Showing posts with label Daniel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Daniel. Show all posts
The Great Tribulation
Labels:
Daniel
The Book of the
Prophet Daniel
“But you, Daniel, shut up
the words and seal the book, until the time of the end.”
Daniel
12:4
Chapter 12:1-13 The
Great Tribulation
1.
"At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your
people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since
there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be
delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book.
2.
And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to
everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
3.
And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and
those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.
4. But
you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, until the time of the end.
Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase."
5.
Then I, Daniel, looked, and behold, two others stood, one on this bank of the
stream and one on that bank of the stream.
6.
And someone said to the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the
stream, "How long shall it be till the end of these wonders?"
7.
And I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the stream;
he raised his right hand and his left hand toward heaven and swore by him who
lives forever that it would be for a time, times, and half a time, and that
when the shattering of the power of the holy people comes to an end all these
things would be finished.
8. I
heard, but I did not understand. Then I said, "O my lord, what shall be
the outcome of these things?"
9. He
said, "Go your way, Daniel, for the words are shut up and sealed until the
time of the end.
10.
Many shall purify themselves and make themselves white and be refined, but the
wicked shall act wickedly. And none of the wicked shall understand, but those
who are wise shall understand.
11.
And from the time that the regular burnt offering is taken away and the
abomination that makes desolate is set up, there shall be 1,290 days.
12. Blessed
is he who waits and arrives at the 1,335 days.
13.
But go your way till the end. And you shall rest and shall stand in your
allotted place at the end of the days."
The Antichrist
Labels:
Daniel
The Book of the
Prophet Daniel
“But you, Daniel, shut up
the words and seal the book, until the time of the end.”
Daniel
12:4
Chapter 11:36-45 The Antichrist
36. "And the king shall do as he
wills. He shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every god, and shall
speak astonishing things against the God of gods. He shall prosper till the
indignation is accomplished; for what is decreed shall be done.
37. He shall pay no attention to the
gods of his fathers, or to the one beloved by women (or the desire of women, KJV, ASV). He shall not pay attention to any other
god, for he shall magnify himself above all.
38. He shall honor the god of fortresses
instead of these. A god whom his fathers did not know he shall honor with gold
and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts.
39. He shall deal with the strongest
fortresses with the help of a foreign god. Those who acknowledge him he shall
load with honor. He shall make them rulers over many and shall divide the land
for a price.
40. "At the time of the end, the
king of the south shall attack him, but the king of the north shall rush upon
him like a whirlwind, with chariots and horsemen, and with many ships. And he
shall come into countries and shall overflow and pass through.
41. He shall come into the glorious
land. And tens of thousands shall fall, but these shall be delivered out of his
hand: Edom and Moab and the main part of the Ammonites.
42. He shall stretch out his hand
against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape.
43. He shall become ruler of the
treasures of gold and of silver, and all the precious things of Egypt, and the
Libyans and the Cushites shall follow in his train.
44. But news from the east and the north
shall alarm him, and he shall go out with great fury to destroy and devote many
to destruction.
45. And he shall pitch his palatial
tents between the sea and the glorious holy mountain. Yet he shall come to his
end, with none to help him.
The former
verses of 33-35 are applicable to God´s true people at any time, who face the
world and its temptations, right up to the time of the end. During the
tribulation period, faithful Jews will appear and stand true to God. In verse
36, Gabriel suddenly switches from the story of one personality to
another. With verse 32, he brings the
narrative of Antiochus Epiphanes to an end. In verse 35, he points to the time
of the end and in the verses before us, he turns from the prototype, whose
character in so many ways resembled his final counterpart, to the Man of Sin
himself, the Antichrist. By the way, Antiochus Epiphanes, was not the original,
given name of this Seleucid king of Syria, but was the name that he assumed,
when he usurped the throne from the rightful heir. Epiphanes means God manifested, another detail,
resembling the presumptive, blasphemous arrogance of the Antichrist, described
in verse 36.
King of the North
Labels:
Daniel
The Book of the
Prophet Daniel
“But you, Daniel, shut up
the words and seal the book, until the time of the end.”
Daniel
12:4
Chapter 11:1-35 King of the North
1. "And as for me, in the first
year of Darius the Mede, I stood up to confirm and strengthen him.
2. "And now I will show you the
truth. Behold, three more kings shall arise in Persia, and a fourth shall be
far richer than all of them. And when he has become strong through his riches,
he shall stir up all against the kingdom of Greece.
3. Then a mighty king shall arise, who
shall rule with great dominion and do as he wills.
4. And as soon as he has arisen, his
kingdom shall be broken and divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not to
his posterity, nor according to the authority with which he ruled, for his
kingdom shall be plucked up and go to others besides these.
5. "Then the king of the south
shall be strong, but one of his princes shall be stronger than he and shall
rule, and his authority shall be a great authority.
6. After some years they shall make an
alliance, and the daughter of the king of the south shall come to the king of
the north to make an agreement. But she shall not retain the strength of her
arm, and he and his arm shall not endure, but she shall be given up, and her
attendants, he who fathered her, and he who supported her in those times.
7. "And from a branch from her
roots one shall arise in his place. He shall come against the army and enter
the fortress of the king of the north, and he shall deal with them and shall
prevail.
8. He shall also carry off to Egypt
their gods with their metal images and their precious vessels of silver and
gold, and for some years he shall refrain from attacking the king of the
north.
9. Then the latter shall come into the
realm of the king of the south but shall return to his own land.
10. "His sons shall wage war and
assemble a multitude of great forces, which shall keep coming and overflow and
pass through, and again shall carry the war as far as his fortress.
11. Then the king of the south, moved
with rage, shall come out and fight against the king of the north. And he shall
raise a great multitude, but it shall be given into his hand.
12. And when the multitude is taken
away, his heart shall be exalted, and he shall cast down tens of thousands, but
he shall not prevail.
13. For the king of the north shall
again raise a multitude, greater than the first. And after some years he shall
come on with a great army and abundant supplies.
14. "In those times many shall rise
against the king of the south, and the violent among your own people shall lift
themselves up in order to fulfill the vision, but they shall fail.
15. Then the king of the north shall
come and throw up siegeworks and take a well-fortified city. And the forces of
the south shall not stand, or even his best troops, for there shall be no
strength to stand.
16. But he who comes against him shall
do as he wills, and none shall stand before him. And he shall stand in the
glorious land, with destruction in his hand.
17. He shall set his face to come with
the strength of his whole kingdom, and he shall bring terms of an agreement and
perform them. He shall give him the daughter of women to destroy the kingdom,
but it shall not stand or be to his advantage.
18. Afterward he shall turn his face to
the coastlands and shall capture many of them, but a commander shall put an end
to his insolence. Indeed, he shall turn his insolence back upon him.
19. Then he shall turn his face back
toward the fortresses of his own land, but he shall stumble and fall, and shall
not be found.
20. "Then shall arise in his place
one who shall send an exactor of tribute for the glory of the kingdom. But
within a few days he shall be broken, neither in anger nor in battle.
You Are Greatly Beloved
Labels:
Daniel
The Book of the
Prophet Daniel
“But you, Daniel, shut up
the words and seal the book, until the time of the end.”
Daniel
12:4
Chapter
10:1-21 You Are Greatly Beloved
1. In the third year of Cyrus king of
Persia a word was revealed to Daniel, who was named Belteshazzar. And the word
was true, and it was a great conflict. And he understood the word and had
understanding of the vision.
2. In those days I, Daniel, was
mourning for three weeks.
3. I ate no delicacies, no meat or wine
entered my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, for the full three
weeks.
4. On the twenty-fourth day of the
first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river (that is, the
Tigris)
5. I lifted up my eyes and looked, and
behold, a man clothed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his
waist.
6. His body was like beryl, his face
like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and
legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and the sound of his words like the
sound of a multitude.
7. And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision,
for the men who were with me did not see the vision, but a great trembling fell
upon them, and they fled to hide themselves.
8. So I was left alone and saw this
great vision, and no strength was left in me. My radiant appearance was
fearfully changed, and I retained no strength.
9. Then I heard the sound of his words,
and as I heard the sound of his words, I fell on my face in deep sleep with my
face to the ground.
10. And behold, a hand touched me and
set me trembling on my hands and knees.
Two
years had passed since the vision of chapter 9 took place. In the first chapter
(v.21), we saw that Daniel’s governmental position continued through the first
year of King Cyrus. He is still alive, of course, but now he can dedicate his
time to prayer for the deliverance and well-being of his people. Daniel has
seen truth, and the full force of the understanding of truth often brings
conflict to the human heart… Daniel said that the truth revealed to him was great conflict and he entered that
conflict. For that reason, some prefer to be left in the dark.
The Seventy Weeks
Labels:
Daniel
The Book of the
Prophet Daniel
“But you, Daniel, shut up
the words and seal the book, until the time of the end.”
Daniel
12:4
Chapter 9:20-27 The
Seventy Weeks
20. While I was speaking and praying,
confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my plea
before the LORD my God for the holy hill of my God,
21. while I was speaking in prayer, the
man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the first, came to me in swift
flight at the time of the evening sacrifice.
22. He made me understand, speaking with
me and saying, "O Daniel, I have now come out to give you insight and
understanding.
23. At the beginning of your pleas for
mercy a word went out, and I have come to tell it to you, for you are greatly
loved. Therefore consider the word and understand the vision.
Daniel’s
prayer has been conducted according to the Word of God, presented in the book
of Jeremiah. The study of the Word goes hand in hand with prayer. I mentioned
in my commentary over the first part of this chapter that Daniel prayed in the
first person plural… we. One might
conclude that his identification with the people was strictly national… he was
praying, as a fellow Jew. Or possibly, he might be tempted to see Daniel as a
bit sanctimonious, attempting to appear humble before God. Of course, we need
to reject any such thoughts and see this man, acutely aware of his own sin. The
order in the first verse of this lesson is, first of all, “my sin”, and then
“the sin of my people Israel”. All genuine men of God walk in the light that
reveals their own sin, before the sins of others.
Daniel was in the act of prayer, when the answer came; we might say that he prayed
until the answer came. Gabriel, the angel who was named in chapter eight, when
Daniel was in Susa in his vision, has returned. He appears as a man and yet, he
is flying. He comes swiftly: When a person is praying in the will of God, with
only the fulfillment of His purposes in mind, God is not only willing to
answer, but He sends the answer swiftly. It may be worthwhile to mention, that
the ways of heaven have always been superior to the ways of earth. Long before
the jet age on earth, heaven messaged by “air mail”.
In
prayer, Daniel was in the Spirit, involved with Zion, “the holy hill of my God”,
and his time schedule is in tune with “the evening sacrifice”. Once
Nebuchadnezzar had destroyed the temple, the evening and morning sacrifices
ceased, but Daniel’s thoughts were still in accordance with the way things God
had ordained that they should be. The man of God cannot forget these things,
because they find their fulfillment in Christ, the hope of Israel. The arrival
of Gabriel corresponds with the ninth-hour whole burnt offering, which was the
time of day, when Jesus cried with a loud voice and yielded up His spirit. “Who through the eternal Spirit offered
himself without spot to God” (He.9:14). This is the answer to the sin
problem, for which Daniel has interceded.
Daniel's Heartfelt Prayer
Labels:
Daniel
The Book of the
Prophet Daniel
“But you, Daniel, shut up
the words and seal the book, until the time of the end.”
Daniel
12:4
Chapter 9:1-19 Daniel's Heartfelt Prayer
1. In the first year of Darius the son
of Ahasuerus, by descent a Mede, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans—
2. in the first year of his reign, I,
Daniel, perceived in the books the number of years that, according to the word
of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet, must pass before the end of the
desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years.
Timewise,
we are going back to within a year after the Persian conquest of Babylon. We
are coming up on a very important and joyful year for God´s people. It is
between 539 and 538 B.C. and the Judean captivity in Babylon began in 606 B.C.,
about 68 years earlier.
Why
is this so important? It is because Daniel is living within three years of the
fulfillment of a prophecy made by Jeremiah. Daniel has been studying the
Scriptures and that practice in itself is worthy of our consideration. Men of
God, who long to know the Lord’s plan and what He is bringing to pass in their
day, should be students of Scripture. God reveals His will through the Scriptures!
Let
us go to Jeremiah and remember the situation, when Israel was being threatened
by a Babylonian invasion. Up until recently before that time, Israel was, for
the most part, in denial, but now it had become crystal clear that Babylon
indeed was going to take Jerusalem. God commanded Jeremiah to put a yoke-bar on
his neck to symbolize the coming captivity, not only for Israel, but also for
Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon (Jer.27:2,3).
A
prophet named Hananiah took the yoke off Jeremiah and broke it, declaring that
the Lord would break Nebuchadnezzar’s hold on all those nations within two
years. Jeremiah said that he was making the people trust in a lie, because the
true prophets had prophesied war, famine and pestilence. A true prophet will
help the people confront truth, while a false prophet will try to please the
people, telling them what they want to hear (Jer.28:1-8,10). This has always
been the case with optimism, positive speaking and thinking. These false principles
continue today and A. W. Tozer called them heresy. See http://calltocommitment.blogspot.com.es/2017/07/positiveness-modern-heresy.html.
The Greek Period
Labels:
Daniel
The Book of the
Prophet Daniel
“But you, Daniel, shut up
the words and seal the book, until the time of the end.”
Daniel
12:4
Chapter 8:1-27 The Greek Period
1. In the third year of the reign of
King Belshazzar a vision appeared to me, Daniel, after that which appeared to
me at the first.
2. And I saw in the vision; and when I
saw, I was in Susa the citadel, which is in the province of Elam. And I saw in
the vision, and I was at the Ulai canal.
3. I raised my eyes and saw, and
behold, a ram standing on the bank of the canal. It had two horns, and both
horns were high, but one was higher than the other, and the higher one came up
last.
4. I saw the ram charging westward and
northward and southward. No beast could stand before him, and there was no one
who could rescue from his power. He did as he pleased and became great.
5. As I was considering, behold, a male
goat came from the west across the face of the whole earth, without touching
the ground. And the goat had a conspicuous horn between his eyes.
6. He came to the ram with the two
horns, which I had seen standing on the bank of the canal, and he ran at him in
his powerful wrath.
7. I saw him come close to the ram, and
he was enraged against him and struck the ram and broke his two horns. And the
ram had no power to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground and
trampled on him. And there was no one who could rescue the ram from his
power.
8. Then the goat became exceedingly
great, but when he was strong, the great horn was broken, and instead of it
there came up four conspicuous horns toward the four winds of heaven.
9. 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. It grew great, even to the host of
heaven. And some of the host and some of the stars it threw down to the ground
and trampled on them.
11. It became great, even as great as
the Prince of the host. And the regular burnt offering was taken away from him,
and the place of his sanctuary was overthrown.
12. And a host will be given over to it
together with the regular burnt offering because of transgression, and it will
throw truth to the ground, and it will act and prosper.
13. Then I heard a holy one speaking,
and another holy one said to the one who spoke, "For how long is the
vision concerning the regular burnt offering, the transgression that makes
desolate, and the giving over of the sanctuary and host to be trampled
underfoot?"
14. And he said to me, "For 2,300
evenings and mornings. Then the sanctuary shall be restored to its rightful
state."
Four Beasts
Labels:
Daniel
The Book of the
Prophet Daniel
“But you, Daniel, shut up
the words and seal the book, until the time of the end.”
Daniel
12:4
Chapter 7:1-28 Four Beasts
1.
In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel saw a dream and visions
of his head as he lay in his bed. Then he wrote down the dream and told the sum
of the matter.
2.
Daniel declared, "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 out of the sea, different from one another.
4.
The first was like a lion and had eagles' wings. Then as I looked its wings
were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two
feet like a man, and the mind of a man was given to it.
5.
And behold, another beast, a second one, like a bear. It was raised up on one
side. It had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth; and it was told,
'Arise, devour much flesh.'
6.
After this I looked, and behold, another, like a leopard, with four wings of a
bird on its back. And the beast had four heads, and dominion was given to
it.
7.
After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, terrifying
and dreadful and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth; it devoured and
broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet. It was different from
all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns.
8. I
considered the horns, and behold, there came up among them another horn, a
little one, before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots.
And behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking
great things.
Daniel takes us back
fourteen years to a dream that he had at the beginning of Belshazzar´s reign.
Up to this point, he has related the historical testimony of himself and his
three companions in Babylon. They were the instruments of the all-powerful God
of Judah, and before the eyes of world rulers, they demonstrated His greatness
and gave Him glory.
He was seen in
supernatural support of their faithfulness, in not contaminating themselves
with the delicacies and wine of Babylon, and in the supernatural revelation and
interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. He was clearly manifested in the miraculous
deliverance from the fiery furnace, revealed Himself in the interpretation of
Nebuchadnezzar’s second dream and in the interpretation of the astounding
handwriting on the wall of Belshazzar’s palace. Finally, His power was seen in
locking the jaws of fierce lions.
Daniel in the Lions’ Den
Labels:
Daniel
“… some stopped the
mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire!” Hebrews 11:33, 34
Chapter 6:1-28 Daniel
in the Lions’ Den
1. It pleased Darius
to set over the kingdom 120 satraps, to be throughout the whole kingdom;
2. and over them three high officials, of whom
Daniel was one, to whom these satraps should give account, so that the king
might suffer no loss.
3. Then this Daniel became distinguished above
all the other high officials and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in
him. And the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.
4. Then the high officials and the satraps sought
to find a ground for complaint against Daniel with regard to the kingdom, but
they could find no ground for complaint or any fault, because he was faithful,
and no error or fault was found in him.
5. Then these men said, "We shall
not find any ground for complaint against this Daniel unless we find it in
connection with the law of his God."
6. Then these high officials and satraps came by
agreement to the king and said to him, "O King Darius, live forever!
7. All the high officials of the kingdom, the
prefects and the satraps, the counselors and the governors are agreed that the
king should establish an ordinance and enforce an injunction, that whoever
makes petition to any god or man for thirty days, except to you, O king, shall
be cast into the den of lions.
8. Now, O king, establish the injunction and sign
the document, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes
and the Persians, which cannot be revoked."
9. Therefore King Darius signed the document and
injunction.
The Last Straw
Labels:
Daniel
The Book of the
Prophet Daniel
“… some stopped the
mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire!” Hebrews 11:33, 34
Chapter 5:1-31 The Last Straw
1. King Belshazzar made a great feast
for a thousand of his lords and drank wine in front of the thousand.
2. Belshazzar, when he tasted the wine,
commanded that the vessels of gold and of silver that Nebuchadnezzar his father
had taken out of the temple in Jerusalem be brought, that the king and his
lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them.
3. Then they brought in the golden
vessels that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem,
and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from
them.
4. They drank wine and praised the gods
of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.
5. Immediately the fingers of a human
hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace,
opposite the lampstand. And the king saw the hand as it wrote.
6. Then the king's color changed, and
his thoughts alarmed him; his limbs gave way, and his knees knocked
together.
7. The king called loudly to bring in
the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers. The king declared to the
wise men of Babylon, "Whoever reads this writing, and shows me its
interpretation, shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around
his neck and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom."
8. Then all the king's wise men came
in, but they could not read the writing or make known to the king the
interpretation.
9. Then King Belshazzar was greatly
alarmed, and his color changed, and his lords were perplexed.
10. The queen, because of the words of
the king and his lords, came into the banqueting hall, and the queen declared,
"O king, live forever! Let not your thoughts alarm you or your color
change.
11. There is a man in your kingdom in
whom is the spirit of the holy gods. In the days of your father, light and
understanding and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods were found in him, and
King Nebuchadnezzar, your father—your father the
king—made him chief of the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and
astrologers,
12. because an excellent spirit,
knowledge, and understanding to interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve
problems were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar. Now let
Daniel be called, and he will show the interpretation."
Of all the accounts
of history that are available, none are as authentic as those of God’s
historians. That is as it should be, because for that purpose God has raised
them up in the most strategic places. There are quite a number of secular
individuals, who have written of Babylonian history and its kings. However,
they wrote from a distance, in time and place, whereas Daniel’s had, we might
say, “a ring-side seat”, writing from the palace of the emperors in the city of
Babylon. No one saw these occurrences with more clarity and detail than he had.
Yet the world, in its rebellion, tend to give secular writers more credence and
criticize Daniel.
When it comes to the
life of Jesus Christ, no historical records of ancient history are more
accurately confirmed than the four Gospels, written by eye witnesses or those
very closely associated with them. We conclude that the Bible is the greatest historical
authority available. Constantly, as time unfolds, more evidence is discovered,
proving its authenticity. We, who are believers, know it to be inerrant and
only to be criticized by men out of rebellious unbelief. That, in itself, goes
to prove the biblical assessment that “the
whole world lies in the power of the evil one” (1 Jn.5:19).
A Kingly Conversion
Labels:
Daniel
The Book of the
Prophet Daniel
“… some stopped the
mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire!” Hebrews 11:33, 34
Chapter 4:19-37 A Kingly Conversion
19. Then
Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was dismayed for a while, and his thoughts
alarmed him. The king answered and said, "Belteshazzar, let not the dream
or the interpretation alarm you." Belteshazzar answered and said, "My
lord, may the dream be for those who hate you and its interpretation for your
enemies!
20. The tree you saw, which grew and became
strong, so that its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the end of the
whole earth,
21.
whose leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in which was food for
all, under which beasts of the field found shade, and in whose branches the
birds of the heavens lived—
22. it
is you, O king, who have grown and become strong. Your greatness has grown and
reaches to heaven, and your dominion to the ends of the earth.
23. And
because the king saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying,
'Chop down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump of its roots in the
earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze, in the tender grass of the field,
and let him be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the
beasts of the field, till seven periods of time pass over him,'
24. this
is the interpretation, O king: It is a decree of the Most High, which has come
upon my lord the king,
25.
that you shall be driven from among men,
and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. You shall be made to
eat grass like an ox, and you shall be wet with the dew of heaven, and seven
periods of time shall pass over you, till you know that the Most High rules the
kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.
26.
And as it was commanded to leave the
stump of the roots of the tree, your kingdom shall be confirmed for you from
the time that you know that Heaven rules.
27. Therefore, O king, let my counsel be
acceptable to you: break off your sins by practicing righteousness, and your
iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed, that there may perhaps be a
lengthening of your prosperity."
God’s providential ways are unique and not
according to the patterns of men. He sent Daniel as His ambassador to Babylon
and to King Nebuchadnezzar, as a captive, supernaturally equipped with wisdom
and a gift for interpreting spiritual messages. The enemy tried desperately to
thwart the Lord’s purpose and neutralize His elected vessel in this godless
society.
The Tree Dream
Labels:
Daniel
The Book of the
Prophet Daniel
“… some stopped the
mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire!” Hebrews 11:33, 34
Chapter 4:1-18 The Tree Dream
1. King Nebuchadnezzar to all peoples,
nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth: Peace be multiplied to
you!
2. It has seemed good to me to show the
signs and wonders that the Most High God has done for me.
3. How great are his signs, how mighty
his wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion endures
from generation to generation.
4. I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my
house and prospering in my palace.
5. I saw a dream that made me afraid.
As I lay in bed the fancies and the visions of my head alarmed me.
6. So I made a decree that all the wise
men of Babylon should be brought before me, that they might make known to me
the interpretation of the dream.
7. Then the magicians, the enchanters,
the Chaldeans, and the astrologers came in, and I told them the dream, but they
could not make known to me its interpretation.
This chapter tells one of the most amazing testimonies
in all of Scripture and there are few that surpass it, in all the centuries of church history. It is the first person account of a world
emperor, which he sent to his kingdom throughout the earth. In it, he praises
God and relates his experience of conversion in the common Aramaic language. The
writing is worthy of the quotes of a couple commentators:
Adam Clarke: “This is a regular decree, and one of the most ancient extant (voc. note: still in existence); and no doubt contains the exact words of Nebuchadnezzar, copied out
by Daniel from the state papers of Babylon, and preserved in the original
language.”
Matthew
Henry: The royal style which Nebuchadnezzar
makes use of has nothing in it of pomp or fancy, but is plain, short, and
unaffected. If at other times
he made use of great swelling words of vanity in his title, now he laid them
all aside; for he was old, he had lately recovered from a distraction which had
humbled and mortified him, and was now in the actual contemplation of God's
greatness and sovereignty. The declaration is directed not only to his own
subjects, but to all to whom this present writing shall come - to all people, nations, and languages, that
dwell in all the earth. He is not only willing that they should all hear
of it, though it carry the account of his own infamy (which perhaps none durst
have published if he had not done it himself, and therefore Daniel published
the original paper), but he strictly charges and commands all manner of persons
to take notice of it; for all are concerned, and it may be profitable to all.
The God Who Overrules
Labels:
Daniel
The Book of the
Prophet Daniel
“… some stopped the
mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire!” Hebrews 11:33, 34
Chapter 3:13-30 The
God Who Overrules
13. Then Nebuchadnezzar in furious rage
commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought. So they brought
these men before the king.
14. Nebuchadnezzar answered and said to
them, "Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not
serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up?
15. Now if you are ready when you hear
the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of
music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, well and good. But
if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery
furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?"
16. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
answered and said to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to
answer you in this matter.
17. If this be so, our God whom we serve
is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us
out of your hand, O king.
18. But if not, be it known to you, O
king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you
have set up."
19. Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with
fury, and the expression of his face was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego. He ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it was usually
heated.
20. And he ordered some of the mighty
men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into
the burning fiery furnace.
21. Then these men were bound in their
cloaks, their tunics, their hats, and their other garments, and they were
thrown into the burning fiery furnace.
22. Because the king's order was urgent
and the furnace overheated, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
23.
And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abednego, fell bound into the burning fiery furnace.
Nebuchadnezzar
has constructed a costly and impressive idol and, from his high position over
the population, he expects immediate and total consecration to it. This is not
just an imaginative invention construed in the mind of the emperor; its
construction was inspired by a religious experience that shook him to the core
of his being. He is serious about this.
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