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Devotional thoughts (Monday through Thursday mornings) from the pastor of Exeter Presbyterian Church in Exeter, NH // Sunday Worship 10:30am // 73 Winter Street

Friday, July 18, 2008

Daniel 7

Daniel had an amazing dream. Like the earlier dream that he had identified and interpreted for the king of Babylon, this dream spoke of centuries of human existence through the use of images. The king’s dream recorded in Daniel 2 told this story using a statue of four sections: gold, silver, bronze, and iron. The message in Daniel 7 is a vision of four creatures that come up out of the sea: a lion, a bear, a leopard, and a frightening beast without a name.

With the benefit of parallel passages in this and other books, and with the perspective of those who have been born after the coming of the Messiah, there need be little doubt what these four beasts stand for. They have in common with one another that they came against God’s Old Covenant people. It is fitting that they are pictured as rising up out of the tumultuous sea of the world, for ultimately they speak of the empires of this world. Yet they are distinct regimes that are easily guessed today. The lion seems to stand for Babylon. The bear is the empire of the Medes and the Persians. After them come the Greeks symbolized here as a leopard, and the final horrifying beast stands for the Romans. If we are wrong in any of these identifications, that is not particularly central to the point of the chapter, since God is not exalting the power of the world here, but His own sovereignty over even the most powerful empires of men.

All of these powers are vicious in their treatment of God’s people. It is important to consider that our hope is not for the best governing power that history presents as reasonable. Our hope is for the kingdom of God that the Lord has established through Christ, a kingdom that will have a perfect fulfillment far above any other power to which it could be compared. Each of these beasts has unusual and frightening elements that are not comforting to the people of God, but the final beast is definitely the worst. When such a vicious power is given authority over the covenant people of God, the only comfort that we can have is that it is our loving God who is giving them this authority, and it is clearly only for a time.

There is a little horn mentioned in connection with the final beast that seems to be more of a person than some phase in the life of a kingdom. This horn has the eyes of a man and a mouth that makes proud boasts. This could easily stand for the antichrist figure that we hear of in other biblical texts, either the plural generic antichrists that will arise at various points throughout the current age, or the specific singular one who will gain strength during the time immediately prior to the return of Christ and the full establishment of the Lord’s great kingdom.

This great kingdom of God is associated with the judgment of the final beast and with the coming of the Son of Man in clouds of glory. For this reason the final kingdom must be more than just the Roman Empire per se, but all the powers of this world that this great empire of men represented. The Son of Man who is the key to the Kingdom of God is presented before the Ancient of Days as one who is approved. The contrast between Him and the powers that came before Him could not be greater. The eternal God gives to our great Mediator Jesus Christ all dominion and glory and a world-wide kingdom that will not be destroyed. All of the other kingdoms will surely perish, though they may seem to last for some period of time during this age.

The authoritative interpretation of this vision tells us that there is a connection between this Son of Man and the saints of the Most High who are His people, for He is given a kingdom, and they receive this kingdom as well. We are also given a sense of the turmoil of this age with the first appearance of this new kingdom of God. There will clearly be a period of some kind of warfare where this beast will battle against the church, even seeming to prevail over them at least for a time. Whatever success these powers of the world or one evil center of authority will seem to have, they will be judged by God Most High, and His saints will inherit the earth in Christ our King.

These facts of vividly-portrayed prophecy amounting to many future centuries of covenant life and spiritual warfare were quite overwhelming to Daniel. We live in an age when Christ has already come, but not as the Son of Man on clouds of glory; at least not yet. Instead He first came as Isaiah’s Suffering Servant and as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. The battle of this age is a plain fact according to Daniel’s dream. It is important for us to know that that battle eventually comes to an end. It is not enough for us to believe in the Suffering Servant. We need to know that He who has risen from the dead is coming on the clouds of glory to bring about the judgment of the world and to receive the Kingdom together with us, a prize that He so richly deserves.

This is our destiny. Daniel saw it and it was too much to take in. It was deeply troubling. In the light of the clarity of the cross and the resurrection, and with the benefit of New Testament revelation, we read these same words of Daniel, and we rejoice. Our King is coming, and He is strong to deliver us from the most powerful foes. Rejoice in the Lord always.

posted by Pastor Magee @ 7:00 AM

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