I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Daniel 7-8.

    In today’s passage Daniel recounts two visions which he experienced. Both visions are explained to him, but the explanation of the first vision is less than clear. Perhaps part of the reason we find the explanation difficult to understand is because we misunderstand what the visions are intended to tell us. I will touch on the second vision first because it and its explanation matches up with history that we know. It clearly describes the fall of the Persian Empire to Alexander the Great followed by the death of Alexander and his kingdom being split into four parts. This second vision was intended as a message of hope for the people of Israel while they were being oppressed and forbidden from practicing their faith.

    As I was writing the above, I came to a realization. In both of these visions, the powers of this earth rise to power with no acknowledgement of God. Eventually, the dominant power becomes ruled by someone who believes that they can challenge God. They will seem to succeed for a time, but their end will not be long in coming. It is the nature of world powers that eventually there will rise to power someone who seeks to usurp God’s place. This someone will generally deny that God even has a place. These visions remind us that God is in control of history and such individuals will fail in the end.