[Day 126]
Daniel 7.13
I continued watching in the night visions, and I saw One like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Day and was escorted before Him. He was given authority to rule, and glory, and a kingdom; so that those of every people, nation and language should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and His kingdom is one that will not be destroyed
Daniel is an amazing book. It of course has several well known stories, probably first told when we were at Sunday school. But it also contains some of the most vivid and unusual chapters of Scripture, too. Daniel is a man who has visions and dreams, given to him by God, for the benefit of all His people.
In these verses is one of the most amazing visions that is in the Bible. He sees God Himself, the Ancient of Days, together with Jesus Christ, who appears like a human being. Jesus is given authority to rule. He doesn’t take it himself, he doesn’t help himself to it or demand that it be given to him. He approaches God and is given the authority that is due to him. With that authority comes glory and a kingdom. His kingdom is not one that has boundaries or borders, but is one where all people and nations will worship and serve Him alone for eternity.
This is in such contrast to the King and kingdom that Daniel finds himself in. Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon, continuously fails to recognise that God is God. He tries and forces people to worship him, and he ends up for a time humiliated and an outcast from his people. Babylon, the mighty empire, is itself destroyed and replaced by other empires. Neither king nor kingdom lasts, despite their apparent strength and power.
We see mighty ‘kings’ and ‘kingdoms’ all around us, in industry and commerce, in global politics and international financial institutions. We, like Daniel, might even work closely with such ‘kings’ and in such ‘kingdoms’.
But even if we do find ourselves there, like Daniel, we need to keep a holy perspective as we go about our business. We need to be asking and receiving holy dreams and visions to keep our perspectives on our heavenly affairs.
And like Jesus Christ himself, we need to approach God, the Ancient of Day, with humility, never taking His power and authority for granted, but waiting for it to be given to us. And when we receive God’s authority, receiving His glory too, so that we can serve our King and worship Him from now into eternity.
What is God saying?
I believe that God is saying:
Are you comfortable just being in God’s presence?
