Daniel 11: 36-39
Gabriel is continuing to tell Daniel future events. Now that he's described the type in Antiochus Epiphanes, he will now describe the antitype (the fulfillment of the type) who will come in the Last Days.
(36) "Then the king will do as he pleases,
This man will not think he has to listen to anyone, not any government, not any court, not any god.
and he will exalt and magnify himself above every god
He will be his own god, worshiping himself, and set himself above everything else that is worshiped.
and will speak monstrous things against the God of gods;
Our God is the one he will need to disparage and slander the most, because He is the only one who is really God.
and he will prosper until the indignation is finished, for that which is decreed will be done.
He will only be allowed to continue for a limited time, because that is what God has decreed!
(37) "He will show no regard for the gods of his fathers
This megalomaniac has no respect for any of the idols, demons, or any god anyone ever worshiped before.
or for the desire of women,
Antiochus didn't care if any women liked him, as his cruelty toward all of his sexual partners showed. This future antichrist will also spurn women, and may even prefer the intimate relationships with other men instead.
nor will he show regard for any other god; for he will magnify himself above them all.
This world dictator will consider himself as greater than every other god, and God. He doesn't need any of them, he considers himself the greatest of all.
(38) But instead he will honor a god of fortresses, a god whom his fathers did not know; he will honor him with gold, silver, costly stones and treasures.
This god of fortresses is not any god worshiped before in the world, but one he considers a powerful aid to conquer strongholds. This could be a future new name for an old entity, our enemy, Satan himself, as his power will be coming from the dragon (see Revelation 13: 4).
(39) "He will take action against the strongest of fortresses with the help of a foreign god;
This foreign god is the new name he will have for that old enemy, and he will think that he has the power and authority to overpower every other power in the world.
he will give great honor to those who acknowledge him and will cause them to rule over the many, and will parcel out land for a price."
Of course he will honor those who worship him, and give them high positions over large districts and major cities, for personal profit--the consummate politician.
Next we will look at the final battles at the end of time.
O my Father, we are so close to the ending of Your great Plan of the Ages! Please give Your children, Your warriors, understanding when these final actions are taken, to recognize that You are working out Your will, and the time for our rewards is approaching!
My Father, strengthen us in Your strength, hold us securely in Your hand, and carry us safely into Your Kingdom of Light.
O Father, show us how to reach out to all the world, so that every living person can understand that You love them more than they can imagine! Let them discern and realize the wonderful, gracious, generous gift of Salvation that You offer to each one of all of Mankind. Enable every person to make an informed decision to accept or reject Your love.
Send us out, Father, to bring them in. To bring all of Your children to the New Birth into Your own family, to fill Your great house with Your uncountable family members, and surround Your grand Banquet Table with us all, to have everlasting sweet fellowship with You and one another through all eternity future!
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Christ, our Savior and Redeemer, the Lawgiver and Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come soon, Lord Jesus!
Monday, May 11, 2020
Sunday, May 10, 2020
The Contemptible Person
Daniel 11: 21-35
Gabriel is still telling Daniel what will take place in his future. These verses are about the career of the tyrannical oppressor who did his utmost to destroy the Jewish religion altogether. He previously appeared in 8: 9-12 as the sinister "little Horn" who will suspend the worship of God in the Jerusalem temple. Now he is introduced as a despicable tyrant ("contemptible person") who will shed much blood and enjoy power for a time.
(21) "In his place a despicable person will arise, on whom the honor of kingship has not been conferred, but he will come in a time of tranquility and seize the kingdom by intrigue.
This tyrant, who has not received "the honor of kingship" has come by intrigue. This is the second son of Antiochus the Great, the uncle of the rightful heir of the throne, Demetrius I, the young son of Seleucus IV, who was still being held hostage in Rome. So Antiochus IV weaseled his way into being appointed the prince regent. But his ambitions led him to secure approval to convert his regency into royalty and claim the throne for himself soon after 175 by promises of promotion and large favors. In other words, he bribed his way to the throne. (Since Demetrius was still in Rome, he was safe from assassination by his uncle's agents. And later on he was able to make good his claim on the throne, for he left Rome to lead an army against the son of Antiochus Epiphanes, Antiochus V Eupator, in 162.)
His title of "Epiphanes" ("the Illustrius One") also means "very evident" or "manifest." He had coins minted calling himself Epiphanes Theos, or "God Manifest."
Bearing in mind his role as a type of the antichrist, or "beast" of the Last Days (who appears in Chapter 7 as the "little horn" arising from the fourth kingdom), it becomes particularly meaningful to read of that future antitype in II Thessalonians 2: 3-4: "the man of lawlessness ... [who] opposes and exalts himself above everything that is called God and worshiped, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God." Not only did Antiochus enthrone himself for adoration by the Jews as he sat in the court of the desecrated Jerusalem temple in 168 B.C. but he also claimed divine honors for himself on every major coin that he minted.
(22) "The overflowing forces will be flooded away before him and shattered, and also the prince of the covenant.
This describes Antiochus Epiphanes' taking up the struggle with Ptolmaic Egypt. Ptolemy VII (Philometor) ascended the throne in 181 at the age of six, and his mother Cleopatra governed as queen regent until her death. After he assumed power, he determined to recapture the regions of Palestine and Phoenicia that had been lost to Antiochus III. His invasion met with early success, until he encountered a serious reverse and became a prisoner of Antiochus Epiphanes.
(23) "After an alliance is made with him he will practice deception, and he will go up and gain power with a small force of people.
The Egyptians gave up hope of regaining their king, and appointed his brother Physcon as king in his place. Then Epiphanes craftily intervened on behalf of his royal prisoner, and mounted an expeditionary force against Physcon to reestablish Philometor on the throne, now as Antiochus' ally rather than his adversary.
(24) "In a time of tranquility he will enter the richest parts of the realm, and he will accomplish what his fathers never did, nor his ancestors; he will distribute plunder, booty and possessions among them, and he will devise his schemes against strongholds, but only for a time.
He then made a treaty of friendship and alliance with Philometor aimed at obtaining a foothold in Egypt itself and ultimately uniting the two kingdoms under his own authority. His seriousness was attested by his coinage that bore the same types as the corresponding Ptolemaic coinage, but with "King Antiochus, God Manifest" instead of "Ptolemy the King."
The "richest parts of the realm" refers to more than Egypt itself, but also to the eastern provinces all the way to Bactria, where successful campaigns were conducted by Eucratides, Antiochus' general. In 166 Antiochus conducted a full-scale muster of his armies at Daphnae, just outside Antioch, in celebration of the tenth anniversary of his rule.
(25) "He will stir up his strength and courage against the king of the South with a large army; so the king of the South will mobilize an extremely large and mighty army for war; but he will not stand, for schemes will be devised against him.
The large Egyptian army did not succeed because of the schemes ... devised against him by Antiochus and his agents in Egypt.
(26) "Those who eat his choice food will destroy him, and his army will overflow, but many will fall down slain.
(27) "As for both kings, their hearts will be intent on evil, and they will speak lies to each other at the same table; but it will not succeed, for the end is still to come at the appointed time.
This probably refers to the banquet table as Antiochus and Philometer celebrated their victory and negotiated the peace treaty. Both kings were lying to each other, the end most likely being the permanent suspension of Antiochus' plan to annex Egypt to his domains.
(28) "Then he will return to his land with much plunder; but his heart will be set against the holy covenant, and he will take action and then return to his own land.
The action against the holy covenant spoken of here summarizes a whole lengthy time of political maneuvering of the office of the high priest, with Jason bribing the king to depose Onias III to install him, instead. Then Menelaus offered an even bigger bribe, so he got to be high priest, and started to sell off some of the sacred treasures to pay the bribe. Then Menelaus had Onias killed for protesting, and the people rose up to request the king to deal with Menelaus. But a courtier Menelaus had bribed persuaded Antiochus to act against the people instead, so he had the Jerusalem leaders put to death in Tyre, where the whole matter was being adjudicated (see II Maccabees 4: 30-50).
(29) "At the appointed time he will return and come into the South, but this last time it will not turn out the way it did before.
(30) "For ships of Kittim will come against him;
The last time Antiochus came against Egypt, the embattled Ptolemies requested Rome's assistance, and the Roman commander Popilius Laenas met Antiochus marshalling his hosts for a siege of Alexandria, and informed him that the Roman government ordered him to quit Egypt immediately or face the consequences of war with Rome. Remembering what had happened to his father at the Battle of Magnesia and also recalling his years as a young hostage in Roman captivity, it did not take Antiochus very long to give way before this mandate--especially after Popilius drew a circle around him with his staff and ordered him to make his decision before he stepped outside of it.
therefore he will be disheartened and will return and become enraged at the holy covenant and take action; so he will come back and show regard for those who forsake the holy covenant.
Humiliated and angry, he took out his wrath against the Jews at Jerusalem; Menelaus and his followers were the ones who forsake the holy covenant.
(31) "Forces from him will arise, desecrate the sanctuary fortress, and do away with the regular sacrifice. And they will set up the abomination of desolation.
This describes the momentous events of December 168. All the sacred vessels were removed from the temple, and the daily sacrifices were abolished. Whether they actually installed a statue of Jupiter or Zeus Olympias or not, 2 Maccabees 6: 2 states that the temple was renamed the Temple of Zeus Olympias; an adolatrous altar was formally consecrated there on 16 December (25 Chislev) 168 B.C. Thus the same type of desecration overtook the second temple as befell the first temple in the evil days of Ahaz (735-715) and Manasseh (695-642) when they too had set up an idolatrous altar (by Ahaz, II Kings 16: 10-16) and images of heathen gods (by Manasseh, II Kings 21: 3-5).
Note that Jesus's only explicit reference to "the prophet Daniel" as the writer of the Book of Daniel is in the Olivet Discourse (in Matthew 24: 15; Mark 13: 14). There He refers to "the abomination that causes desolation" (to bdelygma tes eremoseos) which is the exact wording of the LXX (the Septuagint, the earliest Greek translation of the Old Testament) for this verse. This phrase also recurs in 12: 11 of this book in an end-time context.
(32) "By smooth words he will turn to godlessness those who act wickedly toward the covenant,
Antiochus was a master in manipulating Jewish leaders who were divided in their loyalties.
but the people who know their God will display strength and take action.
(33) "Those who have insight among the people will give understanding to the many; yet they will fall by sword and by flame, by captivity and by plunder for many days.
A band of heroic patriots was stirred to action by a certain priest named Mattathias in the town of Modein. He was the father of the valiant Maccabees: Judas, Jonathan, and Simon, each of whom later became nasi yisrael ("prince of Israel") during the victorious war of independence against the Seleucid government. These patriots, sparked by the zeal of the Hasidim movement fulfilled the prediction, "they will firmly resist him (Epiphanes)."
During Antiochus' persecution, these leaders would preach to their fearful and intimidated countrymen a stirring message to trust in the promises and power of the Lord instead of bowing to the demands of the pagan tyrant who would turn them from the Living God. These "wise men" would teach and evangelize, to first get back to God and His ways, then to answer the call to arms and hazard their very lives for the liberation of their land from the yoke of their God-hating persecutor. Many would lose their lives and property.
Their uncompromising commitment to faithful adherence to the Mosaic covenant and Law resulted in the spiritual revival of the nation until the first coming of the Lord Jesus Messiah.
(34) "Now when they fall they will be granted a little help, and many will join with them in hypocrisy.
The little help refers to the small numbers of compatriots who joined them after the early successes of the original guerilla band. Then when the Hassidim began to round up those who had collaborated with the Seleucids and put them to death (I Maccabees 2: 42), and even those who had deserted Scriptural standards ("the lawless"), then goodly numbers of insincere followers attached themselves to the patriot cause (in hypocrisy), hoping to save their own skins.
(35) "Some of those who have insight will fall, in order to refine, purge and make them pure until the end time; because it is still to come at the appointed time."
The account of the Maccabean uprising concludes with a strong emphasis on the spiritual meaning of this heroic struggle for the survival of the nation of Israel. The cause of freedom was maintained through vicissitudes of defeat and success, until finally a strong Jewish kingdom was founded by John Hyrcanus, son of Simon Maccabaeus (135-105), and enlarged to its fullest extent by his warlike son Alexander Jannaeus (104-78 B.C.).
This verse ends the predictive material that applies to the Hellenistic empires and the contest between the Seleucids and the Jewish patriots.
The next section appears to apply to the antichrist of the End Time that is still future, even for us.
O my Father, You are so good! Thank you for revealing to us Your plans for the nations and Your people, all the way to the end of time itself. Help us to read and study with understanding and insight and discernment; to be prepared to face all the trials and tribulations that are still to come, and to respond appropriately.
Let us not be surprised or caught off-guard when what You have said would happen actually comes to pass. Father, show us when we are in the midst of whatever is surrounding us, to be able to recognize that it is what You have told us is coming. Enable us to help one another through all the times you will bring us through. Teach us to lean on You when we are weak. Show us how to depend on You when we come short. Strengthen our faith and trust in You as our Source and our Defender.
Grow us up as Your children, Father, and increase Your Kingdom using our hands and feet and words. We are Christ's body, to do His work in the world, to grow the Kingdom of God, intrinsically and extrinsically.
Send us out to every living person in every nation, to share with everyone how much You love us all, and want everybody to have a clear, informed choice to either accept or reject the gracious, generous gift You offer freely.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus is our Christ, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!
Gabriel is still telling Daniel what will take place in his future. These verses are about the career of the tyrannical oppressor who did his utmost to destroy the Jewish religion altogether. He previously appeared in 8: 9-12 as the sinister "little Horn" who will suspend the worship of God in the Jerusalem temple. Now he is introduced as a despicable tyrant ("contemptible person") who will shed much blood and enjoy power for a time.
(21) "In his place a despicable person will arise, on whom the honor of kingship has not been conferred, but he will come in a time of tranquility and seize the kingdom by intrigue.
This tyrant, who has not received "the honor of kingship" has come by intrigue. This is the second son of Antiochus the Great, the uncle of the rightful heir of the throne, Demetrius I, the young son of Seleucus IV, who was still being held hostage in Rome. So Antiochus IV weaseled his way into being appointed the prince regent. But his ambitions led him to secure approval to convert his regency into royalty and claim the throne for himself soon after 175 by promises of promotion and large favors. In other words, he bribed his way to the throne. (Since Demetrius was still in Rome, he was safe from assassination by his uncle's agents. And later on he was able to make good his claim on the throne, for he left Rome to lead an army against the son of Antiochus Epiphanes, Antiochus V Eupator, in 162.)
His title of "Epiphanes" ("the Illustrius One") also means "very evident" or "manifest." He had coins minted calling himself Epiphanes Theos, or "God Manifest."
Bearing in mind his role as a type of the antichrist, or "beast" of the Last Days (who appears in Chapter 7 as the "little horn" arising from the fourth kingdom), it becomes particularly meaningful to read of that future antitype in II Thessalonians 2: 3-4: "the man of lawlessness ... [who] opposes and exalts himself above everything that is called God and worshiped, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God." Not only did Antiochus enthrone himself for adoration by the Jews as he sat in the court of the desecrated Jerusalem temple in 168 B.C. but he also claimed divine honors for himself on every major coin that he minted.
(22) "The overflowing forces will be flooded away before him and shattered, and also the prince of the covenant.
This describes Antiochus Epiphanes' taking up the struggle with Ptolmaic Egypt. Ptolemy VII (Philometor) ascended the throne in 181 at the age of six, and his mother Cleopatra governed as queen regent until her death. After he assumed power, he determined to recapture the regions of Palestine and Phoenicia that had been lost to Antiochus III. His invasion met with early success, until he encountered a serious reverse and became a prisoner of Antiochus Epiphanes.
(23) "After an alliance is made with him he will practice deception, and he will go up and gain power with a small force of people.
The Egyptians gave up hope of regaining their king, and appointed his brother Physcon as king in his place. Then Epiphanes craftily intervened on behalf of his royal prisoner, and mounted an expeditionary force against Physcon to reestablish Philometor on the throne, now as Antiochus' ally rather than his adversary.
(24) "In a time of tranquility he will enter the richest parts of the realm, and he will accomplish what his fathers never did, nor his ancestors; he will distribute plunder, booty and possessions among them, and he will devise his schemes against strongholds, but only for a time.
He then made a treaty of friendship and alliance with Philometor aimed at obtaining a foothold in Egypt itself and ultimately uniting the two kingdoms under his own authority. His seriousness was attested by his coinage that bore the same types as the corresponding Ptolemaic coinage, but with "King Antiochus, God Manifest" instead of "Ptolemy the King."
The "richest parts of the realm" refers to more than Egypt itself, but also to the eastern provinces all the way to Bactria, where successful campaigns were conducted by Eucratides, Antiochus' general. In 166 Antiochus conducted a full-scale muster of his armies at Daphnae, just outside Antioch, in celebration of the tenth anniversary of his rule.
(25) "He will stir up his strength and courage against the king of the South with a large army; so the king of the South will mobilize an extremely large and mighty army for war; but he will not stand, for schemes will be devised against him.
The large Egyptian army did not succeed because of the schemes ... devised against him by Antiochus and his agents in Egypt.
(26) "Those who eat his choice food will destroy him, and his army will overflow, but many will fall down slain.
(27) "As for both kings, their hearts will be intent on evil, and they will speak lies to each other at the same table; but it will not succeed, for the end is still to come at the appointed time.
This probably refers to the banquet table as Antiochus and Philometer celebrated their victory and negotiated the peace treaty. Both kings were lying to each other, the end most likely being the permanent suspension of Antiochus' plan to annex Egypt to his domains.
(28) "Then he will return to his land with much plunder; but his heart will be set against the holy covenant, and he will take action and then return to his own land.
The action against the holy covenant spoken of here summarizes a whole lengthy time of political maneuvering of the office of the high priest, with Jason bribing the king to depose Onias III to install him, instead. Then Menelaus offered an even bigger bribe, so he got to be high priest, and started to sell off some of the sacred treasures to pay the bribe. Then Menelaus had Onias killed for protesting, and the people rose up to request the king to deal with Menelaus. But a courtier Menelaus had bribed persuaded Antiochus to act against the people instead, so he had the Jerusalem leaders put to death in Tyre, where the whole matter was being adjudicated (see II Maccabees 4: 30-50).
(29) "At the appointed time he will return and come into the South, but this last time it will not turn out the way it did before.
(30) "For ships of Kittim will come against him;
The last time Antiochus came against Egypt, the embattled Ptolemies requested Rome's assistance, and the Roman commander Popilius Laenas met Antiochus marshalling his hosts for a siege of Alexandria, and informed him that the Roman government ordered him to quit Egypt immediately or face the consequences of war with Rome. Remembering what had happened to his father at the Battle of Magnesia and also recalling his years as a young hostage in Roman captivity, it did not take Antiochus very long to give way before this mandate--especially after Popilius drew a circle around him with his staff and ordered him to make his decision before he stepped outside of it.
therefore he will be disheartened and will return and become enraged at the holy covenant and take action; so he will come back and show regard for those who forsake the holy covenant.
Humiliated and angry, he took out his wrath against the Jews at Jerusalem; Menelaus and his followers were the ones who forsake the holy covenant.
(31) "Forces from him will arise, desecrate the sanctuary fortress, and do away with the regular sacrifice. And they will set up the abomination of desolation.
This describes the momentous events of December 168. All the sacred vessels were removed from the temple, and the daily sacrifices were abolished. Whether they actually installed a statue of Jupiter or Zeus Olympias or not, 2 Maccabees 6: 2 states that the temple was renamed the Temple of Zeus Olympias; an adolatrous altar was formally consecrated there on 16 December (25 Chislev) 168 B.C. Thus the same type of desecration overtook the second temple as befell the first temple in the evil days of Ahaz (735-715) and Manasseh (695-642) when they too had set up an idolatrous altar (by Ahaz, II Kings 16: 10-16) and images of heathen gods (by Manasseh, II Kings 21: 3-5).
Note that Jesus's only explicit reference to "the prophet Daniel" as the writer of the Book of Daniel is in the Olivet Discourse (in Matthew 24: 15; Mark 13: 14). There He refers to "the abomination that causes desolation" (to bdelygma tes eremoseos) which is the exact wording of the LXX (the Septuagint, the earliest Greek translation of the Old Testament) for this verse. This phrase also recurs in 12: 11 of this book in an end-time context.
(32) "By smooth words he will turn to godlessness those who act wickedly toward the covenant,
Antiochus was a master in manipulating Jewish leaders who were divided in their loyalties.
but the people who know their God will display strength and take action.
(33) "Those who have insight among the people will give understanding to the many; yet they will fall by sword and by flame, by captivity and by plunder for many days.
A band of heroic patriots was stirred to action by a certain priest named Mattathias in the town of Modein. He was the father of the valiant Maccabees: Judas, Jonathan, and Simon, each of whom later became nasi yisrael ("prince of Israel") during the victorious war of independence against the Seleucid government. These patriots, sparked by the zeal of the Hasidim movement fulfilled the prediction, "they will firmly resist him (Epiphanes)."
During Antiochus' persecution, these leaders would preach to their fearful and intimidated countrymen a stirring message to trust in the promises and power of the Lord instead of bowing to the demands of the pagan tyrant who would turn them from the Living God. These "wise men" would teach and evangelize, to first get back to God and His ways, then to answer the call to arms and hazard their very lives for the liberation of their land from the yoke of their God-hating persecutor. Many would lose their lives and property.
Their uncompromising commitment to faithful adherence to the Mosaic covenant and Law resulted in the spiritual revival of the nation until the first coming of the Lord Jesus Messiah.
(34) "Now when they fall they will be granted a little help, and many will join with them in hypocrisy.
The little help refers to the small numbers of compatriots who joined them after the early successes of the original guerilla band. Then when the Hassidim began to round up those who had collaborated with the Seleucids and put them to death (I Maccabees 2: 42), and even those who had deserted Scriptural standards ("the lawless"), then goodly numbers of insincere followers attached themselves to the patriot cause (in hypocrisy), hoping to save their own skins.
(35) "Some of those who have insight will fall, in order to refine, purge and make them pure until the end time; because it is still to come at the appointed time."
The account of the Maccabean uprising concludes with a strong emphasis on the spiritual meaning of this heroic struggle for the survival of the nation of Israel. The cause of freedom was maintained through vicissitudes of defeat and success, until finally a strong Jewish kingdom was founded by John Hyrcanus, son of Simon Maccabaeus (135-105), and enlarged to its fullest extent by his warlike son Alexander Jannaeus (104-78 B.C.).
This verse ends the predictive material that applies to the Hellenistic empires and the contest between the Seleucids and the Jewish patriots.
The next section appears to apply to the antichrist of the End Time that is still future, even for us.
O my Father, You are so good! Thank you for revealing to us Your plans for the nations and Your people, all the way to the end of time itself. Help us to read and study with understanding and insight and discernment; to be prepared to face all the trials and tribulations that are still to come, and to respond appropriately.
Let us not be surprised or caught off-guard when what You have said would happen actually comes to pass. Father, show us when we are in the midst of whatever is surrounding us, to be able to recognize that it is what You have told us is coming. Enable us to help one another through all the times you will bring us through. Teach us to lean on You when we are weak. Show us how to depend on You when we come short. Strengthen our faith and trust in You as our Source and our Defender.
Grow us up as Your children, Father, and increase Your Kingdom using our hands and feet and words. We are Christ's body, to do His work in the world, to grow the Kingdom of God, intrinsically and extrinsically.
Send us out to every living person in every nation, to share with everyone how much You love us all, and want everybody to have a clear, informed choice to either accept or reject the gracious, generous gift You offer freely.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus is our Christ, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!
Saturday, May 9, 2020
More History Accurately Foretold
Daniel 11: 10-20
Gabriel is telling Daniel the future history of the world powers who affect Israel, and we just heard about the struggle between Seleucus II (the king of the North) and Ptolemy III of Egypt (the king in the South).
(10) "His sons will mobilize and assemble a multitude of great forces;
Seleucus (Callinicus) died in 226 and his son Seleucus III (Soter) only reigned for three years; then his other son was Antiochus III, who came to the throne in 223, and he was called "the Great" because of his military successes.
and one of them will keep on coming and overflow and pass through, that he may again wage war up to his very fortress.
Antiochus III launched an expedition against Phoenicia and Palestine in 219-218.
(11) "The king of the South will be enraged and go forth and fight with the king of the North. Then the latter will raise a great multitude, but with that multitude be given into the hand of the former.
Antiochus is penetrating deeper into Egyptian territories, which enraged Ptolemy IV; and defeated him at Raphia.
(12) "When the multitude is carried away, his heart will be lifted up, and he will cause tens of thousands to fall; yet he will not prevail.
In the peace that followed, Antiochus III was compelled to cede all Phoenicia and Palestine back to Ptolemy IV and leave him undisturbed possession of them for the time.
During the following years, Antiochus attained his most brilliant successes in subduing and subjugating the rebellious provinces in the Middle East all the way to the Caspian Sea in the North and the Indus River on the east.
(13) "For the king of the North will again raise a greater multitude than the former, and after an interval of some years he will press on with a great army and much equipment.
Finally in 203 Antiochus saw his opportunity to strike Egypt again, because Ptolemy IV died leaving his son Ptolemy V (Epiphanes) on the throne, who was still a small boy of four.
(14) "Now in those times many will rise up against the king of the South; the violent ones among your people will also lift themselves up in order to fulfill the vision, but they will fall down.
The violent ones among your people were the pro-Seleucid Jews, who launched a counter-offensive under General Scopas of the Egyptian forces, who had punished the leaders in Jerusalem and Judah who were of the "wrong" political persuasion. But soon the war swept down from the North and Scopas met with severe loss at the Battle of Panium in 200 B.C. From there he retreated to Sidon, on the Phoenician coast.
(15) "Then the king of the North will come, cast up a siege ramp and capture a well-fortified city; and the forces of the South will not stand their ground, not even their choicest troops, for there will be no strength to make a stand.
But then Antiochus III laid siege to well-fortified Sidon, and even their best troops could not withstand him.
(16) "But he who comes against him will do as he pleases, and no one will be able to withstand him; he will also stay for a time in the Beautiful Land, with destruction in his hand.
When Scopus finally surrendered to Antiochus III, the Holy Land was permanently acquired by the Antioch government. Antiochus did not pursue a general policy of destruction, he simply exacted reprisals from the pro-Egyptian party leaders he was able to capture. On his entrance into Jerusalem in 198 B.C. he was welcomed as a deliverer and benefactor.
(17) "He will set his face to come with the power of his whole kingdom, bringing with him a proposal of peace which he will put into effect; he will also give him the daughter of women to ruin it. But she will not take a stand for him or be on his side.
Antiochus gave his daughter Cleopatra to the boy king Ptolemy V who in 197 was no more than ten years old, expecting that she would bring Egypt into strong pro-Seleucid policies. Then should she produce a son, he would become legal heir to both crowns.
As it turned out, however, after the marriage finally took place in 195, Cleopatra became completely sympathetic to her husband and his cause, and when she gave birth to a royal heir, who became Ptolemy VI, it gave no advantage or political leverage to her father, Antiochus. When Ptolemy V died in 181, Cleopatra was appointed queen regent by the Egyptian government because they all loved and appreciated her loyalty to their cause.
(18) "Then he will turn his face to the coastlands and capture many. But a commander will put a stop to his scorn against him; moreover, he will repay him for his scorn.
Meanwhile, Antiochus the Great continued to advance to the coastlands of Pergamum and Rhodes, and in 196, after capturing several cities in Aeolis and Ionia, he crossed the Hellespont and the Agean with his powerful navy and conquered considerable territory in Thrace.
Finally Rome jumped into the fray, and they joined their Greek allies to overcome the Seleucid command post at Thermopylae. Antiochus withdrew to Asia Minor in 191, and during the winter of 190-189, the Roman troops followed him across to Asia, and finally met him in a pitched battle at Magnesia, west of Sardis. Although Antiochus had an army of seventy thousand, he was badly defeated by the Roman force of only thirty thousand, which put a stop to his scorn.
The commander was none other than Lucius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus, the brother of the Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus, who had brilliantly defeated Hannibal at the Battle of Zama back in 202. This commander exacted severe peace terms, including surrendering twenty selected hostages, one of which was his own second son, who was named after him; he was taken to Rome, where he spent the formative years of his life. This "repaid him for his scorn." This boy grew up to be the dreaded persecutor of the Jews, Antiochus Epiphanes.
(19) "So he will turn his face toward the fortresses of his own land, but he will stumble and fall and be found no more.
The end of the career of Antiochus the Great is indicated here. He went back home, but, unable to pay his bills, he was reduced to robbing the temple of Bel in Elymais. But he was overcome by the incensed local inhabitants who succeeded in killing him and defending their temple.
(20) "Then in his place one will arise who will send an oppressor through the Jewel of his kingdom; yet within a few days he will be shattered, though not in anger nor in battle."
This verse sums up the uneventful reign of the elder son of Antiochus, Seleucus IV (Philopetor). The oppressor or tax-collector he sent was his special fund-raiser, Heliodorus, who he sent to plunder the temple of the Lord at Jerusalem. According to 2 Maccabees 3: 7-40, only a frightful vision of mighty angels assaulting and flogging him prevented him from accomplishing his mission, and he returned home empty-handed. Seleucus IV met an untimely end by poison administered by Heliodorus.
Next, we'll look at Antiochus's other son, who succeeded his brother.
O my Father, You knew all these people before they were born. You knew what they would do, and how You would use them to advance human history along the lines You wanted, so that we would recognize Your hand in it all.
Father God, You set up kings and princes, commanders and soldiers, merchants and paupers. You know each one of us, and You place us where You want to use us. And You move us around to interact with one another in ways that benefit one another, as Your children.
O Father, send us out into the world to share with everyone how much You love us. Father, You made the human race to be Your children, and gave us the choice to love You back. When we turn to You honestly and whole-heartedly, You have promised to meet with us, and to draw us into Your household. Please show Yourself to my loved ones, who have yet to humble themselves before You in repentance and faith. Draw them to Yourself, and show them who You are, so they will realize Your greatness and goodness and graciousness to have already met all their needs.
And Father, use us as Your hands and feet, to share with every living person Your wonderful Plan of Salvation. Enable us to communicate clearly how much You love each one of us. Let us find them, rescue them, even pull them from the fires of hell! Bring all of Your children to the birth into Your family, Father.
And fill Your great house with Your uncountable family members. Surround Your grand Banquet Table with all Your children, to enjoy sweet fellowship with You and with one another, forever.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus is our Christ, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!
Gabriel is telling Daniel the future history of the world powers who affect Israel, and we just heard about the struggle between Seleucus II (the king of the North) and Ptolemy III of Egypt (the king in the South).
(10) "His sons will mobilize and assemble a multitude of great forces;
Seleucus (Callinicus) died in 226 and his son Seleucus III (Soter) only reigned for three years; then his other son was Antiochus III, who came to the throne in 223, and he was called "the Great" because of his military successes.
and one of them will keep on coming and overflow and pass through, that he may again wage war up to his very fortress.
Antiochus III launched an expedition against Phoenicia and Palestine in 219-218.
(11) "The king of the South will be enraged and go forth and fight with the king of the North. Then the latter will raise a great multitude, but with that multitude be given into the hand of the former.
Antiochus is penetrating deeper into Egyptian territories, which enraged Ptolemy IV; and defeated him at Raphia.
(12) "When the multitude is carried away, his heart will be lifted up, and he will cause tens of thousands to fall; yet he will not prevail.
In the peace that followed, Antiochus III was compelled to cede all Phoenicia and Palestine back to Ptolemy IV and leave him undisturbed possession of them for the time.
During the following years, Antiochus attained his most brilliant successes in subduing and subjugating the rebellious provinces in the Middle East all the way to the Caspian Sea in the North and the Indus River on the east.
(13) "For the king of the North will again raise a greater multitude than the former, and after an interval of some years he will press on with a great army and much equipment.
Finally in 203 Antiochus saw his opportunity to strike Egypt again, because Ptolemy IV died leaving his son Ptolemy V (Epiphanes) on the throne, who was still a small boy of four.
(14) "Now in those times many will rise up against the king of the South; the violent ones among your people will also lift themselves up in order to fulfill the vision, but they will fall down.
The violent ones among your people were the pro-Seleucid Jews, who launched a counter-offensive under General Scopas of the Egyptian forces, who had punished the leaders in Jerusalem and Judah who were of the "wrong" political persuasion. But soon the war swept down from the North and Scopas met with severe loss at the Battle of Panium in 200 B.C. From there he retreated to Sidon, on the Phoenician coast.
(15) "Then the king of the North will come, cast up a siege ramp and capture a well-fortified city; and the forces of the South will not stand their ground, not even their choicest troops, for there will be no strength to make a stand.
But then Antiochus III laid siege to well-fortified Sidon, and even their best troops could not withstand him.
(16) "But he who comes against him will do as he pleases, and no one will be able to withstand him; he will also stay for a time in the Beautiful Land, with destruction in his hand.
When Scopus finally surrendered to Antiochus III, the Holy Land was permanently acquired by the Antioch government. Antiochus did not pursue a general policy of destruction, he simply exacted reprisals from the pro-Egyptian party leaders he was able to capture. On his entrance into Jerusalem in 198 B.C. he was welcomed as a deliverer and benefactor.
(17) "He will set his face to come with the power of his whole kingdom, bringing with him a proposal of peace which he will put into effect; he will also give him the daughter of women to ruin it. But she will not take a stand for him or be on his side.
Antiochus gave his daughter Cleopatra to the boy king Ptolemy V who in 197 was no more than ten years old, expecting that she would bring Egypt into strong pro-Seleucid policies. Then should she produce a son, he would become legal heir to both crowns.
As it turned out, however, after the marriage finally took place in 195, Cleopatra became completely sympathetic to her husband and his cause, and when she gave birth to a royal heir, who became Ptolemy VI, it gave no advantage or political leverage to her father, Antiochus. When Ptolemy V died in 181, Cleopatra was appointed queen regent by the Egyptian government because they all loved and appreciated her loyalty to their cause.
(18) "Then he will turn his face to the coastlands and capture many. But a commander will put a stop to his scorn against him; moreover, he will repay him for his scorn.
Meanwhile, Antiochus the Great continued to advance to the coastlands of Pergamum and Rhodes, and in 196, after capturing several cities in Aeolis and Ionia, he crossed the Hellespont and the Agean with his powerful navy and conquered considerable territory in Thrace.
Finally Rome jumped into the fray, and they joined their Greek allies to overcome the Seleucid command post at Thermopylae. Antiochus withdrew to Asia Minor in 191, and during the winter of 190-189, the Roman troops followed him across to Asia, and finally met him in a pitched battle at Magnesia, west of Sardis. Although Antiochus had an army of seventy thousand, he was badly defeated by the Roman force of only thirty thousand, which put a stop to his scorn.
The commander was none other than Lucius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus, the brother of the Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus, who had brilliantly defeated Hannibal at the Battle of Zama back in 202. This commander exacted severe peace terms, including surrendering twenty selected hostages, one of which was his own second son, who was named after him; he was taken to Rome, where he spent the formative years of his life. This "repaid him for his scorn." This boy grew up to be the dreaded persecutor of the Jews, Antiochus Epiphanes.
(19) "So he will turn his face toward the fortresses of his own land, but he will stumble and fall and be found no more.
The end of the career of Antiochus the Great is indicated here. He went back home, but, unable to pay his bills, he was reduced to robbing the temple of Bel in Elymais. But he was overcome by the incensed local inhabitants who succeeded in killing him and defending their temple.
(20) "Then in his place one will arise who will send an oppressor through the Jewel of his kingdom; yet within a few days he will be shattered, though not in anger nor in battle."
This verse sums up the uneventful reign of the elder son of Antiochus, Seleucus IV (Philopetor). The oppressor or tax-collector he sent was his special fund-raiser, Heliodorus, who he sent to plunder the temple of the Lord at Jerusalem. According to 2 Maccabees 3: 7-40, only a frightful vision of mighty angels assaulting and flogging him prevented him from accomplishing his mission, and he returned home empty-handed. Seleucus IV met an untimely end by poison administered by Heliodorus.
Next, we'll look at Antiochus's other son, who succeeded his brother.
O my Father, You knew all these people before they were born. You knew what they would do, and how You would use them to advance human history along the lines You wanted, so that we would recognize Your hand in it all.
Father God, You set up kings and princes, commanders and soldiers, merchants and paupers. You know each one of us, and You place us where You want to use us. And You move us around to interact with one another in ways that benefit one another, as Your children.
O Father, send us out into the world to share with everyone how much You love us. Father, You made the human race to be Your children, and gave us the choice to love You back. When we turn to You honestly and whole-heartedly, You have promised to meet with us, and to draw us into Your household. Please show Yourself to my loved ones, who have yet to humble themselves before You in repentance and faith. Draw them to Yourself, and show them who You are, so they will realize Your greatness and goodness and graciousness to have already met all their needs.
And Father, use us as Your hands and feet, to share with every living person Your wonderful Plan of Salvation. Enable us to communicate clearly how much You love each one of us. Let us find them, rescue them, even pull them from the fires of hell! Bring all of Your children to the birth into Your family, Father.
And fill Your great house with Your uncountable family members. Surround Your grand Banquet Table with all Your children, to enjoy sweet fellowship with You and with one another, forever.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus is our Christ, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!
Friday, May 8, 2020
Detailed History Before It Happened
Daniel 11: 2-9
This begins quite a long and detailed telling of all the future history of the world as it pertains to Israel from Daniel's time. It is most remarkable that we can point to historical records that reveal the accuracy of what Gabriel told Daniel hundreds of years ahead of the time they would happen.
(2) "And now I will tell you the truth. Behold, three more kings are going to arise in Persia.
The three kings after Cyrus, who was on the throne at the time Gabriel was talking with Daniel, were: (first) Cambyses, Cyrus's elder son (529-523) who conquered Egypt; then (second) an imposter named Gaumata or Bardiya (523-522), who passed himself off as Cyrus's younger son, Smerdis, who had been murdered; and (third) Darius the Persian (522-485), the son of Hystaspes, who in 522 assassinated the imposter and gained the kingship for himself. This Darius was actually of royal blood, a cousin of Cyrus through his father, Hystaspes.
Then a fourth will gain far more riches than all of them; as soon as he becomes strong through his riches, he will arouse the whole empire against the realm of Greece.
This was Darius's son Xerxes (485-464), who is the one who invaded Greece.
(3) "And a mighty king will arise, and he will rule with great authority and do as he pleases.
This is, of course, Alexander the Great.
(4) "But as soon as he has arisen, his kingdom will be broken up and parceled out toward the four points of the compass, though not to his own descendants, nor according to his authority which he wielded, for his sovereignty will be uprooted and given to others besides them.
Because of his early death and having no heir, his kingdom was divided up among his four generals.
(5) "Then the king of the South will grow strong,
This is Ptolemy I (Soter), son of Lagus. During the 280 years between Ptolemy I and Cleopatra VII (who met her end around 30 B.C.) the domain of the Ptolemies was pretty well restricted to Egypt and Cyprus.
along with one of his princes who will gain ascendancy over him and obtain dominion;
This one of his princes was Seleucus Nicator. With Ptolemy's sponsorship, 310 became the official starting date for the Selucid Era.
his domain will be a great dominion indeed.
Since Seleucus secured control of Alexander's old domains all the way to the Indus on the east and to Syria and Phoenicia on the west, his authority far surpassed that of his sponsor, Ptolemy.
(6) "After some years they will form an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the South will come to the king of the North to carry out a peaceful arrangement.
In 252 Ptolemy II (Philadelphus) made a treaty with Antiochus II (Theos) who agreed to marry Philadelphus's daughter, Berenice, but he was already married to Laodice!
But she will not retain her position of power, nor will he remain with his power, but she will be given up, along with those who brought her in and the one who sired her as well as he who supported her in those times.
Laodice was a powerful and influential woman who, from her place of banishment, arranged for Berenice and her infant son she'd borne to Theos to be assassinated, and not long after the king himself was poisoned to death (247 B.C.). So Berenice was given up and did not retain her ... power, nor did he remain with his power when they both died, and Laodice ruled as queen regent until her young son, Seleucus II (Callinicus), reached majority.
(7) "But one of the descendants of her line
This would be Ptolemy III (Euergetes), Berenice's brother, who took the throne upon his father's death (247).
will arise in his place, and he will come against their army and enter the fortress of the king of the North, and he will deal with them and display great strength.
He organized a great expeditionary force against Syria to avenge his sister's death, and the war raged from 246 to 241. Ptolemy captured and pillaged the Seleucid city of Antioch and invaded its eastern domains as far as Bactria.
(8) "Also their gods with their metal images and their precious vessels of silver and gold he will take into captivity to Egypt,
Finally he returned to Egypt laden with spoil, the gods with their metal images and their precious vessels of silver and gold, recovering the long-lost idols and sacred treasures that Cambyses had taken as booty in 524. For this restoration of their national honor against the Persians they acclaimed him as Euergetes ("Benefactor").
and he on his part will refrain from attacking the king of the North for some years.
This alludes to the peace treaty that Ptolemy III made with Seleucus II in 240.
(9) "Then the latter will enter the realm of the king of the South, but will return to his own land."
This refers to Seleucus II coming into northern Syria and Phoenicia, probably in the 230s, but there's no record that he entered into Egypt proper.
We will pause here and continue this prophesy next time.
God planned out everything that would happen, before He ever made anything at all. Before time began, God decided what He would do, how He would do it, and how it would finish.
Like a video game designer thinks up a game, the scenario it would be played on, the characters the players will deal with, and all the moves and plays that would be necessary to win and finish the game. This is a poor illustration, but I think that we can design these games using the creativity God placed in us when He made us in His image, after His likeness.
He is our Creator, and He has designed this Earth to be our environment to build our world upon. We have only one Earth, and we are responsible to take care of it as our home while we live here.
And He has given us everything we need, right here in and on this planet. He knows how He designed it all to work properly, for the Earth to yield its bounty and treasures to us as we work it according to the Manufacturer's Instructions. It's when we put aside the rule book and think that we can figure out a better idea that we get into trouble.
So God lets us experience the consequences of our decisions and choices, and when we come up short, it's because He wants us to turn to Him and His ways.
God has shown us His heart in His songbook, the Psalms. And He's shown us how to get along with one another in Proverbs. He's shown us the joys and rapture of marriage in the Song of Solomon. And He's laid out the requirements for correcting what's wrong and making it right in all the laws, rules, commandments, sacrifices, regulations, precepts, and other writings. He's shown us how others who have gone before us fared for good or ill as a result of their choices, to show us what we need to know to live.
Now it's up to us to learn what He's told us, and live accordingly.
O my Father, You are so good! And You are so good to us! We stumble and wander and lose the way to light and life, and many wonder why they are in such darkness. But Your light shines upon all who will call on You in humility and repentance. You are waiting with arms wide open for each of us to come to the end of ourselves and turn to You.
O Father, send out Your messengers, Your missionaries, Your children, to broadcast to the whole world how much You love each one of us. You have already done everything possible and impossible to cleanse away our filthiness to make us fit to be in Your presence. And You have called us to new birth into Your own divine family.
Father, you created Mankind to be Your children, and you are not willing for any of us to perish, but for all to come to repentance. That's why You sent Your own Son to be our Savior and Redeemer. And He is coming again, returning to this Earth to claim His throne and set up His Kingdom. And His rule will never end.
All the kings of the world can only reign for one lifetime, then their throne is passed on to the next. But King Jesus will not ever hand over His throne to any other, He will reign for ever, and His Kingdom will continue to grow forever, too.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Christ, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come soon, Lord Jesus!
This begins quite a long and detailed telling of all the future history of the world as it pertains to Israel from Daniel's time. It is most remarkable that we can point to historical records that reveal the accuracy of what Gabriel told Daniel hundreds of years ahead of the time they would happen.
(2) "And now I will tell you the truth. Behold, three more kings are going to arise in Persia.
The three kings after Cyrus, who was on the throne at the time Gabriel was talking with Daniel, were: (first) Cambyses, Cyrus's elder son (529-523) who conquered Egypt; then (second) an imposter named Gaumata or Bardiya (523-522), who passed himself off as Cyrus's younger son, Smerdis, who had been murdered; and (third) Darius the Persian (522-485), the son of Hystaspes, who in 522 assassinated the imposter and gained the kingship for himself. This Darius was actually of royal blood, a cousin of Cyrus through his father, Hystaspes.
Then a fourth will gain far more riches than all of them; as soon as he becomes strong through his riches, he will arouse the whole empire against the realm of Greece.
This was Darius's son Xerxes (485-464), who is the one who invaded Greece.
(3) "And a mighty king will arise, and he will rule with great authority and do as he pleases.
This is, of course, Alexander the Great.
(4) "But as soon as he has arisen, his kingdom will be broken up and parceled out toward the four points of the compass, though not to his own descendants, nor according to his authority which he wielded, for his sovereignty will be uprooted and given to others besides them.
Because of his early death and having no heir, his kingdom was divided up among his four generals.
(5) "Then the king of the South will grow strong,
This is Ptolemy I (Soter), son of Lagus. During the 280 years between Ptolemy I and Cleopatra VII (who met her end around 30 B.C.) the domain of the Ptolemies was pretty well restricted to Egypt and Cyprus.
along with one of his princes who will gain ascendancy over him and obtain dominion;
This one of his princes was Seleucus Nicator. With Ptolemy's sponsorship, 310 became the official starting date for the Selucid Era.
his domain will be a great dominion indeed.
Since Seleucus secured control of Alexander's old domains all the way to the Indus on the east and to Syria and Phoenicia on the west, his authority far surpassed that of his sponsor, Ptolemy.
(6) "After some years they will form an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the South will come to the king of the North to carry out a peaceful arrangement.
In 252 Ptolemy II (Philadelphus) made a treaty with Antiochus II (Theos) who agreed to marry Philadelphus's daughter, Berenice, but he was already married to Laodice!
But she will not retain her position of power, nor will he remain with his power, but she will be given up, along with those who brought her in and the one who sired her as well as he who supported her in those times.
Laodice was a powerful and influential woman who, from her place of banishment, arranged for Berenice and her infant son she'd borne to Theos to be assassinated, and not long after the king himself was poisoned to death (247 B.C.). So Berenice was given up and did not retain her ... power, nor did he remain with his power when they both died, and Laodice ruled as queen regent until her young son, Seleucus II (Callinicus), reached majority.
(7) "But one of the descendants of her line
This would be Ptolemy III (Euergetes), Berenice's brother, who took the throne upon his father's death (247).
will arise in his place, and he will come against their army and enter the fortress of the king of the North, and he will deal with them and display great strength.
He organized a great expeditionary force against Syria to avenge his sister's death, and the war raged from 246 to 241. Ptolemy captured and pillaged the Seleucid city of Antioch and invaded its eastern domains as far as Bactria.
(8) "Also their gods with their metal images and their precious vessels of silver and gold he will take into captivity to Egypt,
Finally he returned to Egypt laden with spoil, the gods with their metal images and their precious vessels of silver and gold, recovering the long-lost idols and sacred treasures that Cambyses had taken as booty in 524. For this restoration of their national honor against the Persians they acclaimed him as Euergetes ("Benefactor").
and he on his part will refrain from attacking the king of the North for some years.
This alludes to the peace treaty that Ptolemy III made with Seleucus II in 240.
(9) "Then the latter will enter the realm of the king of the South, but will return to his own land."
This refers to Seleucus II coming into northern Syria and Phoenicia, probably in the 230s, but there's no record that he entered into Egypt proper.
We will pause here and continue this prophesy next time.
God planned out everything that would happen, before He ever made anything at all. Before time began, God decided what He would do, how He would do it, and how it would finish.
Like a video game designer thinks up a game, the scenario it would be played on, the characters the players will deal with, and all the moves and plays that would be necessary to win and finish the game. This is a poor illustration, but I think that we can design these games using the creativity God placed in us when He made us in His image, after His likeness.
He is our Creator, and He has designed this Earth to be our environment to build our world upon. We have only one Earth, and we are responsible to take care of it as our home while we live here.
And He has given us everything we need, right here in and on this planet. He knows how He designed it all to work properly, for the Earth to yield its bounty and treasures to us as we work it according to the Manufacturer's Instructions. It's when we put aside the rule book and think that we can figure out a better idea that we get into trouble.
So God lets us experience the consequences of our decisions and choices, and when we come up short, it's because He wants us to turn to Him and His ways.
God has shown us His heart in His songbook, the Psalms. And He's shown us how to get along with one another in Proverbs. He's shown us the joys and rapture of marriage in the Song of Solomon. And He's laid out the requirements for correcting what's wrong and making it right in all the laws, rules, commandments, sacrifices, regulations, precepts, and other writings. He's shown us how others who have gone before us fared for good or ill as a result of their choices, to show us what we need to know to live.
Now it's up to us to learn what He's told us, and live accordingly.
O my Father, You are so good! And You are so good to us! We stumble and wander and lose the way to light and life, and many wonder why they are in such darkness. But Your light shines upon all who will call on You in humility and repentance. You are waiting with arms wide open for each of us to come to the end of ourselves and turn to You.
O Father, send out Your messengers, Your missionaries, Your children, to broadcast to the whole world how much You love each one of us. You have already done everything possible and impossible to cleanse away our filthiness to make us fit to be in Your presence. And You have called us to new birth into Your own divine family.
Father, you created Mankind to be Your children, and you are not willing for any of us to perish, but for all to come to repentance. That's why You sent Your own Son to be our Savior and Redeemer. And He is coming again, returning to this Earth to claim His throne and set up His Kingdom. And His rule will never end.
All the kings of the world can only reign for one lifetime, then their throne is passed on to the next. But King Jesus will not ever hand over His throne to any other, He will reign for ever, and His Kingdom will continue to grow forever, too.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Christ, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come soon, Lord Jesus!
Thursday, May 7, 2020
Invisible Spiritual Warfare
Daniel 10: 1-11: 1
(1) In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia
This year must have been about 535/534 B.C., as Cyrus was crowned king in Babylon after Darius the Mede, who reigned in Babylon until 538/537. So this would be the latest of all the visions recorded in the book of Daniel. So Daniel must be in his upper eighties by now, an old man.
a message was revealed to Daniel, who was named Belteshazzar; and the message was true and one of great conflict, but he understood the message and had an understanding of the vision.
Daniel's vision was of great spiritual warfare that was actual and going on around us continually. He was able to understand this.
(2) In those days, I, Daniel, had been mourning for three entire weeks.
For three weeks he had been earnestly praying for his people Israel, probably having heard about the remnant of about forty-two thousand that had already gone back to Jerusalem with Zerubbabel and Joshua and reinstituted public worship at the site of the temple. He may have heard of the halting of construction on the temple, and was consumed with the desire to intercede for his people and obtain assurance from Yahweh that the nation would survive and carry out with honor and faithfulness its holy mission as God's witness to the world.
(3) I did not eat any tasty food, nor did meat or wine enter my mouth, nor did I use any ointment at all until the entire three weeks were completed.
He was so intent in his concern and prayer that for three weeks he mourned with a semi-fast and neglect of personal grooming.
(4) On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, while I was by the bank of the great river, that is, the Tigris,
It was early spring, on 24 Nisan (just ten days after Passover), and Daniel was evidently on some kind of official business that took him out of Babylon to the eastern part of Mesopotamia, to the bank of the Tigris River. So he must have been fasting during the Passover week.
(5) I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, there was a certain man dressed in linen, whose waist was girded with a belt of pure gold of Uphaz.
(6) His body also was like beryl, his face had the appearance of lightening, his eyes were like flaming torches, his arms and feet like the gleam of polished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of a tumult.
This is the most detailed description in Scripture of the appearance of an angel. Other instances record details that are much like what Daniel describes here, and the way Christ appeared to John in Revelation 1: 14 is also similar. Spiritual beings who inhabit heavenly places are not limited to what humans can appear to be on this Earth in our flesh bodies. But when we are resurrected, when our mortal puts on immortality, and our corruptible is swallowed up in the incorruptible (I Corinthians 15: 54), then our spiritual bodies will also be freed from the limits we are now under, and we will glow as bright as the sun.
(7) Now, I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, while the men who were with me did not see the vision; nevertheless, a great dread fell on them, and they ran away to hide themselves.
Daniel was not by himself on the bank of the river, but all the men who were with him were scared away and they ran and hid from whatever this was. Only one who is spiritually alert will actually see a vision (see also Elisha in II Kings 6, and Saul in Acts 9:7).
(8) So I was left alone and saw this great vision; yet no strength was left in me, for my natural color turned to a deathly pallor, and I retained no strength.
So only Daniel saw this vision, and it wore him out. He was weakened and his complexion paled.
(9) But I heard the sound of his words; and as soon as I heard the sound of his words, I fell into a deep sleep on my face, with my face to the ground.
And as soon as he heard this vision speaking, he passed out!
(10) Then behold, a hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees.
But when a hand touched him, he came to and he started to get up shakily.
(11) He said to me, "O Daniel, man of high esteem, understand the words that I am about to tell you and stand upright, for I have now been sent to you." And when he had spoken this word to me, I stood up trembling.
When the angel told him that he was considered precious, and that he had been sent to tell him something, he stood up in respect to hear it, still trembling.
(12) Then he said to me, "Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart on understanding this and on humbling yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to your words.
As soon as Daniel had decided to humble himself before the Lord on behalf of his people, God had sent the answer.
(13) "But the prince of the kingdom of Persia was withstanding me for twenty-one days;
We are going to be let into the workings in the spiritual realm a little, with Gabriel's admissions to Daniel. God had sent him right away, but he was detained by the "prince" of the kingdom of Persia for the twenty-one days (three weeks) of Daniel's fasting and prayer.
So apparently there's some high-ranking spiritual "prince" controlling the kingdom of Persia, and he tried to keep Gabriel from coming to Daniel.
then behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia.
These "princes" over the nations must be very powerful, for Gabriel to need Michael's help to get to Daniel; he says he was stuck there with the Persian kings, without his help. Very serious stuff!
(14) "Now I have come to give you an understanding of what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision pertains to the days yet future."
Now that he's there, he will give Daniel some further revelation, for him to record it for us to read.
(15) When he had spoken to me according to these words, I turned my face toward the ground and became speechless.
Daniel must have felt so inadequate for this personage to honor him this way, he looked down, as though shy, and couldn't say anything.
(16) And behold, one who resembled a human being was touching my lips; then I opened my mouth and spoke and said to him who was standing before me, "O my lord, as a result of the vision anguish has come upon me, and I have retained no strength.
(17) "For how can such a servant of my lord talk with such as my lord? As for me, there remains just now no strength in me, nor has any breath been left in me."
He couldn't say anything until another touch enabled his mouth to work again, and what he said shows his humility and subservience to this angel.
(18) Then this one with human appearance touched me again and strengthened me.
(19) He said, "O man of high esteem, do not be afraid. Peace be with you; take courage and be courageous!" Now as soon as he spoke to me, I received strength and said, "May my lord speak, for you have strengthened me."
A third touch communicated physical strength to Daniel, and also the encouragement helped him to focus on what the angel had to say to him.
(20) Then he said, "Do you understand why I came to you? But I shall now return to fight against the prince of Persia; so I am going forth, and behold, the prince of Greece is about to come.
Then Gabriel tells us more about the unseen war taking place around us. He must return to the war with the prince of Persia, and even the prince of Greece will take part against him.
(21) "However, I will tell you what is inscribed in the writing of Truth. (Yet there is no one who stands firmly with me against these forces except Michael your prince.
(1) "In the first year of Darius the Mede, I arose to be an encouragement and a protection for him.)"
This next chapter will show us what Gabriel was telling Daniel, but first he gives us more information about the war in the unseen realm. He says that all the other "princes" over all the other nations are fighting against him, and the only one who will help him is Michael, who he calls, "your prince." So Michael is the prince over Israel.
And back in Darius' first year, when the king took such a liking to Daniel, we find here that it could have been because Gabriel was strengthening Michael against the "prince" of Persia.
This unseen conflict explains so much of what is going on today in the world, with the nations of the world and what they're doing (and why they're hiding stuff and lying!). And why so many in the world today are so deceived, listening to leaders who are leading to destruction.
As I study God's written word and look at what's going on in the world today, I think that I see the possibility of the first four seals and the first three trumpets of the book of Revelation may have already come to pass.
I know for sure that the second coming of Jesus Christ will be very soon. I hope all my readers are ready to face our King and Judge, and are growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
O my Father, I pray for our Presidents, our Prime Ministers, all the leaders of our nations. I pray that Your warrior angels, Gabriel and Michael, and whatever other ones You know, to be given the power and strength to overshadow the evil spiritual authorities who are leading this world into hell.
Please give us the time, the opportunity, and the resources to broadcast Your Gospel to every living person, so that each one will be able to understand how much You love us all, and be drawn to the birth into Your family, or have no excuse for rejecting Your gracious and generous gift.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Christ, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come swiftly, Lord Jesus!
(1) In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia
This year must have been about 535/534 B.C., as Cyrus was crowned king in Babylon after Darius the Mede, who reigned in Babylon until 538/537. So this would be the latest of all the visions recorded in the book of Daniel. So Daniel must be in his upper eighties by now, an old man.
a message was revealed to Daniel, who was named Belteshazzar; and the message was true and one of great conflict, but he understood the message and had an understanding of the vision.
Daniel's vision was of great spiritual warfare that was actual and going on around us continually. He was able to understand this.
(2) In those days, I, Daniel, had been mourning for three entire weeks.
For three weeks he had been earnestly praying for his people Israel, probably having heard about the remnant of about forty-two thousand that had already gone back to Jerusalem with Zerubbabel and Joshua and reinstituted public worship at the site of the temple. He may have heard of the halting of construction on the temple, and was consumed with the desire to intercede for his people and obtain assurance from Yahweh that the nation would survive and carry out with honor and faithfulness its holy mission as God's witness to the world.
(3) I did not eat any tasty food, nor did meat or wine enter my mouth, nor did I use any ointment at all until the entire three weeks were completed.
He was so intent in his concern and prayer that for three weeks he mourned with a semi-fast and neglect of personal grooming.
(4) On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, while I was by the bank of the great river, that is, the Tigris,
It was early spring, on 24 Nisan (just ten days after Passover), and Daniel was evidently on some kind of official business that took him out of Babylon to the eastern part of Mesopotamia, to the bank of the Tigris River. So he must have been fasting during the Passover week.
(5) I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, there was a certain man dressed in linen, whose waist was girded with a belt of pure gold of Uphaz.
(6) His body also was like beryl, his face had the appearance of lightening, his eyes were like flaming torches, his arms and feet like the gleam of polished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of a tumult.
This is the most detailed description in Scripture of the appearance of an angel. Other instances record details that are much like what Daniel describes here, and the way Christ appeared to John in Revelation 1: 14 is also similar. Spiritual beings who inhabit heavenly places are not limited to what humans can appear to be on this Earth in our flesh bodies. But when we are resurrected, when our mortal puts on immortality, and our corruptible is swallowed up in the incorruptible (I Corinthians 15: 54), then our spiritual bodies will also be freed from the limits we are now under, and we will glow as bright as the sun.
(7) Now, I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, while the men who were with me did not see the vision; nevertheless, a great dread fell on them, and they ran away to hide themselves.
Daniel was not by himself on the bank of the river, but all the men who were with him were scared away and they ran and hid from whatever this was. Only one who is spiritually alert will actually see a vision (see also Elisha in II Kings 6, and Saul in Acts 9:7).
(8) So I was left alone and saw this great vision; yet no strength was left in me, for my natural color turned to a deathly pallor, and I retained no strength.
So only Daniel saw this vision, and it wore him out. He was weakened and his complexion paled.
(9) But I heard the sound of his words; and as soon as I heard the sound of his words, I fell into a deep sleep on my face, with my face to the ground.
And as soon as he heard this vision speaking, he passed out!
(10) Then behold, a hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees.
But when a hand touched him, he came to and he started to get up shakily.
(11) He said to me, "O Daniel, man of high esteem, understand the words that I am about to tell you and stand upright, for I have now been sent to you." And when he had spoken this word to me, I stood up trembling.
When the angel told him that he was considered precious, and that he had been sent to tell him something, he stood up in respect to hear it, still trembling.
(12) Then he said to me, "Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart on understanding this and on humbling yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to your words.
As soon as Daniel had decided to humble himself before the Lord on behalf of his people, God had sent the answer.
(13) "But the prince of the kingdom of Persia was withstanding me for twenty-one days;
We are going to be let into the workings in the spiritual realm a little, with Gabriel's admissions to Daniel. God had sent him right away, but he was detained by the "prince" of the kingdom of Persia for the twenty-one days (three weeks) of Daniel's fasting and prayer.
So apparently there's some high-ranking spiritual "prince" controlling the kingdom of Persia, and he tried to keep Gabriel from coming to Daniel.
then behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia.
These "princes" over the nations must be very powerful, for Gabriel to need Michael's help to get to Daniel; he says he was stuck there with the Persian kings, without his help. Very serious stuff!
(14) "Now I have come to give you an understanding of what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision pertains to the days yet future."
Now that he's there, he will give Daniel some further revelation, for him to record it for us to read.
(15) When he had spoken to me according to these words, I turned my face toward the ground and became speechless.
Daniel must have felt so inadequate for this personage to honor him this way, he looked down, as though shy, and couldn't say anything.
(16) And behold, one who resembled a human being was touching my lips; then I opened my mouth and spoke and said to him who was standing before me, "O my lord, as a result of the vision anguish has come upon me, and I have retained no strength.
(17) "For how can such a servant of my lord talk with such as my lord? As for me, there remains just now no strength in me, nor has any breath been left in me."
He couldn't say anything until another touch enabled his mouth to work again, and what he said shows his humility and subservience to this angel.
(18) Then this one with human appearance touched me again and strengthened me.
(19) He said, "O man of high esteem, do not be afraid. Peace be with you; take courage and be courageous!" Now as soon as he spoke to me, I received strength and said, "May my lord speak, for you have strengthened me."
A third touch communicated physical strength to Daniel, and also the encouragement helped him to focus on what the angel had to say to him.
(20) Then he said, "Do you understand why I came to you? But I shall now return to fight against the prince of Persia; so I am going forth, and behold, the prince of Greece is about to come.
Then Gabriel tells us more about the unseen war taking place around us. He must return to the war with the prince of Persia, and even the prince of Greece will take part against him.
(21) "However, I will tell you what is inscribed in the writing of Truth. (Yet there is no one who stands firmly with me against these forces except Michael your prince.
(1) "In the first year of Darius the Mede, I arose to be an encouragement and a protection for him.)"
This next chapter will show us what Gabriel was telling Daniel, but first he gives us more information about the war in the unseen realm. He says that all the other "princes" over all the other nations are fighting against him, and the only one who will help him is Michael, who he calls, "your prince." So Michael is the prince over Israel.
And back in Darius' first year, when the king took such a liking to Daniel, we find here that it could have been because Gabriel was strengthening Michael against the "prince" of Persia.
This unseen conflict explains so much of what is going on today in the world, with the nations of the world and what they're doing (and why they're hiding stuff and lying!). And why so many in the world today are so deceived, listening to leaders who are leading to destruction.
As I study God's written word and look at what's going on in the world today, I think that I see the possibility of the first four seals and the first three trumpets of the book of Revelation may have already come to pass.
I know for sure that the second coming of Jesus Christ will be very soon. I hope all my readers are ready to face our King and Judge, and are growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
O my Father, I pray for our Presidents, our Prime Ministers, all the leaders of our nations. I pray that Your warrior angels, Gabriel and Michael, and whatever other ones You know, to be given the power and strength to overshadow the evil spiritual authorities who are leading this world into hell.
Please give us the time, the opportunity, and the resources to broadcast Your Gospel to every living person, so that each one will be able to understand how much You love us all, and be drawn to the birth into Your family, or have no excuse for rejecting Your gracious and generous gift.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Christ, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come swiftly, Lord Jesus!
Wednesday, May 6, 2020
Seventy Weeks
Daniel 9: 24-27
This is the third revelation God is giving to Daniel, and Gabriel has told him that he has come to give him insight and understanding because he is highly esteemed.
This is the information we all need to understand.
(24) "Seventy weeks have been decreed
This is a specific time sequence, these "seventy sevens" means seventy heptads of years, or 490 years.
for your people and your holy city,
This is specifically for the Jews and Jerusalem, it does not include the rest of the world, for these six things to be accomplished.
to finish the transgression,
Man's transgression or rebellion against God will not be "finished" until an entirely new order is established on Earth, composed of citizens who have no more compulsion to rebel.
to make an end of sin,
This refers to "missing the mark" in our choices and decisions; it is us not being perfect. This would be a bringing in of a whole new society and culture, unlike what is in the world today, or ever was.
These could only refer to the establishment of Christ's Kingdom after His Second Coming.
to make atonement for iniquity,
This was accomplished by Jesus as the Lamb of God, fulfilling the sacrifices on the Cross to redeem us and establish His Lordship over us to judge.
to bring in everlasting righteousness,
This indicates an order of society in which righteousness, justice, and conformity to the standards of Scripture will prevail on Earth, rather than the temporary periods of upright government that have occasionally occurred in history up to now.
to seal up vision and prophesy,
This means to finish everything that has been revealed. To accomplish everything that has been promised, and every vision and prophesy that has been given to us in all of Scripture.
The Bible is the whole story of Mankind, from before the beginning until after the Age of Man is finished. So this seventy weeks is a specific time for all these past present and future things to be accomplished, from Israel's point of view.
and to anoint the most holy place.
This is most likely in the Millennial Temple where King Jesus will sit upon the Mercy Seat as the throne of David, that the Lord gave to David to sit upon (I Chronicles 29: 23). So our Lord God, King Jesus, will take back His throne to rule this Earth.
(Note: God had been the King over Israel since He rescued them from Egypt and brought them into the Promised Land. He was with them in the cloud of the Shekinah Glory upon the Mercy Seat in the Most Holy Place in the Tabernacle.
The book of Judges records the roller coaster time when the people went up and down following their King, being blessed by Him, then forgetting Him and losing the blessings, then turning back around again to obey Him, over and over again. Then they decided they wanted to be like the other nations, and have a human king instead of the Lord (I Samuel 8: 4-8). So the Lord gave His throne to David, and it's been called David's throne ever since.)
(25) "So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress.
So this seventy sevens, divided up into three periods of time, will start with an official decree to rebuild Jerusalem.
The first seven would be 49 years, then the sixty-two sevens would be another 434 years, totaling 483 years.
The first 49 years will be for the rebuilding of the city of Jerusalem, and it will be built even when other people are trying to prevent it.
Then after the whole 483 years, Messiah the Prince will appear. This so far is all history, so we can calculate it according to how it has already worked out.
(26) "Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing,
This specifies that after the sixty-nine heptads, when the Messiah appears, He will be cut off. This accords perfectly with Jesus' three-year ministry before His crucifixion.
If the terminus a quo for the decree be reckoned as 457 B.C. when Ezra returned to Jerusalem, then the first seven sevens would have run from 457 to 408, within which time the rebuilding of the walls, streets, and moats was completed.
Then from 408 we would count off the next sixty-two sevens and come out to A.D. 27 (subtracting the 408 from the 434, and accounting for the year gained in not counting the year zero between B.C and A.D.). If Christ was crucified on 14 Abib A.D. 30, as is generally believed, this would come out to the exact fulfillment of the terms laid out here.
And He will have nothing--or--no one. All His disciples fled from him when He was arrested, and He never did have anything in the area of possessions in this world. So this also was fulfilled.
So both the rebuilding of the city of Jerusalem, and the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ were both fulfilled exactly as this prophesy predicted!
and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary.
This prince who is to come could be the end-time beast of Revelation 13 who rules in the power of the Dragon (v. 2); who has followers in every time, including the Roman army under Titus who destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple in A.D. 70. This was forty years after Calvary, or forty-three years after the end of the sixty-ninth "week".
And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined.
The end will come like a flood, overflowing everything; and until then, there will be continual wars, and specific desolations have been decreed. God's plan will work out just as He planned it.
In Jesus' own words in the Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24: 7-22), He stated that hardships, suffering, and wars would continue right up to the end of this present age, culminating in a time of unparalleled tribulation.
This entire intervening period is referred to before the seventieth "week." So it is reasonable to infer that a period of war and desolation is to intervene between the sixty-ninth week (Christ's first coming) and the seventieth week (of His second coming).
God has not been dealing directly with His people Israel during this time He is building His bride for His Son. So the timing God gives Daniel here would be the times He is working directly with His people Israel as a nation. He is taking some Jewish people out of the nation into His church during this time, but His direct dealing with the nation will resume during the last week.
(27) "And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week,
This "he" has as an antecedent the Prince whose people destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple (in the preceding verse). Since this cannot be the same person in both places and times, it must refer to the power behind the prince, or beast, or the ten toes of Chapter 2, or the ten-horned beast of chapter 7; so it would be the one holding the dictatorship over the whole world during this final week of time allotted to Mankind.
This says he will sign a treaty that will be up for renegotiation in seven years. Who are the many that he is making this covenant with? In the Qumran Rule of the Congregation, this word often occurs in reference to the community of "true believers," and is translated "the congregation." So this could be referring to the Israelites who recognize and worship "The Great I Am" with sacrifices in the rebuilt temple.
Or it could be referring to the specific nations who populate the Middle-East area of the world. He would be a great peace-maker, bring harmony to this most consistently troubled area of the world.
but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering;
After three-and-a-half years into this seven, this world dictator will break his own treaty, and come down hard on these Jews.
and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate,
This antichrist will swoop down like a vulture on his beleaguered victims to oppress and plunder them.
even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate."
This oppression and plundering will continue until this antichrist himself will be destroyed.
Daniel was told that these seventy weeks only pertained to the Jews and their city, Jerusalem. So Daniel went back to writing in Hebrew, for his people.
These seventy weeks do not constitute all the time God will give the world on this Earth, only the time He would be working directly with the nation Israel. So when we see that all three segments of this time-line may not be immediately consecutive with one another, we shouldn't worry about it. God has divided up this time into three distinct segments, so they don't have to flow directly into one another. When God turns His attention to someone else for a while, that's His prerogative. He is God, we are not.
We see that the first sixty-nine weeks of years are history. We are still waiting for the last seven years.
During this interval, while we are living now, we are still waiting for that last week to come, when God will again work with Israel as a nation. The man who will show himself to be the antichrist will do so by acting in hubris as a world ruler, in brokering a peace treaty in the Middle East, something no one else has been able to do. He will be hailed as a great peace-maker, and admired all over the world.
Then in the middle of the terms of the treaty, this braggart will demand worship from the world, not just admiration. He's so full of himself, he places himself above every god that is worshiped, from every religion, and commands that everyone worship him. And being the world ruler, he decrees that no one will be able to do any commerce at all unless they do it his way, to get his "mark" indicating worship of himself, which will be the only way people will have access to finances they can buy or sell with.
So this antichrist will tie up all commerce in the world, connecting every transaction to himself. He will be the source of everything everyone will need, instead of God. And those who don't want to worship him will need to go "underground" to be able to barter for what they need (as in Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins' "Left Behind" series of books).
O my Father, You are so kind to us to tell us what to expect. We know that everything You do is for Your purposes. And You left us here after You saved us, so that we would be Your hands and feet doing Your work in Your power to grow Your Kingdom. Father, help each of Your children to grow to maturity, and use us to grow the numerical size of Your Kingdom, also.
O Father, prepare us to be ready to face all of the desolations You have prepared for the world. Protect us and give us Your strength to bear whatever hardships they may bring on us. Show us how to help one another through the horrors and sorrows that are coming, to love one another as You have loved us, unconditionally, putting their need at a higher priority than our own.
Let the love we demonstrate to one another show the world how much You love them, too, and draw them to Yourself, to also be born into Your family, Your Kingdom. And may no rebel have any excuse for refusing Your gracious and generous offer.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus is our Christ, our Source, our Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!
This is the third revelation God is giving to Daniel, and Gabriel has told him that he has come to give him insight and understanding because he is highly esteemed.
This is the information we all need to understand.
(24) "Seventy weeks have been decreed
This is a specific time sequence, these "seventy sevens" means seventy heptads of years, or 490 years.
for your people and your holy city,
This is specifically for the Jews and Jerusalem, it does not include the rest of the world, for these six things to be accomplished.
to finish the transgression,
Man's transgression or rebellion against God will not be "finished" until an entirely new order is established on Earth, composed of citizens who have no more compulsion to rebel.
to make an end of sin,
This refers to "missing the mark" in our choices and decisions; it is us not being perfect. This would be a bringing in of a whole new society and culture, unlike what is in the world today, or ever was.
These could only refer to the establishment of Christ's Kingdom after His Second Coming.
to make atonement for iniquity,
This was accomplished by Jesus as the Lamb of God, fulfilling the sacrifices on the Cross to redeem us and establish His Lordship over us to judge.
to bring in everlasting righteousness,
This indicates an order of society in which righteousness, justice, and conformity to the standards of Scripture will prevail on Earth, rather than the temporary periods of upright government that have occasionally occurred in history up to now.
to seal up vision and prophesy,
This means to finish everything that has been revealed. To accomplish everything that has been promised, and every vision and prophesy that has been given to us in all of Scripture.
The Bible is the whole story of Mankind, from before the beginning until after the Age of Man is finished. So this seventy weeks is a specific time for all these past present and future things to be accomplished, from Israel's point of view.
and to anoint the most holy place.
This is most likely in the Millennial Temple where King Jesus will sit upon the Mercy Seat as the throne of David, that the Lord gave to David to sit upon (I Chronicles 29: 23). So our Lord God, King Jesus, will take back His throne to rule this Earth.
(Note: God had been the King over Israel since He rescued them from Egypt and brought them into the Promised Land. He was with them in the cloud of the Shekinah Glory upon the Mercy Seat in the Most Holy Place in the Tabernacle.
The book of Judges records the roller coaster time when the people went up and down following their King, being blessed by Him, then forgetting Him and losing the blessings, then turning back around again to obey Him, over and over again. Then they decided they wanted to be like the other nations, and have a human king instead of the Lord (I Samuel 8: 4-8). So the Lord gave His throne to David, and it's been called David's throne ever since.)
(25) "So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress.
So this seventy sevens, divided up into three periods of time, will start with an official decree to rebuild Jerusalem.
The first seven would be 49 years, then the sixty-two sevens would be another 434 years, totaling 483 years.
The first 49 years will be for the rebuilding of the city of Jerusalem, and it will be built even when other people are trying to prevent it.
Then after the whole 483 years, Messiah the Prince will appear. This so far is all history, so we can calculate it according to how it has already worked out.
(26) "Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing,
This specifies that after the sixty-nine heptads, when the Messiah appears, He will be cut off. This accords perfectly with Jesus' three-year ministry before His crucifixion.
If the terminus a quo for the decree be reckoned as 457 B.C. when Ezra returned to Jerusalem, then the first seven sevens would have run from 457 to 408, within which time the rebuilding of the walls, streets, and moats was completed.
Then from 408 we would count off the next sixty-two sevens and come out to A.D. 27 (subtracting the 408 from the 434, and accounting for the year gained in not counting the year zero between B.C and A.D.). If Christ was crucified on 14 Abib A.D. 30, as is generally believed, this would come out to the exact fulfillment of the terms laid out here.
And He will have nothing--or--no one. All His disciples fled from him when He was arrested, and He never did have anything in the area of possessions in this world. So this also was fulfilled.
So both the rebuilding of the city of Jerusalem, and the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ were both fulfilled exactly as this prophesy predicted!
and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary.
This prince who is to come could be the end-time beast of Revelation 13 who rules in the power of the Dragon (v. 2); who has followers in every time, including the Roman army under Titus who destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple in A.D. 70. This was forty years after Calvary, or forty-three years after the end of the sixty-ninth "week".
And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined.
The end will come like a flood, overflowing everything; and until then, there will be continual wars, and specific desolations have been decreed. God's plan will work out just as He planned it.
In Jesus' own words in the Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24: 7-22), He stated that hardships, suffering, and wars would continue right up to the end of this present age, culminating in a time of unparalleled tribulation.
This entire intervening period is referred to before the seventieth "week." So it is reasonable to infer that a period of war and desolation is to intervene between the sixty-ninth week (Christ's first coming) and the seventieth week (of His second coming).
God has not been dealing directly with His people Israel during this time He is building His bride for His Son. So the timing God gives Daniel here would be the times He is working directly with His people Israel as a nation. He is taking some Jewish people out of the nation into His church during this time, but His direct dealing with the nation will resume during the last week.
(27) "And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week,
This "he" has as an antecedent the Prince whose people destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple (in the preceding verse). Since this cannot be the same person in both places and times, it must refer to the power behind the prince, or beast, or the ten toes of Chapter 2, or the ten-horned beast of chapter 7; so it would be the one holding the dictatorship over the whole world during this final week of time allotted to Mankind.
This says he will sign a treaty that will be up for renegotiation in seven years. Who are the many that he is making this covenant with? In the Qumran Rule of the Congregation, this word often occurs in reference to the community of "true believers," and is translated "the congregation." So this could be referring to the Israelites who recognize and worship "The Great I Am" with sacrifices in the rebuilt temple.
Or it could be referring to the specific nations who populate the Middle-East area of the world. He would be a great peace-maker, bring harmony to this most consistently troubled area of the world.
but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering;
After three-and-a-half years into this seven, this world dictator will break his own treaty, and come down hard on these Jews.
and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate,
This antichrist will swoop down like a vulture on his beleaguered victims to oppress and plunder them.
even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate."
This oppression and plundering will continue until this antichrist himself will be destroyed.
Daniel was told that these seventy weeks only pertained to the Jews and their city, Jerusalem. So Daniel went back to writing in Hebrew, for his people.
These seventy weeks do not constitute all the time God will give the world on this Earth, only the time He would be working directly with the nation Israel. So when we see that all three segments of this time-line may not be immediately consecutive with one another, we shouldn't worry about it. God has divided up this time into three distinct segments, so they don't have to flow directly into one another. When God turns His attention to someone else for a while, that's His prerogative. He is God, we are not.
We see that the first sixty-nine weeks of years are history. We are still waiting for the last seven years.
During this interval, while we are living now, we are still waiting for that last week to come, when God will again work with Israel as a nation. The man who will show himself to be the antichrist will do so by acting in hubris as a world ruler, in brokering a peace treaty in the Middle East, something no one else has been able to do. He will be hailed as a great peace-maker, and admired all over the world.
Then in the middle of the terms of the treaty, this braggart will demand worship from the world, not just admiration. He's so full of himself, he places himself above every god that is worshiped, from every religion, and commands that everyone worship him. And being the world ruler, he decrees that no one will be able to do any commerce at all unless they do it his way, to get his "mark" indicating worship of himself, which will be the only way people will have access to finances they can buy or sell with.
So this antichrist will tie up all commerce in the world, connecting every transaction to himself. He will be the source of everything everyone will need, instead of God. And those who don't want to worship him will need to go "underground" to be able to barter for what they need (as in Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins' "Left Behind" series of books).
O my Father, You are so kind to us to tell us what to expect. We know that everything You do is for Your purposes. And You left us here after You saved us, so that we would be Your hands and feet doing Your work in Your power to grow Your Kingdom. Father, help each of Your children to grow to maturity, and use us to grow the numerical size of Your Kingdom, also.
O Father, prepare us to be ready to face all of the desolations You have prepared for the world. Protect us and give us Your strength to bear whatever hardships they may bring on us. Show us how to help one another through the horrors and sorrows that are coming, to love one another as You have loved us, unconditionally, putting their need at a higher priority than our own.
Let the love we demonstrate to one another show the world how much You love them, too, and draw them to Yourself, to also be born into Your family, Your Kingdom. And may no rebel have any excuse for refusing Your gracious and generous offer.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus is our Christ, our Source, our Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!
Monday, May 4, 2020
Gabriel Comes To Daniel Again
Daniel 9: 20-23
(20) Now while I was speaking and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God in behalf of the holy mountain of my God,
You can see the whole content of Daniel's prayer that he was praying in the earlier verses of this chapter.
(21) while I was still speaking in prayer, then the man, Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision previously, came to me in my extreme weariness about the time of the evening offering.
Daniel was interrupted as he prayed, the angel came without waiting for him to finish. Daniel was wearing himself out in his prayer, and it was the late afternoon.
(22) He gave me instruction and talked with me
Gabriel didn't just "instruct" him, but they actually had a conversation.
and said, "O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you insight with understanding.
Gabriel wants to not only give him information, but to help him understand what it is all about. So they probably had more give-and-take conversation than is summarized here. It looks like they're becoming friends!
(23) "At the beginning of your supplications the command was issued, and I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed; so give heed to the message and gain understanding of the vision."
He tells him that as soon as he started to pray, Gabriel got the assignment to go back to him again, to let him know what God is planning. And he encouraged him in telling him how well he is liked! He has friends in High Places!
This is all so amazing! Why would Daniel be so "highly esteemed"? Because he humbled himself before the Lord? Because he remained faithful to the Lord in the midst of interacting with the pagan society that surrounded him, for many decades? Yes, I think so.
I think that God "highly esteems" every person who humbles himself before the Lord in repentance and faith in Christ's taking their death for them on the Cross. That is His desire for every one of us humans. He created Mankind to be His own children, so He is "patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance" (II Peter 3: 9).
But He will still fulfill what He said He would do, in returning to this Earth to judge the wicked and reward the righteous. "But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief" (II Peter 3: 10), "But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the Day would overtake you like a thief; for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness; so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober" (I Thessalonians 5: 4-6).
We are to wake up, be serious and solemn, carefully studying what God has told us to prepare us; so that we will not be surprised at the horrendous goings on around us, as God pours out His wrath on the ungodly, that it will not touch us. All that can touch us is the people who are deceived by the liar, who will persecute the godly.
God esteems each of us so highly that He causes us to be born into His own family (higher than the angels) to sit on thrones to rule in Christ's authority as He rules in the Father's authority. This is the most amazing thing ever!
We are the body of Christ, the bride of Christ, to be united with Him forever! Just as He and the Father are one (John 17: 11). He gave us marriage as a picture of the intimate relationship He wants to have with each of us.
Now Gabriel will give Daniel another vision, the most complicated, detailed and mysterious one yet.
O my Father, please help us also to have understanding of what You showed Daniel, as Gabriel gave to him. Father, we are so close to the fulfillment of this prophesy, we can calculate what has already passed; but we need Your guidance to see what to expect in coming days. It is coming so soon, please let us see it even as we are in the midst of it, so we will know that You will be with us to protect us and strengthen us through it all.
My Father, help us to trust You more through everything You said would be coming before the very end. Show us how we can all work to promote Your Kingdom and Your program. Teach each of us what You have equipped us to accomplish for the benefit of our sisters and brothers and neighbors, and to grow Your Kingdom both in maturity and numerically.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Christ, our Savior and Redeemer, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!
(20) Now while I was speaking and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God in behalf of the holy mountain of my God,
You can see the whole content of Daniel's prayer that he was praying in the earlier verses of this chapter.
(21) while I was still speaking in prayer, then the man, Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision previously, came to me in my extreme weariness about the time of the evening offering.
Daniel was interrupted as he prayed, the angel came without waiting for him to finish. Daniel was wearing himself out in his prayer, and it was the late afternoon.
(22) He gave me instruction and talked with me
Gabriel didn't just "instruct" him, but they actually had a conversation.
and said, "O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you insight with understanding.
Gabriel wants to not only give him information, but to help him understand what it is all about. So they probably had more give-and-take conversation than is summarized here. It looks like they're becoming friends!
(23) "At the beginning of your supplications the command was issued, and I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed; so give heed to the message and gain understanding of the vision."
He tells him that as soon as he started to pray, Gabriel got the assignment to go back to him again, to let him know what God is planning. And he encouraged him in telling him how well he is liked! He has friends in High Places!
This is all so amazing! Why would Daniel be so "highly esteemed"? Because he humbled himself before the Lord? Because he remained faithful to the Lord in the midst of interacting with the pagan society that surrounded him, for many decades? Yes, I think so.
I think that God "highly esteems" every person who humbles himself before the Lord in repentance and faith in Christ's taking their death for them on the Cross. That is His desire for every one of us humans. He created Mankind to be His own children, so He is "patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance" (II Peter 3: 9).
But He will still fulfill what He said He would do, in returning to this Earth to judge the wicked and reward the righteous. "But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief" (II Peter 3: 10), "But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the Day would overtake you like a thief; for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness; so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober" (I Thessalonians 5: 4-6).
We are to wake up, be serious and solemn, carefully studying what God has told us to prepare us; so that we will not be surprised at the horrendous goings on around us, as God pours out His wrath on the ungodly, that it will not touch us. All that can touch us is the people who are deceived by the liar, who will persecute the godly.
God esteems each of us so highly that He causes us to be born into His own family (higher than the angels) to sit on thrones to rule in Christ's authority as He rules in the Father's authority. This is the most amazing thing ever!
We are the body of Christ, the bride of Christ, to be united with Him forever! Just as He and the Father are one (John 17: 11). He gave us marriage as a picture of the intimate relationship He wants to have with each of us.
Now Gabriel will give Daniel another vision, the most complicated, detailed and mysterious one yet.
O my Father, please help us also to have understanding of what You showed Daniel, as Gabriel gave to him. Father, we are so close to the fulfillment of this prophesy, we can calculate what has already passed; but we need Your guidance to see what to expect in coming days. It is coming so soon, please let us see it even as we are in the midst of it, so we will know that You will be with us to protect us and strengthen us through it all.
My Father, help us to trust You more through everything You said would be coming before the very end. Show us how we can all work to promote Your Kingdom and Your program. Teach each of us what You have equipped us to accomplish for the benefit of our sisters and brothers and neighbors, and to grow Your Kingdom both in maturity and numerically.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Christ, our Savior and Redeemer, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!
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