‘The four great beasts are four kings that will rise from the earth. But the saints of the Most High will receive the kingdom and will possess it forever—yes, for ever and ever.’ Daniel 7:17-18 (NIV).
More words of comfort from the angel. He confirms that the four bests Daniel saw are indeed four kingdoms of the earth; kingdoms that, at that time, were yet to come and, in our time, are also yet to come. Then, the angel plainly says that the saints who truly follow God Almighty – Most High, Ancient of Days, and Son of Man – will be given His kingdom to possess it forever.
Or, as my friend, Mark, often says, “you’re a part of eternity right now.”
Really. You are. You believe in Jesus? You’re part of His eternity right now. You know, the kingdom He would give to His saints to possess forever. That’s it. There’s nothing more complicated to it than that. Sunday best clothes aren’t required; rock band praise music isn’t required. Catechisms, hail Mary’s, feasts of the saints, seder meals, and even the holy sacraments of communion and baptism aren’t required, even as many of those are good things. If you put your faith in Jesus, you’re in. That’s what the angel was alluding to.
That would all come to pass one Sunday morning in a garden rock tomb. The man who they had murdered days before would open His eyes, walk out of the tomb, and prove He was exactly who He said He is. The hundreds who had followed Him had received His holy kingdom and they didn’t even realize it. The billions since then who believed in Him, trusted in Him for their lives, shared Him, loved Him, worshipped and revered Him, knew Him as both Savior and friend then received it. You and I received it. Untold numbers of people who come after us in however long this world has left who profess their belief in Him will receive it.
It’ll happen then, and now, and it’ll happen again when this life is over. We will live in heaven with Christ forever in the most wonderful adventure any of us could ever imagine. Everything we know will be made new. Everything new will have the light of Him within it.
2500 years ago, Daniel didn’t yet know this. He knew the visions had troubled him and he couldn’t explain them on his own. So Daniel sought translation from an angel within the visions and the angel manifested this understanding, this prophecy, to him. In that, even if Daniel didn’t grasp the full meaning at the time, he knew he’d been given something meaningful that would endure.
For further reading: Psalm 16:3, Psalm 49:14, Isaiah 60:12-14, Matthew 19:28-29, Revelation 2:26, Revelation 20:4, Daniel 7:19
Lord of all prophecy, all praise to You for the words of Your angel, Your prophet, Your people.
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