If you have read Daniel recently, you may recall that the book begins as a narrative or story. In my previous post I pointed out that Daniel gives us its purpose at the beginning and end of the book (the description of Daniel and his friends and also the description of all God’s people as they enter eternity).
In Daniel, the story comes first and then the visions follow. That means that the story forms the foundation for the meaning of the visions. Or, you could say it this way: the visions mean something in relationship to the story. The two sections are connected. And while the visions may be difficult to understand concerning their details, they function by urging God’s people to remain godly in an ungodly world.
There is no need to shy away from preaching the visionary chapters (7-12). And yet, as you can imagine, preachers are far more prone to preach chapters 1-6 (story) than to preach through the last six chapters (visions). That may be because we tend to separate the two sections.
Lord willing, in weeks to come I will move through the book of Daniel and show how these first two characteristics work:
1. The beginning and ending contain Daniel’s purpose (the same with Revelation)
2. The genre (type of literature) at the beginning of Daniel (narrative) provides the foundation for meaning for the visions. (In Revelation, the opening chapters containing the letters to the seven churches provide the foundation for meaning for the visions that follow.)
I hope this helps you if you are ever thinking about preaching through some of the apocalyptic books in the Bible.
Preach a good sermon, will ya?! And let’s do so so God receives glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).
Randal
