The Beginning and the End (Daniel 7)
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CPT: Daniel sees four kingdoms coming, a final arrogant ruler, their final end and the son of man receiving his eternal kingdom.
Purpose: Encouragement to know that in the difficulties of life, God has our future in his hands.
CPS: God is in control of the beginning and the end.
Introduction
Do you ever have something important to do, and you put it off? You know that you need to begin. Then, once you begin, and you get a flow going, you work to get to the end. Does anyone procrastinate to the last minute? There is something about knowing that something is due soon, like tomorrow, that pushes you to get it done. It feels good to get to the end of it.
When I was in seminary, we had to write a final doctrinal statement. This was not a paper that you wanted to procrastinate on. My final doctrinal statement ended up being 11 chapters and 244 pages long! I ended up taking multiple weeks off of work to get it completed.
One of the favorite chapters I wrote was on eschatology. That is the study of end times. But what’s interesting is that end times is not really the end. It is the end of things as we know them, but it is not the end. Rather, it is God’s continued program, and where he is taking us, to an eternal future with him.
We are entering chapters 7 through 12 of Daniel. We are studying prophecy. Why study prophecy? Why is prophecy important? We look at the importance of knowing that things have a beginning and an end. Open up to Daniel 7:1-18.
Scripture Reading
1 In the first year of King Belshazzar of Babylon, Daniel had a dream with visions in his mind as he was lying in his bed. He wrote down the dream, and here is the summary of his account.
2 Daniel said, “In my vision at night I was watching, and suddenly the four winds of heaven stirred up the great sea.
3 Four huge beasts came up from the sea, each different from the other.
4 “The first was like a lion but had eagle’s wings. I continued watching until its wings were torn off. It was lifted up from the ground, set on its feet like a man, and given a human mind.
5 “Suddenly, another beast appeared, a second one, that looked like a bear. It was raised up on one side, with three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, ‘Get up! Gorge yourself on flesh.’
6 “After this, while I was watching, suddenly another beast appeared. It was like a leopard with four wings of a bird on its back. It had four heads, and it was given dominion.
7 “After this, while I was watching in the night visions, suddenly a fourth beast appeared, frightening and dreadful, and incredibly strong, with large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed, and it trampled with its feet whatever was left. It was different from all the beasts before it, and it had ten horns.
8 “While I was considering the horns, suddenly another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. And suddenly in this horn there were eyes like the eyes of a human and a mouth that was speaking arrogantly.
9 “As I kept watching, thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was white like snow, and the hair of his head like whitest wool. His throne was flaming fire; its wheels were blazing fire.
10 A river of fire was flowing, coming out from his presence. Thousands upon thousands served him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was convened, and the books were opened.
11 “I watched, then, because of the sound of the arrogant words the horn was speaking. As I continued watching, the beast was killed and its body destroyed and given over to the burning fire.
12 As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was removed, but an extension of life was granted to them for a certain period of time.
13 I continued watching in the night visions, and suddenly one like a son of man was coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was escorted before him.
14 He was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, so that those of every people, nation, and language should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will not be destroyed.
15 “As for me, Daniel, my spirit was deeply distressed within me, and the visions in my mind terrified me.
16 I approached one of those who were standing by and asked him to clarify all this. So he let me know the interpretation of these things:
17 ‘These huge beasts, four in number, are four kings who will rise from the earth.
18 But the holy ones of the Most High will receive the kingdom and possess it forever, yes, forever and ever.’
Pray
There is so much here in Daniel’s prophecy.
First,
Every human kingdom has a beginning and an end.
Every human kingdom has a beginning and an end.
State the point; Anchor the point; Validate the point; Explain the point
Text: Dan. 7:4-7, Rev. 13:1-2
Filler.
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The first beast: Babylon
Daniel sees a series of beasts in his dream (vision), and verse 17 and 23 tells us that each beast represents a king or a kingdom. So we have four beasts representing four kingdoms.
The first beast is described in Dan. 7:4:
4 “The first was like a lion but had eagle’s wings. I continued watching until its wings were torn off. It was lifted up from the ground, set on its feet like a man, and given a human mind.
So we have a picture of a lion, and we understand the power and strength of a lion. This is a strong and mighty kingdom. This lion then is described as having an eagle’s wings.
In the Bible, Babylon is represented by both a lion and an eagle. In Jeremiah 4:7, the prophet described Babylon as “a lion” that “has gone up from his thicket; a destroyer of nations.” In Ezekiel 17:3, the prophet Ezekiel pictures Babylon as “a huge eagle with powerful wings, long feathers, and full plumage of many colors.”
The picture of the lion as having his wings torn off, set on its feet like a man, and given a human mind, may refer to the humbling of Nebuchadnezzar that we saw in Daniel 4, where the king is humbled, gets the mind of an animal, and wanders outside eating grass until he realizes that God is in control. Then his mind is restored.
The second beast: Medes and Persians
The second beast in Daniel’s vision looks like a bear. Look at verse 5.
5 “Suddenly, another beast appeared, a second one, that looked like a bear. It was raised up on one side, with three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, ‘Get up! Gorge yourself on flesh.’
This second kingdom represented by the bear is the kingdom of Medo-Persia. This was another strong and mighty kingdom, a kingdom that brought about the end of Babylon. So you had the beginning and the end of Babylon, followed by the beginning of this kingdom.
The bear had three ribs in his mouth, which may represent three kingdoms that it conquered, Babylon, Lydia, and Egypt. The bear is up on one side. This is symbolic of the power of Persia, which overshadowed the power of the Medes in this joint kingdom.
The Medes and the Persians ruled for 200 years, and they were followed by a third kingdom.
The third beast: Greece
This third kingdom is represented in Daniel’s vision by a leopard. Look at verse 6.
6 “After this, while I was watching, suddenly another beast appeared. It was like a leopard with four wings of a bird on its back. It had four heads, and it was given dominion.
This beast is described like a leopard with four wings and four heads. What is this? After the Medes and the Persians, God said that a third kingdom would arise. This kingdom is the kingdom of Greece.
Greece conquered with great speed, conquering the Medo-Persian empire in four years, between 334 and 330 BC. After the death of Alexander the Great, the kingdom of Greece was divided into four parts. The leopard with four heads and four wings is the kingdom of Greece.
The fourth beast: Rome
That brings us to this fourth beast, which is probably the most interesting one. Look at verse 7.
7 “After this, while I was watching in the night visions, suddenly a fourth beast appeared, frightening and dreadful, and incredibly strong, with large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed, and it trampled with its feet whatever was left. It was different from all the beasts before it, and it had ten horns.
This beast doesn’t look like a particular animal. Instead, this is just described as frightening, dreadful, incredible strong with large iron teeth. The book of Revelation describes this same beast in Revelation 13:1-2:
1 And I saw a beast coming up out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads. On its horns were ten crowns, and on its heads were blasphemous names.
2 The beast I saw was like a leopard, its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. The dragon gave the beast his power, his throne, and great authority.
The apostle John describes this fourth beast looking like a lion, bear, and a leopard. Those are the same animals that represented the first three kingdoms. So this fourth beast represents a fourth kingdom, a kingdom that assimilates itself into the previous three (Babylon, the lion, Medo-Persian, the bear, and Greece, the leopard).
This fourth kingdom is ferocious and violent. This kingdom represents the kingdom of Rome, which arose and conquered after the kingdom of Greece. This beast is described as having ten horns, which Daniel 7:24 tells us is “ten kings who will rise from this kingdom.”
Why is this important?
If I were to sum up the book of Daniel, I would sum it up in four words, “God is in control.” The people of Israel are taken away from their homeland, but God is in control. There may be vicious kingdoms in charge, and more on the horizon, but God is in control.
It also speaks to the providence of God. There is nothing that catches God by surprise. We live in the middle of this timeline, but God does not. He operates in the timeline and outside of the timeline.
All of humanity’s kingdoms will come and go. There was a time when the world seemed solidly in the hands of King Nebuchadnezzar, but he and his kingdom are gone. Those living under Medo-Persia or Greece could not imagine a world without their power, but their kingdoms have come and gone.
We cannot imagine a world without the kingdom of America. But on the basis of history and Biblical prophecy, America will come and go. But God will still be in control.
Heading: This speaks to all of the fear-mongering that happens today in our world of the news and politics. They did a study recently of our youth and their reaction to politics. They noticed a growing trend of young people’s anxiety growing about politics. That is exacerbated by the growing dependence on social media and the political firestorm of fear that exists in there.
Here are a few headlines from popular news sites. What I did was write (Blank) is destroying America, and then change the name. From Newsweek, “How Donald Trump is Destroying America in Three Easy Steps.” From Townhall.com, “Joe Biden is Destroying America.” From Yahoo News, “Donald Trump is Destroying the American Brand.” From Real Clear Politics, “Is Biden Actually Trying to Destroy America?”
Do you know what is really destroying America? It’s the same thing that has destroyed every human kingdom. It is rebellion against God. It is sin. Sin is destroying America. The role of the church in America and in the world is not to champion a politician. It is to call people to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.
While the world may be driven by fear and anxiety over who is in power at a certain moment, the Christian knows that God’s plan is bigger than our present circumstances. Christians pray for their leaders, and seek to live peaceful lives in our country. But our peace doesn’t come from who is in control in the White House. Our peace comes from who reigns in our hearts, and who reigns on the throne of heaven.
Human kingdoms will come and go, but there is one King who reigns forever, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the one who we trust in, and have full faith in his leadership.
Every human kingdom has a beginning and an end.
Second,
The coming Antichrist and his kingdom will have a beginning and an end.
The coming Antichrist and his kingdom will have a beginning and an end.
State the point; Anchor the point; Validate the point; Explain the point
Text: Dan. 7:8-11; Rev. 20:10
Filler.
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The little Horn: the Antichrist
As Daniel is observing this fourth beast, it has some interesting horns. This beast is described as different from the first three beasts. He sees ten horns on this fourth beast, which we learn later in verse 24 are “ten kings who will rise from this kingdom.” These horns represent rulers connected with this kingdom of Rome.
Daniel then sees a little horn that gets his attention. Look at verse 8.
8 “While I was considering the horns, suddenly another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. And suddenly in this horn there were eyes like the eyes of a human and a mouth that was speaking arrogantly.
Now, when Daniel described the fourth beast, he described this beast as different than the others. That is because this final beast plays a role in the circumstances surrounding the coming of the Messiah. Since there is a gap between the Lord’s first and second coming, the age of the church, there will be some kind of new Roman empire at the end of the church age.
Out of this Roman empire will arise a figure the Bible calls the Antichrist. In verse 8, Daniel describes the Antichrist speaking arrogantly. The Antichrist is a demonic figure at the end time. I will talk more about him next week as we get into the final verses of Daniel 7.
The final judgment on the Antichrist
What’s important to see here in these verses is the final end of the Antichrist. Just as there is a beginning and an end to human kingdoms, there is a beginning and an end to Satan’s kingdom.
Take a look at Daniel 7:9-11
9 “As I kept watching, thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was white like snow, and the hair of his head like whitest wool. His throne was flaming fire; its wheels were blazing fire.
10 A river of fire was flowing, coming out from his presence. Thousands upon thousands served him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was convened, and the books were opened.
11 “I watched, then, because of the sound of the arrogant words the horn was speaking. As I continued watching, the beast was killed and its body destroyed and given over to the burning fire.
God is on his throne, and we are in a place of final judgment. Revelation describes this scene in Revelation 20 as the Great White Throne Judgment. God is described in Daniel 7 as having clothing white as snow, and hair like white wool, speaking to the absolute purity of his holiness. The fire the flowing from his presence probably speaks to the nature of his judgment. The books open in Daniel 7 are probably the same as the books described in Revelation 20, where the dead are judged by what is written in the books.
There is a final judgement coming to Satan and his demons. Daniel 7:11 describes the beast as killed and destroyed in the burning fire. John also spoke about this in Revelation 20:10:
10 The devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet are, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
Satan’s kingdom is temporary. This is the importance of prophecy. Why study prophecy? Why does God want us to know about the future? It helps us gain perspective. Just like human kingdoms, we are people in the middle of the timeline. God created time and is above time. There is a point before time existed, and God just was.
There is a time coming where all of the worries and concerns of this time will be in the past. Satan and his kingdom are coming to an end. There will be a final judgment. For those in Christ, we will be with the Lord forever. We will return to the place where things are just are.
Heading: I lived in New York during 9/11. I grew up seeing these Twin Towers in NYC, and now they were gone. When I was in the police department, I would get put on duty down in that area. It was around the site of the construction area. Now, all I could see was big, empty area. It was years after the events of 9/11, and you could see construction activity, but that’s it.
Now it took years for the foundation of the Freedom Tower to be built. I would go out there and see nothing. They were laying a foundation for the building, which the foundation would end up being 150 feet deep into the bedrock of the ground. But once it went up, it went up, you started to see it, and it went up high into the sky.
Just like that time of laying the foundation, that’s where we are with the kingdom of God. At his first coming, the Lord established the foundation of his kingdom at the cross. Satan was defeated at the cross. Yet, there is a time, where we are, where we are in the gap. There is a final end coming, a final end to Satan’s kingdom, and the time of the eternal kingdom.
Every human kingdom has a beginning and an end.
The coming Antichrist and his kingdom will have a beginning and an end.
That brings us to our final point:
The ultimate King, the Son of Man, is the Beginning and the End. He will reign in his kingdom forever.
The ultimate King, the Son of Man, is the Beginning and the End. He will reign in his kingdom forever.
State the point; Anchor the point; Validate the point; Explain the point
Text: Dan. 7:13-14; Matt. 26:64; 24:30; John 1:1-3; Rev. 22:12-13
Filler.
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The Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven
Daniel sees an amazing figure approaching the Ancient of Days on the clouds of heaven. Look at verse 13.
13 I continued watching in the night visions, and suddenly one like a son of man was coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was escorted before him.
Jesus often referred to himself as the Son of Man. He used this term far more than he used the term Son of God. He directly quotes Daniel 7:14 right before his crucifixion in his response to the high priest. The high priest is asking him to give a direct answer. He wants to know if Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. Look at Jesus’ response in Matthew 26:64:
64 “You have said it,” Jesus told him. “But I tell you, in the future you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
Here is that same picture that we saw in Daniel 7:14. Here is the Son of Man, the Messiah, coming before God on the clouds of heaven. The picture of the Messiah on the clouds of heaven is important.
In the OT, God is often connecting with humanity through a cloud. In the Exodus, the Lord goes before them in a pillar of cloud. The glory of the Lord settling on Mount Sinai is described through a cloud covering the mountain. When the Lord would speak to Moses, a cloud would cover the tent. A cloud of the Lord rested over the tabernacle and above the mercy seat in the tabernacle.
The Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven is giving the Son of Man a divine authority. This figure that Daniel sees approaching the Ancient of Days on the clouds of heaven is divine. He is God.
Jesus connects himself with the clouds of heaven at his second coming.
30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the peoples of the earth will mourn; and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
He comes with power and great glory on the clouds of heaven because he is God.
The Kingdom of God
Verse 14 is Daniel is interesting. After these discussions on these human kingdoms, and certainly the demonic kingdom of the Antichrist, Daniel speaks of the Son of Man as receiving a kingdom.
14 He was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, so that those of every people, nation, and language should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will not be destroyed.
Unlike human kingdoms, there is no end to the kingdom of God. God always reigns, and his rule is eternal. In this picture, you see the fulfillment of all the promises to Israel and to the world, that the kingdom of God has come and is coming to humanity.
At his first coming, the Lord called on people to repent, because the kingdom of heaven was near. Jesus urged people to enter the kingdom. He said this to the Pharisees in Luke 16:16:
16 “The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then, the good news of the kingdom of God has been proclaimed, and everyone is urgently invited to enter it.
We are in the time for people to enter the kingdom of God. There is no other time than now.
The Beginning and the End
Jesus is the beginning and the end. John says this in the beginning of his Gospel, John 1, verse 1.
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was with God in the beginning.
3 All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created.
There was a time before creation, an eternal time where God just was. He lived in perfect unity, and for his divine purposes chose to create the world around us. Jesus was in the beginning with God, and is God.
Look at Revelation 22, verse 12.
12 “Look, I am coming soon, and my reward is with me to repay each person according to his work.
13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.
Before us is Jesus, and after us is Jesus. Coming to know Jesus is the most important thing in your life, because you will know the one who was, who is, and who is to come (Rev. 1:4).
Heading: I’ve often heard this statement about the dash on the tombstone. It comes from a poem, where the author talks about looking at someone’s tombstone, and how much that dash says. There is this time you are born, and the time you die, and there is a dash in the middle. The author asks what will people say on how your life was during the dash.
I’ve had the privilege of speaking to some people as they neared the end of their life. I’ve asked them about their life, and it’s amazing to hear the stories. But I’ve become more and more aware of how that dash matters the most for one thing, and that’s how you were ready for that last date.
See, that last date is your step into eternity. It’s not the end, but the beginning of your step from this life into eternity. A lot matters about that dash, but what matters most is if you were ready to meet the one who is, who was, and who is to come, the one who is the Beginning and the End.
The Bible says that through faith in Jesus, you can be ready to step into the kingdom of God. The Lord Jesus urges you to enter his kingdom. Would you put your faith in him today?
Conclusion
Every human kingdom has a beginning and an end.
The coming Antichrist and his kingdom will have a beginning and an end.
The ultimate King, the Son of Man, is the Beginning and the End. He will reign in his kingdom forever.
Conclude
Have you heard the message today and realized that you need Jesus? Are you ready to put your faith in Jesus? We want to pray with you, and celebrate your new life. Please see one of our pastors after the service.
Blanks:
Prayer
Last Song
Doxology
24 “May the Lord bless you and protect you;
25 may the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you;
26 may the Lord look with favor on you and give you peace.” ’
24 Now to him who is able to protect you from stumbling and to make you stand in the presence of his glory, without blemish and with great joy,
25 to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority before all time, now and forever. Amen.
You are dismissed. Have a great week in the Lord!
