♪ theme music ♪
(Derek) Welcome to Hope Sabbath School,
an in-depth, interactive study
of the Word of God.
I'm so excited about this series
on the book of Daniel.
We're moving now into Daniel, chapter 7,
From the Stormy Sea
to the Clouds of Heaven.
It's an exciting message; it's good news
for the saints of the Most High God,
and I'm glad you're with us.
If you've missed anything in this series,
go to our website, hopetv.org/hopess,
and you can watch the entire series
plus other series of great Bible studies.
We're glad you're part
of the journey with us.
We'll pray you'll be blessed today.
And welcome to the team, a great series.
(Team) Amen.
(Derek) Unbelievable. Many of you
may be well studied in the book of Daniel,
but are you learning some new things?
(Team) Yes.
(Derek) I am learning new things,
and I'm looking forward to today's study.
We're glad you're part of our study, too.
By the way, we have
a chapter-by-chapter series
of Bible studies on Daniel and Revelation
because they combine together.
If you go to our website HopeBibleStudy.org,
you can sign up and get
a free series of Bible studies,
Daniel and Revelation
really connected together.
Here are some emails from some
of our Hope Sabbath School members around the world.
From the island of Haiti,
thanks for writing, Sineus,
"Hello, Hope Sabbath School team!"
(Team) Hello!
(Derek) "Thank you for the way
you help me understand the Bible
and teach it better."
(Team) Amen.
(Derek) "May the Lord bless you every day
and give each one of us
the gift of salvation."
Well, Sineus writes
from "the first black country
independent in the world," he says.
Well, thanks, we know you're proud
of your beautiful island there of Haiti, Sineus;
thanks for writing to us.
And we're glad you are
not only learning the Word of God,
but you're teaching
the Word of God to others.
Chinyama writes from Zambia.
Lots of Hope Sabbath School members in Zambia,
and actually probably more than a million
Hope Sabbath School members, just in Zambia.
"Greetings to the Hope Sabbath School team."
(Team) Greetings!
(Derek) "I wish to express my gratitude
for the great work
God is doing through you.
What intrigues me the most
is the ethnic diversity of your team."
Take a look at each other.
Yes, we don't all look the same.
"It really gives me great joy to see people
of different ethnic backgrounds
mingling together without discrimination."
(Team) Amen.
(Derek) Amen! That's awesome, isn't it?
"Your team demonstrates
that we worship the same God
regardless of the color of our skin."
We might say, "Well, that's obvious."
I mean, we're all part of God's family,
but that is a message
that we want to share, isn't it?
We are a worldwide family.
"I always download your videos every week,
and they help me to understand the Bible better.
God bless you; may He
lift up His countenance on you
and give you His peace."
Well, Chinyama, thanks
for writing to us from Zambia.
And we're encouraged
to remember what's important,
and that is to lift up Jesus and His love
for every nation, kindred, tongue and people.
(Team) Amen.
(Derek) Here is a precious note;
this is a real note.
This is a real note, not an email.
It's sent from a donor couple
in Washington in the United States;
that's in the northwest part
of the United States.
It says, "I wrote to you,"
one of the people of the couple,
"I wrote to you by email sometime ago
to express our gratitude for the blessings
Hope Sabbath School is to us,
an elderly couple.
We have been watching
for several months now
and wanted to send a donation to help
with the ministry of Hope Sabbath School.
Each one of you shows the love of Jesus
in your smiling face."
(Team) Amen.
(Derek) What do you say?
Praise God, right? Praise God.
"I wish we knew more
about each one of you.
May Hope Sabbath School
keep blessing folks until Jesus comes,"
and a gift of a thousand dollars
to help the ministry
of this global evangelistic media ministry
called Hope Sabbath School.
Thank you to you, wherever you are
there in Washington, and to all
of our donors from around the world.
We're part of a great miracle of God.
I think we've got one more note here, actually two.
One from John Morris,
same last name as me,
a Ugandan who is in South Sudan.
"My name is John from South Sudan,
but I grew up in Uganda.
I've been watching Hope Sabbath School
for two months now.
I became a Seventh-day Adventist Christian
about 11 years ago
but never discovered the joy
that Hope Sabbath School gives me.
I have been truly blessed by this program.
I grew up on a difficult path;
14 of my 26 years I grew up
without any parents
or what you would call family.
Hope Sabbath School has helped me discover myself.
(Team) Amen.
(Derek) And what is his self?
A precious child of God, right?
"My country, South Sudan,
needs these messages.
May God bless you."
Well, John, thanks for writing
to us from South Sudan.
Isn't that amazing?
Two hundred and twelve countries now,
I think, around the world
are accessing programming
through our new suite of apps.
And, by the way, if you haven't downloaded
our Hope Channel app, it's awesome!
And you can choose different languages
if you want to share with friends
who speak other languages - truly amazing.
One last note, from Nova Scotia in Canada,
Laura writes, and Laura says,
"Thank you for Hope Sabbath School.
I'm so glad you're still teaching
and hope that you'll be doing it
for a long time to come.
I learn so much from Hope Sabbath School,
and I love the songs
put together by your wife.
She is so special," and I say Amen.
(Team) Amen.
(Derek) "I love listening
for many years now,
and I wish you could come
and meet us in person.
Well, God bless you and all
Hope Sabbath School members around the world."
Well, Laura, thanks for writing to us
from Nova Scotia in Canada.
And we actually would like to sing
a song with you right now.
It's taken from the book of Daniel.
By the way, these are all Scripture songs,
so that means word for word
taken from the Scriptures.
If you open your New King James Version of the Bible
to Daniel 2, verses 20 to 23,
you will see a prayer
by the prophet Daniel.
My wife put it to music.
We're going to sing it right now.
♪ music ♪
(Derek) You might say, "That was
a few minutes we took
to just sing that song,"
but it's right out of the text.
And something happened to me, Jonathan,
when I was singing the last part,
"Blessed be the name of God,"
like this wave of joy and gratitude
just washed over me.
It was like God caught me by surprise.
"Blessed be the name of God." Amen?
(Team) Amen.
(Derek) "Forever and ever."
We're studying a great prophecy
from Daniel, chapter 7, today,
and we just want to pray
the Holy Spirit will guide us,
From the Stormy Sea
to the Clouds of Heaven.
We invite you to pray with us.
Father in Heaven, thank You so much.
You're a great and awesome God.
You know what is in the darkness,
and light dwells with you.
We thank You that You will
give us wisdom even today
by Your Holy Spirit
as we study Your Holy Word.
May lives around the world
be blessed now and forever.
We pray in the holy name of Jesus. Amen.
(Team) Amen.
(Derek) Go to Daniel, chapter 7, together
as we begin our study.
It's an amazing revelation.
And remember, "All Scripture is given
by inspiration of God."
So this isn't just Daniel's words about God,
this is a revelation from God
to the prophet Daniel.
And, Rodney, would you
begin our study today
in Daniel, chapter 7,
and whatever translation we have,
we'll follow along with you,
Daniel 7, the first seven verses.
(Rodney) And I'm reading
from the New King James Version:
(Derek) I think I'd wake up
in a cold sweat - whew!
But notice verse 1.
I want you to focus
your attention on verse 1.
What important insights do you see
even in verse 1 that you think
we should note before we move on? Jonathan?
(Jonathan) This is Belshazzar
who was the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar,
and so this is a new time in the kingdom.
And probably Daniel is wondering,
like, "What is happening now?
What is God doing?"
And Nebuchadnezzar had gone
through a bit of a conversion process
of coming to know God, and now...
(Derek) Actually a real conversion process, right, eventually.
(Jonathan) Exactly, yeah.
And so now this new king is here,
and maybe it's a message for this king.
(Derek) So it's important
to realize chronologically
that chapter 7 comes
before chapter 5, right?
It's after chapter 4,
where Nebuchadnezzar finally is converted;
his grandson is now on the throne,
but it's not yet the handwriting
on the wall that we see in Daniel 5, okay?
So...what would we say?
Linking it to a historical event,
is that significant, Brittany?
"The first year of the reign of..."?
(Team) Belshazzar.
(Derek) What's the significance of including that?
I mean, why does that matter, anybody? Yes, Stephanie?
(Stephanie) It sets the time.
(Derek) Yeah, it's real history, right?
It's not like, "Well, I think I had...," no, no.
This is when it happened.
What else do you notice
in verse 1, though?
I just noticed it while we were reading,
that I think is rather significant.
Anybody else, what do you see? Yes, Travis.
(Travis) There is more information for this dream.
(Derek) Ah, thank you!
It says that he's going
to write down the main facts.
So, would you like to know
what the rest of the story was?
You'll have to wait
until you get to the Kingdom of Heaven, right,
because he just writes down the main facts.
Apparently the things guided by...?
(Team) The Holy Spirit.
(Derek) ...the Holy Spirit of God,
"Daniel, make sure you
write down these main facts," okay?
Now, let's talk about the dream itself.
I don't know about you,
but I think I would wake up with a sweat
with these animals coming up.
Why do you think God uses animals
as symbols of kingdoms?
In Daniel chapter 2 we had
different metals, right, on an image. Brittany.
(Brittany) I think it goes back to the history.
When we look at archaeology,
we find some of the same beasts
used to represent those kingdoms.
Like the lion with eagle's wings
was used to represent Babylon.
And we find that when we
look back at the archaeology.
So God was using something the people knew
to help them understand.
(Derek) Okay. Anybody else? Yeah, Nancy?
(Nancy) It's also an excellent teaching tool,
because imagine if you have to describe
what a lion is like (powerful),
but when he says lion,
you know it's powerful.
When he says leopard, you know it's fast.
(Derek) And what is a leopard with extra wings,
it's really fast, right?
Because this is not, obviously, a literal animal, is it?
It's symbolism. Kenneth?
(Kenneth) And also all through cultures
throughout the history of the earth,
kingdoms represent their kingdom with an animal.
(Derek) Okay, so we might ask
Hope Sabbath School members,
we might ask you to tell us what animal,
and they might say,
"Well, a horse for Mongolia,"
or, "a bear for Russia."
That's a good point.
So, back to what Brittany was saying,
we found archaeological evidence
that would point, for example,
to the winged lion for Babylon. Travis.
(Travis) As we see these beasts,
they're destroying and conquering
and doing these things.
And Jesus in the Bible
is represented as a Lamb.
So it kind of separates...
Jesus gives Himself out of love,
and these are conquering beasts.
(Derek) But He's also a Lion
of the tribe of Judah, right?
So even there you've got...
showing His sacrificial work,
but also He is King of kings
and Lord of lords, right?
So, what parallels do you see
between this vision, if you will,
and the vision in chapter 2
that was given to Nebuchadnezzar?
Anybody, what parallels do you see? Harold?
(Harold) They were kind of given
in the same order
in terms of the succeeding kingdoms.
Like the first will be Babylon,
and as Brittany mentioned,
there is archaeological evidence
that there was a lion with wings
in the palaces of Babylonian kings,
so we can say, "Oh, we can
make that correlation."
(Derek) You've got, very simply, too,
you've got the four precious metals, right?
Well, iron, I guess, was precious
in that it was very strong,
but gold, silver, bronze, and iron.
And you've got these four animals.
So you've got that parallel. Yes, Travis?
(Travis) The rock comes
and destroys the image,
and we see God setting up His Kingdom.
Actually, it destroys five things.
It destroys gold, it destroys silver,
it destroys bronze,
and then the steel and the clay.
And we see five elements
that get destroyed also
in Daniel, chapter 7.
We see the lion, the leopard,
you know, the beasts,
and then little horn that gets destroyed.
(Derek) So we're going to get a similar outcome.
In fact, all of the prophecies
go from present time
to God's ultimate deliverance, right?
So that historical development,
which is what we call
the historicist method of interpretation, right?
This is sequential. Yes, Rodney?
(Rodney) You also see a correlation
in verse 7 with the iron teeth.
So there's a reference there.
(Derek) Even the metal.
(Rodney) Even the metal coming in, yes.
(Derek) All right. Yes, Rick,
and then I want to talk about...
Because Travis alluded to the fact
that there's new information
starting in verse 8,
which isn't in the revelation
given in Daniel 2. Rick?
(Rick) It's interesting that Daniel 2
is given to Nebuchadnezzar, the pagan king,
and this one is given to Daniel himself.
(Derek) Straight to the prophet.
(Rick) And it does seem that God wants to give.
It's so important; He wants to give a little extra information,
and I think that's interesting to the king he gives the metals and the golden statue,
which we relate to the idol of a king,
and he, of course, went and made one.
But here Daniel is given, like, organic;
the natural animals are the symbols,
so it's kind of interesting.
(Derek) Natural and yet composite,
so, you know, go, "What's a lion doing...?"
It's not a real lion is it?
It's a composite beast.
Brittany, I'd like you to take us
to verse 8 and verses 19 to 25, which talk
now about another power Travis alluded to,
a little horn, which is not mentioned
at all in the revelation
given in Daniel 2.
(Brittany) I'll be reading
from the New King James Version,
Daniel, chapter 7, verse 8,
and then 19 through 25:
(Derek) Now, when the secrets
of the book of Daniel began to be opened
as Reformers, as they were called,
began to study the Bible,
which had been taken away,
now being translated
into their own languages
at the risk of their own lives,
they began to find a startling truth,
and that is that the Christian church
based in Rome, the papacy, seemed to fulfill
all of the identifying characteristics
of this little horn power.
Now, that's troubling,
because it's their church, right?
Take Martin Luther, for example,
who was a monk, right?
This is his church.
So he's trying to call
the church back to the Bible.
But what were some
of the identifying characteristics
that pointed to this actually being
not just another political power
but a political-religious power
that was doing great harm?
Let's just take one at a time.
Rodney, what would you start with?
(Rodney) "He shall speak pompous words
against the Most High."
(Derek) So that could possibly be
a pagan kingdom, right,
that would speak against God.
They've done it before.
But certainly there is a religious element to this power.
What else, Rick?
(Rick) It's interesting;
it very specifically says
this horn is different from the others.
It says the others are kings,
so this one can't be a king; it's different.
(Derek) It's different.
There's something about this Little Horn
that's different from the ones before.
Now this has come
out of the collapsed Roman Empire, right, these ten horns.
And then you've got this Little Horn.
What else do you see? Travis?
(Travis) I was just going to say
we get a geographical location
because the ten kings,
we know that that was the Roman Empire.
So we have a geographical location
in the world where this little horn is coming from.
(Derek) Some people might,
going back to Daniel 2,
say, "Well, the image had ten toes."
But, I mean, everybody has ten toes
unless they're deformed.
But this is very specific.
These are ten horns,
and these ten horns are ten kings.
So it's not just, well,
everybody has ten horns, right?
No it's very specific,
and then the little one that grows up.
What else did you see?
We've got a lot of information. Evelyn?
(Evelyn) I guess we could say it's a given
that when a king comes to power
they try to change laws
and try to do everything in their favor.
But what's interesting about this horn
is that they're focused
on changing the Law of God.
So that's something very significant
about this Little Horn.
They're specifically attacking
God's people and God's Law.
(Derek) "Times and laws."
What Laws of God deal with time?
(Team) The Sabbath, the fourth.
(Derek) Certainly the fourth one does. Any others?
I suppose you could say
the fifth one with, you know,
you'll have a long life
if you honor your parents.
But really, "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.
Six days labor, but the..."?
...seventh day is the Sabbath.
And it must have been shocking to some
of these faithful followers of Jesus
as they studied the Scriptures
to say, "Well, that's exactly
what our Church...," right?
It's the Christian Church.
It's not a pagan religious organization.
They've changed times.
Are there other laws that they changed?
You say, "Well, doesn't one
of the commandments say
you should have no graven images
and bow down to them?
And yet their churches
were full of images, right?
They gave them Christian names, maybe,
but this must have been a painful study.
What else did you see here?
It's not just one or two things.
They began to see
other identifying characteristics.
(Harold) Where it says
also that the Little Horn
plucked out three horns out of the ten
that grew up out of the beast, the fourth beast?
There were three horns.
So we have to look in history which horns
because horns represents a king,
which is tied to a kingdom,
so in history this Little Horn
had to have plucked three nations, or uprooted,
and they are not on the map anymore.
(Derek) And you see that fulfilled in history.
Now, what that tells me,
Rick said earlier it's different,
and it is because it's a religious power,
but apparently it has political
and military power, too.
You know, you can't pluck up kingdoms
just by going to church.
There's this kind of mixture
of political, military
and religious power. Travis?
(Travis) And these kingdoms -
the Heruli, the Ostrogoths, and the Vandals,
they were the kingdoms
that were plucked out -
they were plucked out
for religious reasons as well.
So they weren't conquered
just because they wanted that area
and to move in and take over.
They were plucked out to make way
for the teachings of the church.
(Derek) So, what about persecuting, Nicole?
They not only were a religious power,
but it says they persecuted,
not just pagan people
but the saints of the Most High.
Where do you see that
fulfilled in history,
persecuting the saints of the Most High?
Kenneth, do you want to...?
(Kenneth) During the time of the Dark Ages
they were persecuting the faithful people
who would not go by the way.
It is very interesting to know
that this kingdom started as a Little Horn
unlike the previous kings.
You know, you see a lion, you see this,
but this one came as a Little Horn.
So, like, initially you would not even suspect.
But by the time it had become powerful...
(Derek) It doesn't stay little, does it?
What were some of the things
they might be persecuted for?
What does history tell us? Gladys?
(Gladys) The Waldenses was one
of the groups that were persecuted,
and they were persecuted
because they were focusing on the Bible.
They were reading the Bible
and teaching the Bible
and making it accessible for people
to understand the truth by themselves.
And the Church was not agreeing with that
because they were able
to control the people
by telling them what to believe.
So they were persecuted for the truth.
(Derek) Believing what the Bible taught,
I think of John Hus also,
who was martyred because he believed
that people should have the Bible
in their own language. Brittany?
(Brittany) I think about Martin Luther
and how he discovered what the Bible says,
that we're saved by grace through faith.
And the Church had a lot
of different things that people had to do in order to earn salvation,
at least in their mind.
And so he was persecuted for this teaching,
that you don't have to do all these things.
You don't have to pay
for your sins to be forgiven.
You can go straight to God.
(Derek) And one of the big challenges...
By the way, let's be sensitive
because this must have been painful
to followers who are going,
"What's happened to my Church?" right?
And, of course, for Luther,
one of the great challenges
was this selling of indulgences,
that you could pay
and buy your way to Heaven.
And something stuck as he
read the Scripture
and said, "That's not right.
That's not how we're saved." Jonathan?
(Jonathan) Along those lines,
it almost seems like there is
a concerted effort to replace
some of the images of the sanctuary.
You kind of change, transform, how prayer works.
Instead of going directly to God,
we go through another person.
Instead of having our forgiveness directly from God,
it is mediated through the specific bread you eat and these things.
So it completely transforms this true worship,
which the next chapter talks about.
So, yeah, there's this huge persecution
for anyone who didn't abide by that.
(Derek) We've got to move on
to the judgment scene because we've got
definitely more information here, don't we,
than we had in Daniel, chapter 2.
So let's go back now
to Daniel, chapter 7, verses 9 and 10,
where we see a judgment seat set.
Nicole, could you read that for us, verses 9 and 10?
(Nicole) The New King James Version
of Daniel 7, verses 9 and 10, says:
(Derek) And back to verse 1,
he wrote the main facts.
What challenge do you think he had
trying to write a description of this scene?
(Nancy) He had nothing to compare it to.
(Derek) He had nothing to compare it to.
People say, "How many angels are there?
Ten thousand times ten thousand and..."
It's like, that's a lot of angels, right?
Tens of thousands of angels there,
and he's never seen
anything like this before.
This is clearly not talking
about an earthly kingdom, is it?
(Team) No.
(Derek) So, his mind is focused
on the heavenly Kingdom, this judgment.
If you could keep reading for us, Evelyn,
in verses 26 and 27 of the same chapter 7,
still talking about this judgment scene.
(Evelyn) And I'll be reading
from the New King James Version:
(Derek) If that's the only thing you got
from the study of the book of Daniel -
we want to go into greater depth -
is that there are these powers
that are not only contending
for position on Earth,
but actually persecuting
the people of God, but that God wins.
(Team) Yes.
(Derek) I mean, that's the big picture, right?
And as someone said,
if God wins, then serve God, right?
Follow God because He wins.
That's important because we are
going to look at a lot more information.
We want to come to that reference
in the judgment scene
found in verses 13 and 14.
And I'm going to ask Kenneth
if you would read that for us
in Daniel 7:13-14.
(Kenneth) I'll be reading
from the New King James Version, and it reads:
(Derek) Before we talk
about what this event is,
let's pick up that title, Son of Man,
"One like the Son of Man."
Can you think of that title
being used elsewhere? Rick?
(Rick) Yeah, definitely in the Gospels.
Jesus referred to Himself.
(Derek) Let's look at a few of those.
In fact, more than one time, right?
Maybe you could start, Rick,
in Matthew 8 and verse 20.
Someone else look up Matthew 9, verse 6,
and we'll look in Mark 13:24-27,
Luke 9:26, and those are
just a few that I wrote down.
Let's start in Matthew 8, verse 20.
(Rick) Sure, I'm reading
from the New King James Version,
Matthew 8, verse 20:
(Derek) Why does He
call Himself the Son of Man? Yes, Travis.
(Travis) Well, because He's
the incarnate Son of God.
So He took on humanity,
and He took on the sinful nature...
(Derek) He became a real human being.
(Travis) And could really be tempted.
(Derek) I love what it says in John, chapter 1,
"In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, the Word..."?
(Derek, Team) "...was God."
(Derek) And verse 14, "And the Word..."?
(Derek, Team) "...became flesh..."
(Derek) "...and dwelt among us, and we..."?
(Derek, Team) "...beheld His glory..."
(Derek) "...the glory
as of the only begotten."
So He is fully Son of God,
but He's also Son of Man, all right?
What about Matthew, chapter 9,
and verse 6, Gladys?
(Gladys) I'll be reading
from the New International Version,
Matthew, chapter 9, verse 6:
(Derek) So, what do you learn there
about the Son of Man?
It's not just, "I'm going to call Myself Son of Man."
(Gladys) He has authority.
(Derek) He's the Son of God, right?
This is what we call a messianic title, Son of Man.
Look in Mark, chapter 13.
Brittany, do you have that?
Verses 24 through 27.
You know, it's exciting, isn't it,
to study the Bible.
And you say, "Ah, that's why
He's given this title, Son of Man."
(Brittany) I'll be reading
from the New King James Version,
Mark, chapter 13, verses 24 through 27:
(Derek) And that great event is the...?
(Team) Second Coming.
(Derek) Yeah, the glorious return of Jesus.
We call it the Second Coming.
First Coming was when He
came as a baby, right,
and then grew up, ministered,
and died for our sins,
rose again, ascended to Heaven.
This is the second glorious coming,
and He calls Himself..."?
(Derek, Team) The Son of Man.
(Derek) One last reference,
Luke 9, verse 26, someone have that,
would read it for us?
Harold, Luke 9, verse 26.
(Harold) Yes, and I'll be reading
from the New King James Version, Luke 9, verse 26:
(Derek) Son of Man, Son of God, right?
And that role is crucially important.
Travis, you alluded to it.
In 1 Timothy Paul tells us,
in chapter 2, verse 5,
the special work of the Son of Man.
It's why He's called Son of Man
and not just always referred to as Son of God.
What is that special work?
Nancy, do you have that,
1 Timothy 2 and verse 5?
(Nancy) And I'm reading
from the New King James Version:
(Derek) And people say, "Oh,
it says He's just a man."
No, He's Son of Man and also...?
(Derek, Team) Son of God.
(Derek) And He is the Mediator.
Do you remember at the end of John 1
where it says He's like the ladder,
it connects Heaven and Earth, right,
angels going up and down.
That's a symbol, of course,
but He's connecting Heaven and Earth
so that we can find our way back to God.
I just say Amen; it's a beautiful picture isn't it?
Now, this coming of the Son of Man,
it says with clouds.
Go back to Daniel with us,
to Daniel, chapter 7, verse 13.
He comes with clouds
to the Ancient of Days.
Is that talking about the Second Coming
of Jesus or another event?
I see some heads moving. Jonathan?
(Jonathan) I think it's pretty clear
that it's happening
in a specific time period, right,
kind of after you have this time
where the beast has said
these pompous words,
these things about the Most High.
And then there's this response of the judgment,
and it's in the context
of that, that there is this coming
of the Son of Man before He comes
to receive His Kingdom.
So He receives something
in nature of the character and responding
to the pompous words,
but not the actual Second Coming of Christ.
(Derek) And you're probably
going to tell us we need
to study Daniel, chapter 8 and 9
to see the rest of that story.
Travis, you want to add to that.
(Travis) We've got to remember, too,
that Daniel and Revelation both
are highly symbolic.
And so Jesus coming,
we see Him coming with the clouds.
We can get the interpretation
that clouds can mean angels.
So the Son of Man coming with angels
to the judgment scene.
(Derek) And, of course, He comes
in glory at the end in the clouds,
and it says with ten thousand
times ten thousand.
So those angels that we see
at the judgment scene
are going to come with Him
when He comes in glory.
It's going to be an amazing scene, don't you think,
especially if we're...
(Gladys) The redeemed.
(Derek) Yeah, we've accepted Him as our Savior,
and we go, "This is our God.
We've waited for Him,
and He will save us," right?
That's the prayer for each one, isn't it?
That we will welcome Him with joy.
(Derek) So, tell me some other Scriptures.
Jonathan, I think you're absolutely right,
that this is a judgment scene,
and the Son of Man,
who is none other than the Son of God
who became flesh, Jesus our Savior.
He has a key role in this judgment.
Is there any other Scripture
that would reinforce that, Brittany,
that Jesus, Son of Man, Son of God,
has an important role in the judgment?
(Brittany) There are many Scriptures
that talk about how He is our Judge,
He is our Advocate, He is our Witness.
And one of them is in John,
chapter 5, verse 22.
(Derek) Okay, let's take a look.
Actually, John 5 has quite a bit
about the end judgment
and about the resurrection
when Jesus comes, too.
Let's look at verse 22
of John, chapter 5, then.
(Brittany) I'll be reading
from the New King James Version,
John, chapter 5, verse 22:
(Derek) Why do you think that is?
Rick? I mean, the Father
could certainly do the judgment, right?
Father, Son and Holy Spirit, one God,
so why would the Father say...?
(Rick) I think because He's the Son of Man.
He's walked in our shoes.
He can judge fairly.
He knows what it's like to be human.
(Derek) But don't you think
the Father could judge fairly, too?
So for whose benefit is it?
(Derek, Team) Ours.
(Derek) Because, and Brittany
alluded to this beautiful truth,
there's another verse in Scripture
that says He's not only our Judge,
but He's also our Advocate.
What is "Advocate"?
It's like our attorney, right?
Where is that verse found?
Anybody know where it's found?
(Stephanie) First John 2.
(Derek) First John, Stephanie, chapter 2?
Chapter 1 tells us, if we
confess our sins (1 John 1, verse 9),
He's faithful and just to...?
(Derek, Team) Forgive us.
(Derek) By the way, we need that if we're going to stand
in the judgment, right?
We need forgiveness; we need a Savior.
But read for us 1 John 2 and verse 1.
Maybe verses 1 to 3, if you would, Thank you.
(Stephanie) I'll be reading
from the King James Version:
(Derek) So, if He's the One
who makes the atonement
for the sins of the whole world,
does that mean, Evelyn,
that everyone can be saved?
(Evelyn) Yes.
(Derek) She said yes. Anybody agree or disagree?
Everyone can be saved,
so why isn't everybody saved?
Because if I read the companion book of Revelation,
there are people crying
for rocks to fall on them
rather than welcoming Jesus with joy. Gladys?
(Gladys) Because you have to accept.
Salvation is a gift that has
already been paid for,
but you have to accept it
in order to receive it.
(Derek) I'm thinking of another verse
that says, "Everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord shall be saved."
Is it that simple? "Jesus, save me."
"Jesus, save me?" Jonathan?
(Jonathan) I'm thinking of John 3:19,
"This is the judgment,
light has come into the world,
but men have chosen darkness rather than light."
So Christ came as this light
bringing these truths,
bringing this picture of a loving God
and of the reality of life lived out
according to God's pattern.
And we choose that or we reject it.
(Derek) And the tragic thing
that you quoted from John 3,
it says, "They loved darkness rather than light,"
and Jesus is the light of the world!
They loved darkness,
and the ultimate personification of darkness is...?
(Derek, Team) Satan.
(Derek) And his kingdom,
It's startling that people would love
darkness rather than love light. Yes, Rodney?
(Rodney) I'm just delighted
that we have this hope in Jesus.
We have an advocate, and that's why we do
Hope Sabbath School.
We want the world to know
that you, too, can be saved.
It's an amazing promise from Jesus.
(Derek) From every nation,
kindred, tongue and people.
Yes, even from Great Britain,
where I come from, right?
Praise God! There is no on excluded
who calls upon the name of the Lord, right? Rick?
(Rick) And we saw it even in Daniel
with Nebuchadnezzar, a king
that was so full of himself,
and, "Look at this great kingdom."
And God, in His love, humbled him,
and all he had to do was look to heaven,
and God saved him; it's amazing...
(Derek) I think we'll have
some surprises when we get
to the Kingdom of Heaven.
One of my favorite preachers once said
the first surprise is that we made it
by the grace of God.
But there'll be some people
that we say, "Really?"
Of course, the Bible tells us
about the repentance of Nebuchadnezzar.
It tells us about the repentance
of a thief dying on a cross next to Jesus.
But there may be some stories not recorded,
and we're like, "How did YOU get here?!"
And what's the answer?
(Team) By the grace of God.
(Derek) "The same way you did,
by the grace of God."
So, let's take a look, then,
at this judgment, which is not
only a judgment against
the Little Horn power
and all that confederation
that is opposing God,
but it's a judgment in favor
of the saints of the Most High.
Let's go to Daniel, chapter 7,
and let's take a look first
at verse 21 and 25.
And I'm going to ask Rodney
if you'd read that for us.
Verse 21 and 25, and I'm
only passing over it
because the middle part
talks about in favor of the saints.
(Rick) And I'm reading
from the New King James Version:
(Derek) Now, if that's the only Scripture, Nicole, we had,
that would be what?
Devastating, yeah, it would be
more than depressing, right?
But the fact that a judgment is coming,
what does that do for us?
(Team Member) Gives us hope.
(Derek) Gives us hope.
(Evelyn) Shows us that God is fair.
(Derek) Shows us that God is fair.
By the way, to this same power,
you read Revelation (we should study
both books together, right),
"Come out of her..."?
(Derek, Team) "...My people."
(Derek) And that's what the Reformation
and the ongoing Reformation is all about.
We're not throwing rocks.
We're just saying, while there's still time,
hear the appeal of God
to follow the Word of God
rather than the traditions of people, right,
which may sound religious,
but are they based
on the clear teaching
of the Word of God?
And the most fundamental teaching
is how we're saved, right?
Are we saved by religious works, by paying money?
Are we saved by the amazing grace of God
who loves us? Rodney?
(Rodney) It means it's time for us
to get to know this Jesus,
not about Him but to get to know Him,
to have that deep connected relationship with Him
because He's our Advocate,
and it's time for us to prepare.
(Derek) So let's go
to verses 21 and 22, 27,
and then I'll drop back to verse 18
because there are several
that talk about the judgment
in favor of the saints.
And, Nancy, would you read that for us?
Verses 21, 22, 27 and then back in verse 18.
(Nancy) Okay, so I'm reading
from the New King James Version:
And now 27:
And 18:
(Derek) Did you get it?
There are people being persecuted today
for being faithful to the Word of God.
Some of them are being persecuted,
I'm sure, by pagan or secular powers.
But, by the way, even pagan
or secular powers have
a religious perspective,
even if it's that, "I'm God,
and there's nobody else," right?
So they have a perspective.
What important message
does the book of Daniel, chapter 7, bring
for those who may even today,
maybe some watching today in secret
on their app, you know
on their smartphone, watching,
and they're going, "This is really bad."
You know, "We are suffering
just because we want to follow the Bible,
and we want to be followers of Jesus." Yes, Gladys?
(Gladys) We read the end of the story, and God wins.
(Derek) God wins?
(Gladys) God wins.
(Derek) And the Kingdom?
(Gladys) The Kingdom will be
of His people forever and ever.
His Kingdom will never be destroyed.
(Derek) And how many
does He want in that Kingdom?
(Team) All of us!
(Derek) Yeah, unless you think,
"Oh, you're being elitist," no.
He wants all of them there, right,
who will choose to accept His salvation. Harold?
(Harold) I just want, if it's possible,
to read a verse from 2 Peter,
chapter 3, verses 8 and 9,
regarding God's longsuffering.
(Derek) It's a beautiful passage.
Why don't you take us there.
What translation of the Bible do you have?
(Harold) I have the New King James Version.
(Derek) And 2 Peter, chapter 3, verses 8 and 9.
Right after that it says,
"But the day of the Lord will come,
and the elements are going
to melt with fervent heat."
So, this final judgment,
the end of all things,
and then, of course
verse 13 of that chapter,
a new heavens and a new earth
where righteousness dwells.
I love that because there are places now
where righteousness
is not dwelling, right?
But you're reading verses 8
and 9 of 2 Peter 3.
(Harold) Correct, and it reads:
(Derek) So, the mercy of God
wanting everyone to repent.
And repentance means what?
What does that mean?
It doesn't mean paying money, right?
(Gladys) Turning back to God.
(Derek) Turning toward God,
away from darkness to...?
(Team) Light.
(Derek) The light of Jesus, right? Repentance.
Now, the Apostle Paul,
maybe he read the book of Daniel
about the saints of the Most High
and the persecution.
Even in his day in the pagan Roman Empire,
there was persecution, right?
(Team) Yes.
(Derek) What were some things that he suffered
just for being a follower of Jesus?
(Gladys) He was flogged, stoned.
(Derek) Left for dead, yes, imprisoned.
Yeah, he was...what do you call it
when everywhere you go they persecute you?
(Team) A fugitive.
(Derek) He was like a fugitive,
but everywhere he went
he told people about Jesus, right?
So he had experienced a lot
of hardship in his own life.
And yet I want you to notice
his testimony in the book of Romans,
chapter 8, verses 35 and 37 to 39,
because apparently he didn't say,
he did not say, hear me carefully,
"God must not love me
because I'm suffering here."
He had a hope, like Rodney mentioned,
that was beyond his present journey, right?
So let's take a look.
Gladys, could you read for us?
Romans, chapter 8, let's look at verse 35
and then 37 to 39.
(Gladys) I'm reading
from the New International Version,
Romans, chapter 8, verse 35,
and then 37 through 39:
(Derek) I imagine him getting excited
as he's saying, "Not this
or this or this," you know.
Nothing can separate us,
and he had experienced
some of those hardships, hadn't he?
Now, in that same chapter of Romans,
he tells us a mystery in verse 28.
Stephanie, could you read that for us?
It's a mystery, and I want you
to apply that to what we've learned
about what the saints
of the Most High God are going through
in the prophecy of Daniel 7.
(Stephanie) and I'll be reading
from the King James Version,
Romans 8, verse 28:
(Derek) So, let's go back, Rick.
Let's go back; you mentioned
about Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abed-Nego, Daniel 3.
What good did God bring
out of that bad situation?
What's the first obvious thing He did?
(Rick) The first obvious thing
is He showed up in their persecution, in their challenge,
and I love that point.
But then, of course, He's a witness.
I mean, He used these people
being persecuted to be a witness,
and others were converted.
(Derek) We know at least one,
King Nebuchadnezzar.
It took a little while and seven years
crawling around in the field, but yes.
So God worked good
out of that situation.
Can you think of any other narratives
where a person's persecution
led to something good,
even though what happened wasn't good? Brittany?
(Brittany) I think of Stephen being stoned
and how Saul, who then became Paul,
later was converted,
and I believe it was partly
because of Stephen's testimony and his witness.
(Derek) I have no doubt
it was a key part of that, wasn't it?
Because one of the last things
that Stephen says is,
"Do not lay this sin against them,"
or to their charge, right?
So he was like Jesus saying,
"Father forgive them;
they don't know what they do." Yes, Travis?
(Travis) I think of the story of Jonah.
Jonah gets thrown off the ship,
the seas calm down,
and whole ship becomes converted.
God just can work through troubles...
(Derek) We hope the ship was converted.
But maybe some were; we don't know.
They certainly saw the power of God
working in difficult situations.
I want to talk to you,
Hope Sabbath School family.
Maybe you're going through
a time of persecution,
not just difficult but persecution.
And I want to assure you
from the book of Daniel, chapter 7,
that God is with you in this time.
In fact, He not only wants to save you
that you may inherit His Kingdom,
He wants to work good even in the midst
of this bad situation.
Isn't He a great and awesome God?
And we have discovered
that He's calling all,
even those who maybe have found themselves
in systems that have
taken a stance against God.
He's calling us all
to accept His salvation and to be ready
for that glorious appearing
of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.
Let's pray that we can experience
that salvation even today.
Father in Heaven, thank You
for the powerful prophecy
in Daniel, chapter 7,
and the assurance that You
work out Your purpose
to call all to salvation,
desiring that everyone would accept.
We know not everyone will,
but thank You that we had
a choice to accept,
and others will have a choice as well,
even from the message today.
In Jesus' name. Amen.
(Team) Amen.
(Derek) Thanks for joining us
for Hope Sabbath School.
Someone needs to hear about a God
who loves them with an everlasting love,
so go out and share that good news
with those around you.
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