You might, Deb Kraft, that was perfectly timed. You might want to get a binder for this class. Deb told me she loves binders. So the more I'm getting into this, the more I think, oh, we're not going to have time for that. So I'm just going to print you an article about that, or I'll give you a timeline about that. And there's notes and things. So maybe this is more than you thought you signed up for. It's kind of more than I thought I signed up for. But that's OK. And so if you want, we're always going to have notes for the week. We're going to have articles, timelines, and a lot of things going on. So if you want to get something to keep all that together, it might be a good idea. Also from the previous week, if you weren't here, I will always have our notes filled in. So if you weren't here last week and you want our notes from, well not last week, two weeks ago, we kind of false started a little bit with our snow day. But if you want the notes from a previous Sunday that you weren't here, I will always have them already filled in obviously for you. So you can pick, I will put these up here. So this was two weeks ago. Also, you will hopefully be able to find previous messages on Sermon Audio. So if you write that down, that's the website that LBC uses. So Sermon Audio, you go to that website, and then if you just type in Lamar's Bible, you can find all of these recorded messages from all different speakers that we have here at LBC. So you can search by the speaker's name, you can search by a topic, If you really want to hear good messages about prophecy on there, type in Cecil Yoder, because there are prophecy messages there. His are better than mine, so feel free to listen to those instead. My one from two weeks ago is not yet on the website. They're working on it. Sometimes it just takes a little longer, but that's where you can find it if you want to be able to listen to that later. Okay, I think that's all the housekeeping stuff. Let's pray and we'll get started. God, we thank you so much for this day. Thank you for bringing us here together, even though it's still pretty cold out there and lots of snow drifting. We had to miss it last week, but just thank you for this warm building and a place where we can meet together and learn more about Your word and we thank you so much for the prophecy that you've given us in your word prophecy that has already been fulfilled which gives us confidence in you and Trust in you because we know that you will always keep your promises and and everything you say that is going to come to pass Has come to pass so that those things that have not yet come to pass. We know that they will exactly as your word has has has shown us. So I just pray that you would help me to speak in a way to communicate clearly this morning, to communicate only what is true to your word, that we would learn together and love you more because the time that we've spent together today and we pray this on your name. Amen. Okay, we are going to look at two prophecies in the book of Daniel. They are essentially the same prophecy, but with different details emphasized. And we're starting here. We are going to get to Revelation. Becky, there's some handouts over here if you want to grab them before I sit down. We're going to be in Daniel. We're going to be in Ezekiel. We're going to be in some of the Minor Prophets. We're going to be in the Olivet Discourse. We're going to spend most of our time in Revelation once we get there. But we're kind of starting here because a lot of this sets the stage for revelation and a lot of these prophecies that we're going to be talking about today, much of them has been fulfilled, but some is yet to come. So you will need that timeline. That one you definitely want to bring with you every time. This is the Cecil Yoder special. This was his timeline. Maybe some of you even have one folded in your Bible somewhere still. I improved upon it just a little bit. If that's possible, don't tell him. I did add this peace treaty here. That wasn't on your original timeline. So if you have the original, that's a little bit extra that I added. And we will certainly get to that at some point. And I will have that up here and I know you're not going to see that especially on this smaller screen now But you've got it in front of you so John F. Wolvard in his book Daniel the key to prophetic revelation He says quote in many respects the book of Daniel is the most comprehensive prophetic revelation in the Old Testament and giving the only total view of world history from Babylon to the second advent of Christ. Daniel provides the key to the overall interpretation of prophecy. I mean, we could spend our 20 weeks in Daniel alone. Unfortunately, we don't have that kind of time, so we're only going to be here a couple weeks. But his prophecies go into such astonishing detail. Like, the book of Daniel has more detail in its prophecies than anywhere. So much so that the critics say that there is no way that Daniel wrote this. It was history. Like he wrote this as a history book, not as a prophecy book or somebody other than Daniel wrote it after the fact, because there's no way you can be that accurate when these events haven't even happened yet. No one could ever predict the future so accurately, which I would fully agree with if Daniel were the author. But as we all know, God is the author. Who is the Alpha the Omega the first and the last beginning in the end the past is history or the future is history to him So he of course can give Daniel all the details he wants So let's set the stage for this book of Daniel the Jews are God's chosen people and we're going to talk a lot about the Jews in the coming weeks They had agreed to obey and follow his law that he had given to the nation through Moses and God promised blessings for obedience he promised judgments for disobedience and the Jews while there were many many faithful Jews as a nation they failed as would any nation of people and They failed to obey God and so as a result God used some foreign nations to defeat them and to take them into exile. So if you have your other timeline, your colored one, that's just a really basic timeline that I just made. That's one that we'll probably reference through at different times, because the Jews, the nation of Israel, is so important to understanding prophecy. And sometimes it's good to understand where are we at with the nation of Israel. So in the book of Daniel, we're in the light green in the timeline. So the nation of Israel had divided into two kingdoms. It was united under David and Solomon, but then it was divided. There were 10 northern tribes, two southern tribes. The northern tribe, which was called Israel, God used Assyria to come defeat Israel and take them into captivity. Then, about roughly 100 years later, Babylon rises to power. And so when Babylon comes to power, they conquer Assyria. So now all those northern Jews, the 10 tribes of Israel, are under the Babylonian umbrella. So maybe you've heard this term, the 10 lost tribes of Israel. This is where people get this, like Assyria came and they got the 10 and they took them in the exile, but then we don't really hear about that anymore. We hear about Babylon. Well, God doesn't misplace his stuff. There are no 10 lost tribes of Israel. When Babylon conquers Assyria, those Northern Jews come under the Babylonian umbrella. Does that make sense? So then Babylon goes to defeat the southern kingdom, the southern kingdom called Judah, which consisted of the tribes Judah and Benjamin. So then all the Jews, all 12 tribes are under the Babylonian umbrella. And then keep that in mind, because when we get to Medo-Persia, they conquer Babylon. Guess what? The Jews are under Medo-Persia, and then they're under Greece, and then they're under Rome, which is what we're going to talk about today. Babylon is in power at the beginning of the book of Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar is their king. So Nebuchadnezzar leads Babylon into Israel three different times. He kills people. He takes people into exile. The last time, he really does a good job of it. He destroys Jerusalem and really defeats them well and truly, leaving only a few people there to kind of tend the land, and that's about all that's left in Israel. One of those times when he brings back exiles to Babylon, There are four teenage boys included in one of those groups. Their names are Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. The other three are better known as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These teenage boys are taken as captives into Babylon, and we read the story in Daniel about how they rise in the ranks of government until they become important advisors to King Nebuchadnezzar. And we read in chapter 2, we're going to be in chapter 2, we read that Nebuchadnezzar has a disturbing dream. And he wants to know what this dream means. So he calls in the magicians, the wise men, the counselors, the advisors that he has from all these different nations he's conquered and from his own people. And he wants them to give him not only the interpretation of the dream, but he wants them to tell him the dream itself. Now maybe he honestly doesn't remember the dream, like have you ever had a dream and you wake up and you know it was scary or you know it was intense or something really sticks with you but you can't, the details are fuzzy. So it could be that he honestly doesn't even remember the details of the dream but he just knows it's important for some reason. Or it could be that he's just like, you know what, I'm not gonna let you guys just make up some ridiculous interpretation. If I tell you what the dream is, you can just kind of fill in the blank and make up what you want. I want a legit interpretation. Therefore, you tell me the dream and what it means. Of course, the advisors point out that this is impossible, which infuriates Nebuchadnezzar, so much so that he gives orders to execute every wise man in Babylon, which seems kind of extreme, but Nebuchadnezzar was not a man known for doing things in moderation. So then Daniel hears about this. He wasn't in the initial group to go before Nebuchadnezzar. So he wasn't there when he first asked for the dream and its interpretation. But Daniel and his friends are still on the hit list because they fall into this group of advisors to the king. So Daniel goes to Nebuchadnezzar and he asks him for more time. It is granted to him. He goes back to his friends. They pray together. God reveals the dream. He reveals the interpretation. They praise God. Daniel goes back to Nebuchadnezzar. He gives credit where credit is due. And he says, this is not from me. This is from God Almighty, who knows all things. So this is where we're going to pick up the story. We're going to pick it up in Daniel chapter 2, starting at verse 31. You saw, O King, and behold, a great image. This image, mighty and of exceeding brightness, stood before you, and its appearance was frightening. The head of this image was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its middle and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. As you looked, a stone was cut out by no human hand and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay and broke them to pieces. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold all together were broken in pieces and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors. And the wind carried them away so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. So he just tells him the dream. And now he is going to move on to the interpretation. Verse 26, this is the dream. Now we will tell the king its interpretation. You, O king, The king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the might and the glory, and into whose hands he has given, wherever they dwell, the children of man, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens, making you rule over them, you are the head of gold." The head of gold is Babylon, the kingdom of Babylon. Now granted, Daniel says, and on your chart now, you can fill in the kingdom. The first kingdom is Babylon. And he says to Nebuchadnezzar, you are the head of gold. But Nebuchadnezzar and the kingdom of Babylon are pretty much inseparable. They're almost one in the same. He was the personification of Babylon. So we know that this head of gold was the kingdom of Babylon. And the kingdom of Babylon lasted from about 625 to 539 BC. So this is current events for Daniel. He's in the kingdom of Babylon. The head of gold is existing at this point for Daniel. Now for Daniel, everything more now in this dream is the future. Though for us, much of it is past. So in the next verse, next 39, he says, another kingdom inferior to you. shall arise after you." So this next kingdom that's coming is Medo-Persia. Now Daniel's not going to name the coming kingdoms. Like I said, it's future for him, and God didn't reveal the names. But we know, based on other prophecies, and we're going to see this in Daniel 7 that we'll compare it to, and we also know from history that this is what happened the next Kingdom the chest of silvers Medo-Persia from 539 to about 30 31 BC Also skip down to the lines just under your chart and Just take note that as you go down the statue the metals increase in strength So all these metals become stronger as you go down With the exception of the feet to symbolize the ability of each successive kingdom to conquer the previous one. So clearly, the one that conquers the previous one is stronger. So they are stronger. But Daniel says, another kingdom inferior to you shall rise after you. Well, if Medo-Persia was inferior, then how could they have conquered Babylon? Well, that's kind of explained in the value of the metal. The metals decrease in value. So obviously gold is worth more than silver. Silver is more than bronze. Bronze is worth more than iron. The metals decrease in value to symbolize the lessening glory. of each successive kingdom. Babylon was really unparalleled as far as their culture, their architecture, their wealth, all of these things. It was just an amazing society that Nebuchadnezzar built. And each conquering kingdom, even though they were greater in strength, were kind of lesser in just the glory and the splendor and the majesty that was part of their empire. So that would be why Daniel described Medo-Persia as inferior, because their glory was lessening. Okay, next kingdom, the second part of verse 39. Yet the third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. So we know from history and other places in the Bible that the size of bronze Greece Greece will come on to the scene They are going to conquer Medo-Persia and they will exist from about 30 31 to 146 BC He says That they would rule over all the earth and that was certainly true because Greece's territory far exceeded that of the Medo-Persian Empire and And then verse 40, he goes on to say, and there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, because iron breaks to pieces and shatters all things. And like iron that crushes, it shall break and crush all these. So there's an empire coming stronger than all the rest. It's going to crush them all. The iron legs is Rome. Rome came into the picture. At about 146 BC, conquered Greece. And it was certainly a fitting medal to describe Rome because the armies of Rome were known for their iron armor. They were called the Iron Legions of Rome. And I put a question mark at the end of the Roman Empire, because it's kind of impossible to date when the Roman Empire actually ended. Experts in history just really disagree on how to date that, because it was unique from all those previous kingdoms in that it was never overthrown. Nobody ever came in and took over Rome. It just kind of fiddled out. It kind of crumbled. It sort of just imploded from the inside. It just changed. Some people would argue, some historians argue that the Roman Empire never really ended, but that it just kind of adapted to changing circumstances. And they would even argue that it kind of even continues today, but just in a different form. But there's a lot of Roman influence, obviously, still in Europe. Their infrastructure, their culture, all those things about the Roman Empire just as it faded, but it's still kind of there. Which makes things interesting as we come to the feet. Verse 41. And as you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom. But some of the firmness of iron shall be in it just as you saw iron mixed with the soft clay. And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle. As you saw, the iron mixed with the soft clay, so they will mix with one another in marriage, but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay. Okay, the feet. Again, we'll know this from comparing other things, but the feet represent the revived Roman Empire. And for us, that is still future. You know, like I said, for Daniel, Medo-Persia and on was future. That's all happened, but for us, the revived Roman Empire is still to come. So these legs and feet, are they one kingdom or two? Is Rome and the revived Roman Empire one kingdom or two? I mean, the Bible certainly portrays it as one. You could make the argument for two because they're separated by a big gap in human history of time, but the continuation of the iron into the feet shows this undeniable connection to Rome. And you could certainly make an argument that it's just one kingdom because Rome never ended and nobody ever conquered it. And it's going to come to power again. Now, there are lots of speculations about the nature of this revived Roman Empire. We need to keep in mind that the information the Bible gives us is not really very extensive on this kingdom, so we need to be careful that we don't go beyond what the Word of God tells us. So it's okay to speculate and kind of think about how this is possible as long as we know that we're speculating. There's obviously a connection to the ancient Roman Empire in some way. Maybe it's ancestry, maybe it's culture, maybe it's the government structure. We don't really know, so we can't be too dogmatic. Rome was part of Europe, so it's very reasonable to conclude, and we know from other prophecies as well, that that geographic area of the world is going to play a major part in the end times. So that's for sure. The ancestry of the Antichrist, I would imagine, is probably European, connected with Rome in some way. And we also see that this prophecy passes right over the church age. If you see on your timeline, we're here even before Daniel's 70 weeks. He's talking here. Did I have that next? I've got to see. OK. So this revived Roman Empire is here. Do I have a laser pointer on here? Oh, I do. Does it work on the screen? Probably not. No, okay, that's okay. So this is where the revived Roman Empire is going to be. It's during the time of the Tribulation. Now, could some of it exist even now? Yes, it could. There could be things in place already on the stage of the world today that there are things about this empire that we're already seeing take shape. Again, we can't speculate too much, but I would not be surprised at all if the infancy of this kingdom is already here. But this is when it's going to come to power is during the tribulation. But we know this kingdom has not yet happened because nothing in history fulfills its description. J.F. Wohlberg, again, in his commentary on Daniel, he says, quote, according to Daniel's prophecy, the ten-toe stage is simultaneous, that is, ten kingdoms exist side by side and are destroyed by one sudden divine blow. Nothing like this has yet occurred in history. Quote so the legs there are the feet of clay and iron it hasn't come yet There's been nothing like it yet in history. It is future We could also call this revived Roman Empire the kingdom of the Antichrist The Antichrist is going to be a man who will be an evil world dictator Empowered by Satan to rule and wreak havoc upon the entire globe. We're going to talk about him a lot in the coming weeks and So I won't say too much about him today. But we also see from the dream. Well, let me say this too. And you can put this then on your chart across from the 10 toes, the 10 toes symbolize 10 world leaders. So you can write that in there. So this coming kingdom of the Antichrist, this revived Roman Empire, is going to be ushered in by a coalition of 10 world leaders, likely from nations in and around Europe, who are going to rule simultaneously. And we see the iron mixed with the clay. And we've read how those two elements, they do not adhere very well to each other. So even though iron is strong, you mix it with clay, it makes it very, very weak. So there are going to be leaders in this coalition. Some are strong and some are weak. They will be of unequal strength, these nations, these kingdoms, these men, these 10. OK. Let's pump the brake for a bit. Maybe you're thinking, now hold on. You just said that we need to be careful about not going beyond what's written in scripture. So where do you get the idea that the 10 toes in the dream are 10 world leaders? Because I don't see that. And how do you know this is the kingdom of the Antichrist? Because there's not even an Antichrist mentioned Well, I'm so glad you observed that. Those are excellent questions. And if we had only Daniel chapter two, we couldn't necessarily come to all of those conclusions. But as we talked about a couple of weeks ago, that we always let interpret, we always let scripture interpret scripture. We always put passages beside each other that talk about the same things because we can learn more details when we put them together and compare. So we're going to do that. We're going to get to Daniel chapter 7, which is going to give us more detail. But let's finish up quickly with Daniel chapter 2 before we turn there, starting at verse 44. And in the days of those kings, so there's a hint, what kings? If you're just reading this passage, you're like, wait, what kings are you talking about? He hasn't mentioned any kings. The 10 kings, the toes. In the days of those kings, the days of the revived Roman Empire, the days of the kingdom of the Antichrist, in those days, in the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever. Just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. A great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, its interpretation sure. The fifth kingdom in the dream that you can write next to the stone, you could put kingdom of God, you could put millennial kingdom, You could put Jesus' kingdom, any of those would fit in there. That fifth kingdom is the kingdom of God. The stone represents Jesus who is coming to set up his kingdom on this earth and that's the kingdom we call the millennial kingdom because it's going to last for a thousand years. And we'll talk a lot more about that kingdom in the coming weeks too. Now there are some Who say that this stone is Jesus, but it represents his first coming That at his first coming he established the church. He made disciples So the church is the stone and the church is what conquers all of these kingdoms This view argues that there is not going to be a physical earthly kingdom of Jesus on our planet But that the kingdom exists right now It's a spiritual kingdom that is in the hearts of of people who trust in Jesus. You know, I said to my husband as I was studying, I said, you know, some people think that the kingdom of God is on earth right now. And he looked at me and he said, I've got to admit, if we're living in the kingdom of God right now, I'm kind of disappointed. Ain't that the truth? Hopefully this is not the kingdom of God that we see around us on the world today. And I would take issue with this interpretation that the stone is the church and it was Jesus' first coming. No, it's not. The church doesn't destroy kingdoms of the earth. The church didn't come instantly and crush nations and take over governments. I mean, that's what they wanted Jesus to do, and he said no. The church grows slowly. I mean, it is a spiritual kingdom in the hearts of people, but it's not one that takes over governments and overthrows rulers. That is going to happen. It's going to be at Jesus' second coming when he sets up his millennial kingdom here on earth. And just as kind of a side note, I just thought this was really interesting. I'd never learned this before when I studied this. Nebuchadnezzar had one of his chief gods was a god called Bel-Maradoc. Another name for this god was Shadu Rabu, and that name means great mountain. Nebuchadnezzar had a god who was named Great Mountain. And I just think that was kind of fun because God is using a very particular imagery here. And it's like he's speaking to Nebuchadnezzar in terms that Nebuchadnezzar is going to understand. He's coming to Nebuchadnezzar where he's at and speaking his language. And in a way, I think maybe he was kind of saying, you know what, Nebuchadnezzar, there is only one Shadu Rabu. There is only one great mountain God. You don't know him yet, but you will. And we know from reading Daniel that Nebuchadnezzar does eventually figure out who the true God is. The stone is Jesus. It says it was a stone cut out of a mountain without hands. That's a reference to divine origin, that no human was involved in this. It was a virgin birth when Jesus came. He is God, not of man. But again, this was not his first coming, but his second coming, when he will set up his kingdom on the earth. So the second coming of Jesus, that's where the stone crushes the statue. At the end of the tribulation, at the end of the Antichrist reign is when he will come and crush the final kingdom of the earth. And again, when we let scripture interpret scripture, this is certainly not the only time when Jesus is symbolized as a stone. And I gave you just a handful of verses where Jesus is talked about being a stone. In Genesis, he's called the stone of Israel. In Psalm 118, the stone the builders rejected. Paul called him the spiritual stone in the wilderness. Peter called him a living stone. Both Peter and Paul called Jesus the cornerstone of the church. Isaiah 36 16 says therefore the Lord God said look I have laid a stone in Zion a tested stone a precious cornerstone a sure foundation The one who believes in it will be unshakable. That's Jesus Matthew 21 44. This is Jesus himself speaking talking about himself He says the one who falls on this stone meaning himself the one who falls on Jesus It says will be broken to pieces meaning it takes some surrender to fall on Jesus, right? We have to admit we're sinners. It can hurt it can break us a bit to fall on Jesus But that's better than the alternative on whoever it the stone falls It will scatter him like dust So if you don't trust Jesus as your Savior, the stone's going to fall on you and crush you and scatter you like dust, just like our imagery in this dream. So that is another sound interpretation, a sound principle of interpretation, that when other places in the Bible say those same types of things, when it matches up like that, we can be very confident that this stone is Jesus coming to defeat the kingdoms of the earth. Okay, now let's look at a parallel passage, which is Daniel chapter 7. It's basically the same thing, the same vision of the future, but it gives it from a different perspective and it adds in a few extra details. Now at this point, Medo-Persia has conquered Babylon. That has happened. Now Medo-Persia is in charge. And Daniel is thinking back to a vision that he had 14 years ago during the rule of Belshazzar during the time of Babylon. So this is Daniel getting around to recording that. He had this dream 14 years earlier, even though the Medes and the Persians are in power right now. So he is writing about a vision that he himself had. In the first year of Belshazzar, king of Babylon, So back in those days, even though, because the previous chapter is all about the lion's den, that all happened to the Medes and Persians. So Daniel's just thinking back to his dream 14 years earlier. Daniel saw a dream and visions of his head as he lay in his bed. Then he wrote down the dream and told the sum of the matter. Daniel declared I saw in my vision by night and behold the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea and four great beasts came up out of the sea Different from one another the first was like a lion and had eagles wings then as I looked its wings were plucked off and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man and The mind of a man was given to it. I Okay, so now we're doing a whole new set of symbols, but they're going to mean the same thing. So Daniel sees a winged lion. The winged lion was a prominent symbol in the city of Babylon. This is a city gate that was excavated from Babylon. It's now on display in Berlin. If you kind of zoom up and maybe you can tell, but that is a lion with wings on the side of it. The winged lion, In Daniel's dream is Babylon. Here we go. So now, in your beast, you can describe your beast, winged lion, in your beast column. And many see this as looking specifically, again, at Nebuchadnezzar, because it says that his wings are plucked, he's lifted from the ground, he stands like a man, a mind is given to him. And if you remember a little story about Nebuchadnezzar, where he lost his mind for a while and became a beast, but then God restored him. That could be a reference to that as well, but again, Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon go hand in hand, so this is the kingdom of Babylon. Verse 5, And behold, another beast, a second one like a bear. It was raised up on one side, it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth, and it was told, Arise, devour much flesh. In your column I would write lopsided bear. And the lopsided bear is Medo-Persia. Medo-Persia was as powerful as a bear. It came in very strongly, but obviously it was less majestic, less swift, less glorious as a lion. A bear is a bulky animal and Medo-Persia was known for its massive armies. Some Persian armies had up to two and a half million men, which was an enormous number. And it says that the bear was raised up on one side, likely that refers to the lopsided union of the Persians and the Medes, because the Persians were the greater group. The Persians were stronger than the Medes. And it said there were three ribs in its mouth, and Medo-Persia was known for three major conquests. They conquered Lydia, they conquered Babylon, and they conquered Egypt. So most Bible scholars feel that those ribs are a reference to those three conquests made by the Empire of Medo-Persia. Lydia, Babylon, Egypt. Verse 6. After this I looked and behold another like a leopard with four wings of a bird on its back. And the beast had four heads and dominion was given to it. So we have the four-headed leopard or the winged four-headed leopard, however you want to describe it. The winged four-headed leopard was Greece. Greece was known for its swiftness as we see with the wings I mean a leopard is already fast, but it also has wings on its back the symbol of swiftness Alexander the Great conquered more of the well He conquered all of the civilized world really and he did it with lightning speed That was unmatched in ancient times. He did it so fast he was undefeated in battle a leopard is kind of a small animal and Alexander the Great did all of this with only 35,000 men, which is amazing when I told you how big the armies were of Medo-Prugia. He did it fast, he did it quick, even though it was a small group, but he reigned only 13 years. He died at the young age of 32, and he died with having no clear heir. So when Alexander the Great died, his kingdom, his empire, was divided among his generals. Guess how many generals they were divided? It was divided among four. The four-headed leopard. The empire went in four different directions under the four generals. Hey, verse seven. After this I saw in the night visions and behold a fourth beast terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth. It devoured and broken pieces and stamped what was left with his feet. I'm going to stop right there for a minute. So this fourth terrifying beast is Rome. Again, notice the similarities in the description of the statue that we find with the iron. When it was describing the Roman Empire in the statue vision in Daniel chapter 2, verse 40, it says, iron breaks to pieces, shatters all things, iron crushes, it breaks, it crushes. Daniel chapter 7, it says, great iron teeth, it devours, it breaks in pieces, it stamps what's left with its feet. Very similar descriptions. So this is Rome. And now again, we get a little funky when we get to the next, it's not really a new beast again, so it's the same beast which kind of shows this continuity. So starting at kind of the end of verse seven, okay, it was different from all the beasts that were before it and it had 10 horns. I considered the horns, and behold, there came up from among them another horn, a little one, before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots." Skip down. Oh, hold on, I'm not done there. Plucked it by the roots. And behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth speaking great things. Now skip down to verse 11. I looked then because of the sound of the great words that the horn was speaking. And as I looked, the beast was killed and its body was destroyed and it was given over to be burned in the fire. As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time. Okay, so this terrifying beast with horns is how I would write it your little blank there the terrifying beast with horns is is, again, the revived Roman Empire, the kingdom of the Antichrist. We see the repetition of the number 10, the 10 toes, the 10 horns. They represent the same thing. They represent 10 world leaders who will rule at the same time in history. I also put there Revelation chapter 13 and 17. We're going to get there eventually. But those chapters talk also about these 10 leaders who rule during the kingdom of the Antichrist. Then we see this little horn that comes up among the ten. This is the very first time in the entire Bible where the Antichrist is mentioned, and granted it's just a small reference and you wouldn't know this is who this is until you know other parts of the Bible, but the little horn, and you can put that next to the little horn under the kingdoms, you can just right here put that that is the Antichrist. The little horn is the Antichrist. Daniel sees the destruction of this beast in verse 11, but it's not just the Antichrist that is destroyed there. It says the entire beast is destroyed and burned. So we're going to see more detail about what that looks like in Revelation when Jesus conquers this last kingdom. And in verse 12, notice it said, the rest of the beast, their dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time. So I think a lot of what a lot of scholars think that's saying is that the Babylonian Empire, the Medo-Persian Empire, the Greek Empire, even that Roman Empire, they lived on at least through their descendants. Even though they were destroyed, there's still always a remnant of people from each Empire that lives into the next one. So they're given a season. They're given a time They still kind of live on in a way But notice it says that this King when this final beast is destroyed. There's no hope. I mean, he's completely annihilated There's nothing left of this beast. He will not get a season. He will not get extended time. He's done This beast is gone because Jesus is going to fully defeat this final kingdom. It will live on in no way, shape or form. Just as the stone destroyed the statue and the dust blew away, so this beast will be destroyed and burned. Skip down to verse 15. As for me, Daniel, my spirit within me was anxious and the visions of my head alarmed me. I approached one of those who stood there, he's approaching an angel, and asked him the truth concerning all this. He told me and made known to me the interpretation of the things. These four great beasts are four kings who will arise out of the earth. But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, forever, and ever. I really love that angel's concise explanation because he's like, oh okay Daniel, well those are four kingdoms, but you know what? God wins in the end, so don't worry about it. Like that's kind of what he says. Like the kingdom is going to go to the most high and the saints are the most high, so don't worry about those. They're nothing. Those kingdoms are nothing. Well, Daniel kind of wants a little more information. If it's not too much trouble for the angel, you know, can you just tell me a little more? I'd really like to know a little more. So he says, it goes on in verse 19 and says, I desired to know the truth about the fourth beast, which was different from all the rest, exceedingly terrifying, teeth of iron, claws of bronze, devoured and broken pieces, and its stamp was up with its feet. And about the ten horns that were on its head and the horn that came up, and before which three of them fell, the horn that had eyes and a mouth that spoke great things and seemed greater than its companions. As I looked, this horn, the Antichrist, the little horn, made war with the saints and prevailed over them. Until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given for the saints of the Most High, and the time came when the saints possessed the kingdom. Thus he said, the angel said, As for the fourth beast, there shall be a fourth kingdom on the earth, it shall be different from all the kingdoms, and it shall devour the whole earth, and it will trample it down and break it to pieces. As for the ten horns out of this kingdom, ten kings shall arise, and another shall arise after them, the Antichrist. And he shall be different from the former ones, and he shall put down three kings. He shall speak words against the Most High. He shall wear out the saints of the Most High. He shall think to change the times and the law, and they shall be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time. There's a lot in there about the Antichrist, and we're gonna get to that later, so we're not gonna say a lot about it now. So this little horn, it's described as a little horn in verse eight, but then in verse 20, it says it's greater than the other horns. So which is it? Is it the little horn, or is it greater than the other horns? Well, we get this picture that it uproots these three. You know, there's 10 world leaders, and this little horn comes, and three are uprooted. And I think that's an indication of that's how the Antichrist is going to come to power. He is going to take over three of these. He's going to overpower these men somehow, their nations. And in that way, he will start as a little horn, but he will grow to power. And that's how he's going to do it. He's going to establish his authority. I mean, he doesn't necessarily create this 10-nation coalition, but he certainly will take it over. the Antichrist is going to establish his authority by overthrowing three leaders in this ten nation coalition and Remember there was clay with the iron. So these three are likely some of the weak some of those who are represented by the clay They will be weak leaders. Maybe they have some kind of a fall from grace. Maybe the the Antichrist has them assassinated I mean who knows but he's going to take over and the end result is will be that the Antichrist will grow so powerful that he will wage war against the people of God and he will even overpower them for a time. This man will hate Jews. He will hate Christians. He is going to make Hitler, Stalin, Hamas look like amateurs. when it comes to his persecution of Jews and of believers. And we will see that more in our future lessons. We know that he is going to, especially the last three and a half years right before Jesus returns, is when this man is going to be at the full height of his madness, really, and of his power. But that will come to an end when the Ancient of Days passes judgment in favor of the saints. He comes and sets up the fifth and final kingdom that will not be destroyed. So a quick comparison between these two visions on the back of your sheet. I just want to kind of make note of why these are two different visions and why God might have decided to give it to us two different ways. In Daniel chapter 2, the revelation was given to Nebuchadnezzar and he was a wicked and heathen king. At least at the time. I do think Nebuchadnezzar's in heaven and he's going to be a fun dude to talk to. The revelation was interpreted by Daniel. And in Nebuchadnezzar's dream, world history is depicted as a beautiful, imposing image in the form of a man. So look how great mankind is. Look how great and beautiful and awesome our kingdoms are. That goes into that fourth point. It says world history is described from mankind's or you could write a Gentile's point of view. Because as we're going to see in coming weeks, the Gentiles overpower the Jews for a long, long time. So this is a Gentile view of history that they are overtaking. They're in control. And it's filled with glory and splendor. So that's mankind's point of view. Look how great we are. We're glorious. We're full of splendor. We're great. Look at us. But in Daniel chapter 7, these very same kingdoms, the revelation was given to Daniel, a godly and righteous prophet. We see that his revelation was interpreted by an angel. We see that world history is depicted as horrifying evil beasts. And that's because world history is described from God's point of view. And you could possibly put in there a Jewish point of view, because the Jews are going to be trampled under these kingdoms. God's or Jewish point of view, their kingdoms filled with depravity, immorality, and brutality. So when mankind sees ourselves as great and glorious and majestic and unbeatable and Unable to be defeated, God sees wickedness and evil and depravity and brutality, and that He is going to take care of it in the end. We'll finish real quickly to read these verses, Daniel chapter 7 verse 26. But the court shall sit in judgment and his dominion, so talking about the Antichrist, his dominion will be taken away and will be consumed and destroyed in the end. And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High. You know, that verse just really got me this week. Because I look at the world and there's war in the Middle East, Russia's I mean, there might be war against Russia and NATO, which could consume Europe. North Korea is shooting missiles. China's looking at Taiwan. I told my husband the other day, if I was an evil world dictator right now, I'm making my move in 2024 while we're still under the Biden administration. Because we're an administration that's not going to act. I mean, I'm not saying every previous president has acted the way they should, but he's not going to do much, I don't think. The world just seems like it's falling apart. There is so much suffering and hurt and chaos. And I read this verse that said, the kingdoms and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Most High. He's going to give them to us. And he's not going to give it to us and say, look at this hot mess you guys just inherited. Good luck. No, Jesus is going to be the king. We're going to rule and reign under him, and he's going to make everything right. I can't wait. Their kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey them. Here is the end of the matter. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts greatly alarmed me. My color changed, but I kept the matter in my heart. And we are going to skip back real quickly to some verses that we've passed over. These verses, they drip of Revelation chapters 4 and 5. And if you're going to be here for any lesson in our Sunday school, be here for Revelation 4 and 5. I am so excited to teach those chapters. They're some of my very favorite in the whole Bible. It's going to be so good. So be here. So here's your preview of coming attractions. It's going to be a while till we get there. But Daniel chapter 7 verse 9 and 10 verse 9 is talking about the father. As I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was white as snow, the hair of his head like pure wool. His throne was fiery flames, its wheels were burning fire. Issue of fire came out from before him a thousand thousand served him in ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him The court stood in judgment and the books were opened skip to verses 14 13 and 14 This is about the Sun and behold with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man And He came to the Ancient of Days and was presented. He came to God the Father and was presented before Him. And to Him, to Jesus, was given dominion and glory and a kingdom that all peoples, that all nations, that all languages shall serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away and His kingdom one that shall not be destroyed. Be here for Revelation 4 and 5. Ladies, we just got a minute or two here, but let me just say, there are hard things in our world right now. And according to Bible prophecy, there are harder things to come. And we can look around at our world and we can be tempted to worry. We can be tempted to get angry. We can be tempted to despair. We can be tempted to be depressed. And at those times, you need to stop looking around. And instead, you need to look up. Because don't be fooled by Daniel chapter 2 and Daniel chapter 7, the fact that the majority of that information focused on the kingdoms of men. Don't be fooled by that because they ain't the star of this show. Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, even now is in heaven. There is a throne in heaven and it is occupied. And someday He's coming back. to set up a literal, tangible, physical kingdom on this planet. And he will rule over a perfect kingdom that will never fade away. It will never disappear into the pages of history. It will never be destroyed. It will endure for all of eternity. And here you thought end times prophecy was all about doom and gloom. It's about some pretty glorious stuff. Pre-recoming attractions. So hopefully that happens before next week. And Pastor Mike informed me yesterday that we have a missionary speaker during the Sunday school hour next week, which that's good. Missionaries are good, but that means... I'm probably going to have about 20 minutes less or something. And you know how that goes for me. That does not work for me. So when we're done with the missionary, get in here because we've got stuff to talk about. We're going to talk about the rapture. I have in your notes some verses that you can read to go along with that. If you still need your book, I need payment first, but I can give you that book. And if you want, you can read some chapters because the rapture is about the church. It's really the only part of prophecy that is about the church. And there are some chapters in here about the church, the first four chapters. We're not really going to go through those chapters per se during our Sunday school lesson. We're not really going to go through them at all because we're not going to talk about Revelations verses chapters one through three. But it's a great read. So read it. It'll go along with it. God we thank you for this time. Thank you for these ladies Thank you for your word and that in all of these coming kingdoms that yours will never fade away That yours will never end that yours will put an end to all others and it will be great and glorious and perfect And thank you so much that we get to rule and reign with you not by our own merit But because you have saved us through the blood of Jesus Christ, we pray all this in your name. Amen