All right, let's get after it. Grab your Bibles open to the book of Daniel. We are turning the corner in the back half now, so we'll be in Daniel, chapter seven. It's always great when you have your Bibles open and in front of you, hopefully with the pen, as we try to learn. And if not, we'll put them up on the screen as well. All right. Does it ever feel sometimes like we're losing as Christians, where it's just like we're called to spread the gospel, take it to the ends of the earth. We want to see kingdom values lived out in our society. But when you look out, it just kind of feels like the world's getting darker, evil's spreading. It's just chaos and craziness. Sometimes we just live in a world where it's like, are you kidding me? Like, there's just. Is it just me or can it feel like you share that emotion of sometimes it just feels like we're losing. Oh, yeah. It can be easy then, if that's the situation, to just become a negative, cynical person. Whether it's the echo chambers of the news cycles you watch or just your own observations that you just see the brokenness, you're well aware of it. And you can just kind of slip into just being negative, cynical, just kind of this, you know, pessimistic type of person. But that's not the call of the Christian. In fact, the call of the Christian is the opposite, that we're to be full of joy, we're to be full of hope, we're to be full of peace. Like, even in the face of this brokenness. Like, that's what we're called to. Let me say this. That's what we're commanded to. Like, we're commanded to have this type of disposition. If you're a follower of Christ, we should be full of joy and we should be full of hope, and we should be full of peace, and we should be content despite our circumstances. Like, that's what we're called to. And I would guess that that's what you want as well. Like, I don't think you want to be this negative, cynical, pessimistic person. I think each of us, if we're honest, like, no, I would love more joy, I would love more peace. I would love more contentment in my life. Is that true? Okay, let me give you a perspective that maybe you didn't expect to hear. And I think that's. Understanding biblical apocalyptic literature is key to our faithfulness in the face of Evil in the face of brokenness. Like a specific kind of faithfulness. I'm not talking about like faithfulness when everything's going well, but to understand a faithfulness when everything's not going well, when it's difficult, when it's broken. Understanding apocalyptic literature in the Bible is key for that kind of faithfulness. Now, a lot of you that do your Bible reading plan, you hear me say that and you're like, oh, no. Cause that's the parts I skip, right? Those are the confusing parts of like seven headed dragons. And I don't know what this means. And it's like, this is key to kind of understanding our faithfulness. Yeah, we need to understand what's being told here. When you get to biblical prophecy, it can be pretty tricky. And good and godly people disagree on some points, on what things mean, but the main point is pretty easy. And the main point is the main ingredient in our call to persevere and, and endure and to be faithful despite the broken circumstances all around us. And we pretty much have apocalyptic literature from here on out in the Book of Daniel. So that's gonna be fun, right? Okay, let me give you some kind of perspective as we jump into this. And some of you are like, you're leaning in, like you're excited, others you're glazed over. But do your best, slap yourself, slap your neighbor. This is important. We need to learn. When it comes to apocalyptic literature, which is a unique kind of prophecy, we need to remember the main point is not to give absolute clarity on what's gonna happen in the future, even though that's what we want. Like, when we read, it's like, just tell me what do you mean by that? Like, what are these heads and beasts and numbers? Like, just tell me what you mean. Like, we want just absolute clarity. And some prophecy is just straightforward. Moses getting message from God, I'm gonna free my people. That's gonna happen. Samuel telling David, you're gonna be king. Jeremiah telling the exiles, hey, 70 years and you'll be able to return. Christ saying, hey, I'm going away to prepare a place, I'm coming back. Like, there are some really clear prophecy. Like, I don't have to guess what you mean by that. But apocalyptic literature is a type of revealing of the future, done with powerful imagery, meant to provoke powerful emotions and powerful feelings. Like, it's told with symbolism and flair. You got beast and dragons and all this stuff meant to like, motivate us. It's to stir up confidence and excitement and faithfulness and endurance and perseverance it's storytelling, future telling. And if you kind of get lost in the details, you get frustrated. But we can't. Like, don't miss the forest for the trees. You know what I'm saying? Like, we'll get into some of the details, but don't. Don't miss the big picture. Because in here, there is some. There's a message for us that fuels the Christian life. Like, it's absolutely essential for our endurance and our passion in the face of evil in this world. So we just got to wade into a little bit deeper waters to find it. So Daniel, chapter seven. You guys ready? All right. Daniel, chapter seven. The outline of the chapter is Daniel kind of has an earthly vision. Then he has a heavenly vision. And then he asks for an interpretation. And I wish he would have asked for an interpretation of the interpretation. Like, pretend I'm a fifth grader. Say that again. Cause it can be confusing. But let's see what's being said here. Like I said, good and godly people disagree. I'm gonna tell you what I think. Cause I have the microphone. So here we go. Verse one in the first year of Belshazzar. King, King of Babylon. Time out. Isn't he dead? We're going backwards. This is important to know. The book of Daniel is not in chronological order. The events chronologically would be chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12. It's in literary order. Like, there's an important structure to the book. And maybe we'll get into that in beyond the message. But it's not in chronological order. But there's a reason why the events are told in the order that they are. And you get to this chapter, chapter seven, you got to go back to Belshazzar. Here's what happened. So in the first year of Belshazzar, king of Babylon, 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. Now you got four winds stirring up the great sea. This is a picture of just chaos, the instability of our world, the ungodliness of our world. Daniel's like I saw the storm that we're in. Like I saw the chaos that we live in. I see the brokenness. But where's the wind coming from? Heaven. Right? It's the winds of heaven who's in control of the chaos. God. Right. And that's Important to know, because what we'll see today, but what we're seeing all throughout Daniel is like, hey, it may feel like you're losing, but I'm still in the driver's seat, right? You may feel like you've been taken off into captivity, because you have. But why are you there? Because I sent you there. Like, it's not. You try to interpret the brokenness of, like, oh, no, God's out of control. But Daniel's saying, no, no, no, no, no. He is completely in control. These are part of his plans. His plan is unfolding, and God is in control of the chaos. And that's important to know. So let's keep going. In fact, I want to read the whole chapter, and then we'll step back and we'll try to get into it. I know I'm not the best reader, but I'm all you got right now. So let's. Let's get into it and just kind of see everything, hear everything, kind of flow together, and we'll take a step back and try to make sense of it. And four beasts, or excuse me, four great beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another. The first was like a lion and had eagle's 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. Does that language kind of strike anything of what happened to Nebuchadnezzar? Some symbolism there. 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. 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. After this, I saw in the night that visions. And behold a fourth beast, terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth. It devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet. 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 among them another horn, a little horn, before which three of the first horns were placed, plucked up by its roots. And behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things. Okay, that's kind of some earth vision. Now we're going to a heavenly vision. As I looked, thrones were placed, and the ancient of days took his seat. His clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool. His throne was fiery flames, its wheels were burning fire. A stream of fire issued and came out from before him. A thousand thousand served him, and 10,000 times 10,000 stood before him. The court sat in judgment and the books were opened. 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 destroyed and given over to be burned with fire. As for the rest of the beast, their dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time. I saw in the night visions. And behold, with the clouds of heaven there came like a son of Man. And he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory, and a kingdom to all peoples, nations and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away. And his kingdom, one that shall not be destroyed. As for me, Daniel, my spirit within me was anxious and the visions of my head alarmed me. No kidding. It's like a nightmare. I approached one of those who stood there and asked him the truth concerning all this. Like, hey, can you. Can you help make sense of this? So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of the things. These four great beasts are four kings who shall arise out of the earth. But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever. Forever and ever. Then I desired to know the truth about the fourth beast. Okay, what about this fourth beast? Tell me more about this which was different from all the rest. Exceedingly terrifying, with its teeth of iron and claws of bronze, and which devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with his feet. And about the 10 horns that were on his head, and the other horn that came up, and before which three of them fell the horn that had eyes and a mouth that spoke great things and. And that seemed greater than its companions. As I looked, this 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, as for the fourth beast, there shall be a fourth kingdom on earth which shall be different from all the kingdoms, and it shall devour the whole earth and trample it down and break it into pieces. As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings shall arise, and another shall arise after them. He shall be different from the former ones. He shall put down three Kings, he shall speak words against the Most High. He shall wear out the saints of the Most High and shall think to change the times in the law. And they shall be given into his hands for a time, times and half a time. But the court shall sit in judgment, and his dominion shall be taken away to be consumed and destroyed to 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. His kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominion shall serve and obey him. You get it, right? It's like, I don't even know why we need to talk about it, but we will. So you got all this stuff kind of going on here, and there's some parallel parallelism, which is common in scripture, but there's some parallels happening between Daniel chapter two and Daniel chapter seven. The vision that Nebuchadnezzar had, you remember that one with the statue made of different materials that represented different kingdoms. And now Daniel's having a vision of these different animals that are representing different kingdoms. And it's really the same revelation given at different times to different recipients with different purposes. See, the material of the statue represented different kingdoms, and the different animals represented different kingdoms or kings or world powers. Like, the head of gold in the statue was Babylon, and the chest of silver was seen as the Medo Persian Empire. And the thighs of bronze are seen as Greece, and the legs of iron were seen as Rome. But then you get to this vision and it's using a different imagery. You got lions, leopards, and bears and monsters. We'll just call him a monster. He's a 10 horned monster. But it's different imagery for this because to Nebuchadnezzar, like, he's a king. He's a pagan king. He's ruling an empire. And he's thinking of empires as these are beautiful things. Look, what's gonna happen, These are gonna be established. But what happens to that statue? Another kingdom rise and it destroys the whole statue. Like, it's not the everlasting kingdom. But the revelation is told different. To Daniel, it's not a beautiful statue. These are wild beasts that will bite you because these kingdoms aren't friendly to the people of God. And it's a warning. Hey, beware. This is what's coming. And here you get to the vision in Daniel chapter seven, and you see the lion with the eagle wings. There's some kind of connections to what happened to Nebuchadnezzar, where he kind of went crazy for a while, but then he was able to stand up like a man and he was given the mind of a man. So the lion is seen as Babylon. You have the bear, which is looked at as the Medo Persian Empire. It talks about rising up on one side. It could be that there was lopsided power between the Medes and the Persian, or it could just be one side was his hind legs. He stood up on his. Like he's just showing his power. He's got three ribs in his mouth, right? The Medo Persian Empire was known to conquer three major kingdoms. It could be that or it could just be saying, hey, this is a savage nation. Right? And then you get to the leper, which is seen as Greece and Greece came on fast, like they took over. Alexander the Great was ruling much of the known empire by the time he was 30. I don't know what you're doing by the time you're 30, but he was active, right? And it came on the scene fast and he took control. And it talks about these four heads. Alexander the Great divided his empire up between his four generals. Maybe it means that, maybe not. Maybe it's just talking about the expanse of this empire. There's so much imagery and you can get lost in imagery and kind of miss the point. Just like reading a parable. You could look at all just like trying to connect and have a meaning for everything. And it's just, it's telling a story. Now. There is connections and there is symbolism, but he's telling a story. So this kingdom came on fast. But then you get to the fourth beast and he's different. He's this 10 horned monster. He's terrifying. And you would think, well, this is Rome. I mean, that seems to be what would connect. You read verse 23. He says, as for the fourth beast, there shall be a fourth kingdom on earth which shall be different from all the other kingdoms and it shall devour the whole earth and trample it down and break it into pieces. As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom, ten kings shall arise and another shall arise after them, and he shall be different from the former ones and shall put down the three kings. Now you read that description and some people are like, well, that couldn't be Rome. Cause I mean, Rome didn't rule the whole earth and it didn't have 10 kings coming after it. I mean, it had like 60 emperors, so it doesn't like quite fit really nicely. So there's a struggle of interpretation here because it seemed like all the other Ones fit kind of nicely. And then you get to this fourth beast and it's different and trying to make sense of, okay, where does this fit and who is this fourth beast? So the assumption is made, well, it has to be some future kingdom. If he's not talking about Roman, then it's got to be some kind of future kingdom. I don't think that's the case. Not that there won't be a future kingdom that the Antichrist rules. And we'll get into that in a little bit. But it's not what the fourth beast is. Now some of you are like leaning in, some of you are glazing over. Stay with me. Because this, like, getting this is important kind of fuel for our Christian living. It seems more likely that it is a parallel to Daniel Chapter two, that the kingdoms are lining up. Even the material that he uses, he's got iron teeth, goes back to the iron legs that represent Rome. It seems like, yeah, everything else lined up. It seems like these should line up and it would kind of not make sense. If you're like, you're talking about successive kingdoms and you do these three kingdoms, but you skip Rome and you just kind of jump into the future. So I think he is talking about Rome. And Rome was like, or wasn't like any known kingdom before this. Rome was like, it ruled the known world. Like it was powerful. Do you remember a while back when there was like this thing going all around about wives asking their husbands how often they think of the Roman Empire? Does anybody remember that? And they were surprised. It's like, yeah, quite often I think about that quite often. It was an epic empire. Like it was a big deal. But then what do you do with the 10 horns? How do you make sense of these 10 horns? Now if you're thinking it's some future kingdom, then you're looking for some 10 nation confederation. It's the European Union, it's the United nations, or some kind of like 10 nations are going to come together and kind of fulfill this prophecy. But remember apocalyptic literature, the numbers and symbols and imagery, they're not often literal. Like, most often they're not literal. Like Babylon's not a literal lion, the Medio, Persians, it's not a literal bear, or there's not a literal monster. It's imagery, it's symbolism. Even when you get to the numbers, this can be hard for us because we can take things very literal. But apocalyptic literature is about symbols and even numbers. It's not math class, it's a story. So you look at even in the book of Revelation, where he talks about the mark of the beast, it's not getting a literal 666 on your forehead, on your hand, it's the number of man. And he's saying there's gonna be people who are marked by the worldview of man. It's gonna mark your thinking, it's gonna mark your actions and how you live. Or the number seven that comes up so many times in Revelation. You have seven churches and seven trumpets and seven bowls and all these sevens, because seven is a perfect heavenly number, and God is overseeing these judgments, and it's his plan, and he's in control. You get the 144,000. It's not a literal 144,000. It's a perfect representation of the 12 tribes. So numbers aren't always the exact number. They symbolize something. So you get to this, and it's like 10 horns. As for the 10 horns, well, 10 is a number of completeness. It's a full amount. So if you go back to verse 24, you could read it like this. As for the 10 horns, out of this kingdom, a whole bunch of other kingdoms will rise. Or there's gonna be a complete number of kingdoms that come out of this other kingdom. What do you mean by complete? The number that I've ordained. There's gonna be a bunch of other kingdoms, the exact number of kingdoms that I have planned. But these type of kingdoms are going to continue. So here's what I think this is saying, and you gotta remember the original audience, which was Daniel. Daniel's getting this dream, and it's Daniel. To the people in exile, what does this mean to them? Not only what does it mean. Why is he telling them this? Well, I think it's like, hey, you're in Babylon, and it may seem like you're losing, but you're not. Do you know why you're in Babylon? Cause I put you there. This is part of my plan. And in 70 years, some of you are gonna get to go back. But when you go back, Daniel, it ain't over. Because after this kingdom is gonna come another kingdom, and they're not nice either. And after that kingdom is gonna come another kingdom, and they're not nice either. And after that kingdom is gonna come another kingdom. And this kingdom's different. This kingdom's special. Like, there's something unique about this kingdom. But even after that kingdom, there's gonna be a bunch of other kingdoms coming that's kinda like that kingdom. So here's what he's saying. There is gonna be a lot more other Rome like kingdoms until a final Rome like kingdom is ruled by this little horn which could be referred to as the Antichrist. And he is the last ruler of the last kingdom who seems greater than all the others. You've never seen a ruler like this. He's impressive, he's got a big mouth, he's speaking great things. That's what the text says. Like he's gonna make Earth great, great again. It's gonna be mega. I'm just kidding. Just like, relax. But we know some things that he says. He speaks against the most high, he persecutes the saints, he tries to change the times and the law. What does that mean? Who controls the times and the law? God. Like he's trying to put himself in the place of God. Like I'm gonna say how things are. But he's the last one because God comes in judgment and establishes his everlasting kingdom. But let's go back to this fourth beast, because Daniel's like, tell me more about this fourth beast. Like this, this is different than all the others. Something's unique and special about this fourth beast and it seems to be Rome. Cause you're talking about successive kingdoms, but this one's different and it doesn't quite line up. Like, what is it that you're talking about here? Well, Rome was the first kingdom to be specifically Antichrist because they killed Christ. They were the ones in power when Christ was crucified on the cross. And there's gonna be a lot of other kingdoms that come up kinda like Rome. There's gonna be other Antichrist kingdoms. There's gonna be a lot of kingdoms in this world that are against the Gospel of Jesus Christ. So be ready for that. But also, Rome was the last kingdom before the establishment of Christ's kingdom. Look at verse 13 and 14. I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven, there came one like a son of man. Now the title son of man is the phrase Jesus used most often to refer to himself. I mean, using that phrase really irritated the Pharisees because they understood what it meant. You're saying you're the Christ, you're the Messiah. So behold, with the clouds of heaven, there came one like a son of man. And he came to the ancient of days, to God, and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom that all peoples, nations and language should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away. And his kingdom, one that shall not be Destroyed. Now, I don't think this is the second coming of Christ, which can seem like your first read, like, yeah, that makes sense. Coming on the clouds, kingdom established, all peoples worship like this. Seems like the second coming of Christ. I don't think that's what this is talking about, because Christ is going on the clouds. But where is he going? To the Ancient of Days. He's not coming down on a cloud. He's coming up on a cloud. And he's being presented before the Ancient of Days. So when did that happen? Let's go back to. Or we'll go ahead to Acts, chapter one. So when they had come together, this is the disciples, they asked him, jesus, the resurrected Jesus, Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom of Israel like it's gonna happen now? And he said to them, it's not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. And you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem and. And in Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up and a cloud took him out of their sight. Where did he go? And while they were gazing into heaven, as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes and said, men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? Dumb question. Come on. I mean, you'd be looking too, right? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven. So, yes, Christ will return on the clouds to kind of bring his kingdom. But there is an ascending on the clouds to the Ancient of Days. And what happens when Christ ascended to the Father? He sat at the right hand of the Father to rule his kingdom. Let's look at some verses. Some of you are looking at me like, I don't believe you. Jake. This is Ephesians, chapter one. Having the eyes of your hearts enlightened that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you? What are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints? And what is the immeasurable greatness of his power towards us who believe, according to the working of his great might, that he worked in Christ when He raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion. So he's ruling above all those other things and above every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the Age to come. So in this age, right now, Christ is ruling in heaven and he's gonna rule in the age of come, or his rule will be actualized or realized. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church. So on Christ's ascension, he's seated at the right hand of the Father, ruling his kingdom. He was given all dominion and power and authority. You tracking with me? Few doubters. Let's go another verse. 1 Corinthians 15:25. This is the chapter talking about the resurrection of Jesus Christ. For he, Jesus must what, reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. So he's reigning, but he's also working at bringing dominion and putting his enemies under his feet. He's active in his reign. So let's go one more. Matthew 28:18. You guys know this Great Commission? And Jesus came and said to them, what's that next word? All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. It's been given to him. So then you go to verse 14. And it's like to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom that all peoples, nations and languages should serve him. And what happens in Acts chapter two? They go out and speak in a bunch of different languages and people put their faith in Christ that it's not just a Jewish thing, that it's going to the ends of the earth and it's spreading across ethnicities and cultures and it's going to every people, nation, tribe and language like that's happening. And the church of Jesus Christ is an unstoppable force on this earth. The gates of hell will not prevail against it. And that's true. Despite oppressive governments and persecutions throughout history and death, what continues to thrive? The church of Jesus Christ, you can't stop it like it's going to the ends of the earth. But notice this. Look at verse 21. As I looked this horn made war with the saints and prevailed over them. You see the tension. On one hand you have this unstoppable force of the Church of Jesus Christ as he reigns from heaven. His representatives on earth are planting churches, spreading the gospel. You're seeing people come to faith and you can't stop it. And yet you're also experiencing a world that seems to be getting more evil, more depraved, more broken. And. And it's going to come to a head. And who's going to win? Not a trick question. Jesus. Yeah, right. So you're saying that you have this struggle that he's clearly talking about, you got these bad kingdoms leading up to Christ. Because Daniel is really about leading up to Jesus Christ. Like, you're in Babylon, it's going to come Medo, Persia, Greece, Rome, Jesus. Like, he's getting us to Jesus. So you got these bad kingdoms leading up to Christ. And Christ comes during the fourth kingdom and establishes his kingdom. Like he sets up his kingdom. But these bad kingdoms continue, these 10 horns, like these Antichrist kingdoms, kind of against the Gospel. It's gonna continue to exist until there's an eventual horner or ruler that prevails over the saints. So it's bad then. Christ establishes kingdom, but it stays bad until it gets really bad until judgment day and then it's forever good. You tracking with me on that one? This is kind of what he's saying now. What do you think this vision is telling Daniel and us? Like, why? What's the point behind it? Well, he's saying, this is the ride that you're on. Like, buckle up. This is the story. You find yourself in opposition, expect it difficulty, expect it trials, expect it victory, expect it like, both are true. It's gonna be hard, Daniel. Babylon's not the only one. There's coming more kingdoms and more kingdoms and more kingdoms. But I'm gonna tell you how it ends. It ends in the Saints inheriting the kingdom. Judgment comes. So he's being really up front, like, it's hard, it's difficult, but keep staying faithful, keep pressing on, keep being obedient. And here's why. Look at verse 21. Let's go back and read the very next verse after that. As I look this horn made war with the saints and prevailed over them. And what's the next word? 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. You tracking with me there? That was lame. Let me give you another verse. Verse 17. These four beasts, these four great beasts are four kings who shall rise out of the earth. That sounds scary. What's the next word? But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever and forever and ever. Okay, you're getting it right. I'll give you one more because that's like half the room. Go down to verse 25. And he shall speak words against the Most High. This is this Antichrist. And he shall wear out the Saints of the Most High. He's going to wear us out. And shall think to change the times and the law. And they shall be Given into his hands for a time, times and half a time. What's the next word? But the court shall sit in judgment and his dominion shall be taken away to be consumed and destroyed to 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. His kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominion shall serve and obey him. Booyah. It's not in there. But it's in there, right? So there's like, okay, so there's clear victory. And Daniel, he wants believers to stay faithful despite circumstances, even really difficult circumstances, knowing that God's in control. And one of the ways you know God is in control is he tells the future. Like before they were captured by Babylon, you know what he told them? You're gonna be captured by Babylon. Then that happened, right now they're in Babylon and he's telling them, hey, you know what's coming next? The Medes and the Persians. Then that happened, and then the Greeks. Then that happened. In fact, they get named in the next chapter and he's saying, this is what's going to unfold. So Daniel is wanting believers to stay faithful despite circumstances, knowing that God's in control, he will judge evil and he will establish his kingdom forever. He wins. That's meant to motivate. Like, you got to see the epic story. Like the reason that apocalyptic literature is shooting at is like, it's telling us this epic tale. There's beast with horns and multiple heads and monsters and you know who wins? God, not the beast. Like you're in this story and it should motivate you. But it's also sobering because he's saying, plan on opposition. I mean, they're going to prevail over us, going to wear us out. Let me give it into his hands. It's hard, but he's giving him a heads up. Expect it. It's difficult. It reminds me of. And I'm sorry, I just got to go there. But in the Lord of the Rings, if you haven't seen the movie, just see the movie. Everything else is going to make sense. But there's this scene in the second movie where you have these hobbits that are like little gardeners that sit, smoke a lot, same story. And they're like commissioned to save the world. And it's like, it's so like these. So one of the characters is carrying this ring of power and they're just trapped in so much brokenness and war and frodo the main character, he's like, just ready to give up. He's gonna put the ring on. Just, there's dragons there. Just eat me. Just like, let's just get done with this. And Sam, his companion, stops him and he ends up giving this speech. Cause Frodo's like, what are we even doing here? And he comes out and says, I can't do this anymore. Have you ever felt like that? I can't do this anymore. And Sam goes into this speech and he's like, it reminds me of the great stories. Like, I finally know about these. The great stories. You know, the ones that stick with you. What makes those stand out so much? Like, why do we love those stories? And Sam goes, here's why. Because the characters in those stories, they faced such hardship and they had so many reasons to turn back and give up. And they didn't. And they didn't. Because they were holding on to something. This is what this is. God has given his people something to hold onto. We are in the most epic story story ever. And it has the most epic ending ever. And it's full of hardships, but we have something to hold onto. There's victory in the end. Guys, listen. The kingdom of God is different. The kingdom of God is different. And the citizens of the kingdom need to think differently. When Jesus comes, what does he teach about the most? The kingdom of God. But he does it in these ways. It's like the kingdom of God is like a sower who sows a bunch of seeds, lands on soil, different types of soil, and it sprouts up differently. It's like the kingdom advances through the preaching of the gospel. And different people are gonna respond to the gospel differently. But he also said the kingdom of God is like a field full of wheats and weed. Not weed, weeds. It's a different kind of field. But he's saying they coexist together and they're just gonna be that way until judgment when they separate. Or the kingdom of God is like a mustard seed. It's just so small. Like, it's like 11 guys on a hill watching their leader float away in a cloud. But someday it's gonna spread to the whole earth. Or the kingdom of God is like a landowner who went away and he gave talents, money to his workers. And he said, I'll be back. Like, what you do with this while I'm gone matters. That's what the kingdom of God is like. Or it's like 10 virgins or 10 young ladies who are part of this bridal Party and they're waiting for the bridegroom. And they brought out their lamps, but some didn't bring enough oil. So when the bridegroom came, they weren't ready. Like, it's coming, but you gotta be ready. The kingdom of God is different and the citizens need to think differently. Hear me now. We don't win through acquiring power. How much authority was given to Jesus? All authority. He's not in a shortage of power at all. We've already won. What did Christ say on the cross? It's almost done. No, it's finished. It's complete. I've won. And we display that victory through our faithfulness in the face of evil. Guys, the kingdom of God is separate from any earthly kingdom or political structure. It's not dependent on any earthly kingdom or political structure. It doesn't need to collaborate with any earthly kingdom or political structure. It doesn't come through any earthly kingdom or, or political structure. It was inaugurated in power at the resurrection of Jesus Christ. That was a mic drop moment in history. It is on display in power through the Church of Jesus Christ, which is an unstoppable force that continues to thrive no matter what situation it is in. And it will be displayed in power at judgment when God comes to reveal himself. Herman Bovnik, he's an old dead theologian, he said this. The kingdom of the world does not become the kingdom of God by political triumph, but by Christ's ascension, the Spirit's outpouring, and the Church's faithful witness amid suffering. Guys, hear me. The church, or excuse me, the Christian life is not the narrow road that gets wider and wider and easier and easier. The Christian life is the narrow road. And it's hard. And you walk it because you know where it leads. He's given us something to hold onto. Leads to life. Leads to life. So here's what I want you to remember. Faithfulness today comes from a passion for someday, not just a belief. Like, oh, yeah, I believe Jesus is coming back. No, no. Faithfulness today comes from a passion for that day. Like, I'm so excited for that day. I'm living for that day. I'm just. I can't wait for that day. That kind of attitude shapes faithfulness now. Like, it's our destination that drives our devotion. I know where this road leads. There's a saying that I absolutely hate. Maybe you've heard it before. Don't say it. Don't say it to me. But there's a saying that people say sometimes about, oh, he's too heavenly minded to be of any earthly good. That's stupid. This earth doesn't need more earthly minded people. This earth needs more heavenly minded people, needs more people that are not living for this earth, not distracted by this earth, not pursuing, pursuing the things of this earth. We need different type of people that are so captivated by the kingdom of God, that are living for the kingdom of God, that are excited for the kingdom of God and it's shaping them. Guys have a future focus which shapes your present devotion and faithfulness and obedience. So listen, don't get lost in the notes and miss the music. You know what I mean by that? Don't try to figure out three bones in his mouth and what does that mean? And what are these horns and what are the three horns that he planted for like. And then you just forget to dance to the victory song of Jesus Christ. This isn't meant to confuse God's people, it's meant to motivate them. You don't understand apocalyptic literature. It's told with symbolism and flair. Powerful imagery because it's meant to stir up powerful emotions. There's lions with eagle wings and leopards with four heads and bears with bloody bones in his mouth. These are terrible things and they all lose. The ancient of days comes and judges the world. And his Son, the Son of man establishes his kingdom forever. And who gets that kingdom? The saints. So press on, like, hold on to that and stay faithful in it. Because if you're not excited about the future as a Christian, you won't be faithful in the present as a Christian. And we can be excited about the coming kingdom because it's ours in Jesus Christ. So when you remember the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, when you look at some juice and a cracker that represents what he did on our behalf, would you be reminded of the future, your future that you now have because of him. And with that future, motivate your faithfulness in the present. Amen. Let's pray. Father, I pray that you would stir us up so. It's so exciting. And if we just see lions, tigers and bears, we could just get scared. But when we can understand that you are victorious over it all and we're with you, you give us courage, give us faithfulness, perseverance, endurance. Stir up in us a passion for you that comes from an excitement with an eternity with you. Pray this in your name. Amen.