The Son of Man & the End of Monsters

[0:00] Let's pray and let's ask God for his help. Gracious Father, your word is light and life.! Sometimes we find it hard to understand, but we ask today you would shine its truth into our hearts by your spirit!

[0:15] so that we might have courage to believe and hope to endure. Show us Christ. For his name's sake we pray. Amen. Now if you picked up the newspapers last week, what kind of headlines greeted you?

[0:28] Let me just give you a sampling. Russian officials warns of nuclear escalation risks with Europe. UN Security Council approves new suppression force for Haiti amid spiraling gang violence.

[0:45] US shooting leaves at least four dead and eight injured at Mormon Church in Michigan. Our children are dying, life under siege inside Sudan's El Fasher.

[0:58] These headlines reveal a world in chaos, don't they? There is friction, there is violence, there is wickedness, sometimes on a scale we can hardly imagine.

[1:11] And 2025 in particular feels especially unstable. I'm sure you can quote back to me ten different headlines in the same vein.

[1:22] And God's people are not spared. Here are just a few more headlines I noticed. China cracks down on pastors' online activities.

[1:33] Rising attacks on Christians in India's Rajasthan state. Hundred plus Christians killed in two days in the Democratic Republic of Congo. God's people may not be of this world, but they still live in this world, and so they are not exempt from its chaos.

[1:54] But why is it that our world seems so chaotic at this present moment? And how can we cope in such a world? That's exactly the kind of question Daniel's first readers would have asked.

[2:09] As we will see in the second half of Daniel, they too live under violent empires. So they too needed to know, how can we cope?

[2:22] And that's where Daniel chapter 7 comes in. Today we are in what is often regarded as the key chapter of this book. Indeed, many scholars regard this as one of the key chapters in the entire Old Testament.

[2:38] For in this chapter, we have what you might call the key to all of human history. We are going to see history from God's perspective unfolded before us.

[2:52] And that will be the key to help us live as his people in a chaotic world. Now, you might have noticed that as the passage was being read, that it sounds a little different to what has gone on before.

[3:08] In Daniel 1-6, it has been mainly stories. Very exciting stories, in fact. And actually, Daniel 7-12 is also very exciting.

[3:21] It's just that it sounds more confusing, because it is no longer strictly narrative. Did you notice the key word found all throughout the chapter?

[3:33] Verse 2, Verse 6, Verse 7, Verse 9, And on and on it goes.

[3:50] So it is all about what Daniel is seeing. And actually, that is one of several clues that we are no longer in pure story mode.

[4:03] Here is another clue in verses 15-16. I, Daniel, I, Daniel, was troubled in spirit, and the visions that passed through my mind disturbed me.

[4:14] I approached one of those standing there and asked him the meaning of all this. So we discover that Daniel needs an angelic being to help him make sense of what he is seeing.

[4:30] And those are all clues. Clues that we are moving into a different kind of literature. You see, Daniel 7-12 belongs to a genre called apocalyptic.

[4:45] And apocalyptic works in a very particular way. It always comes with visions, given using elaborate symbols and imagery.

[4:57] Obscure to us, perhaps, but not necessarily obscure to the original audience. It often involves angels who explain what's going on.

[5:10] And it always, always pulls back the curtain to show us the spiritual realities behind everyday life. It presents the universe in grand cosmic terms.

[5:26] There is light versus darkness, ultimate good versus ultimate evil. So it looks at the big picture rather than the finer points.

[5:37] All these are features of apocalyptic. And its goal isn't to leave us scratching our heads, but to unveil what is really going on.

[5:51] In fact, that is what the word apocalypse means. An unveiling. And it is designed to bring comfort, not confusion.

[6:03] It is there not to rattle, but to reassure us. Today, when we use the word apocalypse, we often mean some huge disaster.

[6:17] So we talk about nuclear apocalypses and environmental apocalypses. But biblical apocalypse is different. It is not a literature of despair, but of hope.

[6:32] It is designed to remind God's people that there is more going on than meets the eye. History might feel out of control, but there is always one in control.

[6:44] Now, why does it matter we know that Daniel 7 to 12 is apocalyptic? Because if we misread the genre, we will likely misunderstand the message and respond in the wrong way.

[7:04] Let me give you a couple of examples. Imagine that you picked up a newspaper article with the headline, Barcelona destroys Liverpool. Now, if you thought that was a war report, you would be alarmed.

[7:19] Since when were Spaniards so bloodthirsty? And you might even start packing your bags to flee. But if you knew it was the sports section, the meaning would be obvious.

[7:33] And instead of running away, you'll be celebrating if you are a Barcelona or Manchester United fan. Or imagine a child hearing the words, once upon a time in a land far away, and then insisting, eh, Papa, where exactly was that land?

[7:56] Eh, show me on the map. Can we go visit it? They will be misreading the genre, expecting historical specificity from a fairy tale.

[8:09] And if we read the strange visions of Daniel 7 with the wrong genre glasses on, we might end up being like that newspaper reader or that child.

[8:20] We may try to pull things from the text that it was never meant to say, and end up putting our own ideas into it. That's why knowing the genre is important so that we will approach it in the right way.

[8:39] And what I've done is to give you a few quick rules of time to guide your reading of Apocalypse on your handout, which you can refer to. But for now, let us get into Daniel 7 properly.

[8:53] And what we will understand, what we'll do is to understand three truths Daniel 7 gives us, and we'll piece them together at the end so we know how to live as God's people today.

[9:09] So truth number one, monsters will arise. Monsters will arise. Daniel 7 begins in the first year of Belshazzar's reign.

[9:22] So that tells us we are taking a step back in time. Chapter 7 actually takes place during the storyline of chapters 1 to 6, right between chapters 4 and 5, when Babylon was still strong and mighty, although ominously the Middle Persian Empire is starting to rise.

[9:48] And on this occasion, Daniel has a dream. A nightmare, really. For what does he see? Massive, hulking beasts.

[10:02] There are these hideous-looking creatures, lumbering monstrosities, meant to strike terror into your heart. Think the pale man in Pan's Labyrinth, or the monster in Cloverfield, if you have ever seen either of those movies, or at least think of a somewhat mutated Godzilla.

[10:25] And where do they come from? Well, verse 2 tells us they come from the sea, which is tossing and swirling in every direction.

[10:36] In the Old Testament, the raging sea is a picture of chaos and disorder. Indeed, sometimes the Bible even makes the sea a symbol of the fallen world itself.

[10:53] Take Isaiah 17 verse 12, for instance. Woe to the many nations that rage. They rage like the raging sea. Woe to the peoples who roar.

[11:05] They roar like the roaring of great waters. For that is what the world in its fallen state is like. Stormy, chaotic, dangerous, raging against God.

[11:21] And from this stormy sea, these terrifying beasts emerge one by one. Verses 17 and 23 will tell us later on they represent kings and kingdoms.

[11:37] But here is the key thing for us to understand. They are products of the fall. So what do fallen kingdoms look like?

[11:48] Well, the first beast, verse 4, looks like a lion but has the wings of an eagle that are subsequently plucked off. Then the second beast, verse 5, is like a bear.

[12:01] But he's got a strange disfigurement. He is raised up on one of his sides. Imagine a lopsided weightlifter. One shoulder raised high and you get the idea.

[12:15] And it seems he has a voracious appetite. Then the third beast, verse 6, is like a leopard but not quite.

[12:27] It has four wings and four heads, almost like a medusa from Greek mythology, only without the snakes and far faster and hungrier.

[12:40] And then, verse 7, we get the fourth beast which is unlike anything that has gone before. It has iron teeth that crush and devour and ten horns sprout from its head, including a little horn that eventually rises, bold and blasphemous.

[13:03] It is a monster straight out of a nightmare, more brutal than anything the bear or leopard could dream of. But why do they look that way?

[13:19] Well, first of all, think about how they make you feel. If you were Daniel, coming face to face with them, wouldn't you recoil in horror?

[13:32] Remember? They are not just frightening. They are unsettling. Something about them feels wrong.

[13:43] As if they have become what they were never meant to be. As if they have mutated into something unnatural. And that's the point.

[13:54] They are a picture of creation gone wrong. Remember Genesis 1? God made every creature according to its kind and everything was good.

[14:10] A lion was a lion and eagle was an eagle. But these mutants show us what the fall does. It corrupts, distorts, and twists God's good creation.

[14:25] You see, it's not that God has no place for earthly kingdoms and governments. The Bible is clear. They have a role to play. You see that in passages like Romans 13.

[14:39] They are meant to restrain evil and punish wrongdoing. Their job is to promote order and peace and justice.

[14:50] But Satan loves to corrupt everything good and that includes governments. He tries to seize control of empires, tempting leaders to idolize power and justify its use for oppression, war, and injustice.

[15:10] And that is why we have monsters. This vision shows us that whenever the kingdoms of this world turn their backs on God and abandon his rule, they become beastly.

[15:29] Their monstrous form reflects their moral and spiritual decay. They represent a tragic pattern we see playing out again and again throughout human history.

[15:46] But do these beasts correspond directly to any present-day kingdom? Over the years, plenty of people have said, yes, the lion must be Great Britain.

[16:00] And the eagle, that's clearly the USA, that's your insignia, right? So, lion-eagle, must be the UK-US alliance, right? Or, the bear, so obvious, it's Russia, right?

[16:14] And the fourth beast is obviously the European Union. But the danger here is that we project our world onto the text and that only breeds speculation or once again ignoring the nature of apocalyptic.

[16:34] After all, if you live in a different time or place, who is to stop you from saying these are the Vikings or the Mongols? Instead, it is always better to let Scripture interpret Scripture.

[16:49] That is a key principle whenever we read the Bible. And thankfully, the book of Daniel itself gives us the interpretation. You see, let me tell you something about the structure of the book of Daniel.

[17:04] From chapters 2 to 7, we have what we call a chiasm. So, have a look at the screen. You would notice that each chapter is intentionally paralleled with another.

[17:19] So, on the screen, you can see, for example, that chapters 4 and 5 are a pair. They both tell the story of a humbling of a proud king. In chapters 3 and 6, we have stories that reveal to us that God rescues, God saves.

[17:33] And so, chapter 2 and 7 are also paralleled with one another. They are a pair. And indeed, you might remember the statue, there's a statue in Nebuchadnezzar's dream in chapter 2 and they are a clear parallel to the beasts in Daniel's dream today.

[17:52] They both come in force. They are talking about the same thing. And in both chapters, the first kingdom is clearly Babylon.

[18:04] Daniel says so explicitly back in chapter 2 and here in 7 verse 3, we recognize how the humbling and subsequent restoration of this beast to a semblance of humanity echoes the story of Nebuchadnezzar from chapter 4.

[18:24] And it is reasonable, therefore, to see the next few kingdoms as those that came after Babylon. In that case, the bear will be the Middle Persian Empire.

[18:35] The fact that it is raised on one side seems to affirm that because the Persians were the dominant partner of the two. And I think Daniel chapter 8, in fact, will definitively confirm this for us when we get there next week.

[18:53] And after that, we have the Greeks. Famously, Alexander the Great defeated the Middle Persian Empire conquered more or less the rest of the known world in just ten years.

[19:12] And when he died at 32 years of age, his kingdom was divided amongst his four generals, which could possibly be what the four heads reference.

[19:24] Again, I think Daniel 8 will confirm this next week. So yes, these beasts do find some historical correspondence.

[19:35] But did you notice how, in the end, Daniel 2 and Daniel 7 are not trying to get us to pour all our energy into figuring out which human kingdom matches which?

[19:49] That's because while these visions do have a historical frame of reference, what they are most concerned with is making a theological statement.

[20:01] Monsters will arise. Beastly kingdoms that are opposed to God will arise. That is the main point of this section.

[20:12] It doesn't matter whether it's Babylon or Persia or Greece or Nazi Germany or Stalin's Russia or Pol Pot's Cambodia. The point is, we live in a world with real monsters, that can appear seemingly out of nowhere at any point in history.

[20:33] You might think, Malaysia is okay now, but who is to say it won't become more monstrous in the future? danger. And these beasts have real power.

[20:48] They can cause real damage. For though they appear in a dream, remember, they represent reality. I mean, just consider the last century.

[21:02] I remember how shocked I was at how 800,000 Hutus and Tutsis could be murdered in just 100 days, back in 1994, during the Rwandan genocide.

[21:16] Or think of the mass executions and enslavement of Yazidis by the ISIS terrorists not that long ago. These monstrosities are real.

[21:29] No wonder Daniel wakes up pale and frightened. For the Bible is depicting the fallen world as it really is, and showing us why it feels so chaotic.

[21:45] Back in the 1990s, there was a famous book written by a professor called Francis Fukuyama called The End of History.

[21:56] His thesis was basically that with the collapse of the Soviet Union and communism along with it, humans have now reached the highest point from a political point of view.

[22:10] Everyone around the world would more or less now embrace Western liberal democratic ideals as the final and best form of government.

[22:22] The world will only grow more peaceful from here on in. Well, two to three decades on, let's peek at the news again.

[22:33] How well does that thesis hold up? Or does Daniel 7's thesis of the overall pattern of history hold up better?

[22:47] That in this age, there will always be monsters driven by conflict, conquest, and control. hope. But wait a minute, pastor, you say, I thought you told me at the start that biblical apocalyptic is a literature of hope, not of despair.

[23:08] But right now, I'm not sensing the hope. I mean, if these monsters are what we are up against, where's the hope? How can we cope?

[23:19] truth? I'm glad you asked because that brings us to truth number two. But the Son of Man rules. The Son of Man rules.

[23:32] Thankfully, verses 1 to 8 isn't the sum total of the vision. Because certainly, verse 9, the scene shifts. And Daniel now gets a glimpse into another reality, a heavenly reality.

[23:46] perhaps think of it like a split screen, as the Old Testament scholar, Chris Wright, suggests. On the one side, the monsters are still raging, loud, and violent, especially the fourth one, we'll get to him later on.

[24:04] But on the other side, another scene now dominates the screen, the throne of the Ancient of Days, and the focus locks in there.

[24:18] The monsters don't disappear, but they are no longer the main story. God on his heavenly throne is. And who is this God?

[24:31] For one, he is the Ancient of Days. Now, that doesn't mean he is Santa Claus, or he is some frail 95-year-old on a wheelchair. Oh, no.

[24:42] This is the one from eternity past to eternity future. This is the one who has no beginning and no end. Kingdoms come and go, but this is the king who will sit forever and ever and ever.

[24:57] Long after these monsters are ancient history, he remains. His white clothing displays his purity. His white hair, his longevity, and possibly wisdom.

[25:12] And check out the fire. Verse 9, his throne was flaming with fire and his wheels were all ablaze. Now, this is his holy presence.

[25:24] Think burning bush, think Mount Sinai, and think this isn't someone to mess around with. Because fire isn't just presence, it is judgment.

[25:37] Verse 10, a river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. This God can and does judge. Have any doubts?

[25:49] Well, verse 11, where is the beast going to be cast into? A blazing fire. And those wheels on his throne, they recall Ezekiel 1, where we have a similar vision, reminding us of his far-reaching authority across all the earth.

[26:10] no one can escape his jurisdiction, no one can escape his judgment. And then, notice the setting.

[26:21] What have we got? Thousands and thousands of angels and a sea of humanity before him in a courtroom. You see, these monsters might think they are not accountable to anyone, but actually, there is still a throne, there is still a court, there is still a judgment.

[26:44] And they are books that miss nothing. And the judge who possesses three things, the wisdom to tell right from wrong, the purity to always choose correctly, and the authority to enforce every verdict.

[27:01] And verse 11, he gets to work straight away. The beast is judged and slain. The day is coming when the monsters will meet their end.

[27:14] No matter how powerful they might seem, before God they are exposed and stripped and ultimately destroyed. This is the heavenly reality.

[27:27] This is the scene in the split screen we must focus on. And our hope is more than the death of monsters.

[27:38] It is also in the arrival of a king. That's exactly what Daniel sees next. In verses 13 to 14, a new figure steps onto the stage.

[27:51] And straight away, we see he is everything the beasts are not. Did you notice, he is not like a bear or an eagle or a leopard, nor is he some half-hybrid, half-human creature or a monster.

[28:11] Instead, he is one, like a son of man. In other words, one who is fully human. And why is that important?

[28:23] Well, think back again to Genesis 1. Who did God want to rule the world? was it the animals? No. It was the one created in God's image.

[28:37] But because sinful humanity rejected God, the rulers of the world became beastly and monstrous. But here is the good news. There is now one like a son of man come to restore creation order.

[28:54] There is a new Adam come to rule. But here is the amazing thing. Did you notice how else this figure is not like the beast?

[29:08] They come from the sea, but where does he come from? The clouds. And in the Old Testament, it is God who is most commonly pictured as the cloud rider.

[29:21] Check out Psalm 104 verses 3 to 4 and Isaiah 19 verse 1 in your own time. So now this is becoming complicated. Is this son of man human?

[29:33] Yes. And is he divine? Yes. I mean in verse 14, he is given all authority, glory, and sovereign power, and all nations and peoples of every language worship him.

[29:48] Now, only God deserves to be worshipped. And yet this son of man receives the very worship God does. And check this out, his kingdom is eternal.

[30:01] It will never be destroyed. Once again, contrast that with the monsters. One day they'll be gone, but not this son of man. He will reign.

[30:16] So that is quite a vision. But maybe you are asking, as Daniel surely was, if the son of man really does reign, how can I know it now?

[30:26] I still see the monsters around me, Myanmar, Gaza, Nigeria, so many other places as well where beastly things are happening. I can still see the other side of the split screen.

[30:39] How do I know that heavenly reality is true? And that takes us to the third truth Daniel 7 wants to tell us. Yes, monsters will arise, that's truth number one, but the son of man rules, that's truth number two, even in the toughest of times, that is truth number three.

[31:03] The son of man reigns even in the toughest of times. You see, let's come back to that fourth beast. Does it correspond to any historical kingdom?

[31:16] The logical candidate would be Rome within it, certainly if it's quite well. The Roman empire succeeded Greece and was arguably the most brutal of them all.

[31:28] From a historical perspective, verse 7 was very much true. Rome certainly crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot what was left.

[31:40] And their massive and absolute power is further captured by this picture of the beast with ten horns. Horns were a common symbol of power and so to have ten of them shows their unprecedented level of might.

[31:58] But here is the thing. In the midst of this superpower, it turns out there is this son of a carpenter from Nazareth. And in Mark chapter 1 verse 15, he starts declaring, the time has come.

[32:15] The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news. And you're thinking, hang on, the kingdom of God, the very one that seems to be the complete opposite of all these monstrous kingdoms, right here in Rome.

[32:33] But it gets even more intriguing. In Mark 2 verse 5, in the midst of a crowd, Jesus performs a healing. Why? So that, verse 10, he says, you might know the son of man has authority to forgive sins.

[32:49] Hang on, the son of man? Isn't that Daniel 7 language? And as it turns out, this is a title Jesus loves to use of himself, over and over again, around 80 times in total across the four gospels.

[33:08] But he tells us something even more shocking, Mark 10 verse 45. life. The son of man came not to be served, but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many.

[33:21] Now hang on, hang on, hang on now. The person who's going to get ordinations, the one who's thrown is forever, he's going to what? And then, Mark chapter 14, Jesus finds himself on trial.

[33:37] And actually, it is the religious leaders who are questioning him. who do you claim to be? They ask him. And Mark chapter 14 verse 62, Jesus replies, I am.

[33:48] Another divine title. And you will see the son of man sitting at the right hand of the mighty one and coming on the clouds of heaven. There is no mistaking it.

[34:01] Jesus is claiming to be this Daniel 7 figure. He is the divine human figure who will actually go through the greatest monstrosity ever performed by being crucified on the cross.

[34:18] But that won't stop him from being enthroned. In fact, it is the very pathway. But here is the question we need answering.

[34:30] When does the son of man actually receive power and dominion? Now look again at the throne room vision with me. notice it is when the son of man comes with the clouds of heaven towards the ancient of days.

[34:47] Now that direction is crucial. You see, what do we usually think of when we hear coming on the clouds? The second coming, right?

[34:58] And we will see that is true elsewhere, but not here. in Daniel 7, the son of man is not coming back to earth. He is going towards the father.

[35:14] So let me ask, when did Jesus go to the father on the clouds of heaven? Not at his return, but at his ascension after the cross and resurrection.

[35:33] That is when he entered the heavenly throne room. That is when the father gave him authority, glory, and sovereign power. Which means Daniel 7, verse 14, isn't just waiting to happen, it's already happened.

[35:49] That is why Jesus can declare in Matthew chapter 28, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Friends, do you see what that means?

[36:03] Jesus isn't waiting for authority someday, he has it now. Even when the monsters seem to be winning, he is already reigning.

[36:16] And that is so important because it means the son of man rules today. The monsters are still active, yes, but Jesus is on his throne, he has received his kingdom.

[36:28] And one day, Acts chapter 1, verse 11 tells us, he will come back in the same way he went into heaven on the clouds.

[36:41] And that is when the kingdom will be restored in its fullness. That is when the vision of Daniel 7, verse 9 to 14 is fully realized with the books open and judgment rendered and the monsters are completely gone.

[36:57] time. But not yet. That's the important thing to remember. For in the meantime, the times will be tough. Daniel must have realized this, didn't he?

[37:11] He's beginning to understand that even when his people are freed from Babylonian captivity, things are not going to get easier. In fact, from his vantage point, for the next few centuries, times will be really tough for God's people.

[37:26] We'll see this in more detail next week. And from our vantage point, it is also true. Because just like Daniel, we too are still looking forward to the coming of the Son of Man.

[37:40] Daniel 7 has already happened, and yet it will also still happen. For we live in what the theologians call the now and the not yet.

[37:51] The kingdom of God is already here because Jesus has already died, risen, and ascended, and yet we will not see its full expression until he comes again.

[38:04] And until then, times will be tough. I think that's the main point of verses 19 to 25. There are many details, and some of them are difficult to interpret, and I don't claim to understand every single one of them with 100% certainty.

[38:22] But let me try to briefly sketch out some of them, and you can ask me more if you wish to. Let's just consider this little horn in particular. Notice what it does.

[38:33] It speaks boastfully, verse 20. It persecutes and oppresses God's people, verses 21 and 25. It tries to change the very way God has designed things in his sad times and his laws, verse 25 again.

[38:51] So how should we think about all this? Is this talking about some scenario that will only take place at the very end of time? Well, I think Revelation 13 gives us some help.

[39:04] In Revelation 13, John describes a beast coming out of the sea. Sounds familiar? But instead of several different beasts like Daniel saw, this one monster combines the features of all of them.

[39:23] So it has ten horns and it looks like a bear and a leopard and a lion all at the same time. Don't ask me how that works. And interestingly, in Revelation 13, this beast also speaks boastfully and wages war against God's people and even conquers them, just like the little horn.

[39:44] So notice how John takes all these separate features of all these separate beasts and horns in Daniel 7, and he kind of meshes them all together, creating some sort of composite beast.

[39:57] In other words, John isn't really thinking sequentially. This is not some step-by-step script of future events. Rather, in line with apocalyptic literature, he is showing us in one sweeping picture all the world's powers who oppress God's people until the end history.

[40:21] And so this little horn is basically part of a paradigm of opposition that God's people will face throughout history. Or as 1 John 2 verse 18 puts it, God's people will over the years face not one Antichrist, but many Antichrists, all who twist and reject the gospel and cause trouble for God's people.

[40:50] Now, this is not to deny the possibility of a final specific embodiment of this little horn. According to 2 Thessalonians 2, a person known as the man of lawlessness will one day arise and he does all the stuff Daniel 7 says the little horn will do.

[41:14] And if he appears, times will definitely be tough. But don't lose sight of the big picture. In the end, Daniel 7 isn't given for us to speculate endlessly on who this little horn might be.

[41:30] Rather, it wants us to focus on the throne room. It wants us to know that the son of man rules even in the toughest of times. He is ruling even today. Did you notice he is sovereign even over the first three beasts?

[41:46] Look again with me at verse 4. The mind of a human was given to it, the first beast. So its transformation was not self-achieved but given.

[41:58] Or verse 6, the third beast was given authority to rule. In other words, it happened only because God said so. Or verse 8, the three horns were uprooted before it.

[42:11] Again, the suggestion is there is a greater power at work. And yes, even if a particular monster like this little horn should arise, here is what Daniel 7 wants you to know.

[42:23] Verse 25, it will only be for a time, times, and half a time. In other words, this period of distress will be limited.

[42:37] Evil will rise, perhaps even grow in intensity and seem unstoppable, but before it reaches its fullness, God will cut it short.

[42:48] That's the point. So my brothers and sisters, what does Daniel 7 have to say to us today? Well, as I conclude, let me briefly mention three don'ts.

[43:01] Firstly, don't be surprised. Don't be surprised at how monstrous entire governments can sometimes get. Don't be surprised when Christians are persecuted and oppressed.

[43:12] Don't be surprised when people start boasting in their evil. For the Bible says monsters will come and go. Then secondly, don't be afraid.

[43:26] Don't be afraid. God is on his throne and will be on his throne forever. And he is a consuming fire. These monsters are nothing but little toys to him.

[43:39] And he has given all authority to the son of man who has already given his life for you. And thirdly, don't give up. Don't give up.

[43:51] The times will be tough. The little horn can be ferocious, but remember all authority has been given to Jesus. And remember what he says next in Matthew?

[44:01] Go and make disciples of all nations. And remember his promise? I am with you always to the end of this age.

[44:13] The son of man is with us and he wants us to further his kingdom as we proclaim the gospel. Satan doesn't want that so he will surely oppose but don't give up.

[44:24] Because one day Jesus will come on the clouds of heaven and Satan and all his minions will be banished forever. Now I know today's message has probably at times felt like a lot to take in and if some of it was hard to follow, don't worry.

[44:40] In the end, even if you didn't get everything, what I want you to go away with is the heart of this passage which we see so clearly in verses 17 to 18.

[44:52] The four great beasts are four kings that will rise from the earth, but the holy people of the Most High will receive the kingdom and will possess it forever, yes, forever and ever.

[45:05] Kingdoms come and go, but God's people will inherit his kingdom forever. That is the good news you can leave with today. Amen?

[45:16] Let's pray. Father, as we consider this passage and Lord, there's probably still a lot that we need to process and digest, but help us to keep that vision of the throne room center, at the center of our vision.

[45:32] Thank you, Lord, that the Son of Man has come and is coming again to rule and to reign as our ascended king. Thank you that the Son of Man has brought us into his kingdom, kingdom, and so we have nothing to fear, even when we see all these monsters around us.

[45:49] So help us not to be afraid and not to give up. We pray all this in Jesus' name. Amen.