Announcer:
Revelation. The time of the end.
00:01:21.31\00:01:24.11
Mysterious signs.
00:01:24.21\00:01:25.41
Strange happenings.
00:01:25.78\00:01:27.45
Confusing numbers.
00:01:27.65\00:01:29.45
Are we facing a new world
order and the mark of the beast?
00:01:29.68\00:01:33.82
Are we living on a
planet in upheaval?
00:01:34.22\00:01:36.52
Are we on the
verge of Armageddon?
00:01:36.59\00:01:40.13
Revelation, what do all the
signs in this mysterious book
00:01:44.97\00:01:51.04
mean? Discover real answers.
00:01:52.61\00:01:54.71
Revelation Speaks
Peace, with Shawn Boonstra.
00:01:54.78\00:01:59.45
+
00:01:59.81\00:02:00.18
"In Matthew 24 verse 12, Jesus
says that lawlessness will
abound." That's right, and the
00:02:01.65\00:02:06.99
old Old King James says
"iniquity," I think, and Matthew
in some of the newer
00:02:07.06\00:02:10.86
translations. "lawlessness will
abound. Does that mean the crime
rate will be going up?" Well,
00:02:10.93\00:02:16.06
people watch the crime rate. It
goes up and down, up and down,
up and down. I think we're
00:02:16.16\00:02:19.30
currently on a little bit of a
downtick. But if you were to
chart it over, like, a century,
00:02:19.40\00:02:24.61
there is no question, it's on
the way up. It's a major
prophetic issue. We actually
00:02:24.71\00:02:33.58
touched last week on 2nd
Timothy, 2nd Timothy. I often.
it takes me a little while to
00:02:33.68\00:02:42.46
find a text sometimes. you know,
it's awful for a preacher, but.
I'm a little bit like the
00:02:42.56\00:02:47.10
Apostle Paul. I think I shared
that with some of you. He's
often writing "Somewhere, it is
00:02:47.20\00:02:50.83
written" because he can't
remember quite where it is How
many of you struggle to
00:02:50.93\00:02:56.60
remember where stuff is in the
Bible? Here's what I've learned.
Memorize the chapter, and you
00:02:56.71\00:03:01.21
will find the verse. You will.
"But know this." 2nd Timothy 3
verse 1. And we're going to get
00:03:01.31\00:03:08.02
into this as we move along, and
we'll see this next week. "Know
this, that in the last days
00:03:08.12\00:03:12.65
[when?] last days, perilous
times will come, for men will be
lovers of themselves, lovers of
00:03:12.75\00:03:20.30
money, boasters [I don't know
why I took my glasses off. I
really, really need them] lovers
00:03:20.40\00:03:26.40
of themselves, lovers of money,
boasters proud, blasphemers,
disobedient to parents,
00:03:26.50\00:03:32.27
unthankful, unholy, unloving,
unforgiving, slanderers without
self-control, brutal despisers
00:03:32.37\00:03:41.82
of good, traitors, headstrong,
haughty, lovers of pleasure
rather than lovers of God,
00:03:41.92\00:03:47.69
having a form of godliness, but
denying its power." We actually
touched on that. "From such
00:03:47.79\00:03:52.33
people, turn away." There is
absolutely going to be a lawless
trend in the last days, but give
00:03:52.43\00:03:58.60
me a little bit of time, because
I think next week, we talk about
the coming of the lawless one,
00:03:58.70\00:04:02.67
and you'll see how that all ties
together. Our subject tonight,
"The time of the end, part one."
00:04:02.77\00:04:10.48
I'm going to invite you to bow
your heads with me in prayer.
Father in heaven, again, we're
00:04:10.58\00:04:18.65
about to approach the Bible. And
as we have seen every night that
we've been together in this
00:04:18.75\00:04:26.29
auditorium, this is not an
ordinary Book. This is Your
Voice. And as such, we are
00:04:26.39\00:04:36.17
asking tonight that You would
give us the ability to
understand; that our minds would
00:04:36.27\00:04:45.45
be enlightened by the Holy
Spirit, and that the Voice we
hear would be Yours, and that
00:04:45.55\00:04:52.72
our thinking would be clear. Our
minds and our hearts have been
muddied by living in a sinful
00:04:52.82\00:04:59.59
world, and so we ask for clarity
of thought, and I ask for
clarity of thought, and I ask
00:04:59.69\00:05:04.90
that Jesus would be the focus of
every moment. Forgive my sins.
Make me fit to speak. And when
00:05:05.00\00:05:14.61
Jesus speaks to our hearts
tonight, Lord, we will follow,
for we pray it in His wonderful
00:05:14.71\00:05:20.95
name, amen. Every prophecy that
we have looked at so far has
started in the day of the
00:05:21.05\00:05:29.69
prophet, and suddenly whisked us
all the way down to the second
coming of Christ. So in Daniel
00:05:29.79\00:05:35.40
2, we saw the statue, the head
of gold, chest and arms of
silver, belly and thighs of
00:05:35.50\00:05:41.44
brass or bronze, and then it
went all the way down through
time until the stone comes, the
00:05:41.54\00:05:47.38
second coming of Jesus. Even
Matthew 24, of course, escorted
us right down to the time of the
00:05:47.48\00:05:53.38
end, when we know that it is
soon, the second coming of
Jesus. Revelation chapter 16
00:05:53.48\00:05:59.85
talked about the drying-up of
the Euphrates to prepare the way
of the kings of the east. And
00:05:59.95\00:06:04.93
of course, it was retelling the
story of Cyrus marching on
Babylon as a forward-looking
00:06:05.03\00:06:11.13
symbol of Jesus coming to this
world in glory. Last meeting, on
Wednesday night, we looked at
00:06:11.23\00:06:16.81
Revelation chapter 6, and again,
it takes us all the way down
through time to that moment when
00:06:16.91\00:06:23.45
there is actually silence in
heaven because all the holy
angels have come back with
00:06:23.55\00:06:28.22
Jesus. It's the second coming of
Christ. Now, tonight, we're
going to look at a prophecy that
00:06:28.32\00:06:35.39
will also carry us down to the
second coming of Jesus, but it's
going to be just a little bit
00:06:35.49\00:06:42.56
different. It's actually going
to add some detail that we
haven't seen before. And because
00:06:42.66\00:06:48.40
it is a huge subject, it will
take me two nights to get
through it. Let's have a look.
00:06:48.50\00:06:54.74
On our first night - we're going
to review. On our first night,
Daniel chapter 2. We studied the
00:06:54.84\00:07:01.32
progression of kingdoms. The
head of gold represented which
empire? Do you remember?
00:07:01.42\00:07:07.12
Babylon. What a class. It
represents the Neo-Babylonian
empire with Nebuchadnezzar. The
00:07:07.22\00:07:14.56
chest and arms of silver was
who? The Medes and the Persians.
I often just summarize it as the
00:07:14.66\00:07:20.24
Persians, but you're absolutely
right, whoever said "Medes," it
was a coalition government. The
00:07:20.34\00:07:26.88
Medes and the Persians. The
belly and thighs of bronze or
brass, who was that? Greece,
00:07:26.98\00:07:30.71
absolutely right. The legs of
iron was who? That was Rome.
What a class. The feet of iron?
00:07:30.81\00:07:36.38
Some of the iron carries
through. The feet of iron and of
clay, who is that? The divided
00:07:36.48\00:07:42.66
Roman empire, western Rome as it
is fragmented. Now, that was
Daniel 2. Tonight's prophecy is
00:07:42.76\00:07:51.50
going to cover the same ground
again, but from a little bit of
a different perspective. So this
00:07:51.60\00:07:57.54
is one of those evenings where
you're going to rely on the
things that we've already
00:07:57.64\00:08:02.48
learned and studied. This is
where what we've covered in the
past suddenly becomes important.
00:08:02.58\00:08:09.02
Now, this statue was a dream
that Nebuchadnezzar had. But now
tonight, we're going to go to
00:08:09.12\00:08:15.26
Daniel 8, and it's not
Nebuchadnezzar having a dream;
it's actually Daniel himself
00:08:15.36\00:08:21.10
having a vision. Daniel 8 and
verse 1, the Bible says: "In the
third year of the reign of King
00:08:21.20\00:08:29.77
[Who?] Belshazzar." Remember
him? The ne'er-do-good grandson
of Nebuchadnezzar, who's on the
00:08:29.87\00:08:38.31
throne just as Babylon is about
to collapse. "In the third year
of the reign of King" - I
00:08:38.41\00:08:44.55
couldn't get the word
'ne'er-do-well' out of my mouth.
Did you hear me struggle for
00:08:44.65\00:08:47.02
that? That's 'cause nobody says
that. Who says ' ne'er-do-well'
except in poetry? Alright. "In
00:08:47.12\00:08:53.13
the third year of the reign of
King Belshazzar, a vision
appeared to me - to me, Daniel -
00:08:53.23\00:08:58.97
[so he's having this experience
himself] after the one that
appeared to me the first time."
00:08:59.07\00:09:04.94
There's another vision back in
Daniel 7, and we're absolutely
going to look at that too. He
00:09:05.04\00:09:10.05
has a vision. Belshazzar is on
the throne. The empire is about
to collapse. And that means that
00:09:10.15\00:09:15.65
at this point, Daniel is no
longer a teenager; Daniel is an
old man. Daniel 8 and verse 3:
00:09:15.75\00:09:24.73
"Then I lifted my eyes" - now,
pay attention carefully; there
is a lot of detail. This is far
00:09:24.83\00:09:29.56
more detailed than Daniel 2.
"Then I lifted my eyes and saw,
and there, standing beside the
00:09:29.66\00:09:35.84
river, was a [what?] a ram which
had [how many horns?] had two
horns, and the two horns were
00:09:35.94\00:09:45.48
high, but one was higher than
the other." Okay, it's a ram,
and the ram, again, has how many
00:09:45.58\00:09:51.62
horns? Two. And are those horns
the same size, yes or no? No,
they're not the same size. One
00:09:51.72\00:09:58.03
is bigger than the other. Verse
4: "I saw the ram push westward,
and northward, and southward, so
00:09:58.13\00:10:08.84
that no animal could withstand
him; nor was there any that
could deliver from his hand, but
00:10:08.94\00:10:15.44
he did according to his will and
became great." Okay, what do we
know so far? It's a ram with two
00:10:15.54\00:10:23.39
horns, but the two horns are not
the same size. One is bigger
than the other. And this ram
00:10:23.49\00:10:30.43
pushes to the north, it pushes
to the west, and it pushes to
the south. And of course, the
00:10:30.53\00:10:36.60
big question is, what in the
world does that represent? Well,
maybe we should go and check the
00:10:36.70\00:10:41.54
National Inquirer. It might be
able to tell us what it means.
What do you think? Is that a
00:10:41.64\00:10:45.91
good approach? Well, you should
know better than that by now. Is
that a good approach, yes or no?
00:10:46.01\00:10:50.21
No. Maybe we should go to the
esoteric bookstore and get a
book on it; what do you think?
00:10:50.31\00:10:54.92
No, no. How about we check
wikipedia? No, maybe. Yeah, it's
not bad place, but is that how
00:10:55.02\00:11:01.79
you interpret the Bible? No.
Remember the rule: line upon
line, precept upon precept. You
00:11:01.89\00:11:07.40
let the Bible speak for itself,
and read the whole thing. And in
this case tonight, our job is
00:11:07.50\00:11:14.10
going to be amazingly easy,
because in the second half of
Daniel 8, Gabriel actually comes
00:11:14.20\00:11:22.61
and spells out - Gabriel the
angel - spells out exactly what
every element means in
00:11:22.71\00:11:29.32
unbelievable detail. So in the
first part of Daniel 8, Daniel
has a vision. In the second
00:11:29.42\00:11:34.72
part, Gabriel explains it. Look
at what he says about this ram.
Daniel 8 verse 20: "The ram
00:11:34.82\00:11:41.13
which you saw having the two
horns - they are the kings of
Media and Persia." Now, it
00:11:41.23\00:11:46.30
doesn't get any easier than
that. He actually names the
countries. This is - people say,
00:11:46.40\00:11:51.84
"How did you know about Daniel
2?" I cheated. I looked at
Daniel 8. I knew what the
00:11:51.94\00:11:55.51
empires were because it spells
it all out. Right? Before, when
we were in Daniel chapter 2, we
00:11:55.61\00:12:01.28
had to refer to our knowledge of
history and compare it against
what actually happened. But now,
00:12:01.38\00:12:05.52
the Bible actually begins to
spell it out in detail. The ram
with two horns represents the
00:12:05.62\00:12:11.73
Medes and the Persians. And the
Medes and the Persians were a
coalition government. That's why
00:12:11.83\00:12:17.63
there are two horns: one is the
Medes, the other is the
Persians, united into one
00:12:17.73\00:12:22.24
kingdom. Now, you'll notice, in
Daniel 2, the first kingdom was
Babylon. Now Babylon doesn't
00:12:22.34\00:12:28.88
even show up. Why? Belshazzar's
on the throne, and it's about to
collapse. Babylon isn't a
00:12:28.98\00:12:35.02
significant player at all
anymore. We get Belshazzar's
name and that's all you need to
00:12:35.12\00:12:39.72
know. Babylon is finished. So it
starts with the Medes and the
Persians. The ram is
00:12:39.82\00:12:45.46
Medo-Persia. And that gives us a
brand-new principle to examine
tonight. Animals in Bible
00:12:45.56\00:12:51.30
prophecy - or beasts, if you
read the old King James - that's
more fun because it sounds
00:12:51.40\00:12:55.94
scarier - animals or beasts
represent powers, nations,
kingdoms. That's a principle
00:12:56.04\00:13:02.68
that carries over to our culture
today, right? We still use
animals to describe countries.
00:13:02.78\00:13:08.05
If I say, "the eagle," what
country do you think of? United
States of America. You should
00:13:08.15\00:13:12.29
think of the United States of
America. Or what if I say "the
bear," who do you think of? You
00:13:12.39\00:13:17.63
think of Russia. What about a
lion? England. Somebody got it.
What about - well, what do we
00:13:17.73\00:13:23.53
have in Canada? What about - oh,
I just gave it away. What about
the beaver? The ferocious,
00:13:23.63\00:13:27.84
ferocious beaver, right? Canada.
Now, we have to be careful. What
some people will do is look at
00:13:27.94\00:13:34.34
national symbols today in the
year 2015, and they'll take them
back and try and stick them on
00:13:34.44\00:13:39.41
top of something 2600 years old
and they'll say, "Ah-ha, Russia
is the bear," and there is a
00:13:39.51\00:13:44.79
bear that shows up in Daniel 7.
We'll look at it. "That must be
Russia." Not necessarily. You
00:13:44.89\00:13:50.53
have to go with the context, the
historical context, the biblical
context. But animals are used to
00:13:50.63\00:13:56.50
represent kings, kingdoms,
nations, powers. And horns are
also used to represent - I think
00:13:56.60\00:14:01.94
we touched on this at one point
- horns are used to represent
kings or powers. One, it says,
00:14:02.04\00:14:07.14
is the Medes, and the other is
the Persians. And they're
uneven, because the Medes were
00:14:07.24\00:14:11.91
there first. You read the book
of Daniel, you read about a king
named Darius. He is a Mede.
00:14:12.01\00:14:17.69
Cyrus the general is a Persian.
Now, the Medes were there first;
the Persians joined them later.
00:14:17.79\00:14:22.92
But the Persians grow much
stronger and overshadow the
Medes. So the horns are uneven.
00:14:23.02\00:14:28.33
The Persians are the bigger
horn. Is everybody with me, yes
or no? Alright. I probably
00:14:28.50\00:14:33.70
over-explained it, but we want
to be careful. This ram pushes
in three directions. The Bible
00:14:33.80\00:14:39.74
tells us, it goes to the west,
to the north, and to the south.
Now, I've superimposed it on a
00:14:39.84\00:14:44.78
modern map where you can see
that this is roughly where Iraq
and Iran are today. So we're
00:14:44.88\00:14:51.82
kind of talking, in some ways -
not really - but kind of talking
about an early, early, early,
00:14:51.92\00:14:55.56
early, early version of the
Iran-Iraq war. The Persians are
where modern-day Iran was, and
00:14:55.66\00:15:02.36
Babylon was - well, the ruins
are still in modern-day Iraq.
Just for references to where we
00:15:02.46\00:15:08.17
are on the globe. It says that
the ram had to go west, north,
and south, and that's exactly
00:15:08.27\00:15:15.31
the direction the Persians had
to go to take over the
Babylonian empire. So the
00:15:15.41\00:15:21.15
prophecy is bang-on accurate.
Daniel saw what was going to
happen well in advance, and he
00:15:21.25\00:15:27.79
even knows the name now of the
empire that's going to do it.
The prophecy continues. Daniel 8
00:15:27.89\00:15:34.00
verse 5: "And as I was
considering [he's looking at
this ram], suddenly a male
00:15:34.10\00:15:40.24
[what?] goat came from the west
[came from what direction? Came
from the west], across the
00:15:40.34\00:15:47.58
surface of the whole earth,
without touching the ground. And
the goat had a notable horn
00:15:47.68\00:15:55.68
between his eyes [one big horn
right between - like a unicorn].
Then he came to the ram that had
00:15:55.78\00:16:02.36
two horns, which I had seen
standing beside the river, and
ran at him with furious power.
00:16:02.46\00:16:08.53
And I saw him confronting the
ram; he was moved with rage
against him, attacked the ram
00:16:08.63\00:16:15.27
and broke his two horns." The
goat comes from the west and
attacks the ram. Verse 7: "There
00:16:15.37\00:16:22.41
was no power in the ram to
withstand him, but he cast him
down to the ground and trampled
00:16:22.51\00:16:28.18
him, and there was no one that
could deliver the ram from his
hand." Daniel's watching this
00:16:28.28\00:16:34.89
ram with the two uneven horns.
And suddenly, a goat with one
big horn on its head comes
00:16:34.99\00:16:39.33
running from the west and
smashes into the ram. Now, who
in the world is the goat? You
00:16:39.43\00:16:45.97
should already know, right? Who
conquered, right? Who conquered
the Persians at the Battle of
00:16:46.07\00:16:50.04
Arbela, 331 B.C.? Who would you
guess it would be? It's the
Greeks. We already know that
00:16:50.14\00:16:56.68
from Daniel chapter 2. But this
time, we don't have to do
absolutely any detective work,
00:16:56.78\00:17:02.42
because Gabriel's going to spell
this out too. Verse 21. Gabriel
tells Daniel: "And the male goat
00:17:02.52\00:17:09.32
is the kingdom of Greece." Now
it's naming kingdoms in advance
by name. Do you see how easy
00:17:09.42\00:17:16.00
this is? If you just read the
whole thing, it spells it out.
The male goat is the kingdom of
00:17:16.10\00:17:20.07
Greece. "The large horn that is
between its eyes is the first
king." Now, who would you say
00:17:20.17\00:17:26.74
the first king is that's
charging this goat over and
demolishing the Persians? Who's
00:17:26.81\00:17:30.35
that one big notable king
leading the Greeks? Who is it?
Alexander the Great, right? You
00:17:30.71\00:17:36.38
notice, this goat's feet never
touch the ground. It's moving so
fast. It's like the Wile E.
00:17:36.48\00:17:41.02
Coyote cartoons. Moving so fast,
it doesn't even touch the
ground. And why does it describe
00:17:41.12\00:17:47.03
it that way? Because, if you
remember, Alexander conquered
the Middle East faster than
00:17:47.13\00:17:52.83
anybody had ever done it. Two
million square miles. Twenty
million people. He did it in
00:17:52.93\00:18:00.08
four years flat, by the time
he's thirty-two years old. He's
that fast. But now the prophecy
00:18:00.18\00:18:07.58
is about to add some detail that
was not there in Daniel chapter
2. Look at this, verse 8:
00:18:07.68\00:18:16.79
"Therefore, the male goat grew
very great [true]; but when he
became strong, the large horn
00:18:16.89\00:18:24.43
was broken, and in place of it,
four notable ones came up toward
the four winds of heaven." The
00:18:24.53\00:18:31.04
great horn breaks off, and it is
replaced by four other horns. So
what in the world does that
00:18:31.14\00:18:37.51
mean? Well, we don't have to
guess, 'cause Gabriel comes and
explains that too, spells it
00:18:37.61\00:18:43.18
out, verse 21: "As for the
broken horn and the four that
stood up in its place [the big
00:18:43.28\00:18:48.12
horn breaks off, four more come
up behind it], four kingdoms
shall arise out of this nation,
00:18:48.22\00:18:54.36
but not with its power." Now,
this is new. And this is
absolutely amazing. We told the
00:18:54.46\00:19:03.07
story last week about Alexander
leading his armies all the way,
very quickly, to the shores of
00:19:03.17\00:19:10.25
India. He sees the ocean and he
thinks, "I've run out of world
to conquer. Nothing left." He
00:19:10.35\00:19:14.45
actually cries. "I've got
nothing left to do," 'cause his
whole identity is conquering.
00:19:14.55\00:19:18.59
And his men said, if you
remember, "Well, if we're done
conquering the world, can we
00:19:18.69\00:19:23.56
please go home?" "Alright." So
they start going home, and on
the way home, they camp by the
00:19:23.66\00:19:29.46
ruins of Babylon. Never occupied
again. And they have a party one
night, and Alexander dies there,
00:19:29.56\00:19:37.37
we believe, because he actually
drank himself to death that
night. And after Alexander dies,
00:19:37.47\00:19:44.61
there is a brief power struggle
among the generals in his army,
and eventually, the whole empire
00:19:44.71\00:19:50.42
is divided up among his
generals. Now, if you were to
hazard a guess, how many
00:19:50.52\00:19:54.82
generals do you think there
were? Four. Exactly four. We had
Cassander, who took the
00:19:54.92\00:20:03.30
region where Greece is;
Lysimachus, the Balkans and
around the Black Sea; Seleucus
00:20:03.40\00:20:07.90
who takes the bottom part of
what is now Turkey and heads out
over to Persia; and then down
00:20:08.00\00:20:12.17
through where Israel is today
and into North Africa, you had
Ptolemy. It was divided amongst
00:20:12.27\00:20:18.38
four generals. One horn becomes
four exactly the way the Bible
predicted. Now, you cannot fake
00:20:18.48\00:20:25.95
this stuff. There must be
somebody that sees the end from
the beginning. This is a new
00:20:26.05\00:20:32.69
detail that we did not see in
Daniel chapter 2. But that's not
even the whole story. It gets
00:20:32.79\00:20:38.93
even more amazing. It says these
four horns would scatter to the
four winds. And then it says,
00:20:39.03\00:20:46.61
"out of one of them," it means
the four winds, the four compass
points, "out of one of them came
00:20:46.71\00:20:51.68
a," what? "a little horn which
grew exceedingly great." Now
after these four generals, a
00:20:51.78\00:21:01.12
little horn appears, comes from
one of the four winds of heaven,
one of the compass directions.
00:21:01.22\00:21:06.39
And you tell me tonight, what
kingdom defeats Greece at the
Battle of Pydna, 168 B.C.? Who's
00:21:06.49\00:21:13.40
the next empire? Who was it?
It's Rome. Now, I want you to
read this very, very carefully
00:21:13.50\00:21:20.21
with me, because what we're
about to read is important. And
there's detail here that we
00:21:20.31\00:21:24.41
frankly won't have time for, but
we're going to come back and
look at it. There is so much
00:21:24.51\00:21:28.72
here, it would make your hair
stand on end if you saw it all.
We're going to spread it out
00:21:28.82\00:21:32.85
over a little bit. "Out of one
of them came a little horn which
grew exceedingly great toward
00:21:32.95\00:21:37.99
the south, toward the east, and
toward the glorious land." What
part of the world would Daniel
00:21:38.09\00:21:44.43
consider to be the glorious
land? The "pleasant land," in
the old King James language.
00:21:44.53\00:21:49.27
What would it be? What would his
glorious land be? Israel, right.
Right? Now, did Rome ever occupy
00:21:49.37\00:21:57.01
Israel? Sure, sure they did. The
entire ministry of Jesus happens
under Roman occupation
00:21:57.11\00:22:02.58
in the Roman prince of
Palestine. Oh, I wish we had
more time for these details; it
00:22:02.68\00:22:08.09
goes to the glorious land. "And
it grew up to the host of
heaven." Now, follow this
00:22:08.19\00:22:12.53
carefully. This is important
language, and we will revisit
this to look at it in more
00:22:12.63\00:22:16.13
detail. "It grew up to the host
of heaven; and it cast down some
of the host and some of the
00:22:16.23\00:22:21.84
stars to the ground, and
trampled them." Oh, I wish, I
wish we had time to go through
00:22:21.94\00:22:25.97
all the details in this. We're
going to have to come back. And
I think when we look at Daniel
00:22:26.07\00:22:30.15
chapter 7, you'll come back and
look at this and it will blow
you away. It changed my life
00:22:30.25\00:22:34.88
when I saw it. But for tonight,
we're going to keep moving
through quickly because I'm
00:22:34.98\00:22:38.65
actually headed for a
destination. It continues. "He
[this little horn] even exalted
00:22:38.75\00:22:44.39
himself as high as the Prince of
the host; and by him the daily
sacrifices were taken away, and
00:22:44.49\00:22:52.47
the place of his sanctuary was
cast down." Who is the Prince of
the host? The translators
00:22:52.57\00:23:00.41
capitalize the letter 'P' on
"Prince" and they do it for a
reason. Who is the Prince of the
00:23:00.51\00:23:06.28
host? It's Jesus Christ. In
Revelation chapter 19, He is
leading the armies, the host of
00:23:06.38\00:23:12.65
heaven, as He returns to this
world. In Joshua chapter 5, we
have something theologians calls
00:23:12.75\00:23:17.89
a Christophany, Jesus appearing
to people before He's born in
Bethlehem. And He appears to
00:23:17.99\00:23:23.03
Joshua in Joshua chapter 5 and
He says to Joshua, "I am the
Commander of the Lord's host."
00:23:23.13\00:23:29.70
"I am the Head of everything in
heaven. I'm the Head of the
host." Isaiah calls Jesus "the
00:23:29.80\00:23:34.91
Prince of peace." Daniel chapter
9 calls Jesus "Messiah the
Prince." Jesus is the Prince of
00:23:35.01\00:23:41.65
the host. And did Rome ever
attack Jesus? He died on a Roman
cross. Did Rome stop the
00:23:41.75\00:23:49.96
sacrifices? Yes, they did,
destroyed the temple in A.D. 70.
But that's not even the whole
00:23:50.06\00:23:55.20
picture. There's so much detail
in there, we are, we are, I
promise we will come back. It
00:23:55.30\00:24:00.04
continues. "Because of
transgression, an army was given
over to the horn to oppose the
00:24:00.14\00:24:04.67
daily sacrifices; and he cast
truth down to the ground [you're
going to want to tuck that
00:24:04.77\00:24:09.88
behind one ear for a coming
night]. He did all this and
prospered." It's a description
00:24:09.98\00:24:15.55
of Rome. But for right now - I
know there's a lot of detail
there - for right now, I want to
00:24:15.65\00:24:21.09
go to the second half of Daniel
8 and see what Gabriel says
about this, because for every
00:24:21.19\00:24:25.53
other part of the vision, he
comes back and explains it in
detail. He explained the ram, he
00:24:25.63\00:24:30.87
explained the goat. Let's see
what he says about this little
horn. He comes back. Verse 23.
00:24:30.97\00:24:36.44
It's actually a huge passage. Do
some homework: read the whole
thing when you get home tonight,
00:24:36.54\00:24:40.84
'cause we will revisit all of
this. Verse 23: "He's a king
that shall arrive, having fierce
00:24:40.94\00:24:46.15
features, who understands
sinister schemes. He shall even
rise [verse 25] against the
00:24:46.25\00:24:51.72
Prince of princes." I don't
know, as you read through that
language, are you getting the
00:24:51.82\00:24:57.49
sense that something really,
really bad comes out of all of
this? Is it possible that this
00:24:57.59\00:25:03.50
is a precursor to Antichrist? A
hint that Antichrist will show
up somewhere in the region where
00:25:03.60\00:25:10.51
the western Roman empire was?
Maybe. This - we're going to get
that - this much is clear for
00:25:10.61\00:25:20.25
tonight. The next kingdom was
Rome. Now, why doesn't Gabriel
name Rome? He names Medo-Persia;
00:25:20.35\00:25:26.59
he names Greece; why not just
name Rome? Well, I don't really
know for sure, but I have
00:25:26.69\00:25:30.86
thought about this. Who was in
power when the early Christian
church started its work? Rome.
00:25:30.96\00:25:37.87
Who hated the Christians and put
them to death? Rome. And the
Christians were preaching
00:25:37.97\00:25:42.24
prophecy. What if they had a
book that said not-so-nice
things about the Roman empire
00:25:42.34\00:25:46.24
and named it by name? It's
possible - I don't know for sure
- but it's possible that God
00:25:46.34\00:25:50.31
just veiled the actual name to
keep us out of too much hot
water and keep His work alive. I
00:25:50.41\00:25:55.88
don't know. Maybe if it had
actually named Rome by name, it
would've been tougher. Now,
00:25:55.98\00:26:00.96
let's review what we have so
far. Let's just look at it. The
prophecy we've been studying
00:26:01.06\00:26:05.63
covers the same material as
Daniel 2 with different details.
In this prophecy, Babylon is
00:26:05.73\00:26:11.57
gone. It just mentions
Belshazzar and moves on. Persia,
the chest of silver, shows up as
00:26:11.67\00:26:16.17
a two-horned ram, one horn
bigger than the other. Greece
shows up as a goat with one big
00:26:16.27\00:26:22.18
notable horn that breaks off and
then the four generals take
Alexander's place. In Daniel 2,
00:26:22.28\00:26:29.35
we have the legs of iron -
that's Rome - and then the iron
kind of continues into the feet:
00:26:29.45\00:26:33.82
it's the divided Roman empire.
In Daniel 8, we have a little
horn. And it actually covers the
00:26:33.92\00:26:39.89
same period of time. It carries
through the same period of time,
both Rome when it is united, and
00:26:40.00\00:26:46.77
Rome when it is divided. And we
will come back to that and look
at it. But here's what I want
00:26:46.87\00:26:51.77
you to see tonight: the stone
was the next element in Daniel
2. Comes and smashes the feet of
00:26:51.87\00:26:58.01
the statue and fills the world.
It's the second coming of
Christ. But in Daniel 8,
00:26:58.11\00:27:03.02
something else comes next, and
it's a little different. And
this might be the most
00:27:03.12\00:27:10.33
incredible part of this prophecy
by far. So far, we have a ram, a
goat, and a little horn. But
00:27:10.43\00:27:20.20
there's one more thing in the
vision. Daniel 8:14: "And he
said to me, 'For two thousand
00:27:20.30\00:27:27.04
three hundred days; then the
sanctuary shall be [what?]
cleansed.'" Well, that's
00:27:27.14\00:27:33.82
different. There's no horn.
There's no animal. It's not
talking about a kingdom or a
00:27:33.92\00:27:40.39
military power. It's just
talking about two thousand three
hundred days. The literal
00:27:40.49\00:27:44.63
language is two thousand three
hundred evenings and mornings.
And I'm pointing that out
00:27:44.73\00:27:50.03
because you're going to see it
in a minute. The original
language is "evenings and
00:27:50.13\00:27:53.90
mornings" and it's a curious
thing; that's because that's the
way we used to measure time. All
00:27:54.00\00:27:58.71
of us. Right now, we will say,
"Tonight at midnight, it becomes
Saturday." That's Roman
00:27:58.81\00:28:03.45
timekeeping. But in Biblical
days, the next day begins when
the sun goes down. That's why in
00:28:03.55\00:28:08.85
Genesis chapter 1, it says,
"Evening and morning are the
first day. Evening and morning
00:28:08.95\00:28:14.22
are the second day." Evening and
morning. Evening and morning is
a day, in Biblical thinking. So
00:28:14.32\00:28:19.66
what does this mean? Two
thousand three hundred days,
then the sanctuary will be
00:28:19.76\00:28:25.40
cleansed. Well, for every other
part of this - the ram, the
goat, the little horn - Gabriel
00:28:25.50\00:28:29.80
comes back and gives us more
detail than we could ever dream
possible. So let's check with
00:28:29.90\00:28:35.64
what he says. Daniel 8 verse 26.
He does come back and say
something about this: "The
00:28:35.74\00:28:40.38
vision of the evenings and
mornings [now you see why I
pointed it out] the vision of
00:28:40.48\00:28:44.92
the evenings and mornings which
was told is true; therefore seal
up the vision, for it refers to
00:28:45.02\00:28:50.26
many days in the future." And
that's it. Nothing more.
"Daniel, that part about the two
00:28:50.36\00:28:59.10
thousand three hundred days,
absolutely true, but shut it up,
close it up, because it doesn't
00:28:59.20\00:29:04.67
happen for a long, long time."
End. End of discussion. That's
it. Nothing more. No names, no
00:29:04.77\00:29:09.71
horns, no beasts. There is
nothing else in the way of
explanation, nothing. So maybe
00:29:09.81\00:29:16.05
it doesn't matter. Except Daniel
really thinks it matters,
because he gets really upset,
00:29:16.15\00:29:21.59
verse 27: "And I Daniel fainted,
and was sick certain days;
afterward I rose up, and did the
00:29:21.69\00:29:27.40
king's business; and I was
astonished at the vision, but
none understood it." Well, what
00:29:27.50\00:29:34.50
did he not understand? He
understood the ram. Lots of
detail, the Medes and the
00:29:34.60\00:29:38.51
Persians. Understood the goat.
Lots of detail, big horn, it's
Greece, and the first king and
00:29:38.61\00:29:42.68
the four kings. And the little
horn, lots and lots of detail.
Go and read it tonight. There's
00:29:42.78\00:29:46.65
piles of detail there. There's
only one part he doesn't
understand. There's only one
00:29:46.75\00:29:50.09
part he's never told about. It's
the two thousand three hundred
days. That's what he's not told
00:29:50.19\00:29:54.72
about. So maybe it's not
understandable. Maybe it's just
there for fun. I mean, maybe,
00:29:54.82\00:29:59.53
when Daniel's being written, the
angels run into God's throne
room and say, "You know what
00:29:59.63\00:30:03.20
would be fun, Lord? If we could
just put one extra verse in
Daniel, just one, that means
00:30:03.30\00:30:06.84
nothing, and people will fight
about it and argue about it and
we can watch them bicker about
00:30:06.94\00:30:11.27
it and Christians will divide
and argue and fight and it'll be
a lot of fun, Lord." Do you
00:30:11.37\00:30:15.01
believe it? Uh-ugh. This
prophecy's important. Daniel
knew it was. And before we're
00:30:15.11\00:30:23.49
finished, you're going to see
that God actually does not leave
Daniel hanging; he gets an
00:30:23.59\00:30:27.29
answer. And you're going to get
an answer too, except that I'm
going to make you work for it.
00:30:27.39\00:30:32.36
What we're going to do is go
into the scriptures and gather
up all the evidence we can find,
00:30:32.46\00:30:36.83
line upon line, precept upon
precept, exactly the way that
God taught us to do. We're going
00:30:36.93\00:30:41.97
to read the whole thing and look
at all the evidence. And the
Bible does give us a number of
00:30:42.07\00:30:46.47
important clues, a number of
important details, even in
Daniel 8 that we should probably
00:30:46.57\00:30:49.98
pay attention to. Gabriel says a
few things that I want you to
see. In Daniel 8 verse 17, when
00:30:50.08\00:30:56.65
he's talking about this vision,
he says, "Understand, son of
man, that the vision refers to
00:30:56.75\00:31:00.96
[when?] the time of the end."
There's a clue. Clue number one.
Clue number two: Daniel 8:19,
00:31:01.06\00:31:09.23
Gabriel says, "For at the [what?
Stay with me. At the what?]
appointed time the end shall
00:31:09.33\00:31:16.37
be." When at the appointed time.
Now this is really remarkable.
No man knows the day or hour of
00:31:16.47\00:31:21.08
Jesus' return. We don't. But
there is some last-day event
that is appointed, already
00:31:21.18\00:31:27.88
scheduled. And if you and I go
to the New Testament tonight and
look at something Paul said, we
00:31:27.98\00:31:32.95
can read something that Daniel
couldn't because it hadn't been
written yet. Paul is speaking in
00:31:33.05\00:31:38.09
Acts chapter 17. It says, "[God]
He has appointed a day," He has
done what? Appointed a day, "on
00:31:38.19\00:31:45.03
which He will," do what? "Judge
the world in righteousness by
the Man Whom He has ordained."
00:31:45.13\00:31:50.87
What's already been appointed?
The judgement. Does this
prophecy have something to do
00:31:50.97\00:31:58.78
with judgement hour? Maybe. Clue
number three: "He said to me,
'For two thousand three hundred
00:31:58.88\00:32:05.29
days, then the sanctuary shall
be [what?] cleansed.'" There's
an important clue in there. What
00:32:05.39\00:32:12.36
does it mean to cleanse the
sanctuary? Well, if you don't
know, you have to go to the rest
00:32:12.46\00:32:17.43
of the Bible and read the whole
Book. And what we need to do is
go and research the sanctuary
00:32:17.53\00:32:22.70
and look for the cleansing of
the sanctuary. And what we are
about to look at - follow me
00:32:22.80\00:32:29.64
very carefully. What we are
about to look at is one of the
most important keys for
00:32:29.74\00:32:35.58
unlocking the book of
Revelation, bar none. You don't
want to miss this. The sanctuary
00:32:35.68\00:32:41.02
was a portable tabernacle that
the Israelites carried with them
through the wilderness as
00:32:41.12\00:32:47.13
they're leaving Egypt and going
to the Promised Land. And that
sanctuary, that portable tent,
00:32:47.23\00:32:51.50
is the centre of worship. And
every time they stopped
travelling, they would set it
00:32:51.60\00:32:56.87
up. And the Bible says the
presence of God was going with
them through the wilderness, and
00:32:56.97\00:33:01.04
when they set it up, the
presence of God would come down
into the tabernacle and they
00:33:01.14\00:33:05.05
would pitch their tents all
around it. In later years, this
tabernacle was replaced by the
00:33:05.15\00:33:10.39
temple in Jerusalem. Some people
have been wondering, "When's the
temple going to start showing up
00:33:10.49\00:33:14.46
in all this?" Here we go. It's
going to start showing up now.
The sanctuary, the tabernacle,
00:33:14.56\00:33:20.13
was a very special building,
because it was not actually
designed by an Israelite.
00:33:20.23\00:33:24.63
Uh-ugh-ugh. It wasn't. It was
designed by God Himself. When
Moses had the sanctuary
00:33:24.73\00:33:31.21
assembled, he wasn't allowed to
just build whatever he wanted.
Moses couldn't say, "Oh, Lord,
00:33:31.31\00:33:36.54
if you want a church, I'll just
build something. We'll come up
with something nice." Uh-ugh. He
00:33:36.64\00:33:41.52
couldn't build what he wanted;
God gave him blue prints.
Hebrews 8 verse 5: "For He [God]
00:33:41.62\00:33:46.52
said [to Moses], 'See that you
make all things according to the
pattern shown you on the
00:33:46.62\00:33:53.29
mountain.'" Moses couldn't just
build any old tabernacle he
wanted. He had to follow an
00:33:53.40\00:33:58.43
exact pattern. Why? God wouldn't
be happy with something we built
to His glory? Sure, He would;
00:33:58.53\00:34:05.27
but this was special. The
sanctuary was not just a
building; it was also a
00:34:05.37\00:34:12.31
prophecy. It was a prophecy.
Everything in that tabernacle,
everything in that sanctuary,
00:34:12.38\00:34:17.92
pointed forward to some aspect
of Jesus' ministry, absolutely
everything. It was a sanctuary
00:34:18.02\00:34:23.19
with a courtyard around it. And
out in the courtyard, they had a
big altar known as the Altar of
00:34:23.29\00:34:30.20
Burnt Offering. And they would
take little animals and a lot of
lambs and they would confess
00:34:30.30\00:34:35.50
their sins over the lamb and it
would be slain and offered on
that altar. And the lambs
00:34:35.60\00:34:40.54
pointed forward to Who? Pointed
forward to Jesus. The Altar of
Burnt Offering points us forward
00:34:40.64\00:34:46.51
to the cross of Calvary where
the Lamb of God would give His
life for the sins of the world.
00:34:46.61\00:34:51.59
The next thing that you would
come to as you came in from this
direction, you would come to
00:34:51.69\00:34:56.59
this big washbasin. It was known
as the laver. And the priests
could not go inside the temple
00:34:56.69\00:35:02.76
where the presence of God was
unless they washed in that
laver. And that laver points us
00:35:02.86\00:35:08.60
to the cleansing Jesus offers us
so that you and I can be made
fit to step back into the
00:35:08.70\00:35:14.01
presence of God. Jesus says - or
Paul said, rather, "You are
washed, you are sanctified, you
00:35:14.11\00:35:20.78
are justified in the Name of the
Lord Jesus." We read in First
John 1 verse 9, "If we confess
00:35:20.88\00:35:25.92
our sins, He is faithful and
just to forgive us our sins and
to cleanse us from all
00:35:26.02\00:35:31.56
unrighteousness." That points to
the cleansing we have because
Jesus gave His life at the cross
00:35:31.66\00:35:36.60
of Calvary. Now, that's out in
the courtyard. We'll move inside
the tabernacle, and everything
00:35:36.70\00:35:41.20
in there points to Jesus too. It
had two rooms. The big room on
the right was called the Holy
00:35:41.30\00:35:47.21
Place, and the priests went in
there all the time. Behind a big
veil, there was the Most Holy
00:35:47.31\00:35:53.31
Place, and the high priest only
went in there once a year. Now,
everything inside here is also a
00:35:53.42\00:35:59.82
prophecy of Jesus. There is a
seven-branched candlestick with
seven branches, just like the
00:35:59.92\00:36:07.86
one you read about in the book
of Revelation, hint hint hint.
It is the only source of light
00:36:07.96\00:36:12.57
inside the tabernacle. That's
it. And at one of the festivals
in Jerusalem., Jesus points to
00:36:12.67\00:36:16.97
the candlesticks and the sources
of light they have and He says,
"I am the Light of the world."
00:36:17.07\00:36:23.31
All points to Jesus. On the
other side of the room, we have
the table of show bread. It had
00:36:23.41\00:36:28.35
twelve loaves of bread: one for
every one of the tribes of
Israel. And isn't it
00:36:28.45\00:36:32.52
interesting, Jesus tells
everybody when He arrives, "I am
the Bread that came down from
00:36:32.62\00:36:36.66
heaven. I am the Bread of life."
It also points to Jesus. The
priest who came in points to
00:36:36.76\00:36:41.90
Jesus. The book of Hebrews calls
Him our High Priest, which means
that Jesus is not only the
00:36:42.00\00:36:47.40
sacrificial victim; He offers
Himself. "No man takes My life
from me, but I lay it down." And
00:36:47.50\00:36:53.24
He is the Priest and the Lamb.
The priest points to Jesus.
Right here, up against the
00:36:53.34\00:36:58.81
curtain, we have the altar of
burnt incense. And they would
mix sweet-smelling spices and
00:36:58.91\00:37:04.22
burn them, and the smoke would
go up over the veil into the
spot where the presence of God
00:37:04.32\00:37:09.26
would take up residence. And in
Revelation chapter 8, we read
that that represents the prayers
00:37:09.36\00:37:14.20
of God's people being mingled
with the righteousness of Jesus
so that even our prayers are
00:37:14.30\00:37:19.37
acceptable now before the throne
of God. Our hearts and minds are
so stained by sin, we're not
00:37:19.47\00:37:25.27
acceptable. But with Jesus'
righteousness blended in our
lives, our prayers are
00:37:25.37\00:37:29.68
acceptable before God. Behind
the veil is the Most Holy Place.
That's where they kept the ark
00:37:29.78\00:37:34.58
of the covenant. Everybody knows
about the ark of covenant
because Harrison Ford taught
00:37:34.68\00:37:38.35
everybody about the ark of the
covenant. He crashed a plane
this week; did you hear about
00:37:38.45\00:37:42.82
that? He lived. He's a real-life
Indiana Jones. He crashed it on
a golf course and walked away
00:37:42.92\00:37:48.13
from it. The Most Holy Place.
The ark of the covenant. The
golden chest. Inside, is a copy
00:37:48.23\00:37:55.50
of the Ten Commandments. On top
are two angels, cherubim. And
when they pitched camp - I'll
00:37:55.60\00:38:01.78
show you this more tomorrow
night - the presence of God
would take up residence. The
00:38:01.88\00:38:05.45
Shekinah glory, they called it,
right between those cherubim,
and He would communicate with
00:38:05.55\00:38:08.75
Moses from that spot. It
represents the throne of God.
Everything here points to Jesus.
00:38:08.85\00:38:18.66
That's why Moses didn't get to
design it. How would he know?
God designed it. And if you
00:38:18.76\00:38:25.80
study the Bible, you discover
that everything there was
actually - I mean, not only did
00:38:25.90\00:38:30.41
they have a blueprint - it was
actually a copy of something in
heaven. When the Bible talks
00:38:30.51\00:38:36.68
about the priests working in the
tabernacle in Hebrews 8 verse 5,
it says that they "serve the
00:38:36.78\00:38:41.58
copy and shadow of heavenly
things." In other words, the
place they worked in the
00:38:41.68\00:38:47.59
tabernacle was a copy and shadow
of heavenly things. It's a
shadow of something in heaven.
00:38:47.69\00:38:52.46
The earthly temple is a copy of
something in heaven. And if you
understand that, that the
00:38:52.56\00:38:59.70
sanctuary on earth is actually a
copy of something in heaven -
it's patterned after something
00:38:59.80\00:39:04.77
in heaven - then a lot of the
book of Revelation suddenly
falls open as plain as day. Let
00:39:04.87\00:39:10.95
me give you an example:
Revelation 11. It says: "Then
the temple of God was opened
00:39:11.05\00:39:15.55
[where? Where's that temple?] in
heaven, and the ark of His
covenant was seen in His
00:39:15.65\00:39:21.99
temple." Where? In heaven. There
may have been an ark of the
covenant on earth, but it
00:39:22.09\00:39:26.43
symbolizes the throne of God in
heaven. The sanctuary points us
to Jesus, and it points us to
00:39:26.53\00:39:32.87
what Jesus is now doing for us
in heaven. He didn't go on
vacation when He went back. He's
00:39:32.97\00:39:38.51
still representing us. Hebrews 8
verse 2: "We have such a High
Priest [that's Jesus], who is
00:39:38.61\00:39:44.41
set on the right hand of the
throne of the Majesty in the
heavens." Who is our Great High
00:39:44.51\00:39:48.75
Priest in that temple in heaven?
It is Jesus. Says it again. He
is a Minister. Watch this
00:39:48.85\00:39:56.09
carefully, Hebrews 8 verse 2. He
is a "Minister of the sanctuary,
and of the true tabernacle,
00:39:56.19\00:40:03.26
which the Lord erected, and not
man." Jesus is now in the real
One. Moses built a sanctuary on
00:40:03.37\00:40:09.47
earth based on the blueprints
God showed him, and the
Israelites erected it, but it
00:40:09.57\00:40:14.14
was a copy of one that God had
erected in heaven, and that's
where Jesus is the Real High
00:40:14.24\00:40:18.01
Priest. Everything that happened
on earth actually mirrors
something that happens in
00:40:18.11\00:40:22.52
heaven. And now I want you to
follow me very carefully because
this gets even more amazing. Not
00:40:22.62\00:40:28.19
only does the furniture point to
Jesus; everything they did
points to Jesus. They had seven
00:40:28.29\00:40:33.53
special festivals every single
year. How many did they have?
(Seven). What does the number
00:40:33.63\00:40:39.30
seven teach us? Completeness and
perfection. This is about to
show us a complete set of
00:40:39.40\00:40:46.78
something. All these festivals
or feasts all predicted the
ministry of Jesus. The whole
00:40:46.88\00:40:54.05
thing. Let's look at it. First
one every year was the passover.
They celebrated this in memory
00:40:54.15\00:40:59.39
of God delivering them out of
Egypt. They escaped from Egypt,
and they were all told, "Go get
00:40:59.49\00:41:04.46
a spotless lamb without
blemish." Points to Jesus, and
Jesus has no sin. And they
00:41:04.56\00:41:10.07
sacrifice it and they take -
they eat it and they put the
blood of that lamb on the
00:41:10.17\00:41:14.40
doorpost of their house so the
angel of death would pass over
their home and leave them alone.
00:41:14.50\00:41:18.87
This is Jesus giving His life at
the cross of Calvary so that we
don't have to pay the wages of
00:41:18.97\00:41:24.01
sin, which is death. It points
to Jesus. Paul writes in First
Corinthians 5, "Jesus, our
00:41:24.11\00:41:31.62
Passover, is sacrificed." On the
next day, the second day of the
Passover feast, they had a
00:41:31.72\00:41:37.26
festival they called the
Festival of Unleavened Bread,
and they had to go into their
00:41:37.36\00:41:41.56
houses and get rid of all the
yeast, all the leaven,
everything, any rising agent,
00:41:41.66\00:41:46.17
raising agent. What'd it be?
Rising or raising? Yeast. They
had to get rid of the yeast, the
00:41:46.27\00:41:51.84
leaven. Why? Because leaven in
the Bible is a symbol of sin.
"Beware the leaven of the
00:41:51.94\00:41:56.14
Pharisees," Jesus said. Paul
writes, "A little leaven [a
little sin left in your heart]
00:41:56.24\00:42:01.38
will leaven the whole lump."
It'll spread, just like yeast in
a lump of bread dough. They had
00:42:01.48\00:42:07.09
to go and get the sin, the
yeast, out of their house. Why?
Because if Jesus gives His life
00:42:07.19\00:42:10.73
for you, He cleanses you from
sin, and it doesn't have
anything to do with you anymore
00:42:10.83\00:42:14.10
as a Christian, a believer. Then
on the third day after the
Passover lamb is slain, on the
00:42:14.20\00:42:19.90
third day, they had a festival
called the festival of
Firstfruits. What did they do
00:42:20.00\00:42:23.81
that day? They went into the
fields and they looked for some
grain that was already ripe.
00:42:23.91\00:42:27.44
They looked very carefully
'cause it was early in the
season. And they found a sheaf
00:42:27.54\00:42:31.78
that was ripe and they went into
the presence of the Lord and
they waved it before the Lord.
00:42:31.88\00:42:37.32
It was called the wave sheaf
offering. Why did they do that?
Well, it was an act of faith.
00:42:37.42\00:42:43.89
They said, "We found some of the
harvest that is ripe already,
and we take it on faith that the
00:42:43.99\00:42:47.96
rest of the harvest will come."
What happens on the third day
after Jesus gives His life at
00:42:48.06\00:42:54.50
the cross? He rises from the
dead. Paul says in First
Corinthians 15, "Jesus is the" -
00:42:54.60\00:43:02.04
it's not accidental language -
"Jesus is the Firstfruits of
them that slept." And then he
00:43:02.14\00:43:08.78
says, "The rest of the harvest
will come when Jesus returns."
It points forward to the
00:43:08.88\00:43:14.36
resurrection of Jesus Christ.
This stuff, you can't fake. A
few weeks later, they had the
00:43:14.46\00:43:21.73
feast of Pentecost. It's also
known as the feast of Weeks.
This was a special celebration
00:43:21.83\00:43:26.27
to celebrate when Israel leaves
Egypt and arrives at Mount Sinai
on the fiftieth day. And what
00:43:26.37\00:43:32.57
happens on that day? Fire comes
down from God out of heaven on
top of Mount Sinai, and they
00:43:32.67\00:43:38.58
hear God speak His Ten
Commandment law. Now, there was
an old Jewish legend - this is
00:43:38.68\00:43:43.75
not in the Bible - there's an
old Jewish legend that was very
well-known in Jesus' day, that
00:43:43.85\00:43:48.96
when God spoke the Ten
Commandments from Mount Sinai,
they could be heard
00:43:49.06\00:43:52.13
simultaneously in every language
spoken on earth. Now, imagine
the people who all knew that
00:43:52.23\00:43:58.23
story arriving in the upper room
at the day of Pentecost when
fire traditionally fell on Mount
00:43:58.33\00:44:05.27
Sinai, and they see fire fall on
the heads of the disciples, and
they begin preaching the gospel
00:44:05.37\00:44:09.38
in every language of everybody
present. Pentecost pointed
forward to the beginning of the
00:44:09.48\00:44:16.12
Christian church. Then you had
summer. No feasts in the summer.
You have a long break. And then
00:44:16.22\00:44:25.19
in the fall, you had the feast
of Trumpets. They would blow
trumpets in the camp of Israel
00:44:25.29\00:44:28.93
to warn people, "You only have
ten days left to get things
right with God." Ten days left.
00:44:29.03\00:44:34.74
Why? Because the next festival,
the Day of Atonement, came ten
days later, and it was the most
00:44:34.84\00:44:40.28
solemn feast of the year. It was
known throughout the camp as the
day of judgement. You had to
00:44:40.38\00:44:47.48
have everything right with God
on that day or you were
permanently removed from the
00:44:47.58\00:44:51.09
camp of Israel, barred from the
Promised Land, permanently. Day
of judgement. And then came the
00:44:51.19\00:44:57.36
seventh and the last feast of
the year, the feast of
Tabernacles. What was that?
00:44:57.46\00:45:00.80
They were remembering God taking
them through the wilderness on
the way to the Promised Land
00:45:00.90\00:45:06.03
that God had kept His word and
delivered them to the Promised
Land. So they would go out
00:45:06.13\00:45:09.80
camping during the feast of
Tabernacles and live in huts or
tents or booths. It's also
00:45:09.90\00:45:14.61
called the Festival of Booths.
Now, what's really interesting
is that when you read the book
00:45:14.71\00:45:20.08
of Revelation in chapter 21,
after the second coming, the way
it describes our existence with
00:45:20.18\00:45:25.09
God, it says - revelation 21
verse 3 - "The tabernacle of God
is with men and He will dwell
00:45:25.19\00:45:30.73
with them." It was a festival
pointing forward to the day when
God will successfully bring us
00:45:30.83\00:45:36.93
home to the heavenly promised
land. It's the second coming of
Christ. Look at it. It's the
00:45:37.03\00:45:44.57
whole thing. The death, the
burial, the resurrection of
Jesus Christ. Pentecost, the
00:45:44.67\00:45:52.25
beginning of the Christian
church. Then you have a long
break between Pentecost and
00:45:52.35\00:45:56.82
trumpets, kind of like
historically, we've had a long
lull and a long period
00:45:56.92\00:46:02.02
throughout the Dark Ages. And
then a judgement warning,
"You've got a little bit of time
00:46:02.12\00:46:06.73
left," and then the judgement
day, then the second coming of
Christ. It's our whole history
00:46:06.83\00:46:13.90
predicted in advance already in
the Old Testament. You can't
make this up. Now, what does
00:46:14.00\00:46:22.41
that have to do with Daniel
chapter 8? Daniel 8 is pointing
us to the day of atonement. No
00:46:22.51\00:46:28.18
question about it. It's the most
solemn feast of all. It's the
hour of judgement and it was
00:46:28.28\00:46:34.06
also the day they cleansed the
sanctuary. All year long, people
would offer sacrifices. I would
00:46:34.16\00:46:40.33
confess my sins over a little
lamb. Symbolically - because the
book of Hebrews says those lambs
00:46:40.43\00:46:45.73
didn't save anybody; they were
symbols of Jesus. Symbolically,
my sins would be transferred to
00:46:45.83\00:46:50.91
the lamb, just like it says my
sins were heaped on Jesus at the
cross of Calvary. The lamb loses
00:46:51.01\00:46:55.84
its life, and they carried the
blood into the sanctuary. My
sins taken away from me. Jesus,
00:46:55.94\00:47:01.48
my Sin-bearer. But symbolically,
all those sins are going into
the sanctuary all year long.
00:47:01.58\00:47:07.26
I'll show you this more tomorrow
night. It says in the book of
Leviticus that once a year, they
00:47:07.36\00:47:13.26
had to make atonement for the
building, for the sanctuary
itself. Sin cannot stay in the
00:47:13.36\00:47:19.27
presence of God, even in that
symbolic setting. So once a
year, they had a special
00:47:19.37\00:47:22.80
ceremony where they would
cleanse the whole sanctuary. And
it was the day of judgement.
00:47:22.90\00:47:30.35
Leviticus 23. "Also, the tenth
day of the seventh month shall
be the Day of Atonement." It's
00:47:30.45\00:47:36.62
called Yom Kippur. "It shall be
a holy convocation for you. You
shall afflict your souls, for
00:47:36.72\00:47:41.82
any person who is not afflicted
in soul on that same day shall
be cut off from his people."
00:47:41.92\00:47:46.26
Last warning, judgement hour.
This was your last chance to get
things right with God. Because
00:47:46.36\00:47:52.33
when this season, when this day
was over, if you were not right
with God, you were removed from
00:47:52.43\00:47:57.21
the camp forever. The Jews had a
habit - some still do in some
circles to this day - of
00:47:57.31\00:48:04.61
greeting each other on that day
by saying, "May your name be
written in the books." Now let's
00:48:04.71\00:48:10.09
go back to Daniel 8 and think
about this. Here were the clues
we gathered: It had something to
00:48:10.19\00:48:15.02
with the time of the end; had
something to do with an
appointed time; and it was a
00:48:15.12\00:48:20.46
prophecy about when the
sanctuary would be cleansed. We
looked at that, right? We've
00:48:20.56\00:48:25.73
discovered that the prophecy
says it would be twenty-three
hundred days, Gabriel said, 'til
00:48:25.83\00:48:31.24
an appointed time. And Paul says
the judgement is at an appointed
time. We saw that the sanctuary
00:48:31.34\00:48:40.92
would be cleansed after
twenty-three hundred days. We
also saw the cleansing of the
00:48:41.02\00:48:44.95
sanctuary in the Old Testament
was a day of judgement. Starting
to get a sense of what's going
00:48:45.05\00:48:50.26
on here? Starting to sense a
theme? Daniel 8 and the
twenty-three hundred days are
00:48:50.36\00:48:56.30
talking about earth's final
judgement hour. No question
about it. Daniel 7 actually
00:48:56.40\00:49:03.94
describes the judgement itself.
Now, Daniel 7 - we're going to
see it - has the same
00:49:04.04\00:49:08.94
progressions of kingdoms: Rome -
or Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece,
Rome. But before the second
00:49:09.04\00:49:16.79
coming, it inserts a description
of the judgement. Here's what it
says, verse 9: "I watched 'til
00:49:16.89\00:49:22.26
thrones were put in place, and
the Ancient of Days was seated;
His garment was white as snow,
00:49:22.36\00:49:27.23
and the hair of His head was
like pure wool." "His throne was
like a fiery flame, its wheels a
00:49:27.36\00:49:33.03
burning fire; a fiery stream
issued and came forth from
before Him. A thousand thousands
00:49:33.13\00:49:38.77
ministered to Him. Ten thousand
times ten thousand stood before
Him. In the book of Revelation,
00:49:38.87\00:49:44.25
you find out, that's how many
angels there are. "The court was
seated, and the books were
00:49:44.35\00:49:49.48
opened." Now, ask yourself this:
judgement sits, God is
all-knowing. Why does He need
00:49:49.58\00:49:55.86
books? Doesn't God know
everything? Sure, He does. But
is there anybody in that
00:49:55.96\00:50:03.06
judgement scene that doesn't
know everything? Sure. Angels
are not omniscient. And the
00:50:03.16\00:50:09.90
Bible teaches that angels are
fascinated by what's going on
with us as God is preparing to
00:50:10.01\00:50:15.21
take us home. They're fascinated
with the story of salvation.
Peter says that the plan of
00:50:15.31\00:50:20.45
salvation is something the
angels desire to look into. They
study it. Paul says that "we
00:50:20.55\00:50:26.76
have been made a spectacle to
the world, both to angels and to
men." They're watching us. Why?
00:50:26.86\00:50:32.93
They watched a lot of angels get
kicked out of heaven for
sinning, and now God's going to
00:50:33.03\00:50:37.40
bring us home. God knows
everything. He knows exactly
what's going on, but angels
00:50:37.50\00:50:41.57
don't know everything. "Ooh, He
kicked all the fallen angels
out, and now He's going to bring
00:50:41.67\00:50:45.07
these people here." Do you
suppose they might have the odd
question? So God calls the
00:50:45.17\00:50:50.98
judgement because He's always
been open. He gives us a book
called Revelation, and He opens
00:50:51.08\00:50:54.68
the books of heaven for the
angels. "Go ahead, have a look.
I'm afraid of nothing." Do you
00:50:54.78\00:51:00.19
know what it means, though? Your
name will come up. How do I
know? Paul says, "For we must
00:51:00.29\00:51:09.56
all appear [no exceptions]
before the judgement seat of
Christ, that each one may
00:51:09.66\00:51:14.80
receive the things done in the
body, according to what he has
done, whether good or bad."
00:51:14.90\00:51:20.81
Romans 14, Paul says, "For we
shall all [how many? Getting
quiet], all stand before the
00:51:20.91\00:51:27.65
judgement seat of Christ."
Ecclesiastes 12, "For God will
bring every work into judgement
00:51:27.75\00:51:32.92
[how many? Every work into
judgement], including every
secret thing, whether good or
00:51:33.02\00:51:39.19
evil." Here's the bad news: your
name's going to come up in
judgement. That's not good. But
00:51:39.29\00:51:53.94
there is good news. Jesus is
actually the judge. Jesus said,
"For the Father judges no one,
00:51:54.04\00:52:01.38
but has committed all judgement
to the Son." How can you lose if
the Judge gave His life for you?
00:52:01.48\00:52:10.33
You can't lose. There's even
more good news. Not only is
Jesus the judge, the Bible says,
00:52:10.43\00:52:16.03
He's also the defence attorney.
"If anyone sins," John writes,
"we have an Advocate," that's a
00:52:16.13\00:52:21.04
lawyer, "with the Father, Jesus
Christ the Righteous." You can't
lose in the judgement if the
00:52:21.14\00:52:29.68
Judge is the Defence Attorney
and He gave His life for you. If
you have Jesus, you can't lose
00:52:29.78\00:52:35.72
here. It's stacked in your
favour. He has stacked it all in
your favour. He has given His
00:52:35.82\00:52:41.22
life, He has poured Himself out,
to stack the whole judgement in
your favour, because He misses
00:52:41.32\00:52:46.09
you. He loves you. He wants you
there. God's not trying to keep
people out of His kingdom; He's
00:52:46.19\00:52:53.44
trying to get them in, so He
stacks it in your favour. Jesus
is righteous. "I won't make it.
00:52:53.54\00:52:59.07
I'm scared of the judgement."
You're right; you won't. But
Jesus will, and He's your
00:52:59.17\00:53:04.31
Substitute. He's your Saviour,
and He stands there in your
place. Jesus will go through
00:53:04.41\00:53:10.52
that. And if you have Him, you
can't lose. But if you don't
have Him, why don't you have
00:53:10.62\00:53:14.82
Him? You wan to go there alone?
Two thousand three hundred days,
the sanctuary will be
00:53:14.92\00:53:22.50
cleansed. Is God trying to tell
us something about the
judgement? Yeah, absolutely. The
00:53:22.60\00:53:27.70
warning goes out, the judgement
begins, and then Jesus comes.
Sometime before Jesus comes, the
00:53:27.80\00:53:33.21
world will actually know that
the judgement is underway. What?
Yeah. There's a final message
00:53:33.31\00:53:39.48
that goes to the world,
Revelation 14. "Then I saw
another angel flying in the
00:53:39.58\00:53:43.35
midst of heaven, having the
everlasting gospel to preach to
those who dwell on the earth -
00:53:43.45\00:53:47.72
to every nation, tribe, tongue,
and people, saying with a loud
voice, 'Fear God and give glory
00:53:47.82\00:53:55.10
to Him, for the hour of His
judgement [is coming? Uh-ugh,
already here] has come.'" The
00:53:55.20\00:54:04.94
world finds out before Jesus
comes that it's already
underway. At some point, the
00:54:05.04\00:54:12.55
world knows that it has moved
into the final judgement hour.
And when will we know that?
00:54:12.65\00:54:24.23
Tomorrow night. That wasn't
nice. We will pick it up. It's
all real. It's all happened. We
00:54:24.33\00:54:46.78
can go night after night after
night after night and you will
see that every prophecy has been
00:54:46.88\00:54:52.02
fulfilled. There's nothing in
the Bible that has not been
accurate. Earth moves to the
00:54:52.12\00:55:00.60
final judgement hour. We are
down at the end of time. And the
question I want you to think
00:55:00.70\00:55:09.20
about is this tonight: "Where
would I be without Jesus? Where
would I be?" And where would you
00:55:09.30\00:55:22.32
be with Jesus? He's the Lamb,
the Sacrifice for our sins.
"Behold the Lamb of God Who
00:55:22.42\00:55:30.59
takes away the sin of the
world." He's the priest who
offers the sacrifice Himself,
00:55:30.69\00:55:36.83
our Great High Priest. He's our
Judge. You know, that is
Daniel's name: "God is my
00:55:36.93\00:55:45.64
Judge." When you look at the
Bible record, it's so obvious
that God poured out everything
00:55:45.74\00:55:57.75
He had to make sure You would be
in His kingdom. He knows your
name. He's watched your life.
00:55:57.85\00:56:08.13
And He wants you home. He
doesn't lay all this out because
He's trying to keep us in the
00:56:08.23\00:56:17.64
dark. He lays it all out because
He's hoping you'll notice and
that you'll say, "My heart
00:56:17.74\00:56:25.11
belongs to Jesus."
00:56:25.21\00:56:27.68
Tonight, if your heart belongs
to Jesus, or you would like it
to, I would invite you to stand
00:56:29.98\00:56:39.83
with me as we close the meeting
in prayer. Father in heaven, we
have read that angels desire to
00:56:39.93\00:56:53.78
look into things. I know that at
this moment, they're looking
down on this auditorium and
00:56:53.88\00:57:00.72
smiling. These are the ones
Jesus died for. They'll be
coming home. Lord, we want to
00:57:00.82\00:57:11.13
trust Jesus. We recognize that
without Him, we would never make
it; we could never face a
00:57:11.23\00:57:16.60
judgement hour in front of the
throne of God, but there is
Jesus, God in human flesh,
00:57:16.70\00:57:23.00
representing us. And through
Him, we can have eternal life.
We want Jesus. We love Jesus.
00:57:23.10\00:57:32.41
And our prayer is that He would
come quickly. For tonight, we
pray it in Jesus' name, amen.
00:57:32.51\00:57:43.09
Today you have watched just one
in a series of "Revelation
Speaks Peace" presentations.
00:57:44.49\00:57:48.83
The entire series is available
on DVD. Find out how you can
order a copy at www.vop.com/rsp
00:57:48.93\00:57:56.91
Or Call.. 877-955-2525 Or if you
wish you may request the series
by writing to Voice of Prophecy
00:57:57.01\00:58:06.72
PO Box 999 Loveland, CO 80539
00:58:06.82\00:58:12.35
Order the entire
Revelation Speaks Peace series
00:58:12.35\00:58:15.29
from the Voice of Prophecy. 24
powerful episodes on DVD. Pastor
00:58:15.39\00:58:21.40
Shawn Boonstra will clearly
unlock prophecies in Daniel and
Revelation -- using the Bible as
00:58:21.43\00:58:27.64
the key. Experience hope for
your future. Decode secrets of
prophecy in episodes, such as A
00:58:27.70\00:58:34.81
New World Order, The Ultimate
Mind Game, and How to Postpone
Your Funeral. The world is
00:58:34.84\00:58:39.35
changing so quickly. Learn how
to read Bible prophecy for
yourself! With the complete DVD
00:58:39.41\00:58:47.56
series "Revelation Speaks Peace"
You can also find answers to
life's toughest questions, by
00:58:47.62\00:58:54.36
ordering Voice of Prophecy's
free Discover Bible Guides.
00:58:54.36\00:58:58.13
We'll take you
step by step to what you
00:58:59.07\00:59:00.30
care about most. Study online,
or have us send them strait to
your mail box.  To order your
00:59:00.97\00:59:06.51
DVD set or Discover Bible Guides
go to www.vop.com/rsp, again
that's www.vop.com/rsp or call
00:59:06.57\00:59:17.59
877-955-2525. You may also send
us a request by mail to: Voice
of Prophecy PO Box 999 Loveland,
00:59:17.65\00:59:27.76
CO 80539
00:59:27.83\00:59:30.57
+
00:59:32.40\00:59:33.34