God’s Animal Parade - Part 2

Are you doing tonight when so-called psychics make predictions what stood out to be either totally wrong, terribly, but not so with gold today on Turning Point David Jeremiah would tunes to Daniel chapter 7.

The proof that God's prophecies was right and uniquely specific from the handwriting on the statement to introduce the conclusion of this message. God's animal per right and thank you for joining us today as we continue our discussion of the book of Daniel. Today we are back to finish up the first eight verses of chapter 7 and Daniel's prophecy. So here we are now for part two of God's animal parade were learning about the future through the image of animals when a unique and positive thing and it's pretty well self explained so we don't have to wonder what it is working back into that right now as we open our Bibles the seventh. So who is this first beast comes out of the sea is none other than the Babylonian Empire. Now let's go to the second one second beast in verse five we read and behold another beast. The second like a bear, and it raised up itself on one side had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth and they said unto it, arise, devour much flesh.

The second beast is a bear no doubt a big Syrian bear like you see it is a great big old grizzly Syrian bear waives several hundreds of pounds.

This second bear is in keeping with the sequence of Daniel to which symbolizes that the next kingdom was Medo Persian. Remember Babel and felt a Medo Persia you read about it in Daniel five now in the Bible there are 13 references the Bears I felt like I was on zoologist looking up all these animals, but I looked up every reference in the Bible to bears. And you know what I discovered every time there mentioned there cast in the context of ferocious violent behavior in the Bible.

They are always seen as vicious.

These bearers had appetites that were never satisfied. The second kingdom was never satisfied until she reached from begin this River on the east to the land of Egypt and the Aegean Sea on the west and God granted this second kingdom. The authority to subjugate many nations, all in keeping with the greedy nature of the bear. Now notice. Again, the particulars in this vision that Daniel saw in his dream division says that in the dream. There were three waves in the mouth of the bear. Now what in the world could that mean well if you go back and lay this down alongside of history, you discover that in the conquest of the Medo Persian Empire.

Historians know that Medo Persia conquered Lydia Babylon in Egypt and the ribs in the mouth of the bear were the victims of the previous hot and still the bear was not satisfied in the mouth of the bear Medo Persia were the remnants of Lydia and Babylon, and Egypt.

Still, the bear was hunting for more. Now notice the second spectacular prophecy that's involved in this particular thing that Daniel saw.

It says that this bear was lifted up on one side what exactly well in my minds eye see the bear like a circus bear like you see sometimes when you go to the circus and they make bears tricks. Bear get somebody's got one part like this one. Whatever your foot down her up like that, you know these up on one side and that mean well if you study history, you discover that, though it is called the Medo Persian Empire.

Guess who was dominant.

I'll tell you what you're not even into the end of the book of Daniel before you hear about the means anymore. The Persians took over and they subjugated the Medes and they became really the Persian Empire so that at the end of the book when Cyrus is ruling for the Medes well Barry just got up on one side you see now he's out of perspective, the means are almost gone, and the Persians of taken control. It just overwhelms me to see the accurate detail of the prophetic word of God as it speaks about things which are verifiable in history now to stop her again and remind you that if God so accurately fulfilled the prophecies which we can check out historically. What do you think will be the fulfillment of prophecies yet to come.

Notice the third beast third beast.

After this I beheld along another like a leopard, which had upon its back for wings of the file and the beast also had four heads of dominion was given to it now. The lion devours the bear crushes and the leopard springs upon its prey.

By the way, you know it when the interpretations all these animals are the leopard, according to our understanding would be what kingdom what's all right we gone from Babel in the Medo Persia to Greece.

Now notice the lion devours the bear crushes the leopard springs on its prey, and the leopard is known in the kingdom of the animals as a swift and cunning and cruel and insatiable appetite for blood and this is in keeping with the sequence of Daniel two and obviously could be none other than the Grecian Empire under Alexander the great history records the fact that the Persians were defeated by Greece for wings on the back of the leopard speak of the conquest, and of the ability to strike fast.

Did you know that Greece was the progenitor of the military strategy called the blitzkrieg. They're the ones who started all that strike that strike quick, make it happen. If you know your history, you know that Alexander the great conquered most of the civilized world all the way from Macedonia to Africa and eastward to India. The lightning character of his conquest is without precedent in the ancient world you will never find anything like it in history. Now, the Scripture says that this particular leopard. It's interesting again had how many heads for heads.

You know what happened to Alexander's kingdom after he died in 323 BC, Scripture doesn't tell us what history does.

When Alexander the great died, his kingdom was divided among his four generals Ptolemy Seleucus was semicustom to sunder that sure fits the picture of the four headed leopard. His kingdom is now been divided into four and the Scripture goes on to say that dominion was given to it.

I told you that the key to the book of Daniel was to understand that this book teaches us the sovereignty of God. He is in control and throughout all the book. Every time we turn around it sticking up its head again. God is in control. God is sovereign, when we read history we read about Alexander the great with 35,000 soldier going up against the Medo Persian army of some 2 to 300,000 soldiers and miraculously winning and everybody said it was the military strategy of great, great, Alexander the great. What happened with three Daniel seven.

Find out you know what happened.

God says dominion was given to that's it. How did he do that God let it happen.

God gave it to you. Alexander thought he was a great man at any accomplished a great much in his own no military achievements. God why was it dominion was given.

It was a gift from God. God made it happen. Alexander was subject to a higher power. You know that for Alexander to conquer anything but himself.

And if history tells the true story. He died at the age of 32 of dissipation, a drunkard, and the victim of his own lusts and desires.

That's the winged leopard Scripture tells us in verse seven that the fourth beast came up after the third after this I saw in the night visions, and behold, 1/4 beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly and had great iron teeth devoured and broken pieces it stamped the residue with its feet and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before and it had 10 horns.

This is no doubt the Roman Empire listen to what chapter 2 says about Rome strong as iron, forasmuch as iron, break up all these, it shall break in pieces and bruise and the Bible says the fourth beast had what great what kind of teeth iron teeth now the fourth beast or kingdom is described in the following terms just noticing your Bibles is dreadful is terrible.

It is strong exceedingly. It has great iron teeth get devours and breaks in pieces. It stamps the residue out with its feet. Its diverse from all the beast before and it possesses 10 horns of folks there is even any animal in all the animal kingdom to which we can compare the fourth beast. There isn't any animal that you've ever seen.

That's like the grotesque fourth beast, but it wasn't anything that Daniel could describe that was like what he saw when he saw this nondescript be representing the imperialistic and cruel militarism.

Overall, this is the description of oppression and cruelty. Imperialistic Rome was known for her cruelty. It was wrong that invented crucifixion given has written of the Roman Empire that the Empire of the Romans still the world and when the Empire fell into the hands of a single person world became a safe and dreary prison for his enemies to resist was fatal and it was impossible to fly good. I remind you of what you already know, but perhaps it never put together in your own mind that it was Rome that crucified Peter that it was wrong that beheaded Paul but it was wrong that banished John that it was wrong that burned the Christians that it was wrong that butchered men and women and children that it was wrong that crucified our Lord, truly it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it, Rome units cruelty note again that we are seeing here in this chapter the same thing we saw in chapter 2 in chapters 2 we started with the head of gold, and we ended up in the mud. Remember, down, down, down, down, down, in chapter 7 we start with the nobility of the lion we end up with the beast that is nondescript. The devolution of the kingdoms of the world. Now if I could jump ahead for just a moment give you just a little prophecy of what's happening in the future. I want you to notice that the 10 horns are 10 kings rule simultaneously.

The Bible says that this fourth beast out of the waters has 10 horns on his head. Now listen carefully and stay with me the 10 horns are 10 kingdoms. Chapter 7 tells us that specifically. And these kings rule simultaneously and among them one will appear who conquering three others will eventually dominate the entire empire and become the world dictator obviously were talking here about the antichrist. Now I'd like to suggest to you, and I know that this is a great debate among prophetic scholars that there has never been a 10 part Roman Empire. Never in the history of the world, so this has to be future, it has to be yet in the future. Most prophetic scholars believe that this part of prophecy will be fulfilled in some kind of a revived Roman empire.

We just know this, that there is no fifth world Empire you know of any after the Romans had world control has there ever been anyone after that control the world. Never there been many of try and, in essence, as we shall see, this fifth kingdom if I could use that term is going to arrive sometime in the future is a vestige of the fourth one before the last phrase in verse seven and verse eight there is a long time gap. These things are all future when we say the fifth kingdom were not exactly accurate for these horns really grow out of the head of the fourth beast, and they are a last development of the fourth beast.

This suggests that Rome now listen carefully.

Rome was not destroyed, nor did it disappear.

Rome is the only kingdom that did not get conquered by a greater power.

What happened Rome actually Rome did not die, she fell apart because of internal corruption and rottenness so that the nations of Western Europe and those adjacent to the Mediterranean Sea are still part of what was once the Roman Empire and so when the Germans and the Slavs advance partly into the Roman ground their princes intermarried with Roman families. Charlemagne was descended from the Roman house almost at the same time that the German Emperor Otto the second and the Russian grand Prince Linda Mark intermarried with daughters of the East Roman Emperor. This was characteristic for the relation of the emigrating nations to Rome.

They did not find a new kingdom. They did not establish a new kingdom, but they continued the old Roman kingdom without Roman dominion. And so it continues to the end of the earthly power until its final ramification into 10 kingdom, to attempt now to mark out these would be is misplaced is to try to fix the coming of the Lord Jesus, and I'm not going to do that. I'm simply telling you that there's going to come a time at the end and how do we know this. We know from what we learned in chapter 2. What happened to the 10 toes of the beast. There was a stone cut out of the mountain that came and crushed those 10 toes. What is that mean that means that when Christ comes again that 10 part Empire has to be in place because of it is in a place the stone can come and crush it and the 10 horns of chapter 7 of the same way the 10 kingdoms of that future King, the final name is political unity and when this end is achieved.

A genius must be found and headed up." Wonder who that'll be hey I've got the script a little horn succeeds in uprooting three of the first horns and so arrogating their power to himself. This is the rise of the Antichrist and will get to him later because this book is filled with information about them.

We can devote a whole message just what Daniel says about the Antichrist, who by the way could be alive. Even now I say pastor Jeremiah this animal parade.

I got lost. About halfway through one you got, you know and understand how that could happen.

I try to go quickly and to just be pointed as I could. We could go with a lot of detail to support all of the interpretations.

What I want to stop now at this verse and I when asked this very important question that I try to ask every time I preach.

Are you ready so what so what what in the world does this have to do with me.

Well, I'd like to suggest enclosing just a couple of things that I think God would have us know from this passage of Scripture. First of all I think he's trying to teach us something about the progress of human history. The progress of human history.

Listen to me now evolution in human history is not observable. Modern technological progress in no way invalidates what I just said, for it is international justice and peace in human government and fulfillment that are in mind when we talk about national identity and security, and these realms are hard to find. As we study history and progress though man glories in the advances in the achievements of civilization through the century. God clearly sees human history as a chronicle of immorality and brutality and depravity. Governments and governmental leaders may mask their true character from people for a time, but they are always unmasked before God and men and women just as surely as we move from the head of gold to the feet of mud. We have moved from the royal line to the nondescript beast is a reminder to us that is human history unfolds, it does not get better it gets worse second lesson that I learned as I study this prophetic collage is the lesson of the preservation of human history, the preservation of human history know if you have children in your home but on a couple of occasions. My children asked me some are question, one of which is daddy.

Do you think this whole world is going to blow up and nobody will be left to know that's what we started out with at the beginning of this message all the secular profits are prophesying that we won't last as a civilization. What can we say about that. Is it possible that we will go bananas and push all the buttons at the same time and blow each other all up so that there is any world left.

I have an answer for your children and for mine. God says that won't happen. You say when you get that. Well I get that out of the realization that when the stone cut out of the mountains rolls upon the 10 toes of the Colossus in chapter 2 and when the 10 kingdoms that grow out of the final beast which are represented by the 10 horns in that grotesque animal that at that particular time. While that part of civilization is still intact. Jesus Christ comes back and when he comes back he comes back to somebody and something and so the world is still here. You say that you're in much comfort because you haven't told me yet what I'm going to be part of that bunch.

While I hope you're not, you should be gone by then. If you're not, you're in real trouble, but I just want to encourage you that human history will not continue indefinitely in its present course nor will it come to an end with mankind annihilating itself in some great nuclear cataclysm.

There may be nuclear war.

There may be destruction of nations, but there will not be a global Holocaust that destroys the world did you know that is that encouraging a man I didn't say that. That's what the book teaches.

The third thing I want to teach you, has to do with the purpose of human history. What is this all about. Why would the God of heaven allow all of these raunchy kingdoms, one after another to succeed each other getting worse and worse and worse. Always demonstrating their inability to rule always pointing out there total ability to destroy one another and devour one another in these jewel fashion. Why did God let this happen. I think it's because God is just giving humanity an opportunity to demonstrate how inept they are trying to rule the world God created and I have to sort of society and with Isaiah the prophet, who in frustration.

One day as he was prophesying cried out to God in the prayer recorded in Isaiah 64 one. He said all that, now what is around the heavens that now what is come down and John in the New Testament in a vision which carried him forth to the second advent of Christ recorded the answer to Isaiah's prayer is found in Revelation 1911 and I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse and he that sat upon him was called faithful and true, and in righteousness he did judge and make war. Isaiah said all that, I was come down and John said I saw the vision you know what he's coming down and all that goes on in the world today as we see nation after nation come and go in Koons and plots and overthrows and rebellion in all of the chaos like the turmoil in the sea is just a reminder to us that that which man is never been able to do God in heaven has in control, and one day King Jesus is going to come and set it right.

I am told that toward the close of the life of Conrad Auden. Our the Chancellor of West Germany.

He had a conversation with Dr. Billy Graham which went something like this. He asked Dr. Graham a series of questions.

The first question was Dr. Graham Hubley Jesus Christ rose again from the dead.

Dr. Graham said yes sir, I do. He said you believe that he ascended and is in heaven now Billy Graham said yes sir, I do and he said some say Jesus Christ will return in rain on this earth do you believe that Billy Graham said yes. I sure do. After a brief pause, Mr. Adenauer said so do I if he doesn't, there is no hope this world and I that was true then true, is it today telling you if Jesus doesn't come back if he doesn't do what he said he was going to do and course we know that's not even a possibility.

He's going to come back. But if it weren't for that. If that worked the hope that we all have living in the mess that we have around us. Now that doesn't seem to be getting better but getting worse.

The Bible tells us that there's going to be a time when this is all resolved and that's going to be when Jesus comes back end of the Bible is full of information about that were right on the threshold of learning much more about that in the book of Daniel. Tomorrow were going to talk about the ancient of days in his vision of the beast. Daniel could have been excused for having a pessimistic outlook.

But his vision was consummated with the site of the Son of Man and the inauguration of eternal kingdom on this earth just what we are talking about a few moments ago.

Sometimes you look around and it looks like were surrounded by ravenous beasts. But in the middle of it all is the vision of the Lord Jesus Christ, the son of the living God who is coming back one day to set up his kingdom. Bible says before that happens is going to take all those who put their trust in him to heaven and were there.

We shall ever be with the Lord you don't know for sure that Jesus Christ as your Savior. Let me encourage you to make sure that today find a place where you can be alone and pray and ask God to help you understand what it means to know his son Jesus Christ and literally invite Jesus Christ to come and live within your heart and confess your sin and tell them you know that you have sinned, and they would like to be forgiven and asked Jesus Christ to come in your life you know he will. He won't ever turn anyone away, and when he does miraculous things start happening all things pass away behold all things become new. Let us know about your decision will see right here tomorrow. Today's message originated from Shadow Mountain Community Church and senior pastor Dr. David Jeremiah was gone been using Turning Points to minister to you like to let us know at Turning Point PO Box 383, San Diego, CA 92163 visit our website at David Jeremiah/your copy of David's helpful and encouraging you system questions about living in the last day how to live with them. Susan was in the you can also download the free Turning Point mobile and smart device exits out programs and resources with just searching the app store for the keywords point ministries go to David Jeremiah don't/radio for details.

Join us tomorrow as we continue the handwriting on Turning Point with Dr. David Jeremiah for taking time to listen to on the non-pleasing Christian