Daniel's Last Vision, Part 1

So let's pray and we can begin. Father, thank you for tonight, a chance to be in your word again. We are a blessed people because we serve a great and mighty God, and we thank you for the opportunity you give us to study your word. Tonight, Lord, open our eyes that we might behold wonderful things out of your law, that we might follow you all the more because we understand who you are and what you do. In Jesus' name, amen. Daniel chapter 10, Daniel chapter 10. The plan is to be done in four weeks with Daniel.

Daniel 10 this week, I'll be gone. Next Wednesday, so Tom Mason will teach. Following week after that, Daniel 11, and then two weeks in Daniel 12, and then we're done with the book of Daniel. So hopefully you've learned some things. Hopefully you found out some things. Hopefully you've been reminded of some things, and hopefully it's been a great study for you. It's been great for me. It's been a lot of fun for me. I don't know if it's been fun for you or not, but I have a lot of fun. So it's been a great time studying the word of the Lord together.

But tonight, as we begin Daniel chapter 10, let me remind you that every day is a war. I hope you understand that. Every day is a battle. Every day you wake up, if you are not dressed or aware that you're going to war, and if you're not fit for that war, you will lose the battle. Every day is a battle. And part of the Christian life is to recognize that we are to put on the armor of God. In fact, Paul recognized that. So in Ephesians 6, he says these words very clearly. He says, finally be strong in the Lord and the strength of his might, put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Now, when you read that, we don't necessarily understand that. Tonight in Daniel chapter 10, hopefully you'll come to a better idea or a better understanding as to what that truly does mean. But we are involved every day in a battle, a never ending battle that continues in the heavenlies and that we are engaged in.

That's why we go to prayer, right? Except when we pray, the battle becomes even more intense. The Bible says that we're to resist Satan and he will flee.

But the battle we face every single day is intense. And the more we go to our knees to pray, sometimes the more intense that battle becomes. That's why prayer was so hard for us. We always had to fight against the enemy, the adversary who wants to keep us off our knees. But when we go to our knees, he fights us all the more. We need to realize this. And the battle that's being fought every single day in the heavenlies happens all over the world. It's taking place as we will see tonight, not just as demons in Persia and demons in Greece, but demons in Washington and demons in Los Angeles and demons all around the world.

I mean, all you gotta do is watch the news, right? All you do is turn on TV. And you realize that everybody on TV is lying to you. They're not telling you the truth. Why is that? Because Satan is the father of what? Lies. He's the father of lies. And so in John 8, Christ was condemning the religious establishment because they followed the father of lies, Satan, and didn't follow the one true God. And so you realize that even when you turn on the news and all things coming across through social media, most of it is just not true.

And that's because there is a war going on. And those people in the news media are held captive by Satan to do his will. 2 Timothy 2, 26. They're held captive by Satan to do his will. And so if he's the father of lies, it is their nature to lie to you about whatever's happening. They'll lie to you about abortion. They'll lie to you about COVID. They'll lie to you about the border. They'll lie to you about Russia. They'll lie to you about everything. And they do it with a straight face simply because they're taken captive by Satan to do his will.

You see, our battle is not against a president, a vice president, a congressman, a governor, a mayor. That's not our battle. Our battle is a spiritual battle. And that's why it can only be run one through spiritual means, through prayer. And so we are called upon to commit everything to the Lord, to pray to him. That's why the Bible says we're to pray for those people who rule over us.

Why? Because they've been taken captive by Satan to do his will. And they're gonna continue to do the will of their father, the devil, because that's all they know to do. And so tonight in Daniel 10, this is gonna become even more clear to you as Daniel realizes that he's involved in a, as the text says, a great warfare, a great conflict. And that great conflict deals with the spiritual forces of wickedness. And we're gonna see what God does in Daniel's life to show him how it is he can trust the Lord God of Israel to take care of him.

I'm gonna read to you the 21 verses in Daniel 10, and then we'll spend some time talking about them, okay? Daniel chapter 10, verse number one.

In the third year of Cyrus, king of Persia, a message was revealed to Daniel who was named Belteshazzar.

And the message was true and one of great conflict, great warfare. But he understood the message and had an understanding of the vision. In those days, I, Daniel, had been mourning for three entire weeks. I did not eat any tasty food, nor did meat or wine enter my mouth, nor did I use any ointment at all until the entire three weeks were completed. On the 24th day of the first month, while I was by the bank of the great river, that is the Tigris, I lifted up my eyes and looked and behold, there was a certain man dressed in linen whose waist was girded with a belt of pure gold of Uphaz.

His body also was like barrel. His face had the appearance of lightning. His eyes were like flaming torches. His arms and feet like the gleam of polished bronze and the sound of his words like the sound of a tumult. Now, I, Daniel, alone saw the vision while the men who were with me did not see the vision. Nevertheless, a great dread fell on them and they ran away to hide themselves. So I was left alone and saw this great vision, yet no strength was left in me for my natural color turned to a deathly palette and I retained no strength.

But I heard the sound of his words. And as soon as I heard the sound of his words, I fell into a deep sleep on my face with my face to the ground. Then behold, a hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. He said to me, oh, Daniel, man of a high esteem, understand that the words that I'm about to tell you and stand abright. For I have now been sent to you. And when he had spoken this word to me, I stood up trembling. Then he said to me, do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart on understanding this and on humbling yourself before your God, your words were heard.

And I have come in response to your words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia was withstanding me for 21 days. Then behold, Michael, one of the chief princes came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia. Now I have come to give you an understanding of what will happen to your people in the latter days for the vision pertains to the days yet future. And he had spoken to me according to those words, or these words, I turned my face toward the ground and became speechless.

And behold, one who resembled a human being was touching my lips and then I opened my mouth and spoke and said to him who was standing before me, oh, my Lord, as a result of the vision, anguish has come upon me and I have retained no strength. For how can such a servant of my Lord talk with such as my Lord? As for me, there remains just now no strength in me, nor has any breath been left in me. Then this one with human appearance touched me again and strengthened me. He said, oh man of high esteem, do not be afraid, peace be with you, take courage and be courageous.

Now, as soon as he spoke to me, I received strength and said, may my Lord speak for you have strengthened me. Then he said to me, do you understand why I come to you? But I shall now return to fight against the Prince of Persia so I am going forth. And behold, the Prince of Greece is about to come. However, I will tell you what is inscribed in the writing of truth. Yet there is no one who stands firmly with me against these forces, except Michael, your Prince. So you read that and you think, okay, so how does that apply to me?

What's that have to do with me today? What on earth does all that even mean? Well, let's begin by looking at, first of all, the situation before the vision.

What is the situation with Daniel? What's happening here? Well, he tells us. In the third year of Cyrus the King, okay?

Now in the first year of Cyrus the King, he gets the whole vision about the 70 weeks of Daniel's prophecy, right?

This is the third year of Cyrus. So now it's been 72 years since the Babylonian captivity. And now, right, Daniel's around 85 years of age. So he's an older gentleman. In fact, he's probably retired. How do we know that? Well, very easily. Daniel chapter one. Daniel one, verse number 21 says this. And Daniel continued until the first year of Cyrus the King.

So Daniel continued in his service from the time he was brought to Babylon until the first year of Cyrus the King.

Well, this is the second year after the vision. This is the third year, right? So he's probably retired. At 85, you probably need to retire, right? So he's retired. I mean, he's laying back. He's taking it easy. He has prayed. He's asked the Lord what to do. He realizes after reading Jeremiah the prophet that 70 years is pretty much over and the time of his people to go back is here. So he's confessed his sin. He has prayed that God would do a great work. He gets the vision of the 70 weeks of Daniel's prophecy.

And in the first year of Cyrus the King, he gives the decree for the Jewish people to go back. That's the situation surrounding the vision, which leads us to point number two, the lamentation before the vision.

And it says these words. A message was revealed to Daniel who was named Belteshazzar. Now, why did he say that? He said that because he wants you to know that even though he's retired, he's still the same Daniel as was way back in Daniel chapter one. Same guy who has the same pagan name, same guy who wants you to recognize that he's the same one. Nothing's changed. This is who I am. And the message was true and one of great warfare, great conflict. But he understood the message and had an understanding of the vision.

Now, this is an overview of what's gonna happen next. Daniel chapter 10 is an introduction to the vision. Daniel 11 is a revelation of the vision and Daniel 12 is the conclusion or summation of the vision. So it's along, there are four visions in Daniel, right? That he receives. This is the fourth one. It covers three chapters. And so it's gonna take him to the latter days of Israel's history. It's gonna take it from his day to the tribulation period as we will see in weeks to come. And so he receives his vision.

And so chapter, verse one is an overview of all that's happening. And so he lets you know that he receives something. It's all about great warfare. It's all about great conflict. So where's the conflict? The conflict is in the heavenlies. The conflict is a spiritual battle. It says, in those days, I, Daniel had been mourning for three entire weeks. Why was he mourning? What was he lamenting? Well, we know from the book of Ezra that when Cyrus gave the decree to go back, the Bible tells us of all the Jews in Babylon, only 42,600 of them went back.

And this would cause Daniel to mourn. Why? They've been in captivity for 70 years. You would think they would wanna get back to the promised land. You think they wanna get back to that which God had called them to be, right? You think they wanna leave where they were having been taken captive, been in captivity for 70 years, that they would wanna go back and go home, right? Right? But they become Babylonialized. They become so ingrained in Babylon, so in tune with Babylonian culture, they have come to rest at ease in comfort in Babylon.

Even though it was their captivity, they had been there for so long. They've had children, they've had grandchildren, and the numbers of them were growing. And so when it finally came time to go back, Daniel's saying, look, we can all go back, this is great.

And so he's sitting there watching them pack up and watching them leave. And you say, well, why didn't Daniel go back? Not because he was too old, because he was gonna stay and get you to motivate people to keep going back. But he realized that people weren't going. Two years later, they're not leaving. They're still there. And the tears of joy that he had when he saw everybody packing up, going back to Jerusalem, going back to rebuild Jerusalem, and all the joy as he waved goodbye to his friends and all those fellow Israelites, he realized that for the majority of them, they stayed back.

And it caused him to weep and to mourn. He began to fast. Didn't eat tasty foods, that's the good food, right? No wine, put no oil on his skin, and he would use oil because of the damage of the sun and the wind, all that was there. Didn't do anything for three weeks. And he began to pray and seek the face of God. That's what Daniel does. Daniel 90 prays and he gets an answer the same day, right? He gets the answer in less than three minutes. Now he prays, it's been three weeks and no answer. You ever been there?

Sure you have, we've all been there, right? And so he keeps praying, but trying to figure out why these people aren't going back. Why they wanna stay in Babylon? Why they wanna be there? Why not go back to their homeland, the promised land, the land of Canaan? Well, they become so prosperous where they were, so comfortable where they were, they didn't wanna leave. And it caused Daniel to mourn. And so it says, I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, there was a certain man, verse number five, dressed in linen.

He began to pray, he began to weep. And the Bible says on the 24th day, verse number four, the first month, while I was by the bank of the great river, that is the Tigris, I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, there was a certain man dressed in linen whose waist was girded with a belt of pure gold of Uphaz.

His body also was like beryl. His face had the appearance of lightning. His eyes were like flaming torches. His arms and feet like the gleam of polished bronze and the sound of his words, like the sound of tumults. Who's this? Who's this? Well, there's a lot of discussion about who this is. Is it Gabriel? Is it Michael? Is it another heavenly being? Or is it the son of God? Well, if you read the book of Revelation, Revelation chapter one, you realize that the description that Daniel has is almost identical to the same description that John has of the resurrected Christ.

John sees Christ in his post-resurrection glory. Daniel sees Christ in his pre-incarnate glory. In Revelation chapter one, it says this, I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. This is John. And having turned, I saw seven golden lampstands. In the middle of the lampstands, I saw one like a son of man clothed in a robe reaching to the feet and girded across his chest with a golden sash. His head and his hair were white like wool, like snow, and his eyes like a flame of fire. His feet were like burnished bronze when it has been made to glow in a furnace.

And his voice was like the voice or sound of many waters. Except for the hair, it's almost identical as to what Daniel sees in Daniel chapter one. Now, this is the manifestation of the vision. This is a manifestation of the Son of God that comes to Daniel because he is the Lord of glory. He is the Lord of hosts. He's gonna make an appearance to Daniel. He needs to do this because of what's gonna transpire next. What's gonna transpire throughout this entire vision is something that Daniel needs to understand that God is sovereign.

He's still in control. He still rules over everything. And so the Lord shows up. Christ in all of his pre-incarnate glory, you can call it the angel of the Lord. That phrase used over and over again in the Old Testament, a Christophany, an appearance of Christ before the incarnation happens on several occasions in the Old Testament. And here was Daniel. He gets this vision of one who's clothed in linen. That was the garment of priests and heavenly visitors. It would speak of the purity and the holiness of the one that he saw.

His belt was girded with fine gold, gold fit for kings. It would speak of his royalty and sovereignty. His body was like barrel, a transparent, flashing, flashing jewel. In the Septuagint, it's called chrysolite. Speaks of the glory of the Lord. His face was like lightning. His eyes like lamps of fire. Speaking of the omnipotence and omniscience of God. Eyes that would penetrate deeply to know all that was in man. His arms and feet like polished bronze. And the feet were always symbolic of judgment and wrath.

And then his voice was like the sound of tumult or roaring waters. Remember what it says over in Psalm 29? I love this. It says this. It says, the voice of the Lord is upon the waters. The God of glory thunders. The Lord is over many waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful. The voice of the Lord is majestic. The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars. Yes, the Lord breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon. He makes Lebanon skip like a calf and Saron like a young wild ox. The voice of the Lord hues out flames of fire.

The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness. The Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. The voice of the Lord makes the deer to calf and strips the forest bare. And in his temple, everything says glory. The Lord sat as King at the flood. Yes, the Lord sits as King forever. The Lord will give strength to his people. The Lord will bless his people with peace. The God of glory thunders. His voice is like the sound of many waters. You ever heard somebody say, you know, I really believe the Lord was speaking to me.

Really? What did he sound like? That's my next question. What did he sound like? What was his voice like? Because if his voice isn't like Psalm 29, you might've had too much chili the night before, but it wasn't the voice of the Lord, right? Because the voice of the Lord thunders. It's the voice of the Lord is majestic. It shakes the cedars of Lebanon. It shakes the trees. That's why the Lord could sit as King over the flood because he controlled the waters that would roar. And so Daniel gets this manifestation of the Son of God in this vision that will set the tone for all that's going to take place throughout the rest of the revelation that God's going to give him because he needs to know that God is in control.

He needs to know that God is behind all this. He needs to know that God is superior. He needs to know that God is in charge. That somebody's on the throne and it's not him. It's the Lord God of Israel. He needs to know that. Very, very important. And so as you read on, you realize the text says this, the reaction to the vision. Now, I, Daniel, alone saw the vision while the men who were with me did not see the vision. Who were the men that were with him? We don't know. The Bible didn't tell us. They didn't see the vision, okay?

Nevertheless, great dread fell on them and they ran away to hide themselves. They ran away. They didn't see what Daniel saw. It's like in the book of Acts with Saul of Tarsus when the glory of the Lord was shining all around, but no one saw what Saul saw, right? Hear the voice of the Lord. These men could hear the tumult. They could hear the rumblings. They could hear the thunder, but they saw nothing. So what did they do? They ran and hid themselves. They were scared to death because they didn't know what was happening.

Daniel sees the vision of this glorified one, this beautiful one. It says, so I was left alone and saw this great vision and no strength was left in me for my natural color turned to a deathly power and I retained no strength. But I heard the sound of his words. And as soon as I heard the sound of his words, I fell into a deep sleep on my face and my face to the ground. You know, the response of Daniel is very important because no one sees God and is ever the same. No one sees God and remains standing.

Nobody sees God without a profound effect upon your life. I mean, think of Peter in Luke chapter five when he was on the boat with the Lord Jesus, right? And Jesus says, push out and go out into the deep.

And Peter didn't wanna go fishing because he had been fishing early in the morning. You don't fish in the middle of the day. And he's a fisherman and Jesus is not a fisherman. He's just the Lord of glory, right? So he tells the Lord, Lord, there's nothing out there. And the Lord says, push out into the deep. So Peter says, nevertheless, that's what you want. That's what I'll do. And so he says, there's nothing out here. He says, throw your nets on the other side. So he does. And he got so many fish they couldn't even get him into the boat.

And what did Peter do? He fell down before the Lord and said, depart from me for I am a sinful man. He recognized the power of almighty God. Isaiah. And Peter was a godly man. Isaiah was a godly man. He said, when he saw the glory of the Lord, he fell down and said, Lord, I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell amidst a people of unclean lips. Job was the most blameless man that ever existed. And when he saw God, he would repent in dust and ashes. In Revelation 16, the unbelievers will run away from the lamb who sits on the throne and beg rocks to fall upon them that they don't have to face that lamb that they might die.

See, to have an encounter with the living God speaks volumes. And here's Daniel. The people that were with him, they fled, they ran, they hid. Daniel fell to his face, his face to the ground. And all of his strength was drained from him. He was completely pale, completely weak because of the majesty of the Son of God. As you read on, you begin to understand the explanation of the vision. And it says this, then behold, a hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. Now, I think the vision goes away.

The vision of the Lord goes away and the Lord sends an angel. Now, why do I say that? Well, first of all, he sees the vision, but this person actually touches him, right?

And we know that the Lord, back in Genesis 18, when the Lord came with two other angels and that was the pre-incarnate Christ and he came as a Christophany to Abraham and to Sarah, those two angels that were with them would be dispatched to Sodom and rescue Lot and his family, right? And so it's not new for angels to come with the Lord. And so it says in verse number 10, then behold, a hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. He said to me, oh, Daniel, man of high esteem. I love that because this is the second time it says it.

It says it three times, twice in this chapter and one in chapter nine. So the heavenly beings know that Daniel is a man of high esteem. They know that he's greatly beloved. They know that he is precious. How do they know that? They're not omniscient. They know it because God has told them that. And they come to him and say, oh, Daniel, man of high esteem, understand the words that I'm about to tell you and stand upright. Get what I'm gonna say and stand up, Daniel. For I have now been sent to you.

And when he had spoken the word to me, I stood up trembling. He was still trembling. The effects of the vision were still with him. He was still a trembling man. Now remember, he's not 25, he's 85. He's not the youngest whippersnapper around. So he's getting older in years and he is completely, completely depleted of any strength. But the angel says, get up. So he begins to make his way through his hands, make his way on his knees and he gets up trembling. They said to me, do not be afraid, Daniel.

For from the first day that you set your heart on understanding this and on humbling yourself before your God, your words were heard and I have come in response to your words, okay?

So from the very first day you began to pray, this is not Daniel nine, this is Daniel 10. In the third year of Cyrus, when you began to pray three weeks ago, I heard.

It says this, but the Prince of the Kingdom of Persia was withstanding me for 21 days. So the moment you began to pray, I heard and I wanted to get here, but I couldn't get here because the Prince of Persia is not a man, it's a demon. How do we know that? Three times Satan in John's gospel is called the Prince of the Power of the Air, right? That's what Satan's called. This is the Prince of Persia. He's been wrestling with the Prince of Persia. He's soon gonna have to wrestle with the Prince of Greece because Greece is the next kingdom power.

There was Babylon, Medo-Persia, then Greece, but he was wrestling, why? Because whoever this demon was that was wrestling with him, it wasn't a man, why? Because you don't need an angel to wrestle with a man. You need an angel to wrestle with an angel, right? And so he's trying to keep this angel from coming and giving the truth about the future to Daniel so Daniel then can speak it to the people of Israel, write it down and you and I can have it today. How do I best hinder the truth from being exposed?

How do I keep the truth hidden so no one knows what's gonna happen next? Because once you begin to see Daniel chapter 11 and Daniel chapter 12 and the horrific history of Israel and all that's gonna happen in their lives as it begins to unfold during the tribulational period, you begin to realize this is an incredible vision and God is saving the best for last. But he appears to Daniel because he wants Daniel to know that all this is under his control, it's gonna be okay. And he dispatches angels to Daniel's assistance.

This angel says, I wanted to get here earlier, I couldn't. I was engaged in battle, why? Because as there are demonic forces in places like Persia, in places like Greece, whether it be Rome, whether it be Jerusalem, United States, Russia, there are holy angels as well as fallen angels. And there's a battle that's happening. And that battle is to keep truth from being exposed, to keep truth hidden from the ears of man. And this angel comes to him and says, I wanted to get here, but for the last three weeks, I've been engaged in warfare.

So it's no wonder Daniel says in verse number one, what? The message was true and one of great warfare. Great warfare and it was. You see, we forget that even though there is this warfare going on, there's this war that's taking place in the heavenlies even as we speak. We have no idea what's happening, but it's going on as the scriptures say. And Daniel needs to understand this. But God says, look, it's all under my control.

I'm in charge of everything. Nothing's out of God's control. Remember back in Revelation chapter 13, these words are spoken. Revelation 13, speaking of the Antichrist, says in verse number five, there was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies and authority to act for 42 months was given to him. Who gave the Antichrist 42 months? Satan? No, Satan would give him as long as he wanted. He wouldn't put a time limit on it. So who puts a time limit on how the Antichrist rules? God does.

Who gave him the mouth? God did. Then he might even speak blasphemies against his name. And this is the verse number seven. It was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him. Who gave him the power? God did. Because God is orchestrating all events in history. He's in charge. He's bringing about his great purposes. God knows exactly what he's doing. And so there is this Prince of Persia who's trying to keep this angel from dispensing truth to Daniel.

And there's this war that goes on all the time Daniel's praying and looking for an answer, asking God, why are our people not going back? What is happening here? And there's this warfare, this great combat in the heavenlies and Daniel has no idea until now.

Now he knows. And so it says this, but the Prince of the Kingdom of Persia, verse 13, was withstanding me for 21 days. Then behold, Michael, one of the chief princes came to help me for I had been left there with the Kings of Persia. If it wasn't for Michael, I wouldn't have never been able to make it. Who's Michael? Michael is the archangel. He is the chief angel. Think about this. In Daniel nine, Gabriel comes. In Daniel 10, it's about Michael. And Michael is mentioned five times in scripture, three in the Old Testament, book of Daniel, two in the New Testament, Jude nine and Revelation 12, right?

Michael's warrior angel. Gabriel's messenger angel, but Michael is warrior angel. And the angel says, look, I'd have been there even now if Michael hadn't come and rescued me, if Michael hadn't come and helped me because Michael's the one that throws Satan out of heaven in Revelation 12, throws him down to the earth. Why? Because that's where Satan is, accusing the brethren day and night. Where? Before the throne of God. That's why we have, as John says, an advocate, a defense attorney. Why do we have a defense attorney in heaven?

Because we have an accuser in heaven. That's why. And so in Revelation 12, Daniel casts him out. So I thought Satan was already cast out of heaven. Yes, he was morally, but not geographically. But he'll be cast out of heaven geographically in Revelation 12. Remember Job one? Talking about Job in September. In Job one, what does Satan do? He comes before the throne of God. And God asked him, where have you been? As if he didn't know. Of course he knows, right? God knows everything. But Satan only knows what he can see.

He's not omniscient, right? And so everything is under the authority and power of the living God. So Michael, the archangel, Michael, warrior angel, he comes and rescues him so that he might get there. He says, now I have come to give you an understanding of what will happen to your people in the latter days for the vision pertains to the days yet future. Do you understand that? Remember the 70 weeks of Daniel's prophecy? The 70 weeks of Daniel's prophecy is only for Israel and the holy city, the Jewish people, right?

Now he says, I've come to give you understanding of what's gonna happen to your people Israel into the latter days, the end of time, the end of days when Messiah comes, I'm gonna unfold everything for you so you can begin to see it and understand it. But it deals with only the Jewish people. It doesn't deal with the Gentile people. Do you know that 70% of the Bible is a story about Israel? Did you know that? 70% of the Bible is the story of Israel. If you don't understand Israel, you will never get prophecy because prophecy surrounds Israel.

2,566 times Israel is mentioned by name. 2,566 times, the only thing mentioned more than that by name, God, because Israel, as the Bible says, 644 times are called the children of Israel.

The Bible 108 times says the Lord is the Lord of Israel. 200 times, it says that our Lord is the God of Israel. Everything in the scriptures points you back to Israel. That's why there's 70 weeks of prophecy dealing with your people and the holy city. We talked to you about those first 69 weeks.

There's one week left, it's coming. It'll be the tribulational period. That 70th week will unfold for us in chapter 11. You'll begin to understand it all the more. And now he says, this vision, again, it's for your people into the latter days so you understand this. You see, this is something that's very important for people to understand. Everything in the world centers around one piece of real estate, and that's Israel. Everything does. Nothing else really matters except Israel. And God protects Israel.

God preserves Israel. In fact, there was an atheist who came out with a question to one of his students, give me in the simplest amount of words how to prove the inerrancy, infallibility, and the authority of the Bible. And the man says, I can do it in one word. What's the word? Israel. There is no people group from ancient days who exists except Israel, the Jewish nation. There's no Jebusites, there are no Perizzites, there are no Amorites. There's no Jebusites. There's just the Israelites. Everybody else is gone.

How does one little nation, beleaguered nation, assaulted and attacked from the very beginning last this long? They're God's people. That's why. And God made a promise, a covenant promise to his people of Israel. When he made a promise to Israel, he made an unconditional covenant with Israel. So no matter what happens to Israel, whether they disobey or whether they obey, the covenant that God made with Abraham in Genesis 12, 15, 17, repeated again in Genesis chapter 28, that he made with Jacob. That covenant that God made is an unconditional covenant.

That means it does not depend upon Israel to obey or disobey. That's it. It's all about God's name and his sake. The Davidic covenant, Psalm 89, is all based on God's name. It's all about God. God's gonna preserve Israel for his sake, not their sake. Because he made a covenant. God's faithful, he doesn't lie. And the covenant with Abraham is a land covenant that deals with the land of Israel. Listen to what it says in the book of Deuteronomy. You gotta love this. Deuteronomy chapter 11. The Lord says this.

The land for which the Lord your God cares, the eyes of the Lord your God are always on it from the beginning even to the end of the year. God's eyes are always on one land, Israel. Never says that God's eyes are on America. God's eyes are on Russia. Only says God's eyes are on one land, the land of Israel. It doesn't mean that God is not omniscient and is not all seeing. He is, okay? He says that for emphasis sake. The psalmist says, God loves the dwelling places of Jacob more than all the places in the world.

Why? Does he not love any place else? It's not that he doesn't love any other place, but he loves the dwelling places of Jacob because he has a special affinity with the Jewish people. They're the apple of his eye. So he looks at everything through the lens of Israel. Everything. Everything is through the eye. If you don't understand Israel, you'll have a hard time in prophecy. If you get Israel, prophecy comes very easily. You need to know Israel because Christianity is the fruit and Israel is the root.

Everything stems from God's relationship with Israel. We are the by-product of all that's happened in the people Israel. So God says to this angel, I'm gonna tell you everything you need to know with understanding what's gonna happen to your people.

You need to get it until the latter days. And when he had spoken to me, according to these words, I turned my face toward the ground and became speechless. And behold, one who resembled a human being was touching my lips. And then I opened my mouth and spoke and said to him who was standing before me, oh my Lord, as a result of the vision, anguish has come upon me. And I have retained no strength. He has seen the vision of the living God and he still has no strength, why? Because the repercussions of that vision are astounding.

So it says, for how can such a servant of my Lord talk with such as my Lord? As for me, there remains just now no strength in me nor has any breath been left in me. Then this one with human appearance touched me again. Three times, the angel touches him. Three times he reaches down. Look what he says, oh man of high esteem. He's gonna reassure Daniel one more time. Daniel, you are greatly loved. You are so precious in the sight of God. You gotta know who you are, Daniel, how God views you. Three times he's called highly esteemed.

Abraham was called a friend of God. John was called the disciple whom Jesus loved, right? Mary was called one who was favored by God. But Daniel, he was highly esteemed before God. And it's said three times in two chapters because Daniel needs to understand where he stands with the true and living God. So he says, do not be afraid, peace be with you. Take courage and be courageous. Now, as soon as he spoke to me, I received strength and said, may the Lord speak for you have strengthened me. And he said, do you understand why I came to you?

You understand why I'm here, Daniel? Of course, it's a rhetorical question, right? But I shall now return to fight against the prince of Persia. So I'm going forth and behold, the prince of Greece is about to come. I gotta go back and do what I do. I gotta go back and engage in battle. I gotta be engaged in the great conflict. And when I'm done with that, guess what? Greece is gonna rise to power and I gotta engage in conflict with the prince of Greece as well. It's a never ending battle, Daniel.

And that's what I'm gonna do. However, verse 21, I will tell you what is inscribed in the writing of truth. You understand that? I'm gonna tell you. Listen, what's already been written down. I'm gonna tell you what the divine God of the universe has already recorded. This is what's going to happen. In other words, the sovereign God is so in charge of all things, he's written it all down. It's called the writing of truth. I'm gonna discharge to you everything that's been written down so that you'll get the truth for the future.

So what I'm gonna show you, what I'm gonna tell you in chapter 11 and 12 is all true. It's been written down by the divine God of the universe and there are no way is it ever going to be altered. It's never gonna be changed because it was written down in eternity past. I'm gonna reveal it to you. Yet there is no one who stands firmly with me against these forces except Michael, your prince. Michael, your prince. He's the one who stands with me. He's the one who fights with me. And all this is about how God is gonna fight for his people.

Listen, God has protected Israel for centuries behind an onslaught of assault. God has protected them and watched over them and they have turned their back on him. They've apostatized the faith. They have rebelled against him. They've committed idolatry and immorality. They rejected him. But God, because of his faithfulness, because of his forgiveness and because of his foreknowledge, he will not ever forsake Israel. Why? Because it's all a part of the entire plan. And the plan continues on. God has promised so much to them.

Listen to this, so rich, so true, so pure. In the book of Ezekiel, the 37th chapter, listen to this. My servant David will be king over them. Now remember, David's already dead. It's the book of Ezekiel. David the shepherd is the Messiah, the Messiah of Israel about to come. My servant David will be king over them and they will all have one shepherd and they will walk in my ordinances and keep my statutes and observe them. Who's that? That's Israel. Are they doing that now? Nope. Nope. They will live on the land.

What's it say? They will live on the land. When? When my servant David rules. They will live on the land. And I gave to Jacob my servant in which your fathers lived and they will live on it. Twice he says they're gonna live on it. And their sons and their sons' sons forever. And David, my servant, who is the Messiah, will be their prince forever. I will make a covenant of peace with them. It will be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will place them and multiply them and will set my sanctuary in their midst forever.

My dwelling place also will be with them and I will be their God and they will be my people. And the nations will know that I am the Lord who sanctifies Israel when my sanctuary is in their midst forever. All that is about the shepherd of Israel, David, the Messiah who will be with God's people forever in their land. Because Zechariah 6, 12 and 13 says he's going to build the temple for them in their land. Think about this. Do you think that the Old Testament prophets were all millennial? Do you think the Old Testament writers didn't believe in a literal kingdom?

What were they writing about? Did they think that the king coming was symbolic? That the kingdom was gonna be symbolic, allegorized? What were they thinking? Were they writing things down that were not gonna possibly ever come to be? Were they giving a false hope to Israel? Is that what they did? Or did the prophets write about a king who was coming who will reign on the throne of David and rule from his kingdom in Jerusalem that he might give to people the covenant he made with David, he made with Abraham and the new covenant.

I think the prophets all said that what they knew to be true was gonna happen. And now all of a sudden, listen, if there's gonna be a church that replaces Israel, it's gotta say it somewhere. It's gotta say it, it's gotta come out. But nowhere does it say that in the New Testament. And you cannot interpret the Old Testament from the New Testament. Oh no, you can't do that. That's bad, bad hermeneutics. Do you think the Old Testament prophets are saying, when the New Testament comes, we'll be able to understand what we're saying here.

That's not what they said. No, they really truly believed in a king, a kingdom, a land that was promised to them that they would rule in that kingdom with their Messiah. And just because they rejected their Messiah and hung them on a tree, it does not mean that God says, okay, that's it, you're done.

Now I'm gonna give everything to the church. All that was once yours is now I'm gonna give to the church. It was all true. Christ is gonna be born in Bethlehem. That's what Micah said. Where was Christ born? Bethlehem. It says that when he comes into Jerusalem, Zechariah 9, 9, he's gonna come on the backside of a donkey. Did he do that? Yes. Or did he come on something else? No, it's the backside of a donkey. It was all literal, right? It was all true. How about the crucifixion? Psalm 22. And the words that Christ would speak from the cross, they were all literal.

When they prophesied, they prophesied truth that was going to happen concerning the first coming. So why is it now all of a sudden, everything that's true about the second coming is allegorized?

It's all true. God has forsaken Israel, but he hasn't. It's all true. As the first coming was true and all the prophecy surrounding the first coming was true, so it is with this prophecy of the second coming.

They're all true and they're all literal. It's gonna happen just as the Old Testament prophets had spoken, because that was all inspired word of God. That would mean that God inspired writers to write that which wasn't true. God inspired Old Testament prophets to prophesy about something that's never really gonna happen. Ha ha, sorry, joke's on you, Israel. It's not gonna happen. We're taking the church instead. Oh no. No, not at all. It's all gonna happen just like the Lord said. So the angel says, I'm gonna tell you everything about your people Israel and the latter days.

I'm gonna tell you to you in great detail, more than you can even begin to imagine, Daniel. So next week when you come, we open up Daniel chapter 11. You'll begin to see how it all unfolds. Let's pray. Father, thank you Lord for tonight, chance to be in your word, the opportunity you give us to spend time in it together. What a joy to realize that when you speak, you speak truth. And Lord, we are responsible not just to teach that truth, but live that truth. Go before us this night. Give us safety as we go home.

Bring us back again this Lord's day to worship you as our king. In Jesus name, amen.