Truth For Life

Bob Lapine: When you hear about the increasing hostility against Christians and Christianity throughout the world, you ever worry that the church is in danger of being destroyed?

You will hear a much-needed reminder today on Truth For Life, as Alistair Begg walks us through the prophetic vision found in chapter seven of the Old Testament book of Daniel.

Alistair Begg: What we have in chapter seven is really a kind of monumental sweep of prophetic history from the time of Daniel all the way through to the return of Jesus Christ and to the ultimate vanquishing of evil. At the heart of it all is the fact that his dominion is an everlasting dominion and it will not pass away.

Now admittedly, there's a lot to take in here. There's a lot in Daniel chapter seven. There's a lot to understand.

During the week, I had a privilege of being at NASA in Houston. I sat in mission control and watched as the screens conveyed exactly where the space station was, and heard the communications come in both from Russia and in Russian and in American in the joint venture. And the thing that was so striking was how quickly the space station was moving in orbit.

Orbiting the Earth in ninety minutes, sixteen times in a day, the station goes around, orbits the Earth. And when you look down from there, as I saw the pictures, you said, “Oh, there's San Francisco.” And then ten minutes later, “Oh, there's Boston.” How can you take in that in such a fast period of time?

You may feel the same way. I certainly felt the same way in Daniel 7 this week. I read it and read it. I tried reading it backwards, forwards, in front, in back and so on. I said, “Wow.” So if you feel that, welcome to my world. But once, once convinced of the truth that God's kingdom will outlast all the kingdoms of the world and that his dominion will never come to an end, then we are, as Joyce Baldwin says, in possession of the key to all of history.

For here we have in this great sweep the reality that the kingdom of God is at the heart of it all. The fact of the matter is that ultimately our individual lives find their meaning in relationship to God's kingdom. I think it's very important to get a hold of that and just allow it to settle in our minds. You say to yourself this morning, where you're sitting, "Ultimately the meaning of my life is tied to what is here in Daniel chapter seven."

Now that's a great historical, isn't it? Because if you've read it on your own, you said, "I don't see that there's going to be anything to do with anything at all. It's nothing to do with a real life." No, sorry, it's got everything to do with a real life. It's got everything to do with your marriage, everything to do with your singleness, everything to do with your understanding of science, everything to do with why it is that the arts matter, why everything in creation coheres. It's got everything to do with everything.

"Why you said that changes it, doesn't it?" Well, of course it does. You see, because when Jesus came, he said, "The kingdom of God is at hand. The time has been fulfilled. Repent and believe the good news."

And then he shows himself to be king over creation. He shows himself to be king over the demonic world. He shows himself to be king over illness and all the things that hold us in its sway. And he says to people, "The key to your grasp of this is that you submit to me as your king."

Of course, people said, "Well, we don't want you as our king. We don't want a king riding on a donkey. We don't want a king that wears a crown of thorns. If we're going to have a king, it wouldn't be this kind of king."

The religious man Nicodemus comes to Jesus by night. He says, "I can tell that you're a teacher sent from God because no one could do the miracles that you do and say the things that you do if God were not with him." Jesus diverts him immediately. What does he say? "Unless a man is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."

Of course, we're not here to expound John chapter 3, but Nicodemus asked the inevitable question, "Well, how does this work?" And Jesus says, "Well, we're talking about a spiritual birth as a result not of the work of a man, nor of the work of a father, but as a result of the work of God." Can I ask you, have you entered into the reality of this?

Well, in the first eight verses, which we tampered with last time, we were taken into the territory, the terrifying territory of these kings and rulers whom we viewed through the veil of imagery. I have entitled subsequently the first eight verses in my own books, "The Garden of Beasts," "The Garden of Beasts."

Now in verses 9 to 14, the scene fades, or those scenes fade, much like we do when we make these videos or try to, and we were very excited when we were able to collapse the vision and, up came another one. That's exactly what is happening here. "And I saw in the visions in the night, in my dreams in the night, I saw this."

And as I looked, he has a vision of God. Thrones were put in place. The sound of the words of the horn gave rise to the destruction of the beast. And then the appearing of the Son of Man in the clouds of heaven.

So in other words, in this vision of God, there are three parts to it. Having studied this, I'm inclined to the view that these are three aspects of one event which unfolds over a long period of time. So that, for example, as you get on, when you think about these ten kings, instead of the kings all ending with the Caesars, as Calvin thought, I actually think that it is representative of that which is going on all through history. So that these three pictures need to be viewed concurrently, if you like, in relationship to one another. I hope I can make that clear to you.

First of all then, the courtroom scene. As I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. The Ancient of Days is a description of God. The fact that he's seated is a position of authority. His clothing and his hair are representative of his purity. His fiery throne and the fire issuing from it is an indication of the execution of his judgment. The fact that there are thousands upon thousands who serve him is an indication of the magnitude of what's going on.

Now that is to say a lot in a few words. In brief, what you have is a picture of the purity and the power and the judgment of God. God's purity, his power and his judgment. And the picture of a thousand thousands and ten thousand times ten thousand standing before him is at least a reminder to Daniel, who probably felt a little bit alone, I would have imagined so, that he was not alone. And that ultimately the fact of the animosity of the kingdoms of man will be crumbling before the court as it sits in judgment and the books were opened.

In other words, this takes us actually to the very end of things, doesn't it? When in the book of Revelation, you have the books being opened and the accounts being settled. The justice of God will prevail. All of the bad stuff, all of the hatred, all of the injustice, one day will be reckoned with when the books are opened. And Daniel, as he is aware of the fact that these monsters have arisen under the threat of Babylon, under the threat of the Medial Persian Empire, the strength of all of these people who are able to oppress God's people. He says, "And I saw, and I saw that the books were opened, and I realized this immense picture of God's sovereign judgment."

There is a higher throne than all this world has known, where faithful ones from every tongue will one day come. That's the first scene. The second scene then in verse 11 and following is the destruction of the beast. The little horn begins to pipe up. As I looked, he says, verse 11, "The beast was killed and its body destroyed and given over to be burned with fire."

Well, that's the end of that. There's nothing more to be said, is there? Well, but for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time. As opposed to, if you think of the timing of things, if you just look down to where we finished in verse 18, instead of a season and a time, you've got the kingdom forever, forever and ever.

I think that's all you need to do with that stuff. That's the point being made. In other words, they were able to play out their story over the time of history. I don't know exactly what this means, but as I thought about it, I thought the influence of Babylon is still around, is it not?

Are we in any doubt that Persia does not have a voice to shout in our world today, that Iran still has something to say? I don't want to get too particular about it, but the fact of the matter is, what he saw is the fact that God has set things in final order. History has not yet come to an end, but when it does come to an end, God will execute his judgment and his justice.

So, scene one, the establishing of the throne, the courtroom scene, all rise. Scene two, the beast is destroyed. Therefore, we don't need to be unduly concerned about that. Number three, "And I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven, there came one like a Son of Man."

Just as the Ancient of Days is representative of God, so one like a Son of Man is representative of Jesus. Let's just say that so that we get that settled in our minds. We can come back and then reverse, if you like, back into it again. But Jesus' favorite self-designation was Son of Man. He mentions it all the time.

But when you read this, you say to yourself, "Well, exactly why does it say, 'And I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven, there came one like a Son of Man'?" "Like a Son of Man."

Well, a few years ago now, I had the opportunity to preach at a conference in a Presbyterian church in Memphis along with Sinclair Ferguson, whom I refer to as my big brother. So when I had to preach with him, you don't want to preach with your big brother. Especially when the assignment was, seven addresses on the names of Jesus: one, Jesus the seed of the woman, the suffering servant, the prophet, the priest, the king, the Lamb upon the throne, and the Son of Man.

Then we said to one another, "Which one are you getting?" I said, "Well, let me tell you which one you're getting, big brother. I would like to assign you Son of Man, because frankly, I'm not sure what I'm going to do with that." So he took it on. But now I have to do it.

So, thankfully, I remember a little bit of what Sinclair said. But let's just take a look at this and see what we mean. "And I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven, there came one like a Son of Man."

So the one who comes in the clouds, with the clouds, actually, is like a human being in that he is all that human beings as God's image were meant to be, but failed to be. All right? He is all that humans, made in God's image, were meant to be, but failed to be. So it's not simply that he's saying, he is both Son of God and Son of Man, but that Christ is the perfect man. Christ is the embodiment of what God intended in creation, in humanity. That that's why Paul refers to him as the second Adam. As in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. United with Adam, we find ourselves sinners. United with Christ, we are set free from our sins and enabled to live differently.

So when we look at this one who is appearing in this way, we realize that Adam, who was in the garden, given the privilege, the prerogative, to exercise a God-given dominion. Right? What happens? Adam sins. And therefore his dominion is lost. And therefore he falls short of God's glory.

Since then, man, as man, men and women, have sought to recover that lost dominion without letting go of our sin. Right? The fact is, we are ourselves intrinsically flawed as men, as women, as in Adam all die. What are we in need of?

We are in need of one who will come like unto the Son of Man, who becomes the servant that Adam was supposed to be, but failed to be, and who then in turn reflects the glory of God as he lives in obedience to God.

Consequently, he is then highly exalted. He is given a name that is above every other name, and in part, he receives the nations as his inheritance. The nations as his inheritance. This is Psalm 2, isn't it? "Ask of me, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance."

You see, God's purpose from all of eternity is not Adam and Eve in the garden. It is Christ in the Gospel. If your view is somehow that God started at once, it went a little pear-shaped on him, and so he had to come up with another plan, you better stop for a moment and start reading the Bible. As you read the Bible, you will realize that God's purpose from all of eternity was to redeem a people by the shedding of the blood of his Son. And that in that, in that Son of Man, there is the triumph and there is the victory and there is the power.

So that that is what we have here. "In the clouds of heaven, there came one like a Son of Man." Secondly, where did he come? Or if you like, in which direction is the Son of Man going? If you haven't looked at this, you're going to tell me that this is him coming from heaven at the end of time to Earth. But look at the text. I don't think it is.

He is coming to the Ancient of Days. He is not coming from the Ancient of Days. I am of the opinion that this is not a description of Jesus coming from heaven at the end of time, but rather this is a description of Jesus going to heaven after his death, resurrection, ascension, and then finally his coronation. It is a picture of the coronation of Christ, if you like. "To him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that so that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him," which is represented in embryonic form, but will be brought to fulfillment on the day when every knee will bow and every tongue confess.

Again, I say to you, you've got to think this out. But think about it. When Jesus is taken up in Acts chapter 1, he's taken up. He goes in the clouds. He comes in the clouds to the Ancient of Days. He goes, if you like, back to headquarters, if we might say so reverently. He goes back to the Father and he says, "Father, I have completed the job that you gave me to do. I have borne the punishment for sin. I have been raised to life. I have ascended now to your throne. I am asking you to give me the nations for my inheritance."

"And I am also making sure that the Holy Spirit is poured out upon the disciples that I have left behind." You see how it fits? The end of Matthew's Gospel, he gathers his disciples and what does he say to them? "Now," he says, "all authority in heaven and on Earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." In other words, the work of the Gospel throughout the world is a logical deduction from the reality of who Christ is and what Christ has accomplished.

If you're not careful, you read your history books all wrong. You'll fall foul of the notion that somehow or another, what we're doing in the world as evangelical believers is going out to foist on people something that is harmful and unhelpful to them. After all, they're nice Muslim people, they're good Hindus, they're fine Jewish people, and so on. Well, if that's the case, leave them alone. If all roads lead to heaven, like they do to Timbuktu, it would be the worst thing we could possibly do to go out there. But if this is true, God forgive us if we don't go to the ends of the Earth with a message that on that day when he returns, there will be a shout of joy and a cry of anguish.

When Christ returns and every knee bows low, and here we have Daniel chapter 7. As he returns to the Father, it is reaffirmed again that his dominion then is an everlasting dominion. It won't pass away. His kingdom will not be destroyed.

How are we doing? Probably just take a breath here. Are you doing any better than Daniel at this point? You say, "Well, how was Daniel doing?" Well, look at verse 15. "As for me, Daniel, my spirit within me was anxious." That's good. I'm a little anxious myself. "And the visions of my head alarmed me."

So, he says, "I approached one of those who stood there and asked him the truth concerning all this," because all these first fourteen verses have all been description. It's only 15 and on that you get interpretation. There's something very interesting in verse 16. "I approached one of those who stood there." "What?" "I thought this was a dream." "I thought it was a vision."

Well, this is apocalyptic again. Daniel does not simply see himself now as someone on the outside observing what is taking place. But he is so caught up in the vision itself that he looks, and he sees himself a participant in what's going on. And so he says, "I approached one of the folks who was there." I said to him, "Can you help me with this? I'm trying to understand this."

So in verse 17, we have the explanation that we have used to guide us in the early part of our exposition. "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."

That would have been a good close, wouldn't it? If Daniel had just said, "Thank you very much." But look what he does. "Can you help me with the fourth beast, which is different from the rest, with its terrifying teeth of iron and its claws of bronze, and breaking up in pieces and stamping what was left with its feet? And also, can you give me something on the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn that came up, and before the three of them fell, and the horn that had eyes and a mouth and that spoke great things, and that seemed greater than its companions?"

"Wow." "As I looked, the horn made war with the saints and prevailed over them." "But I thought you said that dominion would never end. I thought the whole thing conquered and we won and that was the end of it. How is who's prevailing and how are they prevailing? And what's happened to the saints here? And when does this happen and how does it happen? And who or what is this horn? What is this Antichrist figure? Who is this Antichrist figure?"

Bob Lapine: Alistair will explore the answer to that question as he continues this message tomorrow on Truth For Life.

Alistair mentioned on today's program a conference where he preached along with Sinclair Ferguson. Their assignment was to examine seven names given distinctly to Jesus. Their collaborative teaching was so well received that they were encouraged to compile it into a book, which they titled *Name Above All Names*. Today, you can download the ebook *Name Above All Names* for free. This book delves into Jesus' unique nature and various aspects of his character. You'll follow along as these two seasoned pastors guide us through an in-depth exploration of seven qualities of Jesus' identity, offering remarkable insights to give us a deeper appreciation for the person and work of Jesus.

Download the *Name Above All Names* ebook, along with a companion study guide. Both are free today at truthforlife.org/name. I'm Bob Lapine. We are glad you have joined us today.

Does the assurance of Christ's victory mean that you and I as Christians will be spared from the intense opposition described in Daniel's vision? Listen tomorrow as we explore the answer. The Bible teaching of Alistair Begg is furnished by Truth For Life, where the learning is for living.