Stand Firm in Terrifying Times

Daniel 7:1-28. In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream, and visions passed through his mind as he was lying on his bed. He wrote down the substance of his dream. Daniel said, "In my vision at night I looked, and there before me were the four winds of heaven churning up the sea. Four great beasts, each different from the other, came up out of the sea."

The first was a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were torn off, and it was lifted from the ground so that it stood on two feet like a man, and the heart of a man was given to it. And there before me was a second beast which looked like a bear. It was raised up on one of its sides, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, "Get up and eat your fill of flesh."

After that, I looked, and there before me was another beast, one that looked like a leopard, and on its back it had four wings like those of a bird. This beast had four heads, and authority to rule was given to it. After that, in my vision at night, I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast, terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth. It crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left.

It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns. While I was thinking about the horns, there before me was another horn, a little one, which came up among them, and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth that spoke boastfully. As I looked, thrones were set in place, and the ancient of days took his seat. His clothing was as white as snow.

The hair of his head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze. A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before Him. Thousands upon thousands attended Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him.

The court was seated, and the books were opened. Then I continued to watch. Because of the boastful words the horn was speaking, I kept looking until the beast was slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire. The other beasts had been stripped of their authority, but were allowed to live for a period of time. In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like the Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven.

He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into His presence. He was given authority, glory, and sovereign power. All peoples, nations, and men of every language worshipped Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and His kingdom is one that will never be destroyed. I, Daniel, was troubled in spirit, and the visions that passed through my mind disturbed me.

I approached one of those standing there and asked him the true meaning of all this. So he told me and gave me the interpretation of these things. "The four great beasts are four kingdoms that will rise from the earth, but the saints of the most high will receive the kingdom and will possess it forever, yes, forever and ever." Then I wanted to know the true meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others and most terrifying, with its iron teeth and bronze claws, the beast that crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left.

I also wanted to know about the ten horns on its head, and about the other horn that came up before which three of them fell, the horn that looked more imposing than the others and that had eyes and a mouth that spoke boastfully. As I watched, this horn was waging war against the saints and defeating them, until the ancient of days came and pronounced judgment in favour of the saints of the most high, and the time came when they possessed the kingdom. He gave me his explanation. "The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on the earth.

It will be different from all the other kingdoms, and will devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it. The ten horns are ten kings who will come from the kingdom. After them, another king will arise, different from the earlier ones. He will subdue three kings. He will speak against the most high and oppress the saints, and will try to change the set times and the laws.

The saints will be handed over to him for a time, times and a half, but the court will sit and his power will be taken away and completely destroyed. Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven will be handed over to the saints, the people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey Him. This is the end of the matter. I, Daniel, was deeply troubled by my thoughts, and my face turned pale, but I kept the matter to myself.

How does watching the evening news make you feel? I usually find it a bit depressing. I don't watch it too often anymore, every now and then just to sort of keep on top of what's going on. Maybe you find it overwhelming. Maybe you wonder what's going wrong with our world.

We're bombarded nightly by the ongoing conflict between Hamas and Israel and Russia and Ukraine. And then there's our local news: homelessness, youth crime, and murder. Then there's the persecution of Christians around the world. Out of 195 countries in this world, Open Doors ranks 57 as persecuted, experiencing high levels of persecution, and another 20 countries experiencing moderate or severe persecution. How does that all make you feel when you reflect on the state of our world?

That's the reality that Daniel chapter 7 addresses. I'm calling this sermon "Stand Firm in Terrifying Times." I'm gonna break Daniel 7 into three parts. We're gonna look at the shift that happens in this part of the book of Daniel from chapter 6 to chapter 7, and then we're gonna look at Daniel's vision of worldly power, and then his vision of divine authority. So firstly, let's take a look at the shift that happens here in chapter 7 of the book of Daniel.

Verse one says, "In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel saw a dream and visions of his head as he lay in his bed." This first shift is that chapter 7 goes back in time. The first six chapters of Daniel are all sequential. Chapter one was Nebuchadnezzar's first year. Chapter two, his second year.

Chapter three and four, sometime later in his reign. And then chapter five fast forwards to Belshazzar's reign, and chapter six introduces the Mede, Darius. So they're all sequential. But here in chapter 7, we move back to Belshazzar's first year on the throne. So we've moved back in time.

And with this shift in time comes a shift in genre. Chapters one to six were narrative. They were stories. But chapter 7 introduces us to what is commonly referred to as apocalyptic literature. One commentator says the first six chapters are like storytelling, and then the second six are like watching a movie.

We've gone from historical narrative to dreams and visions. The trademark of apocalyptic literature is figurative language and metaphor, and the point is that they're meant to paint a picture in your mind. Apocalyptic literature peels back the veil of normal everyday life to reveal the spiritual realities that lie beyond what we see in the world around us. Daniel's world reflected in many ways the world in which we live today. There's all sorts of political powers at play, but God was showing him, and He's showing you and me this morning, the spiritual realities that we so easily overlook.

The third shift in Daniel 7 is that his dream and vision is given to Daniel. Up until this point, Daniel has interpreted dreams and visions for other people, but now God gives Daniel a dream and a vision of his own. The first six chapters are basically God revealing what the world needs to know, but in these last six chapters, God is revealing what God's people need to know. This is a direct vision for God's people. And this time, Daniel needs an interpreter to help him understand what he's seeing.

So you can divide chapter 7 into two parts. You have the vision in verses 2 to 14, and then its interpretation in verses 16 to 27. But I want you to notice Daniel's reactions in verses 15 and 28. After having the vision, Daniel says in verse 15, "My spirit within me was anxious, and the visions of my head alarmed me." What Daniel sees fills him with anxiety and alarm.

But listen to what he says after the dream is interpreted. Verse 28, "My thoughts greatly alarmed me, and my colour changed, but I kept the matter in my heart." He goes from alarmed to greatly alarmed. He doesn't feel better for knowing what the dream means. He feels worse.

If a lot of people are so fascinated with apocalyptic literature, they think it's amazing, but it's not meant to be amazing. It's meant to fill us with alarm. But despite his alarm, Daniel keeps the matter in his heart. He keeps pondering what God has revealed to him, and that's exactly what Mary did when the angel told her about Jesus as well. And my prayer is that you would ponder the significance of God's word to you this morning as well.

So rather than break chapter 7 up into the vision and the interpretation, I wanna break it down into the two main points of the vision. In the first part of Daniel's dream, he sees a vision of worldly power, and it's terrifying. The first thing he sees is the sea. Sounds like the beginning of a tongue twister, doesn't it? Verse 2, Daniel declared, "I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea."

So the sea in the Old Testament is often used as a symbol of chaos. For a landlocked nation, the sea was distant and mysterious, a place of unknowable depths and strange creatures. It was hostile and dangerous. But the sea was no mystery to God. The Bible starts with the spirit of God hovering over the face of the waters, and only a few verses later, God separates the waters and forms the seas, the oceans.

The psalmist writes, "The sea is His, for He made it." In fact, the sea brings glory to God. Again, the psalmist says, "Praise the Lord, you great sea creatures and all deeps." The ocean is meant to be something that brings praise to God for its mystery and its power and its expansiveness. And we should see the glory of God in the oceans.

Psalm 107, "They saw the deeds of the Lord, His wondrous works in the deep." And the terrifying monsters of the deep are even pictured as God's pets. Psalm 104, "Here is the sea, great and wide, which teams with creatures innumerable, living things both small and great, Leviathan, which You formed to play in it." And the ESV suggests that that last phrase could read "Leviathan which You formed to play with." The great monsters of the deep are just God's playthings.

The sea, for all its power and mystery and danger, is a mere puddle to God. And that's the image God wants us to have as we look at the powers of this world. They might seem dark and dangerous and chaotic, but they are a mere drop in the palms of God's hand. God is the Lord over the nations, no matter how powerful and terrifying they might be. But the main chunk of Daniel's dream is all about these four beasts that arise up out of the sea.

Verse 3, "And four great beasts came up out of the sea different from one another." It's out of the chaos of the sea that these four beasts appear. The first, we're told, is like a lion. Verse 4, "The first was like a lion and had eagle's 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."

If you had listened to the rest of this series, you would have been familiar with some of these terms from Daniel chapter 2 and chapter 4. The lion with eagle's wings represents the golden head of Nebuchadnezzar's image in chapter 2, which was a representation of the Babylonian empire. But in chapter 4, Nebuchadnezzar's kingship is taken away. Remember, he's told that if you don't honour God, you'll lose your mind and become an animal and graze on the grass like an ox of the field. His wings are clipped.

In fact, his hair grew as long as eagle's feathers, we're told, and his nails were like bird's claws. Nebuchadnezzar literally turned into a beast. But after a time, his mind was given back to him, and he became like a man once again, and that reflects exactly what's said in this verse. This first beast symbolises Nebuchadnezzar and the kingdom of Babylon. The second beast, we're told, is like a bear.

Verse 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.'" Most commentators see this beast as symbolising Cyrus and the Medo-Persian empire.

The one side raised up over the other is a reference to the Persians being greater than the Medes. This would correspond with the silver chest and arms of Nebuchadnezzar's image in chapter 2. The third beast is like a leopard. Verse 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."

Again, most commentators say this beast is the Greek empire. After Alexander the Great dies, his empire is split amongst his four generals into four separate kingdoms, hence the four wings and the four heads. In Nebuchadnezzar's image, this kingdom was represented by the bronze thighs. And finally, there's the horned beast. Verse 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." And what makes this one different is it doesn't look like anything else the world has ever seen.

No. It doesn't say it's like a lion or a bear or a leopard. This is just a beast. And what sort of gives it away is that it has great iron teeth. These great iron teeth represent the kingdom or the empire of Rome.

In Nebuchadnezzar's image, this kingdom was represented by the iron legs. So Daniel sees four great empires that will arise throughout the future of the earth over the next four centuries. But it's out of this fourth beast that God reveals something new to Daniel. You know, God had shown all this to Nebuchadnezzar back in chapter 2, but there's something new here in chapter 7. What happens is a little horn appears.

Verse 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." Later, Daniel says about this horn that it seemed greater than its companions. "And as I looked, this horn made war with the saints and prevailed over them." And in verse 25, it says, "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 a half a time."

Now it's at this point that commentators start to disagree with each other. There are some who think this horn is Antiochus Epiphanes, who ruled one of the four Greek empires and defiled the temple in 167 BC. But there are others who think it's Titus, the Roman emperor or general who destroyed the temple in 70 AD. The details seem to fit best with Antiochus, although that doesn't fit with the fourth empire being Rome. But rather than get into that debate, I just wanna zoom out for a moment and reflect on the point of Daniel's vision.

Because one of the dangers you can have with apocalyptic literature is you focus on every single little detail, and you lose the picture. You lose the forest for the trees. So in these four beasts and this little horn that speaks against the most high and makes war on the saints, we get a glimpse of the ultimate beast. Listen to what the apostle John writes in Revelation 13. "And I saw a beast rising out of the sea with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on his horns and blasphemous names on its heads.

And the beast that I saw was like a leopard, its feet were like a bear's, and its mouth was like a lion's mouth. And to it the dragon gave his power and his throne and great authority. And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority. It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God. Also, it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them."

You notice the language there? What Daniel sees in five separate parts, John lumps altogether into one. His beast too comes out of the sea. It has ten horns and multiple heads, and it was like a leopard with bear's feet and a lion's mouth. It too is given authority.

It speaks blasphemies against God. It's allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. Both see a vision of the world at war with God's people. And John adds the world's power and authority comes from the dragon, which Revelation clearly tells us is Satan. The apostle Paul writes, "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places."

You see, maybe Daniel hoped that after seventy years of exile, his people would be restored, and God's kingdom would come in all of its fullness. But what God instead reveals to him is one satanic empire after another, one terrifying reality after another, a world that wages war on God's people. And that's exactly what the apostle John sees in the book of Revelation as well. And it's no wonder that Daniel's thoughts greatly alarmed him. It's not surprising that when we watch the evening news, we are greatly alarmed as well.

The truth is that while Jesus has come to set up God's kingdom, we still live in a world that hates God and His people. A world in which Satan is actively working against the church, a world of terrifying powers. It's all very bleak, isn't it? But then Daniel sees something else, not a vision of worldly power, but a vision of divine authority. God reveals three essential truths in the face of the terrifying power and evil of this world.

The first is that the ancient of days will judge the world. Verses 9 and 10. "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. A stream of fire issued and came out from before Him. A thousand thousand served Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. The court sat in judgment, and the books were opened." The ancient of days is a reference to God Himself.

And despite the fact that God is a spirit and doesn't have a physical form, He's described as dressed in white with hair like pure wool, an image of purity and holiness. His throne was fiery flames, which seems a little overdone. You can't have unfiery flames, but it's just drama. What's more, His throne has wheels, so it's more like a chariot than a throne. And from all this, a stream of fire comes out from His throne, and all this fire represents God's divine judgment.

And Daniel sees thousands and thousands of people and beings around God's throne. God is surrounded by the heavenly hosts, by His armies. It's like the time Elisha asked God to open the eyes of his servant to see all of God's armies surrounding them on the hillsides. But the point is that God sits in judgment over the nations. God opens the books, and what's written there doesn't look good for these terrifying beasts.

In fact, the very next verse, it says, "As I looked, the beast was killed and its body destroyed and given over to be burned with fire." Just like that, this terrifying beast with teeth of iron that devoured and destroyed and trampled is killed and burned to ash. These worldly powers are terrifying to us, but they are nothing to God. The evil and the greed and the power and the authority of the world will all one day suddenly come to an end. Our God is Lord over the nations.

When you see the world at war on the nightly news, you can take comfort from the fact that our God is in control. Do you find hope in the fact that God is sitting on His throne and that one day He'll judge the nations? See, what helps us stand firm in terrifying times is to remember that our God is in control, and that one day He will judge this world. The second thing that God reveals to Daniel is that the Son of Man will be crowned king. Verses 13 and 14.

"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. 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." This one like a Son of Man is none other than Jesus Christ. Jesus refers to himself as the Son of Man 82 times in the gospels.

In fact, when the high priest asked Jesus, "Are you the Christ, the Son of the blessed?" Jesus pretty much quotes Daniel chapter 7. "I am, and you'll see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of power and coming with the clouds of heaven." Jesus is the Son of Man who comes with the clouds of heaven. So when is Jesus presented to the ancient of days and given dominion and glory and a kingdom?

And the answer is ultimately when He ascends back into heaven. The apostle Paul writes, "God raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion." And the apostle Peter writes, "Jesus Christ has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him." Jesus is sitting right now on the throne reigning as King over all. But notice that in verse 14, "all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him."

Jesus invites people from all nations to come into His eternal kingdom. Jesus invites people who once belonged to the beasts, who were once beasts themselves, to become God's children. And that's only possible because Jesus has washed the mark of the beast off us through His blood shed on the cross. It's only through faith in Jesus and His death on the cross that we are rescued from this world, from the dominion of Satan, and that we then become citizens of God's kingdom. So I wanna ask you this morning, is Jesus your King?

Are you a citizen of God's kingdom? Have you put your faith in Jesus? Do you belong to the world, to the beasts, or do you belong to Jesus and to the kingdom that will never end? And Jesus actually invites us or invites the world into His kingdom through you and me. At the end of Matthew's gospel, Jesus says, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations." Jesus, the one to whom all authority has been given, calls you and me to invite people into His kingdom. While the world is busy making war against us, we are busy inviting them to come to Jesus and be saved. Are you inviting people into God's kingdom? Are you inviting people to walk away from the beasts and towards Jesus and be saved?

The third thing that God reveals to Daniel is that the saints receive the kingdom. Daniel is alarmed by what he sees, and so he turns to someone else there in his dream and asks him what it all means. And I love this. It's like the short, short version. In verses 17 and 18, he's told, "These four great beasts are four kings who shall arise out of the earth, but the saints of the most high shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, forever and ever."

How awesome is that? The divine interpretation doesn't go into all the details, just the beasts are four kingdoms, but the saints will win. Sure, there will be a time when the world will make war against the saints and prevail over them, but that is only 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. The world will prevail until the saints prevail. The world will look like it's winning right up until it loses.

The saints will look like they're losing right up until we win. So brothers and sisters, stand firm. It might look like the church is failing. It might look like the world is winning, but that is not what's really going on. Because one day Jesus will come back, and He will defeat the world, and the kingdom will belong to His people.

In fact, the final words given to Daniel in verse 27 say, "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." Brothers and sisters, in the end, we win. In the end, it's not these terrifying beasts that win. It's not the world that wins. It's not Satan who wins.

It's God who wins. It's the ancient of days who sits on His throne of fire and judges the world. It's Jesus Christ, the Son of Man, who is given dominion, and it's the saints, it's those who trust in Jesus who receive the kingdom. I don't know how you feel when you watch the evening news or when you reflect on the state of the world, because it can seem like a horrible mess.

All the brokenness out there, the brokenness in our own lives, but God peels back the veil so that we can see Him sitting on the throne, so that we can see Jesus saving people like you and me, so that we can see what the future ultimately holds, not terror and darkness, but the rule of Jesus in the kingdom of light forever and ever. This week, may you ponder these things in your heart, and may they help you stand firm in terrifying times. Let's pray. Dear heavenly father, we recognise that one of our limitations as people is we only see what is going on around us. And Lord, sometimes what is going on around us can feel chaotic, can feel dark and depressing, and Lord can fill us with dread and anxiety.

But Lord, we thank you for chapters in your word like this that peel back the veil so that we might see what is really going on behind the scenes. Lord, help us to see you sitting on your throne, and, Lord, help us to remember that one day you will judge the nations. One day, the evil and the darkness and the sorrow, the sickness and the death of this world will be no more. Lord, may you help us stand firm in the hope of your glorious judgment when you make all things right. And Lord, we thank you that you help us to see Jesus who came into this world as our King and who humbled himself and died on a cross for our sins, and then who rose again victorious over death and who ascended on high to sit at your right hand.

Lord, may we see Him reigning over all things. And Lord, may we remember that He called us to proclaim the good news of His victory over sin and Satan and death, that people might turn to Him in faith and be saved. Lord, may you use us to rescue people out of this dominion of darkness that they might come into your kingdom of light. And Lord, may you remind us that in the end, the kingdoms of this world will be given to your people, that there will be only one kingdom that reigns forever and ever. And that kingdom will be filled with all of those who trust in you, that your glory and your majesty and your goodness might be from sea to sea forever and ever. Lord, help us stand firm with that vision in our eyes, that hope in our hearts.

Lord, help us stand firm with joy as we declare the gospel of Jesus. In His name we pray. Amen.