Daniel's Vision of the Ram and Goat, Part 2

Lord, we thank you for tonight and the opportunity we had to study the Bible. What a joy, Lord, it is for us to gather together and to look into the word of God and realize how much you have for us tonight. Open our eyes that we might behold your beauty in Jesus name. Amen. OK, Daniel, Chapter eight, Daniel, Chapter eight. Now I know I know that it's very easy to get confused in the book of Daniel. I understand that mainly because the book is not chronological. So if you haven't been here for a while and you just were here for Daniel one and Daniel two and Daniel three and four, then you missed five, six, seven.

And you show up with Daniel eight. You can get get pretty lost. Right. As to where are we and what's going on? Or you're just here for the very first time and you open up your Bible to Daniel, Chapter eight, and you're going to hear about these animals, these beasts, this kingdom and all that's happening.

It's very easy to be confused. It's very easy to get lost. I get that. So what I want to do is I want to make it as simple as possible for you. I want to bring it down to an understanding for every one of us to grasp that somehow my job is to explain to you, Daniel, Chapter eight. My job is to help you understand the practicality of Daniel, Chapter eight. So I want to begin there. I want to begin where we ended last Wednesday by looking at these principles that are so practical for you and me, because what we saw last week was that Daniel was a man who understood the treasure of truth.

We told you last week you had to treasure the truth of God. So three times in Daniel eight, he says, I, Daniel, I, Daniel, as if he's overwhelmed by what he's receiving. And I think that should be for every one of us. Right. So when you read Daniel, Chapter eight, and you read about Daniel and how overwhelmed he was at the opportunity, as well as the responsibility to be able to communicate this truth to somebody else, he was overwhelmed. I get overwhelmed just thinking about how I'm going to explain everything in Daniel eight to you.

Right. So and I have Book of Matthew. I've got the Book of Second Thessalonians. I got the Book of Revelation. Daniel didn't have any of that stuff. So he was overwhelmed at the visions and the opportunity that he had to explain this. So he truly treasured the truth of the living God. Not only that, he trusted the truth of the living God. Right. Talk to you about that, because you're going to see tonight why it is that God, when he gives the vision to Daniel, there is going to be a near prophecy that's fulfilled and a further prophecy that is yet to be fulfilled in Daniel's time, but will be down the road.

Why does God do that? He does that to authenticate the message of the prophet. Remember when Jesus prophesied the destruction of the temple on the Temple Mount in the Book of Matthew? He prophesied that. And 40 years later, it took place. So that would give people in their minds an understanding, a guarantee that what he said about that is so true happened, just like he said. Everything else, he says, must be true as well. And so what God would do with Old Testament prophets is give them a prophecy, a vision, a dream that would explain something that was going to take place and be fulfilled in the near future.

Months, weeks, years, and then in the long haul so that people would be guaranteed that it's going to happen. Daniel would learn to trust the truth of God. He trusted it explicitly. And even though he was transported to a place that had no palace, had no canal, but when he's there, there's a palace and a canal. And it would happen. Shortly after he would go back to Jerusalem, was proved positive that everything else in the vision would be true as well. All right. So what prophecy does is help us learn to trust the truth.

God said it happened tonight. You're going to see an exact day of prophecy fulfilled in Daniel nine. Again, you're going to see an exact day, an exact time period in which prophecy was fulfilled. All that does is add to the trust factor for you and me that when God speaks, he speaks truth. And when he gives a prophecy, it's going to happen exactly as he said. And so Daniel would trust the truth. And then, of course, we told you last week that you need to tackle the truth. Right. Why is that? Because some things, as Peter would say in 2 Peter 3, 16, are hard to understand.

Now we get that right. Not everything you read in the scripture is just going to jump out, say, oh, yeah, I understand that. Oh, yeah, I get that. There are some things more difficult to understand than other things are. So Peter says in 2 Peter 3, verse number 16, which, by the way, follows the exhortation about the day of the Lord and the arrival of the Messiah. He admits, yes, some things are hard to understand. And they are. That's why you have to be like Daniel. You have to be like Old Testament prophets.

You have to tackle the truth. You can't you can't just toy with the truth of God's word. You have to go after it. I mentioned this on on Sunday morning, book of Proverbs, Proverbs, chapter two, verse number one, my son, if you will receive my words and treasure my commandments within you and make your ear attentive to wisdom, incline your heart to understanding for if you cry for discernment, lift your voice for understanding and you seek her as silver and search for her as for hidden treasures.

Then you will discern the fear of the Lord and discover the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom from his mouth. Come knowledge and understanding. So if you want to find out the truth, you've got to search for it like a lost treasure. You've got to seek it like a man would seek after silver. That takes energy. It takes effort, diligence, discipline. You got to go after it. And if you want to be a Bible student, you're going to have to learn to tackle the truth. And you do that by listening.

You're attentive, as Solomon says in Proverbs two, making sure you're very alert, very awake and that you go after that truth, go after that principle, go after that chapter, go after that book with all the energy, with all the gusto you can measure measure up because you want to learn the truth of God's holy word. And Daniel would have to be that way because even he at times was confused. And so having said that, understand that when you study scripture, the scripture that's treasured, that's trusted needs to be tackled.

So. Daniel is a book that is not chronological. We told you that last week. It's chapter one, two, three, four. Chapter seven, chapter eight. Then chapter five. Then chapter nine, six, ten, eleven and twelve. And I told you last week, I have no idea why God did it that way. But that's that's the way it is. But as you open it up and you read it, you can be very easily confused because the Medo-Persians in chapter five have come in and captured, captured. Babylon, but now you go back to chapter seven and Belshazzar, who's the king of Babylon, is ruling.

And so you need to understand how to put it in chronological order in order to understand all that's happening. So let me say it to you this way.

Last week, I gave you this piece of paper. Remember that? I gave it to you for a purpose that you still have it. Hopefully you put in your Bible. OK. Daniel two and Daniel seven. OK, now we're in Daniel eight, right? But Daniel seven comes because it comes after Daniel two. Daniel to Nebuchadnezzar had a dream. That dream was in the form of a colossal image. And we were able to go through that dream with you to help you understand what it was that Nebuchadnezzar was dreaming and that Daniel would then interpret.

Well, years would go by and God would all of a sudden give a new vision for Daniel and Daniel seven. But it would accentuate Daniel two. It would explain more of Daniel chapter two. Why? Because after a while, Daniel, having given this prophecy to others, having told the king exactly what was going to happen, they're still in the realm of the golden head, which is Babylon. He's still in that time frame. So God gives him the vision of chapter seven. To explain more of the colossal image, plus add to it, because in the image there were ten toes.

But in Daniel chapter seven, there are ten kings. Ten horns are ten kings. And from those ten kings rises one who we understand to be the Antichrist. So what God does is he adds to the image of chapter two by giving a vision to Daniel in chapter seven so that he will learn more and more about what's happening, because he's going to have to explain this to the people in captivity that they might come to grips with all that's going on. So we told you that the image of. The colossal in Daniel two and the four beasts in Daniel seven span was called the time of the Gentiles.

The time of the Gentiles began. Christ talks about the times of Gentiles. Luke 21 verse number 24. They began in 606 B.C. when Babylon captured Jerusalem and took the Jews into captivity. That's when the times of the Gentiles began. So in Daniel, they began in Daniel one verse number one, because that's when Daniel is taken captive.

In the times of the Gentiles runs all the way to the end, to the return of the king. All right. So in Daniel two, there's a vision or a dream that Nebuchadnezzar has. And at the at the bottom of the image, there are 10 toes. And those toes and that feet are made of iron and clay. Well, that would tell us that whatever the iron legs were, something about the iron would come back again and the stone would come and crush them and destroy them. With the Lord makes it even more clear in Daniel seven, because now he's going to say what crushes them is the coming of the son of man.

That stone in Daniel two is the son of man in Daniel chapter seven. You with me so far still? OK. And so the son of man is going to come in. So he gets his vision, not only of these four beasts and why he might not understand the fourth beast. He realizes that the son of man is going to return. That gives hope to Israel. So the Lord is adding to Daniel's knowledge and understanding of the times of the Gentiles that take us all the way from the Babylonian captivity all the way to the end till Jesus Christ comes again.

That's what Daniel two was about. That's what Daniel seven is about. So when you come to Daniel chapter eight, when you come to Daniel chapter eight, now Daniel is going to get more clarification, OK? The Lord is going to name for Daniel. Two of the beasts, one is a ram and the other is a he go. He's going to name them as Medo-Persia and as Greece. So before they ever before Persia ever comes and destroys Babylon. He is going to get a prophecy that will be fulfilled in his lifetime, a near fulfillment, because some 12 years later, Cyrus comes and they destroy Babylon.

They captured it one night. And the Medo-Persian empire sets up his reign and begins to rule. So there will be a fulfillment of that vision 12 years from the Daniel chapter eight as to when that exactly happens. And everybody will see it happen. And they'll know that what Daniel's visions are coming true, that everything else he said in the further future will come true as well. And so the Lord is going to make it even more clear for him to help him understand exactly what's going to take place. And why does he use these two?

Why the Medo-Persian empire and why the Grecian empire? What is it about these two that's so significant? Well, you need to understand that this Medo-Persian empire that's going to come and rule how they rule according to Daniel chapter eight follows the pattern of how it is they would overtake. The nations of the world, and it happens exactly as Daniel prophesied. And they come and they take Babylon. And so all that's going to happen in his lifetime. He's going to see all that take place while he is in captivity.

This is going to happen. And so there's going to be a near fulfillment of all that's taken place. Plus, plus we told you last week Daniel knows the book of Isaiah. Isaiah prophesied 100 years before Daniel. And in his prophecy, he gives the prophecy 100 years before the birth of Cyrus that he will be his anointed, that he will be his servant that will come in and destroy Babylon. So he already knows this because he can read the book of Isaiah. So because he knows this and it's going to happen as the Lord said it was going to happen.

He's going to now see the fulfillment of that in his lifetime. 12 years from Daniel chapter eight, there's going to be a near fulfillment of the prophecy. That's why he addresses the Medo-Persian empire. He could have skipped right over that and not given any more information, Daniel, but he does. And that helps us because we realize, as Daniel did, that everything the Lord said came true exactly as he says it. And now he has to explain the Lord does to Daniel how it is that Medo-Persian empire will be conquered.

Because that won't happen until the hundreds BC and Daniel's in the 500 BCs. So it's going to get that near fulfillment of a prophecy, which will guarantee in people's minds the further fulfillment of prophecy. That's going to happen down the road. You still with me? I'm trying to make this as simple and as clear as concise as I possibly can. I want you to grasp it right. I want you to get this. Why? Because now he's going to give in this vision. He's going to give in the he goat that overtakes the ram.

Because he wants to understand that this is going to happen because that he goat gives us a big horn and a little horn. The big horn and the little horn are types. Of the Antichrist, who will ultimately come, he is the final horn. So there's a big horn. There's a little horn. There's a final horn all in Daniel chapter eight. So the big horn, right, and the little horn are types. We told you last week that the big horn was Alexander the Great. He was the one who conquered the Medo-Persian Empire. He was the the big horn that came on the scene.

And with swiftness and strength, he was able to conquer 120 different provinces in three years. That were run by the Persian leaders. And so we showed you last week that that's exactly what's going to happen. But he tells us this because Alexander the Great is a type of Antichrist. He's a type of Antichrist in his monumental power. Tonight, you're going to see the little horn, and he's a type by his murderous personality. So both are types. So for Daniel to understand Daniel seven and the rise of the the the horn or the king that overtakes three and rules the other seven.

OK, in Daniel seven, that's the Antichrist. We explained to you the different characteristics of that Antichrist in Daniel seven. Well, before that happens in the end. You need to know that there's going to be two men that are coming and their types of Antichrist, one in power and one in personality. One's power is monumental. That's Alexander the Great. He died at age 33, right? And then there were four kings that would rule after him. We told you last week they didn't rise to power until when? Twenty two years after the death of Alexander the Great.

But yet they would have four kingdoms. And we told you last week that they were Cassander, Lysimachus, Seleucus and Ptolemy. All that you can read in history. It's all been recorded. It happened exactly as the Lord said it was going to happen. And yet from one of those kingdoms. Comes a little horn. And that's where we left you off last week. Now, if you haven't been with us, we're dropping you Daniel eight. You're probably really confused, OK? Don't want to do that with you for you. I'm sorry, but that's where we're at.

So let me try to make it as simple as I possibly can. As you look at Daniel chapter eight versus nine and following, because this is where we left off last week.

OK, Daniel chapter eight, verse number nine. Out of one of them came forth a rather small horn out of one of what? Well, the four kings that took over from. Alexander the Great, he was the big horn. He was the one that had the horn in between in the in the she goat or the he go, excuse me. That was between his eyes. We told you the horn symbolized power. I symbolize intelligence and insight. And that's what Alexander had. He had all the power in the world. He was by some the greatest, the greatest and most powerful ruler ever for how fast he conquered the world.

But when he died at age 33, which was last week, he died because he could conquer the enemy without. But he could not conquer the enemy within. Right. He was an alcoholic. He drank himself to death. And 22 years later, these four kings rise to power. And out of one of them, one of them. Comes a little horn. You with me so far? So out of those, there was Alexander the Great. After him, there were four kings that ruled that empire. And from one of them came a little horn. Now, remember, the reason the Lord does this is to show you that specifically show Daniel that there's coming to specific people, a big horn and a little horn, and the little horn grows to great power.

But this little horn is not the same little horn in Daniel chapter seven. That's the final horn. Now you're really confused, right? But you need to understand that because there's going to come in the Jewish people need to know this. They need to know that in their future, there are lies to powerful, murderous people that are going to rise to power. But they're not the Antichrist. You're going to think that the Antichrist of Daniel seven, but they're not. And they're going to come and they're going to rule and they're going to be like Antichrist.

But not the Antichrist. Remember what John said over in 1 John chapter two, verse number 18. Children, it is the last hour. And just as you heard that Antichrist is coming, even now, many Antichrists have appeared. There are many people that are Antichrist. But you know that there's one Antichrist who is coming. How did John's audience know an Antichrist was coming? Book of Daniel. That's how they would know. They would know about the types of Antichrist that would come. The false messiahs that would come who want to set themselves up as God.

But there's going to come one Antichrist who is yet in the future from John's day. In second Thessalonians, what is it that Paul says?

Second Thessalonians chapter two, he says this. Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will come unless the apostasy comes first and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction.

This lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of his mouth. So. Paul says to those in Thessalonica in chapter two, verse number five. Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things? So evidently in first Thessalonians, not recorded, Paul was telling them about the coming Antichrist.

So in second Thessalonians, he's going to reiterate. I've already told you this while I was with you, but let me repeat it for you so you understand it.

Because you see, they're like us. They had a hard time grasping everything about the Antichrist as well. So Paul says, let me clarify it for you.

I want you to understand it. And again, where did Paul get it from? Book of Daniel. That's how you would know, because it's already been written. It's already been given to them. So they would be students of the word. They would tackle the truth. They would begin to understand the truth and then they would relay that truth to others. Remember what Jesus said in Matthew, chapter 24? He says, verse 15. Therefore, when you see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of through Daniel, the prophet standing in the holy place, let the reader understand.

Then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. So Jesus is going to refer back to Daniel. Now, that's not Daniel seven or eight. That's Daniel nine. We're not there yet, but that's Daniel nine, because Daniel speaks of the abomination of desolation in chapter nine. That deals with the Antichrist. Daniel chapter seven, chapter eight, chapter nine, chapter 11 has a huge focus on the coming Antichrist. Because the Jews need to be prepared. They need to know it's coming or he's coming. But in the meantime, there are two individuals, a big horn and a little horn that are types of Antichrist.

They're not Antichrist, but they're types. Alexander in power and this little horn in personality. Who is the little horn? Well, read on. So we go back to the book of Daniel. It says this out of one of them came forth a rather small horn, which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east and toward the beautiful land. What's the beautiful land? That's Israel. Interesting, only Daniel and Ezekiel refer to Israel as the beautiful land. It's called the glory of the gems. That's a better translation, the glory of the gems of all the gems that Christ has, the glory of all those gems is Israel.

It's the central focus of the world. So whatever you think about prophecy, you have to think about prophecy in relation to Israel, because that's where everything is centered. That's where everything will be. And so when you're thinking about the news and you watch the news, you must always keep your eye on the Middle East, must always keep your eye on Israel. Because for Ezekiel 38 to happen, Israel has to be present in the land. Are they? Yes. Israel has to be at peace in the land. Are they? No.

And Israel has to be prosperous in the land. Are they? No, but they will be. Okay. And so as you begin to read and understand, keep your eye in Israel on that promised land, that beautiful land, that glory of the gems. So this little horn is going to grow exceedingly great. And it says in verse 10, it grew up to the host of heaven and caused some of the host and some of the stars to fall to the earth and it trampled them down. So what are the hosts and what are the stars? Well, if you go back and you read the book of Genesis, you begin to realize that in Genesis 15, Genesis chapter 22, Daniel chapter 12 and verse number three, Revelation 12 and verse number one.

The stars are Israel. And so whoever the little horn is, the stars are being trampled, they're being torn down, they're being destroyed because that's what this little horn did. You say, well, who is he? Hold on, I'll tell you. So it says in verse number 11, it even magnified itself to be equal with the commander of the host or the prince of princesses, which is the Lord himself. And it removed the regular sacrifice from him and the place of his sanctuary was thrown down. And on account of transgression, the host will be given over to the horn along with the regular sacrifice.

And it will fling truth to the ground and perform its will and prosper. So whoever this individual is, he is going to trample down the sanctuary. He's going to tear up the scriptures. He's going to come against the sovereign God of Israel. He wants to go against the sacrificial system and destroy it. And history tells us that there was one king who did all this. He was the eighth king. That came from one of the four kings from the territory of Syria and Seleucid. His name was Antiochus Epiphanes.

Antiochus the fourth Epiphanes. Epiphanes means illustrious one. OK, he called himself the most illustrious one. And so he would set himself up as king and he would rule. And he was a murderous person. He was so nasty that he threw out the law of God. He even said, you cannot circumcise your children any longer because to fulfill. Abrahamic covenant. Jews must circumcise their young boys. But if you circumcise your child, he would kill the child, he'd hang the child. They'd hang the child around the mother's neck, make her walk through the streets and then throw off a cliff.

That's how murderous he was. He hated the law of God. He did a sanctuary of God. So he disposed of all the sacrificial system and began to sacrifice pigs on the altar instead of lambs and goats. And sheep, he began to run rampant over the Jewish people. Well, they would need to know this because this is a type of Antichrist that's going to come, that when he sets up his kingdom and begins to rule and reign from Jerusalem, he will set himself up as God because he will come against God. Antiochus Epiphanes even minted coins, Antiochus Theos Epiphanes.

Antiochus is God, the illustrious one. And so he made people buy and sell only with that coin, no other coin, just that coin. Kind of reminds you of what's going to happen in the end times, right? You can only buy and sell if you got the mark of the beast. So that's what he did. And he was a vicious ruler. Now, Daniel's not going to see this man come to power. But because of the prophecy centered around Medo-Persia, he would see that happen. He'll be in his 80s when it takes place. It's in Daniel chapter five.

And that's exactly how it happens. So he's going to see a near fulfillment. This one he will not see. But everybody will know because there was a near fulfillment of prophecy, because who could destroy the Babylonian Empire? It was the greatest empire that ever existed at that point until Cyrus came and destroyed it. But yet there's going to rise another powerful ruler who will destroy the Persian Empire, and that's the Grecian Empire. Now, the Roman Empire, that's going to come later, right? The revival of that Roman Empire, that comes later, that comes at the cusp of the tribulation into that tribulation.

But they need to know that when this guy comes, he is not the Antichrist, but he is against Christ. He is Antichrist. Now, listen to what it says. It says in verse number 13, Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to that particular one who was speaking, How long will the vision about the regular sacrifice apply? While the transgression causes horror, so as to allow both the holy place and the host to be trampled, that is the sanctuary and the saints. He said to me, for two thousand three hundred evenings and mornings, then the holy place will be properly restored.

So Daniel receives a time element. That's important for the Jews in the future to understand. Two thousand three hundred days, that's six years in the third.

Remember, when the Antichrist rules, he rules for 42 months. All right, he rules for three and a half years. The Antichrist of the book of Revelation, second Thessalonians chapter 2.

But this ruler will rule for six years and a third, two thousand three hundred days. In other words, the number is exact. Now, how do we know this? If you were to open up your study and look in the Apocrypha, there's a book called Maccabees, first Maccabees.

A great historical record of this time period and all that took place. In fact, most historians refer to that when they begin to understand about Antiochus Epiphanes and all that he did. Well, if you read that, you know when he was taken out of power. When the Maccabeans, under the rulership of Judas Maccabeus, who was called Judas the Hammer. On December the 25th in the year 170, I'm sorry, 165 B.C., the temple was restored. The Jews celebrate that day and that time period with a festival of lights.

It's called Hanukkah, right? Hanukkah is celebrated based on Judas Maccabeus and his restoring the temple back to its original sacrifices. And that happened on December the 25th, 165 B.C. So what the prophecy is, 2,300 days, you have to go back to September the 6th, 171 B.C. and ask what happened on that day? Because if it's exact as the Lord says it is, something had to take place 2,300 days before December the 25th, 165 B.C. And if you go back 2,300 days, you'll realize that on that day, Onesius III, the high priest in Israel, was murdered.

He was murdered on that day because Antiochus wanted to set up his system in the temple. And so he put together a pseudo-priesthood that would allow him to do whatever he wanted to do in the temple. So from that day, September the 6th, 171 B.C., 2,300 days later, Judas Maccabeus restores the temple back to its original condition and the sacrifices back to their original condition. The Jews now celebrate Hanukkah, which by the way, Hanukkah means what? Dedication. It's a festival of dedication. Dedication of what?

Daniel chapter 8. When, it says in Daniel chapter 8, verse number 14, it says, For 2,300 evenings and mornings, then the holy place will be properly restored or therefore it will be properly dedicated once again. So the prophecy is exact, as it all comes together, exactly as the Spirit of God gave Daniel in this vision. So it says, in verse 15, When I, Daniel, had seen the vision, I sought to understand it. And behold, standing before me was one who looked like a man. And I heard the voice of a man between the banks of Uli.

And he called out and said, Gabriel, first mention of Gabriel, by the way, Gabriel, give this man an understanding of the vision.

So he came near to where I was standing. And when he came, I was frightened and fell on my face. But he said to me, Son of man, understand that the vision pertains to the time of the end. Gabriel speaks. Gabriel is the great messenger. Michael is the great warrior. Two angels by name mentioned in scripture. Gabriel, Luke 1, Luke 2, Zacharias, when he's offering sacrifices in the temple, he speaks to him. Mary talks to her about the virgin birth. Gabriel is the messenger. Michael is the warrior. And Gabriel is going to give the message.

He's going to give the interpretation of the vision. So Daniel understands it. He says, this is the time of the end. Very important phrase. Look what it says. Now, while he was talking with me, I sank into a deep sleep with my face to the ground. But he touched me and made me stand upright. He said, behold, I am going to let you know what will occur at the final period of the indignation. For it pertains to the appointed end time of the end. What is the time of indignation? That's a very important phrase.

Well, it's when God is indignant with Israel. It began in the 730s BC. It runs parallel to the times of the Gentiles, which began in 606 BC. But the times of indignation began in the 730s BC, when Assyria would come and capture the ten northern kingdoms, which is called Israel or Ephraim. Because of their rebellion and their revolting against the Lord God of Israel. These are the times of indignation. When God himself is indignant with Israel because they rebelled against his authority. And the times of indignation will run all the way to the end.

Daniel 11 verse number 36. It runs all the way to the end of the tribulation. Because the tribulation is called the time of Jacob's trouble. In other words, the times of indignation runs a lot longer than the times of the Gentiles. Remember the times of the Gentiles? Israel is all about Gentile supremacy over Israel under God's sovereignty. The times of indignation are the times when God is indignant with Israel. And that happened in the 730s BC. Because in 722 BC, the northern kingdom was taken captive by Assyria.

And God would use Assyria with the ten northern kingdoms. He'd use Babylon with the southern kingdom. And they would go off to captivity. And God remains indignant toward Israel. Until the end. When he comes again and restores them. Saves them. And they enter into the millennial kingdom. Are you with me so far? Sure. Verse 20. This is the interpretation of the vision. We saw the introduction to the vision. We saw the investigation of the vision. Now this is the interpretation of the vision. The ram which you saw with the two horns represents the kings of Medo-Persia.

The shaggy goat represents the kingdom of Greece. So the Lord is very specific. Says exactly who they are. And then it says, And the large horn that is between his eyes is the first king.

The broken horn and the four horns that arose in its place represent four kingdoms. Which will arise from his nation. Although not with his power. And that's true. Those four kings rose to power after Alexander the Great. But they weren't nearly as strong as he was. But the eighth king from the Seleucid Empire. Would be Antiochus Epiphanes. And he would be a type of Antichrist. Who would rise. He is the little horn. The big horn. Alexander the Great. The little horn. Antiochus Epiphanes. The final horn.

Is the Antichrist. That final horn. Is depict. Once again. In the end of the chapter. As he begins to explain. In the latter period of their rule. When the transgressors have run their course. When the transgressors. That's apostate Israel. When Israel has run their course. A king will arise. Insolent. And skilled in intrigue. His power will be mighty. But not by his own power. Why? Because he's been dwelt by. Demons. By Satan. And he will destroy to an extraordinary degree. And prosper in performance will.

He will destroy mighty men. And the holy people. And through his shrewdness. He will cause the seat to succeed by his influence. And he will magnify himself in his heart. And he will destroy many. While they are at ease. He will even oppose the prince of princes. And he will be broken. Without. Human. Agency. The vision of the evenings. And the mornings. Which has been told. Is true. It's going to happen just like we said. But keep the vision secret. For pertains. To many days. In. The future. Now keeping a secret doesn't mean keeping it hidden.

It means keep it protected. Preserve it. Watch over it. Keep it in your heart. Tend to it. Protect it. It's so valuable. You need to understand this. Why? Because the time periods are important Daniel. The people need to understand. The sequence. The order of events. And how they're going to take place. Because everything I've said to you is true. And because it's true. The people need to believe it. And so therefore.

The vision of the days. Evening and morning. They're all true. Exactly as we said it was going to happen. And it did. History proves. That it was true. God's Word was true before history proved it was true. Because God's Word is always true. Right? Sure. And it happened just like the Lord said. Now.

This. Alexander the Great. Who's a type of Antichrist. In terms of his power. And Antiochus Epiphanes. Who's a type of Antichrist in his personality. Because one is. One is murderous. That is. Toward the people of Israel. That was Antiochus Epiphanes. And that's the way the Antichrist will be at the end. They become a type. Of the final horn. That will rise to power. Because he will rise to power. Not on his own initiative. But because he is indwelt. By Satan. Who will move him. To extraordinary power.

But. He will be destroyed. Without any human agency. How? Well 2 Thessalonians 2 tells us. He'll be destroyed. By the breath. Of the Lord. The Lord just has to speak. And he's done. That simple. So what's. The implications. Well. Verse 27. Then I Daniel. Was exhausted. That's you guys tonight right? Well we're exhausted man. Let's get out of here. I was exhausted. And sick for days. And then I got up again. And carried on the king's business. But I was astounded. At the vision. And there was none.

To explain it. That's how it ends. Now think about. If you're Daniel. You don't have. The history. That we have. And so he's exhausted. Just thinking about. What's going to happen. And how it's all going to come. Come to be. He doesn't necessarily. Grasp all this. We can go back. And we can read history. And realize that. Everything happens. Exactly as God said. It was going to happen. Way before it ever took place. And that will cause us. To trust God's word. Even all the more. Right? And yet Daniel was exhausted.

He was even sick for many days. Which tells us. What? It tells us that. Not only do we. Treasure God's word. And trust God's word. And tackle God's word. We need to tremble. At God's word. Daniel was exhausted. He couldn't explain it. Didn't necessarily understand it all. But he had it. But he was. Overwhelmed. Because this prophecy. Would once again deal with the persecution of God's people. The times of indignation. Book of Isaiah. Tells us. About the times of indignation. With Assyria. And the book of Zechariah.

Talks to us about. The times of indignation with Babylon. So. Daniel. Thinking about this. Time of indignation. Where God is angry with. His people Israel. Had to. Overwhelm him. Because you see. He has to go back and explain this to people. He has to tell them about this time. Well they already know. That God's angry with them. Because they're in captivity. Right? That's where they're at. And they're there. Because of their own rebellion. They're there because of their own sin. And they know that God's not pleased with them.

They knew the glory of the Lord had departed from the temple. And that God's hand wasn't upon them. Like it used to be. They knew that. Daniel has to go back and explain it to them. And when you begin to realize. The effect. Of disobedience. To the word of God. This effect upon your life. It should cause you to tremble. Unbelievably. Why? Because God's word is authoritative. Right? God's word is true. In Isaiah 66. Verse number 2 says. To this man will I look. To him who is broken and of a contrite heart.

Who trembles at my word. That's the man I look toward. I want that man. Used. By me. Because that's a broken man. He's broken over what? His sin. And realizes the consequences of sin. So the implications. Continue. With the fact that we need to tremble at God's word. On top of that. We need to be able to. Teach. And tell. God's word. Daniel had to. He gets the vision. He's going to keep it secret. He's going to preserve it. Going to protect it. But he's going to explain it to people. It was a vision.

It was explained to him by Gabriel. Well he's a prophet. He has to add to the vision of Daniel 7. Remember this happens in the third year of Belshazzar.

So in the first year of the reign of Belshazzar. As king of Babylon. He gets Daniel 7 vision. In the third year.

Two years later. He gets the second vision. And so as he's relaying the information. To the Jewish people. About the first vision.

And all their confusion. He gets the second one. Two years later. Which might even add more confusion. To what it is they think or believe. But they need to understand the vision. They need to understand the future. They need to understand what's going to happen. So they can be prepared. So they can teach and tell their children. So they can teach and tell. Their children. So the implications of the vision is that. Not only is the vision true. Not only is it. Can be trusted. But you've got to tell other people about it.

It's all about prophecy. It's about the future, right? Isn't that true? That we should be telling other people. About the coming of the Messiah. The king that's going to come. And rule and reign. Before he comes. There's going to be a false king. Who's going to rule and reign. Very important to understand all this. Because it governs how we live our lives. It governs what it is we are taught. It governs how we learn to tell other people. That they might learn to live. As God wants them to live. We have to be involved in telling the truth.

We have to be involved in teaching people the truth. That's what we do. Because it's all about the truth. On top of that. You need to make sure that you tend. To the truth. To protect it. Daniel had to protect it. He had to preserve it. We contend earnestly for the faith. That was once for all delivered to the saints. We are protectors. We are guardians of the truth. The church is a pillar and foundation of the truth. Paul told Timothy. Protect the truth. Guard the treasure. Watch over the treasure.

Why? You don't want to tamper with the treasure. You don't want to dilute the treasure. You want to make sure you protect it. Preserve it as it is. So you can effectively teach others about it. So when Paul says. In 2 Timothy 2 verse number 15. Study to show yourself approved unto God. A workman that needeth not to be ashamed. Rightly dividing the word of truth. Cutting it straight. So people understand it. You have to tackle it. So that you can teach it. You can't teach scripture. Unless you tackle the scripture.

You can't. And you got to protect it. You got to preserve it. You got to make sure that no one tinkers with the truth. And dilutes the gospel. Dilutes prophecy. Dilutes the emphasis of the Christ. You got to teach the truth. And these are the implications of Daniel chapter 8. Daniel's response. Daniel's questions. Daniel gets up. And what does he do? He gets overwhelmed. After he was sick. He went back and did the king's business. So. Not only do you. Treasure the truth. Trust the truth. Tackle the truth.

Tremble at the truth. Teach the truth. Tell the truth. Tend to the truth. You must transfer. And translate. The truth. How do you translate it? You go back to work. So tomorrow when you go back to work. You go back to translate the truth. Because you're going to transfer that to other people. And how is it that Daniel would translate this truth. When he went back to do the king's business. He had a responsibility. He had a responsibility to dispense truth. He was in charge of the magi. The magicians.

He was going to teach them. About the coming king. The coming prince. But he had to teach them everything in between that. So they would understand. But the most important thing is. He had to live the truth. He had to translate it out. In everyday living. And that. Is so important for us. Daniel go back to work. I'm sure you'd like to sit up in his room. And open his curtains and pray. And just keep on praying. And not have to go back to work. But he's got to go back and do the king's business. That's his job.

That's what he does. Tomorrow when you get up. You get up to do what? To translate. The truth. By doing the king's business. To make sure that people understand. What you truly believe. And why you believe it. Why you can be encouraged. When things around you are falling apart. Why you can be at peace on the inside. When people are anxious on the outside. All the time. You translate that truth to them. Because you live out the gospel. You live it out so people can understand it. That's what Daniel did.

And next week. You open Daniel. Chapter nine. And Daniel. Realizes. That the 70 years are almost up. Just a few years left. And upon realizing that. He goes to prayer. And he prays. The most significant prayer. Of any person in the scriptures. Outside of the Lord Jesus. And for you to understand how to pray. You need to understand Daniel's prayer. Because it is absolutely powerful. But it's based on the revelation of the truth. That what God said about 70 years captivity. Is almost up. And it drives him to his knees.

And what he prays about. Is what you and I need to pray about. But that's next week. Let's pray. Father thank you Lord for tonight. A chance to be in your word. Thank you Lord for the things you teach us. We know that sometimes things are hard to understand. Help us to be students of the word. Help us to dive into the word. Help us to hang on every word of the word. Because Lord there is so much there for us to learn and understand. Lord. Drive these truths deep into our hearts. That we might understand them.

Come to grips with them. And then. Get up tomorrow. Go to work. Doing what it is you called us to do. For the glory of your kingdom. In Jesus name. Amen.