The Word Unleashed - Radio

Daniel chapter 8 is a fascinating chapter that highlights either explicitly or implicitly many of God’s attributes: We are shown that God is omniscient–that He knows all things. We learn that He is sovereign–that He controls all things. And we learn that He is a good God–He is loving, gracious, and full of compassion. But these attributes aren’t limited to Daniel and the times he was writing about. These attributes of God are still true of Him today.

In this magnificent chapter, God issues, through the prophet Daniel, a message of comfort and hope to His people. God informs them about a coming period of intense persecution and then promises that He will ultimately destroy their enemies and that His people, the Jews, will survive this intense persecution. For us as Christians today, this chapter gives us confidence that our great God rules from heaven over all human history, and we can trust him with our lives.

The Bible teaches that God’s people will face persecution in this life. Thankfully, in God’s kindness, His Word reveals how we as Christians are called to deal with and respond to opposition and upheaval. Daniel chapter 8 serves as a blueprint–one that warns Christians that persecution and hostility are inevitable, and that our only response should be to trust our sovereign God and remain faithful to His Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Daniel wrote to the Jewish nation and let them know that God is sovereign and that He would be with them during the trials and sufferings that were to come. The same is true for us Christians today, for we serve a God who is sovereign, who controls all things, and who will never leave or forsake us. Rather, He will accomplish all His plans for His great glory and our good.

This passage teaches that God is sovereign over history in its entirety and down to the smallest detail. At the same time, this chapter is a call for Christians to trust our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who is the King of Kings.

It is very common today for Christians to misunderstand God’s purposes for allowing His people to be persecuted. Although God is not the author of sin and persecution, He ultimately uses them for His purposes. Not only was this true of Joseph in the Old Testament and Jesus in the New Testament, but it is also true of every believer at all times.

During Jesus' life and ministry He made it clear that all those who are willing to be His followers will suffer persecution—Jesus said to His disciples that if they persecute me, they will persecute you. In fact, that is the teaching of the entire Bible. All those who desire to live godly as part of Christ’s kingdom will suffer and will face persecution.

Those who are in Jesus' spiritual kingdom by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone will consistently manifest the beatitudes that Jesus speaks of at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount. For us as Christians, it is critical to understand the beatitudes, because they are the entry point to understanding and living out the rest of Jesus’ sermon, which focuses on living for His kingdom right here and now.

Jesus begins His most famous sermon, the Sermon on the Mount, by identifying several qualities that should be present in the life of every Christian. For those who profess to be followers of the biblical Jesus Christ, these qualities should be pursued on a daily basis. Therefore, we as Christians must be dedicated to reading, meditating on, and reviewing the beatitudes as part of our walk with Christ.

The Bible teaches that God is a God of peace; that is one of His many attributes. The Bible also teaches that Jesus came into this world on a rescue mission to make peace between a holy God and sinful people. But in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus calls every one of His followers to be peacemakers. But what exactly does this mean for us as Christians?