Last time in chapter 7 we saw the troubling dream that Daniel had. We also saw how the interpretation of this dream revealed that God had given Daniel a grand vision of the sweep of human history from the time of Babylon to the destruction of the end time Antichrist and the establishment of God's eternal kingdom.
Three years later Daniel has another troubling vision recorded in chapter 8. This vision is much narrower in scope. It zooms in on a specific period of time within that grand sweep of history. As we shall see the purpose of this vision was to forewarn Gods people about a period of severe persecution that lay in the future and to assure them that their sovereign God would limit the days of that persecution and ultimately defeat their persecutor.
Main Points:
- The Reign of Empires
- The Rise of Persecution
- The Reason to Persevere
Application Questions:
- In Daniel's vision we see that God is in control even when things seem to be going wrong. How is this lesson also seen it the life, death and resurrection of Jesus?
- What does God promise for those who reject God and persecute his people? What does God promise to those who have accepted the gospel and follow Jesus?
- What sort of things should we praying for as we wait for Jesus to return?
Read 2 Thessalonians 1:3-12.
Spend some time now praying about these things.