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Daniel: Beyond the Prophecies
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Daniel: Beyond the Prophecies
By: Matt J. Ahearn
Author’s Note
Daniel is an amazing book of the Bible. So often our
Old Testament prophets are overlooked and called “outdated.” If they are looked at it is usually for something
like “Daniel and the lions den.” Those are great stories, but so often we do not take a deeper look at a truly
eye opening and amazing book. Daniel is ignored often and we focus one or two chapters. This book is written to inform the
reader of all that is really in the book of Daniel. It is truly amazing. It contains prophecies that will affect us in a short
time. It also has great messages that we should apply in our lives today. I hope you enjoy Daniel: Beyond the Prophecies and
learn what is truly beyond the prophecies and popular stories of Daniel. (And hopefully there are not too many grammar mistakes.)
J
Matt Ahearn
Chapter 1
Ask and It Shall Be Given
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"1
In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it.
2 And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with some of the articles of the house of God, which he carried
into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the articles into the treasure house of his god.3 Then the
king instructed Ashpenaz, the master of his eunuchs, to bring some of the children of Israel and some of the king’s
descendants and some of the nobles, 4 young men in whom there was no blemish, but good-looking, gifted in all wisdom, possessing
knowledge and quick to understand, who had ability to serve in the king’s palace, and whom they might teach the language
and literature of the Chaldeans. 5 And the king appointed for them a daily provision of the king’s delicacies and of
the wine which he drank, and three years of training for them, so that at the end of that time they might serve before the
king. 6 Now from among those of the sons of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. 7 To them the chief of the
eunuchs gave names: he gave Daniel the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abed-Nego.
8 But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with
the wine, which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself."
This is the account of Daniel being taken captive after Jerusalem is “besieged” (Verse 1) and the instructions
given as to how to prepare the captives to serve the king in the palace. Daniel is one of those men that the Bible describes
as “…good looking…,” “…possessing knowledge…,” “…gifted in all
wisdom…,” “quick to understand…,” (Verse 4 for all four) and he could interpret dreams and visions.
He has the looks and the brains to serve under the king in his palace. In today’s terms, he is both a nerd and physically
fit. He is one of the select, one of the chosen young men who goes through the training to eventually serve “in the
king’s palace.” (Verse 4) As illustrated, King Nebuchadnezzar has orders that all these young men be served “delacies”
and “of the wine” (Verse 5) of King Nebachadnezzar; these are things that are normally served in the palace. Daniel,
however, has a problem with this. Most likely the way these delicacies are forbidden by God's law and have most likely have
been sacrificed to pagan idols. This was a common practice in Babylon. Daniel, as the passage illustrates in verse eight,
“…purposed in his heart that we would not defile himself…” (Verse 8) He has made up his mind not to
break God's law. He is not alone in his quest, his friends, Hannaniah, Azariah, and Mischael, have also decided not to eat
of the food given by the king. (His friends are also known as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego.) However, remember that the
king has specifically ordered that they be served this food while they were in training. If one disobeys the king or makes
him mad, he could be killed. In fact in Verse 10 the chief eunuch is afraid that Daniel is going to “…endanger…”
his “…head before the king….” This food is required and Daniel and his friends will need a few things
to go in their favor. Then in verse nine we see exactly that. Verse nine through fourteen reads:
"9 Now God had
brought Daniel into the favor and goodwill of the chief of the eunuchs. 10 And the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, “I
fear my lord the king, who has appointed your food and drink. For why should he see your faces looking worse than the young
men who are your age? Then you would endanger my head before the king.” 11 So Daniel said to the steward whom the chief
of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, 12 “Please test your servants for ten days, and
let them give us vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then let our appearance be examined before you, and the appearance
of the young men who eat the portion of the king’s delicacies; and as you see fit, so deal with your servants.”
14 So he consented with them in this matter, and tested them ten days. 15 And at the end of ten days their features appeared
better and fatter in flesh than all the young men who ate the portion of the king’s delicacies. "
God knew
that Daniel did not want to defile himself, so He causes Daniel to be in the favor of the chief eunuchs. The chief eunuchs
favor Daniel so much that they went beside the king's orders and actually agree to serve them food that would not defile himself.
The chief eunuch favors Daniel so much that he decides to “endanger” his “head before the king” (Verse
10) to help Daniel. Daniel needs God to help him stay clean and God gives Him that help.
This
passage can really be looked at as the way God wants to give things to those who are faithful to Him. Daniel needs a way to
keep from defiling himself and God brings Daniel “…into the goodwill and favor of the chief of the eunuchs…”
so that this could be accomplished. Throughout the Bible God gave His servants things to help them in their spiritual life.
God never just disappeared and made them sin because they had no other direction to turn. Instead God makes a way where there
is no way. So does this mean that all I have to do is ask for anything and God will give it to me? Not necessarily. We take
Luke 11:9-13 to mean that God will give us all that we want. It says:
"9 “So I say to you, ask, and it will
be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and he who
seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 11 If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him
a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer
him a scorpion? 13 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly
Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” "
We see the first sentence and assume that God will
give us all we want-physical or spiritual if we have enough faith. We completely ignore the last verse where it states that
it is really talking about the giving of “…the Holy Spirit…” or God giving his Spirit when we need
it. We take this verse to mean that we can ask God for a new car or boat, or plane and immediately receive it. God is not
a soda machine, just because we put a dollar in (a prayer) does not mean a soda will pop out. In praying terms that means
that we will not always get the plane or boat just because we ask for it. There is a colossal difference between spiritual
needs and physical wants. The only thing we shall always receive is spiritual assistance, as illustrated by Luke 11:9-13.
If we ask for salvation and forgiveness, we shall receive them. It is not a deal where we fill out an application and "hope"
we are accepted. If we ask for wisdom, guidance, strength, and protection from the enemy, we shall receive it. If Satan is
attacking, God does not leave if we call on His name. Instead, if we call on the name of the Lord, we are saved. (Proverbs
18:10) Solomon asks for wisdom and receives it, Daniel needed help not to sin and it was given, Paul needs strength and it
is given. When we need spiritual help, it will be given, all we have to do is ask. This assistance will be given to us; like
it was given to Solomon, Daniel, and Paul. Hallelujah!
Chapter 2
The Faith of Daniel
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When we think of great demonstrations of faith, we usually think about Abraham,
Sarah, Paul, someone who was martyred for the faith, or someone mentioned in Hebrews 11. The faith of Daniel, however, is
as great as the names I mentioned above. If we ever do think of Daniel's faith, we usually think of the lion's den. While
the lion's den is an awesome demonstration of faith, we often overlook an equally courageous demonstration of faith. Before
I jump into the message of Daniel’s faith, let's get a little overview from Daniel 2 on what is happening. It reads:
1 Now in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; and his spirit was so troubled
that his sleep left him. 2 Then the king gave the command to call the magicians, the astrologers, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans
to tell the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king. 3 And the king said to them, “I have had a dream,
and my spirit is anxious to know the dream.” 4 Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic, “O king, live
forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation.” 5 The king answered and said to the Chaldeans,
“My decision is firm: if you do not make known the dream to me, and its interpretation, you shall be cut in pieces,
and your houses shall be made an ash heap. 6 However, if you tell the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from
me gifts, rewards, and great honor. Therefore tell me the dream and its interpretation.” 7 They answered again and said,
“Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will give its interpretation.” 8 The king answered and said,
“I know for certain that you would gain time, because you see that my decision is firm: 9 if you do not make known the
dream to me, there is only one decree for you! For you have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till the time
has changed. Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can give me its interpretation.” 10 The Chaldeans
answered the king, and said, “There is not a man on earth who can tell the king’s matter; therefore no king, lord,
or ruler has ever asked such things of any magician, astrologer, or Chaldean. 11 It is a difficult thing that the king requests,
and there is no other who can tell it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.” 12 For this reason
the king was angry and very furious, and gave the command to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. 13 So the decree went out,
and they began killing the wise men; and they sought Daniel and his companions, to kill them.
The passage ends with all of the king's “…wise men…”
(Verse 12) receiving a death sentence, because they could not tell the king what his dream means and what it contains. After
hearing about all of the death sentences, most of us would have not even thought about trying to interpret the dream. Most
of us, even if we had that gift of interpretation, would think, "Why risk it?" Not Daniel. In the midst of all these death
sentences, he simply goes to the king and says: (Daniel 2:16)
16 So Daniel went in and asked the king to give him time, that he might tell the king the interpretation.
Remember,
at this time, Daniel has no idea what this dream is about. He simply tells the king that he will “…tell the king
the interpretation…” Remember, if he cannot interpret this dream, he will be sentenced to death with all the king's
wise men. Daniel, though, unlike the King's worldly wise men has the all-knowing God on his side. He does not depend on his
wisdom knowledge, but instead, has faith in God. The Bible says that he went to his home and told his companions to, "seek
mercies from the God of heaven concerning this secret, so that Daniel and his companions might not perish with the rest of
the wise men of Babylon." If God does not reveal this to Daniel, then Daniel will be killed. Daniel, however, has faith
that God, the Revealer of secrets, will reveal this secret to him. Sure enough, God does. That night in a vision God shows
Daniel exactly what the king has seen and God gives Daniel the interpretation and Daniel gives that interpretation to the
king. Daniel 2:49-49 says:
46 Then King
Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, prostrate before Daniel, and commanded that they should present an offering and incense to
him. 47 The king answered Daniel, and said, “Truly your God is the God of gods, the Lord of kings,
and a revealer of secrets, since you could reveal this secret.” 48 Then the king promoted Daniel
and gave him many great gifts; and he made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief administrator over all
the wise men of Babylon. 49 Also Daniel petitioned the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego
over the affairs of the province of Babylon; but Daniel sat in the gate[e] of the king.
As a result of Daniel’s faith in the One True God, he received an admirable promotion. Trusting in God will always
eventually lead to God’s reward, as it did for Daniel.
I
want to make it clear, that interpreting the dream was an easy task for Daniel, because he had the gift of interpretation.
What made it so hard was the fact that the king was making anyone who wanted to interpret it, also tell him what he had dreamed
about. This was a test to make sure that his wise men were not telling him a lie about the interpretation. He reasoned that
if they could interpret the dream, they must also know what the dream says. This is what made this, such a great exhibition
of faith.
It
should be everyone's prayer to not only have the faith like Abraham, Paul, Sarah, and the martyrs, but also to have faith
like Daniel.
Chapter 3
The Metal Man
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We
now move into the second part of Daniel 2. This is part where we see the first prophecy in the book of Daniel. Daniel has
already been amazing, but it is about to get better and it will show how accurate the Bible is in predicting what will happen
in the future.
Daniel
2: 31:35:
31 “You, O king, were watching; and
behold, a great image! This great image, whose splendor was excellent, stood before you; and its form was awesome. 32 This
image’s head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, 33 its legs of iron, its
feet partly of iron and partly of clay. 34 You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on
its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were
crushed together, and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; the wind carried them away so that no trace of them
was found. And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.
This is very strange sounding isn't it? In this passage Daniel is telling King Nebachadnezzar what his dream is. God,
the revealer of secrets, has given Daniel knowledge of and the interpretation of this strange dream. It is a very good thing
that the account does not end here or it would be very hard to make any sense of this, but Daniel continues and says:
36
“This is the dream. Now we will tell the interpretation of it before the king. 37 You, O king, are a king of kings.
For the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength, and glory; 38 and wherever the children of men dwell, or the
beasts of the field and the birds of the heaven, He has given them into your hand, and has made you ruler over them all—you
are this head of gold. 39 But after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours; then another, a third kingdom of bronze,
which shall rule over all the earth. 40 And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces
and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others. 41 Whereas
you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength
of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay. 42 And as the toes of the feet were partly of
iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile. 43 As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay,
they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay. 44 And
in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not
be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. 45 Inasmuch
as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the
clay, the silver, and the gold—the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream
is certain, and its interpretation is sure.”
We are informed that the head “…of fine gold…”
(Verse 32) is Nebachadnezzar's Babylonian empire.(v.38) The passage then goes on to describe a “…chest and arms
of silver…” (Verse 32) and it makes clear that this shall be a kingdom that will arise after the fall of Nebachadnezzar's
Babylonian empire. Most Bible scholars agree that this kingdom is Medo-Persia because after the Babylonian empires fall it
successes the Babylonian empire in the succession of major world empires. More can be read about the Medo-Persian takeover
of Babylon in Daniel 5. Following that is a description of the bronze “…belly and thighs…” (Verse
32) This is yet another kingdom rising, that is inferior to Babylon. This is most likely Greece as it follows the Medo-Persian
empire in the succession. That is not all, however, the passage then describes the “…legs of iron…”
(Verse 32) This is most likely the Roman Empire as it follows the Greek empire in the empire succession. All of Nebachadnezzar's
dream has already been fulfilled at this time today. The Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Greek, and Roman empires have already come
and gone. But in verse 43, we start to see things, which most likely will happen in the future. The next description is the
feet. The feet are partly iron and partly ceramic clay. Some suggest that the fact that there is iron in the mix, represents
a revived Roman empire. I disagree, mainly because of verse 41 where it says that the strength of the iron shall be in this
empire. Most likely, the iron only represents the strength of this empire. The empire is fragile, however, and it is probably
the same empire described in Daniel 7:24. This passage talks about kings within the empire warring with each other. That would
cause the fragility. I believe that this kingdom described is the Anti-Christ's kingdom that will at one time rule the earth.
This would seem likely because no other empire really matches the description. The toes are partly iron and partly ceramic
clay. Each foot contains five toes which totals to ten. Ten is the same number of horns that the “little horn”
of Daniel 7 rises out of. This little horn is considered to be the anti-christ and the similarity in the number leads to the
conclusion that the feet and toes are the anti-christ. The toes most likely represent ten countries. Most likely, since a
number of these previously discussed empires are in Europe, this one may also rise out of Europe. It is possible this empire
could arise out of the European Union or out of the United Nations. The UN Security Council has ten members that could represent
the ten “toes.” (Verse 42) Out of these ten, a “little horn” (Daniel 7) would arise and later become
the anti-christ. See chapters eight and 13 of this book for more on this subject.
Aside from all the prophecy and symbolism,
do you notice a pattern? This passage shows the succession of worldly kingdoms, with worldly goals, with worldly rulers, and
worldly possessions. The kingdoms of the world are slowly passing away. All of their material riches in ruins and they are
gone. All the treasure stored up on earth is gone. Then in verse 44 a heavenly kingdom is set up, one that will never be destroyed.
It will crush all kingdoms, and they will blow away like chaff. This is God's everlasting heavenly kingdom. All of God's saints
will be part of this kingdom. There will be no crying, pain, or emotional hurt. Eventually Jesus will come to set up His everlasting
kingdom and we will sing praises and honor Him forever. We will be out of this world. When we all get to heaven what a day
of rejoicing that will be. We will be in His presence forever and ever. Hallelujah! Even so come Lord Jesus!
Chapter 4
To Die
Is Gain
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In Daniel three we see the ultimate human
example of faithfulness and persecution. The events of Daniel 3 and the courage and faith shown by Shadrach, Mesach, and Abed-Nego
are absolutely amazing and lead to the question: Would I die for Jesus Christ?
Daniel, chapter three, begins with an account
of King Nebachadnezzar preparing a huge gold image. He gave the command that when all the people of the empire heard the sound
of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery they were to stop what they were doing, bow down, and worship this image. It
is amazing that after acknowledging that Daniel's God was the God of gods, Nebachadnezzar would go and set up a false god
for the people to worship. Nebachanezzar has made it so everyone is required bow to this gold image, this is not voluntary,
it is mandatory. Doing this is mandatory for all of the people and if this decree is not obeyed, death will shortly follow
to the offender. Once again, God fearing men like Shadrach, Mesach, and Abed-Nego were in trouble because God's law prohibits
bowing down to a god other than Himself and that they should not have any idols. Exodus 20: 3-4 says:
Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth
beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
The
three men are in a bind and once again, the king's
orders will make them violate the Lord's law. Once again, they chose to obey God rather than man. They are obedient to God's
commands. Because of that King Nebachadnezzar is mad! He is angry that they will not do what he commanded. He gives them a
second chance by saying:
Now if
you are ready at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, and you fall down and worship
the image which I have made, good!
But if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?”
Shadrach, Mesach, and Abed-Nego then answered and their truly shows obedience and faith. Daniel 3:16-records their
answer:
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the
king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 If that is the case, our God whom we serve
is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. 18 But if not, let it
be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”
Shadrach, Mesach, and Abed
Nego have faith that God could save them. They know He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. The passage goes on to
show that God does indeed save them from the fiery furnace. God rewards their faith and obedience by saving them and allowing
them to receive a huge promotion in verse thirty. They obey God even though it is not the popular thing to do. We, as they
did, should obey God, even if doing so is against the norm of the world. We are to be Jesus to the world. We are to be different,
like aliens and strangers in a foreign land. Being obedient may make us different, and that is what we are commanded to do.
All throughout the Bible people are rewarded for their obedience. God will support an obedient decision one hundred percent.
The right choice is what God will want us to do. Shadrach, Mesach, and Abed-Nego were willing to be obedient to God, even
if it meant death. They made the right choice because that is what God wanted them to do. Just because God supports does not
mean we will be protected from persecution. If we are killed for being obedient, then we are martyrs for Jesus. In fact Paul
said in Philipians 1:21:
21 For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
If we are killed for the faith, then we have the assurance of the place we will go when we die. We will
be in heaven, in the presence of the One who died for our sins so that we may go to that place. If we are persecuted for the
faith then we certainly know that we are doing the right thing.
Shadrach, Mesach, and Abed-Nego were willing to die for their obedience to God's law. Everyone, myself
included, needs to think about the question of, "Would I die for the faith? Or would I disobey God and live?" We need to be
willing to die for the faith and for the glory of God.
Chapter 5
The Proud Man
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King Nebachadnezzar is as proud as a peacock,
there is no doubt about that.
His humongous kingdom is flourishing and life is good. He has done an admiral job building his
empire and he is proud of it. The Lord on the other hand, is not too pleased with Nebachadnezzar. Nebachadnezzar is continually
denying the Lord by building false images, breaking His commandments,and glorifying himself. The Lord is tired of this and
decides that it is time to humble Nebachadnezzar. Daniel 4:4-27 tells of a dream that Nebachadnezzar has and of course Daniel
is the only person in all of Babylon who can interpret this dream. This passage tells of a great tree, its limbs stretch out
across the earth. It is a great tree that reaches clear up to heaven. Sounds wonderful, doesn't it? Then in verse 14 things
change for the worse and the order comes to “…chop
down the tree and cut off its branches, Strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit…” (Verse 14) The passage, in verse 16, changes and begins to talk about
a man. It says of this man: “…let his heart be
changed from that of a man, let him be given the heart of a beast….” (Verse 16) It is rather easy to see by now that this tree is Nebachadnezzar's
Babylonian empire because at the time of this empire, the only thing the dream could have represented is the Babylonian empire.
Based on what happens later, we also know that this is the Babylonian empire. Nebadnezzar has dreamed his own fate. When asked
by Nebachadnezzar asks Daniel what this tree is Daniel replies:
It is you, O king, who have grown and become strong; for your greatness has grown and reaches to the heavens,
and your dominion to the end of the earth. 23 “And inasmuch as the king saw a watcher, a holy
one, coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Chop down the tree and destroy it, but leave its stump and roots in the earth,
bound with a band of iron and bronze in the tender grass of the field; let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let him graze
with the beasts of the field, till seven times pass over him’; 24 this is the interpretation,
O king, and this is the decree of the Most High, which has come upon my lord the king: 25 They shall
drive you from men, your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make you eat grass like oxen. They
shall wet you with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over you, till you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom
of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses.(Daniel 4:22-25)
Then it happens. One day while walking around his palace Nebachanezzar gets a little proud and begins to boast by saying:
“Is not this great Babylon, that
I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?” (Daniel 4:30)
Following his boasting in Daniel 4:31:
While the word was still in the king’s mouth, a voice fell from heaven: “King Nebuchadnezzar,
to you it is spoken: the kingdom has departed from you! 32 And they shall drive you from men, and your
dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. They shall make you eat grass like oxen; and seven times shall pass over you,
until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses.”
The amazing part is that it really happens
and not in a year long process either. Instead the prophecy is fulfilled the very hour the voice from heaven speaks. Verse
33 says:
33 That very hour the word was fulfilled concerning Nebuchadnezzar; he was driven from men and ate grass
like oxen; his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair had grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails like
birds’ claws.
Nebachadnezzar’s situation is certainly humbling and King Nebachadnezzar is the ultimate
example of, "Pride comes before a fall." (Proverbs 16:18) It is important not to get caught up in our earthly items and become
proud. As we see with Nebachadnezzar, pride truly does come before a fall.
We
know that pride comes before a fall, but what encompasses the pride that will make someone fall? I like what the Nelson Study
Bible has to say about this. It says:
"The word pride does not refer to self-esteem or a positive mental attitude,
but to arrogance and a refusal to glorify God."
This description sums pride up very well. Nothing is wrong with
being pleased with the things you have accomplished, it is not giving God the glory where problems begin. In all we do we
must honor Him and give Him glory and give Him praise forever and ever. Nebachadnezzar would have been fine if he would have
given honor to God, the glory to God, and the power to God forever and ever.
The king directs the glory to himself,
not to God. If we are taking credit for something without glorifying and praising Him for it then we are truly displaying
the wrong type of pride. It is important that we give God the glory in everything we do lest we become prideful and begin
to think that we are responsible for great things. If we are being prideful and leaving God out, we will be humbled. It may
not be as dramatic as the king's humbling, but we will be humbled. The Bible says that God “…resists the proud,
but gives grace to the humble…” (James 4:6) If we feel like nothing is going our way then we should look at ourselves
and see if we are being proud and not glorifying God in all we do.
Another example of pride is this: I am participating
in an extremely physical sport and grow very thirsty. Looking towards the bench I see a buddy of mine holding a water bottle.
I ask my buddy for some water and immediately he comes and gives me some. I take a long drag and when I am finished, I proudly
proclaim, “Isn’t it great how I got that water all by myself?” That is sinful pride. I am forgetting that
my friend is the source and that God is the Ultimate Source of my friend and that water. That is sinful pride and that is
the pride that God will resist.
Having a good self-esteem is fine. The Lord even said of Jesus, " This is My Son in
whom I am well pleased." The Lord did not mean for us to walk around saying “I’m no good…I’ll never
do anything right.” Instead he created us to fellowship with Him and to glorify Him. The Lord is pleased with His Son
and it is fine for us to be pleased with our work, as long as we give glory to God for all of our accomplishments.
The
Lord deserves our praises. We are nothing without Him.
Chapter 6
His
Perfect Word
___________________________________________________One of the most fascinating things
about studying Bible prophecy is taking a look at prophecy that has already been fulfilled. It is amazing to see how accurate
the Bible prophets are in predicting the things that will happen in the future based on what the Lord tells them.
Throughout the first five chapters of Daniel
we see prophecy that is fullfilled shortly after it was predicted and it is amazing how specific and exact these prophecies
are. Daniel 5 shows an awesome display of the incredible accuracy of Bible prophecy and God’s Holy Word.
Daniel 5 begins with with a new ruler
named Belshazzar. Within three verses of this chapter, Belshazzar has already broken the commandments of the Lord. Daniel
5:3 reads:
Then they brought the gold vessels that
had been taken from the temple of the house of God which had been in Jerusalem; and the king and his lords, his wives, and
his concubines drank from them.’
Belshazzar has taken the golden vessels from
the house of God is using them to worldly celebrate with his concubines. This is a slap in the face to God and obviously arouses
His anger against Belshazzar.
In
verse 5, while he is making merry, fingers appear on the wall and write. This is too amazing to simply describe so I will
let the Scripture speak:
In the same hour the fingers of a
man’s hand appeared and wrote opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace; and the
king saw the part of the hand that wrote. (Daniel 5:5, NKJV)
Because of this, Belshazzar's “…countenance…”
is changed (Verse 6) and like Nebachadnezzar, he wants to know the meaning of this hadwriting on the wall. Once again he applys
to the astrologers and wise men and once again they cannot tell him and once again Daniel is called to tell the king what
all this means and once again pride is a factor in this prophecy. Verse 22 says:
22 "But you his son, Belshazzar,
have not humbled your heart, although you knew all this.
Daniel then finally informs us
of what the writing is. Verses 25-28 give the description:
25 "And this is the inscription that was written: MENE,
MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.
26 This is the interpretation of each word. MENE: God has numbered your kingdom, and finished
it; 27 TEKEK: You have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting; 28 PERES: Your kingdom has been divided, and given
to the Medes and Persians."
Before I proceed I would like to take each one of these and
talk about them a little bit.
MENE, MENE: The Bible says that Mene means
“God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it.” (Verse 26) This means what it says it means. It is time for Belshazzar to go. He is proud and
the Lord resists the proud and now he will be finished. Belshazzar is defiling the temple and it’s contents and now
the Lord will chasten him for this.
TEKEL: The Bible says of TEKEL “You
have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting” (Verse 27) The "weighed" (Verse 27) part means that
God has weighed Belshazzar’s good and his bad on the “…balances…” (Verse 27) and has found him
wanting. Wanting is not talking about wanting something, it means that one cannot please God with works alone. Works are all
the Belshazzar has and he cannot please God with them, therefore, his supposed righteousness is not good enough and is found
wanting.This is classic example of how we cannot be saved by our own works. Belshazzar had been "weighed" and he did not measure
to the Lord's standards, therefore, this is what he is guilty of.
UPHARSIN: UPHARSIN is also known as PERES is defined
as “Your kingdom has been divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.”
(Verse 28) The prophecy is that this kingdom and Belshazzar, because they have been weighed and not found righteous,
will be divided and given the the Medes and to the Persians. Once again, we cannot please God through works. PERES is the
main prophetic word in this passage as it shows what will happen to Belshazzar’s kingdom.
Now comes the amazing
part and the fulfillment of the prophecy. Verse 30 reads:
30 That very night Belshazzar, king of the Chaldeans,
was slain.
Imediately following Daniel's interpretation the kingdom is divided and Belshazzar is slain in accordance
with the handwriting on the wall. It is as the interpretation has said.
The Lord's Word is perfect. Nothing in it
has ever been proven wrong. Throughout the Bible there are countless examples like this one. The amazing accuracy shows how
powerful and mighty our God is. He is so perfect that He can give us sixty-six books of the Bible and not one contradicts
another. They are perfect, but of course they are! The Word is God and God is perfect, therefore the Word of God is perfect
and without fault.
Chapter 7
Pure Blamelessness
In Daniel 6 we find the amazing story of Daniel in the lion's den. The purpose
of this book to to go beyond the popular stories and have a deeper look at this amazing book so I will not have a chapter
that is completely devoted to Daniel’s time in the lions den. As a result, I will be concentrating on some Scripture
before the lion's den account and look at some other often ignored Scripture that is truly amazing.
Chapter six begins
by showing how powerful Daniel is in the kingdom. The new king Darius has given Daniel a very high postion in the empire.
Daniel 6:1-3 gives the description of Daniel’s rise to power:
1 It pleased
Darius to set over the kingdom one hundred and twenty satraps, to be over the whole kingdom; 2 and
over these, three governors, of whom Daniel was one, that the satraps might give account to them, so that the king would suffer
no loss. 3 Then this Daniel distinguished himself above the governors and satraps, because an excellent
spirit was in him; and the king gave thought to setting him over the whole realm.
The
other governors are not pleased with this and aspire to find something against Daniel that will cause him to loose his high
positon. In Daniel 6:4-5 we see that they are having a hard time doing so. Verses 4 and 5 read:
"4 So the governors and satraps sought to find some charge against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find
no charge or fault, because he was faithful; nor was there any error or fault found in him. 5 Then these men said, "We shall
not find any charge against this Daniel unless we find it against him concerning the law of his God."
Verse 4 is rather intriguing . The verse does not mean that Daniel is perfect, it means that he obeys the laws of the
land perfectly and is blameless as far as laws went and how he lives his life. He is blameless both lawfully and morally.
As we say today, he definetly walked the walk. He did it so well that Verse 5 says:
Then these men said, “We shall not
find any charge against this Daniel unless we find it against him concerning the law of his God.”
Daniel is so blameless that they knew that
they could not find anything against him. Ever since he was taken captive and purposed not to defile himself until now he
has walked righteously and uprightly in the way of the Lord. These evil men realize that the only way they can attempt to
trip him up is to create a law that will make Daniel choose between God and the government. They know Daniel will choose God
and this, the hope, will be his downfall.
Daniel is a wonderful example of how we should
live our lives. Christ is perfect and we are called to be imitators of Christ. Christ is blameless and we should strive to
be blameless also. We should strive to be “like Christ.” Philippians 2:15 reads:
"15 that you may become
blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine
as lights in the world,"
We are to try to become blameless and truly walk the walk, to imitate Christ and His
example. For many, Christianity is only "talk the talk.” They are not striving to become "like Christ".
If
the people who know us best are asked if we are Christians and truly walked the walk, what would they say? Would they say
that we were an upright, blameless, a true Christian? Or would they laugh and say, "Him? A Christian?"
Daniel's conduct is so perfect that those
trying can not find fault in the way he lives his life. Daniel is not perfect, but he follows the Lord and makles sure that
his conduct follows God’s will and follow’s God’s law. The fruit that he produces is good fruit. The type
of fruit that we produce is a testament of what kind of person we are. What type of fruit are we producing today? If one set
out to find something against us, could they? Are we living “like Christ?”
It should be our daily prayer to strive towards blamelessness, become
"like Christ", and to imitate Him as we are commanded to do.
Chapter 8
And They Spoke False Things…
________________________________________________________________________
As I showed in my last chapter, Daniel's conduct is perfect
both lawfully and morally speaking. Those who are trying can find nothing wrong with him.
In order to
find something wrong with him they will need something that will violate the Lord's law, something that will make him choose
between his God and the law of the land. This is the only thing that could trip up Daniel and cause him to disregard man’
law. Daniel 6:5 reads:
5 Then these men said, "We shall not find any charge against this Daniel unless we find
it against him concerning the law of his God."
These evil, cunning men then proceed on with a plan to get rid
of of this goody-goody two shoes Daniel. Verses 6-9 read:
So these governors and satraps thronged before the king,
and said thus to him: "King Darius, live forever! 7 All the governors of the kingdom, the administrators and satraps, the
counselors and advisors, have consulted together to establish a royal statute and to make a firm decree, that whoever petitions
any god or man for thirty days, except you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions. 8 Now, O king, establish the decree
and sign the writing, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which does not alter."
9 Therefore King Darius signed the written decree.
As I was reading this passage about those who break this decree
and follow the Lord, the word persecution came to mind. The other governors hate Daniel because of what he believes and for
the blameless and upright way he lives his life. The are jealous and decide to persecute him because of it.
All over the
world people are persecuted for the Christian faith. In some places the persecution means death or torture, in others religious
freedoms are slowly being taken away. We think that we are not being persecuted in the United States, but really every day
it seems something happens to eliminate God from our country. The Ten Commandments are taken off public place and renamed
the “Ten Suggestions.” Prayer is taken out of school. “Under God” may be taken out of the Pledge of
Allegiance. The persecution going on in American may not be as brutal as some places, but it is happening. All over the world
people are being persecuted like Daniel, other Biblical heroes, and the Christian martyrs.
Jesus said
in Matthew 10:22:
And you will
be hated by all men because of my name: but he who is strong to the end will have salvation. (BBE)
Jesus tells us that persecution is going to come. Persecution
is obviously going to happen because the world hated Jesus first and it is natural that now it will hate the “Christ
ones” and those who follow the one and only Truth. Daniel is a strong man of God and even after he knew the decree he
goes out and he prays to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He remains faithful to the Lord even though he knows what would
happen. Whenever I read a story of this of persecution, I am always amazed at the amount of faith these great men of God have.
I always ask the question “Could I do this?” It is an interesiting question that we should all ponder and pray
about, asking for faith and for strength.
Until the the Lord comes back, the persecution will continue to grow. Revelation
talks about many martyrs that have been slain for the sake of Christ. More will be killed, tortured, and injured. More Ten
Commandments will be taken of buildings, more prayer will be taken away, more hate crimes committed against Christians, more
wars against “under God” will take place.
The future, however, is not all bleak and I do not mean
to sound "doom and gloom" by my last few statements. The Lord will come to receive His own in the end days. We will be caught
up with Him in the clouds. The persecuters will be punished, in fact, after Daniel was thrown into the lion's den the Bible
says in Daniel 6:24:
24 And the king gave the command,
and they brought those men who had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions—them, their children, and
their wives; and the lions overpowered them, and broke all their bones in pieces before they ever came to the bottom of the
den.
As a result of his obedience, even in persecution, Daniel
is saved from the lions and his persecuters are thrown into the pit of lions.
As Christians we will one day leave this earth or the pit
as I like to call it and meet our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. When we get to heaven all of our tears will be wiped away
from our eyes. No more persecution will occur and we will live in Christ’s glory and light. It will be a joyous day
when we see Jesus!
When we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be! When we all see Jesus, we shall
sing and shout the victory!
Chapter 9
What Art These Beasts?
___________________________________________________
Throughout the book of Daniel strange dreams and visions occur. The
Book of Daniel is full of strange dreams and visions. In fact, Daniel 7 is one big dream sequence. Daniel has visions about
weird looking beasts and creatures and all of these beasts and creatures are symbols of earthly kingdoms that in Daniel’s
day have yet to come. What are these symbols and what do they mean?
Daniel 7:2-8 states the account of the first part of Daniel’s
vision:
2 Daniel spoke, saying, “I saw in my vision by night, and behold,
the four winds of heaven were stirring up the Great Sea. 3 And four
great beasts came up from the sea, each different from the other. 4
The first was like a lion, and had eagle’s wings. I watched till its wings were plucked off; and it was lifted up from
the earth and made to stand on two feet like a man, and a man’s heart was given to it. 5 “And suddenly another beast, a second, like a bear. It was raised up on one side, and had three
ribs in its mouth between its teeth. And they said thus to it: ‘Arise, devour much flesh!’ 6 “After this I looked, and there was another, like a leopard, which had on its back
four wings of a bird. The beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it. 7
“After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had
huge iron teeth; it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet. It was different from all
the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. 8 I was considering
the horns, and there was another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked
out by the roots. And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words.
Based on the biblical witness,
we can be sure that the first beast, that is “like a lion, and had eagle’s wings,” is the Babylonian empire.
At the time of its prime, the Babylonian empire is the most powerful empire on earth and is illustrated by the description
of it being like a “lion.” In verse four it says that the eagle’s wings are “plucked off.” This
refers to King Nebachadnezzar, the Babylonian king, and the wings being “plucked off” refer to Nebachadnezzar’s
humbling in Daniel 4. Nebachadnezzar’s humbling eventually leads to the demise of the Babylonian empire in Daniel 5.
The second beast is understood by
most Bible scholars to be the Medo-Persian Empire. Daniel 5 shows the transition of power by saying “Darius the Mede received the kingdom (meaning Babylon), being about sixty-two years old.”
History shows us that the Persians are superior to the Medes because the Persians have “conquered the Medes” 1 and the Nelson Study Bible suggests that the phrase “
‘raised up on one side suggests’ that the Persians are greater and more powerful than the Medes.”
The three ribs in this beast’s “mouth, between its teeth” are the three kingdoms that the Medo-Persians
devoured during their conquest for power. In addition to conquering Babylon as witnessed in Daniel 5, the Medo-Persians also
conquered “Lydia and Egypt.” 2
After the demise of the Medo-Persian
Empire, history shows that Alexander the Great’s kingdom rose to power. Most scholars agree that this is a reference
to the intrepid Alexander the Great because the description of “four wings of a bird” refers to the “speed”2 by which his Greek empire can conquer their opponents. The third beast with four heads is this
empire. After Alexander the Great’s glorious rule over his kingdom, he died and the kingdom is separated into, as the
Nelson Study Bible says, “four different parts” for his four generals. This is illustrated by the description
of this beast that “also had four heads.”
Based on history we know
that the first three beasts have already come, but the next beast, the fourth and final beast of the vision is yet to come
and it is on the way. None of the other historical empires match the description of this one. The description given by Daniel
shows that this will be the most powerful beast of them all, “dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong.”
It will be the most powerful worldly empire on earth, “different from all the beasts that were before it.”
Many have said that this empire is the Roman Empire, however, this view runs into problems when it attempts to explain the
“ten horns” as well as the “little horn” that rises up out of the “ten horns” speaking
pompous words or in some translations, “blasphemies against the Lord.” Antiochus Epiphanes is a figure in history
whose rhetoric did blaspheme the name of the Lord and he is believed to be the little horn of Daniel 8, however, he is not
the same “little horn” as in Daniel 7. In Daniel 8 this “little horn” arose out of the third beast,
the Greek empire, not the fourth beast, thus leading to the conclusion that the “little horn” of Daniel 7 is not
the same “little horn” of Daniel 8. In that case, this is a kingdom that has yet to come in world history. The
Bible also states that this beast is “different from all the beasts that were before it.” It is different because
it is not an empire that is anywhere close to the previous three empires. The end of chapter 7 talks about this kingdom and
how eventually it will be taken away from the “fourth beast” and given to the “saints of the Most High.”
This did not happen at the end of the Roman Empire, but it will happen at the end of this future worldly reign.
Because of this it is very
possible that this kingdom is the Antichrist's kingdom and may arise out of the European Union. Based on what other prophetic
books say and other passages in Daniel, most believe that the Antichrist will arise out of Europe, and the European Union
will be the perfect stage for this. In fact, most European Union members are working to remove the word “God”
from the EU Constitution. This kind of thinking can set the stage for the appearance of the Antichrist. I am talking about
this kingdom being the Antichrist’s kingdom, but does the vision refer to a symbol that is the Antichrist? Yes, it does.
The final sentence talks about a “little horn” and how this horn will have eyes like a man and a mouth speaking
great things. It will also rise up as a leader over all the other ”horns.” This “man” or “horn”
is the Antichrist. Out of these kingdoms, he will rise up and will be the most powerful of all of them. He will speak of great
things so that the entire world will follow him. He will eventually speak great blasphemies against the Lord and declare himself
to be God. (Daniel 7:25) Eventually this will lead to the persecution of many Christians who decide not to follow the Antichrist
and choose the one and only God. (Revelation 7:9-11, Revelation 13:11-18) His rage and power to try to defeat these Christians
is noted by the vision’s description of “huge iron teeth it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling
the residue with its feet.” The book of Revelation goes into greater detail about the Antichrist’s persecution
of the saints; it can truly be summed up as Daniel’s vision describes it.
The chapter continues speaking
about the Antichrist “the court shall be seated, and they shall take away his (the
Antichrist’s) dominion, to consume and destroy it forever.” Once the Antichrist and his kingdom is destroyed,
the Bible says “the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people, the saints of the
Most High. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him.”
Eventually the Lord will come and have dominion over all the kingdoms
of the earth. Daniel’s vision is the succession of some of the most powerful empires on earth, but sooner or later these
will be no more and Christ will rule. He is the King of kings and His kingdom is the Kingdom of kingdoms. He is coming. He
is coming to set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed. It will be everlasting. All will know that He is God. All will
bow down and worship Him. I look forward to His coming. As John the Revelator said while on the island Patmos “even
so, come Lord Jesus come!” (Matt Ahearn)
- apologeticspress.org
2. Nelson Study Bible
Chapter 10
The Ram vs. the
Male Goat
___________________________________________________
Daniel 8 is another amazing chapter that shows how accurate the Bible is. It is also another
ancient history lesson on the succession of worldy empires. Let’s look
at Daniel's dream from Daniel 8:1-14:
1 In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar a vision appeared to
me—to me, Daniel—after the one that appeared to me the first time. 2 I saw in the vision, and it so happened while
I was looking, that I was in Shushan, the citadel, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in the vision that I was by
the River Ulai. 3 Then I lifted my eyes and saw, and there, standing beside the river, was a ram which had two horns, and
the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher one came up last. 4 I saw the ram pushing westward,
northward, and southward, so that no animal could withstand him; nor was there any that could deliver from his hand, but he
did according to his will and became great.5 And as I was considering, suddenly a male goat came from the west, across the
surface of the whole earth, without touching the ground; and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes. 6 Then he came
to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing beside the river, and ran at him with furious power. 7 And I saw
him confronting the ram; he was moved with rage against him, attacked the ram, and broke his two horns. There was no power
in the ram to withstand him, but he cast him down to the ground and trampled him; and there was no one that could deliver
the ram from his hand. 8 Therefore the male goat grew very great; but when he became strong, the large horn was broken, and
in place of it four notable ones came up toward the four winds of heaven. 9 And out of one of them came a little horn which
grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the Glorious Land. 10 And it grew up to the host of heaven;
and it cast down some of the host and some of the stars to the ground, and trampled them. 11 He even exalted himself as high
as the Prince of the host; and by him the daily sacrifices were taken away, and the place of His sanctuary was cast down.
12 Because of transgression, an army was given over to the horn to oppose the daily sacrifices; and he cast truth down to
the ground. He did all this and prospered. 13 Then I heard a holy one speaking; and another holy one said to that certain
one who was speaking, “How long will the vision be, concerning the daily sacrifices and the transgression of desolation,
the giving of both the sanctuary and the host to be trampled underfoot?” 14 And he said to me, “For two thousand
three hundred days;[a] then the sanctuary shall be cleansed.”
The ram with one horn higher than the other is once again Medo-Persia. It follows the description
of Daniel 7 that talks about a beast that is “raised up on one side.” (Daniel 7:5) The Bible even states in Daniel
8:20 that:
20 The ram which you saw, having the two horns—they are the kings of Media
and Persia.
Based on this we know that this ram is the Medo-Persian that is currently ruling at the time
of Daniel’s vision. At the time of its prominence it is the most powerful empire on earth because no nation could withstand
it and it is “….pushing westward, northward, and southward…”
and no other animal could withstand it. Then suddenly another “empire” represented by a male goat rises up to
challenge this powerful ram. This empire is so powerful and takes over territory so fast that it is like its feet never touched
the ground. It attacks the ram and:
7...There was no power in the ram to withstand him, but he cast him down to the ground and
trampled him; and there was no one that could deliver the ram from his hand.
This powerful empire conquers the Medo-Persian
empire and is identified by Daniel 8:21 as:
…the male goat is
the kingdom[b] of Greece. The large horn that is between its eyes is the first king.
This horn that is “…between its eyes…” (Verse 21) is Alexander the
Great. He grew and his kingdom became strong. Then at the prime of the empire this horn breaks symbolizing the death of Alexander
the Great. The horn breaking symbilizes Alexander's death. The four notable horns are most likely the four generals that are
given charge over his empire following his death.
The next part can be controversial. One of these horns to the South
becomes exceedingly great. Some believe this horn is the anti-christ. I disagree because in previous chapters the anit-christ
has always risen up out of a different beast or empire. In previous empires the anti-christ never rises out of the Greek empire.
Instead it always arises out of a different beast. I believe that this represents Antiochus Epiphanes, the king of Syria who
is one of these generals from the South. When the Scripture talks about desecration it is refering to Antiochus erecting a
statue of Zeus in the temple of the one true God and defiling the temple during his conquests. He is like the anti-christ,
but not the ultimate one that will come at the end of time.
The anti-christ does not make an appearance in Chapter 8. Instead, Daniel 9 prepares us for
the incoming Daniel 11 and gives a small amount of insight into Antiochus Epiphanes.
Once again, we see a succession of worldy empires, but one day, Christ shall come and set up
His New Jerusalem on earth. And it will be a great day!
Chapter 11
Lord, Teach Us to Pray…
___________________________________________________
Over the last one hundred years, countless numbers of sermons, books, and papers have been
devoted to the topic of prayer. They range from how to pray to what to say when you pray. Prayer is a very powerful weapon
and us in our Christian walk and in our spiritual warfare. So what does prayer have to do with Daniel? Well, as we will see,
about everything.
In Daniel 9, Daniel prays a heartful prayer to the Lord about Israel. Daniel understands based
on the prophecy of Jeremiah, that desolation will soon come upon Israel. Daniel obviously does not want this and he prays
to the Lord. Before I jump into the context of Daniel’s prayer, let us see what the rest of the Bible says about prayer.
Jesus
talks a lot about prayer in the Gospels. Most of it deals with our conduct and attitude while praying. Matthew 6:5-7 says:
5
"And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners
of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 6 But you, when you pray, go
into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees
in secret will reward you openly.[b] 7 And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their
many words.
In this short passage we already see some very important things about prayer. We are instructed not
to pray to be seen by men so we can be looked up as “holier than thou.” It also instructs us not to use repetitive
prayers that use big words to try to impress. It does not matter how long your sentences are or how many five syllable words
you use, God will hear the prayers of those who are sincere and heartfelt in their prayers. We should not pray to impress
because it will not work. Instead God wants humbleness, for He will give grace to the humble. God cannot be impressed. If
He could then we could save ourselves through works and obviously we cannot based on what Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us:
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of
God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.
Once again we cannot impress God or do good works to get prayers
answered, although He will award us for obedience with blessings and sometimes those blessings will be answers to prayer.
However, works are not the link to answered prayer.
All God says He wants is a supplication that is heartfelt, sincere, not trying to impress,
and being humble. Is that it?. Not quite. Mark 11:25-26 reads:
25 "And whenever you stand praying, if you have
anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. 26 But if you do not
forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses."
We are instructed not to hold a grudge while
praying. A grudge will get in the way of any prayer’s route to heaven. How we can expect to be forgiven of sins if we
cannot forgive? We need to be sure that we have forgiven everyone who has hurt us in the past.
So we now know that we need to be sincere, not pompous, and forgive others in prayer. Now let
us look at a prayer straight from the Bible and look at it with what we have read in Matthew and Mark in mind.
Let's
looks at Daniel's prayer. This is a rather long passage, but it truly shows Daniel's plea for God's forgiveness. We find it
in Daniel 9:3-19:
3 Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting,
sackcloth, and ashes. 4 And I prayed to the LORD my God, and made confession, and said, "O Lord, great and awesome God, who
keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments, 5 we have sinned and committed
iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments. 6 Neither have we heeded
Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings and our princes, to our fathers and all the people of the
land. 7 O Lord, righteousness belongs to You, but to us shame of face, as it is this day—to the men of Judah, to the
inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, those near and those far off in all the countries to which You have driven them,
because of the unfaithfulness which they have committed against You. 8 "O Lord, to us belongs shame of face, to our kings,
our princes, and our fathers, because we have sinned against You. 9 To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, though
we have rebelled against Him. 10 We have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in His laws, which He set before
us by His servants the prophets. 11 Yes, all Israel has transgressed Your law, and has departed so as not to obey Your voice;
therefore the curse and the oath written in the Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out on us, because we have
sinned against Him. 12 And He has confirmed His words, which He spoke against us and against our judges who judged us, by
bringing upon us a great disaster; for under the whole heaven such has never been done as what has been done to Jerusalem.
13 "As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come upon us; yet we have not made our prayer before the LORD
our God, that we might turn from our iniquities and understand Your truth. 14 Therefore the LORD has kept the disaster in
mind, and brought it upon us; for the LORD our God is righteous in all the works which He does, though we have not obeyed
His voice. 15 And now, O Lord our God, who brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and made Yourself
a name, as it is this day—we have sinned, we have done wickedly! 16 "O Lord, according to all Your righteousness, I
pray, let Your anger and Your fury be turned away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain; because for our sins, and
for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people are a reproach to all those around us. 17 Now therefore, our
God, hear the prayer of Your servant, and his supplications, and for the Lord’s sake cause Your face to shine on Your
sanctuary, which is desolate. 18 O my God, incline Your ear and hear; open Your eyes and see our desolations, and the city
which is called by Your name; for we do not present our supplications before You because of our righteous deeds, but because
of Your great mercies. 19 O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and act! Do not delay for Your own sake, my God, for
Your city and Your people are called by Your name."
Daniel is so sad that he is fasting, wearing sackloth, and
is lying in ashes. Daniel's prayer is a heartfelt plea. He knows Israel has done wrong, but he pleads with the Lord for forgiveness.
Daniel is not trying to be cool with this prayer, in fact, he is wearing sackloth and laying in ashes, a symbol of humility,
which shows he doesn’t care about appearance and how he lookes to everyone who could be watching. Daniel simply wants
God to act and he is sincere, heartfelt, and humble.
As Christians we should follow Daniel's example, no, we do not
need to dress in sackloth, we only need to be sincere, heartfelt, and humble. We need to make sure we are not mad at someone
and if we are we need to forgive them and make things right. And we need not speak to impress as that is carnal. The only
thing God wants from is in prayer is sincerity and a willingness to forgive those who have hurt us.
The question now
is: Are there specific things we should say? One of the major non-denominational movements is the “name it and claim
it” movement. Many go around naming what they want, then claiming it in Jesus name. I believe this is rather ridiculous.
Yes, we are to pray in Jesus’s name, but do you see anyone claiming things in the Bible?
Look at Daniel's prayer or even the Lord's prayer. Does Daniel ever say, "Lord I know you have already delivered us
and I claim it"? No, he just pleads with all he has. Not once does the Bible talk about claiming victory. As Christians we
are already victorious over death, hell, and the grave and we do not need to claim anything to receive it. Not once does Daniel
ask for enough faith so that his prayer may be heard. The thought that we need a certain amount of faith to receive something
isalso, in my opinion, not correct. People all over America are saying, "If you don't get what you want, you are having a
faith crisis." While having faith is important, it is not the x factor. We can faith greater than anything and not receive
everything. God makes the decision based on what is good for us, not our faith. Once again, we do need faith. Many times when
healing, Jesus talks about people’s faith. However, if we do not receive something, it does not mean we have a faith
crisis. Instead:
28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the
called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28)
Even if we have the most faith in the world, it does not mean we
will always get want we want. Instead, God looks at our prayer and acts on it based on what is best.
Now, if I was at someone’s house and they decided to pray
and claim something, I would still say “amen.” Mainly because if they appear to be sincere, etc. then I really
can’t disagree with their prayer. Claiming is not a sin, but I don’t think it has much Biblical proof, however,
I don’t think those who do are doing something wrong or sinful.
He asks for sincerity, that we not try to impress, and that we forgive! Faith is a factor,
but we need not think we have a faith crisis if our prayer is not meant to the letter.
God will listen if my prayers are sincere and if I have no grudges, then decide what is
best for me. It is wonderful to know, that my prayers being heard based on what my attitude is like during prayer. It is wonderful
to know that God will look out for me and that if I have a heartfelt cry, he will do what is best.
Chapter 12
Seventy Weeks Are Determined…
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Much debate and commentary revolves around the meaning of the Seventy Weeks Prophecy found
in Daniel 9. A quick Google search reveals many views on this prophecy. Some say all the numbers can be added up to determine
the year of the Rapture. Others say it has something to do with the time period of the tribulation. So which view is correct?
I am going to attempt to go through this prophecy and hopefully draw some Biblical conclusions regarding this amazing prophecy.
God
gives Daniel the Seventy Weeks Prophecy as a result of Daniel's passionate plea for the people of Israel. The first part of
the prophecy from the Lord is found in Daniel 9:24. Daniel 9:24 reads:
24 “ Seventy weeks[a] are determined
For your people and for your holy city,
To finish the transgression,
To
make an end of[b] sins,
To make reconciliation for iniquity,
To bring in everlasting righteousness,
To
seal up vision and prophecy, And to anoint the Most Holy.
"Seventy weeks" can be translated from the ancient
texts as "seventy sevens." That is commonly translated to mean 490 years as seventy times seven is 490 years. It is translated
this way because Leviticus 25:8 says:
8 ‘And you shall count seven sabbaths of years for yourself, seven
times seven years; and the time of the seven sabbaths of years shall be to you forty-nine years.
Then 2 Chronicles
25:21 seems to suggest that the "captivity was to last long enough to make up for seventy omissions of the sabbatical year
which occurred every seven years" 1 thus making a total of 490 years. This is where to translation of 490 years
comes from and personally this is the view that I follow because it seems to make sense based on what it says. Because some
fogginess does exist, I am not saying this is absolute truth, eventually we will know for sure. My job when dealing with prophecy
is to give the interpretation I feel led to give and unless it has already been fulfilled, I try not to portray it as absolute
truth as we cannot be absolutely sure until the entire prophecy has been fulfilled.
The next seven lines in verse 24 are intriguing
because it seems to suggest that Israel will reconcile with God and bring in everlasting righteousness. It also says they
will "anoint the Most Holy." Obviously this Most Holy is Jesus, but they obviously didn't reconcile when Jesus came. Instead
they rejected him. So obviously only part of this verse has been fulfilled, the second part about the annointing has yet to
happen, but will when Christ returns to rule in the Millenium.
The 490 years since Daniel gave this prophecy is over and Israel has not annointed and accepted
Christ. Did the Bible go wrong? No, I believe that the 490 years is divided up into two parts. The first part is 483 years.
I am not sure of the exact date the Seventy Weeks Prophecy is given, however, I believe that Jesus's crucifixion ended this
483 years. In fact, the Bible says that there will be 62 weeks and 7 weeks, these added and multiplied by seven comes out
to be 483 years. Lets look at verse 25 to decipher all of this:
25 “ Know therefore and understand,
That
from the going forth of the command
To restore and build Jerusalem Until Messiah the Prince,
There
shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks;
The street[c] shall be built again, and the wall,[d]
Even in troublesome times.
The Scripture is saying that there will be 483 years from the time
the Jerusalem wall is rebuilt until the time the Messiah shall do what he was meant to do. The account of the wall being rebuilt
can be read in Nehemiah and it is amazing to see how likely this view is. The time the wall being rebuilt and Christ’s
death is very close in this time and seems to me to be the most likely theory to most of this. What will happen to Messiah
at the end of this period? Look at verse 26 for that:
26 “ And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be
cut off, but not for Himself;
And the people of the prince who is to come
Shall destroy the city
and the sanctuary.
The end of it shall be with a flood,
And till the end of the war desolations are
determined.
It says that after this time that the Messiah shall be cut off. The Messiah being cut off refers to
Jesus's death on the cross. Then there shall be a time after that when the city, meaning Jerusalem, and the sanctuary, the
temple, shall be destroyed. After Jesus's death that did happen and the passage that says "The end of it shall be with a flood,
And till the end of the war desolations are determined." (Verse 26) I believe this symbolizes that Israel will really not
be a nation until Israel becomes a nation again, which happened in 1948. It could also be symbolizing when Israel is finally
redeemed because then the “…end of war desolations.” (Verse 26) That time would be fulfilled and Israel
redeemed. Both of these are very plausible theories. Keep in mind that this is my interpretation.
The next verse is where we see the future prophetic time. This verse is where the final seven
years, the tribulation, will occur. Verse 27 reads:
27 Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week;
But in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.
And on the wing of
abominations shall be one who makes desolate,
Even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out
on the desolate.”
The "he" is the anti-christ. The covenant is a seven-year covenant, which kicks off the
final seven years of the Seventy Weeks Prophecy and kicks off the tribulation. Sometime in the middle of this covenant he
will break it off and end all the sacrifice in the rebuilt temple. More about this can be read about in Daniel 12:11. He will
end all Israeli sacrifices and will defile the temple. He will declare himself God and try to make everyone worship him in
the temple. That would be the ultimate defilement of the temple of God and would certainly be an “anti-christ.”
When
the seven years end the Jews who have come to know God will be fully reconciled with Him, He will fulfill any prophecy not
yet fulfilled. Israel shall be redeemed and we shall reign with Him. Contrary to some beliefs, God is not done with Israel.
In fact, He is now beginning. Amen.
SOURCES:
1. Nelson Study Bible
Chapter 13
The Glorious Men
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1 In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a message was revealed to Daniel, whose name was
called Belteshazzar. The message was true, but the appointed time was long;[a] and he understood the message, and had understanding of the vision. 2 In those days I, Daniel, was mourning three full
weeks. 3 I ate no pleasant food, no meat or wine came into my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks
were fulfilled.
In this passage Daniel is given a vision that has a message so powerful and yet so terrible that
Daniel is “…mourning…” (Verse 2) over this vision. We are not told about this vision until chapter
11, in fact; only the interpretation is given in chapter eleven. That is because the dream is so terrible that Daniel is mourning,
he probably had no desire at the time to record it. This is an amazing dream as we will see in Daniel 11, but we must first
take a look at the message of Daniel 10.
Daniel sees this vision and he mourns for three weeks, he did not eat or drink. When he is
finished with his mourning time he lifts his eyes there is a man, the Bible best describes his appearance:
5 I
lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, a certain man clothed in linen, whose waist was girded with gold of Uphaz! 6 His body
was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like torches of fire, his arms and feet like burnished
bronze in color, and the sound of his words like the voice of a multitude.
Amazing isn't it? I will discuss who
this man is shortly. When Daniel sees this vision he is actually with a number of other men. (Verse 7) These men do not see
this man, but they feel something that causes them to be filled with great terror. These men have probably never been in the
presence of the Holy Spirit, let alone a man from heaven. The presence of this man alone causes them great terror and they
flee. But who is this man? Some suggest a pre incarnate Christ. I, however, disagree with this belief, mainly because of verse
13:
13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief
princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia.
Two things pop out here. Notice
that the prince of Persia resisted this man for twenty-one days. This is not an actual "prince", but some sort of demon or
satanic spirit assigned to watch over the Persian empire, it reminds me a lot of The Screwtape Letters(By C.S. Lewis).
The reason I believe this man is not Jesus is because this man is resisted and requires help to get past this prince. Jesus
could have been resisted, but He would not have needed help from Michael, one of the chief princes, to help him. All Jesus
had to do was rebuke this demon and Jesus, as God, would have been on His way. Also, Daniel does not refer to this man like
he would have had it been Jesus, or God, his account is all in lowercase letters. Daniel obviously does not think this is
Jesus and it is part of the reason I do not believe this man is Jesus. Some say that an angel would not cause the terror of
the men; well obviously angels are amazing and certainly could. John bowed down to an angel in Revelation because of it’s
magnificence, even though he was not supposed too. An angel can cause this fear, any heavenly being can. One could make the
case that Daniel does not know this was a pre incarnate Christ, that is possible, but because of verse thirteen, I lean towards
this not being Christ. Also, the Bible is 100% accurate so I do not believe that Daniel messed up while writing his account
because the Word is God-breathed and the Word is God.
At this point Daniel is on the ground speechless when another
man appears. This man is to tell Daniel the meaning of his dream. One can make the case that this is a preincarneit Christ,
after all he is "like the son of man" meaning he looks like a man, as did Jesus. There is evidence for both sides here. Once
again one can make the case that this is not Christ because Daniel did not act like this was Christ. He referred to him as
"lord" not "Lord." In fact, this second man does not refer to himself like God. In verse 21 he appears to be saying "me" instead
of "Me." One could argue that Daniel's account was flawed, but I believe that the entire Bible is correct and Spirit led.
I believe that Daniel was led to put what he did. As a result, I believe that neither of these men is a preincarneit Christ.
I know some will disagree, but because I believe the Bible is 100% accurate, I currently cannot accept this view. And, simply
because someone is recognized as the “son of man” does not mean he is Christ. Ezekial is referred to as “son
of man” over forty times in the book of Ezekial and he is obviously not Christ!
Both of these men are sent to give Daniel an interpretation of his dream.
Chapter 10 is a prelude to an action packed chapter--chapter 11 which can be read about in chapter 14 of this book.
One
more thing, Daniel is overcome and the men around him who most likely do not know God are terrified at the presence of one
angel. Can you imagine how great of presence we will feel when we are finally in the presence of our Lord? It will be wonderful.
It will be amazing! And I cannot wait.
Better is one day in His courts, better is one day in His house, then thousands
elsewhere!
Chapter 14
North vs. South
___________________________________________________
Daniel
11 is extremely heavy. The first time I read this my head started spinning. This chapter has so much information it is hard
to know how to go through all of this. So, in order to prevent confusion I will go verse by verse and then give a summary
of all these battles, empires, and people. Let's dig in!
2 And now I will tell you the truth: Behold, three more kings will arise in Persia, and the fourth
shall be far richer than them all; by his strength, through his riches, he shall stir up all against the realm of Greece.
At the time of this vision Darius was the king of Persia. Following Darius, three kings,
Cambyses, Gaumata, and Darius I rose up in Persia. The fourth, after those, was Xerxes. Nelson Study Bible says that he was
the "richest king of all due to his conquest and severe taxation." This fits perfectly with the words of the prophecy and
most scholars conclude this is Xerxes.
Then a mighty king shall arise, who shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will.
4 And when he has arisen, his kingdom shall be broken up and divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not among his posterity
nor according to his dominion with which he ruled; for his kingdom shall be uprooted, even for others besides these.
This is the pattern seen time and time again in this study of Daniel. This kingdom arises, grows
great, and breaks into four different parts. This is probably the fourth time we see this in Daniel. Because this king is
"mighty" and his kingdom divides to the "four winds of heaven," we conclude that this is Alexander the Great's empire. Following
his death the kingdom is broken into four parts and none of them retain the strength of his original empire.
5 “Also the king of the South shall become strong, as well as one of his princes; and he
shall gain power over him and have dominion. His dominion shall be a great dominion.
One of these four parts, the South, which is controlled by Ptolemy 1 Soter, becomes stronger than
the others. Likewise did one of his princes who is Seleucus Nicator. The Scripture suggests that this prince gains power over
the Southern kingdom and begin a great dominion.
6 And at the end of some years they shall join forces, for the daughter of the king of the South
shall go to the king of the North to make an agreement; but she shall not retain the power of her authority,[a] and neither he nor his authority[b] shall stand; but she shall be given up, with those who brought her,
and with him who begot her, and with him who strengthened her in those times.
After a time the Southern forces, controlled by Ptolemy Philadephus, joined together with the Northern
king who is Antiochus II Theos. This daughter refers to Berenice the daughter of the new Southern ruler, Ptolemy Philadelphus.
As the Bible shows, she most certainly does make a treaty and the two empires are united.
But from a branch of her roots one shall arise in his place, who shall come with an army, enter
the fortress of the king of the North, and deal with them and prevail. 8 And he shall also carry their gods captive to Egypt,
with their princes[c]and their precious articles of silver and gold; and he shall continue
more years than the king of the North. 9 “Also the king of the North shall come to the kingdom of the king of the South,
but shall return to his own land.
After a time, a man, Ptolemy III Euergetes, arises from her roots and attacks the North and prevail.
Obviously this man breaks off the "treaty." He attacks and prevails; the North attempts a rebuttal, but is defeated. This
happens in history. Berenice’s brother was Ptolemy III Euergetes and he conquers the king of the North who is how Seleucus
Callinicus. Seleucus attempts a rebuttal, but it is unsuccessful.
10 However his sons shall stir up strife, and assemble a multitude of great forces;
and one shall certainly come and overwhelm and pass through; then he shall return to his fortress and stir up strife. 11 “And the king of the South shall be moved with rage, and go out and fight with him, with the king
of the North, who shall muster a great multitude; but the multitude shall be given into the hand of his enemy. 12
When he has taken away the multitude, his heart will be lifted up; and he will cast down tens of thousands, but he will not
prevail.
Following Seleucus’s
failed rebuttal as described in verses 7-9, he returns “to his own land.” Following his return, his sons, who
are Seleucus III Geranaunus and Antiochus III the Great, stir up strife between the two kingdoms. These sons cause the Southern
king, now Ptolemy IV Philopator, to be “moved with rage.” (Verse 11) Ptolemy goes “out and fights”(Verse
11) with the Northern kingdom. He musters “a great multitude,” but does not prevail. The Northern king, Antiochus
III is defeated by the king of the North (Ptolemy) “at Raphia in 217 B.C.” (Nelson Study Bible)
13 For the king of the North will return and muster a multitude greater than the
former, and shall certainly come at the end of some years with a great army and much equipment. 14
“Now in those times many shall rise up against the king of the South. Also, violent men[d] of your people shall exalt themselves in fulfillment of the vision, but they shall fall. 15
So the king of the North shall come and build a siege mound, and take a fortified city; and the forces[e] of the South shall not withstand him. Even his choice troops shall have no strength to resist. 16
But he who comes against him shall do according to his own will, and no one shall stand against him. He shall stand in the
Glorious Land with destruction in his power.
Following defeat
at Raphia the North, Antiochus III returns and at the “end of some years” has a “great army” and “much
equipment.” (Verse 13 for all three quotes) In that same time many countries rise “against the king of the South…”(verse
14) The Southern king is now Ptolemy V Ephiphanes and “Philip V of Macedonia” (Nelson Study Bible) rises to help
Antiochus III fight against the Southern king. Verse 15 says the North attacks and defeats “the fortified city of Sidon.”
(Nelson Study Bible) This did occur in 198 B.C. Following this victory the North will become too powerful and “…no
one shall stand against him...” (Verse 16) He shall also enter and take control of the “…Glorious Land,”(Verse
16) also known as Israel.
17 “He shall also set his face to enter with the strength of his whole kingdom,
and upright ones[g] with him; thus shall he do. And he shall give him the daughter of women to destroy it; but she shall not stand with
him, or be for him.
Antiochus decides
to “…set his fact to enter (the entire South) with the strength of his whole kingdom…”(verse 17) He
decides to use every advantage he has and gives his daughter, Cleopatra, to be married to Southern King Ptolemy V Epiphanes
in “…order to destroy or undermine Egypt.” (Nelson Study Bible, Egypt also known as “South.”)
She, however, decides to go with her husband and revolt against her father, thus she “…shall not stand with him…”
(Verse 17)
18 After this he shall turn his face to the coastlands, and shall take many. But
a ruler shall bring the reproach against them to an end; and with the reproach removed; he shall turn back on him. 19
Then he shall turn his face toward the fortress of his own land; but he shall stumble and fall, and not be found. 20 “There shall arise in his place one who imposes
taxes on the glorious kingdom; but within a few days he shall be destroyed, but not in anger or in battle.
Because of his
failure to destroy the South with his daughter, Antiochus takes his focus off of the entire Southern kingdom and he turns
“…his face to the coastlands…” (Verse 18) This entire Scripture is based on the Israel/Egypt/Syria
area so the “coastlands” are most likely the Asia Minor area. During this campaign, however, Antiochus is defeated
by Roman ruler Lucius Cornelius Scorpo. “ Having lost all that he had gained, Antiochus returned to ‘his own land,’
where he was defeated and killed while trying to plunder a temple.” (Nelson Study Bible) That is what is represented
when it says, “…he shall stumble and fall, and not be found.” (Verse 19) Following his demise, his son,
Seclus IV Philopator rises to power. Seclus only ruled 11 years and was eventually ousted out by Antiochus IV Epiphines due
to treachery, not violence, in accordance with the prophecy that says, “…he shall be destroyed, but not in anger
or in battle.” (v. 20)
21
And in his place shall arise a vile person, to whom they will not give the honor of royalty; but he shall come in peaceably,
and seize the kingdom by intrigue. 22 With the force[h] of a flood they shall be swept away from before him and be broken,
and also the prince of the covenant. 23 And after the league is made with him he shall act deceitfully,
for he shall come up and become strong with a small number of people. 24 He shall enter peaceably,
even into the richest places of the province; and he shall do what his fathers have not done, nor his forefathers: he shall
disperse among them the plunder, spoil, and riches; and he shall devise his plans against the strongholds, but only for a
time.
As we see, Secelus
ruled only 11 years and was ousted, but not through violence. Instead, this new ruler came “…in peaceably…”(Verse
21) This “…vile person…” refers to “…Antiochus IV Epiphanes who seized the throne through
treachery.” (Nelson Study Bible) The following verse, verse 24, gives a brief description of his rule.
25
“He shall stir up his power and his courage against the king of the South with a great army. And the king of the South
shall be stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army; but he shall not stand, for they shall devise plans against
him. 26 Yes, those who eat of the portion of his delicacies shall destroy him; his army shall be swept
away, and many shall fall down slain. 27 Both these kings’ hearts shall be bent on evil, and
they shall speak lies at the same table; but it shall not prosper, for the end will still be at the appointed time.
Antiochus IV decides
to “…stir up his power and his courage against the king of the South with a great army.” (Verse 25) The
“…king of the South shall be stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army; but he shall not stand…”
(Verse 25) Antiochus IV defeats the South, now ruled by Ptolemy Philopator who is betrayed by “…those who eat
at the portion of his delicacies…” (Verse 26), and “both these kings’ hearts shall be bent on evil,
and they shall speak lies at the same table…” (Verse 26) The fact they are at a “table” suggests that
they have “peace talks,” both are not bent on peace, but on evil. These talks are not successful, because peace
will never come to the Middle East and that area until the “…appointed time…”
28
While returning to his land with great riches, his heart shall be moved against the holy covenant; so he shall do damage and
return to his own land.
Nelson Study Bible
says of this passage, “on his way back to Syria, Antiochus looted the temple in Jerusalem and killed many people.”
This is the most likely explanation for this passage.
29
“At the appointed time he shall return and go toward the south; but it shall not be like the former or the latter. 30 For ships from Cyprus[i] shall come against him; therefore he shall be grieved, and return in
rage against the holy covenant, and do damage.
Once again, Antiochus
IV decides to attack the South. This attack is a disaster. Antiochus arrives and the “…Romans forced Antiochus
to depart…” (Nelson Study Bible) The Romans are represented by the “…ships from Cyprus…”
(Verse 30) Once again, on his way back, he loots the temple and damages it out of frustration.
31
And forces[j] shall be mustered by him, and they shall defile the sanctuary fortress;
then they shall take away the daily sacrifices, and place there the abomination of desolation. 32 Those
who do wickedly against the covenant he shall corrupt with flattery; but the people who know their God shall be strong, and
carry out great exploits. 33 And those of the people who understand shall instruct many; yet for many
days they shall fall by sword and flame, by captivity and plundering. 34 Now when they fall, they shall
be aided with a little help; but many shall join with them by intrigue. 35 And some of those of understanding
shall fall, to refine them, purify them, and make them white, until the time of the end; because it is still for the appointed
time.
Antiochus is now
beyond control. He musters forces and begins defiling the temple once again. He will not allow the Jews to perform their daily
sacrifices, and he also sacrifices a sow upon the alter of God which is an unclean animal and forbidden. However, some of
“…the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits.” The first thing that came
to my mind when I read that was the Maccabean revolt. Nelson Study Bible says, “Mattathias, father of five sons, refused
to offer sacrifices in a profane manner and killed the king’s agents. He and his sons then fled to the mountains and
began the famous Macabbean revolt.” Eventually the Macabbeans sieged Jerusalem. This paved the way for the Romans to
take control before Christ’s birth. This led to the birth of Christ and to what is coming next.
36
“Then the king shall do according to his own will: he shall exalt and magnify himself above every god, shall speak blasphemies
against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the wrath has been accomplished; for what has been determined shall be done.
37 He shall regard neither the God[k] of his fathers nor the desire of women, nor regard any god; for he
shall exalt himself above them all. 38 But in their place he shall honor a god of fortresses; and a
god which his fathers did not know he shall honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and pleasant things. 39
Thus he shall act against the strongest fortresses with a foreign god, which he shall acknowledge, and advance its glory;
and he shall cause them to rule over many, and divide the land for gain.
A large time gap
occurs between the Macabbean revolution in verses 31-35 and what is occurring now. In verse 36 a new king is introduced. This
king is often misinterpreted to be Antiochus, the king of the North; however, verse 40 says that the North and South will
come against this king. Because both of these empires will battle with this one, it is obviously not the Northern empire or
the Southern empire. This kingdom is the end time’s kingdom of the anti-christ. The anti-christ will “…magnify
himself…” (Verse 36) and “…speak blasphemies…” (Verse 36) This is very similar to what
is said in Daniel 9:25, and Daniel 9:25 is most certainly referring to the anti-christ, the striking similarities lead to
the conclusion that this new king is the anti-christ.
40
“At the time of the end the king of the South shall attack him; and the king of the North shall come against him like
a whirlwind, with chariots, horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter the countries, overwhelm them, and pass through.
41 He shall also enter the Glorious Land, and many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall escape
from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the prominent people of Ammon. 42 He shall stretch out his hand against
the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. 43 He shall have power over the treasures of
gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; also the Libyans and Ethiopians shall follow at his heels. 44 But news from the east and the north shall trouble him; therefore he shall go out with great fury to destroy
and annihilate many. 45 And he shall plant the tents of his palace between the seas and the glorious
holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and no one will help him.
Because this is
prophecy yet to come, we will not know completely how it will happen until it does. The following is my opinion of what I
believe will happen, not absolutely what will transpire.
When the anti-christ
first comes on the scene he will be looked at as a peacemaker. He will “…confirm a covenant with many…”(Daniel
9:27) This covenant will be for a week or one year for each day of the week, thus totaling seven years. In the middle of this
covenant he will break off from it. Daniel 9 says, “He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing
of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation, which is determined, is poured out on the desolate.”
(Daniel 9:27) His blasphemies infuriate many and the king of the South and the king of the North to attack him. These are
not the same kingdoms, but most likely an alliance formed against him. The south could contain an alliance of African countries
and the north could be a European alliance or a Russian attack similar to the Russian alliance in Ezekiel 38. This is unclear.
These alliances come against him, and destroys them. Following their destruction he shall “…also enter the Glorious
Land…” (Verse 41) “…many countries shall be overthrown…” but he will spare Edom, Moab,
and Ammon. I am not sure at this point about Edom, but Ammon and Moab refer to Jordan and Syria respectively. Edom, Moab,
and Ammon are traditional enemies of God and Israel and will probably be the anti-christ’s allies. He shall attack Egypt
and “…the land of Egypt shall not escape.” More African countries “…follow at his heels…”
but “…news from the east and the north shall trouble him…” (Verse 44) The north is probably more of
this European alliance or Russian alliance, although the passage does not refer to it as a “kingdom” so it is
possible this attack is coming from a different northern alliance, like Russia. The “east” is very interesting,
also. Revelation 16:12 tells of the Euphrates river drying up so the “…kings of the east might be prepared.”
This “east” that the anti-christ is fearing is the same coming by way of the dried up Euphrates in Revelation.
In modern times, only one major “kingdom” or country exists to the east that is this powerful: China and its million
man army. Revelation says kings, so it possible that North Korea will be an ally with China. It also possible Iran, with its
developing nuclear program could come also.
The anti-christ
will prepare his tents “…between the seas and the glorious holy mountain…” (Verse 45) He will fight
with the Northern kingdom and the kings from the east, but he shall not prevail and “…he shall come to his end…”
(Verse 45) I should make clear that this is NOT Armageddon. Armageddon is described by the Bible as a fight between good and
evil, a spiritual war, not a physical war between countries. Revelation 16:13-16 talks about “unclean spirits”
and “spirits of demons.” Armageddon will be the final fight between good and evil. The Lord will prevail and Daniel
twelve talks about this in more detail.
Daniel 11 is
like reading a history book. It gives a rather detailed history of the kingdoms before Christ was born and also gives a good
description of the anti-christ’s final battles. It is amazing to see how accurate the Bible is in it’s prediction
of what happens in the future, but then, it is the One True God writing it, so of course it is accurate!
Chapter 15
Even So, Come Lord
Jesus, Come
___________________________________________________
The Vision of the Glorious Men that began back in chapter 10 is still rolling on in chapter
12. This vision has taken us from around 530 B.C. to a period of time that will happen in the near future. Daniel 12 gives
us insight into what will happen after the anti-christ's demise. (Daniel 11:36-45) After his demise, the seven-year treaty
of the Seventy Weeks prophecy is will be over and the seven-year tribulation is over. Now all that remains is the destruction
of Mystery Babylon (Revelation 18), the final deliverance of Israel, and a great earthquake that will shake the earth. This
is truly an exciting time that will occur after the tribulation.
Daniel 12 details the final days by saying:
1 “At that time Michael shall stand up,
The great prince who stands watch
over the sons of your people;
And there shall be a time of trouble,
Such as never was since there was a nation,
Even
to that time.
And at that time your people shall be delivered,
Every one who is found written in the book.
2 And
many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake,
Some to everlasting life,
Some to shame and everlasting
contempt.
3 Those who are wise shall shine
Like the brightness of the firmament,
And those who turn many to righteousness
Like the stars forever and ever.
This "...time of trouble..." (Verse 1) is referring to a period of time in between the
anti-christ's demise and Christ's Glorious Appearing on a white horse. At that time, the final prophecies about the earth's
last days shall be fulfilled. In this period, Armageddon, the final fight between good and evil will most likely occur although
it is unsure exactly when in the tribulation it shall occur. Mystery Babylon will fall and is best described by Revelation
17:1-2
1 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying to me,
“Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, 2 with whom the kings of the earth
committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.”
This "fornication" is not referring to the physical sin of fornication, but rather the act of going
against God, fornicating against God, and rejecting the One True God. This is most likely a new worldwide religion that originates
in the tribulation based on the description of Revelation 17. Revelation 6:17 says that Mystery Babylon is "...drunk with
the blood of the saints..." meaning that it is against the Lord and will seek to destroy Christians who accept Christ after
the Rapture of the church. This fornicating religion shall be defeated. Revelation 18:2 says:
2 And he cried mightily[a] with a loud voice, saying, “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen,
and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird!
This religion that is a "...dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage
for every unclean and hated bird" will fall in the tribulation. Most likely it will fall after the anti-christ's demise as
it occurs after the drying of the Euphrates River. Remember, the Euphrates will dry up directly before the anti-christ’s
demise, therefore, we can conclude that this will happen after the anti-christ’s fall. This will pave the way for the
Lord's Glorious Appearing. This destruction shall be a time of mourning for the rest of the world, but for the Christians
it shall symbolize that Christ is coming and that Christ is coming soon!
In this time, an earthquake shall also occur. Following Armageddon, Revelation 16:17-21 says:
17 Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the
temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, “It is done!” 18 And there were noises and thunderings and lightnings;
and there was a great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred since men were on the earth. 19 Now
the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And great Babylon was remembered before God,
to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath. 20 Then every island fled away, and the mountains were not
found. 21 And great hail from heaven fell upon men, each hailstone about the weight of a talent. Men blasphemed God because
of the plague of the hail, since that plague was exceedingly great.
The earth will be shaken greater than ever before, this shall truly make this "...time of trouble..."
the worst time of trouble ever on the earth. This earthquake shall even be great than the one in Revelation 6:12.
It is commonly thought that immediately after the seven years is over that Christ will come on His
white horse. Many think this "...time of trouble..." (Verse 1) is referring to the tribulation. However, this “…time
of trouble…” occurs after the anti-christ's demise and after the seven-year tribulation. We also know Christ will
not come after the conclusion will come because of what Daniel 12:11-12 says:
11 “And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination of desolation
is set up, there shall be one thousand two hundred and ninety days. 12 Blessed is he who waits, and comes to the one thousand
three hundred and thirty-five days.
Based on the Seventy weeks prophecy we know that the tribulation will be a total of seven years.
We also know that the antichrist “…shall in the middle of the week…bring an end
to sacrifice and offering.” (Daniel 9:27) So we know that the first half will occur three and a half years in to the
tribulation. From the day that the daily sacrifice is taken away it shall be one thousand two hundred and ninety days or around
another three and a half years. Then it talks about one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days and this is distinctly
forty-five days after the end of the seven-year period ends. In those forty-five days the final prophecies shall be fulfilled.
Mystery Babylon shall be destroyed, the earth shall shake, then Satan will be bound, and the Millennium shall begin with Jesus
Christ at the conclusion of those forty-five days.
I would like to talk about something that could cause confusion in the future. I said that the anti christ
would fall, then Christ would come. However, in Revelation 20 we see Christ fighting with a beast that is commonly thought
to be the anti-christ. Did I contradict the Bible? Does Daniel contradict Revelation? No. Let’s look at a description
of this beast from Revelation 13:1:
1 Then I[a] stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns,[b] and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name.
First off, this beast is not the anti-christ for a number of reasons. This beast has seven heads, which I
identify to be seven major earthly empires. These empires are ancient Egypt, the ancient Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Greeks
under Alexander the Great, the Medo-Persian Empire, the Roman empire, and the final being the anti-christ’s worldly
kingdom. The anti-christ is not this beast; rather he is part of this kingdom. This beast is more like a satanic
spirit, much the Prince of Persia that we see in Daniel 10. Christ will battle them and will defeat them!
The Scripture says, “blessed is he who waits, and comes to the one thousand three hundred and thirty
five days.” What are they to wait for? Basically the Scripture is saying blessed be those who are faithful and wait
for Christ and do not give up until He comes for them. The Scripture is telling those who come to Christ in the tribulation
to be faithful all the way until Christ’s return.
Following the conclusion of the forty-fifth day Daniel 12:1-3 tells us what shall happen in that time (First
five lines of verse 1 omitted):
And at that time your people shall be delivered, Every one who is found written in the book. 2
And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some to everlasting life, Some to shame and everlasting
contempt. 3 Those who are wise shall shine Like the brightness of the firmament, And those who turn
many to righteousness Like the stars forever and ever.
At that time the
Lord will come and deliver Israel, the nation He has not forsaken. The promises He has made to them shall be fulfilled. Everyone
written in the Book of Life shall reign with Him. Everyone who is in the Book of Life shall see Satan bound we will rule with
Him!
This time when
the Rapture and tribulation shall happen is near. The time is here. The angel told Daniel to “…seal the book until
the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.” “Sealing up the book” does
not mean sealing it with wax, but rather that the words of this prophecy would not be able to be understood until many are
running “…to and fro…” and knowledge both in science and God’s Word has increased. Today, those
words are unsealed. Back in Daniel’s day he did not understand his own vision, but now we can understand most of what
Daniel has said, seen, and prophesied. The time has come; people are running to and fro, knowledge has increased. That, along
with much else signals the return of Jesus Christ, out Savior.
In that day when Jesus Christ comes we will be caught up with Him in the clouds. Every tear will be wiped
away. Eventually, following the tribulation Israel shall be redeemed and restored and eventually New Jerusalem shall be created.
We will reign for one thousand years with Christ and it will truly be awesome. Amen.
11 Therefore comfort each other and edify one
another (with these words), just as you also are doing. (1Thessalonians 5:11)
I hope you have enjoyed reading through this book entitled Daniel: Beyond the Prophecies. In this book, we have explored
every chapter of the book of Daniel and have found some wonderful messages and interpretations. I now hope that you know what
is beyond the prophecies and popular stories of Daniel.
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