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Jude wrote: "To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever. Amen." (Jude 1.25). Dominion and Power belong to God. We noted previously an awesome scene before God’s throne, the one which John saw in a vision. It ended like this: "‘Blessing and honor and glory and power Be to Him who sits on the throne, And to the Lamb, forever and ever!’ Then the four living creatures said, ‘Amen!’ And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped Him who lives forever and ever." (Revelation 5.13-14)."

Daniel foresaw events leading up to the establishment of this everlasting kingdom, the realm in which God’s Power and Dominion were to be eternally manifested. Of course Daniel’s perspective was from a view a few hundred years prior to the birth of Christ but it was nonetheless accurate in as much as the visions were of Divine origin. On one occasion Daniel wrote, "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. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, Which shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one Which shall not be destroyed." (Daniel 7.13-14). Might this scribe suggest that there is a direct link between the scenes which Daniel saw and the scenes depicted by John in the Revelation (scriptures cited just previously). We will explore this link.

Daniel saw a time yet future when "One like the Son of Man" would come to the Ancient of Days. This scene involved a kingdom "Which should never be destroyed." Prior to moving to passages which point to a fulfillment, it will be helpful to see another passage from Daniel which further defines this everlasting kingdom. In an earlier chapter, Nebuchadnezzar had seen a dream which Daniel interpreted by God’s power. Part of the interpretation went like this: "And in the days of these kings [the fourth empire] 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). It is clear from Daniel as well as from other Old Testament prophets that the people of God correctly expected the setting up of a kingdom which would never be destroyed.

It is the case that this kingdom, the one anticipated by the people of God in the Old Testament, is the Kingdom over which Jesus Christ now reigns and the one which shall never be destroyed. It is the same kingdom depicted in Revelation 5.13-14, the one in which the Lamb reigns forever and ever. This kingdom is unlike earthly kingdoms in some ways but it similar to earthly kingdoms in other ways. These similarities and dissimilarities will be further explored.

Even if we do not understand everything about this kingdom, it is to our benefit to understand one thing, i.e., "Blessing and honor and glory and power Be to Him who sits on the throne, And to the Lamb, forever and ever." To that all should say, "Amen and Amen!"

Questions:

1. According to Daniel 7, what was to be the duration of the kingdom in the vision?

2. According to Daniel 2, what was to be the duration of the kingdom in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream?

3. According to Revelation 5, how long was dominion to belong to the Lamb?

4. Why could the kingdom depicted by Daniel and John NOT be an earthly kingdom?

Focus Text: Jude 1.25

"Voice of Inspiration" from Andy Castro

A Lot Of Salt