Gooding, David: 9 - The Four Visions: Introduction

To you, and thank you very much indeed for not sending in difficult questions. That was very Christian of you, and I hope you'll maintain your Christian record. If you have been with us on past occasions, you will remember that we have covered in some fashion the first seven chapters of the book of Daniel, and we have therefore remaining, as Mr. Dornan has said, the final five chapter. Now, if you have access to one of these summary sheets, you might help yourself now just for a moment by observing that the remaining five chapters cover, in fact, three visions. Chapter eight is one vision, chapter nine another, then chapters ten, eleven, and twelve form a third vision. That done, we ought now just for a moment to look back at chapter seven. because you will perceive that chapter seven also is a vision, whereas chapter six is a piece of history. So what we have at the end of the book of Daniel are four visions, and they come in pairs. Chapter seven is a vision of four beasts representing four Gentile empires. Chapter eight superficially, uh, uh, considered, is similar. It is a vision of beasts, only this time two beasts rather than four. It also talks to us about Gentile empires. That much they have in common, then, they are visions about beasts. Then in chapter nine, the third vision is concerned with the discipline of the people of God, the Jero- the desolations of Jerusalem, and Jerusalem's subsequent and final restoration. And it turns on the prophecies made by God through Jeremiah that Jerusalem would be desolate seventy years and then restored. And when the end of those seventy years was drawing nigh, Daniel tells us he prayed on the basis of the books, for he had understood from the books that the desolations would last seventy years. And therefore, it is a question here of the promises of Holy Scripture and their fulfillment. Then in chapters ten to twelve, Daniel has his final vision, and he is told in the course of that vision, the man above the river has come to make him know what is written in the writing of truth. So now, whereas chapter nine talked about the books, that is inspired Holy Scripture, chapters ten, eleven, and twelve are concerned with the writings of the writing of truth. Once more, the topic is very similar. It concerns the discipline, the suffering of the people of God, and their eventual deliverance. So, four visions then, and perhaps our first task ought to be to ask ourselves why there are four. Why four visions? And first of all, let's notice what they have in common. Of course, they have many things in common. But if we look at them carefully, we shall find a feature that now we haven't found before. And that is, all of them, in some fashion or other, deal with the time of the end being a technical expression of that time that shall precede the setting up of the Messianic Kingdom. The time that precedes the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power and great, great glory to do away with all Gentile empires and political systems, and to set up his own messianic kingdom. All four visions then, sooner or later, concentrate our attention on the time of the end. And because of that, we shall find in the course of those visions constant reference to periods of time, which you can see now if you look at the slide. In chapter seven verse 25 onward, we shall be, we are told, seven twenty five, about the final world ruler. He shall speak words against the Most High and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and he shall think to change the times and the law, and they, presumably the saints of the Most High, shall be given into his hand until a time and times and half a time. Notice those somewhat mysterious, uh, uh, phrases, but all referring to a time that God has calculated, during which the persecutions and the blasphemies of the final Gentile ruler will last. Now, in chapter eight, and you might care there to look at your text, if you can both look at the text and look at the slide and be writing your notes and listening to me all at once, which, if you can do, would prove you are kind of a genius, but never mind. Uh, in chapter eight, you should notice the vision is in two parts. First of all, the vision with a great deal of explanation from verses one to fourteen. And then, from verse fifteen onwards, says Daniel, it came to pass when I, even I, Daniel, had seen the vision, that I sought to understand it. And behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man, and a man's voice proceeded to explain the vision to Daniel. Vision, then, is in two parts. And I shall be suggesting subsequently that the first fourteen verses deal with a prophecy that, since Daniel's time, was fulfilled in the times of Antiochus Epiphanes in the second century BC. Deals with Antiochus's desecration of the temple at Jerusalem and his putting there of the desolating abomination. You will notice, however, that this first part in, uh, verses, uh, uh, verse thirteen and fourteen raise this question of time. Then I heard a holy one, says verse thirteen, s- I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said unto that certain one which spake, How long shall the vision concerning the continual burnt offering and the transgression that maketh desolate to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred evenings and mornings, then shall the sanctuary be vindicated. For the Hebrew word is that vindicated rather than cleansed. So here a special period, two thousand three hundred evenings and mornings. Now, whether you take it to be two thousand three hundred. evening sacrifices and morning sacrifices, and therefore equals one day. The Jews offered a sacrifice in morning, and they offered a sacrifice in evening, two sacrifices per day, the evening and the morning, or the morning and the evening, as we should say in English. And therefore you could say that, uh, you require two sacrifices, evening and morning, to constitute one day of twenty four hours. And if you do that, well, you may divide that figure by two. You still won't come up with exactly the same figure as that, of course. Hm. This is talking originally of Antiochus Epiphanes. But here is a special time, and the question raised, how long shall this frightful desecration last? When we come to the second part of the chapter, I'm going to suggest it's a prophecy that, uh, is concerned with the end time or the time of the end, therefore has not yet been fulfilled. Any rate, whatever you believe about that, and many people believe differently. Some hold that this part is the same as this. But whatever you hold, allow me, uh, at any rate at this level to point out what it explicitly says. Daniel eight verse seventeen: understand, O son of man, for the vision belongeth to the time of the end. And again in verse nineteen: and he said, behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the latter time of the indignation, for it belongeth to the appointed time of the end. And then you will notice in verse twenty three of that chapter, and in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full. You will not re- need me to remind you that in chapter uh nine of Daniel, we have the most famous statement about the times. This is the chapter that contains the prophecy of the seventy sevens, presumably seventy sevens of years, that is four hundred and ninety years. All I point out to now is that in verse twenty seven, the final seven of those seventy sevens, we're told chapter nine and verse twenty seven, and he shall make a firm covenant with many, for one seven. And for the half of the seven he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and upon the wing of abominations shall come one that maketh desolate, and even unto the consummation and that determined shall wrath be poured out upon the desolator. So here is an explicit statement, not only about the final seven, but however you translate it, some special attention on half of that seven. Whether you say it is, uh, in the middle of the seven, in the middle of the week, or whether you say it is for the half of the week, or the half of the seven, however you translate it, you are left with three and a half sevens. And when we look up here, of course, where we started, we had the phrase, didn't we, which sounds to be extraordinarily like three and a half a time, and times, that's at least two, and half a time. You'll see, so three and a half in all. And then finally, in chapters ten to twelve, we have once again reference to a short period of time. In chapter twelve verses six and seven, the question is raised by Daniel himself, having seen this tremendous vision. Verse six, uh, sorry, and one said, Daniel was listening, and one said to the man clothed in linen, which was above the waters of the river. Now, in the revised translation, it says, how long shall it be to the end of these wonders? If you take it like that, then presumably it means that these wonders, these terrible, awesome wonders are prophesied. How long shall it be till the wonders are finished? But the Hebrew could well be translated, how long shall the end of these wonders be? That is, more likely, the voice is asking about, once more, the time of the end, that terrible time, and the question is, how long shall it last? And, uh, the reply comes back, verse seven: and I heard the man clothed in linen which was above the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and swear by him that liveth forever and ever, that it shall be for a time, times, and a half. So here comes our phrase again. There's going to be this period here described as a time, times, and a half. Here, as we saw, similar period, presumably. It's now for a half of the final seven. that gives you three and a half years. Much to the, uh, labor of the exegetes, towards the end of that same chapter twelve, other figures are given. Verse eleven: and from the time that the continual burnt offering shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. And then in verse twelve, blessed is he that waiteth and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days. So here they are, again, specified times, comparatively short, but specified times. So my first simple point is one of simple observation, that the final visions in the book of the Daniel, uh, the book of Daniel are all concerned with this time of the end. And now if your heart leaps within you and you say, at last our lecture is coming round to being sensible, he's now going to talk about what prophecy is really about, you'll see, I fear you're going to be sorely disappointed. For one simple reason, that, uh, God in his wisdom didn't give me a brain that can cope with figures. And I desperately strive as I read the commentaries to keep pace with the learned, uh, exegetes and the mathematicians, working out their lunar years and solar years and other kind of years according to different calendars and the days and the dates, and I read them and I do my best to understand them, and five minutes later all the figures have fled and I can't remember them. But then I tell you that the leaders of your groups, uh, uh, don't suffer that affliction, and they will be able to help you in these matters with great accuracy. What I'm going to ask myself this morning, and therefore you, if I may, is why do we have to have four visions concentrating on the time of the end? Why can't we just have one, one splendid vision that gives all the figures and the details in nice chronological order and sorts them out well. Why can't we just have one vision and have done with it? Why must we have four? And I suspect that the answer might well be this almost the same as if you ask, why do we have to have four gospels? Why can't we have just one gospel? Very early on in the church's history, there was a man called Tatian, and surveying the fact that they had four gospels, he said to himself, well, this is a hi- uh, highly inconvenient. Why can't we improve on this and put them all together and just have one? So he set about doing that and compiled what is technically called the Diatesseron, the four, uh, the one gospel taken from the four. Many people there have been, and a fine scholarly job they have done, trying to harmonize the gospels and produce one straightforward gospel by putting the four together. And very often, don't tell them I said so, because I mean it very kindly, very often the commentators kind of do the same with Daniel, starting with four visions. They then like to get themselves out of timetable, putting all four into one. Noble effort, of course, to understand Holy Scripture. I shall be coming at it the other way and saying that if the Holy Spirit gave Daniel four visions, then he meant to give four. And the very probably the reason why we have four is, as in the Gospels, that while we concentrate on that end period, we shall be asked to look at it from four different points of view. Just as we know that in our Gospels we are invited to look at the Lord Jesus, and he is central to all their stories, and his life was one life. But we have four gospels that we may look at our majestic Lord from four different points of view, and see him therefore in different perspectives and from different angles, that we might have a full account of that lovely life and of his death and resurrection. So I suspect now we have four visions of the end time that we might see, first of all, that that end time is a very complex thing, and seeing that will subdue us properly and remove some of, perhaps, of our dogmatism. It shall be a very complex period, but then in that end time, all sorts of issues and questions will come to their climax. And the great movements of history will come to their harvest. And here the Holy Spirit of God points to us to four great movements at least, which will come to their climax in that final day. And we shall consider those four different movements one by one. As we consider the things that will come to their climax in those times, we shall naturally, of course, be asking ourselves a practical question. And what has that end time got to do with me? Why should I trouble to concern myself with that end time? After all, interesting and important as it might be, when I have finally solved all the problems, if I ever do, about the timetabling of those end events, what practical difference does it make to my living now? That is the question that I want to press upon us, each one, today. And I'm going to ask us to notice, therefore, that in those four visions, there are different issues at stake. Secondly, that whereas those issues will come to their climax in the end time, those issues are already with us. Some of them have been around for centuries. And therefore, in our own day and age, in the here and now, we need to know of some of these great moral and spiritual issues, so that we might be wise as the people of God and play our part in the here and now, in standing for God in these particular issues, that, as I say, will come to their climax at the end time. So here are a few suggestions for your consideration, some of the issues at stake. Now, this is not meant to be a complete account of those final four visions. It is the fact that all four have much in common, so that you will find much repetition between the one and the other. I have picked out some of the things that seem to me to be characteristic of the four. In chapter seven verse twenty five where the time, times, and half a time are mentioned, we're told about three things. The final ruler shall blaspheme against the Most High. He shall attempt to change the times and the law. He shall wear out the saints of the Most High. And we notice the title, this is a title of Almighty God, as we should say in Christian terminology, God the Father. And one of the big issues at stake, according to that vision, the vision of chapter seven, will be a king grown so inflated in his human pride that he seeks to oppose the very laws of God, change not only the laws and rules of the Bible, but change some of the very laws and rules of creation itself, and blaspheme against the Most High. Now, when you come to the vision in chapter eight, in both its parts. Now you will see that, uh, in the second part, this godless ruler, he stands up, but now it's not phrased against the Most High. He stands up against the prince of princes. Notice here too, in the first division of chapter eight, it is a question of truth, for we are told in chapter eight that, uh, the ruler, and here it is Antiochus Epiphanes. Verse eleven, it magnified itself even to the prince of the host, and it took away from him the continual burnt offering. Verse twelve, and it cast down truth to the ground. That I shall be suggesting is an attack against inspired revelation, against the idea that in the Old Testament you have the truth of God, God's self-revelation to men, an absolute truth because revealed by God. And what, uh, Antiochus, uh, did, as we know, was to ban Holy Scripture, to deny that the Old Testament was the absolute word of the absolute God. He banned possession of it, indeed. So a question of truth, and he cast down truth to the ground. And then, as we see, he desecrated the temple, placing there the abomination that makes desolate. And the issue at stake was, how long should it be until the temple should be vindicated? Now, there was no mention of temple in the first vision, and you'll see it's a very simple point I'm trying to make, that while this vision too eventually concentrates on the end time, the issue at stake is phrased differently from what it is in the first vision, and it is at those issues that we shall be wanting to come today. Then we notice in chapter nine that whereas again there is much that is the same. Nonetheless, even a superficial reading of the chapter will tell you what it's about primarily. All these verses that I have listed here refer to the city of Jerusalem. And the chapter announces what it's going to be about. It is about the accomplishing of the desolations of the holy city. Yes, the prophecies here also mention the sanctuary and its restoration, but I'm going to suggest that the emphasis here lies not so much upon the temple, though it is mentioned, but here upon Jerusalem city. In chapter eight, the temple, in chapter nine, predominant emphasis is upon the city, and that city under the discipline of God, all down the centuries and right up until the time of the end. And finally, in chapters ten to twelve, again we have mention of the desecration of the temple. But when we come finally to chapter twelve and the vision is explained, and the question of the length of the time of the end is raised, then we are told some of- something of the purpose of this great time of trouble. It shall last, says chapter twelve verse seven, until they have made an end, until they have finished breaking in pieces the power of the holy people. So now, while all visions talk of the sufferings of Israel, nevertheless, here specially mentioned is that terrible time of persecution that shall break in pieces the power of the holy people. Then goes on to talk in verse ten of the effect that it shall have upon those holy people. Many shall purify themselves and make themselves white and be refined, so that in the fierce fires of that suffering, the people, many of them, shall turn in repentance and shall purify themselves, even as God is pure. So now, as- whereas in the third vision, chapter nine, you have the discipline of Jerusalem city, its desolations and final restoration, under the discipline of God, I shall say. God himself chastising his people according to his faithful covenant expounded in the law of Moses. So here it is God himself disciplining his people. Here again, the discipline of God's holy people, but viewed particularly as affected by the horrible persecutions of the final Gentile power. They shall break in pieces the holy people. Two sides, then, to the suffering of God's people in that age. On the one side, I repeat, the disciplines of God. On the other side, the fearful persecution of the enemy. And therefore, of course, whatever you make of the time scalings and the dates and so forth and so on, two lovely things occur in, uh, uh, come to the fore in these two visions. The time of that discipline is already set and determined. Long before God allows his people to enter into that time of discipline, he in his mercy and grace has set the limit. As our Lord was one day to observe, except those days had been shortened, there should no flesh have been saved, but they have been shortened, and shortened for the elect's sake. For whether in past ages or the present age or the future age, whatever age it is be, when God's people of any kind come under discipline, it is never uncontrolled, never wild. It isn't a question of God losing his temper and lashing out like some irresponsible father on his children. It is a calculated discipline. It is never a question of God losing control while the enemy is allowed to bruise and batter and persecute his people, for God always remains in control. Or whatever else you gather from these dates and times, three and a half or whatever, get hold of this, that God is always in control. And here the discipline of Israel is determined by Holy Scripture. And here... the persecutions of the enemy are controlled by the subsequent writing of truth. Uh, sorry, by the writing of truth and all that subsequently comes therefrom. And so again, in these two visions, two different aspects. Here it is God doing the discipline. Here, we read in this vision of a great warfare. And as Daniel was given to see and hear the words of the man standing above the river, he was made aware of a great spiritual warfare, with the principalities and powers that lie behind the nations fighting their spiritual battles in heavenly places for the control of earth. And Daniel is comforted to know that over all those great battles lies the foreknowledge and the determinate counsel of God. So four visions, four different emphases on what will be eventually at stake. And it's worthwhile making the distinction, isn't there? Because as we look forward to the future and then say, what has it got to do with me now? Well, then, to answer that question, we shall have to come to the heart of the matter. Take, for instance, this one here in, um, chapter eight. Whether you take the que- the, the, um, part that deals with Antiochus Epiphanes, or whether you take the second half that looks forward to the remoter future. Notice, if you will, the issue as put here. He cast down truth to the ground. And then notice what he said in the second division. He shall cause deceit to prosper. And just to put this into focus, let me remind you of what two Thessalonians two says about these things. The issue between truth and the lie. Why, certainly it will come to its head in the final day. When men shall rise up finally to deny, and to deny as they think forever, that there's anything in Holy Scripture. They shall deny that God has spoken, that there is such a thing as divine revelation. They shall attempt to prove that all the miracles of Scripture are nonsense, that they can understand them and explain them on grounds of physics or other such things. They shall decide that there is no God out there, and as for the Bible being his absolute unchanging truth, it's a nonsense. And in its place, they shall proclaim the deity of man, man exalting himself above God, above Holy Scripture, above the claims of Jesus Christ, our Lord. And two Thessalonians two tells us that in that terrible time there shall come the man of lawlessness. He shall exalt himself above all that is called God. His coming shall be after the power of Satan with all deceivableness. He shall spread the ultimate lie. Then very solemn words are written that in that age God shall send some people a strong delusion that they believe the lie. Why would God ever send people a strong delusion that they believe the lie? Because, says Holy Scripture, with tears in its voice, they would not receive the love of the truth, that's why. God in his mercy offered them the truth, and they would not receive the love of the truth. What could God do in the end, but in his mercy and his sorrow to say ultimately, I've done all in my divine power to give you the truth, and you won't have the truth. Then have your own way. You know, God is no tyrant. Have your own way, have your own choice. Believe the lie. You see, that's what the ultimate issue, one of the ultimate issues is going to be. Has God spoken? Is there such a thing as revealed truth? Is the Bible God's word? Is Jesus Christ the way, the truth, and alive? Or is there no such thing as divine revelation, and perhaps no God either? And the ultimate truth is what the Russians decide it shall be, or the English or somebody. But when you think of that, you can see, and you Sunday school teachers and gospel preachers, you can see that that's not an issue that's going to be confined simply to the end time. Oh, you Sunday school teacher with that little five-year-old in your class, and you're not going to scare it stiff, are you, with beasts and things from Daniel? And you teach it Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so. And you're staking everything upon the fact that there is a divine revelation, and it is true and absolutely true. And you stand in a world that already denies it, of course. And alas, many theologians, in the name of God, Christ, and the church, they deny it as well. And tell us there is no absolute divine revelation. Of course, the battle is on. In one sense, every conversion faces it. The truth or the lie. So let me, allow me just to give you that illustration of what I mean by first of all looking at the issues at the end time, and then saying, yes, and what's they got to do with me? To see that some of those issues are already with us and have been, of course, for centuries.