Things to Come

Daniel 8:9-18

And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land.And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them.

Now, this little horn came out of the beast from the west. Therefore, it stretched southward, eastward, "and toward the pleasant land." I am not sure where these are located, but I do know it speaks of something very unpleasant and possibly distressing to those that bear witness to it. The waxing great is emphasized as King Belshazzar did; Isaiah 14:12-14 says he exalted himself as did the fallen son of the morning. This disorder reaches even towards the angels as the stars and to the throne of God itself. So much so, Revelation 12:7 speaks of the war in Heaven to come as Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and his to subdue them. A third of the stars at that time fell with him also. The text here says, he "cast down some of the host" from Heaven "and stamped upon them" thus extinguishing their light. This, I believe, is the mortal foe spoken of as that serpent. In the Garden of Eden, he began his slow creep towards the people of God. It fits, does it not? For if Jesus is the embodiment of God made flesh, would not the little horn be the final manifestation of this winged goat? "Out of one of them" sounds just like the demon possessed man among the tombs of Mark 5:2-8. He proclaimed did his name was "Legion, for we are many." Just as there are many horns with one ruler to dominate, so there are many who have followed Satan's command even unto the angels themselves which fell.

Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of the sanctuary was cast down.And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised, and prospered.

The vision recorded elsewhere of the evening and the morning should be here. We can see in greater detail exactly what happened through this text. Could not this be the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet and referenced in Matthew 24:15-22. This is typically, as Jesus points out, the time when everyone else flees. Daniel got very ill and called out of work. You ought to submit your responses to things that happen to the Lord. You do not yet understand everything in this life. There may be some things God has in store which will be worked out at that time. When this occurred, there was no daily sacrifice nor even a place of sanctuary. Can you understand now why Jesus said for those living in the region to flee to the hills where he would be their sanctuary. That was where they ought to have gone to begin with, rather than researching how to bring the temple back and visiting the wailing wall. Right now, the ruin of the wall is their only place of sanctuary. Can it be that God has to allow these things to happen to bring restoration.

In this text there is a return spoken of only for a final destruction to occur. God should have been their sacrifice and their place of refuge all along. Matthew 23:37-39 shows God as a mother hen lamenting how its' chicks would not follow under her wings. Thus, we see God's heart towards the people is kind. For the rest of these, by reason of rebellion, witchcraft followed and prospered. How many of you know that rejection of the truth always allows bad things to follow according to 1 Samuel 15:23. Even though the truth has been cast to the ground, it will still practice and prosper. Evil might be practicing and prospering also. However, if there was ever a time of the underground church, this is it. These, of Matthew 13:27-30, are among the host that practice evil to be trodden underfoot. They will both grow together until the end when God sends his angels to reap the harvest. We see that even in the darkest days there is still the light of God.

Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot?And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.

For this time have 2,300 days been appointed for the unmaking to occur. Then shall the time of the end come. I just want to visit Revelation for a little while to check on how things are going. At this time, we could all use some encouragement. See how God does. Time means nothing to him. He is the same God for all time who does whatever pleases him. Whether that be to reign on this earth or to walk among his people, all of history echoes with the footsteps of God. So, if you should hear ancient Chaldean spoken in Heaven, fear not. It is his right for our good and for his glory. Was it not for this cause that he was sent. This is why all of Heaven praises and serves him for all of eternity. How could you not praise someone who uses the devices of the enemy to prosper against them. How can you not praise someone who has been long-suffering towards the people of wickedness so that some might come to him. The love and the heart of the Father is on display here. There will be a lot of different people we will find in Heaven on that day. There will be those you never expected to see there. Then only thing we will care about is being in Jesus' presence; we will have overcome by the blood of the Lamb and our testimony. Is it not his house? It will not be destroyed, nor will it suffer loss unlike the things of this world. We see a transition here from the things of this world unto those of the eternal.

And it came to pass, when I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision, and sought for the meaning, then, behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man.And I heard a man's voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision.

See here, someone else was sent by the name of Gabriel to speak to Daniel regarding the truth of the vision. I would like to take this opportunity to point out that Gabriel is the messenger of choice only in certain instances. For example, Luke 1:26-38 tells of the angel that came to Mary to announce the Savior's birth. Gabriel seems to be used when someone else is temporarily unavailable. Further on in the texts of Daniel, we see the messenger of his vision had been temporarily detained. For now, he heard only a man's voice that came from "between the riverbanks." Here we see the ram is down but not destroyed. There is shelter to be found. This is not the end but rather a resting place as was foretold in Psalm 110:1. Such a place could be where your Lord said to my Lord, 'sit here "until I make your enemies your footstool.'" The more I see of this book the more everything becomes clear. Through repetition and building upon themes and concepts we see how simple everything really is. It is man and Satan who makes it complex. They get to wondering if God really said as in Genesis 3:1; soon they are not really sure what he was trying to say at all.

So he came near where I stood: and when he came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face: but he said unto me, Understand, O son of man: for at the time of the end shall be the vision.Now as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep on my face toward the ground: but he touched me, and set me upright.

May I suggest that Daniel needed to be set upright because he had fallen asleep and might come to hurt. Not only was this necessary but it was also done so he could better understand the meaning of the vision still to come. Sometimes when we are asleep, it interferes with our understanding of what God is trying to tell us. We might forget or dream again. Notice the care had for this man here. He could have been left in the vision, asleep, and laying on the ground. But, unlike Satan, God cares for his people. Throughout history as John 10:10 states, we see Satan has come to steal, kill, and destroy. His people are just like him. His works they do according to John 8:44. God, on the other hand, has such tender care for his creatures. Even in a vision, so terrible was the sight of it, he would not allow Daniel to come to any hurt. Just as God is in 1 John 1:5, so are his servants. Gabriel was sent from above to minister unto Daniel. So, as he approached, we see Daniel beginning to fear. Fear is a common experience for mortals in the presence of God's holiness and his messengers. So holy and just is the presence of God that any serving him must be likewise cleansed as seen in Isaiah 6:5-8. Because of Daniel's fear, he fell on his face. The other thing to be seen is that this angel will not allow worship of himself nor any other than God as seen in Revelation 22:9.