Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. Welcome. The Wednesday in the Word podcast, equipping our leaders of this great weekly Bible study held at Dario, our wonderful, gracious host. all across North Carolina. This is to equip, encourage, and guide you as you prepare to teach the word and guide the discussion.
At each location each week. And we continue our journey now through the book of Daniel. Here we are with today's special guest Dr. Sam Warren. Daniel chapter 7.
We turn to a new section in Daniel, but it is connected to chapters 1 through 6. Pastor Sam Horn, I just listened to your whole sermon. from the pulpit of Palmetto Baptist Church. on this wonderful chapter friends Don't run away when you hear about the beasts and bears with with You know, three three giant. Uh teeth and You hear about horns and little horns.
Uh Doctor Horn, people could uh speaking of horns, Doctor Horn, right? Just don't call me the little horn, brother. The little horn is on, but. You know, you have Apocalyptic language you have You have language that is ominous and foreboding and it can run people off, but this is exciting because The ancient of days amid the fog and the darkness and amid all the chaos and the nuts of our land and the murder. In the killing of Christians, even in the public now, Dr.
Horne. The king is coming. The king is on his throne. And Daniel sees and has this dream. In chapter 7.
And so we love to g get into A bit of a review of where we've been in the first six chapters and then a preview of what's coming up. But tell us, real quick. How should our hearts kind of, as we approach this new chapter, new section, give us a little context? and tell us kind of how we should be thinking as we get into our conversation today. Dr.
Sam Horn. What Dee, thank you. You know, when I got to this section in the book, you know, as you mentioned, it is intimidating. And particularly as a pastor, trying to figure out how to take this content that are in these chapters from 7 to 12. and put them in front of people who are just godly laymen who go about living their lives every day trying to love their wives, their husbands, their kids.
Trying to represent Jesus in the workplace, just trying to be faithful to God and faithful to the vocation God's called them to. They're not thinking about these chapters. They don't spend their whole week reading commentaries and trying to figure it all out. And so, and that's the temptation of a pastor is to try to figure every little detail out.
So then on Sunday morning, you come and you just overwhelm people and they get lost in the detail. And so what I did is I tried to think about these chapters. Through the model of Daniel, how did Daniel feel? When he got these chapters. And so here are some words that.
That literally, as you trace through what's going on here, Daniel is confused. Daniel is alarmed. Daniel is dismayed. Daniel is overwhelmed. In fact, there's a time when he falls on his face, literally collapses to the ground, and he is silent.
He can't even move or talk. for a period of time. And so my question as I was working through this is. Why would somebody like Daniel, who had this amazing ability to interpret dreams? Feel this way about what he is receiving because in these chapters, Daniel is going to get four revelations.
Three of them are visions. And one of them in chapter nine is an explanation.
So there are four massive sections. In these chapters, where God is going to give revelation to Daniel. And the revelation is so overwhelming that it terrifies Daniel. And constantly, God is coming alongside Daniel, either directly in a vision or through an angelic presence. to strengthen Daniel.
to clarify for daniel to comfort Daniel. and to point Daniel in the right direction. And so as I think about. These chapters in Daniel, that's really. If we understand what God is really saying, that's really potentially the way we would respond and how God.
comes alongside to clarify, strengthen. And direct us. And so, those are the three big ideas. I want God to use this section of the book to clarify his purposes. to strengthen his people.
And to point us in the right direction as we wait for the coming of the Son of Man and the kingdom that will never fall. And Dr. Horne, that's very helpful. We still must be very mindful, as we've known from all along, starting in chapter one and even in our previous study of 1 Peter, that. These are exiles, they're strangers, they're pilgrims.
This is not their home. They are citizens of heaven. They have been Taken away, kidnapped brutally by this earlier King Nebuchadnezzar. And they are a light in a dark world, just like so many modern-day Christians are, if you're a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, Dr. Horne.
This chapter is it's really there's there's a lot in here. It's rich. You know, I mean, it's uh these are big chunks, you know, 28 verses. Yeah. And so much in here that's connected, you know, obviously to chapter two, really important.
And that'll be in the leader notes as well. For all of our wonderful Wednesday in the Word and Women's in the Word, leaders who are listening to this to prepare each week to take. Your groups through the word of God also parallels to the book of Revelation, Revelation 13. specifically in in seventeen And all this language of beasts and everything.
So just to kind of Defang the beast and give some clarity and some help as we start out. You got 28 verses. I'd love for you to break it down for us in just a little bit, not just yet. This is a timeframe interesting thing. Because Daniel, we have the Great Lions, Jen.
What a beautiful. uh story, you know, uh last time where The greatest story of praying and fasting in the Bible. Daniel prayed, the lions fasted, right? And so you have chapter 1, then you get into chapter 7, but it almost goes back before.
So in the year, in the first year of Belchazar, king of Babylon.
Now we're back to him. where we lost last saw him being killed. By the Medes and Persians who came in in chapter 5. Take us to the timeline. And kind of give us a little bit of a review of how we got here, and then we'll jump right into the preview of the coming week.
Yeah, so Six chapters tell the story of Daniel's entire life from the time we meet him in chapter one, as probably a 16 to 18 year old, maybe a 20-year-old. All the way to the very end of his life, where he's serving Cyrus the Great in his mid 80s.
So we have the entire lifetime. of this man and you're given six Insights or six windows, maybe a better way to look at it. Six windows. And when you look through the windows, you see different court stories or different aspects of Daniel's life or in chapter three of Daniel's friends that are all designed to help the reader understand the big message of the book. There is A god in heaven.
And he rules the kingdoms of men. And those six windows are going to give us insight into what God's faithful servant Daniel is going to do in terms of the pagan nations of the world to encourage them to humble themselves before God and to submit, to kiss the sun, like Psalm 2 says.
So that's why in chapter two, Nebuchadnezzar gets a vision that sort of lays out the kingdoms, not just his kingdom, the head of gold, but all the kingdoms.
Now in Daniel chapter 7, going all the way to the end of the book. God is actually going to take that material, gather it all together. But when it actually occurred in real time in history, It's inner, you sort of have to go back to Daniel's lifetime and the first vision actually happens before chapter five. If you're just writing a chronology of Daniel's life, it's in the first year when Belshazzar became the king.
Now he's going to be the king for several more years. This is probably 11 years before. the fall of Babylon.
So that's when this vision chronologically takes place. But as God arranged the material, he took it out of chronology and put it all together. Because what he's trying to do in the second half of the book. is help Daniel realize there is a fifth kingdom. And that kingdom matters most.
The fifth kingdom is the kingdom of the sun. And that kingdom is going to be in conflict with the other four kingdoms. And the four kingdoms that are represented in the dream here are actually. Going to represent all the kingdoms of the world until that kingdom comes, number one. And number two, all of those kingdoms.
even though at times are going to appear friendly. to the fifth kingdom. Actually, they're all hostile to that kingdom. And the people of the fifth kingdom are going to suffer. Greatly In the kingdoms of the world until the kingdom of the sun arrives.
That is what is so troubling to Daniel. Because Daniel is at the end of his life. He's been reading the book of Jeremiah. He realizes the 70 years that God said he would discipline his people. are almost up.
And he's anticipating that God is now going to reveal to him the restoration of Israel, the rebuilding of Jerusalem, the reestablishing of the temple. And now it's all going to be bright and glorious as God is going to elevate the kingdom that is going to rule the world. And God actually starts revealing to Daniel in these four visions. That he sees in the last part of the book. Actually, Daniel, it's not exactly gonna happen that way.
There are more kingdoms to come that are part of the world system. That are going to be hostile to the kingdom that really matters. But at the end, the kingdom that really matters is going to be established by the Son of Man that we meet in chapter 7. And until then. You need to know there's going to be times of tribulation and suffering and hardship.
and you need to be faithful you need to be strengthened by my spirit And you need to be fulfilling my purposes in those kingdoms. There is a kingdom that matters more. And that's really the heartbeat. Of what's going on.
So that's sort of the looking back and putting this in its location in the book. Yeah, and anything we miss here, we're gonna be able to pick it up in chapter eight, chapter nine, chapter ten. Correct. I mean, there's so much in here. And so, You will be able to kind of see, and it's just fascinating how God.
kind of opens up future events to his servant to build this idea of hope. And this idea, I think I heard David Jeremiah said that, like, one out of every four or five verses in the whole Bible. It's about prophecy. is about you know the great hope we have of the great return of the king. But there's a lot of rough stuff in what's called the in-between or the here and now, which is what we're in.
So, Dr. Horn 28 verses in Daniel chapter 7, structurally. How do you break them down for our folks trying to, you know, as you're, as leaders, people are looking at teaching through this, and even those that are studying? A lot of folks listen to this podcast, they're just studying through Daniel, and this helps them. Kind of get their arms around what God's trying to teach them through His Word, and then they're teaching it to young people or old.
We've got some college campuses, I think, that are enjoying this as well. College kids. How do you structure? And now we've done a good bit of review in terms of a preview. 28 versus uh break them down for us uh yeah brotherhorn please well i i have uh i've kind of looked at this And I've come up with five phrases that sort of help us.
Maybe would help your leaders, the leaders of these groups that are studying Daniel, and really even help individuals. Kind of put all of this together in a way that is helpful and gives us pegs to hang things on.
So the first phrase, and you can see it in verses one through eight, is kingdom perspective. God is going to give to Daniel a kingdom perspective. And what he's going to do is, he's going to give Daniel a panoramic view. Uh uh two major kingdoms the kingdom of heaven and the kingdoms of the world. And so Daniel is going to have this perspective.
of looking at What God is going to reveal to him. And sometimes his eyes are going to be focused on what's happening. on the earth in the kingdoms of the world And sometimes his eye is going to be lifted up. into the realm of heaven. where he sees the kingdom that really matters and the one who's sitting on a throne who's actually orchestrating and controlling everything that happens within the history of the kingdoms of the world.
And so kingdom perspective. Is what is going on here. I think it's revealed to Daniel. In chapter two, the dream was revealed to Nebuchadnezzar. Here, the dream is revealed to Daniel.
In Nebuchadnezzar, the dream was revealed to him about four kingdoms. The head of gold, the Babylonian kingdom, the silver would be the Persian kingdom, the bronze or the brass would be the kingdom of Greece, and then the iron and clay would be the kingdom of Rome. and then all of a sudden all of those kingdoms are crushed by this stone that comes out of nowhere. And so in that vision, Nebuchadnezzar is looking at the kingdoms the way the world would look at the kingdoms. These are mighty.
These are valuable. They're gold and silver and bronze. From God's perspective, when he reveals these same kingdoms to Daniel. He reveals them in terms of their character. Their character is a character of enmity.
Their character is a character of hostility. They are hostile toward God. They are hostile toward God's people. They are hostile toward God's son. And so Daniel gets this vision.
Now, there's something I think really important. That's not quite evident in chapter seven, but as you get into chapter eight. And in chapter 10 and in chapter 12, you find out, Daniel, I'm giving you this vision, and it is a vision about the end times. It is about the time of the end in chapter eight. It is about days that are yet to come in chapter 10.
And it is about uh the the the time of the end in chapter 12. And so, what we're what Daniel is being alerted to is this: you're standing. And The kingdom of Babylon. Being ruled by Belshazzar, but the vision I'm giving you is going to go all the way to the end of human history. And you're going to see all of the kingdoms.
between now and then, and it's going to culminate in one arrogant king who's going to represent all the arrogant kings, all the hostile kings toward God. There's going to be one arrogant king at the end who's going to epitomize all of what has gone before him. And the ancient of days, which is God, is going to give the kingdoms of the world to the son of man. And we meet the son of man in chapter seven. And that arrogant king at the end is going to be destroyed by that son of man.
And so, what Daniel is getting in these four visions is kingdom perspective.
So, that's the first thing I would say. The second thing I would say, the second phrase I would use is sovereign directive. And what you find out here is that God is the one. Who is actually orchestrating all of this? And he is laying out.
For Daniel. what the future is and there are four gentile kingdoms That comes up. You can see this in chapter three. I'm sorry, chapter seven, verse three: four great beasts. Come out of the sea different from one another.
So these are distinct kingdoms. And we know that. That one of them was Babylon, and the second one, the bear, was Medeo-Persia, and then the leopard with four heads is Greece. And then the terrible dragon with 10 horns is Rome. And so these four kingdoms represent all the kingdoms from Daniel's day forward to the end of time.
And these kingdoms are going to be hostile. All of these kingdoms are described as ravenous beasts. Um You know, there's a bear that is devouring. There is a leopard that is crushing. uh there is a dragon That is destroyed.
And so all of these kingdoms are presented in the sense that they are hostile to God's people, they are hostile to God's son, and they are hostile to God himself. They are governed in verse 7 by 10 powerful rulers. These are the ten horns. uh that show up on the fourth beast They represent strength and power.
So these are very powerful, very strong people. and they dominate and rule the kingdoms of the world. And so from a generic from a specific standpoint, These 10 horns are going to be 10 kings at the end, but generally they represent all the arrogant kings. Of the earth, all the strong leaders who stand before God's people in hostility. And they're going to be represented by an arrogant leader.
All of these kingdoms are going to have arrogant leaders. And you can see that in human history, right? You had, for example, Belshazzar in chapter five. You had Antiochus Epiphanes shows up in chapter eight. Nero and Stalin.
Uh, show up and all of the arrogant, hostile leaders of the world. Where are they getting their power? Where does all of this hostility come from? And the answer is, there is a dragon, Satan, who is energizing all of this. And so You have this picture.
And then they are all under the control. Of the sovereign God of heaven in terms of the duration of their dominion, the times and the seasons that they're allowed to rule. uh they're they're under god's rule in terms of ordaining their activity what they are allowed to do It's interesting that The lion was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet.
Somebody lifted up the lion. Uh the bear was raised up on one side.
Somebody raised it up. It was told, arise and devour much.
Somebody is orchestrating what is going on in the activity of these kingdoms, and it is God. And then they are evaluated according to the morality. And what you see in the chapter is there is a courtroom in heaven. And there are Beings in heaven, God, the Son of Man, the heavenly elders in the heavenly court, and they are passing judgment. On the moral activity and the moral character of these nations.
And there is a sentence that is going to be passed. On them, right? There is a sentence. Uh, that uh will be leveled against them in verse 10. The court sat in judgment.
and the books were opened. And there is a judgment. that is passed. And so there is this kingdom perspective. And as we look at the kingdom perspective, God says, I want you to know that all of it is under my sovereign directive.
Which brings us into the third phrase. In verses seven through eight, there is arrogant invective. You would think the kingdoms would submit. To the God who is ordaining all that happens. But instead, they rise up.
And they rebel against it. And this is particularly true when it comes to the fourth kingdom, the dragon. We are told in verse seven that this fourth beast was terrifying and dreadful. and exceedingly strong and it was different from all of the other beasts. And there is this horn that comes up.
and he's arrogant and he is strong. And his mouth speaks. great things, in other words, blasphemous things. And what we what we discover is that this beast uh is certainly in human history going to be rome But there's going to be a final iteration of this beast. At the end time, and it's going to take the characteristic of all of the kingdoms and bring them together in one arrogant.
Resistance against God that's led by one. powerful gentile ruler who is who is dead set Uh on On resisting God. In other words, at the end, there's going to be a satanic champion. And this little horn. That is this satanic champion is going to rise up and speak blasphemous things.
Against the God of heaven. And the God of heaven is ultimately going to pass judgment on him. And you can see that in verse 11. And as I looked, the beast was killed. and its body destroyed and given over to be burned with fire.
And as for the rest of the beasts, the rest of the kingdoms, their dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged. for a season. and a time. And so what we find out here is that these powerful Gentile rulers. And these kingdoms that start.
With Babylon and go all the way to the end of the age, are going to be hostile toward God, they're going to be hostile toward his people, and they're going to be hostile toward his champion. And at the end, there's going to be, you know, during the course of their history, there are these rulers that are going to epitomize and lead that hostility. But at the end, there's going to be one culminating satanic champion who's going to resist God, and that's when. The Son of God is going to appear. and destroy him.
And that's the divine corrective. That's the fourth thing that shows up. in verses 9 through 12. There is a divine corrective. Thrones are placed around the ancient of days.
And we're told about the ancient of days. He is majestic in his sovereignty. He is unmarred in his purity. Verse 9: His clothing was white. The hair of his head was like pure wool.
His throne was fiery flame. A stream of fire issued and came out.
So there is majestic sovereignty. And unending, unmarred purity. And then there's unending worship. Verse 10, 1,000,000 served him, and 10,000 times 10,000 stood before him. Daniel, when you look at the kingdoms of the world, they look so mighty.
And they look so powerful and they look unstoppable. But if you lift up your head. And you look into the realm of heaven, there is a higher throne. And somebody is sitting on that throne and he is majestic in his sovereignty. He's unmarred in his purity.
He is receiving unending worship and he sits in unassailable judgment. The courts open up the books. He acts with unavoidable wrath. And he extends unmerited mercy. If you repent.
And so that divine corrective. is intended to help Daniel get a perspective. Here are the kingdoms that you're looking at. They're fearsome. They're hostile.
They're against you. They're against your people. They're against God. They're against this champion. Your people are going to suffer much at the hands of those kingdoms.
But there is a higher throne. And there's someone sitting on that higher throne who has. power and authority and wisdom and might and glory and honor. And at the end of the day, he is going to set it all right. And he's going to set it all right through a particular champion.
And that's the last phrase: redemptive identity. And you can see that in verses 13. And 14. Daniel says, I saw in the night vision. and with the clouds of heaven there came one like the 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.
so that all peoples, nations, languages would serve him. his dominion his kingdom Is an everlasting dominion, which will never pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.
So who is this? Divine champion, who is this son of man?
Well, I'll be a spoiler here, but if you go to the Gospels. The favorite term that Jesus used to describe himself was the Son of Man. And he's using that title to help everybody make a connection. When he said that he was the son of man, he's talking about the fact that he is the person that Daniel saw in the vision. You remember in Matthew 16, Jesus is walking with his disciples, and they're going up to Caesarea in the north.
And as they're walking, Jesus says to Peter and to the disciples, Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? He's not just asking Peter, what do people think about me? Or who do people think I am? What he's asking is this. Do people think that I'm the son of man?
The one that Daniel saw. And Peter's answer is very insightful. He said, look. A lot of people are thinking a lot of things about you. There's a lot of people who admire your teaching.
They think you're a great teacher. There's a lot of people who think you're a miracle worker and they can't wait to show up and see the next miracle you're going to do.
Some people think you're John the Baptist. uh come back with his head glued back on.
Some people think you might be Elijah, but nobody, nobody is thinking about you. as the son of man that Daniel saw. And Jesus looked at those disciples and he said to them, well, what about you? Who do you think I am? And Peter spoke to the Lord for all the disciples and he said, we know who you are.
We know you're the Christ, and we know that you are the son of the living God. And what he means is, we know that you are the one that Daniel saw way back in chapter seven of the book of Daniel standing before the ancient of days. We know that you're the one standing before your father, and we know that he gave you a kingdom, and we know that he gave you dominion, and we know that he gave you honor, and glory, and power. We know that. And Jesus looks at me, says, Simon, blessed are you, son of Jonas.
because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you. In other words, you didn't figure this out because you were smarter than anybody else. You didn't figure this out because you were more righteous than anybody else. You figured this out because my father in heaven revealed it to you. And if we're going to see Jesus of Nazareth.
As the son of man, the champion. Whose kingdom is coming? That's why Jesus said, pray. That God's kingdom would come in the Lord's prayer. If we're going to see Jesus in this way, there's only one way we're going to be convinced of that, and God the Father is going to have to reveal it to us.
And if you're a Christian. God has revealed that to you about his son. Dr. Horn, I may be the only podcaster who's going to have to go back and listen to this podcast four or five times to get Mars around it, but it's so rich. And there's so much in here.
And Daniel's in a little different spot because in the previous chapters. He's called upon. And he calls upon God to help him interpret the dreams of Nebuchadnezzar. And to the point of he and his comrades were going to be killed, and all the wise men were going to be killed in chapter two if they didn't get this dream right and the interpretation. And then you have this troubling dream Nebuchadnezzar has in chapter four.
Now, Daniel himself is the one. God's given the dream to. And I see this, you know, it's it's this is 28 verses, but really. You know, half of it is the dream, kind of Daniel articulating this dream, processing the dream, and the other half. I guess starting in verse 15 to the end, is Daniel, Daniel is having to call upon someone.
outside of himself to help him Understand. To have the dream interpreted.
So there's a lot of stuff repeated. I just don't want people to be. be taken back. or or offput by all of these you know 28 verses But you gave a great treatment of it, and there's so much rich Christology, again, pointing to Jesus. Oh, yeah.
You know, in the fact that we don't, I mean, God, apocalyptic, the word literally means veiled or. Or, you know, blocked, can it come from our eyes from total understanding? We can't, we see the bear, we think, oh, Russia. You know, we see the, we, and we, we think, we, we impose and superimpose our kind of Western thought on these things, but Ultimately God's working. His kingdom Will never fail, it lasts forever, it's an everlasting kingdom, like verse 27 says.
And so we can have a lot of hope in that. But he also is, there's all these reminders that. It's still some rough stuff we're facing, and there's a lot of rough stuff yet to come. For Daniel, for Israel. For the readers of this book.
for saints in the New Testament. You know, at Pentecost, who, you know, many were just, there's a bloodbath in the first to second, third century, and all the way. Through history, there's more martyrs today for the faith. Than ever before. There's a lot of lions' dens where Christians don't walk out and they're not celebrated by the king, you know, where they're devoured.
You know, so Dr. Horn. Take us home with some perspective. I loved how you finished your sermon. From the pulpit of Palmetto Baptist Church, when you taught Daniel 7.
With this, how Daniel kept this matter in his heart. It reminded us of a New Testament figure and how. These things should Really strengthen our heart.
So, will you kind of give us a concluding thought, and then on that note, and then a little prayer? And just as we get out of here.
Well, I think Caught it well. I mean, there's this line, Daniel. Kept the matter in his heart, Mary, when she found out about the suffering of Jesus, that he was going to be pierced. She didn't understand it any more than Daniel understood what he was seeing. but she treasured it in her heart.
She kept it in her heart. And I think it's an encouragement to me, even though I don't understand all of how this is going to work. I need to keep this in my heart. Because there's something about this section of Daniel that is supposed to encourage me, strengthen me, and direct me. And there's a promise.
In Daniel chapter 7, verse 27, the last. little section of the vision, we find out something. We're in the vision. You and I, Stu, are in this vision. Listen to how Daniel says: the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole of heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Most High.
We're going to get these kingdoms. The kingdoms of the world are going to be ours. That's why Jesus said: the meek will inherit the earth. And it's based on this promise. And so as we live in the kingdoms of the world in light of that promise.
Here's, here's, and we treasure this up in our heart. Here's what we should do: we should pray for the coming of God's kingdom fervently. We should live according to its values faithfully. We should advance its agenda passionately. We should worship its king.
Thankfully. We should share its invitation boldly and we should bear its suffering and affliction joyfully. And if we'll do those things. and live for the kingdom that really matters when that kingdom comes As Daniel was told, we will arise and shine as stars.
So let me pray. and ask God to help all of us embrace what this section of Daniel is doing. Lord, thank you for the book of Daniel. Thank you for the first six chapters. That gave us insight into the life of Daniel and into the life of your people and into the life of what you were doing.
in the lives of pagan kings. And now as we come to this section written in Hebrew. designed for your people, wisdom for your people. as they live in the hostile kingdoms of the world. Lord, help us to live for the kingdom that really matters.
Help us to serve the king of that kingdom, your champion. who you sent the first time, not to judge the world. but to save the world. and who we're still waiting for to come the second time. to judge the enemies of the gospel, to judge the enemies of the God of heaven.
And so between those two comings, help us to live. Faithfully. Help us to advance the gospel passionately. Help us to worship the King thankfully and to share His invitation boldly and to bear the affliction and the suffering that might come our way gladly and joyfully. And we'll thank you in Jesus' name.
Amen. Thank you, Dr. Horn, and thank you for joining us for this Wednesday in the Word podcast. Learn more at wedintheword.com. Follow us on YouTube.
Facebook and all social media, including in Stu Graham. and be encouraged, stay in the word. Read it. Share it, study it, memorize it. Meditate on God's Word.
Every word of God is pure. He is a shield to those who put their trust in him. Proverbs 30, verse 5.
