Relentless Opposition

Read: Daniel 7:15-28

He will defy the Most High and oppress the holy people of the Most High. He will try to change their sacred festivals and laws. Daniel 7:25

IN WORD

Clearly the Son, the royal figure who is given authority and sovereign power, has enemies. Daniel has seen visions of beastly empires and proud rulers who brutally oppress all who stand in their way. They may not realize they are trampling on the very ones God considers precious; they certainly don’t think they are rousing Him to vengeance. They don’t consider themselves accountable to any higher authority, claiming highest authority for themselves. But the Ancient of Days watches, takes His seat in the courtroom of divine justice, hands all authority over to the Son of God/Son of Man, and waits.

For what? Apparently a ruler from among the empires will arise and oppose the holy ones of God, the people He has chosen. In the waiting, God’s people have been promised the Kingdom; they will receive it and possess it forever and ever (Daniel 7:18). But their enemy wages war against them, trying to change the divine decree. Does he aim to alter the prophetic arrangement of their feasts and holy days, or on a broader scale, the sequence of events that leads to their receiving the Kingdom? Either way, he battles against unchangeable edicts from heaven. He fails; no one can alter God’s timing. The Ancient One renders judgment and hands the Kingdom over to His own people.

IN DEED

We live during that battle. Daniel’s vision applied to his own time, when God’s people were in captivity and would face a sequence of oppressive empires up to the time of the incarnation of God. They also applied to end times, when a final battle rages and God ultimately hands the Kingdom to His people. And they apply to every time in between, as empires continue to rise and fall, and battles continue to ravage this world. An enemy is desperately opposed to the Kingdom. Your trials aren’t senseless; they are personal, part of a relentless attempt to impede Kingdom citizens from their destiny. Pray, persevere, and live with purpose. No one can thwart your future as an heir of the Kingdom.

ADDITIONAL READING: Ephesians 6:10-12

The kingdom of God is where we belong. It is home.

FREDERICK BUECHNER