THE LORD SPOKE (December 06)

Daily Reflections from Scripture:

Daniel 11

There’s a turning point in Daniel 11:36. From that point on, Daniel’s prophecy concentrates on the Antichrist at “the time of the end” (Dan. 11:35). Up to Daniel 11:36, the sheer quantity of prophetic detail given has led many to say the book was written after the facts, i.e. it’s history written as though it were prophecy. To be sure, the amount of detail and degree of specificity is noting any soothsayer would ever attempt. Modern “prophets” would never venture into so many variables; they prefer to speak in vague generalities that either cannot be verified or that would admit any number of possible “fulfillments”.

The history of the Ptolemies and Seleucids is complicated enough as history, much less as prophecy. Only God could be the source of such amazing historic detail in advance. Keep in mind that the OT standard for prophetic accuracy was 100% (Dt. 13:1-5). Anything less was to be followed by execution! There are well over a hundred prophetic details ordered chronologically in the first 35 verses of Daniel 11. Who would risk such minutia? The margin for error is simply too great. Especially if your life counted on it!

The second half of the chapter (Dan. 11:36-45) depicts a king of the end times. The details no longer fit Antiochus Epiphanes, who has been the subject since Daniel 11:21. At Daniel 11:35 the prophetic camera jumps forward to “the time of the end”. This king is described in verses 36-39 and then his rush to the apocalyptic finish line is foretold in verses 40-45. After that, you must fast forward to Revelation 19 to view the rest (see especially Dan. 11:19-20).

One question still debated by many is that of the Antichrist’s ethnic origin. Because he rises out of the sea (Rev. 13:1) this has often been taken as a reference to his Gentile origin. However, Daniel 11 gives two other descriptive phrases that are best understood as indicators of his Jewish background:

Daniel 11:37a - “he will show no regard for the God of his fathers” (KJV)

Many later translations have “gods of his fathers” here but the word is elohim, the normal Hebrew plural term for God and translated that way in hundreds of other cases throughout the Bible. True, it could be translated “gods” but the added phrase “of his fathers” is not commonly used in a polytheistic sense. It usually indicates the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Daniel 11:37b - “he will show no regard...for the one desired by women”

This messianic phrase only makes sense in a Jewish context, especially in the same breath with “the God of his fathers”. In what possible way could this term fit a Gentile Antichrist?

This Jewish man will throw in his lot with “a foreign god” (Dan. 11:39) who is described as “a god unknown to his fathers” and a god of force or power (see Jn. 12:31; II Cor. 4:4; and Eph. 2:2). God has not left us without a witness. We could wish for more, but Daniel‘s prophecy is unequivocal - this Antichrist will “come to his end, and no one will help him” (Dan. 11:45). As dark as the future of this earth looks, there is light at the end of the tunnel.


Proverbs 6

Sluggard! The mere name makes you cringe a bit. It sounds like some ugly, oozing creature. No spine. Clammy to the touch.

Beginning here in Proverbs 6, Solomon has a lot to say about the sluggard:

Proverbs 6:9-11 - his love of sleep robs him of all initiative; with eyes wide shut he has stumbled into the snare of poverty; maybe he’ll do something about it when he stops yawning

Proverbs 10:26 - undependable, he’ll leave you feeling like vinegar on your teeth or smoke in your eyes

Proverbs 13:4 - never satisfied, yet he refuses to work to improve his own lot

Proverbs 15:19 - too lazy to remove the obstacles from his own path

Proverbs 19:24 - not enough initiative to follow through on things; always leaves the job half done

Proverbs 22:13 - imagining the worst and inventing excuses for his own inaction

Proverbs 24:30-31 - undisciplined and disorganized, unproductive and penalized as a result (Not the repetition of 6:9-11 in 24:33-34. What goes around, comes around, like a sad refrain.)

Proverbs 26:13-16 - repeating the “lion in the road” and the “hand in the dish” descriptions, this longer proverb adds that he’s always got a reason (“wise in his own eyes”) and is quite willing to repeat it over and over (“like a door on its hinges”) as long as you don’t make him get out of bed

Going back to Proverbs 6:6-8, we find one of God’s smallest creatures shows more sense than a sluggard and sets the example:

Go to the ant, you sluggard;
Consider its ways and be wise!
It has no commander, no overseer or ruler,
Yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.

Time to get up and do something worthwhile?!

THE LORD SPOKE (September 7)

Daily Reflections from Scripture:

Old Testament: Proverbs 14-16

“Temper, temper, temper!” Remember when Mom used to say that to you in an attempt to help you with an attitude check?

“Temper, temper, temper!” Remember the last time the Holy Spirit whispered those words to you as he prodded you to slow down, back off, and think before speaking? Don’t need to think back too far, do you? That’s because our temper is usually not far below the surface and often needs to be checked.

Proverbs has a lot to say about our temper:

• 14:17a - A quick-tempered man does foolish things.
• 14:29b - A quick-tempered man displays folly.
• 15:18a - A hot-tempered man stirs up dissension.
• 26:21 - As charcoal to embers and as wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife.
• 29:11 - A fool gives full vent to his anger but a wise man keeps himself under control.
• 29:22 - An angry man stirs up dissension, and a hot-tempered one commits many sins.

When we come to the New Testament, one of the qualifications of the man whom God uses is that he “must be blameless - not over-bearing, not quick-tempered” (Titus 1:7).

Do you remember the character Nabal in the story of David? He was “surly and mean in his dealings” (I Samuel 25:3). He was a quick-tempered man that most people tried to stay away from. Though David helped him with his harvest during a busy time, though David’s men provided very valuable protection from local bandits, and though Nabal’s wife Abigail gave him very wise counsel, still he only hardened in his hot temper and got worse instead of better. Finally, “his heart failed him and he became like a stone” (25:37) and a few days later he was in a pine box. When he died, people said, “Praise the Lord!”

Now is that the kind of legacy you want? Is your surliness and quick temper really that valuable to you that you just can’t give it up? Life is complicated but all spiritual problems have a very simple, straight-forward solution:

1. Give it to the Lord. Ask for His help.
2. Read the Scriptures. Just like you can’t get well physically if you don’t eat good food, so you can’t get well spiritually if you don’t feed yourself regularly from God’s Word.
3. Confess your sin (I John 1:9). Do it every time you sin.
4. Ask forgiveness of those you’ve offended. Do it every time you offend. After awhile you’ll tire of going back again and again to ask forgiveness for the same thing. Eventually it will be easier to just not do it again.
5. When you fail, and you will, repeat the process.

Simple? Yes! Easy? Not one bit! Right? Without a doubt! Worth it? Why not find out?


New Testament: Revelation 13

It’s a trinity of evil. In a vile duplication and thinly camouflaged replica of the holy Trinity, this diabolic three-some sets out to multiply its power and authority over the earth. The two words, “power and “authority”, occur a combined total of ten times in this little chapter.

The dragon, exalting himself to the position of God the Father, is Satan. This is something he’s been trying to do since the beginning of his existence. In this, his final attempt to overthrow the Kingdom of Righteousness, he gives his power and authority to the first beast (Rev. 13:1-10) who rises out of the sea. The imagery of Revelation 13 matches that of Daniel 7:2-7 and represents the Antichrist, that evil secular authority that blasphemes God and makes war against the saints.

He is supported by “another beast, coming out of the earth” who has a religious authority and performs “great and miraculous signs” by which he deceives the inhabitants of the earth. This false prophet causes them to worship the Antichrist, even to the point of energizing an idol that can kill any who refuse to do so. The people seem more than willing to go a step further. They will submit to being physically branded with the mark of the beast. They will pledge their allegiance to the very epitome of evil and everything that stands contrary to God.

These three - Satan, the Beast or Antichrist, and the False Prophet - unleash their full fury upon the earth for the remainder of the Tribulation. At the end they are captured. The Beast and the False Prophet are “thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur” (Rev. 19:20) and Satan is bound in prison for 1000 years (Rev. 20:2-3,7).

If only that were the end of it. But remember, they had many willing followers. Those multitudes are still in rebellion and the judgments that follow will fall upon them with the fullness of God’s fury (read ahead to Rev. 14:9-11).

In stark contrast are those who resist the trinity of evil. The 144,000 are God’s faithful band who’s job it will be to proclaim “the eternal Gospel...to those who live on the earth - to every nation, tribe, language and people” (Rev. 14:6). And they will be effective witnesses to His glory. That multitude will sing the Song of Moses and the Song of the Lamb (Rev. 15:3-4).

Ready to tune up?