In the desert we are tempted to believe that God doesn’t care, isn’t present with us, and doesn’t love us….In the land of plenty we’re tempted to believe that we’ve earned all that we have. 

Perhaps we’re most accustomed to thinking that we’re in danger of forgetting God during times of barrenness instead of times of blessing. But the Bible teaches that we’re just as prone to wander from worshiping God when things are going well for us as we are when things aren’t. In Deuteronomy 8 we learn that the wilderness was filled with barrenness, but Canaan would be filled with blessing. The wilderness was a great and terrifying place, but Canaan was a good land. The wilderness was dry and flat, but Canaan was filled with sources of water, valleys and hills. The Lord had to provide food from heaven for His people in the wilderness, but Canaan was filled with luscious fruits and bountiful grains. However, Canaan would prove to be just as tempting a place for Israel to forsake the Lord as the wilderness was.
In the midst of the blessings, God’s people were in danger of forgetting the Giver. With satisfied stomachs, luxurious houses, healthy livestock, and abounding treasure, their hearts would be proud. They would believe they had earned the blessings instead of glorifying the One who had given it to them. They would be prone to forget that the Lord had delivered them from Egypt and brought them through the wilderness. They would boast in their accomplishments, instead of boasting in the Lord their God. Tragically, they would worship and serve other gods, and would perish for their disobedience.
Sadly, because God’s people indulged in idolatry and immorality they experienced the curse of exile. Even so, on every page of the Old Testament the gospel of grace is progressively revealed until Jesus Christ comes as the the second Adam, the true Israel, the final king, the suffering servant and the Savior of the world. Jesus didn’t come to save perfect people, but penitent ones. He obeyed God’s law perfectly on our behalf, so that we now stand before the Father robed in His righteousness. He died a cursed death to satisfy God’s justice, so that we can live for all eternity with Him.
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The appeal of the apostle Paul (Romans 14) was that the Christians in the church in Rome should remain united even if there was a difference in doctrine and practice over these matters. Not all differences are worth dividing over. On some matters, you can agree to disagree.

Unity as Striving Together for the Gospel
An extreme view of Christian unity is found among those who will work together only with those with whom they agree on everything—doctrinal and practical. They often divide over styles of worship, political and social issues, modes of child discipline and education, church organization and administration, the use of social media, eschatological views, and so on. As you will notice, these are all non-gospel issues. Granted, our level of interchurch cooperation does depend on how united we are over matters of doctrine and practice, but there should still be some level of cooperation where it is evident that we stand for the same gospel. Refusing all cooperation with fellow believers is surely wrong. If such division were allowed, the New Testament church would have long split between Jews and Gentiles, because in those early days that was what largely threatened church unity.
The apostle Paul addressed this matter in some of his letters, especially Romans and 1 Corinthians. For instance, to the Romans he wrote:
As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables…
One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind…
Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother?…So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.(Romans 14:1-2, 5, 10, 12)
The appeal of the apostle was that the Christians in the church in Rome should remain united even if there was a difference in doctrine and practice over these matters. Not all differences are worth dividing over. On some matters, you can agree to disagree.
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Suffering speaks to us of our sin and our need to repent of it. Suffering tells us that God is patient, and that He is warning us and waking us and giving us time before it’s too late. Suffering tells us that we need a Saviour to rescue us from final judgement.

In part 2 of this series we saw that physical suffering is a part of God’s response to human sin, deliberately designed to demonstrate the tragedy that exists within each of our own hearts.
We might ask whether this is fair of God, or at least something of an overreaction. Did a bite from a fruit really warrant all of the pain and bloodshed in the world?
To answer that question, it’s helpful to consider what would have happened if Adam and Eve had got what they actually deserved. “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Gen 2:17). God would not have been unjust to respond to our first parent’s sin with instant, eternal punishment. That what sin deserves, because every sin—even the smallest bite from a fruit—is an offence against a Person of infinite worth and majesty.1 Thus, even the smallest sin is a crime of infinite offence.
But Adam and Eve did not get what they deserved. They kept breathing. They kept living. They awoke to fresh sunrises and the sound of a baby’s cry and the taste of good food and refreshment of rest after work and the love of one another. And all around them was this universe—still beautiful, still showing God’s glory—but constantly reminding them of their sin.
There is a word for this: grace. God could have dealt with sin immediately by giving them their just deserts. But instead He extended grace, giving them life while showing them their sin, and therefore offering every opportunity to return to Him. Being alive on a cursed earth is a lot better than any one of us deserves, and when we see it like this, we begin to grasp that pain and suffering are gifts that summon us to repent before it’s too late.
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Just as the notion of “harm” is being used to limit freedom of speech, so the notion of health and safety (and its expansion beyond the physical to the psycho-social) will be used to limit the freedom of the Church to govern itself. We must not wait until it is too late. Now is the time to declare that we stand under the Bible, and that the State too stands under the judgement of God’s word.

The Two Kingdoms
In 1596 one of the most famous scenes in Presbyterian history took place. Andrew Melville, a well-known Scottish minister was summoned to appear before King James to answer for his opposition to the ‘Black Acts’, which sought to impose the King’s desire for bishops on the Church of Scotland. Melville told the King: “I must tell you, there are two kings and two kingdoms in Scotland: there is King James the head of this commonwealth, and there is Christ Jesus the King of the church, whose subject James the sixth is, and of whose kingdom he is not a king, nor a lord, nor a head, but a member. Sir, those whom Christ has called and commanded to watch over his church, have power and authority from him to govern his spiritual kingdom both jointly and severally; the which no Christian king or prince should control and discharge, but fortify and assist; otherwise, they are not faithful subjects of Christ and members of his church.”
The history of Scottish Presbyterianism, from the Reformation, through to the Covenanters and the Free Church Disruption of 1843, is the history of the two kingdoms. This is also true of Presbyterians throughout the world. We are not theocrats. We do not believe that the Church has the right to tell the State how to govern. But neither are we Erastians—we do not accept that the State has the right to tell the Church how we should be governed.
The Australian Presbyterian church was set up on that basis. So was the Australian constitution, which declares in section 116 that the Commonwealth was banned from making any law which would prohibit the free exercise of religion.
However, there is an enormous danger that the Presbyterian churches in Australia could forget their historical, confessional and biblical roots—by adopting a 21st century version of Erastian Church/State relations.
Today’s Cultural Background
The cultural background to this situation is that we live in a society which is rejecting its Christian roots. Rather than there being two kingdoms, there is in effect only one—that of the State. The government, instead of accepting that it has a limited role, is now setting itself up as God, determining what is right and wrong, for everyone. This is seen in terms of business, academia, media, sport and most significantly for us—education, the family and the church. Ultimately Caesar does not mind if we exist, as long as we acknowledge Caesar as Lord (i.e. the Supreme Authority) in everything.
Chaos and Confusion
As an observer to last week’s New South Wales General Assembly, I saw at first hand the confusion and chaos that the acceptance of this Erastian doctrine causes us.
The situation arose out of a decision which in effect binds the Assembly from making any decisions without first of all, conforming with the NSW government’s Work Health and Safety Act. Under this Act we were told that all office bearers, staff and volunteers were to be considered workers—and therefore the Act would apply to them. Accordingly, no change can occur without consulting all workers and addressing any concerns they may have. The Assembly were told that all members of the Assembly were to be regarded as PCBU’s (Persons Conducting a Business Undertaking) and were individually legally responsible to consult every ‘worker’. We were also told that this includes not only actual volunteers but those who might ‘aspire to the role’. In other words, everyone. By requiring ‘consultation with all workers’ (i.e. anyone who does anything within the Church), we are in danger of forsaking the basic principles of Presbyterianism, that we have government by elders and that we are not Independents or governed by votes on each issue. Nor are we be governed by ‘experts’, lawyers or focus groups.
This is all done with the worthy aim of protecting workers’ health. Health in the Act includes psychosocial effects. Counselling should be offered and, in some cases, even the consultation should not take place until the relevant risks were minimised. This all arose because of a threatening letter which the General Office received before the 2023 Assembly. In response, everything was put on hold.
The presenting issue was the decision of the Assembly to seek to draw up legislation which would permit only male elders. I have no desire to get into that issue in this article—(although I think it is important, especially where the biblical teaching has been misused to disguise or justify misogyny.) My whole point is that that is a question for the Church to determine, not the State. My concern is with people who use the civil law in order to control what the Church can and cannot do—on whatever side of whatever issue.
The Assembly decided that, amongst other things, “that the sex qualifications of elders shall not be the subject of questions, speeches, comments or debate for the duration of this session of Assembly.”The result of this decision was to make the Assembly one of the most confused and chaotic I have ever witnessed. We had reports on the Women’s committee and from the Elders committee, which we were not allowed to discuss fully. Decisions were made on the basis of legal advice that we were not allowed to see (although we were told that we were legally liable for it!). A second legal opinion was asked for and refused. A motion limiting discussion was itself passed without discussion. (I am not telling tales out of court. This was all done and decided in public. As an observer, I observed).
State-Sponsored Pharisaism
I am sure that most of this was done with good intentions. The decision makers wanted to protect the Church, and also to deal with some of the injustices that some women have faced over the years. In that they were right. The trouble is that the decision did neither, and in fact may have made both worse. If you can’t talk about a subject, then you can’t deal with it. And if you limit the discussion to the confines of the WHS Act, you have placed the Church in an unbiblical bind. The root meaning of the word ‘religio’ means ‘to bind’. Ironically, by allowing the State to be our rule maker and supreme governor we have ended up in a bind that will cripple us—a kind of State-sponsored Pharisaism. To paraphrase an article in the Spectator (on a different subject): “Our Presbyterianism is in danger of wrapping ourselves in bureaucratic bandages to manufacture the visage of life and competence, even as holiness and courage evaporate”.
What’s Wrong with Wanting to Obey the State?
Why do I say this? What can be wrong with just simply obeying the law of the State, especially when that law is designed to prevent harm? That is a good and reasonable question. But it all depends on:
a) how much you trust the State to make the laws of the Church,b) what is meant by harm?c) whether the State has authority over the Church.
Some of the arguments made in the Assembly were quite disturbing. For example, we were told that we should always want to follow the Word of God first, but it should not be the first box to tick. On the contrary, it should be the first and the last tick in the order—the alpha and omega of all we decide!
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It’s interesting to think that the story wasn’t that the good Samaritan had to go into every town and locate all the people who might be sick or dying and then find a plan to alleviate all of those. Even Jesus, who could literally heal people just by a word or a touch, and yet it says in Mark 1 that he went to the other towns. He didn’t stay when everyone could have been healed if he would’ve just stayed there. So even Jesus understood that, as fully God and fully man, he had bodily human limitations. And in order to do what was his first priority, which was to preach the gospel, he had to go over to the next town.

Our Limited Capacities
I read an article a few years ago that had this phrase: “the infinite extensibility of guilt.” And the idea is that particularly in this digital age—where we can see millions or billions of people through their digital media and follow them on all the social media sites—we have access to people’s hopes, dreams, fears, pain, and suffering. And with that access comes this infinite extensibility of guilt that we feel. Should I be doing something with all of these problems—these intractable problems?
And it may sound pious to suggest that you ought to do something about all of them. But really it’s not, because it doesn’t allow for our own finitude. Only God is able to handle 8 billion people making requests to him. Only God is able to comprehend and handle an entire globe of joys and catastrophes and needs. The human psyche isn’t meant to bear that. And I know the danger is that you’re going to be the opposite of the good Samaritan and you’re not going to care for the needs that are around you. But even there, remember in the parable that Jesus refused to answer the question, “Who is my neighbor?” What was more important was to understand just what it means to be a neighbor. And what it means to be a neighbor is like the good Samaritan.
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Certainly, the opening ceremonies failed when it came to the billions in the world who love and follow Jesus Christ. For sure the ceremony highlighted sexual debauchery, a decapitated head singing, drag queens recreating the painting of Jesus’ Last Supper, and more. Regardless of the stated goal, the opening ceremony both provided offense to billions as it portrayed an anti-Christian, vile, sexualized message.

Jim McKay, Howard Cosell, Al Michaels, and Keith Jackson are some of the historic voices of my Olympic memories. World class extraordinary wins for the USA, fascinating ‘Up Close and Personal’ features, historic theme music, and beautiful introductions to foreign lands flood my memories when I think of the Olympics. Beginning in the 70’s, when the Olympics would come around, my family and I would stop typical daily habits and make time to watch as much coverage as possible. Key events in the Summer Olympics and Winter Olympics fascinated us. In the past many years, Michael Phelps held us captive as he went for Olympic record (and gold) after Olympic record. Enter the opening ceremony from Paris Summer Olympics 2024. I responded to this year’s presentation with disappointment, sadness, and, in honesty, anger. I am seeking to work through my response as a disappointed and saddened fan of the Olympics.
Editor’s Note: It is now Saturday [7/27/2024] evening. I have searched for clear explanations of the artist’s intent in the presentation. This AP article says the ceremony director did not deny it was the Last Supper, although some are suggesting it was just a Greek god feast. However, the naked blue man is both interviewed and described here: “The ‘naked blue man’ who starred in the bizarre Last Supper parody at Olympic opening ceremony has broken his silence on the controversial stunt. French actor and singer Phillippe Katerine was playing the role of the Greek god of wine Dionysus in a recreation of the famous biblical scene of Jesus Christ and his twelve apostles sharing a last meal before the crucifixion.”
THE 2024 DEBACLE
According to a thepinknews.com article by Chantelle Billson, the queer Olympic opening ceremony director Thomas Jolly wanted everyone to feel represented. In fact, the slogan for the Paris 2024 games is Games Wide Open. Tony Estanguet, the head of the organizing committee for the Games, explained the slogan represents the power to open hearts and minds and help people stop seeing differences as obstacles. He promised: “Bold and creative Games that dare to take a step outside the box, to challenge the current models, our ways of seeing things, our paradigms, to give us the opportunity to come together, to be proud together, to experience together.”
Certainly, the opening ceremonies failed when it came to the billions in the world who love and follow Jesus Christ. For sure the ceremony highlighted sexual debauchery, a decapitated head singing, drag queens recreating the painting of Jesus’ Last Supper, and more. Regardless of the stated goal, the opening ceremony both provided offense to billions as it portrayed an anti-Christian, vile, sexualized message.
Should we have expected less from the head of the organizing committee (Estranguet) and queer ceremony director (Jolly)? I sure did.
In fact, I would have expected NBC on behalf of its American audience and advertisers to insist on something better. But should I?
THE REALITY OF OUR WORLD
In all reality, what we experienced on NBC network television as simulcasted across the world simply represents the heart of mankind.
Jesus said:
““If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. He who hates Me hates My Father also. If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin; but now they have seen and also hated both Me and My Father. But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, ‘They hated Me without a cause.’” (John 15:18-25)
It should not surprise us that they egregiously blasphemed Jesus Christ.
Did they blaspheme Mohamed? Buddha? Gandhi? No. However, none of them proclaim absolute truth. No other world or religious leader proclaims to be and is God. Just as Jesus said, in Him, ‘they have no excuse for their sin.’
The Apostle Paul also explained this to us. He wrote:
“Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.” (Romans 1:24-32)
This is exactly what we experienced on our television screens, phones, computers, and other streaming devices in the opening ceremony.
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The Gospel of Jesus Christ produces joyful hope in our hearts. It tells us how God so loved the world and sent His only Son to save sinners from their eternal damnation. It tells us how Jesus Christ loved His elect people so much that He died for them on the Cross. It also tells us how Jesus Christ was raised from the dead to become the hope of our resurrection. It then tells us how Jesus ascended into heaven, seated at the right hand of God, now ruling and defending His people, and will return to us in His glory!

Several weeks ago, I had a very embarrassing interaction at a small Asian restaurant in my town. I was grabbing lunch with one of the elders from Christ Presbyterian Church to have a time of fellowship. After we prayed for the meal, a very kind old lady approached us and asked us: “Are you gentlemen Christians? What kind of Christians are you?” And after a very brief interaction with her, we found out that she was a member of Kingdom Hall (Jehovah’s Witnesses) in the nearby town, and she approached us because she heard us praying in the name of Jesus.
After I finished having a lunch with the elder, I had to stay little longer at the restaurant to order takeout for my wife. And as I was waiting for the food, I saw the old lady sitting at one of the booths with her companions. I decided to approach and interact with her further, curious to find out how much she knew the doctrines of Jehovah’s witnesses and also to invite her to the church.
The conversation with the old lady soon revealed to me that she was a very ardent member of Jehovah’s Witnesses. She knew her doctrines very well, and she even tried to convince me that Jesus was the created being by Jehovah and that everyone must believe in Jehovah to be saved from Armageddon.
My brain, of course, was pulling out Scripture references after references to “counter” her arguments. But, at the same time, my Asian upbringing also kicked in (most likely because I was in an Asian restaurant) and made me think, “I really shouldn’t embarrass an elderly lady in a public place and in front of her company”.  So, I told her, “I am really enjoying our conversation, and I would like to talk more about your beliefs. But, obviously, this is not a place and time for this…” And without hesitation, the old lady stopped me and replied, “Every place is a place to talk about Jehovah.” And I stood there stunned and embarrassed.
 The Absence of the Spirit of Evangelism
Perhaps one of the saddest realities of many Reformed churches in the United States is that there is a much absence of the spirit of evangelism among believers. Although believers and churches might find a great need to reach out to the communities and the lost souls around them, many believers often find themselves shying away from evangelism for various reasons. For example, some believers shy away from evangelism because they think evangelism is for extroverted people who know how to connect with unbelievers around them. Some believers hesitate to evangelize unbelievers because they think it is for educated and theological people who know how to explain and defend the Bible. Others refuse to engage in evangelism because they don’t want to find themselves in awkward or even hostile situations.
As such, at the end of the day, every Christian who finds evangelism difficult and challenging asks these questions to themselves – Why don’t I just support the evangelistic efforts of those who are clearly more gifted at reaching out to unbelievers than me? Can I not just live a normal and peaceful Christian life, caring for and fellowshipping with those who are already in my church? Must I evangelize unbelievers around me? And my answer to these questions is, “Yes. You too must reach out to unbelievers personally and evangelize those who don’t know the Gospel.”
 1. We Must Evangelize because We Are “Christians”
The first reason why every believer must engage in evangelism is because we are “Christians.” The Heidelberg Catechism question 32 shares a very helpful insight into why every believer must engage in the task of evangelism.
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The world is full of adults who professed faith, underwent the waters of baptism upon that profession, only to have the memory of their baptism fade into the recesses of their minds. The world is also full of adults who were raised by Christian parents, were presented for baptism, were washed in the water, and yet their baptism isn’t even a memory. They have forgotten the sign and the seal of who they were to be.

When were you baptized? Do you remember it? Are there pictures or a recording of it? When is the last time you thought about your baptism? Have your parents ever told you of your baptism? How meaningful is your baptism to you?
Clarifying the Focus
Let’s be clear here. This article is about Christian living and not a debate between credobaptist (baptism upon confession) or paedobaptist (covenant infant baptism). You can find good debate on that topic elsewhere. But this article is a challenge to you, the reader. So please keep reading.
A Personal Anecdote
To be honest, when I was growing up in a Baptist church, I wanted to play in the pool. Only baptized kids were allowed to play in the pool. So, seven-year-old Bryan took the plunge. But my baptism wasn’t meaningful to me at the time.
Years later, when the Lord regenerated my heart, I looked back with shame over those squandered years. See, baptism, whether you are credobaptist or paedobaptist, is at least an initiation. Both sides of the paedo/credo baptist argument recognize that baptism is: a sign of our being engrafted into Christ, or being born again, of the remission of sins, and of giving up unto God through Jesus Christ to walk in newness of life. (Refer to the 1689 London Baptist Confession and the Westminster Confession of Faith and see the similarities.)
Baptism: The Beginning, Not the End
Here’s the rub. Baptism isn’t the end of the story, though. Our baptism is a sign and a seal, but it is not the end goal.
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The Christian’s focus should be on the eternal rather than the temporal. All of the things associated with ‘this age’ will be dissolved. This is the Greek word λύω (luō). This word describes the process of breaking up an object into small pieces or melting it. What we see now in ‘this age’ will not be what we will have or see ‘in the age to come.’ What we see now is marred by sin. Our focus needs to be on what is not marred by sin and that is God. We are to live lives of holiness and godliness. When the day of the Lord comes all we know now will be remade through the process God will use to create the New Heavens and the New Earth where perfect righteousness dwells. This is the ‘age to come.’

1 This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you in which I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, 2 that you should remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles, 3 knowing this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, 4 and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.” 5 For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water, 6 through which the world at that time was destroyed, being deluged with water. 7 But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. 2 Peter 3:1-7 (LSB) 
My own experience has been that there are a great number of professing Christians who fall into this role of ‘scoffer.’ They may not intentionally do it, but they still have the mindset that ‘all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.’ The Greek word Peter used here that is translated ‘scoffers’ is ἐμπαίκτης (empaiktēs). This word describes one who derides and is by implication a false teacher. He or she is a mocker and a scoffer. Think of those so-called Bible scholars in our time who do all they can to cast doubt on the inerrancy of scripture and the deity of Christ. Think of men like Bart Ehrman author of the book Misquoting Jesus. Peter qualifies his description of these scoffers by telling us that they do this as they follow their own sinful desires. These scoffers desire is to live in sin with impunity. This drives them to deride biblical truth as well as those who are bound to it and believe it. The ‘last days’ that Peter refers to started at Pentecost and continue through our day. We are in ‘this age’ and await the ‘age to come.’
Notice that all that exists in ‘this age,’ the heavens and earth that now exist’ are stored up for fire. This is referring to the time at the end of ‘this age’ when the ungodly will be judged. This will be the day of reckoning for these scoffers. The Day of the Lord is coming.
8 But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. 9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some consider slowness, but is patient toward you, not willing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be found out. 2 Peter 3:8-10 (LSB) 
The Day of the Lord is God’s final judgment. The delay in its coming is not a long time from God’s perspective. God is patient. This Greek word is μακροθυμέω (makrothumeō). This word literally means to be long spirited. It is often translated as ‘longsuffering’ or ‘forbearing.’ It is the opposite of being hasty to anger. This is a good thing my brethren. If you are in Christ, it is because God was patient towards you. None of us deserve salvation.
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The Lord is still sovereign over human history, so His people should be faithful in their duties and enjoy the privileges that they have as God’s covenant people. Throughout it all, they should trust in the Lord of their salvation and know that one day He will restore them. Just as the righteous remnant of Israel must continue in spite of the ebb and flow of history, the followers of Messiah today should find hope in the prophecies of Daniel.

The book of Daniel is unique in the Old Testament due to its content and the pivotal role it plays between the Old Testament prophecies about the restoration of Israel and the New Testament fulfillment of those prophecies in the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. The book is rich in complexity and depth, a richness that makes it hard to summarize in brief. There are, however, three aspects of the book that open it up to the modern reader.
1. The Opening Stories (Chs. 1–6) Give Credence to the Later Prophecies of the Book (Chs. 7–12)
The stories in the opening chapters of Daniel, written mostly in Aramaic, paint a picture of a generation of young Judahites who are taken into captivity in Babylon in 605 BC. There they face terrible persecution from their captors as well as incredible successes at the hand of the Lord, in whom they put their trust. The story about Daniel and his friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego makes clear literary and linguistic connections to the story of Joseph in Egypt. For example, both are described as good-looking (Gen. 39:6; Dan. 1:4), both involve the interpretation of kings’ dreams that create distress for these kings and reveal God’s plan for the future, and many of the same Hebrew words are used throughout each story to link them together. Like Joseph, Daniel and his friends are faithful to God’s call while serving in a foreign court, and as a result, they are lifted up to positions of incredible affluence, even receiving a gold chain around the neck (Gen. 41:42; Dan. 5:29).
Their faithfulness in the face of persecution bolsters Daniel’s prophetic message about the restoration both to the Israelites in the diaspora and the returnees who had gone back to Jerusalem in 536 BC after the fall of Babylon to the Medo-Persian coalition. This would have been particularly important in light of Daniel’s primary message that the restoration from exile is going to be postponed sevenfold (Dan. 9:24).
2. The Sevenfold Postponement of the Restoration of Jerusalem, Announced in Daniel, Creates a Bridge between the Events of the Old Testament and Those of Jesus’ Ministry
Ever since the time of Moses, a national exile and restoration of some kind was held out in front of Israel (Deut. 28:64–68; 30:1–10).
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