Matthew 25:1-13, Psalm 146: Lanterns

Presented to the Alberni Valley Ministerial Lenten Service, 01 March 2026, at Arrowsmith Baptist Church by Major Michael Ramsay

The topics I chose from our Lenten list for today are “God has rescued us from the Dominion of Darkness”; “He has Freed Us from the Power of Sin”; the Kingdom of God is at hand. Do we believe that? Do we live that?

 

In theology we use the term ‘prolepsis’ to refer to the time when the Kingdom of God begins, which is now, the time between the resurrection of Christ and His return at the eschaton. This is the time in which we are living and as Christians it is our responsibility to be willing instruments of God to display what it means that He has rescued us from the Dominion of Darkness; He has Freed Us from the Power of Sin, that the Kingdom of God is at hand. But do we even actually believe that He has already done this? And if He has why does it not seem that the Sin and Darkness still reign?

 

We know the parable of the bridesmaids (holy ones) in the Bible who needed to keep their lanterns lit – because lit lanterns were to be there when the Bridegroom Jesus returns? That is us now. In the darkness of our world, do we have our lanterns lit? He has already rescued us from the Dominion of Darkness; He has already freed us from the Power of Sin, are we living like it – or are we sitting in the darkness, with our lanterns out, like those who aren’t part of His Kingdom

 

The Bible repeatedly tells us what a holy people, sanctified nations, the Church looks like, what we as Christians will be working towards in our country, our world, our city and our congregations, if indeed we are Christians. Psalm 146, among many other passages, declares what God’s Kingdom is like and what His servants, if they are serving Him, will work towards.

 

5 Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob,

whose hope is in the Lord their God.

6 He is the Maker of heaven and earth,

the sea, and everything in them—

he remains faithful forever.

7 He upholds the cause of the oppressed

and gives food to the hungry.

The Lord sets prisoners free,

8     the Lord gives sight to the blind,

the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down,

the Lord loves the righteous.

9 The Lord watches over the foreigner

and sustains the fatherless and the widow,

but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.

10 The Lord reigns forever,

your God, O Zion, for all generations.

Praise the Lord.

 

If we are His people, He will do this through us. If we are citizens of His Kingdom, then that my friend is what we will do. if indeed He has rescued us from the Dominion of Darkness; freed us from the Power of Sin, and if the Kingdom of God is at hand, like Jesus claims. Jesus, Luke, Isaiah, the Bible speaks about a salvation society as one where the sick are healed, the captives are free, the hungry are fed, the lonely are visited, the perpetrator is forgiven, relationships are healed. Isaiah 2:4 speaks of Salvation as where:

 

He (The Lord) will judge between the nations

and will settle disputes for many peoples.

They will beat their swords into plowshares

and their spears into pruning hooks.

Nation will not take up sword against nation,

nor will they train for war anymore.

 

In our world, in our country, in our province, in our city there is still conflict, abuse, addiction, poverty, homelessness, murder, mental illness, hate, violence, unforgiveness... darkness…and we still pick up our swords. But He has rescued us from the Dominion of Darkness; He has freed us from the Power of Sin, the Kingdom of God is at hand now! Jesus said (recorded in Luke 4, citing Isaiah 61:4) that the time is now! What if we didn’t have to wait until we die, or until Christ returns, to experience a world without all of this? What if Christ was right and he wasn’t lying to us? What if the Kingdom of God is actually at hand? What if the Church (and our churches) is actually the body of Christ and what if we actually do this? - feed the hungry, free the prisoners, etc.?

 

It has been said that poverty isn’t a matter of scarcity: God has provided more than enough for the whole world; poverty is a matter of distribution. Countries, organizations, and people with resources simply do not share. I understand that the payroll of the NY Yankees alone could feed and clothe the world – how many sports teams are there in Canada and the US alone? Baseball? Hockey? Football? I often watch the games with my daughter … Is that what we choose instead of feeding a starving child?

 

Swords and Plowshares: America is seemingly always at war with someone and Canda is whenever they tell us to be. They just invaded Venezuela, are threatening Greenland and Cuba and are positioned to attack Iran again. I read an article about a bombing of Iran a few months ago. It was a very small American attack – nothing like Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya. etc. They only used four planes: each plane cost one billion dollars, the missiles they launched each cost 1 million dollars. How many American children could they feed, shelter and educate for that? Not even considering the money they (we) are spending killing people in Palestine and the Ukraine War.

 

They (we) would rather spend money killing other people’s children than providing the needed care and education to save their (our) own children. It seems that they (we) would rather their (our) children die in poverty than pass up the opportunity to kill their (our) enemies’ children. Jesus says we will forgive our enemies; Isaiah says God’s nations will beat swords into ploughshares. Jesus has rescued us from the Dominion of Darkness; He has freed us from the power of Sin, the Kingdom of God is at hand! So why are we instead beating ploughshares into swords. I pick on the US because I read the article about them and they are the world’s only remaining superpower: Israel, Britain, France, China, Russia, India, Canada, etc., etc. etc.… it all applies. Our countries: if we are sheep nations rather than goat nations, if we are saved, we will beat our swords into ploughshares and we will put more effort into saving people than we do in killing them. Afterall, He has rescued us from the Dominion of Darkness; He has freed us from the Power of Sin, the Kingdom of God is at hand – but are we part of the Kingdom of God or do we prefer this Dominion of darkness? Do we serve Him or do we still serve darkness and sin?

 

Psalm 146:7 says, “The Lord sets the prisoners free”; you can also see this sentiment in Zechariah 9:11, Psalm 68:6, Psalm 102:20, Isaiah 42:7 and elsewhere. Jesus, as recorded in Luke, quotes Isaiah 42 letting people know that the time to set the prisoners free, if we believe that Jesus is Lord and His Kingdom is at hand, is now. I think this is important. I think we do need to do what the Bible tells us to do. I was reading one African Liberation Theologian’s essay (I believe it was Bongajalo Goba) in Hammering Swords into Plowshares, a book dedicated to the Archbishop Desmond Tutu. He said that one main difference between capitalist western churches and the Universal Christian Church is that western churches either spiritualize everything (for example: God doesn’t’ really want us to let people out of jail, that is just a metaphor for something else…maybe being free from our personal bad habits) or they try to say that the things that God tells us to do as a society are only in the future and God will do it later; it is not our responsibility (we shouldn’t try to give sight to the blind now; we shouldn’t end hunger or homelessness now – even though we can!- God will do that when Jesus returns). But the real Church including the churches in the third world, realizes that when God tells us to make it so that no one is hungry; no one is lonely; no one is homeless; no one is thirsty, and no one is in prison; He is telling us to do it now! The is no excuse: He has rescued us from the Dominion of Darkness; He has Freed Us from the Power of Sin, the Kingdom of God is at hand – so we should act like it. We are not supposed to go on propping up systems that are opposed to the expressed will of God and just say “oh well, when we all get to heaven we will all be okay” -both me who has so much and my neighbour who doesn’t. When we all get to heaven what a day of rejoicing that will be.

 

I have been really convicted and cut to the quick with the sentiment I shared at the Summer Rain festival in the Summer: Jesus speaks about a salvation society as one where the sick are healed, the captives are freed, the hungry are fed, the lonely are visited, the perpetrator is forgiven, relationships are healed. In our world, in our country, in our province, in our city there is still conflict, abuse, addiction, poverty, homelessness, murder, mental illness, hate, violence, unforgiveness… Really, what if we didn’t have to wait until we die to experience a world without all of this? What if Christ was right and he wasn’t lying to us? What if the Kingdom of God is actually at hand? What if the Church (and our churches) is actually the body of Christ and what if we actually do as he has commanded us? 

 

In 2025, I read the books Wrongfully Convicted by Canadian lawyer and Founder of Innocence Canada, Kent Roach and Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson, an American lawyer who has spent his career working with death row inmates. The horrors that people suffer behind bars in the USA are as bad as you imagine and even worse. Think of the TV shows you have seen and then place yourself or your loved ones in the place of the prisoners being abused by prisoners or guards, or judges, or whomever. When I studied Restorative Justice from Simon Fraser University more than a decade ago, we read stories of inmates who were actually lost in American prisons – it came time to release them and they had no idea where they were.

 

I have a story relating to that – when I was just a new Salvation Army Officer, I was appointed to the small town of Nipawin, Saskatchewan. One Sunday a congregation member asked me if I could go see another congregation member, Zerah. “Sure” I said. “He is in cells” they said. Apparently, shortly before we had arrived to town Zerah had gone on an arson spree, lighting the town on fire. I spent the next weeks and months meeting Zerah whenever he was in town for the circuit court. In between court dates they would ship him off to prisons in Prince Albert or Regina – his court cases were in Nipawin, Carrot River, or Tisdale. I would meet him in whatever community courthouse the circuit court was meeting on that day of the week.

 

One time I was in the court room in Carrot River and they called Zerah’s name to stand before the judge. No answer. They called it again. No answer. The judge said, “We will need to issue a warrant for his arrest for not showing up for court.” At this point I popped up from my seat and awkwardly raised my hand. I was in uniform; he asked me, “do you know where Zerah is?” “Yes. He is in prison in PA” I said. Everyone in the courtroom laughed. I didn’t. The judge didn’t. “Then we better not issue a warrant for his arrest” the judge said as he instructed the bailiff to try to find Zerah and figure out how they lost him in the system. Eventually they did find Zerah in prison; but can you imagine if I wasn’t there? This warrant issued from the bench would be on his record. They lost Zerah in prison.

 

Did you know that quite a few people in U.S. jails, federal and state prisons have never even been convicted of a crime? What percentage of people in US jails do you think have never been convicted of a crime? These stats are before the current ICE storm btw. 80%! 80% of people suffering all that they are suffering in prison have never been convicted of an offence and some of them never will be and some of them will have their convictions overturned on appeal. I didn’t find the stats for Canada but, from experience, I wouldn’t be surprised if they are similar.

 

A member of our church in Toronto when he immigrated to Canada from Dubai about 15 years ago, they held him and his sister in jail until they processed them – I am not sure how many months they were in jail. He was separated from his sister (she was put in a different jail). I wound up going to the consulate with him to figure out a whole bunch of things – this is Canada.

 

I spoke to my friends in Stony Mountain Penitentiary when I was there for two years. They told me that the prison organized the wings by gangs: the Indian Posse had one wing, the Hells Angels another. They set the rules. They told me that you never make eye contact with anyone. It was hard not to be part of a gang. We put people who have never been convicted of a crime through this and more in Canada – we almost make them join a gang and/or get abused in prison. And then they can lose you in this system, like they did Zerah. Can you imagine if it was the day of your release and no one knew where you were to release you?

 

In 2023, in Canada, 61 people died in custody.  According to StatsCan, from 2017-2020 there were 169 deaths in our prisons: there were 20 suicides, 11 confirmed homicides, 19 drug overdoses and many other natural and suspicious deaths. In 2019 alone in the USA 143 were murdered while in the care of the State.

 

But God has rescued us from the Dominion of Darkness; He has Freed Us from the Power of Sin, the Kingdom of God is at hand. We, the Church, are called to free the prisoners; we, the Church, are supposed to be good stewards of the money God entrusts us with as well. The estimated total court spending in Canada for 2014 was $1,614,017,311. That is not even including the incarceration and other costs! We could provide everyone the mental health and addiction support they need in this country for that amount of money. The average hotel cost across this country is $211.00 per night. The daily average cost of keeping someone in prison here is $326.00 per night which works out to $9780.00 per month. We could afford to put everyone in a hotel and give them the mental health and addiction help they need for less than putting them in prison – and there are lots of safer cheaper ways to contain someone. The average rental cost in Canada is $2200 / month which works out to $74 a day (as opposed to the $326 /day that it costs to put someone in a cage!); the average mortgage in Canada (including Vancouver, etc.) is just $2100 a month which works out to just $70 a day. We can feed and house people for a lot cheaper than that – with all the supports to keep themselves and others safe too! So why do we lock people in prisons? It doesn’t help them. It doesn’t help us! – oh and btw I read that over 70% of those in Canadian prisons are diagnosed with mental health conditions.

 

Instead of locking someone up to be tortured in the cages we call prisons, we could send them somewhere safe and secure for the mental health and addiction support they need – for a lot cheaper! This would help them and reduce or eliminate recidivism, keeping society safe – we just choose not to! Derek, one of our regular friends at the Army and the Bread of Life, every time he gets out of jail he is healthy-ish, well fed and not visibly fighting his demons for a week or so – but when they toss him out of prison they toss him out on the street with no support; so his own mental health demons torment him so much until he hurts himself and others in unimaginable ways and then winds up back behind bars where he suffers everything that one suffers there. That doesn’t make society safe. That doesn’t make Derick safe.

 

That doesn’t need to be the case. My friend Zerah was eventually sentenced to mental health care and weekly injections for his schizophrenia instead of jail and he was able to contribute to society. Why don’t we help everyone who needs help like that? Why do we torture people like we do Derrick instead? Why? Just because Zerah ‘lucked out’ and had a compassionate judge? Because he had a TSA Officer with him the whole time? We are called to set the captives free. There is no reason for anyone to be tortured in a cage, let alone the 80% of the people we are doing this to who have never been convicted of a crime, 70% of whom have mental health issues. How can we punish people with mental health and addiction issues for acting in manners consistent with their mental health and addiction issues?

 

Of the over 35 million people in Canada today, 35 485 of us are locked in cages, prisons. There are homeless people right here on the streets of our town today. In BC addiction is more in your face than anywhere else in Canada. I did not see as many people on the streets in Regent Park, Toronto, Canada’s first ghetto, as I did in front of the OPS here when I first arrived.

 

Matthew 25:31ff says that the sheep nations, the ones that are saved are ones who feed the hungry, water the thirsty, visit the lonely, sick and imprisoned, house the unhoused stranger…. God has rescued us from the Dominion of Darkness; He has Freed Us from the Power of Sin, the Kingdom of God is at hand; so are we sharing His light? Are we a saved nation or do we have unhoused, hungry, lonely people in prison and on the streets? Do we care? Are we the church doing our part? Are we members of the Kingdom of God fighting to overthrow the powers, principalities and systems of this world? Or are we the bridesmaids whose lamps have gone out long ago?

 

Who here professes Christ as our saviour? When we look at Matthew 25:31ff – even the goat nations that don’t go to spend eternity with our Lord do that! Matthew 7 says that not everyone who calls Jesus Lord is saved. Salvation is more than that. I read a poem that was shared at a ‘poor persons conference’ in Albergue years ago. Here is a modified excerpt:

 

I was hungry

and you formed a … club

and discussed my hunger.

Thank you.

 

I was imprisoned

And you crept off quietly

To your chapel in the cellar

And prayed for my release

[Thank you]

 

I was sick

And you knelt

and thanked God

for your health

[Thank you]

 

I was homeless

And you preached to me

Of the spiritual shelter of

The love of God

[Thank you]

 

I was lonely

and you left me alone

to pray for me.

[Thank you]

 

You seem so holy;

So close to God

But I’m still very hungry

And lonely

And cold…

 

Theologian Albert Nolan asks, “How can one speak about the church as the body of the crucified Jesus of Nazareth when church people are so healthy, well-fed and have no broken bones?”  Are we complicit with the systems of this world or are we fighting to expand the Kingdom of God? What can we do? How can you and I at least, beat our swords into ploughshares? How can you and I, at least, act like sheep? First, we must advocate for real change! (to de-commodify our nation and the world for starters) Then we must do it!

 

Now there is a glimmer of hope. This Thursday, as every Thursday, there was a prayer meeting at the Bread of Life Centre. Friends who eat with us there, friends who sleep there, friends who live and visit us there – they pray. You should see the tears. You should hear the testimonies. The Spirit is moving (preaching Good News through the poor); God is transforming lives.

 

I saw a Christian friend, cleaning weeds from the sidewalk downtown this week; Nathan is leading community dinners and eating regularly at the soup kitchen with us. He has even joined us at the shelter for a time. John, Carol, Sally and others are part of Neighbourlink Read and Feed Society reading to children and feeding them in the schools. Pastor Bruce at the Elim team are making meals and serving them from the food truck each and every week for years. People from Arrowsmith are opening a Christian recovery centre in town. Volunteer chaplains for the Legion, the fire departments and/or the RCMP are here. This is Kingdom of God stuff! This is what it looks like when we are saved!

 

When I was in the Cypress Heath region, people were dying in the hospital without the congregations or their pastors even knowing they were there. People were not getting any support. The Lord used His people to set up a chaplaincy program where a pastor would everyday visit everyone in the hospital and reach out to the pastors of the other churches when their congregation members were in the hospital.

 

When I was in Southwest Saskatchewan it was put on hearts, the number of people going to prison over and over again – and the number of victims of crime who never had the opportunity to face their accuser and never had the opportunity to be free of unforgiveness. Before my time, God used TSA set up restorative justice there where the victim and offender were able to see each other, the victim would be able to have their questions answered and the victim would be given the opportunity to be freed from unforgiveness which can kill us all.

 

During my time there, God used His people to set up a transition through incarceration program where we sat with the offender (and victim) in court, kept in touch with them in prison, set them up with a place to stay, a job, a social group that was different than the one they had when they went into prison. Of all the people we sat with only one person ever re-offended. Societies can be changed. God does transform lives and He will transform the world. God has rescued us from the Dominion of Darkness; He has Freed Us from the Power of Sin, the Kingdom of God is at hand! (We do need to get rid of prisons altogether! In the Kingdom of God people aren’t locked in cages!)

 

Since I have been in town here, I have seen God use ministerial to save the Bread of Life Centre and use His people to set up the shelter at there, providing food and shelter 24 hours a day, seven days a week through staff, volunteers, and community partners (including the ministerial association and various churches) past and present. (We do need to provide supportive housing; there is no homelessness in the Kingdom of God)

 

I have seen God rescue human-trafficked individuals from town here – whisked them away to the TSA in Victoria where they can be helped and saved temporally and hopefully eternally.

 

God has rescued us all from the Dominion of Darkness; He has Freed Us from the Power of Sin, the Kingdom of God is at hand. My friends, this is what the kingdom of God looks like; this is what Salvation looks like. It is people being transformed as they come to know our Lord and Saviour; it is societies being transformed as they come to follow our Lord and Saviour. Are you a part of God’s transformative church in our society? Do you want to be? Do you want to help those in need through your congregation? You can. Do you want to offer food and prayer to people on the food truck? You can. Do you want to serve people at the food bank or the soup kitchen? You can. Do you want to lead a Bible Study somewhere: your church, your home, at the shelter, the Bread of Life? You can. If service, study, or hospitality are not your gifts… maybe you would like to organize an event? Maybe God has given you two coats and you can donate one to the Thrift Store - so that it can either be given to someone in need, or sold to someone in need so that they can have the dignity of selecting and purchasing it themselves, and/or sold to generate funds for services to those in need? Maybe you don’t think that you have anything to offer but maybe beyond your tithes to your local congregation, God is leading you to feed the hungry in your own community in some way. There are a million ways or more to serve and be used by God to transform our whole society into a salvation society where everyone is welcome to participate! Pray! He will tell you how He can use you to serve. After all, He has rescued us from the Dominion of Darkness; He has Freed Us from the Power of Sin, the Kingdom of God is at hand!

 

I often think of Randall from my time in Toronto. He is blind. I think he grew up in quite an abusive home. He lived in 220 Oak, the worst building in one of the worst areas of Toronto. Randall is a soldier in our Salvation Army. Randall played music. He was a blind man carrying a tuba (or baritone) on his back, his white cane in his hand, finding his way on subways, busses, and through the roughest most crime ridden areas of Toronto by himself to play music at churches, funerals, Christmas kettles, anywhere he went he shared the gospel in music. And every Friday morning at 7am he would join me and others as we walked around regent park and prayed for people living in the neighbourhood that was once North America’s first ghetto. This is Salvation and it begins now and continues on forever. I have friends of mine from my time serving at Stoney Mountain Penitentiary in Winnipeg who, even though they were behind bars, led people to a saving relationship with our Lord who then brought that Salvation they found behind bars to the outside world – He for now and forever set the captives free! God can use each and everyone of us to change this world, to grow His Kingdom!

 

Most of our employees at The Salvation Army are what in contemporary vernacular we call ‘piers’ or people with ‘lived experience’ – most of us come from backgrounds of addiction, abuse, homelessness. I can’t tell you the number of people we have working with us right now who have their first ever jobs and they are in their 30s 40s and 20s, parents, people who God is using to do wonderful, amazing things.

 

God will transform Our world – He promises whole new heavens and a whole new earth. The question for us is will we be a part of it? Are we a part of it? He wants us to be. And many of us here are serving God through Breakfast clubs, street outreach, community meals, cleaning sidewalks, reading to children, other service projects, through our congregations or some other way as the Lord leads.

 

This is good for He has rescued us from the Dominion of Darkness; He has Freed Us from the Power of Sin, the Kingdom of God is at hand; So, let us ask to the Lord where and how He would like each of us to live out our salvation, to be a part of His Kingdom? Let us ask Him how He can use each of us to point our neighbour to salvation both now and forever? As the Lord is leading you to help out in your church, go talk to your pastor today while it is still on your heart. As the Lord is leading you to help at the soup kitchen, shelter, foodbank, food truck, or other ways, you are welcome to chat with me today. As we all share the Gospel of Christ in word and deed, then the Lord can and will save us all and He will use even us to transform our society into His Kingdom, to make our whole world anew because He has already rescued us from the Dominion of Darkness; He has freed us from the Power of Sin, the Kingdom of God is at hand

 

Let us pray

Daniel 8: Bah Ram You Shaggy Goat

Presented to The Salvation Army Alberni Valley Ministries, 01 March 2026 by Major Michael Ramsay 

 

This book is written in a couple of different languages as we have it today. Chapter 7 that Susan looked at with us is the last Aramaic chapter - if that is on purpose then chapter 7 probably concludes the first section of Daniel rather than beginning the next section but Chapter 8 that we are looking at today (and everything flowing from it) is obviously connected to Chapter 7 as Daniel refers to the first dream when relaying the second one. 

Chronologically speaking, Chapter 8 and Chapter 7 take place before Chapters 5 and 6. In Chapter 5, Babylon falls, Belshazzar is killed and the Persians take over. None of that has happened in Chapter 8 which we are about to read.  Verses 1-4 

8 In the third year of King Belshazzar’s reign, I, Daniel, had a vision, after the one that had already appeared to me. 2 In my vision I saw myself in the citadel of Susa in the province of Elam; in the vision I was beside the Ulai Canal. 3 I looked up, and there before me was a ram with two horns, standing beside the canal, and the horns were long. One of the horns was longer than the other but grew up later. 4 I watched the ram as it charged toward the west and the north and the south. No animal could stand against it, and none could rescue from its power. It did as it pleased and became great. 

 

Daniel relates this vision to the previous vision of Chapter 7. In this new vision he sees himself in the citadel of Susa. Do we know what that is? A citadel is a fortress. Susa is the capital city of Persia. We remember from Chapter 5 that the Persians and Medes are the ones who overthrow Babylon. In this vision, before that happens, Daniel is standing beside the canal at the Persian capital city and he sees this ram. It grew one horn first and then it grew another, and the second horn was longer than the first. This Ram in the Persian capital city wrecked all kinds of havoc. Continuing reading from Verse 5 to 8: 

5 As I was thinking about this, suddenly a goat with a prominent horn between its eyes came from the west, crossing the whole earth without touching the ground. 6 It came toward the two-horned ram I had seen standing beside the canal and charged at it in great rage. 7 I saw it attack the ram furiously, striking the ram and shattering its two horns. The ram was powerless to stand against it; the goat knocked it to the ground and trampled on it, and none could rescue the ram from its power. 8 The goat became very great, but at the height of its power the large horn was broken off, and in its place four prominent horns grew up toward the four winds of heaven 

 

Here is Daniel, still considering the ram with the two horns, and trying to make sense of it when a big shaggy goat appears: this one with a giant unicorn horn coming out of its head who comes out flying or floating above the ground. (I picture almost a Macy’s parade balloon) It attacked the Ram. No one could help the Ram. The goat was really powerful and then his horn breaks off and four little horns grow up, Next, Verses 9-11: 

9 Out of one of them came another horn, which started small but grew in power to the south and to the east and toward the Beautiful Land. 10 It grew until it reached the host of the heavens, and it threw some of the starry host down to the earth and trampled on them. 11 It set itself up to be as great as the commander of the army of the Lord; it took away the daily sacrifice from the Lord, and his sanctuary was thrown down. 12 Because of rebellion, the Lord’s people and the daily sacrifice were given over to it. It prospered in everything it did, and truth was thrown to the ground. 

 

Picture this with me: first we have a ram from Susa with 2 horns,  who conquers all in its way. Then we have a flying unicorn goat who defeats the ram and then his massive unicorn horn falls off and is replaced by 4 small horns. Now out of one of the 4 horns on the goat, another horn grows. The horn grows towards the promised land and then towards the stars in the sky, some of which it knocks to the ground and tramples. This horn then becomes as great as an army commander as the commander of the Lord’s army  - so what does that mean? Who is the commander of the Lord’s army? Is it the Arch Angel Michael? (see Chapter 10) Is it the military leaders among the Judeans? Who is it? The horn is as great as maybe even an archangel and it takes away the daily sacrifices to the Lord and overthrows the sanctuary. The Lord’s people and the sacrifice are now offered to this horn, instead of God. The horn prospered and truth was thrown to the ground. This is quite the vision. There is more. Verses 13-14: 

13 Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to him, “How long will it take for the vision to be fulfilled—the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, the rebellion that causes desolation, the surrender of the sanctuary and the trampling underfoot of the Lord’s people?” 

14 He said to me, “It will take 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the sanctuary will be reconsecrated.” 

 

I don’t know what I can say here before the interpretation other than the word ‘holy one’ is the same word for ‘saint’. Two saints (in the NT that is what Christians were called) are having this conversation that Daniel overhears – some commentators liken these saints to angels or spirit beings but the term ‘messenger’ / ‘angel’ is not used here so a holy one could be anyone set apart for God’s purpose here. Then vv. 15ff. 

15 While I, Daniel, was watching the vision and trying to understand it, there before me stood one who looked like a man. 16 And I heard a man’s voice from the Ulai calling, “Gabriel, tell this man the meaning of the vision.” 

17 As he came near the place where I was standing, I was terrified and fell prostrate. “Son of man,” he said to me, “understand that the vision concerns the time of the end.” 

18 While he was speaking to me, I was in a deep sleep, with my face to the ground. Then he touched me and raised me to my feet. 

 

Daniel is still trying to figure all this out when he heard a voice from the Ulai calling – remember that the Ulai is the canal where he is in his dream. Someone asks Gabriel to tell Daniel what it all means. Is this Gabriel the same one who told Mary and Jospeh they were going to have a baby?...  probably, possibly, I don’t know. Gabriel terrifies Daniel. Daniel bows down before him. Gabriel says ‘Son of Man, your vision is about the end’ - Son of Man here may just mean person or it may mean something more - Then verse 18 says that Daniel was asleep when this was happening – so all of this vision so far seems to be a dream or he is asleep in the vision or something like that but then Gabriel wakes him. Verse 19ff. 

19 He said: “I am going to tell you what will happen later in the time of wrath, because the vision concerns the appointed time of the end. 20 The two-horned ram that you saw represents the kings of Media and Persia. 21 The shaggy goat is the king of Greece, and the large horn between its eyes is the first king. 22 The four horns that replaced the one that was broken off represent four kingdoms that will emerge from his nation but will not have the same power. 

 

I don’t know to what the phrase ‘the time of the end’ is referring. The next part is a little easier to understand.  This is what Gabriel says – the 2 horned ram is Media and Persia - this ram is defeated by a goat which is the Greeks and the unicorn horn is Alexander the Great. The four horns we know are the kingdoms founded by Alexanders’ successors: the two most famous being Ptolemy whose family ruled Egypt for a long time (Cleopatra was a Ptolemy) and Seleucid ,whose family ruled Persia, Babylon, and most of the middle east for hundreds of years. Verse 23ff: 

23 “In the latter part of their reign, when rebels have become completely wicked, a fierce-looking king, a master of intrigue, will arise. 24 He will become very strong, but not by his own power. He will cause astounding devastation and will succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy those who are mighty, the holy people. 25 He will cause deceit to prosper, and he will consider himself superior. When they feel secure, he will destroy many and take his stand against the Prince of princes. Yet he will be destroyed, but not by human power. 

26 “The vision of the evenings and mornings that has been given you is true, but seal up the vision, for it concerns the distant future.” 

 

This part – I have no idea. I know Rome defeated three and the last part of the 4th kingdom represented by the horns of the goat  (Pompey defeated the Seleucids)  but Pompey was Roman; he was not a horn of the Greek goat.  Before that we have Antiochus IV Epiphanes who ruled over Syria and Palestine under the Seleucid dynasty; most writers believe that he is the one referred to in this vision. He could be the horn. He cracked down on worship and even set up an idol to Zeus in the temple, which is possibly the abomination of desolation mentioned elsewhere (9:27, 11:31). I am not convinced about tise other horn. It could be Antiochus IV Epiphanes. But why? I have no idea. What is the point?  

Actually, the whole Hebrew part of the book of Daniel – the rest of the book from here on out - I find more than a little confusing. I think the prophecies are referring to all the things we chatted about – and the bulk of the scholars certainly agree – and I think the rest of the book is talking about all of these same things and I would be happy to leave it just at that - but then Jesus gets involved. He applies, re-applies, or draws an analogy to an ‘abomination of desolation’ that will still be set up sometime in the future, as recorded in Matthew 24. Jesus applies the horrors of Daniel’s vision to the end of time and then leaves us with the caution not to believe people always saying this is the end or that is the end – no one knows the end except God 

So that brings us nicely to verse 27 which says.  

27 I, Daniel, was worn out. I lay exhausted for several days. Then I got up and went about the king’s business. I was appalled by the vision; it was beyond understanding. 

I guess that is where this vision leads me – worn out; I was certainly exhausted trying to figure out not only what these visions mean but why they are in the Bible. I certainly have read and re-read it as well as consulted the scholars but I found that for me, like Daniel, that regardless what the commentators say it is honestly beyond my understanding; so then, I will flip ahead a few hundred years and a few hundred pages to Matthew’s Gospel and what he wrote that Jesus said about all this. Reading from Matthew 28, starting at verse 15: 

15 “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let no one on the housetop go down to take anything out of the house. 18 Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. 19 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 20 Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again. 

22 “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. 23 At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. 24 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you ahead of time. 

26 “So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27 For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28 Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather. 

29 “Immediately after the distress of those days 

“‘the sun will be darkened, 

    and the moon will not give its light; 

the stars will fall from the sky, 

    and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’ 

30 “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. 31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. 

32 “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 33 Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. 34 Truly I tell you, [THAT] generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. 

36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. 

42 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. 

45 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? 46 It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. 47 Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 48 But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ 49 and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. 50 The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. 51 He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 

 

So when is everything happening at the end of Daniel Chapter 8? I don’t know but I do know that Jesus said that if it has already happened that something like it – only more dreeadful – will happen again in the future and the key for us is to just keep being faithful in the work we are doing for Him. He says it won’t be a missable event when He comes back; so don’t be tricked into thinking it is happening when it is not – but he also says that no one knows when it will happen so make sure you are ready for it when it does occur. And in the context of the book of Daniel I would say that Jesus’  return is like the writing on the wall. You can’t miss it but when it appears it is too late. So the encouragement for us today is that we don’t need to worry about charging goats and evil horns, we just need to keep serving our Lord the way we are now, reading our Bibles, praying and serving here, at the Bread of life, with CCM, and the food truck and so much more and then, in the end, when some are taken and some are left, He promises we will be on the good side of that – whatever the good side of that actually is. 

Let us pray