True and Trustworthy

                                  By Joe Keirouz, (San Jose)

When I first read the Bible about 35 years ago, I went through it sequentially, starting from Genesis 1. I had a Christian upbringing, but I was a Bible illiterate.  So, it was interesting to know that some of what I had learned about the Old Testament characters were really in the Bible! I recall having mixed feelings as I read the book of Joshua, how bloody the conquest of the promised land was, but thankfully, I continued in my regular reading until I finished it.

One of the special moments in that first pass through the Bible was the book of Daniel, which is a book that I recommend to people I meet if they have a slight interest in reading a book in the Old Testament. Having grown up in Lebanon, we had studied in history classes the great empires of old that had conquered our country. I was familiar with the Babylonian, the Persian, the Greek, the Roman and the successive Islamic empires. Reading some of the passages in the book of Daniel was like a review of some of the history classes I had taken, especially the descriptions of the Greek empire that reached its peak with Alexander the Great who died relatively young after all his conquests. His kingdom was divided by his four generals, events clearly identifiable in the book. To me, that was just fascinating.

Some of Daniel's prophecies, announced years and centuries before their occurrences, can be verified to the smallest details: if you read chapter 11 and compare it with the history of what we know has been fulfilled, it appears as if you are watching a documentary of events that have happened before they have come to pass!

One of the interesting themes that you can find in the book of Daniel is the description of future kingdoms in a vision or dream that were symbolically described followed by an interpretation of those symbols. Some of those prophecies, as in Chapters 2 and 7, did not stop with the kingdoms of this world, but culminate into a kingdom that will stand forever.

Each kingdom described before is a literal kingdom, ruled by a succession of kings that subdued the people and nations around them for a time.  The first three are identified directly from the text as the Babylonians, the Persian and the Greek kingdoms. The fourth is a bit more complex and will last until the end times.

If these kingdoms were literal kingdoms, would not the simplest understanding of those passages lead to the belief, as they state, in the promised establishment, by the God of Heaven, of a literal everlasting kingdom to be given to the saints of the Most High?

Daniel finished interpreting one of the dreams with “the dream is true and its interpretation trustworthy,” words of assurance and hope to all awaiting Christ's return.