Sermon Tone Analysis

INTRODUCTION

The Veil of the Unknown

Human nature has always sought after knowledge of the future.

Whether it’s consulting a psychic medium, a guru, a horoscope, or some other professed spiritual leader to give us insight into the veil of the unknown.

We have had literally 100’s of people and groups try to predict the end of the world or apocalyptic events.

*December 21, 2012 Marked the end of the Mayan Calendar, many interpreted this to mean and absolute end to the calendar, which tracked time continuously for 5,125 years.

*Harold Camping among modern predictors of end times, has predicted the end of the world as many as 12 times based on his biblical interpretations of numerology.

*Taiwanese religious leader Hon-Ming Chen established the “True Way,” a religious movement that blended Christianity, Buddhism, UFO conspiracy theories, and Taiwanese fold religion.

Chen appeared on U.S. television channel 18 on March 25, 1988 proclaiming that Christ would descend to earth the following week in a physical form identical to Chen.

The next year he predicted that devil spirits, together with massive flooding would result in mass extinction of the human population.

Followers could be spared by buying their way aboard a spaceship, disguised as clouds, sent to rescue them.

*Halley’s comet passed by the Earth approximately every 76 years, but the nearness of its approach in 1910 created fear it would destroy the planet, either by celestial collision or through the poisonous gasses it was rumored to contain.

A group of Oklahoma people tried to sacrifice a virgin to ward off the impending doom.

The list goes on and on with those who have tried to lift the veil from history, and foresee the course of our own lives and the coming of the end times.

The desire to have such knowledge of the future has duped many men and women into falling for such imposters in all ages, from the ignorance of the unlettered Egyptian, up to the cleverness of modern professors.

With the exception of what God has carefully outlined for us in the revealed word of God the future is absolutely shut from the human eye; and as to the details which concern your life or mine, it is utterly impossible that we should ever know whether it be some horoscope, or soothsaying, or other means our future.

Note: Last week we unpacked Daniels dream of four different kingdoms of the earth referred to as “beasts”.

Out of the fourth kingdom which was the great Roman Empire will rise the 11th horn the anti-Christ.

The Ancient of Day’s comes riding on the clouds as the judge who ends the antichrists reign, then we ended with the son of man, Jesus Christ coming to rule and reign with us his people for all eternity in His everlasting kingdom.

Yet Daniels thoughts still greatly alarmed him.

God is now going to expand Daniels vision and understanding of the historical nature of the vision.

Remember Daniel had seen himself the whole time in in exile from Jerusalem and an alien in Babylon.

He had learned that their could be no negotiation between the kingdom of God and the kingdoms of this world.

Daniels great hope this whole time had been for restoration and peace.

Now some two years later Daniel receives another similar vision about the great kingdoms of the earth.

Now Daniel had experienced great victories during his time in captivity.

This must have been a very startling thing for him to possibly feel somewhat comfortable in his place within the kingdom of this world and then he receives such a horrific vision of the future.

Notice: notice that at the end of the vision Daniel was so overcome by the vision that he lay sick for several days.

The illumination that Daniel is given is not merely the foreknowledge of events in history it is the nature of the working of evil and it’s destruction in this life and the way it apposes godliness with a focus on destroying the worship of the people of God.

Daniel 8:1-4 and Daniel 8:15-20

Daniel Standing at the Ulai Canal in Persia.

(A man’s voice calling for Gabriel to come decode the dream)

The Ram identified in verse 20 as the kings of Media and Persia and the second higher horn represents the Persian Kingdom, perhaps representing the Bear raised up on one side from last weeks vision.

The Persian Empire spread to Babylonia, Syria, and Asia minor in the west and as far as Africa in the south.

Perhaps Daniel already had and idea of the fall of the Babylonian Empire after the writing on the wall.

Daniel 8:5-8 and Daniel 8:21-22

The goat represents the kingdom of Greece with it’s fast moving dominion represented by the goat not even touching the ground.

With only thirty-five thousand men, Alexander’s forces plunged through the river attacking Darius’s one hundred thousand footmen and ten thousand horsemen, reportedly killing twenty thousand at a loss of only one hundred Greek troops.

The Large horn was broken and unexpectedly Alexanders empire was divided into four regions.

The little horn is that which turns toward’s the “glorious land,” that is, the land of God’s covenant people.

NOTE: The understanding of History focuses judgement of God on one issue: How did that nation respond to My chosen people?

Jesus makes it clear in Matthew 25 that He is coming back to rule, reign, and judge the world according to what they have done with what He has given them.

Alexander proved to be a confused and evil man, however the little horn here is singled out because of his evil that is directed against the people of God and all that they represent.

WHO IS THE LITTLE HORN?

Note: The little horn that arose from the fourth beast in Chapter 7 and the little horn that emerges from the fragmented empire of the goat are not the same.

The one in chapter 7 appears to represent the final anti-Christ however, the one in chapter eight appears to represent Antiochus Epiphanes.

Daniel 8:9-14 and Daniel 8:23-27

One of the four horns or divisions of Alexandrian Empire was Syria, which was governed by one of Alexanders generals, Selucas Nicantor, bringing about the Seleucid dynasty, out of this dynasty arose Antiochus Epiphanes bearing all of the characteristics of the demonic little horn of Daniel’s vision.

The final anti-Christ will not appear on the scene without predecessors.

The anti-Christ and his characteristics have long been shared by others who may be seen as the “many antichrists” who have already appeared.

Antiochus Epiphanes, means “The illustrious God” - although others called him Epimanes, meaning ‘the Madman.”

Later in Daniel it refers to the abomination and desolation of Antiochus Epiphanes.

He entered the Holy City and sacrificed a pic on the alter of burnt offering, establishing a traitor as his own high priest.

When attempts to take Egypt were foiled by the Romans he exacted his revenge on the Jews.

More than 20,000 of his soldiers massacred the Jews assembled for worship on the Sabbath.

Daniel saw that the horn viciously attacked the glorious land.

BIG IDEA: Be careful that you are not lulled into a life of complacency.

God will be the one who ultimately destroys evil in this world.

The focus here is on the little horn, to which the roles of the greater empires of the ram and the goat are secondary, this should remind us of the biblical perspective, which sees not the great empires but God’s covenant people as the key to History.

HOW DO WE UNDERSTAND AND APPLY THIS VISION TODAY?

We Have Eternal Vision

When we live in the light of eternity, we will make decisions differently because we see life from a different perspective.

Instead of just going into the office to put in our time, we start our work every day knowing that we are glorifying God in some unique way.

1.

We are lulled into complacency when we forget that God has the plan.

Note: The kingdom that is built on principles that are contrary to the kingdom of God will always fail.

When you look at the pattern in Daniel from Nebuchadnezzar and how he set himself up as a God worth to be worshiped to the last king of acting king of Babylon Belshazzar.

The sin is always TRANSGRESSION.

It always involves overstepping the boundaries that God has set.

It leads to our lives being broken by forces that we cannot control, being broken against the law’s of God.

Why do the Wicked Prosper

When we forget that God has “the plan” not just any plan or “a” plan but the plan we begin to doubt His plan when we see people who do not love the Lord or follow his plan seemingly proper.

*God’s plan includes Evil People.

Evil appears to prosper through Autonomy

Note: The false appearance of being able to do whatever e wants without any oversight or accountability for ones actions.

Autonomous: Having the freedom to govern itself or control its own affairs.

Therefore, the autonomous person makes their own decisions rather than being influenced by someone else.

Prosper: marked by success in material terms; flourishing financially.

Sometimes the wicked Prosper

This was a problem that the Old Testament saints were all too familiar with and often wrestled.

Psalm 73 King Asaph envied the seeming prosperity of the wicked.

They seemed to sin and prosper contrary to what we know is right and true.

Yet he observed, “I went into the sanctuary of God; then I understood their end.

Surely you set them in slippery places; You cast them down to destruction.”

This echoes God’s final words to King Belshazzar, “fool this night your soul will be required of you.”

King Asaph realizes that the wicked eventually overstep themselves.

Just when they think they have the world at their feet, everything is lost.

They hear the words to Belshazzar, “fool tonight your soul will be required of you.”

Evil Appearing to Prosper in the New Testament

During Jesus Ministry

Satan’s Plot to Destroy Jesus: In the great sin it must have seemed as though Satan has won the day and evil was victorious.

Jesus died in the hour of the power of darkness, but Satan had overstepped himself.

Through the death he had sought to destroy Jesus but in reality it was through this sacrifice that Jesus was able to destroy the one who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their life subject to this bondage.

God used wicked and evil men to fulfill His plan: The work of the Sanhedrin and religious leaders of the day, King Harod, Pilot, Judas, the Roman soldiers who nailed him to the cross.

During Paul’s Ministry

Paul was frequently Imprisoned: the powers of darkness that he constantly wrestled believed that they had overcome him.

The Silencing of Christianity: Surely with the apostles martyrdom through the Roman world Christians would become discouraged and give up their faith.

Paul Feared those would loose heart: Ephesians 3:13 “I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you.”

Evil appeared to be prospering, but Paul knew that it was overstepping itself.

On day that would become clear.

Paul’s Imprisonment led to Greater Spread of the Gospel: What seemed like a defeated Paul actually resulted in Paul sharing the gospel with the entire prison guard, and his fellow believers had taken such heart from his example that they were witnessing with even greater boldness.