The Bible Is Not A Collection Of Myths | Daniel 8:1-2

In chapter eight, we begin another vision of Daniel. But to understand what's happening in this chapter, I want to recap where we've been. Chapters one through six are a survey of Daniel's life from the beginning of his captivity to the end. Then in chapter seven, we jumped back a little to the beginning of the end of the first empire, where Daniel told us a vision about four beasts that came out of the sea and the courtroom of God. In chapter eight, we will jump back again and hear another vision he had during his time in Babylon. This time it's going to be about a ram and a goat. And this vision is about the collision of two empires after the time of Daniel. But let's begin with two verses that are a marker in time within Daniel's dream journal. He says this: In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar a vision appeared to me, Daniel, after that which appeared to me at the first. And I saw in the vision; and when I saw, I was in Susa the citadel, which is in the province of Elam. And I saw in the vision, and I was at the Ulai canal. — Daniel 8:1-2 The signposts in this text are essential. Daniel is declaring times and places in history. And he's doing this intentionally because he knows what he has seen is so divine and prophetic that he cannot help but punctuate it with when and where he received it. This adds significant credibility to his vision. This would be like me picking the exact teams playing in SuperBowl LVII and declaring the winner, final score, on this date in history, and doing it with perfect accuracy. So let's do that. On Friday, August 19th, in White Bear Lake, MN, I declare that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will play the Los Angeles Rams and win 24 - 17 on February 12, 2023. Now, did God divinely reveal this to me? No. I'm just guessing, which is way different from what Daniel did. Because fellas, his stuff was declared by God and happened with unbelievable accuracy. And that's what we have in chapter eight. In our time, many want to assume that the Bible is just this collection of mythical stories made up by people over time. This is a prevalent worldview that is either directly or indirectly perpetuated by educators, actors, historians, and specialists. They will either dismiss or discount the credibility of the Bible without ever actually reading or studying it. Worse than that, many pastors, in attempts to be "relevant," have adapted the Bible to their liking and consequently trained their people to doubt the biblical context and record. But right here, Daniel debunks all this. He tells us that he received a vision from God, with specific details, about specific future empires and leaders on a specific date and in a specific location. He establishes the vision's credibility by writing down what we know as the very Word of God. And I hold it in my hand today. And know this, this vision, once you read it, will blow your mind because all of it came to pass, and we can see the history of its revelation. So, guys, God gave Daniel these visions to give him confidence. Confidence that he knew what was going on. Because the past, present, and future were in his hands and under his control. But in our time, we can go with even more confidence because we have heard the visions of Daniel and seen their revelation, even the coming of Jesus Christ, the Savior, and King. So be confident today in faith, knowing Jesus lives and he will save those who have faith in him. ASK THIS: Do you lack confidence? DO THIS: Find confidence in God's Word. PRAY THIS: God, I am confident in you, not in me. PLAY THIS: Confidence. Check out other all Vince Miller's videos and audios for small groups at: https://beresolute.org/ Get Vince's most widely read resources The Daily Devotional at: https://beresolute.org/mdd Check out more ALL IN products like the one Vince is wearing at: https://beresolute.org/product-category/all-in-hats/ ____________________________________________________________________________________ Connect with Vince socially: FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/millervince INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/vinceleemiller LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vincemiller TWITTER: https://twitter.com/vinceleemiller