KEEP LOOKING

KEEP LOOKING

Daniel 7:9-14 (KJV)

I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire.

A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.

I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame.

As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time.

I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.

And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.

Daniel is, in my understanding of the Word of God, one of the most fantastic persons in the Bible.

In many respects he is like Joseph:

·  He was a Jew but a stranger in another land

·  He was a slave but rose to great power

·  He was a politician but served as a prophet

Although I am sure they sinned, the Bible gives us no record of any sins of either Joseph or Daniel.

The book of Daniel is one of the most important in the Old Testament to understand prophecy. He truly was a prophet in the sense of foretelling the future.

No other prophecy can be rightly understood without first mastering the prophecies of Daniel.[1]

Daniel’s earliest prophecies took place as interpretations of the dreams of Nebuchadnezzar. But then God began giving him dreams and visions of his own.

This chapter gives us a vision of Daniel and the interpretation of that vision by the angel.

I want to work my way through the passage by observing first.

I. THE EARLY VISION

Daniel 7:2-8 (KJV)

Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea.

And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.

The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it.

And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh.

After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.

After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.

I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.

Daniel saw in his vision four beasts; each one fiercer than the other:

·  A lion with eagle wings

·  A bear with ribs in his mouth

·  A leopard with four wings of a fowl

·  A fourth, dreadful and terrible

We already know what these beasts represent. It is not the first time they’ve come up in his prophecies. They represent the four great empires this world will know.

·  Babylon

·  Medo-Persia

·  Greece and

·  Rome

I think it is interesting that Egypt is not one of them. As significant as Egypt was in early Biblical times, she becomes nearly insignificant after Rome.

Egypt is the victim of cross-culturalism.

Scientists say there is more Egyptian DNA in England than in Egypt. They lost their culture through assimilation with the Romans – and they lost their influence through the same.

God warned the Jews in Jeremiah’s day not to put their trust in Egypt.

Now there is nothing in Egypt to trust.

Isn’t it also interesting that the United States isn’t one of those great empires of the Scriptures?

We put way too much trust in our own nation.

I love the United States, but it is not the Savior of the world – that role is Christ’s alone.

We had better remember where our faith lies.

I am thankful for the privilege to live in the United States

·  I am thankful for our liberties

·  I am thankful for our heritage

·  I am thankful for our political process

·  I am thankful for the vision our founders had

·  I am thankful for the influence our nation has had in this world

·  I am thankful for the resources our country has poured into worldwide missions

But all of that doesn’t even warrant a mention in the Word of God.

Better keep our eyes of Jesus.

Observe with me secondly,

II. THE COMING VISION

Daniel 7:9-12 (KJV)

I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire.

A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.

I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame.

As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time.

I read Daniel 7:9 and it takes my mind to,

Revelation 1:12-15 (KJV)

And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;

And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.

His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;

And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. 

While this might more properly be considered a description of God the Father than of the Son, who can deny the resemblance?

We have here God seated on His throne where He then: 

·  Opens the books of judgment

·  Casts down the thrones of man and

·  Slays and destroys the beast in the flames

Hey! Do you see any political beasts in our world these days?

A. How about the beasts of progressive liberalism?

I see the two ideals of liberalism and conservatism and simply that.

The one believes our country is best served by treating the Constitution as a “living document” meant to be re-interpreted for each evolving generation.[2]

The other believes that our country will prosper best by sticking to the tried and true. A conservative holds that the founders knew exactly what they were doing when they gave us the Constitution and that we are protected best with a strict original interpretation.[3]

I am a conservative and see great danger in liberalism. But it is not the worst of all beasts.

B. How about the beasts of socialism and communism?

Liberalism, it seems to me, leads to socialism – the idea that everything ought to belong to everyone.

The problem with socialism is that, if everything already belongs to everyone – no one wants to work for anything.

But like the Medo-Persian empire, Socialism is a split concept. It has with it Communism. This beast claims that everything belongs to everyone, and only some people are powerful enough to:

·  Force the common person to work and

·  Choose how everything is distributed

A socialist killspeople through poverty

A communist killspeople for political gain

C. How about the beast of Islamic terrorism?

Islam, like Catholicism, is a religion-controlled government.

Whether or not they are the worst beast of all remains to be seen. I think the beast that isn’t like anything the prophet can describe is a mixture of: 

·  Catholicism, 

·  Islam and 

·  Protestant Christianity 

– a one-world, worldwide religious government.

What is important to see is that, when God is ready, all of these beasts are cast down and destroyed in the lake of fire and brimstone.

Observe with me finally,

III. THE FINAL VISION

Daniel 7:13-14 (KJV)

I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.

And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.

Daniel didn’t just see four great kingdoms.

He saw five.

Notice:

·  This kingdom is from heaven

·  This kingdom serves the Lord

·  This kingdom is glorious and

·  This kingdom shall not pass away

Ever since I have been an adult two things have brought me hope:

First, everything in this world passes away.

·  Problems pass

·  Pains pass

·  Wars pass

·  Governments pass

·  Presidents pass

·  Political powers pass

You can almost guarantee that when we get a really terrible President, or if the liberals get too much power, in one of the upcoming election cycles, the course will get corrected.

Second, there is coming a king who will not pass away

There isn’t anyone on this earth I hope gets to lead for too long.

But there is one in heaven who has promised to lead forever!

Conclusion

So that’s the prophecy in a nutshell.

But how is it supposed to help me today?

I want you to notice a recurring theme in the passage:

·  I saw (vs 2, 7, 13)

·  I beheld (vs 4, 6, 9, 11)

·  I considered (vs 8)

Here’s my lesson for you today;when you begin seeing the beasts all around, keep looking until you see the Lordin control of them.

Can you imagineif Daniel had closed his eyes after he saw the lion with eagle’s wings or the bear with bloody ribs in his mouth?

Can you imagineif Daniel had turned his back after he saw the leopard with four wings or, worse, the beast that was dreadful and terrible?

All hope would have been gone if he had quit his vision after the terrible beast.

But he didn’t quit looking.

He kept trusting God and looking until He saw those thrones cast down and Jesus in authority.

·  There are times in your life, and mine, when we want to shut our eyes at the troubles that face us.

·  There are times we want to turn our back and run.

·  Times when we want to cover and cower in fear.

If you do it, you’ll miss the plan of God.

He has this.

And He has glory in our future.

Keep looking until you see Jesus.

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[1]The Old Testament prophets are nearly unintelligible without Daniel and Daniel is a precursor to the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ.

[2]Thomas Jefferson represents this ideal.

[3]Don’t criticize my analysis too badly – my point is not to teach these subjects but just to use them as an illustration. I believe my analysis is accurate enough to do that.