I.　According to the record in Daniel 7, Daniel saw a vision of God and His universal dominion and of the coming of the Son of Man to receive a kingdom:

A.　"I watched / Until thrones were set, / And the Ancient of Days sat down. / His clothing was like white snow, / And the hair of His head was like pure wool; / His throne was flames of fire, / Its wheels, burning fire. / A stream of fire issued forth / And came out from before Him. / Thousands of thousands ministered to Him, / And ten thousands often thousands stood before Him. / The court of judgment sat, / And the books were opened"—vv. 9-10:

1.　This is a vision of God and His universal dominion, with the fire signifying that God is absolutely righteous and altogether holy—Heb. 12:29.

2.　A special court, with God's throne as the center, has been set up in the universe to judge the four human empires—Dan. 7:2-10, 26.

3.　While the struggles are taking place between the human governments, God is behind the scene, managing the world situation—Rev. 4:1-3, 10-11.

B.　"There with the clouds of heaven / One like a Son of Man was coming; / And He came to the Ancient of Days, / And they brought Him near before Him. / And to Him was given dominion, glory, and a kingdom, / That all the peoples, nations, and languages might serve Him. / His dominion is an eternal dominion, which will not pass away; / And His kingdom is one that will not be destroyed"—Dan. 7:13-14:

1.　Concerning His judgment, God has given all power and authority to Jesus Christ as the Son of Man (John 5:22, 27); hence, Daniel 7:13 and 14 describe the coming of Christ as the Son of Man.

2.　The coming here is Christ's ascension after He accomplished the work of redemption—Acts 1:9; cf. Rev. 5:6-7:

a.　According to Daniel's vision, Christ accomplished redemption and immediately came to God in ascension to receive the kingdom.

b.　This is according to God's view, in which there is no time element—Dan. 7:13-14.

c.　Daniel did not see the mystery of the church, which was hidden from the ages and from the generations but has been revealed to the New Testament apostles and prophets—Eph. 3:3-11.

3.　In His ascension Christ as the Son of Man is before the throne of God to receive dominion and a kingdom—Dan. 7:13-14:

a.　After Christ as the Son of Man receives the kingdom from God, He will come back to rule over the entire world—Luke 19:12, 15.

b.　Christ's coming will terminate the entire human government on earth, and it will bring in the eternal kingdom of God—Dan. 2:34-35, 44; Rev. 12:10a; 11:15.

II.　Because a war is taking place in the spiritual world behind the physical world, there is the necessity of spiritual warfare, of fighting, to bring in the kingdom of God—Dan. 10:10— 11:1; Eph. 6:10-18; Rev. 12:10a; 11:15:

A.　"Your words were heard; and I have come because of your words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me for twenty-one days; but now Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me"—Dan. 10:12b-13a:

1.　For us to know God's economy, we need to see the spiritual things behind the physical things, the spiritual world behind the physical world—vv. 20-21.

2.　It is crucial for us to see that behind the physical scene a spiritual struggle, a struggle not seen with human eyes, is taking place—vv. 12-13, 20-21:

a.　Behind the physical scene, a spiritual struggle, an invisible spiritual war, is taking place—Eph. 6:10-20.

b.　The spiritual scene in Daniel 10 includes both good and evil spirits that are engaged in an invisible spiritual war—vv. 12-13, 20-21.

c.　While Daniel was praying for twenty-one days, a spiritual struggle was taking place in the air between two spirits, one belonging to Satan and the other belonging to God—9:3; 10:2-3, 12: 1) The angelic messenger had been fighting against the prince of the kingdom of Persia, probably an evil spirit, a rebellious angel, who followed Satan in his rebellion against God—v. 20a; Rev. 12:4a. 2) Michael, a prince fighting for Israel, fought together with the angelic messenger against the evil spirits—Dan. 10:13, 21.

d.　Isaiah 14:12-14 unveils Satan's kingdom of darkness and his oneness with the rulers of the nations.

e.　The vision in Revelation 12 unveils the true situation in the universe—the warfare between God and His enemy.

f.　In our spiritual fighting, we deal not with things that appear on the surface but with the power of darkness behind these things—Eph. 2:6; 6:12.

B.　The church must engage in spiritual warfare, fighting to bring in the kingdom of God— Matt. 12:28; Eph. 6:10-18; Rev. 12:10a; 11:15:

1.　"Your kingdom come; Your will be done, as in heaven, so also on earth"—Matt. 6:10:

a.　The coming of the kingdom is not automatic; if there is no prayer, the kingdom cannot come.

b.　Genuine prayer is a joint labor with God to bring His kingdom to the earth and to carry out His will on earth; hence, prayer is a spiritual battle—2 Cor. 10:4; Eph. 6:12.

2.　"Now has come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ"—Rev. 12:10:

a.　Along with our praying for the coming of the kingdom of God, we need to fight for it—Matt. 6:10; Eph. 6:10-18: 1) In order for the kingdom of the heavens to be established, there is the need of spiritual fighting—Matt. 12:22-29. 2) The responsibility of the church is to continue the warfare that Christ fought on earth; the church must continue the victorious work that Christ has carried out against Satan—Heb. 2:14; 1 John 3:8b; Col. 2:15; Psa. 149:5-9.

b.　The overcoming believers fight against Satan to usher in God's kingdom—Rev. 12:10-11.

3.　"The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever"—11:15:

a.　Spiritual warfare is the warfare between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan—Matt. 12:26, 28.

b.　The purpose of spiritual warfare is to bring in the kingdom of God—Rev. 12:10.

c.　The kingdom of God is the exercise of the divine will and the overthrowing of the power of Satan by the power of God—Matt. 6:10.

d.　Wherever the devil has been cast out and wherever the work of the enemy has been displaced by God's power, the kingdom of God is there—12:28; Rev. 12:7-10.

4.　"The kingdom and dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Most High; His kingdom is an eternal kingdom, and all the dominions will serve and obey Him"—Dan. 7:27, cf. v. 18.