Daniel, chapter 8, verses 26 through 27. Here, for this is the word of the Lord. The vision of the evenings and the mornings that has been told is true. But seal up the vision, for it refers to many days from now. And I, Daniel, was overcome and lay sick for some days. Then I rose and went about the king's business. But I was appalled by the vision and did not understand it. I thought this would be a good time to take a break from lengthy exposition to hem in on a couple of important verses that definitely apply to us today. I decided to take this time to revisit Daniel chapter 8 verses 26 through 27 in order to discuss the different ways that Christians wait for the Lord's return. and the ways we respond to life in a fallen world. We discussed it to some extent in the last sermon, but I think it would be of practical importance to revisit such a timely topic today. This topic of waiting for the Lord's return is closely related to how we interpret not only the apocalyptic literature in Daniel, but also how we interpret apocalyptic literature throughout the entire Bible. As we interpret Scripture with Scripture, there is one text toward the end of your Bibles that seems to govern how we think how the Lord's return is going to occur. But before we get there, let us consider again what has occurred thus far in the first 25 verses of chapter 8. It is the third year of Belshazzar's reign in Babylon. The first year, Daniel is given the vision of the Ancient of Days and the Son of Man. Two years later, Daniel is given another vision of a ram with two horns battling against a goat with one horn. The goat wins the battle, but his one horn breaks off into four horns. And out of the four horns, one little horn emerges and makes war against God's people on earth, as well as God himself in heaven. We have concluded that the ram represented the Medo-Persian Empire, which is conquered by the goat, that is, the Greek Empire. And the big horn represented Alexander the Great, After Alexander the Great died, the empire was divided among his four generals. One of the four generals would be a predecessor to the Little Horn, Emperor Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who would go on to persecute the Jewish people and defile the temple in Jerusalem. But the hope for the Jewish people was that his reign of terror wouldn't last. he would be brought down in the end by God himself. The Maccabees would successfully recapture Jerusalem and rededicate the temple and Antiochus would die in a very mysterious way that same year. Now Daniel was given the vision in chapter eight with the last vision in chapter seven still in mind. The point of both visions was that Daniel would keep his sights not so much on the chaos going around him, but to keep his sights on the throne in heaven. He was to look forward and ground his hope in the God of heaven, who will one day give his kingdom over to the Son of Man, who in turn would give the kingdom over to the saints. Because remember, Daniel would not live to see the day when the visions of chapter eight would be fulfilled. Again, the emphasis in chapter eight is an emphasis, not so much on worldly or earthly conflict, but it is an emphasis on spiritual warfare. Verses 10 through 11 tells us that the little horn, Antiochus, went to war against heaven. And in verse 12, it says that the host, the people of God, was given over to the little horn because of transgression, that is, their own sin. Anytime God's people are being persecuted, either by a ruler or by another group of people, at root, it is a spiritual warfare and physical warfare becomes the final solution. Although the Maccabees engaged in a physical struggle against Antiochus, we know that this type of persecution doesn't end with Antiochus. It continues. We know from chapter 7 that this is the pattern of living in a fallen world. Nation will rise against nation. There will be wars and rumors of wars, the persecution of God's people until the Son of Man steps on the scene. So this leads us to consider the different ways that people interpret Revelation chapter 20, verses 1 through 6. Now, this is where we find the famous millennial reign of Christ, where Christ will reign for a thousand years before the final judgment. Because believe it or not, the way we interpret this one text informs how we respond to what's going on in the world around us. And what we want is to get closer to how Daniel responds later in chapter eight. There are three ways to interpret the thousand-year reign of Christ. Now, there are variations and differences among those who hold these views, but I'm not going to get into all of them today. You can explore this topic on your own in your own time. But we're gonna start first with the first way to interpret the thousand-year reign is called premillennialism. Premillennialism is the view that Christ will return and reign with his saints on earth for a thousand years before the final judgment. There will be a thousand years of peace with Christ on this earth in the fallen world. But before the reign of peace, there will be a great falling away in the church. Many will leave the church and Christianity altogether. So these events would give church leaders hints as to when Christ will return. They tend to see the signs all around them. Low church numbers, hatred toward Christ and his church on the rise, great political deception from an anti-Christ figure. And this has opened the doors for false prophecies about the exact time of Christ's return. It was the most popular view among the baby boomer generation and the fundamentalist movement in the 20s and 30s. And it is still probably the most popular view among conservative American evangelical Christians today. This is the view behind the Left Behind series. It is the most popular view among the televangelists, those you hear on the radio and those who sell books that tell us the end is near. They tend to be more separatist. isolating themselves from what they deem as Babylonian, that is the culture and secular society around them. They believe that the main objective for Christians is to save as many souls as possible before Christ's return, and they don't see any point in trying to correct the wrongs of society and the culture. As I said, there are variations of this view, but for the most part, those who hold to premillennialism are pessimistic, about changing the culture, and they are pessimistic about the future of the church. The second way, which has been one of the most popular views in the history of the Reformed Church, going back to the medieval church, is called post-millennialism. Post-millennialism is the view that Christ will return after the thousand years. But during the thousand years, Christ will reign from heaven through what is called a golden age of Christianity and the church. Instead of people leaving the church, they expect an end times revival. Church membership will rise and the society will be Christianized, so to speak. A famous example of a group who were mostly post-millennial would be the New England Puritans. When they arrived on the shores of this continent, they believed that they would form a nation that would become the new Israel, but on earth. The city on a hill, as they used to call it. They believed they were living in the thousand years of the quote-unquote golden age. Now, if you know anything about the history of that time period and those that followed it up until now, it was far from golden. But those who hold this view believe that one of our main objectives as Christians is to quote-unquote Christianize society and the culture, so to speak, because they believe that the reign of Christ in heaven must materialize in some way right here on earth. And it materializes when Christians mobilize and are actively changing the society and the culture around them. There has been a resurgence of post-millennialism these days. And unfortunately, very bad actors have hijacked this view. It especially comes up among young men because of the current so-called culture wars. It often leads to a theology of glory rather than a theology of the cross. A theology of glory is seeking and being deceived by worldly glory and victory rather than taking up the cross to follow Jesus. You often hear claims of taking dominion. And sometimes this taking dominion is by force or by violence. and that is the danger within a small group among this group is that they believe in changing the culture by violence or by force. It is marked by what Carl Truman has called verbal thuggery, especially on the internet. So in the church, this breeds an environment of hostility toward whoever they would consider as quote unquote outsiders. But the small minority who hold this view need to be reminded that God's kingdom is not of this world, which means, as Jesus said, that his disciples will not establish the kingdom by force or by fighting. We are not to establish the kingdom the way God called Joshua to establish the kingdom in Joshua 6, 17, to devote the unbelievers to destruction. We don't do that today. We proclaim the gospel. We only advance the gospel by persuasion. Jesus' disciples were commissioned to preach the gospel to all nations, all people groups, even those you would consider as outsiders, and to bring them into the church, to baptize and to catechize. One of the only engagements with Roman society outside of when Jesus was being interrogated by Pilate was when he told the Pharisees who were plotting to catch him in treason against Rome, he said to render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. Sound familiar? Who else was trying to catch someone else in treason? You think of Daniel, in Daniel chapter six, when no treason was occurring. Jesus sent his disciples out as sheep in the midst of wolves, as pilgrims and exiles in this world, just like Daniel. So to sum it up, those who hold to post-millennialism are very optimistic about Christianizing the society and they are optimistic about the future of the church. Now, although both of these views, both pre-millennialism and post-millennialism are very different, yet notice they both breed similar reactions among Christians to the world. In the end, They both tend to breed panic and isolation. Why? Well, because it involves examining the state of this world with earthly lenses on, rather than from the perspective of heaven and what scripture teaches about this world. Just look in Daniel chapter seven and eight. We see two important truths there. God is on his throne in heaven, victorious, governing all things, despite the great power of the beasts. And secondly, there is a spiritual war going on behind the scenes that you cannot see or sense. So what this tells us is that the world and what is going on in it is not all that it seems to be. When things seem to be going good for the church, it probably isn't all that good. When things seem to be going bad for the church, It probably isn't all that bad. And the question is, are we to be consumed with trying to know the times and the seasons? We see the signs all around us and they've always been there. And they will get worse. But it is in the midst of the worst of it when everything will get cut short and the end will come. So this leads to the final view. This is the view that I hold and much of the OPC holds, a good majority, and it is what some have called amillennialism. Some have wrongly concluded that this means we don't believe in a millennium. That is false. I prefer the better way to express it is to call it as Ian Duggett has called it, present millennialism. Present millennialism. We don't deny the millennial reign of Christ. But much like the language in apocalyptic literature is to be interpreted symbolically, we believe that the language of 1,000 years is symbolic for the time period between when Christ ascended to the right hand of the Father, to the time when He will return, judge His enemies, and finally save the saints in one breath. The thousand years describes the already, not yet reign of God and Christ. Christ is reigning on earth right now from his throne in heaven even if it doesn't appear to be so. Even if it doesn't materialize in this world. He reigns victorious despite what the church is going through, despite persecution, despite whether or not numbers are high or low, despite who is winning the culture wars, despite if the government acknowledges God or not, despite if the current president is a Christian, despite whether or not Christians are successful in changing the world, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, he is victorious. Because our confidence is sitting at the right hand of the Father. We don't need any evidence from the state, the culture, or the world that Jesus is going to win. He already won. He already won. And he is going to completely and eternally win when he returns. All we do is declare that truth and live in light of that truth. An example of this truth of the already, not yet, is found in Ephesians chapter two, when Paul said that when Christ was raised, he raised us up and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. If you're a believer, you are seated in the heavenly places right now. Right now. But at the same time, as you can tell, Not yet. Not yet. It is not fully realized, and it is not fully materialized yet. Because in this fallen world, as Jesus told his disciples, there will be wars, rumors of wars, nation against nation, and natural disasters. And the gospel goes forth parallel to these things happening. The gospel will go forth to all nations for sure. Praise God for that. We are optimistic about that, but that doesn't mean that every single person on earth is going to receive the gospel. When Jesus said that the gospel will be proclaimed throughout the whole world before the end, he was not saying that there will be an end times revival. The gospel will be proclaimed to all nations but that doesn't necessarily stop people from persecuting the church. It doesn't stop people from rejecting the gospel. Remember what he told his disciples, that he is sending them out, and if they go to a town and they don't receive him, then to dust off their sandals and move on to the next town. It doesn't mean that Satan will not throw fiery darts at us to discourage us. In Revelation 20, we read of his binding. And we often wonder, what does that mean? Does that mean he is not active? Yes, he is still active. Paul clarifies this in 2 Thessalonians 2, verse 7, where he says, lawlessness will be restrained, but not eradicated. It will be restrained. So at this moment, Satan is only restrained, but he is still active. just as he was active immediately after Christ ascended to his throne. Just read the book of Acts. He was active in all the early church, as Peter warned, that the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. So you can say that the amillennialist is usually not so optimistic about changing the culture in society, and if he is, he's not holding his breath. Yet he is optimistic about the church's future because it is based on Christ's promise that hell shall not prevail against her. So you can say that the golden age of the church is happening right now. Even when the church is filled with error, even when the church is being persecuted, even when the church is losing members, even through all of our trials in this world, Christ reigns victorious right now, as the gospel goes forth to all nations. Why? Because God is faithful. God is faithful, even when things are going bad for us in this world. Now, do Christians change the world? Is the world a better place when Christians actually live like Christians? Well, yes. Yes. But we've got to ask ourselves, is it all about results? Well, no. We don't live like Christians because we're looking for results. We seek to live out the Christian life because we ought to desire to please God above all else, which means in practice, we love God and we love neighbor. And whenever we live in light of who we are as Christians, loving God and loving neighbor, these are manifestations of God's kingdom among us in the world. This is how we shine our light in the world. Now, I'm not at all implying. that those who hold to pre-mill or post-mill do not love God or love neighbor, or that they're all pragmatists. I have many dear brothers who hold these views, who are godly examples to me. But if we're just looking for evidence, that the church is either falling away or whether or not we're in a golden age, we will always come up short in our analysis and we will come away discouraged. Now remember, Not all that you see going on in the world is what it seems. Just because things are going good for us does not mean we have arrived or we have arrived to this golden age. Just because everything is crumbling around the world or in the church, it doesn't mean that Christ is any less victorious. We are called to faithfulness either way. And it doesn't give us a right to simply withdraw from the world nor to violently attack the society. I don't think I need to say this, but I don't need to wait for my nation, the United States, to become Christian before I am to serve her. We are called to serve our nations because we are called to love God and love our neighbors. Again, back to Daniel. He was an example of a bondservant and a pilgrim. Daniel served Babylon, the harlot, and other pagan nations, and he served them well for 70 years of his life, despite whether or not Babylon or any other nation ever converted to the one true God. Remember, he could have started a rebellion. There was a whole bunch of Jewish elites there with him. He could have done it, but that was not his calling. He wasn't called to that. And he knew he didn't have to lift a finger because God would do it. God would overthrow Babylon. In fact, Belshazzar never converted. In fact, he would be judged. Our text says that after the vision, Daniel went about the king's, that is Belshazzar's business, not his own. He didn't devise a plan to overthrow Babylon. He knew God would do it. He knew God would do it. Now the Lord warned Babylon through Daniel, but we need to come to grips with the fact that the world is governed by beasts, yet we are still called to be servants in the world and to the world. We are called to love the world, not the world as in the sinful desires of the flesh, but love the world as in loving our neighbors. whether it is sharing the gospel or just being a gospel witness and loving them. And we're pretty certain that the response from the world at any given time can go either way. Love or hatred, belief or unbelief. But our hope is not found in changing this world. Rather, just like Daniel, our hope is to be in God, the Ancient of Days and the Son of Man who sits on his throne in heaven and that by trusting in him, we are changed. We are changed by His grace. And as we grow, we look more and more to another world and yet remain faithful to our calling in this world because the love of God is working in us, compelling us to. So knowing these views helps us to respond to life in a fallen world by realizing that this is the way the world has always been and will always be until the end. In fact, it's only going to get worse. But in verse 26, the angel reassured that the vision of the evenings and mornings was true. In other words, no matter how great this little horn gets, no matter how much he persecutes God's people and fights against God, his days are numbered and God is greater. And God is just. God will enact justice on oppressors. He promises this all throughout Scripture. He will enact justice on the oppressor, both of God's people or just in general. But he says to Daniel, seal up this vision, for it refers to many days from now. In fact, for Daniel, it was many years and many centuries from that point. The angel told him to seal up this vision, to keep it to himself in order to encourage Daniel in his faith because he will not see it. He will not see the restoration of Israel. This reminds me so much of African chattel slavery in America. Many of the slaves who were Christians who didn't see freedom and yet they were told to seal up this vision. to seal up this vision. While Daniel was living in a fallen world surrounded by trouble, he should have remembered what he saw in the last vision with God sitting on his throne and the kingdom given over to the Son of Man, who in turn gave it to the saints who belonged to him. Although the angel told him to keep this sealed up for the future, yet how did he respond to the vision? First, although the angel tried to encourage him, he was overcome. He laid sick for days and he was appalled by what he saw in the vision. He was appalled at the fact that God's people would be persecuted and God's temple would be desecrated. I'm sure he was even appalled at the judgment of God's enemies because his reaction was in reaction to the entire vision. He reacted to the chaos of a fallen world. He didn't just accept the fact that the world was in chaos. Daniel was rightly sickened by what he saw. So we are justified. We are justified when we are upset with what we see going on in the world today. It is not that we are supposed to have a careless attitude toward the world or toward society around us. Remember what John says in 1 John chapter three. If there is no love for the church, if there is no love for the world around us, How can we be assured that we know the love of God? But at the same time, secondly, Daniel didn't wallow in his sorrow. He didn't remain in his despair. But rather, after some days, he got up and went about the king's business. Now, we recognize that the primary mission of the church is the simple ministry of word, sacrament, and prayer. But that doesn't mean that individual Christians are to remain idle in the world. One of the great sins of Israel in the Old Testament that landed them in exile was that they neglected to correct oppression around them. They became an unjust people, looking the other way when they saw injustice. Until Christ calls us out of this world, until Christ says, come out of her, come out of Babylon, We are to seek the welfare of this world and this society and the welfare of others because we're Christians. Not because our pragmatism is going to work. Rather we love because God first loved us. Now this doesn't mean that we compromise. We love according to God's law. We're not to take part in Babylon's sins, but at the same time, we're here as servants. So the answer for New Testament believers is not to force Christianity by violence, but always by loving persuasion. Daniel didn't serve Belshazzar because he thought that his witness would lead to promising results. Remember, Belshazzar never repented, and he would be judged. Yet Daniel served him because he served his God first and foremost. He was called to be a servant, just like we are. He submitted to God's providence and his will. He wasn't fighting God's providence. This was his calling on his life. So Daniel went about the king's business for four years until Belshazzar died. And notice, that the only record we have of Daniel witnessing to Belshazzar is when Daniel was summoned to him. This is similar to Paul's experience. Yes, Paul proclaimed the gospel to governors and rulers, but only after he was arrested and dragged in front of them. That wasn't his main goal. So let us not politicize Christianity. In the meantime, Paul's primary mission was to preach the gospel, plant churches, and care for the poor. After he was given the vision, Daniel went about the king's business. This doesn't mean that we stop being Christians in the world. We are to continue to seek the welfare of society, our families, our neighborhoods, and our country. So if that means, given the opportunity, we introduce legislation that will put an end to the killing of babies in the womb, or finding ways to fight hunger or poverty, or to correct oppression and call out injustice, that's what we do. But not because we're trying to make this place our final resting place, not because we're trying to change the world, but because we love others and we want to protect life, even that life, which doesn't have a voice. And these are just a few examples of the way we love. Thirdly, he confessed that he did not understand the vision, which means he could do nothing in that moment but to trust in his God with the unknown. When we are faced with the unknown, when we can't see the end results, we need to trust God because he is God. He knows the end from the beginning. This is rather ironic because we're told that Daniel was given the gift to interpret visions, yet now he doesn't understand the vision given to him. Judging by the context, I believe he understood the vision partially in what the angel chose to reveal, but he didn't understand it fully. For example, he was told of the 2,300 evenings and mornings, yet at the same time, He didn't understand its fulfillment. We can look back today and say that this was Alexander the Great and later this is Antiochus. We can look back and see the fulfillment of all apocalyptic literature in Jesus Christ. And for us we know that Christ will return one day, glorious and victorious, but we must confess we do not know exactly when. We don't understand it fully. There are many who claim that they know the exact timetable of Christ's return. But a proper response to all who claim to know what God has chosen not to reveal in precise detail is that the secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of his law. And what has been revealed is that we have not kept his law, and we deserve the same judgment that came down on Antiochus, the little horn, and Belshazzar. But Jesus Christ lived, died, and rose again, so that we would be counted as righteous before God and escape the judgment that's coming on Babylon. And his return can be at any moment. And it will be dreadful for those who reject Him. So my question for you today, have you trusted in Him? Have you turned from your sin? He will return, and on that day, the nations will weep and mourn. But the saints will rejoice at the sight of their salvation. So seal these things up within you for your hope and your peace. Amen.