Daniel’s Real Identity

Though Daniel is a common name, his life was very uncommon by any standard. We see in the first chapter of Daniel, that “Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it” and he carried off articles from God’s temple into the treasure house of a Babylonian god. When the Babylonians conquered their foes, instead of decimating all those who stood in their way, they instead employed an unusual strategy. They chose the best looking, brightest, and articulate young men to serve under the Babylonian King. (v.3-4) Through training in one of the best universities in the world at the time, instead of forcing the best and the brightest to serve as soldiers or slaves – they trained them to eat, drink, and think as Babylonians. These young men would grow to become Babylonians in their minds and hearts, giving their allegiance not only to the nation but the culture and lifestyle of Babylon.

Grace and Weakness: 2 Corinthians 12:2-10

I’m amazed at what this passage is really talking about, and sometimes it seems only those who have actually gone through some intense suffering are able to comprehend what Paul is claiming here. It’s accepted among most biblical scholars that the person Paul refers to in v.2-5 is Paul himself, when he speaks of this man who was caught up in paradise. Paul was given a glimpse of what every Christian desires – heaven. We don’t have much detail of what that experience was like, except that it was inexpressible. In other words, there were no words that Paul could utter or conceive of, that would explain what that experience would be like. This seems to be in line with what most Christians feel when they try to explain what it was like when they experienced God, most of the time we are at a loss for words.

The opposite sex: 1 Thessalonians 4:1-9

Paul here is writing to the church leaders in Thessalonica, and he addresses them as brothers because they were all men. He exhorts them in many ways, but the basic message is that they are to beseech the Lord to “make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else”. (3:12) Paul is simply echoing the injunction of Jesus in John 13:35, that we are to love one another and that our love for one another would be how we would be known as disciples of Jesus. As Jesus did, Paul connects a) the ‘love of these brothers for one another’ directly with b) ‘holiness in the very presence of God’.