Through the Bible - Daniel
April 19, 2008 · Pastor Miles DeBenedictis
In this teaching
A survey of the book of Daniel showing how the first six chapters establish that God preserves those who walk in righteousness through trial and tribulation, and how chapters 7-12 reveal the succession of Gentile kingdoms and the prophecies of the abomination of desolation, the 70 weeks, and the end of the age. Pastor Miles connects these prophecies to Jesus' words in Matthew 24 and to current events surrounding Israel and the Temple Mount.
- Jesus points to "the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet" (Matthew 24) as the key sign of the end of the age, urging readers to understand.
- Daniel purposed in his heart not to defile himself, and God blessed his integrity with wisdom, favor, and promotion.
- Through Nebuchadnezzar's dream, the fiery furnace, and the lions' den, God preserved His people through tribulation and used their testimony to transform hardened hearts.
- The statue's metals and the later beast visions chart the succession of world empires—Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome—and a final kingdom yet to come.
- The 70 weeks of Daniel precisely foretold Messiah's coming, with one final seven-year week (the Tribulation) still future, including the Antichrist's covenant and the abomination of desolation.
- The rebirth of Israel (1948) and the recovery of Jerusalem (1967) show we are living in the times and seasons of the end; God preserves His people through tribulation though He has not appointed them to wrath.
Readable is a lightly edited reading copy; Verbatim stays close to the spoken words. The audio and video are the record of what was said.
When you therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand) ... then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world. (, 21)
God told the end from the beginning—so let the one who reads understand how to live with integrity in the last days.
A Small Book That Says a Great Deal
The book of Daniel is one of the major prophets, yet it has only twelve chapters—small compared to Isaiah's sixty-six, Jeremiah's fifty-two, and Ezekiel's forty-some. But it has a great deal crammed into those twelve chapters.
In , Jesus' disciples asked Him a striking question. Just after He had pronounced "Woe unto you scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites" in the temple, His disciples pointed out the great buildings, and Jesus told them not one stone would be left upon another. It would be as if you and I were walking through New York City and the Lord said, "All these buildings are going to come crashing down." Naturally they wanted to know when.
Just over forty years later, in August of A.D. 70, the Roman armies under Titus destroyed Jerusalem and Jesus' words were literally fulfilled. But on the Mount of Olives the disciples equated the temple's destruction with the end of the world, and they asked for the sign of His coming and of the end of the age.
Whoso Readeth, Let Him Understand
Jesus answered by listing things people often call signs—wars and rumors of wars, famines, pestilences, earthquakes in diverse places. But notice He calls these "the beginning of sorrows" and says "the end is not yet." Then in verse 14 He says:
And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
Then He gives the sign of the very end: "When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place (whoso readeth, let him understand)." Highlight that parenthesis. Daniel is not a book you casually skim like a novel; Jesus commands study. We are to be workmen who rightly divide the word of truth.
This is one of the most powerful prophetic books in Scripture. Its predictions are so specific that many modern critics—better called Bible scoffers—insist Daniel could not have been written in the sixth century B.C. during Nebuchadnezzar's reign, dating it instead to the second century. But the evidence supports the earlier date, and that precision is a testimony to the power of God.
Prophecy is God's divine thumbprint on Scripture, showing it was authored by Someone outside of time. Daniel penned these things, but the Holy Ghost was the true author. Daniel himself didn't fully understand what he wrote; he asked what it meant, and God told him to seal up the book, for it would not be understood until the end of days "when knowledge increases and men go to and fro." I would say we are living in that day.
Purposing Not to Defile Himself
The predictive prophecy doesn't begin until chapter 7. The first six chapters are intensely practical for our lives, just as they were for Daniel's. They open with Daniel taken captive from Jerusalem as a young man, probably a teenager, and brought into the palace in Babylon.
This fulfilled Isaiah's prophecy. Back in , after Hezekiah was healed and given fifteen more years, a Babylonian delegation came with a get-well gift, and Hezekiah foolishly showed them everything—the armory, the treasure, the temple gold and silver. Isaiah rebuked him: Babylon would one day carry it all away, along with his own descendants. In 605 B.C. that began to be fulfilled when Daniel and his friends were taken to Babylon; about twenty years later, in 586 B.C., Jerusalem was destroyed.
Babylon wanted to make these bright young men into perfect Babylonian citizens—new names, new wisdom, the king's choice food and wine. But says:
But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank.
The world, driven by the prince of the power of the air, wants to squeeze all mankind into its mold. Paul says in , "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." Daniel refused to be conformed into the image of Babylon. He asked the prince of the eunuchs to test him and his three friends for ten days on vegetables and water.
And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children which did eat the portion of the king's meat.
God gave Daniel and his three friends—Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, renamed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—knowledge, skill, wisdom, and understanding in all visions and dreams. As with Joshua, who was told to meditate in God's law day and night and would then make his way prosperous, Daniel prospered in captivity because he refused to be conformed to the world. He wanted his walk to be right before the King of kings, not before King Nebuchadnezzar—and God blessed him. That is a great example for us, living in a day when the enemy has diminished the church's witness by making so much of the church look just like the world.
The King's Dream and the Statue
Chapter 2 reveals Nebuchadnezzar, the king of the world. Like us, he had a troubling dream and then forgot it. He summoned his magicians, sorcerers, and astrologers and demanded they tell him both the dream and its interpretation, on pain of death. They protested—rightly—that no one on earth could do such a thing.
But Daniel knew Someone who was not of this earth. He asked for time, sought the Lord, and God revealed both the dream and its meaning. The statue had a head of gold, chest and arms of silver, a belly and thighs of brass, legs of iron, and feet of iron mixed with clay.
Daniel told the king: "You are that golden head." After him would come the dual Medo-Persian Empire (the two silver arms), then the Greek (brass), then Rome (iron), and finally a Roman mixture of iron and clay. Then a stone "cut out without hands" struck the image's feet, ground it to dust, and the wind blew it away, while the stone became a great mountain that filled the whole earth—the eternal kingdom of God that will destroy all the kingdoms of this world. Nebuchadnezzar didn't care for the vision, but he loved that Daniel could reveal it, and he made Daniel number two in the kingdom.
The Fiery Furnace
In chapter 3 we see Nebuchadnezzar's arrogance. He built a ninety-foot statue—of gold, head to foot. His dream had said his kingdom would pass away, but he declared he would stand forever. He gathered everyone into the valley and commanded that whenever the music played, all must bow to his golden image—or be cast into a fiery furnace.
When the band struck up, everyone bowed except three: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Nebuchadnezzar, in fury, gave them one more chance and sneered, "Who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?" They answered without hesitation:
Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us... But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.
They knew God was able to deliver them; but even if He didn't deliver them from the furnace, He would deliver them out of the king's hands. Furious, Nebuchadnezzar heated the furnace seven times hotter—so hot the flames killed the mighty men who threw them in. Then he was astonished:
Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.
Only the ropes that bound them burned. Their hair was not singed, their coats not charred, the smell of fire not on them. They had to be called out of the fire—they were enjoying the company of the One in the form of the Son of God, surely Jesus walking with them.
The testimony of these men going through the fire transformed the king's heart. He blessed the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, "for there is no other God that can deliver after this sort," and promoted them. So too, when you and I weather fiery trials with the King of kings at our side, the Lord uses that testimony to transform hardened hearts. He allows trials for a purpose.
The Humbling of Nebuchadnezzar
In chapter 4 Nebuchadnezzar dreams of a great tree giving shelter and food to birds and beasts, until an axe cuts it down to a stump. Daniel interprets: the king is that tree, and because of his pride he will be cut down, with seven times passing over him. Then Daniel gives the application:
Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor.
Twelve months later, walking in his palace, the king boasted, "Is not this great Babylon, that I have built... by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?" While the word was still in his mouth, a voice from heaven drove him from men. He ate grass like an ox, his body wet with dew, his hair grown like eagles' feathers and his nails like birds' claws—until he knew that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men.
At the end of the days, Nebuchadnezzar lifted his eyes to heaven, his reason returned, and he praised the Most High whose dominion is everlasting, who "doeth according to his will in the army of heaven," and who is able to abase those who walk in pride. Reading such a confession, I sometimes wonder whether we'll see Nebuchadnezzar in heaven someday, so great was the transformation.
In these first chapters we see a pattern: Daniel purposed not to defile himself and was raised up; God used his gift so Nebuchadnezzar raised him up; Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego's testimony moved the king to promote them; and God brought the proudest man of his age down to nothing so that He could raise him up.
The Writing on the Wall
Chapter 5 tells of Nebuchadnezzar's grandson Belshazzar, another proud and arrogant ruler. At a great feast he called for the gold and silver vessels taken from the temple in Jerusalem, and they drank wine from them. At that same hour a man's hand appeared and wrote on the plaster wall.
Then the king's countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another.
His astrologers could not read it, but the queen mother remembered Daniel. He came in and gave the interpretation of MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN: God had weighed the king's kingdom and found it wanting, and it would be given to another. What Belshazzar didn't know was that the Medo-Persian army had already diverted the Euphrates and entered beneath the wall. That night the city fell, Belshazzar died, and the chest and arms of silver took over the world—again a proud man who hardened his heart, removed from power by God.
Daniel in the Lions' Den
Chapter 6 gives the last story for application. Under the new Medo-Persian king, Darius, jealous advisors set Daniel up. Knowing he served the God of the Hebrews, they tricked the king into a decree—unchangeable in the Medo-Persian Empire—that for thirty days no one could petition any god but the king. When Daniel kept praying, they had him cast into the lions' den.
Darius loved Daniel and fasted and prayed all night to Daniel's God. At dawn he ran to the den and cried out, "Daniel, has your God delivered you?" Daniel answered that an angel had stood with him all night and shut the lions' mouths. The king then cast Daniel's accusers and their families into the den, and the lions destroyed them before they hit the ground—proof the lions were hungry, but an angel had held them back. Once again God delivered His servant through tribulation because of his faithful witness.
Kingdoms, Beasts, and the Abomination of Desolation
These first six chapters establish a vital truth: those who seek the Lord and stand in righteousness will be preserved through trial, tribulation, and distress. That matters because the rest of Daniel deals with the trial, tribulation, and distress coming upon Gentiles and Jews in the latter days.
God showed Daniel the succession of Gentile kingdoms—Babylon, then Medo-Persia, then Greece. In chapter 7's visions, a ram with two horns (Medo-Persia) is knocked down by a goat with one horn (Alexander the Great). When Alexander died at thirty-three, that horn broke and four came up in its place—the four kings who divided the Greek empire.
From one of those four arose a little horn: Antiochus Epiphanes, in the second century B.C. He took Jerusalem, set up his own image in the Holy of Holies, and sacrificed pig's blood on the altar. The Jews of Jesus' day believed that fulfilled Daniel's abomination of desolation. But Jesus, in , reveals it is still yet to come.
describes another beast with ten horns, from which a small horn rises and uproots three. This points to a future kingdom with ten rulers, one of whom subdues three others, exalts himself, and sets up an image in the Holy of Holies in the last days—the abomination of desolation. , 11, and 12 tell us that when this occurs, the end can be calculated: 1,290 days, three and a half years on the Jewish 360-day calendar, until the end of the age.
This is clarified by Revelation, which describes the Antichrist making a seven-year covenant with Israel, then in the middle of it exalting himself as God and placing his image in the Holy of Holies. Jesus warns: when you see it, flee Jerusalem—from the rooftop, from the field, pray it not be in winter—because then comes great tribulation such as the world has never seen.
The Seventy Weeks of Daniel
None of this fully makes sense without and the seventy weeks. Daniel, by the river, receives a vision: the angel Gabriel speaks on one side, the angel Michael stands with a sword on the other, and a figure stands upon the waters in the middle—appearing again in as Jesus.
God tells Daniel that from the decree to rebuild Jerusalem there would be sixty-nine "weeks"—sixty-nine seven-year periods—until Messiah the Prince comes. We know historically when that decree came under the Persians. In his book The Coming Prince, Sir Robert Anderson calculates the sixty-nine periods—483 years—and arrives right around A.D. 29, specifically the Sunday before Passover.
What happened that Sunday? Jesus rode into Jerusalem as the crowds cried, "Hosanna! Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord." Overlooking the city in Luke, He wept that they "knew not the time of their visitation"—they should have known, because Daniel told them the very day. Before time began, God had appointed it.
But one week remains—the seventieth week of Daniel. Combining the apocalyptic books of Daniel and Revelation, we see one final seven-year period yet to come. At its start the Antichrist makes a seven-year treaty with Israel; in the middle he exalts himself in the Holy of Holies and sets up the abomination of desolation. From that point, the end is only three and a half years away—so Jesus says, when you see it, flee.
Three Views and the Times and Seasons
There is much discussion within evangelical churches about the timing of the church's rapture (harpazo, ). One view holds the church is caught up before the seven-year tribulation. A second holds God removes His people before His wrath is poured out in the final three and a half years. A third holds He removes them right at the end. Most of us love the idea of being taken out before tribulation comes—who doesn't?
Whatever the case, God has told us the end from the beginning. He does not want us ignorant. We won't know the day or the hour, but we should know the times and seasons—and I believe we are living in them.
Why? For there to be an abomination of desolation there must be a Holy of Holies; for that, a temple; for that, Jews in the land and in Jerusalem. Before May 14, 1948, that was not the case. That night in Tel Aviv, Ben-Gurion declared the State of Israel's independence. After the world saw the atrocities of the Holocaust, the nations gave the Jewish people a homeland, and Israel became a nation in a day—just as foretold with the dry bones coming together. Today it is a flourishing nation; buy fruit in Europe and you'll often see "Made in Israel."
Then in June 1967, in the Six-Day War, Israel took the city of Jerusalem again. They later gave portions back—Golda Meir and others trading land for peace—but every time land has been traded for peace, peace has not come. Yet a day is coming when a temple will be built. It has not yet been built, so we can be certain we are living in the last days, with Jewish people once more in the land.
How Then Shall We Live
As Jesus says in Luke, we should look up, for our redemption draws near. We don't know the day or hour, nor do I claim certainty about whether the Lord takes us out before, during, or at the end of the tribulation—though I have a hard time with the "rebound rapture" at the very end. What we must understand is that God has not appointed us to wrath, and wrath and tribulation are different.
The first six chapters of Daniel show God's people going through tribulation—and being delivered through it, kept in the midst of it. God will likewise care for us in the midst of tribulation. Even now He allows us trials. Jesus said, "In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." He walks with us through it, and He is glorified in it.
Paul tells us in that all these Old Testament things were written for our instruction and admonition, "upon whom the ends of the world are come." That is why we study Daniel and Ezekiel and Lamentations—they teach us how then to live. Daniel, and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, are examples of integrity and righteousness; they believed God and God delivered them, and He will do the same for us.
This book shows clearly that God knows what He is doing and is in control. Nebuchadnezzar, king of the world, learned it: God raises up one and puts down another. Though trials and tribulations come, God is still on the throne, and there is coming a kingdom "which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God." Those of us who know Him say, "Come, Lord Jesus. Maranatha. Come quickly."
Closing Prayer
God, we thank You for Your word. We praise You that You have told us the end from the beginning. We don't have to be ignorant of the things going on in our day. While all the world wonders, and even those who don't know You sense that things are winding down and going crazy, we know, because You have told us exactly what is happening.
Lord, help us to be looking to You, waiting for You, and shining brightly in these last dark days. Jesus, when You came to Your own people—even though You had told them the exact day You would come through Daniel's prophecy—they were not looking for You. You have told us the signs of the times. Help us to be ready, with our wicks trimmed and oil in our lamps for the time that You come, for there will be many who are not ready. Let us not be numbered among them. We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.
I ask that God would speak to us now as we look into His Word, that He would give us insight into this great book, and that He would help us to make application from it as well. Lord, transform our minds. Transform the way that we live as we are living in a time that is similar to Daniel's time in some ways. Reveal to us, Lord, how we are to live in integrity and honor as we walk in You. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.
The book of Daniel is a smaller prophetic book. It is part of what we call the major prophets. The book of Isaiah has 66 chapters, the book of Jeremiah has 52, and the book of Ezekiel has about 40 chapters. Now, as we come to Daniel, there are only 12 chapters. How many of you were able to read through the book of Daniel this last week? More than last week? There we go. Amen. Praise the Lord.
Now, it is a book that has a lot to say crammed into these 12 chapters. In the New Testament, in , Jesus was asked a very interesting question by His disciples. You may remember that in , Jesus had given a powerful sermon in the temple. Several times, He says, "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites." He calls the religious leaders of His day hypocrites and says that destruction is going to come upon them.
As they are leaving the temple mount, Jesus' disciples come to Him and say, "Lord, behold these buildings here. Look how great this temple area is." Jesus tells them, "Not one stone is going to be left upon another. It's all going to be torn down." It would be as if you and I were walking through New York City and the Lord spoke to us and said, "All these buildings are going to come crashing down."
We would want to know when this is going to take place. The disciples followed Jesus as he went up the Mount of Olives, and they asked him, "When are these things going to be? What is going to be the sign of your coming and the end of the age?" They equated the destruction of the temple with the end of the world. In the Jewish mind, to destroy that temple meant it must be the end of the world. So they asked, "When are these things going to be? What shall be the sign of your coming and of the end of the world?"
It was just a little over 40 years from that point that Jerusalem was destroyed, and Jesus' words were literally fulfilled; not one stone was left upon another. The Roman armies, under the command of Titus, the Roman general, destroyed the city in August of 70 A.D. Jesus' words were indeed fulfilled. However, he spoke a lot more about the end of the age and his coming in . He discusses the sign of his coming and the end of the world, referring to Daniel the prophet.
You may have heard people teach on this passage in , discussing signs such as wars, rumors of wars, pestilence, famines, and earthquakes in diverse places. However, when you study through this passage, you will notice that several times Jesus says, "These are the beginning of sorrows. This is not the end. The end is not yet."
In , he states, "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations. And then, notice that, then shall the end come." He tells us what the sign of the end of the age, right before he comes, is going to look like. He says, "When you therefore shall see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet standing in the holy place." He adds, "Whoso reads, let him understand."
If you are open to , verse 15, I encourage you to highlight that in your Bible. The book of Daniel is not one of those books that you just casually read through like a novel, thinking, "Wow, this is interesting," and maybe putting a star by a few things. He says, "Whoso reads, let him understand," which means you should study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman who rightly divides the word of truth.
When you study through the book of Daniel, I highly encourage you to take the time to do so. We won't have much time to go in-depth into it tonight in the hour that we have.
This is a powerful book, probably one of the most significant when we talk about prophecy and predictive prophecy, where the prophet speaks about things that are going to come to pass. This book is awesome. So awesome is it that many modern-day Bible critics, who call themselves Bible scholars, should rightly be called Bible scoffers. They claim that Daniel could not have been written during the time of King Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon because his prophecies are so specific and clear that it seems impossible for him to have written these things in the sixth century BC. Instead, they argue that it must have taken place in the second century BC because the details are so specific and perfect.
However, as we combine all the evidence, we find that these things were indeed written in the sixth century BC, and this serves as a powerful testimony to the power of God. There are some Bible scholars, individuals who study the Bible, who do not believe in these miraculous predictive prophecies. But when I look at the prophecies of Scripture, I see that prophecy is God's divine thumbprint on the Scriptures. It shows us that this is authored by someone outside of time. Although Daniel was the one who penned these things, and Ezekiel wrote down the prophecies we discussed last week, they wrote with a ghost author. The Holy Ghost was the one speaking to them and guiding them on what to write.
When you read through the book of Daniel, you see that he did not completely understand the things he was writing down. In fact, he would ask the angel standing next to him or even the Lord who was in his presence, "What does this mean?" God would respond, "Seal up the book because you are not going to understand it. It will not be understood until the end of days when knowledge increases and men go to and fro about the whole earth." I would say we are living in that day.
As we study through these things, Jesus says, "Let him who reads, let him understand." We should read with understanding what is going on in this book. Jesus tells us in that the key sign of the end of the age, the end of the world, and the sign of His second coming is the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet. Whoever reads it should understand what Jesus is talking about. The book of Daniel reveals these things to us, especially in chapters 9, 11, and 12. Perhaps as you read through this book last week or in your own devotion, you encountered that passage and thought, "What in the world is he talking about?"
There are all kinds of interesting things here, such as beasts coming up out of the water with horns and all these eyes all over. You might wonder, what in the world did he see? Some of the things God explained to him, while other things God instructed him to seal up in the book because it was for a yet appointed time.
However, this book starts in a rather interesting way because the real predictive prophecy of the book doesn't begin until . The first six chapters are very applicable to our lives today, just as they were to Daniel in his time. It begins with Daniel being taken as a captive from Jerusalem. It is likely that Daniel was living in the palace in Jerusalem, as he was one of the key men in the court there. He was very young, probably a teenager, at the time he was taken into captivity and brought into the palace in Babylon.
Along with Daniel, a whole group of other men from Judah were taken captive. They were the best looking and the brightest men of the area, and they were all quite young. They were brought into the palace in Babylon to be trained in all the wisdom and knowledge of the Babylonians. The Babylonians aimed to convert them into perfect Babylonian citizens.
This was actually a fulfillment of prophecy, specifically from the prophet Isaiah. In , you may remember that Hezekiah was the king when the Assyrian army came against the city of Jerusalem. God spoke through Isaiah, declaring that the city would be delivered, and ultimately it was. God killed 185,000 Assyrians in one night by sending an angel who destroyed them all. When the people woke up, they found a multitude of dead bodies.
At that same time, Hezekiah became very sick. God instructed Isaiah to go speak to him and tell him that he was going to die. What did Hezekiah do? He turned and prayed to the Lord, saying he was not ready and reminded God of all the good he had done as a king. God responded, saying, "All right, I'll give you 15 more years."
After Hezekiah was healed, a delegation of Babylonians came to Jerusalem to bring him a gift. They had heard that he was sick and had recovered, so they wanted to present him with a get-well gift. When this Babylonian group arrived in his kingdom, Hezekiah showed them through his entire house, including the armory and the palace.
He showed them through the temple. He showed them where the gold was, where the silver was, and where everything was. After the Babylonian group left, Isaiah came in and asked, "Hezekiah, what have you been doing today?" Hezekiah replied, "Oh, I had this great visit from the king's son from Babylon. He came, and I showed them all around."
Isaiah then asked, "What did you show them?" Hezekiah responded, "I showed them everything. There's nothing in my house that I didn't show them." Isaiah said, "This was foolish. Because he and his armies are going to lead your children, some of your own children from your palace, away in captivity back to Babylon. They're going to take everything that you showed them, all the gold, all the silver; they're going to bring it back to Babylon."
Hezekiah simply said, "Well, at least there'll be peace in my day," which was a pretty sad end to the life of Hezekiah. The prophecy of Isaiah in is literally fulfilled as we come to . The city of Jerusalem was sacked twice by the Babylonians, first in about 605 BC. It is believed that in 605 BC, this was the time when Daniel and many of his friends were taken back as captives to the city of Babylon.
It wasn't for almost another 20 years that the city of Jerusalem was actually destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BC. But in 605 BC, Daniel and many of his buddies in Judah were taken back to Babylon and brought into the king's house. The whole purpose was to make them good Babylonian citizens.
As this starts out, Daniel, in , purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat nor with the wine which he drank. The king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, when he brought these young men into his palace, said, "I want you to feed them with the best food. I want you to give them the good wine. I want you to take care of these guys, give them everything that they want, but make sure that they become good Babylonian citizens."
They changed their names to Babylonian names and started to feed them with all the Babylonian foods, many of which were against the diet that God had prescribed. Daniel was a young man who wanted to ensure that he walked in righteousness, that he walked in a right way before God. He said, "I don't want what the king's giving to me." Even though the world was trying to force all this stuff down his throat, trying to make him into its mold, he resisted.
The world wants to do that. The prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, the devil, wants to squeeze all mankind into the mold of this world.
Paul tells us in , "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." Daniel did not want to be conformed to the image of this world, specifically the image of Babylon. He wanted to be a man who walked right before the Lord. Therefore, he purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself or dirty himself with the things that the king wanted to give him.
In verse 8, Daniel requested that the prince of the eunuchs, the man who was put over him, allow him not to defile himself. God had brought Daniel into favor and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs. This man looked upon Daniel favorably and said, "I fear my lord the king who has appointed your meat and your drink. Why should he see your faces worse than those of the other children of your men and endanger me?" He explained that if he did not provide the things he was supposed to, Daniel might not look as good. When the king compared Daniel to the other young men, he would question the prince of the eunuchs about what had been done differently. The prince feared for his life if he did not comply.
Daniel then said to the prince of the eunuchs, "Prove your servants, test your servants just for ten days. Let us eat only vegetables and drink water. We will not eat the meat or drink the wine." After ten days, he suggested, they could see if they looked okay.
At the end of ten days, as recorded in , their countenance appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children who ate the portion of the king's meat. Consequently, Melzar took away the portion of their meat and the wine they should drink and gave them vegetables to eat.
As for these four young men, God gave them knowledge, skill, learning, and wisdom. Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. Daniel and his three friends—Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, who were given Babylonian names Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—determined that they would not take what the king wanted to give them. As a result, God blessed their stance. They chose not to indulge in the king's provisions, and God rewarded them with skill, learning, wisdom, and understanding in visions and dreams. Daniel received this from the Lord.
In chapter one of Daniel, we see the stance of a man who wanted to stand in righteousness. As he stood in righteousness and purposed in his heart not to defile himself with the king's riches, he was prosperous in the Lord and was given good success. Just as God spoke to Joshua when they were coming into the Promised Land, He instructed him not to turn to the right hand or to the left, but to meditate on the law of God day and night. Purpose to follow God's word and God's law, and if you do so, you shall make your way prosperous and have good success.
Now, Daniel didn't live in the Promised Land; he was in captivity in Babylon. Yet he still determined not to be conformed to the image of the world, and God blessed him for that. What a great example for us, living in a time where the world still wants to conform us into its image and its way. The enemy, our adversary, the devil, who rules this world, desires that we would look like every other person in the world. The enemy has done a very good job of diminishing the witness of the church because he has caused many in the church to look like the rest of the world. As a result, the church is filled with greed, gluttony, pride, and arrogance. When the world looks at the church, it sees a bunch of hypocrites.
Daniel said, "I'm going to purpose in my heart. I'm going to be different." He did not do this to be admired by others, as this decision earned him many problems in the future. Before God, he wanted to be right; he wanted his walk and his life to be right before the King of Kings, not before King Nebuchadnezzar. Even so, God blessed him in this. We see the stand for righteousness in chapter one.
In chapter two, we have a very interesting story about King Nebuchadnezzar, which gives us some insight into this man who was the ruler of the world at that time. There are some people today who are ambitious to be the king of the world, whether through financial means or by gaining power. People are always looking for money and power because they want to rule the world or their own little sphere of influence.
Nebuchadnezzar was the king of the world, and one night he had a dream. Many of us have dreams and go through the same experience that Nebuchadnezzar did. We wake up troubled by the dream and wonder what it meant, but then we forget the dream. Have you ever had that happen? You think, "I had this dream; I think it means something," but you can't remember what the dream was even about. Well, Nebuchadnezzar had that issue.
And so he calls all the magicians, all the Chaldeans, all the sorcerers, and the astrologers into the court of the king. He says, "Guys, I had this dream and it's really troubling me, but I forgot what the dream was. If you really are magicians, if you really are powerful, then you should be able to tell me not only the interpretation of the dream, but you should be able to tell me the dream."
Well, these guys respond, "King, come on, tell us the dream, and we'll tell you the interpretation." Really, they're saying, "Tell us your dream and we'll dream up an interpretation. We'll make something that fits." The king says, "No, no, no, no, no. You tell me the dream and the interpretation, or else I'm going to kill you all."
Now, it's pretty clear. We know the ground rules now, and all these guys are pretty fearful. They figure, "We're going to die." They say, "King, nobody can do this. There is nobody on earth that can do what you've asked us to do." And they were right; there is nobody on earth that can do what they were being asked to do.
Well, there was one, though, who knew someone who was out of this world: Daniel. Daniel hears this decree and what the king has said—that all the wise men are going to be killed. Daniel was one of the wise men, so he says, "Tell the king to hold off. Give me some time, and I'll seek the Lord." Because there is a God who is able to divulge secrets like this.
Daniel had already purposed in his heart not to defile himself with all that the king had to offer, all that the world would give to him. He had resolved to follow God, and God said, "You know what? I'm going to bless that." So Daniel set himself to seek God, and God spoke to him, revealing the dream and its interpretation.
Daniel goes before the king and says, "This is the dream you had. You had a dream that troubled you about this great big statue. It had a head of gold, shoulders and a chest of silver, a midsection or body of brass, and legs of iron. It had feet that were iron and clay mixed together."
Here's the interpretation of the dream: "King, you are that golden head." I bet at that point Nebuchadnezzar thought, "Wow. You're right, I am. I am the golden head." Daniel continues, "But there is going to come another kingdom after you. It's going to be a dual kingdom—remember the two arms of silver? That will be the Medo-Persian Empire. They are going to come after you. After that will come this brass kingdom, which is going to be the Greek kingdom. But after that will come this Roman kingdom, strong as steel."
And then ultimately, in the end, there is going to be a Roman mixture with another kingdom, another rulership in this world. It's iron mixed with clay. In his dream, he saw that there was this rock that was cut out, but not with hands. This detail is very important. This rock came and hit the foundation of this kingdom, and everything came tumbling down. It all dissolved to dust, and the wind came and blew it away.
Daniel tells Nebuchadnezzar that this is what is going to happen; this is future history. He says, "You are this golden head, but there's another kingdom coming after you: the Medo-Persian. Then the Greek Empire, and then a Roman Empire." However, there is a great kingdom not made with hands that is going to come and destroy all the kingdoms of this world. That rock will become a great mountain that fills all the earth.
Well, Nebuchadnezzar didn't really care for that vision, as you'll see in the next chapter. However, he did appreciate the fact that Daniel could tell him the dream and the interpretation. As a result, he made Daniel number two in the kingdom, basically the prime minister. He became the number one advisor to the king at that point.
In the very next chapter, we see the arrogance of Nebuchadnezzar. What does he build for himself? A statue made of gold. I guarantee it was a statue of himself, a 90-foot tall statue made entirely of gold. He builds this great statue because, remember, his dream had the head of gold, the body of silver, the arms of silver, the body of bronze, and the legs of iron. He essentially says, "No, we're not going to do it God's way. I will stand forever."
He calls all the people together in a big valley and says to them, "Look at this great statue that I've made. Here's what you have to do: every time you hear music play, any kind of music, you must bow down to my image. You have to bow down to this golden image because we want to ensure that this golden kingdom, me, stands forever."
He sets the ground rules once again: if you don't bow down, there's a nice furnace over here. We'll cast you into the fiery furnace; we'll just get rid of you. Right then, the band strikes up and starts playing. What do you think all the people did? They bowed down and started worshiping, except for three guys: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. It was reported to the king that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, certain Jews, did not bow down or regard this image.
Nor would they serve and worship the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up in verse 12 of chapter 3. In his rage and fury, Nebuchadnezzar commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought to him. So they brought them before the king, and Nebuchadnezzar spoke to them.
Now, Nebuchadnezzar was a pretty level-headed guy. He was going to give these men a chance to make up for the wrong they had done. He asked them, "Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods nor worship the golden image which I have set up? Now, if you are ready at this time to hear the sound of the cornet, the flute, the harp, the sackbut, the psaltery, the dulcimer, and all kinds of music, and you fall down and worship the image which I have made, that will be good."
He continued, "I’m going to give you one more chance. I’m a good guy. I’m a nice king. I know you have been good men, so I’ll give you one more chance. We’ll play the music, and you bow down. Everything will be good, and you can go home. But if you do not worship, you shall be cast at that same hour into the midst of the burning, fiery furnace. And notice this: Who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?"
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered the king, saying, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer you in this matter." They expressed their confidence, stating, "Listen, king, we don’t even need to think about our answer. We know what we’re going to do. If it 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 hands, O king. But we want you to know something, king. Be it known unto you that we will not serve your gods nor worship the golden image which you have set up."
They affirmed their faith, saying, "We know that our God is able to deliver us, even though you don’t think there’s a God who can deliver us. But even if he doesn’t deliver us from the fiery furnace, he’s going to deliver us from your hands, O king. So we’re not going to bow down to your image."
Then, in verse 19, Nebuchadnezzar, full of fury, had his visage changed towards Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. I imagine he was initially smiling, trying to persuade them, saying, "Guys, listen, just bow down, and everything will be okay." But when they refused, his face contorted with anger. He was so furious, not understanding that these were men standing before the king of the world.
He spoke and commanded that they should heat the furnace seven times more than it was normally heated.
And he commanded that the most mighty men in his army should bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and cast them into the burning, fiery furnace. They bound Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego as tightly as they could. The strongest men of the Babylonian army cast them into this furnace, which was heated seven times more than it normally was. The furnace was so hot, exceedingly hot, that the flames came out and killed these mighty men of the army of Babylon. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego fell down, bound, into the midst of the burning, fiery furnace.
Then Nebuchadnezzar, the king, was astonished. He rose up in haste and spoke to his counselors, asking, "Did we not throw three men bound into the midst of the fire?" They answered, "True, O king." He replied, "Lo, I see four men, loosed; they are not bound any longer, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt. The form of the fourth is like unto the Son of God."
Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning, fiery furnace and called out, "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come forth." So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came forth from the midst of the fire.
Picture the story: the mightiest men of Babylon were killed by the flames of this fire, but Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were tossed in. The only thing that burned was the bindings that held them. There they were, walking in the midst of the fiery furnace. The fiery furnace did not injure them in any way. The smell of smoke was not on their garments, their hair was not singed, and nothing was wrong with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
Notice this: they had to be called out of the fire. They were having such a good time in the fire that Nebuchadnezzar actually had to say, "Come out of there." Why were they having a good time? They were walking with one who was in the form of the Son of God. I suggest to you that it was Jesus walking with them.
When they came out of the fire, the princes, governors, captains, and the king's counselors, gathered together, saw these men upon whose bodies the fire had no power. Not a hair of their heads was singed, their coats were not charred, and there was no smell of fire on them. Then Nebuchadnezzar said, "Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants that trusted in him."
And have changed the king's word and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god except for their own God. Therefore, I make a decree that every people, nation, and language which speaks anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be cut into pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill, because there is no other God that can deliver after this sort.
The testimony of the men of God going through the fire transformed the heart of this king. The testimony of you and I going through fiery trials in this world, weathering the trials with the King of Kings at our side, the Son of God there with us, will transform the hearts of hard-hearted men and women in this world. The Lord allows us to go through such difficulties and trials for a purpose. Nebuchadnezzar says, "Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. There is no God who is able to deliver after this sort." And so the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.
Chapter 4 is another interesting chapter. Nebuchadnezzar has another dream, and this time he's willing to tell the dream to the people, the counselors that were there with him. He has this dream of a great big tree that was on the earth. Many birds came and made nests in the tree, and many beasts came and slept under the tree, and they all received their food from the fruit of this tree. But then a great axe comes and cuts down the tree, and it falls down, leaving a stump. He has this strange dream about all these things. He tells his counselors, his magicians, and all the soothsayers to come and tell him what this means, but none of them had any idea.
There was a man in the king's cabinet who understood dreams and interpretations of dreams. Daniel came and explained to the king what this meant. He said to the king, "King, you are that tree. Many have come to find shelter in the branches of your tree or to shade underneath your tree. Many have been fed by your kingdom and all these things, but you are going to be cut down because of your pride. Seven times shall pass over you." Some believe that it would be seven years that would pass over him when he would be humbled by God.
He gives this interpretation of the dream in verses 24 and onward, and then he provides an application to the king in verse 27 of chapter 4. Notice what he says to the king: "In light of this dream that you've had, here's the application. Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto you."
Break off your sins by righteousness. He says to work right things and do what is right. Show mercy to the poor, for it may be a lengthening of your tranquility. God, through Daniel, tells the king to do what is right and extend mercy to people. You may not have to go through this thing soon, but the word of the Lord shall stand.
In verse 28 of chapter 4, all this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar. At the end of twelve months, he was walking around the palace in the kingdom of Babylon. The king spoke and said, "Is not this great Babylon that I have built for the house of the kingdom, by the might of my power, and for the honor of my majesty?" While the word was still in the king's mouth, a voice fell from heaven saying, "O King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: the kingdom is departed from you. They shall drive you from men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. They shall make you eat grass like the 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 whomsoever He wills."
At that same hour, the thing was fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar. He was driven from men and ate grass like the oxen. His body was wet with the dew of heaven until his hair grew long like the eagle's feathers and his nails like the bird's claws. Here, God humbles this proud king, causing him to go insane for a period of time. He wandered around with the animals outside, possibly for many days.
Now, at the end of the days, I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up my eyes to heaven. My understanding returned to me, and I blessed the Most High. I praised and honored Him who lives forever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom from generation to generation. All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing, and He does according to His will.
Look at the confession of King Nebuchadnezzar. He says, "There is no God like the God of heaven. He is the one who raises up one and puts down another."
He recognizes that God was the one who had established and ordained who he was. At the same time, my reason returned unto me. These are the words of Nebuchadnezzar. For the glory of my kingdom and my honor and brightness returned unto me. My counselors and my Lord sought unto me, and I was established in my kingdom. Excellent majesty was added unto me.
Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, extol, and honor the King of heaven, all whose works are truth and whose ways are judgment. Those that walk in pride, He is able to abase. Those are powerful words of the King. Sometimes I wonder, as I read through these, will we see Nebuchadnezzar in heaven someday? There seemed to be a great transformation in this King.
In chapter one, we saw how Daniel purposed in his heart not to defile himself, and God raised him up. In chapter two, we saw Nebuchadnezzar's dream and how, because of what God did in Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar saw and raised Daniel up. In chapter three, we see that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who had also been raised up by the Lord, when the King saw their testimony, he promoted them in the kingdom.
We also see that God was able to bring the most proud and arrogant man of his time down to nothing so that ultimately, He could raise him up. In chapter five, we read the story of Nebuchadnezzar's grandson, Belshazzar, who takes over the kingdom. Belshazzar was another proud and arrogant man. He had this great feast and called all these people over to his house for a nice big party. While they were having a good time, he said, "Hey, why don't you go get the gold and silver vessels that my father Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the Jews in Judah out of the temple? Bring those in here, and we will eat and drink with their golden and silver vessels."
So they brought those things in, and at the same hour as they were drinking, in verse five, there came forth a man's hand, and it wrote over against the candlestick on the plaster of the wall in the king's palace. The king saw the part of the hand that wrote. I love this: in verse six, the king's countenance was changed, his thoughts troubled him, and his joints and his loins were loose. That means he probably wet his pants. It also goes on to say, in the King James Version, that his knees smote one against another. His knees were knocking as he saw this hand just come out of nowhere and write on the wall.
He called all of his astrologers, the Chaldeans, the soothsayers, and all these magicians to himself, and he said, "You have to tell me what this means."
This can't be good. None of them could tell him what this meant, so they called for Daniel. The queen mother came in and said, "Listen, your father had a really smart guy in his kingdom named Daniel who can tell these things." They called Daniel in, and he came in to give the interpretation of what was written on the wall: "Many, many, tekel, you, farson." He said to him, "God has weighed you and your kingdom, and you've been found wanting. He has removed your kingdom tonight from your hand and is giving it to another."
What Belshazzar didn't know was that at that very time, the Medo-Persian army was outside the gates and walls of the city of Babylon. They had stopped the river Euphrates that flowed right through the city. They came underneath the wall and were already beginning to overthrow the city of Babylon. That night, they overthrew King Belshazzar, and he died. The Medo-Persian Empire took over, and the chest and arms of silver took control of the city of Babylon and the rulership of that nation that was dominant in the world.
We see a man in his pride who had hardened his heart and was not willing to repent. As a result, God removed him from power and raised up another.
In , we have the last story from which we can draw application. There was a new king in town, the king over the Medo-Persian Empire. His name was Darius. Darius had some advisors who didn't like Daniel. They wanted to get rid of him because Daniel had been exalted even in the kingdom of the Medo-Persians. These advisors figured that the only way to get rid of him was to set him up. They knew that he served and followed the God of the Hebrews, so they devised a plan.
They forced the king to make a decree that for 30 days, no one was to seek any other god except for the king. The king agreed and signed the decree. The next day, they came back and said, "Hey, there's a guy in your kingdom who doesn't listen to your decrees." The king asked, "Who is it?" They replied, "His name's Daniel."
Oh no. King Darius liked Daniel, but he had written a decree, and in the Medo-Persian Empire, a decree could not be changed. The words of the king could not be altered once they were written down. We see this in the book of Esther as well. And so they took Daniel.
They cast him into the lion's den. I love to see what took place with Darius because all night long he fasted and prayed to the God of Daniel, hoping that Daniel would be delivered from the lion's den. The next morning, Darius rushed to the lion's den, removed the stone from the top, and asked, "Daniel, has your God delivered you?" Daniel replied, "Yep, all night long an angel stood with me and protected me."
Daniel was brought up out of the lion's den, and King Darius was upset that his advisors had tricked him into this situation. As a result, they decided to throw all of his advisors and their families into the lion's den as well. Before they even hit the ground, the lions destroyed them. It wasn't that the lions weren't hungry while Daniel was in there; they were very hungry, but an angel held them back.
In this chapter, we see how God once again delivers His people from tribulation and trials. This deliverance came because of Daniel's witness and his stance for the Lord. The first six chapters of Daniel establish the truth that those who seek the Lord will be preserved through trial, tribulation, and distress. Those who seek and follow the Lord and stand in righteousness with God will be delivered through these challenges.
Why is this an important lesson? Because the next chapters of the book of Daniel deal with the trials, tribulations, and distress that will come upon Gentiles and Jews in the latter days. God told Daniel exactly what was going to come to pass in the form of different Gentile kingdoms. There was the kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian kingdom, represented by the head of gold. It would be destroyed, and the Medo-Persian empire would rise, but it too would ultimately be destroyed by the Greeks, led by Alexander the Great.
The Greek empire would come through and conquer. In , we read about two beasts: one was a ram with two horns, and the other was a goat with one horn. The goat with one horn came and knocked down the ram with two horns, which represented the Medo-Persian empire. The goat, symbolizing Alexander the Great, knocked it down, but then that one horn fell off, and four horns grew in its place. Interestingly enough, after Alexander the Great died at age 33, four kings took over the Greek empire.
From that comes, you'll remember as you read through , that a small horn grows off of one of those four horns. You might be wondering what in the world this means. Well, we look back to history, which Daniel looked forward to prophetically. One of those kingdoms, one of the four that broke off in the Greek kingdom, had a horn that represents Alexander the Great. When he fell, four came in his place.
There was one individual who stemmed off from this, and he would bring the first abomination of desolation. His name was Antiochus Epiphanes, and he lived in the 2nd century BC. After the children of Israel had returned to Jerusalem and rebuilt the temple, Antiochus Epiphanes, this crazy lunatic, came in and took over the city. He set up an image for himself in the Holy of Holies and sacrificed pig blood on the altar. The Jewish people of Jesus' day believed that this was the fulfillment of the abomination of desolation. They thought Daniel's prophecy had been fulfilled.
However, what does Jesus reveal in ? He indicates that it is still yet to be fulfilled. In , we read of another kingdom, another beast that comes up out of the waters. This beast is difficult to describe, except that it had ten horns. From the ten horns, a small horn emerged, and it took out three of the horns. This passage also speaks of another abomination of desolation that is going to come in the last days.
As we read through this, we might wonder what it all means. It seems to indicate that another kingdom is going to arise, and within that kingdom, there will be ten rulers. One of these rulers will come up from among the ten, knock out three of them, and become the supreme ruler. He will set up an image for himself in the Holy of Holies in the last days and commit the abomination of desolation.
The book of Daniel tells us, in chapters 9, 11, and 12, that when this abomination of desolation occurs, we can calculate to the day when the end will come. As you calculate it out, it amounts to 1,290 days, based on the Jewish calendar of 360 days a year, which equals three and a half years. Therefore, from the three and a half year point, starting from when this abomination of desolation takes place, there will be three and a half years until the end of the age, the end of the world. We wouldn't fully understand this.
Unless we read and study the Book of Revelation as well, we may miss important insights. The Book of Revelation speaks about a period of time in which a character called the Antichrist comes along and establishes a covenant with the people of Israel for seven years. However, in the middle of that seven-year period, he will exalt himself as God. He will raise himself up and declare, "Look, I really am God." He will put an image in the Holy of Holies.
What does Jesus tell us in ? He warns, "When you see these things, get out of Dodge. When you see this happen, get out of Jerusalem. Let him who is on the rooftop flee. Let him who is in the field flee. Get out of there. Pray that your run will not be in winter. Pray that you don't have a small child when this takes place." When you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place, let him who reads understand. Get out of town. Why? Because Jesus says, "Then shall great tribulation come like no one has ever seen before."
What is all this about? It really doesn't make sense until you read , where you find a great prophecy called the 70 weeks of Daniel. How many of you have heard of the 70 weeks? gives us insight into this. Daniel is having a vision, and an angel named Gabriel comes to speak to him. Another angel, Michael, stands post with a sword in his hand. Gabriel is on one side of the river, while Michael is on the other side. There is also a strange character standing in the middle of the river, who is explained later in . It seems to be Jesus when you read .
Imagine the scene: Daniel is by the river Hittichel in Babylon. He is on one side of the river with the angel Gabriel, who is speaking to him. On the other side is the angel Michael, standing there with a sword in his hand. In the middle of the river stands what appears to be Jesus. God speaks to Daniel about what is going to come to pass, telling him there will be 62 weeks and seven. After these 62 weeks and seven, or 69 weeks, then shall Messiah the Prince come. This 69-week period begins when the decree is given to rebuild Jerusalem. We know when that decree was given; it was issued by Cyrus, the king of Persia, instructing the people to return and rebuild Jerusalem.
And so, from the time that the decree would go forth, God tells Daniel that there shall be 69 seven-year periods until Messiah the Prince comes. There is a great book by Sir Robert Anderson called "The Coming Prince." He calculates all these things out because we know historically when the decree was given. If you take 69 seven-year periods, which is 483 years, he calculates what that brings us up to. Interestingly enough, it brings us to around 29 A.D. This just happens to be the Sunday before the Passover in 29 A.D.
What took place on that Sunday before the Passover? Jesus stands overlooking Jerusalem in the Gospel of Luke and says, "You, Jerusalem, should have known the times appointed unto your peace." They should have known. Why? Because Daniel the prophet told them when it would happen, on the exact day that it would happen. Here comes Jesus into the kingdom, and all the people are rejoicing, saying, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord." This is the day that the Lord has made. Outside of time, before time even began, God said this would be the day, and He tells Daniel the prophet when it would come to pass.
However, there is one week remaining, the 70th week of Daniel. As you study through the scriptures and the prophetic revelation we have, both in the apocalyptic book in Daniel in the Old Testament and the apocalyptic book in the New Testament, which is the Revelation of Jesus Christ, we see that there is one final seven-year period yet to come. At the beginning of that seven-year period, this character that we will come to see as the Antichrist makes a seven-year treaty with the children of Israel.
In the middle of that seven-year treaty, he exalts himself in the Holy of Holies and places an image there called the abomination of desolation. God tells us through Daniel, and Jesus also tells us in , that when that takes place, the end is only three and a half years away. He says, "Flee! Get out of town."
There is a lot of discussion about this because within the church, there are three different views in evangelical churches today. The first view says that before that seven-year tribulation comes...
The church is going to be caught away. The word is "harpazo" in the Greek. We find it in . The church will be raptured, caught up, so that they won't have to go through that period of time.
There is another view that says God is going to pour out wrath in the last three and a half years, which we determined from . According to this view, God will pull out His people before wrath is poured out on the earth at the three and a half year period. There is one other group that believes God will pull His people out right before He returns at the end of this seven-year period.
There is a lot of discussion about these things among churches today. Many of us like the idea of God taking us out before tribulation comes. Who doesn't like that idea? We all want that to happen, and we all look forward to it. Whatever the case, God has told us the end from the beginning. He does not want us to be ignorant of these things. He wants us to understand when He is going to come. He doesn't hide it from us.
Now, we will not know the day or the hour, but we should know the times and the seasons. I believe we are living in the times and the seasons. Why is that? Well, as I've mentioned to this group before, for there to be an abomination of desolation, there has to be a Holy of Holies. For there to be a Holy of Holies, there has to be a temple. For there to be a temple, there have to be Jews in the land of Israel, specifically in the city of Jerusalem.
Before May 14, 1948, that wasn't the case. What took place on May 14, 1948? In Tel Aviv that night, a man by the name of Ben-Gurion stood up and declared the Jewish state's declaration of independence. The United Nations had given them an opportunity after the Second World War when the world saw the atrocities that took place upon the Jewish people in Europe. They said, "We have to give these people their own homeland."
So, Israel became a nation in one day, just like we saw in the book of Ezekiel a couple of weeks ago, in , where the dry bones came together, and now it is a flourishing nation once again. In fact, if you go to Europe today and buy bananas, grapefruits, or any sort of fruit, almost always it has a sticker that says "Made in Israel." It has become a flourishing and powerful nation in our day, but it is also a cup of trembling to the whole world. Everybody is looking and wondering about this little piece of ground called Israel, but even more specifically, a 13-acre piece of ground called the Temple Mount.
We're all asking, "What's going to happen with this whole thing?" Well, I'll tell you what's going to happen. There is coming a day when a temple is going to be built. It has not yet been built, so we can be certain we're living in the last days because many of these things are set in place. There are people, Jewish people, in the land of Israel once again.
As of June 1967, many of you remember that day or those times when they had the Six-Day War and took the city of Jerusalem once again. They gave a portion of it back. Golda Meir, the Prime Minister of Israel at that time, figured that this was the only way they could have peace with the people around them: to give up a portion of the land, especially the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. However, every time they have given up land for peace, they have never found peace. But there is coming a day when they shall build a temple once again.
Looking at these things, as Jesus would tell us in the book of Luke, we should look up because our redemption draws near. We don't know the day or the hour, but we know we're living in the times and the seasons. Nor do I think we know for certain if the Lord will take us out before this tribulation period or in the middle of it. I have a hard time with the idea of a rapture right at the end.
What we should know and understand is that God has not appointed us to wrath. We also should understand that wrath and tribulation are different. The first six chapters of this book show us God's people going through what? Tribulation. And what did He do while they went through tribulation? He delivered them from tribulation and took care of them in the midst of it. We can be certain that God shall take care of us in the midst of tribulation.
He often allows us to go through trials, tribulation, and difficulty. Jesus said, "In the world, you will have much tribulation. But be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." He is walking with you through the midst of tribulation, and He will be glorified through it. Amen?
We're living in exciting times, and this book is an exciting book. I encourage you to take the time to read and understand it. If you read things you don't understand, there are many great books that will explain it, or you can come and ask me questions. Hopefully, I'll be able to explain them to you. It's a great book, and it shows us very clearly that God knows what He is doing and that He is in control. Nebuchadnezzar, the king of the world at that time, found that out. God raises up one and puts down another.
God is in control and on the throne. Even though trials and tribulations come, we know God is still on the throne. There is coming a kingdom which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. We look forward to that day.
As we sit here tonight, living in the last days, those of us who know the Lord and follow Him say, "Come, Lord Jesus. Come, Maranatha, come quickly." Paul tells us in that all these things in the Old Testament were written for our instruction and admonition upon whom the ends of the world have come. That's why we study Daniel, Ezekiel, Lamentations, and all these Old Testament books—they were written for our instruction.
We are living in the last days, and this tells us how we should then live. Daniel was an example, as were Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, of integrity and righteousness as they followed the Lord and believed in Him. God delivered them, and He shall do the same for us. Amen?
Let's stand and pray. God, we thank You for Your Word. We praise You that You have told us the end from the beginning. We don't have to be ignorant of the things that are going on in our day. While the world is wondering what's happening, many people, even those who don't know You, are considering that things seem to be winding down. Things seem to be going crazy and at the end.
But, Lord, we know because You have told us exactly what is happening. I pray that You would help us to be looking to You, waiting for You, and also shining brightly in these last dark days. Jesus, when You came to Your own people, even though You had told them the exact day that You would come through Daniel's prophecy, they weren't looking for You.
You have told us the signs of the times and what would be going on when You return. Lord, help us to be ready. May we have our wicks trimmed and oil in the lamp for the time that You come, because there will be many who are not ready. Let us not be numbered among them, for we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.
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