I had a fabulous business trip to New York. The city was so clean and safe. There were police on every corner and in subways and the people were nice...! It was amazing. I had a blast! Want to go back and explore some more! Here's the neatest thing that happened to me whilst I was there.

"Excuse me Sir, could you please tell me how to ride the bus," I asked a nicely dressed business man who was standing on 5th Avenue.


"I've been standing by this bus stop but they don't seem to stop for me," I continued. "I don't know if I'm supposed to use money or a pass or where to get catch it or where to stand…" my voice trailed off. With a bemused look, he kindly offered to help me by accepting my fare and using his pass to get me on the bus. It turned out we were going the same way.



The ride, which should have taken 5 minutes, turned into 30 because of terrible traffic congestion. One simply can't talk about weather forever, so we were forced to sort of get acquainted. He seemed fascinated by stories of my upbringing in Africa and my job, teaching art lessons to people who can't even draw a straight line. He asked lots of questions.



As we disembarked and walked towards the Met together, he said, "You've lead a fascinating life. We write stories about people like you at my magazine. Perhaps I should get your card."


"Which magazine is that?" I queried.



"People Magazine."

I was blown away.

For over 10 years I have been visualizing myself being written up in People one day. I knew I had to write my books and produce the videos first, but this year I realized it was time to get the word out. I had hired a publicity agent, but even so, it's incredibly difficult to get access to the right people. Here in front of me was the senior writer from People, asking for my card.



And if that wasn't surprising enough, at that very moment, I was actually supposed to be on a plane heading toward California. That morning, I had impulsively decided to prolong my visit and take a later flight, just so that I could catch one more museum.

Throughout my 4-day business trip, I had not really taken time to pray or read the Bible. I did a lot of that before I left, but I was so busy doing business that I hadn't made time.

But this morning, I had an extra hour so I read a story in Guideposts about a man who lost his wedding ring in a garbage can. With virtually no hope of finding it, he traveled to the dump to search through the miles of bags. After scouring the dump for hours, he felt overwhelmed and hopeless. Suddenly he remembered that he hadn't asked God for help. He knelt down on the garbage heap and prayed. When he looked up, there was his ring, glistening in the sun.



I got the message. Here I had been doing my business without checking in with God.

So I knelt down and asked God to lead me, bless my day and direct me as to whether or not I should take the scheduled flight or linger in the city a little while longer. That day, He placed me on the right street corner, with buses refusing to stop, and, of all the people I could have asked, he directed me to this person.

Then He prolonged our ride so we could chat. Since I didn't know who the man was, I was relaxed and acted naturally. And if that wasn't enough, God saw to it that he asked for my card, not the other way around. Wow! I just love it when God makes it so obvious who's in charge.

For years to come when I'm frantic and troubled about things not going the way I want, I'll remember this time, when God placed me exactly where he wanted me so that he could bless me. People Magazine here I come! [show less]

At some time or another, perhaps one of those difficult Monday mornings, maybe you ask ‘What’s the point of it all?’

Is there anything beyond the daily grind of getting out of bed, grabbing breakfast, going to work, coming home and falling back into bed? Is there more than just the endless cycle that goes nowhere?

You’ve probably read enough of these dialogues to know by now that I always like to see what the holy bible has to say about things. If you’ve never read the holy bible before, you might be surprised by its richness and variety. It’s anything but boring. You’ll find stories, parables, proverbs, songs, genealogies, lyrical poetry, even oracles. Amongst this fare we meet apocalyptic prophecies.

Perhaps more than any other part of the holy bible, these apocalyptic passages address have the capacity to address those Monday morning blues.

apocalyptic
So what is ‘apocalyptic’ exactly? Since ordinary everyday language is rarely adequate to deal with issues of significance, the apocalyptic is highly symbolic. Example? It may present stunning visual images of bizarre animals with multiple heads or horns, or eras of time expressed in intriguing ways.

You ask, what is ‘apocalyptic’ saying in general terms?

Firstly, it says that this world is full of both good and evil. This might not seem like a great insight – most people you meet at the bus stop would be willing to accept that. ‘Apocalyptic’ symbolism says: listen to the latest news bulletin and you’ll easily think evil is stronger than good. But it’s not so. Instead, good is stronger than evil.

Why? Because things are not what they seem. Despite appearances, God really is in charge.

Secondly, ‘apocalyptic’ says that history is not a meaningless cycle of accidents and coincidences, not just a string of Monday mornings. Not at all. History had a meaningful beginning, and it will have a meaningful end. History is a journey of discovery with a definite destination. Because God is in charge.

Thirdly, ‘apocalyptic’ puts good and evil in one hand, with our journey through history in the other. So, at this point in history we are living under the influence of evil. If you watch the news, that’s not really hard to acknowledge. Evil really does have the upper hand – for now. But remember, things are not what they seem to be.

This present state of affairs won’t last for ever. Evil is doomed. God says that he will act decisively, once and for all. And then good will reign supreme. Because God is in charge.

Sound good to you? Maybe too good to be true? And on one of those rotten Monday mornings, as you listen to the headlines, you might feel like saying, ‘Well, it doesn’t seem that way to me!’ And apocalyptic replies, ‘Well, of course not. Because things aren’t what they seem to be’.

With that in mind, look at some ‘apocalyptic’ here. The ancient book of Daniel is a good place to begin. Daniel was a young man living in Jerusalem about six hundred years before Christ.

prophecy of hope or doom?
Babylon was the world superpower of the time, under King Nebuchadnezzar. They conquered Israel and sacked Jerusalem, taking Daniel and some of his young friends prisoner of war. The boys were marched to the capital city and the best received education to prepare them for careers in the Babylonian civil service.

These teenagers were cut off from their culture, language and religion – forcibly removed from everything that made life familiar and meaningful. It’s in this setting that we read some of the most memorable apocalyptic prophecies in the holy bible. (The original story is here at the end. Read the excerpts from the holy scripture below to the whole picture.)

One night, King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream which made a great impression on him. Like many ancient monarchs, he employed numerous dream interpreters. But they were helpless because the king wouldn’t tell them the dream! If they knew the dream they could turn to their dream manuals, look up the symbols in the index, and provide the king with the ‘official’ interpretation. But without the dream they were clueless. The king was so mad he ordered the whole lot to be executed! So, Daniel prays for guidance and Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and interpretation are revealed to him.

The dream? The king saw a large metal idol. It had a head of gold, chest of silver, belly and thighs of bronze, legs of iron, and feet composed of iron and clay. Then a mysterious stone flew through the air, hit the feet of the idol and ground the whole lot into powder that the wind blew away. It’s this stone of destruction which Daniel emphasizes. He rushes through the interpretation of the metals, but dwells on the stone and the idol’s destruction.

But what does the dream mean?

dream interpreted
“Well,” says Daniel, “generally the sequence of metals represents the rise and fall of kingdoms.” So you can conclude that the metals form an idol, or an object of worship. This idol might even represent the way human beings worship and glorify political power as well as the powers themselves.

Then, in contrast to the metals, there is the stone of destruction which was quarried ‘not by human hands’. In other words, the stone comes from the kingdom of God (verse 44). One day, the kingdom of God will reign supreme, because God is in charge.

If you put it together, the dream presents quite an outline of history’s major superpowers. From Babylon’s head of gold, to the Medo-Persian chest of silver, to the Greek thighs and belly of brass, to the iron legs of Rome and finally its disintegration into the iron and clay at the feet. All this is impressive in itself – an accurate historical prediction of human empires given centuries in advance.

Most important of all, it presents the apocalyptic hope of the end of these human kingdoms, and the establishment of a kingdom of God.

kingdoms old & new
This kingdom is anticipated in the Old Testament (the first part of the holy bible), but explained in more detail in the New Testament (the second part). Here, you can see another apocalyptic preview of this devastating and complete annihilation of human power, and how God will establish his kingdom when Jesus returns to this earth. Some passages use highly imaginative language, just like Daniel did:

‘The sky vanished like a scroll rolling itself up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place’, (Revelation 6:14)
‘the heavens will be set ablaze and dissolved, and the elements will melt with fire’, (2 Peter 3:12).

In these passages, as in the story of Daniel, the authors try to describe an event no one has ever experienced. So they paint highly figurative and imaginative pictures to get the story across.

We’ve got to grasp the significance of this futurist picture painted by Daniel. Apocalyptic symbolism in general, and Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in particular, doesn’t claim that every detail of human history has been pre-determined by God. All it claims is that this end of history is certain. It notes significant milestones.

personal decision power
But the exact route history has taken? Details of human politics? Your personal decisions, or mine? These are all determined by us – you and me. I am free to plan my life. Choose my spouse. Decide on a career. But the end will come. Because God is in charge.

This emphasis on the end explains why Daniel doesn’t waste time identifying the individual kingdoms, apart from the first one. He is far more interested in the stone missile. Just as the moving stone contrasts with the immobile image, so the kingdom of God contrasts with the kingdoms of man.

Human power is fluid and shifts easily. God’s power is solid and unchanging. Each metal kingdom exercised power for a while, then fell to domination by another ruler. But the kingdom of stone ‘shall stand forever’ (verse 44). Not only that, but it also ‘filled the whole earth’ (verse 35).

So the kingdom of God will dominate time (‘forever’) and space (‘the whole earth’). At least one of the metal human kingdoms filled the earth (see verse 39). But only the kingdom of God lasts forever.

The story began with inept wise men in the Babylonian court saying, ‘May the king live forever’. It concludes by telling us that only the kingdom of God lasts forever. This contrast underlines that things are not what they seem to be. Why? Because God is in charge.

Biblical books like Genesis tell us that this world had a meaningful beginning. Biblical books like Daniel emphasize that the world will have a meaningful end.

If the world had a meaningful beginning and a meaningful end, then one thing is clear. Your life has meaning in the present. Even on those awful Monday mornings!

Daniel invites you and me to live life to the full in the present. You can know that you are part of that journey, moving from the meaningful beginning of creation and on your way toward a meaningful end (see about:coming back for more on this).

You can have confidence to live in the world even with its catalogue of evil and despair, because you KNOW that things are not what they seem to be.

And when people ask you why you’re so comfident? You can say: Because God is in charge. [show less]

Have you ever really thought about God’s role in history? What’s your impression up to now?

Can you see any impact God might have had on your life lately?

What impact does God and the holy bible have on you right now, in the present?

How does this prophecy about the end of the world make you feel? [show less]

Will you decide to let God be in charge of your life?

Dear God,
My heart is thrilled to learn that you are in control of history. I don’t have anything to fear for the future because my life are in your safe hands. Thank you for this prophecy and please help me to learn to trust you with all my heart. AMEN.

Daniel 2
Nebuchadnezzar's Dream
1 In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his mind was troubled and he could not sleep. 2 So the king summoned the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers to tell him what he had dreamed. When they came in and stood before the king, 3 he said to them, "I have had a dream that troubles me and I want to know what it means.
4 Then the astrologers answered the king in Aramaic, "O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will interpret it."
5 The king replied to the astrologers, "This is what I have firmly decided: If you do not tell me what my dream was and interpret it, I will have you cut into pieces and your houses turned into piles of rubble. 6 But if you tell me the dream and explain it, you will receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. So tell me the dream and interpret it for me."
7 Once more they replied, "Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will interpret it."
8 Then the king answered, "I am certain that you are trying to gain time, because you realize that this is what I have firmly decided: 9 If you do not tell me the dream, there is just one penalty for you. You have conspired to tell me misleading and wicked things, hoping the situation will change. So then, tell me the dream, and I will know that you can interpret it for me."
10 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. 11 What the king asks is too difficult. No one can reveal it to the king except the gods, and they do not live among men."
12 This made the king so angry and furious that he ordered the execution of all the wise men of Babylon. 13 So the decree was issued to put the wise men to death, and men were sent to look for Daniel and his friends to put them to death.
14 When Arioch, the commander of the king's guard, had gone out to put to death the wise men of Babylon, Daniel spoke to him with wisdom and tact. 15 He asked the king's officer, "Why did the king issue such a harsh decree?" Arioch then explained the matter to Daniel. 16 At this, Daniel went in to the king and asked for time, so that he might interpret the dream for him.
17 Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. 18 He urged them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that he and his friends might not be executed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. 19 During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven 20 and said:
"Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; 

wisdom and power are his.
21 He changes times and seasons; 

he sets up kings and deposes them. 

He gives wisdom to the wise 

and knowledge to the discerning.
22 He reveals deep and hidden things; 

he knows what lies in darkness, 

and light dwells with him.
23 I thank and praise you, O God of my fathers: 

You have given me wisdom and power, 

you have made known to me what we asked of you, 

you have made known to us the dream of the king."

Daniel Interprets the Dream
24 Then Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to execute the wise men of Babylon, and said to him, "Do not execute the wise men of Babylon. Take me to the king, and I will interpret his dream for him."
25 Arioch took Daniel to the king at once and said, "I have found a man among the exiles from Judah who can tell the king what his dream means."
26 The king asked Daniel (also called Belteshazzar), "Are you able to tell me what I saw in my dream and interpret it?"
27 Daniel replied, "No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about, 28 but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come. Your dream and the visions that passed through your mind as you lay on your bed are these:
29 "As you were lying there, O king, your mind turned to things to come, and the revealer of mysteries showed you what is going to happen. 30 As for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because I have greater wisdom than other living men, but so that you, O king, may know the interpretation and that you may understand what went through your mind.
31 "You looked, O king, and there before you stood a large statue—an enormous, dazzling statue, awesome in appearance. 32 The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, 33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay. 34 While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them. 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.
36 "This was the dream, and now we will interpret it to the king. 37 You, O king, are the king of kings. The God of heaven has given you dominion and power and might and glory; 38 in your hands he has placed mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds of the air. Wherever they live, he has made you ruler over them all. You are that head of gold.
39 "After you, another kingdom will rise, inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over the whole earth. 40 Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron—for iron breaks and smashes everything—and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others. 41 Just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom; yet it will have some of the strength of iron in it, even as you saw iron mixed with clay. 42 As the toes were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. 43 And just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a mixture and will not remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay.
44 "In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. 45 This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands—a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces. 
 "The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future. The dream is true and the interpretation is trustworthy."
46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell prostrate before Daniel and paid him honor and ordered that an offering and incense be presented to him. 47 The king said to Daniel, "Surely your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, for you were able to reveal this mystery."
48 Then the king placed Daniel in a high position and lavished many gifts on him. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and placed him in charge of all its wise men. 49 Moreover, at Daniel's request the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego administrators over the province of Babylon, while Daniel himself remained at the royal court. [show less]

re:tell: By Sandra Angelo (c) 2002. http://www.sermonillustrator.org/illustrator/sermon3/first_things_first.htm. 11 April 2006. Adapted by Sarah K. Asaftei.