The Clash Of Kingdoms

Ben. Praise God. We're turning to Daniel chapter 8 tonight in our Bible study, The Heavens Do Rain. I'm absolutely persuaded that this subject of the heavens do rule are vital for all believers everywhere in this hour and generation. What's happening in society, politics, and all around us in the economy. This is an hour where we must be gripped by the biblical truth that the heavens do rule. That's not a mere doctrine or theory. That is a practical reality. And this series, I believe it's in the time and in the will of God for us as a church to be gripped with an overwhelming sense of the sovereign plan of God. We are here in the will of God. We are together in the will of God. This church was placed here for this hour. I've got no doubt about it. And although our world has almost 8 billion people in it, and although it seems that we are far from having an influence on all that happens in our world, I want to tell you a church on its knees has great power and sway in our world. But above all else, I want us to say that we are the apple of the eye of our God. Reading from Daniel chapter 8 here tonight. And my message from Daniel chapter 8 is my title, The Clash of Kingdoms. The Clash of Kingdoms. And surely we have come to a vital hour where there is a clash of kingdoms. There's going to be a radical change in our world very soon. We're living in the beginnings of it. And I believe Daniel chapter 8 will turn our eyes upon the Lord as we see nations change before our eyes, as we see one politician be removed and another raised up, as we begin to see a climatic change the like of which none of us imagine. I believe that we've got to see that the heavens rule amidst the clash of kingdoms. Reading from Daniel chapter 8 here tonight in this vital Bible study. Daniel chapter 8 reading from verse 1. In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar, a vision appeared unto me, Daniel, after that which appeared to me at the first. And I saw a vision, and it came to pass when I was, that I was at Shushan in the palace, which is in the province of Elam. And I saw in a vision, and I was by the river Eulay. Then I lifted up mine eyes and saw, and behold, and there stood before the river a ram which had two horns. And the two horns were high, but one was higher than the other. And the higher came up last. I saw the ram rushing westwards and northwards and southwards so that no beast might stand before him. Neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand, but he did according to his will and became great. And as I was considering, behold, and he came up from the west on the face of the whole earth and touched not the ground. And the goat had a notable horn between his eyes. And he came to the ram that had two horns, which had been standing before the river and ran unto him in the fury of his power. And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with colour against him. And he smote the ram and he break the two horns. And there was no power in the ram to stand before him. And he cast him down to the ground and he stamped upon him. And there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand. Therefore, the he-goat waxed great. And when he was strong, the great horn was broken. And for it came up four notable ones towards the four winds of heaven. And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great towards the south, towards the east, and towards the pleasant land. And it waxed great even to the host of heaven. And it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground and stamped upon them. Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host. And by him the daily sacrifice was taken away. And the place of his sanctuary was cast down. And a host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression. And it cast down the truth to the ground. And it practiced. And it prospered. Then I heard one saint speaking. And another said unto that certain saint which speak, how long shall a vision concerning the daily sacrifice and the transgression of desolation to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden underfoot? And he said unto me, unto 2,300 days. Then shall the sanctuary be cleansed. Here tonight we're not reading all of this chapter. You've read it before you came into this Bible study. But I am going to preach from this entire chapter tonight. Will you pray with me tonight that God would help us in this very serious hour that we're living in. Heavenly Father, we pray for your grace and your mercy as a church. And we pray for all of those preachers, those Christians and other nations that listen to us even afterwards in the weeks to come. Father, we pray for your church in this hour. We are right at the beginning of the clash of nations in a remarkable way. Lord God, we are seeing the beginning of violent and of days of turmoil. And Father, I pray that you'd give your church a sense of divine providence. Lord God, that you'd open our eyes to see. You'd open our hearts to believe. You'd open our ears to hear that you are in control. That the heavens do rule. Lord God, that no matter what happens in politics or nations or in around us, whether we're popular or whether we're despised, whether we're listened to or whether we're rejected, Lord God, that the heavens do rule. And even in the darkest of days, the most evil of days, you have a plan for your church, your remnant and your people. My God, grip us with the reality that amidst the clash of nations, that you're even working in that and using it to bring forth a plan that's going to spread the gospel to every nation, to every people and to every language. We are looking for an outpouring of your Holy Spirit and an engathering of a harvest of souls that out of this clash of nations, out of this clash of kingdoms that's before us, that we are going to have faith that you're going to reach many souls. In Jesus' mighty name. Amen. Amen. Praise God. We're coming to our Bible study in Daniel chapter 8 tonight and my message is the clash of kingdoms. In Daniel chapter 8, we find now that Daniel is in his late 60s or maybe just into his early 70s. You'll remember that this is a time period where Belshazzar is on the throne of Israel. We're told in Daniel chapter 8 in verse 1, in the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar, this is at the end of the Babylonian kingdom reigning for a period of 70 years. And here we have Daniel who is under the last king of Babylon, of the Babylonian empire. Here he is and in this hour he was actually set aside. He lost his position in politics. He lost his position to influence. He no longer had a voice in the throne room or the palace room. He was without influence with his words and his actions. He could do very little within the kingdom or the politics or the legislation of that hour. If you remember when we dealt with Babylon's last night, dealing with Belshazzar's feast, we literally see here that this is at the early stage of Belshazzar's reign. Whereas chapter 5 was at the very last night of Belshazzar's reign. And as I said, chapter 1 to chapter 6 is done in order. Chapter 6 is the latest bit of history in Daniel's life. But from chapter 7 to chapter 12, these are now prophecies and visions that get inserted to the first six chapters in certain places. So we see that Daniel 8 comes before Daniel chapter 5. And in fact, some Bible teachers believe that Daniel 8 is 12 years before Belshazzar's last night of life. But look at this King Belshazzar of Babylon. He knows nothing about Daniel, this great man of God. Daniel has been set on the shelf. Daniel is being ignored. Daniel doesn't even have access anymore. It is an hour of decadence. It is an hour of corruption politically, socially, morally, and religiously. He's watching the entire kingdom that he loves and he has prayed for all of these years begin to decay in a terrible way. The people hated the monarchy. There was an economic crisis as well. And look at Daniel, the events of his life. God had worked in all of this to set Daniel aside into a place of utter solitude. But he wasn't out of the will of God. He wasn't in the eye of man. But he was exactly where God wanted him. God had allowed the King to ignore him, to shelf him, to set him aside, to be out of the place of busyness and politics. And do you know what? That's where God wanted him. Do you realize in his late 60s and early 70s, throughout the 70s, God revealed remarkable visions. We have four visions here in Daniel that God revealed to him. But do you know what? It all began in a time of solitude. Oh, that the church of the past year in the midst of its solitude, of lockdowns, of a change in family, in church, in work, in national life. Oh, that out of this solitude, out of this hour, that God would begin to speak to prophets again in the church. I'm sick to death of false prophets holding the limelight. Oh, that God in this hour amidst the clash of kingdoms would speak to a prophet and raise up prophets again who know what is happening, what God is saying, and what is happening in the nations of our world. You know, God does use solitude and he uses the events of life. You may not understand them and yet God is actually using them. We are dealing tonight with the clash of kingdoms in Daniel chapter eight. It says in the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar, a vision appeared unto me, Daniel, a vision. In other words, he is awake and God gives him an open vision when his eyes are open and his mind is fully conscious. God opens his eyes to see something in this third hour of Belshazzar's reign. It is getting very close to the entire end of an entire empire. 70 long years and we're getting very close to the end. You know what God does? God speaks to a prophet. God will do nothing but that he will show it to his prophets first. I believe that with all my heart. God still has prophets, men who see in the church of this day and generation. A vision appeared unto me, Daniel, after the witch unto me at the first. And I saw a vision and it came to pass when I saw that I was at Shushan in the palace. Notice here he is in Babylon under the reign of Belshazzar. Yet in this vision he gets caught up in a vision. He gets carried 300 miles to the east to a place called Shushan. And he in this vision he is standing in the palace at Shushan in the province of Elam. This is a remarkable thing. Do you realize that this palace and this city had been destroyed? Do you realize that it was yet in the years ahead going to be raised up and become the headquarters for Cyrus the Great? But not yet. Daniel could not have known that Shushan was going to become the second palace to the Medo-Persian empire. It was going to be there in that position for 200 years. Do you remember the book of Esther and the story of Esther? It happens at the palace in Shushan. Do you remember Nehemiah the cupbearer who is sent back to Jerusalem with men to begin rebuilding the walls? Do you know where he was a cupbearer? In the palace in Shushan. This is before the palace gets rebuilt. It's before it becomes the headquarters or the capital of an entire empire. Daniel is in a vision and in this vision he is in the royal palace. And as he is in the royal palace, God begins to show him something. In fact, he's about to reveal a new empire, a new kingdom, and all that is going to happen here. God in this vision, he is now a certain period of time. He is some 12 years away from an empire called the Medo-Persian empire taking power and making Shushan and Babylon its headquarters. And it will reign for 200 years. And do you know what? He is there in that palace and God begins to speak to him, not about the beginning of the Medo-Persian empire, but 200 years later when he's going to bring it to an end. Do you hear what I'm saying tonight? This is a remarkable vision we're reading about. The Medo-Persian empire hasn't risen yet. It hasn't gained power. It hasn't established its two capitals. And yet God takes this man of God, this prophet, to the palace of the headquarters that is going to be in place for 200 years. And he shows him how that empire is going to come to an end. I hope you find this staggering. The book of Daniel is staggering. Bible prophecy is staggering. This is our Bible that tells us about salvation in Christ, that tells us Jesus is coming back again. It reveals all of history. No religious book is like this book. No book on the face of the planet, no history book, no archaeological book, no prophetic book even comes close to it. It is an utterly unique book that tells the history before it happens. The rise and the fall of empires, of their leaders, of how world events are going to go. This is the God who speaks to us. This is the God speaking to us in this year amidst the clash of kingdoms. I want you to be gripped by a God who says, I was here before it happened. I'll be here after it happens. And all those who do the will of God shall abide and dwell with me eternally. Oh, that we have eyes open to see that our God is the God of history. He is the God of prophecy. He is the God of salvation. And he is reigning supreme. The heavens do rule. Let me bring you to my message tonight. My first point here is the interpretation of Bible prophecy. The interpretation of Bible prophecy. Here Daniel is showing a vision of a ram and a goat and of certain events that happen, which we're going to go to tonight. But notice how he interprets it. I'm sick to death of a lot of things. And here's another one to add to the I am sick to death of people with their own interpretation of Bible prophecy. Do you know what I wish that a man wouldn't teach or preach something about Bible prophecy until he has meditated on it for 25 years, until he has studied, lay on his face, went to bed, thinking about it late into the night. For the key to Bible interpretation is to be humble and to seek the face of God. Look at verse 15 in this chapter. And we begin to see a central truth concerning Bible interpretation. And do you know what it is? You do not decide what a horn or a head is, or a beast is. You do not interpret it out of your own mind and your own intellect. Do you know what you need God to teach you? Interpretation. And this vision in this chapter is interpreted by God himself. Read with me in verse 15. And it came to pass when I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision and sought for the meaning. Notice here, he sees a vision. What does he do? When you see a vision, what did Daniel start doing? He sought for the meaning. I believe he began to pray. I believe he began to study scripture. I believe he began to wait upon God. I believe he made sure his heart was right. That's how you seek for the meaning of Bible prophecy or things revealed from God. It says, then behold, there stood before me the appearance of a man. And I heard a man's voice between the banks of Ula, which called and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision. Do you see here, seeing the vision was not enough. Now he had to go and seek the Lord. And now God himself commands the angel Gabriel to make Daniel understand the vision. He could not understand it by himself. It took divine revelation, not only to see the vision, but to understand it. Or to put it all in its right place. God commands Gabriel. Do you notice Gabriel looks like a man and he stands before him and it is God instructing all this. Verse 17, so he came near where I stood and when he came, I was afraid. I get sick to death of these people. They laugh about angels dancing. Most of you haven't heard that, but I've been in meetings. Those crazy charismatics, they begin to laugh. They're looking at things not there. You know what they're seeing nothing. Daniel was afraid when he seen a real angel. There was a great awesomeness and fear of God. That's if an angel appears to you, I assure you, you're going to tremble. It says he fell upon his face and he, Gabriel said unto me, understand oh son of man, for at the time of the end shall be the vision. Look at the angel Gabriel speaking to him. Do you know there's only three angels named in the Bible? Two of them are God's angels. One of them is Lucifer and he is mentioned, but there's only two of God's elect angels mentioned in the entire Bible and we find it only in the book of Daniel. And here in this chapter is the first mention of an angel's name apart from Lucifer himself. Here is one of God's angels. We shouldn't be preoccupied with angels, but they do minister to the saints. There's no doubt. Again, we'll see Gabriel in Daniel chapter 9. We'll see Michael in Daniel chapter 10 and in Daniel chapter 12. Do you know where else Gabriel appears? He also appears in the gospel of Luke in chapter 1. He actually announces to Zechariah that he's going to have a son who was John the Baptist, that this old wife is going to become pregnant, his wife Elizabeth, and give birth to this prophet of God. Also in Luke chapter 1, this angel Gabriel appears unto a young girl, a young lady called Mary, to tell her about that holy thing that was being conceived within her. This is the same angel Gabriel. I'm talking about the interpretation of prophecy. Daniel was a great prophet. In his latter days, much experience. He could interpret other men's dreams and visions, but here he is. The angel Gabriel has to instruct him about this. You see, it's amazing that there's about 27% of the Bible is prophecy. About 80% of it is already fulfilled and 45% of the book of Daniel is actually prophecy. Some Bible teachers have said there's probably about 58 distinct, utterly separate events prophesied in the book of Daniel. It's remarkable. Most of them are in the past now, but there's many which have yet still to come to pass. What is true prophecy? What is a true vision from God? What is true instruction and revelation from God? It gives exact detail, the order of events, the right names, the right timing. There is accuracy and fulfillment. Do you realize that with real prophecy, it can predict things hundreds of years ahead accurately? It can prophesy things thousands of years ahead accurately. You ask me, how do you know the Bible is true? This is one of the main reasons because from Genesis to Revelation, there are thousands of prophecies. I can test them because many have already come to pass and many are yet to come to pass. I know that this is God's book. It is infallible. It is perfect. It never gets one thing wrong. It is more accurate than archaeologists, than history books, than secular authorities. It has never been proven wrong. Since I'm telling you about the interpretation of Bible prophecy, we have got to seek the Lord. We have got to wait upon God. It might take you to your late 60s or early 70s on your knees before God in seclusion, set apart, having retired from work to really hear from heaven on these things. I want to tell you, I have spent decades before I ever put any of these things on my lips. I have spent decades studying, thinking, praying before I ever once preached any of these truths. Oh, that we would do that again in the church. Be very careful how you interpret Bible prophecy. Be very careful of going on publicly and proclaiming special revelations. And can I instruct all of you here, don't go on YouTube and listen to every preacher and teacher and follow every new ideology. You will get so confused. Those that prophesied the rapture would happen in 2017. You know what they done? They didn't repent. All they done was we got it wrong. Let's do it again. And they still teach and people still follow them. How foolish to listen to the interpretation of men. You know what? It's just 10 days ago. I had a dream in the night. I woke up early in the morning and I just dreamed about the beginning of 2025 and the results of the next American election. None of you dare email me or ask me what I dreamed because I'm not going to be telling you. You know what? I could care less what I had in a dream of the night, but this book thrills me. It's prophecies amaze me. I don't need some strange ideology. This book is stunning with its prophecies and its accuracy. That's my first point about the interpretation of Bible prophecy. Daniel was a man instructed by God, not only given visions, not only given dreams, but he was taught of God in his latter days. You know, Andrew Murray, that great man of God, that great Bible teacher wrote most of his books in his latter days as an old man. That's the time to really write books. I hate to see a new book from a new preacher. It's a waste of time. Throw it in the bin. Don't be listening to that. Go back and read the old authors from a hundred years ago or 150 years ago. They are proven. They have stood the test of time. They have got good marriages. They have walked with God away with all the foolishness of this hour. I'm sick to the back teeth of it. My second point here, as we begin to look at Daniel 8, I'm talking about the clash of kingdoms. We need men of God. Those that can interpret the times, those who understand Bible prophecy amidst the clash of kingdoms. We've got to know what God is doing. We've got to know what God is saying. We've got to know what the word of God actually proclaims about this hour. That's the job of the church. That's the job of genuine preachers in this hour. But second of all, the triumph of grace, the triumph of grace. Listen to me. I'm talking about Daniel 8 is a vision interpreted by the angel revealed to Daniel about the triumph of grace. Do you know what happened? He is now in the Babylonian empire. He is now experiencing this under the last king of Babylon. There is just about to be a new empire arise for 200 years and more, which is called the Medo-Persian empire. And at the end of that, the Grecian empire is going to take over. Do you realize that Daniel is prophesying here before Medo-Persia rises, before it even rises and gains power? He is given a vision of its end. How it's going to come to its end after 200 years. And he gets a vision in the palace at Shushan. What a remarkable thing here. Real prophecy is astounding. It is amazing. It is remarkable. It is supernatural. That's why so many people who don't believe in the supernatural, they try to say that Daniel wasn't written when it was written, but it was written 500 years later because they can't get their mind around the accuracy. They said he had to have written after the events. It is too accurate, too detailed, too precise. So he couldn't have prophesied it. He had to have lived afterwards. And what we have in Daniel, they say it's a history book. No, it's a prophecy book. What is prophecy? It's history detailed before it happens. That's what prophecy simply is. Let me give you the vision here tonight. In verse three, in this vision, look what Daniel sees, a ram which had two horns. He sees this vision, a ram with two horns. What is the ram with two horns? He didn't know. But in verse 20, the angel Gabriel tells him what this ram is. The ram which thou sawst having two horns are the two kings of Meda and Persia. It hasn't risen to power yet. These two kingdoms haven't been united as one empire yet. And Daniel is seeing this before all of this happens, before it comes to power. He's seeing its end 200 plus years later. What is the ram? It is the kings of the Medes and the Persians. Now, what is the ram? It's a male sheep. It's actually the symbol, the official symbol of the Medo-Persian empire. Do you know that Medo-Persia, its symbol was Arius and the Zodiac? The symbol of the ram was their national symbol. The kings of Medo-Persia used to wear helmets. All the kings, when they went out to war, they wore helmets with the two horns of a ram, often in gold and decorated with jewels. Do you know what the ram's horns on their helmet and what the symbol of the ram represented in the Medo-Persian empire for 200 years? It represented deity. It represented their God. It was a sacred animal. And what it actually symbolized was superiority to any other animal. It symbolized power and warfare. It symbolized invasion and going into other nations. You see, the ram was their God of war and it was a symbol of their God's blessing upon them to triumph in war. You'll also know about Persian carpets. I think we've got one downstairs, but you'll see all these little symbols. Today, Persian carpets that are still made all over the world and you'll find them in every country. You'll see the horns of the ram. That is still the fundamental symbol of a Persian carpet. Notice as well, this ram had two horns and the two horns were high, but one of the horns was higher than the other and the higher one came up last. Do you know what this represents? This represents the rise of Persia above Media. Media was a bigger kingdom. Persia was a young, smaller kingdom and yet Persia rises up later, but it rises up higher. This is Daniel more than 200 years before its demise, before it rises as a power. He is saying it's the symbol that it's represented, the entire kingdoms represented by a ram and the angel Gabriel is revealing unto him this whole power play and that Persia is going to dominate. Do you know what Media Persia? Remember, Media Persia, it's mostly big and small. Persia is small. Today, Persia is Iran. They don't call themselves Media, they call themselves Persia. That's what they're known as. Look at verse four. I saw the ram pushing westward, northward, and southward. This is what they've done for 200 years. They pushed in all of these directions, like a ram butting out into the nations in Iran, pushing in these three different directions so that, listen to this, this gives a summary of 200 years of history, so that no beast might stand before him. Neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand, but he did according to his will and became great. That's what the Media Persian empire done. Nobody could stand before them. This is a summary right down to their last king, Darius III. He was the last king and he had the largest army in the entire world. For 200 years, they kept advancing, kept pushing out. Nobody could stand in their way, but you know what? Daniel gets a revelation of the last king of the end of this great empire before it rises. Before it rises, he is seeing its end, how its history is going to end over 200 years later. Let's go further with this vision here. Verse five, and as I was considering, he's watching the ram, he's studying it, he's wondering what it means, and as he was considering, behold, a he goat. So you have a second animal, not just a ram representing the Media Persian empire. He now sees another animal, a he goat come up into this vision. What is the he goat? What does it represent? Don't create your own interpretation. That's where all the problems come in Bible prophecy. I think this, I think that maybe you should sit quiet a bit. Maybe you should be instructed a bit. What is this he goat that he sees in the vision? Look at verse 21. Gabriel tells him again, and the rough goat is the king of Persia. It's a he goat and it's a rough goat. It's a belly goat and it's a rough goat. Do you know what a rough goat means? It means a shaggy goat. In other words, it's got a coat on it. It's got a shaggy coat. Now, a goat is a symbol of Greece or the Grecian empire that 200 years later was going to replace Medo-Persia. This is the symbol of it. Why is Greece represented in this vision and interpreted by Gabriel and given to Daniel? Why is an empire that's going to rise 200 years later? In fact, a nation that is utterly divided, it had hundreds of kings, hundreds of small city states. It was never united. It was never an empire. It was never a united country. Yet 200 years before, Daniel sees in vision that this is going to be the great next world empire that's going to arise. It's symbolized as a rough shaggy male belly goat. Now, why is it represented as a belly goat? If you go into the history of Greece, you find out that a man called Kuranos was the first king of Macedonia, the northern region of Greece, the place where Alexandria, Alexander the Great came from. Now, the first king of Macedonia founded a city there called Edessa. And do you know how he established right in the middle of Macedonia? Do you know how he established that city? He was given a prophecy that when he got to the right area, when he was moving with his people to find a whole new region, he was given a prophecy that you will find the area to start a new city by following a herd of goats. And when you follow that herd of goats, wherever they stop and begin to feed, that's where you're going to plant your new city. And that the gods are going to raise up a whole new people in Macedonia in that region. Well, that's what he done. That was the beginning of the Macedonians, the first king of the Macedonians. And later, Alexander the Great is going to become not only a later king of Macedonia, but the first king of all of Greece. This symbol of the goat was on all of their coins down through generations. It became the symbol of Macedonia. Philip Alexander's father actually had his head on one side and the shaggy goat, the rough goat on the other side. Then when Alexander the Great came to power, there's still coins, you can buy them on eBay. Go look for them and get me one while you're at it. You'll have Alexander's head on one side and you'll have the goat on the other side. This is why it is called the goat. But here's another reason. The Aegean Sea, which was between Greece and between Asia Minor, which was the beginning of the entire Persian Empire, the Persian Median Empire, that small sea that separated Greece in the days of Alexander from the entire Persian Empire, the Aegean Sea. What does it mean, Aegean Sea? Do you know that it means goat? That's what that sea actually means. It means goat. It was named after Aegeus, who was called the Goatman, or one of the early kings of Athens from 900 years before. Do you know today, Greece is still, its livestock is 48% goats. So the symbol of Greece, what a remarkable thing that 200 years before a country, an empire rises, God prophesies and depicts it as a wild goat and it's going to clash with the Medo-Persian Empire. Look what he says about this goat that comes into this vision, this shaggy goat. Look what happens in verse five. And this goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth. So it gave not only a depiction of it, but it said what direction it's going to come from the west. That's exactly what happened on the face of the whole earth. And this goat touched not the ground, meaning when at such a speed, you know, when they say your feet don't touch the ground, it means you're moving so fast. You don't have time to touch the ground. You're just moving. Well, this goat was moving at such a speed, such a velocity of speed that its feet didn't even touch the ground. And the ground had a notable horn between its eyes. Now look what it says here. What is this notable horn? Very noticeable horn between its eyes. Verse 21. And the great horn that is between the eyes is the first king of Grecia. So we see that Grecia is depicted, the Grecian Empire that's going to replace Medo-Persia. It is depicted as a goat that doesn't even touch the ground, but between its eyes it has a horn. What do horns represent? Kings. Kings. This horn on the goat represents the first ever king of the Grecian nation or empire. What a remarkable thing that Daniel is having revealed to him who the first king is going to be of this united nation. We know now that this was Alexander the Great. In verse six here, it goes further and says, and he came to the ram that had two horns. So you've got the goat coming to the ram, not the other way round. The goat goes after the ram. It says, which I'd seen standing before the river and the ram, and it ran onto him in the fury of his power. Here's this goat, Alexander the Great, the small Grecian nation, and it is running. It is running at the ram in the fury of his power. There is anger. There is fury. He is running with all of his power. I love this because you know what? I know what it says in the history books, what happened. When I have a prophecy, when I have the prophecies of Daniel, I've got my history books in the other hand, and I compare them. I am dumbfounded. I stand in awe of God and worship. Worship him tonight as we preach and teach. Say, you are mighty, O God. You're awesome, O God. Surely you're in control of my life here tonight. It says that it ran with the fury of his power. Verse seven, and I saw him come close onto the ram, and he was moved with color. That means anger against him. And he smote the ram. This is all in the vision, and he break his two horns. He breaks Meda and Persia, and there was no power in the ram to stand before him. But he didn't stop there. It says, but he cast him down to the ground, and he stamped upon him, and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand. Now, let me take you to Bible, or sorry, to history, secular history. Remember this 200 years before it happens, that Daniel is receiving and writing it down as clear as day. He's saying what is going to happen in over 200 years time. Let me take you forward, then 200 years time from when Daniel wrote it down. In the year 336 BC, before Jesus Christ, Alexander's father, Philip, the king of Macedonia, of Macedon, actually died. Alexander was only 20 years old, but he was a young man ready for his task in life, to be one of the great men of world history. From 336 for the next two years until 334, he conquers Greece and becomes the first sovereign, single king of the entire nation of Greece. He conquered it. He took it, it took him two years, but he triumphed over it and united it as a nation. They all had the same language, the same culture, the same basic history, but they'd never been united. This young man, 20 years old, by the time he's 22, he's united the entire nation and he becomes the first king of Greece. Do you hear what I'm saying? It was prophesied over 200 years before, in detail exactly. Then in the year 334, Alexander set off on a military campaign to the east. He's traveling, he's coming from the west and he's traveling east. He had 40,000 foot soldiers and 7,000 horsemen. This was the beginning of one of the greatest military campaigns in world history, never equaled yet since those days. For the next 10 years, he is going to conquer the entire world. You realize it was prophesied. He is an utterly unique man. This is not natural. This is the clash of kingdoms, the turmoil of kingdoms, the change of kingdoms, and yet God knew it all. God is sovereignly in control and God has an actual plan. This young man of 22, setting off, leaving Greece for the first time, is going to carve out the largest world empire up until that time. He's going to have three major battles with the Persian empire until he stamps it into the ground and utterly destroys it. He crossed over from Greece into Asia Minor. This was the beginning. As he arrived, before him was a river with the first armies of the Persian empire standing before him. He was outnumbered at least two to one. They had a very strong army and they were undefeated. Here is this young man with his brand new army and his brand new nation. As he stood there, his general, one of his generals said, it's not wise. Wait till night time because we won't stand a chance. He turns to his general and he said, is there not more glory if the odds are against us? He chose out 18,000 of his men, just a portion of the entire thing about a third. He charged in daylight in front of all of his enemies across the river and charged up the hill with arrows and spears falling on them. He engaged in battle and one of the leaders of the enemy even hit his helmet, split his helmet in two, but he kept on fighting on. Do you realize they triumphed and this was their first victory, the first ever victory. For the next 18 months, they waved through all the cities and areas of Asia minor, conquering, not losing one battle until the year 333 when he again meets Darius III, the last king of the Medo-Persian empire at a place called Isis, the battle of Isis. Now Darius's army is twice as big, a hundred thousand men, but here you have the goat, the shaggy goat, he takes the initiative, he has speed, he's sharp, he charges at the enemy. Even after all of this time, he charges at the enemy. You know what he done? He defeated Darius III, got his wife, got his mother, got his children defeated and chased off the field. Darius went back home with his tail between his legs. Then we read in the history books that Alexander turned south in the year 332. He came to the city of Tyre. He fulfilled what Ezekiel prophesied in Ezekiel 27 verse 4. We don't have time to go through it here, but he fulfilled that prophecy when he utterly destroyed the city of Tyre. It was in the Bible and it was Alexander who fulfilled it. It was after a seven month siege. You know next he went further down to Jerusalem. He approached it with his armies. He was going to destroy Jerusalem and as he approaches, angry because they will not pay his tax, out of the city gates of Jerusalem comes the high priest, no weapons, no soldiers. The high priest comes out in all of his garments and he comes walking out boldly before Alexander's soldiers and the priests come out in their white garments and the priests are walking straight for Alexander. You know what happened? Alexander got off his horse, fell on his knees before the high priest, done obeisance to him and gave him respect. All of Alexander's soldiers are utterly awestruck going, why has Alexander done this? They were dumbfounded. Do you know why Alexander had done that? Just before he left Macedonia on this great campaign, he was thinking, he was very worried, thinking, is he making the mistake of his life to attack the Persian Median Empire? And in a dream in the night, and this is in the history books, in a dream in the night, he had a dream of an old man coming to him and speaking to him and saying, you're doing the will of God, you're going to be victorious, you're going to be the conqueror of Asia. Well, when that high priest come out of Jerusalem, he said, this is the man, this is the old man that spoke to me on this, in that dream, confirming before I started on this, that I would be triumphant and what I was to do. Do you know that high priest, the history book tells us, that that high priest took Alexander into the city, turned around, took him in, fed him, turned him to Daniel chapter 8 and showed him this notable horn and the Grecian Empire and said, our prophet prophesied this over 200 years ago, you are this man, you're the first king of Grecia. Do you know what Alexander said? He said, this is true. What do you want me to do? This was a man that was going to destroy Jerusalem and yet God turned it around. After this, Alexander defeated Egypt and the entire kingdom and it become a part of his kingdom. Then he went looking for Darius again in the year 331 at a place called Guagamala near the city of Nineveh was the third and the final fight. I'm talking about this wild goat running against the ram, taking on the greatest empire the world had ever seen. This small Grecian army that had been highly trained. This third and final battle, Alexander was 26 years old. Darius III had his biggest army yet. His army, his kingdom was the superpower of that generation. He had an army of 250,000 men. It was multicultural, drawn from every nation. Its frontline extended for two and a half miles. He had 200 side chariots. He had elephants without number. Here's a small Grecian army, one-fifth the size of him. Everything is going to hinge on this battle. Alexander never lost a battle. He conquered. He defeated them. The shaggy goat become triumphant and over a period of 10 years, he conquered the entire known world as far as India, 1.5 million square miles. What happened after this? The prophecy of Daniel goes further. It doesn't stop there. I wonder if the high priest showed him all the prophecy here. In verse eight, therefore, the he-goat waxed very great. When he was strong, notice this, the he-goat waxes very great, becomes a great kingdom. When he was very strong, the great horn was broken. At its highest point of power, greatest point of strength, it gets broken. God predicted it and prophesied everything about it. In the spring of 323 BC, Alexander returns to the city of Babylon and he dies of a fever. He is 32 years old. The horn has been broken. What an amazing thing. In his place arose four kings called the successors. It says here in verse eight, and for it or in its place came up four notable ones towards the four winds of heaven. In verse 22, now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the but not in his power. Notice with me here for a moment that the Grecian empire was one kingdom, one nation under Alexander's short reign as king for 12 years. As soon as he was broken, as soon as he died, then four kings arose, four notable generals. The entire kingdom was split into four. Macedonia was under his general Cassander, Thrace and Asia Minor under another general, Syria and Babylon under a third, and Egypt under a fourth. These become the four empires of the Grecian empire. They had the same culture. They had the same Greek leadership in all these four regions. They had the same Greek language. They read the same histories, but you know what? They were four distinct kingdoms. It was all prophesied. Third of all, I'm bringing you somewhere here before I finish. My third point here, the little horn of past history. Is there more in this prophecy? Yes. Has it been accurate? Yes. Has it been detailed prophesied of things 200 years to come? Yes, absolutely. Now listen to this third point, the little horn of past history. In other words, we've had a little horn arise out of all of this, but it's in the past, not the future. Look with me in verse nine. Out of one of them, out of one of the four regions, since I'm bringing you tonight concerning the little horn. Remember last week we dealt with it. Daniel chapter seven gave the history of one called the little horn who would rise from a political system, a revived Roman empire. He would be the last king of the revived Roman empire just before Jesus comes back. Daniel chapter seven shows you the history, the political system, the rise of a little horn who we know as the antichrist. Remember what I said from chapter seven through to chapter 12, there is an underlying theme revealing who the antichrist is, what he will do, and where he will arise. The little horn, the antichrist will not arise in the EU, or from Europe, or from America, or from the Western world. No, he won't. In chapter eight, and again in chapter 11, the Bible begins to show us the area, the region of the earth, the nations, the culture from which the little horn is going to arise. And when you join Daniel chapter eight and Daniel chapter 11 and bring them together, you've got a remarkable history of God revealing to Daniel, beginning to teach him concerning the horn. But listen to me, Daniel seven talks about the little horn of the last days, the antichrist. Daniel chapter eight talks about another man who was going to arise called the little horn, but he's going to come out of the Grecian empire and it's going to happen before Jesus Christ is born. Let me show you verse nine. And out of one of them came forth a little horn out of one of the four Grecian regions. Verse five, we know that Alexander was called a notable horn. In verse eight, the four generals were called notable ones. But look at this little horn. He is called a little horn, insignificant. He is unlikely. He comes out of nowhere. Look what it says about him. He comes out of one of these Grecian empires and it's not before Jesus comes to reign on the earth and it's still prior to the rise of the Roman empire. It's in history. There was a little horn in past history, not future history, in past history that Daniel prophesied about and he was going to be a type, a shadow, a picture, a prototype of the coming little horn. In other words, when we look at him, we see a man who actually came in history. It's already being fulfilled. It's now in the past. It happened in a very real way, but it's all a prototype of what's going to happen in the very last generation. And I believe it reveals where antichrist is going to arise, how antichrist is going to arise. Let's look at it. It says, which waxed exceeding great towards the south, towards the east and towards the pleasant land. Daniel is revealing here that one, there's going to come a little horn, very insignificant out of one of these regions, but he's going to grow exceedingly, amazingly great. And he's going to push out towards Egypt and towards Armenia. But listen, it says, and towards the pleasant land. What is the pleasant land? It's the beautiful land of Daniel 1141. It is Israel, the nation of Israel. Here, this little horn is going to push down into Egypt. He's going to push out. He's going to become very great. And he is going to attack Israel. In verse 10, it says, and it waxed great. It become great, this little horn, even to the host of heaven, it cast on some of the host and the stars to the ground and it stamped upon them a bit like the goat did with the ram. Now we have a little Grecian horn arise and he's going to stamp even stars to the ground. This is a very strange prophecy. Are we looking at the little horn of past history or the little horn of future history? It's very hard to tell. Very hard to tell. What are these stars that he's knocking to the ground and stamping on? Are they angelic beings, which the antichrist could do? Or are they symbolic of the 12 tribes of Israel? Are the stars representative of the 12 tribes? Or are they just generally representative of God's people? In Revelation chapter one through to chapter three, we see that the preachers, the elders, or the messengers of the churches are called stars and vision. These leaders of God's people are depicted as stars. So I'm not going to commit myself here. I'm too wise for that, but I'm just pointing out, it has a double fulfillment for a man who lived in history, in the past, in the Grecian empire, but also someone who is going to come at the end of time. Look what he does in verse 11. Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host and by him this daily sacrifice was taken away and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. Do you know what he done? He attacked Israel. This man in history, it's being shown to Daniel and Daniel is seeing all the history, 200 years of Medo-Persia. Then the Grecian empire, how it's going to rise. Then he's seeing a little horn come out of one of the four regions. What an accurate prophecy. Down over hundreds of years and then this little horn is going to become very great and he is going to attack the nation of Israel and look how accurate. No other man done this. Only one man in history done this prior to Christ, after the days of Daniel. Only one man ever attacked Israel and done these things. He magnified himself even to the prison of the prince of the host and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away. He's going to, this little horn will attack Israel and stop the daily sacrifice in the temple and the place of this, of God's sanctuary was cast down and verse 12 and a host was given him or a great army was given to him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression and it cast down the truth to the ground and it practiced and it prospered. So even after it done this it kept growing bigger. It stops the sacrifices in Jerusalem. Daniel's prophesying this some 300 years before it actually happens. It says in verse 13 here and I heard one saint speaking and another saint said unto him concerning the vision of the daily sacrifice, how long is it going to be? Now notice with me you're saying who is this little horn? Let me explain. Like Alexander the Great was a man in history that God foretold of. So this little horn he was to be a shadow, a picture, a type to instruct us and we're going to see him again in Daniel chapter 11. That's why it's so important you hear this just before we close. I'm talking about the clash of kingdoms. I'm talking about living in a generation when kingdoms are going to begin to clash and we're going to become concerned but God says I am in control. I will look after Jerusalem. I've got a plan in the midst of the nations. Who was the little horn? His name was Antiochus IV Epiphanes. He actually began to reign in the year 175. He was the eighth king of the Seleucid kingdom of Syria. He had actually lived and been educated in the city of then in the city of Athens but Antiochus was going to reign only for 12 years from the year 175. Antioch where Paul later came from, Antioch became his capital. He was determined to have one kingdom, one religious system and he even ruled over the city of Jerusalem. In the city of Jerusalem when he came to power there was a very godly high priest called Onias and Onias opposed the Hellenization of Judah and Jerusalem or making it Greek or bringing in their way of thinking. Now this high priest was a very upright man, a very godly man but his brother Jason went to Antiochus and bribed him to make him the new high priest of the temple in the city of Jerusalem. Well Antiochus was glad to do it because this brother, this brother of the genuine high priest through bribery he said I'll bring the Greek culture into Jerusalem and so Jason the new priest promoted Greek culture. He made it into a Greek city and renamed Jerusalem, listen to what he renamed it Antioch in Jerusalem. He built a Greek gymnasium in the center of the city facing the temple where all the young men got pulled in and I won't go into all the immoral details of it. You see he brought Greek culture, the language, the education system, the religion, the dress code, everything, the immorality, the lifestyle. This new high priest that was in God's house he brought the entire Greek culture in. Well he got outbid by another man called Menelaus who wasn't of the Levites. It was a new false priesthood that was going to be started. Listen to what happens with Antioch here. In the year 170, five years after he began to reign, Antiochus went on to attack the nation of Egypt. There was always a war between Egypt and between Antioch. Antiochus with his capital and Israel was always in the ground in between. Sometimes it was ruled by Egypt, sometimes by Antioch and here you've got Antiochus coming down to fight against Egypt and to get the upper hand. Well while he was attacking Egypt, the Jews were causing problems against him. So after defeating Egypt, he goes back and he attacks Jerusalem. In the year 169, he is the little horn. He is about to fulfill Bible prophecy. It's written in Daniel and it's just about to happen. He is the little horn. In the year 169, he entered into the city of Jerusalem. He conquers it, puts down opposition, carries some of the people off, kills others. Then just two years later in the year 167, he captures Jerusalem again by cunning. Listen, he stops the daily sacrifice in the temple. He bans it. He stops it and on the altar of God in the temple, he sacrificed a pig and you know that pigs are an abomination to the Jew. Well he sacrificed that pig. Then he took the blood of the pig and he spread it all over the temple. This happened on the 25th of December. He then set up an image inside the temple to the god Zeus or to the god Jupiter, Olympus. They were the same. He set up an image of Zeus but the head of the image wasn't Zeus. It was Antiochus. He created an image of himself and put it right there in the temple of himself for all to see. This was the abomination of Daniel chapter 8. Do not confuse this with the abomination we read of later in Daniel and that Jesus said was yet future before he would return again. This is the abomination of history. This is the little horn of history. This is the shadow, the type, the prototype. This is the first little horn but a little horn is going to come in the last days. This is put here to teach us about the last days. He also brought fornication into the temple of God. He crucified mothers, literally crucified them for circumcising their children on the eighth day. Men who possessed the written scriptures. He tore up and burnt the Bible and had those men killed. He banned the Sabbath day. He tried to destroy and annihilate Jewish culture and turn it into Greek culture. You'll worship my God. He put the abomination of desolation in the temple. He killed 100,000 Jews and carried another 100,000 into captivity. If you look up the history books, he named himself Theos Epiphanos. Do you know what it means? God manifest. That's what he called himself but his enemies gave him a nickname. They changed one of the Greek letters and they nicknamed him Epaminus which means madman. Not God manifest. He's a madman. He's a crazy man. That's what even the people in his own kingdom thought of him. He created coins, printed coins of him on them and called himself God manifest. At the time of the desolation of the temple, there was the Maccabean revolt. Matthias, a man of God, had enough. He and his five sons rose up and started the Maccabean rebellion or revolt against this. They ran for the hills. They actually believed as they studied the Bible. They said this is Daniel chapter 8. They believed that. They said this is the little horn of Daniel chapter 8. This is what Daniel gave to us in prophecy but there is going to be an end to it. They could read there. There was going to be an end to it. There was a time restriction. We read in Daniel chapter 8 and verse 13 that in this vision of Daniel, he sees two saints speaking one to the other about the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, the transgression of desolation, and the giving over of the sanctuary to the host or to the army to be trodden underfoot. In speaking to each other, they say how long is it going to be? Listen, verse 14, unto 2,300 days then shall the sanctuary be cleansed. This is a period of 2,300 days. Don't mix it up with the other prophecies of Daniel. This is different. This is a period of six years and four months, not seven years and not three and a half years. It's a period of six years and four months. Do you know who fulfilled this? It was Antiochus. He actually fulfilled this time span. This rebellion, this revolution rose up and believing that this is Daniel's abomination, they said we'll never submit to this. They were godly men, men of prayer, men of holiness, and they stood against the armies. They hid in secret and they worshiped God with pure hearts and with clean hands. That's what they actually done. After three more years, in the year 165, Antiochus was defeated by their armies and they triumphed and kicked Antiochus out of Jerusalem and Judah. The following year, he was so depressed, so sick that he died in his home of depression. Even today, the Jews remember this time with the Feast of Lights or Hanukkah. They keep it every year, celebrate how this great victory of the Maccabeans was won. Now, I've got their history here, two old books written about the history. And you know what? They fully believe that Daniel's prophecy was fulfilled. But saints, I've got to finish. I'm out of time. I need to preach 10 messages in each of these chapters, I can assure you. But let me, give me two more minutes, maybe three here, as I close on my fourth and final point, the little horn of future history. Yes, Daniel 7 reveals the little horn of the future and the end days when Jesus returns again. But Daniel 8 reveals that it was fulfilled. There was one called the little horn that come out of the Grecian empire. You're going to see this as a big clue and you've got to hold on to this for when we reach Daniel 11. In Daniel 11, you're going to find that the little horn of the last days is going to come out of the same region, the same empire, the same area. And he's going to be a prototype or a fulfillment of all that was spoken about Antiochus. Here in this fourth and final point, the little horn of future history. You see this prophecy in Daniel 8, it does speak about Antiochus at the time of the Maccabees, but it also holds within it such information that you go, surely there's more to this. And you'd be absolutely right. It flows from Antiochus, the little horn, into another little horn that is soon going to rise on the world stage. It says in verse 23, and in the latter time of their kingdom, that's the Grecian one, when the transgressors are come to a full, a king of fierce countenance and understanding dark sentences shall stand up. In other words, there's going to come a little horn out of this region of fierce countenance. He's not going to fear anyone. He'll be able to solve every problem on the political national stage. Verse 24, and his power shall be mighty, unparalleled, but not by his own power. He has given this power and he shall destroy wonderfully and prosper. And he shall practice and shall destroy the people. Who are they? It's Israel. It's Jerusalem again. A little horn is going to come in the last days and he's going to attack Jerusalem. He's going to come against Israel again. Verse 25, and through his policy, also, he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand. He's a crafty man. Do you know what craft is? Cunning, cunning, being underhand, a manipulator, a liar, a deceiver. Craft is going to prosper in his hands and he shall magnify himself in his heart. And by peace, listen to this, he's a politician that's going to rise in the days ahead and it won't be in Europe and it won't be in America. I believe it's going to be in the Middle East and by peace, he shall destroy many. He'll come as a man of peace. He'll speak peace, but do you know what? He's a man of great craft. He's a great politician and he shall also stand up against the prince of princes, who I believe is Jesus Christ, but he shall be broken without hand. Do you know Antiochus? He conquered the known world of his day. He was a triumphant warrior. He was in the battlefield all the time. Do you know what he died of? Depression in his bedroom. He just got sick and died, tired of life, defeated in Jerusalem. But do you know what? The Antichrist is also going to fall over the same thing as well at a point where the little horn thinks he's going to destroy Israel and triumph over Jerusalem and take it and conquer it. The prince of peace is going to come and he's going to be broken without human hand. The little horn of the last days is going to be broken without a human hand. It won't be a natural death. The king of kings, the prince of glory, Jesus is going to come back and destroy him. Since this Bible prophecy is given to make us stand in awe of the Bible that we have that says repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, that also tells us that 2,000 years ago, Jesus died on a cross for your sins and he said, whosoever believeth in me shall not perish, but have everlasting life. Do I trust the message of this book? I do. I do trust the message of this book. And in closing, let's see how this chapter closes, verse 26. And the vision of the evening and the mornings, which was told is true. Wherefore, shut up the vision. Gabriel's talking to Daniel. Shut it up. It's not for today. Daniel, it's not going to happen tomorrow. It won't happen in your lifetime. Shut it up. Seal it. Close it up. Guard it. For it shall be for many days. It's going to happen. It'll come in the future. And I, Daniel, look at the effect on Daniel. Haven't seen this vision. I, Daniel, fainted and was sick certain days. This is a real vision from God. He is sick for certain days. He fainted. Afterwards, I rose up. He went days without being able to work. One real vision from God and he wasn't able to work. I knew of a man of God who brought revival to Belfast. He had one vision of hell. And for six months, he couldn't preach or hardly go out the door. But after that revival came, give us again men who receive a vision from God. And after those days, afterward, I rose up and did the king's business. He went back to work and I was astonished at the vision, but none understood it. Couldn't find anyone that understood it. But you know what? He knew it was going to come to pass very shortly. Will you pray with me? I'm talking about the clash of kingdoms. I'm talking about our generation and our world. We are about to go through a chaotic time in the nations, a clash of kingdoms. But I want you to know, God knows. He's absolutely in control and the heavens do rule. Will you pray with me here tonight as we close? Father, we do thank you, O God, for the word of God, for the assurance that the heavens rule. You know all things. You prophesy all things. You see the rise and the fall. You intervene on behalf of your people. My God, you were able to give Alexander a vision, a dream of the night, a message, a revelation, that wicked ungodly man. Years before, you're able to give him that he could recognize the high priest at the gates of Jerusalem. My God, our lives are in your hands. We're not victims of governments. We're not victims of institutions. We're not victims of what's happening in this generation. You have a plan for a people who are going to prosper and do the will of God, who will not compromise, who will not give into the culture of this day, but they'll rise up with faith, seeking to see many saved in this hour. In Jesus' mighty name, amen. God bless you here tonight in this Bible study. Amen.