Interlude in Daniel

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/19/2013 9:38 AM

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  Interlude in Daniel

            Today’s SD will be a different format that what we have been doing as we will look at what Dr. Wiersbe entitles “Interlude” which is a section between the end of the tenth chapter and the last two chapters of the book of Daniel.  Chapter ten was the introduction to this great prophecy that the angel Gabriel will give to Daniel before he returns to help Michal in the upcoming invisible battles that are still going on today.  The prophecies in the book of Daniel are primarily for the nation of Israel even though there are Gentile nations involved in them, but Daniel’s prayer is for the nation of Israel and God has answered his prayers and gave him in detail the things that will happen to the nation of Israel, and many of the things that Daniel learns are not good, and they are extremely hard on him as a person.  I am reminded of the Apostle John who wrote the book of the Revelations of Jesus Christ, and in one section of this book John is told to take a little book from the hand of  an angel and to eat the book, which will be sweet in his mouth, but will make his stomach sour.  “Re 10:9 So I went to the angel, telling him to give me the little book. And he *said to me, "Take it and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey." Re 10:10 I took the little book out of the angel’s hand and ate it, and in my mouth it was sweet as honey; and when I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter.”  Daniel has gone through the same reactions when he receives the prophecies that he has received.  I am also reminded of what Dr. Wiersbe has written about prophecy stating that when we learn of the prophecies that are in the Bible we are to be humble in knowing what the Lord has planned for His people, and we are not to brag about every new thing that we learn.  Yes prophecy is sweet when we learn it, but then when we think about all of the people who are involved in the prophecies we learn about and how miserable their lives are going to be that is when it makes our stomachs bitter and our hearts aches for them.  One can see the reactions that Daniel has when he has received the prophecies and one can see the reaction of when John received the book of revelations, and in a short time, Lord willing, we will see the many tears that Jeremiah will shed over the sinfulness of the nation of Israel (the Southern Tribes).  We will not look at the Interlude that Dr. Wiersbe wrote:

Interlude

            “The prophecy given in chapters 11 and 12 is long and complex.  The first thirty-five verses of Daniel 11 were prophecy in Daniel’s day but are now history.  They deal with important but, for the most part, forgotten historical characters with difficult names and complicated relationships.  The chapters may be outlined as follows:

I.                 Prophecies already fulfilled (11:1-35)

a.       About Persia –11:1-2

b.     About Greece—11:3-4

c.      About Egypt and Syria—11:5-20

d.     About Antiochus Epiphanes and Syria –11:21-35

II.               Prophecies yet to be fulfilled (11:36-12:3)

a.      About the Tribulation and Antichrist –11:36-12:1

b.     About the promised kingdom –12:3-3

c.      Final intrusions to Daniel (12:4-13)

These prophecies fill the details of previous prophecies the Lord had given to Daniel and were the answer to his prayer for greater understanding of God’s plans for Israel.  The focus is on Israel in the last days.”

Answer to yesterday’s Bible Question:  “A.D. 30”  I have also read that Christ died in A. D. 29.

Today’s Bible Question:  “Who said “A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house?”

Answer in our next SD.

12/19/2013 10:04 AM