PT-1 "Intercession: Praying for God's Mercy" (Dan. 9:3)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/20/2013 9:20 AM

My Worship Time                                         Focus:  Intercession: Praying for God’s Mercy PT-1

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Daniel 9:3

            Message of the verses:  We begin the second main point from Dr. Wiersbe’s outline on the 9^th chapter of Daniel and we will look at just the first sub-point in today’s SD.

            I want to first of all talk about something personal that has to do with the introduction to this second main point.  It was in January of 1974 that I took a vacation to Florida to get away from the cold of Ohio, and to relax with my high school friend who lived there.  I surely had different ideas on how this trip was going to turn out, but while there I began to listen to a series of tapes by Hal Lindsey in which he spoke of what the Bible has to say about the end of the world.  It was at that time that the Lord saved me from my sins and my life would never be the same again.  I got so wrapped up in the prophetic Word of God that I had little time for anything else in the Bible, so I can say that my Bible learning was out of balance.  This is not the case with Daniel, and is not the case with me for many years either, for after Daniel learned of what the Lord was going to do and he began to pray.  Acts 6:4 reads as follows, “"But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.’”  The “we” in this case was the 12 Apostles, and as far as Daniel is concerned we know that this also was part of his balanced life, and should be a part of every believer’s life too.

            Preparing for prayer (Daniel 9:3):  “3 So I gave my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes.”

            Let us first of all review what we know about Daniel’s prayer habits.  “16 So Daniel went in and requested of the king that he would give him time, in order that he might declare the interpretation to the king. 17 Then Daniel went to his house and informed his friends, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, about the matter, 18  so that they might request compassion from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his friends would not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. 19 Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven; 20 Daniel said, "Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever, For wisdom and power belong to Him. 21 “It is He who changes the times and the epochs; He removes kings and establishes kings; He gives wisdom to wise men And knowledge to men of understanding. 22 “It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things; He knows what is in the darkness, And the light dwells with Him. 23  "To You, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, For You have given me wisdom and power; Even now You have made known to me what we requested of You, For You have made known to us the king’s matter.’”  This week’s Sunday School class is on prayer and the author of the book that we are using said that prayer is not completed until it is answered.  We see in this section of Daniel chapter two that Daniel saw the problem and then went to his friends to pray about it.  Next we see the answer come to him from the Lord, and then we see that Daniel praises the Lord for giving him the answer, so perhaps we should include praise into what the author writes.

            “10  Now when Daniel knew that the document was signed, he entered his house (now in his roof chamber he had windows open toward Jerusalem); and he continued kneeling on his knees three times a day, praying and giving thanks before his God, as he had been doing previously.  11 Then these men came by agreement and found Daniel making petition and supplication before his God.”  This section is from Daniel chapter six and we can see that Daniel, even in the face of death if he prayed to the Lord did not change his beautiful habit of prayer, for it was his habit to pray three times a day facing Jerusalem and he continued to do so.

            Dr. Wiersbe completes this sub-point with the following:  “Daniel prepared himself to pray, because he knew that his prayer would affect the future of the Jewish nation and the lives of Jewish captives in Babylon.  It would be his holy task to confess the sins of the Jewish nation, asking God to forgive His people and receive them back again.  He humbled himself in sackcloth and ashes; he fasted; and he directed his heart and mind to the Lord.  Preparation for prayer and worship is as important as prayer itself, for without a heart that is right with God, our prayers are just so many pious words.  Daniel met the conditions for answered prayer set forth in Leviticus 26:40-45 and 2 Chronicles 7:14.” 

            Leviticus 26:40-45 “40 ’If they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their forefathers, in their unfaithfulness which they committed against Me, and also in their acting with hostility against Me- 41  I also was acting with hostility against them, to bring them into the land of their enemies-or if their uncircumcised heart becomes humbled so that they then make amends for their iniquity, 42  then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and I will remember also My covenant with Isaac, and My covenant with Abraham as well, and I will remember the land. 43 ’For the land will be abandoned by them, and will make up for its Sabbaths while it is made desolate without them. They, meanwhile, will be making amends for their iniquity, because they rejected My ordinances and their soul abhorred My statutes. 44  ’Yet in spite of this, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, nor will I so abhor them as to destroy them, breaking My covenant with them; for I am the LORD their God. 45  ’But I will remember for them the covenant with their ancestors, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God. I am the LORD.’"

            “14  If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”  (KJV)

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I have to admit that my prayer life is not at all what is should be and it seems to me that the Lord is answering my prayer to make it better with instructions from the Sunday School material along with the study of the 9^th chapter of Daniel and for that I too praise His name for his answers.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Continue to learn more about an effective prayer life.

Memory verses for the week:  1 John 5:13a & Titus 3:5a

These things I have written so that you may know that you have eternal life.

Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy he saved us.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible Question:  “Paul” (Romans 14:3).

Today’s Bible Question:  “Where did the woman live whose son Elisha raised from the dead?”

Answer in our next SD.

11/20/2013 10:02 AM

PT-3 "Learning God's Plan" (Dan. 9:1-2)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/19/2013 9:10 AM

My Worship Time                                                         Focus:  Insight: Learning God’s Plan PT-3

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Daniel 9:1-2

            Message of the verses:  “1 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of Median descent, who was made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans- 2 in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, observed in the books the number of the years which was revealed as the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years.”

            We will look at the last sub-point under this first main point from the 9^th chapter of Daniel in today’s SD.

            God’s Plan for His People:  That is the name of the third sub-point that we will look at today which has its roots in the first two verses of Daniel chapter nine.

            Let us first look at the two passages that were in all probability what Daniel was reading from the book of Jeremiah:  “11 ’This whole land will be a desolation and a horror, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years. 12  ’Then it will be when seventy years are completed I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation,’ declares the LORD, ’for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans; and I will make it an everlasting desolation (Jeremiah 25:11-12).”  “"For thus says the LORD, ’When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place (Jeremiah 29:10).”

            One of the reasons for Israel’s punishment is something they did not do which was found in the Law in Leviticus chapter 25.  This chapter explains about the Sabbath years in that every 7^th year the children of Israel were to give a rest to the land and depend upon the Lord to give them the substance they needed to live on.  “20 Those who had escaped from the sword he carried away to Babylon; and they were servants to him and to his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, 21  to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its Sabbaths. All the days of its desolation it kept Sabbath until seventy years were complete (2 Chronicles 36:20-21).”  For 490 years the children of Israel hand missed the Sabbatical years, one every seven years, and so God said that He would rest the land for seventy years in a row to make up for what they missed.

            What date is to be being taken for the nation of Israel to go into captivity to Babylon since there were actually three different years that this happened?  The first date was 605 and it is believed that Daniel was taken then, and that he probably was a teenager at this time.  There was another dispersion in 597 and then the last one was in 586 when the temple was destroyed.  Dr. Wiersbe writes “In 538, Cyrus issued the decree that permitted the Jews to return to their land and rebuild the temple (Ezra 1:1-4), and in 537 about 50,000 Jews returned to Jerusalem under the leadership of Zerubbable and Joshua the high priest (Ezra 1-2).”

            “If we decide that the Captivity officially began in 606-05 with the attack on Jerusalem and the deporting of the first captives, then seventy years later would take us to 537-36, when the first exiles returned to their land and the foundations of the temple were laid.  In other words, the first captives left Judah in 605 and the liberated exiles returned to the land in 536-36, a time period of roughly seventy years.  However, some students feel that the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple should be the starting point (586), with the Captivity not officially ending until the second temple had been built and dedicated (515), another period of approximately seventy years.  Since both interpretations make sense, it shouldn’t be necessary to debate the issue.”

            In the Law of Moses (Lev. 26) we find out that God had to send the children of Israel into captivity to keep His Law, for it was written in the Law that this must happen if Israel sinned, and the biggest sin that they were committing was the worship of idols, which was taken care of when they came back from captivity.  The worship of idols is very offensive to the Lord because when an idol is worshiped they are taking the place of God. 

            We have read that the Lord wanted to rest the land every seven years and Israel did not do that, but while in captivity the land got its rest and it was good for the land.  We know that all of God’s creation belongs to Him and we read in Lev. 25:23 “’The land, moreover, shall not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine; for you are but aliens and sojourners with Me.”  Deut. 11:12 says “a land for which the LORD your God cares; the eyes of the LORD your God are always on it, from the beginning even to the end of the year.”  This of course is speaking of the land of Israel.

            It is my opinion that the clock to start this seventy year period began in 605 BC, which was the year that Daniel was taken.  Daniel may have discovered Jeremiah’s writing concerning this seventy years of captivity around 539 so this would be 66-67 years into their captivity, and although he was an old man at this time, probably in his eighties, he would not be able to return to Jerusalem, he could rejoice that his countrymen would be able to return to the land, which I am sure he did.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I can see humility in Daniel’s life along with a great confidence in the Lord, which are two qualities that I which I had more of.  Another thing I see in Daniel’s life is no fear because of His great trust in the Lord, another thing I wish I had more of.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Pray that these three qualities would grow in my life as I walk with the Lord.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible Question:  “The sign of Jonah the prophet” (Luke 11:29.

Today’s Bible Question: “Who said ‘The one who eats is not to regard with contempt the one who does not eat, and the one who does not eat is not to judge the one who eats, for God has accepted him.’”

Answer in our next SD. 

11/19/2013 10:08 AM

               

           

PT-2 "Learning God's Plan" (Dan. 9:1-2)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/18/2013 7:55 AM

My Worship Time                                                        Focus:  Insight:  Learning God’s Plan PT-2

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Daniel 9:1-2

            Message of the verses:  In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of Median descent, who was made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans- 2 in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, observed in the books the number of the years which was revealed as the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years.”

            The God of the Word:  This is our second sub-point under the first main point in our outline that comes from Warren Wiersbe’s commentary on the book of Daniel.

            I have mentioned this before, but it is worth repeating, and that is that when you see the word “LORD” in all capital letters it is the covenant name of God in the Scriptures and we know it as Jehovah.  This is the first time it is used in the book of Daniel and it is not used too many times in this book, and only in this chapter (verses 2-3, 10, 13-14, 20).  Dr. Wiersbe points out “But we must remember that, at that time, the Lord was calling the nation of Israel ‘Lo-Ruhama—not loved’ and ‘Lo-Ammi—not my people’ (Hosea 1) because Israel had broken His holy covenant.  When you are outside the covenant, you can’t sincerely use His covenant name and expect to receive covenant blessings.”

            What was the change in this chapter that Daniel could use this covenant name for God?  As we go through this first section of this chapter which covers verses 1-19 we will see the great prayer of Daniel confessing his sins and the sins of his people Israel, and this is the kind of prayer that our God wants to hear from all of His children.  It is a model intercessory prayer, as we will see when we work our way through it.  Let us look at a promise from the Word of God in the covenant that God gave to Israel about forgiveness, something Daniel is going to pray about:  “40 ’If they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their forefathers, in their unfaithfulness which they committed against Me, and also in their acting with hostility against Me- 41  I also was acting with hostility against them, to bring them into the land of their enemies-or if their uncircumcised heart becomes humbled so that they then make amends for their iniquity, 42  then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and I will remember also My covenant with Isaac, and My covenant with Abraham as well, and I will remember the land.”  This is exactly what Daniel did in this prayer and so once again we can see that Daniel was certainly a student of God’s Word, and also a man who faithfully prayed to the Lord.  Daniel would have also had in mind the prayer that Solomon gave at the dedication of the first temple built for the Lord in Jerusalem where he prayed “33  "When Your people Israel are defeated before an enemy, because they have sinned against You, if they turn to You again and confess Your name and pray and make supplication to You in this house, 34 then hear in heaven, and forgive the sin of Your people Israel, and bring them back to the land which You gave to their fathers. 35 “When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain, because they have sinned against You, and they pray toward this place and confess Your name and turn from their sin when You afflict them, 36 then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of Your servants and of Your people Israel, indeed, teach them the good way in which they should walk. And send rain on Your land, which You have given Your people for an inheritance.”  We learned that in Daniel chapter six that Daniel was praying with his window open towards Jerusalem which is what Solomon spoke of in this prayer.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  In the book of Romans Paul uses the term “may it never be,” a number of times and this term is the strongest Greek negative meaning that there is no way it is going to happen.  He says that to those would say on one occasion that because we are believers in Jesus Christ that we can continue to sin so that grace may abound.  This is not true, for even though God’s grace is more than sufficient to cover our sins because of what Jesus Christ has done for us on the cross we do not have a license to sin.  Daniel was praying to God in Daniel chapter nine because his heart was broken over his sins and the sins of his people Israel.  Daniel felt awful about his sins and the sins of his people and that is why he was seeking forgiveness from the Lord.  When a person is born again, or born from above (John 3) they receive a new spirit, a spirit that always wants to do right, however we still have the old nature, the nature we were born with that came from Adam, and this nature wants to do wrong and so there is a conflict in our being.  On the one hand we always want to do right and on the other hand we are being pulled down by our old nature.  Paul speaks of this very thing in the seventh chapter of the book of Romans.  Paul went through this same kind of conflict that all believes go through.  As believers we have to feed the new nature, the nature God gave us at our conversion, and we feed it with the Word of God, and we yield to it when times of temptations come our way so that we can overcome the temptations that are being given to us.  Look at Matthew chapter four to see this in action as Jesus defeated the temptations that Satan gave Him at one of His weakest moments after a forty day fast.  Jesus quoted from the book of Deuteronomy three times to defeat these temptations.  Now we know that it is impossible for Him to sin, but what He did was give us a great example on how to overcome temptations.  We have learned as we study the book of Daniel that he was a man of prayer and a man who studied the Word of God and they go together.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Continue to read and study and memorize the Word of God and to pray.

Memory verses for the week:  1 John 5:13a, and Titus 3:5a

These things I have written…so that you may know that you have eternal life.  (NASB)

Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us. (KJV)

Answer to yesterday’s Bible Question:  “Faith” (Ephesians 6:16).

Today’s Bible Question:  “What was the only sign Jesus would give to those seeking a sign?”

Answer in our next SD.

11/18/2013 8:38 AM

PT-1 "Insight: Learning God's Plan" (Dan. 9:1-2)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/17/2013 10:02 PM

My Worship Time                                                         Focus:  Insight: Learning God’s Plan PT-1

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Daniel 9:1-2

            Message of the verses:  Dr. Wiersbe begins his commentary on Daniel nine with these words:  “When speaking at a press conference in Cairo on February 1, 1943 Sir Winston Churchill said ‘I always avoid prophesying beforehand, because it is a much better policy to prophecy after the event has already taken place.’”  He ends his introductory comments with these words:  “Note three stages in Daniel’s experience with the prophetic message that spoke concerning his people and the city of Jerusalem.”  We will begin with the first part of this first main point in today’s SD.

            We know that Daniel knew that Babylon was going to fall for he wrote of this in chapter two and seven and chapter five actually tells the story of their defeat.  However long before Daniel had prophesied about this both Isaiah and Jeremiah had predicted the fall of Babylon, and perhaps this is what we read in this chapter that Daniel was reading from the book of Isaiah.

            The Word of God:  “1 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of Median descent, who was made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans- 2 in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, observed in the books the number of the years which was revealed as the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years.”

            The Word of God is the best book every written, for it was written by men through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.  I will site two passages in the NT that speak to this:  “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness (2 Tim. 3:16).”  “For no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God (2 Peter 1:21.” 

            I want to now quote from the endnotes that goes along with verse one:  “The Ahasuerus (Xerxes) named in verse 1 is not the same monarch found in the Book of Ester.”  Darius could be a title that was used in that day; something like President is used today.  I have read that it is possible that this was even be Cyrus who is mentioned in Isaiah 44 and 45, for it was Cyrus who first allowed some of the children of Israel to leave the city of Babylon.  Darius was also named in Daniel chapter six and this is the chapter that Daniel had to spend a night in the Lion’s den because he was praying.  Could it be possible that Daniel was praying the prayer that is found here in Daniel chapter nine?  We know one thing for sure and that Daniel was a man of prayer.

            Where was Daniel reading in the book of Jeremiah?  Dr. Wiersbe writes “Had Jeremiah’s scrolls of the Old Testament been like our modern Bibles, he would have read Jeremiah 24 and been reassured that the Lord would care for His people no matter what ruler was on the throne.  From 25:1-14, he would learn the reason for the exile as well as the length of the exile—seventy years—and this would be corroborated in 29:10-14.”

            God not only has used men to write the Word of God, but men to preserve it as well for we read in the book of Jeremiah that the scroll of Jeremiah was burned up, but was rewritten by Jeremiah again.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Today’s lesson was a wonderful reminder about the Word of God and how refreshing it is and also how much we can learn from it even if we read the same passages at different times in our lives.  I have found that on different occasions that God has used His Word in my life like He was just writing it to me.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Continue to read and to trust the Word of God, and to continue to trust the God of the Word.

Memory verses for the week:  1 John 5:13a and Titus 3:5a

These things I have written…so that you may know that you have eternal life.

Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us. (KJV)

Answer to our last Bible Question:  “Hail” (Exodus 7:12).

Today’s Bible Question:  “In the Christian armor, what is the shield?”

Answer in our next SD.

11/17/2013 10:39 PM  

Sin and Prayer from Daniel 9

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/15/2013 8:16 AM

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  Sin and Prayer

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Daniel 9

            Message of the verses:  It has been a while since we have been in the book of Daniel, and now we are in one of the most important chapters in all of the Word of God as far as looking at prophecy, for Daniel 9:24-27 has in it one of the, if not the most important prophecies in all of the Word of God.  Another very important prophecy comes from the last part of the 52^nd chapter of Isaiah through the 53^rd chapter of Isaiah and once we finish with Daniel chapter nine we will be looking at that section because that is where we are in our study of Isaiah.  I want to make today’s introduction of Daniel chapter nine a brief one as I want to give you an outline of what John MacArthur has spoken about in the first part of Daniel 9 when he introduces the topic of intercessory prayer, which is what the first part of Daniel is all about. Next I want to look at the different words that Daniel uses for sin in his prayer as he not only confesses the sins of the children of Israel, which was the reason that Daniel and all of Israel were in captivity, but he also confesses his sins too, and this is something that could be a bit surprising to one who has studied Daniel, for I don’t believe we have an account of any sins he committed from his book, and remember it was inspired by the Holy Spirit of God.

            A very brief outline of the 9^th chapter of Daniel is that the first nineteen verses are Daniel’s prayer and then in verses 20-23 we see the beginning of his conversation with the angel Gabriel, and then in verses 24-27 we see the great prophecy that he is given by the angel Gabriel.

            I will make this quotation from John MacArthur very brief, for it took him three weeks to preach through these eight elements of intercessory prayer as he went over the first 19 verses in the book of Daniel.  “Prayer is generated by the Word of God, grounded in the will of God, characterized by fervency, realized in self-denial, identified with others, strengthened in confession, dependent on God’s character, and consummated in God’s glory.”  These are the elements that Daniel used in his prayer to God and before he was even done with his prayer God sent Gabriel to answer that prayer.

            The following is the first nineteen verses in the book of Daniel and I will highlight the different words he uses for sin and then give a definition for each of them.  “1 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of Median descent, who was made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans- 2  in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, observed in the books the number of the years which was revealed as the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years. 3 So I gave my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes.

    “4 I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed and said, "Alas, O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, 5 we have sinned, committed iniquity, acted wickedly and rebelled, even turning aside from Your commandments and ordinances. 6 “Moreover, we have not listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, our princes, our fathers and all the people of the land. 7 "Righteousness belongs to You, O Lord, but to us open shame, as it is this day-to the men of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, those who are nearby and those who are far away in all the countries to which You have driven them, because of their unfaithful deeds which they have committed against You. 8 “Open shame belongs to us, O Lord, to our kings, our princes and our fathers, because we have sinned against You. 9  "To the Lord our God belong compassion and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against Him; 10  nor have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in His teachings which He set before us through His servants the prophets. 11  "Indeed all Israel has transgressed Your law and turned aside, not obeying Your voice; so the curse has been poured out on us, along with the oath which is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, for we have sinned against Him. 12 “Thus He has confirmed His words which He had spoken against us and against our rulers who ruled us, to bring on us great calamity; for under the whole heaven there has not been done anything like what was done to Jerusalem. 13  "As it is written in the law of Moses, all this calamity has come on us; yet we have not sought the favor of the LORD our God by turning from our iniquity and giving attention to Your truth. 14  "Therefore the LORD has kept the calamity in store and brought it on us; for the LORD our God is righteous with respect to all His deeds which He has done, but we have not obeyed His voice. 15  "And now, O Lord our God, who have brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand and have made a name for Yourself, as it is this day-we have sinned, we have been wicked. 16  "O Lord, in accordance with all Your righteous acts, let now Your anger and Your wrath turn away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain; for because of our sins and the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people have become a reproach to all those around us. 17 “So now, our God, listen to the prayer of Your servant and to his supplications, and for Your sake, O Lord, let Your face shine on Your desolate sanctuary. 18 “O my God, incline Your ear and hear! Open Your eyes and see our desolations and the city which is called by Your name; for we are not presenting our supplications before You on account of any merits of our own, but on account of Your great compassion. 19 “O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and take action! For Your own sake, O my God, do not delay, because Your city and Your people are called by Your name.’”

            The following are some of the words that I want to identify and give meaning to. 

1.      Sin   02398 ^אטח^ chata’ \@khaw-taw’\@

 a primitive root; v; {See TWOT on 638}

 AV-sin 188, purify 11, cleanse 8, sinner 8, committed 6, offended 4,

       blame 2, done 2, fault 1, harm 1, loss 1, miss 1, offender 1,

       purge 1, reconciliation 1, sinful 1, trespass 1; 238

 1) to sin, miss, miss the way, go wrong, incur guilt, forfeit, purify

    from uncleanness

    1a) (Qal)

          1a1) to miss

          1a2) to sin, miss the goal or path of right and duty

          1a3) to incur guilt, incur penalty by sin, forfeit

    1b) (Piel)

          1b1) to bear loss

          1b2) to make a sin-offering

          1b3) to purify from sin

          1b4) to purify from uncleanness

    1c) (Hiphil)

          1c1) to miss the mark

          1c2) to induce to sin, cause to sin

          1c3) to bring into guilt or condemnation or punishment

    1d) (Hithpael)

          1d1) to miss oneself, lose oneself, wander from the way

          1d2) to purify oneself from uncleanness

2.     Iniquity  05753 ^הוע^ ‘avah \@aw-vaw’\@

3.      

4.      a primitive root; v; {See TWOT on 1577}

5.      

6.      AV-iniquity 4, perverse 2, perversely 2, perverted 2, amiss 1, turn 1,

7.            crooked 1, bowed down 1, troubled 1, wickedly 1, wrong 1; 17

8.      

9.      1) to bend, twist, distort

10.      1a) (Niphal) to be bent, be bowed down, be twisted, be perverted

11.      1b) (Piel) to twist, distort

12.      1c) (Hiphil) to do perversely

13.   2) to commit iniquity, do wrong, pervert

14.      2a) (Qal) to do wrong, commit iniquity

15.      2b) (Hiphil) to commit iniquity

3.  Wickedly  07561 ^עשׁר^ rasha‘ \@raw-shah’\@

 a primitive root; v; {See TWOT on 2222}

 AV-condemn 15, wickedly 10, wicked 4, departed 2, trouble 1,

       vexed 1, wickedness 1; 34

 1) to be wicked, act wickedly

    1a) (Qal)

          1a1) to be wicked, act wickedly

          1a2) to be guilty, be condemned

    1b) (Hiphil)

          1b1) to condemn as guilty (in civil relations)

          1b2) to condemn as guilty (in ethical or religious relations)

          1b3) to act wickedly (in ethics and religion)

4. Rebelled 04775 ^דרמ^ marad \@maw-rad’\@

 a primitive root; v; {See TWOT on 1240}

 AV-rebel 23, rebellious 1, rebels 1; 25

 1) to rebel, revolt, be rebellious

    1a) (Qal) to rebel, revolt

          1a1) against human king

          1a2) against God

          1a3) against light (poetic)

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I realize that my prayer life is not as good as it can be, and so I pray that as I go over these eight elements of intercessory prayer that the Lord will teach me to pray in a way that will bring glory to the Lord.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Improve my prayer life.

Memory verse for the week:  1 John 5:13a

            These things I have written….. so that you may know that you have eternal life.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible Question:  “Matthew.”

Today’s Bible Question:  “What was the seventh plague that God placed on Egypt?”

Answer in our next SD.

11/15/2013 9:03 AM

The Antichrist (Dan. 8:23-27)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/13/2013 4:50 PM

My Worship Time                                                                                         Focus:  The Antichrist

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                    Reference:  Daniel 8:23-27

            Message of the verses:  23 “In the latter period of their rule, When the transgressors have run their course, A king will arise, Insolent and skilled in intrigue. 24 “His power will be mighty, but not by his own power, And he will destroy to an extraordinary degree And prosper and perform his will; He will destroy mighty men and the holy people. 25 “And through his shrewdness He will cause deceit to succeed by his influence; And he will magnify himself in his heart, And he will destroy many while they are at ease. He will even oppose the Prince of princes, But he will be broken without human agency. 26  "The vision of the evenings and mornings Which has been told is true; But keep the vision secret, For it pertains to many days in the future." 27 Then I, Daniel, was exhausted and sick for days. Then I got up again and carried on the king’s business; but I was astounded at the vision, and there was none to explain it.”

            A couple of things before we begin to comment on these verses:  First of all I remember when I was a very young believer that I studied this passage and the commentator that I was using to help me understand this chapter stated that beginning with verse twenty-four Daniel began to speak of the end times, times that are still future to our day, but much closer than when Daniel received this vision.  Second I mentioned in an earlier SD that Daniel was not known by this Babylonian king, and I still don’t believe he was, but in the last verse of this chapter he states that he was carrying out the king’s business.  He surely could have been working for the king and the king did not know him for we see that in government today as people work for the president but do not know him personally.

            Verse seventeen speaks of “the transgressors have run their course,” and also speaks of the time of the end, and all of this is speaking of the tribulation period which is the last seven years of history on planet earth as we know it, for after that the Lord Jesus Christ will rule for 1000 years, and things will be different than they are now.  When we look at this period from the way the OT speaks of it, it is called “the time of Jacob’s trouble,” and that surely will be true for Israel will be in great trouble at this time of history.  “The day of the Lord” is another name for this time period.  This will be the time when the Antichrist will oppose God’s chosen people, Israel.

            Dr. Wiersbe compares the Antichrist with Antiochus which we looked at in verses 9-14.

·       Both begin modestly but increase in power and influence.

·       Both blaspheme God with mouths that speak great things.

·       Both persecute the Jewish people.

·       Both claim to be gods and put images in the temple.

·       Both impose their own religion on the people.

·       Both are opposed by a believing remnant that knows God.

·       Both are energized by the devil and are great deceivers.

·       Both appear to succeed marvelously and seem to be invincible.

·       Both are finally defeated by the coming of a redeemer (Judas Maccabeus and Jesus Christ).  (Quote from Warren Wiersbe’s commentary on Daniel.)

When we read about the Prince of princes in verse 25, Daniel is speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ who will defeat the Antichrist and send him, along with Satan and the false prophet directly into hell. 

It is no wonder that Daniel became ill after seeing this vision, for he was not the only prophet to have this kind of experience.  Daniel did not know when “the little horn” (the antichrist” would rule, and this must have been difficult for him and may have caused his illness.  Daniel knew nothing about the mystery of the Church age, and knew nothing about the fact that the Messiah would come to first of all die for our sins and then return to heaven waiting to take His bride (The Church) back to heaven with Him before this “little horn” would be revealed.  Knew nothing about the return of Jesus Christ to destroy him either, and so this made it very difficult for him.

            10/13/2013 5:17 PM

            We will conclude this portion of this Spiritual Diary with a quote from Warren Wiersbe:  “Daniel is a good example for students of prophecy to follow.  He asked the Lord for the explanation (Dan. 8:15) and allowed the Lord to instruct him.  But his investigation into God’s prophetic program wasn’t a matter of satisfying curiosity or trying to appear very knowledgeable before others.  He was concerned about his people and the work they had to do on earth.  He so identified with what he learned that it made him ill!  Too many ‘prophetic students’ don’t wait before God for instruction and insight, nor do they feel burdened when they learn God’s truth about the future.  Instead, they try to display their ‘knowledge’ and impress people with what they think they know.  The whole exercise is purely academic; it’s all in the head and never changes the hearts.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  This quote from Dr. Wiersbe has kind of stepped on my toes a bit for I must confess that there have been times when this has been true in my life.  In the book of Revelations, Revelations 10:9 it says  “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.’” John the apostle was told to eat a little book, and the book would be sweet in his mouth, but sour in his stomach, but why was this true?  Well the little book contained prophecy which was good to learn about but when he began to think about it and all of the people the prophecy would affect it began to make him sick, and this is what happened to Daniel.  Knowing prophecy and its meaning should put a burden in your heart for those it will affect, and not make one puffed up for knowing it.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Allow the Word of God to change my life, to humble me and cause me to know the Lord better.

Memory verses for the week:  2 Peter 1:1-8.  Before I quote these memory verses I have to say that this morning’s sermon was all about these verses from 2 Peter one and it surely challenged me and also blessed my heart.

            1 Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:  2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; 3 seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His glory and excellence.  4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.  5 Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, 6 and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, 7 and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.  8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible Question:  “In Joppa” (Acts 10:5).

Today’s Bible Question:  “Who was the beggar who was laid at a rich man’s gate?”

Answer in our next SD.

10/13/2013 10:26 PM   

Antiochus IV Epiphanes (Dan. 8:9-14)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/12/2013 12:38 PM

My Worship Time                                                                         Focus:  Antiochus IV Epiphanes

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Daniel 8:9-14

            Message of the verses:  “9 Out of one of them came forth a rather small horn which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the Beautiful Land. 10 It grew up to the host of heaven and caused some of the host and some of the stars to fall to the earth, and it trampled them down. 11 It even magnified itself to be equal with the Commander of the host; and it removed the regular sacrifice from Him, and the place of His sanctuary was thrown down. 12 And on account of transgression the host will be given over to the horn along with the regular sacrifice; and it will fling truth to the ground and perform its will and prosper. 13 Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to that particular one who was speaking, "How long will the vision about the regular sacrifice apply, while the transgression causes horror, so as to allow both the holy place and the host to be trampled?" 14 He said to me, "For 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the holy place will be properly restored.’”

            “His name is pronounced ‘An-TY-i-cus E-PIPH-uh-ness.’”  (From the end Note from Dr. Wiersbe’s commentary on the book of Daniel.”)

            There is no way that I can do justice to this passage like Warren Wiersbe has done and so I will quote what he writes in his commentary on this important subject.

            “Antiochus gave himself the name ‘Epiphanes,’ which means ‘illustrious, manifestation,’ for he claimed to be a revelation (epiphany) of the gods.  He even had the word theos (god) put on the coins minted with his features on it, and his features on the coins came to look more and more like the Greek god Zeus.  He had a passionate desire to turn the Jews into good Greeks.  One of his first acts was to drive out the high priest Onias, an ardent Jew, and replace him with Jason, a patron of the Greeks.  But Jason was replaced by Menelaus, who actually purchased the priesthood.  Believing a rumor that the king was dead, Jason attacked Jerusalem only to learn that Antiochus was very much alive.  The angry king attacked Jerusalem and plundered the temple.  In 168 he sent an army of 20,000 men under Apollonius to level Jerusalem.  The entered the city on the Sabbath, murdered most of the men, and took the women and children as slaves.  The remaining men fled to the army of the Jewish leader Judas Maccabeus.

            “But the king wasn’t satisfied, so he issued an edict that there would be one religion in his realm and it wouldn’t be the Jewish religion.  He prohibited the Jews from honoring the Sabbath, practicing circumcision, and obeying the levitical dietary laws, and he climaxed his campaign on December 24, 268, by replacing the Jewish altar with an altar to Zeus—and sacrificing a pig on it!  Any Jew found possessing a copy of the Law of Moses was slain.  Jerusalem was eventually delivered by the courageous exploits of Judas Maccabeus and his followers, and on December 14, 165, the temple was purified, the altar of burnt offering restored, and Jewish worship once again restored.  It is this even that the Jewish people celebrate as ‘The Feast of Lights’ or Hanukkah (see John 10:22).  Antiochus went mad while in Persia, where he died in 163.

            “Knowing these facts about Antiochus helps us better understand the text of Daniel’s prophecy.  Antiochus started in a small way but gradually accumulated power as he magnified himself and dealt ruthlessly with the Jewish people.  He attacked the Jews in their ‘pleasant [beautiful]’ land and put a stop to their religious practices.  He even claimed that he was a god.  In verse 10, the Jews are described as ‘the host of heaven’ (i.e., ‘godly people’) and ‘stars’ (Gen. 15:5; 22:17).  When Antiochus stopped the daily sacrifices in the temple and substituted pagan worship, this was called ‘the abomination that makes desolate’ (‘the transgression of desolation,’ Dan. 8:13.  This concept is found in 9:27; 11:31; and 12:11, and is used by Jesus in Matthew 24:15 and Mark 13:14.  What Antiochus did was a foreshadowing of what the Antichrist will do when he puts his image in the temple and commands the world to worship him (2 Thes. 2; Rev 13).  Daniel 8:13 and 11:31 refer to Antiochus, and the other references to Antichrist, of whom Antiochus is a picture.

            “The two angels (8:13-14; ‘saints’) spoke together about this matter and from their conversation, Daniel learned the prophetic timetable.  Between the desecration of the temple and its cleansing and restoration 2,300 days would pass.  The Hebrew text reads ‘2,300 evenings and mornings,’ because burnt offerings were sacrificed at the temple each morning and each evening of every day.  But does this mean 2,300 days or 1,150 days, 2,300 divided by two? And what date or event signals the beginning of the countdown?  Some students opt for 2,300 days, that is, about six years, if you use 360 days for the year.  Others prefer 1,500 days, which give us slightly over three years.

            “But what is the starting point for the countdown?  The six-year advocates begin with 171 B.C., when Antiochus deposed the true high priest.  Subtract six years and this takes you to 1 65 when Judas Maccabeus defeated the enemy and reconsecrated the temple.  However, the three-year advocates begin with the establishment of the pagan altar in the temple on 25 Kislev, 168, and this takes us to 165.  Either approach meets the requirements of the prophecy.

            “We’ll meet Antiochus Epiphanes again before we completed our study of the Boo of Daniel.”  

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  The Apostle John speaks of the “Antichrist” and then he also speaks of antichrists that will come into the world.  He also speaks of people who can have the spirit of antichrist.  I for one am not looking for the Antichrist, but am looking for the Lord Jesus Christ to come and take His bride to be with Him in heaven.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  To be ready to tell others of the hope that I have, that is the return of the Lord Jesus Christ to take His bride to heaven to be with Him forever.

Memory verses for the week:  2 Peter 1:1-7

            1 Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:  2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; 3 seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.  4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.  5 For this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, 6 and in your knowledge self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, 7 and in your godliness brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.

Answer to our last Bible Question:  “Sara” (Genesis 21:10).

Today’s Bible Question:  “Where was Peter when Cornelius sent for him?”

Answer in our next SD.

10/12/2013 1:38 PM