Preparing for the Future

Daniel 8 ESV

1 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. 2 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 Ulai canal. 3 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. 4 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. 5 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. 6 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. 7 I saw him come close to the ram, and he was enraged against him and struck the ram and broke his two horns. And the ram had no power to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground and trampled on him. And there was no one who could rescue the ram from his power. 8 Then the goat became exceedingly great, but when he was strong, the great horn was broken, and instead of it there came up four conspicuous horns toward the four winds of heaven. 9 Out of one of them came a little horn, which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the glorious land. 10 It grew great, even to the host of heaven. And some of the host and some of the stars it threw down to the ground and trampled on them. 11 It became great, even as great as the Prince of the host. And the regular burnt offering was taken away from him, and the place of his sanctuary was overthrown. 12 And a host will be given over to it together with the regular burnt offering because of transgression, and it will throw truth to the ground, and it will act and prosper. 13 Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to the one 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 host to be trampled underfoot?” 14 And he said to me, “For 2,300 evenings and mornings. Then the sanctuary shall be restored to its rightful state.” 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.” 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.” 18 And 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.” 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.

Introduction

How should we prepare ourselves and the next generation for a future that will contain a mixture of victories and hardships? Does knowing the future help us prepare? I believe it can help us, but it can also overwhelm us as we see Daniel responding to a future vision. The Bible reminds us that planning for the future begins and ends with knowing the One who holds the future. He gives us all we need so that we may grow in knowledge and obedience to the God of History, past, present, and future.

In chapter eight, two years after the first vision of the beasts, Daniel received a second vision. This vision came just a few years before Babylon would fall to the Medes and Persian Empires. Before we look at his vision of the future, we should review a timeline of significant events in the life of Daniel.

The Path to Exile

The glorious kingdom of Israel was already split into the North and South by the time of Daniel. Judah had several good kings, but many were evil in the sight of God, and the people wavered in their faithfulness. God predicted that He would discipline them by sending them into exile (removal from the Promised Land). The exile occurred in three waves over about 66 years. Daniel and his friends were exiled to Babylon in the first wave in 605 BC. Then, another wave of exiles occurred in 597 BC. And finally, the last wave of exiles happened in the most devastating circumstances. Babylon subdued the last rebellious king of Judah, destroyed the temple, took more people, and left only the poorest people in the land in 587 BC.

Jeremiah 52:12–16 ESV

12 In the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month—that was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon—Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard, who served the king of Babylon, entered Jerusalem. 13 And he burned the house of the Lord, and the king’s house and all the houses of Jerusalem; every great house he burned down. 14 And all the army of the Chaldeans, who were with the captain of the guard, broke down all the walls around Jerusalem. 15 And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive some of the poorest of the people and the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon, together with the rest of the artisans. 16 But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and plowmen.

Daniel had endured his exile to Babylon and saw the demise of his land and people. Yet he remained faithful to God in a foreign land, and God prospered him. God gave Daniel wisdom and success, but Daniel’s most tremendous success was knowing the One True God. Trusting God will be the only way to understand and navigate the future.

The Vision of a Ram, a Goat, and Horns

In this vision, Daniel found himself at the capital city in Susa. There he saw two animals, a goat, and a ram. And like the vision of chapter 7, they represent two kingdoms. The ram is a fierce beast that races and charges against any opposing force. The two horns represent two kings, one from Media and the other from Persia. For a time, the ram is invincible until it meets the goat, the next empire. The goat defeats the ram because it is fast and wins every challenge it encounters. With the ram gone (Media and Persia), the goat is in charge and grows greater in power. This goat is the Greek Empire, and it has one horn (king), that is powerful. But the horn is vulnerable and becomes broken. Out of its place arises four kings that rule the empire. But one little horn grows out of one of the four. This horn grows to great power and invades the glorious land, Israel. It also does troubling things in the Sanctuary (Temple) in Jerusalem. It seems that all will be lost because of this little horn. But it will not last forever, things will change, but it will be a painful for some time.

As before, Daniel is not given the identity of the kings. But the angel does give us the identity of the kingdoms which are Media, Persia, and Greece. This vision is an overview of what will happen in the next 375 years. Daniel lived in the hope of the future fulfillment of this vision, but today, we live in the confidence of the past fulfillment.

Historical Fulfillment

Let’s focus on the goat, Greece. We remember from world history that Alexander the Great conquered much of the known world in his day from 334-323 BC. He is the single horn of the goat. But he died at an early age, and his vast empire was divided among his four generals (four horns). We will focus on a king from the Seleucid Empire (region given to General Seleucus I Nicator).

The majority of biblical scholarship recognizes Antiochus IV Epiphanes as the little horn. The area of Judea (Jerusalem) eventually came under the reign of the Seleucid Empire. This king was very proud, giving himself the title “Epiphanes,” which means “manifest as a god”. Antiochus Epiphanes sought to unify his region by requiring all the people in his territory to embrace the Greek culture and language. To fulfill this plan, he used the laws of God against the Jews, much like Daniel was threatened to stop praying to God. Antiochus took advantage of the Jewish observances and had his general attack Jerusalem on the Sabbath, killing much of the male population. He proceeded to ban circumcision and observance of Jewish law. He commanded them to sacrifice pigs, an unclean animal, to other gods at the threat of death, causing them to be defiled and idolatrous. The last detestable thing he did was erect an altar inside the Temple and sacrifice to the Greek god Zeus.

As we noted earlier, Daniel and the people of Judah have experienced defeat, exile, and destruction of the Temple. All these were God’s ways of disciplining stubborn people. This vision contains a bitter-sweet hope. If a temple is to be defiled, it must first be rebuilt. Jerusalem will once again have a holy place that will function as a house of worship and meeting place for God and His people. But it will be defiled by a pagan king who will exalt himself and bring suffering to the people before things are restored.

We may find ourselves sympathizing with Daniel, for we too know what it is like to be overwhelmed with disturbing news concerning our past, present, and future situation. How might we learn from scripture to prepare to face both bitter and sweet things in our future? Let’s look at three things we ought to consider as part of our preparation.

History is God’s-Story

Do we recognize that the Bible is not a book of mythology or fantasy literature, but a book rooted in time and space on this earth? We have a historic faith with facts, times, places, etc. Although our faith is rooted in our God who exists outside of reality, He is present in the world so that we can accurately say that history is His-Story.

The Apostle Peter wrote his second letter as he prepared for his future. He knew that Christ had made it clear to him that he would leave soon. Let’s look at what Peter directed the believers to do for their future in the faith. 2 Peter 1:3-7

2 Peter 1:3–7 ESV

3 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, 4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. 5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.

You have all you need to remain successfully obedient in the future.

How would you respond if you knew back in 2019 what would happen in 2020? I imagine that we would feel much like Daniel. So, we might consider that when God does not give us all the details of the future, it may be an act of grace to let us know bits and pieces of it. But thankfully, God gives us all that we need to know for life and godliness.

What matters most is not what you know, but who you know.

This saying is often used to remind us that knowing the right people can make the difference more than knowing facts. Consider the following scenario. Imagine you have the opportunity to visit a place of your choice and enjoy a week of sightseeing. Would you rather spend your time discovering things, driving around, and finding things on your own or have a local expert do it all?

I think most of us would prefer the local expert. God is the expert on life. He knows what is best for us. He knows what will harm us and the sin that will lead us away from him. He also knows the way back and calls us to repent and find grace through faith. And beyond that, He promises to be our Comforter who comforts through His presence and Holy Word. If we know Him and His word, we shall experience the guiding and comforting presence of the Holy Spirit.

Add to your knowledge of God the knowledge of obedience.

Knowing God requires us to respond to him either in obedience or rejection. For those who have said yes to Christ, there is more to which we must say “YES” all the more. We must say yes to building our faith. Peter reminds the believers that their faith must be active and marked by actions of obedience. He then goes on to describe various ways how our knowing Christ is to be expressed.

This is what we have seen so far in the life of Daniel and his friends. They know God, they know God’s ways, and they lived out their faith in a land of uncertainty. They didn’t have to know what tomorrow might bring, the blessings or the challenges. They just had to keep their eyes on God, for God was with them.

The best preparation for the future is to remember that God is sufficient for all things and for all time. We cannot live in the past nor in the future. We must live in the now with our eyes on the Great I AM.