It is these truths—God’s love and His presence and control over circumstances–that brought strength to Daniel’s soul, even affected his body, and gave him courage to go on. He was not ready to receive this vision, one that would somehow take its toll on him. He said to the angel, “Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.” Are we lacking in strength, exhausted, burdened with cares, even with good reason? If so, we need to re-immerse ourselves in who God is, which includes His perfect love.

The prophet Daniel saw many mighty works of God on the behalf of himself, his friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, works performed before the greatest of kings of his era. He received revelation from God in visions and was given ability to interpret dreams for the seeming all-powerful king, Nebuchadnezzar. And yet even such a man as Daniel knew what it was to be utterly spent and in need of encouragement. He needed to be renewed in the love and peace of God.
A Full Life
As Daniel chapter 10 opens, it is the third year of the reign of Cyrus the Great, King of the Medo-Persian Empire, whose armies had toppled and absorbed the Babylonian Empire. Daniel had been a Jewish captive now for decades, though God has greatly exalted him to positions of authority and influence in both empires. Throughout all this time Daniel has seen God’s hand at work powerfully and clearly. He is now a very old man, and the world has radically changed, is still changing.
Prayers Answered
Daniel knew the time was close for the Jewish captives to be allowed to return to Jerusalem, just as God had said. He had spent the last three weeks now in fasting and prayer, seeking God’s face for revelation about the future of Israel and the last days. In answer to his prayers, it appears that the pre-incarnate Christ (Christophany) and a mighty angel visited him. The angel then gave him a vision of the future sent from God.
Before giving Daniel the vision, the angel tells Daniel about the great battle taking place in the spiritual realm between God’s angels and the fallen. The battle was so intense that God sent his famed archangel Michael to join the battle to ensure that the vision reached Daniel.
All of this is fascinating and rich with devotional truth, but these are not the points I would like to raise here. What happens next is what we will consider.
Exhausted and in Pain
Daniel is exhausted from prayer and fasting, overwhelmed by seeing the pre-incarnate Christ in His glory (compare with Rev 1:12-18), seeing the angel, and hearing of the great battle in the spiritual realm.
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Written by Gregory Goswell, Andreas J. Köstenberger |
Saturday, June 22, 2024
Readers are warned against thinking that they are wise (Prov. 26:12; Prov. 28:11, 26) and instead are urged to trust God (Prov. 3:7). A failure to note this teaching has led many to perceive a tension in the wisdom corpus, if not an irreconcilable conflict between Job-Ecclesiastes on one side and Proverbs on the other; however, Proverbs, like the other two books, candidly warns of the limitations of human wisdom.6

Human Cleverness vs. Wisdom
The placing of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Job in close proximity in various canons is an indicator that Job and Ecclesiastes are not to be viewed as “wisdom in revolt,”1 nor as “protest wisdom.”2 Their authors are not seeking to correct or counter Proverbs, for the placing of the books side by side more likely assumes or asserts their compatibility. This reading is supported by the “epilogue” of Ecclesiastes (Eccl. 12:9–14), closing as it does with the exhortation to “fear God,” which might easily serve as a summary of the teaching of the book of Proverbs.3 Likewise, the ethic of the fear of God stressed in Proverbs is exemplified by Job himself (Job 1:1, 8; 2:3).4 Moreover, Proverbs is insistent that human cleverness cannot give certainty to decisions and their consequences, for they are always subordinate to God’s will (e.g., Prov. 16:1, 2, 9; 19:14, 21; 20:24; 21:30–31). The essential mystery of life is not denied or dispelled by Proverbs, and it is a misreading to view it as naïvely optimistic about the temporal prospects of the godly.5 Readers are warned against thinking that they are wise (Prov. 26:12; Prov. 28:11, 26) and instead are urged to trust God (Prov. 3:7). A failure to note this teaching has led many to perceive a tension in the wisdom corpus, if not an irreconcilable conflict between Job-Ecclesiastes on one side and Proverbs on the other; however, Proverbs, like the other two books, candidly warns of the limitations of human wisdom.6

Biblical Theology provides an essential foundation for interpreting all 66 books of the Bible, identifying the central themes of each text and discussing its place in the overall storyline of Scripture.

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Written by Ben C. Dunson |
Thursday, December 14, 2023
Guilt must be proven in church courts, just as in secular courts. At stake is the possibility of wrongly condemning the innocent and the very existence of justice itself. The presumption of innocence, however, is in peril in the evangelical world. In fact, there are many who believe that a presumption of innocence is the very opposite of justice.

The years since George Floyd’s death have seen an acceleration of many troubling trends in evangelical churches. Few to my mind are more disturbing than the way in which certain basic principles of justice have been abandoned without so much as even an attempt to justify their abandonment, and this even among ostensibly “conservative” pastors, elders, and seminary professors.
One of the most important principles of justice is the notion that guilt must be proved, not assumed. Due process, or the presumption of innocence, which has a long history in English common law, is central to America’s judicial system (at least formally so, even if this principle is being eroded in practice). It is also at the heart of the Bible’s teaching on justice. We see this in a variety of places.
In Deuteronomy 25:1–2 there is a basic statement of what judges and courts are for, namely, to acquit the innocent and condemn the guilty, then to punish the one who is guilty. In order to ensure that all parties receive a fair trial it is required that there be at least two witnesses (Deut 17:6). It is indispensable to true justice that a “single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed” (Deut 19:15). Although the Bible frames things in terms of the necessity of multiple witnesses, this is meant to accomplish exactly what the presumption of innocence does in our nation’s courts: you cannot condemn a man unless you have proven him guilty. A single witness can easily lie. With multiple witnesses, it is possible to cross-examine them and compare their individual testimonies with each other to more accurately determine the truth.
This Old Testament judicial principle is reaffirmed in Hebrews 10:28, though the New Testament focuses on the necessity of multiple witnesses in discipline cases within the church. No one may be disciplined merely on the basis of one witness (Matt 18:16; 2 Cor 13:1; 1 Tim 5:19). This means that guilt must be proven in church courts, just as in secular courts. At stake is the possibility of wrongly condemning the innocent and the very existence of justice itself.
The presumption of innocence, however, is in peril in the evangelical world. In fact, there are many who believe that a presumption of innocence is the very opposite of justice.
A recent church court case in my denomination (the Presbyterian Church in America) provides a shocking example. Pastor Ryan Biese, in a multi-part series, has documented this case in extensive detail. Here are the basic facts. In 2020 a PCA church plant in Jonesboro, Arkansas had a temporary ruling body (called a temporary session). They also had a church planter who had been appointed by the regional body of the PCA (Covenant Presbytery). Members of the church were concerned that the church-planting pastor was too progressive, farmed preaching out to others too often, and was overbearing in his leadership. Seven men in the church, following the teaching of our savior (Matt 18:15–20), presented their concerns to the temporary planting pastor and to the temporary session, and explained that they would like to consider pastoral candidates other than the planting pastor. As a still-organizing church plant, they would not yet have issued a call to a man to be their permanent pastor. In response, the temporary session brought church discipline charges against all seven men, eventually barring them from the Lord’s Supper.
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