01.10. CHAPTER 10 -Ten Horns on the Nondescript Beast
CHAPTER 10
The Ten Horns on the Nondescript Beast LESSON TEXT - - Daniel 7:13-14
GOD Revealed the March of Empire First to Nebuchadnezzar and Again Later to Daniel -- The Ten Horns on the Nondescript Beast Represent World Dominion. The Little Horn Symbolizes the Coming Forth of the Antichrist -- The Reign of the Antichrist Will be Very Short -- The Son of Man Will Come Again to Rule and Reign -- This Fact Scripturally Confirmed -- The Kingdom of the Messiah Prophetically Described by Isaiah -- JESUS to be King Over all the Earth -- In Due Time the Saints of GOD Will Possess the Kingdom -- The Throne of David Will be Re-established in Jerusalem -- The Kingdom Will be Both Literal and Spiritual as Represented by the Jews Who are the Natural Seed of Abraham and the Church Saints Who are the Spiritual Seed of Abraham -- Both Will Unite in Bringing in the Messianic Kingdom of Righteousness
There are twelve chapters in the Book of Daniel, and we have already pointed out that Daniel 1:1-21, Daniel 2:1-49, Daniel 3:1-30, Daniel 4:1-37, Daniel 5:1-31, Daniel 6:1-28 are what might be termed prophetic history, and that Daniel 7:1-28, Daniel 8:1-27, Daniel 9:1-27 Daniel 10:1-21, Daniel 11:1-45, Daniel 12:1-13 are prophetic in character because (for the most part) their fulfillment belongs to the future.
In our last message we began a study of Daniel 7:1-28, which is an account of the visions which the Prophet Daniel had concerning the future.
HOW THE MARCH OF EMPIRE WAS REVEALED TO NEBUCHADNEZZAR AND DANIEL
From our study of Daniel 7:1-12, we discovered that GOD gave to the Prophet a vision of the march of empire during the times of the Gentiles, much the same as He had given to Nebuchadnezzar in an earlier vision. In Nebuchadnezzar’s vision, however, the march of empire was symbolized by the great metallic image of a man with its head of fine gold, his breast and arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, his legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. To Daniel the march of empire during the times of the Gentiles was symbolized by four different beasts, one a lion, another a bear, the third a leopard and the fourth a nondescript beast which was described as being "dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly." (Daniel 7:7) The fourth beast was especially interesting to Daniel because in the vision "it had great iron teeth; it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns." (Daniel 7:7)
Concerning this nondescript beast in Daniel 7:8, Daniel said, "I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things."
We have already pointed out that: the lion was a symbol of the world empire of Babylon under Nebuchadnezzar. The bear was a symbol of the world empire of Medo-Persia. The leopard was a symbol of the world empire of Greece under Alexander. The fourth, or nondescript beast, was a symbol of the fourth world kingdom which was Rome. THE 10 HORNS REPRESENT WORLD DOMINION
The fact that the nondescript beast had ten horns and that a little horn was described as coming up among them, by which three of the horns were overthrown, indicates the revival of the Roman Empire and the coming forth or manifestation of the Antichrist who will rule over the revived Roman empire for a short time just before the downfall of all Gentile dominion, and before the coming again of the Lord JESUS CHRIST to establish the fifth kingdom upon earth, which will be the stone kingdom or the kingdom of the Messiah.
THE KINGDOM OF THE ANTICHRIST TO BE OF SHORT DURATION
In spite of the fact that the Roman Empire is to be revived, and that it will be ruled over by the coming Antichrist, symbolized by the little horn, we discover in this same chapter that the dominion of the Antichrist will be of short duration and that his kingdom shall be overthrown and that he himself shall be destroyed.
This is confirmed in Daniel 7:9-12, where Daniel said, "I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him; the judgment was set, and the books were opened. I beheld then, because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame. As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time."
In these words you have a vision of the Son of man coming in power and glory to establish the Messianic kingdom upon earth. Naturally, before this can be accomplished the Antichrist and the ten kings who will be associated with him in the revived Roman Empire, will have to be destroyed and put out of the way. The words of the passage just read, assure us, that these very things will be done, through the presence and power and the personal return of the Lord JESUS CHRIST when He comes to establish His kingdom.
ADVANCE LESSON
We are now ready to advance in our study by reading and considering what is stated in Daniel 7:13-14, where Daniel said, "I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of Heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him."
Indeed, by friends, this is a very interesting and descriptive passage. It is indeed a prophetic confirmation of all that is taught elsewhere in the Word of GOD concerning the kingship of CHRIST and the promise of a Messianic kingdom here upon earth over which He shall reign, and execute justice and judgment for all. A Messianic kingdom was promised in the Old Testament covenants and was confirmed by the prophets. Such a kingdom is also confirmed and prophetically announced in the prophetic portions of the New Testament.
MANY DO NOT UNDERSTAND
I know that a lot of people do not understand or believe these things, because they are either untaught or have been mistaught concerning those things which pertain to the second coming of CHRIST. But, what could be more explicit and more to the point that these words of Daniel recorded in Daniel 7:13 where he said, "I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of Heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him."
THE MANNER OF CHRIST’S RETURN
Indeed, my friends, this is exactly the manner in which JESUS will come as the Son of man to establish His kingdom and to reign upon the earth; In Acts 1:9-11 it says, "And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked stedfastly toward Heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into Heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into Heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into Heaven."
That JESUS will come in the clouds of Heaven is further confirmed in Matthew 24:29-30, where JESUS Himself said, "Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from Heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in Heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of Heaven with power and great glory."
Again in Revelation 1:7 it says, "Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him."
A SCRIPTURAL CONFIRMATION
That JESUS is coming also to establish a kingdom of righteousness upon the earth is confirmed in the Scriptures. For instance, in Isaiah 9:6-7 the Prophet said, "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, the Prince of peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this." THE NATURE AND EXTENT OF THE KINGDOM
The character of the kingdom which He will establish is well described in Isaiah 11:1-5, where it says, of the coming Messiah, "And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord; And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord; and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breadth of his lips shall he slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins."
JESUS WILL BE KING OVER ALL THE EARTH
Again in Zechariah 14:9 it says, "And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one."
Understanding these things, we do not wonder that in Daniel 7:14 the prophet said of the Son of man, "And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed."
With these Scriptures in mind, we are well able to understand the prophetic promise for the last days recorded in Isaiah 2:2-4, where the Prophet said, "And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all the nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more."
We discover, therefore, that the Scriptures confirm in a wonderful way the vision which Daniel had concerning the Son of man, whom he saw coming with the clouds of Heaven back to the earth to establish the Messianic kingdom.
THE INTERPRETATION OF DANIEL’S VISION
We are now ready to consider the interpretation of the vision which Daniel had concerning the beasts, which represented the march of empire, and we shall read from Daniel 7:15-18, where it says, "I Daniel was grieved in my spirit in the midst of my body, and the visions of my head troubled me. I came near unto one of them that stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things. These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth. But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever."
THE SAINTS WILL EVENTUALLY POSSESS THE KINGDOM
We have already pointed out that the four beasts which Daniel saw were symbolic of the four world empires which will exist during the times of the Gentiles. Nebuchadnezzar also had a vision of these same things under the symbol of the metallic image which was in the form of a man. But in Daniel 7:18 just read, we discover a certain fact was revealed to Daniel, that was not made known to Nebuchadnezzar. In Daniel 7:19 it says, "But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever."
WHAT SAINTS ARE MEANT
The question to decide upon here is, just who the saints of the Most High referred to here, can be. To what extent the church saints will share with CHRIST in the Messianic kingdom is very difficult to determine. No doubt they will share in some spiritual way in the work of the kingdom but their work during the Kingdom age is not clearly defined in the Scriptures.
We must not forget, however, that there will be other saints besides church saints. In other words, there will be multitudes of people saved during the tribulation period, through the preaching of the Gospel of the kingdom, who may rightfully be called saints. This is confirmed in Revelation 7:9-10 where John said, "After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb."
THE THRONE OF DAVID
The throne referred to in this passage is the throne which will be in Jerusalem, which is called in the Scriptures "the throne of David," upon which the Messiah is to reign. The great multitude will be the saints of the tribulation period, who will worship the Messiah upon His throne in Jerusalem when the tribulation is over.
We have every reason, therefore, to believe, that the saints of the Most High who shall take and possess the kingdom as stated in our lesson text, will be the earthly saints who will be saved during the tribulation period. No doubt there will be both Jews and Gentiles among them, for in Matthew 8:11 JESUS said, "I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of Heaven."
The kingdom of Heaven, referred to in this passage by our Lord was the Messianic kingdom which He will establish when He comes again.
ALL THE RIGHTEOUS SEED OF ABRAHAM WILL UNITE
It is plain to see, therefore, that in the church which is the body of CHRIST, our Lord has a spiritual or heavenly people, and in the Jewish remnant of the tribulation period and the converted Gentiles, who will be converted to CHRIST after the church has been completed, He will have an earthly people whom He can use as instruments of righteousness to establish a kingdom of righteousness upon the earth.
You will remember that GOD promised to Abraham a spiritual seed which should be as the stars in number. He also promised to him a natural seed that should be as the dust of the earth in multitude. Since this is true, it is my firm conviction that we who are the spiritual seed of Abraham will all have a share, and a work to do for CHRIST, in the kingdom which He shall establish. At present it is not for us to know. Neither is it our privilege to ask what our appointment in that kingdom shall be.
A TEST CASE
This is confirmed in Matthew 20:20-23, where it says, "Then came to him the mother of Zebedee’s children with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him. And he said unto her, What wilt thou? She saith unto him, Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom. But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able. And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on the left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father."
This fact remains: The saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever. This may be new truth to some of you, but it is based upon the Word of GOD as given by the prophet Daniel in our lesson text.
Now let us close our message with this little poem by Anna Hoppe, which reads as follows:
"He is coming! I know He is coming,
My JESUS, my Saviour, my Lord!
He is coming! I know He is coming;
He promised me so in His Word.
Let the world scoff and mock if it pleases,
Its taunts are all useless and vain.
He is coming, my crucified JESUS,
As, the KING of all kings, to reign.
He is coming! I know He is coming,
My JESUS in glory and power!
He is coming! I know He is coming!
Concealed is the day and the hour.
But I know that, blest moment is nearing,
By prophets so clearly foretold,
And I’ll watch for His glorious appearing
Till the portals of pearl unfold!"
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