulled me toward Him. Because I realized: if God isn’t in control of the future, then I have no hope. But if He is—if my future, and my daughter’s future, are truly in His hands—then I can have peace, even in devastation.
Daniel 8 is one of those rare passages that dares to pull back the curtain on evil. It doesn’t sugarcoat what’s coming. But it doesn’t leave us in despair either. It reminds us that even when evil rises, our Father still rules.
Daniel receives this vision during the reign of Belshazzar—before Babylon fell, while Israel was still in exile, and when uncertainty filled the air. In that moment, God gives Daniel a vision: a warning that another evil ruler is coming—Antiochus Epiphanes—but also a preview of a far more devastating figure still to come—the Antichrist.
This isn’t just history. It’s preparation. God is getting His people ready—not to panic—but to trust Him when the future looks dark.
Main Idea: Our _Future_ is in the Hands of Our _Father_
That’s the unshakable truth of Daniel 8:15–27. The future may hold chaos, deception, and persecution—but it never slips out of God's hands. His plans will prevail. His people will endure.
So before we get overwhelmed by beasts, horns, and symbolism—let’s anchor ourselves in this: our future is not in the hands of tyrants or trends—it’s in the hands of our Father. That’s our anchor.
But how do you stay spiritually grounded when the world seems to be unraveling? When evil advances, truth is trampled, and tomorrow feels uncertain—how do you thrive spiritually?
Daniel’s vision—and God’s explanation—gives us three answers. If we want to thrive spiritually when the future seems devastating, we need to grasp three truths that anchor our hearts and steady our souls.
1. Our Father Reveals _Secrets_ (vs. 15-19)
Explanation: Unpacking the Truth
Daniel was deeply troubled by what he saw in the vision—and rightly so. He sought to understand it.
But where would he turn for insight into such a complex and terrifying revelation? How could he possibly make sense of it?
God didn’t leave him in the dark.
Instead, He sent help.
15 When I, Daniel, had seen the vision, I sought to understand it. And behold, there stood before me one having the appearance of a man. 16 And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of the Ulai, and it called, “Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.”
That voice—likely the voice of God—sent Gabriel, the angel, to make things clear.
This is the first time Gabriel is mentioned in the Bible.
Later, we’ll see him appear again to announce the births of John the Baptist and Jesus.
His presence ties together God’s redemptive plan across both Old and New Testaments.
When Gabriel approaches, Daniel is terrified.
Who wouldn’t be?
Holy angels are not cute, glowing beings—they are awe-inspiring messengers of God’s glory.
Daniel falls on his face.
So did the apostle John in Revelation:
10 Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God.” For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me, 9 but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.”
Fear and worship are affiliated with the God of the Bible.
Not foolishness and flippancy.
Daniel fell on his face before Gabriel.
Undeterred, Gabriel fulfilled his mission from God and this is what he said to Daniel…
17 So he came near where I stood. And when he came, I was frightened and fell on my face. But he said to me, “Understand, O son of man, that the vision is for the time of the end.”
Gabriel lifts Daniel and gives him the heart of the message:
In Daniel 8, “the time of the end” refers to a season when suffering gives way to restoration—a promise meant to give hope to God's oppressed people.
In apocalyptic writing, “the end” can point to several things:
the conclusion of suffering,
a time of divine judgment,
or the final end of human history.
Here, it includes all three. Daniel's vision foretells the fall of kingdoms like Antiochus Epiphanes and points forward to the coming of Messiah's eternal kingdom—a kingdom where justice reigns and the one true God is worshiped forever (Daniel 2:44; 7:13–14, 18, 27).
Adapted from: Barry, John D., et al., Faithlife Study Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012, 2016).
Antiochus fulfilled much of Daniel’s vision historically, but he also foreshadowed the ultimate evil still to come—the Antichrist of the end times.
This is what verse 19 alludes to…
19 He said, “Behold, I will make known to you what shall be at the latter end of the indignation, for it refers to the appointed time of the end.
A strange situation, no doubt. Daniel fell into a deep sleep until Gabriel stood him up so he could explain everything clearly to him.
And here it the point of verse 19…
While much of Daniel’s vision was fulfilled historically through Antiochus Epiphanes—who desecrated the temple and persecuted God's people—Gabriel’s words here push us beyond his lifetime. The 'appointed time of the end' points forward to a greater fulfillment still to come.
Antiochus was a shadow of a far more devastating figure—the Antichrist—who will rise during the final period of human rebellion before Christ’s return.
Just as Antiochus unleashed terror on God’s people, the future Antichrist will bring unprecedented tribulation to the world. But even then, evil’s days are numbered, and Christ’s final victory is assured.
This is not speculation—it’s consistent with how Scripture uses typology: one figure partially fulfills a prophecy while pointing to a future, ultimate fulfillment (cf. 2 Thess. 2:3–4; Rev. 13).
Argumentation: Proving the Point
Why does all this matter? Because it proves something critical:
God already knows the future. And if He knows it, we don’t have to fear it. You don’t need to carry the weight of what comes next.
Your Father holds the future—and He reveals just what we need, when we need it.
Illustration: Engaging the Imagination
McKenzie told me something touching the other day.
Her son Elliot was worried about whether his parents could afford to pay the mortgage.
His little heart was anxious about grown-up responsibilities. He was carrying a burden he didn’t need to bear.
They already had it covered.
And neither do you, child of God. You don’t need to carry what your Father already holds.
Application: Living the Truth
Here’s the takeaway:
Your Father in heaven knows every secret. He has the end already written. He has the enemy already defeated. And He has your name already secure in Christ.
So what are you worried about?
What’s keeping you up at night?
What future fear is stealing your present peace?
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
Wait, is Peter saying being worried and fearful is prideful? God is, through Peter, saying this!
Worry is a desire for control over things in which you have no control.
Daniel couldn’t change the future. God didn’t share this to scare him, but to strengthen his trust.
So, as Peter says, Humble yourselves, UNDER the mighty had of God (for protection)!
If you trust God, you have no need for anxiety!
So lay down the illusion of control. Rest in the sovereignty of God.
If you truly believe your Father knows all and holds all—you can sleep in peace tonight.
Review
Let’s remember: Our future is in the hands of our Father.
He knows the end from the beginning.
He reveals what we need to know—not so we can control it, but so we can trust Him more fully.
And if He reveals secrets, we can also trust that He is greater than anyone or anything we fear.
2. Our Father is Superior to Earthly _Powers_ (vs. 20-22)
20 As for the ram that you saw with the two horns, these are the kings of Media and Persia. 21 And the goat is the king of Greece. And the great horn between his eyes is the first king. 22 As for the horn that was broken, in place of which four others arose, four kingdoms shall arise from his nation, but not with his power.
Last Sunday, we looked at Daniel’s vision from chapter 8, which took place in the third year of King Belshazzar’s reign.
Though Daniel was still in Babylon, God transported him in the vision to Susa, the future center of Persian power—foreshadowing what was to come.
In that vision, the ram with two horns represented the Medo-Persian Empire, and the male goat symbolized Greece, led by the powerful but short-lived rule of Alexander the Great.
Alexander’s swift rise and sudden fall were pictured in the breaking of the prominent horn, after which four lesser kingdoms emerged.
Through it all, we were reminded that while earthly powers rise and fall, they do so under God's sovereign hand. History follows His script—and only His kingdom endures forever.
I would like to point out something important here just as a side note. This enigmatic chapter, for the most part, interprets itself. Verses 1-14 are difficult to understand. Verses 15-27 clear much of the confusion up for us.
My point is this, we must allow the Bible to speak for itself. We do not have the right to impose meaning on the text. We must derive meaning from the text. That is our job as students of the Bible.
And that is what this passage is doing for verse 1-14.
The big takeaway from these verses is simple. Kingdoms rise and kingdoms fall. God is over it all!
Kingdoms come and kingdoms go, but the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ will stand forever.
Here’s something important: Daniel saw this before it happened.
Alexander wouldn’t rise for another 200 years. But God had already scripted the story.
Alexander moved with military genius and overwhelming force. His conquests reshaped the world, spreading Greek culture—Hellenization—everywhere he went.
That’s why the Old Testament closes in Hebrew, and the New Testament opens in Greek. The very language of our New Testament owes its context to Alexander’s sweeping influence.
Alexander had a tremendous impact on the world. But His impact was short lived.
22 As for the horn that was broken…
Alexander died suddenly in 323 B.C. at just 32 years old—at the height of his power.
His empire shattered, divided between four generals: Cassander, Lysim-achus, Ptolemy, and Seleucus.
That’s exactly what Daniel saw centuries earlier.
One ancient saying captures it well:
“A tomb now suffices him for whom the whole world was not sufficient.”
This is the point: Even the greatest earthly powers have limits.
They rise.
They fall.
But God stands above them all.
22 As for the horn that was broken, in place of which four others arose, four kingdoms shall arise from his nation, but not with his power.
These kingdoms were weaker, fragmented, and temporary. But behind it all was God, sovereign over every rise and fall.
This passage isn’t just history—it’s theology. It’s a declaration of divine supremacy.
Application: Living the Truth
Let me ask you: How powerful is your God?
If He can name empires before they exist…
If He can predict kings before they’re born…
If He can foretell the crumbling of empires centuries in advance…
Then He can handle your stress.
He can handle your anxiety.
Your family strain.
Your fear over what’s happening in the world.
Your worry about who’s in office or what’s erupting in the Middle East.
If God governs empires, He can govern your life.
Stop living like the world is in charge.
Start living like your Father reigns.
Because He does.
He’s more than able to:
Guide you through confusing decisions.
Strengthen you in the middle of suffering.
Provide for you when money is tight.
Sustain you when hope feels thin.
If He rules global empires, He can be trusted with:
Your marriage frustrations
Your money troubles
And even your Monday morning
So rest in Him, beloved. He will not let you down.
Review: Recap the Point
Our future isn’t mysterious to God—it’s already present to Him.
And no earthly power, no empire, no election, no economy—can rival our Father in heaven.
Our future is in our Father’s hands—and that Father knows all the secrets, reveals what we need, and reigns above all powers.
And because He reigns over the greatest of earthly kings, no evil ruler—past, present, or future—can overthrow His plan.
3. Our Father is King Over _Oppressive_ Rule (vs. 23-27)
Daniel's vision in verses 23–27 is devastating.
He admits in verse 27 that he was "appalled" and “did not understand” what he saw.
It overwhelmed him physically and spiritually.
Yet, for us, with the help of the Holy Spirit and hindsight, we’re able to understand much of what Daniel saw—and why it matters.
This vision was given in 551 B.C. during Belshazzar’s third year (Dan. 8:1).
The historical fulfillment began nearly four centuries later, with Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who rose to power in 175 B.C.
His severe persecution of the Jews—especially from 171–164 B.C.—included mass killings, desecration of the temple, and outlawing Jewish worship.
But the text also points beyond him.
Verse 17 says this vision is “for the time of the end.” Antiochus is not the final fulfillment—he is the shadow of a more sinister figure: the Antichrist.
Let’s walk through the verses:
23 And at the latter end of their kingdom, when the transgressors have reached their limit, a king of bold face, one who understands riddles, shall arise.
This king—Antiochus—is arrogant (‘az panim, “bold face”) and cunning (meivin chidot, “understands riddles”).
He rises not from righteousness but in a time when rebellion has ripened.
He is a skilled manipulator, politically and spiritually.
But this language also fits the Antichrist.
2 Thessalonians 2:3 describes him as “the man of lawlessness” who comes amid rebellion.
3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,
Like Antiochus, the AntiChrist will be intellectually brilliant, manipulative, and spiritually defiant.
Look at verse 24…
24 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.
Antiochus's rise was empowered through external political forces—not legitimate royal succession.
He ruled by cunning and force.
The Hebrew "not by his own power" (וְלֹא בְכֹחוֹ, v’lo v’kocho) emphasizes that he was an instrument of divine judgment, though likely unaware of it.
He executed brutal campaigns against Jerusalem, outlawing Jewish practices and slaying tens of thousands. Josephus records 40,000 killed and as many sold into slavery.
The "saints" here are the faithful in Israel, who resisted his reforms and faced martyrdom.
The Antichrist will rise through satanic empowerment (cf. Rev. 13:2, “The dragon gave him his power”).
Like Antiochus, he will devastate the faithful (cf. Dan. 7:25, Rev. 13:7).
The double fulfillment is supported by this figure’s role in opposing God and deceiving nations, traits echoed in Revelation 13.
4 And they worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?” 5 And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months. 6 It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven. 7 Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation, 8 and all who dwell on 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. 9 If anyone has an ear, let him hear:
The scale of destruction will be global and unprecedented, confirming this text has layers beyond the ancient world.
But look at verse 25…
25 By his cunning he shall make deceit prosper under his hand, and in his own mind he shall become great. Without warning he shall destroy many. And he shall even rise up against the Prince of princes, and he shall be broken—but by no human hand.
Antiochus was known for deceptive peace treaties. In 168 B.C., he attacked Jerusalem on the Sabbath under the guise of peace and slaughtered worshipers.
His arrogance led him to claim divinity—his coins were stamped “Theos Epiphanēs”(God manifest).
But his opposition to the "Prince of princes" (שַׂר־שָׂרִים, sar sarim)—a rare title implying supreme authority—signals deeper theological conflict.
He desecrated God's temple…
But his death came not by war—but by divine judgment through disease and madness. The phrase “broken without human hand” recalls Daniel 2:45—the stone cut without hands that destroys human kingdoms.
The Antichrist, like Antiochus, will exalt himself (2 Thess. 2:4), deceive the world (Dan. 9:27), and oppose Christ—but he too will be destroyed by Christ Himself (2 Thess. 2:8, Rev. 19:20).
8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming.
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.”
The "evenings and mornings" refer back to the 2,300 units in v. 14—2,300 days.
Regardless, the prophecy was fulfilled literally in Antiochus’s time, affirming the vision’s accuracy.
Yet Daniel is told to seal it up!
The command to “seal” the vision means preserve it, not hide it.
Its ultimate fulfillment lies ahead.
27 And I, Daniel, was overcome and lay sick for some days. Then I rose and went about the king’s business, but I was appalled by the vision and did not understand it.
Daniel’s sickness shows the weight of this truth. He saw evil rise to horrifying heights.
Though a seasoned prophet, the clarity of persecution and the mysterious evil ahead unsettled him deeply.
This reinforces that what he saw wasn't just a local tyrant—it hinted at something far more ominous in the future!
Daniel 8:23–27 gives us a striking portrait of a cunning, destructive king—fulfilled in part by Antiochus IV Epiphanes, but with language and scope that clearly point to a greater fulfillment in the coming Antichrist. The detailed Hebrew phrases describing insolence, deceit, satanic empowerment, and supernatural judgment reveal more than mere politics—they reveal a cosmic conflict.
Antiochus’s actions—persecuting God’s people, exalting himself, and desecrating the temple—mirror what the New Testament says the Antichrist will do on a global scale. The phrase "broken without human hand" ties directly to Daniel 2 and Revelation 19, linking God’s judgment of kingdoms across redemptive history.
Daniel’s own sickness shows the weight of the vision.
For us, this passage stands as a prophetic warning and a theological anchor: evil has a limit, God has a plan, and Christ will reign.
“Though this passage clearly refers historically to Antiochus Epiphanes... the description goes beyond any literal fulfillment in Antiochus and anticipates the final Gentile ruler of the time of the end—the Antichrist.” -Dr. John Walvoord, Daniel: The Key to Prophetic Revelation, p. 197
Daniel saw devastation. And he was sick over it.
You and I live in a world where evil still rises—where persecution still happens, where truth is mocked, and darkness seems to grow.
But here's the truth you must hold on to: God is King over every oppressive ruler.
There is no tyrant that scares Him.
There is no evil that surprises Him.
There is no throne that threatens Him.
And if He reigns over world empires, He reigns over your life too.
…If God is for us, who can be against us?
So don’t let headlines shake your hope.
Don’t let tomorrow steal your peace.
Don’t let evil intimidate your heart.
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
So what have we seen in Daniel 8?
Our Father reveals secrets, rules over powers, and reigns above oppression. From ancient empires to future Antichrists, nothing escapes His control.
But here’s the real question:
Now that you know this—how will you live differently?
It’s one thing to believe God is sovereign.
It’s another to walk out of here and live like it.
Let’s finish with a call to live with bold, unshakable trust—because our future is still in the hands of our Father.
Conclusion
INDIVIDUAL:
When worry creeps in this week—about your health, your finances, the future—let Daniel 8 remind you: God is in control.
Each day, take five quiet minutes to pray over one area where you feel anxious. Say aloud:
“Lord, You are sovereign—I trust You.”
RELATIONAL:
Think of someone who’s discouraged—a friend, a family member, someone in your small group.
Reach out with a simple reminder of God’s promises.
Daniel was shaken by the vision, but he also saw God’s unshakable victory.
Share that hope.
MISSIONAL:
We live in an anxious world.
This week, when the door opens, share how your faith anchors you.
Say something like:
“I don’t have all the answers, but I believe God is in control—and that gives me peace.”
Sometimes one sentence is all it takes to spark gospel conversation.
As Corrie Ten Boom, author of The Hiding Place, once said,
“Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.”
What if we became a church marked by calm confidence in God’s sovereignty?
What if fear lost its grip… and peace rose in its place?
Imagine the difference that would make—in our homes, in our prayers, in our town.
Let’s not just believe Christ reigns—let’s live like it.
