Text: Daniel 7 Sermon Series: Living in a Pagan Society.

A man talked about growing up on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean. He often spent hours on the beach creating intricate sandcastles and he said he could build whole cities with his hands every day. But one year (for several days in a row) there was a group of bullies that came down to the beach and destroyed his creations. Understandably, he got a bit annoyed… and he thought about it long time. Finally came up with an idea. He said: “I placed cinder blocks, rocks, and chunks of concrete at the base of my castles. Then I built my SAND KINGDOM on top of those rocks. And when the local toughs appeared (I disappeared), their bare feet suddenly met their match.”

*Notice what he said that he did: He built a sand KINGDOM on top of the rocks, and those who sought to destroy what he built… paid a price.

Title: “Matters of the heart.” Verse 28; “Here is the end of the matter. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts greatly alarmed me, and my color changed, but I kept the matter in my heart.”  Key verse is verse 18: “But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, forever and ever.”

Theme: “Eventually the world will crumble, and only God’s kingdom will last. Those who follow Christ are part of this unshakable kingdom, and they’ll withstand the shaking, sifting, and burning that’s going to come. When we begin to feel unsure about the future, as I’m sure we all do from time to time, we can take comfort from these verses. No matter what happens here, our future is built on a solid foundation that can’t be destroyed.”

* This morning, I would like to share with you the following lessons.

1. The visions begin with a stormy sea.

Daniel 7:1-10; “In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel saw a dream and visions of his head as he lay in his bed. Then he wrote down the dream and told the sum of the matter. ² Daniel declared, “I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea. ³ And four great beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another. ⁴ The first was like a lion and had eagles' wings. Then as I looked its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man, and the mind of a man was given to it. ⁵ And behold, another beast, a second one, like a bear. It was raised up on one side. It had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth; and it was told, ‘Arise, devour much flesh.’ ⁶ After this I looked, and behold, another, like a leopard, with four wings of a bird on its back. And the beast had four heads, and dominion was given to it. ⁷ After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth; it devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. ⁸ I considered the horns, and behold, there came up among them another horn, a little one, before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots. And behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things.”

* The first notable event is the rising of four beasts from the sea (verses 2-3).   When I think of the sea, I think of beaches, waves and sunshine. But for the Jew, the sea was a place that was unknown something to be feared. As one writer suggests, it was the "primeval foe"; and within Babylonian literature, the sea was a reference to the great abyss. It conjured up images of terror, darkness and cold.

* Although the sea looks out of control, it’s within the hands of the sovereign rule of God.  Four great beasts represent the rulers of the four would empires previously described in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in chapter 2.  Remember in that dream God used a statue to represent the four kingdoms of this world.

Psalm 65:5; “The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land.”  Beloved, I think it is important to note that the beasts are progressively more violent and more chaotic indicating the growing sinfulness of society and the degeneration of human rule into something akin to beasts.

* In verse 4, the lion and eagle are symbols of strength and speed and were used in Babylon. In verse 5, the second beast is a bear a symbol of the Medo Persian Empire. Raised up on one side indicates the superiority of the Persians in the empire. The three ribs may represent three major conquests.  Lydia (546), Babylon (539) and Egypt (525).

* The leopard represents the Greek Empire under Alexander the Great. After his death the empire had four heads: Asia Minor, Syrai, Egypt and Macedonia (verse 8). The fourth beast is Rome. The 10 horns are explained in verse 24, and the little horn the Anti-Christ in verse 25.

2. God almighty reigns.

Daniel 7:9-18; “⁹ “As I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days took his seat; his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames; its wheels were burning fire. ¹⁰ A stream of fire issued and came out from before him; a thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him; the court sat in judgment, and the books were opened. ¹¹ “I looked then because of the sound of the great words that the horn was speaking. And as I looked, the beast was killed, and its body destroyed and given over to be burned with fire. ¹² As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time. ¹³ “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. ¹⁴ And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed. ¹⁵ “As for me, Daniel, my spirit within me was anxious, and the visions of my head alarmed me. ¹⁶ I approached one of those who stood there and asked him the truth concerning all this. So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of the things. ¹⁷ ‘These four great beasts are four kings who shall arise out of the earth. ¹⁸ But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, forever and ever.’

* The showdown of history is about to begin, and we know how it ends. Daniel saw in verse 9 that "thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. Around God’s throne are people. And not just a few, either. It says that thousands upon thousands attended him and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. Well, I couldn’t help but do the math on this one, and the numbers are impressive.

* First, you’ve got thousands upon thousands. That could be any number at all, but assume that it’s a thousand times a thousand, that right there is a million. Then you have the ten thousand times ten thousand. That’s a hundred million. So, the number of people standing before the throne of God is mind-boggling. That’s right 101 million.

* Important to notice the phrase in verse13; “…there came one like a son of man,” This is a reference of Jesus Christ. The term the Son of Man occurs in Matthew 32 times, Mark 15 times, Luke 26 times, and John 12 times. In the first three Gospels, the title is always recorded as having been used by Christ of Himself. Matthew 26:63-64; “tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.” ⁶⁴ Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

* The Son of Man arrives (verse 13) in all his glory, and he’s given authority over every living thing. Notice with me that this figure is human, second, he arrives on clouds and so is obviously divine. Third, this figure is human but divine is the representative of the saints before God.  Lastly this figure presents a perfect contrast to the rule of the beasts because His rule is orderly and endorsed by God.

3. We are waiting for the rise of the last horn.

Daniel 7:19-28; “¹⁹ “Then I desired to know the truth about the fourth beast, which was different from all the rest, exceedingly terrifying, with its teeth of iron and claws of bronze, and which devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet, ²⁰ and about the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn that came up and before which three of them fell, the horn that had eyes and a mouth that spoke great things, and that seemed greater than its companions. ²¹ As I looked, this horn made war with the saints and prevailed over them, ²² until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given for the saints of the Most High, and the time came when the saints possessed the kingdom. ²³ “Thus he said: ‘As for the fourth beast, there shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, which shall be different from all the kingdoms,
and it shall devour the whole earth, and trample it down, and break it to pieces. ²⁴ As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings shall arise, and another shall arise after them; he shall be different from the former ones, and shall put down three kings. ²⁵ He shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and shall think to change the times and the law; and they shall be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time. ²⁶ But the court shall sit in judgment, and his dominion shall be taken away, to be consumed and destroyed to the end. ²⁷ And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High; his kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.’ ²⁸ “Here is the end of the matter. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts greatly alarmed me, and my color changed, but I kept the matter in my heart.”

*Daniel notices that the fourth beast is different from all the others. The first three appear to operate within the scope of divine authority, yet the fourth one acts outside of it. The last beast has ten horns of which three are uprooted by another small horn. This eleventh horn is intelligent -- for it has eyes; and arrogant -- for it speaks boastfully. This little horn will persecute the saints of the Most High, it will overcome the saints for a period of time.  Verse 25, time, times-2 and half a time.  Three ½ years

* It appears likely that this fourth beast represents the consummation of opposition to God and His people. A One World Order; The "Return of the Khalifate” Could the Anti-Christ be a Jewish Muslim from Syria? Is this the reason that The Anti-Christ will fight against the first three nations? Note that he will try to change the times and the law (verse25).  Are we not seeing this today?

*The story of an orphaned boy, living with his grandmother. The grandmother died in the flames of a fire that destroyed their home as she tried to get upstairs to rescue the boy. A man who heard the boy’s cry for help climbed an iron drainpipe and came back down with the boy hanging tightly to his neck. Several months later, a public hearing was held to determine who would receive custody of the child. A farmer, a teacher, and a rich man all gave reasons why they felt they should be chosen to give the boy a home. The boy showed no interest in the proceedings at all and kept his eyes focused on the floor. Then a stranger walked to the front and slowly took his hands from his pocket, revealing horrible scars on them. As everyone looked at him in horror the boy suddenly got up and run towards him. This was the man who had saved his life burning his hands when he climbed the hot pipe. With a leap of joy, the boy threw his arms around the man’s neck and held on to him. The other men silently walked away, leaving the boy and his rescuer alone. Those marred hands had settled the issue.  There came one like the son of man!