Text: Daniel 7 : 1-8

Dear Young People,

A NEW CHAPTER… A WHOLE NEW FOCUS
We begin a new chapter this week. Thus far, Daniel 1-6 recounted historical events, involving the lives of Daniel and his three friends. Daniel 7 marks an important transition to an important section of the Book of Daniel.

From this chapter onwards till we come to the end of the Book, we are going to read some of the most important passages with reference to prophetic literature. God was going to favour Daniel with important messages that he must record and preserve.

From here on, the reading of Daniel 7 is going to be even tougher. I hope that you will not be disheartened or discouraged in any way. Press on to learn deep and difficult things. Let the difficulties in the Lord's Word challenge you to make even greater efforts to master the contents found in the next several chapters.

The first 6 chapters of Daniel were not too difficult, were they? I hope you kept reading when the passages were difficult. I hope your heart was challenged along the way as you read of the faith and courage of Daniel and his friends. God's Word can bring such encouragement to the heart.

DREAMS AND VISIONS
We are already familiar with the fact that God spoke to people in times past through dreams and visions. God spoke to Nebuchadnezzar through his dreams. The reasons for this are quite obvious.

1. If God had not spoken to Nebuchadnezzar by dreams, he would never have known and acknowledged Him as "The God of gods, the Lord of Kings, a Revealer of secrets…" (Daniel 2:47).

2. Nebuchadnezzar would not have been terribly interested in reading the Hebrew Scriptures. His knowledge of God came about through his dreams (Cf. Daniel 4).

3. God was of course free to choose whatever means He deemed best to communicate His Word to anyone he wished. In the case of Nebuchadnezzar He chose dreams.

4. In God's wisdom, He chose dreams and visions to communicate His Word to Daniel too. Dreams and visions certainly had a place in the Old Testament days as a valid means of revealing great truths.

5. As we are studying the Book of Daniel, we will be looking at some of the dreams that God communicated to Daniel. These dreams contained great truths that are relevant and important to us.

DREAMS AND VISIONS ARE BUT VEHICLES FOR TRUTH
It is vital that we note an important thing. Dreams and visions are but vehicles of the truth that God wanted to communicate to His servant. When we look at the dreams and visions, we must remember to search for the truth that God communicated. We must not lose sight of this vital understanding. Let's press to read with even greater determination.

Prayerfully,                                                                             

Pastor Charlie

First released 16th September 2001, © Bethany Independent-Presbyterian Church, Singapore