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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.
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
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.
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