God is Specific in Prophecy (Daniel 8)
Notes
Transcript
Handout
CPT: An evil king will emerge in the future against Israel, but God will limit the persecution and break him.
Purpose: God’s prophecies are true and he is in control of future events.
CPS: God’s fulfillment of prophecy shows his control of the future.
Introduction
At least one-third of the Bible is prophecy. To miss out on prophecy is to miss out on one-third of the Bible. Clearly, God has something specific to say to his people through prophecy.
Prophetic literature is so different from what we are used to. We are used to reading stories that say, this happened, then this happened, then this happened. We are not used to reading this is going to happen, and this is going to happen, and this is going to happen. Why? Because, in order to do that, you need to know what will happen. You need special information. That can only come from someone who knows what will happen in the future. You need information from God.
We can get in trouble when we start to read the current news into prophecy. I think during my lifetime that someone has called every US president the antichrist at some point. I think this past summer the price of gas was looking like the end times: 6.66.
What can we know from prophecy what God actually says about the future? Is God specific? We’ll take a look at that in Daniel 8.
Scripture Reading
1 In the third year of King Belshazzar’s reign, a vision appeared to me, Daniel, after the one that had appeared to me earlier.
2 I saw the vision, and as I watched, I was in the fortress city of Susa, in the province of Elam. I saw in the vision that I was beside the Ulai Canal.
3 I looked up, and there was a ram standing beside the canal. He had two horns. The two horns were long, but one was longer than the other, and the longer one came up last.
4 I saw the ram charging to the west, the north, and the south. No animal could stand against him, and there was no rescue from his power. He did whatever he wanted and became great.
5 As I was observing, a male goat appeared, coming from the west across the surface of the entire earth without touching the ground. The goat had a conspicuous horn between his eyes.
6 He came toward the two-horned ram I had seen standing beside the canal and rushed at him with savage fury.
7 I saw him approaching the ram, and infuriated with him, he struck the ram, breaking his two horns, and the ram was not strong enough to stand against him. The goat threw him to the ground and trampled him, and there was no one to rescue the ram from his power.
8 Then the male goat acted even more arrogantly, but when he became powerful, the large horn was broken. Four conspicuous horns came up in its place, pointing toward the four winds of heaven.
9 From one of them a little horn emerged and grew extensively toward the south and the east and toward the beautiful land.
10 It grew as high as the heavenly army, made some of the army and some of the stars fall to the earth, and trampled them.
11 It acted arrogantly even against the Prince of the heavenly army; it revoked his regular sacrifice and overthrew the place of his sanctuary.
12 In the rebellion, the army was given up, together with the regular sacrifice. The horn threw truth to the ground and was successful in what it did.
13 Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to the speaker, “How long will the events of this vision last—the regular sacrifice, the rebellion that makes desolate, and the giving over of the sanctuary and of the army to be trampled?”
14 He said to me, “For 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the sanctuary will be restored.”
15 While I, Daniel, was watching the vision and trying to understand it, there stood before me someone who appeared to be a man.
16 I heard a human voice calling from the middle of the Ulai: “Gabriel, explain the vision to this man.”
17 So he approached where I was standing; when he came near, I was terrified and fell facedown. “Son of man,” he said to me, “understand that the vision refers to the time of the end.”
18 While he was speaking to me, I fell into a deep sleep, with my face to the ground. Then he touched me, made me stand up,
19 and said, “I am here to tell you what will happen at the conclusion of the time of wrath, because it refers to the appointed time of the end.
20 The two-horned ram that you saw represents the kings of Media and Persia.
21 The shaggy goat represents the king of Greece, and the large horn between his eyes represents the first king.
22 The four horns that took the place of the broken horn represent four kingdoms. They will rise from that nation, but without its power.
23 Near the end of their kingdoms, when the rebels have reached the full measure of their sin, a ruthless king, skilled in intrigue, will come to the throne.
24 His power will be great, but it will not be his own. He will cause outrageous destruction and succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy the powerful along with the holy people.
25 He will cause deceit to prosper through his cunning and by his influence, and in his own mind he will exalt himself. He will destroy many in a time of peace; he will even stand against the Prince of princes. Yet he will be broken—not by human hands.
26 The vision of the evenings and the mornings that has been told is true. Now you are to seal up the vision because it refers to many days in the future.”
27 I, Daniel, was overcome and lay sick for days. Then I got up and went about the king’s business. I was greatly disturbed by the vision and could not understand it.
Pray
Filler.
Transition
God is specific in his fulfillment of prophecy.
God is specific in his fulfillment of prophecy.
State the point; Anchor the point; Validate the point; Explain the point
Text:
Filler.
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Daniel sees a ram charging the west, north, and south.
Daniel has this vision in Babylon, towards the end of the kingdom’s reign, during the time of King Belshazzar. This vision happens after Daniel’s vision of four beasts in Daniel 7. The vision of four beasts happened during the first year of King Belshazzar of Babylon. This vision in Daniel 8 happens during the third year of the king’s reign.
This vision in Daniel 8 is similar to the second and third beast of Daniel 7. In Daniel 7, we looked at a lion (Babylon), bear (Medo-Persian), leopard (Greece), and a fourth beast “different than the others” (Rome).
In verse 3, Daniel describes a vision of a ram. Now, when I think of a ram today, I think it either has the word “Dodge” before it, or you are talking about an NFL football team. But this animal that Daniel is seeing is a male sheep with these big, strong looking horns.
3 I looked up, and there was a ram standing beside the canal. He had two horns. The two horns were long, but one was longer than the other, and the longer one came up last.
4 I saw the ram charging to the west, the north, and the south. No animal could stand against him, and there was no rescue from his power. He did whatever he wanted and became great.
Now this animal he is seeing has:
Two horns, but one horn is longer than the other.
The horn that is longer comes up last.
It charges to the west (towards modern Europe), north (towards Turkey), or south (towards Israel and Egypt).
This ram becomes powerful and great.
The ram is the same as the second beast of Daniel 7.
This ram in Daniel 8 represents the same kingdom of the bear in Daniel 7. We read about this bear in Daniel 7:5:
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 bear is kind of lop-sided. One side is raised up, making one side more prominent than the other. This is a powerful beast, able to get up and gorge flesh.
Similarly, the ram has this same lop-sided nature. It has one horn that is longer than the other, a horn that comes up last and is longer, and it is powerful, as it says, “there was no rescue from it’s power.”
Daniel sees a goat coming from the west.
Daniel then has this vision of a goat. Now, when I hear of the GOAT today, it normally means Michael Jordan or Tom Brady, meaning greatest of all time. But Daniel here is seeing the animal. A goat is animal related to the sheep but of a lighter build with these shorter horns. In verse 5:
5 As I was observing, a male goat appeared, coming from the west across the surface of the entire earth without touching the ground. The goat had a conspicuous horn between his eyes.
There are a few things we know about this goat:
The goat comes from the west (from the area of Europe and Greece)
It comes across the surface of the earth, without touching the ground - it’s coming fast
There is a conspicuous horn, which we learned in Daniel 7 can represent a king or kingdom
The goat is the same as the third beast of Daniel 7.
This goat is the same as the beast that we saw in Daniel 7:6:
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.
Like the goat, the leopard is also this strong animal that comes quickly. In particular, the four horns of the goat in verse 8 remind us of the four heads and four wings of the leopard in Daniel 7.
The angel Gabriel gives a clear interpretation to Daniel of the vision.
What’s great about this vision in Daniel 8 is that is it specific. We don’t have to wonder who these kingdoms are. The angel Gabriel clearly describes the meaning of the vision. It reminds me of the disciples asking Jesus to describe his parables. Here, Daniel is trying to understand the vision. God commands the angel Gabriel to describe the vision. He says in verse 20:
20 The two-horned ram that you saw represents the kings of Media and Persia.
21 The shaggy goat represents the king of Greece, and the large horn between his eyes represents the first king.
Here’s the amazing thing about prophecy. God knows how to communicate to man in a way that is understandable. Where there is uncertainty about something we need to know, God follows up with the explanation. We are to take God at this word.
He tells Daniel, sitting in Babylon around 539 BC, that there will be two kingdoms in the future. Greece didn’t come into power until around 200 years after this prophecy!
The prophecy was specifically fulfilled in the kingdoms, Greece’s king, and it’s eventual division.
Look at how God fulfills his prophecy. It is down to the specifics. The Medes and the Persians did come into power. Like the ram with the two horns, one longer than the other, the Persians came up later and had a larger, outsized influence.
The goat comes from the west, Greece. The Greeks came in with speed, conquering the area of the Medes and Persians with speed and power. There was a king that arose from that kingdom, Alexander the Great, who grew powerful. Look at the specifics in verse 8:
8 Then the male goat acted even more arrogantly, but when he became powerful, the large horn was broken. Four conspicuous horns came up in its place, pointing toward the four winds of heaven.
Alexander the Great became powerful, and just like the prophecy says, he was cut down and broken at the height of his power. At the age of 32, a the height of his power, he died of a sickness from an infection.
It says that four horns came up in its place. This is also accurate for Greece. When Alexander the Great died, his kingdom was divided up in four ways and given to four generals.
The specificity of God’s prophecy tells us about his future fulfillment.
The way God fulfills prophecy down to the specifics tells us a lot of how to understand prophecy. God does not deliver communication in a way that we have to guess and wonder. Instead, God speaks clearly.
Looking at fulfilled prophecy helps us understand future prophecy. It helps understand prophecies like Acts 1:11:
11 They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up into heaven? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come in the same way that you have seen him going into heaven.”
Like Daniel, here is another prophecy given through a messenger from God, an angel. This prophecy is about the Lord’s second coming. We can understand this prophecy in its clearest sense. The Lord will descend from the skies in a cloud, in a way that all the world will know and see the coming king.
Heading: There is a lot in counseling about improving communication. In counseling, they will teach you something called “reflections.” “Reflections” are something you do to show people you are listening.
Someone will be upset, and they will be saying something about what their boyfriend or husband did to them. Now, its something that’s really important to them. You will then “reflect” it back to them. You’ll say, “What I hear you saying is, your husband did this...” Either they will say, “Yes, that’s what I said,” or, “No, actually it was this.” Either way, it shows you are listening. It is helpful in our communication, so we can make sure we are communicating about the same thing.
It strikes me that the one who created communication, God, knows how to specifically and clearly communicate to his people. Sometimes there will be someone who will come by and say, “Well, I know it sounds this way, but I believe God actually meant this.” We see in Daniel 8 and in Scripture, that God knows how to clearly communicate to his people. What he says is clear. Jesus is coming again.
God is specific in his fulfillment of prophecy.
Second,
God is specific in his prophecy of an antichrist figure.
God is specific in his prophecy of an antichrist figure.
State the point; Anchor the point; Validate the point; Explain the point
Text:
Filler.
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Daniel prophecies about a little horn out of the kingdom of Greece.
Now, you’ll have to follow me here in verse 8. There is a prophecy of an animal coming from the west, a goat, which we learn in verse 21 is Greece. Out of that goat is a large horn who is broken at the height of his power. We discussed that to be Alexander the Great, who died at the height of his power from sickness.
Then four horns come up in the place of the large horn. Those four horns are the four generals and four areas of Greece that arose after the death of Alexander the Great.
From out of that Greek empire that was divided in four ways comes this little horn in Daniel 8. Look at verse 9.
9 From one of them a little horn emerged and grew extensively toward the south and the east and toward the beautiful land.
10 It grew as high as the heavenly army, made some of the army and some of the stars fall to the earth, and trampled them.
11 It acted arrogantly even against the Prince of the heavenly army; it revoked his regular sacrifice and overthrew the place of his sanctuary.
12 In the rebellion, the army was given up, together with the regular sacrifice. The horn threw truth to the ground and was successful in what it did.
What’s important to know is that this little horn is different than the little horn in Daniel 7. In Daniel 7 a little horn comes up from the fourth beast, out of 10 kingdoms. This little horn in Daniel 8 comes up out of the four horns of the goat, which is equivalent to the four-headed leopard beast in Daniel 7.
Who is this little horn in Daniel 8? Well, there are a few things we know about this little horn:
The horns represent a king or a kingdom
This king comes up out of the divided kingdom of Greece
This king starts a military campaign to the south and the east, towards the beautiful land, the nation of Israel, the “promised land”
It acts arrogantly against the God of Israel and leads a rebellion
This king revokes the temple sacrifice, overthrows the sanctuary, and is successful in what he does for a time.
The prophecy was specifically fulfilled in a Seleucid ruler named Antiochus IV Epiphanes.
There is only one figure who fits this description in the history of Greece. Out of the Seleucid area of the Greek empire arose a ruler named Antiochus IV Ephiphanes.
He considered himself a god. Some people in history nicknamed him a madman. He went into Israel and killed thousands of Jews. He tried to Hellenize the Jews .He erected an altar to Zeus in the temple and ordered Jews to sacrifice unclean animals on its altar. He was successful in his campaign against them for a time, until God saved through through a revolt. This part of Jewish history is still celebrated today in the festival of Hanukkah.
The figure of Daniel 8 represents a type of the future antichrist.
The kind of king that Daniel 8 prophesies is a type of the future antichrist. By type, I mean an example, someone filling a role that also signifies a future thing coming. It’s a person or event that foreshadows a person or event to come.
Look at the description of this little horn in verse 24:
24 His power will be great, but it will not be his own. He will cause outrageous destruction and succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy the powerful along with the holy people.
"His power will be great, but it will not be his own.” This is a ruler who attacks God’s people, blasphemes God, and causes great destruction. This was a type of the antichrist coming in the future. Look at how John talks about this end time figure.
18 Children, it is the last hour. And as you have heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. By this we know that it is the last hour.
The antichrist is coming. History has shown us figures who have risen up to power with this demonic antichrist spirit. This is getting stronger as the end approaches.
Heading: In 2011, my wife and I packed up everything we could into a small, red 2007 Ford Focus and started a drive to move from New York City to San Diego. Driving across the country is amazing. Highly recommend it.
As you drive, you see the country change. We started off in a big city, then ended up through mountains and pine trees. You eventually end up to miles and miles of farm land. That goes on for a long time. Then, at some point, the terrain starts to change. Eventually, things change from green to brown, from farm country to desert. That’s a big change. Now, you know as you get to the desert, by the environment around you, California is getting closer. There may still be a lot of desert ahead, but California is coming.
I think that history, today, and the future is like that. You can tell by the environment that God will intervene. There has been an antichrist spirit in the world, and still is. Now, there may still be a lot of desert ahead, but whether its near or far, Christ is coming.
God is specific in his fulfillment of prophecy.
God is specific in his prophecy of an antichrist figure.
Third,
God is specific in his prophecy of his coming victory.
God is specific in his prophecy of his coming victory.
State the point; Anchor the point; Validate the point; Explain the point
Text:
Filler.
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Daniel prophecies of the defeat of the evil ruler from Greece.
The end of the explanation from the angel to Daniel speaks to the end of this antichrist figure.
25 He will cause deceit to prosper through his cunning and by his influence, and in his own mind he will exalt himself. He will destroy many in a time of peace; he will even stand against the Prince of princes. Yet he will be broken—not by human hands.
26 The vision of the evenings and the mornings that has been told is true. Now you are to seal up the vision because it refers to many days in the future.”
He will be broken, but not by human hands.
The miraculous defeat of Antiochus IV Epiphanes.
This was seen by the overthrow of Antiochus IV Ephiphanes. God miraculously saved the Jews from this evil ruler. He was overthrown by the power of God.
The certainty of God’s victory in his prophecy.
There is a certainty in God’s prophecy. Daniel is told that “the vision of the evenings and the mornings that has been told is true.” You see the certainty of God’s prophecy over and over.
You see it in Daniel 2, where it prophecies about God’s coming kingdom.
44 “In the days of those kings, the God of the heavens will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, and this kingdom will not be left to another people. It will crush all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, but will itself endure forever.
45 You saw a stone break off from the mountain without a hand touching it, and it crushed the iron, bronze, fired clay, silver, and gold. The great God has told the king what will happen in the future. The dream is certain, and its interpretation reliable.”
The great God has told the king what will happen. The dream, the prophecy, is certain, it is true.
God’s fulfillment of his prophecy is faithful and true.
It is so good to know that God’s promises, God’s prophecies are true. We see the way that God fulfilled his prophecies in the past to know that God’s promises are true. His prophecies are true. And the future will come to pass.
There is another prophecy that God says is faithful and true. Look at Revelation 21, starting in verse 1.
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
2 I also saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband.
3 Then I heard a loud voice from the throne: Look, God’s dwelling is with humanity, and he will live with them. They will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them and will be their God.
4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; grief, crying, and pain will be no more, because the previous things have passed away.
5 Then the one seated on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new.” He also said, “Write, because these words are faithful and true.”
It is comforting and powerful to know that, in the same way that God literally fulfilled his prophecy in the past, God will fulfill his prophecy in the future. We are headed towards a place where the pains and trials of this life are passed away. Because of Jesus, because of who he is, because he has taken on my sins on the cross, I can be free. I am a child of God. The Bible says that God will be with his people in a place where he is making everything new.
Heading: There is a song by Phil Wickham called “Hymn of Heaven.” In it he sings this lyric:
There will be a day when all will bow before Him
There will be a day when death will be no more
Standing face to face with He who died and rose again
Holy, holy is the Lord
I can’t wait until that day. I can’t wait to stand before the Lord, the one who died and rose again. On that day, when we join all of our brothers and sisters in Christ and say, “Holy, Holy is the Lord. Worthy is the Lamb who was slain.” Praise the Lord.
Conclusion
God is specific in his fulfillment of prophecy.
God is specific in his prophecy of an antichrist figure.
God is specific in his prophecy of his coming victory.
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!
