Daniel 10-12: Behind the Scenes

Sometimes I feel like I'm Dorothy in the Land of Oz.  I'm trying  to get home, but there are all of these trials and temptations along the way that continue to hinder me and all the time I'm being manipulated by an unseen wizard. 

If we believe what Daniel saw and was told, this is true.  Only, it's not a wizard, it's princes and kings and daughters of kings behind the curtain. There are two forces, greater than anything we can imagine, their kingdoms are not worldly kingdoms, they are spiritual kingdoms, and they are waging a war far greater than what we can imagine as well.  The Apostle Paul says we see through a glass darkly, For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. (1 Cor. 13:12 KJV)  That's all we can handle now.  Not even Daniel could understand the enormity of what takes place in the other realm.
I heard, but I did not understand. So I asked, “My lord, what will the outcome of all this be?”
He replied, “Go your way, Daniel, because the words are closed up and sealed until the time of the end. Many will be purified, made spotless and refined, but the wicked will continue to be wicked. None of the wicked will understand, but those who are wise will understand. - Dan. 12:8-10 NIV

All of the behind the scenes manipulating that is taking place by forces we cannot see or even comprehend will continue until the end.  The wicked will continue to be wicked, but many will be purified, made spotless and refined.  That's enough to know.  I don't need to see the wizard, I don't need to peer behind the curtain.  I just need to trust in the one who made me spotless and refined.

2010 Post - Daniel 10-12:  The End of Days

Daniel 9: Daniel's Cry for Mercy

“Now, O Lord our God, who brought your people out of Egypt with a mighty hand and who made for yourself a name that endures to this day, we have sinned, we have done wrong. O Lord, in keeping with all your righteous acts, turn away your anger and your wrath from Jerusalem, your city, your holy hill. Our sins and the iniquities of our fathers have made Jerusalem and your people an object of scorn to all those around us.
“Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For your sake, O Lord, look with favor on your desolate sanctuary.Give ear, O God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. - Dan 9:15-18 NIV

This fervent cry for God's mercy was from Daniel.  One of the more righteous men of the Old Testament.  This is Daniel, the one who would not bow, the one to whom God had given dreams and the ability to see and interpret dreams of others.  This is Daniel whom the lions could not consume.  Yet, this same Daniel is consumed by grief at what he sees happening around him.  It is this same Daniel who falls on his knees to plead with God for forgiveness, for mercy.  Are there any Daniels today?  Are there any that are worthy of crying out for God's mercy?  If not, what anger and wrath do we face?

2010 Post - Daniel 9:  Lord You Are Righteous

Daniel 6-8: Ultimate Authority

At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent. - Dan. 6:4 NIV

“In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed. - Dan. 7:13-14 NIV

There's wisdom and power to govern here on this earth and there's the ultimate wisdom and power.  Daniel was able to be a wise administrator because he recognized the difference between the two.  Anything we do, no matter how good, trustworthy, and true we are, pales in comparison to the one with ultimate authority, glory, and sovereign power. 

We live in a time of great knowledge and of going to and fro, but we can't yet see the future that Daniel saw.  We have to rely on what God revealed to others like Daniel and the Apostle John, and our own interpretation, which is limited by the differences of centuries and languages.  The truth is that there is one, the son of man, who will be able to do what no one else, no other king or prince.or president or prime minister has been able to do.  He will approach the Ancient of Days, he will be led into his presence and given authority, glory and sovereign power over all peoples and nations.  He will rule over an everlasting kingdom, one that will never be destroyed. 

2010 Post - Daniel 5-6:  The Best and Worst of Times

Daniel 7-8:  Yes. Forever and Ever

Daniel 3-5: The Eye of God

“This is the inscription that was written:
  MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN
 “This is what these words mean:
  Mene: God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end.
  Tekel: You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting.
  Peres: Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.” -Dan 5:25-28 NIV

What frightening words to be heard:  You have been weighed and found wanting.  Whatever you have done has not been enough.  You have come up short.  All you have done, all you have surrounded yourself with will come to nothing. 

It was not as if Belshazzar didn't know better.  His father, Nebuchadnezzar had to learn the hard way who the God of Heaven really was.  All of the dreams that he had, throwing the three men into the fiery furnace, none of that had any impact on Nebuchadnezzar, he had to go mad and roam wild in the fields for years until he recognized God's power.  His son should have paid attention, but he was caught up in his own extravagant life style and the lessons of history meant little to him.  It's so easy for the powerful to get caught up in their own realm that they fail to notice what is going on around them.  Beltshazzar was on top of the world, he was the ruling authority, he had it all under control.  That is until a mighty finger came out of nowhere and wrote on his wall, 'weighed and found wanting.'

The eye of God that is attached to the finger of fate is still there.  Behind all we do and say, behind all we think we have accomplished or accumulated, the eye of God weighs every generation.  It's not a fickle finger that determines our fate, it's the eye of God.

2010 Post - Daniel 3:  But If Not
Daniel 4:  Exalt the King of Heaven

Daniel 1-2: Voices in the Night

The king said to Daniel, “Surely your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, for you were able to reveal this mystery.” - Dan. 2:47 NIV

It's one thing to be able to intrepret dreams.  People do that today, they even write books and blogs about the meaning of dreams.  But, only those who have the ear of God, who trully hear from him in the night, can tell a person of the dream that is bothering them and give them the message from God that it represents.  In the Old Testament, in cases of those like Joseph and Daniel to whom God gave the ability to intrepret dreams, that gift came with a price, captivity.  Even though they were totally subjected to another ruler, their hearts were ruled only by God.  They knew the source of dreams and the source of what lies in the future.  As Daniel prayed:

 “Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever;
   wisdom and power are his.
He changes times and seasons;
   he sets up kings and deposes them.
He gives wisdom to the wise
   and knowledge to the discerning.
He reveals deep and hidden things;
   he knows what lies in darkness,
   and light dwells with him. - Dan. 2:20-22 NIV

Can God's voice only be heard when one is no longer surrounded by prosperity or any other situation where the noise and hubris of our lives would silence anything he would have to say. Do we have to be in captivity to hear God's voice in the night?

2010 Post - Daniel 1-2:  The God Who Reveals Mysteries

Ezekiel 47-48; Nothing Can Stop It From Coming to Pass

“And the name of the city from that time on will be:
   THE LORD IS THERE.” - Ezek. 48:35 NIV

It really doesn't matter how the nations of the world feel, it doesn't matter how the United Nations votes.  God set apart Israel and the Land of Israel for his people.  It has always been there, it always will be there.  There is nothing that man can do to take away the promise.  There is nothing that Satan can do to keep what God has promised from coming about.  Someday, and it may be soon, there will be a great city where the children of Israel and the aliens who have settled among them will be safe.  From the temple in it's midst, the trickle of a stream will begin to flow which will becoma a river with such force that it will turn the Dead Sea to a living thing.  I don't know if this is metaphorical or not, but I know it will come about.  God is making a place for himself and the name of that city from time one will be, 'The Lord is There.'  Nothing can stop it from coming to pass.
 -

2010 Post - Ezekiel 47-48:  The Lord is There

Ezekiel 44-46: Falling Face Down

Then the man brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the temple. I looked and saw the glory of the LORD filling the temple of the LORD, and I fell facedown. - Ezek. 44:4 NIV

A funny thing happens when people encounter the gory of the Lord.  They all fall face down.  It happened to Isaiah, it happened to Ezekiel.  "Woe is me" anyone who has seen God's glory cries, "Woe is me."  Are we asking for too much when we try to call down God's fire from heaven.  Do we really know what we're asking for?  It's not some warm fuzzy feeling.  The glory of the Lord is a formidable thing.  It is something most of us could not face, we would turn our backs and run as fast as we can.  God is that big.  He is that mighty.  His glory is that powerful.  It's the power that moves mountains and causes manbuilt towers to shake and fall down.  If inanimate objects cannot stand in God's presence, neither can we.  And, I'm afraid, until we find ourselves face down in the dirt, on the carpet, or whererver we are when we see God's true glory, we're going to persist in the notion that we can call for his glory to fall.  God doesn't share his glory with just anyone. 

2010 Post - Ezekiel 44-46:  Ezekiel's Temple