Dear Hope family,

Thought for the Week

This is the end of the matter!

Daniel 7v27  “Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be handed over to the saints, the people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him. This is the end of the matter.”

I love that “this is the end of the matter”!

In our world there are various sovereignties, powers and ‘greatnesses’ – whether in the political realms of nations and international groupings; the empires of global business and media; or the kingdoms of philosophy and learning.

In the preceding verses, God has outlined to Daniel in a vision the rise and fall of various kingdoms. In the context the verse specifically relates to Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome, but in practice the message can be applied to any age and any world power: they may be powerful and they may do what is wrong, but do not fear because God is the ultimate sovereign. He is going to bring all such powers before his “court” (v26) where he will exercise his authority and remove their power for ever.

The power and authority that will last for ever is Christ’s authority and you and I belong to His kingdom. In this we have hope, and in this we have a message for our community.

With love and blessing,

Roland