God calls his shots

Speaking of ways we know the Bible is true...

This morning I was in Theology 2 class with Rob Price, and we were talking about proper exegesis of the Old Testament. Invariably the subject of Old Testament pictures of Christ came up. I didn't want to say anything because I was so tired- and when I'm tired I usually don't make much sense. But after class I talked to Rob about Daniel in the lions' den. The story is clearly a picture of Christ. Daniel is unjustly sentenced to death and is put in the den, which is sealed with the king's seal. Early the next day the King runs to the den and the stone is rolled aside and Daniel is found alive because he was "found innocent in God's sight" (Daniel 6:22).

This was a type of the resurrection, because Daniel was received back from the dead.
Notice how the whole story mirrors Christ's resurrection. Early on the day of resurrection the stone (which had been sealed) is rolled aside and Christ is alive because he was found innocent in God's eyes. God had inspected the sacrifice and approved of the sacrificial atonement, and raised him from the dead. The joy of the disciples mirrors King Darius' joy.

"I've never heard that before! No one had ever told me that before," Rob said. You might be in the same position, and this is not a trivial matter. Do you realize what this means?? God proves his Word is true because he can predict the future from the past. Isaiah 46:9-10 says:

And do not forget the things I have done throughout history. For I am God-I alone! I am God, and there is no one else like me. Only I can tell you what is going to happen even before it happens. Everything I plan will come to pass, for I do whatever I wish.

The story of Daniel so clearly shows us the resurrection of Christ. It's such a case of God calling his shots before they happen so that later on, we can believe. No one could ever have predicted the events of Christ's death so clearly without knowing what would happen. The story of Daniel happened and was written 500+ years before Christ! Obviously God is real, because only God, being outside of time and knowing all of history, could have known in advance.