credibility and the reliability of Daniel’s visions are enhanced by the fact that he was then the first of the three presidents who ruled over 120 princes in the Persian Empire. He reported directly to Darius the Great, who reigned over almost all of the civilized world from 521 B. C. to 486 B. C.
And during this very same vision, Daniel also saw “one like a son of man” who would ultimately be “given authority, glory, and sovereign power” and whose kingdom “will never be destroyed!”
“In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.” (Daniel 9:13-14 NIV)
This prophecy has obviously been fulfilled by the only begotten Son of God who, after his resurrection, confirmed to his disciples that all authority in heaven and earth had been given to him by his heavenly Father! (Matthew 28:18)
The apostle John also had a vision of the Son of God in his present resurrected and glorified state. His hair is now “white like wool,” so he now looks very similar to Daniel’s description of his heavenly Father, the Ancient of Days!
“His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters.” (Revelation 1:14-15 NIV)
We All Need A Mediator
Although our Creator loves us very much and wants us to seek him, he is very holy and righteous. That is why the only way that we can have intimate fellowship with him is through the intercession of a mediator who is also very holy and righteous.
“There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men.” (1 Timothy 2:5-6 NIV)
The only begotten Son of God, who pre-existed as the Word of God, “was made flesh and dwelt among us” just so he could be our mediator.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God ... And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” (John 1:1-14)
The “only begotten of the Father” took upon himself the just punishment for our sins so that all who would receive him could be reconciled with his heavenly Father! Like all good parents, his Father will “draw” us towards his Son, but it is still up to us whether or not we choose to receive him.
“No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:44)
Our first level of intimacy with our Creator therefore begins when we receive the overcoming Spirit of his Son into our hearts and become “born again.” His experience becomes our experience, and his heavenly Father then looks upon us as being righteous and holy like his only begotten Son!
If you are not sure what it means to be “born again,” you can find out more about this spiritual experience in Chapter Five.
Our Marriage
| Intimacy with our Creator is like the intimacy in a kind and affectionate MARRIAGE RELATIONSHIP. |
Probably the best way to describe our intimate relationship with our Creator in human terms is that it is a romantic love relationship that is very similar to the shared love and affection that is (or should be) in a human marriage relationship.
And just as couples become “one” with each other in a marriage, we become “one” with the Son of God. And when we become “one” with the Son, we also become “one” with his Father, for “the fullness of the Godhead is in Christ.”
“For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:” (Colossians 2:9-10)
Our intimate love relationship with our Lord and Savior then becomes similar to that of the relationship of a Bride and a Bridegroom, where we are the Bride and the Son of God is our Bridegroom.
The apostle Paul calls this “a great mystery.”
“Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.
Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
..... For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.” (Ephesians 5:22-32)
Love Is The Key
| LOVE is the key that opens the door to greater intimacy with our Creator. |
If you have already said “Yes” to our Lord’s spiritual “marriage proposal” and received him as your own personal Savior, then you already have a level of intimacy with your Creator. But even then, the question remains:
“How much do you love him?”
Since we know that he already loves us with an infinite and everlasting love, the level and the intensity of our intimacy with him really depends upon how much we are willing to love him back!
During the courting stage, and even during the “honeymoon” stage of a marriage, both the man and the woman usually maintain their best behavior and treat each other kindly with love and respect. But then when trials come, and when the newness wears off, married couples will sometimes “backslide” and lose the fervor of their “first love!”
That is exactly what happened to the Christians in the first century church at Ephesus. Although they were doing everything else right, they had “forsaken their first love.”
“You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love.” (Revelation 2:3-4 NIV)
Jesus said that if they did not repent and return to their first love, he would have to remove his presence from their assemblies! This scripture also explains why his presence is no longer known in many churches today!
What Is Love?
We know that LOVE is the key to having a greater degree of intimacy with our Creator, but exactly what is love?
The New Testament uses two Greek words to describe love. The word “philanthropia” describes a brotherly or friendship kind of love, but the word “agape” describes the pure unselfish kind of love that our Creator has for us. This is also the same kind of love that he wants to receive from us!
The English language uses the word “love” to describe many different forms of love, including sexual love. But the everlasting godly kind of love is non-sexual. We know this to be true because “in the resurrection, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage.” (Matthew 22:30)
This pure