Daniel 7 (Pt 3)

Daniel 7:17-18 (ESV)

These four great 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.

 

That is the message of Daniel 7. Four kings. The fourth, a destructive kingdom. The fourth will devour, break, and stomp on everyone and everything. Devastation and destruction will follow him. He will make war with the saints and prevail over them (Dan 7:21). Thankfully that is not the end of the sentence. Daniel 7:21-22 says, “This horn made war with the saints and prevailed over them,” until the Ancient of Days came. When The Ancient of Days comes, “judgment is given to the saints of the Most High, and the saints possess the kingdom.”

 

Bad things happen to good people. We live in a broken world under the influence of the Enemy. Unfortunately, when bad things happen we often begin to doubt the goodness of God. “Where is God?” we cry out. “Why doesn’t he hear? Why doesn’t he do something?” We want immediate relief. We want immediate answers. But God is not a tame God to jump at our every whim and will. He is working a plan set before the foundation of the world.

 

Jesus warned that bad things would happen to those who follow him. Jesus said in Matthew 24:9-10,

 

[9] “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. [10] And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another.

 

In John 16:1-2 he warned,

 

[1] “I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away. [2]  They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God.

 

The American church in particular has fallen for the lie that if we follow Jesus everything will be wonderful, comfortable, and easy. When Jesus called his disciples to follow him, he called them to come and die. That is the call he places on each of us as believers. Come and die, for you have been crucified with Christ (Gal 2:20). Come and die, for you are indeed dead to sin and raised with Christ to new life (Rom 6:1-4).

 

We tend to focus on the new life part and forget the dead part. This world will continue to grow darker. The king of the fourth kingdom will make war with the saints and prevail over them (Dan 7:21). It is the next word, the first word of verse 22, that changes everything, “But.” When it feels like the world is prevailing, when if seems like the Enemy has won, when it looks like the church has lost the battle, remember that “but.” It leads us to victory. The little horn of the fourth kingdom will make war with the saints and prevail over them, “But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, forever and ever” (Dan 7:21-22).

 

It is always darkest before the dawn they say. Sometimes the darkness is palpable. Sometimes the darkness is so thick you can touch it. Sometimes the darkness seems to engulf everything in its blackness, but. . . The darker it gets the closer to dawn we are.

 

Whatever is happening in your life, you can trust God. No matter how dark it gets, we have this assurance that our full victory is yet to come. We will one day possess the kingdom, and that possession will never end. Believe it!