Judgement Day and What Daniel Reveals
There are two sides to the Book of Daniel. There is the first half which outlines his credentials as a prophet, and the second half where we explore God's messages through Daniel. In Daniel 7:9-11 he writes, “I watched as the thrones were put in place and the ancient one sat down to judge. His clothing was as white as snow, his hair like the purest wool. He sat on a fiery throne with wheels of blazing fire, and a river of fire was pouring out, flowing from his presence. Millions of angels ministered to him; many millions stood to attend him. Then, the court began its session, and the book was opened. I continued to watch because I could hear the little horn's boastful speech. I kept watching until the fourth beast was killed and its body destroyed by fire.”
The truth is there is no fighting the all-powerful creator, as God is the perfect judge. This passage refers to the fact that in ancient times God took his seat, the court sat in judgment, and the books were opened when the horn started to speak as satan. The beast was killed immediately; its body destroyed and burned in a fire.
Unraveling the Text
It is important to note the main difference between the demonic and the human—the demonic does not have the opportunity to receive grace, but we do.
We were born into this world in fallen nature, but God being full of mercy stepped into the world as human, clothed as a man who lived a life we cannot and died in our place for our sins—yet He did not stay dead. The penalty for sin is death, and God did not want that for us. Instead, a great exchange happens to this day where we are constantly needing His grace so that we may be blameless.
Ultimately we can be and will be judged. There’s a common saying, "Nobody can judge me," that is simply not true. One day a book of our lives will be opened, and we will stand before a righteous King and all the things we thought we could hide comes to light. It is time we know there is a heaven and God who sees, ordains, and knows everything. One of the greatest misconceptions about Christianity is that because we believe we are going to end up in heaven. On the other hand, we believe non-believers are going to be in Hell. God rules all things, even Hell. And it’s not going to be some strip club where everyone is throwing back beers and having a good time getting laid. It is an eternal torment for those who turned their back on God. Hell is the absence of God's presence entirely, which is a scary thing. But it stops being scary when we understand the nature and character of this God who is called merciful, gracious, slow to anger, faithful, and full of abounding and steadfast love.
The Great Commision
In Daniel 7:13, Daniel writes, “As my vision continued that night, I saw someone who looked like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient One and was led to his presence.” This is the Bible giving us an apocalyptic imagery of Jesus and what it will be like when he returns.
A great commission comes from the last words of Jesus. When the great commission is talked about, many think it refers to the commissioning of disciples. He says a phrase that relates to chapter 7 of Daniel. It was after Jesus' resurrection and before his ascension into the clouds he looked at his disciples and said in Matthew 28:18-20, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Jesus will return and we can only hope we will be alive to see it. It is common to want His return to be postponed so we can do all we want to do on this earth, but let's remind ourselves that his return will result in no sin, tears, shame, sorrow, or death. Why not have him come back and crack open the sky now? Why not hope for such a glorious day?
