Author: hopebroker

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God puts out a hit on Ahab.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

“When he arrived there, he found Jehu sitting around with the other army officers. “I have a message for you, Commander,” he said. “For which one of us?” Jehu asked. “For you, Commander,” he replied. So Jehu left the others and went into the house. Then the young prophet poured the oil over Jehu’s head and said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I anoint you king over the Lord’s people, Israel. You are to destroy the family of Ahab, your master. In this way, I will avenge the murder of my prophets and all the Lord’s servants who were killed by Jezebel. The entire family of Ahab must be wiped out. I will destroy every one of his male descendants, slave and free alike, anywhere in Israel.”2 Kings‬ ‭9‬:‭5‬-‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

God spoke to Elisha and gave him instructions to send out his student prophet to a difficult assignment- the assassination of Ahab, the wicked king of Israel. But before doing that, the young prophet must anoint and install a new king.

Elisha was VERY specific. He told him to take the olive oil, go to Ramoth-gliead, find Jehu, get him alone in a room and pour the oil over his head. Then, to tell him the Lord has anointed him to be the king of Israel. Last step – run for your life! The prophet did as Elisha instructed, but either added the following or we are not privy to what Elisha told him to say.

Either way, the rest of the message was an order for Jehu to elliminate Ahab’s entire family lineage. God said He would avenge the murders of his prophets and servants killed by Jezebel’s orders. And, in a very NSFW moment, the prophet tells Jehu what to do with Jezebel’s dead body! He says, “Dogs will eat Ahab’s wife Jezebel at the plot of land in Jezreel, and no one will bury her.” Then the young prophet opened the door and ran just like Elisha told him to do. If you want to read about Jezebel’s gruesome end, you’ll find it in ‭‭2 Kings‬ ‭9‬:‭32‬-‭37‬.

God says he owns and operates vengeance because He is the only one who can handle it properly. God is always true, just and right – Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, He says in Deuteronomy 32:35. Not only does God properly handle vengeance and retribution, He knows it is toxic poison for us to handle even the smallest amount of it. Humans feel that holding onto revenge makes us powerful- it does not. It makes us weak! Holding onto anger, grudges and thoughts of revenge not only tears holes in our soul but it also hardens our heart. It gives the deceiver, the liar and thief, a foothold to enter into our mind causing havoc and irreparable damage.

The only way to escape the devastating fires of rage and fury is to give our grievances to God and let forgiveness flow freely. Forgiveness does not mean the perpetrator goes free, it means that we are set free of the self afflicted prison that revenge will bring. Let God be our champion of justice and not our own seething and planning our enemy’s demise!

Prayer

​Dad,
One of the greatest and hardest lessons as a young believer was the time you told me to forgive my third father – my stepfather, Ben. He was viscously evil, with a super hard heart and burned out conscience. I knew he had a hard life himself, but he turned bitter and took it out on those closest to him. When you told me to forgive him, I had no understanding of why I or anyone should forgive him. But I was learning obedience and did what you asked. I told him to his face, “I forgive you for what you have done to my mother and sister!” His response was to laugh at me in most wicked voice. But as I walked away, I knew I was FREE of him! Free of his damaging words and free of the fear he brought into our family. I learned that forgiveness is powerful to the victim and shocking to the offender. Thank you for teaching me while I was so young. Learning forgiveness instead of revenge has kept my enemy list down to zero!

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Snag a sober deal!

Reading Time: 2 minutes

“So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” ‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭5‬:‭15‬-‭20‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Paul packs a lot of practical theology in these punchy thoughts. Starting with an admonition about how to live – not like fools, but like those who are wise. Paul follows it up with an interesting choice of words, communicating the urgency of a moment. He uses a popular business word, even more specific, he uses a SHOPPING word. Where most Bible translations say, “opportunity,” “use of time,” KJV uses the word, “redeem.” The Greek word Paul uses is, “exagorazó.” The word literally means, “buy-up at the marketplace” – properly, take full advantage of, seizing a buying-opportunity.” This word was popular and often used in the open-air, outdoor swap-meet style shopping experiences in most of the big cities. Paul equates the times of seeing evil everywhere as the perfect occasion to snag a moment with a hurting soul – more evil = more opportunities.

Paul then seems to understand that when times get crazy and everything feels chaotic, people tend to turn to ways that attempt to deaden or avoid their pain with alcohol. The common idea is wine solves lots of problems, not just of pain but of giving euphoric feelings as well. He comes out strong with the truth – drunkenness will destroy a life, not make it better.

But wait there’s more! Not only can the Holy Spirit lead us to amazing deals to broker love with a broken soul, He also brings life when we drink Him up, being filled! The amazing play on words, don’t be “methuó,” drunk with wine, but be “pléroó,” soaked in the Holy Spirit! The Holy Spirit brings life, not pain. The Holy Spirit brings freedom, not addiction!

Prayer

​Dad,
You work your wonders in spectacularly mysterious ways! I love Paul’s observation of opportunities. Among the normal ways we go about life, there are these micro-moments to share and shine the light of Jesus. This constantly challenges me to rethink the way I spend my time and how I look at people as I go about my day. I love deals and discounts, but rarely thought of these same concepts as a way of seeing needs around me. And, Paul’s bonus thought to be soaked in the Spirit verses soaked in booze is genius! Thank you for your Word working in us and through us at any and every moment we give you.

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Faith found outside the faithful.

Reading Time: 2 minutes

“When Jesus had finished saying all this to the people, he returned to Capernaum. At that time the highly valued slave of a Roman officer was sick and near death. When the officer heard about Jesus, he sent some respected Jewish elders to ask him to come and heal his slave. So they earnestly begged Jesus to help the man. “If anyone deserves your help, he does,” they said, “for he loves the Jewish people and even built a synagogue for us.” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭7‬:‭1‬-‭5‬ ‭NLT‬‬

While preparing a sermon, I researched the miracles Jesus performed and focused on two areas. One: how many were intentional? Two: how many were the results of interruptions? I was most interested in the interruptions. Nine of the “interruptions” occurred among Jewish individuals. Two of them among Gentiles individuals.

This story of the Roman Centurion is one of those miracles. And, amazingly, both this one and the other Gentile miracle (Canaanite Woman in Mark 7:24–30; Matthew 15:21–28), Jesus complimented the individuals for their extraordinary faith. While on the way to the Centurion’s house, friends of the soldier meet Jesus and tell him just to send his word! Jesus said, “I tell you, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel!” And similarly with the Gentile woman, who responded to Jesus with a sassy, snappy answer. Jesus kicked out a demon from her little girl and complimented the woman, “Dear woman,” Jesus said to her, “your faith is great.” What I love about these two miracles picks up the thread of God’s love and grace for the whole world. Some of the healings in the Old Testament were among Gentiles as well – remembered Naaman and his seven river-dip? The message of freedom and forgiveness came through Israel, but was always extended to all people, all nations.

I think sometimes as church folk, we start seeing our world as Israel saw themselves, God’s people. It’s hard for us to think or see non-churched, not yet believers as having faith. Jesus not only saw non-Jewish people in their pain, he also saw them in their capacity of faith! Where there is fear, there is need. Where there is grief, there is need. Where there is compassion for another, there is need. And, with fear, grief, compassion or pain, there is opportunity for great faith in God.

When we see others struggling we can either say, “Oh, I don’t know how they do life without God.” Or, we can say, “There may be a possibility of Jesus showing up through me to show love, grace, kindness and compassion.” We might be surprised to see faith rise to not just let Jesus in to help, but to let him be their savior as well.

Prayer

​Dad,
I know that are still seeking and saving the lost. You are still going beyond just Your people, Israel and those who believe Jesus is the Messiah into the hearts and lives of Gentiles – Non Jewish, non believers. Your grace and mercy knows no bounds and can touch the hardest of hearts, the extreme of prodigals. And, I know, It won’t always be so. You told us that you would not contend with humans forever, for there is a time where death comes to all. But while there is still time, still light – there is still possibility for those we love and those we pray will know you and love you.

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United we stand.

Reading Time: 2 minutes

“Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future.” ‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭4‬:‭1‬-‭4‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Paul, writing to the churches in Ephesus, from prison, calls out followers of Jesus to be unified under the fact that there is but one body and one Spirit. There may be factions of belief, but there should not be fractures of behavior towards one another. Why? Paul tells the Church, unity reflects our calling!

As a follower of Jesus, fully committed to his Lordship over all things, our individual and community calling is from God. Because of that, Paul lists the actions, the behaviors of our calling – humility, gentleness, patience and tolerance because of love. The letter to the Ephesians was primarily based on the theme of unity. Paul sent Timothy there to pastor the church, eventually leading up to Timothy becoming a bishop over the entire region. The ancient city now lies in ruins with thousands of tourists passing through marveling at its once magnificent structures, even highlighting several multi-level, apartment style homes. Ephesus today, once home to Jesus’ mother Mary and the burial place of the Apostle John only has a handful of believers along with a very old Catholic monastery.

Unity in the Church today is still as vital as ever. Yet, with thousands of denominational factions and ministerial accusations becoming viral social media posts, it is very apparent that we have not done enough to honor Jesus’ prayer in John 17 to be one.

Prayer

​Dad,
Walking the ancient streets of Ephesus and meeting one of the few dear Christian ladies across the street from St. John’s tomb, it was disheartening to realize that many of the New Testament churches no longer exist. I am sure the reasons are more complicated than just our issues with disunity, but it is still sad. I remember an old song based on John 13:35, “they will know we are Christians by our love.” I ache for those who proclaim your name to live under your banner of love for one another.

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When God speaks.

Reading Time: 2 minutes

”The voice of the Lord echoes above the sea. The God of glory thunders. The Lord thunders over the mighty sea. The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is majestic. The voice of the Lord splits the mighty cedars; the Lord shatters the cedars of Lebanon. He makes Lebanon’s mountains skip like a calf; he makes Mount Hermon leap like a young wild ox. The voice of the Lord strikes with bolts of lightning. The voice of the Lord makes the barren wilderness quake; the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. The voice of the Lord twists mighty oaks and strips the forests bare. In his Temple everyone shouts, “Glory!” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭29‬:‭3‬-‭9‬ ‭NLT‬‬

David writes this Psalm highlighting the voice of God. It is believed to have been written when God told David that he would not be building the temple because of his bloody war hands. So David gives his son the detailed plans and instructions to build the magnificent structure, including the surrounding courtyard, 1 Chronicles 28. It is in these celebratory moments that David writes about the power and majesty of the Lord’s voice. This Psalm was inserted towards the end of David’s life.

Yesterday, we had a sudden storm race through Southern California, but with this quick burst of rain also came massive thunder and lightning. Thunder that rattles windows and scares little children! This timeless reminder is what David uses to highlight the power of God. When God speaks in power the earth itself shakes in response!

It reminds me of the moment God told Elijah to go out on the face of mount Horeb in 1 Kings 19:11-13. Elijah experienced hurricane force winds, an earthquake, and fire. But God was not in those destructive experiences. After all that Elijah heard the sound of a low whisper, he covered his face and went out to listen to God. Yes, God’s voice cannot only come in power, enough to split cedars, make mountains skip and leap and strip forests bare. God can also come in a whisper, drawing the human ear and heart close to himself. God, as creator of all things, has both the power to wreak havoc as well as the power to save and heal our hearts.

Prayer

​Dad,
When I stop and think about Your power over all things in everything that exists everywhere, it humbles me to realize that You love us – You love me! We are uniquely created in Your image and You breathed life into our soul. It reminds me that all that power has been leveraged into the physical might to save us, not destroy us. Your power is for us not against us. You oppose the proud but give grace to the humble. I am thankful for Your power working in me.

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Water & Spirit poured out.

Reading Time: 2 minutes

“But now, listen to me, Jacob my servant, Israel my chosen one. The Lord who made you and helps you says: Do not be afraid, O Jacob, my servant, O dear Israel, my chosen one. For I will pour out water to quench your thirst and to irrigate your parched fields. And I will pour out my Spirit on your descendants, and my blessing on your children. They will thrive like watered grass, like willows on a riverbank.” ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭44‬:‭1‬-‭4‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The two powerful themes that thread through Israel’s history in the Old Testament, become a reality for all people in the New Testament. God’s prophetic promises are all fulfilled through Jesus!

The imagery explodes when Jesus begins announcing that He is the river of life! In John, Jesus tells the woman at the well that He is living water that pours out with no end. He also says in John 7: 37-39 “‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” The “living water” ties together a long history of Israel being cleaned and purified by fresh, running water and what will become the permanent illustration that is fulfilled by the Holy Spirit being poured out after Jesus returned to heaven. Tyler Staton writes, “The Spirit of God is described through the imagery of water in the poetry of Psalms and Proverbs; the prophecies of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Joel; and by the Gospel writer John. But the promise comes alive most clearly in the prophet Ezekiel, who saw a vision of a river that originated in a trickle running down the temple. It grew from a trickle on the steps to a flowing river as he followed the current east.”

Everywhere the river flows, it brings life. Everyone the river touches, brings new life. God promised to pour out His Spirit on Isaiah’s descendants, blessing the children. But the promise extends much further than just the Israelites, beyond Isaiah’s, Jeremiah’s, Joel’s and Ezekiel’s children. It extends to all who will come and freely drink and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit poured out in abundance today and on our children as well!

Prayer

​Dad,
I am not Jewish and have no ancestry connecting me to the promises you made to your people and the prophets. Neither am I a son of Abraham. However, because of Jesus I have been grafted into the tree of life, adopted into the family of God and have all the rights and privileges of being your son. Thank you for giving me life abundantly. Thank you for pouring out your Spirit on me! I am forever grateful for this life I now lead and look forward to the grand adventures yet to come in the Kingdom that has arrived, yet is still to come!

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Power over ourselves.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

“So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions.” Galatians‬ ‭5‬:‭16‬-‭17‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Earlier in this chapter, the Apostle Paul writes about freedom. Freedom from, but just as important, freedom to. When Paul teaches the Church about sin, he digs deeply into the causes, the origins of our sin. Paul uses words like satisfy, nature and desires. These are evidences of urges and cravings from within!

Paul then moves from talking about freedoms from sin to having power over our sin. The key; the power of the Holy Spirit! Not just letting the Holy Spirit take control, but gaining the edge over disordered desires that plague our lives. Paul also gives us the results of these bent desires. Think about this, these are desires that drag us down, yet we not only want to see them as helpful, but we actually believe they will give us a better life, tricking us into thinking they can fulfill us! The summary – that’s all a lie!

Paul writes the truth of where our own cravings and desires take us. Paul writes, “When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these” (Galatians‬ ‭5‬:‭19‬-‭21‬). Some might say, “well that sounds like a regular weekend experience for me!”When we feel these intense influences coming from within our heart, we blindly hope that we can avoid the effects of our decisions – hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, and envy! Our lives, as well as our relationships get WORSE, not better. And, the more we feed our flesh or old-man/old-ways, with these disordered cravings and desires, the more these stubborn cycles and traps of addiction turn us into mental-health pretzels, taking over our life! God warns us against giving into sin, not just because it’s wrong, but also because it is absolutely destructive to us and those around us.

Here’s the craziest part of all – our conscience tells us we’re wrong. This God-given early warning system starts screaming in our head, and we just override it! Continually and consistently ignoring the siren in our soul leads to coldness and lack of sensitivity in our heart. At first we want to act out these desire in secret, hiding and ducking any chance of attracting the attention of a spotlight shining the truth. But at some point the light no longer bothers us! Guilt becomes ineffective and eventually we want to join with others of likeminded, bent and broken desires to completely dull any possibility of stopping our pursuit of doing whatever it is we want. It is quite easy to justify anything at this point.

We’ve joined a tribe of those who have not only chosen similar desires, but for the sake of solidarity, they celebrate them! No matter how innocent the beginning, no matter how one found themselves opening the door to these deadly sins, there is no way to stop them until they have destroyed our entire life. The choice becomes put them to death by the power of the Holy Spirit, burying them with Christ’s mercy and grace OR let them drag our soul through the living hell of consequences that are inescapable. Even with the forgiveness and power to kill our disordered desires, God never promises that we can sneak away from the consequences. Continuing in bad behavior and continuing to do so with a bad company of friends will 100% yield horrible results – it is just a matter of time. You know this is true! We all know this is true.

Prayer

Dad,
There is regular suffering that everyone eventually goes through. Then there is godly suffering, endured because of living Your truth, which is hard, but brings such amazing fruit. But finally, there is suffering because of sin, and selfishly making bad decisions that yield awful consequences and results. All are painful. But our own actions, weakly justified, leaves us with unimaginable pain because we actually thought we could get away with it. But oh what joy and freedom in confession, repentance and acceptance as well as the consequences when the Holy Spirit moves in with power to resist, heal and overcome! Help us drag our sins and desires out into the light and allow you to both free us and give us power to live like Jesus.

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Unity & Harmony brings God’s blessing.

Reading Time: 2 minutes

“How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity! It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron’s beard, down on the collar of his robe. It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life forevermore.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭133‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

What’s is unity worth? What’s true harmony like, what does it yield? King David wrote this early in his reign, but it wasn’t inserted into Psalms until the end of his life. David reaches into two iconic moments or pictures that are deeply a part of culture of the people of Israel. To understand his comparison, we’ve got to find out about oil on Aaron’s beard and the dew of Hermon! Curious? I was.

Pastor Mike Hinojosa writes, “Ceremonial anointing in the Old Testament was a physical act involving the smearing, rubbing, or pouring of sacred oil on someone’s head (or on an object) as an outward symbol that God had chosen and set apart the person (or object) for a specific holy purpose.” He mentions the significance of separation, but also the idea of blessing. David picks up the theme of oil running down as an abundance of blessing. The oil was a specific blend of spices that God Himself prescribed in Exodus 30:22-25. I had heard that the oil recipe was a well kept secret, passed onto to generations of High Priests. The process of anointing Aaron was a high and holy celebration that perfectly captured the picture of unity as God’s people came to participate and celebrate together.

The dew of Mount Hermon. Mount Hermon (or “sacred mountain”) is the highest mountain in ancient Israel, boasting majestic, snowcapped peaks rising just over 9,000 feet above the sea. GotQuestions.org writes, “the slopes of Mount Hermon, in the north, receive profuse amounts of dew. Mount Zion, in the south, is much drier. David compared the refreshing dew of Hermon to the blessings of unity in Israel, from north to south. Harmony among God’s people is life-giving.”

In both examples of oil running down and dew falling are powerfully popular scenes of God both of blessing and His provision coming down on His people when they are obedient and coming together in these moments of harmony. References to this kind of unity is in stark contrast to the bitter complaints of the older Jewish community as they struggled to embrace freedom in the wilderness. This psalm should let us know just how much God values unity among believers, but also that God is willing to back those efforts with blessing and provision in our obedience.

Prayer

​Dad,
I know that every Pastor or church leader aches for unity within Your Church. No one likes grumbling, complaining, blaming and embittered battles among Your saints! Yet, it is one of the hardest things to eliminate. A culture of disunity just invites more church hurt. In the desire for more harmony, we all understand it brings blessing. Your presence invites us to be of one heart, one mind, one spirit. Help us to lay down our inner personal grievances and grief to welcome the oil of gladness and the promise of life-giving dew that drops on our gathering.

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Prophets foretelling future.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

“During this time some prophets traveled from Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them named Agabus stood up in one of the meetings and predicted by the Spirit that a great famine was coming upon the entire Roman world. (This was fulfilled during the reign of Claudius.) So the believers in Antioch decided to send relief to the brothers and sisters in Judea, everyone giving as much as they could. This they did, entrusting their gifts to Barnabas and Saul to take to the elders of the church in Jerusalem.” Acts 11‬:‭27‬-‭30‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Like the Old Testament Prophets of old, Abagus tells the Church, there is famine coming. GotQuestions.org states, “Claudius Caesar had several unintended effects on Christian history. First, his scattering of the Jews in Rome led directly to Paul’s encounter with Priscilla and Aquila.” And, “God sovereignly used the reign of Claudius Caesar, as He did every other Roman emperor, to continue spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ across the world. Some of Paul’s earliest letters were written under the reign of Claudius Caesar.”

Luke uses this very public tragedy to highlight the prophet office, or the gift of prophecy. A prophet was one who received direct messages from God and communicated them to the people. The gift of prophecy is mainly active as a forth-telling, which is declaring of God’s truth, especially in encouraging one another in the Church. The less common is fore-telling, predicting future events.

Here in Acts 11, Agabus predicted (by the Holy Spirit) that a great famine was coming. Clearly this forecast allowed the Church to prepare ahead of the crisis on behalf of those who would suffer in Jerusalem. This massive mission push was a New Testament theme that not only addressed the speed, agility and ability of believers throughout the entire region. It also highlighted the unity of Christianity in sending money to Jerusalem. This allowed the Pastors to purchase food and get it distributed to those affected. Sending funds and distributing food was a powerful testimony to nonbelievers that the Church didn’t just care about folks spiritual needs but physical needs as well.

This thread of distribution in disasters is still relevant today! During Covid, hundreds of Churches were the distribution centers of food because of the Farmers to Families Food Box Program which began in May of 2020 and ended in May of 2021 having distributed more than 173 million food boxes. And, many people don’t know that ConvoyofHope.org, is oftentimes the first to arrive in national disasters around the country. It is amazing and challenging to know that God has used the Church then and does so still today. One of the marks of Christianity on our culture is how believers give time and money in a crisis – both local and globally. The beauty of this moment recorded in Acts is that God gave warning through the gift of Prophecy that allowed the Church to begin preparing before the famine even hit.

Prayer

​Dad,
It would be great if we (the Church) had more prophetically gifted individuals for just such reasons as Agabus had proven faithful. I have really longed for the Church leadership offices to get beyond just the two pastor/teacher flavors. Lacking our apostolic and prophetic seems to keep us wandering in circles, missing the urgency and the push of the Spirit which both these gifts give us. We have given into fears in our churches because these missing gifts were abused in the past and later shuffled off as insignificant. This one prophetic moment gave the early church more than just a head-start it gave it the edge for politicians and business leaders to follow. This kept the church relevant in resources, leading the charge to care and directing people and funds to where both were much needed. Could you give us another chance, a boost of confidence to follow the model of the early church?

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Visions of the Ancient of Days

Reading Time: 2 minutes

“As my vision continued that night, I saw someone like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient One and was led into his presence. He was given authority, honor, and sovereignty over all the nations of the world, so that people of every race and nation and language would obey him. His rule is eternal—it will never end. His kingdom will never be destroyed.” Daniel‬ ‭7‬:‭13‬-‭14‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Daniel was given these amazing visions concerning things that happen in the heavens, in the spiritual realm that we do not see but yet exists. And Daniel admits he was troubled by all he had seen and the visions terrified him! ‭‭(Daniel‬ ‭7‬:‭15‬).

I love that Daniel tells his readers that he had no idea what these visions meant. In a vision within a vision, like Inception, Daniel asks one of those, “standing beside the throne,” what it all meant. Then Daniel, being a curious visioneer, asks about one particular beast – different from the other three.

Think about this: in this vision Daniel is not just seeing it, he’s engaging with some of the characters in the vision. How is that even possible? The vision had to have been more real than just a dream! Have you ever had an interactive vision or dream? I had one as a young boy. It was very surreal to have a conversation, asking questions of a dream character and have them answer back.

After this heavenly person finished explaining the details of the vision, it all ended. Daniel writes, “I, Daniel, was terrified by my thoughts and my face was pale with fear, but I kept these things to myself.” (Daniel‬ ‭7‬:‭28‬). God wanted Daniel to see the future, even to see Jesus, in action, receiving all authority, honor and sovereignty over all the nations. God wanted Daniel to see the beasts, in all their viscous, ferocious abilities to destroy human lives. And, God allowed Daniel to discover what this massive vision meant. What a responsibility to capture it and write it down. These magnificent other-worldly experiences do not happen that often in the Bible. And the people God entrusted with these visions were given this gift to share hope and confidence in God that would continue working until the end of days and beyond.

Prayer

​Dad,
Dreams and visions are powerful enough, just under normal life circumstances. But wow, Daniel’s visions and his descriptions of what he saw are just amazing. I admire those who can make theological sense out of what you showed Daniel and even more impressive is what it meant to the people of Israel then and to all of us now. I try to wrap my head around the fact that Daniel saw a glimpse of Your glory AND Jesus, as the ancient of days while living in ancient days! Thank you for your word. Thank you for working all good in those who love you.