TEXT:Daniel 7:1-28

1 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel saw a dream and visions in his mind {as he lay} on his bed; then he wrote the dream down {and} related the {following} summary of it.
2 Daniel said, "I was looking in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea.
3 "And four great beasts were coming up from the sea, different from one another.
4 "The first {was} like a lion and had {the} wings of an eagle. I kept looking until its wings were plucked, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man; a human mind also was given to it.
5 "And behold, another beast, a second one, resembling a bear. And it was raised up on one side, and three ribs {were} in its mouth between its teeth; and thus they said to it, 'Arise, devour much meat!'
6 "After this I kept looking, and behold, another one, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird; the beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it.
7 "After this I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrifying and extremely strong; and it had large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed and trampled down the remainder with its feet; and it was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns.
8 "While I was contemplating the horns, behold, another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were pulled out by the roots before it; and behold, this horn possessed eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth uttering great {boasts.}
9 "I kept looking Until thrones were set up, And the Ancient of Days took {His} seat; His vesture {was} like white snow And the hair of His head like pure wool. His throne {was} ablaze with flames, Its wheels {were} a burning fire.
10 "A river of fire was flowing And coming out from before Him; Thousands upon thousands were attending Him, And myriads upon myriads were standing before Him; The court sat, And the books were opened.
11 "Then I kept looking because of the sound of the boastful words which the horn was speaking; I kept looking until the beast was slain, and its body was destroyed and given to the burning fire.
12 "As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but an extension of life was granted to them for an appointed period of time.
13 "I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And was presented before Him.
14 "And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations and {men of every} language Might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion Which will not pass away; And His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed.
15 "As for me, Daniel, my spirit was distressed within me, and the visions in my mind kept alarming me.
16 "I approached one of those who were standing by and began asking him the exact meaning of all this. So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of these things:
17 'These great beasts, which are four {in number,} are four kings {who} will arise from the earth.
18 'But the saints of the Highest One will receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, for all ages to come.'
19 "Then I desired to know the exact meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others, exceedingly dreadful, with its teeth of iron and its claws of bronze, {and which} devoured, crushed and trampled down the remainder with its feet,
20 and {the meaning} of the ten horns that {were} on its head and the other {horn} which came up, and before which three {of them} fell, namely, that horn which had eyes and a mouth uttering great {boasts} and which was larger in appearance than its associates.
21 "I kept looking, and that horn was waging war with the saints and overpowering them
22 until the Ancient of Days came and judgment was passed in favor of the saints of the Highest One, and the time arrived when the saints took possession of the kingdom.
23 "Thus he said: 'The fourth beast will be a fourth kingdom on the earth, which will be different from all the {other} kingdoms and will devour the whole earth and tread it down and crush it.
24 'As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings will arise; and another will arise after them, and he will be different from the previous ones and will subdue three kings.
25 'He will speak out against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest One, and he will intend to make alterations in times and in law; and they will be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time.
26 'But the court will sit {for judgment,} and his dominion will be taken away, annihilated and destroyed forever.
27 'Then the sovereignty, the dominion and the greatness of {all} the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Highest One; His kingdom {will be} an everlasting kingdom, and all the dominions will serve and obey Him.'
28 "At this point the revelation ended. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts were greatly alarming me and my face grew pale, but I kept the matter to myself" (Daniel 7:1-28, NASB).

INTRODUCTION :

Courtroom dramas have become very popular in our media culture today. Whether it be serious shows like L.A. Law or the Advocate; or comical shows like Judge Judy and Judge Joe, people are intrigued by the courtroom.

The stage is set when a bailiff enters the courtroom and sternly commands, "All rise!"

This morning I would like for us to briefly consider three courtroom scenes; Two from the Book of Daniel, and one from the Book of Revelation.

I. GOD CONVENES COURT IN THE KING'S PALACE
A. Babylon was built on rebellion against God.

1. Nimrod builds a kingdom.

   8 Now Cush became the father of Nimrod; he became a mighty one on the earth.
   9 He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; therefore it is said, "Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the LORD."
   10 The beginning of his kingdom was Babel and Erech and Accad and Calneh, in the land of Shinar (Genesis 10:8-10, NASB).

2. The city of Babylon represents the first organized rebellion against God.

   1 Now the whole earth used the same language and the same words.
   2 It came about as they journeyed east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.
   3 They said to one another, "Come, let us make bricks and burn {them} thoroughly." And they used brick for stone, and they used tar for mortar.
   4 They said, "Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top {will reach} into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name, otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth" (Genesis 11:1-4, NASB).

3. Babylon conquers God's people.

   1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged (Daniel 1:1, NASB).

B. Babylon came to symbolize man's reliance on self and rejection of God.

4 "I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house and flourishing in my palace (Daniel 4:4, NASB).

20 'The tree that you saw, which became large and grew strong, whose height reached to the sky and was visible to all the earth
21 and whose foliage {was} beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in which {was} food for all, under which the beasts of the field dwelt and in whose branches the birds of the sky lodged—
22 it is you, O king; for you have become great and grown strong, and your majesty has become great and reached to the sky and your dominion to the end of the earth.
23 'In that the king saw an {angelic} watcher, a holy one, descending from heaven and saying, "Chop down the tree and destroy it; yet leave the stump with its roots in the ground, but with a band of iron and bronze {around it} in the new grass of the field, and let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, and let him share with the beasts of the field until seven periods of time pass over him," (Daniel 4:20-23, NASB).

C. Belshazzar despises God by drinking from the golden vessels of God's temple.

1 Belshazzar the king held a great feast for a thousand of his nobles, and he was drinking wine in the presence of the thousand.
2 When Belshazzar tasted the wine, he gave orders to bring the gold and silver vessels which Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken out of the temple which {was} in Jerusalem, so that the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines might drink from them.
3 Then they brought the gold vessels that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God which {was} in Jerusalem; and the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines drank from them.
4 They drank the wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone (Daniel 5:1-4, NASB).

D. God becomes a graffiti artist.

5 Suddenly the fingers of a man's hand emerged and began writing opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace, and the king saw the back of the hand that did the writing (Daniel 5:5, NASB).

E. Belshazzar's hall becomes a courtroom.

6 Then the king's face grew pale and his thoughts alarmed him, and his hip joints went slack and his knees began knocking together (Daniel 5:6, NASB).

19 "Because of the grandeur which He bestowed on him, all the peoples, nations and {men of every} language feared and trembled before him; whomever he wished he killed and whomever he wished he spared alive; and whomever he wished he elevated and whomever he wished he humbled.
20 "But when his heart was lifted up and his spirit became so proud that he behaved arrogantly, he was deposed from his royal throne and {his} glory was taken away from him (Daniel 5:19-20, NASB).

22 "Yet you, his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, even though you knew all this,
23 but you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of His house before you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines have been drinking wine from them; and you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which do not see, hear or understand. But the God in whose hand are your life-breath and all your ways, you have not glorified.
24 "Then the hand was sent from Him and this inscription was written out.
25 "Now this is the inscription that was written out: 'MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.'
26 "This is the interpretation of the message: 'MENE'—God has numbered your kingdom and put an end to it.
27 " 'TEKEL'—you have been weighed on the scales and found deficient.
28 " 'PERES'—your kingdom has been divided and given over to the Medes and Persians." (Daniel 5:22-28, NASB).

30 That same night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was slain (Daniel 5:30, NASB).

II. GOD CONVENES COURT IN HEAVEN
A. But wait, Let's hear the rest of the story

1. Chapter 6 recounts the story of the fall of Beshazzar and the rise of the Medes and Persians.
2. Chapter 7 backs up to finish the story begun in chapter 5.

B. Daniel sees a heart-chilling, blood-curdling vision of the end-time.

28 "At this point the revelation ended. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts were greatly alarming me and my face grew pale, but I kept the matter to myself" (Daniel 7:28, NASB).

1. "I was looking..." (Daniel 7:2)
2. "I kept looking..." (Daniel 7:6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 21)

C. This is the last court scene which will ever be played out and everyone gets to attend.

1. "And the Ancient of Days took his seat;"—All rise!" (Daniel 7:9)
2. "The court sat..." (Daniel 7:10)
3. "And the books were opened." (Daniel 7:10)
4. The "Son of Man" appears and claims his own! (Daniel 7:13-14)

   13 "I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And was presented before Him.
   14 "And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations and {men of every} language Might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion Which will not pass away; And His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed (Daniel 7:13-14, NASB).

5. The court will sit for judgment—vs. 26

• Man's kingdom will be taken away!

  26 'But the court will sit {for judgment,} and his dominion will be taken away, annihilated and destroyed forever (Daniel 7:26, NASB).

• Christ's Kingdom will not be taken away!

  27 'Then the sovereignty, the dominion and the greatness of {all} the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Highest One; His kingdom {will be} an everlasting kingdom, and all the dominions will serve and obey Him' (Daniel 7:27, NASB).

III. GOD CONVENES COURT FOR THE LAST TIME
A. Babylon is fallen!

1 After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illumined with his glory.
2 And he cried out with a mighty voice, saying, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place of demons and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird.
3 "For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the passion of her immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed {acts of} immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich by the wealth of her sensuality."
4 I heard another voice from heaven, saying, "Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues;
5 for her sins have piled up as high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.
6 "Pay her back even as she has paid, and give back {to her} double according to her deeds; in the cup which she has mixed, mix twice as much for her.
7 "To the degree that she glorified herself and lived sensuously, to the same degree give her torment and mourning; for she says in her heart, 'I SIT {as} A QUEEN AND I AM NOT A WIDOW, and will never see mourning.'
8 "For this reason in one day her plagues will come, pestilence and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire; for the Lord God who judges her is strong (Revelation 18:1-8, NASB).

10 standing at a distance because of the fear of her torment, saying, 'Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the strong city! For in one hour your judgment has come' (Revelation 18:10, NASB).

16 saying, 'Woe, woe, the great city, she who was clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls;
17 for in one hour such great wealth has been laid waste!' And every shipmaster and every passenger and sailor, and as many as make their living by the sea, stood at a distance,
18 and were crying out as they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, 'What {city} is like the great city?'
19 "And they threw dust on their heads and were crying out, weeping and mourning, saying, 'Woe, woe, the great city, in which all who had ships at sea became rich by her wealth, for in one hour she has been laid waste!'
20 "Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, because God has pronounced judgment for you against her." (Revelation 18:16-20, NASB).

B. The Great White Throne of God

11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them.
12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is {the book} of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.
13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one {of them} according to their deeds.
14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.
15 And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:11-15, NASB).

1. The summoned are all the race of mankind.
2. The basis of judgment are two sets of books.

   a. The books which contain the record of men's deeds and
   b. The book of life.
   c. The dead are judged from the books.

3. He whose name is in the book of life has no record [of sins] in the books.

   7 Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions; According to Your lovingkindness remember me, For Your goodness' sake, O LORD (Psalm 25:7, NASB).

   25 "I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, And I will not remember your sins (Isaiah 43:25, NASB).

4. The judgment of the wicked

   15 And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:15, NASB).

CONCLUSION:
Daniel gives sound advice to the king of Babylon:

27 'Therefore, O king, may my advice be pleasing to you: break away now from your sins by {doing} righteousness and from your iniquities by showing mercy to {the} poor, in case there may be a prolonging of your prosperity'(Daniel 4:27, NASB).

The day will come when the command will go forth, "All rise!"
Are you ready?

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This is the outline of the sermon Dr. Harold Carpenter preached 27 October 2002. Dr. Carpenter and his wife served as missionaries for twenty years. Dr. Carpenter also taught missions for twenty years at Central Bible College. He now serves as Pastor of Fair Grove Assembly of God, Fair Grove MO.
© Harold Carpenter 2002-2004. Published by permission.