Category Archives: Kingdom of God

Beastly Ambitions – Daniel 7

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I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man,and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away,and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed (Daniel 7:13-14, ESV).

One of the literary themes in Daniel is portrayed by the lions in Chapter 6. The lions symbolized more than the Persian method used to execute Daniel. Beast imagery is used multiple times in the book of Daniel.

Daniel 6 linked the events of Daniel in the lion’s den to the prophetic vision of Daniel in Chapter 7 and his visions throughout the remainder of the book. In Chapter 6 Daniel is surrounded by deadly beasts. In Chapter 7 God’s faithful people are surrounded by beastly kingdoms.

Throughout the book of Daniel there is a progression of beastly ambitions by kings and kingdoms that are ultimately thwarted by God’s rule. In Daniel 4 King Nebuchadnezzar became like a beast until he acknowledged that God was the supreme ruler over earthly kingdoms. In Chapter 6 Daniel is thrown among beasts and is saved by a heavenly visitation, which King Darius acknowledged by decreeing that Daniel’s God is the Almighty God who exercises dominion over all the kingdoms of the earth. Then, in Daniel 7 beasts portrayed a series of earthly empires that emerged and declined under the sovereign rule of God.

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Absolute Power – Daniel 2

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“Blessed be the name of God forever and ever,
    to whom belong wisdom and might.
He changes times and seasons;
    he removes kings and sets up kings;
he gives wisdom to the wise
    and knowledge to those who have
    understanding;
he reveals deep and hidden things;
    he knows what is in the darkness,
    and the light dwells with him
(Daniel 2:20-22, ESV).

In Daniel 1 the king of Babylon invaded Judah and besieged Jerusalem. Many people from the nobility and royal family of Judah were exiled to Babylon. Daniel and three of his friends were among the exiles. As youths they were to be educated in the Chaldean language and culture. The faithfulness of Daniel and his friends is tested and with God’s favor upon them they are proven to have greater understanding and knowledge than all the Chaldean wise men in Nebuchadnezzar’s court.

In Daniel 2 King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream and wanted the wise men of his court to interpret it. The thing is, he didn’t want them just to interpret the dream; he wanted them to reveal what the dream was and then interpret it.

King Nebuchadnezzar wasn’t exactly an enlightened ruler and when his wise men couldn’t tell him the dream, he was furious and decreed for them all to be executed. Apparently, Daniel and his friends were at the top of the kill list. When the captain of the king’s guard came to take them to be executed, Daniel requested a meeting with the king to tell him he could interpret the dream.

Daniel told his friends about King Nebuchadnezzar’s decree and they all prayed and asked for God’s help in knowing and interpreting the dream to Nebuchadnezzar. And, God revealed the dream and its interpretation in a night vision to Daniel! In response to revealing Nebuchadnezzar’s dream to him, Daniel proclaimed the song of praise celebrating God’s power, wisdom, and control over history in vs. 20-22.

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The Place Where Heaven and Earth Meet – Genesis 32:1-23

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Originally published January 26, 2012.

“Jacob went on his way, and God’s angels met him. When he saw them, Jacob said, ‘This is God’s camp.’ So he called that place Mahanaim” (Genesis 32:1-2, CSB).

While Jacob was on a journey returning to the Promised Land, he met angels at a place where he stopped to camp. Jacob called the place where he met the angels, Mahanaim, which means in Hebrew, Two Camps. This was also the place where he would have the famed wrestling match with God.

Jacob may have designated the place as Two Camps because he was acknowledging the convergence of two realities at that place—the unseen world of God as represented by the angels and his own physical and material world consisting of his family, servants, and livestock.

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Living Forward – Hebrews 11:24-26

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FutureExit“By faith Moses refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter when he was grown up. He chose to be mistreated with God’s people instead of having the temporary pleasures of sin. He thought that the abuses he suffered for Christ were more valuable than the treasures of Egypt, since he was looking forward to the reward” (Hebrews 11:24-26, CEB).

A few years ago I wrote a book entitled, The Kingdom Order: Living for the Future in the Present.  It took me 12 chapters and about 250 pages in the book to make the same point about the Christian life that the Hebrews writer makes in these 3 verses describing the godly legacy of Moses.

Like Moses, Christians live life by looking forward to their reward–living forward!

Human beings were created for eternal life! God created people for eternity and eternity is ever present in the life we now live.

So, when you follow Jesus, you start to live life life forward…

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Reckless Indifference – Luke 19:11-27

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whatever“I tell you that to everyone who has, more shall be given, but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away“ (Luke 19:26, NASB).

Jesus told a parable about a prince who went to a far country to receive a kingdom. Before the prince departed he gave a significant sum of money to several servants and ordered them to engage in business with the money until he returns.

Upon his return he ordered each servant to give an accounting of his business activities. One servant profited ten times more with the money and he was given authority over ten cities in the prince’s new kingdom; another profited five times more with the money and was given authority over five cities. The third said he held the money without investing it because he was afraid of the prince’s fury if he did not make a profit.

So, the prince condemned the complacent servant and took the money he had given him and gave it to the one who had earned ten times more.

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Qualified for Membership – Acts 11:15-18

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membershipcard“As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came down on them, just as on us at the beginning. Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. Therefore, if God gave them the same gift that He also gave to us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, how could I possibly hinder God? When they heard this they became silent. Then they glorified God, saying, ‘So God has granted repentance resulting in life even to the Gentiles!'” (Acts 11:15-18, HCSB).

Citizenship is generally a function of where you are born. You are a citizen of the country in which you are geographically born or of which your parents are a citizen.

The same is true for citizenship in the Kingdom of God. Kingdom citizens must be born of God; they must be birthed by the Holy Spirit.

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The City of God – Psalm 48:1-2

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kingdom_of_God2“How great is the Lord, how deserving of praise, in the city of our God, which sits on his holy mountain! It is high and magnificent; the whole earth rejoices to see it! Mount Zion, the holy mountain, is the city of the great King!” (Psalm 48:1-2, NLT).

Zion is the Hebrew name for the mountain in Jerusalem where the Temple was located. On the one hand Zion was synonymous with the actual city of Jerusalem that was destroyed in 586 BC and again in AD 70. On the other hand Zion was the City of God that transcended geographical location. Zion was the City in which God dwelled!

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Eternal Beginnings – Daniel 2:35, 44

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NebuchadnezzarStatue“The whole statue was crushed into small pieces of iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold. Then the wind blew them away without a trace, like chaff on a threshing floor. But the rock that knocked the statue down became a great mountain that covered the whole earth. That was the dream. Now we will tell the king what it means…the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed or conquered. It will crush all these kingdoms into nothingness, and it will stand forever.” (Daniel 2:35, 44, NLT).

When King Nebuchadnezzar had a troubling dream, God gave Daniel the ability to reveal the dream and its meaning to the king.

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The Duality Dilemma, Part 1 – Romans 6

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SteveDualityDilemma-FocalB&W

This meditation is Part 1 of a three-part series of meditations on Romans 6-8.

In Genesis 25 we read of the birth of Jacob and Esau. Isaac was Abraham’s son and Jacob’s (Israel’s) father. Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah. Though Isaac was the heir of the covenant God had with Abraham, he had produced no heir. Isaac’s wife, Rebekah was childless so Isaac prayed for his wife. God heard Isaac’s prayer and Rebekah conceived after almost twenty years of marriage to Isaac.

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Heavenly Invasion – Hebrews 6:4-5

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crossofChrist“Those who were once enlightened, who tasted the heavenly gift, became companions with the Holy Spirit, tasted God’s good word and the powers of the coming age…” (Hebrews 6:4-5, HCSB).

I’ve lifted this phrase out of its context for a reason. The context of the verses is, of course, the apostasy of believers in Christ (actual or figurative, depending upon your theological perspective) .

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