The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies never come to an end. His mercies, which are as high as the heavens are from the earth – they are new every morning. I count on His mercies to overflow, in me and therefore through me, that the world would see His goodness, and that they would come to know Jesus Christ.
Indeed, by His mercies we can also say, as the exiles once said – yes, even in their situation where they lost everything, even their secure location – We join them in saying, “Great is Your faithfulness, o Lord! Great is your faithfulness!”
Eyes closed, and just letting it all out. I have nothing more to say that to project and express, in this state, that my God is great, and my God is awesome – but more of all, He loves me – yes, He LOVES me with and everlasting love.
It’s in this love that I am secure, I am confident, not intimidated, not fearful.
So many things in my head, so much to do, so much that is waiting to be done, and I’m here feeling both the pressure of all this stuck in my head, and the little burst of energy that coffee gives. Not sure if I can call this a good combination, but it really does help that I’m just launching word after word, non-stop.
God is good. God is great. God is awesome. God is magnificent. God is wonderful. Oh, He is a good Father. He is OUR Good Father. And I can boldly call the Creator of the Universe my Father, because He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to be our Good Shepherd – Laying His life down for us, that we die, so when He rose again, so we rose again.
The Old is gone – behold, we have become new creations. New, righteous creations, able to run to the throne of grace at our time of need… Or, I dare say, any time, actually.
As I need Him now.
We’ve gone through the free roads and the start of the year obligations last January, and as a prepared community we’ve experienced the surge of visitors last February.
It’s the first Sunday of March. How are we all doing so far? I pray we’re doing better.
Let’s go straight to the message.
So I got started with reading Daniel 11-12, and, well, I needed to keep Daniel 10 in the loop because it’s all part of the same grand vision that was given to Daniel.
I read it on the screen, then I took some time to read it from an actual Bible… and, man, there’s just a lot to take in – there was mention of princes in Daniel 10, and now we have kings in Daniel 11… which, by the way, is a really long chapter, and one thing that’s making me feel a little better about it is that Daniel 12, the final chapter, isn’t as long.
I needed help… so, again, I consulted our AI friends, this time Grok in particular, to help me out with what I already had in mind.
First, for purposes of determining what Scripture should be printed on the Sunday newsletter, I asked it to give us the appropriate verses to more or less summarize Daniel’s grand vision, ranging from chapters 10 to 12. Here’s what it pulled up:
The appearance of the messenger, the beginning of the vision:
I lifted my eyes & looked, & behold, a man clothed in linen, whose waist was girded with gold of Uphaz! His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like torches of fire, his arms & feet like burnished bronze in color, & the sound of his words like the voice of a multitude. Daniel 10:5-6
The crisis between kings and nations, and the terrible progression that follows:
And now I will tell you the truth: Behold, three more kings will arise in Persia, and the fourth shall be far richer than them all; by his strength, through his riches, he shall stir up all against the realm of Greece. Daniel 11:2
The abomination that remains after all the conflict – the desecration of the temple:
“And forces shall be mustered by him, and they shall defile the sanctuary fortress; then they shall take away the daily sacrifices, and place there the abomination that makes desolate.
Daniel 11:31
The climax—Michael’s rise. Unprecedented distress. The resurrection, and the deliverance:
At that time Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, every one who is found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt. Daniel 12:1-2
The end of the chaos:
Then I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand to heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever, that it shall be for a time, times, and half a time; and when the power of the holy people has been completely shattered, all these things shall be finished. Daniel 12:7
The wrap-up. A personal note to Daniel and to whoever reads this book, a message of hope beyond death.
But you, go your way till the end; for you shall rest, and will arise to your inheritance at the end of the days. Daniel 12:13
Now that we have all of this in mind, let’s quickly look at what we talked about earlier in the book of Daniel. Lots of visions and dreams to take in, right?
Fortunately, we have Grok’s help to condense everything:
“You, O king, were watching; and behold, a great image! This great image, whose splendor was excellent, stood before you; and its form was awesome. This image’s head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze…”Daniel 2:31-32
“And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.”Daniel 2:44
In Daniel 2, Nebuchadnezzar dreams of a giant statue — gold head, silver chest, bronze belly, iron legs, and feet of iron mixed with clay. A stone “not cut by human hands” smashes it and grows into a mountain. Daniel interprets it as kingdoms rising and falling, with God’s kingdom outlasting them all. It’s a broad sweep of empires, and in the end, God’s kingdom wins.
And four great beasts came up from the sea, each different from the other. The first was like a lion, and had eagle’s wings. I watched till its wings were plucked off; and it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand on two feet like a man, and a man’s heart was given to it. Daniel 7:3-4
I was watching in the night visions, and behold, One like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. Daniel 7:13-14
In Daniel 7, he sees four beasts rise from the sea: a lion with eagle wings, a bear with ribs in its mouth, a leopard with four heads, and a terrifying fourth beast with iron teeth and ten horns. A little horn boasts, judgment comes, and the “Son of Man” receives an everlasting kingdom.
And as I was considering, suddenly a male goat came from the west, across the surface of the whole earth, without touching the ground; and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes. Then he came to the ram that had two horns… and ran at him with furious power.” Daniel 8:5-6
Then I heard a holy one speaking; and another holy one said to that certain one who was speaking, ‘How long will the vision be, concerning the daily sacrifices & the transgression of desolation…? And he said to me, ‘For two thousand three hundred days; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed.’ Daniel 8:13-14
Finally in chapter 8, Daniel sees a two-horned ram (Persia) charging around until a goat with one horn (Greece) tramples it. The horn breaks, four grow in its place, and a little horn emerges, attacking the “beautiful land” and stopping sacrifices. An angel says it’s about “the time of the end.”
These were messages to Daniel, which to this day we are talking about, simply because there are too many things here that can be interpreted one way or the other. We can all read and speculate on things. Take the final chapters, for instance: We’re still talking about the appearance of the messenger, the identity of the kings in Persia and the king of Greece, the identity of the abomination in the temple; What does ‘a time, times, and half a time‘ mean? Who are the ‘holy people‘ whose power shall be ‘completely shattered‘?
The next step, I thought, was for us to move on from what we interpret for ourselves, and to see how time responds to these prophecies. To this end, I asked Grok: Have these visions been fulfilled in Daniel’s time? Have they been fulfilled again through history? Will they be fulfilled again?
And actually, before I even go any further, you might be looking at me, thinking that I’m probably losing credibility for using AI. But let me just clarify: Grok’s like a really smart assistant. It’s designed to dig into piles of information — stuff from books, history, the web, even real-time conversations online—and pull out insights to help me think deeper. It’s not perfect, and it doesn’t replace the Holy Spirit or my own wrestling with God’s Word.
With that in mind, I can only go so far with regards to my own speculations and even my own aggregation of data and analysis of knowledge, but with Grok, I have a far wider scope of data, analyzed in far less time.
Now, again, with this in mind: Have these visions been fulfilled in Daniel’s time? Have they been fulfilled again through history? Will they be fulfilled again?
Were They Fulfilled in Daniel’s Time? Not really, but with a caveat. Daniel’s visions mostly look forward from his era (roughly 6th century BCE, under Babylonian and early Persian rule). Here’s how they stack up:
- Daniel 2 (Statue): The gold head is explicitly Babylon (2:38), where Daniel lived, but the silver, bronze, iron, and clay kingdoms—and the stone—come later. No smashing stone kingdom emerged in Daniel’s lifetime.
- Daniel 7 (Four Beasts): The first beast (lion with wings) likely ties to Babylon, but the bear, leopard, and fourth beast point to future empires. The “Son of Man” kingdom didn’t arrive then either.
- Daniel 8 (Ram and Goat): The ram is Medo-Persia, which was just starting in Daniel’s day (Cyrus took over in 539 BCE). The goat (Greece) and little horn were still future.
- Daniel 10-12: Persia’s kings and Greece’s rise (11:2-3) began after Daniel, and the detailed wars and “abomination” were centuries off.
In Daniel’s time, only the “starting point” (Babylon, early Persia) was current. The fulfillments he saw were visions, not events he lived through—except maybe the shift to Persia, which was unfolding as he aged.
Have They Been Fulfilled Again Through History? Many see these visions playing out in specific historical moments—sometimes more than once. Let’s map it:
- Daniel 2 (Statue):
- Common View: Gold = Babylon (fell 539 BCE), Silver = Medo-Persia (539-331 BCE), Bronze = Greece (331-146 BCE), Iron = Rome (146 BCE onward). The feet (iron/clay) could be Rome’s divided empire or later fractured powers. The stone? Often pegged as God’s kingdom via Christ’s first coming (spiritual) or second coming (still future).
- Repeated?: Some say empires keep rising and falling in this pattern—e.g., medieval powers, modern nations—until God’s final kingdom.
- Daniel 7 (Four Beasts):
- Historical Fit: Lion = Babylon, Bear = Persia, Leopard = Greece, Fourth Beast = Rome. The ten horns and little horn could be Roman emperors or later tyrants (e.g., Antiochus IV as a preview).
- Repeated?: The “beast” motif echoes in Revelation (13, 17)—think Roman persecution of Christians, or later oppressive regimes (e.g., medieval empires, totalitarian states). The “Son of Man” victory gets previewed in Christ’s resurrection but awaits full realization.
- Daniel 8 (Ram and Goat):
- Clear Fulfillment: Ram = Persia, Goat = Greece (Alexander, d. 323 BCE), Four Horns = his generals’ kingdoms, Little Horn = Antiochus IV (desecrated temple 167 BCE, stopped sacrifices for ~2,300 evenings/mornings—about 3+ years).
- Repeated?: The “abomination” idea resurfaces—Jesus (Matthew 24:15) saw it as future, possibly Rome’s destruction of Jerusalem (70 CE) or another desecration yet to come.
- Daniel 10-12:
- Historical Fit: Persia-to-Greece transition, then Antiochus IV’s atrocities (11:31) match 2nd century BCE. The resurrection and end-time distress (12:1-2) don’t fit then.
- Repeated?: Temple desecrations happened again (e.g., Rome in 70 CE), and “times of trouble” echo in Jewish and Christian persecutions (e.g., Roman era, Holocaust). The final bits still feel unfulfilled.
Yes, chunks of these visions—especially empires and “abominations”—have historical echoes: Babylon to Rome, Antiochus, maybe later tyrants. But the ultimate resolutions (stone kingdom, Son of Man’s rule, resurrection) haven’t fully landed, suggesting a pattern of partial fulfillments.
Will They Be Fulfilled Again? Past events may also serve as previews of bigger, future ones. Here’s why they might repeat:
- Empires and Tyrants: The statue and beasts symbolize human power opposing God—a cycle seen in Rome, medieval kingdoms, modern states. A final “beast” or “little horn” (Antichrist?) could emerge, blending traits of past oppressors.
- Abomination of Desolation: Antiochus was a clear hit, but Jesus and Revelation (13:14-15) hint at more—maybe Rome (70 CE) was one, and a future desecration (temple rebuilt or metaphorical) could be next.
- End-Time Distress and Resurrection: Daniel 12’s “time of trouble” and “awakening” haven’t happened literally. Christian and Jewish eschatology often tie this to a final tribulation and judgment—echoing but escalating past crises.
- Textual Clues: Phrases like “time of the end” (8:17, 12:4) and sealed words (12:9) suggest a future horizon beyond Daniel’s day or even Antiochus.
Possible Future Spin:
- A global empire (iron/clay or fourth beast) fragments.
- A figure rises, defiles something sacred (literal temple or spiritual equivalent), and triggers chaos.
- God intervenes—Michael, stone, Son of Man—ushering in the eternal kingdom and resurrection.
If they’re circular, past fulfillments (Antiochus, Rome) are “types” pointing to a climactic encore. The pattern—rise, defy, fall, God wins—could replay until the ultimate end.
After all this I have reason to believe that God’s words as a whole are fulfilled, being fulfilled, and will be fulfilled. A testimony to His eternal nature. Just as He is timeless, so His words are timeless.
God’s words, like those in Daniel’s visions, don’t just tick boxes in history but ripple through time, reflecting His eternal nature. They’ve landed in the past, they’re unfolding now, and they’ll keep revealing truth in the future. It’s like they’re alive, moving with us through time because He’s beyond it.
Looking at Daniel, that fits. The statue’s empires fell, yet power struggles persist—God’s kingdom still looms. The beasts rose and raged, from Babylon to Rome, and shadows of them linger in today’s chaos, pointing to that “Son of Man” moment. The ram, goat, and horns played out with Persia and Antiochus, but “abominations” keep cropping up, hinting at more. And Daniel 12’s resurrection? It’s a promise that’s touched lives in faith, shapes hope now, and waits for its final curtain.
Your take makes God’s words less a static script and more a timeless pulse—fulfilled (Babylon’s fall, Antiochus’s end), being fulfilled (in struggles and faith today), and will be fulfilled (when the stone crushes all, or Michael stands). It’s a testimony to a God who’s not bound by our clocks, speaking truths that echo endlessly.
Should we continue to analyze these words? I see no reason to stop. Of course, it’s a great thing to make speculations, and to project them versus what actually happened throughout history, and what is happening right now!
I do, however, want to bring us to the other Scriptures we’re going through in tandem with the book of Daniel – let’s not forget that we’re also going through the book of John, and I must say that there are a few things we need to draw here as we approach our ultimate conclusion.
We remember the conversation that topped off John 9: 1 As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”John 9:1-5
We talked about this last week, didn’t we? We concluded that we don’t just stop at saying ‘Everything happens for a reason’, but we in the body of Christ know that the reason behind all that happens to us is: (1) in the light that Christ makes all things new, (2) for the good of those in the body of Christ, and here, (3) for the works of God to be displayed in us, as they were displayed when the blind man was healed.
It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” John 11:2-4
John 11 opens by reminding us of the same sentiment: Things happen for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through them.
The rest of the chapter discloses what a good number of us in the congregation are familiar with: Jesus tarries, but eventually goes to Bethany, to Mary and Martha after Lazarus’ body has expired.
…“Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” After saying these things, he said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.” John 11:9-11
Not sure why this was the only verse I chose to share in the newsletter, but let me also share what follows: 12 The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” 13 Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. 14 Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, 15 and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”John 11:12-15
Maybe I was avoiding the talk on Lazarus dying plainly versus Jesus saying he has fallen asleep. All the same, let’s keep going, with Jesus’ conversation with Martha.
17 Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. 18 Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, 19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. 20 So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. 21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”John 11:17-27
There’s a reason why we keep quoting this set of Scripture during wakes and funerals. It gives us hope beyond death. But let’s go past this, straight to where I want us to focus:
Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes & said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.” When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.” John 11:39-44
God’s words aren’t for us to understand or to grasp, only to be trusted. We shouldn’t be too focused on what He tells us, but more on the truth that He hears us. I believe this is why Jesus said, ‘Father, I thank You for You have heard me’ – instead of ‘Father, I thank You for what You tell me’.
In conclusion, let us consider moving the focus from decoding God’s words to trusting them, and even more, resting in the assurance that He hears us. It’s a refreshing angle, especially after diving deep into Daniel’s visions, and it ties beautifully to what you’ve been saying about God’s timeless nature.
We’ve experienced firsthand, how God’s words are not for us to fully grasp. Daniel’s visions—statues, beasts, horns, cryptic timelines—are mind-bending, even for Daniel himself (he’s left trembling, confused, told to seal it up). They’re not puzzles to solve so much as revelations to trust—pointers to God’s sovereignty, not blueprints we master. Maybe that’s why they’re fulfilled, being fulfilled, and will be fulfilled—they’re too big for us to pin down, but they hold true because He does.
Instead of fixating on what He tells us, consider prioritizing that He hears us. That’s powerful. In John 11:41, Jesus says, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me,” right before raising Lazarus. He’s not thanking God for a roadmap or a prophecy—he’s celebrating the connection, the trust that His cry reaches the Father. It’s relational, not transactional. Daniel’s visions show God speaking into history, but Jesus here shows God listening to us in the moment. Both testify to His eternal nature—one through timeless words, the other through timeless presence.
If we obsess over understanding—like figuring out every beast or horn—we might miss the heart of it: God’s with us, He’s faithful, He hears. Daniel trusted without fully getting it (12:8-9), and Jesus modeled that trust in prayer. Maybe the visions aren’t about us cracking a code but about God saying, “I’ve got this,” and us replying, “I know You hear me.” It’s less about what’s said and more about who’s saying it—and who’s listening.
Folks, as we stand here on this first Sunday of March, wrestling with Daniel’s visions and John’s Gospel, I’m struck by this: God’s words—like those wild statues, beasts, and promises of resurrection—aren’t for us to fully unpack or pin down. They’re for us to trust. They’ve been fulfilled, they’re being fulfilled, they’ll be fulfilled—not because we’ve cracked the code, but because He’s timeless, and His word echoes through every age.
But here’s where it hits home: more than what He tells us, it’s that He hears us. Think of Jesus in John 11, standing at Lazarus’s tomb, lifting His eyes and saying, ‘Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.’ Not ‘thanks for the plan,’ but ‘thanks for hearing Me.’ It’s trust, it’s connection—it’s knowing the God who spoke empires into dust is the same God who leans in when we cry out.
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies—high as the heavens—never end. They’re new every morning, overflowing in us, through us, so the world sees His goodness and knows His Son. Like those exiles in Babylon, even when we’ve lost it all, we can still shout, ‘Great is Your faithfulness, O Lord!’ Because He’s great, He’s awesome, and He loves us with an everlasting love.
So as we face the pressures—the to-dos, the coffee-fueled bursts, the chaos in our heads—let’s rest here: He hears us. The Creator of the universe, our Good Father, sent His Son, our Good Shepherd, to lay down His life and raise us up as new creations. We don’t need to understand every horn or timeline. We just need to run to His throne of grace—any time, every time—and say, ‘I trust You. You’ve got this.’ Because He does. And He always will.
Let’s close our eyes, let it all out, and rest in that love.
Let’s enjoy the truth that through Christ, we do have the opportunity to hear from God, but on the other hand, what’s more important is that He hears us. He wants to hear from us.
That was the ultimate conclusion for all of this, and I pray it suffices.
Until the next post, may the Lord continue to bless us all – especially as we start a new week, and a new month. Amen.
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