Prayer and the World

Dennis Tuuri

Outline: Daniel 8 1 In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar a vision appeared to me—to me, Daniel— after the one that appeared to me the first time. 2 I saw in the vision, and it so happened while I was looking, that I was in Shushan, the citadel, which is in the province of Elam ; and I saw in the vision that I was by the River Ulai. 3 Then I lifted my eyes and saw, and there, standing beside the river , was a ram which had two horns, and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher one came up last. 4 I saw the ram pushing westward, northward, and southward, so that no animal could withstand him; nor was there any that could deliver from his hand, but he did according to his will and became great. 5 And as I was considering, suddenly a male goat came from the west, across the surface of the whole earth, without touching the ground; and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes. 6 Then he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing beside the river, and ran at him with furious power. 7 And I saw him confronting the ram; he was moved with rage against him, attacked the ram, and broke his two horns. There was no power in the ram to withstand him, but he cast him down to the ground and trampled him; and there was no one that could deliver the ram from his hand. 8 Therefore the male goat grew very great ; but when he became strong, the large horn was broken, and in place of it four notable ones came up toward the four winds of heaven. 9 And out of one of them came a little horn which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the Glorious Land . 10 And it grew up to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and some of the stars to the ground, and trampled them . 11 He even exalted himself as high as the Prince of the host; and by him the daily sacrifices were taken away, and the place of His sanctuary was cast down. 12 Because of transgression, an army was given over to the horn to oppose the daily sacrifices; and he cast truth down to the ground. He did all this and prospered. 13 Then I heard a holy one speaking; and another holy one said to that certain one who was speaking, “How long will the vision be, concerning the daily sacrifices and the transgression of desolation, the giving of both the sanctuary and the host to be trampled underfoot ? ” 14 And he said to me, “For two thousand three hundred days ; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed.” 15 Then it happened, when I, Daniel, had seen the vision and was seeking the meaning, that suddenly there stood before me one having the appearance of a man. 16 And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of the Ulai, who called, and said, “Gabriel , make this man understand the vision.” 17 So he came near where I stood, and when he came I was afraid and fell on my face ; but he said to me, “Understand, son of man, that the vision refers to the time of the end.” 18 Now, as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep with my face to the ground; but he touched me, and stood me upright. 19 And he said, “Look, I am making known to you what shall happen in the latter time of the indignation; for at the appointed time the end shall be . 20 The ram which you saw, having the two horns— they are the kings of Media and Persia . 21 And the [shaggy] male goat is the kingdom of Greece . The large horn that is between its eyes is the first king. 22 As for the broken horn and the four that stood up in its place, four kingdoms shall arise out of that nation, but not with its power. 23 “And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors have reached their fullness , a king shall arise, having fierce features, who understands sinister schemes. 24 His power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; he shall destroy fearfully, and shall prosper and thrive; he shall destroy the mighty, and also the holy people. 25 “Through his cunning he shall cause deceit to prosper under his rule; and he shall exalt himself in his heart. he shall destroy many in their prosperity. he shall even rise against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without human means. 26 “And the vision of the evenings and mornings which was told is true; therefore seal up the vision , for it refers to many days in the future. ” 27 And I, Daniel, fainted and was sick for days; afterward I arose and went about the king’s business . I was astonished by the vision, but no one understood it. Questions from Daniel 8 for Young Hearers 1. Name the animals in this vision. ___ ___ ___ and ___ ___ ___ ___. 2. These are ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ animals. 3. This is why this chapter is written in ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___. 3. What empire did the first represent? ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___. 4. What empire did the second represent? ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___. 5. ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ was head of this last one. 6. The ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ are the 4 winds of heaven. 7. The ___ ___ ___ ___ were the heavenly people. 8. The Greek little horn was ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ 9. He was the ___ ___ ___ ___ of the ___ ___ ___ ___ ___. 10. Much later, the ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ would be the little horn. 11. The Temple was to be a ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ of ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ for the nations, to keep them from going bad. 12. Who told Gabriel to tell Daniel the meaning? ___ ___ ___ ___ ___. 13. When he was ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___, Daniel raised up. 14. The ram, goat and little horn all became ___ ___ ___ ___ ___. 15.The ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ of ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ is this text’s heart. 16. We are delivered ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ death, not from it. 17. Raised up, we are to do the ___ ___ ___ ___’ ___ business! Daniel 8 Prayer and the World Sermon Outline for November 14, 2004 by Pastor Dennis R. Tuuri Hebrews Intro (1) Aramaic Sections (2-7) Hebrew Section (8-12) VIII. Vision of two kingdoms (8) Don’t Steal IX. Vision of seventy weeks (9) Faithful, not False, witness X. Vision of two Kingdoms (10-12) Horrors of Coveting Notes on the Text 1. Chapters 2, 7, 8 and 10-12 are linked, and show more and more detail of Daniel’s future. 2. There are 3 time markers in this chapter, in verses 14, 19, 26 3. There are three successive rulers pictured – ram, goat and little horn - representing Persia , Greece and Antochus IV (Epiphanes, the “King of the North” in Chapter 11). The little horn also refers to the Herods in the time of our Savior. 4. The future is looking grim for Daniel, who is cast to the ground with the heavenly people. 5. The ultimate “blame” for these events does not go to the Greeks or the Romans, or Antiochus, but to apostate Jews. When they stop praying/sacrificing for the nations, the nations go to seed. Prayer/worship and witness go hand in hand. CRE Meorial on Worhsip: 5. We believe that worship changes us and the world. We are transformed by the grace of God’s presence, and leave with a renewed sense of, and commitment to, mission, discipleship, and community. Biblical worship results in changed lives, Spirit-empowerment, and impacts the world for Christ. Further, God is pleased to hear and answer our prayers, particularly those that ascend in the Lord’s Day worship of the Church. He hears our prayers for the nations and makes manifest His Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. 6. The apostate Jews in the time of Antiochus are Jason and Menelaus, who committed the “apostasy that caused desolation” by kicking out the legitimate Zadokite High Priest (Onias III) and later, the Maccabees, who refused to bring back his son, Onias IV, and instead established the Hasmonean Kingdom. Later, Pompey and the Roman Senate would make Herod, a circumcised Edomite the King of the Jews. 7. Like Daniel, we are to be humble, trusting God for the future, seeking to minister to the world through prayer and service, trusting Him to bring us through death to resurrection life, in which we go about the King’s business. The Little Horn 23 “And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors have reached their fullness , a king shall arise , having fierce features, who understands sinister schemes. 24 His power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; he shall destroy fearfully, and shall prosper and thrive; he shall destroy the mighty, and also the holy people. 25 “Through his cunning he shall cause deceit to prosper under his rule; and he shall exalt himself in his heart. he shall destroy many in their prosperity. he shall even rise against the Prince of princes ; but he shall be broken without human means.