Redeemer Church, Mason Ohio Pastor Marc Champagne

Daniel 7 represents a shift in genre and perspective, but not a shift in message. The remainder of the book explores the prophet's visions and dreams where we see a sovereign God who reigns over all from start to finish. This bedrock reality must be kept in mind as we enter apocalyptic waters, which can be choppy hermeneutically and therefore lead to differing conclusions about the whos and the whens and the hows. Throughout the remainder, however, is the anchoring truth of a faithful and enduring kingdom led by the Son of Man. This week we begin with “A Vision of the End (and What it Means for Us Now!)".

Daniel is truly “Faithful to the End.” In the sixth chapter, we find him at 90+ years of age demonstrating the same faith that has guided him throughout the entirety of his life, a faith cultivated by a consistent and steady walking with God. The story is best known for the miraculous delivery from the lion’s den, which is definitely noteworthy, but its clearer focus is on Daniel’s steadfast service to God, and of God’s enduring faithfulness to his servant. May we be drawn into the story in such a way that we, also, trust and persevere in all circumstances.

The book of Daniel is filled with wake-up calls, perhaps none quite as striking at chapter 5, where a new king who treats as profane that which is sacred meets with a quick end. Party boy King Belshazzar, whose ancestor was Nebuchadnezzar, knows how to show everyone a good time, but does so at the expense of his soul and his kingdom’s security. In a most fascinating scene, mysterious writing on a wall levels the charge against his arrogance, and Daniel delivers the interpretation that haunts the King but also presses us to consider where we stand with the living God. In other words, “Don’t Wait for the Writing on the Wall!”

Daniel 4 is a case study in pride and God’s love breaking through. We learn of Nebuchadnezzar’s second dream, his fall, and restoration. Join us Sunday morning to hear Drew Trenz share this message with us!

This week in our series from the book of Daniel, we are shifting focus (briefly!) from Daniel to his three friends, who have also learned to trust the grace of Israel’s God. When Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused to bow to the king’s golden image, they were thrown into a death furnace. The example of Daniel’s three amigos shows us that God wants us to acknowledge that his provision is sufficient, loving and good - even if it does not line up with our own immediate desires. Tragedy does not mean that God has vanished. Faith is often refined in the furnaces of life, making God’s presence and grace all the more powerful and precious.

King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in Daniel 2 proves problematic to his spiritual advisors as he threatens to execute them if they cannot interpret its meaning. They can’t. But there is one who can (the God who gave him the dream!), and Daniel’s willingness to seek God’s wisdom in prayer quite literally rescues the day. More than that, the content of the dream itself anticipates Christ: the rock cut out of a mountain not built by human hands which brings “A Kingdom That Will Never Be Destroyed” (v. 44). That inspiring picture gives hope to the exiles back in the day, and hope to all believers who follow.