A Future Hope in a Present Darkness

Good morning, church.

We’re here this morning to open God’s Word, but before we do, we need to acknowledge the shadow that hangs over our gathering, over our city, and over our nation. I know that for most of us, our hearts have been heavy since we heard the news this past Wednesday. The assassination of a major public figure like Charlie Kirk is a deeply shocking and unsettling event, regardless of where you stand on his politics or his commentary.

An act of such violence sends tremors through all of us. It creates a sense of instability, of anger, and for many, a sense of fear. It rips the veil off our sense of security and exposes the raw, broken, and volatile nature of the world we live in. And in moments like these, it is natural, and it is right, to ask profound questions: What is this world coming to? Why is there so much hatred? And for us as Christians, the question goes deeper: Where is God in all of this? How are we supposed to live with hope and purpose when the world feels like it is spinning out of control?

These are not new questions. They are the ancient questions of God’s people living in a world that is not their home. They are the questions of an exile.

For three weeks, we have been walking with Daniel. We saw him establish his identity in God. We saw him live a life of incredible integrity at work. We saw the private devotional habits that fueled his public faithfulness. But today, in this final message, we arrive at the foundation of it all. We get to the bedrock that allowed him to stand firm for seventy years in the heart of a violent, pagan, and politically unstable empire. That bedrock was his unshakeable hope in God’s ultimate future.

The Big Idea for today is:

A confident hope in God's future kingdom gives us courage and perspective to live faithfully in our present exile.

Daniel, like us, lived in a present darkness. But God, in His grace, pulled back the curtain and gave him a glimpse of the end of the story. And what he saw changed everything. It gave him a hope that was not based on the stability of Babylon, but on the sovereignty of God.

Today, we need that same hope. We need to see what Daniel saw. We need to lift our eyes from the shocking headlines of our present darkness and fix them on the certainty of God’s future kingdom. Because it is this confident hope that gives us the courage and the perspective we need to live faithfully in our present exile.

The Unfiltered Reality of the Present Darkness (Daniel 7)

God does not sugarcoat the reality of the world for Daniel. In chapter 7, Daniel has a dream, a vision that is deeply disturbing. He sees four great beasts coming out of the sea.

(Read Daniel 7:1-8)

The first, he says, was like a lion with eagles' wings. This represents Babylon—powerful, majestic, and swift. But then its wings are plucked off, and it’s made to stand on two feet like a man, a shadow of its former glory.

Then comes a second beast, like a bear, raised up on one side, with three ribs in its mouth. This represents the Medo-Persian empire—brutish, strong, and devouring.

The third beast is like a leopard, with four wings and four heads. This is the Greek empire under Alexander the Great—astoundingly fast in its conquest, but ultimately fractured and divided.

But it’s the fourth beast that terrifies Daniel. Look at Daniel 7, verse 7: "After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth; it devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet... it had ten horns."

This beast represents the ruthless, crushing power of the Roman Empire, and in a broader sense, it represents the ultimate, anti-God nature of all human empires. It is arrogant, violent, and blasphemous.

This is God’s diagnosis of human history apart from Him. It’s a parade of proud, devouring beasts. It's a story of kingdoms that rise on the wings of power, consume others, and are eventually broken and replaced by the next, more ferocious beast. This is not a sanitized, optimistic view of the world. It is raw, and it is real.

When we see an act of political violence like we saw this week, we are seeing the teeth of the beast. We are seeing the outworking of a world system that is, at its core, opposed to the ways of God. The shock and horror we feel is a righteous feeling, because we are seeing the world as God sees it—broken, violent, and groaning under the weight of sin. Dr. Ironside notes that these visions were given to remind the people of God that the glitter and gold of Babylon is a façade, and underneath is a ravenous nature. The Bible is not naive about the darkness of this world. It is brutally honest. And our first step toward a real hope is to have an honest assessment of our reality. This world, in its current state, is a dark and dangerous place.

God's diagnosis of human history apart from Him is a parade of proud, devouring beasts.

The Unshakeable Certainty of a Coming King (Daniel 7)

But that is not where the vision ends. If it did, it would be a vision of despair. As Daniel is reeling from the terror of the fourth beast, the scene suddenly shifts. The camera pans up, from earth to heaven. Look at verse 9:

Daniel 7:9–10 KJV 1900

I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.

Before the beasts were, He was. While the beasts rage, He sits. After the beasts are gone, He will be. This is the Ancient of Days—God the Father, seated on His throne. He is in complete control. He is the one who places thrones and removes them. The chaos on earth does not, for one second, threaten the calm of His heavenly court. The news that shocked us this week did not surprise Him. He is sovereign over the rise and fall of nations, and He is the ultimate judge to whom all accounts will be settled.

And then, in this heavenly courtroom, someone arrives. This is the climax of the vision, the turning point of all of history. Verse 13:

Daniel 7:13–14 KJV 1900

I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him 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 that which shall not be destroyed.

Who is this "one like a son of man"? This is the very title that Jesus used for Himself more than any other. This is a vision of the resurrected and ascended Lord Jesus Christ. After His work on the cross was finished, He came before the Father, and He was given the kingdom.

Do you see the contrast? On earth, you have beasts who take power through violence. In heaven, you have a Son of Man who is given power through sacrifice. And His kingdom is not like the others. It is an "everlasting dominion." It will not be replaced by the next beast. It is the final kingdom. It is the kingdom that will crush all other kingdoms and will stand forever.

This is our hope, church. Our hope is not that the good guys will eventually win the political battle on earth. Our hope is that the King has already been enthroned in heaven. The final victory has already been secured. History is not a random series of chaotic events; it is the story of God systematically putting all things under the feet of His Son, Jesus Christ. This means that no matter how dark it gets, no matter how chaotic the headlines become, the man on the throne is not a president or a prime minister, but the Son of Man, and His kingdom shall not be destroyed.

God's answer to the chaos of human history is not a program, but a Person: Jesus Christ.

His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away.

The Undeniable Hope of a Final Resurrection (Daniel 12)

This vision gives us the big picture. It tells us where history is going. But what about us? What about the individuals who suffer and die in this present darkness? What about the victims of injustice and violence? What about our own mortality?

Daniel’s final vision at the end of the book brings this cosmic hope down to a deeply personal level. After seeing visions of great conflict and suffering, Daniel is given one of the clearest promises of the resurrection in the entire Old Testament.

Look at Daniel 12, verse 2:

Daniel 12:2–3 KJV 1900

And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.

This is God’s final answer to the problem of death and injustice. The story does not end with our bodies in the grave. It does not end with evil winning the day. There is a coming day of awakening. A day of resurrection. On that day, there will be a great separation. For those who have placed their faith in Christ, it will be an awakening to "everlasting life." It will be a day of vindication, of joy, and of glory.

God's final answer to death and injustice is the resurrection.

But for those who have rejected God, it will be an awakening to "shame and everlasting contempt." It will be a day of final judgment, where every beastly act, every injustice, every act of violence will be brought into the light and judged perfectly by the Ancient of Days.

This promise changes how we view tragedy. It means that for the believer, even an event as final as an assassination is not the end of the story. It means that death does not get the last word. God gets the last word, and His word is resurrection. As Dr. Ironside would emphasize, the Christian’s hope is not in the improvement of this world, but in the promise of the next. Our gaze is fixed on the morning of the resurrection.

This hope gives us an incredible perspective. It assures us that justice will be done. It gives us the confidence to entrust our loved ones, and our own lives, into the hands of a God who has conquered the grave. And it gives us a mission. Look at that beautiful promise in verse 3: "And those who are wise... who turn many to righteousness, [shall shine] like the stars forever and ever."

Our task as exiles is not to live in fear or anger. Our task is to be wise, to live in light of eternity, and to spend our lives pointing people to the only one who can save them from the coming judgment and bring them into the coming kingdom. Our mission is to populate the new creation.

Conclusion: How Then Shall We Live?

We began this morning with the darkness of this week’s news. A world that feels unstable and frightening. And we have seen God’s answer from the book of Daniel. The present darkness is real—the beasts are real. But the coming King is more real, and His kingdom is unstoppable. And our future resurrection is certain.

So how does this future hope change how we live in our present exile, especially in a week like this?

1. This hope frees us from political despair and utopianism.

When we know that the final, perfect kingdom is coming with Jesus, it frees us from two opposite errors. It frees us from despair, from thinking that if our preferred political party isn't in power, all is lost. And it frees us from utopianism, from thinking that if we could just elect the right people or pass the right laws, we could build heaven on earth. Babylon will always be Babylon. Our ultimate hope is not in a political savior, but in the returning King, Jesus. We can be good citizens, we should seek justice and peace, but we do so with the sober understanding that our ultimate citizenship is in heaven.

2. This hope gives us courage to live without fear.

When you know that your future is secure in an everlasting kingdom, and that your own resurrection is guaranteed, it makes you courageous. It allows you to live with integrity, to speak truth with love, and to stand for what is right, even when it’s costly. Why? Because the worst that the beasts of this world can do to you is kill you. And for the Christian, as the Apostle Paul said, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. Death is not a period; it is a comma. It is a doorway into the presence of our King. This hope doesn't make us reckless, but it does make us fearless.

3. This hope gives us a mission of urgent grace.

Because we know that a judgment is coming, and a glorious kingdom is coming, we have the most urgent and wonderful news to share with a world lost in darkness. Our mission as exiles is not primarily to fix Babylon. Our mission is to act as ambassadors for the coming kingdom. Our response to a world full of anger and division is not to add more anger and division. Our response is to plead with people, on behalf of Christ, to be reconciled to God. To invite them to switch their allegiance from the temporary, beastly kingdoms of this world to the everlasting kingdom of the Son of Man.

Church, the world is shaken this week. Let it be shaken. Because our hope is not built on the shifting sand of this world’s politics. Our hope is built on the solid rock of an enthroned King and an empty tomb. He is coming again. And He will make all things new. And until that day, our job is to shine like the stars in the darkness, pointing everyone we can to the coming dawn.

Let's pray.

Application Questions:

In light of this week's events, where have you been tempted to place your ultimate hope for stability (political leaders, personal security, etc.)?

How does the certainty of Christ's coming kingdom change how you view the "breaking news" of our world?

What is one specific way you can live as an ambassador of hope this week to someone who is feeling fearful or angry?