HopeLives365

Guest (Male): What does it mean the hour of God's judgment has come? Is there a judgment before the second coming of Christ to determine who is worthy to enter the kingdom?

This is HopeLives365 with Pastor Mark Finley. Today's message, a series in the book of Daniel, week 2, part 5. Enjoy and remember you can always catch up with past messages and stay up to date with HopeLives365 and Pastor Mark by going to hopelives365.com. And now, Pastor Mark Finley.

Mark Finley: Welcome to our studies in the Book of Daniel. We are actually on chapter 6. We've dealt with the historical portion of the book and now we're moving into some of the deep prophecies. I'm so glad you've joined us. We're thrilled when I look at the numbers of people watching and we have hundreds, thousands of people studying the Book of Daniel with us.

In addition to that, there are families that join, some invite their children. So if you have children, get their Bibles out and notebooks and pads and encourage them to study the Book of Daniel with us. There are small groups that use this material as their small group study. And so wherever you find yourself, welcome. We are absolutely delighted that you're with us.

Let's review the first six chapters of Daniel and then I'll answer a few questions that have come in, and then we'll launch right into our topic for tonight. You remember in Daniel chapter 1, Daniel is taken captive. God is revealed as the God who turns defeat into victory, the God who turns sorrow into joy. In our lives, we experience at times the defeats of the devil, but God can turn every defeat into a victory.

In chapter 2, we see God revealing the future. He holds the future in his hands, knows our future, and can reveal it to us. He says in Psalm 32:8, "I will guide you with mine eye." Isaiah 58:11, God says, "I'll guide you continually." So he is the God who guides us. If he's majestic enough, wise enough, to guide the destiny of nations, I can safely trust him and put my life in his hands.

In Daniel chapter 3, God is the God who leaps into the flames of our lives. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego would not bow down to the golden image. They ended up in the fiery furnace, but God was there to protect them. In the last days, once again, a despotic world ruler will pass a universal decree commanding worship. Daniel 3 and Revelation 13 are in parallel. We see that there. But once again, God is a mighty deliverer, and he'll be there to deliver us like he delivered Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

Chapter 4, we find a heathen king saying, "Is not this great Babylon I have built?" in his pride and his arrogance. Just like Lucifer in heaven in Isaiah 14 where he said, "I will ascend into heaven, I will be like the Most High," Nebuchadnezzar had that Lucifer spirit in his heart. God humbled his pride. Nebuchadnezzar lost his throne and wandered around like a wild beast for seven years.

But he looked to heaven. His sanity was restored. He once again received his royal robe, his crown of diadem of glory, and his throne. So likewise we too, in our lostness, almost wander around like wild beasts on a planet called Earth. But when we look to heaven, Jesus clothes us with his righteousness and gives us sonship. We sit on the throne with him and he says, "You are my sons and daughters, you're priests and kings unto God," and we reign again. I like Isaiah 45:22 that says, "Look unto me and be saved, all the ends of the earth, for I am God and there is none else." So like that ancient king, we look to heaven and we find our salvation there, not in ourselves; we find it in the grace of God.

In Daniel chapter 5, Belshazzar, grandson of Nebuchadnezzar, throws a drunken feast. But he defiles the sanctuary of God because Babylon has robbed the ancient sanctuary and brought in golden vessels from that sanctuary of God in Jerusalem, brought in the golden candlestick. And they cross the bounds of God's mercy. The cup of iniquity is filled, and the strange writing is written on the wall: Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin, "Thou art weighed in the balances and found wanting."

What does this chapter say about God? It says God is a God of mercy, but he's a God of judgment. He's a God of love, but he's a God of law. It says that there are boundaries to God's mercy. It says that nations and individuals can fill up the cup of their iniquity. What does it say to you and me? First, it says judgment is hanging over this world, that this world is fastly through its sin and iniquity and transgression and rebellion against God, it's filling up its cup of iniquity and soon Jesus will come.

Just like in the days of Noah, this world filled up its cup of iniquity. It went beyond the mercy of God and the probation of God. God's mercy is always there, God's love is always there, but we can turn our back on that mercy, we can turn our back on that love. Just like in the days of Lot, fire fell. Why? Why were Sodom and Gomorrah destroyed? Because they went beyond God's mercy. They turned their backs on him. It says that judgment is hanging over our world.

But it also says to you and me that when the still small voice of God speaks to us, when Christ's light illuminates our heart, that we should respond to it. We shouldn't trifle with his mercy, shouldn't play games with his love, because judgment comes to every man, woman, and child.

Daniel chapter 6, we find the God who is steadfast forever. Daniel is at the end of his life now, probably about 87 years old. He prays three times a day. Daniel is steadfast from the time he's 17 to the time he's 87, 70 years in Babylon, but yet he's faithful to God, never wavering. Daniel chapter 6 talks to us about a God who is steadfast forever, and it appeals to us never, never to waver.

Well, with that summary, there are a couple of questions that did come in that I want to spend time answering. Let me take a look at those questions. Here's one from Angela. She says, "Pastor, it says a watcher and a holy one came down from heaven. Who was that watcher and that holy one? Was it Jesus or an angel?" Usually, when the Bible talks about a watcher and a holy one, it's talking about angelic beings. Typically, that's the scene of the expression in Scripture.

Here's one from Wacera in Seattle. "You taught us so well that the Medes took over the kingdom of Babylon. Were the kingdoms of Media and Persia ruling concurrently? Which among these kingdoms were superior? Thank you." The Medes and the Persians overthrew Babylon in 539 BC. The leader of the Medes was Darius. The leader of the Persians was Cyrus. Darius was really a Median general who ruled that empire. Cyrus was the king, and the Persian Empire was much, much stronger than the Median Empire. We're going to see that today in our Bible study.

Now look, if you have any questions about the Bible, about Daniel, please feel free to write them in. We're going to put that up on the screen just now. You can write your questions to info@hopelives365.com. That's info@hopelives365.com. If you want the study guides for the lessons, we have study guides for our lessons, you go to hopelives365.com/weeklybiblestudy. That's hopelives365.com/biblestudy.

Well, with that background, let's jump right into Daniel chapter 7. We'll bow our heads to pray. Father in heaven, thank you that you are the God of the universe. Thank you that this world is in your control. Bless us as we study the Word of God in the book of Daniel. Speak to us through your Holy Spirit in Jesus' name. Amen.

We enter into a new phase of our study. We're going into the prophetic part of the book of Daniel. In the first six chapters, we had one prophecy in Daniel chapter 2. In the last six chapters, every chapter indeed is a prophecy or an introduction to that prophecy. You'll remember in the first prophecy that we studied in Daniel chapter 2, King Nebuchadnezzar went to sleep, and as he dreamed, he dreamed a dream he couldn't remember. It was a dream of a great image: head of gold, breast and arms of silver, thighs of brass, legs of iron, feet of iron and clay. And then a rock cut out without hands smashed the image and became a great mountain that filled the whole earth.

When you look at that image, we've studied before that Daniel said to Nebuchadnezzar, "You are this head of gold," or Babylon your nation is this head of gold. Then Daniel said to Nebuchadnezzar, "After you, there shall arise another kingdom." So the four metals—gold, silver, brass, iron—represented four successive nations that would rule the world after the dream was given.

Babylon represented the head of gold. The Medes and Persians overthrew the Babylonians. They began their rule in 539 BC and ended it in 331 BC. The Greeks took over next, ruled from 331 to 168 BC. The Romans overthrew the Greeks, and they ruled from 168 to about 351 AD, where their nation fell apart and the barbarian tribes from the north came down. So you have four nations: Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. Rome is divided into 10 divisions. Those divisions are like iron and clay that do not mix. Then in the days of these kings, with divided Europe, a divided Middle East, a divided Africa, during the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom that will never be moved. So the kingdoms of earth fade away; they go into insignificance as God establishes his eternal everlasting kingdom.

Now there's an important principle of prophetic interpretation in the book of Daniel. It's called repetition and enlargement. What's it called everybody? Repetition and enlargement. So you have four great lines of prophecy in Daniel: Daniel 2, Daniel 7, Daniel 8 and 9 together, and Daniel 11 and the first part of Daniel 12. Each of these prophecies repeats the prophecy before, so the structure is always Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome. Then they keep adding in these prophecies. It's repetition and enlargement.

Now when you look at the four metals, you have gold, silver, brass, iron, iron and clay. What do you notice about that immediately in Daniel 2? Descending moral value. So you have the gold and silver and brass and iron, feet of iron and clay. You have a statue—would you want to build a structure on iron and clay that's falling apart at the bottom at the toes, that can't support the structure? Not at all. So you have descending moral value in the image.

The rock comes at a time of moral degeneracy in our world where there is little ethical accountability in our world. Our world has become a sex-centered, thrill-jaded, morally twisted generation. And Christ says, "That's enough," and he comes. That's Daniel 2. Now you come to Daniel 7, and you have repetition and enlargement. So we're repeating with different symbols the same nations, adding to the description, broadening the description. And then we're adding some interesting material that we'll study today.

So let's go to Daniel 7. "The first year of Belshazzar, King of Babylon, Daniel had a dream and the visions of his head while on his bed." Now this is Daniel's dream, not Nebuchadnezzar's. It is the first dream recorded by Daniel in the book. He's probably in his 60s at this time. Then he wrote down the dream, telling the main facts. Daniel spoke saying, verse 2, Daniel 7, "I saw in my vision by night, and behold four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea. And four beasts came up from the sea, each different from the other."

Now when we read about four winds of heaven blowing on the great sea, and we read about the four winds and add that to the sea, the great sea, what's this talking about? You know, when we study Bible prophecy, Peter says in 2 Peter 1:19-21 that prophecy is like a light that lights our way in the darkness, but no prophecy is of any private interpretation. So we don't have to guess at what winds represent or what the sea represents in the Bible, because not only does God give to us the symbol, but he gives us the interpretation. So let's see if we can see how God uses winds in prophecy.

We're going to go to Jeremiah chapter 49, verse 36. God is describing destruction, and he says in Jeremiah 49:36, "Against Elam will I bring four winds from the four quarters of heaven and scatter them toward all those winds. There will be no nations where the outcasts of Elam will not go." When we think of windy scenes, you think of a tornado, you think of a hurricane. What do you think of? You think of destruction, right? Then it says, "I will cause Elam," verse 37, "to be dismayed before their enemies and before those who seek their life. I will bring disaster upon them." So he first says the four winds are going to come upon them, then he talks about disaster coming upon them.

Do we find any other place in the Bible in prophecy where it talks about the four winds? We do. You go to the book of Revelation and chapter 7. Revelation chapter 7, again we find something about the four winds. Revelation the seventh chapter, and if you look there at verse 1, for example, again it says, "After these things, Revelation 7 verse 1, I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree. Then I saw another angel from the east having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted not to harm the earth and the sea, saying, 'Do not harm the earth, sea, or the trees till we've sealed the servants of God in their foreheads.'"

So here in the last days of earth's history, just before the coming of Jesus, the winds of destruction will blow, the winds of pestilence will blow, the winds of disaster will blow. And God says, "Hold those winds back until my people make their eternal decision for Christ and to be obedient to his truth and his law and they're sealed with the seal of protection of the Holy Spirit in their foreheads so they're not affected by the winds."

So what does wind represent? Wind represents destruction. So it says here in Daniel 7, verse 2, "Daniel spoke saying, 'I saw in my vision by night, behold the four winds of heaven stirring up the great sea.'" So winds, he sees winds of destruction. Now what about the sea? What does the sea represent? Revelation chapter 17, verse 15. Revelation 17:15, and he said to me, "The waters which you saw," that's the sea, "where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues." Remember the harlot was a symbol of the false church and error, apostasy, godlessness. So the harlot is sitting on the waters and she's dominated over the waters. He said to me, "The waters you saw where the harlot sits are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues."

So when the winds blow upon the great sea, the sea represents people, so you have destruction among the peoples there of the Middle East at this period of time of the book of Daniel in Babylon. Then it says, and out of this destruction that's coming, out of this catastrophe, out of this disaster that would come, Daniel sees "and four beasts came up from the sea, different from one another." So the beasts were different from one another. What is a beast in Bible prophecy? Daniel 7:17, "The great beasts which are four," how many of them are there? Four. "Are four kings that will arise out of the earth." But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever and ever. So the four beasts are four kings, or if you have a marginal reference, it says four kingdoms. This is made clearer even in verse 23. So do you see Daniel 7:23? "Then he said, 'The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom on the earth, which will be different from all the kingdoms.'"

So what have we seen so far? This is what we've seen: we've seen the principle of repetition and enlargement. There were four metals in Daniel chapter 2. There are four beasts in Daniel chapter 7. The beasts or these kingdoms arise out of the conflict and devastation in the populated areas of the world at that time. So then he begins to describe the beasts. Verse 4, "The first was like a lion," that's the first beast.

Now another principle of prophecy is the prophecy always begins with the prophet is. The prophecies of Daniel begin in Babylon when Daniel is in captivity. The prophecies in Revelation begin in the first century and they take you onward from there when John was a captive on the island of Patmos. So the prophecy always begins with the prophet is. These timeline prophecies have repetition and enlargement, and these timeline prophecies in addition to that expand on one another.

So there was a lion and it had eagle's wings. "I watched till its wings were plucked off and it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand on two feet like a man, and a man's heart was given to it." A lion with eagle's wings is a fit symbol of the nation of Babylon. I've traveled throughout the Middle East a great deal, in fact. If you go to the Istanbul Museum, you will see original tiles that were gathered in the excavation of Babylon, and they were part of the procession way that led into the city and into the temples. And you will notice that there are lions with eagle's wings as a symbol of Babylon.

If you go to the museum in East Berlin called the Pergamon Museum, you'll see some of the work of the German archaeologists, and again you will see original lions with eagle's wings. In fact, there was a statue uncovered in Babylon by the archaeologists with a lion with eagle's wings. So the idea of a lion and eagle's wings is a very common symbol of Babylon. In fact, when you look at these four beasts, even today nations have symbols with animals as their symbol, don't they? Sure. And it was the same that God is using here, the very symbol of Babylon that would be easily recognizable to describe it.

A lion is the king of the beasts. Babylon ruled the then-known world. And an eagle is a symbol of the chief of the birds, and again, fitting symbols of Babylon in its regal royalty, in its fierceness, in its ability to dominate the world. But it says, "A lion with eagle's wings. I watched till the wings were plucked off, was lifted up from the earth, made to stand on its feet like a man, and a man's heart was given to it." What happened to Babylon? Well, Nebuchadnezzar, of course, lost his throne, went out and wandered in the wilderness for seven years till he got his throne back. But then Babylon fell in the days of Belshazzar with Darius and Cyrus attacking it, and it became a very tame empire from a lion, very, very tame, man's heart weak. But another aspect of that man's heart can refer to the conversion of Nebuchadnezzar, where he now has a heart for God after he goes out and eats grass like a lion. So Babylon falls.

Guest (Male): You've been listening to HopeLives365 with Pastor Mark Finley. We hope you've enjoyed today's message and remind you that you can find more in our many ministry resources at hopelives365.com. And you can support this ministry by going to hopelives365.com/donate. And now, a final thought from Pastor Mark.

Mark Finley: Why is the judgment good news for the people of God? It's good news first because Christ is exonerated, the Father is exalted, the Holy Spirit is revealed as the third person of the Godhead, as the mighty one. The judgment reveals that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are worthy to rule the universe forever. Why is the judgment good news? Because in the judgment, the kingdom is given to Christ. Through the cross of Christ, Jesus bought back this world.