Series: Resilience
Message: Safety
Preacher: Japhet De Oliveira

Refresh: Open with prayer. Read or listen to Psalm 23.

Read: Daniel 10-12 - As you read in the New International Version, note 1-3 insights that arise.

Reflect: Jacques B. Doukhan in his book Secrets of Daniel, p.171 draws on the last verse Daniel 11:45 and connects Daniel 2:44,45 and Revelation 16’s reference to Armageddon as a thread through the text. He states

“Their mutual target is the throne of God, the kingdom of God…. No one believes in the kingdom of God anymore. Many treat with condescension this hope of the early Christians, the very essence of Christianity. Too many Christians have today integrated into their beliefs humanistic and materialistic ideologies. Instead of looking toward the soon-to-come City of God, they work at building it here and now.”

There is hope and there is safety with Jesus as the book comes to a close. While Daniel 12 is the shortest chapter in the book, it is certainly one of the deepest. Remembering that the break in chapters are not always the best, if you allow the story of Chapter 11 to continue it takes you right to Daniel 12:4 and completes the message of the vision. There is One. There is One who stands against all who seek to oppress. There is One that will arise. That great prince is Michael. That One is Jesus, and this world will be recreated. So all our attention, all of our focus, all of our trust, all of our confidence, all of our hope and safety rests in Jesus. The reoccurring motif of rescue is realized in Daniel 12. Including one of the clearest passages about the resurrection and what happens to us when we pass away.  

It is providential that the journey of through Psalms brought us to Psalm 23 today. For there is not greater prayer than the prayer of safety in our God.

Recalibrate:

1. What makes you feel safe? What is missing to help you feel more safe?
2. How do you experience the Kingdom of God today and hope to in the future?

Respond: Pray a prayer of thankfulness for God’s protection.

Research: There are several other texts explaining what happens when we pass away some literal and some figurative such as 2 Kings 4:18-35; Job 19:26; Psalms 17:15; 73:23,24; 13:20, 21; Isaiah 25:8; 26:19; Ezekiel 37:1-14; and Hosea 6:2. Also read Isaiah 2:3; 26:19; 66:24 to see where Daniel is referencing as a source his belief.