Post by Admin on Mar 14, 2020 7:32:23 GMT
We conclude our look at the life of Christ in Handel's Messiah with a peek at the future, both from an Old Testament vision (Daniel 7:9-14) and a New Testament vision (Revelation 19:1-16). Both are NIV.
Daniel 7
9 “As I looked, thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze. 10 A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated, and the books were opened.
11 “Then I continued to watch because of the boastful words the horn was speaking. I kept looking until the beast was slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire. 12 (The other beasts had been stripped of their authority, but were allowed to live for a period of time.)
13 “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, 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.
Revelation 19
1 After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting: “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, 2 for true and just are his judgments. He has condemned the great prostitute who corrupted the earth by her adulteries. He has avenged on her the blood of his servants.”
3 And again they shouted: “Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up for ever and ever.”
4 The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God, who was seated on the throne. And they cried: “Amen, Hallelujah!”
5 Then a voice came from the throne, saying: “Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, both great and small!” 6 Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: “Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. 7 Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. 8 Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.”
(Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.)
9 Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.”
10 At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For it is the Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus.”
11 I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. 12 His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. 13 He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. 14 The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. 15 Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
Some background on the Daniel scripture from a sermon by Timothy Shrimpton, “The Ancient of Days Sits in Judgment”
To really understand what is going on here in Daniel’s vision we need to backup just a little bit and get some context. Daniel is living in exile in the land of Babylon. Because of her constant unfaithfulness to him, God sentenced Judah to be exiled to Babylon for 70 years. In the midst of those 70 years, Daniel and his associates had a lot of run-ins with the authorities. During this time, God also sent many visions to Daniel, using a lot of imagery not unlike we find in the book of Revelation. Many of them were glimpses of what was to come, often from a macro view. In the earlier verses of Chapter 7, Daniel sees four beasts coming out of the sea, a winged-lion who would represent Babylon whose time in power was soon to end; a bear, a picture of the Medes and Persians who would overthrow the Babylonians as the world power and return Judah to Jerusalem and the surrounding area; a leopard with two sets of wings, who would be the swift moving Alexander the Great ushering in the Greek empire; and finally a beast that had no animal counterpart but was only described as being terrifying and having iron teeth, which would be none other than the Roman empire who would eventually stomp its way through much of the known world conquering everything in its path.
Why the emphasis on the coming world powers, looking up to several hundred years into the future, even beyond Jesus’ life? Daniel’s visions are, in part, a reminder that not only is God real, not only is God powerful, but everything that he’s said is going to come to pass—even Judgment Day.
There’s no avoiding it. Daniel’s clear in his accounting here: the court sat in judgment, and the books were opened. There is going to be judgment taking place here. When the Ancient of Days speaks, you listen; when he judges, there’s no going back on that judgment. There are no appeals in God’s court; all decisions are final. We’re guilty, and there’s no plea bargain, there’s no way to bring the charges down to a misdemeanor. In this court either you’re perfect or you’re not, and if you’re not it means capital punishment. Then, we we’re told that behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him.
This is no new dictator, judge, and tormentor for sinners. This son of man is the Savior of the nations. This son of man is the one who would make peace between the sinful race of mankind and that imposing Ancient of Days. This son of man will usher in an eternal era of calm. He receives power and authority because he had completed his task. That then turns Judgment Day on its head. Before, the thought of approaching the Ancient of Days, having those books opened that contained our sins would have terrified us. But now, because of what Jesus, the Lamb of God, the Son of Man, has done for us, when you look in those books, and when you find the pages of your sins, they are blank. Hallelujah!
Daniel 7
9 “As I looked, thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze. 10 A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated, and the books were opened.
11 “Then I continued to watch because of the boastful words the horn was speaking. I kept looking until the beast was slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire. 12 (The other beasts had been stripped of their authority, but were allowed to live for a period of time.)
13 “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, 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.
Revelation 19
1 After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting: “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, 2 for true and just are his judgments. He has condemned the great prostitute who corrupted the earth by her adulteries. He has avenged on her the blood of his servants.”
3 And again they shouted: “Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up for ever and ever.”
4 The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God, who was seated on the throne. And they cried: “Amen, Hallelujah!”
5 Then a voice came from the throne, saying: “Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, both great and small!” 6 Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: “Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. 7 Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. 8 Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.”
(Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.)
9 Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.”
10 At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For it is the Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus.”
11 I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. 12 His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. 13 He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. 14 The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. 15 Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
Some background on the Daniel scripture from a sermon by Timothy Shrimpton, “The Ancient of Days Sits in Judgment”
To really understand what is going on here in Daniel’s vision we need to backup just a little bit and get some context. Daniel is living in exile in the land of Babylon. Because of her constant unfaithfulness to him, God sentenced Judah to be exiled to Babylon for 70 years. In the midst of those 70 years, Daniel and his associates had a lot of run-ins with the authorities. During this time, God also sent many visions to Daniel, using a lot of imagery not unlike we find in the book of Revelation. Many of them were glimpses of what was to come, often from a macro view. In the earlier verses of Chapter 7, Daniel sees four beasts coming out of the sea, a winged-lion who would represent Babylon whose time in power was soon to end; a bear, a picture of the Medes and Persians who would overthrow the Babylonians as the world power and return Judah to Jerusalem and the surrounding area; a leopard with two sets of wings, who would be the swift moving Alexander the Great ushering in the Greek empire; and finally a beast that had no animal counterpart but was only described as being terrifying and having iron teeth, which would be none other than the Roman empire who would eventually stomp its way through much of the known world conquering everything in its path.
Why the emphasis on the coming world powers, looking up to several hundred years into the future, even beyond Jesus’ life? Daniel’s visions are, in part, a reminder that not only is God real, not only is God powerful, but everything that he’s said is going to come to pass—even Judgment Day.
There’s no avoiding it. Daniel’s clear in his accounting here: the court sat in judgment, and the books were opened. There is going to be judgment taking place here. When the Ancient of Days speaks, you listen; when he judges, there’s no going back on that judgment. There are no appeals in God’s court; all decisions are final. We’re guilty, and there’s no plea bargain, there’s no way to bring the charges down to a misdemeanor. In this court either you’re perfect or you’re not, and if you’re not it means capital punishment. Then, we we’re told that behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him.
This is no new dictator, judge, and tormentor for sinners. This son of man is the Savior of the nations. This son of man is the one who would make peace between the sinful race of mankind and that imposing Ancient of Days. This son of man will usher in an eternal era of calm. He receives power and authority because he had completed his task. That then turns Judgment Day on its head. Before, the thought of approaching the Ancient of Days, having those books opened that contained our sins would have terrified us. But now, because of what Jesus, the Lamb of God, the Son of Man, has done for us, when you look in those books, and when you find the pages of your sins, they are blank. Hallelujah!