Prophetic Implication Of Daniel 6

Open your Bibles, please, to the book of Daniel. You will remember that we have looked at chapter 6 of the book of Daniel from a spiritual and moral standpoint. We want now to consider this chapter in relation to the prophetic implications which are contained in it.

Folk may ask why it is that we place emphasis upon the prophecy of Daniel. For example, what prophetic import could there possibly be in chapter 6; are we not overdrawing the picture in seeing some particular prophecy in this very well known story of Daniel in the lions' den?

I would like for you to notice with me two passages of Scripture which will help us to understand why we are not doing justice to the book of Daniel unless we consider it from a prophetic standpoint as well as from a spiritual and moral standpoint.

Turn, please, to chapter 12, and notice in the paragraph which begins with verse 5 these words:

The wonders spoken of here are the wonders which are described in the book of Daniel. Daniel continues:

Notice in verse 7, the phrase, ``a time, times, and a half." This immediately brings to my mind that phrase in the book of Revelation, where you find it often repeated. You will recognize that it is a phrase which describes a period of three and one half years which is the last part of the Tribulation period. You will notice in verse 8:

Notice, now, in verse 9:

This is a little over three and one half years. You will notice that Daniel said, ``When shall these things be?" God said, ``Daniel, you just close the book. Don't you worry about it because these things do not involve you. They involve a group of people who will be living in the time of the end. They involve, particularly, a group of people who will be living in the last half of the Tribulation." Notice verse 12 now:

As we come to chapter 12 of the book of Daniel, we will be looking at this in detail, learning what each of these words and phrases means. But we call to your attention this portion of the Word to remind you that we are not doing justice to the book of Daniel unless we relate it to other portions of the prophetic Word to know what God is saying about the future.

Turn with me, please, to the Gospel according to Matthew, chapter 24. You will recognize this as the words of the Lord Jesus Christ as He spoke about this period of time which is yet to come upon the earth and which is known as the Tribulation. In the paragraph which begins with verse 10, we read:

We will stop there for a moment. Look at the words, the end. We have seen them in the book of Daniel. To what do they refer? If you would read the entire 24th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, you would find that they refer to the end of this period of time which we are considering at the moment---the end of the Tribulation. You will recognize immediately that verse 13 has absolutely nothing to do with your salvation. It does not say that if you hold out to the end you will be saved, and if you don't hold out to the end you will be lost. It simply says that the people who will be living in the Tribulation, if they are able to endure the suffering, if they are able to endure the torment of that time to the end of it, shall be delivered with the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. The word saved means ``delivered."

The end of what? The end of the Tribulation. Now think carefully about what I say. Don't misquote me! I do not believe that we are discharging our responsibilities unless we carry the Gospel to the end of the world. I do not believe that we are discharging our responsibilities unless we do all that is in our power that every creature might hear the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. But having said that, let me say that I do not believe that the Gospel must be preached in all the world before the Lord Jesus Christ comes for His Church because this passage of Scripture does not refer to the Rapture of the Church. It refers to the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ at the end of the Tribulation. What we have been able to do because of our lethargy in these many years after the Lord Jesus Christ first came, 144,000 Jewish evangelists will be able to do in three and one half years.

This should not lend us any comfort. It should not cause us to sit down and say, ``Why worry, because they are going to do it?" We should hang our heads in shame that these shall be able to do in three and one half years what we have not been able to do in over 2000 years. If you read the commission very carefully, you will recognize that every generation has the responsibility to evangelize the world in its generation. If we as a generation fail in the evangelization of the world, then we are going to have to give an account to the Lord Jesus Christ when we stand at the Judgment Seat of Christ.

I want to emphasize that we must not take Scripture out of context in order to bolster some particular idea that we have. The Gospel does not have to be preached in all the world before Jesus comes. Therefore I say to you that the Lord Jesus Christ could come at any moment. He could come before I am through with this message. He could come before tomorrow morning. There is no prophecy yet to be fulfilled before the Lord Jesus Christ comes for His Church.

Notice Matthew, chapter 24, verse 15; this is the Lord Jesus Christ speaking:

That is as far as we are going to read because we are interested primarily in verse 15. The Lord Jesus Christ said, ``You ought to know about the abomination of desolation."

Matthew, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit put in parenthesis, ``If you don't understand what Jesus is talking about, find out what He is talking about." Daniel spoke of the abomination of desolation not once, but no less than four times is his prophecy, and it would behoove us, if we are are interested in what the Lord Jesus Christ said, to find out what Daniel said in his prophecy.

We are not going to think now about the abomination of desolation; that comes later in the prophecy. We have asked you to turn to these passages of Scripture merely to emphasize again to many of you, and to explain to some of you, why we study the book of Daniel from a prophetical standpoint, and why we are not doing justice to the book unless we look for prophetic statements or prophetic implications in every chapter.

We have made mention several times over of the Tribulation. Those of you who are familiar with your Bibles, particularly the prophetic Word, need no word of explanation. But not all of us have had the same opportunity for study, and a lot of us are not as familiar with the Word of God as others may be. So we want to pause long enough to get fixed in our minds what we mean when we talk about the Tribulation.

We have consistently reminded you that it is the habit of God to deal with the human race according to periods of time. When Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden, He dealt with men under the dispensation of innocency. When Adam and Eve left the Garden of Eden because of sin, they lived under their own rules and regulations, and God dealt with them under the Dispensation of Conscience.

Then you will remember that the Dispensation of Conscience gave way to the Dispensation of Human Government. Human Government gave way to the Dispensation of Promise. The Dispensation of Promise gave way to the Dispensation of Law, when Moses received the law written on tables of stone and conveyed it to the Israelites. Then you will remember that the Dispensation of Law came to an end with the Cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Dispensation of Grace began.

We are living today in the age in which God deals with us not according to our sins, but according to the grace that was manifested in the Lord Jesus Christ when, as the Apostle Paul wrote, ``Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich." This verse, II Corinthians, chapter 8, verse 9, reminds us that God is dealing with us now according to grace. But the Dispensation of Grace is going to come to an end. We believe that we are almost to the end of this dispensation. This Dispensation of Grace will come to an end when the Lord Jesus Christ will come in the air and call up to be with Him all born-again believers, both dead and living. Those who have died in Christ will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air, and then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them; and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Read the story in I Thessalonians, chapter 4, and I Corinthians, chapter 15, along with other passages of Scripture.

As soon as the church is translated, as soon as it is taken out of the world, there will begin on the earth the greatest period of judgment this world has ever seen. It is known as the Tribulation. It will last for seven years. We will be thinking more about it in detail when we come to chapter 9 of the book of Daniel. We give you this brief review so that you may place yourself in your thinking, as far as God's program is concerned, and may recognize that as we look at the prophetic implication as related to the Tribulation, this period of time is yet to come upon the earth.

In Daniel, chapter 6, we have related for us the story of Daniel and the lions. Daniel is typical of the believing remnant in his day. The vast majority of the Israelites in Daniel's day were not interested in God nor the things of God. You will find that to be true when you come to Daniel, chapter 9. But Daniel was interested. When all other men were willing to bow their knees, Daniel stood firm. When all other men were willing to yield to the demands of the heathen potentate, Daniel refused. Daniel represents the believing remnant of every age.

When the Tribulation comes upon the earth, there is going to be a group of people, Jews by nationality, who will refuse to bow their knees to the one who will rule supreme over the world. They will be a small group of people, but they will be a believing remnant, and they will stand true to God.

For that reason, we are very much interested in the story of Daniel in the lions' den. When the Spirit of God is pleased to speak prophetically about that remnant in that day, He speaks of their being at the mercy of lions---not lions literally, but lions figuratively. For as that little believing remnant in the Tribulation stands true to God, and the Antichrist and his cohorts turn all of their venom against them, they will be in as much danger as was Daniel in the lions' den.

I would like for you to notice with me several passages of Scripture which will verify what I have just said to you. So turn with me, please, to the book of Psalms. I would like for you to notice Psalm 7.

I would like to remind you that there are three ways to study the book of Psalms, and you will not do justice to the Psalms unless you learn that. You may study the book of Psalms from a historical standpoint. That is, they do represent the experiences of the men who wrote them. There can be no question about that up to a point. But as you read the book, you are aware that the writers of the Psalms are saying in some instances things that could not possibly have applied to them. They must be thinking of someone or something else.

Then you can study the book of Psalms from a devotional standpoint because it is the hymn book of the nation of Israel. Just as our hearts are warmed by singing of songs that honor the Lord Jesus Christ and portray the work of grace, so are our hearts warmed and our spirits inspired as we study the book of Psalms from the devotional standpoint. If I have a favorite portion of the Word of God---I always hesitate to say that I do because all of it is precious to my heart---it is the book of Psalms. The book of Psalms came from the hearts of the men who wrote them. This was not something they learned; it was something they experienced. You cannot have a man speak to you out of his heart without being blessed. You cannot have a man talk to you about an experience without being moved.

The third way that you can study the book of Psalms is from a prophetic standpoint, recognizing that the Psalms are Messianic and millennial in character. When we say they are Messianic, we mean that they refer to the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Psalms are quoted in the New Testament more than any other Old Testament book. References to the Lord Jesus Christ are taken from the Psalms more than from any other portion of the Old Testament. When we refer to their being millennial, we recognize that they are the Psalms which speak of that day when the nation of Israel will be converted and will turn to Christ and accept Him as the Messiah, recognizing that He is the One whom they rejected. Then having accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, they will be permitted to enter into the kingdom which God has prepared for them since the foundation of the world.

We call Psalm 7 to your attention in order that you may recognize with us the truth of what we have just said. If you will glance at the superscription of the Psalm, you will recognize that it is a psalm of David which he sang unto the Lord concerning the words of Cush the Benjamite. Cush in all probability was King Saul; this was another name for him. And David was singing this psalm. He calls it the Shiggaion, and he calls it that because Shiggaion means ``a cry of distress." That is exactly what it is---a cry of distress from the heart of David because Saul was persecuting him as few men have been persecuted. But you will also notice the superscription over Psalm 8: ``To the chief musician upon Gittith, a Psalm of David."

If you are familiar with the book of Psalms, you know that in the Psalms anything that precedes the statement, ``A Psalm of David," belongs to the preceding psalm and not the psalm above which you find it. So this statement, ``To the chief musician upon Gittith," belongs to Psalm 7 instead of Psalm 8. The word Gittith is a reference to the winepress. As a matter of fact, that is the translation of the word.

So what are we reading here? We are reading a cry of distress which David uttered in relation to the winepress. What do we mean by the winepress in relation to a cry of distress?

I want you to turn with me to Revelation, chapter 19, and notice a passage of Scripture which I trust will be a guide to your study of the book of Psalms. What we are trying to do is to show you why we make the statements we make. We make many statements from the pulpit related to the Word of God, and you have to accept them by faith until you can pursue them in your own private study. But I assure you that if we make any statement which we say is related to the Word, there is a reason for it. I feel impressed to take a little time to show you why we make these statements concerning the Psalms' being Messianic and millennial and concerning Daniel's being a prophetic book.

You will notice in Revelation, chapter 19, a statement concerning the return of the Lord Jesus Christ to the earth. In verse 11, we hear John saying:

Now notice:

Notice the statement, ``He treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God." Then the chapter goes on to tell you how the Lord Jesus Christ will heap vengeance upon those who have opposed God and His Son. He describes it as ``treading the winepress."

A companion passage of Scripture to Revelation, chapter 19, is found in the book of Isaiah. Chapter 63 of the book of Isaiah is a prophecy of what is recorded in Psalm 7 and of what is recorded in Revelation, chapter 19.

Now pause for a moment and recognize what you have been reading. Isaiah, with the eye of prophecy, looks down through the corridors of time to the land of Edom, to the land of Bozrah. He sees coming out of that territory an individual whose garments are dyed. We will see in a moment that they are dyed red. Isaiah notices that their garments are glorious, and he notices that this individual is traveling in the greatness of his strength. He says, ``Who is this I see in this manner?" That individual answers:

There is only one individual Who speaks in righteousness. There is only one individual Who is mighty to save, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.

So Isaiah sees the man coming and he says, ``Who are you?" The Lord Jesus Christ answers and says, ``I am the Son of God."

Isaiah asks another question in verse 2:

He says, ``Your garments are all dyed red. Why do they look as if you have been treading in the winefat?" We have to have a word of explanation, but the people to whom Isaiah wrote these words did not need a word of explanation. Immediately there came to their minds a picture of individuals who gathered the grapes at the time of harvest and put them in the winefat, and then trod back and forth upon the grapes until all the juice was extracted. Quite naturally, in their long, flowing white robes, they would have an opportunity to stain their white garments with the juice of the grapes. The Lord Jesus Christ said, ``I have been treading in the winefat." Look in verse 3, where He said:

If you notice verse 3 carefully, you realize that He is using a figure of speech because right in the middle of it, He tells us that He is not talking about grapes from which he is extracting the juice. He is talking about people whose blood is flowing deep as God heaps His vengeance upon them in the day to which we refer.

Go back with me to Psalm 7, please, and keep in mind that we are asking you to turn to these various passages of Scripture so that you may see how one passage of Scripture may be related to another and that you may see that you are making a great mistake if you do not study the Bible by comparing Scripture with Scripture.

You will notice, then, that Psalm 7 was a cry of distress which was uttered by individuals who were related to the winepress. In Psalm 7, verse 1, we read:

This cry, Beloved, is the cry of the believing remnant in the Tribulation when they are surrounded by the Antichrist and their very lives are at stake. They will cry out to God, ``O Lord My God, in Thee do we put our trust. Save us from all that persecute us, and deliver us lest they tear our souls like a lion, rending them in pieces, while there is none to deliver."

Turn with me, please, to Psalm 17, as I remind you that just as certainly as Daniel was cast into the lion's den, and humanly speaking, those lions were ready to rend him to pieces and there was none to deliver, so the believing remnant in the end of time will be cast, figuratively speaking, into the lions' den. Notice Psalm 17, verse 12:

This is the cry of the remnant in the Tribulation as they realize that they are surrounded by their enemies like a lion that is greedy of his prey. They cry out to the Lord:

Turn, please, to Psalm 35 and notice in verse 17 that the believing remnant, tortured and tied, running out of patience and courage and strength, cries:

Look at the word darling for a moment and recognize that it is not used in the same sense that we use the word today. This is an unhappy translation. It is a word that describes life that is very precious. It would be better to read the verse:

Just as Daniel was cast into the lions' den and had to lift his voice to God and ask that he be delivered from the greedy lions, the believing remnant in the last days will pray the same prayer.

Turn with me, please, to Psalm 57 and notice these words:

Let's stop for a moment and think. David prayed that prayer; he was in trouble. He took his refuge in the Lord until the calamities were overpast. How many of you have not done the thing? How many of you have not taken refuge in the shadow of the wings of God until the calamities were overpast? I have.

So this Psalm is historical and it is devotional, but it is also prophetic because it speaks of those people in the end day who will take refuge under the shadow of the wings of God until the calamities of the Tribulation shall be overpast.

Look at verse 2:

Incidentally, as I've been digressing to give you a few instructions related to your reading of the Psalms, don't read the word selah when you read a Psalm audibly. You don't need to do that. Remember, the book of Psalms is a music book. It is a hymn book, and the word selah has the same meaning as a rest on a musical score. If you were reading a song from a hymn book and you saw the little symbol which indicates a pause or a rest, you wouldn't sing, ``Jesus, lover of my soul - rest," would you? You shouldn't do it when you are reading the Psalms.

Just as certainly as Daniel was among lions in the lions' den, the believing remnant in the Tribulation will be among lions. And just as certainly as Daniel could lie among the lions in perfect repose because his trust was in God, the believing remnant will be able to depend on God during the Tribulation period.

Go back with me to the book of Daniel as we point out to you some additional parallels, not as much in detail as we have this one, for you should be able to know how we go about it by this time; we simply suggest these things to you for your further meditation.

Glance at chapter 6. You remember that Daniel was put into the lions' den and the king could not sleep all night. Beginning with verse 19, we read:

Notice the testimony which Daniel gave. ``My God hath sent His angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me." We understand from that verse of Scripture that Daniel was divinely preserved until his work was finished. Hungry lions might devour other people, but they could not devour Daniel because his work was not yet done.

Turn with me, please, to Revelation, and notice a very minute description of the remnant who will be in existence in the last days and to whom we have been referring. They, too, will need divine protection from the lions in the midst of which they are found, and in Revelation, chapter 7, we find that divine protection being provided:

These winds were held back by the angels, and when they were let loose, trouble came. When they were let loose, judgment fell. But the angels were holding them back, and in verse 2 we find the reason:

Those winds were powerless while God was holding them back. Just as certainly as Daniel was divinely preserved because God sent an angel to close the lions' mouths, this remnant in the Tribulation will be divinely preserved because God will send an angel to hold back the winds of destruction until such time as believers are divinely sealed in their foreheads for protection for the entire Tribulation period.

Go back with me, please, to Daniel, chapter 6, and notice the paragraph which begins with verse 4:

Daniel's perfect life was a prophecy of the believing remnant in the Tribulation who also will be without fault before God. These men looked into the life of Daniel and could find no fault. In Revelation, chapter 14, this believing remnant is standing upon Mount Sion, and you will notice in verse 4 what is said about them:

That is, the firstfruits of the Tribulation period, the first people who take a stand for God and are saved, are the believing remnant.

Notice verse 5:

Just as men in Daniel's day pointed a finger at Daniel and said, ``Let's see what we can find that is wrong with him.", and were unable to find anything, so individuals will look for something wrong with this believing remnant. This remnant not only will be found without fault before men, but they will be found without fault before the throne of God as well.

You remember that we have emphasized to you that Daniel was a spirit-filled man, and because he was a spirit-filled man, he was able to do all of the marvelous, wonderful things which were described in chapter 6.

Turn with me, please, to the book of Joel in the Old Testament as I remind you that just as certainly as in chapter 6 God poured out His Holy Spirit on the believing remnant in the Tribulation, they are going to be able to do things that we today are unable to do.

We want to notice the paragraph in chapter 2 which begins with verse 28.

If you are familiar with your Bibles, this will seem to you a familiar account in Scripture. You will find it in the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 2, as well as in Joel, chapter 2. You will remember that in Acts, chapter 2, the Apostle Peter used this passage from Joel as a foreshadowing (notice what I am saying) of what was occurring on the Day of Pentecost. On the Day of Pentecost, when men were baptized by the Holy Spirit, when they began to speak in other tongues, and everybody in the city of Jerusalem, from the far corners of the world, heard the Gospel preached in those tongues, they said, ``What is this? What is this manifestation?" In other words, who is responsible for it? Peter said, ``This is that which was spoken of by the prophets Joel."

You recognize immediately that he did not mean that it was a fulfillment of that passage of Scripture because verse 31 was not fulfilled in Acts 2. We read:

The Day of Pentecost did not introduce the great and terrible day for the Lord. The Day of Pentecost introduced the Age of Grace in which we live, the Church Age of which we are a part.

But Joel's prophecy, when it is fulfilled, will introduce the closing events related to the great and terrible day of the Lord which will climax with the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Then the sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood. Then the Lord Jesus Christ will come back to this earth, and then it will be said, ``Whosoever shall call upon the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call" (Joel 2:32).

With this thought in mind, as far as the date is concerned, you will notice that these individuals, this believing remnant who will be living just before the Lord Jesus Christ returns in glory, will have the Holy Spirit poured out upon them in even a greater way than did those early believers on the Day of Pentecost.

There is emphasis upon the Holy Spirit today in ways that we do not believe are Scriptural in every respect. Some people say that the emphasis we see is a fulfillment of Joel 2. I want you to look at that passage of Scripture when you have time and recognize that if you interpret it in the light of its context, whatever the movement is today that is characterized by what some people think is the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, it is not a fulfillment of Joel 2. That is yet to come!

When the remnant in the end of the Tribulation is in need of great strength and great power, the Holy Spirit will be poured out upon them, and they will be enabled to do great exploits, as Daniel did in the day in which he lived.

I want to remind you as you go back with me to Daniel, chapter 6, that just as certainly as the enemies of Daniel were destroyed by the very lions which they had hoped would destroy Daniel, so will the enemies of the believing remnant in the Tribulation be destroyed by the just punishment of God.

In Daniel, chapter 6, verse 24, you will remember, we read:

We do not have time to turn to this passage of Scripture because it is too long, but I would suggest that when you have time, you turn to chapter 25 of the Gospel according to Matthew and notice what is recorded there. It is recorded as the judgment of the nations, the division of the sheep from the goats. Don't make the mistake that is so often made and think that this is a judgment which will decide who is born again and who is lost. That was settled at the Cross! This is a judgment of the nations who were kind to the believing remnant and the nations who were enemies of the believing remnant.

God will say to the sheep nations, ``Enter into the kingdom that has been prepared for you from the foundation of the world" (Matthew 25:34). He will say to the goat nations, which, like lions, were to pounce upon this believing remnant, ``Enter into that eternal fire which was prepared..."(Matthew 25:41).

Notice the difference! Someone says, ``How could a just God send anyone to Hell? Why would God prepare Hell for people?" He didn't. Did you notice the difference? He said to the believing nations, ``You enter into the kingdom that was prepared for you." God prepared a kingdom for this people. But if they are not willing to enter the kingdom, there is only one other place to go, and that is to the Hell that was prepared for the Devil and his angels. Notice the difference---a kingdom for His people and Hell for the Devil and his angels.

May I say to you that Daniel had to deal with a man who usurped the place of God. Read Daniel, chapter 6, verse 12, when you have time; that is what this man Darius did. He usurped the place of God and said everybody had to pray to him and nobody else, just as certainly as Daniel had to deal with a man who had usurped the place of God.

When you have time, read II Thessalonians, chapter 2, and notice how the individual described there is perfectly represented by Darius the Mede in Daniel, chapter 6.

Just as certainly as Daniel was preserved from the den of lions, and was able to enter into a new kingdom---the kingdom of Cyrus---so the believing remnant in the end of the Tribulation, preserved from the den of lions, will be able to enter into a new kingdom---the millennial kingdom---the kingdom that the Lord Jesus Christ had in mind when He said, ``Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom" (Luke 12:32).

Turn with me, please, to Isaiah, chapter 35. Isaiah expresses this in a much better way than I can express it, I believe Isaiah, chapter 35 is one of the most beautiful portions of all the Word of God. Even if you did not know its prophetic significance, even if you did not know for sure its exact meaning, it is a beautiful portion of the Word. It measures up to any kind of literature anywhere, even if you discount the inspiration in which we believe.

As I read it with you, will you keep in mind that the smoke of the battle is over and all suffering has ceased. The new age has begun, and the Kingdom of God has come upon the earth. The thing that you have prayed for when you have prayed, ``Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in Heaven,`` will have transpired. We read:

This speaks for itself. But in the light of the theme of our discussion, I would like for you to look closely at verse 9. Verse 8 describes the highway, a way of holiness, to Zion, the capital city of our God. Talk about super highways today! Talk about freeways! Talk about turnpikes! The world has never seen anything like what it will see when the Lord Jesus Christ comes back to this earth to reign and He makes a highway across the face of the earth to the city of Jerusalem, which will be the capital of the Universe. It will be a way so plain that a wayfaring man, though he be a fool, won't need to make a mistake.

Did you ever get on one of these freeways and not be able to get off? I have. I've wondered why they built them that way, and then I decided that with all their intelligence, I must be the fool and not they. I'm glad that God is going to construct a super highway one of these days so that a fool like me will not have any trouble on it. ``The wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein."

Look at verse 9. I think this is exceedingly precious:

The believing remnant in the Tribulation will feel as though they are surrounded by lions and that they could cry out, ``Deliver me from the lions!" But when they have entered into the kingdom prepared for them before the foundation of the world, they will be able to walk with perfect liberty, and there will not be one lion that can hurt them.

I believe that God, in His wisdom and understanding and grace, spoke of lions in the book to remind us that the redeemed will not have anything to fear.