788. Daniel prophesied that this church is going to supersede the churches that have existed since the world began, that it is going to last for ages of ages, and that it is going to be the crown of all the churches that have existed until now. The first time Daniel makes this prophecy is when he recounts and explains Nebuchadnezzar's dream to him. It concerned four kingdoms, which meant the four churches; these were represented in the form of the statue Nebuchadnezzar saw. The text says, "In the days of these [kings], the God of the heavens will cause a kingdom to arise, which will never be destroyed. It will consume all the other kingdoms, and it shall stand forever" (Daniel 2:44). Daniel says that this will be caused by "a stone that becomes a great rock and fills the whole earth" (Daniel 2:35). A rock in the Word means the Lord's divine truth.

The same prophet writes elsewhere:

I saw visions in the night, and behold, there was someone coming with the clouds of the heavens - someone like the Son of Humankind. He was given dominion, glory, and a kingdom. All peoples, nations, and tongues will worship him. His dominion is a dominion of an age that will not pass, and his kingdom is one that will not perish. (Daniel 7:13-14)

Daniel says this after having seen the four great beasts coming up out of the sea (Daniel 7:3). These beasts, too, represented the four former churches.

Both Daniel's own words (Daniel 7:4) and the Lord's (Matthew 24:15, 30) make it clear that Daniel's prophecies foretold what is happening at this very moment in time. Similar things are also said in the Book of Revelation:

The seventh angel sounded. Then great voices came from heaven saying, "The kingdoms of the world have become kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ages of ages. " (Revelation 11:15)

A "reward" in the Bible represents something that brings people together, or brings spiritual states together, and binds them. In the Bible, of course -- especially the New Testament -- we're told repeatedly to do what is good and right "without thought of reward." That's because removing the idea of a natural reward lets us be aware of spiritual rewards, which are actually intrinsic to the good that's being done. On a relatively low level, we feel delight in doing something nice and useful for someone else; that delight is a reward. The love that can exist between partners in a committed, loving marriage is a reward. The delight we feel when we truly want what is good and know how to create it is a reward. And ultimately, our conjunction with the Lord and the delight of His love and salvation is the deepest reward of all. These are the things meant when the Bible speaks of "rewards.