Sunday, December 8, 2013

DAY 342
THE CONSTANCY OF GOD
Daniel 8, 9 & 10 and 3 John
Yesterday I commented on Daniel 5 and 6, but left chapter 7 to today. So today we find ourselves dealing with four apocalyptic chapters. In some ways I wanted to separate the first six chapters from the others. In this part of the book we will be dealing with some very complex visions, so dense in fact that their meanings at first seem beyond us. Scholars have debated them, more fanciful minds have reveled in speculation, and we the common reader just often look away—but we can understand them. Daniel in fact gives us his interpretations…and God is constantly present in all.
We ended chapter 6 with a verse that indicated Daniel prospered during the reign of King Darius and Cyrus…both those kings are after King Belshazzar. I gave a world wind tour of the history of rulers that surrounded Daniel’s life and indicated that Belshazzar was no Nebuchadnezzar. If you just read the opening lines of chapters 7, 8 , 9 and 10 you will see that these are visions that take place during the reign of these kings—7 and 8 during the reign of Belshazzar with 9 and 10 taking place during Darius and Cyrus respectively.
In chapter 7 Daniel sees some sort of “beasts,” some powers that attack the world, each one getting progressively more grotesque. He also sees the Ancient of Days, God, on his throne…and he sees one like the “son of man.” Now your ears should be tingling. Jesus is referred to as the Son of Man, and Jesus refers to himself as the Son of Man. This is not an accident. Further in Daniel 7, while Daniel foresees his world falling apart, God prevails. Daniel interprets for us his dream and scholars have linked these vision to world events.
In chapter 8 we have Daniel again with Belshazzar, now 3 years into his reign. It is rather a dramatic scene: a he-goat defeats a ram. While there is always debate around such visions, most commentators believe this is about the rise and fall of Alexander the Great. The ram, at first triumphantly dominating the scene charges west and southward, scattering everything; it stands for the Persian Empire. The he-goat who made the lightening charge stands for Alexander. He won victory over victory against the Persians at breakneck speed in series of battles in 334 BC and beyond—pressing his victories as far as India only to collapse in 325 BC. If you are fascinated by this chapter, it is further unpacked here:
Remarkably this vision took place three centuries before the events with Daniel again providing the interpretation.
In chapter 9 we find ourselves with a vision during the first year Darius’ of reign. We find Daniel pouring over the books, the scrolls the exiles had with them…before exile it was the Temple…and now it was the Hebrew Scriptures. In this chapter we get a glimpse into Daniel’s heart as he prays for himself and his people…and we see God answer.

As for chapter 10, we will look at it tomorrow. My goal today was to de-mystify some of these readings. They are draped with imagery, but amazingly accurate—and notice how present God is with Daniel. That is what gets my attention. There are always rulers rising and falling, wars and peace, etc. In our lifetime the Berlin Wall has fallen and the Soviet Union has dissolved…the same was true for Daniel…and throughout all the changes in his world he remained constant to God and God to him.

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