Ever have a nightmare? They’re usually really scary stuff – and they seem so real! Sometimes you wake up in a cold sweat and have to take a little time and calm down! As a child I had a few nightmares that made me sleep with my head under the covers for “protection.” Moms and dads of small children have often had to respond to screams in the middle of the night and give a lot of loving comfort.
Nightmares rarely turn out positive! … But there’s one “dream-vision” (a “nightmare”) that Daniel had recorded in Daniel 7 in the Bible that did turn out positive! After seeing four absolutely frightening beasts in his dream-vision, representing four different world empires with some vicious and oppressive dictators, Daniel saw something else – something wonderful, something positive, something filled with hope…
“I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man [a clear prophetic reference to the “Son of Man, Jesus Christ, the Messiah]. And He came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And 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 one that shall not be destroyed!”
Gotta tell you, I am grateful that Daniel’s “nightmare” ended that way! Worldly kings and kingdoms will come and go before Jesus returns. Some of them will be oppressive, evil and frightening. Prophecy indicates things in our world will get a lot worse before things get better! The Bible predicts a frightening future in many ways… But there is another king and kingdom to come – God’s kingdom, the Kingdom of Heaven… Listen, I’ll take a “nightmare” (in this case a prophetic reality) that ends that way any day!
Coffee With The Lord 