Theology of History
Both Revelation and Daniel proclaim the absolute sovereignty of God over the course of History, nations, and rulers. In the thirteenth chapter of the Book of Revelation, the “Beast from the Sea” is “GIVEN” authority over the “Inhabitants of the Earth” and the right to “wage war against the saints and to overcome them.” Satan’s imperial creature cannot wreak havoc against the Body of Christ until he is authorized to do so, and only for the time allotted, namely, the specified “Short Season.”
This pattern repeats in the
Book. Jesus is the “Ruler
of the Kings of the Earth,” the one who possesses the “Keys of Death and Hades.” Consequently, he now reigns over the Cosmos and
has “all authority.” His power is limitless and absolute
– (Revelation 1:4-6, 1:18-19
3:21, 5:11-14).
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| [Photo by Giammarco Boscaro on Unsplash] |
Revelation is not concerned with teaching an abstract doctrine of the “sovereignty of God.” Instead, Christ’s authority over events serves to assure his beleaguered congregations that he remains in firm control of History, and, in the end, his Kingdom will triumph over all opposition.
Persecution and suffering may
be necessary to achieve his purposes, but he will not allow the enemies of the Seven
Assemblies of Asia to exceed certain limits. Try as hard as he might, the “Dragon”
is unable to succeed in his efforts to annihilate the “saints.”
IN DANIEL
The Book of Revelation is
not unique in this perspective. Some of the phrases it uses are derived
from the Book of Daniel. For example, the Prophet Daniel wrote that
the “Lord GAVE the
king of Judah and the vessels of the Temple” into the hand of “Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon,”
the very ruler who later destroyed the Temple, the city of Jerusalem, and the
kingdom of Judah - (Daniel 1:1-2).
In the first chapter of Daniel,
the Hebrew verb rendered “gave” is applied repeatedly. Thus, God gave Daniel
“favor and sympathy with the prince of the eunuchs,” and He gave him
and his Jewish companions “knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom.”
Furthermore, Daniel was “given” an understanding of “all visions and
dreams.”
When God granted Daniel the
interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of a great image with a golden head,
he blessed the “most-high God” who “changes times and
seasons, He REMOVES KINGS AND
SETS UP KINGS.”
In the dream’s interpretation,
Daniel presented the future rise and fall of great empires, beginning with
Babylon and ending with the Kingdom of God. In response, the ruler of the Babylonian
Empire acknowledged that Daniel’s God was and is the “God of gods, Lord of
kings and the revealer of mysteries,” and he acknowledged Yahweh as Sovereign
over the Earth – (Daniel 2:20-49).
In Chapter 4, Nebuchadnezzar
again recognized the sovereignty of Yahweh over History and kingdoms. God
removed him from power for “seven seasons,” and then restored him to the
throne. In the process, the king learned that “the Most-High rules in the
kingdom of men, and GIVES it
to whomever He will, and He sets up over it even the lowest of men.”
After his restoration, the king declared to one and all:
- “I praise and honor the One whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation. Before Him, all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and according to his own pleasure, He deals with the Host of Heaven and the inhabitants of the earth.”
History remembers
Nebuchadnezzar as a great builder of magnificent buildings and a successful
conqueror. Scripture remembers him as an unwitting instrument used by God to
achieve His purposes for His people despite the king’s arrogance and
presumptuous acts.
BABYLON FALLS
On the final evening before the
fall of Babylon, its last ruler, Belshazzar, saw a frightful sight
when a disembodied hand wrote strange letters on the wall. Summoned, Daniel
interpreted the writing. God had found Belshazzar wanting and
declared, “Your kingdom is divided and GIVEN to the Medes and Persians,” and the very next
day, “Darius the Mede took the kingdom” - (Daniel 5:22-31).
Once more, the sovereignty of the God of Israel was on display as the World Empire was transferred from Babylon to the “Medes and the Persians.”
Later, after God rescued Daniel
from the den of lions, Darius the Mede decreed that “all the peoples,
nations, and tongues that dwell on the earth” must revere the “God of
Daniel… His kingdom shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall
be even unto the end.”
Thus, the new ruler of the
province of Babylon publicly acknowledged the absolute sovereignty of Yahweh,
just as Nebuchadnezzar did previously - (Daniel 6:25-28).
In such ways, the Book of Daniel presents
the reign of God over the course of history. The plans, intentions, and
dictates of even the most powerful rulers cannot thwart His purposes. He uses
their designs and even evil machinations to accomplish His purposes.
This is what I mean by the
title, “Theology of History.” God reigns over History and His creation. This is
NOT fatalism, and it does not mean that He predetermines every event
that transpires in life. It certainly does not mean that He approves of
everything that occurs.
However, since He is
all-powerful, all-knowing, and infinitely merciful, He works in and through human
history for the sake of His children, and He brings events to His intended
conclusions. Evil and tragedy often result from the intentions and actions of
men and women, but the “Most High God” even uses their nefarious plans
to accomplish His will.
This very same view is
reflected in the visions and language of the Book of Revelation, only
now, sovereignty is in the hands of the sacrificial “Lamb” who reigns
from the Throne of God. He employs his authority to “shepherd the nations,”
but in the most unexpected and paradoxical ways.
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