Monday,
April 29, 2013 – The Lord Jesus woke me with the song “In Faithfulness He Leads Me” playing in
my mind. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Daniel 11-12: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Daniel%2011&version=NIV
Sunday,
March 11, 2012, 6:06 a.m. - When I read these two chapters,
the latter part of chapter 11 and the whole of chapter 12 stood out to me, in
particular, because it was dealing with the subject of the antichrist and the
final period of time on the earth before the return of Christ. In reading these
passages of scripture I saw that there was both a description of the
characteristic traits and actions of the antichrist in these final days, as
well as there was a description of the saints of God, their character traits,
and their actions (or actions done to them). So, I will list them both and then
will discuss some (not all) of them, as God leads and directs me to do so.
The antichrist:
- Will
vent his fury against the holy covenant
- Will
show favor to those who forsake the holy covenant
- His
armed forces will desecrate the temple fortress and will abolish the daily
sacrifice
- They
(the armed forces?) will set up the abomination that causes desolation
- With
flattery he will corrupt those who have violated the covenant
- Will
do as he pleases.
- He
will exalt and magnify himself above every god, and will say unheard-of
things against the God of gods.
- Will
be successful until the time of wrath is completed
- Will
show no regard for the gods of his fathers
- Will
honor the god of fortresses
- Will
attack the mightiest fortresses with the help of a foreign god
- Will
greatly honor those who acknowledge him – he will make them rulers over
many people and will distribute the land at a price
- Will
invade many countries and sweep through them like a flood & many will
fall
- He
will also invade the Beautiful Land
- Edom,
Moab & the leaders of Ammon will be delivered from his hand – looks
like modern-day Jordan and Saudi Arabia
- Will
extend his power over many countries, incl. Egypt, Libya and Sudan
(2011/12)
- Will
set out in great rage to destroy and annihilate many
- Will
come to his end
The saints of God:
- The
people who know their God will firmly resist the antichrist king
- Those
who are wise will instruct many
- They
will be killed by sword or fire, captured and/or plundered
- When
they fall (are persecuted), they receive a little help, but will be joined
by many who are not sincere in their faith (like spies or private police,
perhaps)
- They
will face this persecution so that they may be refined, purified and made
spotless until the time of the end
- Everyone
whose name has been written in the book of life will be delivered from or
through the time of great distress
- The
dead in Christ will be raised to everlasting life (the other dead to shame
and everlasting contempt)
- Those
who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who
lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.
- Those
who are wise will understand, but the wicked will not understand
Daniel 11:31-32 (NIV 1984): “His armed forces will rise up to desecrate
the temple fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice. Then they will set up
the abomination that causes desolation. With flattery he will corrupt those who
have violated the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly
resist him.”
“His armed
forces will rise up to desecrate the temple fortress...” What if his
armed forces are preachers and teachers in our modern-day churches? And, they
are the ones desecrating the temple fortress and are abolishing the daily
sacrifice? Remember that Jesus was speaking to his disciples, and that the
Bible teaches that even the elect could be deceived. Deception is not obvious.
It is stealthy, and it comes at us slowly and subtly, and it is disguised as
truth. That is why we need to watch, to be on our guard, and to be alert,
because our enemy is a lion prowling around seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter
5:8). We need to be in God’s word daily!
The
“holy place” used to be in a physical temple in which God’s Spirit dwelled.
And, the temple of God used to be a physical building. Yet, when Jesus Christ
died on the cross for our sins, that curtain that divided the people from
direct access to God was torn in two. When Jesus ascended into heaven, he sent
His Holy Spirit to indwell his followers, so that now the temple of God lives
inside of those who truly put their faith and hope in Jesus Christ as Savior
and Lord (master) of their lives. And, now the “holy place” is in our hearts.
And, we, the people of God, are his temple, the body of Christ – his church.
This
temple fortress would thus be the gospel of Jesus Christ and our salvation. To
desecrate something means to “insult something holy; to damage something
sacred, or do something that is offensive to the religious nature of something”
(Encarta). So for him to desecrate the present-day temple fortress means that
he will do something offensive and damaging to the gospel of Jesus Christ,
which is being done today. The Bible clearly teaches throughout the New
Testament that the way in which we come to know Christ is by us forsaking our
lives of sin, by being transformed in heart and mind by the power of the
working of the Holy Spirit within us, and by us turning to walk in faithful
obedience to Jesus Christ in taking on the “new man,” and in conforming to the
likeness of Christ in his purity and holiness. We cannot truly come to know
Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior absent of repentance (turning from sin) and
obedience (turning to walk in faithful obedience to Christ and to his
commands). Yet, a “gospel” is being preached throughout America’s churches, which
teaches that repentance and obedience to Christ are not necessary for salvation
and that God is pleased with us no matter what we do. This is the desecration
of the temple fortress in the last days, because it has changed God’s grace
into a license for immorality.
They… (his armed
forces) will abolish the daily sacrifice.
This was discussed in a previous writing, “The Daily Sacrifice:” “And, how has the daily sacrifice been
taken away? Well, since Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins on the cross, the daily
sacrifice has been described in Romans 12:1-2 as the presentation of our bodies
as “living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God, which is our reasonable
service of worship.” And, we are “not to be conformed to the pattern of the
world,” but we are to be “transformed by the renewing of our minds, so that we
can prove what the will of God is, his good, pleasing, and perfect will.” Jesus
said that if any man was to come after him that he must deny himself and take
up his cross DAILY and follow HIM. This means that we must reject our old
sinful lifestyles and sinful life patterns, and we must daily die to sin
(repentance) and follow Jesus Christ in obedience if we are to truly be his
disciples… Thus the stern-faced king removes the people’s need for this kind of
daily sacrifice from the gospel of salvation, and truth is thrown to the
ground, and people are given a false hope of salvation, which brings the true
temple of God, his church, down low.”
Then they will
set up the abomination that causes desolation. Abomination
(definition) – “something that is immoral, disgusting, or shameful; an
object of intense disapproval or dislike” (Encarta); “refers to foreign gods,
their images, or related worship practices; denote improper ways of worshiping
God” (Harper's Bible dictionary; 1985); “of idols and things pertaining to
idolatry” (Strong’s Concordance).
So,
if the “abomination that causes desolation” is standing (holding to a
particular attitude, viewpoint or opinion) in the “holy place,” i.e. if it is
taking a firm position in our hearts (the hearts of believers in Jesus), and
“abomination” is directly related to idolatry, then this is speaking of God’s
people, his church, living in idolatry against their holy God, with a refusal
to repent, which is what brought destruction to God’s people all throughout
Biblical history. The goal of the antichrist is to destroy the church. He will
exalt himself over everything that is called God so that he sets himself up in
God’s temple. So, if the temple is our hearts and collectively we are the
church, then this is speaking of a person or entity of some kind that has taken
a position in the church in authority over the authority of God. I can’t speak
for other nations, but I do know that, in the USA, most institutional churches
are under the authority of the government of the USA, and that authority
supersedes God’s authority where God would tell his shepherd’s to speak on an
issue that the government would forbid. So, in this sense, the US government
has set itself up in the institutional church in the USA in a position of
authority that is over the authority of God and is followed over God’s
authority.
“With flattery
he will corrupt those who have violated the covenant…” The covenant is
our covenant relationship with Jesus Christ. We violate that covenant through
continued, unrepentant sin, in particular the sin of spiritual adultery and
idolatry (being worshipful toward other things or people over or in place of
true worship of God). The government of the USA asks us for this kind of
worship when they ask us to put our hands over our hearts and pledge allegiance
(commitment; faithfulness; fidelity) to the government of our nation, and we do
this inside the confines of the institutional church. Yet, this corruption is
not confined merely to the government and to their authority, though it is
highly possible that they have been behind much of the transition that has
taken place within the church over the years with regard to the watering down
of the gospel message and to replacing it with a social gospel that is less
offensive to the listeners.
The
church of the 21st Century in America has been taken over (most, if
not all) by man’s philosophies, marketing schemes, programs, goals, visions,
purpose statements, etc., which are mainly based off of Marketing 101 classes
that we now call “church planting seminars” or “church growth seminars.”
Churches are run just like businesses and they use the same techniques, to gain
people, as do worldly businesses, which definitely use “flattery” to gain
people’s attention and acceptance. The gospel has been watered down in many
churches to where it has no resemblance at all to the true gospel of Jesus
Christ. And, the word “sin” has been replaced with “I messed up,” which feels
as though it has a lesser offense to it.
… but the
people who know their God will firmly resist him. Don’t let him
find you spiritually asleep because you have fallen into deception. Be alert!
Keep watch! Be on your guard! Ask the Lord for much discernment so that you are
not deceived. Allow him to bring healing to your lives and to bring you back
from the dead. Repent of your sins today, and turn to walk with Jesus Christ in
faith and obedience and your faith will heal you.
Daniel 11:
33-35
(NIV 1984): “Those who are wise will
instruct many, though for a time they will fall by the sword or be burned or
captured or plundered. When they fall, they will receive a little help, and
many who are not sincere will join them. Some of the wise will stumble, so that
they may be refined, purified and made spotless until the time of the end, for
it will still come at the appointed time.”
There
are many viewpoints on when the saints of God will be taken to be with their
Lord forever. Clearly there will be saints of God present during the time of
tribulation for the beast will be given authority over them to conquer,
persecute, imprison and kill them for their testimony for Jesus Christ. Some
translations vary on whether the saints of God will be removed before things
get really bad or whether or not they will be kept safe from God’s wrath during
the time of tribulation while still facing the persecution and martyrdom
brought about by the rule of the beast. This passage in Daniel clearly
indicates that this final king will capture, plunder and kill God’s holy saints
(true followers of Christ), and the purpose for them to go through this time of
great suffering and persecution will be to refine, purify and to make spotless the
Lord’s bride, his saints, for her wedding with her husband and King, Jesus
Christ, when he returns. Knowing that God allows us to undergo such suffering
for this reason should give us hope and encouragement during those very
difficult and trying times when we face them. And, may we share in this prayer
(in song) whenever we go through times of trial that test our faith, so that
Christ may be seen in us.
In Faithfulness He
Leads Me / An Original Work / March 20, 2013
Based off Various
Scriptures
(Ps. 26:3; 86:11; 91:4-5; 111:7-8; 119:73-76;
Is. 25:1,4&9; 42:6-7; Hos. 2:16-20)
Teach me Your ways,
Lord, and I’ll walk in them.
Give me a pure heart.
I’ll fear Your name.
Your love is always,
ever before me.
Continually I’ll walk
in Your truth.
You will cover me with
feathers.
Under Your wings I’ll
find refuge.
My Lord’s faithfulness
will be my
Comfort and my shield.
The works of His hands
are faithful and just.
Trustworthy are all of
His precepts.
Your hands have made
me, and they have formed me.
Give understanding of
Your commands.
I have put my hope, O
Lord, in Your word.
Your teachings, O Lord,
are righteousness.
Lord, in faithfulness
You have
Afflicted me so I may
learn of
Your unfailing love
and comfort
And Your truthfulness.
You are my husband;
You have betrothed me
In love, compassion
and faithfulness.
O Lord, You are my
God, I’ll exalt You.
In faithfulness You’ve
done wondrous things.
You’ve been a refuge
for those who’re needy;
A shelter in storms;
shade from the heat.
This is the Lord, we
trusted in Him,
Let us be glad and
rejoice
In His salvation which
He
Provided through the
Lamb.
Open the blind eyes;
free all the captives.
Tell them of Jesus:
“Be born again!”
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