This is a sliding bock puzzle based on a wooden Chinese puzzle set I saw at friend's house. The object is simple: get the large red square block to the bottom row by sliding the blocks into the vacant spaces. It's harder than it looks!
To play: Click on a block to make it active. The active block may be moved into an available gap using the arrow keys.
You are free to copy and redistribute them in any format under the following conditions. You attribute me as the original author. You do not use them for commercial purposes. You do not modify them or use them as the basis for another work.
I finally finished my notes for the "Daniel Masterclass" last night. It has been many hours work, but a labour of love. I'm pleased with the result. The final class is this weekend - it has gone so fast! After that I hope to make my notes more widely available.
Watch this space!
Eph 1:9-10 And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment--to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.
As you have probably gathered from my last few posts, I think Daniel 2 has lots to say about the Kingdom of God. I have only one more thing to add before I move on; probably the most important thing about the Kingdom - It's all about Jesus.
Jesus is the King of the Kingdom. The Kingdom of God is all about the coming rule of King Jesus. The vision of Daniel 2 is all about Jesus. He is the rock that was not cut out by human hands that struck the statue in it's legs of Iron. The four Kingdoms represented in the statue in Daniel 2 are the Babylonian, the Medo-Persian, the Greek, and the Roman empires. It was during the Roman empire (the legs of Iron), in the reign of Caesar Augustus that the Kingdom of God invaded this world in the form of a baby laid in a manger. Jesus the promised Christ had arrived.
God's eternal Kingdom plan is centered, like everything else in heaven and on earth, around the person of Jesus. He is the one who humbled himself and became obedient, even to death on a cross, and is now risen from the dead, alive, exalted and seated at the right hand of God in heaven. He is the one "Like a Son of Man" that Daniel saw in chapter 7, who came in glory on the clouds of heaven and was lead into the presence of the Ancient of Days, the one whom all peoples and nations worshiped, the one whose Kingdom will never end.
The Kingdom of God comes when all things, whether in our lives, or in the world, find their rightful place under the feet of King Jesus. His is the Kingdom, his is the power, his is the glory and all authority. And when all things have been put under his feet - he is coming again! Amen, come Lord Jesus.
Mk 16:15He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.
There is nothing small minded or parochial in the Kingdom plan of God. It has always been a plan for the whole earth. His commission to Adam was to fill the whole earth, his promise to Abraham was that he would be a blessing to the whole earth, the vision in Daniel 2 is of a rock the fills the whole earth, and our commission as believers is to the whole earth. We are called to the world!
We can't all jet around the world with international ministries, but our calling is still global. We may do most of our work at a local level in a local church, but it's important that we remember that we do it as part of God's plan for the whole world. We should rejoice at the news of what God is doing in other parts of the world. We should be glad at the opportunities to release people or finance to parts of the world we will never go to ourselves. In our prayers we should lift before God his world, and not just our neighborhood.
If the message of the Kingdom has gripped our heart we will have no problem in supporting whatever God is doing, even if it is in another region, another country, and through another church group. It is all part of the same Kingdom plan to reach the world that we ourselves are a part of. If all our thoughts, prayers and passions are only directed towards our town, our street, our neighbors, then we have not grasped the nature of the Kingdom God has called us to.
Mt 24:26-27 "So if anyone tells you, `There he is, out in the desert,' do not go out; or, `Here he is, in the inner rooms,' do not believe it. For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
Understanding the Kingdom purpose of God also helps our understanding of the End Times. If we have grasped that God's plan for the church is going to end in success and not failure it helps us separate the truth from the fictional and just plain bizarre.
I am often surprised and concerned to find how influential dispensationalist ideas have become in so many Christians' Escatology. In particular the belief in a Secret Rapture, seems almost ubiquitous. This doctrine states that all the Christians will be whisked off the face of the earth, leaving the world in the control of the Anti-Christ for the final tribulation. Does that sound like God's kingdom plan to you? Is the church going to be a beleaguered remnant just holding out against a tide of evil until it can be "airlifted" to safety, or is it going to be the triumphant Bride who has filled the earth with the knowledge of the glory of God, and prepared herself for his coming?
The scriptures are clear. There is not going to be anything secret about his coming! Every eye will see him, even those who pierced him (Rev 1:7) Yes, we will be caught up to meet him in the air, but this will not be at some secret prequel to the last day, but on that last and glorious day itself.
The rock in Daniel 2 expanded until it filled the whole earth, it did not shrivel into a corner and then get beamed up into heaven. If our doctrine of the end times is one of pessimism and gloom, then we have not understood the Kingdom.
Heb 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
Some Christians take a very dim view of Church history. They see the early church explosion being followed by an extended time of compromise and dilution of the truth. They would see events like the Reformation, the Charismatic Renewal (and some even include the advent of Cell Groups!) as steps by which we are struggling back to the level of the New Testament Church.
This is not how I understand the purpose of God for the Church - past, present or future! Daniel 2 does not describe a rock that grows for 300 years, only to fall into decline for a couple of millennia, when it starts to then grow again. Nor does the rock start to grow with any modern advance of the kingdom. The rock is Christ, and the unstoppable Kingdom growth began with him!
There is nothing backward in the purpose of God, it is one of continual forward advance and increase. God's heart of Restoration is not that we might recover the level of the New Testament Church; that was just the starting point, never the destination. His plan is that we build on the pattern laid out in the New Testament, growing in numbers, stature and maturity, until we become the spotless bride he is coming back for.
Yes, there have been some dark periods in history, but even in the darkest night, God's light has still shone strong, and his Kingdom has advanced. We would not be in the faith today if it were not for those who held onto the truth in such times. People may fall, church organisations may loose their way, but God's Kingdom is unstoppable! His plan was not in trouble until we came along! If we have advanced the Kingdom it is only because of those who went before, and if we do not, then his purpose will continue on without us.
Let us be proud of our heritage of faith as Christians and not despise those who held the torch before us in this race. If we do not learn from our history, we are destined to repeat it. We do not want to be those who wander round in circles in the wilderness, but those who realise "We have been called to the Kingdom for such a time as this," and who take our place in its great eternal history of advance.
Eph 3:10-11 His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.
A correct understanding of God's Kingdom is vital for a correct understanding of God's word. God does not have many plans that all end in failure (as the dispensationalists would have us believe), but one eternal plan that is destined for success.
God's commission to Adam is the same as the great commission Christ gave to the Church. To fill the whole earth with men and women in his image who rule on his behalf. This is his eternal Kingdom purpose, to fill the earth with the knowledge of his glory though a people in his image. Before the fall it was natural birth that was to have produced men and women in his image; after the cross it is spiritual birth (being born-again) that produces men and women who are being daily renewed into the image of God. The means has changed, but the purpose and plan is the same.
The vision of God's Kingdom revealed in Daniel 2, was not of many different rocks that grew and then faltered only to be replaced with another rock representing another dispensation and another administration of grace, and another plan of God destined to fail due to man's weakness; but of one rock representing the eternal kingdom plan of God that is destined to grow without any hint of faltering or failure until it fills the whole earth and accomplishes the eternal plan of he who set it in motion.
Praise God that we are part of God's eternal Kingdom plan in Christ! We are receiving a Kingdom that cannot be shaken.
Da 2:35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were broken to pieces at the same time and became like chaff on a threshing-floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth.
Daniel 2 describes the progress of the All conquering Kingdom of God. The rock did not come as an appendage to one of the existing kingdoms, but completely overcame and replaced them.
Not only does this again demonstrate that all earthly authority will return to God, but it is also true when the Kingdom comes at a personal level. We cannot just accept the Kingdom of God as an appendage to our old way of life. To truly accept Christ we must first reject all the ways we once walked in. That is why you cannot separate repentance and faith. God is not willing to share us. To gain his kingdom we must be prepared to embrace the cross, as death to self and a resurrection to God. We become new creations, just as the destruction of the statue and it replacement with God's rock represents.
Jesus also stresses this in his parables of the Kingdom in Matthew 13. Both the parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl of Great Price tell that the one who gained them first had to "sell all he had". We cannot exist in two Kingdoms. To enter the Kingdom of God means to forever forsake the Kingdom of "Me".
Da 2:37 You, O king, are the king of kings. The God of heaven has given you dominion and power and might and glory;
Rev 19:16 On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
I love Daniel chapter 2. The vision of the statue and the rock not cut by human hands that fills the earth is a wonderful image of the Kingdom of God.
Our God is the King of Kings. This phrase is used so often in Christian circles, and trips of the tongue so readily that we have lost the significance of what it really means. It does not merely mean he is the best King amongst Kings, but that he is the ultimate King over all other Kings. The rulers of the Nations are not the final authority, there is one who rules over them, just as they rule over others.
All authority comes from God. He is the source of all rule and governmental power on the earth. The message of Daniel 2 also shows that all authority is destined to return to him too. The rulers of the nations are just stewards and custodians of the authority they hold. It was not theirs to begin with, and it is not theirs to keep. God raises up who he wants, and God can just as easily take their power away. Ultimately all authority will revert to where it really belongs - The Kingdom of God. It was never God's intention that his earth should be ruled by a multiplicity of secular nations, but by one people in his image who rule on his behalf. God has not changed his mind, his Kingdom plan is still on track. The nations are just there as guardians over the earth until the rightful owner is ready to take possession.
It is interesting that this vision was given to King Nebuchadnezzar, one who's royal title was "King of Kings". He got given a dream by the true owner of that title!
Appologies once again for my absence from Blogging.
I have started the Series of teachings on Daniel that I mentioned at
the start of my Blog.This seems to be consuming almost all my free
time at the moment, as the weeks I am not teaching I am preparing the
notes for the next session.
It's going really well. We have had 2 sessions so far with 3 more to
go. I have 32 people signed up for the course. I'm really encouraged
by the numbers. It's great that that many people are prepared to get
up early on a Saturday morning to hear exposition from the Old
Testament.
Feedback has been very positive. Part of what I am trying to do in my
teaching is to show how Christ is revealed in the Old Testament (hence
my choice of Daniel - what better book could you choose? It was the
one Christ himself chose when he adopted the Messianic title "Son of
Man" over and above any of the others)
When things calm down a bit, I hope to start blogging some of my
insights from the word again. If there is the demand I may even post
links to the notes from my Daniel classes - just for my faithful
readers... (at least I know I have 1! -- Thanks Cerys :-))
Hibernate intr.v.
1. To pass the winter in a dormant or torpid state.
2. To be in an inactive or dormant state or period.
Taken from www.dictionary.com
Da 2:1-2,10 In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his mind was troubled and he could not sleep. So the king summoned the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers to tell him what he had dreamed... The astrologers answered the king, "There is not a man on earth who can do what the king asks! No king, however great and mighty, has ever asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or astrologer.
Ge 41:7b-8 Then Pharaoh woke up; it had been a dream. In the morning his mind was troubled, so he sent for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no-one could interpret them for him.
1Co 9b-10a "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him" -- but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.
"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"
Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.
Da 2:26 The king asked Daniel (also called Belteshazzar), "Are you able to tell me what I saw in my dream and interpret it?"
Ge 41:15 Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I had a dream, and no-one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it."
Da 1:8a But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine.
Da 1:11-12a Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, "Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink."
