In today’s Reflections, we begin Daniel chapter 7 and enter the challenging world of biblical apocalyptic literature—visions, beasts, kingdoms, judgment, and the mysterious “Son of Man.” While there are many different interpretations of the details, Daniel gives us a central truth we can hold onto: earthly kingdoms and powers are temporary, but God’s kingdom is everlasting. Daniel’s vision points us toward the Son of Man, a title Jesus repeatedly uses for himself, and reminds us not to place our ultimate hope, identity, or peace in the powers of this world. Whatever is happening around us, God is still God, God is still King, and God’s kingdom will never end. So be faithful, trust God, and remember: it’s going to be okay.
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Good morning. It’s good to be with you on this Friday morning. I hope you’re doing well today, and I hope you’re ready for a great weekend.
I’m excited about today. Historical First is going to go feed the Starkville Academy football team before their game tonight. I’m always excited when our church gets the opportunity to serve our community and serve our students. So I’m looking forward to just being with them, supporting them, letting them know how thankful we are for them, and letting them know that our church loves them.
That’s what it’s about—trying to make a difference in our community.
Today we’re going to be in Daniel chapter 7.
And this is where Daniel really takes a shift.
We’ve spent the first six chapters hearing stories that are pretty familiar to us: Daniel in the lions’ den, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, the dreams of Nebuchadnezzar, the writing on the wall—all of those things.
They’re not always easy to understand, but they make a little more sense to us.
Starting with chapter 7 and continuing through the rest of Daniel, we get into what is called apocalyptic literature.
Apocalyptic literature is a particular kind of biblical writing that often deals with visions, heavenly realities, judgment, kingdoms, the end of earthly powers, and God’s ultimate victory.
You see it here in Daniel. You see some apocalyptic material in parts of the Gospels. And, of course, the book of Revelation is probably the most famous example of apocalyptic literature in Scripture.
And apocalyptic literature can be difficult to interpret because it is often written in symbols and images and hyperbole. There are beasts and horns and numbers and heavenly beings and all kinds of things that can be difficult to understand.
And there are a lot of different interpretations of Daniel 7 through 12.
If you want to get really complicated, let’s talk about Revelation!
So I want to be careful as we go through these chapters. I don’t want to get so specific that we start pretending we know exactly what every image means when faithful Christians and biblical scholars have disagreed about some of these things for centuries.
Daniel does give us some keys within the text itself that help us understand what is happening. Revelation is even more difficult.
So I’m going to try to stay at the broader level.
And at that broader level, I think there is a message that is incredibly clear.
God will intercede for his people.
God is sovereign.
God is Lord.
And earthly kingdoms will not last forever.
Let’s look at part of Daniel 7.
Daniel has this vision of four beasts coming up out of the sea. The first looks like a lion with eagle’s wings. The second is like a bear. The third is like a leopard with four wings and four heads. And then there is a fourth beast that is terrifying and exceedingly strong, with iron teeth and ten horns.
It is a frightening vision.
And then everything changes.
Daniel sees thrones being set in place, and the Ancient One takes his seat. His clothing is white as snow, his hair is like pure wool, and his throne is fiery flames.
And then Daniel sees one “like a son of man” coming with the clouds of heaven.
And to him is given dominion and glory and kingship.
All peoples and nations and languages will serve him.
And his dominion is an everlasting dominion.
His kingdom will not pass away.
His kingship will never be destroyed.
Then Daniel is given an interpretation of the vision. The four beasts represent four kings or kingdoms that will arise from the earth.
Most historical interpreters understand these four kingdoms to represent Babylon, Persia, Greece, and then Rome.
And that makes sense within the historical context of Daniel. The fourth kingdom is portrayed as particularly terrifying and powerful, and Rome certainly fits that description as an empire that exercised enormous power.
But notice what happens to all of them.
They don’t last.
Their dominion is taken away.
And then the kingdom of God is given to the holy ones of the Most High.
The kingdom of God is everlasting.
And that brings us to one of the most important parts of this chapter.
Daniel says he saw one “like a son of man” coming with the clouds.
The NRSV, which I read from, says “one like a human being.” Other translations say “one like a son of man.”
And that phrase is important because “Son of Man” becomes one of the titles Jesus uses for himself throughout the Gospels.
Jesus is drawing our attention back to Daniel.
Daniel sees this figure coming with the clouds, receiving dominion and glory and kingship, and ruling over all the nations.
And Jesus repeatedly calls himself the Son of Man.
There’s a connection there.
But here’s the thing I want you to take away from Daniel chapter 7.
Earthly kingdoms will not stand forever.
They won’t.
God is King.
God is God.
God is sovereign.
God is Lord.
And earthly kings, earthly kingdoms, earthly powers—any power that tries to become God, any power that tries to take on God’s authority, any power that thinks it will last forever—will eventually come to an end.
There is no earthly power that can stand against the Ancient One.
There is no earthly kingdom that can overthrow God.
There is no earthly authority that will last forever.
The kingdom and dominion and greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven will ultimately belong to God.
And that means we don’t have to live our lives in fear of earthly powers.
We don’t have to become consumed by them.
We don’t have to become so wrapped up in the kingdoms of this world that we forget whose kingdom is eternal.
As the old song says, “Don’t worry about a thing.”
Every little thing’s gonna be all right.
Now, that doesn’t mean that everything in this life will always go the way we want it to go. Daniel certainly knows that.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego knew that.
Jesus knew that.
Faithfulness does not mean that nothing difficult will ever happen to us.
It means that we know where our ultimate hope is.
And our hope is not in an earthly king.
Our hope is not in an earthly kingdom.
Our hope is not in earthly power.
Our hope is in God.
So don’t get too wrapped up in earthly powers.
Don’t become consumed by earthly kingdoms.
Don’t let them determine your identity.
Don’t let them determine your hope.
And don’t let them determine whether you have peace.
Because they will all come to an end.
Their time will end.
But God’s kingdom will not.
So be faithful.
Be faithful.
God is King.
God is Lord.
And the Son of Man will come and make all things right in God’s good time.
The things of this earth often want us to focus on them as though they are everything—as though they are permanent, as though they are eternal.
Scripture reminds us that they are not.
The kingdoms of this earth are temporary.
The powers of this earth are temporary.
The problems of this earth are temporary.
But God is eternal.
So put your hope in God.
Put your faith in God.
Put your identity in God.
Put your trust in the truth of God and in the kingdom of God.
Because his kingdom is a kingdom without end.
His dominion will last forever.
And so, friends, it’s going to be okay.
It’s going to be okay.
That’s one of the things apocalyptic literature reminds us over and over again:
It’s going to be okay.
Not because everything around us is okay.
Not because life is always easy.
Not because we know exactly what tomorrow will bring.
It’s going to be okay because God’s got this.
So trust God.
Be faithful.
And don’t be afraid.
Have a great day, have a great weekend, and we’ll see you first thing Monday.
Thanks be to God.