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Grace and peace to you from our Lord

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Jesus Christ.

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The text for our meditation this morning

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is from Daniel 7 from the Lord of Lord

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and King

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of Kings.

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The book of Daniel is filled with all

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kinds of colorful stories we remember,

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many of us,

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from childhood, as well as vivid visions

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and prophecies that amaze us.

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Chapter 1, we meet Daniel and his

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colleagues Hananiah, Mishael, and

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Azariah, better known

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as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, as

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they are taken into Babylonian captivity.

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In chapter 2, Daniel is honored by King

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Nebuchadnezzar after Daniel reveals what

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the king's dreams

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mean when the king couldn't even remember

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his dreams.

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In chapter 3, we get the story of the

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golden image and the fiery furnace and

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the faithfulness

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of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

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In chapter 5, King Nebuchadnezzar is

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afflicted with a psychotic break because

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of his pride

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and then is restored.

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And then, of course, chapter 6, Daniel in

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the lion's den.

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Chapter 7 through 12, then, are largely

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visions, apocalyptic visions that are

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precursors of

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John's revelation some 600 years later.

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In them, the Lord reveals to Daniel and

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the coming kingdoms of the earth of

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angelic battles

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that include Michael and Gabriel and of

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various numbers of days and weeks and

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years to come.

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Dr. Lane just preached on Thursday

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powerfully about Daniel chapter 12 and

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reminded us of

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many of these images in history.

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Our text today is one of those that the

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pericope committee, you might have

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noticed, did a little

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bit of slicing and dicing, giving us

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verses 9 and 10 and then verses 13 and

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14.

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For many years, I've heard parish pastors

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and seminary professors alike often harp

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on

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the pericope committee's choices, but in

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this case, I think that they were wise.

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The other 24 verses of Daniel chapter 7

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include the visions of four great beasts

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that represent

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four great destructive kings and kingdoms

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and how the fourth of those kingdoms will

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make war with the saints and prevail over

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them.

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In preparing for sermons, I often listen

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to the chapter and the chapters around

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the pericope

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in the audio Bible app I have on my

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phone.

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I usually find this to be helpful

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preparation for understanding the context

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of the pericope

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and to focus on the larger picture of the

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text.

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I didn't find that practice so helpful

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this time.

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I would listen to the chapters 6, 7, 8, 9

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and find my mind too easily wandering

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towards

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the bizarre earthly images of horns and

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teeth and wings and bears and leopards

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and wondering

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if we knew for sure which beast was the

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Persian kingdom and which beast was the

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Romans and

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which one was the Greeks.

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I found it difficult even the second and

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third time to even hear and pay attention

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to the

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four verses of our text.

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But these four verses I think are and

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should be the focus of our attention on

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the two main

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actors in the book of Daniel, the ancient

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of days and his glorious reign and the

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dominion

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He gives to the Son of Man.

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Listen to that text again.

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As I looked, thrones were placed and the

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ancient of days took his seat.

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His clothing was white as snow and the

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hair of his head like pure wool.

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His throne was fiery flames, its wheels

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were burning fire.

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A stream of fire issued and came out from

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before Him.

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A thousand thousand served Him and ten

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thousand times ten thousand stood before

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Him.

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The court sat in judgment and the books

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were opened.

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And then to the final two verses.

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I saw in the night visions and behold

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with the clouds of heaven there came one

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like a

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Son of Man.

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And He came to the ancient of days and

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was presented before Him.

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And to Him was given dominion and glory

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and a kingdom that all peoples, nations

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and languages

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should serve Him.

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His dominion is an everlasting dominion

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which shall not pass away in his kingdom,

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one that

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shall not be destroyed.

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For centuries, Christian theologians have

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largely agreed that the ancient of days

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is

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God the Father and that the Son of Man to

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whom the dominion is given is, of course,

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the incarnate Son of God, Jesus the

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Christ.

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Andrew Steinman in his Daniel commentary

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says this, Daniel is shown from afar a

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brief glimpse

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of all that God would accomplish through

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the first advent of Christ, His ascension

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and

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reign over the church throughout the

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present church age.

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And His eventual second coming in power

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and glory to bring this world to its

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close, vanquish

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all of God's foes and inaugurate the

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eternal salvation of the saints in the

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new heavens

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and the new earth.

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Daniel sees all these events from a great

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distance, which makes it appear as if the

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events move smoothly, follow one another

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smoothly, much as mountain peaks appear

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close together

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when one views them from a distance on

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the plains.

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Steinman then goes on to rightly show how

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Jesus connects the messianic prophecies

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of

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Daniel 7 and Psalm 110 in Matthew chapter

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26.

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When at His trial the night before His

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crucifixion, before the Sanhedrin, the

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high priest said

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to Jesus, I adjure you by the living God,

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tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of

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God.

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And Jesus said to him, you have said so,

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but I tell you from now on, you will see

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the Son

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of Man seated at the right hand of power

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and coming on the clouds of heaven.

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You and I live in between these two

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events of Christ.

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It's easy for us to let our imaginations

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be focused on the wonderful actors and

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wonderful

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stories in the book of Daniel, like the

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fiery furnace and the lion's den and the

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faithfulness

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of saints like Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach

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and Abednego during their tribulations.

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It's also easy for us to forget that the

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Ancient of Days and the Son of Man had a

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plan

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and was in control of all of those

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tribulations.

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It's easy for us to get caught up in the

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apocalyptic language and the prophecies

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that get expanded

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upon in the book of Revelation.

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But at the heart of it all, the book of

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Daniel is about our four key verses here,

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about the

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reign of the Ancient of Days and the

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dominion of the Son of Man, his Christ,

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the one who

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said to His disciples after his

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crucifixion and resurrection, everything

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written about

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me in the law of Moses and the prophets

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and the Psalms must be fulfilled.

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Jesus came once to suffer and die and be

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risen from the dead to give us His

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righteousness.

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But not just us, but Daniel and Shadrach

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and Meshach and Abednego and for you and

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for me.

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He will come again and fulfill all

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righteousness, King of Kings and Lord of

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Lords and conquer

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all tribulations for those of us who

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still live in this time between His two

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events.

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Please join me in prayer.

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O Ancient of Days and Son of Man, we

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thank and praise you for all you have

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done in the

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lives of your faithful ones like Daniel

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and Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego of

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protecting

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them through their trials and

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tribulations.

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O Ancient of Days and Son of Man, we

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thank and praise you for all you have

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done in our

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lives in calling us to faith and

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comforting and protecting us through our

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trials and tribulations.

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But most of all, we thank you, O Ancient

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of Days, for the love you have shown us

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by sending

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your Son, the Son of Man, Jesus the

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Christ, to tabernacle among us and to

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give His life

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as a ransom for our sin.

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Please continue to strengthen us in faith

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toward you while we await the second

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advent,

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the second coming of the Son of Man

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seated at the right hand of power and

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coming on the

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clouds of heaven.

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Come quickly, Lord Jesus.

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Amen.