Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/Sermons/zz20110227.htm

THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION
Daniel: Hope And Direction In A Troublesome World
H. Detailing Daniel 2: God's Use Of Evil Rulers To Purify His People
2. God's Insight Of The Details Of Evil Men He Lets Purify His People
(Daniel 8:1-27 with 12:3)
    Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

    There is a huge need for discernment today regarding knowing what leaders on world issues to heed, and who to avoid heeding so that people can avoid being hurt by the bad and helped by the good:

    Stephen Prothero, a religion professor at Boston University, in his article, "In changing Egypt, where will faith fall?" in the February 21, 2011 USA TODAY admitted he "struggled to make sense of the events playing out in Egypt, and more broadly in Tunisia, Bahrain, Yemen, Algeria, Libya and Iran."

    For guidance, Prothero claimed he turned to "Protestant theologian Reinhold Niebuhr", holding to his claim that "history is opaque, a drama whose meanings and ends are never unveiled to mere mortals." (Ibid.) So, following Niebuhr's lead, Professor Stephen Prothero had no idea where world history was headed!

    What is disturbing for us Conservative Christians to note in response to this is that Reinhold Niebuhr was Neoorthodox, one who viewed "Scripture as a channel of revelation rather than an objective factual record" so that he did "not regard it as inerrant or infallible." (John F. Walvoord, Jesus Christ Our Lord, 1974, p. 20) Thus, in light of the turmoil occurring in many Middle Eastern nations, turmoil that has significant economic and sociological impact on the world, an article in a nationwide American newspaper by a professor of religion at a noted university revealed he had no idea what was going to occur, for he relied on a theologian who denied the Bible gave infallible, inerrant guidance, and so held that history is a drama whose meaning and ends are never unveiled to us mortals!

    That is a very tragic state of affairs, so opposite the hope we Bible believing Christians have: the book of Daniel through which we have been traversing in this sermon series we hold is God's infallible, inerrant, authoritative Word, and we find it offers edifying insight into the layout of world history. In fact, we find Daniel even reveals how we are to function in our era in view of where history is now headed!



    So, in preparation for the Daniel 8 passage we study today, we ask, "If we learned last week from Daniel 7 that God lets evil rulers arise in history to purify His people until Christ's Messianic reign, HOW may we DISCERN such evil rulers from the good so we can avoid being needlessly deceived and hurt by the bad?!"

    Need: "If God lets evil rulers rise to purify His people, how may I discern the bad from the good to avoid being needlessly hurt?!"

  1. The Daniel 8 vision God gave Daniel troubled him (Daniel 8:27a), but since he did not understand it (Daniel 8:27b), Romans 15:4 reveals this vision was recorded for our application and edification!
  2. Well, the Daniel 8 vision highlights vile Antiochus Epiphanes who ruled Israel in the 2nd century B. C., giving US a SAMPLE of the characteristics of the ANTICHRIST (Daniel 8:17b), and, by way of application, giving us a SAMPLE of the marks of ALL such EVIL RULERS God USES to REFINE His people through history!
  3. Accordingly, we view the Daniel 8 vision for this edifying insight:
    1. In the third year of the Babylon's evil king Belshazzar, Daniel had a vision of being over 200 miles east of Babylon in the palace of Susa, a citadel yet to be built by Persia's king Xerxes 100 years after this vision, Daniel 8:1-2 NIV; Bib. Know. Com., O. T., p. 1355! God was thus using this setting to highlight the judgment of EVIL rulers like Belshazzar as his kingdom would be replaced by the Medo-Persians.
    2. Thus, the Daniel 8:3-4 ram typified the rise of Medo-Persia where Persia would come to dominate the Medes (uneven horns), Dan. 8:20.
    3. Yet, Daniel 8:5-8a, 21 predicts Medo-Persia would then be defeated by a shaggy goat, that is, by Alexander the Great of Greece, and at his death, Greece would be divided into four parts, Daniel 8:8b, 22a.
    4. A vile ruler we identify in retrospect was 2nd century B. C. Antiochus Epiphanes, would arise out of the Seleucid dynasty, one of Greece's four parts, and Daniel 8:9-14, 23-25 details his reign (Ibid., 1358):
      1. He would have an insignificant beginning, but grow in power to rule Israel with deceit and fury (Dan. 8:9, 23), Ibid., p. 1355, 1358.
      2. This ruler would persecute Israel terribly (Dan. 8:10), be powered by Satan (Dan. 8:24a,b), exalt himself over God (Dan. 8:11a, 25c), and desecrate the temple for 2,300 "evenings and mornings" (Dan. 8:14 NIV), for 1,150 days of twice daily sacrifices, Ibid., p. 1358f.
      3. This prediction was precisely fulfilled: on December 16, 167 B. C., Antiochus Epiphanes forced the Jews to sacrifice pigs' flesh on the temple altar and to eat it or die, and this led to a Jewish revolt until the temple was purged on December 14, 164 B. C. under Judas Maccabeus (3 Hebrew years of 360 days each + 70 days), Ibid., p. 1359; Z. P. E. B., vol. Four, p. 5-6. [Hanukkah honors this event.]
      4. Antiochus Epiphanes was predicted to be stopped without human power (Dan. 8:25d), and he died insane in Persia in 163 B. C., Ibid.
    5. This vile ruler typifies the final coming antichrist (Dan. 8:17; Ibid., p. 1359), so noting the secular and Biblical details of his life offers us priceless insight on discerning the evil rulers God lets rise in history to purify His people that we wisely minimize our exposure to them:
      1. Antiochus Epiphanes had a bitter, dysfunctional background: his father was forced to give him into Roman captivity for 14 years as collateral for war reparations, Ibid., Z. P. E. B. , vol. One, p. 192.
      2. Antiochus thus learned to gain power by controlling others (Dan. 8:24) versus cooperating, Ibid., Bible Know. Com., O. T., p. 1359; Patricia Evans, The Verbally Abusive Relationship , 1996, p. 29-31.
      3. He promised false security, Dan. 8:25c; Ibid., Bib. Know. C., O. T.
      4. He was proud, Daniel 8:25b NIV.
      5. Antiochus Epiphanes was very intelligent, Daniel 8:23 NIV, Ibid.
      6. He was also a master at persuading others, Daniel 8:23 NIV, Ibid.
      7. He was influenced and empowered by Satan, Daniel 8:24a, Ibid.
      8. He opposed Israel, trying to subjugate her, Daniel 8:24b-25a; Ibid.
      9. He publicly opposed God [and Jesus Christ], Daniel 8:25d; Ibid.
      10. Antiochus Epiphanes' rule was ended by God, Daniel 8:25e; Ibid.
  4. Thus, qualities in GOOD [secular] rulers will be the OPPOSITE of those depicted in VILE Anthiochus Epiphanes (as follows):
    1. Good leaders will likely arise from healthy family backgrounds.
    2. They will be cooperative rather than controlling in relating to others.
    3. Good leaders will fulfill their promises, especially regarding security.
    4. They will be humble people.
    5. Good leaders will temper their high intelligence with humble wisdom.
    6. They will be transparently persuasive, not deceitfully so.
    7. Good leaders will not be influenced by Satan.
    8. They will be supportive of Israel.
    9. Good leaders will be supportive of belief in God and Jesus Christ.
    10. They will end their leadership careers being honored by God.
Application: May we (1) trust in Christ as Savior for salvation, John 3:16. (2) May we use Daniel 8 to aid in discerning bad from good leaders! (3) If we see believers who lack discernment trust evil rulers, may we be ready to help them WHEN they are hurt!

Conclusion: (To illustrate the message . . . )

 Not only can we apply this sermon's profile of Antiochus Epiphanes to secular rulers, but to academic or religious leaders, too:

On February 18, 2011, Answers in Genesis leader, Ken Ham reported in his blog how John Walton, professor of Old Testament at the key evangelical institution, Wheaton College in Illinois held: "Genesis 1 is not history in regard to the material world; it has to do with what he calls God's Cosmic Temple.' He basically insists that a person can only understand Genesis if that person has an understanding of the ancient Near Eastern thinking . . . (T)his thinking has been lost for thousands of years, and now a few academics like Walton have unearthed this way of thinking so now they can tell us what the writer of Genesis chapter 1 really meant . . . He knows that students today often have a conflict between the secular view of origins and the Bible, so his solution is to relegate Genesis 1 as having nothing to do with material origins and thus people are free to believe whatever they want. Though, he is obviously convinced that evolution and millions of years should be believed."

Applying just two of the characteristics of Antiochus Epiphanes that God supplied us in Daniel 8 over 2,500 years ago helps to show us we must not be misled by this professor's view: (1) First, to suggest he is among an elite few who alone in our era finally understand the prose of Genesis 1 smacks of pride. (2) Second, to suggest a view that lets one adopt whatever view of origins he likes is to offer a false security where Christians have long battled over evolution versus pure creation!

Armed with these warning signals from Daniel 8, we test Professor Walton's theory against Scripture as follows: (a) Genesis 1:14-15 claims God called the stellar bodies of the sun, moon and stars into existence out of nothing ( ex nihilo), and assigned them to give light on the earth and to signal the seasons, days and years on the earth so man might tell time. Genesis 1 thus describes the creation of the material universe ex nihilo in the framework of time, and since one segment of that time, "days" are solar days within a solar year (Genesis 1:14), the six "days" of creation in Genesis 1 are solar days!

Genesis 1:14-15 thus counters Walton's view, and the universe came to exist in 6 solar days, and thus without evolutionary processes!

May we thus heed God's insight in Daniel 8 to discern false leaders, and avoid being misled and needlessly hurt by them!