Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/Sermons/zz20020224.htm

DANIEL: HOPE FOR TODAY'S DISILLUSIONED YOUTH
Part VIII: God's Blessed Purpose In Letting Us Face Upsetting Evil
(Daniel 7:1-28 with 5:1-4, 18-28)

Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

Almost on a regular basis, we face unsettling EVIL:

(1) Like clockwork, Christians I know regularly face verbal abuse in their marriages, family lives or at the workplace. Sometimes fellow Christians even regularly accost them with hurtful remarks.

(2) People in our culture regularly face religious abuse: I was handed an advertisement this week paid for by a group asserting the communion elements become the actual body and blood of Christ. The ad reads, "God wants to share His life with us by uniting us to His Son, Jesus Christ -- not only mentally or spiritually, but completely. This is why Jesus gave us the Holy Eucharist, His own Body and Blood, to eat." The ad cites John 6:55 as proof, a verse that in this religious group's Bible reads, "My Flesh is true food, and my Blood true drink."

However, this very religious group forbids LAYMEN from partaking of the cup opposite Christ's words in Matthew 26:27 that all of His disciples were to partake! In so doing, they deprive laymen of what they view are SAVING BENEFITS of this alleged sacrament.

(Now, we know Jesus spoke only figuratively, that the elements of the cup and bread are just elements that cannot save the soul!) So, for this religious group to advertise one must partake of the elements to have spiritual life and then withhold half of these same elements from laymen is to be guilty of religious abuse against millions of laymen!

(3) Apparently some pro-abortionists claim that failure to condone abortion as anti-abortionists propose raises the likelihood of mothers committing suicide!

Thankfully, two leading psychiatrists, Anthony Clare, Professor of psychiatry at Trinity College, Dublin and Professor Patricia Casey, professor of psychiatry at the University College in Dublin have issued a joint statement that no psychiatric evidence links suicide to one's being refused to have an abortion, cf. The Irish Times, Dr. Muiris Houston, Medical Correspondent on www.ireland, com/newspaper, 2/15/02. Yet, unborn infants are killed for such unfounded claims in physically abusive evil in its worst form!



WHY does a HOLY God ALLOW us to FACE such FLAGRANT evil in our lives? What are we to DO about it?

(We turn to the sermon "Need" section . . . )

Need: "Though OFTEN even PRAYING to be delivered from having to FACE an appalling evil or evil party, God has NOT YET given me such a release! WHY is this, and what must I do NOW?"
  1. God gave Daniel TROUBLING visions of horrible events about the evil abuse his people would face under the antichrist, Dan. 7:1-28:
    1. In the first year of the reign of king Belshazzar of Babylon, God gave Daniel prophetic insight which he recorded in chapter 7, cf. Dan. 7:1.
    2. This insight predicted future troubling events for Israel that would climax in their facing appalling evil under the coming antichrist prior to God's establishing His eternal kingdom, Daniel 7:2-27:
      1. Daniel's vision told of God's allowing four Gentile empires seen as as "beasts," to arise in Israel's future history, Daniel 7:2-7, 17.
      2. We can now identify these empires in successive order as follows:
        1. The lion with eagle's wings whose wings were plucked so the lion was able to have a man's heart pictures Babylon's king Nebuchadnezzar in his being humbled and converting to faith in the God of heaven, cf. Daniel 7:2-4 with Daniel 4.
        2. The second "beast," a bear with three ribs in its mouth depicts the Medo-Persian Empire that followed and which God allowed to conquer Egypt, Assyria and Babylon, the "three ribs" in its mouth, cf. Daniel 7:5; Bible Knowledge Com., O.T., p. 1350.
        3. The third "beast," the leopard with four wings and four heads represents Alexander the Great's Grecian empire that rapidly conquered Persia and became soon divided into four minor kingdoms under Grecian dominion, Daniel 7:6, Ibid.
        4. The fourth "beast," a mongrel mix of the former "beasts" with iron teeth is Rome, 7:7a,b; Rev. 13:1-2; Ibid., p. 1350-1351.
      3. This fourth beast is described in Daniel's vision as the empire through whom the antichrist would later come, Daniel 7:7c-24:
        1. Since Rome was never conquered by another empire as were Babylon, Persia and Greece, but was fractured into nations, so its people exist today, and Rome as an empire has a future!
        2. As such, it will revive into a federation of TEN kingdoms signified by the ten horns of Daniel 7:7, 24a.
        3. Then, antichrist will arise to destroy three of those kingdoms, and set himself up as the empire's sole dictator, Daniel 7:8a, 24 in view of Revelation 13:1-2, 3-4.
        4. He will speak blasphemy against God and persecute believers (in the future Tribulation Period), Dan. 7:8b, 25. He will do this for "a time, times and half a time," or 3 years, the last half of the seven-year Tribulation, Daniel 7:25 with Rev. 13:5c.
        5. However, God will set up the eternal kingdom of the saints after this horrible time of the antichrist's reign, Daniel 7:9-14, 26-27.
    3. Hence, Daniel himself became very troubled at this awareness of the huge evil God's people Israel would one day face, Daniel 7:15, 28!
  2. Well, noting the CONTEXT shows us GOD'S PLAN in allowing Daniel to be UPSET: God wanted Daniel to be SO APPALLED at ANTICHRIST'S FUTURE BLASPHEMY he would STRONGLY OPPOSE Belshazzar's SIMILAR SIN in his OWN era, 5:1-4, 18-28:
    1. We note Daniel received this vision of the antichrist's appalling evil in the first year king Belshazzar of Babylon reigned, Daniel 7:1.
    2. Then, 16 years later (cf. Zond. Pict. Ency. of Bib., v. One, p. 515) the same Belshazzar performed blasphemous evil similar to that of the FUTURE antichrist whose blasphemy so appalled Daniel, 5:1-4:
      1. King Belshazzar blasphemed God's name by praising the gods of gold, silver, brass, iron and wood and drinking wine from God's holy temple vessels acquired in Jerusalem's fall, Daniel 5:1-4.
      2. This sin was similar to the blasphemy to be performed by the antichrist (Daniel 7:25a) coupled with his persecution of God's people in the coming, post-rapture Tribulation Period, Dan. 7:25b.
    3. Hence, upon arriving at Belshazzar's banquet hall to interpret God's message on the wall, DANIEL was ALREADY DEEPLY DISPOSED by GOD'S 16-year-old VISION of ANTICHRIST to be so APPALLED by such blasphemy, he would STRONGLY STAND AGAINST Belshazzar's SIN in HOLINESS, and be ABLE to INTERPRET God's handwriting on the wall as he UNDERSTOOD the HOLY INTENT of GOD in it, Dan. 5:24-28!
Application: If we CONSTANTLY face TROUBLING evil, GOD is LETTING us face it so we will WANT to STAND AGAINST it by (1) faith in Christ as Savior from sin (John 3:16; 2 Cor. 5:21). (2) THEN, He wants our DISTASTE of the EVIL to MOTIVATE us to STAND STRONGLY AGAINST it, a step called "holiness," 1 Peter 1:14-16. (3) We will then, as did Daniel, enjoy God's (a) fellowship and (b) insight into His Word, John 12:21-23.

Lesson: God gave Daniel the UNSETTLING view of antichrist's future APPALLING evil so he would be DISPOSED to DISCERN God's Word and STAND AGAINST Belshazzar's SIMILAR SIN in his OWN era! >

Conclusion: (To illustrate the sermon lesson . . . )

 Many Christians wonder what to do about the Harry Potter material. Some condemn it where Focus on the Family tolerates it and Christianity Today condones its morality (cf. Raymond Kwong, "The Real Harry Potter," The Biblical Evangelist, Jan.-Feb., 2002, p. 1, 4-5).

I used to avoid volunteering comments on the Potter material to avoid controversy! But considering Kwong's reputable review of the Harry Potter books this week, I saw they further evils God hates:

(d) The Harry Potter books promote the sins of unbridled anger, disobedience to authority, deception and cheating as Kwong cites (Ibid., p. 5): Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, p. 34 shows Harry fleeing from attacking Aunt Marge and on p. 155 lying to Prof. Lupin. When Fred and George Weasley disobediently gamble, their father fails to punish them, but only tells them not to tell their mother, p. 117; Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, p. 196, 213, repeatedly describe anger in Harry that eventually makes him want to kill on p. 339. In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, p. 343, Professor Moody advises Harry to cheat to win in the Triwizard Tournament, telling Harry this is a traditional part of the tournament.

(a) In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, p. 137, Professor Snape exalts the use of wormwood with its hypnotic drug, thujone that has been banned by the FDA since 1915 [Christian News, Latest Potter Book Meets Cautionary Response . . .,' July 17, 2000 as cited by Kwong, Ibid.] [emphases ours]. Kwong notes "Virtually all the faculty of Hogwart's School is depicted as drinking heavily at school," Ibid.

(b) Kwong notes Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets reveals "Harry and his friends know their devils by name. Sirius is one of the most important characters in this book . . . occult writer M. Temple Richmond, . . . in his book Sirius, p. 29 [stated]: . . . Sirius is the Keeper of Hell! The Egyptians also called him Set' . . . author Bill Schonebelen, former . . . Satanist, says . . . Set was worshiped [sic] with obscure, homosexual rituals.'" (Ibid., Kwong) [emphases ours]

Well, Lev. 20:1-27 NIV and Deut. 18:14 NIV respectively reveal God judged the pagans in Canaan for such sins and for merely HEEDING those who practice such sorcery and divination!