King James Bible Study – [Mark 8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.]
Date: Saturday, September 16, 2023
Chapters: DANIEL 9-12
Study: Knowing the Scriptures as A Child
Hello My Brother/Sister/Friend,
I told God this morning that I love the books of Ezekiel and Daniel because they really give you a lot of information. Revelation, is the same way, but I do not like reading them because you cannot just read them as they are so intense. I did something that I normally do not do, and have been reading the Apocrypha books, these are not scriptural so we need to take them with a grain of salt, but they are informative in that they do give us some history. I can understand how mournful Daniel felt when he was being shown what is going to happen regarding the Antichrist ruling the earth and how many of God’s people will fall from their faith. With everything that is going on today, it is a reminder that the days are waxing cold.
[2 Timothy 3:12-15 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. 13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. 14 But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; 15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.]
It does not matter what age you accepted Christ as your Saviour, you are a child of God and therefore the Holy Scriptures are made known to you not only for the salvation of your soul, but to lead others to Christ as well. Now, the problem comes when those whom have accepted Christ do not learn the Scriptures, when these judgments come they are unaware of what it is. As we come to the end of the reading of Daniel, trying to get a grasp of all these visions that God had given him, he turns to the Scriptures. He discovered something as he read through Jeremiah’s testimony, the end of their seventy years of their captivity was coming up. He turns toward Jerusalem and begins to pray for them.
[Daniel 9:1-5 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans; 2 In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem. 3 And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: 4 And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments; 5 We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments:]
[even by departing from thy precepts] [Precept; Commandment; Moral; Principal; Practice; Fundamental; a statement by an authority of how people should behave] I learned something today, precepts are referring to the six hundred and thirteen commandments written in the law of Moses. Two hundred and forty-eight are affirmative precepts, meaning of commission, the other three hundred and sixty-five are negative precepts, meaning of omission or of our own will. Did you know that Psalm 119, the longest chapter in the entire Bible is based on seeking the precepts of God?
[Psalms 119:15-19,33-35 I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways. 16 I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word. 17 GIMEL. Deal bountifully with thy servant, that I may live, and keep thy word. 18 Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law. 19 I am a stranger in the earth: hide not thy commandments from me. 33 HE. Teach me, O LORD, the way of thy statutes; and I shall keep it unto the end. 34 Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart. 35 Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight.]
We truly are strangers of the earth, and let me tell you, it does not matter what ridiculous concepts the world comes up with to keep the earth from being destroyed, the only way out of its destruction is Jesus Christ! Of course, this is going to bring disbelief and confusion to those who are not in God’s Word or care less to heed its warnings. In fact, Daniel, goes on to even suggest that that living in sin is what brings confusion.
[Daniel 9:8-11,13 O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee. 9 To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him; 10 Neither have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets. 11 Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him. 13 As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth.]
[to us belongeth confusion of face…because we have sinned against thee.] Living in sin does bring confusion. Once you get saved, your soul belongs to Jesus, not to mention the Holy Spirit lives inside of you, amplifying the need to get rid of the sin. The biggest confusion of all is the churches that are telling them that it is okay to live in sin. I will tell you this, we are all sinners, saved by grace alone and there is absolutely nothing that will ever take that away no matter the sin. And it is not because our righteousness that we are saved, it is our faith alone. This is exactly what Daniel realizes, and that was when the angel Gabriel shows up.
[Daniel 9:18-21 O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies. 19 O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name. 20 And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God; 21 Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation.]
[for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies.] We do not deserve God’s mercies one bit as even at our best we fall short. We cannot stand before God in our own righteousness because compared to Jesus, they are as filthy rags, [Romans 3:10-12,20,23-24 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: 11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. 12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. 20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. 23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:]
God, is truly great in His mercies, not to mention slow to wrath, and the only reason why He is merciful to us is because believe it or not, we are His greatest joy. Every soul is precious to Him, but the only ones He will save are those who not only seek Him, through His Son. Now, what Gabriel reveals to Daniel is something truly incredible, the actual time in which Christ would become the sacrifice that would bring permanent redemption.
[Daniel 9:24-27 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. 25 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. 26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. 27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.]
[Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people…to finish the transgression,] Seventy weeks means one day for each year, or a total of four hundred and ninety years from the time that this was revealed. The order to restore Jerusalem came in 446 BC, adding that to the four hundred and sixty-nine years would bring us to thirty years over the birth of Christ, of which He would begin His ministry, [Luke 3:21-22 Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, 22 And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.]
[shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks:] At the end of sixty-nine weeks one sacrifice would be offered by one man, making a permanent atonement for the sin of the believer, causing the sacrifice and oblation offerings to cease forever, [Hebrews 9:27-28 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: 28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.]
[and the end thereof shall be with a flood,] This was not a literal flood as God promised to never destroy the earth with a flood again, [Genesis 9:14-15 And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: 15 And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.] This will be the Jews when after the crucifixion of Jesus troublesome times would flood upon their nation as a result. It will be the end of the city, temple, and nation as a whole by the Roman army, which, like a flood, would overspread the land. [he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,] Not for Christ’s, but for our own sake, and for our own salvation He gave His sinless life as a sacrifice and oblation for us, [2 Corinthians 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.]
Now, Daniel, is still pretty disturbed by all this, he, along with his companions stood by the Hiddekel River, which was actually one of the rivers that watered the garden of Eden, [Genesis 2:14 And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.]. Daniel, was tired and weak because he had not eaten anything in three weeks, his companions scattered because what they were seeing was an earthquake. However, it was no earthquake, Daniel, left all alone, literally fell down and just laid there by the river.
[Daniel 10:1-2,4-7 In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a thing was revealed unto Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar; and the thing was true, but the time appointed was long: and he understood the thing, and had understanding of the vision. 2 In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks. 4 And in the four and twentieth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, which is Hiddekel; 5 Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz: 6 His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude. 7 And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves.]
[but a great quaking fell upon them,] The worldly Christian cannot see many things that God reveals to His faithful. And I do not know why God does this, but there are a limited amount of faithful Christians who are able to see beyond earth quakes and hurricanes. Now, I am not going to say that God tells anyone anything outside of the Scriptures, but He does open their eyes to what is in the Scriptures. So, as Daniel laid there with is face in the sand, a man came up to him, touched him and began to talk with him.
[Daniel 10:9-13 Yet heard I the voice of his words: and when I heard the voice of his words, then was I in a deep sleep on my face, and my face toward the ground. 10 And, behold, an hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands. 11 And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling. 12 Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. 13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.]
[the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand…thy words were heard,] You see, every saved born again Christian has the ability to see and understand the same thing, the reason we do not see it all at the same time has to do with our heart and just how much we are able to comprehend, [1 Corinthians 14:26-28 How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying. 27 If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret. 28 But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God.]
[but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes,] Michael, He is called in the New Testament, the Head of all principality and power, and is none other than Christ the Son of God, the first chief of the princes. Do you understand that Jesus was sent here for you? Those thoughts bring tears to my eyes. As much as I mess up, He still uses me, not only to understand His Word, but teach it to others. I certainly do not feel responsible enough to have such an important responsibility from Jesus Himself. This is how Daniel felt, but watch what happens.
[Daniel 10:16-19 And, behold, one like the similitude of the sons of men touched my lips: then I opened my mouth, and spake, and said unto him that stood before me, O my lord, by the vision my sorrows are turned upon me, and I have retained no strength. 17 For how can the servant of this my lord talk with this my lord? for as for me, straightway there remained no strength in me, neither is there breath left in me. 18 Then there came again and touched me one like the appearance of a man, and he strengthened me, 19 And said, O man greatly beloved, fear not: peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong. And when he had spoken unto me, I was strengthened, and said, Let my lord speak; for thou hast strengthened me.]
[and he strengthened me…O man greatly beloved, fear not:] Do you know how weak we get in the flesh when our spirit is weak? It takes a toll on our body, and there is only one person who can strengthen us, Christ Himself, [2 Corinthians 12:10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.]
After all that God had showed Daniel, he gave him a little bit of rest before He showed him another prophecy. A war and union between the Medes and Persians, which will lead up to a one world nation.
[Daniel 11:1-3,6 Also I in the first year of Darius the Mede, even I, stood to confirm and to strengthen him. 2 And now will I shew thee the truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia; and the fourth shall be far richer than they all: and by his strength through his riches he shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia. 3 And a mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will. 6 And in the end of years they shall join themselves together; for the king’s daughter of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement: but she shall not retain the power of the arm; neither shall he stand, nor his arm: but she shall be given up, and they that brought her, and he that begat her, and he that strengthened her in these times.]
[there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia;] This was actually referring to the bitter war between the king of the Syria, Antiochus and the king of Egypt, Ptolemy. In order to end this war, Berenice, the daughter of Ptolemy, was married to Antiochus, on the condition that Antiochus would divorce his wife, and disinherit her son, Seleucus Callinicus. This worked for a while as their main goal was to defeat Israel, thinking that their union would destroy them. It did not last long when the king of the north overtake the south.
[Daniel 11:15-16,21-23 So the king of the north shall come, and cast up a mount, and take the most fenced cities: and the arms of the south shall not withstand, neither his chosen people, neither shall there be any strength to withstand. 16 But he that cometh against him shall do according to his own will, and none shall stand before him: and he shall stand in the glorious land, which by his hand shall be consumed. 21 And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries. 22 And with the arms of a flood shall they be overflown from before him, and shall be broken; yea, also the prince of the covenant. 23 And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people.]
[stand up a vile person…and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.] Keep giving them food, money, and homes to live in without any work to obtain them, and this is how a corrupt government takes over a country. Right now, the devil is in all his glory as nation upon nation becomes more divided in their faith in Christ. And it is going to get much worse, he will have great power over this world, and for a time get his dream to be like God. Even many of God’s people will forsake the holy covenant.
[Daniel 11:24-25,29-30 He shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers’ fathers; he shall scatter among them the prey, and spoil, and riches: yea, and he shall forecast his devices against the strong holds, even for a time. 25 And he shall stir up his power and his courage against the king of the south with a great army; and the king of the south shall be stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army; but he shall not stand: for they shall forecast devices against him. 29 At the time appointed he shall return, and come toward the south; but it shall not be as the former, or as the latter. 30 For the ships of Chittim shall come against him: therefore he shall be grieved, and return, and have indignation against the holy covenant: so shall he do; he shall even return, and have intelligence with them that forsake the holy covenant.]
[For the ships of Chittim] This was Ptolemy, and his brother who came to an agreement with Rome to obtain their help and assistance against Antiochus, who was preparing to besiege them in Alexandria. This is found in the Apocrypha book of, [1 Maccabees 1:1-2 And it happened, after that Alexander son of Philip, the Macedonian, who came out of the land of Chettiim, had smitten Darius king of the Persians and Medes, that he reigned in his stead, the first over Greece, 2 And made many wars, and won many strong holds, and slew the kings of the earth,]
[have intelligence with them that forsake the holy covenant.] This would be the Jews, Apollonius, with an army of twenty two thousand men, to whom he gave orders to kill the men, and sell the women and children. This was two years after his former expedition into Egypt, and the havoc he made upon his return, [1 Maccabees 1:29-31 And after two years fully expired the king sent his chief collector of tribute unto the cities of Juda, who came unto Jerusalem with a great multitude, 30 And spake peaceable words unto them, but all was deceit: for when they had given him credence, he fell suddenly upon the city, and smote it very sore, and destroyed much people of Israel. 31 And when he had taken the spoils of the city, he set it on fire, and pulled down the houses and walls thereof on every side.]
While this may be in the history books, something else is revealed here with Daniel, the Antichrist, and there will be many “Christians” turning away from their faith, and running to these vile dictators. Nevertheless, Christ’s true and faithful will not be taken by such flattery, but it will cost them their lives. The man reveals the sad prophesy of God’s faithful who will die converting people during this time.
[Daniel 11:32-36 And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits. 33 And they that understand among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days. 34 Now when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help: but many shall cleave to them with flatteries. 35 And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed. 36 And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.]
[people that do know their God shall be strong…yet they shall fall by the sword,] Remember, when Jesus returns, He is going to reign here for a thousand years, along with His saints, at that point Satan will be in prison for that amount of time, [Revelation 20:2-4 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, 3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. 4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.].
Once Satan is released, that is when the final judgment will take place of those who are not saved. This is also explained to Daniel. [Daniel 12:1-4 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. 2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. 3 And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever. 4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.]
[every one that shall be found written in the book.] The Book of Life, this is the only book that we need our names written in, as it is eternal. This is also the amazing prophecy of the resurrection, in which Jesus refers to, [John 5:28-29 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, 29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.]
We may not know the hour in which Christ will return, but there are many signs that the tribulation is soon approaching. Many of the prophecies concerning Persia and Greece have already taken place, including the histories of Xerxes, Alexander the Great, the division of his kingdom on his death, and the long conflicts between the kings of Syria and Egypt. The Antichrist, will come to his end somewhere between Jerusalem and the Mediterranean, and it will be Christ that will bring him to his doom. The man gives Daniel a timeline.
[Daniel 12:6-9,12-13 And one said to the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, How long shall it be to the end of these wonders? 7 And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished. 8 And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things? 9 And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. 12 Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days. 13 But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.]
[thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.] Remember, we read in Ezekiel about the daily sacrifices that will be restored? This is probably to be referring to the time that the Antichrist will be here until Christ returns, and not a countdown until He returns. When will Christ return? Well, that is a question we all wonder, but Jesus said it this way, [Matthew 24:34-37 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. 35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. 36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. 37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.]
Today’s Prayer: God, It sure is scary to think of all the crazy things going on all over the world today, it just keeps reminding us that we are getting closer to the tribulation, and Your Son returning all together. Lord, We know that the time will come when He will return with a vengeance to judge those who do know Him. Jesus, Shield our hearts from the flattering of Satan, keep them tender for You, give us Your mercy, grace, protection, and power to continue Your work in us. Give us Your strength and patience to wait and not give into the temptations by the devil trying to divide us. Lead us and guide us, and help us endure the sufferings we face here as we await Your return. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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