The Kingdom Of God

THE KINGDOM OF GOD

Read Daniel 7:1-28

Read Daniel 7:1-28

And to him was given dominion, and glory, and a kingdom. Daniel 7:14

The seventh chapter of Daniel begins the second half of the book of Daniel, and is the first of a series of visions about the history of Israel in the world from the Babylonian Empire to the Roman Empire, and beyond––to the end of time. At this pivotal point in the prophecy, there appears a vision of the throne room in heaven. The book of Daniel turns on this axis: The Vision of the Ancient of Days (God the Father) and the Son of Man (Jesus Christ) ruling their eternal kingdom.

It is the sad mark of a declining nation and a failing culture that great leaders cannot be found. I do not want to sound unkind or censorious, but when I think of our truly great presidents, I think of mostly men of the past. Let me illustrate. While voting this past year, I stood in line with an older couple behind me and a woman my age with her 22-year-old son in front of me. We all got to talking and the man behind me said, “Name the four greatest presidents of the United States.” I chose George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan. The older fellow, a Democrat, chose Lincoln, FDR, Truman and Jack Kennedy (all Democrats). The woman my age, also a Democrat, could only name two: Kennedy and Carter. And the young man said, “I can only think of one: Bill Clinton.” (Of course, he could only remember two presidents in total: Clinton and George W. Bush.)

I thought to myself, “How did we go from such unanimity about the greatness of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln to the frustration we seem to have about more recent presidents?” I wish I had a nickel for every time someone has said to me, “Pastor, I’m just not excited about voting for either candidate in this election.”

Daniel sees a vision of a succession of powerful, violent, frightening beasts, each representing the Gentile powers of the ancient world: Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome. His vision comes in the first year of Beshazzar’s co-regency with his lackluster father, Nabonidus. Gone were the glory days of Nebuchadnezzar––perhaps the greatest ruler in all of antiquity.

It could have been very discouraging to see these visions of the fall of Babylon, Cyrus and the Persians, Alexander and his divided kingdom and the decadent Caesars of Rome. But God gives Daniel a vision within a vision that lifts his heart in hope. Please read Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14.

Here Daniel sees what no other man in history saw, other than Christ. He actually saw God the Father on His heavenly throne and Jesus standing before that throne. He was granted the privilege to see God give to Christ the Kingdom of God, and with it the kingdoms, nations and peoples of the earth. Daniel calls the pre-incarnate Son of God, the “Son of Man” (7-13). This would be Christ’s favorite title for Himself, especially in the Gospel of Luke. This title speaks not of Christ’s humanity, but rather of His dominion, ownership and judgment of all mankind.

Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see

the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of

heaven.” (Matthew 26:64)

What encouraged Daniel was what should encourage us. Because we are “in Christ” by faith (Galatians 2:20) and are united to Him forever (Colossians 3:1-3), then the Kingdom of God, Christ’s Kingdom, belongs to us. This is the climax of this great vision.

And the kingdom and the dominion

and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven

shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High;

their kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom,

and all dominions shall serve and obey them. (Daniel 7:27)

History can, and will, get pretty rough. The times will be increasingly unsettled. The kingdoms of the world will go from bad to worse. And world leadership may well decline until a company of fools controls the governments of men. But God sits on the throne. The scepter of heaven is in the able hand of the heavenly prince Himself. And the Kingdom of God is marching forward, unabated and right on schedule. Soon our day of triumph will appear as Vaughan Williams wrote in his hymn, “But now there breaks a yet more glorious day, the saints triumphant rise in bright array. The King of glory passes on His way!”

PRAYING FOR THE PCA

AC: Pray that the Lord will provide all those associated with the General Assembly countless opportunities for witness to the lost, encouragement to fellow brothers and sisters and praise to the Triune God, and that each person will use every opportunity to His glory.

CTS: Please pray that the many students who come to Covenant Seminary from distant lands will feel at home and that the Seminary community will be blessed by the unique cultural and geographical perspectives these students bring to their studies, ministries and worship.

MTW: Pray that all MTW staff would serve with hearts full of love and joy in Christ.

RUM: Please pray for the new Reformed University Fellowship (RUF) groups that will begin in the fall of 2009. Pray that they will be used to spread the Gospel of God’s grace on the campus, reaching students with the transforming power of God’s Word as it is taught in these groups.

RBI: RBI employees meet together every Monday morning for Bible study and prayer. Please pray this will be a rich time of spiritual insight and fellowship.