THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2012
Daniel 7,8
Intrinsically, visions of the future often appear mysterious to the prophets. Our logical, finite minds have difficulty connecting today’s reality to the future or the physical and temporal to the spiritual and eternal, given the two-dimensional, linear nature of our thinking. God, however, sees all of creation in four-dimensional space (via height, width, depth, and time) and the multi-faceted metaphysical (physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual) and may therefore communicate these visions, but it doesn’t mean that people will understand. Even Daniel notes that the second vision that he received “was beyond understanding” and had overwhelmed him to the point of illness. Still, there are clear truths about God’s character and redemptive purposes transferred through a true prophet’s visions.
You may have read about Dan Brown’s book, The Lost Symbol. Dan Brown has written two immensely successful books, The DaVinci Code and Angels and Demons. Even secular critics note how Brown likes to stir controversy by tapping into people’s suspicions about the Christian faith. Brown argues that the church has suppressed truths that were inconvenient in order to maintain its power and, in this latest effort, that all religious traditions grasp for common ground. Based on Brown’s thesis, the Egyptian sun-god, Ra, has equal legitimacy with the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Brown’s hocus-pocus offers a neat “out” for those considering the Gospel. If all faiths have some common, underlying symbology, why not construct your own faith that gives you the greatest bang for your buck while loading on the least amount of guilt and effort?
We can have confidence in the truths of the Scriptures and the present and coming Kingdom of Jesus Christ because of His fulfillment of hundreds of detailed prophecies about His life, death, resurrection, and reign over the earth. Indeed, no other figure has fulfilled such vivid prophecies, whose origins span 10-plus centuries. No mere human could even come close to matching the descriptions that the prophets had received about Jesus. Despite confusing attempts to the contrary, we have immensely strong (contemporaneous) manuscript and historical evidence of His ministry and resurrection, unparalleled among ancient figures.
In today’s first vision, Daniel sees four beasts, which represent “four great kingdoms that will rise from the earth.” Despite the ferocious beasts, God has ordained that the saints will indeed reign over the earth and “possess it forever,” resting on the power of Christ Himself: “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days [God the Father] and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all people, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.” Jesus would later identify Himself as the Son of Man. Revelation contains similar language about the eternal King Jesus. In the Person of God the Father, we note that his hair and clothing is “white like wool,” representing holiness and purity, and that “his throne was flaming with fire.” In the vision, God is ready, willing, and able to mete judgment on the kingdoms of the earth. The Kingdom would be for all the faithful, of every tribe and nation.
Indeed, even the fourth kingdom that had not yet come into being would not last, but the saints will participate in a peaceful and eternal
In short, while we cannot decipher the entirety of these visions, God has provided a clarion call for eternal reign of Christ, His authority, and His righteousness. As Paul writes in Colossians 1:13,14, “he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” Amen!
QUESTIONS
1. How should the reality of Jesus’s coming Kingdom affect your day-to-day reality?
2. What lies have you heard recently that call Jesus’s authority into question? How could you combat these with the truth of today’s passage?
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