- Good afternoon. It is such a joy to be with you all. I am so thankful, not only to proclaim the word of God, but to sing with you all. I think there are so many evidences and illustrations of truth triumphing as we walk through the text of scripture, but one of them is us being together and us singing together and the weight of one voice crying out the same truth.

Though we are scattered to the ends of the earth, we can come together and declare in one accord the universal, eternal truth of the word of God in song. That is indicative that truth has triumphed. That truth has triumphed to the ends of the earth. It has gone not only far and wide, but deep into the soul to regenerate the heart so that we all have the same affections and we all love the same Christ and he means to us the same thing who occupies the greatest love of our heart.

It's an honor to be with you brothers. We are a band of brothers together and that bond is indicative that truth triumphs. Never forget that. Well, shall we dedicate this time to the Lord? Our God and Father, may it be that even now you instill in our heart a burning desire for your name to be honored, for the things of this world to grow dim, and for the bright glories of heaven to be exalted, and that your son will be put on high, higher than he ever has been in our hearts and our souls.

And we ask this not for our own sake, but for the sake of your son through whom and for whom are all things ordained, that he would be magnified, that he would be accentuated, that the heights of his glory and the depths of who he is would be able to be expounded into our finite and limited minds, and that every fiber of our being would be captured unto him now.

And that we would love him and love your plan and know all of your promise and thereby persevere. Persevere unto a great moment when heaven declares to the earth the worthiness of the one who has always been worthy. And so may this time, O God, be one of great worship.

Grant us clarity of speech and clarity of thought so that you would be honored the way you always have deserved to be honored. And we ask this in your name, amen. When we think about the matter of perseverance, there are several principles that we could talk about that fortify our soul to endurance.

But one of the keys to perseverance, one of the keys to perseverance is this reality, that truth triumphs. Well, what do you say to yourself when you face setback and discouragement and adversity? Well, what do you say to yourself in trial? Well, what we don't do in trial and what we don't do in discouragement and setback is look to ourselves, to our own resources, to our own wisdom, our strength, our ability, our scheming.

That's a recipe for disaster because we're just not that inspiring in those moments. And to be even more frank, we're probably the reason half the time that we are in those difficulties. No, brothers, we don't look to ourselves. We look to Christ. We look to his glory. We look to his majesty.

We look to his person. We look to the one who has gone before us, the one who has gone to the cross and one who has gone to death and overcome death in the resurrection and the one who will return and overcome all things. Truth triumphs. And that is what compels us in the hardest of circumstances to say with all of our might, though this moment might be formidable and it might be fearsome, this does not have the last say our God does.

And his word is final. What do we tell ourselves? We tell ourselves in those moments and steel in our heart, truth triumphs. That's the secret to perseverance. And my responsibility this afternoon is to take you to the moment, the initiation of the moment where truth triumphs. Turn with me to Daniel chapter seven.

Daniel chapter seven. Now as you turn there, you might be wondering, how do you know that this is the moment that truth triumphs? How is it really that this text is so compelling? And perhaps some of you are still wondering about the underlying assumption, is it really that truth triumphs can persevere and preserve the soul?

Can it really facilitate endurance? The answer to all these questions can be found in nothing other than the life of Daniel. Think about this for a second with me. Daniel's life is absolutely remarkable if you stop and think about it. Throughout the whole scriptures, we know that the Bible portrays human characters from Abraham to Moses to Peter and Paul, both with the good and the bad, so that you have a circumspect perspective about these individuals.

But it is absolutely then astonishing that scripture portrays Daniel purely in his integrity. That is the only comment that the scripture gives on this man. And indeed, if you think about this person, he is uncompromising to God. He is consistent. He is faithful. He is unwavering. He is absolutely dedicated.

And he is that even in the most difficult, the most threatening, the most life-threatening of times. When there is risk and there is danger, he is still steadfast. Sometimes we say, "Man, my life's so hard. "It's like they're throwing me to the lions." Daniel was thrown to the lions.

The guy's existence invented the phrase. You know, when Daniel was eight or 10 or 12 or 13, depending on how you wanna do the dating of Daniel one, he was more mature than the entire internet combined. (congregation laughing) I know, that's a low bar, but you understand my point.

Daniel's life is so remarkable that in Daniel six, when his enemies put him under the microscope, the highest scrutiny, all that they could find out about him was that he was loyal and faithful to his God. That is astounding to think about, that his dedication is so unwavering and so unrelenting that he had a faithfulness that eradicated all moral liabilities.

And the only thing his opponents could see in his life was the only thing in his life, the loyalty to the Lord Jesus Christ. That is an astounding life. And it would be amazing if he had that for a week. I would want that for a week or a month or years.

But the scripture is clear. Daniel lived like that under the microscope in danger, within political intrigue, with political schemes, in different kingdoms, in different empires, in different regimes, day in, day out, every day of his life for over 80 years. And no one ever saw him change from that.

That's an amazing life, an amazing life. I want a life like that. And the question is, what made him tick? What made him do that? What drove him? What held him in those moments when there is so much danger surrounding him? What did he think about? What was his motivation?

We don't have to speculate. We don't have to speculate. It's Daniel chapter seven. You say, how do you know that? Well, here's one way to think about it. Daniel seven is the point of all of Daniel's thinking. Daniel seven is the point of all of Daniel's thinking. Daniel, in the book of Daniel, has been narrating an argument that God is still sovereign.

God is still sovereign, chapter one of Daniel, even when Israel is sent into exile as evidenced by the life of Daniel and his friends. God is still sovereign in Daniel chapter two because God alone is the one who ordains dreams and can interpret them. And this dream dictates the course of history of all the world.

God is still sovereign in Daniel chapter three, even when Nebuchadnezzar challenges the plan that is revealed in Daniel chapter two. And in Daniel chapter four, God is still sovereign when Nebuchadnezzar doesn't just challenge God's plan, he challenges God himself, assuming that his Nebuchadnezzar was a self-made man and God shows him, if I'm not sovereign over you, if I'm not the one who dictates it, you'll just eat grass like an animal.

God is still sovereign. God is still sovereign in chapter five as one kingdom gives way to another kingdom and just as God had prophesied and planned. And in Daniel chapter six, God is still sovereign in a new regime with new dangers, but nevertheless, the same God rules. God is still sovereign.

And so God has shown chapter after chapter after chapter a progression that every king and every kingdom and every plan and every nuance is under the sovereign dictate of God. He is still sovereign and therefore, all of God's plan is moving through all of history to a point, to an outcome, Daniel chapter seven.

Daniel seven is the outcome. It is the point of everything Daniel has been thinking and everything flows to it and everything flows from it. But here's another way to think about it. The book of Daniel was not written chronologically and there are 12 chapters in the book of Daniel and guess what chapter is right in the middle of the book?

Daniel chapter seven. Why is it in the middle of the book? It's really simple. It's central to the book because it's central to Daniel's soul. Daniel tells you what is his heartbeat. Daniel tells us what he prizes. Daniel explains to us what is at the center of his own heart and what he thought about and what he looked forward to and what captured him and what drove him in all of the trials and all of the opposition and all of the danger so that day after day after day, he would persevere and endure in faithfulness.

It is Daniel chapter seven. Why? Because this is the moment that truth triumphs. This is the moment Daniel was waiting for and it captured his life to the very end. Now, we use that phrase, the moment we've been waiting for in all kinds of ways, very often in life.

Kids will use it for holidays, for birthdays and Christmas because that's when they get presents. And students will use this is the moment I've been waiting for to talk about graduation or getting married or getting a job. And people will use that term when they have a job to talk about getting a promotion.

And adults will use that term, this is the moment we've been waiting for when they become parents and have children. And then they'll also use that term when their children leave and when they become grandparents. People use this term all the time. You may have a moment you are waiting for.

It's called dinner. (congregation laughing) We all have moments that we are waiting for and they compel us, they drive us, they give us perspective, they give us determination. That's the nature of a moment you are waiting for. And while we may have many moments we are waiting for, here's what Daniel says about Daniel 7.

This is the moment. This is the moment you are waiting for. This is the moment that truth triumphs. This is the moment you are waiting for. And Daniel in Daniel 7 provides three realities, three realities that help us to understand this moment and help us to understand this moment as the moment that truth triumphs, the moment that we are waiting for, and the moment then that we go back to over and over and over again like Daniel did so that we would persevere to the end.

Truth triumphs through promise. Truth triumphs through prophecy. And that's what we have right here in Daniel 7. Three realities in Daniel 7, 1 through 14. And with this in mind, let's talk about the first of those three realities. This is the moment that history waits for. This is the moment that history waits for.

And we see this in verses 1 through 8, 1 through 8. Immediately in this vision, what we understand is that this vision was revealed with a design toward perseverance. In the first year of Belshazzar, king of Babylon, this is a moment that is after Daniel chapter 2, but before, of course, the kingdom of Babylon falls.

The advent of Belshazzar, king of Babylon, was marked by tremendous instability, tremendous political intrigue, and therefore tremendous danger to Daniel's life. And so God reveals a vision to Daniel in order to give him absolute assurance that God's plan is going through, to give him absolute stability in the storm.

This vision is all about instilling endurance. And within this, this vision is the vision of visions, as verse 1 recounts. Daniel saw a dream and visions. This vision is so powerful because it sums up, it brings together all the dreams and visions that he's had. And in fact, this vision is so much of a vision, it's not just one vision, it's visions, plural, in his head as he laid on his bed.

This vision is so captivating, this vision is so central, that Daniel ensures that he wrote the dream down in perpetuity to preserve it. And he also made sure to not only give every single detail about it, but the summary of the matter, so that everyone knew every detail and what it all meant.

This is an epic vision. This is the vision that is determining of all visions. This is central to divine revelation. And in thinking about this then, there's a question that arises. And what arises is, if this vision is supposed to be the summary of all other visions, bringing them all together, why doesn't Daniel 7 just match other visions in the book of Daniel, like in Daniel chapter 2?

For example, there's a lot of correlations between them. We know that they're parallel. Daniel 2 has four metals. Daniel 7 has four beasts. Daniel 2 has a fourth metal that has 10 toes. And in Daniel 7, you have 10 horns. And there's a metal in Daniel 2 with iron.

And in Daniel 7, it describes a beast with iron teeth. There's absolute correspondence between these two visions. So, why couldn't Daniel be a little bit more American and just make them totally match in parallel? It'd just make our lives a lot easier. And the answer is in the imagery itself.

Think about this with me. Survey this text with me. You have the wind, the sky of heaven, and the sea, verse 2. And then you have great beasts coming. And then after you have the great beasts coming, you have a man who rules over it all. Where do you have in the Bible that there's a mention of the sky, and then there's a mention of the sea, and then there's a mention of animals, and then there's a mention of even the creation of man?

Genesis chapter 1. Daniel 7 is meant to match Genesis chapter 1, because the end will be just like the beginning, and more to the point. Genesis 1 has made a thesis. Genesis 1 has said, this is the way the world was made, and there is a man who is destined, Adam, to rule over this world.

And the question that has been raised is a vital question. Who will fulfill Genesis 1? Who will fulfill the destiny of creation? Who will be the last Adam? And Daniel 7 is answering that question. Daniel 7, in the end, is showing who will fulfill the role of the one ordained from the beginning.

And so the world, in its history, will present the top four candidates, shall we say, the top four propositions of who might be this final Adam. And it is four beasts, as Daniel 7, verse 2 discusses. Daniel answered and said, "I was looking in my vision by night, "and behold, the four winds of heaven "were stirring up the great sea, "and four beasts were coming up from the sea, "different from one another." Top four, top four.

Here's the first one. Here's the first one, verse 4. "The first contender was like a lion, "and had the wings of an eagle. "I kept looking until its wings were plucked, "and it was lifted up from the ground "and made to stand on two feet like a man, "and a heart of a man was given to it." This should sound familiar in context.

Who was like an animal, and then God restored his sanity? It is none other than Nebuchadnezzar. We know that. This is a description of Nebuchadnezzar. He is that contender. He is the king, and this is representative of the nation, then, and the kingdom of Babylon, verse 4. But herein, if you understand that, lies an important lesson and irony.

Here you have the symbol, the mascot of Babylon. You even see in an archeological reliefs a lion, royal and regal, and having the wings of an eagle, swift and powerful. But when Nebuchadnezzar actually becomes that, because he does in Daniel 4, he gets on all fours, he starts growing hair like fur, he has talons and pinions like an eagle.

That isn't the ultimate epitome of power and majesty and swiftness and royalty. When Nebuchadnezzar looks like that, that's the pinnacle of foolishness and folly. And here is what you learn, the height of man's power, what man thinks is so mighty, what man thinks is so exalted, what man thinks is so immensely strong.

When God actually has that, when God actually sees that and observes that and causes it to take place, what ends up taking place is this, it is just foolishness before God. That's the strength of man. That's the strength of man. And even more, God makes the point, if it wasn't for God, you would just be a beast.

The difference between you and might and insanity is not this vast line of our power and our wisdom and our might, no, it is the thin line that God says, you are this or not, that's it. And so Nebuchadnezzar, though one of the top four contenders, he goes off into the annals of history as one not the final man, one not the final Adam, instead, he's just an illustration of God's definitive sovereignty.

That God is the definition, God is the defining factor of whether you make it or you don't, whether you're like an animal or not, and that's it. So the first guy's out, what about the second one? He comes afterwards, behold, another beast, the second one, verse five, in the likeness of a bear, and it was raised up on one side.

This corresponds exactly to what you see in Daniel two, where the next metal, the next material, is corresponding to the shoulders of a statue. You have this binary pair in verse five as well, raised up on one side. And the reason that there's this couplet, the reason that there is this pairing is because you have a confederation in this nation, Medo-Persia, Medo-Persia and its king.

And the Bible is so amazingly precise in this way, and then the Bible continues such prophetic precision. Notice the next part of verse five, and three ribs were in its mouth. Those three ribs are Babylon, Lydia, and Egypt. Babylon, Lydia, and Egypt. That's exactly the nations that Medo-Persia had to conquer to ascend into power.

The Bible knew these things way before they ever happened. The three ribs were in its mouth between its teeth, and thus they said to it, "Arise, devour much meat." Medo-Persia conquered far more than Babylon ever did. It went to Egypt, it went to Central Asia, it even tackled Greece.

And on the one hand, it illustrates, there will always be somebody better than you. There will always be somebody better than you. Babylon, and those in Babylon at the time of Daniel needed to know that. They thought they were the top empire of the world, and indeed, up to that time in history, they were.

But there's always somebody better. There's always someone who's gonna conquer more. There's always somebody gonna be doing more. Be humble. But on the other hand, brothers, pay attention. Look at the text carefully. Notice what it says. And thus, they said to it, "Arise, devour much meat." Who's the they?

Who's telling this bear, this nation of Medo-Persia, to do what it does? This they is heaven. This is heaven. And this is a reminder. Do you want to know why people can do what they do and go as far as they go? It is because God says, "Go here and no further." God is the determiner of everything and all the extent and all the success or even the failures of one's life.

God says, "Go here and no further," not just to the sea, but to every single human and to every single king and to every single kingdom. We might be impressed with people, and we might think that they're self-made people, but that is not true. They only go as far as God tells them to, no further and no less.

God not only has defining sovereignty, he uses the second beast, the kingdom of Medo-Persia, to show that he has determining sovereignty. Well, that beast didn't work out either. So what about the third one? There's another one. Verse six. "After this, I kept looking and behold another one, "like a leopard, which had on its back "four wings of a bird." This is the mascot of Greece.

This is exactly the nature of Greece. You can even see this in reliefs and such. This is Greece before its time. This is prophetic with absolute precision, and that it had four wings on its back not only speak of its reach to the four corners of the earth, but its swiftness to do so as it was led by Alexander the Great, who at a very young age conquered the known world in rapid succession.

And speaking of Alexander the Great, notice the next phrase. The beast also had four heads. Why four? Well, on the one hand, yes, it speaks again to the reach of Greece, but on the other hand, there were four generals that succeeded Alexander the Great. The prophetic precision here is astounding.

Those four generals, Lysimachus, Cassander, Ptolemy, and Seleucus, how would you know about them ahead of time? It is a testimony to the inspiration of Scripture. And this beast, being so massive and so expansive, it still says in the text, though, look at the final phrase, and dominion was given to it.

Notice the text does not say it gained dominion for itself. Dominion was given to it. And the question is, who gave it dominion? And the answer is God. Alexander the Great conquered a vast swath of territory, spanning the whole known world and even going as far as India. And we might be impressed with the breadth of people's accomplishments and the breadth of people's sovereignty and the breadth of people's domain and authority, but here's what we have to remember.

And Alexander, he's just an illustration of this, that God's sovereignty controls the breadth of human ability, the breadth of human achievement, the breadth of human authority. That's all he is. That's all he is. And God not only controls the breadth of human ability and authority, he controls the height of it as well.

And that's what we see in verses seven and eight. There's a fourth contender for who could be the final Adam. And in verses seven and eight we read, after this I kept looking in the night visions and behold, a fourth beast. There's the fourth contender. Fearsome, one who innately has terrifying might.

And he is terrifying because he's so intimidating and he is extraordinarily strong. He is one who can actually exert all that force against others. This is a beast of a totally different caliber. And notice it says in verse seven, and it had iron teeth. This not only goes back to Daniel chapter two, which talks about the part of a statue, the image that had iron, but this explicitly refers to the nation of Rome.

In fact, Rome was famed for having iron. They even had the Iron Legion. The Bible is so prophetic and so precise in its prophecy, it even knew the materials, the key materials a nation would use before the nation even existed. That's how precise it is. It's astounding to think about.

And Rome, we know, did exactly what verse seven said it did. It says it devoured as it assimilated other nations and into itself and crushed to prevent any kind of resistance and then trampled them down in their own form of oppression the remainder with its feet. Rome did exactly that as it exerted total domination.

And in that way, it was different from all the beasts that were before it. Rome had a much longer duration, much greater reach, and much greater influence, one that you could even argue extends through this very day and even into the Eschaton, speaking of which, notice the last phrase of verse seven, and it had 10 horns.

So far, we have seen things that match with history very, very well, hand in glove. But all of a sudden, we read that this beast had 10 horns. Horns are a symbol of strength and a symbol of royalty. We can read that in the Psalms. That's a good place to look.

And as such, normally, you have a king over a kingdom. But in this specific case, this kingdom becomes so large and so magnificent, it doesn't just have one king, it has the equivalent of 10 kings. You could think of it this way. This kingdom reaches a state where it is 10 times larger, 10 times wealthier, 10 times more powerful, 10 times more expansive than any other kingdom of this world.

We have not seen that yet. And just like in Daniel 2, the 10 toes of the statue were part of a statue made with iron and clay, a new iteration, a new manifestation of the kingdom of Rome. You could say it's Rome 2.0, if you wanna say it that way.

This is referring to the eschatological manifestation of Rome. This is referring to the culmination of Rome in the end times. It is 10 times a kingdom than any kingdom you have ever seen. It is the kingdom of the Antichrist. And in verse eight, while I was contemplating the horns, and Daniel has to think about this because he's not just focusing on kingdoms, he's focusing on who will be the final Adam, and there is a king coming out of this kingdom.

As he's contemplating the horns, another horn, a little one, the underdog, came up among them, and three of the first horns were pulled up by the roots. This individual, this singular horn, this new ruler, underdog on the block, totally upends and totally distorts and disturbs the power structure, the political system of this world in the end times.

It has to be powerful to be able to do that. It has to be gargantuanly mighty to be able to do that, and you could think of it this way. This king, this king is the climax of the climax of the climax. Already, Rome itself, as a fourth kingdom, is a climactic kingdom, different than all the rest.

That's the climax. But then it will have an eschatological manifestation with 10 horns, a 10-kingdom confederacy, and so that's the climactic climax of this kingdom, and now what you have is an antichrist who's the climax of those two climaxes. He's the climax of Rome and its eschatological manifestation, the climax of the climax of the climax, and as such, he possesses eyes, it says, at the end of verse eight, like the eyes of a man.

The antichrist will be the embodiment of all human intelligence, all human wisdom. He will be a genius like you've never seen before, a political genius. Just by way of illustration, in the book of Revelation, when we first meet the antichrist, he's riding on a white horse because he's a fake Christ, and he conquers the world, and it says he has a bow to conquer the world, but what's fascinating is there's no mention of arrows.

How do you fight with a bow with no arrows? I don't know how to do that because I don't know Kung Fu, but the antichrist, he can conquer the world without firing a shot because he's a genius. He's a genius like you've never seen before. He possesses eyes like the eyes of a man, and even more than that, notice this, he has a mouth that speaks great boasts.

That word boasts, its underlying root word is the word great, and you say, why does that matter? Because the word great is used very strategically in the book of Daniel, and it ultimately applies to and focuses on the statue, which was a what kind of statue in Daniel's vision, a great statue.

The statue, the image in Daniel chapter two, not only represented different kingdoms, but collectively represented all of man's power, all of man's might, take all of history, all the nations, boil them all together, and assemble all of the authority and dominion of them, that is what the antichrist has.

You could put it this way, he is the climax of the climax of the climax, and he is the consolidation of all human intellect, wisdom, power, and might in one. This is the earth's final, final proposition, final proposal of who could be the final Adam, but there couldn't be more wrong.

God has allowed all of this to happen. God has raised up all of this, and there is a point to it all, and we can't miss that point. There are a lot of lessons that we can learn through this flow of history. We can learn lessons about God's sovereignty, that he has definitive sovereignty, whether you are man or beast is up to God.

He has determinative sovereignty. How far you go is determined by God. How the breadth of man's authority or the height of man's authority, it's all determined by God, and those lessons would be true. There are important lessons in Daniel 7, 1 through 8 about the nature of the word of God, that God can have just this prophetic accuracy, talking about kingdoms in succession and talking about them in such immaculate detail way before they happen.

Put it this way, God can talk about what happens after Alexander the Great is dead before the guy is even born. That is how precise God is, and what that testifies is there is a God in heaven, and he knows everything, and not only does he know everything, he ordains everything, and not only does he ordain everything, he revealed it all right here.

This text should be a cause for celebration because that is the nature of our God. And not only that, we not only learn lessons about God's sovereignty and the word of God, we learn lessons about eschatology. There are implications knowing that these four kingdoms come and an eschatological kingdom of the Antichrist will arise, and after that, Christ will return and set up his kingdom, just like we see in Daniel two and Daniel seven.

There are implications of that, but brothers, don't miss the point. Don't miss the point. There is a reason why the imagery of this text is the way it is, because heaven has asked a question. Heaven has asked a question of all world history, and that question is who is the one who fulfills creation?

Who is the one who is the destiny of this world? Who is the one who is the final Adam? That is the question of this world. That is the question of its history, and brothers, if that is the case, then we better be careful of getting distracted and disillusioned by fads and trends instead of proclaiming the main question of who is the last Adam and who is that worthy?

Let me put it this way. If that's God's question, that better be our question, because that's the main point. Even more, though, even more, don't miss this. God didn't just ask a question in this text with the imagery. God gave an answer. There is a reason why before Daniel's eyes in this vision, there is king after king and kingdom after kingdom after kingdom, because all of history is flowing, and all of history is moving, and all of history is accelerating to the moment where heaven will give its answer.

That's where history is going. The earth has made proposals. They've given us the top four mighty ones, and some of you here are wondering, where's the USA in this? U-S-A, U-S-A. (congregation laughing) Brothers, we didn't even make it into the top four. (congregation laughing) And that shows us the power that these men had in history we've never seen in our life.

We've never seen in our life. But here's something else to know. Christ's power is still yet more. And along that line, history is moving, kingdom after kingdom, accelerating and flowing to the moment where earth offers its best solution, but that is no solution at all. And so earth will give way to heaven, and heaven will come down, and heaven will open up with all of its glory, and all of its brilliant light, and thunderous clarity, and will proclaim the answer, the answer that everyone has been looking for.

Who is the final Adam? Who is the destiny of this world? Who is the one who fulfills Genesis one? It is the Lord Jesus Christ. There is a moment we are waiting for, and by God's design, all history waits for it. That is the truth of the matter. (congregation applauding) And brothers, since that is the case, then let us not keep our eyes fixed on the things of this world, and the things of the here and now.

God is directing us to look to a future moment when heaven announces to earth, and heaven declares to earth, our eyes should turn there, and we should turn the eyes of our people there. There is a moment we are waiting for. All history is designed to wait for it, and so we should await for it as well.

Well, in light of that, let's get to the moment, shall we? And that's found in verses nine through 12. That is found in verses nine through 12. And you could put it this way. The first reality we saw is that all history is waiting for this moment. The second reality is, anthropologically speaking, it is as if the Father is waiting for this moment.

It is as if the Father is waiting for this moment. What is this moment like? I love the opening of this, verse nine. Daniel says, "I kept looking until thrones were set up." I love this. Whose thrones are those? And the Bible makes it clear, both by context, and even by later revelation, in confirmation, that these thrones are for the people of God.

There are 24, 12 and 12, Israel and the church, for the elders of God and heaven, and for those who are all assembled around. And this would be so encouraging to Daniel, because this is God's moment, and God's message to Daniel. Daniel, I know you've been beaten up. I know you've been hunted.

I know you've been persecuted every single day since you were 10, for your whole life. Let me tell you this, Daniel. You will reign in the end. Brothers, we may be beaten down, and we may be those who are trampled, not even to the extent that Daniel was, but we need to remember this, truth triumphs.

Truth triumphs. It is exactly Paul's promise, that if we endure with him, we will what? Reign. Truth triumphs. That's what we have here. But the moment isn't about us. This moment is not about us. It is about our God. And our God, like any celebration, any wedding or any festival or any milestone, every detail, every single detail, is carefully orchestrated and designed and crafted to accentuate the grandeur of this occasion.

And we can see that, for one, in everything about God is manifest to that end. And notice what the text says in verse nine, "And the Ancient of Days was seated." You say, Ancient of Days? Is God old? No, he's eternal. He's eternal. He is above time. He is beyond time.

He transcends time. And only one who is so above and apart from time can define all time. Why does God appear here as the Ancient of Days? He is making a statement. From eternity past to eternity future, this is the moment. This is the moment that fulfills all time.

This is the moment that fulfills all time. Notice what the text also describes about God in this text. His clothing was white like snow. We know that the priestly garments were supposed to be white. And we know that we were supposed to be cleansed white as snow, Isaiah chapter one.

This is talking about holiness. This is talking about salvation. This is talking about redemption in that way. This is the moment that not only fulfills time, this is the moment that fulfills holiness and righteousness. And not only that, notice what else the text says about our God. "And the hair of his head was like pure wool." The scriptures describe those who have white hair and who have gray hair as those of immense wisdom.

We can see this in Proverbs. "And though the wisdom of our God has been hidden "throughout the ages, and the wisdom of the cross "is hidden to those who are perishing, "there will be a day when the wisdom of God "is made abundantly clear, and every knee will bow, "and every mouth will be shut because they see "the brilliance of our God." This is that moment.

This is that moment. And so everything about God is presented and manifested to show this will be the display of the sovereign God in all time, in all wisdom, in all righteousness. But it's not just everything about God. It's everything around God. Notice what the text says. "His throne," next part of verse nine, "was ablaze with fire, the epicenter of his authority, "the epicenter of his omnipotence, "the epicenter of his power, was focused on one thing, "ablaze with fire, the fire of destructive judgment." This will be the fulfillment of justice and judgment.

And it won't just be the fulfillment of justice and judgment. It'll be the fulfillment of the world in that regard because notice the last phrase of verse nine, "Its wheels were a burning fire." It is very important that we remember that this chariot throne is a chariot throne. It'll come in view later.

Ezekiel sees the same thing. He sees a throne with wheels within a wheel, symbolizing and demonstrating that not only is our God omnipotent, he's omnipresent. He can go anywhere at any time and strike anything. And with that, this blazing, fiery throne is going to judge every inch of this world.

And that judgment will be final. Notice verse 10. "A river of fire was flowing and coming out from him." It is like there will be a deluge of fire that will consume the world. God flooded the world the first time and he promised never to do that again with water, but he never said anything about not doing it with fire.

And the first judgment anticipates this final one. The first judgment was a warning. Water is God going easy. Fire is God going final. And God says, "I will destroy, I will judge "this entire world in a final judgment." He's going to do it with fire. That's why I'm green, 'cause I just wanna make sure there's plenty of kindling for the occasion.

Just kidding. And so what you have is this is a moment that defines time. This is a moment that defines holiness. This is a moment that defines wisdom. This is a moment that fulfills judgment. And this is a moment that fulfills Earth and its history. Everything about God and everything around God is poised for this moment, but it's not just everything about or around God.

It's everything alongside of God. Notice the last part of verse 10. "Thousands upon thousands were attending him." This moment doesn't just fulfill Earth. This moment fulfills heaven. It fulfills heaven as thousands upon thousands are standing at attention, ready to do God's bidding. Have you ever wondered what the phrase Yahweh of hosts means?

Yahweh of the armies. Here you learn the lesson. He commands the armies of heaven, and the armies of heaven now are all assembled to execute his will. It is infallible, and it is also majestic, as myriads upon myriads were standing before him in salute. People, kings of old, gathered their courts together as a display of their power and their majesty and their glory, but those courtiers, they might be just 10 or 100, maybe 300.

Here you have, before God, all of heaven assembled, 10,000 upon 10,000 upon 10,000, finally living out the destiny for which they were created. It is for this moment. This moment fulfills Earth, even as it fulfills. (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) (silence) The very reason, in God's providence, that he ordained Daniel's name to be Daniel is to point to this moment.

This is the moment that not only fulfills time and holiness and wisdom and judgment and Earth and all heaven, this is the moment that fulfills all revelation. And when you have that kind of moment that deals with time and holiness and wisdom and judgment, Earth and heaven and revelation, and everything around God and everything about God and everything alongside of God so craftily designed, then you know that that is the moment we are waiting for.

And you know even more, anthropomorphically speaking, that is the moment the Father is waiting for. And this moment, this moment isn't just for show, it's effective. Notice verses 11 and 12. Here's what happens from heaven to Earth. Then I kept looking because of the sound of the great boastful words which the horn was speaking.

The horn is at its pinnacle of greatness, assuming all the strength and all that embodies all the world nations of all history in and of himself. And in this pinnacle moment, what does it say? I kept looking until the beast was killed. He's defeated. This embodiment of evil, this embodiment of human might, this embodiment of human ingenuity is defeated.

But it's not just that he's defeated. Notice, its body was destroyed. His entire kingdom, the entire system that he has set up, the most elaborate system celebrating man and celebrating earthly achievement, it is dismantled. Evil is dismantled in that way. But it's not just that there was defeat. It's not just that there was dismantling.

There is damnation. Notice the last phrase. And given to the burning fire. Do you know what God does with evil in the end? He doesn't just defeat it. What he does is it is subjugated to eternal condemnation, eternal punishment, so that that evil, in its eternal punishment, will give glory to God and his righteousness forever.

That is when really truth triumphs. And the extent of this is made clear, verse 12. As for the rest of the beast, their dominion was taken away but an extension of life was given to them for an appointed season of time. On the one hand, these beasts pop up again.

These other nations pop up. It's as if the fourth kingdom never even existed. It is so eradicated. It is so erased. It is so dealt with that it is gone. And all you have are the other beasts. But on the other hand, here's the question. Why was it, verse 12, that these beasts, their dominion was taken away?

Because in this moment, this moment that deals with time and holiness and wisdom, heaven and earth and judgment and all revelation, this moment was designed so that it would strip everyone of any semblance of power, any semblance of rule, any semblance of might, any semblance of authority, so that there would be one and only one who possesses all of that by himself, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ.

Why is this the moment, in a sense, that the Father is waiting for? Because this is for his Son. This is when he gives his Son all that his Son deserves. This is the moment that truth triumphs. Everything in this moment is meant so that everything in this world will not only be made right, but not only be reconfigured, but will revolve around God's Son.

And at that moment, when this takes place, it will be true that thy kingdom come and thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. That's when truth triumphs. And brothers, brothers then, when you are discouraged and when you face trial, and there are times in our heart we wonder, is this worth it?

Should I just keep going? Or should I throw in the towel and call it quits? Well, we must remind ourselves this is not the way it ends. This is not the way it ends. There is a moment we are waiting for, a moment when the world is made right and it is reconfigured around the Son of God.

And at that moment, everything we've labored for and everything we've preached will not only come to pass, it will be vindicated. And it won't just be vindicated, but in the mercy of God, he will use it to honor the Son that he loves. And at that moment, we will know, we will know it is absolutely worth it because he has always been worth it.

There is a moment we are waiting for. Hang in there, brothers. There is a moment that we are waiting for and it will be worthwhile because God has ordained it for his Son. And so we've seen this is the moment that history waits for. This is the moment that the Father, in a sense, waits for.

Because it's about his Son. And that leads us to the final point. Then this is the moment for Christ. This is the moment for Christ. And we see that in verses 13 and 14. Daniel says, "I kept looking in the night visions." He's seen all the fakes. He's seen all the frauds.

Now he wants to see the real one. And what makes this one so real? Well, for one, he's Lord of heaven. And behold, with the clouds of heaven. Behold, with the clouds of heaven. Christ is riding the clouds of heaven. Why? Because it testifies of his swiftness, his speed.

It's amazing to think about. Lightning fast. But it's not just that. Clouds are used in Psalm 97 and elsewhere to speak of the mystery of God. Christ has an impenetrable holiness, an impenetrable glory, an impenetrable greatness. And he is manifest with that. But even more than swiftness, even more than supremacy, here is the truth of the matter.

Christ rides in with all of heaven behind him. There is only one who rallies heaven. There is only one who all of heaven will assemble around in the end. And it is the one in this vision. He's not just the Lord of heaven. He's the Lord of earth. Notice the next phrase.

One like a son of man was coming. It is crucial that you see the word like because that shows similarity and dissimilarity. Christ is a son of man because he's truly man. But he is not just a man, he is God-man. And even more, he is God-man who fulfills the role of the final Adam.

He does not have the finiteness or the frailty and certainly not the sin of any normal man. He is the one who surpasses and transcends all of this because he is God-man and therefore has the right and the capability to be the last Adam, the destiny of this world.

There is only one who can be the final Adam and it is the one of this vision. He is not just the Lord of heaven or the Lord of earth. He's also exalted. Notice what it says. And he, that is the son of man, came up to the ancient of days.

The word came up to has the idea in Aramaic of the word reached. It is a similar word used in Genesis that the tower of Babel attempted to reach heaven. And in Daniel chapter two, the statue of man attempted to reach the skies. And in Daniel chapter four, Nebuchadnezzar thought he could reach heaven.

None of them can, none of them can. Why? Because there is only one who can. There is only one whose accomplishments will ascend on high. There is only one whose achievements are so exalted. It is the one of this vision. And he not only came before the ancient of days, he came near before him because he's not just exalted.

He's equal to God. If any of us came face to face with God, we know exactly what would happen. We fall like a dead man. Not this one. Because there's only one who is equal to the father is God man. It is the one in this vision. And this one is not just the Lord of heaven.

He's not just the Lord of earth. He's not just exalted. He's not just equal. He has all victory. Notice verse 14. And to him was given dominion, glory, and a kingdom. Dominion refers to the rule of power that one may have. Glory refers to the honor that one receives.

And a kingdom shows where all that places out and all of that takes place. The kings in Daniel, even Daniel seven, but even earlier than that, they all want dominion. They all want glory. They all want a kingdom. They all seek to have it desperately, but they never can.

Why? Because there is only one and one only who deserves it. And it is the one of this vision. He doesn't just have the all victory. He has all people. Notice the next phrase of verse 14. That all the people, nations, and men of every tongue. That phrase is used throughout Daniel.

Daniel three, that's what Nebuchadnezzar wanted everybody to worship him. In Daniel four, that's what Nebuchadnezzar addressed to show his might. And in Daniel five, a similar idea takes place. And even in Daniel six, the phrase is used to show Cyrus's own power. And they all thought that they could compel and control people, nation, and every man of every tribe and tongue, but they couldn't.

They couldn't. Why? Because that right is reserved for one and only one. The one in this vision. And it's not just that there's all victory to this one and all people to this one. It is that all worship goes to this one. Notice the next phrase. That those people might serve him.

Nebuchadnezzar ordered that everyone in his kingdom serve him by bowing to the statue, but three refused. Three refused. Why? To show you will never have all the worship of all the peoples. Why? Because that belongs to one and only one. The one in this vision. This one is not only the Lord of heaven, the Lord of earth, exalted and equal, all victory, all people, all worship belonging to him, but he has it forever.

He is king forever. Notice his dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not be taken away unlike all the other kings. And furthermore, his kingdom is one which will not be destroyed. Every other king, his kingdom just goes into the history books to be forgotten unless a history teacher brings it up to you and examines you on it.

But with Christ, we will never have just memories of his kingdom. It will be the everlasting in your face reality that celebrates him for forever because his kingdom endures over all and forever. This is what this vision reveals. And when you are the Lord of heaven and the Lord of earth, exalted and equal, having all victory, all people, all worship, you are a king forever and your kingdom is forever.

When you are the one who is all in all and everything and everywhere and every way and eternally, then you are the only one who is worthy. That's the truth of it. And what has happened is heaven has posed a question to earth, who is the one who has been worthy?

Who is the one who is the final Adam? And all of earth history has been on a search for this individual, but in the end, heaven will declare to earth that there is only one. There is only one who is Lord of heaven. There is only one who is Lord of earth.

There is only one who is exalted. There is only one who is equal to God. There is only one who has all victory, all peoples, all worship, who is king forever and his kingdom is forever. And that one is the Lord Jesus Christ. There is a moment we are waiting for.

And we love that moment because it is all about Christ and we love him. That's why that moment matters so much to us. And brothers, in light of that, there is always a temptation in ministry to promote ourselves. That we feel like we're the guru, we're the center of everything.

People have to come to us because we're just that central. And we want to believe that the world hangs on our shoulders. Brothers, there's a moment that we're waiting for. And in that moment, none of us matter. Who matters and who is on display is the Lord Jesus Christ.

And we love that moment because of him. And therefore, we proclaim him. Truth triumphs, brothers, that's true. Truth triumphs, that's true. But truth triumphs in him alone. So we preach Christ. There's a moment that we are waiting for. It's a moment that history waits for. It's a moment, in a sense, that God waits for.

It's a moment that's all about Christ. But here's something by way of epilogue to think about. Daniel wasn't the only one waiting for this moment. Think about with me the book of Isaiah, chapter six. What does Isaiah say? I saw the Lord seated on a throne high and lifted up, just like Daniel seven.

Isaiah saw an aspect of the same vision. Think about Ezekiel. He saw a chariot thrown, a throne having wheels within a wheel, just like Daniel. Why? Because Ezekiel saw elements of the same vision. Paul, on the Damascus road, he saw the glorified Christ. And in that moment, the circumstances matched with Daniel seven, and even the discussion of the saints that Paul has on the Damascus road, it matches what happens in Daniel seven.

Paul, on the Damascus road, saw elements of the same vision. And of course, John, in Revelation chapter four and five. What does he see? The Lamb of God taking the scroll from the Ancient of Days. They saw the same thing. Daniel wasn't the only one waiting for this vision.

It was Isaiah. It was Ezekiel. It was Paul. It was John. It's all of the people of God. We are all waiting for this moment. And in light of that, brothers, if you ever get disillusioned, if you ever just are stuck in the here and now, and you can't get your mind off of that, remember, there is a moment we are waiting for.

It is going to the future, not to the here and now. And brothers, if you are discouraged, and you are desperate, and you are wondering, is it worth it? There is a moment we are waiting for. It is a moment that is absolutely worthwhile, for it is for God's Son.

And if there are times when you are distracted, and you are thinking more about yourself than Christ, remember, there is a moment that we are waiting for, and it reveals that there is only one who is worthy. There is a moment that we are waiting for. That is where we fix our eyes upon.

That is the secret of perseverance. Truth triumphs. And Daniel knew that, because that's the center of the book, because it's the center of his own soul, and it kept him to the end. So may it be, brothers, may it be that we persevere, and we hang in there well, and we endure faithfully to the end, because there is a moment we are waiting for.

And brothers, it will surely come soon. Shall we pray? Our God and Father, thank you for this revelation of your promise, and this revelation of your prophecy. Help us to lift our eyes from earth to heaven, to think of from the things of this world to the things above, where Christ is, and to see him and to know that he will be so exalted in the end, and in the end, it will be thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Help us to long for that, and through that, to endure to that end, and to proclaim the Christ of that moment, who is eternally worthy. Be glorified in our lives, and we delight that you are always so triumphant. In your name we pray, amen. (feet tapping) (silence) you