Against The Flow…-Four princes of Judah are taken to Babylon to become Israel’s administrators in Babylon. They are the brightest and best-looking young men educated to become conversant with Babylonian culture. They determined to be steadfast in their testimony of their calling. The Book of Daniel is often studied for its apocalyptic writing. It is also a book of testimony in a relativistic society.
Prophecy and testimony are interesting, and I think they are linked. Their fulfillment is often more complicated than anticipated. In advent we rejoice in the already and in this encouragement, with anticipation, we look for the not-yet. It is also like this in a living testimony of Christ. Our testimony is in a living progression in some ways, too. "Until all is fulfilled,” as Jesus said of the word, suggests a living progression, like a living testimony building and growing until all is fulfilled. And make it so in my witness too.
We will take 10 readings from the book of Daniel and study the growing testimony of these four young men and desire what they have to say to us today in our relativistic society.