14And I have come to cause you to understand what will happen to your people in the latter of the days because yet the vision to days. 15And in his speaking with me according to the words the these, I set my face earthward and I was made speechless.
Notice in v.14 that the angel tells Daniel, “Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come.” Reading that verse over and over and thinking about it, I am afraid it is true that, in a sense, I’ve grown to the place where I take prophecy for granted. What I mean is, stop and realize – this angel is saying he’s going to tell Daniel things that will happen in the future.
Things that haven’t happened yet. Involving people who haven’t even been born yet. In the future. Now remember that angels are not omniscient. They live in time and space just like you and me. They do not, in and of themselves, know the future anymore than you and me. So how can this angel tell Daniel “what will happen in the future?” Well, obviously, God told him. And how does God know? Because He is the eternal I AM. He knows no past, present, or future. He exists above time in an eternal NOW.
That is totally beyond our comprehension. He created time and space for us to live in, so it is all we know. We exist in a world where we (might) remember the past, we are here in the present, but we have no clue what will happen in the next ten seconds, much less in thousands of years! However, God does.
The wonder of all that is what I am afraid I’ve come to take for granted. I pick up my Bible and read prophecies and just say, “Oh.” I forget that prophecy is impossible for anyone or anything in the universe – except our Lord! For myself, I just want to stop and praise Him, worship Him. He truly is our great God! “For thus saith the high and lofty One, who inhabits eternity, ‘I dwell in a high and holy place – and with him who is poor and of a contrite spirit…’” (Isa. 57:15).
It would probably be enough for our feeble souls to stop there, but there is more – so much more! Remember that, just like angels in the beginning, and just like Adam and Eve, every single human being is created with the dignity of choice. All day every day you and I are making choices. Will I go here or will I go there? Will I respond graciously to that guy or punch him in the face? Will I vote for this one or that one? Will I be faithful to my wife or let my heart (and eyes) wander? Will I turn right or left? Just think about it – even now, right now at this minute, if in fact there are eight billion people on earth, you have eight billion intelligent, capable creatures making choices – seemingly totally independent choices. Some of those choices are irrelevant to you and me and some will be momentous.
We don’t know what they’re all choosing, yet the Lord can tell us exactly what will happen in the future. On the one hand, as we said above, that’s because He simply knows. He exists in an eternal present, high above us ants scurrying around our tiny anthills. However, then note, it isn’t just that He knows. It is also true it will all work out perfectly according to His plan. People think, because they have this power of choice, that they are the masters of their own destiny. They may be choosing – and that sometimes good and sometimes bad – yet they are not the masters. God is. Regardless of how they choose, this world will end up exactly where the Lord intends it to go.
Once again, this is totally beyond our understanding, but think of what a wonder it is! At the same time, our God can grant to us the dignity of complete freedom to be constantly choosing, yet, no matter what choices we make, we’ll all end up exactly where He wants us. No doubt, non-believers will scoff and chafe at such truth, but those of us who do believe can actually take that as both an honor and a comfort! That dignity of choice is an enormous honor He bestows on us, but then, knowing what an idiot I am, I can take great comfort in knowing my destiny is ever in His hands! “They (or I) might mean it for evil, but God means it for good.” “All things (including my bad choices!) work together for good.”
Are not the Jewish people (“your people” – the focus of this angel’s words!) the case in point? Their track record, sadly, has been to make bad choices ever since the Lord led them out of Egypt. If ever there was a people who seemed to completely frustrate God’s plans, is it not them? Yet prophecy is still prophecy and the Lord assures us, “And so all Israel shall be saved, as it is written…” (Romans 11:26). “As it is written…” It was their choice whether or not to worship that golden calf. It was their choice whether to go into Canaan and conquer or turn away in fear. It was their choice whether to truly study God’s Word and understand the times. Because they did not, they didn’t even recognize their own Messiah and instead murdered Him! It was all their choice – and yet the Lord can still tell Daniel “what will happen to your people in the end times.”
Of course, not one of us has any room to criticize the Jewish people. We are no better. We just didn’t get our bad choices written down in the Bible for people to read about for literally centuries!
I don’t know about you, but sitting here pondering these things, I definitely think I’ve let my heart grow too accustomed to the wonder of prophecy and our great God who provided it to us. I’m going to try, every time I read or think of prophecies to pause and worship God that, while He grants us the dignity of making our own choices all day every day, even the course of human events (and my life), regardless of how we (I) choose, always has been, still is, and always will be in His wise, just, and gracious hands!
No comments:
Post a Comment