In Daniel Chapter Ten we are given three great realities before we are presented with the final revelation given to Daniel.

These three great realities are:

1. The Real Battle

2. The Real Enemy

3. The Revelation of Jesus Christ

Sometimes, when you have something difficult to say to someone you ask them to sit down and then you carefully prepare the wayfor the shocking news that you have to give them.

In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia,

a revelation was given to Daniel

(who was called Belteshazzar).

Its message was true

and it concerned a great war.

God has something disturbing to reveal to Daniel But before he unfolds the revelation he prepares Daniel. It is as if he sits him down and carefully prepares the man.

Reading: Daniel 10:1-21

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We are privileged to have this further record of Daniel’s prayer life and there is much to be learned from observing Daniel praying. However, the true focus of this passage is the Lord, and not Daniel.

Here in this passage we see:

1.    God’s Word

2.    God’s Character

3.    God’s Mercy

4.    God’s Honour

5.    God’s Answer     

Throughout the Book of Daniel the Lord has revealed his Sovereignty -iIn particular his Sovereignty over human history.In visions, dreams and events God revealed this to kings - and in terrifying visions God reminded Daniel that he is in control. I thought, we have been here before, this is the Book of Revelation.

Just as in Revelation, you see the awesome sovereignty of God, and the question arises in your mind, ‘What is my place in all this?’ So the same question arises in the Book of Daniel.

Reading: Daniel 9:1-27

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How many parents have given this reassurance

“There! There! It’s all right. It was only a bad dream.”

Just before going on holiday I watched a film before going to bed.

It was a strange film about a World War II submarine.

It had suddenly risen from its watery grave.

And it appeared set on a deadly mission.

When went up t bed, I said to myself,

“It was only a story, It’s not true.”

In an instant I thought …

But you cannot say that about the Book of Revelation.

You cannot say that about God’s Word, the Bible.

No matter how strange Revelation may appear to you —

For most of us are not familiar with apocalyptic language —

You cannot dismiss Revelation saying, “It’s only a story! It’s not true!”

For a final look at the Book of Revelation

Reading: Revelation 22:1-21

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For these past ten days or so … the news has been dominated by one subject … Members of Parliament and their claims for expenses. You wonder ‘whatever has happened to the Swine Flu Pandemic?’

Depending on your perspective, what is required is:

·  A New set of rules

·  A New system

·  A New government

·  A New form of government

However, the problem goes much deeper.

Jesus said to the religious leader Nicodemus, ‘You must be born again.’  It is not simply another birth of the same old order. ‘You need to be born from above.’ You need a new beginning (genesis).

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Reading: Revelation 21:1-8

We come to what is one of the most difficult and disputed passages in the whole of Revelation …

that is Chapter 19:11-20:15.

First of all, how are you to understand ‘the thousand years’? Christians can and do come to very different conclusions. And for many it can be a very contentious matter. Some Christians can be most un-Christian!

Secondly, ‘judgement’ is for many people a difficult issue. How can a loving God send men and women to hell? Some, who claim to be Christians, dismiss hell. It is claimed that everyone will go to heaven — Or that some people will simply cease to exist. The problem is that, along with other Bible passages, this particular passage reveals the reality of judgement and hell.

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Reading: Revelation 19:11-20:15

What word in Revelation 19:1-10

appears only here in the New Testament?

I think that you might be surprised, I certainly was!

Hallelujah!

It occurs four times in vv. 1-6 but nowhere else in the NT.

It is derived from two Hebrew words meaning “Praise the LORD”.

Hallelujah!

Heaven Rejoices!

God has won the victory.

God has revealed his glory.

Christ has come for his Bride, the Church.

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Reading: Revelation 19:1-10

The Hymn-writer, Henry Alford, exhorts us saying

“Come, ye thankful people, come,

raise the song of harvest home;

all is safely gathered in,

ere the winter storms begin.”

No! It has nothing to do with global warming.

No! I haven’t got the seasons all mixed up.

It’s Alford’s reference to the Final Harvest.

The third verse of this Harvest Hymn announces …

“For the Lord our God shall come

And shall bring his harvest home.

He himself on that great day

Worthless things shall take away.

Give His angels charge at last

In the fire the weeds to cast,

But the fruitful ears to store

In his care for evermore.”

In the Revelation of Jesus Christ, John records,

Then I saw a white cloud,

and seated on the cloud

was someone like the Son of Man.

He had a gold crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand.

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Reading: Revelation 14:14-20

There are occasions when you are reading the Bible and you come across what can best be described as a nugget of gold. It sits there in the particular strata that you are reading, but when you see it there, it somehow stands out, and it demands closer examination.

That’s how I felt when I was reading Revelation 14:6-13. There it was — my nugget of gold

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Reading: Revelation 14:6-13

The Letter that we know as Revelation is intensely practical.

Yet to modern ears it appears more like fantasy than fact.

It is often represented as too difficult to understand.

o   There are so many different interpretations.

o   You don’t know who to believe.

o   It is all so confusing.

Satan, God’s enemy, wants you to believe that lie.

He wants you to believe it is all so confusing.

He wants you to ignore this important letter.

After all — it exposes his schemes.

And it reveals his ultimate end.

This letter is intensely practical –

It develops the characteristics that we require to live for God today.

Whether you are living under an oppressive communist regime …

Or whether you are a Muslim Background Believer …

Or whether you are in a Hindu culture …

Or an aggressive secular society

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Reading: Revelation 14:1-20

Suffering But Secure

North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Somalia,
Maldives, Yemen, Bhutan, Vietnam, Laos,
Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, China,
Eritrea, Turkmenistan, Comoros,
Chechnya, Pakistan, Egypt,
Burma, North Sudan …

You could continue naming countries around the world
where the cry goes up from God’s suffering people …
“How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true,
until you judge the inhabitants of the earth
and avenge our blood?”

How long must this persecution go on?
Will there never be a respite
for God’s suffering people?
The answer is No! -
Not in this world. 

God’s people are not exempt from persecution and suffering

But God’s people are secure amid the troubles of this life.

This truth is reinforced by the vision before us.

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Reading: “Revelation 7:1-17″ or to listen  click here

See also  Bible Study by Keith Getty