Lent day 14

 Daniel Ch 7

3In my vision in the night I continued to watch,

and I saw One like the Son of Manb

coming with the clouds of heaven.c

He approached the Ancient of Days

and was led into His presence.

14And He was given dominion,

glory, and kingship,

that the people of every nation and language

should serve Him.

His dominion is an everlasting dominion

that will not pass away,

and His kingdom is one

that will never be destroyed.

Daniel’s Visions Interpreted

  15I, Daniel, was grieved in my spirit, and the visions in my mind alarmed me. 16I approached one of those who were standing there, and I asked him the true meaning of all this.

So he told me the interpretation of these things: 17‘These four great beasts are four kings who will arise from the earth. 18But the saints of the Most High will receive the kingdom and possess it forever—yes, forever and ever.’

19Then I wanted to know the true meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others—extremely terrifying—devouring and crushing with iron teeth and bronze claws, then trampling underfoot whatever was left. 20I also wanted to know about the ten horns on its head and the other horn that came up, before which three of them fell—the horn whose appearance was more imposing than the others, with eyes and with a mouth that spoke words of arrogance. 21As I watched, this horn was waging war against the saints and prevailing against them, 22until the Ancient of Days arrived and pronounced judgment in favour of the saints of the Most High, and the time came for them to possess the kingdom.

23This is what he said: ‘The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on the earth, different from all the other kingdoms, and it will devour the whole earth, trample it down, and crush it. 24And the ten horns are ten kings who will rise from this kingdom. After them another king, different from the earlier ones, will rise and subdue three kings. 25He will speak out against the Most High and oppress the saints of the Most High, intending to change the appointed times and laws; and the saints will be given into his hand for a time, and times, and half a time.

26But the court will convene, and his dominion will be taken away and completely destroyed forever. 27Then the sovereignty, dominion, and greatness of the kingdoms under all of heaven will be given to the people, the saints of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will serve and obey Him.’

28Thus ends the matter. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts troubled me greatly, and my face turned pale. But I kept the matter to myself.”

This stuff is a mystery and to be completely honest I dont think im that interested in the end time prophecy part. There will be more time to go into some of that over the next few days.  I tend to be of the opinion that God will show us what we need to know when we need to know it and that sticking close to Him is really all we need to do to negotiate our everyday.  What interests me about todays reading is Dan himself.

First off he appears to have been up praying in the night. We already know he prays three times every day but maybe he was up through the night as well. Monastic almost. Except he had a full time, hugely responsible job. Busy guy. Lots to pray about. 

Secondly - the vision of Jesus. How did Daniel know that this kingdom would be an everlasting one?  Did he see it? Did he hear God say it? Or did he just 'know' in his spirit?

Thirdly, Daniel is actually in the vision he is seeing. He is a participant. I find that amazing and exciting. I think most of us at some point have been present in our own dreams rather than just observing something that is going on. But this is different from that. Here Daniel is IN a vision. I dont really know how that works but its going on my bucket list as something I want to experience ( I think!)  (Bear in mind that this is all going on hundreds of years before the Holy Spirit arrives to give us all access to this stuff)

Next, Daniel is grieved. He is upset and troubled. Looking at his description of what he has seen I suppose I might assume that the story has all ended happily ever after so thats OK then. But I think Daniel's reaction to the vision is a clue to the trauma he's experienced seeing the four creatures.  I think they are terrifying, powerful, dark and disturbing. Nightmarish.  Awful and overwhelming.  Even the sight of God on His throne and Jesus being given complete and utter victory doesn't settle Daniel's spirit.  😕

So Daniel asks the question . What is this all about?

I'm someone who is way too quick to offer my own interpretation when I see something I probably don't really understand.  We all want to be right don't we?  It can be hard to say ' well quite honestly I have no idea'.  Even harder sometimes to ask someone else for an interpretation or for wisdom.  I wonder who it is Daniel is asking. Is it an angel? Gabriel pops up later in this story. But he is named and this person isn't.  Whoever he is he is one of many people/beings present.   He tells Daniel what the vision of the beasts means but this doesn't seem to comfort Daniel much.  Even though he is told that these events are way in the future and therefore wont directly affect him, Daniel is still troubled.

How troubled am I about the persecuted church, the trials that are undoubtedly headed our own way, the rising opposition to the gospel in parts of the world?  Do I lie awake at night praying for the government of my nation and for God's reign to be established in the earth?  Ummmmm nope.

Lastly, Daniel didn't tell anyone.  If Id seen God, Jesus, angels and a revelation about the future of the world........  well, maybe I wouldn't tell anyone either.  I wonder how much other end time revelation has already been given to people who havent told anyone yet.  God never does anything without revealing His secrets to His servants the prophets. But sometimes the prophets are told not to tell.  I think the bigger and more significant the revelation the more closely it needs to be guarded.  Mary kept the revelation of Jesus a secret until He was born. The only people who knew about Him were people God told Himself.

There is alot to chew on in the book of Daniel. He is a relatively old man when he gets these visions. He has spent a lifetime on a restricted diet, praying every day despite opposition, holding positions of national responsibility in a pagan country. Faithful, faithful faithful. Im amazed that he can serve his captors and work so hard to be the best man of God he can be under the constant scrutiny of those who opposed him.  I just know I wouldn't see things like Daniel saw them.  Which is why, I suppose, I havent been granted access into heaven like he was.

Hey ho. There's still time. Hopefully 😊