Verse by verse teaching - Daniel 7:2 "The Four Winds"

We're going to take your Bibles now as we're settling down and turn to the book of Daniel chapter 7. Daniel chapter 7. Going verse by verse through God's precious word. One line at a time. Daniel chapter 7, God willing, will be expounding verse 2 this morning. Daniel chapter 7, verse 2. The title of the message this morning is The Four Winds. The four wins. Now last week, verse 1 gave us an introduction to prophecy. from which we learn prophecy's origin, its attributes, transformations, and its means of delivery. And we learn that during the reign of Belshazzar, who ruled the Babylonian Empire about 500 years before Christ, The prophet Daniel had a prophetic dream given to him by God. And just to remind you, That this is history that we're reading. The events are historical. In fact, this morning, I want to share with you. An article I read. They recently discovered an ancient tomb in Jerusalem. Under the earth, and inside that tomb were the remains of two ancient people in a sarcophagus, which is sort of like a coffin that doesn't rot. There was an inscription in the tomb. I'm going to read it to you. I am Abba, son of the priest Ileaser, son of Aaron the high priest. I am Abba, the afflicted and persecuted one, who was born in Jerusalem and went into exile to Babylon. I brought up Mattathias, son of Judah, and buried him in the cave that I purchased by deed. <unk> That is really cool. That was a recent find that I read in the news this morning. Someone who actually was raised in Jerusalem went into exile the same time. The man who wrote this probably knew Daniel. He went the same time into exile in the Babylon that Daniel did. We're reading real history that's proven by real archaeology. In the Bible is proven every single time to be the Word of God. Now, with that said, We're going back to that same time that this man who purchased this cave and buried these two people in it. We're reading about that same time period. This is during the reign of Belshazzar, who ruled the Babylonian Empire about 500 years before Christ came. During that time, Daniel the prophet had a dream given to him by God. And that dream was not given to Daniel merely for his sake or for the people during his time's sake. But it was given to him for all the people of God, for me and for you, that we may also know the message God has for us. And remember, when God's prophecy is written down, as it is in your Bible. It is Scripture. We learned that last week. So we hold in our hands this morning a copy of what Daniel wrote down for us. Now remember what the Bible said about Abel. The Bible says that he being dead yet speaks. How does Abel speak to us, we learned last week? Through the word written down about him. So by Daniel writing this dream down, In us reading it this morning, Daniel is speaking to us today. He's telling us the holy message that God gave him in the dream. Thus, verse 2 says, Look, in your. In Daniel 7:2, Daniel spake and said, And now Daniel's speaking to us. Daniel didn't keep this information about this dream to himself. He didn't hold on to it after he had this dream and wake up and think, thank God I know something that other people don't know. I'm just going to keep it that way, so I'll be the only one who knows it. No, Daniel dreamed, and then Daniel spake. 2 Peter 1, verse 21. Says, for the prophecy came out in old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. And I'm so thankful. For holy men of God like Daniel, who were faithful to share with us what God shared with them, whether it is truth. Whether it is talent, service, funding, whatever ability God gives us, what God has given to us. We need to share with the church what God has shared with us. We need to share with the people of God. God gives to us that he might give through us. Daniel spake and said. So let's see what Daniel spake and said to us when he saw In the vision that this dream that God gave him while he was sleeping. You looking forward to hearing the dream? Let's get into it. He spake. And said, and behold, in other words, I saw in my vision by night, and now I am going to let you get a look at what God showed me. Behold. So let's get into this dream. He says, The four winds of the heaven. How many of y'all have seen the four winds of the heaven? Raise your hand. Nobody? My mom and dad, they've chartered lots of bus trips before. They've gone to different places. all over the United States. And uh you'll ever seen the Northern Lights on your bus trip? No. Y'all seen Niagara Falls? You have. You ever seen the four winds of heaven on your bus trip? You ever seen the four winds of heaven on your bus trip? No. So what are the four winds of heaven? How many of y'all, when I read the four winds of heaven, thought, What are the four winds of heaven? Raise your hand. There's a bunch of hands going up. Do you know what? That's exactly what you should be thinking. When you're reading these scriptures like this, don't just waltz through the scriptures and look over them. Stop. And ask yourself, what does this mean? Because they're put there for us to ponder on them so we can learn. Don't ever just rush to the scriptures. That's why we teach everything verse by verse. So if you're wondering that this morning then that is what you should be wondering. Because if we don't understand what the four winds are, then we won't be able to understand Daniel's prophecy. or, for that matter, several other prophecies in the Bible as deeply as we should. So this morning, we're going to focus on verse one and learn what the four winds are. All right? So, first of all, what are the four winds? Well, we need to understand that wind in the Bible, if you're taking notes, wind in the Bible is symbolic of a spirit. a spirit. Now a spirit such as an angel that God created, because angels, the Bible says, are spirits. They don't have flesh and blood like us. They can appear and look like a man. But they're not flesh and blood. If you'll remember when Jesus, after he, at one time, Jesus appeared to his disciples, and they were afraid they thought he was a spirit. Remember? And then he says, Well, touch me and fill me. Spirits don't have flesh and blood. Remember him saying that? So spirits are angels. The Bible calls them ministering spirits. God himself also is what? He's spirit. Remember what Jesus told the woman at the well. He said, God is set with me, spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. That's why God gave us a spirit. We are not spirits. We are men and women. We are mankind. We are corporal physical creatures that have a spirit. We are souls that live in a body that have a spirit, if you could think of it like that. So we have spirit so we can communicate with God and have the knowledge of spiritual things. But wind in the Scripture Is indicative, it represents a spirit, whether an angel created by God or the Holy Spirit of God that created those angels. And this is because the wind. Is like a spirit. The wind is not seen. We don't see spirits, but the wind's affects like a breeze, or here we're in Tornado Alley here, coming through Maybank a lot of times, or a tornado or hurricane. We see and feel the effects of the wind, though we don't see the wind itself, right? We may see what the debris the wind's carrying. We may feel the wind on our skin. We may watch something get blown. But we don't see the wind itself. Speaking of the Holy Spirit and his effects on the people of God, Jesus said to Nicodemus in John chapter 3, verse 8, the wind. Listen to that. See how Jesus is doing this? This is how you learn Scripture. You understand Scripture by letting other Scripture explain the Scripture you're reading. You see? That way you're not letting a man. Teach you, you're letting God teach you through what God says about what God says somewhere else. It's a beautiful thing. All right. So, Jesus, speaking of a spiritual birth. tells Nicodemus, the wind bloweth where it listeth, or wherever it wants, and thou hearest the sound thereof. But canst not tell whence it cometh and whither it goeth, so is everyone that is born of the Spirit. You see how Jesus then likened the Holy Spirit To the wind. All right? Very important. The book of Acts, chapter 2, verse 1 through 4. Acts chapter 2, verse 1 through 4. The Bible says. And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound. From heaven, why am I pointing my finger up and emphasizing heaven? Because these are the four winds of we're. Of heaven. Ah! Watch what's happening now. There came a sound from heaven. What was this sound like? As of a rushing mighty, sit with me, wind. Heaven wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting, and there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it set upon each of them, and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost or the Holy Spirit, right? And began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. Here we are again in the book of Acts where the apostles Through the Holy Spirit, is it God's inspired word, are now showing us the wind, heaven, right, and the Holy Spirit of God. So now we're looking at the four winds, plural, of the heavens here in our text. How do we get all that? We've learned what wind signifies clearly now. What about the four winds of the heaven? There's not four gods. How does this work? Well, we'll see. First of all, we have to understand that in the Bible, can anyone remember? We've learned about Bible numerology before. Can anyone tell me what the number 4 signifies in Scripture? Who said that? Very good, Miss Leslie. The earth. Four in the scripture is the number of the earth. Okay? We learn that from the Bible itself. The earth. Geographically speaking, it's divided into how many divisions? Four. Can anyone tell me what they are? We got north. We got south, we got east, we got west, right? And so north, south, east, and west. And so we have to understand these four divisions. So wind. God's Spirit and the Spirits who do God's bidding. Wind, if you're taking notes, God's Spirit and the spirits that do God's bidding. And for the earth which God's Spirit created. I will say it again. Wind, God's Spirit, And the spirits that God created in for the earth which God's spirit created. Metaphorically, therefore, the furthest boundaries of the earth Are often called the four what? Corners of the earth. Maybe you've heard a news broadcast before. from the four corners of the globe. You know, they used to say things like that when I grew up. News was a little more professional back then, it seemed. But uh but sometimes the furthest part of a boundary Is categorized by reaching from corner to corner. And we know the earth is not round. I'm sorry, we know the earth is not square, excuse me, we know it's round. But we use corners to signify the furthest extents of boundaries, and that's why it's called the four corners of the earth. Because if you had the north, south, east, and west, and you were to draw straight lines out. to specific points, you would have a square, you would have corners. In law, for example, and that's What I grew up doing, law. In law, if you're filling out an affidavit, Brother Shepherd will recognize this right off. When a judge looks at a search warrant affidavit, he's bound by a certain law. A certain doctrine of constitutional law. It's called the Four Coroners Doctrine. In other words, I can't hand a judge an affidavit. In him read the affidavit and say, Now, Judge, let me tell you what's not in there, and let me tell you what else we know. He can't consider that. He's bound to what's written within the four corners. And so the entirety of that page Which is signified by the corners. When we take a shortcut, if you'll look at this building, it is Other than the reset part of the recession back here where the baptistry and the choir loft is. But looking at it, we have a rectangle, it has corners. If I was going to make a circle, would I travel the entirety This building? No. I would be cutting what? Corners. And when you cut corners, it means you're not doing the entirety of the square footage. You're not walking that entire. Entirety of that square footage. So understand that. When we're looking at the number four, we're looking at the number of the earth. We're looking at the directions north, south, east, and west. We're also understanding the extremities of that are going to be understood by four corners as well. And so if you're looking at a weather vein. which I enjoy looking at weather veins. I think they're rather decorative and they're also useful. But if you're looking at a weather vein you're going to notice four directions on that weather vane, right? Which are the four divisions of the earth that point to the different four corners. Wind, when the wind blows, you've seen how the four corners and the wind are going together now. When the wind blows. What does it do to that weather vane? It turns it and you see the direction the wind is blowing. Notice that word direction. It's very important because when the wind blows, the wind blows a particular direction. It can't blow without blowing. North, south, east, or west, or somewhere in between. It blows a certain direction. So when we're thinking about the winds, the spiritual winds, Here on earth, because of the number four, we're looking at God's influence. In the direction the world goes. You see how that works now? God's influence in the direction the world is moving at a particular time. So when we think of the four winds, we have direction. We have movement, we have the earth, and we have spirit. Add all of this up, and we have the spiritual influence. That governs the direction the world moves. God's spiritual influence that governs the direction the world moves. And since the direction of this earth extends to its four corners, it is telling us the spiritual influence, God's influence, that extends to the farthest corners of the earth, meaning its entirety. Revelation chapter 7. Verse 1 and 3, 1 through 3. Revelation chapter 7, verse 1 through 3. And after these things I saw, watch now, four angels. Now, what are angels? They're spirits, right? I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the, look at it, with the four winds. How about that? Of the earth. That the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. And I saw another angel ascending from the east. Having the seal of the living God, and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea. Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. Now that tells us a lot, doesn't it? This verse confirms to us that we are talking about spiritual wind. Particularly spiritual winds, the four winds are for angels. They're four spirits. And we're talking about their real effects that they have on the earth as they're doing the bidding of God. And it confirms the Four Corners doctrine. Concerning the totality of this spiritual influence, there's not a single place on earth that God's influence doesn't reach and control, but most of all, it assures us that the Spirit of God is the one. Governing the influence that ultimately determines what direction the world moves in. You with me? These four angels. Speak of four messengers of God who carry out his will as he sovereignly rules over his creation. The four angels are not four demonic spirits. They haven't gone rogue or anything like that. They are the angels of God carrying out the will of God in the four corners of earthly affairs. In Zechariah. Chapter 6, Zechariah chapter 6, verses 1 through 5. The prophet Zechariah said, and I turn and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold, there came four chariots. How about that? Now when we're thinking about chariots in the Bible, we normally relate that To an army, don't we? When the chariots, like Pharaoh's chariots, come. So, when we see four chariots coming, it's the same thing as the four spirits, the four winds. But we're thinking of it in a more Militant sort of way, forceful sort of way, something that is dominant. All right. And so he looks and he sees four chariots out from between two mountains. And the mountains were mountains of brass. We don't have time to explain all that. We're not teaching through Zachariah right now. But look what we're doing that confirms what we're sitting this morning, verse 2. And the first chariot. were red horse in the first chariot were red horses, and in the second chariot black horses, and in the third chariot white horses, and in the fourth chariot, grizzled Gristled and bay horses. Then I answered and said unto the angel that talked with me, What are these, my Lord? What are these four chariots? And the angel answered and said unto me, These are the four spirits of the heavens. The four spirits of the heavens, which go forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth. Folks, there is so much here. Did you catch what the angel said? He said they are the four spirits. Now, in Daniel, remember the words we're reading here at this particular time, they are Chaldean words. They're Chaldean. They're not Hebrew. So in Daniel, we read a translation of those Chaldean words, and they were called the four winds. Here they're called the four spirits. How about that? And guess what this word in Hebrew spirits is? It is the counterpart for the Chaldean word wind. They're one and the same. The four winds are the four spirits. It's all the same thing. And so the four winds are four spirits. They're four angels. And these spirits, the Bible says here in Zechariah. They go forth. Did you see that? They go forth, meaning they're sent out. They're sent out. And who are they sent out from? The devil? No, they're sent out by God. Watch what he says here. It says, They go forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth. That's what we're looking at here. When Daniel is saying, behold the four winds of the heaven Sometimes they're called the four winds of the heaven, maybe the four winds of the earth, the four winds of the heavens, plural, it's all the same. It's all the same thing. Don't be confused by that. Remember, if you've gone through my Genesis to Jesus class, here's what we've learned: there is one heaven. That exists in three heavens. One heaven exists in three. God created the heaven As he created us, we are one person that exists in three parts. I am a body, I have a soul. I have a spirit, right? I am three parts, but I'm one person. Heaven is one heaven that exists in three parts: the sky above us, where the birds fly, the outer heaven. Where the sun, moon, and stars are, and what the Apostle Paul called in the New Testament the third heaven. Where he was caught up to, which he also called paradise, where he met with God and saw a vision from God. So. Don't get confused by the plurality or the singularity of the term. Understand whether it's four chariots, four winds, four angels. We are looking at God's sovereign will being done in the affairs of the world. It says here, they go forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth, not part of it, not most of it, but all of it, hence the four corners. Make sense? So. The Lord is the Lord of all the earth, and at the end of the day he rules in the kingdoms of men. Now listen to what God's Spirit said to the prophet Jeremiah in Jeremiah 49 verses 34 through 36. Jeremiah 49, verses 34 through 36. The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet against Elam in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the chief of their might. And upon Elam will I bring the four winds from the four quarters. Heaven. Isn't that cool? God is the one controlling the four winds. When we leave here this morning, there's going to be no doubt in our minds what the four winds are, will they? And then, when you see it in these other prophecies, whether Revelation or somewhere else, then we'll know exactly what it's talking about. Will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven and will scatter them toward all those winds, and there shall be no nation whither the outcast of Elam shall not. Come. So, who brings the four winds? God does. What do the four winds do? They perform his sovereign will in the affairs of the earth. Now, in the text we just read in Jeremiah, God was going to scatter the people of Elam, so the four winds here are executing God's judgment, his punishment. But God doesn't just judge men on the earth, does he? He also delivers men. Ezekiel chapter 37. Ezekiel chapter 37. Look with me in verse 9. The prophet Ezekiel said, Then said he, talking about God unto me, Prophesy unto the wind. Watch this. Prophesy unto the wind. Now, the wind is the will of God. How can God prophesy to God? Because God makes covenants with himself. The book of Hebrews says, when he could swear by no greater, he swore to himself by himself. So he's telling the prophet here, you prophesy to the wind. So as he prophesies to the wind, what is prophecy? That is God's word, not the prophet's. It's not Ezekiel's word. It's God's word through Ezekiel. So God is speaking to himself so we can hear. Watch what he says. And say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God. Come from the four winds. Here we are, the four winds again, O breath, and breathe upon these slain that they may live. Wow! Folks, we're looking at dead people in the book of Ezekiel. They're dead as they can be. Now let me tell you something else that wind does. Wind brings about a change of season. Brother Doug, it's good. Wind is generated by the rotation of the earth. We're constantly spinning. You want to see something really cool? You may not have realized this, but when you're watching the weather on the news, have you noticed That when you're watching those hurricanes, do you know what they do? Hey, what? They spin. Do you know why they spin? What you're looking at is the rotation of the earth. That's the earth's rotation. As you're watching them spin round and round, all that is. Is the reaction no different than if you were to take a cup of water and you were to start spinning that water around? You know what's happening with the water inside? After a while, it starts spinning too. You could stop the cup, and the water would still be stirring around. When you're watching that, you're watching the earth rotate. And as the Earth turns and rotates like this, it's generating wind, and you have these polar opposites of hot and cold depending on its angle to the sun. The hot and the cold create different pressure, and the pressure forces this wind, and it moves. And what happens is northern wind brings in cool weather. Southern wind brings in warm weather. It also generates rain, doesn't it? It causes spring to happen. And when spring happens, life comes up from the earth. All because of the wind. And that is not just earthly and physical, it is also heavenly and spiritual. God says, you prophesy to these winds. Watch what he says here. Prophesy unto the wind. Prophesy, son of man, and say to the winds, Thus saith the Lord God, Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. Do you know what those four winds are going to do one day? Do you know what the sovereign, powerful will of God and the chariots of God are going to do one day? They're going to bring about a change of season. And we're going to live. The dead in Christ are going to live. That brings us back to Revelation chapter 7, verse 1 through 3. We read over it quickly earlier. Now we're going to go back and look at it again. Revelation 7:1 through 3, the prophet John said, And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth. That the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. Now, what's happening is this: that wind is predestined to blow on the earth. And bring about a great destruction on this earth. God's wind is predestined to blow upon this earth and bring a great destruction. Remember what Jesus said: He's going to create a new heaven and a new earth. But what these four angels are doing, even though that wind is ready to go, it's ready to blow. It's ready to destroy the earth, the angels are holding it back. The only thing that keeps God from destroying this earth right now is that His sovereign plan be carried out first. Mercy be offered to the people, the gospel to be preached. And watch what happens now while they're holding this wind. Watch what they're doing here in Revelation. Holding the four winds of the earth that they should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. And I saw another angel descending from the east, having the seal of the living God. The seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea. See what these angels are going to do? They're going to hurt the earth and the sea. The four winds are going to hurt the earth and the sea, But they're holding back. They're holding back because an angel comes with a seal of God and says, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees. Till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. What does that tell us? In the Revelation, there's going to be a seal of the devil. It's called the mark or the seal of the beast. But you know what the Bible says about believers in Christ? It says we are sealed by God's Spirit. Every time someone looks to the cross and believes on Jesus as their sacrifice, The seal of the living God seals them in their foreheads. That means they're marked. Belonging to God. And these angels are holding these winds back until every last one is sealed. And that's when they'll be released and the destruction will be done. So let's go on now. The people are going to be sealed, and that means the God who will bring the destructive wind. On the earth in the Revelation is the same God who has the ability to hold that wind to make sure it does not blow until His servants are protected from its destruction. As Agent Rogers said once, a blade of grass does not blow without God's permission. So the four winds, without a doubt, represent God's sovereign rule in the affairs of this world, ensuring us that wherever fallen men and fallen angels rule, God ultimately will overrule. He'll work out His righteous plan in spite of the affairs of unrighteous men. And there's no greater example of that than the time that God carried out His righteous plan to save me and you. Using the world's unrighteous plan to condemn the Savior who saved us. And we must remember this great truth next week. As we see these four winds in Daniel, go back to your text now in Daniel, chapter 7 verse 2 As these four winds strove upon the great sea. Strove upon the great sea. We're going to be getting into that next week. You see, a storm on a sea, it's a frightening thing to encounter. What Daniel's going to be seeing and what he's going to be telling us he saw, it's a scary thing. Have y'all ever read the book of the Revelation? Got a little scared? I don't know anyone who hasn't. It's a scary thing. Listen, folks, someone told me this morning about a Christian witnessing to two Muslim ladies in Africa that was murdered here recently, and there was a video. It's a scary thing. But as frightening as these images may be that we see here in Daniel, we know that God is behind these four winds that are striving on the sea. So we can rest assured And the storm on the sea is carrying out the righteous will of God. The storms that we see are carrying out the righteous will of God. Psalm 107, verse 25 says, For he commandeth. And raiseth the stormy wind. Isn't that good? Which lifteth up the waves thereof? It's God in control of all of this, folks. And as the seasons change, and the wind blows in that cooler and warmer temperatures, The four winds do the same thing. They show God's sovereign power over the changing seasons of this world. Folks, summer is not always here. Winter is not always here. And I want you to rest assured. But the season we're living in right now, where the world hates God and hates Jesus, hates Christians, and is proud to walk around and strut in their wickedness and sin. I want to let you know that season's coming to an end. Because the winds are going to blow in a different direction very soon. And when that happens, like in the book of Ezekiel, spring will finally come. The breath of God will blow upon the dead. And those who are asleep in Christ will live forever. And God willing, we'll learn more about this next week: what it means for the wind to blow and strive upon the great sea. Aren't you glad you have a Bible? Father, we thank you so much for your precious word. Thank you for teaching us your word. Thank you, Father God, for letting us be able to see the wonderful truths and know what lies ahead. And understand what exists right now. To see the world as you see it, as you gave the prophets the ability to see it. So now, through their words, you've given us. And we thank you and we glorify your name in this. And, Father, we ask blessing also on the food that we're about to receive next door. In Jesus' precious name, amen.