His Kingdom Shall Not Pass Away (pt. 2)

In Daniel 7:15-28 we see the angel interpreting the dream Daniel had. In verses 15-18 Daniel is troubled by what he has seen. Daniel calls on the one who stands by him. It is not clear but the belief is the “one who stands by me” is an angel sent by God. The angel explains that the four beasts are four kingdoms which come from out of the earth. The saints of the Most High receive the kingdom and possess it forever eternity.

The real focus of Daniels dream comes in verses 19-22 where Daniel wants to become more familiar with the fourth beast. He concludes that the first three beasts are similar to well-known animals of the day. Daniel also recognizes these animals possess attributes and characteristics that are not normally associated with the lion, the bear and the leopard. The fourth beast is intriguing because it does not take on the same form or shape of a commonly known animal.

In verses 20-28 the fourth beast has teeth of iron, nails of bronze and was exceedingly dreadful who destroyed and trampled residue with its feet. The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom and devours the whole earth. The beast is described as having ten horns with a little horn which comes up to destroy three of the ten horns. In particular, the ten horns are described as ten kings who rise up from the kingdom while three of the horns shall fall to the little horn. This little horn is described as having eyes and a mouth which spoke pompous words and blasphemed God. The small horn made war with the saints and prevailed until our God came and judged him and the world. The saints then receive the kingdom, the same kingdom that God promises to give to those who follow Him (John 14:2).

Daniels dream give us insight into just how ugly the world is going to be when sin is the center of the world. Unfortunately, we see that Daniels prophetic word is coming to be realized as witnessed by the lawlessness we are experiencing across the globe. Satan knows his time is short and the sin in this world is shining like a bright light blinding those who cannot distinguish between God’s love and Satan's hate. Satan’s hatred towards God and His children can never be clearer today. Satan disguises his hatred under the appearance of self-preservation, being humane, lawlessness and destruction. The same old generational worn out arguments that Satan convinces people of since the beginning of time are being exposed for the whole world to see. Daniels vision is clear in that sin will prevail for a short time and then boom…God comes along and sends His judge Jesus Christ to take Satan and all non-believers and throw them in the lake of fire.

Our lives are defined by the words we speak, our behaviors and the reactions we have as we face life's trials. Our life is defined by who we follow and who we believe in. It is not hard to see those who truly love and follow God. God’s love pours through each one of us exhibited by the way we treat people and pray for all people and things (1 Timothy 2:1). It is through our actions and in most cases non-actions that people will either love us or hate us. Just as Jesus was hated by the world, as followers of Christ we will also be hated. Jesus asks us to take up our cross and die to ourselves every day (Matthew 16:24). When we do it we can be assured that Jesus will be with us through every circumstance and every trial. We should never give up hope that Jesus will always have our backs when we are walking righteously with Him. This walk begins and ends with Christ as the center of our lives. This walk allows people to see what we have and entice them to wanting the very same relationship with Christ.

God is truly letting us see the difference between good and evil in real time. The world is behaving just as the bible predicted it will behave in Daniel and the other prophetic books in the bible. God is separating the sheep from the goats (Matthew 25:32). Why is God showing us in great detail the differences between good and evil? I believe because His time is short in sending His son to judge the world. We know through scripture that Jesus’ return can occur at any time and I believe God is preparing His people and all those who still need to come to the Lord for His return.

My prayer is that we will see the prophetic words spoken in the bible and take them very seriously. I pray that eyes are open, ears are clear to hear and hearts are prepared to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our savior. I pray that the enemy be seen for who he truly is and that souls will be saved through the profession and repentance of our sins and the displaying of a contrite heart through our daily actions. In Jesus Mighty Name I pray Amen! Amen!