Crystallization-Study Outlines

DANIEL

Message One

The Rule of the Heavens, the Economy of God,

and the Excellent Christ

as the Precious and Preeminent One in God’s Move

Scripture Reading: Dan. 2:35, 44; 4:17, 34-35;

7:13-14; 9:24-25; 10:4-9; Rev. 11:15

I.       The central thought of Daniel is that the ruling of the heavens by the God of the heavens over all the human government on earth matches God’s eternal economy for Christ to terminate the old creation for the germination of the new creation and to smash and crush the aggregate of human government and establish the eternal kingdom of God—2:37, 44; 4:17, 26; Rev. 11:15.

II.     The Most High is the Ruler over the kingdom of men and gives it to whomever He wills—Dan. 4:17:

A.     The book of Daniel shows that all the kings and kingdoms of the world are under God’s administration—7:9-12; 2:34-35:

1.      All human government from Nimrod to Antichrist has been and will continue to be under the ruling of the heavens by the God of the heavens—7:8, 24-26.

2.      God will rule over the world, produce a situation for Israel to be His elect, gain the church to be His mysterious people, and have all nations to be the peoples of the eternal kingdom of God; if we see this, we will know where we are, and we will know the meaning of our human life—2:34-35, 45; Eph. 5:27; Rev. 11:15.

B.     God caused Nebuchadnezzar to know that he was nothing and that the mighty God, the Ruler over the kingdom of men, the One who gives the kingdom to whomever He wills, is everything—Dan. 4:34-37.

C.     We need to see a vision of the throne of God as the center of God’s administration—Rev. 4:2; 5:1; Ezek. 1:26b:

1.      God on the throne is behind the scene, ruling over everyone and everything—Isa. 6:1; 1 Kings 22:19.

2.      We need to “come to know that the heavens do rule”—Dan. 4:26b.

III.    We need to see God’s economy as it is revealed in the book of Daniel:

A.     Christ is the centrality and universality of God’s economy; in His economy, in His plan with His arrangement, God desires to make Christ the centrality and universality of His move on earth—2:35; Col. 1:15-27; Eph. 1:10.

B.     The book of Daniel covers five main points concerning Christ:

1.      The death of Christ was all-inclusive, comprising every item in the universe—9:24-26:

a.      Christ’s greatest achievement in His first appearing was to terminate the whole creation by His death—Rom. 6:6.

b.      In the universe Christ’s death with His resurrection is a great landmark of the ages; in His resurrection Christ became the life-giving Spirit to germinate some of those in the old creation to be the new creation—1 Cor. 15:45b; 1 Pet. 1:3; 2 Cor. 5:17.

2.      There is the need of Christ’s second coming to clear up the universe physically and materially; in particular, there is the need of Christ’s second coming to terminate human government—Dan. 2:34-35, 44-45.

3.      Daniel 7:13-14 reveals that now Christ as the Son of Man is before the throne of God to receive dominion and a kingdom; He is making all the preparations to come back to rule over the world with God’s dominion—Rev. 11:15.

4.      Christ is the Companion of God’s suffering people—Dan. 3:23-25.

5.      Daniel 10:4-9 reveals Christ in His excellency.

C.     Christ becomes the centrality and universality of God’s elect through their environment; as God’s elect, we need Christ to be wrought into us as our centrality and universality—Gal. 1:16; 4:19; Eph. 3:17a; Rom. 8:28.

IV.    The excellent Christ, the centrality and universality of God’s economy, is the precious and preeminent One in God’s move—Dan. 10:4-9:

A.     The excellent Christ, who appeared to Daniel in His preciousness, has many wonderful characteristics:

1.      Christ appeared as a Priest in His humanity, signified by the linen robe, to care for His chosen people in their captivity—v. 5a; Exo. 28:31-35.

2.      Christ appeared in His kingship in His divinity, signified by the girdle of gold, for ruling over all the peoples—Dan. 10:5b.

3.      For His people’s appreciation Christ appeared in His preciousness and dignity, as signified by His body being like beryl; the Hebrew word for beryl could refer to a bluish-green or yellow precious stone, signifying that Christ in His embodiment is divine (yellow), full of life (green), and heavenly (blue)—v. 6a.

4.      Christ appeared in His brightness for shining over the people, as signified by His face being like the appearance of lightning, and in His enlightening sight for searching and judging, as signified by His eyes being like torches of fire—v. 6b-c.

5.      Christ appeared in the gleam of His work and move, as signified by His arms and His feet being like the gleam of polished bronze—v. 6d.

6.      Christ appeared in His strong speaking for judging people, as signified by the sound of His words being like the sound of a multitude—v. 6e.

7.      As a man, such a Christ is precious, valuable, complete, and perfect—cf. Rev. 1:13-16.

B.     God’s intention in His administration is to give Christ the preeminence in all things, to cause Christ to have the first place in everything—Col. 1:15, 18:

1.      The entire world situation is under the rule of the heavens by the God of the heavens to match His economy for Christ—Dan. 7:9-10; 4:34-35:

a.      In His economy, in His plan with His arrangement, God desires to make Christ the centrality and universality of His move on earth—2:34-35.

b.      In 2:35 the stone refers to Christ as the centrality, and the mountain refers to Christ as the universality.

2.      For Christ to have the preeminence in all things, God needs a people; apart from God’s having a people, there is no way for Christ to be made preeminent—Col. 1:18; 3:10-11; Eph. 3:21; 1 Tim. 3:15:

a.      Christ must have the first place, the preeminence, in our personal universe—Col. 3:17; 1 Cor. 10:31.

b.      Today Christ, the preeminent One, must be the centrality and universality in our church life, family life, and daily life—Col. 3:17; 1 Cor. 10:31.

c.      Under His heavenly rule God is using the environment to make Christ the centrality (the first) and the universality (everything) to us—Rom. 8:28; Col. 1:18, 27; 3:4, 10-11.

3.      As those who have been chosen by God to be His people for Christ’s preeminence, we are under God’s heavenly rule—Dan. 4:26b; Matt. 4:17; 5:3:

a.      The purpose of the heavenly ruling is to complete God’s elect so that Christ may be preeminent, that He may be the first—the centrality—and everything—the universality—Dan. 2:35; Col. 1:18; 3:4, 10-11.

b.      We all need to learn that this universe is under God’s administration and that God’s intention in His administration is to make Christ preeminent, to cause Him to have the first place in everything—1:18.