Future Seen

Daniel 7:1-14

February 20, 2022

Read Daniel 12:1-4

One may think that in the way I present this lesson today, that

there is no rhyme or reason in my approach. Perhaps it is in a sort of spiritual

concentrate like apple or orange juice concentrate at the grocery where you

buy a can and just add water. It has been boiled down and thickened to the

pure stuff. Somewhere in this lesson today there is Pure Truth!

I do not mean to be arrogant here in my asumption, but I do believe that in my

limited capacity to deal with the latter half of Daniel, that the

Holy Spirit of God can and will, to any truly interested party, open up

truths to the benefit of you personally, whether of salvation to your soul,

and enlightenment to what God had revealed unto us about His Great

Scheme of things.

The mass that had formed the great image in the dream of Nebuchadnezzar,

though it had been gold, silver, brass, and iron, yet was so ground down —

had become reduced to particles so small, that the

wind carried them away. So scattered were they that they collected in no

special place, so that one could say, “This is the image.” The figure is still

that of the threshing-floor; the wind, blowing on the grain that is lifted up

before it, carries away the chaff, but, search as one may, the chaff, once

blown away, cannot be found. A more remarkable thing now takes place

— the stone that, bounding down the mountainside, had smitten the image

on the feet, so that it fell and became as dust, now grows apace,

overtopping the utmost height the image had attained, overtopping the

mountain from which it had been cut. Not only did it grow in height, but,

as it increased in height, its base broadened till the whole earth was filled

with it. There seems to be a reference here to Isaiah 2:2, “The mountain

of the Lord’s house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and

shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.” As the

monarch gazes in his dream, the change is completed, the huge image, with

its glittering head and gleaming breast, its polished thighs and legs of iron,

its unseemly feet that inspired terror by its very appearance, had utterly

disappeared, and its place was occupied by a mountain, huge but peaceful,

on which the flocks might browse and trees might grow. To the

translator the picture evidently present was that of a stone descending from

the mountain, and increasing in momentum as it descends; but this stone

further increases in size, till before its tremendous strokes and rebounds the

very solid earth quakes.

Daniel’s vision was much like Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.

In it God reveals to Daniel the inward character and the true nature

of these kingdoms that are like wild beasts, carnivorous in nature

and destructive killers.

Two modern songs express to me the ephemeral nature of man:
 
One is Help by the Beatles and the other is Dust in The Wind by Kansas
 
Help, I need somebody
Help, not just anybody
Help, you know I need someone, help
 
When I was younger, so much younger than today
I never needed anybody's help in any way
But now these days are gone, I'm not so self assured
Now I find I've changed my mind and opened up the doors
 
Help me if you can, I'm feeling down
And I do appreciate you being round
Help me, get my feet back on the ground
Won't you please, please help me
 
And now my life has changed in oh so many ways
My independence seems to vanish in the haze
But every now and then I feel so insecure
I know that I just need you like I've never done before
 
Help me if you can, I'm feeling down
And I do appreciate you being round
Help me, get my feet back on the ground
Won't you please, please help me
 
When I was younger, so much younger than today
I never needed anybody's help in any way
But now these days are gone, I'm not so self assured
Now I find I've changed my mind and opened up the doors
 
Help me if you can, I'm feeling down
And I do appreciate you being round
Help me, get my feet back on the ground
Won't you please, please help me, help me, help me, oh!
 
 
 Dust in the Wind
 by Kansas
 
Thought this was interesting that the genre of Dust in the Wind is 
Progressive Rock The Beatles genre was Rock and Roll
 
 
I close my eyes, only for a moment, and the moment's gone (On the ephemeral nature of man)
All my dreams pass before my eyes, a curiosity
Dust in the wind
All they are is dust in the wind
 
Same old song, just a drop of water in an endless sea
All we do crumbles to the ground though we refuse to see
Dust in the wind
All we are is dust in the wind
Oh, ho, ho (like Lennon’s oh!)
 
Now, don't hang on, nothing lasts forever but the earth and sky
It slips away
And all your money won't another minute buy
Dust in the wind
All we are is dust in the wind
All we are is dust in the wind
Dust in the wind
Everything is dust in the wind
Everything is dust in the wind
The wind 

John 3:16

 "Where The Soul Of Man Never Dies"

William M. Golden

Copyright date

1914

Language

English

Golden published the hymn "To Canaan's Land I'm on My Way" in 1914, with the

subtitle "Where the Soul Never Dies". It has been published in hymnals under both

names, but "Where the Soul Never Dies" is how it is known today (or "Where the

Soul of Man Never Dies"). R.E. Winsett must have purchased the song rights

as on some sheet music it says "copyright owned by R.E. Winsett".



NOTE: There is a different gospel song first recorded by the Carter Family in 1930

called I'm on My Way to Canaan's Land that Mahalia Jackson sang in the 1960

movie, Elmer Gantry.

Among hymnbooks published by members of the Lord’s church for use in churches

of Christ, “Where the Soul Never Dies” appeared in the 1940 Complete Christian Hymna

To Canaan's land I'm on my way
Where the soul (of man) never dies
My darkest night will turn to day
Where the soul (of man) never dies

No sad farewells
No tear dimmed eyes
Where all is love
And the soul never dies

Dear friends there'll be no sad farewells
There'll be no tear-dimmed eyes
Where all is peace and joy and love
And the soul of man never dies

The rose is blooming there for me
Where the soul (of man) never dies
And I will spend eternity
Where the soul (of man) never dies

The love light beams across the foam
Where the soul (of man) never dies
It shines and lights the way to home
Where the soul (of man) never dies

My life will end in deathless sleep
Where the soul (of man) never dies
And everlasting joys I'll reap
Where the soul (of man) never dies

I'm on my way to that fair land
Where the soul (of man) never dies
Where there will be no parting hand
Where the soul (of man) never dies

______________________________________________________________________---

Death is just the passing into life!

“Verily, Verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and

believeth on Him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and

shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death

unto life.” (John 5:24)

How confindent are you of this? Jesus said

Amen! Amen! - It is and it shall be! - when God says it

So be it! - when man says it

The opposite of ephemeral is permanent!

John 17

20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe

on me through their word;

21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee,

that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that

thou hast sent me.

22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they

may be one, even as we are one:

23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one;

and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved

them, as thou hast loved me.

24 Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me

where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given

me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.

John 10

27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:

28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish,

neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is

able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.

30 I and my Father are one.

John 3

16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,

that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have

everlasting life.”

Future Seen

“Known unto God are all His works from the beginning.” (Acts 15:18)

“Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do?” (Genesis 18:17)

I Corinthians 2:9-16

9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have

entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared

for them that love him.

10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit

searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man

which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but

the Spirit of God.

12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit

which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely

given to us of God.

13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom

teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual

things with spiritual.

14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God:

for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them,

because they are spiritually discerned.

14 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of

no man.

We live in a temporal world that is passing: 16 “For all that is in the world,

the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not

of the Father, but is of the world. 15 Love not the world, neither the things

that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is

not in him. 17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he

that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.” (I John 2:15-17)

Human history is headed somewhere, and every day is one day closer

to Christ’s return.

The dreams of Nebuchadnezzar and Daniel which we looked at last week,

gives us world history prewritten, history that is being followed right down

to the minutest detail, and this written over 2500 years ago.

The Book of Revelation follows up on it to where we are aware of what

God is doing in the world that leads up to His Everlasting Kingdom.

Luke 21:25-36

25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the

stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea

and the waves roaring;

26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those

things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven

shall be shaken.

27 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with

power and great glory.

28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift

up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.

29 And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the

trees;

30 When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves

that summer is now nigh at hand.

31 So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye

that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.

32 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be

fulfilled.

33 Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass

away.

34 And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be

overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life,

and so that day come upon you unawares.

35 For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the

whole earth.

36 Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted

worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to

stand before the Son of man.

We do not have eternity in our genes, else Jesus would not said “Ye must be

born again.” (John 3:7)

We do have eternity stamped upon our souls. That is true both for believing

sinners and non-believing sinners.

“This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent.”

(John 6:29)

John 6:37-40

37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that

cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.

38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the

will of him that sent me.

39 And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he

hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at

the last day.

40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth

the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will

raise him up at the last day.

It was certain that Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, by whom He made the

worlds, came into this world as a babe, grew up in boyhood into a man,

was perfect, sinless and “separate from sinners,” was crucified by mankind,

dying on a cross as the Lamb of God and a sin offering for mankind,

and was buried,. Death did not hold Him but He arose from the grave,

overcoming death, so that we too may do so, if we believe on Him.

He was seen of men for forty days and then ascended back into heaven,

from which He came, and there were two men, in white apparel, at the Ascension,

which asked the men of Galilee this question: “Why stand ye here gazing up

into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven,

shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven.”

(Acts 1:11)

It is certain that the return of Jesus Christ, the second time “without

sin unto salvation.” (Hebrews 9:28) He will part the sky and “every eye will

see Him” (Revelation 1:7)

Matthew 24:27-39

27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto

the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be

darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall

fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:

30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and

then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the

Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great

glory.

31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and

they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one

end of heaven to the other.

32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender,

and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:

33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is

near, even at the doors.

34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these

things be fulfilled.

35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass

away.

36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of

heaven, but my Father only.

37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of

man be.

38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and

drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe

entered into the ark,

39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so

shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

“To the solemn graves, near a lonely cemetery, my heart like a muffled

drum is beating funeral marches.” — Charles Baudelaire “

Hitherto is the end of the matter. As for me Daniel, my cogitations

much troubled me, and my countenance changed in me: but I kept

the matter in my heart.(Daniel 7:28)

· GOOD MEN ARE MORE CONCERNED FOR GOD’S CAUSE

THAN FOR ANY SELF-EXALTATION. Daniel was grieved in spirit, not

because of personal ill, nor from fear of the lions’ den, but because of the

obscurity of the vision; in other words, because of the uncertain fortune of

God’s kingdom. The symbol of the fourth beast seemed to betoken

disaster, suffering, yea, even destruction, for the people of God. That

under the violence of this unnatural monster the saints of the Most High

should be worn out with oppression, and that rude wickedness should

prevail; this distressed and overwhelmed the heart of Daniel.

Compare Ezekiel 9:4-6

4 And the LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the city,

through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads

of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be

done in the midst thereof.

5 And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through

the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity:

9:6 Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and

women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and

begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which

were before the house.

BAD MEN ARE NOT CONCERNED FOR GOD’S CAUSE UNTIL IT IS TOO

LATE!

Revelation 6:12-17

12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was

a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair,

and the moon became as blood;

13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth

her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.

587

14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and

every mountain and island were moved out of their places.

15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men,

and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman,

and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of

the mountains;

16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from

the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the

Lamb:

17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to

stand?