Habakkuk 2

Then the Lord replied: "Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay."

Sunday, April 28, 2013

The Daily Sacrifice


Friday, March 9, 2012, 7:47 a.m. – The Lord woke me this morning with the song, “Jesus, Lead Me,” playing in my mind. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Daniel 8 (NIV 1984): http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Daniel%208&version=NIV

The Interpretation of the Vision

  While I, Daniel, was watching the vision and trying to understand it, there before me stood one who looked like a man. And I heard a man’s voice from the Ulai calling, “Gabriel, tell this man the meaning of the vision.”

  As he came near the place where I was standing, I was terrified and fell prostrate. “Son of man,” he said to me, “understand that the vision concerns the time of the end.”

  While he was speaking to me, I was in a deep sleep, with my face to the ground. Then he touched me and raised me to my feet.

  He said: “I am going to tell you what will happen later in the time of wrath, because the vision concerns the appointed time of the end. The two-horned ram that you saw represents the kings of Media and Persia. The shaggy goat is the king of Greece, and the large horn between his eyes is the first king. The four horns that replaced the one that was broken off represent four kingdoms that will emerge from his nation but will not have the same power.

  “In the latter part of their reign, when rebels have become completely wicked, a stern-faced king, a master of intrigue, will arise. He will become very strong, but not by his own power. He will cause astounding devastation and will succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy the mighty men and the holy people. He will cause deceit to prosper, and he will consider himself superior. When they feel secure, he will destroy many and take his stand against the Prince of princes. Yet he will be destroyed, but not by human power.

  “The vision of the evenings and mornings that has been given you is true, but seal up the vision, for it concerns the distant future.”

  I, Daniel, was exhausted and lay ill for several days. Then I got up and went about the king’s business. I was appalled by the vision; it was beyond understanding.

My Understanding: Daniel had a vision. He saw himself in what is now Iran. He was near the Iranian/Iraqi border, not far from the Persian Gulf. He saw a ram with two horns. It appears this ram symbolizes this area of the world (Iraq, Iran, and possibly Afghanistan). In history, around 334 B.C., Alexander the Great (of Greece) conquered the entirety of the Persian Empire – including what is now today: Turkey, Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Israel, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, etc. Notice with me how many of these countries have recently had uprisings and how many of them are now under (or is in the works of being under) a “national unity government.” In 2010: Afghanistan. In 2011: Tunisia, Egypt, Gaza Strip, West Bank, Turkey, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, Yemen, and Greece, etc. In 2012: Syria (in process). I know there are others, too. Iran is being targeted presently, as well.

This kind of unity (government, et al) here is forced unity through intimidation, deceit, false teaching, man-made rules, unnatural disasters, war, uprisings, conflict, etc. This kind of forced unity is taking place inside the institutional church, as well as the institution of the N.W.O./NATO is forcing it upon the governments of the world. Yet, this is not the kind of unity spoken about in the Bible, nor the kind God intends for us to have. This is about bringing the nations of the world under one global rule of government, and it is about bringing the various religions of the world under a one-world religion that shows tolerance and acceptance of other religions, and does not try to convert people to faith in Christ.

The US government and their allies have gone into these various countries listed above, some of them under the guise of national uprisings, supposedly with the mission of helping them to resolve their internal conflicts and to help them form “democratic” governments; some of them under the guise of going after “terrorist” threats to the USA; and still others as purported “rescue” efforts following supposed natural disasters. Yet this is a revival of Alexander the Great’s empire, and we are the conquerors. So, the goat today is world powers (the USA and allies, or the U.N. or the New World Order, of which we are a part). The Lord has shown me previously that the large horn between the eyes of the goat, which represents the first king of Greece, represents Roosevelt and/or the U.S. government in these last days, beginning with Roosevelt’s presidency. He instituted the United Nations which is divided into four kingdoms – Asia, Africa, the Americas and Europe.

NATO, which is the military force of the New World Order, in July of 2011, in Afghanistan alone, had 90,000 US troops, compared to 10,000 from Great Britain and 5,000 or less each from 5 other countries. So, the USA comprises well over half the NATO troops in Afghanistan, and less than half of the troops come from other countries. So, if the goat is this New World Order, and NATO is its military force, and US troops comprise well over 50% of the NATO troops in Afghanistan, then it appears the US could be the prominent horn, that it will be broken off, and it will be taken over by other nations and divided up (parceled out). Or the horn represents Roosevelt, who instituted the U.N., and the four horns represent the four continents of the world, out of which will arise this stern-faced king.

The Stern-faced King

The stern-faced king, a master of intrigue and deception, will become strong, but not by his own power. He will cause astounding devastation and will succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy military troops (even those of his own nation) and he will destroy God’s holy people, God’s true church. He will trample on the saints of God (true followers of Jesus Christ who bear his testimony). He will set himself up to be as great as Jesus Christ, he will remove from him the daily sacrifice, and he will bring the place of his sanctuary low. The host of the saints, on which he will trample, and the daily sacrifice will be given over to this king, and under his leadership, truth will be thrown to the ground.

When we think today of God’s sanctuary, what comes to mind? Many people think of church buildings and their “sanctuaries”. This is far from the truth. God no longer dwells in buildings built by human hands. He dwells in human hearts – the hearts of those who are truly his. So, we, “the holy people” are the sanctuary of God. So, how has it been brought low in the U.S.? By taking it back in time and making it into a building, a form of worship, a business, private (members only) clubs, and by bringing it under the regulation of the US government, whose authority supersedes that of Jesus Christ when it comes to decisions concerning what the institutional church can and cannot do and can and cannot preach from the pulpit. That sounds a whole lot like the king setting himself up to be as great as Christ.

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.

This teaching on the daily sacrifice, though, has been replaced by teaching that tells people that repentance and obedience to Christ are not necessary for salvation, and that God is pleased with us no matter what we do, so that many professing “believers” in Christ do not see the necessity of this “daily sacrifice.” Their relationship with Jesus is often confined to a worship service once a week and not to a personal, vital, daily, obedient relationship to God. 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.

As well, he tramples on the saints of God through persecution. Those who hold to the truth of the gospel and believe Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven, are ostracized, criticized, rejected, ridiculed, mocked, and are falsely accused of being “disunifiers, fault finders and grumblers and complainers.” And, they are invited to leave many institutionalized churches, because the leaders are afraid they might tell the people the truth about the gospel and might offend some people. They will even be accused of being terrorists because they stand for the truth of the gospel and they are opposed to the rule of the beast, and they will be imprisoned and even killed for their faith, because they have not joined in with the New World Order and with this unifying of religions and agreement to not share the gospel.

I don’t know where we are exactly in time with respect to the time of tribulation in the final days before Christ’s return, but what I do know is that the things talked about in Daniel 8 are happening in real time in 2012. We need Jesus Christ to lead us, to be our strength, and to open our eyes to the truth of what is going on in our world, so that we are not among the ones who are being deceived. We need him to fill us with his truth. And, we need to obey what he shows us. If you have not yet turned from your sin and turned to walk in faithful obedience to Jesus Christ, I pray you will do that today. Time is running out.

Previous writings on Daniel 8:


Escape Through the Window (2009) - http://www.christianforums.com/t7406311/

Jesus, Lead Me / An Original Work / July 22, 2011

Jesus, lead me all the way.
Be my hope and be my stay.
Gently lead me where I should go,
So Your Spirit, I want to know.
Open up my heart to You.
Fill me with Your love and truth.
Make my heart want to obey.
Be my Lord today. Gently lead always.

Jesus, lover of my soul,
Cleanse my heart, and make me whole;
Be transformed in my heart today,
As I turn from my sin and pray.
Make Your will known to my heart.
May I not from You depart.
How I long to hear You now,
As I humbly bow. Jesus, hear me now.

No comments: