Church: Reformed Baptist Church of Franconia | Text: Daniel 7 | Date: April 7, 2019 | Speaker: Fred Zaspel

Take your Bibles if you will, turn to Daniel chapter 7. Continuing to work through Daniel’s prophecy, this is our, if I count correctly, fifth time in chapter 7, and I think the last. I want to take the time to read through the whole chapter again; it’s been a few weeks since we were here. We need to be familiar with it.

Daniel chapter 7:

In the first year of Belshazzar, the king of Babylon, Daniel saw a dream and visions of his head as he lay on his bed. Then he wrote down the dream and told the sum of the matter. Daniel declared, “I saw in my vision by night and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea. And four great beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another. The first was like a lion and had eagle’s wings. Then I looked and its wings were plucked off and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man and the mind of a man was given to it. And behold, another beast, a second one, like a bear. It was raised up on one side. It had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth, and it was told, ‘Arise, devour much flesh.’ After this, I looked, and behold, another, like a leopard, with its four wings of a bird on its back. And the beast had four heads, and dominion was given to it.

After this I saw in the night visions and behold a fourth beast, terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth, it devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it and it had ten horns. I considered the horns and behold, there came up among them another horn, a little one, before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots. And behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth speaking great things.

As I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool. His throne was fiery flames, its wheels were burning fire. A stream of fire issued and came from before him. A thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousands stood before him. The court sat in judgment, and the books were opened. And I looked because of the sound of the great words that the horn was speaking. And as I looked, the beast was killed and its body destroyed and given over to be burned with fire. As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.

I saw in the night visions and behold with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him and to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom that all peoples, nations and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.

As for me, Daniel, my spirit within me was anxious and the visions of my head alarmed me. I approached one of those who stood there and asked him the truth concerning all this. So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of the things. These four beasts are four kings who shall arise out of the earth. But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, forever and ever.

Then I desired to know the truth about the fourth beast, which was different from all the rest, exceedingly terrifying, with its teeth of iron, its claws of bronze, and which devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet, and about the 10 horns that were on its head, and the other horn that came up, and before which three of them fell, the horn that had eyes and a mouth that spoke great things, and that seemed greater than its companions. As I looked, this horn made war with the saints and prevailed over them, until the Ancient of Days came and judgment was given for the saints of the Most High, and the time was come when the saints possessed the kingdom.

Thus he said, as for the fourth beast, there shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, which shall be different from all the kingdoms. It shall devour the whole earth and trample it down and break it to pieces. As for the ten horns out of this kingdom, ten kings shall arise and another shall arise after them. He shall be different from the former ones and shall put down three kings. He shall speak words against the Most High and shall wear out the saints of the Most High and shall think to change the times and the law. And they shall be given into his hand for a time, times and a half a time. But the court shall sit in judgment and his dominion shall be taken away to be consumed and destroyed to the end. And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High. His kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom and all dominions shall serve and obey him.

Here is the end of the matter. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts greatly alarmed me and my color changed, but I kept the matter in my heart.

Let’s bow together for prayer. Our Father, as we come back now to this fascinating portion of your word—unusual though it is—we ask again now that you’ll give us an understanding of it. And through it, we pray that you’ll give us an understanding of what we can expect for the future. Give us a greater appreciation for the Lord Jesus who fulfills this prophecy in such wonderful ways. Cause our hearts to rejoice in what he has accomplished for us and what he has secured for us. We ask in his name, amen.

Well, as we’ve seen now in these studies, chapter 7 of Daniel is divided nicely in half. We have the first 14 verses which give us this vision—it’s an apocalyptic vision, remember? Apocalyptic literature is marked by grandiose cerebral cartoons, these graphic pictures describing what will come in graphic ways, describing not only the course of the age, but then the incoming of the kingdom of God—God breaking in in judgment and bringing us to the conclusion of the age.

Well, that’s how it is interpreted for us in verses 15 to the end, verse 28: that these beasts that arise out of the sea—each of them, the lion, the bear, the leopard, and then this nondescript beast—each of them is a kingdom that shall arise. The first kingdom being Babylon, the second being Medo-Persia, the third being the kingdom of Greece (and we will see more of those in the coming chapters as well, by the way). And then the fourth beast is Rome, but it’s not just Rome. It is Rome as it then expands to the kingdom of the world that takes us all the way to the end when Jesus returns.

We have the beast itself, the fourth beast, and then we have these ten horns. Each of these ten horns is a representation of kingdoms that arise out of the aftermath of the Roman Empire. But the beasts are the kings, are the kingdoms; that is the outline of the chapter. We have these successive kingdoms that arise, led by successive kings, finally to come to the end when the Son of Man comes and establishes the kingdom of God.

Now, we’ve seen through this—we’ve been here, as I mentioned, I think four times previously. First, we did a quick overview of the chapter to see the broad overview, as I’ve just explained it. Then we began to look at some prominent themes that are important in the chapter, that really are important for the chapter itself and for the whole flow of the book of Daniel. And we saw, first of all, the great theme overall is the God who rules the nations. Then we saw the little horn who opposes the people of God, this great opponent of the people of God that we’ll see more of in chapter 8, and then again in chapter 11, and finally at the end as well.

So we’ve had the God who rules the nations, the little horn who opposes the people of God. And then we looked for two weeks at this theme of the Son of Man in verses 13 and 14. And now finally today, we’ll look at the Son of Man who establishes the kingdom of God.

The Son of Man Who Establishes the Kingdom of God

That is, I think, the climactic point of the passage. Notice, first of all, as we’ve seen in verses 13 and 14, the coronation.

The Coronation of the King

Verses 13 and 14 again: “I saw in the night visions and behold with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. To him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom and all peoples, nations and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away. His kingdom, one that shall not be destroyed.”

Beginning at verse 9, we have the judgment scene take place. The Ancient of Days takes his place on the throne. The rebellious kingdoms are disposed of in short shrift in verses 9 through 11. And then we have, through 12… and then we have in verses 13 and 14 the establishing now of this new king, the Son of Man, God’s king who comes to rule.

Now we saw that verses 13 and 14 are a coronation scene. It’s a regal kind of atmosphere. The Son of Man is a heavenly figure. He’s called the Son of Man, which is to say he is a man, but yet at the same time, he’s a heavenly figure. He comes on the clouds. He stands before the Ancient of Days. He appears there as though it’s his right to be there. He receives the kingdom. And we saw that this is clearly—if not in the passage itself, which I think it is, but clearly in the flow of the scriptures—this is meant for us to see Messiah taking the throne of God to establish the kingdom of God that has been promised. We’ve seen that in places like Psalm 110, verse 1, where the Lord said to my Lord, “Sit on my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.”

And so this we see then is the Lord Jesus, who repeatedly claimed to be the Son of Man. This was his favorite self-designation. And so here he comes and he establishes the kingdom of God. We have seen that in verses 13 and 14, the establishing of the kingdom of God is something that happened first of all in the cross work of Christ—in his cross, his resurrection, his ascension. Here Jesus establishes his right to rule and the kingdom of God is established in the first coming of Jesus Christ. He has successfully completed his mediatorial work and now as a consequence of that, God has established him as Lord and King, the Messianic King ruling over all as it has been promised.

And verse 14 then gives a marvelous prospect about all of that. To him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom for this purpose, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.

All peoples, nations, and languages now will serve the Son of Man. You remember we’ve been led up to this in the book of Daniel. Previously, this phrase, “peoples, nations, and languages,” occurred in some other contexts in Daniel. In chapter 3, Nebuchadnezzar commanded that all peoples, nations, and languages bow before his image and acknowledge his greatness. And then in chapter 4, Nebuchadnezzar writes again to all peoples, nations, and languages to tell them what God had done to him to make him learn that God is king over all. And then we saw in chapter 6, just before this, that Darius now, the Mede, gives a decree after the lion’s den incident. He makes a decree that all peoples and nations and languages must tremble in fear before the God of Daniel. And now, chapter 7, all peoples, nations, and languages bow before the Son of Man, acknowledge his kingship as he establishes the kingdom of God and is made king.

You just gotta love what we see in verses 13 and 14. Looking at it in the sweep of redemptive history as it’s filled in for us in the New Testament, you just can’t help but see here Jesus has come, he’s established the kingdom of God, and now eventually every knee will bow before him and acknowledge that he is Lord and Christ. It is a marvelous prospect that we have given for us in verses 13 and 14.

But you don’t have to think long on verses 13 and 14 before you recognize that what this is describing has not happened yet. The beasts live on, the nations are still in revolt, Christ is king, but his kingdom is still being contested. The people of the world, the world itself, is still in revolt. The world still refuses his kingship. And so he has a kingship. It has been established. He’s been crowned the king. He’s seated at the right hand of the Father. But it is a kingdom that has not yet been fully realized. It has not yet been brought to its consummation.

And so we call this, as I’ve been saying it throughout the series, the inaugurated aspect of the kingdom of God. Christ has come, and in this age, he is king, and we preach the gospel of the kingdom. And one by one, God rescues us out of the kingdom of darkness and brings us into the kingdom of his dear Son. And we preach the gospel of the kingdom and the kingdom is extended and so on. But the kingdom clearly still waits consummation because the world is in revolt against it and is still being contested.

And so the great illustration of this—that you heard me make that is not original with me but I think fits it so well—is the difference between D-Day and V-E Day, or Victory in Europe Day. Once the Allied soldiers landed on Normandy and established that beachhead on D-Day, to anyone observing it, you’ve got to know this war is over. We’ve established a beachhead. Hitler is now closed off. There’s a shortage of materiel. There’s a dwindling supply of trained military brass. We’re making our way closer and closer to Berlin. Everybody knows this war is over. But in fact, it was another two years before Victory in Europe Day, V-E Day.

And this illustrates very well for us what we have in the scriptures: that Christ has come, he has completed successfully his mediatorial work, he has established the kingdom of God—it is here. And yet it is still being contested and it’s still being revolted against. And one day, there’ll be V-E Day when he returns and brings that kingdom to consummation.

I think I explained it, maybe it was last time or the time before, that the question in the New Testament—”When is Jesus made king?”—is not a question that’s answered all at once. But in fact, we find that Jesus is king at his birth. The wise men recognize him as that. He’s the Davidic son. It is a great theme in all the infancy narratives of Jesus. The king has arrived. Then we find it in his ministry. The kingdom of God is among you. And he casts out Satan and he casts out demons—establishing there that the kingdom of God is among you. And then Jesus himself says, “It is at the cross that Satan is cast out,” and he, being lifted up, establishes the kingdom of God. There, it’s done. But then we find, no, it’s the resurrection of Jesus—there and now he’s exalted as king. No, it’s at the ascension of Jesus where he takes his seat at the right hand of the Father. And finally, no, it’s not until his return when he brings the kingdom to consummation that this kingdom prophecy is finally fulfilled.

Well, this is what we have here only in short shrift in Daniel chapter 7. And in fact, although verses 13 and 14 are a coronation scene, Daniel chapter 7 as a whole is not about simply the Son of Man receiving the kingdom. The thrust of the chapter is about the Son of Man bringing the kingdom to its consummation. And so in verses 13 and 14, we have the coronation of the king, but in virtually the rest of the prophecy, we have the consummation of the kingdom.

So verses 13 and 14, the coronation scene, but the focus of the passage—these verses moving forward—is on the consummation and the kingdom and its culminating aspect. Now there are two, in this passage, two leading aspects of this consummated kingdom that are emphasized.

Number one: the defeat of God’s enemies. The first leading characteristic of the kingdom of God in its culminating aspect is the defeat of God’s enemies. We see that first of all in verses 9 and following. The throne is set and the Ancient of Days takes his place. It’s emphasized with this imagery of his hair like pure wool, his throne as fiery flames, its wheels burning fire, a stream of fire issued and came from before him. It’s emphasized in all of that that here is the judge of all the earth who judges in righteousness. And now in verses 11 and 12, the opposing beast is done away with in really an uneventful kind of way, almost an uneventful thing. He’s done. He’s done. It’s over. He’s thrown in the fire. And God reigns. And then in verses 13 and 14, we have the description of the coronation of the king. So the beast, the little horn, the Antichrist—these are done. They’re gone. They’ve been judged and they’ve been done away with. And all the world now, really from verses 9 forward, all of the world is brought into subjugation to God and the kingdom of God under the leadership of the Son of Man, who is God’s appointed king.

So I said there are two leading aspects of the kingdom and its culminating aspect. Number one: the defeat of God’s enemies. Number two: the subsequent reign.

The Subsequent Reign of the King

And notice how it’s described for us. Let’s pick apart the details here, beginning with verse 11. It is a time after the defeat of the earthly powers. The fourth beast is killed. His body is destroyed and burned. So it’s a time after the defeat of the earthly powers versus 21 to 23, and then verse 26 again, which emphasized for us specifically that the dominion of the little horn is taken away and he is destroyed.

In verse 12, we have many of these earthly powers that are allowed to survive, but they’re in complete subjugation to the king. Stripped of their power, their dominion is taken away, but their lives are prolonged for a season and a time. And then verses 13 and 14, the Son of Man receives his kingdom. His kingdom is a universal and eternal kingdom.

Verse 22, we find the kingdom is given to the saints of the Most High. Verse 27 is the grand concluding statement that the kingdom is given to the saints. The kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom and all dominions shall serve and obey him.

So there’s this great reversal now. We had the little horn and the beast raging all through the earth, and the little horn, with its awful opposition against the people of God, actually gaining authority over the people of God for a time—even, according to the passage here, wearing them out for a time. And the people of God then suffering under the opposition of the beast and under the little horn. And now there’s this great reversal. The Son of Man has been made king, and with him the saints reign, and now the beast is destroyed, the little horn is thrown to the fire, and they are gone.

This really then is the very same prophecy—different figures and all—but the very same prophecy that we had in Daniel chapter 2. Remember there we had the great image—this metallic image with the head of gold, and the silver, and the brass, and the bronze, iron, and all of that, and the succeeding kingdoms. And then we had this great boulder cut out of the side of the mountain, rolling down the mountain, smashing the image into powder, and breaking it to pieces. All of that to describe we’ve got these succeeding kingdoms of the world until finally the kingdom of God comes and smashes them all, and then that stone grows into a large kingdom that fills the entire earth. The kingdom in its consummated aspect—and this is precisely what we have here, only with different imagery. Here it is the Son of Man who has come, taken the reins of God’s government; the beast, the little horn, they are destroyed, and the saints reign with the Son of Man in his kingdom.

Now I’ve mentioned that and it deserves some more attention. It’s a surprising but a prominent feature of this passage is that the saints inherit—and not only inherit the kingdom, but share in the rule of the kingdom of God. The kingdom in view, of course, is the kingdom of God, and the ruling king, of course, is the Son of Man, who is Jesus (verses 13 and 14). And verse 14: “all peoples, nations, and languages serve him.” And yet, we have in verse 18, the saints share in the rule of the kingdom. The kingdom is given to the saints, and we have the same thing in verse 22: “the Ancient of Days comes, judgment was given for the saints of the Most High, and the time has come when the saints possessed the kingdom.”

And then we have, of course, the same in verse 27. This kingdom of heaven under the whole earth is given to the people of the saints of the Most High. So the Ancient of Days comes, he pronounces judgment, the Son of Man becomes king, brings it to consummation, and shares the kingdom with the saints of the Most High. And again, this is that great reversal: that these who were the subject of the beast’s revolt and opposition, now they themselves find themselves in power and reigning with the king and share in its rule.

This has an obvious, I think, echo in Luke chapter 19, where Jesus tells the parable, and he says to the ones who are faithful, “Well done, good servant, because you have been faithful in very little, you shall have authority over ten cities,” and another over five cities, and so on.

And as I say, all of this brought to climax in verse 27: “the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High.” But then notice: “His kingdom… all dominions shall serve and obey him.” The kingdom is given to the people of the saints of the Most High, his kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom and all dominions shall serve and obey him. It is the saints’ kingdom in which all the nations serve and obey him. The king, who is the Son of Man, then is the representative head of the people in whom all people share in the reign and the kingdom of God.

We have that actually—we’re kind of set up for that throughout this chapter. In Daniel 7, as I mentioned before, we have these four beasts who, it turns out, are four kings. As it turns out, are four kingdoms. They’re all used synonymously. The king is the kingdom. King stands for the kingdom. And we have something like that here with the Son of Man. He is the king, but he’s also the representative head of his people who share then in his reign.

Again, this is much like what we see in Daniel chapter 2, where the boulder comes down the mountain and smashes the kingdom. It is the kingdom of God, but in fact it is God himself, it is the Son of Man himself, who exercises the reign over the nations. So in a way, it is something like David against Goliath. It was actually Israel against the Philistines. So here we have the Son of Man establishing the kingdom and the saints of the Most High sharing in the reign with him that he has established.

So Daniel chapter 7 then is just a marvelous prospect. It pictures for us the Lord Jesus reigning as king. It is a kingdom that shall never fail. It is a kingdom that will have no end in time or in space. He reigns over all, and it’s a kingdom in which the saints share in the rule. Now for the Jews in captivity in Babylon, reading all of this, this had to be a marvelous, marvelous encouragement for them. Not only will we return to our land, but we will see the Messianic kingdom. The Messiah will rule, and we’ll see it to be so. Well, then that brings the next question.

The Time of the Kingdom in Its Consummation

Well, we said already that this clearly takes us to the end of history and it brings us to the return of Christ. We have some other details filled in for us here to be more specific. As I’ve mentioned, verses 11 and 12: this is a time following the time of judgment, which presumably is the time of the return of Christ. According to verse 12, it’s a time when the evil powers survive for a season and a time, but are subdued, stripped of their authority. Some are destroyed, some survive, but stripped of authority. It’s a time when (verse 12 again) it’s after the Roman kingdom and its successors. These ten horns, which just in a quick blush tells us of the course of this age since the time of Christ—it’s a time after the Roman kingdom and its successors. To put it another way, it’s a time following the Gentile kingdoms. It’s a time following the time of the Gentiles, as Jesus calls it.

We also see here, especially when we come to verse 26, but all through here, that this is a time after the reign of the little horn, this great opponent of the people of God. This is a kingdom that replaces all other kingdoms. And verse 14, in its wonderful language, it is a time when these powers serve the Son of Man. The term there meaning “serve” has the overtones of paying reverence to the Son of Man.

So clearly we have here a time depicted that is much better than today, a time of the climax of history when the Lord Jesus returns and brings it all to consummation and establishes the kingdom of God in its culminating aspect. And it’s a time when the kingdoms of this earth are finally done. The whole world is brought into subjection and to obedience to the Lord Jesus and they serve him.

It is possible—and I think we should in some sense spiritualize some of these details and see that the kingdom of God is established in its spiritual form now, that’s its inaugurated aspect. But clearly these details of subduing the rival powers of this earth and being done with them and being replaced takes us to the end of history when the Lord Jesus has come and established in its consummation the kingdom of God. And so it’s a time when at last the world will be right. A time at last when the rule of God will be administered by a man, a man from heaven, ruling as man was created to rule, and a rule in which we share, those of us who are his.

So we have this sharp contrast. The little horn, the beast—they had their time. And during their time, the people of God suffered. And now we have the saints ruling. And those other powers that survive, they’re stripped of their power. That’s verses 11 and 12, and then as it’s expanded through the rest of the chapter.

Now Jesus clearly picks up on this passage in his famous discourse on Mount Olivet, Matthew chapter 24. Matthew chapter 24, verse 30, speaking at the end of time when he will return, he says, “Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven.” There’s our connection to Daniel chapter 7. “All the tribes will mourn and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” So here’s the consummation of Daniel’s prophecy. “He will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call and they will gather his elect from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other.”

The Apostle John picks up on this as well, also echoing Jesus’ words as he picked it up in Matthew 24, in Revelation chapter 1, where he says, “Behold, he is coming with the clouds.” There’s the connection to Daniel 7. “Behold, he’s coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all the tribes of the earth will wail on account of him, even so. Amen.”

I don’t have the time to take it apart in detail, but we could very easily demonstrate then how in the book of Revelation—particularly in chapter 13 of Revelation, and then again in Revelation 19 and 20—John is leaning on Daniel chapter 7 and taking its symbolism and redoing it and describing the same in other terms. But we have the end of the age described with the coming of the Antichrist, the beast out of the sea (here the little horn), and so on. Paul picks that up in 2 Thessalonians 2, speaking of the man of lawlessness who will come, who’s destroyed by the brightness of Jesus’ coming.

In Revelation chapter 13, we have connections with the beast from the sea. We have the lion, the bear, and the leopard imagery used in Revelation as well. The seven heads and ten horns in Revelation—again, taken from here. We have the destruction of the violent who oppose God. All of this is picked up. The persecution of the saints is picked up in Revelation 13. And in fact, even this matter of a time, times and a half of times—this three and a half years symbolism—is brought up again in Revelation as well. Even the matter of Babylon, a.k.a. Rome, a.k.a. the nations of the world, in rebellion against God and being disposed of at the coming of Christ.

And all of that comes to a head, we find, in Revelation chapter 19 with the return of Christ, where again in chapter 19 we have remarkable parallels between John’s symbolism and that what we find here in Daniel chapter 7 with the thrones and the saints being seated and the judgment being given to the saints and so on. John treats all of this that we find in Daniel chapter 7 as a wonderful matter of great expectation that Christ will bring the kingdom of God to consummation and put down all powers and the saints will share in his rule.

So then for a quick review: we have in chapter 7 the first four beasts—Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome—and these take us from the history of the time of Daniel all the way to the time of Christ, about 550 years. But that fourth beast then, and the succeeding ten horns on that fourth beast, and then the other little horn growing up among them and destroying three of them and so on—all of that is the history of time now after the first coming of Christ, which has already been 2,000 years. It takes us then to the end of this age and the climax of history when the kingdom of God will be realized in its culminating aspect. And at last, the world will have the perfect rule under the perfect king ruling in righteousness.

Now, several of you have been asking me, “Okay, how does all this work out in terms of systematic theology—the various categories that we have in theology and the millennial systems and all of that?” The Bible was not written as a textbook of systematic theology, but it teaches us this, and it teaches us this, and it teaches us this, and it teaches us this. And at the end of it all, what we have to do is take it all and collate it together. That’s the work of systematic theology. Put it all together and say, “What does it all look like?” In this case, what does it all look like in the end?

Now you know, of course—and we’ve made no secret of it here—that when it comes to eschatology, I have one perspective on some of the details and Pastor Boyd and Pastor Greg have another that they share, and I really hesitate getting into some of these things because of that. Too often, too often matters of eschatology become a point of contention. I was talking to Jimmy about this one time at lunch not too long ago and pointing out how this discussion in certain contexts ended up with people angry. Jimmy just said, “I don’t get that.” I said, “Well, Jim, it’s because you’re normal.”

You should understand—and I’ll get into some of this in just a second—but you should understand that there’s just the broadest area of agreement among us. And although on one level I suppose you could say that it’s a mark of weakness that there’s not complete unanimity on it all, we’re not all the same and one of us is clearly wrong. And I have my opinion of who that is, and Pastor Boyd, Pastor Greg have their opinion of who that is. Somebody’s wrong. But on another level—and I want you to see this—when you look at how these matters are discussed in Christian contexts, so often it becomes a point of contention. And we discussed this before I started here 11 years ago, that these are just not details that are important enough to fight over. And you’ve got to see that on that level, it’s a point of strength. It’s an amazing thing. If I can give a self-advertisement here, you should appreciate the three pastors of RBC, that we can disagree on this and get along so well. It’s just almost unprecedented. It just doesn’t happen that often.

Now the point of disagreement that I’m talking about is called the millennium. The millennial question—the word millennium means a thousand years. And it’s taken from the passage in Revelation 20, where we have a period of a thousand years described, this kingdom period. In the amillennial view, which Pastor Boyd and Pastor Greg would take, that picture in Revelation 20 of this thousand-year period precedes the return of Jesus Christ. So you have in chapter 19 of Revelation, the second coming of Christ; chapter 20 describes this kingdom, but in fact now we recapitulate back to see that this kingdom is describing something in the church age.

In a premillennial view that I hold, chapters 19 and 20 are consecutive. You have the second coming of Christ, and then you have the thousand-year reign of Christ—whether or not the thousand years is literal or symbolic, but it’s a kingdom period following the return of Christ. And those are the differences. So you see the difference between us is a period of history at the end of a thousand years, but the broadest area of agreement that we have is in the return of Christ and the establishing of the kingdom of God.

All right, all of that to say, what do we have here now then in regard to all of that? Well, the essence of—I think all would agree—the essence of the premillennial position is that there is a time coming that is a lot better than today. No wait, it’s going to get better than that. So, on the amillennial reading, you have this present evil age, followed by the return of Christ and the establishment of the golden age. We can put it that way. In a premillennial view, you have this present evil age, followed by a—let’s call it a silver age—leading into the golden age. And that, I think, is the essence of the difference.

In my opinion, that’s what Revelation 20 teaches. In my reading, that’s what we find in several passages in the Old Testament, and I think that’s what we have here in Daniel 7 that several of you have been asking me to talk about. I think that’s what we see here. We have in verses 11 and 12 a period where we have the rule of Christ after the destruction of the beast and the little horn, and a time when these evil empires survive, in some sense, only completely subjugated. That sounds to me like that silver age that the other passages talk about. So there you have it. That’s my view, then, of Daniel chapter 7 in terms of systematic theology and eschatology. If you want the other view, well, Pastor Greg or Pastor Boyd can preach through Daniel some other time, I guess.

Whatever the details, whatever the details, what we have here is an assurance that the history will be restored. The evil world will finally be fixed and there’ll be a righteous ruler, the Son of Man reigning and sharing the reign with all of his people as man created in the image of God was intended to reign. Now with all of that said, I want you to see one more passage. Look forward to Matthew chapter 26.

Matthew chapter 26. Now you remember, as we have seen, the Son of Man is the favorite self-designation of Jesus. He refers to himself continually throughout his ministry as the Son of Man, clearly making reference to this passage in Daniel chapter 7. Now we come in Matthew chapter 26 to the time of Jesus’ arrest, his trial before the high priest Caiaphas. And let’s pick up the narrative—and I want you to see the narrative here, how Jesus appeals to Daniel chapter 7.

Verse 62, let’s start there:

The high priest stood up and said, “Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?” But Jesus remained silent. The high priest said to him, “I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.” Jesus said to him, “You have said so, but I tell you from now on, you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power [that’s Psalm 110] and coming on the clouds of heaven [that’s Daniel chapter 7].”

And then the response: the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has uttered blasphemy. What further witnesses do we need? You have now heard his blasphemy. What is your judgment?” And they answered, “He deserves death.” And they spit in his face and struck him, and some slapped him, saying, “Prophesy to us, you Christ! Who is it that struck you?”

And as the narrative goes on, then finally Jesus is nailed to a cross and crucified with this charge above him over his head: “He is the King of the Jews.”

Well, I point all of that to say: when Jesus made this claim and made it plainly, the response of the high priest and all of those around him was to scream in blasphemy—that this was blasphemy—tearing their robes and condemning Jesus to death and beating him before he even can get there. That was their response to Jesus’ claim. Now what Daniel 7 assures us of is that one day the world will give a very different response when he comes. And all of the world will see him in his glory. And as Philippians 2, quoting from Isaiah, reminds us: every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

We sing of his kingship now and we sing it by God’s grace. We sing it with great rejoicing, recognizing the kingship of Christ that has been realized. But we also sing those songs in great anticipation of the coming glory when that kingdom will be brought to full consummation and the whole world will recognize with us that Jesus is King. Amen.

Let’s pray. Our Father, what a marvelous passage, what a marvelous prospect we have that this world will not continue in its revolt and its evil forever. How we long for the day when the thrones are set and Jesus is established as king and righteousness will be made to prevail and we will share with him and his rule. Lord, we pray that you will help us to live in the great anticipation of that day. Help us not to be so earthly minded that we forget what lies ahead for us. Help us always to be taken with these great truths that our Lord has come, he has established his kingship, and that our Lord will return and bring that kingship to full consummation when we share in his glory. Lord, hasten that day. We pray in Jesus’ name.