Week #16 The Ancient of Days is Presented The Son of Man Daniel 7 - Part III Presented Live May 15, 2016 I. Introduction and review A. Our country has coined a slogan, 1. First for the military: no man left behind 2. Then in field of education: No child left behind 3. I try to do that in class B. The dream in chapter seven is foundational to understanding the rest of the book II. The first vision A. Daniel first observes a great sea which represents the peoples of the world, that is the great wash of humanity [7:2-3] 1. From this sea emerge four beasts [7:15-18] a. The first is like a lion and represents the kingdom of Babylon b. The second is like a bear and represents the kingdom of Medo-Persia c. The third is like a leopard and represents Greece d. And the fourth is incomparable and horrifying to Daniel 2. This fourth beast is of great importance to understanding the rest of this chapter and later visions a. It represents Rome b. Its portrayal here indicates God s view of this kingdom, that is horrible and wicked and the most vilified of all of these kingdoms 3. It is through this point that we reach our present time in this dream a. Everything seen up to now is past b. And everything seen after this point is in the future B. Each of these kingdoms rules the entire known world 1. The dream next takes us to a new kingdom and yet one that grows out of the preceding kingdom, that is the fourth beast 2. Unlike the prior kingdoms which do not proceed from the previous kingdoms 3. There have been many attempts at world rule since the fall of the Roman Empire Page 1 of 8
a. Charlemagne b. Napoleon c. The British Empire d. The Axis powers e. The Soviet Union 4. But all have failed C. Now out of the Roman Empire/fourth beast comes a new kingdom [7:24a] 1. It is represented by the ten horns on the fourth beast s head a. A horn has always represents a place or thing of power in the Scriptures b. This ten nation or kingdom confederacy which arises from the remains of Rome will be the next world ruler 2. Then out of this confederacy arises an eleventh horn [7:24b-26] a. At first it is smaller then the rest of the horns b. But it destroys/eliminates/overcomes/takes over three of the original ten horns c. And as it does it grows in size and strength d. And soon thereafter it controls this ten kingdom confederacy 3. Then this horn will attack the Most High God (El Elyon) and His followers a. Most High is a name the demons regularly use to refer to God b. For a period of time this horn will prevail 4. And then comes divine intervention in a most prominent of ways III. The second vision [7:9-12] A. A court room/throne room/ place of judgment is set up B. And the One Who appears is the Ancient of Days (!ymiþay qytiî[;) 1. We tried to determine Who this was a. Some believe it to be Jesus (1) They cite John 4:24 "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." (2) And John 5:27a and He gave Him authority to execute judgment b. Others believe it to be the Father (1) The Ancient of Days appears with the Son of Man (clearly Jesus) and converses with Him (2) John confirms that Jesus is the Son of Man. See John 5:27 and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. (3) The Father does have a form, see John 5:37-38 "And the Father who sent Me, He has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time nor seen His form. 38 "You do not have His word abiding in you, for you do not believe Him whom He sent. (a) He clearly has a voice (b) He spoke at Jesus baptism, and (c) He spoke on the Mount of Transfiguration Page 2 of 8
(d) He also has a form (e) Depicted in Daniel 7:13 (f) And in Revelation Revelation 4:1-3 After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, "Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things." 2 Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne. 3 And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance. Revelation 4:5 Out from the throne come flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God; Revelation 5:1-10 I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a book written inside and on the back, sealed up with seven seals. 2 And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the book and to break its seals?" 3 And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the book or to look into it. 4 Then I began to weep greatly because no one was found worthy to open the book or to look into it; 5 and one of the elders said to me, "Stop weeping; behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals." 6 And I saw between the throne (with the four living creatures) and the elders a Lamb standing, as if slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth. 7 And He came and took the book out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. 8 When He had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9 And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. 10 "You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth." C. At this judgment of the Ancient of Days the books are opened 1. Two sets of books 2. The books of the acts and thoughts of men 3. The Book of Life D. And finally the little horn is judged and executed E. And then the thrid vision commences in which the Son of Man appears IV. The coming of the Son of Man. Dan. 7:13-14, 27 1. He comes on the clouds of Heaven. 2. He appears with the Ancient of Days. a. This is a picture of God the Father and Jesus the Son. (1) Compare with Rev. 5:1-7 3. All dominion and glory are given to Christ along with the kingdom (cf. with dominion in 7:12). B. The name - "the Son of Man". 1. This term is used eighty one times in the Gospels by Jesus to refer to Himself. a. There are a number of other names He could have used. (1) Lord He is the Master (a) others referred to Him as this (2) Messiah the one promised, the anointed one (a) He only referred to Himself once as the Messiah (when talking with the Samaritan woman - Jn. 4:26). Page 3 of 8
(3) The Son of God speaking of His divinity (4) The Son of David speaking of His Royal Lineage, and right to be king (5) The Bridegroom (6) But He chose to use the Son of Man. Why? 2. What meaning does the name have? a. It conveys the two chief aspects of his person. (1) His manhood (a) Son of Man - human being (b) e.g. Son of Sin - sinner (c) e.g. Son of Wealth - rich (d) He is one of us. (2) His Godhood (a) (b) Not "a son of man" but "the Son of Man" This reference that Jesus makes to Himself, refers us back to Dan. 7:13, 14 & 27. (c) Matt. 26:63-64 3. The Purpose of the Name a. It carried no "excess baggage". (1) The Jews wanted a hero, not a savior. (2) It sent them to the Scriptures. b. It spoke of His pre-existence. (1) John 3:9-13 (2) John 6:60-62 c. This name was used to teach the need for His suffering. (1) The hardest thing Jesus had to teach. (2) John 3:14-15 d. He used it to teach personal salvation through Him and Him alone. (1) Jn. 6:53-54 (2) Acts 4:12 e. It spoke of Final Judgment. (1) Jn. 5:25-27. C. In light of this preferred name how should we picture Jesus 1. Not as a baby 2. Not as the crucified, dead sacrifice 3. Instead we should picture Him as the Son of Man a. Consider this through the eyes of John, the beloved disciple b. Rev. 1:9-17b c. The closer we get to God the more we fear Him and the easier it is to see our sin Matt 8:20; 9:6; 10:23; 11:19; 12:8, 32, 40; 13:37, 41; 16:13, 27f; 17:9, 12, 22; 18:11; 19:28; 20:18, 28; 24:27, 30, 37, 39, 44; 25:31; 26:2, 24, 45, 64; Mark 2:10, 28; 8:31, 38; 9:9, 12, 31; 10:33, 45; 13:26; 14:21, 41, 62; Luke 5:24; 6:5, 22; 7:34; 9:22, 26, 44, 56, 58; 11:30; 12:8, 10, 40; 17:22, 24, 26, 30; 18:8, 31; 19:10; 21:27, 36; 22:22, 48, 69; 24:7; John 1:51; 3:13f; 5:27; 6:27, 53, 62; 8:28; 9:35; 12:23, 34; 13:31; Acts 7:56; Heb 2:6; Rev 1:13; 14:14 V. Consider once again this little horn A. It is given the eyes of a man, the mouth of a man, and begins to utter Page 4 of 8
VI. great boasts. 1. II Thess. 2:1-12 2. Rev. 13:1-10 3. Response is to flock to or to despise 4. The world will flock to him as its savior 5. the things he says will be great, i.e. he will have oratory skills 6. But the things he says will be anti God [vs. 25] 7. This new horn in the process becomes larger than the other seven [vs.20] a. He wages war with the Saints and overpowers them (1) he wears them down i.e. as you would wear out clothing b. He will attempt to make changes in or to alter time and the law (1) Jewish view: (a) change the time keeping system of the Jews (b) (c) including days for feasts and ceremonies and change the requirements of the law God gave to them (2) The world view: (a) he will change time by setting up a universal time system, e.g. a ten day week eliminating Sundays (b) probably also eliminate A.D. and B.C. (c) his law will be universal and controlled by him (d) it will involve the taking of his mark and the privileges that carries with it (3) He will be successful for three and one half years (the second half of the tribulation) (a) then his dominion will be taken away from him (b) his kingdom will be destroyed, and (c) he will be cast into the lake of fire B. This is Daniel s first vision of the tribulation period 1. But it is seen from a Jewish point of view or perspective 2. Daniel did not know of the church, at least at this time 3. But what about us? Our hope is not to have to go through this time of testing because it will be so awful A. But the question comes down to when will the church bermoved from the earth as Jesus promised in John 14:1-4? 1. There are five or more views: 2. That event will occur at the end of the tribulation period a. That is right before the return of the Jesus in His second coming b. Under those scenario we will not escape the judgment of the tribulation period 3. That event will occur at the mid point in the tribulation period a. The church would then only have to go through the first half of this tribulation period Page 5 of 8
b. It will occur about the time of the Abomination of Desolation 4. That event will occur at the sounding of the last trumpet of the seven trumpet judgments a. The church would them be forced to endure a major portion of the tribulation judgment 5. That event will occur prior to the wrath of God being released upon the earth sometime during the tribulation period 6. That event will occur before the tribulation period commences 7. It is this final view that I believe is supported by the Scriptures B. What Scriptural evidence do we have that that is the case: 1. Rev. is a chronologically written book for the most part a. Chapters 1-3 speak of the church b. Beginning with chapter six the church is no longer mentioned until the end (Rev. 19) c. Something happens to the church d. In Rev. 3:10 there is evidence as to what that event may be (1) Keep as in to watch over, guard, or protect (2) From the h o ur (a) Hour as in period of time (b) Genitive of sphere: from the sphere of e. Chapter 4 of Rev. pictures the rapture of the church (1) Jesus calls John who pictures the Church (2) the person calling him is the same one that appears in chapter one (3) John is taken to heaven where Jesus is (4) He is taken in the Spirit (5) He spends a period of time with the Lord there until he is returned to the earth (6) This happens prior to the commencement of the tribulation f. The Scripture consistently speaks of those participating in this event as those with hope, and those failing to participate in this event as those without hope (1) See 1 Thessalonians 4:13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. (2) And 2 Thessalonians 2:16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace. g. I Thess 4:13-17 (1) The Rapture described (2) In I Thess 5:1-2 speaks of tribulation and second coming as the Day of the Lord h. II Thess 2:1-12 The Day of the Lord will not come until: (1) Verse 3: Apostasy [ ðïóôáóßá] is the noun form of the verb: óôçìé (a) It is proceeded by a definite article Page 6 of 8
(b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) (h) The noun is formed from áðï meaning away or from, and óôçìé which means to cause to withdraw, to go away, to depart or to withdraw from This verb can mean to fall away as from the faith or true doctrine but that additional meaning must come from the context, not the verb itself Apostasy is merely a transliteration of the word, not its translation The verb is translated 11 times in the Greek N.T. as depart and only once as departure from the faith, but in that instance (I Tim 4:1) the qualifying words: from the faith are added in the text The noun here is feminine, in its neuter form it is translated a divorcement, Liddell and Scott in their classical Greek lexicon list departure or disappearance as their second meaning This translation is the one selected by Tyndale [1534], Coverdale [1535], the Geneva Bible [1537] and others (2) The meaning here should be the departure or the disappearance (3) The man of lawlessness is revealed at the start of the tribulation period [the Day of the Lord] (4) Verse 6-7: The One who Restrains must be taken out of the way, before the man of lawlessness is revealed (a) the Restrainer is the Holy Spirit (b) He cannot be removed unless I am removed also 2. If you believe that God can come back for us at any time, then you are a pre-tribulationist, if not than you believe another position is correct a. If you are mid- or post-tribulationist you will know within 3 ½ years when the Lord is coming for us. 3. When does God s wrath commence? VII. Applications. A. Who rules history? 1. God rules history. 2. The kings of Babylon tried to defy Him, but to no avail. 3. In the end all are brought to judgment, because God is in control. 4. Don't ever think your talents, achievements or position are selfgenerated; they are God-given. 5. Mt. 24:4-6; God has things working according to His plan, which is based upon His love, His justice, and His all-knowing wisdom B. Lessons from this passage: 1. God controls the future 2. Never plan without praying Page 7 of 8
3. If God s not in our plans we are wasting our time 4. We must respond to the guidance that God gives to us, then He will give us more 5. Obedience is a reflection of faith C. We are participating in a race that has already been run, in a battle in which the enemy has already been defeated -- therefore, we should live like it. 1. Example of previewing the Super Bowl. Believer s Bible Class First Baptist Church Dallas, Texas USA Notes and Audio always available 24/7 at www.believersbibleclass.com and www.believersbibleclass.podbean.com 2016 - Believer s Bible Class, & Douglas W. Brady Page 8 of 8