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Finishing Our Reading of Daniel
Finishing Our Reading of Daniel
There is another whole realm of existence besides our material universe. We have been given occasional glimpses into this other world, but remain relatively ignorant of what takes place there. We have seen strange heavenly beings with great power and glory. We have been told of rebellion in heaven itself. We see some sort of hierarchy as we read of archangels. We are told that angels minister for the saints (Heb. 1:14). We have read where angels have appeared unto man, usually in the form of a man. We know the names of Gabriel and Michael, but know nothing of the myriads of others.
The only things we can know about such is what is revealed unto us and God has chosen to reveal precious little.
God is God, the sovereign Lord of ALL, the creator of ALL. There is NO other beside Him. He is omnipotent and will accomplish His will even among such heavenly beings. The normal reaction when angels appear unto men is FEAR. So it is as we read of these things the first time. The message of the angels still stands: fear not. God is still God. While I don’t even know what is going on, God knows even what will come.
We are told of the ultimate end of all these as Hell itself was prepared for them and they will be banished there. The struggle that we face is by faith walking in righteousness with God. Sorting out the ‘why’ and ‘when’ of the interactions of the spirit beings in the lives of men is simply impossible without revelation. We have been told ENOUGH to be able to know, trust, and follow God in the paths of righteousness.
I take particular comfort in one aspect of the life of Jesus: His overcoming such spiritual beings. We watch as the demons know HE is the Son of God and has all authority. They come asking for permission to act. They obey as He commands them, even when it is against their will. Jesus is LORD. He is ‘head over all rule and authority’ (Col. 2:10).
Be strong and of good courage (Deut. 31:6,7, 23; Josh. 1:6,9,18; 10:25; 1 Chron. 22:13; 28:20; 2Chron. 32:7). Greater is he that is in us than he that is in the world (1John 4:4). Be thou faithful unto death and you shall receive the crown of life (Rev. 2:10). In the light of how much we do not know about all of the things pertaining to God, heaven, spiritual beings, and eternity, what we are asked to do is trust. Seeing what God has done, we can trust Him. We don’t have to understand everything, we are to trust Him.
Lord, I believe, help my unbelief. Lord, increase our faith.
Hugh DeLong
These last chapters are basically history written before time, and we are reading after it has happened. Most of us need help with our knowledge of such history! Again I would suggest that you begin by reading Shane Scott’s notes that will help you with such historical information: http://www.shanescottonline.com/search/label/Daniel
