Daniel’s Devotion (Part 9)

Hello Friends!

Welcome Back! Let’s continue our study of “Daniel’s Devotion” from God’s Word…

Daniel’s Devotion (Part 9)

The passages in the 11th chapter of Daniel's prophecy have been referred to as a “double fulfillment prophecy” – a prophecy with a near time fulfillment and a future time fulfillment. Let’s take a look at them and see if we can make some sense of them.

First, the "King of the North" is defined as modern-day Syria. The "King of the South" also defined by Daniel is modern-day Egypt:

And when he has arisen, his kingdom shall be broken up and divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not among his posterity nor according to his dominion with which he ruled; for his kingdom shall be uprooted, even for others besides these. Also the king of the South shall become strong, as well as one of his princes; and he shall gain power over him and have dominion. His dominion shall be a great dominion. And at the end of some years they shall join forces, for the daughter of the king of the South shall go to the king of the North to make an agreement; but she shall not retain the power of her authority, and neither he nor his authority shall stand; but she shall be given up, with those who brought her, and with him who begot her, and with him who strengthened her in those times. But from a branch of her roots one shall arise in his place, who shall come with an army, enter the fortress of the king of the North, and deal with them and prevail – Daniel 11:4-7

Daniel also refers to the Grecian leader – Antiochas Epiphanes – who came to power 360 years after Daniel wrote these words! As it relates to the prophecy, the near time fulfillment of the prophecy would take place around 168-165 BC. Daniel “pre-wrote” history revealing that Antiochas would come to power and take control of Jerusalem with his mighty military force. Antiochas and his men would desecrate the Temple by slaughtering a "pig" – a non-kosher animal – on the "sacred altar" of the Jewish Temple. We know that Antiochas committed this blasphemous act on the Jewish date of Kislev 25, which corresponds to our calendar date of December 25^th – an actual pagan date coinciding with our traditional Christmas celebrations… This act of disgrace was performed in 168 BC.

Though it does not mention Antiochas Epiphanes by name, it describes this Grecian leader and all that he does in relationship to the Jews, Jerusalem and the Temple. Daniel details this incident as the "abomination of desolation":

And forces shall be mustered by him, and they shall defile the sanctuary fortress; then they shall take away the daily sacrifices, and place there the abomination of desolation – Daniel 11:31

Next Daniel reveals that "the people who know their God shall be strong and carry out “great exploits":

Those who do wickedly against the covenant he shall corrupt with flattery; but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits – Daniel 11:32

Daniel's prophecy about these people is describing a Jewish family known as the Macabees. A father and his sons, who would rise up against Antiochas and ultimately run the "madman" and his military force out of Jerusalem and the Temple. The Macabees did that on Kislev 25 – December 25^th – 165 BC, exactly three years to the day after Antiochas Epiphanes desecrated the Temple.

After restoring the Temple and re-consecrating the Jewish worship center, the Macabees found a "flask" of virgin olive oil, enough to light the seven-branched menorah for one day. However, it stayed lighted for eight days, thus the Jewish Holy Day of "Chanukah" – the "feast of dedication" – also known as the "feast of lights".

It is important to note that Jesus Christ also celebrated Chanukah as recorded by the Apostle John:

Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon’s porch – John 10:22-23

To this point in our reading for today we have been discussing "history" – the complete fulfillment of Daniel's prophecy which occurred in 168-165 BC:

And in his place shall arise a vile person, to whom they will not give the honor of royalty; but he shall come in peaceably, and seize the kingdom by intrigue. With the force of a flood they shall be swept away from before him and be broken, and also the prince of the covenant. And after the league is made with him he shall act deceitfully, for he shall come up and become strong with a small number of people. He shall enter peaceably, even into the richest places of the province; and he shall do what his fathers have not done, nor his forefathers: he shall disperse among them the plunder, spoil, and riches; and he shall devise his plans against the strongholds, but only for a time. He shall stir up his power and his courage against the king of the South with a great army. And the king of the South shall be stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army; but he shall not stand, for they shall devise plans against him. Yes, those who eat of the portion of his delicacies shall destroy him; his army shall be swept away, and many shall fall down slain. Both these kings’ hearts shall be bent on evil, and they shall speak lies at the same table; but it shall not prosper, for the end will still be at the appointed time. While returning to his land with great riches, his heart shall be moved against the holy covenant; so he shall do damage and return to his own land. At the appointed time he shall return and go toward the south; but it shall not be like the former or the latter. For ships from Cyprus shall come against him; therefore he shall be grieved, and return in rage against the holy covenant, and do damage. So he shall return and show regard for those who forsake the holy covenant.  And forces shall be mustered by him, and they shall defile the sanctuary fortress; then they shall take away the daily sacrifices, and place there the abomination of desolation. Those who do wickedly against the covenant he shall corrupt with flattery; but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits – Daniel 11:21-32

Daniel also reveals how the alignment of Arab and Islamic nations, led by Russia, will begin to make their way into Israel to destroy the Jewish state.

At the time of the end the king of the South shall attack him; and the king of the North shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter the countries, overwhelm them, and pass through – Daniel 11:40

Almost in concert, the two nations of Egypt and Syria will come "against him" – the “him” denoted here is the “Antichrist” himself. Why would the text say that Syria and Egypt are going to attack the “Antichrist?” The answer is that before both Arab nations move against Israel, the “Antichrist” will have "confirmed" a peace agreement “covenant with many” between Israel and her enemies. Therefore, to attack Israel is like attacking the “Antichrist” who has just guaranteed Israel's peace.

Then the Antichrist will rush back to Israel, go to the north and destroy Syria, then go south to take care of Egypt:

He shall also enter the Glorious Land, and many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall escape from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the prominent people of Ammon. He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. He shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; also the Libyans and Ethiopians shall follow at his heels – Daniel 11:41-43

At that time, all of the other nations aligned against Israel will attack as noted by the Prophet Ezekiel in chapter 38 of the Old Testament book titled in his name. This scenario described in prophecy seems to be coming near to being fulfilled both politically and militarily according to the daily reports that are coming out of the Middle East, not to mention the ongoing violence that is happening in both Syria and Egypt and the radical elements found in these two countries.

However, there is another event which will be known as the "abomination of desolation" that will happen in the future – during the Tribulation Period in which Daniel detailed earlier in our study. This is the prophecy that reveals the Temple in Jerusalem being desecrated at the mid-way point of the Tribulation:

Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; but in the middle of the week he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation, which is determined, is poured out on the desolate – Daniel 9:27

Jesus Christ also confirmed this prophecy in his Olivet Discourse described by in the Gospel of Matthew:

Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (whoever reads, let him understand) – Matthew 24:15

The prophecy of Daniel and the confirmation of this prophecy in the book of Matthew require a Jewish Temple to be built, on the Temple Mount, in Jerusalem for the fulfillment of the prophecy to occur. Of course, right now, there is not a Temple in Jerusalem but the Jews have all preparations for that Temple in place. They will erect the Temple right after the Rapture of the true Church – the Bride of Jesus Christ – which could happen at any moment. So, keep looking up!

Thank you for reading! Don’t miss next week’s continued investigation of Daniel’s Devotion…

May the Lord Jesus Christ continue to bless you with His perfect love, mercy and grace!

Keep looking up and sharing the Gospel while there is still time… Hallelujah and Maranatha – come quickly Lord Jesus!

Blessings!

Shane <><

Living Water

John 4:10

Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”

If you read the full chapter of John 4, you would understand that the Samaritan woman that Jesus was speaking to was truly confused to have him as her for a drink of water as the Jewish men would never talk to her, let alone ask her to give them water.  The Jews and Samaritans simply did not associate with one another. 

Jesus flips it and tells her that if she knew who he was, she would have been asking him for water.  The woman still confused replied that he had nothing to draw water with. 

Of course Jesus is not talking about the water from the well rather the living water of Christ. 

We are promised that if we drink the living water, that we will never thirst again.  Some would question this, why wouldn't we thirst for more of the living water, or Christ.  Simply because when you drink of the living water, it will become a spring of water welling up to inside you to eternal life.  We will have an endless fountain for ourselves therefore we will never thirst.

Do you have that spring of water welling up inside you?  If not, I invite you to drink of the living water.  

Stop! You're giving too much!

Last week we saw how God commanded the Israelites to give willingly to the work of building the tabernacle. They weren't forced to give, though. Well, look what happened!

Exodus 36:3-7 ³ They received from Moses all the offerings the Israelites had brought to carry out the work of constructing the sanctuary. And the people continued to bring freewill offerings morning after morning. ⁴ So all the skilled workers who were doing all the work on the sanctuary left what they were doing ⁵ and said to Moses, “The people are bringing more than enough for doing the work the Lord commanded to be done.”

⁶ Then Moses gave an order and they sent this word throughout the camp: “No man or woman is to make anything else as an offering for the sanctuary.” And so the people were restrained from bringing more, ⁷ because what they already had was more than enough to do all the work.

Wow! Can you imagine being told to stop giving??!! They were restrained from giving!!!

I'm a part of a ministry that holds Bible study classes all over the world. We have been studying Exodus this year, and next year we are adding a brand new Revelation study which has taken years to prayerfully put together. This summer, the head leader for each class (1200 in total) will meet in Dallas for a week of training before starting the Revelation classes in the fall. In order to cover the cost of renting out a convention center and hotels, there was a special fund setup. We could willingly designate gifts to this special project. However, we were just told to stop giving to that fund! The necessary funds were already more than enough to cover the rest of the expected expenses! God had moved in the hearts of generous class members all over the world to give more than enough and way ahead of schedule, just like the Israelites!

Where else could God be commanding you and me to give generously and willingly until He tells us to stop?

It could be giving money to church and other godly ministries.

It could be opening our home weekly to those who need a place to stay or a home-cooked meal.

It could be offering to regularly watch someone's children.

It could be sharing our lunch break.

Alice

The Greatest Love of All

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.  1 Corinthians 13:13

How can you have a great love with someone you have neither seen nor touched?  You just feel a connection to them. We have read many stories and lessons throughout the Bible, and marvel at the many wise and incredible people in it.  However, the truth is the main story of the Bible is about the most basic fundamental thing; love.  It is about God’s love for His people.  Yes, many of us fear the word and some people either misuse or overuse it.  But real love is God inspired, and it is by far the greatest love of all.  So, how can you know how great is the love God has for us?

The answer is for you to simply look at where you are today.  Yes, there are others who may be in a better situation or have more things, and there are people who may be more popular, have more distinguished titles, or even be more admired by others.  But you are here at this moment for a reason, and God desires for you to know how special and precious you are.  You matter to Him more than anyone or anything, and His love for you is your first true love.  It is unconditional, unlimited, and boundless.  When you are alone, you feel it, and when lost in the crowd, it is distinguished above all others.  Many do not understand it, and if you are like me, you might even feel you do not deserve it.  But it is there with every breath we take.  And it never ever fails!

Our lives as Christians have the simple foundation that we love God and our neighbors completely.  Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15:13)  Then, He laid His life out on the cross for all so that we could have eternal life.  That is how great a love God has for us. It’s a love that tells a woman without a child they can be a mother of thousands and a depressed teen dad that He can carry Him far beyond his circumstances.  No matter where you are in your journey, take a moment to feel the love God has for you.  Then, share it with others.  My prayer is that we acknowledge God’s love for us; the greatest love of all.  Amen.

Tues Devo: Restore My Roar, Part 1

Hello,

It has been quite a while since I have done a little series, but I thought I would start one this week. Today I begin a look through some of the events of Daniel’s life. With a nod to Detroit Lions fans, I will call this series “Restore My Roar” (I know Shane has been going through some things in Daniel - but I felt God wanted me to do this)

What intrigues me about Daniel is how many amazing stories of which he is the center. We think about all those big stories, amazing miracles of God – and then we tend to dis-connect ourselves from him. We feel like those things are far beyond what we could be, do, or partake in that it isn’t real to us. This causes us to miss an opportunity. What we will see as we go through Daniel is that it is merely his simple acts of faith and commitment to God that allow God to work miraculously through him.

We start early on. Daniel 1:3-16 –

“Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, the chief of his [d]officials, to bring in some of the sons of Israel, including some of the royal family and of the nobles, youths in whom was no defect, who were good-looking, showing intelligence in every branch of wisdom, endowed with understanding and discerning knowledge, and who had ability for serving in the king’s court; and he ordered him to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans. The king appointed for them a daily ration from the king’s choice food and from the wine which he drank, and appointed that they should be educated three years, at the end of which they were to enter the king’s personal service. Now among them from the sons of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. Then the commander of the officials assigned new names to them; and to Daniel he assigned the name Belteshazzar, to Hananiah Shadrach, to Mishael Meshach and to Azariah Abed-nego.

But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king’s choice food or with the wine which he drank; so he sought permission from the commander of the officials that he might not defile himself. Now God granted Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the commander of the officials, and the commander of the officials said to Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has appointed your food and your drink; for why should he see your faces looking more haggard than the youths who are your own age? Then you would make me forfeit my head to the king.” But Daniel said to the overseer whom the commander of the officials had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, “Please test your servants for ten days, and let us be given some vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then let our appearance be observed in your presence and the appearance of the youths who are eating the king’s choice food; and deal with your servants according to what you see.”

So he listened to them in this matter and tested them for ten days. At the end of ten days their appearance seemed better and they were fatter than all the youths who had been eating the king’s choice food. So the overseer continued to withhold their choice food and the wine they were to drink, and kept giving them vegetables.”

Daniel was not really given a choice about his diet, he was simply told what to eat. But he saw through that. He understood that whenever something is placed in front of him he needed to compare it against what God wanted – that was the choice. He made the choice to honor God with what he ate, obeying rather than indulging. He chose to allow confrontation for the sake of his relationship with God rather than to quietly do what others asked him to do. From here when pressed, he simply trusted that God knew best. If God said to just each vegetables, then that would be better than the meats and other foods put in front of him. Because of this he and his friends were found physically and mentally superior to others….others who had the same commandment, but did not chose to obey. This sets him up for the things to come, and finds him in a higher position.

Daniel didn’t do anything superhuman here – he just obeyed. He trusted that if he obeyed God would handle things. Do you want to restore your roar? It starts with obedience to God’s commands.

Have a blessed day,

Will

Will Hill