How do you define treasure?

If we are faithful with the message of God’s grace, maybe we can convince them that Jesus is the only way to a Wonderful If we are faithful with the message of God’s grace, maybe we can convince them that Jesus is the only way to a Wonderful Life.

The final vision God gave to Daniel is so long and complex that it stretches over three chapters, 10-12. The reason it is so hard to understand is because most of us have such a poor understanding of world history. Anyone who studies this era of history will stand in awe of how amazingly precise Daniel 11 is.

Daniel 10 illustrates that, “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of the dark world, and against spiritual forces of evil in heavenly realms.” Eph. 6:12

Daniel 9 has two parts. The first 19 verses record Daniel’s prayer in light of the prophecy of Jeremiah. Daniel’s inspirational prayer demonstrates the appropriate response to the truth of God’s word.

Daniel 8 has an interpretation of the vision, given to Daniel by the angel Gabriel, the first time he makes an appearance in scripture.

Prophecy is a complex subject often hard to understand. For that reason prophecy provides a playground for sensational speculation. In the 1970’s Hal Lindsay predicted Jesus would return one generation after Israel became a nation -1988. When that didn’t happen he amended his prediction. Since Israel did not have all the land until the 1967 War, Jesus would return in 2007. Obviously that didn’t happen. Now he says a generation is actually from 60-80 yrs. So Jesus will return in 2047.

Children often seek to be the center of attention. We’ve all seen kids who think the world is their stage. Their antics are cute…for a while. Eventually they become obnoxious and sometimes even embarrassing. It is one of the responsibilities of parents to limit their performance. But seeking the center of attention is not just the behavior of children. We have met a couple of proud kings in the book of Daniel who sought to be the center of attention. In chapter 3, Nebuchadnezzar builds a monument to demonstrate his greatness. In chapter 5, Belshazzar throws a massive party and drinks from the gold and silver objects of the Jewish temple to demonstrate his importance. Today we meet another king from another kingdom who becomes the center of attention. By the end of chapter 6 he willingly relinquishes the throne of his own selfie kingdom to the rightful King.

Daniel 5 is a study in the anatomy of pride. How can we recognize this deadly sin and
how can we avoid it because “God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.”