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This podcast is a production of Watermark Community Church in Dallas, Texas, USA. Watermark exists to be and make more fully devoted followers of Christ, looking to God's Word as our only authority, conscience and guide.
Hey, the good news is everything is fine. I just felt a need to start getting you ready for the rapture. In that scenario, y'all got left behind. So, let's talk about eschatology today. Here's the reality. We're talking about eschatology, which is the study of final things. It's the study of end times. We had options. I realized in the Year of the Word, journeying through the Bible in a year, there are really two times during the year that it would make sense to talk about eschatology.
One would be now, after we just finished reading through the book of Daniel. The other option would be to just wait and talk about it when we get to the book of Revelation. We will hit Revelation on Christmas Eve. So, we can either do it now or then. If you want to wait until then, you can bring your kids in here, and I'll tell them the sweet Christmas story from Revelation 12 of the dragon trying to eat the woman's baby, and we'll all have a merry Christmas.
We're going to talk about eschatology today, the study of final things, the study of the end times. If you have a Bible, I want to invite you to turn with me to Daniel, chapter 7. If you read through the book of Daniel this past week because you're on the Journey with us, then as you were reading the first six chapters, and if you're one of those people who really grew up in the church, then at some point during the first six chapters, you probably started hearing that VeggieTales song in your head: "The bunny, the bunny. Ooh, I love the bunny." If you don't know what I'm talking about, you really didn't grow up in the church.
The first six chapters are famous stories, like Daniel in the lions' den, but then you get to chapter 7, and it's a pivot in the book. The last six chapters of Daniel are apocalyptic literature. Now, what's apocalyptic literature? I like how Gregg Allison defines it. He says it's a genre of Scripture that's characterized by mysterious symbols, bizarre dreams, and exotic visions, often given by angels, of blessing and judgment awaiting future fulfillment. So, here's what I want to do. I want to read to you the first 14 verses of Daniel, chapter 7. Then we're going to pray, and then we're going to talk about it. Here we go.
**"In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel saw a dream and visions of his head as he lay in his bed. Then he wrote down the dream and told the sum of the matter. Daniel declared, 'I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea. And four great beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another.**
**The first was like a lion and had eagles' wings. Then as I looked its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man, and the mind of a man was given to it. And behold, another beast, a second one, like a bear. It was raised up on one side. It had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth; and it was told, "Arise, devour much flesh." After this I looked, and behold, another, like a leopard, with four wings of a bird on its back. And the beast had four heads, and dominion was given to it.**
**After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth; it devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. I considered the horns, and behold, there came up among them another horn, a little one, before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots. And behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things.**
**As I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days took his seat; his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames; its wheels were burning fire. A stream of fire issued and came out from before him; a thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him; the court sat in judgment, and the books were opened.**
**I looked then because of the sound of the great words that the horn was speaking. And as I looked, the beast was killed, and its body destroyed and given over to be burned with fire. As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.**
**I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.'"**
Let's pray together. I just want to give you a moment to pray and ask God to speak to you this morning. Then, if you'll just pray for the people around you, your family, friends, and other people in the room. Just ask God to speak clearly to them. Then, I want to ask you to pray for me and ask God to speak through me to you.
Lord, thank you that you've given us your Word. Holy Spirit, you're welcome here. I want to ask and pray that you would lead and guide us into all truth, that you would glorify Christ in our hearts and in our minds today, I pray. In Jesus' name, amen.
We're going to look through Daniel 7. Daniel 7 is going to allow us to unpack two different things. First, what is up for debate when it comes to eschatology. The second thing it's going to do is help us identify what is certain when it comes to eschatology. Those are the two things we want to wrestle with.
Now, I'm just going to warn you, like I did last week. This week, again, is going to feel like you're kind of stepping into a seminary classroom, and as I said last week, there's a reason the majority of you didn't go to seminary. You don't _want_ to be in a seminary classroom. Get ready. It's going to be good.
Some of y'all are so giddy right now. You've been longing for this message. You've been yearning for a message on eschatology. For you, it's Christmas morning. For others of you, you're hoping it's April Fools and we're going to pivot and talk about something totally different. We're talking eschatology.
So, we're going to start with what's up for debate. As we look at this vision in Daniel 7, we're going to be able to identify a couple of things that are really up for debate when you're talking eschatology. So, let's think about the vision. In the vision, Daniel sees four beasts coming out of the sea. In the Bible, the sea is symbolic for chaos. The picture here is a picture of humanity living in chaos and destructive evil. That's what the sea symbolizes.
Have you ever read Revelation 21 and wondered why Revelation 21:1 says this? **"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more."** Have you ever read that and been like, "What's God's problem with seas? Is he kind of against large bodies of water? Is he like, 'Okay. I've got another chance to do this. Let's do away with those big bodies of water. They just didn't work out for us'?" No. It's not a problem God has with large bodies of water. In the end, God does away with the chaos and evil of the world. That's the point.
So, who are the four beasts coming out of the sea? Well, thankfully, if you read all of chapter 7, what you find out is that verses 1-14 unpack the vision, and then verses 15-28 interpret the vision. That's really helpful when there's an interpretation of the vision for us in the text. Verse 17 tells us exactly who those beasts are. Verse 17: **"These four great beasts are four kings who shall arise out of the earth."**
So, the picture here is of kings and kingdoms marked by chaos and evil. If you were to go and read different scholars, there's pretty widespread agreement that the four kingdoms here are Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. Now, I want us to spend some time focusing on the fourth beast. The reason I want to focus on the fourth beast is because that's what the text does.
If you were to read all of Daniel 7, you would see there is a focus on the fourth beast, and then on the courtroom of God. So, look now at verse 19. It says, **"Then I desired to know the truth about the fourth beast…"** Great. Daniel, we're tracking with you. We would like to know the truth about the fourth beast as well.
**"…which was different from all the rest, exceedingly terrifying, with its teeth of iron and claws of bronze, and which devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet, and about the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn that came up and before which three of them fell, the horn that had eyes and a mouth that spoke great things, and that seemed greater than its companions. As I looked, this horn made war with the saints and prevailed over them, until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given for the saints of the Most High, and the time came when the saints possessed the kingdom."**
This is good, because this is going to help us unpack where there is debate when you're talking eschatology. Okay? Again, welcome to a seminary classroom. What I want to do right now is read to you three different excerpts from three different scholarly works about this fourth beast, and what it's going to do is to show you where some debate can arise. I'm going to leave the names off of them, but here's what you need to know: All of these scholars hold to the inerrancy of Scripture. None of them are liberal scholars. All of them are Christ-exalting, Bible-revering, gospel-proclaiming, faithful, evangelical scholars.
Here's the first one: "The best way to view the imagery of Daniel 7 is not in terms of four specific evil empires but as four kingdoms symbolically representing the fact that evil kingdoms of an unspecified number will succeed one another from the time of the exile to the time of the climax of history when God will intervene and, once and for all, judge all evil and bring into existence his kingdom." That's the first commentator.
Here's what the second one says: "Indeed, time will come when a future regime and ruler will make Nebuchadnezzar and Cyrus look like kindergarten truant officers. It's no wonder Daniel's thoughts terrified him. In my view, the one Daniel calls the _little horn_ here in chapter 7 is the one Paul calls the _man of lawlessness_ in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 and whom John called the _Antichrist_. Jesus will handle him, but before this final conflict of suffering, even now across the world, various 'little horn' types mash and mangle Jesus' people."
Here's the third commentator: "Although 10 horns may signify that Antichrist's empire will consist of exactly 10 kingdoms or nations, it was shown in the discussion at Daniel 2:44 that the number _10_ might indicate completeness; that is, complete in power, sovereignty, and so forth. Thus, Daniel predicted that in the last days a powerful empire, made up of a confederation of kingdoms or nations, will rise out of the ashes of the old Roman Empire. This final empire will have incredible power, for by its force, Antichrist will rule the whole earth."
So, those are three different vantage points on Daniel 7. Here's what it allows us to do. It allows me to unpack for you five different lenses (think glasses) by which Christians, over history, have sought to look at apocalyptic literature. So, let me just show you. These are the different lenses by which different Christians over time have viewed apocalyptic literature.
The first lens is known as the _preterist lens_. It's the preterist view. The preterist view views most New Testament apocalyptic literature as fulfilled in the first century, emphasizing the temple's destruction in AD 70. So, they would look at Daniel 7 as largely fulfilled in the Roman Empire. The fourth beast is the Roman Empire. That little horn was fulfilled in Roman emperors who acted in horrific ways toward Christians.
The second lens is known as the _historicist lens_. (Just real quick on the preterist lens, anyone holding to a full preterist view is considered a heretic at this point. Some still hold a partial preterist view, but it is not a majority view.) The historicist view views most New Testament apocalyptic literature as a timeline of events unfolding across church history.
This is not a prevalent view today. It was more prevalent during the Protestant Reformation. Christians saw the fourth beast as not just Rome in the first century but Rome throughout history. For example, Christians saw the papacy as the little horn in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
The third view is known as the _idealist view_. The idealist view views most New Testament apocalyptic literature as symbolically representing spiritual truths throughout church history. You heard this in the first commentator's words that I read. The fourth beast is not one specific empire but a symbol of oppressive worldly powers throughout history.
The fourth view is known as the _futurist view_. The futurist view views most New Testament apocalyptic literature as yet to be fulfilled. This is what you heard in the last commentator's words. The fourth beast is a future global superpower, possibly revived from the ashes of the Roman Empire, and the little horn is a future antichrist figure.
The fifth view is known as _eclecticism_, which views most New Testament apocalyptic literature through a lens which combines preterism, historicism, idealism, and futurism. You heard this some in the second commentator's words. Yes, the fourth beast is seen in the Roman Empire, yet we should be aware that oppressive worldly powers throughout history exist as little horn-like powers, and yet Scripture seems to point to a time in the future where there will be an exceptional resistance toward God led by an antichrist figure. Okay? Got it?
Some of y'all just got five more views than you wanted this morning, but this is important. Why do I share all of those views with you? Is my goal in sharing them with you to now convince you what view you should be? Is my goal right now to ask you, "Okay, now evaluate. Which view are you?" The majority of people in the room are like, "I don't know, and honestly, I don't care." Here's the good news. I don't need you walking out of here saying, "You know what I am? If you're looking to know what I am, I'm \[fill in the blank\]." That's not the goal.
My goal in sharing those with you is just to help you understand why there's even complexity to this conversation, why there's even debate around this topic, because over hundreds of years, different Christians have sought to do their best… During the time period they were living in, they've done their best to look at really tough passages and seek to faithfully discern what they're even about. These are the different lenses that people have viewed these passages through.
I think for us right now, a better conversation to have, which flows out of these views, is to have a practical conversation about what role symbolism plays in apocalyptic literature. The reason I want to have _this_ conversation is I don't want you walking in ignorance. I don't want you coming off as ignorant. I want to guard you from being one of those people who says, "The most faithful way to interpret the Bible is literally; therefore, those who make things symbolic are unfaithful to the text." Don't be one of those people.
Here's why: apocalyptic literature is packed full of symbolism. Are there literally four beasts coming out of a literal sea? Of course not. The text has already told us those four beasts are kings. They come from the earth. Did you hear the words in verse 10? When it's describing the Ancient of Days, it says, **"…a thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him…"**
Is this begging us to get out our calculators and be like, "How much is 1,000 times 1,000? Then add that to 10,000 times 10,000. Whatever that exact number is, that's the exact number of people in heaven worshiping God"? No. Those numbers are begging us to just say, "Look. It's innumerable. The worshipers from every people, tribe, tongue, and nation gather around the Ancient of Days. That's who he is. He's the one who's worthy of worship from people around the earth." That's the point.
Did you hear the words of the third commentator, who actually is a conservative dispensational scholar? Here's what he said. Let me just remind you. "Although 10 horns may signify that an Antichrist empire will consist of exactly 10 kingdoms or nations, it was shown in the discussion at Daniel 2:44 that the number _10_ might indicate completeness; that is, complete in power, sovereignty, and so forth." Do you see that? Even those who lean toward a more literal interpretation of the text are saying, "Look. There is room here. Symbolism is at play."
The reason I'm even talking about this right now is that the best way for you to think about apocalyptic literature is like a sponge that needs to be wrung out. What you have to figure out is how much to wring out from a passage. Some people wring out a little, and they're like, "You know what? The majority was fulfilled in the first century, and that's all there is to wring out."
Other people are like, "You know what? Let's wring out a little bit from the text. It's really symbolic. Let's not press it." Just like we heard from one of the commentators, "Don't view them as specific empires; view them more as oppressive forces throughout history." Yet you have others who are like, "You know what? I think there's a lot in here. Yes, there _is_ symbolism."
This is what we heard from the second commentator, where he was like, "You know what? Yeah, there's stuff from the first century that we see fulfilled in Rome, yet there's more than that. Throughout history, you see some little horn-like figures or powers all throughout history, yet there seems to be the promise of an end-time antichrist figure coming."
But then you have to figure out how much more to press the text. So, some people are like, "You know what? Those 10 horns stand for 10 specific kings. That's what it means. It's talking about 10 specific kings." What you saw from the second commentator is he didn't even talk about… He didn't even try to guess what the 10 horns were. He just left it as, "What I think is coming is a future regime with the greatest resistance to God led by the Antichrist."
Yet you have others who are like, "I feel like there's more to squeeze out of it." You have to figure out how much to squeeze out of this text. Now, let me tell you this. What you don't want to be is someone trying to wring things out of the text that just aren't there. You just keep twisting and twisting and twisting, hoping to get things that just aren't there.
Here's the problem. Christians all throughout history are guilty of this, and it makes us look so dumb. It makes us look really, really bad. This is in our history. You have Christians who sit in a passage like Daniel 7 talking about an antichrist, and they just begin to wring it out. They're like, "You know what?" This is true. This is a true story. "Ronald Reagan's middle name is Wilson. So, 'Ronald Wilson Reagan,' three words, each six letters…six, six, six. Ronald Reagan must be connected to 666." That's real.
"Mikhail Gorbachev's birthmark…mark of the Beast." That's real. Christians thought that. Some of you are like, "It _is_. Now we're finally talking about real truth at Watermark." "Bill Gates and Elon Musk. One of them is the Antichrist. They're trying to implant technology in us. That's got to be it." I skimmed an article recently speculating that the Antichrist could end up being an AI system.
But it's not just the Antichrist. It's beyond that. A book came out in the 80s called _88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Be in 1988_. It was a best-selling book, 4.5 million copies sold. Why? Because Christians love for red meat to be thrown on the table, and it causes this feeding frenzy. Then 1988 comes and goes, and we look so dumb. Y2K. Remember that? "It's going to be the beginning of the great tribulation."
Look. It baffles me how many Christians will read news article after news article of major event after major event, and it's like, "This is it. We're seeing the Bible played out right now." Do you know how many times throughout history…? Christians just keep doing the same thing over and over and over, where the next generation is like, "That's it. Everything that you're… This is it."
Here's my point. You have to be careful how much you try to wring out of the text. Just be careful. Be careful what blogs you read and what YouTube videos you watch. Here's just a rule to live by: the hokier the graphics, the worse it is. I don't know why that is. Just watch what I'm talking about. I don't know if they're like, "Man, we've got no money for graphics," or if someone is like, "Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. This is…" I don't know why it is. The worse the graphics, the worse it is. Just be careful.
That's up for debate. How much do you wring out of the text? But that's not all that's up for debate. What's Daniel 7 ultimately about? It's not ultimately about the fourth beast. Daniel 7 is ultimately about the reality that Jesus Christ is coming back, and he is going to fully establish his kingdom for forever. That's what Daniel 7 is about.
That brings up a debated question: What's the timeline for Christ coming back? When is it going to happen? Conversations around the timing of end times really revolve around Revelation 20's discussion of a millennium. I don't have time to go to Revelation 20 or unpack it. So, if you don't know, I'm so sorry.
I just want to unpack for you four different views of the timeline of eschatology. This is where some of you are like, "Man, I should have brought my spiral that's _this_ big." You're ready for the charts. I have charts for you. Some of you have charts you wheel places. You're like, "Okay. Let me open this sucker up for you." Okay. Look. There are four different views. Let me just show you these.
The first one we'll talk about is called _amillennialism_. I have the chart for amillennialism here. I'm going to explain it while you look at it. It's important for you to understand. Some people get amillennialism wrong because they say that _amillennialism_ means no millennium. That's actually wrong. Amillennialists don't deny the millennium; they believe we're in it now.
So, the millennium represents the current church age that was inaugurated after Christ's life, death, resurrection, and ascension when he took his throne at the Father's right hand. Christ now rules from heaven with deceased believers, and though the millennium is not a literal thousand years, it's a unique period where Satan is bound from deceiving the nations, allowing the gospel to spread and the church to fulfill the Great Commission.
Those who die in Christ reign with him during this time. At the end of the age, Satan will be briefly released for a final rebellion before Christ returns to defeat him. Throughout this present age, antichrist forces appear in persecution and in false teaching, with many expecting a final antichrist figure yet to come.
At Christ's return, all will be raised for judgment, the righteous to eternal life in the new creation and the unrighteous to eternal punishment in hell. So, do you see that? Christ lived, died, rose from the dead, and ascended into heaven. We're now in the millennial kingdom. It's also a time of tribulation. The Antichrist will come. Then there's Christ's second coming. That's amillennialism.
The second view is known as _postmillennialism_. Postmillennialism says after Christ's work, Satan was bound, preventing him from deceiving the nations. The book of Revelation, the Olivet Discourse… They are largely fulfilled. Christ reigns now during a time of increasing peace, righteousness, and gospel prosperity toward a golden age of Christianity.
Like the mustard seed, God's kingdom grows steadily until Christ returns at the end of this age to defeat Satan's final rebellion. Then all are raised for judgment, believers to eternal life in the new creation and unbelievers to eternal punishment. That's postmillennialism.
The third viewpoint is known as _historic premillennialism_. There are two different "premillennialisms." There's _historic_, and then there's _dispensational_ premillennialism. We're talking right now about historic premillennialism. It says that Christ now reigns from heaven, though not in fullness.
The church age is marked by tribulation as many come to faith. Near the end, tribulation intensifies. The Antichrist appears, and Christ returns to gather his people. He then reigns on earth for 1,000 years, even over unbelievers, before Satan is released for a final futile rebellion. Afterward, all are raised for judgment and eternal destiny.
Then, finally, the _dispensational premillennialism_ view says that Christ's work began the church age, bringing salvation to the Gentiles. Jesus will secretly rapture the church before the great tribulation, which is considered a seven-year period during which ethnic Israel remains, facing both wrath and opportunity for repentance.
Afterward, Christ returns to defeat evil, bind Satan, and reign with Israel for a literal 1,000 years in fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant. Satan's final rebellion follows, after which all are raised for judgment and eternal destiny. Okay? Got it? Good. Everyone understands it, no one has questions, and everyone knows what they believe. Great. Let's pray, and let's get out of here.
Let me say a couple of things as you're processing these different viewpoints. One is about the rapture. The rapture is something that some people know about. Some people have no clue what I'm talking about. The rapture concept comes from 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, where Paul says:
**"For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord."**
The _rapture_ refers to believers being caught up to meet Christ in the air. This is important for you to understand when you think about the four different positions I just unpacked. All of the positions believe in a rapture. A lot of people don't understand that. But what people have to distinguish between is "Is the rapture a departure or is the rapture a welcoming?"
If the rapture is a departure, then the rapture is a time when believers are snatched away from the earth and unbelievers remain on the earth. If the rapture is a welcoming, then the rapture happens at the same time as the second coming of Christ. This thought comes from the idea that in the Greek world, it was a practice for people of the city to go out of the city to meet a dignitary coming to town. People would go out of the town to meet the dignitary and then escort him back into the town.
So, either the rapture is a departure, where God is snatching believers up into heaven, or it's a welcoming, where believers meet Christ the King in the air and welcome him back to earth where he then establishes his reign on the earth. So, _that's_ important to think about. Another thing that's important to think about is the conversation we had last week about how you view Israel in the Bible.
If you weren't here last Sunday, if you haven't heard the message, I would strongly encourage you to go and listen to it, because where you land on _that_ conversation will impact your eschatology as well, because it will determine whether the church experiences the majority of the events in Revelation or if it is primarily Israel and _not_ the church that experiences the events of Revelation.
It's important for you to remember, though, as I said last week, that across these views, there is widespread agreement that God does have some future plans for ethnic Israel, which in the least involves a massive conversion of Jews at some point in the future.
So, now the question you're looking at me and asking is "So, which one is right, TA?" Well, I'm not going to answer the question like you want me to answer. Here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to tell you more the journey _I've_ been on, just so you know, and invite you into it. As I shared last week, I have grown up and spent the most time in dispensational institutions. The church I went to as a kid and the church I went to in college were dispensational churches. I got a degree. I'm so thankful for my degree from Dallas Theological Seminary.
What I realized… And I shared this last week. I came to the realization that, out of no one's fault except my own, I had developed this belief that any view outside of the dispensational view is a careless view of the Scriptures. Like, whoever holds those views that aren't dispensational are careless with the Scriptures. I'll just give you an example. I thought the only people who held the amillennial view were people who didn't take the Bible seriously.
Part of my problem was I actually never took the time to go and read people who held these different positions. The only understanding I had of other views came from people who didn't hold the view. That's a dangerous place to be. I would just encourage you not to operate like that. Don't let your only knowledge of certain views come from people who don't hold the view, because what that means is they hold a differing view, and they're not going to give you a completely unbiased view of that view.
Here's the interesting thing. Several years ago, when I was doing college ministry, I decided to teach through the book of Revelation. Every sermon series I do, I always go to a website called [bestcommentaries.com](https://bestcommentaries.com/). It's a real thing, and it's extremely helpful. It was put together by a DTS guy. I'm so thankful for it.
On this website, what they do is they rate and rank every commentary for every book of the Bible. So, planning to teach Revelation, I go to [bestcommentaries.com](https://bestcommentaries.com/), and I go assuming that all of the top commentaries are going to be dispensational. Like, it's just going to be one dispensational commentary after another.
Can you imagine how surprised I was when I looked and the number one commentary on Revelation is written by G.K. Beale, who actually holds the amillennial position? In the words of Buddy the Elf, "That's shocking." I was like, "Okay. Well, maybe that's an anomaly. Let's go to the second." The second best-rated commentary on Revelation is written by Robert Mounce, who holds the historic premillennialism view. That's shocking.
Does that mean the dispensational position is wrong? That's not what I'm communicating. What I'm saying is I was shocked. Then, imagine how surprised I was when I realized that Tom Schreiner, who I mentioned last week, who's one of my favorite scholars, who's one of the most respected scholars of our day…like, a brilliant man…has switched back and forth between views. He has switched back and forth between amillennialism and historic premillennialism multiple times, and then he left those two and went with one I haven't even mentioned called _new creation millennialism_.
So, here's what you need to know about me. In my life, I have held the amillennial view, the historic premillennial view, and the dispensational view. I've held all three at different times, and I wouldn't be surprised if my view changes again. So, if you want to know where I stand, I'm the farthest away from the postmill view. I'm currently at a place where there are a lot of things I agree with with the amill, historic, and dispensational positions, yet I have major issues with each. Not one of them feels like a perfect hand-in-glove fit for me.
So, I'm hesitant to stand on this stage and say, "I'm \[_this_\]," because next week I might have to get up and be like, "Hey…so…you know what I said last week? It has changed." Here's the thought I want you to think about, because for some of you that might be unsettling. In the West, we just want people to tell us the answer. We don't like it when there's any, like, "But what do I believe? What am I supposed to believe?"
Here's what I want you to think about. I just want you to picture heaven. In heaven, you have John Piper, Tom Schreiner, D.A. Carson, and Darrell Bock. They hold different positions on the millennium. I just want you to think about some of the most godly and brilliant people of our day, and at least a couple of them are going to get to the end and be like, "I got it wrong."
Do you know what that tells me? It tells me I'm going to hold this loosely. This is not something for us to break fellowship over. If you want to know where I stand, here's where I stand. In the end, God wins. Christ is coming back. Share your faith. Someday you're going to stand before Jesus Christ and give an account for your life. If you don't know him, turn to him. If you do know him, live for him. That's where I can stand with a lot of confidence.
So, we've spent the bulk of the time talking about what's up for debate, but we have to talk about what's certain. Honestly, that's where we should have spent the bulk of our time, because that's what Daniel is ultimately doing. What's the main point of Daniel 7? It isn't the fourth beast. The flow of the passage actually tries to teach us how to prioritize topics in eschatology. Just watch this. Daniel 7:8-9. The shift is subtle, but watch it.
**"I considered the horns, and behold, there came up among them another horn, a little one, before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots. And behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things. As I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days took his seat; his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames; its wheels were burning fire."**
Why did I read those two verses back-to-back? It's so subtle, but did you notice the shift from one verse to the next? You're in the sea, and then you're in God's courtroom just like _that_. Daniel has just introduced the fourth beast. He has just introduced the little horn. So, you're almost expecting, "Okay. Let's settle in, because we're about to unpack a lot about this little horn." He barely introduces it and is like, "Okay. Now let's go to the Ancient of Days," as if to say, "If there's anything important, it's the Ancient of Days."
The Ancient of Days is the one who has obviously been around long before any space was cleared on the plain of history for any of these four beasts or that little horn. He's the point. Verse 10: **"A stream of fire issued and came out from before him…"** That's judgment. **"…a thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him…"** Why? Because he's worthy of that type of worship.
**"…the court sat in judgment, and the books were opened. I looked then because of the sound of the great words that the horn was speaking. And as I looked, the beast was killed, and its body destroyed and given over to be burned with fire. As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time."**
Isn't that interesting? It's like the fourth horn is speaking, and then he's dead. In just a few words, he's speaking and then dead. What's the point? There are no details of any epic battle. The Ancient of Days blinks and he's gone. Why? Because whoever that little horn is, in the end, he is so little in comparison to the Ancient of Days. Verse 13:
**"I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed."**
What's the point? The point is that one is coming who will establish a universal kingdom that will never be destroyed, comprised of worshipers from every people, every nation, and every language. So, you can speculate about who the little horn will be, who the Antichrist will be, but there is no speculation about who this Son of Man is.
Jesus says this when he's questioned. **"'Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?' And Jesus said, 'I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.'"** What's certain? What's certain is that Jesus is the King who has come and will come again. No one rivals God. In the end, God wins. Jesus is the King of all kings. He's coming back, and at his name, every knee should bow and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is, in fact, Lord. That is what is certain in regard to eschatology.
Okay. So, what do we do with this? I want to ask you right now… Don't pack up. Don't just rush out. This is the most important part. What do we do with this? Very quickly, first, let me just encourage you to be most passionate about what is most certain. People wonder why we don't talk about eschatology more here at Watermark. We talk about eschatology all the time.
Anytime we talk about Christ coming back and taking us to where he is, anytime we talk about Christ making all things new, we're talking about eschatology. Anytime we talk about unbelievers, those who reject Jesus, spending eternity apart from God in hell, we're talking about eschatology.
Anytime we talk about Christ being the only way to eternal life with God, we're talking eschatology. What you're really asking is "Why don't we talk about the red-meat issues that cause a feeding frenzy among people?" Because those are things that are up for debate. We major in the things that are certain.
Secondly… Please don't miss this. There's a big difference between strong convictions and rigid convictions that have sharp corners that can be hurtful to other people. Let me just encourage you. Keep reading. Keep learning. Make sure you can accurately represent the views you disagree with.
I'm going to say this strongly, because some of you need to hear it. If you're one of those people who is zealously outspoken about end times, yet you don't zealously share your faith, there is a massive discrepancy in your life. Honestly, you lose all credibility in my mind. If you really believe the end is near, warn someone. Get off the doomsday blogs and get out and share your faith.
Thirdly, if God has given you a special passion for Israel, awesome. Let that passion be most pointed toward the salvation of Jews. They need Jesus now. Without the gospel today, Jews will spend eternity apart from God. Pray for their salvation.
Fourthly, listen to what John says in 1 John 2:18. He says, **"Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour."** He's saying, "Yeah, one day an antichrist might come, but here's the reality: antichrist forces are already at work in our world right now."
So, what do we do with that? We should pray for persecuted Christians. Let's not live oblivious to the reality that, today, people in parts of the world where Christianity is not welcome… People are imprisoned today for Jesus. People will be tortured for Jesus today. People will lose their lives for Jesus today. Why? Because there are antichrist forces, oppressive powers at work in our world today.
Also, because there are antichrist forces, you should know your Word. You should know the Bible, because false teaching is all over the place. This is why I think you should sign up for men's Bible study or women's Bible study, which is about to kick off. You should go and register today. Men's and women's Bible study will help you be anchored in truth. It will root you in God's Word.
My fear for so many people is that your greatest amount of exposure to Christian things comes in the form of reels on social media. Because of that, so many people end up believing false teaching, because you don't have a filter that filters these things out. Know the Word.
Then, finally, Christ is coming back. He's coming back physically in glory and power. God will raise the righteous to eternal life. God will raise the unrighteous to eternal death. So, let me just tell you, if Jesus is coming back, don't play games. Don't play games. If you consider yourself a follower of Jesus Christ, either be all in or all out.
Don't straddle both. Don't bring a poor reputation to the name of Jesus by just living somewhere in the middle. Be all in or all out. Don't play games. If you're a Christian, put sin to death. Jesus is either coming back or he's going to come and take you home. When he does, let him find you faithfully waiting for him.
If you've never trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior, what are you waiting for? Let today be today. I don't say all of this to scare you. I say this just to create urgency in you. A day will come where you'll stand before Jesus, and either you will give an account for your sin or Jesus will give an account of your sin for you. Trust in him. Let's pray together.
Lord, I know this is a lot, but I just pray you'd have your way with it. Lord, I pray more than anything that the people of Watermark would be rooted and most passionate about the things which are certain. You will come back, Jesus. When you do, would you find us faithful. Until that day, may we take as many people to heaven with us as possible.
Lord, guard us from rigid convictions with sharp corners that cause us to hurt one another. Lead and guide us into truth, I pray. God, if there's anyone here this morning who doesn't have a relationship with you, I pray that even right now they would sense you calling to them in their heart and inviting them to reach out to you in prayer, surrendering their life to you. We love you. In Jesus' name, amen.