“This is the end of the account. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts terrified me greatly, and my face turned pale, but I kept the matter to myself.” Daniel 7:28

Daniel 2 describes a dream of Nebuchadnezzar. In his dream we see a statue made of various materials, each of which describes the movement in world history of empires from the Babylonians to the Medo-Persians to the Greeks under Alexander the Great, to the Roman Empire. A statue of precious metals gives us the world’s view of these self-exalting rulers and kingdoms.

However, in Daniel 7 we see in Daniel’s own dream how these kingdoms look from God’s point of view: beastly. A lion with eagle’s wings gives way to a gluttonous bear which gives way to a leopard with four wings which finally gives way to a frightening fourth beast. Some wretched horns complete this part of the vision.

Thankfully, for Daniel and for us, he also sees visions described by those familiar and sacred terms for all believers: The Ancient of Days and the Son of Man. Hallelujah! The one true God reigned in his vision!

But I come to the verse above to remind us how Daniel reacted to these apocalyptic visions that give us a portion of this genre of literature in the Bible. He received the shock value God intended. He did not start speculating. He did not start pontificating. He did not get out his newspaper and try to figure out how current events related to his vision. He was rightly terrified, to the point of his face turning pale. And like Mary, after the visit from the angel, he kept the matter to himself, pondering, meditating, and praying.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, help me to ponder, meditate, and pray over your word. May your kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. In Jesus’ name, Amen.