Exposition of Daniel 7:13-14 Two Reasons to Take Hope in the Midst of this Life

With all the turmoil with the credit crisis, I read a recent news article regarding some of the side effects the economic crisis is having on people:
“The Wall Street mess is messing with our bodies”

“I wake up with this feeling of anxiety and panic,” said Catherine Holmes of the Upper West Side.

Are you feeling tight in the chest? Dizzy? Short of breath, but not a heart attack? ER’s and doctors’ offices have been overrun with people in a panic. Their financial fears are turning physical.

“Stressed. You feel stressed,” said Paul Eisenberg of the Upper West Side.

Eisenberg, an information technology consultant, felt edgy and unwell of late so Friday he met with his Park Avenue doctor, Albert Levy.

“He explained to me it could be stress,” Eisenberg said. “It is more [in the head] than in the body.”

Levy said he sees a trend. More of his patients have been coming to him worried about their futures, worried they are having heart attacks. [1]
Things are bad: At the close of New York Stock Exchange trading Monday, $1.4 trillion was lost.[2]   Last night the Senate passed the bailout bill, but who knows if that really will make things right.
The passage we are going to look at today is a vision that depicts the future, recorded for us by a man who was well acquainted with the difficulty of this life.  He was a man who had been tested by the fire, and he passed through as gold.

Korah’s Rebellion

 

Rebellion is all around us, children, rebelling against their parents commands, students skipping classes – in fact being a rebel is often glamorized in our culture, for our forefathers were in fact, all rebels – rebelling against the English crown, fighting for their freedom. 

We, as a culture, tend to glorify rebellion.  We don’t like people telling us what to do.  Even here at seminary – we grumble about having to wear ties, and do whatever we can to get around it.

But our passage this morning paints a different picture – far from glamorizing rebellion, it makes it clear through three characters that there is no authority except from God – and to rebel against the authority that God has ordained, is to rebel against God Himself.

The Danger of Word Studies

In my Exposition I class the other day we looked at 1 Peter 3:15 which reads in part: “…always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;” (1 Peter 3:15b)

We’ve all heard this passage used as one of the main reasons why we do apologetics.

There are a plethera of examples:

“…Peter tells believers they should be ready to give a defense or answer for their faith in 1 Peter 3:15.” (1)

1 Peter 3:15 is an, “An Apologetic for Apologetics” (2)

“…there is a definite biblical foundation for apologetics. Such famous verses as Jude 3, 1 Peter 3:15, and Colossians 4:6 stand as mandates for a consistent reasonable defense of the faith.” (3)

Even Richard D. Patterson in his review of the Holman Christian Standard Bible Apologetics Study Bible said, “Unparalleled among existing study Bibles, the Apologetic Study Bible provides a wealth of accurate and dependable information for its readers in developing a consistent world view. Believers may with confidence be equipped to follow the Apostle Peter’s charge to “be ready to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you . . . with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15-16).” (4)

Why? Well, that’s because the Greek word “ἀπολογία” (apologia) is used. Sound like any English word you know? That’s right, it’s where we get our English word “apologetics” from. Makes sense right?

“I would have perished”

This is my final paper for Hebrew Exegisis. Basically, it is a sermon (exposition) on the passage I have been studying all semester long – Psalm 119:89-92. It is a bit long, but I thought I would post it. The psalm has a lot of personal significance for me – if you want to know why, you can read the end of the sermon.