Orchard Community Church
As believers, we have faith in a God who gives us the confidence to continue to live counterculturally as we face the difficult days that life inevitably brings.
Counterculture (Part 2)
The Book of Daniel
We live in a culture that is often foreign and hostile to our faith. The book of Daniel is a collection of stories and prophecies written about Jewish believers living in the hostile foreign land of Babylon during the Exile. Therefore, the book of Daniel can teach us a lot about standing firm and living faithfully counter to the culture in which we find ourselves.
Confidence is important. We all need it. And yet it can be hard to find and to hold onto even in the good times, and it can be a real challenge to find and hold on to when life gets hard.
This morning we’ll look at an apocalyptic vision and focus on how as believers we have faith in a God who gives us the confidence to live in a counterculture way as we face the difficult days life inevitably brings.
Daniel 8:1-14 NIV
Daniel’s previous vision was a large-scale overview from the present to the end of time, this vision focuses more on the next period of history that will unfold.
With v. 3 Daniel says he looked up and saw a ram by the canal with two horns, one longer than the other. This is the Medio-Persian empire led by king Cyrus. Some good happened to the Jews under the Medio-Persians. Cyrus allowed the captives to go home and the Jews to rebuild the temple and restore their nation.
V. 5 says Daniel was thinking about the ram when suddenly a goat appeared with a large horn between its eyes. The goat is Greece and the horn is Alexander the Great.
In v. 9 Daniel says that out of one of the four horns, came another horn. It started small but grew in power. This is Antiochus IV Epiphanies of the Seleucid Greek Empire.
Antiochus Epiphanies was ruthless, arrogant, and known as one of the cruelest tyrants in history. Antiochus had a fanatical desire to turn the Jews into Greeks. He plundered the Temple, replaced the altar with an altar to Zeus, and sacrificed a pig on it! An act of sacrilege and desecration.
The reason for all this is revealed in v. 12, it was because of the rebellion of God’s people. The Jews had been unfaithful; they’d walked away from God. And when we do that God lets us go, to fend for ourselves without his provision or protection. That’s what happened and it didn’t go well. This sounds like the Antichrist of the last days that we talked about last week, but Antiochus is actually a foreshadowing of the Antichrist and the things he will one day do.
v. 14 - 2,300 mornings and evenings equals 1,150 days, or about 3 years, which corresponds to the time from when Antiochus set up the altar to Zeus in the temple in 168 to when Judas Maccabeus defeated the Greeks and reconsecrated the temple in 165.
Daniel 8:15-27 NIV
v. 16 God speaks from the river telling Gabriel to explain the vision to Daniel. The vision is about Antiochus and the end of that period, but Antiochus is a foreshadow of the Antichrist, so it also about him.
Like the Antichrist, he foreshadows he’ll be gripped and empowered by evil, by Satan. He will even take a stand against the “prince of princes” meaning God himself.
But then, at the end of v. 25, the passage takes its biggest turn yet, but in a nonchalant way. After describing all the terrible things Antiochus will do, it simply says, “yet he will be destroyed.” We’re not told how or when or anything except that it won’t happen “by human power.” The angel says something like “by the way, in the end, Antiochus loses and God wins.”
With these passages, God prepares his people for some dark points in history. Knowing what we will face can help us to live counter to our culture and continue to be confident and faithful.
Hebrews 11:1 NIV
Yet, as I mentioned, it’s not always easy to have confidence, especially when life is hard. So, as people of faith, counter to our culture, we look not to ourselves, but to God for confidence.
Hebrews 13:6 NIV
Job 42:2 NIV
We can avoid or rebound from the spiritual yips by practicing our faith, spending time with God, and growing our relationship with Him
Philippians 1:6 NIV
Today's Music
Orchard's Streaming and Song Select CCLI# 160190
Worship Options
We are excited to be able to worship under the Tent together. If you are not wanting to be under the Tent, feel free to sit in the front row of parking spots of the Orchard Parking Lot in your car and tune your radio to 100.1 FM to listen to the service.
1. Masks must be worn while on the Orchard Campus (both inside and out)
2. Please maintain the Social Distance
3. Sunday Morning Children's program. Children are always welcome in the service and we do not mind the noises that come with children. Children are a healthy sign of a healthy congregation.
Orchard Kids Sunday School (For preschool through 5th grade)
Children will worship with their families and be dismissed following the kids’ message, escorted by our Orchard Kids’ Leaders to our beautiful outdoor classroom space in the children’s play yard. We will have our Bible story, activities, crafts, and games in a specially designed format following current health and safety guidelines. Parents, please come to the Children’s Center immediately following the worship service and find all of your children in one place. Each family will receive a “My Church Bag” to be brought each week with basic supplies already included plus items from home: a water bottle, mask, and a jacket/hat for each child. Our team is so excited to see your family! See you Sunday!
If you have been at home distancing or are new to Orchard and would like to acquaint/reacquaint your child with our nursery, playground, and Orchard Kids' spaces, please contact Melinda Hoyt at melinda@orchardventura.org. for a "come and play" time.
Nursery care for children birth to 3 years old is available by RSVP only to Melinda Hoyt at melinda@orchardventura.org.
Interested in being a Volunteer? Middle school through adult, please contact Melinda Hoyt at melinda@orchardventura.org.
While we understand that some may not feel comfortable coming back in person or having to wear masks while on the Orchard campus, we encourage you to stay home and join us online with our Live Stream.
Office Hours
Monday – Thursdays from 10 am to noon.
Masks and social distancing are required.
If you are unable to make it in during our office hours, please send an email to info@orchardventura.org and or leave a message at (805) 647-3757.