Friend

Re:Verse passage – Daniel 7:1-28 (day six)

No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. -Jesus, John 15:15

The one like a son of man (Jesus), called them friends.

Maybe there is more to Daniel than God’s sovereignty over human history, something even deeper. Could it be that these visions are a call into a divine friendship with the King of Kings?

There is nothing superficial or insincere going on here. Being known is the basis of friendship. Trust, love, hope, and even eternal life (John 17:3) are its fruit.

God has not withheld from you what He is doing; He has made himself known to you. Oh, son and daughter of the King, rejoice because you are also called friend.

Author: Danny Panter

Danny is the Associate Pastor for NextGen Marrieds & Community Missions at FBCSA.

One thought on “Friend”

  1. Daniel 7 is full of terms and images that are powerful and descriptive. The “Ancient of Days” we ASSUME to be God Himself (perhaps the Father?) but so is the “Son of Man” whose kingdom is eternal. It could be that the God-Head is being represented in action as the Father on His throne and His Son showing up to be revered, which are both just a part of our immense, Almighty God. It is amazing that no mention has to be made as to how God overcomes these beats; He just does. Most translations I’ve read refer several time to “saints” when the Old Testament concepts of them MAY be entirely unique compared to the New Testament, where saints are believers (as most protestants interpret it). I was interested to notice a footnote offering “Holy Ones” as a substitute for “saints”. We all know the only way we are holy is in our state of being cleansed by the blood of Jesus, set apart for Him. We are so certain the “Son of Man” is Jesus, and I must agree it makes full sense. It is amazing that no mention is made of His ultimate sacrifice before coming to this point in Daniel’s account. Is it possible these horrific beats demonstrate the gruesome nature of the world order, how it insidiously “consumes” our spiritual health, not necessarily indicating that people are actually being devoured, just that their spiritual perspectives are proverbially being consumed by sin, the total disregard of God, and that these beasts are leading them there? Is it just that their “violence” and “destruction” go totally unnoticed by the “free modern man” in our day to day lives? Perhaps we are in the midst ourselves, trying to live in a land being ravaged by the fourth beast already today. So many of us want to start correlating the horns to European and/or Asian countries, trying to figure how some figure like Adolph Hitler might have been the little horn boasting pompous things. However, we could still be in the midst of the ten horns still not seeing the arrival of that final horn. None of that matters, as long as we concentrate our efforts on learning to live like the “Holy Ones”, the “saints” that, even if we are warred against by any of these forces, we can reach the state of the abundant life from this day forward, looking forward to eternity! Daniel’s message is frightening, but the main point is, don’t try to do it yourself; cling to your Master, our Lord Jesus Christ!

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