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Series Code: DAA
Program Code: DAA000008A
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00:02 Music...
00:25 Hello, and welcome once again to Daniel All Access... 00:28 our walk through the book of Daniel 00:31 as we seek to answer the question "what" 00:34 but also the question "why" 00:36 as we seek to dig a little deeper in the book of Daniel 00:40 and to see what truths it has for the modern-day Church. 00:44 Daniel is indeed a book of prophecy 00:46 but there is much that it has to say to God's people 00:50 in their walk to the kingdom of God 00:53 so we welcome you, those here in our house 00:55 and those of you watching and listening 00:57 from around the world, 00:59 we welcome you to Daniel All Access 01:01 as today we take a look at Daniel chapter 8 01:05 and so, I'd ask you to open your Bibles to Daniel chapter 8 01:08 as we speak on the subject: A Personal Problem... 01:13 A Personal Problem. 01:16 Daniel chapter 8... 01:18 we will not take time to read the entire book 01:22 or rather the entire chapter... 01:24 that would take too much of our time 01:26 so we ask you to... 01:28 when you're home and in your sanguine moments 01:31 to go over the book of Daniel... and particularly Daniel 8 01:35 for it has much to say to us today. 01:38 Going to ask you now to bow your heads with me 01:41 in a word of prayer 01:42 just before we launch out in this most fascinating 01:45 portion of the book of Daniel. 01:48 "Father God, again we thank you and praise you 01:52 because you are such a good God. 01:54 We thank you and praise you that you have given us your Word 01:58 and that you honor and exalt that Word. 02:03 We ask you now Father to give us your Holy Spirit 02:06 that we may know and understand 02:09 because spiritual things are spiritually discerned 02:13 so give us the discernment 02:15 that comes from the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, 02:18 help us to see... to know... 02:21 to understand your will for our lives 02:23 and then by that same Spirit, 02:26 give us the strength to do that which we know is right, 02:31 aid us in our study we do pray, 02:34 in Jesus' name, amen. " 02:36 Daniel chapter 8... 02:38 two years after the vision of Daniel chapter 7, 02:43 Daniel now is in a city somewhat north... northeast 02:48 of the capital of Babylon. 02:50 It is the provincial capital of Shushan. 02:55 Pause. 02:57 Here God gives Daniel another vision. 03:01 Again, it fills in additional information 03:06 in the prophetic landscape. 03:11 You might rightly say... this is the same material 03:16 covered in Daniels chapter 2 and 7 03:19 and you would be right, 03:20 but remember the secret of understanding Daniel 03:24 is that every time he re-traces his footsteps 03:28 and goes over the same prophetic material, 03:31 you will find that Daniel repeats and enlarges, 03:37 he repeats and enlarges 03:39 and if you learn nothing else about the book of Daniel, 03:42 you'll hear this just about every night... 03:45 repeat and enlarge... repeat and enlarge 03:48 so, whenever you see the same material covered, 03:51 know that you're going to get more information 03:54 than you got... 03:55 when last time you went over that same material, 03:57 he repeats and he enlarges... 03:59 that's the secret... repeat and enlarge. 04:02 When he recaps his information, he always recaps the explanation 04:10 not necessarily... the prophecy 04:12 so, this "repeat and enlarge" motif means 04:15 you're going to get a deeper explanation... 04:18 you're going to get more valuable information 04:21 that you can use to unravel the original prophecy. 04:25 Now, when we get to chapter 8, 04:27 two things jump out at you right away. 04:30 They are immediately apparent, 04:32 two things at least and actually there are a couple more 04:34 but there are a couple of things we want to highlight, 04:37 number one, in Daniel chapter 7, 04:41 the succession of Empires is symbolized... 04:45 and we talked about this when we met previously 04:47 by what I call, "The Alpha Predators. " 04:50 In other words, the lion, the bear, the leopard 04:54 and the incomparable iron-teeth beast... 04:57 these are all carnivores, 05:00 these are all meat eaters, so, 05:02 the Empires in Daniel chapter 7 are symbolized by meat eaters 05:08 alpha predators... 05:10 in fact, I was teasing my wife, 05:12 we were talking on the phone last night 05:13 and I was saying that... that bear actually likes ribs, 05:17 he's got three of them still in his mouth 05:19 so he really is an alpha predator. 05:22 But when we get to Daniel chapter 8, 05:25 we see some different things, 05:26 number one... there's no Babylon... 05:28 the vision in Daniel chapter 8 begins with Medo-Persia 05:32 and there is a reason for that, I believe. 05:36 You'll recall that the vision was given in the second year, 05:42 the Bible says, of Belshazzar. 05:44 You've got to remember, 05:45 Belshazzar didn't reign very, very long. 05:49 We suspect about ten to twelve years maximum 05:54 but here's what's interesting and really quite fascinating. 05:56 Pause. 05:58 Any history book you look at... you can google it... 06:03 You will find that no history books say that Belshazzar 06:07 was the final king of Babylon. 06:09 You will not find it... turn on your computer... 06:12 google it... do what you want... 06:14 go to your history books... 06:15 they all say that the last king of Babylon was Nabonidus 06:20 or Naboneedus 06:21 potato... potaata... however you want to pronounce it, 06:23 the only place you find Belshazzar 06:28 as the last king of Babylon, is in the Bible 06:31 and one or two other minor references 06:33 but all of the major references say 06:36 that the last king of Babylon was Nabonidus 06:40 so, history says, "Nabonidus" 06:43 the Bible says, "Belshazzar" 06:47 who is right? 06:48 Pause. 06:49 They both are... 06:51 they both are. 06:53 They were co-rulers... 06:56 and the Bible gives some inkling of that 07:00 during the last night of the kingdom 07:03 when Belshazzar promises to make Daniel third in the Kingdom 07:07 but here's what is very, very interesting, 07:09 the actual king of Babylon was indeed Nabonidus. 07:14 Belshazzar was the co-ruler 07:17 but there's something very interesting 07:20 about "Naboneedus" or Nabonidus... 07:23 though he was the king, he never lived in Babylon. 07:28 This is quite interesting, once he became king, 07:34 he left the city of Babylon and he never returned... 07:40 never went back. 07:41 Now, you may think, 07:43 maybe he doesn't like the big city, 07:45 maybe he likes country life 07:46 but it's a little deeper than that 07:48 because Nabonidus found himself on the Anatolian Peninsula 07:53 when we talk about the Anatolian Peninsula 07:54 or the Anatolian Plateau, 07:56 we're talking about modern-day Turkey. 07:58 He took up residence in a small town called Tema 08:03 and he lived there... the rest of his life, 08:06 he never went back to Babylon. 08:09 Why? 08:12 Now, here's what's very, very interesting. 08:14 Evidently, history tells us that Nabonidus had found himself 08:24 a new god. 08:26 Now, the god of Babylon... the principal god... 08:32 the head of the pantheon of gods 08:34 was a god they called Marduk. 08:36 Marduk was the chief god of Babylon for hundreds of years. 08:41 Nabonidus evidently found a new god 08:45 that made him uncomfortable in the city of Babylon 08:49 and here's why. 08:51 Every year... once a year... 08:53 the god, Marduk, had to be worshipped by the people, 08:59 the festival took one or two weeks. 09:01 Several specific things had to happen 09:04 that I feel made it uncomfortable 09:06 for Nabonidus to be there. 09:08 Here's one. 09:09 On the fifth day of the festival this is interesting 09:14 the high priest of Marduk went before the king... 09:20 before all of the people... 09:23 he stripped the king of his crown 09:27 and his outer garment 09:30 and then he, in the name of Marduk, 09:34 slapped the king as hard as he could... 09:36 I mean, he knocked him to the ground. 09:39 It's part of the festival 09:40 and it was a sign of humility before the god, Marduk. 09:47 On day eight of that festival, 09:50 the king was responsible to lead the nation in prayers 09:56 that every other god had to be subject to Marduk. 10:01 Pause. 10:02 So, if indeed, Nabonidus had found a new god, 10:08 there was no way he could participate 10:10 in those kinds of ceremonies. 10:12 Pause. 10:13 Here is my conjecture and it is just my conjecture. 10:16 Could it be that this new god that Nabonidus found 10:24 was the same god 10:27 that his father, Nebuchadnezzar, found? 10:30 The Bible does not say it, Ellen White is silent on it 10:34 but history does say that once he became king, 10:37 he left the city of Babylon 10:39 and he never went back... 10:42 never went back... 10:43 he residented himself on the Anatolian Peninsula 10:49 west if Babylon in a little town called Tema 10:53 and he stayed there till he died. 10:56 If indeed, he had found Jehovah God, 10:59 he could not participate in good conscience 11:02 in those services for the God, Marduk. 11:05 He certainly could not bow down to him... 11:08 he certainly could not have other gods pray to him 11:12 and lead the people... we don't know... 11:14 but it is an interesting little wrinkle... 11:17 there are books called, 11:18 "The Disappearing Years of Nabonidus" 11:21 for ten years plus he never went back to Babylon 11:27 and we never hear anything about him... 11:30 he went off by himself to worship His new god. 11:35 Now, some people say 11:37 the name of the new god was Sîn... 11:39 and there are pictures of him worshipping this god 11:44 who is depicted as the moon 11:46 but not all pictures. 11:48 Some of the pictures 11:50 show him worshipping a God that he cannot see. 11:55 Wouldn't it be interesting 11:58 if, when we are walking down the streets of gold 12:01 and we see Nebuchadnezzar... 12:04 then we see a good-looking young man walking next to him 12:07 that was Nabonidus. 12:09 Maybe that God that he found that kept him out of the city 12:12 and out of that wickedness 12:14 was the same God that Nebuchadnezzar found. 12:16 It's a fascinating thought. 12:18 Now, here's the last thing 12:20 that sort of brings this all together. 12:23 When the city of Babylon was taken, 12:26 Belshazzar... as we discussed the other night, 12:30 was killed when the Medo-Persians came in 12:33 but history tells us that Nabonidus was left alone. 12:40 He died peacefully of old age in his bed. 12:44 He was left free. 12:46 Now, isn't that interesting? 12:49 Why is Belshazzar killed 12:51 the night the Babylonians are defeated by the Medo-Persians 12:55 and the real king, Nabonidus, 12:57 is left alone to live out his days in relative peace? 13:01 Could it be that God was looking out for him 13:04 like He looked out for his dad? 13:07 It's a tantalizing thought, it is all speculation 13:10 but it is true that he left the city 13:13 and he never went back and history tells us 13:16 he had found a new God. 13:18 Maybe the new God was the God 13:20 and when I get to heaven 13:23 that's one of the questions I want to ask. 13:24 What happened during those ten years 13:26 when he was away by himself on the Anatolian Peninsula. 13:31 Kind of exciting stuff and it fills in 13:35 a little part of this prophetic scenario. 13:39 Pause. 13:40 So, the Medo-Persians took over the Empire... 13:43 Belshazzar is slain... the real king is left alive 13:48 and so the Bible deals with 13:51 the person who was actually in the chair 13:54 making the day-to-day decisions. 13:56 Nabonidus is off in the desert, 13:57 so the Bible doesn't deal with him, 13:59 he wasn't making the decisions, 14:00 the decision that brought the kingdom to its knees 14:04 was the decisions made by Belshazzar 14:07 and that's why the Bible deals with Belshazzar as king 14:10 and not Nabonidus. 14:12 Doesn't matter who has the title, 14:13 the Bible wants to deal with the person 14:14 who is actually making the decisions, you follow me... 14:16 and that's why the Bible says, Belshazzar. 14:18 So, they're both right, 14:19 history is correct and the Bible certainly is correct too 14:22 because it points the finger at Belshazzar. 14:24 Now, Babylon was history 14:29 and that's why you don't see Babylon in this new vision. 14:34 Babylon was only a few years away from destruction 14:37 so, rather than deal with Babylon, 14:39 this new vision starts with Medo-Persia. 14:43 We read about that and we talked about that 14:46 they were found wanting 14:48 and so, Babylon was history Medo-Persia is now the future. 14:52 Now, there's one more thing that is rather interesting, 14:55 which sort of leaps out at you. 14:59 In our discussion of chapter 7, 15:02 we saw the alpha predators 15:06 lions, leopards, bears and iron-teeth beast... 15:13 in chapter 8, the beast now or the kingdoms now 15:18 are represented by beasts that are herbivores, 15:23 they're grass-eating vegetarians 15:27 carnivores in seven... herbivores in eight... 15:32 the beasts that we see in chapter 8 15:34 are the kinds of animals that the beasts in chapter 7 15:38 snack on... 15:39 so why this change? 15:43 Why carnivores in seven... herbivores in eight... 15:49 why that change? 15:52 Now, let me put another little wrinkle here that may help us. 15:56 You remember I told you the first day 15:58 we talked about chiasms and sandwiches. 16:01 Well, we move into the last part of the sandwich 16:04 because in Daniel chapter 8, 16:07 the language switches 16:10 from Aramaic back to Hebrew. 16:14 Remember we told you the first part was in Hebrew 16:16 then it switches to Aramaic then back to Hebrew. 16:20 Well, in Daniel chapter 8, he goes back to Hebrew. 16:24 So, obviously, what he is talking about now, 16:27 he wants the Jewish community to know and understand. 16:31 He wants them to have 16:33 some understanding of what's going on. 16:36 So, the first two visions are in Aramaic 16:38 when he comes to this third vision, 16:40 he goes back to Hebrew 16:41 so that his people have the same comfort 16:44 of knowing that God is with them and they are not alone. 16:48 Now, it also might indicate 16:52 that since he's talking in Hebrew 16:55 and he knows Hebrews are going to read this, 16:58 he goes from non-kosher animals 17:02 to kosher animals. 17:03 Maybe the ram and the goat 17:07 are little more acceptable to a Hebrew audience 17:10 because they... they're kosher... 17:11 and the lion... the bear... 17:12 and the leopard certainly are not 17:14 that again is speculation but he did... 17:17 he does change from Aramaic to Hebrew 17:20 and he finishes the book of Daniel in his native tongue 17:24 and that is Hebrew. 17:25 So, from here to the end we're in the Hebrew language. 17:28 Daniel sees some interesting things. 17:31 I'll pick up the scenario... 17:35 he sees a ram with two horns 17:38 now, we know by now when you see something with two 17:42 just like we saw the image in Daniel chapter 2, 17:46 the chest with two arms... 17:48 we know we're dealing with Medo-Persia. 17:52 So, we got a ram with two horns 17:54 and he is there by the side of the sea. 17:58 The horns are of unequal size. 18:01 You remember we said 18:03 that the Median half of the Empire was older 18:06 but the Persian half of the Empire was stronger 18:10 and the Persian half came up later 18:13 but it was stronger than the Median half. 18:16 So, now you got a ram... he's got two horns... 18:19 one horn is bigger than the other, 18:21 indicating Persia being bigger and stronger 18:23 than the Median half of the Empire. 18:26 So, we've got a ram. 18:28 We've got the Medo-Persian Empire 18:31 and in chapter 8 verse 4, 18:33 the text concludes 18:36 that the higher horn 18:39 is the later horn and comes up last 18:42 so, that buttresses our statement that Persia 18:47 though younger than the Median half 18:50 was stronger and ultimately exerted more influence 18:55 and more power. 18:57 Verse 4 is a rather lengthy verse 19:01 that indicates that no animal or kingdom could withstand them. 19:08 No animal... no kingdom 19:11 could withstand this particular beast. 19:15 Now, 19:17 let me give you a little side bar 19:18 because I think this is interesting. 19:19 When we think of Persia and the Persian Empire, 19:24 historians will tell you 19:27 that the Persian Empire grew 19:30 by overwhelming people. 19:32 In other words, when the Persian army went out to fight, 19:35 they went out to fight 19:37 in the tens and tens and tens of thousands of warriors. 19:41 No army, except maybe the Roman Army 19:45 and they did their work more through efficiency than numbers 19:49 overwhelmed people like the Persian Army. 19:52 When the Persian kings went out to fight, 19:55 they went out to fight with a 100,000... 19:57 200,000... 300,000... 20:00 400,000... so they... they... 20:02 they conquered by sheer numbers. 20:04 Now, look at this, this is a Persian Warrior. 20:08 he doesn't look much like a warrior does he? 20:11 Kind of looks like he's going to a cotillion 20:14 he's got a long skirt on... 20:16 and no armour... 20:18 a shield that is thatched and a javelin. 20:23 This is how the Persian Army went to war. 20:27 That's it. 20:31 Shield... javelin... you notice, no sword... 20:34 that's how they fought. 20:36 They came from a hot country, 20:38 they didn't use a lot of body armour, 20:40 they tended to fight in loose clothing, 20:42 and sometimes, they wore a nice knitted cap. 20:45 This is an "Immortal" 20:46 the Immortals were the Praetorian Guards, 20:49 they guarded the king. 20:51 Now, you know he does have a sword 20:52 but he's got the same sort of army dress... 20:56 he's got on trousers and he's got a thatched shield... 21:00 that's just... like a basket material... 21:02 he's got thatched shield... 21:03 that vest he's wearing is strips of linen glued together, 21:09 he's got a cloth cap... 21:11 he's got what we call a compound bow 21:15 which is that... the bow faces in and out 21:19 to give more speed to the arrows, 21:20 and he's got a javelin. 21:22 You will always see Persian warriors with a javelin 21:25 but he doesn't really look like somebody 21:27 who's going to war does he? 21:28 Nice pair of pants... nice vest... 21:31 if you take off that shield and whatnot 21:33 he really could go to a party 21:36 and nothing to protect his head. 21:39 That's a knitted cap... sometimes wool... sometimes silk 21:42 and that's how the Immortals fought 21:44 now the Immortals were there more for window dressing. 21:47 They didn't really do the heavy-duty fighting, 21:49 the heavy-duty fighting was fought by these guys. 21:51 The immortals just surrounded the king 21:54 and made sure he didn't get hurt. 21:56 Now, there's a third type. 21:58 Again, knitted cap... nothing to protect him... 22:01 loose tunic... javelin which is standard... 22:05 he doesn't have a sword... 22:06 and he's got this rounded shield. 22:09 Now, I put that there... I put those pictures there 22:12 for a couple of reasons. 22:13 The Persians were gentlemen fighters. 22:18 The Persians fought with spears, arrows, javelins 22:24 chariots and they put those rotating knives 22:28 on the sides of the chariots 22:29 that they got from the Assyrians, 22:31 so that, when the chariot was going through the enemy ranks, 22:34 the knife would spin and would sort of cut you down like a... 22:37 like a lawnmower cutting grass 22:39 they got that from the Assyrians 22:42 and they borrowed the compound bow from some other people. 22:45 They were gentlemen fighters who fought at a distance. 22:48 You see that? That javelin... 22:50 that spear is about twice the length of a man. 22:54 The Persians didn't like to get in close contact 22:57 with the people that they fought. 22:59 I want you to keep that in your mind 23:01 because we're going somewhere with this. 23:03 Even the Immortals... the elite fighters 23:06 from the 6th century used wicker leather and some bronze 23:11 and a soft-knit cap for their fighting. 23:15 We'll go back to this guy... that's... that's an Immortal. 23:18 That's the elite troops... those are the select guys... 23:22 Those are your marines... your... your Navy Seals. 23:25 Those are... those are the immortals. 23:27 They dressed almost like they were going to a cotillion. 23:34 Most of the armies that they fought 23:38 dressed pretty much like that. 23:40 The Bible says in Daniel that the ram pushed north, 23:48 south and west 23:51 and they did all right until they went to Greece in 490 B.C. 23:58 and they ran into the Athenians. 24:03 The Athenians were little more heavily armoured. 24:07 This is an Athenian war helmet. 24:10 Now, you got a guy with a knitted cap 24:14 fighting a guy with this... 24:17 who do you think is going to win? 24:19 The Greeks... and this is Greek... 24:22 you can tell it is Greek 24:23 because of the facial cut-out. 24:25 This is very distinctly a Greek helmet. 24:28 This nose piece... the eyes cut out... 24:31 this metal that comes all the way around the chin 24:33 this is an Athenian or Spartan or Trojan or Corinthian helmet 24:39 typical of the Greeks. 24:42 So, when the Persian Army went west in 490 B.C., 24:48 they met the Greeks... the Athenians at Marathon 24:53 and the massive Trojan Army 24:57 or rather... the massive army of the Medo-Persians 25:01 was turned back by men who they had never seen before 25:05 who were covered from head to toe in metal. 25:09 They'd never seen that before 25:11 and so, they went home defeated. 25:14 Ten years later... 25:16 ten years later... a king by the name of Xerxes 25:21 you know that name... 25:22 Xerxes in history is Ahasuerus in the Bible 25:27 the husband of Esther 25:28 from the book of Esther. 25:30 Ten years later in 480 B.C. 25:32 Xerxes returns with an army of 400,000 men 25:42 pause 25:44 in knitted caps and wicker shields 25:48 and javelins. 25:50 They run into a small Greek forest 25:53 at a place called Thermopylae. 25:56 How many have heard of 300 Spartans? 25:59 Heard of 300 Spartans? 26:01 Yeah... 400,000 soldiers met 300 Greeks 26:09 at Thermophylae. 26:10 Now, it wasn't just 300... 26:12 there were another 1,100 Bythnians with them 26:14 but together only about 1,400 people 26:18 fighting an army of 400,000. 26:21 Now, I'd like to say that they won... they didn't... 26:25 there's no way that 1,400 can beat 400,000... they lost... 26:31 but the Medo-Persian army still failed to conquer Greece. 26:37 Now, I want you to hold on to that 26:39 because I'm going somewhere with it. 26:41 Pause. 26:42 Xerxes went back home in disgrace. 26:46 He did not win. 26:49 Now, the Bible says that when this goat comes along 26:56 he moves so fast 27:00 that he moves without touching the ground. 27:05 Pause. 27:09 Alexander's troops were so well coordinated 27:14 and so well armoured 27:17 that when they went east through Persia, 27:20 they simply could not be stopped. 27:23 You've got men who were covered in bronze 27:26 from head to toe, 27:27 head protected... chest protected by metal... 27:31 legs protected by metal greaves 27:33 against guys who were wearing knitted caps 27:36 and linen clothes. 27:39 So, Alexander moved so far and so fast 27:42 the Bible says... 27:44 he literally moved without touching the ground. 27:49 Now the... the historians tell you 27:52 that Alexander had a new way of fighting. 27:55 Well, he did have some strategies and some tactics 27:58 that the Persians did not have, 27:59 but mostly... his men were better equipped 28:03 and better armed than the Persians 28:05 plus the Greeks used swords. 28:10 Persians were not accustomed to using swords. 28:13 The Persians rarely saw the face 28:16 of the person that they were fighting... 28:17 where the Greeks wanted to get in close 28:19 and so they just slashed and hacked and cut 28:21 and the Persians weren't accustomed to that. 28:24 They weren't accustomed to that kind of fighting 28:26 so, when Alexander and his men came in 28:28 covered from head to toe with metal 28:30 and expert at sword play 28:33 and the Persians never even used swords, 28:35 they went through the Persian Empire, 28:38 just like a knife through butter 28:39 and at the age of 30, 28:41 everything that was once Persian belonged to Alexander. 28:45 Notice in Daniel 8:5, the Bible says, 28:52 the goat came from the west 28:54 and moved across without touching the ground 28:58 and then in 8:6 it gives us a little more information. 29:04 Let's look at that. 29:06 "... he ran at him with furious power... 29:10 Pause. 29:13 In 331 A.D. at the Battle of Arbela, 29:19 this is the beginning of the Grecian Empire. 29:23 Babylon 605 to 539... 29:26 Medo-Persia 539 to 331... 29:28 so, in 331 A.D. at the Battle of Arbela 29:33 Alexander with an army of 40,000 men, 29:39 dressed like this, met the Persian Empire 29:45 Darius the 3rd, with an army of one million men 29:54 40,000 against 1,000,000 30:00 and Alexander's troops 40,000 in number... 30:05 decimated that Persian Army. 30:08 Tactics... and armour... 30:13 tactics... and armour 30:17 and you know, Ladies and Gentlemen, 30:19 the secret of successful Christian warfare today 30:24 guess what? 30:25 Tactics... and armour... 30:29 yeah... 30:31 tactics and armour. 30:34 You can defeat all of the host of the enemy 30:38 if you got the right armour. 30:40 Amen. 30:41 Tactics and armour. 30:43 You surrender to God... 30:46 God fights for you... with you... and through you... 30:49 You put on the shield of faith, 30:51 amen... 30:53 breastplate of righteousness... tactics... and armour... 31:00 and so, with the right tactics 31:03 and the right armour... 31:04 40,000 men defeated an army of 1,000,000 men 31:10 and so, in that year, 31:13 the Medo-Persian Empire came to its end 31:18 and the Grecian Empire under Alexander had its beginning 31:25 but if you read the interplay between this ram and this goat, 31:33 it seems as though there's something personal going on. 31:38 If you read what it has to say... 31:40 let's look at Daniel chapter 8 verse 7, 31:44 New King James... 31:45 the Bible says, "And I saw him confronting the ram; 31:50 he was moved with rage against him, 31:55 he attacked the ram, and broke his two horns. 32:00 There was no power in the ram to withstand him, 32:04 but he cast him down to the ground and trampled him; 32:09 and there was no one that could deliver the ram 32:12 from his hand. " 32:14 Don't you get the feel that this is kind of a 32:15 personal kind of a thing, there's a little anger there... 32:18 a little rage going on there... 32:19 this... this goat is... 32:22 is trying to totally destroy this Ram 32:26 and I think the reason there was such animosity 32:29 between Alexander and the Medo-Persian Empire 32:33 was what we just talked about in 590 B.C. and 580 B.C. 32:38 when... when the Medo-Persian Empire came west 32:42 and tried to attack Greece. 32:45 Now, in the 400s... Herodotus 32:47 who was a Greek Historian living in Turkey 32:50 published what he called his Magnum Opus 32:52 which was a history of the wars of the Medo-Persians 32:58 against the Greeks. 32:59 So, when Alexander got strong enough, 33:01 he knew... he knew the history of how Medo-Persia 33:07 had tried to come in and take Greece 33:09 and how Greece rebuffed them two times. 33:12 So, now that he is strong enough, 33:15 when he goes into the east to attack the Medo-Persian Empire, 33:20 Alexander goes with full fury and full intent... 33:24 he grinds Medo-Persia into the ground 33:28 because he remembers what's happening 33:30 and that's what you're seeing here, 33:32 there's this... there's this personal thing going on 33:35 between Alexander and the Medo-Persian Empire 33:39 and I think it is retribution for Medo-Persia 33:42 trying to come into Greece so many years before 33:45 so at age 30 now 33:47 everything that was Persia... now belongs to him 33:51 and when we look at verse 7 there, 33:54 we get this kind of feeling that it's a personal problem 33:58 between Greece and Medo-Persia... 34:01 between the ram and the goat 34:05 but soon afterward, the Bible says, 34:08 the horn is broken. 34:11 Alexander dies of Malaria and drunkenness 34:14 and as we've said before, 34:16 the single horn is replaced by four notable horns 34:20 and I want you to stay with this because 34:22 when next we meet 34:24 we're going to talk about those four horns 34:26 when we get to Daniel chapter 11 34:29 and they're going to play a very important part 34:33 because Daniel chapter 11 is that chapter 34:35 that has occasioned some 34:37 dare I say, effervescence amongst scholars 34:41 some believe A... some believe B... 34:43 some believe A and B... some believe C... 34:45 we're going to try to walk you through that 34:47 the title of the message is: "Keep the Train on the Tracks" 34:51 pause 34:53 so Alexander's four Generals... he took the strongest four... 34:56 they took the reins... and as we said before 35:00 Seleucus gets Syria and the east. 35:03 All of the Seleucid kings took the name "Antiochus" 35:08 there were eight of them... 35:09 Antiochus the 1st, Antiochus the 2nd, 35:11 Antiochus the 3rd 35:12 Antiochus the 4th called Epipmanes... 35:15 I'm sorry... Epiphanes... 35:17 Epimanes means mad man... that's what they called him... 35:20 he called himself "Epiphanes" god-like... 35:23 Ptolemy takes the south and Egypt 35:25 as we mentioned, Cleopatra is a Ptolemy 35:28 and she actually comes back to us in Daniel chapter 11. 35:34 Lysimachus takes Asia Minor also called Pergamum. 35:38 Cassander takes Macedonia, Greece and the west, 35:42 so what they did was take the Grecian Empire, 35:47 divide it among themselves 35:48 but we'll find a little bit later 35:50 they weren't happy with the divisions 35:52 there was some in-fighting and we'll talk about that 35:55 when we look at Daniel chapter 11 35:57 but it's very, very interesting. 35:59 So, now, we come to a Little Horn that pops up 36:08 in Daniel chapter 8 verses 9 through 12. 36:11 Now, the reason I'm... I'm taking time with this 36:13 is the fact that there are some people 36:18 who believe the... the little horn here 36:23 is one of those Seleucid kings... Antiochus. 36:27 It is not... 36:29 he is not... 36:30 Antiochus was a famous hater of Jews... true... 36:36 he did profane the Temple... true... 36:39 he did try to Hellenize or turn the Jews into Greeks 36:44 true... 36:46 but he is not the Little Horn Power 36:48 and there are those who believe that 36:51 but the Bible does not support that. 36:56 The key is in Daniel 8 verse 9... 37:00 the Bible says, "Out of them... " 37:03 and the key is: Who is the "them" referring to? 37:07 It is not referring to the Seleucid Kingdom, 37:11 it is referring to the next series of... 37:15 or rather the next beast and his time on earth 37:19 and so, Antiochus is not the Little Horn 37:24 and could not be the Little Horn. 37:26 There's not enough Biblical evidence to support that. 37:30 So the "them" is out of the four directions... 37:36 one of the four directions 37:37 and, of course, the direction is north. 37:39 This Little Horn comes... we see this Little Horn... 37:43 he grows up to be strong 37:46 and exceedingly great, 37:49 he pushes towards the south and the east 37:54 and the glorious land 37:55 which, of course, is the Bible Land, 37:57 he casts down some of the hosts and some of the stars, 38:01 he tramples on them, 38:02 he exalts himself against the Prince of Heaven 38:05 and the only... the only Empire 38:08 that exalted itself against the Prince is the Roman Empire. 38:11 So, Antiochus did do some bad things 38:15 but it is the Roman Empire that is pre-figured here. 38:19 The word "sacrifice" in verse 13 38:23 in its original 38:25 is later translated "Tamid" which means "the daily" 38:30 here's what I found out about the "Daily" 38:33 when we're looking at an explanation of the "Daily" 38:36 and I wish we had time to just read the whole text 38:39 but we don't have time to do that. 38:41 The "Daily" does not only mean the daily sacrifice... 38:44 that is the morning and evening services, 38:46 the word "Tamid" means 38:48 anything that is done on a continual basis... 38:52 that's important 38:54 because when we're talking about destroying the "daily" 38:58 and replacing the "daily" 39:00 it not only means the Sacrificial System 39:03 it can also mean weekly services like Sabbath Services. 39:10 So, the "daily" is a little more comprehensive 39:15 than we may have thought. 39:17 It does mean the morning and the evening sacrifices 39:21 but it also means "Old Testament Worship Services" 39:25 like the weekly Sabbath Service 39:27 and anything that is done 39:29 on a continual or "regularly occurring" basis 39:33 including the morning and evening services. 39:37 So, then, this new power 39:41 not only disrupts the morning and evening sacrificial system 39:48 he also destroys the keeping of the Sabbath 39:53 and the only Empire or the only entity 39:59 that did that is Rome. 40:02 Pagan Rome destroyed the Sanctuary Service 40:07 and the daily sacrificial system 40:10 and Papal Rome destroyed or at least attempted to destroy 40:16 the keeping of the Sabbath. 40:18 Verse 12 says, "For a while everything prospered. " 40:26 For a while, everything went well 40:30 and so now, Gabriel is commissioned 40:34 to make all of this plain to Daniel. 40:38 I've got to move fast, 40:41 in 70 A.D., Rome destroyed Jerusalem 40:45 and the Temple 40:46 no stone left one upon the other. 40:50 I've been there... 40:51 and this Western Wall which they call the Temple 40:54 actually is not the Temple. 40:56 The Western Wall or the Wailing Wall 40:58 is the basement... 41:00 it is the substrate or the foundation of the Temple. 41:04 The Temple from ground level up has been totally destroyed. 41:08 The stones are down... 41:09 what the Jews are praying to 41:11 is the foundation of the Temple, the old Temple... 41:15 that is the Wailing Wall or the Western Wall of the Temple. 41:19 So, in 70 A.D. city is destroyed 41:24 the temple is destroyed... 41:27 Rome ends now the Sacrificial System. 41:31 The "Daily" is destroyed. 41:34 The "Horn" has yet to reach its full potency, 41:39 it is not speaking its pompous words yet 41:43 that is to come... 41:44 so, Daniel overhears now 41:47 a conversation between two heavenly beings 41:51 and the discussion is, "How long is this going to be?" 41:56 How long will this scenario be played out? 42:02 And the answer is: 2,300 evenings and mornings. 42:08 2,300 days... 2,300 evenings and mornings. 42:14 Then after 1798... the end of that time 42:19 something very spectacular is going to happen. 42:23 We find this in Daniel chapter 8 verse 14, 42:27 I've got to remember that, I will never forget that. 42:29 When I was taking Daniel and Revelation in school 42:32 I was carrying a perfect "A" throughout the entire Semester 42:38 and on my final exam... I got one question wrong out of 50 42:44 and I assumed since I had an "A" going in 42:51 and I only got one question wrong, 42:53 that I should get an "A" 42:56 one out of 50 is not bad... 42:58 49 right... one wrong... 43:01 My teacher is the late Dr. was the late Dr. J.J. Beale 43:07 and he said, "I'm going to give you a 'B'" 43:13 and I was kind of upset. 43:16 Pause. 43:18 "One wrong answer in a whole semester 43:21 and you drop me a whole letter grade? 43:24 You're giving me a 'B'?" 43:26 Pause. 43:29 The question was, "Where is the 2,300 days found?" 43:33 And I put Daniel 8:16. 43:38 He said, "You're going to be a preacher, 43:42 no preacher should get that wrong, 43:46 I'm giving you a 'B'." 43:49 Audience: Responding. 43:51 And that's been many, many years ago 43:53 and it's still right here. 43:54 Laughter... 43:57 He gave me a "B" one question on a final exam! 44:01 Straight "A" student. 44:03 I said, "You know what that's going to do to my grade?" 44:06 A "B" in Daniel and Revelation... 44:09 He said, "Yup, you get a 'B'." 44:12 And to this day, there is on my transcript a "B" 44:18 in Daniel and Revelation. 44:21 Pause. 44:23 So, Daniel chapter 8 verse 14 44:26 is the answer to "How long...?" 44:29 Unto 2,300 mornings and evenings... 44:35 2,300 days... 44:37 and then the Sanctuary will be cleansed 44:41 and Daniel was much disturbed and perplexed 44:45 as to what he saw and how it would play out. 44:49 Pause. 44:51 And Gabriel is summoned and commissioned, in chapter 8, 44:54 to give a full explanation of what is happening 44:59 and what the... what begins in chapter 8, 45:02 actually crosses over into chapter 9 45:05 and the explanation becomes full. 45:09 We get an exact detailed explanation from Gabriel 45:16 and it follows in verses 18 through 22... and really beyond. 45:21 The key, of course, is Daniel 8:14. 45:25 The Sanctuary will be cleansed. 45:29 God is going to do something very, very important 45:35 at the end of this time. 45:36 He's going to do something of cosmic importance. 45:40 Before the "Daily" is referenced, 45:45 there is a cleaning that is alluded to. 45:48 You see, in prophecy, we have the year/day principle. 45:53 Let me establish that now. 45:54 Here are two texts that you can use. 45:56 Numbers chapter 14 verse 34, Ezekiel chapter 4 verse 6. 46:00 "I have laid on you a day for a year... " 46:03 so in prophetic parlance, 46:07 you can always have a day equal a year 46:12 and only in prophetic and apocalyptic literature. 46:16 In regular Bible parlance, a day is a day, 46:19 but when you go to Daniel 46:21 and Pastor Lomacang will show us again 46:23 when we do Revelation... a day can equal a year 46:26 and the prophecies only make sense 46:29 when a day equals a year. 46:31 So, you got those texts to back you up. 46:34 "I've laid on you a day for each year. " 46:37 And when you put the year/day prophecy together, 46:41 these things work... 46:42 and so, all of the time prophecies 46:46 and this is important... this is important... 46:49 this is an exegetical principle. 46:50 All of the time prophecies in the Bible, 46:54 fit into this 2,300-day prophecy. 46:58 All of the time prophecies 47:01 fit in there 47:03 and the reason I'm suggesting that... 47:04 and emphasizing that 47:05 is because when we come to Daniel 11, 47:08 there are some who say that there's one time prophecy 47:11 that extends beyond. 47:13 I don't accept that. 47:14 Now there are those who might... I do not. 47:17 I believe, all of the time prophecies 47:20 fit into the 2,300 days 47:22 because at the end of the 2,300 days 47:26 we reach what we call "the end of time" 47:30 "the end of time" simply means 47:33 that there are no more time prophecies 47:36 between the end of the 2,300 days 47:39 and the second coming of Jesus Christ. 47:42 1798 is the time of the end. 47:46 The end of the 2,300 days is the "end of time" 47:52 in other words, 47:54 we're not looking for any more time prophecies to expire 47:58 before Jesus comes. 48:00 Audience: Amen. 48:01 Technically, Christ could come at any time. 48:05 Amen, no more 1,260... no more 1,290... 48:10 no more 1,335... 48:12 Christ could come any time He wishes 48:17 he's just waiting on us now. 48:20 Amen. 48:21 So, that is my belief. 48:24 Pause. 48:27 We understand that the 2,300 days leads us 48:32 to what we call the typical Day of Atonement. 48:36 During the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur... 48:40 God's people were to afflict their souls 48:44 and cleanse themselves because the Day of Atonement 48:49 was a day of cleansing and judgment 48:53 and you should write that down if you're taking notes 48:56 because whenever God judges, 48:59 He always cleanses. 49:01 Whenever God cleanses, He always judges. 49:06 In fact, the word for "cleanse" and "judge" 49:11 are the same word. 49:13 God cleanses... He judges... 49:17 the priest did special things on the Day of Atonement 49:20 he went from the Holy Place to the Most Holy Place 49:24 to minister directly before God 49:27 and we believe in 1844 at the end of the 2,300 days 49:30 we gave you the starting point, two sermons ago 49:34 Christ moved from the Holy Place to the Most Holy Place 49:40 to begin the work of cleansing and judging 49:45 and when Christ comes from that Most Holy Place, 49:50 He's coming back here 49:51 to get His saints and take them home. 49:53 Can you say, "Amen. " Audience: Amen. 49:56 When God cleanses He also judges. 49:58 "The cleansing of the sanctuary is a determinative work 50:03 as such, a work of judgment. " 50:07 When Christ comes back, it will already be determined 50:10 who is going back home with Him, amen. 50:12 That's why we call it "The Pre-Advent Judgment" 50:15 because you see Christ again, 50:17 those... you'll forgive my pejorative English, 50:21 "Those who is... will be and those who ain't won't be" 50:26 amen. 50:28 In other words, the decision will already have been made 50:32 during the typical Day of Atonement, amen. 50:36 Christ is deciding now, names are being looked at now, 50:39 cases are being decided now 50:40 and when Christ comes back, 50:42 He that is righteous will be... 50:44 Audience: Righteous still. 50:45 He that will be holy will be... 50:47 Audience: Holy still... 50:48 He that is unrighteous will be... 50:49 Audience: Unrighteous still... 50:51 He that is unholy will be... 50:52 Audience: Unholy still... 50:53 Yeah, now is the time of cleansing, 50:55 now is the time to get right with God 50:58 because when Christ comes back, 50:59 the decision will already have been made. 51:02 Amen. 51:03 Your house will be built... 51:05 as I say, "Your key is already in the door" 51:07 but in heaven, there won't be any keys 51:09 because there won't be any locks, amen... 51:10 Audience: Amen. 51:12 So, it will already be determined 51:13 when Christ comes back 51:15 because judging and cleansing 51:18 are the same thing when it comes to the Lord. 51:21 When He judges... He cleanses, when He cleanses... He judges, 51:24 Here's the word, "Tsadaq" the "T" is silent 51:29 Tsadaq... it means to justify is to cleanse. 51:33 Amen. 51:35 When Christ justifies, He'll also cleanse you 51:38 so when He forgives you of your sins, 51:40 He also cleanses you from them sins. 51:42 From "them" sins... 51:44 For those sins... I forget, I'm in an academic community... 51:46 from those sins... amen. 51:48 Audience: Amen... laughter... 51:49 Yeah, it will be kind of... 51:51 it will be sad to just forgive you and not cleanse you 51:53 because if He forgives you and not cleanses you, 51:57 then you... you have to do it again. 51:58 Yeah. 52:01 But if He forgives you and cleanses you, 52:04 then you're free from it, amen. 52:07 So, when Christ justifies... He also cleanses. 52:11 "... his power shall be magnified 52:13 but not by his own power... " 52:14 Now, what are we talking about? 52:16 We're talking about that beast 52:17 who's going to get a lot of power 52:19 but it won't come from him, it comes from another authority. 52:23 and that, of course, we know 52:26 is the anti-God or anti-Christ-like Authority. 52:31 So, shortly after this time, judgment is going to begin. 52:36 It parallels the ancient Day of Atonement. 52:41 Leviticus chapter 23 verse 29 gives us, 52:45 not only our marching orders 52:47 but it gives us the pattern 52:49 that this modern Day of Atonement is to follow. 52:52 "... for any person who is not afflicted in soul on that day 52:57 shall be cut off from his people... " 53:02 the word "cut off" simply means 53:05 "if on that day you do not humble yourself" 53:08 and let's take a look at this Access Point. 53:12 "Judgment becomes good news 53:16 if our sins have gone before us into the sanctuary... " 53:19 can you say, "Amen. " 53:21 Judgment is nothing to fear. 53:23 If judgment means getting what you deserve, 53:26 and you surrendered your life to Christ, 53:30 then you get what you deserve. 53:32 Amen. 53:33 If you got a million dollars waiting for you 53:35 and that million dollars would be given to you next Friday, 53:40 you can't wait for next Friday to come 53:42 amen 53:44 because you know something good is coming. 53:46 Well, if you are in Jesus, something good is coming 53:51 and you get it on Judgment Day. 53:53 Amen. 53:54 So, for the child of God, judgment is nothing to fear. 53:58 It simply means you get what you worked for. 54:02 Amen. 54:03 Be not deceived... God is not mocked... 54:07 you get what you worked for 54:09 and if you surrender to Jesus, 54:12 you know what you get on Judgment Day? 54:14 Jesus. 54:17 Amen. 54:20 That's what you get. 54:21 Judgment becomes good news 54:24 if our sins have gone before us into the Sanctuary. 54:29 So, we now find ourselves in the typical Day of Atonement 54:34 and that is what the 2,300 days is all about, 54:41 it marks the time 54:42 when God's people need to afflict their souls 54:45 and the word "Anav" simply means to humble yourself. 54:49 We used to sing a song, "Humble me... humble me of Lord" 54:53 I stopped singing that, I don't sing that song anymore 54:56 because I don't want the Lord to humble me. 54:59 Pause. 55:00 I want to humble myself. 55:02 Laughter. 55:03 Amen. 55:05 See, if God has to humble you, He may do a "Job" job on you 55:09 So, I don't sing, "Humble me O Lord" 55:12 I want to humble myself under the hand of God 55:16 so I don't end up like Job, amen. 55:18 Yeah. 55:19 This is the time to humble ourselves before the Lord 55:23 and that is why it is so very, very important 55:26 that we understand the message of Daniel chapter 8 55:32 particularly verse 14 55:33 because it places us at a point in history 55:36 where we know and understand that Christ is coming soon 55:41 and very soon 55:43 and it also tells us that we have no time to play, 55:47 no time to waste, 55:49 no time to play games with ourselves 55:52 or with the Lord 55:53 there is just time enough to get right with God. 55:58 Every day ought to be lived in the light of the second coming 56:02 of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 56:04 Every day ought to be lived 56:06 in the light of the sacrifice that Christ made for you and me. 56:11 Every day ought to be lived in the light 56:15 that soon and very soon Jesus is coming 56:19 and when we passed the 2,300-day mark, 56:24 when we came to this side of 1844 56:28 pause 56:30 we stepped into a zone that forces us to the realization 56:37 that one day Christ is coming very, very soon. 56:42 I don't know when and you don't know when 56:46 and I think the Lord did it that way purposely 56:50 because He knew that if we knew 56:53 it was next Friday... 56:55 we'd wait till next Thursday to try to get right. 57:00 So, since we don't know when it will be 57:03 the call is to live every day like tomorrow is the day. 57:10 Amen. 57:12 That is the value of Daniel chapter 8. 57:16 It's personal... it's very personal. 57:20 Judgment becomes good news for those whose sins are gone. 57:25 Last text, Hebrews chapter 3 and verse 7. 57:32 This too is personal. 57:35 "Today if you hear... " whose voice? 57:40 "His voice harden not your hearts. " 57:45 That's the call of Christ to every one of us... 57:49 the hour is late... 57:51 there's time enough only to accept Jesus 57:55 and do it today. |
Revised 2018-08-27