Bible in a Year Series - Day #259 & #260 - This post is part of a year-long series where we are reading chronologically through the Bible. Click here to learn more. You are most welcome to join along at any time.
Today's text from the ESV Study Bible: Daniel 7-12.
We were doing some traveling this week. In spite of my efforts, I fell behind in my daily posts and will now be doing a bit of catch up.
As I was reflecting over the incredible and confusing things presented in the last six chapters of Daniel, and knowing that our chronological journey leaves no time for us to throw out an anchor, I have decided to let this drawing of Rembrandt for now possess my thoughts of these visions of Daniel.
Things to learn from this drawing:
- Daniel in prayer.
- Angels watching over us.
- A very difficult future ahead, in spite of Joel Osteen's "Your Best Life Now".
However, I can't move forward without making note of a few things found here:
- Amazingly, Daniel's vision begins with his present day and moves forward to the very end of time. We see the rise and fall of Babylon, Persia, Alexander the Great, Rome, and ultimately a future Anti-Christ.
- We see angels fighting demons.
- We see a future final judgment where the "Ancient of Days" opens books and all of mankind, resurrected, stands before him to determine whether they will spend eternity in "everlasting life", or "shame and everlasting contempt".
- In spite of the dreams of beauty contestants, we learn that worldly events will get far worse over time.
- We begin to understand that all of God's saints are exiles in a foreign land and that God is preparing our new Promised Land for a future time.
- We can see the power of prayer for the saints of God.
- We can see God's complete sovereignty over the events of history.
- What a precious gift to have Daniel's vision, its future foretellings, and to be able to look back and find these things rooted in history's past.
In spite of the remarkable things portrayed in these verses, it seems to me that the very last instruction to Daniel is important for us today:
"But go your way till the end. And you shall rest and shall stand in your allotted place at the end of the days.” (Daniel 12:13)
Just like Daniel's contemporary exiles, we are to live in this fallen world and remain confident of the promised future inheritance of God's elect.
It's all quite mind boggling, isn't it?
