King Jesus Storyline August 16 2020 Kids Church at Home

At Home facilitators

We are picking up part way through a story sequence that is centered on Jesus as king and our role as a people who "reign" as God's representatives.

The scripture passage is Daniel 7:1-7, 9-18 New Living Translation.

At home facilitators will find a helpful overview of the book of Daniel at the Bible Project. https://bibleproject.com/videos/daniel/ You will see in this video that the Son of Man symbolizes the covenant people of God and their king. Eventually this people is exalted and shares in God's reign over creation as his representatives. These are common themes for us.

1 Earlier, during the first year of King Belshazzar’s reign in Babylon, Daniel had a dream and saw visions as he lay in his bed. He wrote down the dream, and this is what he saw.

2 In my vision that night, I, Daniel, saw a great storm churning the surface of a great sea, with strong winds blowing from every direction. 3 Then four huge beasts came up out of the water, each different from the others.

4 The first beast was like a lion with eagles’ wings. As I watched, its wings were pulled off, and it was left standing with its two hind feet on the ground, like a human being. And it was given a human mind.

5 Then I saw a second beast, and it looked like a bear. It was rearing up on one side, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. And I heard a voice saying to it, “Get up! Devour the flesh of many people!”

6 Then the third of these strange beasts appeared, and it looked like a leopard. It had four bird’s wings on its back, and it had four heads. Great authority was given to this beast.

7 Then in my vision that night, I saw a fourth beast—terrifying, dreadful, and very strong. It devoured and crushed its victims with huge iron teeth and trampled their remains beneath its feet. It was different from any of the other beasts, and it had ten horns.

…

9 I watched as thrones were put in place and the Ancient One sat down to judge. His clothing was as white as snow, his hair like purest wool. He sat on a fiery throne with wheels of blazing fire, 10 and a river of fire was pouring out, flowing from his presence. Millions of angels ministered to him; many millions stood to attend him. Then the court began its session, and the books were opened.

11 … I kept watching until the fourth beast was killed and its body was destroyed by fire. 12 The other three beasts had their authority taken from them, but they were allowed to live a while longer.

13 As my vision continued that night, I saw someone like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient One and was led into his presence. 14 He was given authority, honor, and sovereignty over all the nations of the world, so that people of every race and nation and language would obey him. His rule is eternal—it will never end. His kingdom will never be destroyed.

15 I, Daniel, was troubled by all I had seen, and my visions terrified me. 16 So I approached one of those standing beside the throne and asked him what it all meant. He explained it to me like this: 17 “These four huge beasts represent four kingdoms that will arise from the earth. 18 But in the end, the holy people of the Most High will be given the kingdom, and they will rule forever and ever.”

   This is an intimidating passage to explain to kids (or to adults) but if we can see the purpose of the passage first and then fit the details to that it will make sense. The purpose of the passage is to say that there are others who try to reign in the world--not as God's representatives but as people who want the power and glory for themselves. These people will appear like they are unstoppable and we will think that we cannot do anything other than live the way they want but this is not true. Each one will fall and the people of God will remain. In fact, we will be raised up and shown to have been right by God. When all the temporary powers are gone God will still be here and the people who have faithfully represented God will be shown to have made the right choice all along.

So, how do we explain the beasts?

   Do the beasts sound strong and scary? They are. That's what we are supposed to think about when we listen to Daniel's dream. But, this is not a story about actual beasts. The beasts are not real beasts. They are in the dream so that we can picture things that make us afraid. They are in the dream so that we can picture things that make us afraid to trust God. The beasts are like the people that make us afraid to do the right thing. They are like the times when we are tempted to think that God is not really good and there must be a better way to live than God's way. They are like the times when we think that God will not take care of us.

   Imagine someone who wants to show you how important or strong they are--a bully. Maybe that person wants you to do something you know you shouldn't--like join in making fun of someone who looks different. Now, imagine that the person who wants to show you how important or strong he or she is has a lot of people with them and you feel alone. You might start to think that you don't have any choice except to do what the person who looks so powerful says. You might start to think that it would be best to join the group that does what the person who looks strong says. You might start to think that God can't help you do what is right or like God is not there. The beasts in Daniel's dream are a picture of how that choice makes us feel.

   What would happen if we could see what God is like in those times. The bullies and the beasts look powerful now. But, in Daniel's dream God (the Ancient One) is the one who is really powerful. Even when the bullies and the beasts think they are great, God is already showing that they are not. All the beasts are destroyed. All the bullies will lose their power. You don't have to make that happen. God is at work doing that but you do have to stand up for what is good. You have to do the right thing and try to see how great God is instead of how big the bullies and beasts look. That is hard but it is the best thing to do. As it might say on the wall at your school, "You can do hard things." We need to remember that the bullies won't last but what God says is good will last.

   That's what Daniel's dream was all about.