{"id":18398,"date":"2017-05-21T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-05-21T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sugar-land-bible-church.local\/sermon\/daniel-023-the-blessed-hope\/"},"modified":"2017-05-21T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2017-05-21T05:00:00","slug":"daniel-023-the-blessed-hope","status":"publish","type":"sermon","link":"https:\/\/slbc.org\/es\/sermon\/daniel-023-the-blessed-hope\/","title":{"rendered":"Daniel 023: The Blessed Hope"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","book":[72],"series_event":[467],"sermon_service_type":[472],"speaker":[6],"class_list":["post-18398","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","hentry","book-daniel","series_event-daniel","sermon_service_type-main-service","speaker-dr-andy-woods","no-post-thumbnail"],"acf":{"sermon_title":"Daniel 023: The Blessed Hope","sermon_date":"20170521","sermon_month":"5","sermon_year":"2017","sermon_notes":4689,"sermon_slides":4690,"sermon_mp3":4691,"sermon_id":"521171051247","series_or_event":467,"service_type":[472],"speaker":6,"books_of_the_bible":72,"chapter_and_verse":"7:15-22","sermon_transcript":"Andy Woods\n\nOur Blessed Hope\n\n5-21-17\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Daniel 7:15-22\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Lesson 23\n\nLet\u2019s take our Bibles if we could and open them to the Book of Daniel, chapter 7 and verse 15; as God allows it we\u2019re going to try to make it through verses 15-22 this morning.\u00a0 The title of our message this morning is Our Blessed Hope\u2026 Our Blessed Hope.\u00a0 What is your \u201cblessed hope\u201d?\u00a0 Is your \u201cblessed hope\u201d in seeing a different political party get control?\u00a0 Is your \u201cblessed hope\u201d in your retirement account?\u00a0 Is your \u201cblessed hope\u201d in the goodness of man and perhaps the progress of\u00a0 the church or the gospel.\u00a0 None of those things are held out to us in the New Testament as our \u201cblessed hope.\u201d\n\nRather, our \u201cblessed hope\u201d is the soon return of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is the next event on the prophetic calendar.\u00a0 This is the doctrine called imminency which means it could happen at\u00a0 any moment, the return of Christ.\u00a0 Do you believe that?\u00a0 The return of Jesus Christ for His church in an event called the rapture could happen before this sermon is even over, and some of you are probably praying for that to happen.\u00a0 But we\u2019re going to be bringing this up today because there\u2019s a lot of confusion out there today on the doctrine of the rapture.\n\nThere\u2019s a cottage industry which has arisen where people are misapplying Biblical texts, one of them is right here in Daniel 7 that we\u2019re going to be going over today, to teach that the next event on the calendar prophetically is not Jesus Christ but the antichrist and somehow the church is going to be plunged into the wrath of the antichrist and the wrath of God Himself.\u00a0 According to this theology it\u2019s like a man who asks a woman to marry him and then beats the daylights out of her before the wedding day.\u00a0 That is the mindset of many, many people when they think about the end times.\u00a0 As they look into the future they\u2019re filled with fear and dread, not with a hopeful expectation of the return of Jesus Christ for His church.\n\nWe are going to make these comments as we continue to move systematically through the Book of Daniel.\u00a0 Daniel, of course, has been raised up by God to explain a very difficult time that the nation of Israel is going through.\u00a0 Notice that\u2019s a key expression, \u201cthe nation of Israel.\u201d\u00a0 The church, as I\u2019ll be showing you today, didn\u2019t even exist when Daniel penned this book.\u00a0 He\u2019s not giving a blueprint for the church (which doesn\u2019t exist yet); he\u2019s giving a blueprint for the nation of Israel.\u00a0 And yet because so many people have so limited teaching on the difference between Israel and the church they take passages that are clearly aimed at the nation of Israel and they present this doctrine that somehow the church is going to be in the wrath of God in the tribulation period.\u00a0 And I don\u2019t know about you but that\u2019s no hope at all, is it?\u00a0 How can that make any sense when Paul says \u201cComfort one another with these words\u201d as he talked about the rapture in 1 Thessalonians 4:18.\u00a0 Oh, by the way, did I mention the fact that you\u2019re going to go into the wrath of God and\u00a0 you\u2019re going to eyeball it with the antichrist, and most of your heads are going to be cut off\u2026 BUT, \u201ccomfort one another with these words!\u201d [Matthew 4:18] \u00a0It doesn\u2019t really pass the smell test does it?\n\nWe find ourselves towards the very end of a long study through an Aramaic chiasm; we\u2019ve already done a lot of teaching on what a chiasm is.\u00a0 It\u2019s a literary pattern where the events of chapter 2 are repeated in chapter 7; the events of chapter 3, at least the scene, is repeated in chapter 6.\u00a0 The theme of chapter 4 is repeated at least in chapter 5.\u00a0 And we come to the very end of this chiastic structure which is Daniel\u2019s vision of the four beasts.\u00a0 We\u2019ve seen the historical setting; Daniel is prophesying during a time period about 553 B.C.\u00a0 That becomes very important because if you take that time period at face value; he\u2019s obviously predicting things that hadn\u2019t happened yet from his timeframe.\u00a0 How did he know these things in advance?\u00a0 Well God, who knows the end from the beginning and the beginning from the end revealed these things to Daniel.\u00a0 Do you believe God can do that?\u00a0 I believe He can, and that\u2019s why I view Daniel as a 6th<\/sup> century writer.\n\nDaniel is in his mid-sixties at this particular time.\u00a0 The last reigning king of Neo Babylonia is in power, a man named Belshazzar.\u00a0 And as I mentioned before the vision that Daniel received is largely a recapitulation of the vision that Nebuchadnezzar received back in chapter 2.\u00a0 You remember Nebuchadnezzar saw that giant statue and then he saw that stone cut without human hands shattering the feet of the statue bringing an end to the kingdoms of man, and the statue growing until it filled the whole earth.\u00a0 It\u2019s a description of the reigning kingdoms of man up until the return of Jesus Christ, not in the rapture.\u00a0 The rapture concerns the church; since God is dealing with Israel in the Old Testament and He\u2019s dealing with Israel in Daniel 7 you won\u2019t find the teaching of the rapture of the church here for the simple reason that the church doesn\u2019t exist yet.\u00a0 All of this teaching concerns God\u2019s program for the nation of Israel.\n\nAnd what Nebuchadnezzar saw in the form of a statue Daniel saw the same thing in the form of various beasts that would arise to power.\u00a0 Nebuchadnezzar sees this vision from the Gentile point of view; Daniel on the other hand (in chapter 7) sees the same period of time from the Jewish angle, or Jewish point of view.\u00a0 We\u2019ve explained the difference, how it\u2019s the same vision in both chapters, the outer edges of that chiasm, but it\u2019s from a different perspective.\u00a0 What Daniel saw in chapter 7 are four beasts arising out of the sea.\u00a0 The first beast was a lion which represented the coming reign of Babylon, an empire that was actually already in place when Daniel had this prophecy, and would continue to be in place until Daniel 5 when Daniel would be over\u00adthrown by the Persians, the second beast in Daniel\u2019s vision which Daniel saw as a giant bear with three ribs in its mouth.\n\nOver the course of time, long after Daniel left the scene the Persians would be replaced by Greece, the leopard.\u00a0 And over the course of time, long after Daniel had died, the leopard would be replaced by a ferocious beast, which is Rome itself, a terrifying beast.\u00a0 And as Daniel kept looking he began to see things\u00a0 that are far distant in the future, even from our time frame in the year 2017.\u00a0 There are probably (in the middle of verse 7) about two thousand years that are unaccounted for.\u00a0 What is God doing in that two thousand year time period?\u00a0 That\u2019s where His program with the church began, in Acts 2.\u00a0 We are part of that program for the church; Daniel is not describing the church.\n\nDaniel is describing the end time program for the nation of Israel and he sees in the future, after the church has been removed, a terrifying beast coming to power, apparently an extension, if you will, of ancient Rome but this beast will be very different.\u00a0 It will conquer the entire world and this is the one-world system of the antichrist that is trampling down the nation of Israel just before the second advent of our Lord Jesus Christ, not the rapture, but the return of Christ to rescue the nation of Israel after a time of unparalleled distress at the end of the great tribulation period, leading to the destruction of the antichrist\u2019s empire and the coming kingdom of God.\n\nNotice that we are premillennial; what does that mean?\u00a0 What does millennium mean? I don\u2019t see the word millennium in the Bible.\u00a0 Well, you don\u2019t because that\u2019s a Latin term; it\u2019s a term used to describe the thousand year reign of Christ that we find in Revelation 20:1-10.\u00a0 The Greek word for a thousand is chilia<\/em> meaning a thousand.\u00a0 It says it six times in the book of Revelation.\n\n[Revelation 20:1-10, \u201cThen I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. [3] And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand<\/u> years; [3] and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it<\/em> and sealed it<\/em> over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand<\/u> years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time.\u00a0 [4] Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw<\/em> the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand<\/u> years. [5] The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand<\/u> years were completed. This is the first resurrection. [6] Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand<\/u> years.\u00a0 [7] When the thousand<\/u> years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison, [8] and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the sand of the seashore. [9] And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them. [10]And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.\u201d]\n\nThe millennium is a Latin word that comes from two words making up one word, milia<\/em>, a thousand and anorum<\/em> meaning years, and so when we say we are premillennialists what we mean is that Jesus Christ comes back first, chapter 19, and then His kingdom, which will last a thousand years, takes place after He comes back at the end of the tribulation period.\u00a0 The second advent of Christ, not the rapture for the church, the second advent of Christ is described in Revelation 19; the kingdom of God is described in chapter 20.\u00a0 Now would you all not agree with me that chapter 19 comes before chapter 20?\u00a0\u00a0 Does anybody here disagree with that?\u00a0\u00a0 If chapter 19 comes before chapter 20 and chapter 19 is the return of Christ, and chapter 20 is the kingdom of Christ, that would put the coming of Christ before the kingdom of Christ, wouldn\u2019t it?\n\nSo if you believe that, that makes you a fancy word, premillennial, which is another way of saying\u00a0 you have reading comprehension ability because you can put things in order.\u00a0 In other words, you don\u2019t need all these fancy terms that I spent a lot of tuition money to learn in seminary, you just need to read the Bible. You say well who cares? Well, it\u2019s a big deal because it relates to what the church is supposed to be doing today.\u00a0 Why would I waste my time trying to set up the kingdom of God now when the Book of Revelation tells me that chapter 19 comes before chapter 20?\u00a0 In other words, the kingdom is going to be set up by who?\u00a0 The King!\u00a0 So my job in the present is not to set up a kingdom of God; it is to reach and teach, to evangelize and disciple (that\u2019s your task as well!).\u00a0 You\u2019re not trying to set up the kingdom.\u00a0 How could you when only the King can set up the kingdom;\u00a0 you\u2019re trying to win citizens of this coming kingdom, inheritors of this coming kingdom.\n\nBut before the kingdom comes Daniel sees these beasts trampling down the nation of Israel, the final beast being the empire of the antichrist.\u00a0 And then what does Daniel see?\u00a0 Verses 9-10, the ancient of days, God the Father, verses 9-12, turning the kingdom over to the Son of Man, verses 13-14, and that is the manifestation of the kingdom of God on the earth.\u00a0 The supplementary reading for that would be chapter 19 and then chapter 20.\n\nAnd this is what Daniel saw.\u00a0 Now what happens in this particular chapter is Daniel asks for an interpretation and you start to see this interpretation develop in verses 15-27.\u00a0 We\u2019ve seen the vision of the four beasts, really a fifth beast if you count the empire of the antichrist.\u00a0 And now we have an interpretation given in verses 15-27 and we\u2019re going to start working our way through this morning this interpretation.\n\nNotice, if you will, verse 15, after Daniel sees these things in his mid-60\u2019s what happens to him.\u00a0 It says this:\u00a0 Verse 15, \u201cAs for me, Daniel, my spirit\u201d maybe that\u2019s the Holy Spirit within him, maybe that\u2019s his inner man, \u201cAs for me, Daniel, my spirit was distressed within me, and the visions in my mind kept alarming me.\u201d\u00a0 I want you to see something about this man, Daniel.\u00a0 Prophecy touched his heart; it didn\u2019t just touch his mind, or his intellect, but it touched him at a personal level to the point where he is distressed over what he sees.\n\nAnd may I just say to you beloved, that that is the great purpose that God has given in prophecy.\u00a0 So many times it\u2019s tempting to draw our charts and to get the whole thing figured out and the data just rests in the mind but it never personally impacts how we live.\u00a0 And when prophecy becomes just an academic subject we miss the Holy Spirit and why he gave prophecy.\u00a0 2 Peter 3:11 makes a prophetic statement and it says, \u201cSince all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness.\u201d\u00a0 In other words, the knowledge that this world is going to be destroyed by fire should change how we live.\u00a0 If you know that the Titanic is sinking you\u2019re not going to spend your time rearranging the deck chairs; you\u2019re going to be trying to get other people off the boat and yourself off the boat because the ship is going down.\n\nIn other words, the knowledge of the future revolutionizes the person\u2019s priorities in the present.\u00a0 And you look at so many of our Christian lives and we\u2019ve spent them on such trivial pursuits, things that don\u2019t matter, that we are literally like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.\u00a0 Our lives are not vested in eternal things and the things that matter.\n\n1 John 3:2-3 says, \u201cBeloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears,\u201d that\u2019s the return of Christ, \u201cwe will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. [3] And everyone who has this hope fixed<\/em> on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.\u201d\u00a0 The doctrine of the second coming and all of these eschatological and prophetic details aren\u2019t there just to tantalize the intellect; they are there to create holiness amongst God\u2019s people.\n\nTitus 2:13 says, \u201clooking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus.\u201d\u00a0 Prophecy should give you hope in the present because you know that what is present is just temporary.\u00a0 Hope for the future!\u00a0 How easy it is to get our kingdoms confused where we begin to act as if the things of this world are really what matters.\u00a0 And yet we come to the pages of God\u2019s Word and we learn that our hope is not in the United States of America. \u00a0I love the\u00a0 United States of America, I pray for the United States of America, I will show up and vote in every election, I will support people and causes that are godly, I will do all of that but that is not my hope. My hope is in the soon return of the Lord Jesus Christ, the next event on the prophetic horizon, to rescue me out of this satanically energized world.\u00a0 That\u2019s my hope.\u00a0 And I can go through life with optimism, regardless of what happens to America, regardless what happens on any scene in the world system.\n\nSee, Daniel, when he had this vision, didn\u2019t just take it in as an intellectual academic subject but this touched his heart to the point where he was troubled about certain things that he saw, and he asked, consequently, for further information.\u00a0 Notice Daniel\u2019s request there in verse 16.\u00a0 It says in verse 16, \u201cI approached one of those who were standing by and began asking him the exact meaning of all this. \u00a0So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of these things:\u201d\n\nI want you to notice a couple of things here; notice the expression \u201cexact meaning.\u201d\u00a0 Notice also the expression \u201cinterpretation.\u201d\u00a0 An interpretation will follow and see, this is how biblical prophecy works.\u00a0 God oftentimes reveals something that is mysterious, it is new, it\u2019s couched in the form of a dream or a vision and unfortunately we have a lot of people that stop reading after they\u2019ve read the vision and they try to interpret it through what I call their own sanctified imagination, attaching bizarre and strange meanings to visions that they find in the Bible, as if the Holy Spirit has given us the freedom to do that, when in reality the Bible interprets itself.\u00a0 The Bible is its own interpreter.\n\nJohn Walvoord in his commentary on the Book of Revelation says this:\u00a0 \u201cThere are twenty-six symbols in the Book of Revelation,\u201d\u00a0 Twenty-six! \u201cwhich are defined in the same context in the same chapter.\u201d\u00a0 So you have symbol, definition, symbol, definition, symbol, definition.\u00a0 This occurs 26 times.\u00a0 God has not left prophecy to our own creativity or ingenuity.\u00a0 He\u2019s interpreting these things for us.\u00a0 Daniel, apparently, understands this about the character of God; that\u2019s why he seeking not meaning but the exact meaning.\u00a0 And he\u2019s seeking an interpretation of these things.\n\nGod doesn\u2019t give Daniel a vision and say okay, figure it out on your own; use your sanctified imagination. Go onto You Tube and find any bizarre conspirator theory you can find and read that into the passage.\u00a0 That\u2019s not what Daniel was told at all.\u00a0 He was told to be patient and to wait for the interpretation.\u00a0 So many times we just don\u2019t have the patience to do this; we don\u2019t wait for God to explain Himself and\u00a0 yet God is in the explaining business because we know from the New Testament that He is not the author of confusion.\u00a0 God doesn\u2019t want His people going through this life confused about eschatological or prophetic subjects.\u00a0 He wants the mind sharp on these things because He knows if the mind is sharp on these things it will affect how we live in the present.\n\nWho is Daniel inquiring of here?\u00a0 We\u2019re not told.\u00a0 If I had to hazard a guess, maybe I shouldn\u2019t hazard a guess because I just got finished telling you not to guess, but if I had to hazard a guess I would say he\u2019s inquiring of Gabriel because Gabriel in the Book of Daniel has the function, you see it in Daniel 9 with the Seventy Weeks Prophecy, he has the function of revealing new truth.\u00a0 In fact, it was Gabriel that shows up in early Luke and explains to the mother of John the Baptist, to the mother of Christ exactly what is happening.\n\nThe other angel that\u2019s mentioned in this book is Michael; we\u2019re not going to have any references to him until chapter 12, around verse 1. \u00a0Michael seems to have a function of protection the nation of Israel during the time of distress\u2026 and let me tell you, they\u2019re going to need it!\u00a0 They\u2019re going to need every ounce of protection they can muster, including from the angelic realm because they will be under the thumb or the rod of the antichrist and Satan himself, who doesn\u2019t want the kingdom to come! \u00a0Satan doesn\u2019t want Revelation 20 to come so what does Satan do?\u00a0 He seeks in history and it reaches its zenith in the tribulation period, he seeks to blot out the instrument through which the kingdom will manifest itself, the nation of Israel.\n\nAnd that\u2019s why even today the nation of Israel is always under the gun, they\u2019re always being derided by the world community, they\u2019re always being pushed into one deal or the next to give up land in exchange for the illusory promise of peace because it\u2019s part of the outworking of the fallen angelic kingdom concerning the nation of Israel.\u00a0 That\u2019s why we, as God\u2019s people, as we are told in Psalm 122:6 are to pray for the what?\u00a0 The peace of Jerusalem.\u00a0 [Psalm 122:6, \u201cPray for the peace of Jerusalem: \u2018May they prosper who love you.\u201d]\u00a0 Is that part of your prayer life?\u00a0 Do you pray for the protection of the Jewish people?\u00a0 Whether you do or not demonstrates whether you understand the angelic conflict that the Bible so clearly depicts for us.\n\nSo Daniel, then, is asking a question concerning Gabriel, perhaps, and his interpretation of the things that Daniel has seen.\u00a0 And an interpretation is given there in verses 17-18.\u00a0 Notice what the angel says, \u201c\u2018These great beasts, which are four in number,<\/em> are four kings who<\/em> will arise from the earth.\u00a0 [18] But the saints of the Highest One will receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, for all ages to come.\u2019\u201d\u00a0 What is the interpretation?\u00a0 What you have seen Daniel is various kingdoms of man that ultimately are satanically controlled, that will trample down the holy people, the nation of Israel, right up through the tribulation period itself, and the second advent.\u00a0 The conditions of this world will not improve until Jesus Christ returns at the end of the tribulation and overthrows these beasts that will then manifest themselves in the final kingdom of man, the antichrist kingdom himself.\n\nSo this is a description of the course of human history until the kingdom of God comes.\u00a0 If I had to give my own interpretation of this I would say this: don\u2019t look for the world to get better; look for the perpetual onslaught of the devil, intercede accordingly, pray accordingly, but have the mind of God\u2014things in this world will not get better until Jesus shows up.\n\nThen in verse 18, \u201cthe kingdom\u201d will be given to who?\u00a0 \u201cthe saints,\u201d verse 18.\u00a0 Notice that \u201csaints\u201d there is plural, just like when you go back to verse 9 it says, \u201cthrones\u201d not throne, singular, but \u201cthrones\u201d plural.\u00a0 [Daniel 7:9, \u201cI beheld till thrones were placed, and one that was ancient of days did sit: his raiment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames, and the wheels thereof burning fire.\u201d]\n\nIn other words, when all is said and done God is going to surrender His kingdom to God the Son, and we, as the bride of Christ, will participate according to the New Testament, not from Daniel, but according to the New Testament in the reign of Jesus Christ under His delegated authority.\u00a0 Whether you feel like it or not, whether you acknowledge it or not, whether you understand it or not, if\u00a0 you are related to Jesus Christ by way of faith, right now, as I am talking, you are destined for authority; you\u2019re destined for a throne.\u00a0\u00a0 You might be despised and rejected, minimized and marginalized in this life but a throne awaits you and the degree of authority that you will wield in that coming millennial kingdom, that glorious age of time that we are to pray for, \u201cThy kingdom come\u201d is largely determined by the choices that you\u2019re making now as a Christian, because you see, the Bible, in Luke 16:10 says if you are faithful with the little things then God can trust you with what? the big things.\u00a0 [Luke 16:10, \u201cHe that is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much: and he that is unrighteous in a very little is unrighteous also in much.\u201d]\n\nIf you\u2019re faithful in your small ministry at Sugar Land Bible Church God can trust you with five cities and ten cities, or perhaps more in the kingdom age.\u00a0 If you\u2019re faithful to God as you go through a trial and you don\u2019t lose heart in God but you continue to trust in Him, God can trust you with greater things, not only in this life but in the age to come.\u00a0 Choices matter, decisions matter.\u00a0 Ultimately the greatest decision is whether a person is going to trust in Christ for salvation or not.\u00a0 That determines their entrance into the kingdom but as we grow in Christ we are confronted over and over again\u00a0 with little choices and we have the tendency to think that those little choices don\u2019t matter.\u00a0 If you understand the doctrine of the kingdom correctly you\u2019ll understand that choices do matter.\u00a0 It may not determine salvation, which has already been secured, but it will determine degrees of authority in the kingdom itself.\n\nThis is Paul\u2019s frustration with the Corinthians who had become so petty in their Christianity that they were suing each other.\u00a0 Can you imagine that?\u00a0 I\u2019m glad backbiting and backstabbing doesn\u2019t happen in the church today but that\u2019s the kind of thing that was happening in Corinth and it got so bad that they were taking their disputes before pagan judges and discrediting the gospel in the presence of the pagan judge who was saying to himself I thought you Christians were known by your love for each other.\u00a0 And Paul, in that environment says, \u201cDo you not know that we will judge angels? How much more matters of this life?\u201d [1 Corinthians 6:3,]\n\nRevelation 5:10 says, \u201cYou have made them\u201d that would be us, as the church, New Testament, \u201cto be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will\u201d not might, \u201cthey will reign upon the earth.\u201d\u00a0 The authority is just around the corner for the child of God.\u00a0 That should give us optimism in the present and it should have a bearing on the choices that we make as Christians today.\n\nAs we move into verses 19-22 you\u2019ll notice that Daniel, in his questions, presumably of Gabriel, starts getting more specific.\u00a0 There is a part of this vision that he has just seen that really bothered him, that really gets under his skin and that would be the final empire of man in the tribulation period itself, before the second advent.\u00a0 It says in verse 19, \u201cThen I desired to know the exact meaning\u201d notice how that expression \u201cexact meaning\u201d is repeated, \u201cI desired to know the exact meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others, exceedingly dreadful, with its teeth of iron and its claws of bronze, and which<\/em> devoured, crushed and trampled down the remainder with its feet.\u201d\n\nI want to know, Daniel says, about not just Rome but the last phase of Rome.\u00a0 This Revived Roman Empire (which we\u2019re going to be studying in verse 23) is going to actually cover the whole earth. Daniel says the part of this that\u2019s interesting to me\u2026 and he could have focused on many, many things, but he chose to focus on the end of the kingdoms of man before the kingdom of God comes.\n\nHe wants to know about the last phase of the times of the Gentiles.\u00a0 And His questions continue to get more specific as you move down into verse 20, \u201cand the meaning<\/em> of the ten horns that were<\/em> on its head and the other horn<\/em> which came up, and before which three of them<\/em> fell, namely, that horn which had eyes and a mouth uttering great boasts<\/em> and which was larger in appearance than its associates.\u201d\u00a0 I want to know about these ten horns and what they mean.\u00a0 I want to know about the little horn that comes up amongst the ten and actually becomes greater than the ten and how three of the ten have to be subdued.\u00a0 The other seven seem to submit to what the little horn wants to do.\u00a0 This little horn, as we\u2019ll be learning, is the description of the antichrist himself.\n\nNotice how the antichrist is described: \u201ceyes and a mouth\u201d in fact if you go back to verse 8 it says of this little horn that he had eyes like the eyes of a man.\u00a0 [Daniel\u00a0 7:8, \u201c\"While I was contemplating the horns, behold, another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were pulled out by the roots before it; and behold, this horn possessed eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth uttering great boasts.\u201d]\n\nThere is a belief out there that when the antichrist comes he will not be a human being but he will be an institution.\u00a0 He will be some kind of religious system but not an actual person, not an actual man.\u00a0 They get this teaching largely from a misunderstanding of 1 John 4:3 which says, \u201cand every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.\u201d\u00a0 Many people today say don\u2019t look for an actual person called the antichrist, an actual human being.\u00a0 What you need to look for is this coming great system of the antichrist, a system of thought, some sort of religious institution.\n\nAnd may I just say to you that that is a false teaching; there is a system of the antichrist that is coming and even now is in the world 1 John 4 tells us. [1 John 4:3, \u201cand every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.\u201d]\u00a0 But that doesn\u2019t distract from the point or detract from the reality that the antichrist will be an actual person that heads this system.\n\n2 Thessalonians 2:3 puts it this way: \u201cLet no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man\u201d did you catch that, \u201cand the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,\u201d notice how Paul called the antichrist a man.\u00a0 The Greek word anthropos<\/em>, where we get the word anthropology, is used to describe this coming antichrist.\n\nRevelation 13:18 says, \u201cHere is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man;\u201d anthropos<\/em>, \u201cand his number is six hundred and sixty-six.\u201d\u00a0 Just as there was a man in history, Jesus Christ, who came into the world, not to do His own will but the will of His Father, there is coming in the history of the world the opposite of Christ, one who comes, Daniel 11:36 and following says not to do his father\u2019s will but his own will.\n\n[Daniel 11:36, \u201cThen the king will do as he pleases, and he will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will speak monstrous things against the God of gods; and he will prosper until the indignation is finished, for that which is decreed will be done. [37] He will show no regard for the gods of his fathers or for the desire of women, nor will he show regard for any other<\/em> god; for he will magnify himself above them<\/em> all. [38] But instead he will honor a god of fortresses, a god whom his fathers did not know; he will honor him<\/em> with gold, silver, costly stones and treasures. [39] He will take action against the strongest of fortresses with the help of<\/em> a foreign god; he will give great honor to those who acknowledge him<\/em> and will cause them to rule over the many, and will parcel out land for a price.\u2019\u201d]\n\nAnd if a person has never trusted in Jesus Christ they are a dead ringer for the deception of the antichrist that\u2019s on the horizon because he will do what the world thinks a Messiah ought to do; he\u2019ll solve the Middle East conflict, he\u2019ll bring peace to the world, he won\u2019t talk too much about personal salvation, if at all, he won\u2019t talk about sin, he won\u2019t talk about repentance. But he will give man what he wants and consequently the whole world is going to wonder and wander after this man, the beast, or the coming antichrist.\n\nNot only are his eyes described but you\u2019ll also see a description there in verse 20 of his mouth. \u201che spoke great things\u201d\u00a0 [Revelation 20:20, concerning the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn which came up, and before which three fell, even that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spoke great things, whose look was more stout than its fellows.\u201d]\u00a0 In fact, the mouth of the antichrist keeps showing up, doesn\u2019t it, in this chapter?\u00a0 Verse 8, verse 11, verse 20.\n\nJohn, the apostle, when he has his vision of this coming antichrist says this in Revelation 13:5-6, \u201cThere was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him.\u00a0 [6] And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven.\u201d\u00a0 One of my favorite Bible teachers calls the antichrist Mr. Big Mouth.\u00a0 His mouth is big in terms of oratorical power over the human race.\u00a0 His mouth in terms of blasphemy, treacherous things, evil things spoken against God Himself.\n\nWhat do all of these tin-horned dictators have in common in their places of power?\u00a0 They have the ability to sway the masses to oratorical pizzazz.\u00a0 I\u2019m reminded of the speeches by Fidel Castro; I\u2019m reminded of the speeches by Adolf Hitler who could enthrall a nation, speaking for hours at a time.\u00a0 You think my sermons are long, good grief.\u00a0 And convincing people that their way was the right way and to follow him.\u00a0 This is exactly what the antichrist will be like.\u00a0 Well, I\u2019m glad in our country we don\u2019t elect people based on how they sound.\u00a0 I\u2019d better leave that one alone.\n\nVerse 21, we have a further description of this antichrist that\u2019s on the horizon.\u00a0 Notice, verse 21, [Daniel 7:21] \u201cI kept looking, and that horn was waging war with the\u201d who? \u201cthe saints and overpowering them\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 This verse becomes a tremendous source of confusion concerning the blessed hope of the church.\u00a0 I can\u2019t tell you how many people I know will use this verse as some sort of proof text that the church of Jesus Christ is going into the Tribulation period itself, because after all, it says right here that the little horn, the antichrist, is \u201cwaging war\u201d and \u201coverpowering\u201d the saints.\n\nProbably within the last century there\u2019s been a debate going on amongst people who believe in a future tribulation period and a kingdom that follows concerning when the catching away of the church will take place. The Apostle Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 describes the harpazo<\/em>, from the word harpazo<\/em> we get the word harpoon, this idea you stick a spear into something and pull it to yourself,\u00a0 harpazo<\/em>.\u00a0 It means to be seized or caught up by force.\u00a0 It is the event, the miracle that God will do to end the age of the church, which has been going on for 2,000 years, beginning in Acts 2.\n\nAnd what people do is they debate, when does this catching away happen.\u00a0 We have, at the top, the correct view, the pretribulational rapture view which is the belief that we will be taken to heaven before the tribulation starts.\u00a0 The competition would be the mid tribulation view, the catching away happens in the middle of the tribulation.\u00a0 The post tribulation view means we\u2019re here for the whole tribulation and we\u2019ll not experience the harpazo<\/em> until the very end and only to strangely come right back down to the earth; it\u2019s like an elevator ride.\n\nAnd if that weren\u2019t enough along comes this view called the pre-wrath rapture view which argues that the wrath of God really doesn\u2019t happen until the final 25% or so of the tribulation period, so the church will be here for roughly three quarters of the tribulation period.\u00a0 Some of them will object to this view where I\u2019m describing them as three quarters and they\u2019ll say but we don\u2019t know the exact time so you can\u2019t say three quarters exactly.\u00a0 So I think to be fair what they\u2019re saying is sometime in the second half of the tribulation period the church will be raptured.\u00a0 These are people who do not believe the wrath of God starts at the beginning.\n\nI want you to think about how bizarre and strange that is because in Revelation 6, the beginning of the tribulation period Jesus is in heaven opening a seven-sealed scroll.\u00a0 And every time He opens a seal a judgment comes to the earth, including famine, including global warfare, and including a destruction of a quarter (if I remember right) of the world\u2019s population.\u00a0 And that\u2019s not the wrath of God?\u00a0 If that\u2019s not the wrath of God tell me what the wrath of God is.\u00a0 And even the pagans that are experiencing these judgments say to themselves, they figure out, these unbelievers, what pre-rapturists don\u2019t even understand, the wrath of God has come upon us.\u00a0 You\u2019ll see that in Revelation 6:16-17. \u00a0[Revelation 6:16-17, \u201cand they said to the mountains and to the rocks, \u201cFall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; [17] for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand.\u201d]\n\nHere\u2019s the four views in terms of how they look in picture form: pretribulational rapture, midtribulational rapture beneath that, postribulational rapture the third one down, \u00a0and then what\u2019s called pre-wrath rapture.\n\nSo many views how can\u00a0 you be dogmatic?\u00a0 A lot of people come to Sugar Land Bible Church thinking that this church is like the Oxford Debating Society; they come into the church with some pet belief that they have and they try to get the believers or the elders to sign on to this belief.\u00a0 And they adopt a negotiation sort of posture or strategy, maybe we can find some middle ground on that, and there\u2019s a mentality in this church, not so much anymore but when I came that people had this view that they could come in here and they could debate the elders about this issue or that issue. And I\u2019m here to tell you, beloved, that that is not what Sugar Land Bible Church is.\u00a0 The leaders of this church are not here to debate anything with anyone.\u00a0 What this church believes is clearly spelled out in the teaching statements of this church.\u00a0 And when someone gets into a pulpit or Sunday School class or leads a small group, they are not there to have a debate; they are there to authoritatively teach what we believe the Word of God says based on the teaching statements of this particular church.\n\nBut you see, we have this mindset today where all views are valid, everybody is right as long as you\u2019re sincere.\u00a0 That would be like my daughter, who\u2019s eleven, telling her parents, you know today I just want to eat Hostess Twinkies all day long.\u00a0 The fact of the matter is that\u2019s not up for negotiation; that\u2019s not up for debate. \u00a0And when you become a member of a church, like Sugar Land Bible Church, there has to be an understanding in your mind that God put the pastor here as your shepherd and God put the elders here as your shepherd.\n\nNow if you don\u2019t believe that and you think the church is wrong on this point or that point and you want to get into this Oxford debating society mentality there are, beloved, 3,000 to 4,000 churches in the Houston area to select from.\u00a0 We\u2019re here to guide you, not to debate you, to guide you into what we think is the right understanding of the Bible. We\u2019re very clear on what we think the right understanding of the Bible is; it\u2019s expressed in our teaching positions and that\u2019s the angle from which we come.\n\nNow you say well, gee, can\u2019t we ask questions?\u00a0 Of course you can!\u00a0 Clarification on what the Bible says is instrumental in a person\u2019s growth in Christ but where it crosses the line is when people start to think the elders are incorrect, start to think the elders are inaccurate, start to second-guess the doctrine statement of the church.\u00a0 That becomes a different matter because you are no longer submitting to the parental authority of the elders, the function of elders, the function of a pastor-teacher is to guide the sheep into maturity.\u00a0 Clarification is one thing but coming in to second guess leadership is an entirely different matter.\u00a0 And to folks like that we say there\u2019s 3,000 to 4,000 churches in this area, you\u2019re destined, I believe, to find one that lines up with the way you think because we\u2019re not here to negotiate, we\u2019re here to teach authoritatively truth and the fact of the matter is, the rapture of the church, pretribulational, is what we say in our teaching statement.\u00a0 We do not believe in mid-tribulationalism.\u00a0 We do not believe in post-tribulationalism.\u00a0 We do not believe in prewrath rapturism.\u00a0 We believe in pretribulational rapture.\n\nYou say well can\u2019t these other views be brought up?\u00a0 Yes, to expose them for the false teaching that they are; they will be brought up, but they will not be brought up in a sense that we\u2019re just going to grab four views, toss it out to the sheep and say which one do you think is the best?\u00a0 There are a lot of churches that will do that. \u00a0That is\u00a0 not at all our posture here at Sugar Land Bible Church.\u00a0 In fact, that posture doesn\u2019t even respect the leadership of the church.\u00a0 There is, in this society, and antiauthoritarian mindset in people, and that comes into their thinking in the church where they think they can come in and dictate and control the theological perspective or the theological persuasion of the church.\u00a0 I\u2019m here to tell you that our church is not set up that way nor to my mind is the New Testament church set up that way as the function of shepherds is to guide the sheep into maturity.\n\nWhy do we believe in this pretribulational rapture idea?\u00a0 Because it\u2019s in the Sugar Land Bible Church Teaching Position Statement?\u00a0 Well, that\u2019s part of it but that Teaching Position Statement comes from the Bible.\u00a0 I believe this idea that the church is going to be caught up to heaven before the tribulation begins.\u00a0 I have seven reasons:\n\nNumber 1, the tribulation period concerns who?\u00a0 Israel.\u00a0 The purpose of the tribulation is to bring Israel to faith; the church is already in faith so how could we be present during this time period?\n\nNumber 2, there is no biblical reference to the church on the earth, ever, in any tribulation passage in the Bible, most notably Revelation 6-19.\u00a0 The word \u201cchurch\u201d is not found ever on the earth, although the word is used 19 times, ecclesia<\/em>, in the first three chapters.\u00a0 Once you get into the eschatological section of the Book of Revelation you will not find any reference to the church\u2026 EVER!\u00a0 Not in verbal form or in concept form either, where Jew and Gentile are in one new man, the body of Christ.\n\nNumber 3, the church is promised an exemption from divine wrath.\u00a0 1Thessalonians 1:10,\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01 Thessalonians 5:9, Romans 5:9, Romans 8:1.\u00a0 [1 Thessalonians 1:10, \u201cand to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 1 Thessalonians 5:9, \u201cFor God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.\u201d\u00a0 Romans 5:9, \u201cMuch more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Romans 8:1, \u201cTherefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.\u201d]\n\nWhat is the tribulation period?\u00a0 It\u2019s wrath; it\u2019s Jesus in heaven opening at the very beginning a seven-sealed scroll which brings the wrath of God to the earth.\u00a0 How could the church be in that time period when we are promised an exemption from divine wrath.\n\nNumber 4, the rapture is imminent; the rapture is always something that we\u2019re to be looking for; it\u2019s the next event on the prophetic horizon.\u00a0 I enjoy studying the doctrine of the antichrist but beloved, let me tell you something, I\u2019m not looking for the antichrist; I\u2019m looking for Jesus Christ.\n\nDid you know that we are the only view that teaches imminency.\u00a0 We are the only view that Jesus could come back today.\u00a0 Mr. Mid Tribulationalist, can Jesus Christ come back today?\u00a0 No, there\u2019s got to be 42 months of hell on earth first.\u00a0 Mr. Post Tribulationalist, can Jesus Christ come back today?\u00a0 No, there\u2019s got to be seven years of hell on earth first.\u00a0 Mr. Prewrath Rapturist, can Jesus Christ come back today?\u00a0 No, He can\u2019t, there\u2019s got to be roughly three quarters of the tribulation period before Jesus Christ can come back.\u00a0 Mr. Pre Tribulationalist, can Jesus Christ come back today?\u00a0 You bet\u2026 I hope He does.\u00a0 I hope He comes back in the next second. I\u2019m the only person of this panoply of views that can stand up and authoritatively teach that in the next second there is the potentiality of the trumpet sounding, you being raised in your body, changed into incorruptible and instantaneously ushered into the presence of God.\u00a0 All these other views say no, something has to happen first.\n\nYou know, and it breaks my heart to see this, there is so much of the church today that\u2019s amping it up for the antichrist.\u00a0 They\u2019re getting arms, not that that\u2019s a bad idea, they\u2019re buying gold, not that that\u2019s a bad idea either.\u00a0 They\u2019re storing this and storing that, now I do all those things but it has nothing to do with my belief in eschatology, it\u2019s just common sense.\u00a0 But so many people don\u2019t have that mindset and they are literally amping it up, preparing to eyeball it with the antichrist.\u00a0 Try this out for seven days; get your focus off Jesus and onto the antichrist and look at what\u2019s going to happen to your emotional makeup, your psychological makeup, your expectations, your optimism.\u00a0 It will shift everything.\u00a0 And this is why this doctrine of pretribulationalism, as much as people make it sound like it\u2019s not important when in fact it is important.\n\nAnother reason that we believe that we will be raptured before the tribulation period of Paul says \u201cComfort one another with these words.\u201d\u00a0 Jesus, when He unfolded the doctrine of the rapture for the first time in John 14:1-3 said, \u201cLet not your heart be troubled;\u201d are you telling me I\u2019ve got to go through 42 months of hell on earth and assuming my head is not cut off by the antichrist I can have the hope of being raptured.\u00a0 Maybe I\u2019m a little old fashioned but that\u2019s not a lot of hope for me.\u00a0 I don\u2019t feel a lot of comfort in that.\u00a0 [John 14:1-3, \u201cLet not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. [2] In My Father\u2019s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. [3] If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there<\/em> you may be also.\u201d]\n\nThe only view up here that I feel any comfort in is the correct one at the top, pretribulationalism.\u00a0 And by the way, the antichrist himself can\u2019t even come to power while the church is here; we are the restrainer that is holding him back, 2 Thessalonians 2:6-7.\u00a0 [1 Thessalonians 2:6-7, \u201cFor the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so<\/em> until he is taken out of the way. \u00a0[8] Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming;\u201d]\n\nAnd beyond that when you look at the days of Lot and the days of Noah, what did Jesus say?\u00a0 Do you want to understand about the end?\u00a0 Understand the days of Lot and the days of Noah.\u00a0 What do both of them have in common?\u00a0 In both cases, whether it\u2019s Noah in the ark or Lot being rescued from Sodom and Gomorrah God takes His people out first and then the wrath of God, whether it be the flood or Sodom and Gomorrah itself, iron and brimstone coming down on that city happens second.\u00a0 It\u2019s a pattern of God.\u00a0 And since Christ said study those two sections of the Bible to understand the end, by way of symbolic parallelism we could argue also that the church would be raptured before the tribulation period itself begins.\n\nI don\u2019t think any one of these seven arguments seals the deal but when you step back and you look at these arguments cumulatively, collectively, powerful certainty emerges that we will be rescued by Jesus Christ before the tribulation period comes.\u00a0 I believe that this doctrine becomes just as clear as the Triunity of God Himself, which is a complex doctrine but I believe in the Trinity, I believe that it\u2019s clear when all of the passages are considered.\u00a0 In this belief of the pretribulational rapture I believe it is clear; it\u2019s something that you can expectantly hope and look forward to.\n\nPeople say well, you\u2019re just teaching an easy way out; you\u2019re teaching escapism.\u00a0 Let me ask you something for a minute: isn\u2019t all of Christianity escapism?\u00a0 Aren\u2019t you escaping the wrath of God in hell itself by placing your personal faith in Jesus Christ?\u00a0 Why is escapism a problem?\u00a0 People say well, this is just an American doctrine, don\u2019t you know that Christians all over the world are suffering.\u00a0 The reality of the situation is suffering and escape from it is not part of the doctrine.\u00a0 We are promised in the Bible that we will have trials.\u00a0 John 16:33, \u00a0\u201cIn the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.\u201d\u00a0 We are promised in the Bible that as we grow in Christ man will persecute us, 2 Timothy 3:12.\u00a0 [2 Timothy 3:12, \u201cIndeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.\u201d]\u00a0 We are promised in the Bible that Satan himself will exercise his wrath on us.\u00a0 That\u2019s why we are to put on the full armor of God, Ephesians 6:11-12.\n\n[Ephesians 6:11-12, \u201cPut on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. [12] For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces<\/em> of wickedness in the heavenly places.<\/em>\u201d]\n\nWe\u2019re promised in this world that the world will hate us, John 15:18-19.\u00a0 [John 15:18, \u201cIf the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated<\/em> you. [19] If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.\u201d]\u00a0 But beloved, there is a form of wrath that\u2019s coming that we are not candidates for\u2014that\u2019s the wrath of God.\u00a0 I may be a candidate for trials, man\u2019s wrath, Satan\u2019s wrath or the world\u2019s wrath but not the wrath of the Lamb, not the wrath of Jesus Christ.\u00a0 Or else Paul\u2019s statements in 1 Thessalonians 1:10, 1 Thessalonians 5:9, other passages, make virtually no sense.\u00a0 [1 Thessalonians 1:10, \u201cand to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come.\u201d\u00a0 1 Thessalonians 5:9, \u201cFor God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.\u201d]\n\nYou say well if this is so clear then you explain to me, Mr. Theologian, Daniel 7:21.\u00a0 If there are no biblical references to the church on the earth during the tribulation period you then explain to me Daniel 7:21, which says, \u201cI kept looking, and that horn\u201d or the antichrist \u201cwas waging war with the saints and overpowering them.\u201d\u00a0 Who are these people?\u00a0 Notice what the verse does not say.\u00a0 It does not say I kept looking and the horn was waging with the church.\u00a0 What does it say?\u00a0 It says the antichrist \u201cwas waging war with the saints.\u201d\u00a0 What\u2019s the difference?\u00a0 There\u2019s a world of difference.\u00a0 \u201cSaints\u201d in the Bible, is a nontechnical term which simply means a word that doesn\u2019t always mean the same thing everywhere it\u2019s used, and it\u2019s used generically to describe the people of God.\u00a0 Those in Old Testament times, Psalm 149:1 are called saints.\u00a0 [Psalm 149:1, \u201cPraise ye the LORD.\u00a0 Sing unto the LORD a new song, and<\/em> his praise in the congregation of saints.\u201d KJV]\n\nWe, in the church age, are also called \u201csaints.\u201d\u00a0 The term \u201csaints\u201d can apply to Israel, it can apply to Gentile believers, it can apply to the church itself, so the reality of the situation is the word \u201csaint\u201d in and of itself does not automatically put the church into the tribulation period.\u00a0 And how could this be the church, verse 21, \u201cI kept looking and the little horn was waging war with the saints and\u201d what? \u201coverpowering them.\u201d\u00a0 The antichrist is winning here, is he not?\u00a0 At least it seems that way.\n\nHow does that correlate at all with Christ\u2019s promise to the church, Matthew 16:18, \u201cI will build My church and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.\u201d \u201cThe gates of Hades will not overpower it.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cThe gates of Hades will NOT overpower it!\u201d\u00a0 What does verse 21 say, \u201cI kept looking and the little horn was waging war with the saints and\u201d what? \u201coverpowering them.\u201d The word \u201cchurch\u201d isn\u2019t there, this is the generic word \u201csaints.\u201d\n\nWho are these people.\u00a0 There\u2019s something to understand: the church is a mystery.\u00a0 If you\u2019ve been tracking with us on Wednesday nights you\u2019ll see the Apostle Paul, in Ephesians 3:3-6, calls the church a mystery.\u00a0 Verse 9 of Ephesians 3 he calls the church a mystery. [Ephesians 3, \u201cthat by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief. [4] By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, [5] which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit; [6] to be specific,<\/em> that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel,\u201d]\n\nWhat is a mystery?\u00a0 Have you ever asked that?\u00a0 A mystery is a truth concealed but now revealed.\u00a0 The church itself is a mystery, meaning that the church was always in the mind of God but man knew nothing about the church until Paul was raised up to explain the church. The church started in Acts 2, Paul gives the explanation of what the church is, in his 13 letters so you can read the book of Daniel all you want, you can read the Old Testament all you want.\u00a0 My goodness, you can read the Gospels all you want, except in a few cases in the Gospels, very narrow cases, the church is not in view.\u00a0 How could this be a prophecy about the church when the church is an unknown mystery at this time, back in the 6th<\/sup> century?\n\nWell, then, who are these people?\u00a0 I want you to understand something; this was written before the church existed and it is prophesying a time period after the church has gone.\u00a0 Do you see that?\u00a0 Daniel doesn\u2019t see the church age which is shrouded in mystery at this time.\u00a0 If you had a discussion with him about the church back in the 6th<\/sup> century he wouldn\u2019t even know what you\u2019re talking about.\u00a0 We know about it because we have the light of the New Testament.\u00a0 Daniel knew nothing about the church.\u00a0 When he received this vision it was before the church existed and it concerns a time period after the church is gone.\u00a0 If you start understanding that you can see how multiple passages that people target as the church have, quite frankly, nothing to do with the church.\n\nWell then, who are these people?\u00a0 Who are these saints that are being overpowered.\u00a0 Let me tell you something, after the rapture of the church what the church has left incomplete in terms of world evangelization will be completed by the nation of Israel in the ministries of the 144,000.\u00a0 Who are these 144,000?\u00a0 Revelation 7:1-8 says there are 12,000 emanating from the twelve tribes of Israel.\n\n[Revelation 1:1-8, \u201cAfter this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, so that no wind would blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree. [2] And I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the seal of the living God; and he cried out with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, [3] saying, \u2018Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the bond-servants of our God on their foreheads.\u2019\u00a0 [4] And I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred and forty-four thousand sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:\u00a0 [5] from the tribe of Judah, twelve thousand were<\/em> sealed, from the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand, from the tribe of Gad twelve thousand, [6] from the tribe of Asher twelve thousand, from the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand, from the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand, [7] from the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand, from the tribe of Levi twelve thousand, from the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand, [8] from the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand, from the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand, from the tribe of Benjamin, twelve thousand were<\/em> sealed.\u201d]\n\nThis has nothing to do with what the Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses\u00a0 [tape fades in and mostly out for a few minutes] 144,000 are considered\u2026in fact one man defected from the Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses, he was allegedly one of the 144,000 and he wrote a classic book entitled 143,999<\/em>.\u00a0 This isn\u2019t talking about anything related to what the Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses say.\u00a0 This is talking about God\u2019s hand is going right back on the Jewish people.\u00a0 In fact, these people, Revelation 7:1-8 are the firstfruits.\u00a0 They\u2019re converted first.\u00a0 How are they converted?\u00a0 I don\u2019t know, we\u2019ll have the best seat in the house though to see it happen.\u00a0 And God starts to use them to complete world evangelization.\u00a0 In fact, in the tribulation period itself it says this: Revelation 7:9\n\nDaniel doesn\u2019t see the church age, which is shrouded in mystery at this time.\u00a0\u00a0 He wouldn\u2019t know it if you went up and had a discussion with him about the church, back in the 6th<\/sup> century, he wouldn\u2019t even know what you\u2019re talking about.\u00a0 We know about it because we have the light of the New Testament.\u00a0 Daniel knew nothing about the church. When he received this vision it was before the church existed and it concerns a time period after the church is gone.\u00a0 If you start to understand that you can see how multiple passages that people target as the church have, quite frankly, nothing to do with the church.\n\nWell then, who are these people?\u00a0 I want you to understand something.\u00a0 This was written before the church existed and it is prophesying a time period after the church is gone.\u00a0 Do you see that?\u00a0 Daniel doesn\u2019t see the church age which is shrouded in mystery at this time.\u00a0 He even wouldn\u2019t know it if you went up and had a discussion with him about the church back in the 6th<\/sup> century he wouldn\u2019t even know what you\u2019re talking about.\u00a0\u00a0 We know about it because we have the light of the New Testament.\u00a0 Daniel knew nothing about the church.\u00a0 When he received this vision it was before the church existed and it concerns a time period after the church is gone.\u00a0 If you start to understand that you can see how multiple passages that people target as the church have quite frankly nothing to do with the church.\n\nWell then, who are these people?\u00a0 Who are these saints that are being overpowered?\u00a0 Let me tell you something; after the rapture of the church what the church has left incomplete in terms of world evangelization will be completed by the nation of Israel in the ministries of the 144,000.\u00a0 Who are these 144,000?\u00a0 Revelation 7:1-8 says there are 12,000 emanating from the twelve tribes of Israel.\n\nThis has nothing to do with what the Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses say, [blank space] 144,000 are considered \u00a0[blank space] \u00a0In fact one man defected from the Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses, he was allegedly one of the 144,000 and he wrote a classic book entitled 143,999<\/em>.\u00a0\u00a0 This isn\u2019t talking about anything related to what the Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses think, this is talking about God\u2019s hand is going right back on the Jewish people.\u00a0 In fact, these people, Revelation 7:1-8 are the firstfruits, they are converted first.\u00a0 How are they converted?\u00a0 I don\u2019t know.\u00a0 We\u2019ll have the best seat in the house, though, to see it happen.\n\nAnd God starts to use them to complete world evangelization.\u00a0 In fact, in the tribulation period itself it says this: Revelation 7:9, \u201cAfter these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands;\u00a0 [13] \u201cThen one of the elders answered and said, these who are clothed in white robes, who are they and where did they come from.\u00a0 I said to him, Lord, You know, and He said to me, \u2018These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.\u201d\u2019\n\nLet me tell you something: we have a very high view of ourselves in terms of our ability to get the gospel out to the whole world.\u00a0 Let me tell\u00a0 you something, beloved, \u201cyou ain\u2019t seen nothin\u2019 yet.\u201d\u00a0 The small paltry work that God is doing today through world evangelization in the church, and I praise God for all of the world evangelization that\u2019s going on but what God is doing today is small potatoes compared to what He will do through 144,000 Jews.\n\nDo you know that when the Apostle Paul got saved, a devout Jew, and the Holy Spirit in Arabia began to connect the dots for him and began to show him that Judaism points towards Christ, do you realize what a revelation that was to him.\u00a0 There isn\u2019t a man on the earth that did more for the cause of evangelism and missions than Paul.\u00a0 Read the book of Acts, you\u2019ll see it.\u00a0 Can you imagine the Apostle Paul multiplied by 144,000?\u00a0 That is what Revelation 7 is describing.\n\nPeople say okay Mr. Wise Guy, then who are these saints?\u00a0 That\u2019s an easy question to answer. They are those that are saved through the ministries of the 144,000 after the church is gone.\u00a0 No problem at all.\u00a0 Matthew 24:14 says, \u201cThis\u201d this is after the rapture, \u201cThis gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to\u201d some of the nations\u2026 sorry, it doesn\u2019t say that, \u201cas a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.\u201d\u00a0 And we sit here in our arrogance and say to God, well God, you\u2019d better use us greatly in world evangelization or You\u2019re not going to be able to get the gospel out.\u00a0 Do you know what God is saying to us?\u00a0 I\u2019m putting up with you and one of these days you\u2019re going to be put on the bench and I\u2019ll bring out subs and those subs will start to play like Larry Bird, Matthew Johnson and Michael Jordan.\u00a0 You know, we deceive ourselves\u00a0 into thinking how important we are when the reality is we\u2019re used by God in any way He sees fit to use us.\n\nIt\u2019s like when I was teaching my daughter about emptying the dishwasher, which is a tribulation in and of itself, and she was really little and she was getting the cups and putting them away and I said to myself, you know, I ought to just do this myself because it would get done a lot faster but then I said to myself, you know, if I do it she\u2019s deprived of the joy of learning, she\u2019s deprived of the joy of participating, she\u2019s deprived of the joy of contributing.\u00a0 Let me tell you something folks, God\u2019s work is going to get done.\u00a0 The only issue is do you get the joy of participating or not?\u00a0 God doesn\u2019t need me, God doesn\u2019t need you, God\u2019s got the whole thing under control.\u00a0 The issue is are we going to cooperate with God and experience the joy of participating in His work?\u00a0 Are we going to get off the bench and get into the game?\u00a0 The game is already won!\u00a0 The only issue is are you a starter?\u00a0 Are you a contributor?\n\nVerse 22 and with this we\u2019re finished.\u00a0 \u201cuntil the Ancient of Days came and judgment was passed in favor of the saints of the Highest One, and the time arrived when the saints took possession of the kingdom.\u201d\u00a0 How does it all end?\u00a0 The \u201cancient of days,\u201d the Father, returns, He exercises judgment at the end of the times of the Gentiles and the saints receive the kingdom.\n\nBe encouraged, you\u2019re on the winning side of history.\u00a0 I watched, not too long ago, a basketball game and through that whole game I was sitting on the edge of my seat because I didn\u2019t know who was going to win, it was a close game.\u00a0 I was nervous, my palms were sweating, I had half a mind to go into the locker room or the closet and put on my own jersey, but the thing doesn\u2019t fit me any more.\u00a0 And so I was all emotional and amped up about the whole thing until the end.\u00a0 And then you know something interesting happened.\u00a0 The same game came on in tape delay.\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t nervous any more when I saw the game because I knew what was going to happen.\n\nYou don\u2019t have to sit on the edge of\u00a0 your seat worried, has God got this whole thing under control?\u00a0 The fact of the matter is the prophetic pages remind you who\u2019s going to win; you know who\u2019s going to win, and you can rest in the fact that you are on the winning side of history.\u00a0 The only issue is how much of a contributor are\u00a0 you going to be in a game that\u2019s already won?\n\nYou know, it\u2019s possible someone could be here today and never know how to get into the game.\u00a0 It\u2019s possible someone could be here today and think well, this teaching on the rapture, I really don\u2019t know should the rapture happen now if I will be taken into heaven or not.\u00a0 And your right as a child of God is that you can know.\u00a0 It\u2019s called the assurance of salvation through the gospel.\u00a0 Jesus Christ stepped out of eternity into time and did for us something that we could never do for ourselves\u2014He fixed the sin problem!\u00a0 And by simply trusting in what he has done on your behalf you are ushered into the grace package of our Lord Jesus Christ which includes all kinds of benefits, arrival in heaven, participation in the rapture, the right to be used by God\u2026 by simple faith.\n\nAnd so Christianity is not about what we do for God, it\u2019s what God has done for us.\u00a0 And the gospel is something that you can trust in right now as your seated, as the Spirit of God places you under conviction, which is what the Spirit does.\u00a0 He bothers you because He loves you too much to see you go into an eternal hell.\u00a0 And until the day you die, praise God, the convicting ministry of the Spirit is going to keep bothering an annoying you because of His love for you.\n\nSo our exhortation here at Sugar Land Bible Church is to respond to the convicting ministry of the Holy Spirit. Trust in what Jesus has done, not what we do for ourselves but what He has done, and be ushered into the glory and the grace and the goodness of God.\u00a0 Join the team that\u2019s the winner.\u00a0 Shall we pray.\n\nFather, if anybody is here today and they\u2019re unclear of their salvation I pray that they will trust Christ even as I\u2019m speaking.\u00a0 I pray people also, Lord, will have the incentive to reach out to leadership here if they\u2019re unclear about the gospel.\u00a0 I pray, Father, that You\u2019ll continue to use the Book of Daniel in our lives to give us\u00a0 Your blueprint, Your big picture so we can walk by faith in these last days.\u00a0 We\u2019ll be careful to give you all of the praise and the glory.\u00a0 We ask these things in Jesus\u2019 name, and God\u2019s people said\u2026 Amen.","series_sermon_number":""},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t