The Concern of Daniel (Daniel 7:15-28)

This sermon was preached on 29/1/2012

The Lord had revealed to Daniel that during the reign of the fourth beast (the Roman Empire) he would set up a kingdom over which his Son would rule. The onset of his rule is described in Daniel 7:13-14 and the event detailed there is his enthronement at God’s right hand following his ascension to heaven.

Daniel’s natural wisdom, which was very great and was also a God-given talent, could not make sense of all that was in the vision, especially the details concerning the Son of man figure and the description of the fourth empire and its successors. So, in his vision, he asked an unnamed person, probably an angel, and was informed of its meaning. The explanation included some surprising details.

What is the relevance of the explanation for us? No doubt many suggestions could be made and you may have applications in addition to the three subjects I will mention. The three topics I wish to consider are (1) the significance of the little horn, (2) the fortunes of God’s people, and (3) the effect of the explanation on Daniel himself.

The Little Horn

Daniel is horrified at the nature of the fourth empire, and in particular at the activities of the little horn that speaks great things against God and tries to destroy his people. At that moment Daniel would have realised that the troubles of his people Israel would not conclude with the imminent demise of the Babylonian empire after their seventy years of captivity under its power. Instead, in the near and distant future there would be greater troubles for them.

Who is depicted by the little horn? Four details can be noted about him. First, we are told in verse 24 that ten kingdoms will come from the fourth empire, and they will be followed by the little horn that will conquer three of them. So he is connected to the Roman Empire, which means that he will have political power. (I don’t believe we should look for ten literal kingdoms and try and identify which three are defeated by the little horn. The Roman Empire did not divide into ten kingdoms when it collapsed.)

Second, the little horn will oppose God and his people and will attempt to perform actions that only God can do (v. 25).

Third, eventually the heavenly court will sit and take his power away from him (v. 26), as it did with the fourth empire mentioned earlier in Daniel’s vision. This detail tells us that his empire will not last, that while it may last a long time, eventually God will deal with him and take his throne from him.

Fourth, it is important to note that he is a ‘little’ horn – small compared to the empires that preceded him and very small in comparison to the King to whom God has given universal authority. The littleness is also seen in his inability to conquer all of the ten kings that co-existed with him – previous emperors swept all before them.

Various suggestions have been made regarding the identity of the little horn and I will mention four: (1) because of the connection to the Roman Empire, John Calvin thought he depicted the Caesars because they fought against the church at its beginning; (2) others have regarded him as depicting the popes and certainly many of the popes have been opposed to God’s people and have caused immense suffering for them; (3) another option is that the little horn represents all subsequent human governments that have succeeded the Roman empire down to the present day and who have attempted to oppose God in one way or another; (4) a fourth view is that he is the future antichrist whom Paul says will be destroyed by Jesus at his coming (2 Thess. 2:8-10).

Whoever the little horn is, he will be defeated. For what it is worth, I take the little horn as depicting all subsequent human governments who have followed their own agenda and opposed the kingship of Jesus. Obviously such a chain would reach its closure in the final antichrist, although we know, as John says, that there are many antichrists (1 John 2:18).

What has happened in the world since Jesus became king? This question can be answered from different perspectives. But if we take the details mentioned here about the little horn, we will see how they describe what has happened.

It is the case that human governments down the centuries have opposed God’s people (v. 25). We often think of foreign countries in this regard, but the history of our own nation reveals that we too have had governments that oppressed God’s people, such as at the Reformation or at the Covenanting period. Wherever we go, we will find many examples of God’s people being opposed.

It is the case that human governments attempt to change the laws of God (v. 25). The reference to ‘times and seasons’ may refer to religious calendars because that is the way they would have been described. An obvious example of opposition to God’s laws is the attitude of governments to the Sabbath. There is a constant attempt to get rid of its religious significance. The Lord’s Day is a constant and gracious reminder that Jesus is Lord, but instead of submitting to his rule governments pass laws that attempt to remove it.

Both these features make life very difficult for Christians at times. The little horn so deals with the subjects of God’s kingdom that they often feel worn out, which is a very powerful description of what they often feel as they go from one difficulty to the next. It is actually a marvel that they keep going.

The question that arises is, ‘What is God doing about this?’ One detail of the answer to that searching question is that he is exercising patience with regard to those attacks on his kingdom. After all, where are the subjects of his kingdom going to come from? Every one of them, at one time in their lives, belonged to an earthly kingdom. The subjects of his grace at one time were his enemies, and they all can say that he has not dealt with them in the way that their sins deserved.

The reality that God is patient, waiting for his enemies to repent, reminds us that Jesus reveals his power in more than one way. He could reveal his power in a great display of crushing strength in which he dismisses into oblivion the puny rulers and kingdoms of this world. God could do that, in a moment. Yet he presently chooses to reveal his power in a gracious way, offering forgiveness and pardon to those who have rebelled against him. He works in their hearts to change them from brutal behaviour to gracious behaviour.

Further, the Lord in heaven is recording what is taking place on earth. Daniel informs us that there are books in heaven that contain the details of the behaviour of all people on earth, including all those who oppose his people. Every aspect of each thought, word and deed is recorded and eventually people will be brought to account. It is a solemn thing that everything about each of us is being recorded constantly. Yet this comprehensive divine recording should encourage us greatly because it is a reminder that there is one kingdom in which everything is done justly and righteously. With God, there are no miscarriages of justice.

Daniel’s vision also reminds us that God decides when to intervene in the affairs of humans. Daniel has been informed already that it is God who will bring the four empires to an end, and he will also bring the kingdom of the little horn to an end. How often has God intervened in the affairs of nations? He has done so many times already. We have examples of his intentions to intervene in the list of countries that are mentioned in Amos 1 and 2, and there God tells each nation the reason for his intervention in their specific case.

This then raises the question as to when the little horn will be judged. He will be removed by the same court as removed the fourth beast. There will one difference about this second trial and the previous one. The distinction is that Jesus, having been given universal authority, will be involved in the removal of the little horn. Given that his removal is followed by the saints receiving the kingdom, it is likely that the time set for this court occasion is at the close of human history, in other words at the final judgement, when all people, including rulers of kingdoms, will appear before God’s judgement seat.

The Fortunes of God’s People

Earlier we had seen two details about God’s people. The first was that they are going to experience opposition and the second was that they would, at one time, have belonged to the kingdoms that were opposed to God. Does Daniel’s vision have anything more to say about them? Verse 27 describes their future: ‘And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High; their kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey them.’ This verse states that the downtrodden and opposed people of God are going to have a kingdom that will be universal (under the whole heaven) and eternal.

This kingdom will be given to all of them, which means that the number who will belong to God’s people will be complete by then. They will also have to be in a fit condition to receive it, and many of them will have died before then, whether as a result of persecution or of illness or of old age. What event will cover both the complete number and their fit condition? The verse in Daniel 7 does not give the answer to that question, but elsewhere the Bible does. It tells us that the event which will bring this about is the future resurrection. When it takes place, all of God’s people will be gathered together and each of them will be glorified. So they will be complete in number and in condition.

The kingdom will be given to them. They will not have obtained it by force of arms which was how the other empires achieved their kingdoms. Instead it will be a gift from God. The sovereign Lord had given the earthly empires to subsequent rulers as well, but the bestowal had been an act of judgement on each previous ruler. I would say that we find a description of the occasion of believers receiving the kingdom in Matthew 25:31-46. In that passage, there is a description of the judgement seat. Jesus, the Son of man who will be seated on the throne of his glory, will welcome them into the kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world (v. 34). The Saviour mentions the various troubles his followers had known, such as persecution, imprisonment and deprivation. In other words, they had been mistreated by other powers, and this is the same message as the one in Daniel 7. They had suffered for his sake and now he compensates them with the kingdom.

In this promised kingdom, the people of God are going to have the status of kings. This is an obvious difference from the earthly kingdoms in which the subjects of the rulers did not have such a high status. The people of God are going to experience great glory. We know that the Bible gives other details elsewhere about their position in the world to come, but it is interesting how often their standing is likened to kingship. For example, Paul writes in 2 Timothy 2:12: ‘if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us.’ In Luke 12:32, Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.’ In Revelation 5:10, the angels sing about God’s people and say to God: ‘You have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.’ It has not been revealed what all this will mean, but the comparison that is used for the future status of believers is that of royalty. Paul even says that they will judge both angels and humans (1 Cor. 6:1-3). They are also going to have the new heavens and new earth as their inheritance, and they will have it as the royal children of God. And both their status and their domain are eternal.

The effect on Daniel

This was an amazing vision that Daniel had. It contained both good and bad things. How did Daniel respond? The answer is that he was greatly distressed: ‘As for me, Daniel, my thoughts greatly alarmed me, and my colour changed, but I kept the matter in my heart.’ What he saw affected him physically as well as emotionally. Why was he so affected? I would mention three negative reasons and one positive reason.

First, he was distressed because he had seen something of the development of human evil. Things were bad enough in Babylon, but this vision told him what Paul later declared when he said that evil people will get worse in behaviour (2 Tim. 3:12-14). Sins are practised today that our forefathers, even those who were not converted, could not have imagined. But are we as distressed about the development of evil as Daniel was? Surely, the state of society calls for sorrow on our part.

Second, Daniel was distressed because of the nature of divine judgement. He had received insight into what God was going to do when he acted in punishment. The prospect that awaited those cruel powers filled Daniel with dread. And we can ask ourselves, Does the reality of eternal punishment trouble our hearts? This calls for sobriety, to realise that we are not living in a playground.

Third, Daniel is distressed because he knows that many of God’s people are going to suffer, and he is distressed even although he does not know them personally, and that he will be in heaven long before their sufferings will begin. He had fellow-feeling with them in their pain. This calls for solidarity on our part with the many believers who today are suffering at the hands of the little horn mentioned in Daniel.

Fourth, Daniel was overwhelmed by the greatness of the blessing that God’s people were going to inherit. Daniel knew about status and promotion from his personal experience. But all the earthly glory that he had seen paled into insignificance as he contemplated what lay ahead for God’s people.