Prophetic Dreams
When people think of the book of
Daniel, most often, they think of Daniel in the Lion’s Den. This book is one about a tragic time in the
life of the Hebrew people. Israel has
been conquered by the Babylonians and the educated and skilled people have been
taken captive, into exile back to Babylon.
As they enter life in the captive land, they are encouraged to assimilate
into the culture and ways of the Babylonians including their religion. This is a story of resistance, a story of
people seeking to stay faithful to their God despite chaotic times, and it is a
story of hope that even though the present is not very favorable, the people find
hope that God will establish a better future.
And it is a story of dreams.
We started our sermon series on
dreams with Jacob, who dreamed of a ladder connecting earth to heaven. In this dream, Jacob was awoken to the sacred
right there, in the very place where he slept.
It was also a sacred dream that reinforced Jacob’s call that he and his
descendants would be God’s people. Last
week took us to Egypt where Joseph had a dream that he, the youngest brother,
would rise to power over his older brothers.
In this story there were several other dreams including that of Pharaoh. These dreams were prophetic, speaking to
things in the future and Joseph was able to interpret these dreams so the Egyptians
could prepare for a long season of famine.
Today, we continue with prophetic
dreams, dreams held not by God’s people, but like Pharaoh, the oppressor of God’s
people. The first dream we heard was
that of Nebuchadnezzar, but instead of sharing his dream with others he demands
that others must tell him the dream and then interpret it for him. Those in his court cannot tell him his dream,
but Daniel has a true gift. Here, in the
land of exile, in a land where Daniel has taken great risks to stay faithful to
his God, he has the opportunity now to not only interpret Nebuchadnezzar’s
dream but also share what he dreamt. “No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can
explain to the king the mystery he has asked about, 28 but there is a God in heaven who reveals
mysteries. He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to
come
So Daniel tells Nebuchadnezzar his
dream, his dream is of kingdoms, starting with the current kingdom moving far
into the future. As each kingdom comes
after Babylon, they are slightly weaker and weaker. Unlike the dream of Pharaoh and Joseph, this
dream takes us long into the future and there seems to be no immediate action
that can be taken. There is no calling
to stockpile food in order to prepare, it just is. As Daniel gets to the end of the dream, listen
to the language: the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will
never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those
kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure
forever. Does this sound like the
texts we use at Advent? Isaiah also
speaks of a future kingdom, an eternal kingdom of King David, a Kingdom that we
now speak of as that brought to us through Jesus Christ. And as Daniel concludes his interpretation,
giving credit to God in heaven, Nebuchadnezzar responds: Surely your God is the God of gods and the Lord
of kings and a revealer of mysteries, for you were
able to reveal this mystery.” And just like
Joseph, Daniel is given a position of authority within the Babylonian
Court.
For a people in exile, to know that
their God is present with them, is sending them a message of hope, even though
it is through their oppressor, they find encouragement, they have a new anchor
in which to place their faith, they have something to lift them up out of the
chaos and stress of these trying times.
Over time, a new king came to rule
over Babylon, king Belshazzar,
and this time it is Daniel that has a dream.
Daniel’s dream parallels that of King Nebuchadnezzar, in that it is
predicting future kingdoms. As his dream
concludes he has this vivid image of: In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a
son of man,[a] coming with the clouds of heaven. He
approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. 14 He was given authority, glory and sovereign
power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His
dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is
one that will never be destroyed.
Again, we have this prophetic vision of the Messiah.
Professor: Juliana Claassens
Share this: Daniel 7 assert that God is not just a
far-away removed deity, but that God is present in the chaos of this world:
moving, acting, and intervening in the real life struggles of the believers who
are yearning for a Liberator God.
Sometimes when we switch on the morning news and read the newspapers
over a cup of coffee, we may feel a bit like Daniel, frightened by devouring
monsters in his night visions, when we seek to wrap our minds around everything
that is happening in our country and around the world. However, the belief and
hope in a Savior that enters exactly where the forces of chaos seem to be most
rampant is what allows one to get up and face the day.
God, through these dreams, sent the
people hope despite being in exile, despite being in captivity, despite being
oppressed by outside forces. We,
continue to live as a part of that dream, on the other side of it, on the side
where God has sent the son of man, the redeemer, the liberator and yet, we know
there are still forces of oppression in this world, there are still vices that
we need liberated of. When we find
ourselves struggling in hard times, what is our anchor? What is our hope? We have the eternal kingdom of God, the
eternal reign of our loving Creator, we are a part of this on-going story, this
on-going dream. God is not done with the
world yet. The people of God have endured
through amazing trials and tribulations and the promise of God’s presence in
their lives has strengthened them.
The forces of oppression in our
lives today are varied. They can be
disease, unemployment, under employment, addiction, poverty and
homelessness. They can be global structures
where we just feel powerless. And God’s
people do not stay silent, there are various groups being a voice for the
voiceless, being a witness to God’s goodness in the world, speaking out on
behalf of the environment, dedicating their careers to mental illness treatment
and care. So many people seek to be a part
of God’s dream, a part of the redemption of this world, a part of the
liberation, witnesses of God’s presence in this world Amen.
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