Daniel 5-7; Revelation 7

In Daniel 5 King Belshazzar gave a great banquet for a thousand of his nobles and drank wine with them. He had taken goblets that his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem. They ate and drank from them while praising the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone. Suddenly God sent fingers to write four words on the wall. The king was astonished and was overcome by fear. None of the wisest men of Babylon could interpret these things. The queen remembered Daniel's dedication to God and his gift for interpretation in His father's life. Daniel interpreted truthfully at the risk of the king's wrath. He told him how God humbled his father and he ate grass "until he acknowledged the Most High God is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and sets over them anyone he wishes. 22 "But you his son, O Belshazzar, have not humbled yourself, though you knew all this. 23 Instead, you have set yourself up against the Lord of heaven." That night Daniel's words came true and Belshazzar was slain and his kingdom was overthrown. We must acknowledge God's right to place us as He pleases and what He has done. Daniel understood that well as he had been captive in Babylon since he was a boy. Many times we do not want to humble ourselves and give God the rightful place in our lives to place us where He chooses to use us. Daniel continued to thrive in every circumstance as his live became a living testimony of what God does.

In chapter 6 we see Daniel delivered from the mouth of the lions because of jealousy. He was going to be appointed over the whole kingdom. The only charges they could find to bring him down was the law they manipulated in to pray to the king for 30 days. Their sin got them thrown into the lion's den "and before they reached the floor of the den, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones." Their sin was not recognizing what God was doing in their life, and not understanding His unlimited authority in placing us where He wants us to serve. Our faithfulness to Him will always pay off as we acknowledge that "His thoughts are higher than our thoughts and His ways are higher that our ways."

In chapter 7 we see Daniel writing down what God is showing Him. We all need to do more of that. He shares His vision for things that have happened are happening and things to come. We see the lion with clipped wings and the heart of a man. This is a Babylonian winged lion and clipping it's wings is a sign of being taken from it's place of power. The human heart represents King Nebuchadnezzar's human condition. Next God shows the future to Daniel. The bear is the Medo-Persian Empire who succeeded the Babylonians. They did much damage during their conquests (devoured much flesh). The leopard represents the Greek empire (Alexander the Great. After His death the Empire was divided into four parts (four heads). The fourth beast is the Roman Empire which would eventually be the strongest of them all. Ten horns represents to them the strength of the Empire. All of these things meant something to those raised in that time - Like an eagle means something to us today. God made it detailed enough for them to understand: like the small horn would remove others and represent a dominant, intelligent (eyes showed them knowledge)they could recognize by his language. More later.

God then reveals Himself as all powerful and majestic with fire (the ability to judge). The wheels could be the the endless activity of God. We the saints ministering to Him and those waiting for His judgment. We see God allowing kingdoms and rulers to raise up for a while and how they would not last. Then we see Jesus coming in the clouds and establishing His Kingdom, one that will never pass away or be destroyed.