Love Is Kind (Jan 24, 2021)

1 Corinthians 12:31-13:13

Introduction: In many ways we have started this year as confused, divided, and unsettled as we ended last year. As we look to the future as a church, people, and country, where should we turn? We might think we live in a peculiar time of division and despair, but in 1 Corinthians, Paul encouraged a church in a similar situation. The Corinthians were not only divided by who they followed, but also about what they emphasized. What we can learn from Paul is that it is easy to lose sight of what can guide us through our differences. We might have good intentions or concerned theology, but when we don’t have love, we miss out on everything that God intends for us. Love, according to the Bible, is the most excellent way.

The True Power of Kindness | If you were asked what the most powerful force in the world is, you would probably not respond “kindness.” If you are a Christian, you might even respond with something like truth, persuasion, sacrifice, or miracles. However, Paul makes a case for unmatched power of kindness. In 1 Corinthians 13:4 Paul coins a new verb (chresteuetai) from the noun form of kindness (chrestos). He did this to get the point across that kindness is not primarily a concept, an inward feeling, or a force out there, but “love in action.” We need to remember that Paul wrote this chapter as a rebuke to a divided church, and not as an abstract description of love. He was telling them that they were missing the unmatched power of love in action because they lacked kindness.

Last week we looked at love as patience, and this week we are considering love as kindness. Notice that patience and kindness are the only two positive descriptions (“love is…”) Paul attributes to love. Every other description is negative (love is not…). What Paul is saying is that patience and kindness are two sides of the same coin. Genuine love has both. Patience is the restraining side of love, while kindness is the active side of love. What’s remarkable is how Paul puts forward patience and kindness as having the power to heal and restore even the messiest and most difficult of situations and relationships.

1. The Strength of Kindness – To grasp the true strength of kindness first we need to clear up some misconceptions about what kindness is.

A. Kindness is Tenderhearted (not nice) – Kindness is not merely goodness done to another person, but goodness that comes from a tender heart (Eph 4:32). This means that kindness is the strength to let other people and their needs into our hearts. By contrast, consider niceness. We ought not completely denigrate being nice, but we ought to realize how easy it is to be nice while also remaining at a “safe” distance from others. It is actually quite easy to be nice and hard-hearted or closed off to others. Often, we are nice just to keep people from bothering us. Remember that the Bible never describes God as nice, but kind. Niceness doesn’t require much strength, but kindness requires the strength to let others’ needs, hurts and concerns into our hearts.

 B. Kindness is Gentle (not weak) – Kindness is not merely doing or saying the right thing, but gently doing or saying the right thing (Titus 3:2). Kindness does not take the weak or timid way of not speaking or acting when love requires. Rather, kindness takes the way of action. But it is action with caution knowing everyone is subject to the brokenness and difficulty in life as we are. Weakness takes the way of inaction. Action without kindness responds to disagreement and tension with anger, irritability, or rudeness. Kindness is the strength of gentle action. Kindness like this has the strength to turn away wrath (Prov. 15:1) and put out fires - even fires you did not create.

C. Kindness is Gracious (not courteous) – Being courteous is about giving people the respect they deserve, but kindness is about doing good to people even when they deserve otherwise. Of course, everyone possesses dignity by virtue of being made in God’s image. But we all know when some people don’t deserve our kindness! Perhaps you have clashed with someone and their irritability and rudeness prompted you to respond in kind. It takes great strength to move beyond being courteous to being graciously kind. But kindness like this has great power. In fact, it has been shown that the strongest predictor of marital strength and stability is kindness (see the work of marriage expert John Gottman). True strength is required to show grace towards those that have offended you and who don’t deserve your kindness – but kindness like this is what strengths and sustains relationships for a lifetime.

2. The Strength For Kindness – How do we get the strength for kindness like this?

A. Confronted – Romans 2:1-4 says there are two types of people in the world: those who despise God’s kindness, and those who recognize it and repent. We must first be confronted by God’s kindness to us to become kind ourselves. Despite our sin and lack of love, God has been tenderhearted, gentle and gracious to us beyond what we will ever know! It is God’s kindness is meant to lead us to repentance! The confrontation that leads us to genuine change and transformation is a confrontation with God’s kindness. At the cross we see 1) the judgment we deserve and 2) the kindness we’ve been give.  Christianity says how can someone who has been confronted by the kindness of God, tell anyone else that they are unworthy of our own kindness?! 

B. Compelled – Because of God’s kindness to us, we are compelled to be kind to others. The compelling nature of Christianity is not in commands, strictness, or guilt, but the person of Jesus Christ. He is kindness in action! We need not ask what is love, as if just need a clearer definition - but who is love. Though we were once lost, disobedient, and enslaved by sin (Titus 3:3-4) Jesus became love in action, love in person for us. Only those of us that have truly experienced the kindness of God to us in Christ – at our worst - will be strong enough to be truly kind to others – even at their worst. Let us go into the world with a new awareness of the power for kindness that we have in Christ. Love is patient, love is kind… what about you? . 

REFLECT OR DISCUSS

1. How is Paul’s teaching about kindness and love in 13 relevant to you? Are you challenged or convicted?

2. Have you ever considered patience and kindness as the most powerful characteristics of a Christian? What other characteristics have you considered important in your life (truth, sacrifice, prayer)? How would these all work together?

3. Consider the Greek word for kindness “chrestos” and how Paul coins the verb form “chresteuetai” to communicate the kindness is love in action. What does this say about biblical kindness? Is this how you have traditionally understood kindness? 

4. Can you think of a time recently in which you were nice but not tenderhearted? How does this connect with your overall view of vulnerability in relationships?

5. Read Proverbs 15:1. What is the connection between gentleness and turning away wrath? Do you have a story when you have done this successfully?

6. Marriage expert John Gottman mentions a difference between “masters” and “disasters.” Masters scan people for things they can appreciate and be thankful for, while disasters scan for people’s mistakes and what needs to be criticized. Do you agree with his assessment or not? How does this relate to biblical kindness?

7. Read Romans 2:1-4. What does it mean that God’s kindness leads us to repentance? Where do you most need God’s kindness? What does that say about how we should treat other? How do we do this without being regarded as passive or weak?

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Love Is Patient (Jan 17, 2021)

1 Corinthians 12:31-13:13

Introduction: In many ways we have started this year as confused, divided, and unsettled as we ended last year. As we look to the future as a church, people, and country, we must embrace the language of love. We might think we live in a peculiar time of division and despair, but in 1 Corinthians, Paul encouraged a church in a similar situation. The Corinthians were not only divided by who they followed, but also about what they emphasized. What we can learn from Paul is that it is easy to lose sight of what can guide us through our differences. We might have good intentions or concerned theology, but when we don’t have love, we miss out on everything that God intends for us. Not only that, but Paul defines what love means, so we must seek to understand and apply the way of love in our everyday lives.

Where Do We Start?

In our culture, love is probably the most agreed upon concept but the most poorly defined. We all know we need love in our lives, but we don’t know exactly what we are asking for. One way to think about this is to consider how you would respond if asked to define what love is. What immediately comes to our minds might not agree, but Paul begins 1 Corinthians 13 by describing love as patience. For us in 2021, patience is a virtue… of the past. Technology, information, and other forms of instantaneity are almost always within our reach. We bicker and fret when we have to wait in line, lose Wi-Fi connection, or when Amazon delays our package by even one day. We can all pinpoint times when our impatience has interfered with our love for others. It happens in public, among friends or colleagues, and even in our own family homes. The truth is, we need to start with patience now more than ever, and this will help us grow in love. But that is not the end of the matter. What makes Paul’s message relevant for us is not merely our incessant impatience as much as God’s steadfast patience in His love for us.

1. Our Patience and God’s Place

Patience is the first thing Paul says about love because in order to truly love people, we must first understand our own place in the world and in the lives of others. When we let God have His sovereign place in the world, it helps us realize our humble place in the world. This is essential because when we react in impatience, we immediately cross the line into God’s territory. What we are saying when we become impatient and angry is “I know how this should go.” But as limited humans, we do not and cannot claim God’s agenda for our own lives or in the lives of others. Love is patient because no fallen, broken, limited human can love another fallen, broken, limited human while assuming God’s place in their lives. Simply put, we are not God, so we must resign our place to try and frantically fix everything and everyone. What we will come to realize is that when we become patient, we become free to love.

2. Our Patience and God’s Pace

Patience is not only accepting God’s place for the people and circumstances in our lives, but also God’s pace in carrying out His plans. The word for patience in Greek here is translated “makrothumeo” which can be derived further from “macro” (long) and “thumos” (passion, heat, anger). The old KJV translates it as “long-suffering,” which is quite accurate. What we can see is that patience is not about letting go of what we feel is right or true, but the pace at which we expect these things to occur. Patience is able to take the long (macro) view because it considers God from beginning to end. On the other hand, impatience is a sign that we are more concerned with our own timetable. The call to love does not always follow our own pace. Instead, we look to God and trust that he is at work for His glory and our good. 

3. Patience and God’s Promise

At this point it would be helpful to guard against a common confusion. There is a counterfeit view of patience that correlates with apathy or indifference. We return to one of the Greek derivatives of patience, “thumos” (passion, heat, anger), as it can help us greatly here. Patience does not mean that we sit back passively because patience affirms our good passions. Good passions are ones that align with God’s passions. This is not an easy or guaranteed process because in patience, we must actively seek to align ourselves with God’s passions and relinquish our selfish passions. Consider a passion for political involvement, or relational intimacy. These can hardly be considered bad in themselves, but they become quite bad if they devolve into harming or manipulating others. We must actively kill selfish passions and aim for God’s passions. In this process, God challenges us not to overlook His own promise that things will not be complete, finished, or perfected in this life. 2 Peter 3:9 reminds us that “the Lord does not delay his promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.” So we see that in patience, God is not calling us to renounce our passions, but to place them in the context of His place, His pace and His promise.

4. Our Patience and God’s Patience

By this point you might be convicted. That is okay. The power of patience comes from knowing how patient God is with us. Two primary ways that God displays His patience toward us is in kindness that brings us to repentance (Rom 2:4), and forbearance in passing over our sins (Rom 3:25-26). We cannot look at salvation in Christ, or our sanctification, guided by the Spirit, without marveling at the patience of God. We grow in patience toward others as we recognize the painfully slow pace and incompleteness of our own spiritual growth. Even if we are passionate, we cannot discount patience. In fact, all impatience find its root in forgetting or denying God’s patience with us. Consider our Savior Jesus. He lived a life as the very essence of love, yet He did not react impatiently to those who mocked, beat, and spat upon Him. Not only that, but He was crucified because of God’s patience toward us, sinners. Friends, let us observe our impatience and turn back to God. Let’s not turn away from so great a salvation and together we can strive to grow in patient love under the care of our patient and loving God.

REFLECT OR DISCUSS

1. How is Paul’s relation of patience and love in 1 Corinthians 13 relevant to you? Are you challenged or convicted?

2. In what ways have you ever passed a clear “No Trespassing Sign” into God’s territory in your own impatience? How do you discern the difference between God’s place and your place?

3. Consider the Greek word for patience “makrothumeo” and the derivatives “macro” (long) and “thumos” (passion, heat, anger). Does this change or help you understand biblical patience more?

4. Read Ecclesiastes 7:8 and James 1:19-20. What do these passages tell you about God’s pace and our pace when it comes to displaying love through patience?

5. In what ways are we tempted to be passive in our patience? What does it mean to be active in aligning with God’s passions and relinquishing our own?

6. How does God’s patience toward you motivate you to be more patient? Do you resonate with a certain element of His patience toward you (i.e. kindness, forbearance, justification)?

7. Read Proverbs 16:32. What does this tell you about the power of patience in a time when many see political power as what is to be pursued and desired?

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Love Is... The Most Excellent Way (Jan 10, 2021)

1 Corinthians 12:31-13:13

Introduction: As we started a new year, it was tempting to hope that everything might be better with a clean slate and a fresh start. But with the ongoing surge of COVID and the disturbing events in our nations capital to start the year, those hopes are dashed. We start the year as confused, divided and unsettled as we ended. In 1 Corinthians, Paul spoke to a church in a similar situation. The Corinthians were not only divided by who they followed, but also about what they emphasized. What we can learn from Paul is that it is easy to lose sight of what can guide us through our differences. We might have good intentions or concerned theology, but when we don’t have love, we miss out on everything that God intends for us.

1. Looking for a Way

If 2020 was a year known for anything, it was known for unexpected events, tension, and hardship. Everyone questioned their own way, the way of our country, or the way of the future. 2020 brought every Christian to a confusing crossroads of division and difficulty. As the new year begins, we are likely considering where we ought to go from here. How can we find our way among the many voices in media, technology, and even our own minds? Paul speaks directly to a church caught up in division and confusion in 1 Corinthians 13. It is one of the most beautiful passages ever written in the Scriptures. Paul wrote this passage give Christians clarity on the best way forward in any and all circumstances. In confusing and troubling times, sometimes what we most need is a direct and clear word to break through the fog and point us to the way forward. I Corinthians 13 is just this word

2. The Wrong Way

Before we consider the right way, Paul informs us clearly of the wrong way in verses 1-3. Anything minus love is the wrong way. That is to say, if we act without love, it is not just a lesser or more inferior way, it is a “nothing” way. For the Corinthians, this would have been a very shocking message because the practices that Paul compares to a loving way in this passage are all things they would have considered very good in themselves and the things that had the most power to make a difference. Speaking with eloquence, gifts of prophecy, faith that moves mountains, and acts of great self-sacrifice were powerful ways to make a difference or evidence of mature spirituality. Today, that might translate to a concern for sound doctrine, participation in church programs, or generous donations. Yet, Paul indicates that the power of even the greatest spiritual acts is undone without love. This church had surely heard Paul teach them about love but when it came to solving their problems and finding a way out of them – they looked first to all the ways their culture had taught them. Corinthian culture prized all the things Paul said were nothing without love. Paul’s beautiful poem was a sharp rebuke to a divided and compromised church. They were going the wrong way. When they left love out – no matter what else they did – they were leaving the way of Jesus. If they continued to travel on this wrong way, it would only bring further confusion, division and harm to themselves and others.

3. The Most Excellent Way

The most excellent way is the way of love. The New Testament is replete with examples of love, and admonitions to love God, our neighbors, and even our enemies! If we consider our own spiritual growth, we might point to indicators such as the time spent reading our Bible or praying for others. We might think about our moral behavior, or how we serve others. But the main measure and the true power for good in our lives is not knowing everything, not understanding everything, not to achieving something great, not doing miraculous things, or even risking it all. The greatest power for good in this world is the love—the kind of love described here. Our main job on this planet is to love. We must learn more about what it is, prioritize it, and bring it into all that we do. 

It is no surprise that if we attempt to read our name into this passage that we would not be able to read it for very long with integrity. The only name that fits is Jesus. This should not discourage us because if we can love like this at all it is only because Christ first loved us. This beautiful love poem is a description of how the love God has for us in Christ. A Christian is someone realizes that the greatest and most powerful word anyone could speak, the greatest miracle, the greatest act of sacrifice is not anything we can say or do but what has already been done and said to us in Christ. We are fully known (v12) in all our failures to love and yet fully loved. Eternity will undeniably reveal to us – the greatest and most powerful thing in the universe is the love of God for sinners. Paul writes elsewhere that “God demonstrates his own love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rom 5:8). Loving like this is not natural for us, it is supernatural. The way of Jesus is to “keep ourselves in the love of God” we have in Christ (Jude 21) and continually practice it toward others. Love is the way, the most excellent way, for the Christian. As a popular character, the Mandalorian, would say: “This is the way.” 

REFLECT OR DISCUSS

1. What part of the message most resonates with you? Why? What questions did it raise?

2. How did 2020 challenge you or cause you to consider your own way in life? How did the confusion and division of 2020 (and now 2021) affect you?

3. How do you tend to fill in the blank , “If we really want to make a difference, we need more

   _______________________” with something other than love? (OR to put it another way – In a world of confusion and division, where are you most tempted follow our cultural (American) way instead of the way of love in Christ?)

4. What are some examples of spiritual actions or attitudes that can be done without love? Have you ever fallen into this pattern before?

5. Read 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. If you were to replace “love” with your own name, would you be able to read the passage faithfully? Which description of love challenges you the most?

6. If we are convinced that we are fully known and fully loved by God in Christ – even in our sin and brokenness – how might this enable us to have the power to love the way Paul describes in this chapter?

7. Consider this challenge for 2021 – To resolve to make love your first priority and pursuit. What area of your life or relationship(s) first comes to mind as the place God is calling to renew your commitment to the most excellent way of love?

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Daniel #9 - Guidance for an Uncertain Future (Nov 15, 2020)

Daniel 8:1-27

The Hardest Part of Suffering | One of the main ways we get through hard times in life is by looking ahead to the future. By looking ahead, we are alleviated of our current suffering. What makes suffering the hardest is the uncertainty of the future. For us, present concerns with the pandemic and the divisions of our country certainly occupy our daily attention. What makes this even worse is not knowing when it will end. The same was true for the exiles. They longed for the day that God would restore them to some sense of normalcy. Deep down, they believed that God’s redemption would end their suffering.

The main idea we have observed in Daniel is that God is in control, even when it doesn’t seem like it. Daniel, his friends, and their fellow Israelites had witnessed God act in exile. Whether it was a fiery furnace, a lion’s den, or a confusing vision, God demonstrates to His people that it is possible to live with hope even when the future is most uncertain. This powerful truth applies to us today. The apocalyptic visions we encounter in Daniel give us a new way of seeing our present and looking toward the future in view of God’s sovereignty. The answers we find may not be what we like, but they are what we need. The vision in Daniel 9 confronts three of the most powerful idols in American culture and American Christianity: planning, pace, and power.

1.  What will Happen? - Planning

Daniel’s vision includes a ram, a multi-horned uni-goat, and a little horn that was most arrogant and directly opposed to God. He describes a violent battle between the ram and the goat, and the horns that represent kingdoms that would overtake each other in due time. Though symbolic and cryptic, the vision addresses the question, “What wiill happen in the future? Will the bad really go away?” The answer given is that it is not for us to know. Daniel receives visions from God that are detailed, but also mysterious and not fully understandable. Daniel, a faithful prophet, is left in despair for several days following this vision (9:27). This is a feeling that we often share with Daniel when the future is uncertain. What’s most clear in this vision is that things go from bad to worse! We rightly ask, “How does this help!?” The answer is that the Bible does not give us naive view of the future, similar to a placebo.

Scripture challenges us to take a realistic view of the future. The purpose of the vision in Daniel 9 is not to show him what is there, but who is there. God doesn’t reveal what will happen so that we can merely know the details of the future; God’s revelation shows us that He knows the future. We have been living in a what-will-happen state for most of 2020. We continually question what will happen in the coming months and years. But the message for us is this: Are we trusting God to make His plans happen, or are we trusting God to make our plans happen? Let us take hold of the realistic view and trust in God’s plan rather than our own. As Jesus reminds us, “what I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand (Jn 13:7).

2. How Long? - Pace

As the vision of the battle is described, a pertinent question is asked by a heavenly observer. “How long will it take for the vision to be fulfilled?” (9:13). We are likely asking the same question: how long? The answer God provides here (8:14) is: not forever. Sin, evil and suffering will not last forever. But we would do well to remember that God’s pace is different than our own. This answer does not invalidate our feelings. Observe how this question is repeated throughout the Scriptures.

• My whole being is shaken - how long, O Lord? (Ps 6:3)

• How long Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will I store up anxious concerns within me? (Ps 13:1-2)

• How long Lord? Will you hide forever? (Ps 89:46)

• How long, Lord, must I call for help and you do not listen or cry out to you about violence and you do not save? (Hab 1:2)

Even though Daniel receives a direct answer, “2,300 evenings and mornings” (9:14), it is not automatically comforting. Difficult times still feel long. We ought to take comfort in the fact that it will not last forever and that during this time, we can mature in faith, hope, and love. Our cries of “How long?” are echoed in heaven and draw us into God’s promise that He has set a limit on sin and evil. Instead of looking for the exact timing on the “timer”, we should look to the God who sets it

3. How will God Prevail? - Power

God gave Daniel a vision of a terrible future. Think about the implications of it. Daniel and the Israelites were already in a bad situation; they were exiled to Babylon. This vision concerns other nations and kings that would arise and bring more chaos and destruction. It looked as if things would go from bad to worse. So what is the point of the vision? God wants to prepare us for even the worst that the future can bring. One small verse in this terrible news for Daniel gives us hope –“Yet he will be broken - Not by human hands (9:25)”. All human attempts to become God or stand against him will not only be stopped; they will be broken. These efforts are no match for God’s power. 

That brings us to two very important questions: when the future is uncertain, how will God prevail, and how will we persevere? Not by human hands. This is the toughest answer of all, but the most hopeful of all. Daniel understood this answer, which contributed to his breakdown and despair (9:27). To live with hope for an uncertain future, we must be broken too. The answer targets the very things we cling to so often - self-reliance, individual strength, and our own fortitude. The reality is that if this answer doesn’t break us, then we don’t really understand grace. 

The answer shows us how to apply the doctrine of grace to our uncertain futures. The Scriptures are replete with examples of how our salvation and everything we have in Jesus Christ is a result of grace, not by works. Here’s how this applies to our futures = We do not work for and earn the future we want from God; rather, we are given the future God wants for us as a gift. There is nothing we can do with human hands to change the love He has for us in Jesus Christ. If this is true our future is filled with his grace, love and favor for us – no matter what! When we let go of trying to earn the future we want from God, we are broken by grace and unbreakable in life. 

The grace of God leads us not to passivity, but it frees us to trust in God with the future and to do what he calls us to do. After Daniel was worn out and exhausted for several days after this vision, what did he do? He got up and went about the king’s business (9:27). It is ok to feel despair and even to be immobile at times. We must process this in our own time and seek to renew our trust in God that we might be lifted up and resume our work. Let us not be defined by despair and brokenness, but let us rise up and attend to the king’s business.

REFLECT OR DISCUSS

1. What about the message is most relevant to you today? What questions did it raise for you? What is most challenging for you about the uncertainty of the future in our current time of difficulty? What are you looking to for hope for your future?

2. What is the difference between a naive view of the future (ie “look for silver lining”, “it will be ok!”) and a realistic view of the future according to Scripture? Why is this important to keep in mind?

3. It was asked in the sermon, “Are we trusting God to make His plans happen in our lives, or are we trusting God to make our plans happen for our lives?” What’s the difference? How have you experienced this dynamic at work in your life.

4. Observe some of the “how long?” verses listed above. What do these declarations teach us about how we can and should pray in hard times? Do you pray or have you prayed like this? If so, what impact has it had on you? If not, why not?

5. Daniel 9:27 is good news tucked into this vision of a hard future. This statement teaches us to apply to doctrine of grace to our futures. We could summarize it like this - We do not work for and earn the future we want from God; rather, we are given the future God wants for us as a gift. How do you find yourself trying to build or earn the future you want from God (with your human hands)? What might it look like to trust God for the future He wants to give you as a gift of grace?

6. Read 2 Corinthians 4:7-9. What does this passage teach us about how to be “unbreakable” in life? How is God calling you to go about the King’s business as you trust him for your future?

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Daniel #8 - The Son of Man (Nov 1, 2020)

Daniel 7:1-28

Introduction: We are continuing our series in Daniel to learn from his example of exile in Babylon and understand how it can be significant for us today. As we begin to navigate the latter half of the book of Daniel we will consider several visions. These visions are apocalyptic in nature and not always easy to understand, but they can teach us a great deal about God and his sovereignty. We can learn, alongside Daniel, that visions from God can give us a clearer perspective of the world around us and why we can always place our hope in Him.

What is Apocalyptic Literature?
The book of Daniel is divided into two clear parts. Chapters 1-6 are the stories of Daniel and his friends living faithfully in exile. Chapters 7-12 make up the visions of Daniel. Daniel wrote down and preserved his strange visions, most of which left him confused, terrified, and disturbed. These strange visions are what scholars call apocalyptic literature. When we hear the word apocalyptic, we typically think of chaos, destruction, and despair related to some sort of end-of-the-world scenario. However, this is not the main focus of apocalyptic literature in the Bible. The main focus of apocalyptic literature is on God’s present and future rule over history. There are two important things we need to know about apocalyptic literature to interpret it correctly:

1) Apocalypse means “a revealing” or “unveiling”. These parts of the Bible pull back the curtain between heaven and earth to uncover things that are hidden to us. The book of Revelation is called “Revelation” because that is the translation of its Greek title “Apocalypse”.
2) Apocalyptic literature is about the revealing of God and his hidden work in the midst of chaos, disorder, and confusion. The Bible’s apocalyptic visions come from times when it was darkest and hardest for God’s people to see any sign of hope. This is the case for the visions in Daniel, when God’s people were in exile. These difficult visions are meant to give us hope by showing us how to look beyond the chaos, disorder, and confusion of our world to God and the certainty of his purpose. Let’s turn to Daniel chapter 7 and consider some important characteristics about this vision.

1.  A Realistic Vision | Daniel spoke about a vision that gave him great distress and terror. He saw four huge beasts coming up from the sea – a lion with eagles wings, a bear with 3 ribs in his mouth, a 4-headed winged leopard and a monstrous beastly thing with iron teeth. Alongside these beasts was a little horn with eyes and a mouth that is speaking (Dan 7:3-8). This is certainly confusing, and we are not at fault to inquire what it means. Daniel provides some insight when he asks this very question and is told that it relates to four kings (Dan 7:15-17). Instead of immediately trying to discern who the kings represent, it is important to interpret the vision in its context. The interpretation given to Daniel reveals that these beasts symbolize kingdoms that have life and expression from Daniel’s day until the day the Son of Man reigns fully and forever. In other words, this vision gives us a way to see the whole of human history.

Using the symbolic number four, it also points us backward to chapter 2 where Nebuchadnezzar had a dream of a statue that also had four parts related to human kingdoms. Daniel 7 gives us a very different vision of these same kingdoms. In chapter 2, the vision was of impressive, strong, and glorious kingdoms, and in chapter 7 we see them portrayed as beastly, terrifying, and violent. Which one is true? The answer is: both!

Should we be optimistic or pessimistic about earthly kingdoms, politics, and history? Neither. We should be realistic.

The Bible does not give us a purely pessimistic view of human history. We can misinterpret this vision if we only see it on its own. “Everything is evil and corrupt!” Not so. God’s common grace resides even in the most unlikely places, even Babylon. This is one of the shocking messages of Daniel. Yet…

The Bible does not give us a purely optimistic account of human history. This misinterpretation would say: Just obey God, be a good citizen, and you will be healthy, wealthy, and free from trouble. Not so. Daniel was one of the most obedient and faithful prophets in the Bible, yet he was exiled, forced into service, and nearly executed. 

The Bible gives us a realistic vision of human history. We need to see things how they really are: the good potential of kingdoms, and their beastly nature impacted by sin. These elements will be at work in ALL human kingdoms and systems of government. Daniel 7 opens our eyes to the beastly potential in human kingdoms. This means we must not assume that if we elect a certain leader, or change certain laws, then everything will be happy and grand. We also should not assume that all hope is lost, and we are to flee and withdraw from all human kingdoms. God is at work in our world, even when at its most “beastly” and we must look to him to realign our vision.

2. A Hopeful Vision | The vision in Daniel 7 gives does more than help us see realistically. It gives us a hopeful vision in the face of chaotic situations around us. Let us not forget that alongside the vision of the beasts, there is a vision of a heavenly realm with thrones. Here we see the Ancient of Days seated on a throne, and a Son of Man given dominion (Dan 7:9-14). We are seeing two visions occur simultaneously in this passage and that is important because at the same time that the beastly kingdoms roar, the King of the heavenly kingdom reigns. 

The Ancient of Days takes his seat upon a throne - a picture of God’s eternality, immutability, power, and sovereignty. God is sitting on the throne not only in sovereignty and power, also in judgment. The vision assures us that all wrongs will be accounted for and made right. No human kingdom can promise this.

But the Ancient of Days is not alone, there is another - a Son of Man. In this vision, the Son of Man confers with the Ancient of Days, destroys the beasts and rules forever in a glorious kingdom (Dan 7:13-14). Who is this Son of Man, and how does he come?

• Who is this Son of Man that comes? - He is clearly a human figure, but with divine power and glory. It is not a coincidence that Jesus’ favorite designation of himself is the Son of Man. In fact, the High Priest tore his robes when he heard this because he knew to whom Jesus was referring (Mt 26:64-65). The Son of Man receives glory, power, and honor that belongs to God alone. What we see in Jesus claiming to be the Son of Man is that he is both God and man. Daniel’s vision highlights a dramatic irony. Humanity uses the freedom given by God to try and become God, and in doing so we become beasts. On the contrary, the gospel is that God uses his sovereignty to become man and in doing so re-humanizes us. 

• How does the Son of Man come? - In direct contrast to the suffering and terror that the beasts inflict, the Son of Man comes in humility. Jesus claims that he came “not to be served, but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many” (Mk 10:45). He came not with the power of force, but with the power of service, suffering, and sacrificial love. This is a message of hope because God understands what it is like to live among the beasts, yet without sin. In Daniel, we see a glimpse of this Son of Man and he is certainly worthy of glory, honor, power, and dominion because he comes not out of the sea like a beast, but down from heaven as a servant. The Son of Man is our only hope in world of beastly kingdoms. 

3. A Proleptic Vision | We all know the familiar stress of watching an event (like a sporting event or an election) without knowing the outcome. If you are emotionally invested at all it can often reach a point at which you don’t even enjoy it! Thankfully, we do not have to live this way as a Christian. Not only does Daniel give us a realistic vision and a hopeful vision, he also gives us a proleptic vision. What does this mean? Proleptic vision is when a future act or development is represented as if already accomplished or existing. That’s what this vision is!

Daniel’s vision was a powerful message about God for all generations in human history. The Ancient of Days reigns on His throne, and the Son of Man is guaranteed dominion and glory in the face of beasts. This is the Gospel - Jesus, the Son of Man, is reigning now and will one day reign fully and forever in his kingdom of people from every tribe, nation, and tongue. 

As a Christian today, it is all too easy to get swallowed up in the chaos and disruption of our time. Whether it is a health crisis, a political class war, or an economic downturn, Jesus is our proleptic King. If you feel weary, remember that it won’t last forever. Christians don’t live for the future, we live from the future. We live from the future by seeing the time we live in for what it really is: light momentary afflictions preparing for us an incomparable and eternal weight of glory. To live from the future is not an escapist hope. The vision of Daniel is not only about how God will save individual souls from beastly kingdoms of this world, it is about how God will restore his rule and kingdom over this world. This vision gives us a deeply personal hope, but one that overflows into a public (political) hope. With this hope in the proleptic victory of Christ, we are free from fear and free to love others in light of how God has loved us.

REFLECT OR DISCUSS

1. What about the message is most relevant to you today? What questions did it raise for you?

2. What is your prior understanding of apocalyptic literature? Does it cause you concern, fear, or confusion? How do you view this genre in the context of the Bible?

3. In what ways are you challenged to have a realistic vision about the world around you? Are you generally more optimistic or pessimistic? Do you feel the desire to consider the opposing perspective in the challenge to be realistic? 

4. Read Ephesians 6:10-20. What are some examples of systemic or spiritual evil you have witnessed in your life? How does God command you to take your stand against evil that exists around you and sometimes shows up in your heart?

5. How does the second part of Daniel’s vision make it a hopeful vision? What resonates with you the most? Does it give you encouragement?

6. Read Mark 10:35-45. What qualities does Jesus manifest as the Son of Man? How is this different than the rulers of earthly kingdoms?

7. What does it mean to live from the future as a Christian? How does this challenge your perspective of the chaotic situations we have experienced as a country this year?

8. Read Daniel 7:28. What about this statement from Daniel resonates with you? What does it mean to keep this matter in your heart?.

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