Title Daniel 8:1~8 (2011.1.29)
Contents
Title: Nothing lasts forever.
Text: (Daniel 8:1~8)
Hymns: 351. Those who believe are your soldiers
Date: January 29, 2011 (Sat) 5:00 am
Venue: Jeonju Yebut Church Small Worship Room
God reveals His will to man in various ways according to the times and circumstances. What was God saying through Daniel's continued vision?
1. Daniel sees a vision again (verses 1-2)
Daniel had a vision in the third year of King Belshazzar, and his body was at the river Ulai in Shushan, Elam. Daniel was drawn by the revelator to the real place where the future revelation will become a reality. All events and stories recorded in the Bible are revelations of God and historical facts. It is by no means a myth or a man-made story. Therefore, only when we receive the Spirit of God, we can realize and be moved. By emphasizing that he is “I, Daniel,” who is seeing the vision, you can see how much glory Daniel considered the revelation of God.
2. The vision of the ram (verse 3)
Daniel saw in a vision a ram with two horns by the river. The two horns were different from each other because of their length, and the sheep were hitting the west, north and south with two horns. It hit so hard that no beast could stand up to the ram, and no one could take back what it had taken. This means that when the Medes and Persians wage a war of conquest, there will be no king or nation to stand against. In fact, the Medes and Persians conquered and ruled neighboring countries based on their strong military power, and formed the largest empires in the world at the time in terms of territory size and population. In this way, peoples and individuals without God invade and oppress other peoples. However, the nation or individual with whom God is with them knows how to show compassion and grace with the heart of God.
3. He-goat vision (v. 5)
In a vision, Daniel saw a he-goat coming from the west. This he-goat has a large gap between his eyes.
It had horns and was so fast that its feet did not touch the ground. When the he-goat saw the two-horned ram, he attacked it and completely subdued it. The he-goat now has four more powerful horns. The big-horned he-goat historically means the Greek Alexander. Alexander's army was a king of wisdom and valor. He conquered the Persian Empire and became the greatest power of his time. However, the brave Alexander is killed and Greece is divided into four kingdoms. No country, no matter how powerful, cannot last forever. It shows that the rise and fall of history is under God's absolute sovereignty. Therefore, believers must be awake, trusting in God, so that they can stand before God without shame on the last day of history.
All countries in this world that only believe in their own strength will eventually decline and perish. It can never last forever. The only eternal kingdom is the kingdom of God. The saints should hope for the eternal kingdom of God and live with the heart of God on this earth.
<Prayer>
1. For the revival of Sunday worship and the grace of the Word
2. Send many faithful new families and co-workers!