Here
we are given to understand the length of the
"shortening" of the time the abomination of desolation is allotted to
stand
in the Holy Place and make desolate the souls of men.
Matthew
24:22 "And
except those
days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the
elect's
sake those days shall be shortened."
Also,
it was his tail that the great red dragon used to
draw one third of God's children away from truth and justice in the
first
earth age.
That tail consists of the Four Hidden
Dynasties of Religion, Politics, Economics, and Education or
information
dissemination, as in lies and propaganda.
You will
find all four of these
powers in the 28th chapter of Ezekiel where Satan, called the king of
Tyrus,
corrupted justice, corrupted wisdom, defiled the sanctuary and engaged
in merchandising and trafficking in drawing away 1/3 of the stars of
heaven
(Rev. 12:4).
This is important to understand
because as it is written in Rev.
13 that when the second beast comes, the
religious one who is Satan, he will exercise all
the power of the first
beast who controls those Four Hidden Dynasties.
As
an ensample, we are going to see in our study how the
enemies of God's elect, the kenites, use deceit and the power of
politics
and law to try to sting a servant of God and cause
him to
be devoured.
Will, it work?
Of course not, because the one they
go after has the seal of God in his forehead which means an "excellent
spirit",
God's spirit, is found in him.
Servants
of God are not cultists
nor ashamed of their God
and
they serve Him openly...
with
the windows open.
So we return to the Book of
Daniel where Belshazzar is
now dead and Darius, the father of Cyrus the Great who was one of only
three men whom God named before they were born and who would be the one
to give the commandment to go forth and restore and rebuild the temple
in Jerusalem, has taken control of the kingdom.
This is a most informative
chapter because in it we are
going to see a "purging out" of the wickedness in high places as we
witness
judgment and justice executed in the kingdom.
To that end, we are also going to
see a great difference
between this ruler, Darius, and the ruler of the previous kingdom,
Belshazzar.
Whereas Belshazzar totally
disregarded Daniel (God
is Judge), Darius will "remember" Daniel (God is Judge), and even make
him one of the top three presidents in the kingdom, in fact the first
of
the three presidents.
(Keep in mind we were told in the
first chapter that Daniel
was of the kingship line of Judah.)
Daniel
6:1
It pleased Darius
to set over the kingdom an hundred and twenty princes,
which
should be over the whole kingdom;
The name "Darius" means
"maintainer" and is an appellative
which is simply a title, not a person's name (See notes on page 1190 in
the Companion Bible).
This Darius was Cyrus' father who
is Artaxerxes of Ezra
6:14 and Nehemiah 2:1.
Notice also that Darius set up
"120" princes which
should be over the whole kingdom.
"12" is the number of
governmental perfection which we
see used in the setting up of the servants of God who shall rule in the
Millennium (see Rev. 7:4, Rev. 14:1).
[2]
And over these three presidents; of whom Daniel was first: that the
princes
might give accounts unto them, and the king should have no damage.
To "have no damage" means
that the king would not
suffer any economic loss because there would be accountability.
So we have three presidents, with
Daniel being the first,
to whom the 120 princes reported the king's financial matters and tax
revenues.
[3]
Then this Daniel was preferred above
the presidents and princes,
because
an excellent spirit was
in him; and the king
thought
to set him over the whole realm.
Darius preferred Daniel
above all the presidents
and princes because of the excellent spirit in him, the Spirit of God,
by which he was a just and honorable man upon whom both the king and
Daniel's
coworkers and subordinates could trust and rely.
Honest people have no problem
working for or with someone
who demands balanced books and accountability, but those who seek
unjust
gain at the expense of others find it difficult to tolerate such
righteousness.
[4]
Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel
concerning
the kingdom; but they could find
none occasion nor fault;
forasmuch as he was faithful,
neither was there any error
or fault found in him.
Daniel kept his nose clean
and was compliant with
the law.
Again, he was honest and
forthright and trustworthy in
all his affairs which is an
ensample for us as we
approach the time of the entering in of the false messiah.
In other words, we need also to
be compliant with the
law and maintain our integrity and credibility for the delivering up
before
kings and rulers is to be for "His name's sake", for righteousness
sake,
and not because we were caught cheating on our taxes.
Those who know and understand how
the kenites operate
know that they do not like to earn their way through "an excellent
spirit"
and be promoted on the merit system and earn their blessings through
honesty
and hard work.
They prefer to make deals and
control the money supply
and falsify the balances taking every occasion to use bribery and
favoritism
to achieve their goals and reap unearned and undeserved rewards at the
expense of others.
The problem is if someone like
Daniel is in charge, a
man of God who demands honesty and accountability, it makes it
impossible
for them to work their underhanded deals and skim off the top and "cook
the books".
You "see", the "un-excellent
(evil) spirit" that is in
the kenites allows them to step on anybody who gets their way of
serving
their gods, the gods of gold and silver, i.e. money and power.
So, somehow this Daniel has got
to go!
Surely he has some skeletons in
his closet or has messed
up somewhere along the way whereby they can publicly expose his dirty
laundry
and bring him down.
Hey, there is nothing new under
the sun. (Meaning in this earth age)
Anyone who paid attention to the
politics of the 1990's
saw numerous ensamples of how this is done by those in power who had
access
to the personal IRS records and FBI files and medical histories of
those
who opposed the corrupt dealings of a corrupt administration.
However, the political opponents
of Daniel could not find
the goods on this honest man of strong faith who obeyed and served his
God and followed the paths of righteousness in all his affairs.
So, they stopped the internal
investigation and decided
to pass some politically correct legislation that would entrap him by
making
it illegal to do that which they knew Daniel would continue to do
faithfully,
and that is to pray to and worship his God.
[5]
Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion
against this
Daniel, except we find it against him concerning
the law of his
God.
Thus we have a "sting"
operation about to take place,
the purpose of which is to remove Daniel and his rod of iron from
office.
(If all this sounds familiar it is because it's going on today, in our 21st century government, as well)
[6]
Then
these presidents and princes assembled together to
the king,
and said thus unto him, King Darius, live for ever.
"O king, live for ever" was
no doubt a common greeting.
However in this case as will be
documented a few verses
hence, the agenda of these presidents and princes assembled together
here
was to conspire against Daniel, beginning with what we call today
"sucking-up"
to the man in charge.
They were puffing up ol' Darius
because Satan's own know
that a person loses his or her ability to think clearly and see the
dangers
that lie ahead when his or her mind is clouded with self admiration
brought
about by the even supposed adoration of others.
This is an object lesson for us
all in learning to be
especially on guard when someone approaches bearing flattery and
blowing
smoke up our donkeys.
[7]
All the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, and the princes, the
counsellors, and the captains, have consulted
together to
establish a royal statute, and
to make a firm decree, that
whosoever shall ask a petition of any God
or man
for thirty days, save of thee, O
king, he shall be cast into
the den of lions.
Notice how "generic" the
language of this proposed
legislation is, e.g. "any God or man".
Notice also how the majority can
be persuaded into going
along with anything that sounds good, especially if perhaps some of the
ringleaders are promised a favor or two in return for their support of
this seemingly harmless and temporary legislation.
The kenites are especially
skillful in working a crowd
and persuading them to do a "good thing"! (Remember the events and what the kenite priests said to stir up the crowd leading up to the crucifixion of Jesus)
Hopefully you see already the
deceitful lies and intentions
of these instigators of the legislation and how they are "setting up"
the
king by stroking his ego and showing him he has a mandate of the people
and how much they think of his leadership.
Hey, everyone agrees what
wonderful thing it would be
to have a "King Darius Appreciation Month"!
Again, there is a great lesson to
learned from this in
knowing that one of Satan's most powerful weapons is vanity, ego,
puffing
up a man or a woman by telling him or her what a wonderful person he or
she is.
If one allows the words "what a
great teacher you are"
or "what a great leader you are" or "what a great anything you are" to
puff him up, then as his head begins to swell it will figuratively
choke
off the flow of blood that provides the precious nutrients giving him
the
ability to think clearly.
Then Satan will pull the rug out
from under him or pull
the wool over his eyes.
That is why we must be careful
always to give our Father
the praise and credit for all that we have... for is all comes from Him.
He alone is worthy to receive
praise and honor and glory.
Remember what happened to king
Nebuchadnezzar back in
chapter four when he got puffed up with the "Oh how great I am" disease?
Swooosh, he was hewn down!
[8]
Now, O king, establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it be not
changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth
not.
Hey, what could it hurt?
Besides, this is only a temporary
decree designed to give
honor to the great king!
"It's only temporary", where and how often have I heard that before? Don't get me started! The United States operated from 1789 until 1913 without taxing income. If you live in Pennsylvania and are old enough to remember; In 1956 Pennsylvania instituted a permanent Sales Tax. Prior to that the PA Sales Tax was only to be a temporary tax to pay for
the Johnstown flood of 1936. It wasn't until 1970 that Pennsylvania
started to tax income. My oh My! How did we survive for those hundreds
of years before our lawmakers started to steal our earnings!
No, it was actually designed to
destroy a man of God for
the kenites could care less about honoring the king!
In fact with Daniel gone they
could even honor the king
less by stealing from the coffers of his kingdom.
We also see the thirty day clause
used here, no doubt
inserted by some sharp attorney as a tool to sell the whole idea to the
king and get him to sign the decree, because according to the law of
the
Medes and Persians once a decree is signed by the king it cannot be
changed
by anyone, not even the king.
(Of course our Father can change
it!)
[9]
Wherefore king Darius signed the writing and the decree.
Ok, the trap is all set. Now
for the sting of the
scorpion!
[10]
Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his
house;
and his windows being open in
his chamber toward Jerusalem,
he kneeled upon his knees three times a day,
and prayed,
and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.
Servants of God are not
cultists nor ashamed of their
God and they serve Him openly... with the windows open.
(Hmmm, come to think of it, even
our MS Windows are open
for people to see.) Nevertheless, Daniel did not change his routine at
all.
As it is written, he did as
he did aforetime,
kneeling in his chamber toward Jerusalem... praying and giving thanks.
The reason he was facing
Jerusalem was because he remembered
Solomon's prayer in I Kings 8:47-50, which is an important prayer
because
it
concerns the captivity.
1 Kings
8:22
And Solomon
stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the
congregation
of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven: ...
1 Kings 8:47
Yet if they
shall bethink themselves in the land whither they
were carried captives,
and repent, and make supplication unto thee in the land of them that
carried
them captives, saying, We have sinned, and have done
perversely,
we have committed wickedness;
[48]
And so return unto thee with all their heart, and with all their soul,
in the land of their enemies, which led them away
captive,
and pray unto thee toward their land,
which thou gavest unto
their fathers, the city which thou hast chosen,
and the
house which I have built for thy name:
During the captivity make
sure your eyes are focused
on that Eternal City... that same city which God has chosen as His
dwelling
place for all eternity, that same city Abraham saw.
[49]
Then hear thou their prayer and their supplication
in
heaven thy dwelling place, and maintain their cause,
[50]
And forgive thy people that have sinned against thee
and
all their transgressions wherein they have
transgressed against thee,
and give them compassion before them who carried
them captive,
that they may have compassion on them:
You see, Daniel was giving prayer
and supplication
for his people, for his brothers and sisters,
because that is what
the true spiritual soldiers in the army of God do.
They are here to defend freedom
and truth and serve their
people and take a stand against the fiery darts of the wicked one.
To that end, they are skillful
and highly trained in spiritual
warfare and thus are fully prepared to do battle for they have on the
whole
armor of God.
Paul uses this analogy to teach
us in Book of Ephesians.
Ephes.
6:10-18
Finally, my
brethren, be strong in
the Lord, and in
the power of his might.
One
becomes strong in
the Lord by eating and absorbing the Word of God
(Ezek.
2:9-3:4). EZEK-I-EL means "God is (my) Strength".
[11]Put
on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to
stand
against the wiles of the devil.
Christian
soldiers do not run
from the enemy, even from Satan himself, because Jesus Christ has given
His disciples power over all their enemies.
So do according to Eph. 6:10 and
be strong "in the power
of His might"!
Luke 10:19 "Behold,
I give unto you
power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the
enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you."
[12]
For
we wrestle not against flesh and blood,
but against principalities,
against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world,
against
spiritual wickedness in high places.
We have already learned in
this Book of Daniel that
there is a time coming soon when those rulers of darkness are going to
be cast to this earth, the mightiest men in Satan's army, that great
locust
army of Joel and Rev. 9, and they shall surely interface with God's
elect,
those who are in the army of the King of kings, Jesus Christ.
However,
Satan's army shall not
prevail unto death for we have the victory in Christ!
[13]
Wherefore
take unto you the whole armour
of God, that ye may be able
to withstand in the evil day,
and having done all,
to stand.
"Having done all" means "to finish the
work".
[14]
Stand
therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the
breastplate
of righteousness;
[15] And
your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
Are you prepared with that
gospel of peace?
You
"see", there shall be no real
"peace" until Yahshua Messiah returns which is when the saints of the
Most
High take the kingdom and possess it.
[16]
Above
all, taking the shield of faith,
wherewith ye shall be able
to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
Satan's "fire" has no effect
whatsoever against the
fire of the Holy Spirit.
[17]
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of
the Spirit,
which is the word of God:
Christians need to be
trained in the use of "the
sword".
They
need to go to "boot camp" and
become disciplined (disciples) by studying under the great
schoolmaster,
the Law and the Prophets, who will give them "basic training" in the
Word
of God whereby they can come to truly
know Jesus Christ.
[18] Praying
always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit,
and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication
for
all saints;
That's precisely what Daniel
was doing, praying and
giving supplication for all saints, for his brothers and sisters of the
captivity, because that is what the prayer and supplication is for!
(Remember 1 Kings 8:7-50).
You "see", soldiers put on their
armor and go to war to
protect their families back home, to secure their freedom and liberty.
Thank God for the men and women
of our armed forces who
are willing to sacrifice for their loved ones and the freedom of all
peoples.
So let's return to Daniel chapter
six and see what the
conspirators are up to... which you can bet will be to spy on Daniel
and
lie in wait to "sting him"!
Daniel
6:11
Then these men
assembled,
and found Daniel praying
and making supplication before
his God.
Again, Daniel was not
praying and making supplication
for himself, because he had an excellent spirit in him,
which
is the Spirit of God, and that spirit is a spirit of love for one's
family,
not a love for oneself.
And by the way, they did not just
happen to find Daniel.
They knew right where he was and
they went gunning for
him.
[12]
Then they came near, and spake before the king concerning the king's
decree;
Hast thou not signed a decree, that every man that shall ask a petition
of any God or man within thirty days, save of thee, O king, shall
be cast into the den of lions? The king answered
and said, The
thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which
altereth
not.
These kenites slowly
repeated the decree back to
the king, savoring every word, squirming with anxiety as the moment
drew
near when they could expose Daniel.
[13]
Then answered they and said before the king, That
Daniel,
which
is of the children of the captivity of Judah,
regardeth not thee,
O king, nor the decree that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition
three
times a day.
Now as soon as Darius heard this he knew
that he
had been had by a bunch of snakes and vipers... and he was extremely
upset
with himself.
Again, he knew that these snakes
had set him up in order
to sting Daniel and at the time he was too blinded by his ego to see
through
their evil conspiracy!
All that was done was just a
SMOKE SCREEN to hide the
real agenda of the kenites which was to take down a man of God who
stood
in the way of their corrupt dealings.
Hey, there is nothing new under
the sun my friend.
How sharp are you?
Can you see through the smoke
screen of much of the legislation
that is being passed today?
Stay alert, because some of it
makes it illegal for you
to teach God's Word as it is written.
For example, right here in the
Commonwealth of PA it has became illegal to teach God's Word
openly concerning homosexuality
and even ancestry, as in how and when the races were created and the
true
lineage of our people.
The
point is though, stay in your
Father's Word and always maintain your integrity and credibility in
your
community, because there is a great sting coming when God's
elect shall
refuse to bow down and worship any other gods including and especially
the false messiah.
So
be prepared "with the gospel
of peace" by putting on the whole armor God and get ready to take a
stand
in the great spiritual battle of these last days.
Next we are going to
see God's intervention
whereby justice and righteous judgment shall prevail over the kenites,
who are the enemies of Daniel.
So get ready for some exciting times
because we live in that generation
spoken of by the prophets and the
disciples
who all wanted to know what it
would be like.
These are really exciting times in which we live, are
they not?
Things are really beginning to heat
up on the world scene as it looks like that old east wind is about to blow
again.
That makes this book of Daniel a
very timely study indeed and we are soon going to be taking a look at the
events that are written in this book of Daniel that lead up to the entrance
of that vile person, that little horn, the abominable one, the desolator,
the one who comes and stands in the holy place claiming to be God.
Remember that Jesus Christ told
us if we want understanding concerning the appearance of that abomination
of desolation to go read the book of Daniel.
There's a saying that goes "Dare to be a Daniel, Dare
to stand alone, Dare to have a purpose strong and Dare to make it known".
That saying certainly is fitting for this one Daniel whose
name means "God is Judge" for he was a type of God's elect in these last
days who would come forth with the gospel armor on and in place and "Dare
to take a stand and Dare to stand alone."
Of course God's elect know that they are never alone for
Jesus Christ has promised to be with them even to the end of the age.
Earlier, we began the sixth chapter which is
the story of Daniel and the lion's den that has inspired many people down
through the ages, young and old alike.
I suppose one could say that faith is faith no matter
what generation a person lived in or lives in, for it is true that Satan's
evil spirit of influence has been around for a long time.
However, it is written that there
comes a time at the end of the final generation, which is the generation
of the fig tree Christ told us to learn about in Matthew 24 and Mark 13,
that Satan and his angelic host, his locust army, are cast out of heaven
to this earth to "mingle with the seed of men (Dan. 2:24)".
It is also written that when they come they may
not harm one hair on the heads of His servants who have the seal
of God in their foreheads (Rev. 9:4).
The point is that this particular
narrative along with the rest of Daniel was written for the time of the
end, for the time of great trouble when some of God's elect will
be betrayed and set up and delivered up and cast into the burning fiery
(spiritual) furnace and some will be delivered up and cast into a den of
the lions... not a den of real lions but the lions
spoken of in Revelation chapter 9 who are Satan's angelic host who shall
appear with hair like women, meaning they will appear so gentle, but have
in their mouths the cheek teeth of devouring lions that spiritually rip,
shred, and tear the minds of those who do not have the seal of God in their
foreheads.
Even so, these mightiest men in the army of the king of
Babylon shall still try and take hold of God's elect and
destroy them, as ensampled by Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego who were
taken hold of and bound and cast into the burning fiery furnace.
But there is no need to worry if you love and serve God
because again, He has promised to be with you always, even unto the end
of the world (Mat. 28:20), just as He was with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,
and just as He will be with Daniel in the lion's den.
So get ready for some exciting times
because we live in that generation spoken of by the prophets and the disciples
who all wanted to know what it would be like.
Of course when you think about it, how in the world would
you even begin to describe the miraculous technologies of
our day to someone who lived even only a mere two hundred years ago?
How would you explain the concept that you can push a
button here on earth and a person's voice and live image then travels across
fiber optic cables or shoots through the air 23,000 miles into space, bounces
off of a metal ball called a satellite, returns back to rain over the whole
land where it is received simultaneously in millions of homes, at which
point the people in those homes can both see and hear that person on an
illuminated glass box.
Yeah, right!
You must have been drinking new wine, pal!
Let us now return to the sixth chapter of Daniel where
the presidents and princes sought to find an occasion against Daniel concerning
the kingdom and had launched an investigation into Daniel's personal affairs
to try and find some dirt on him so that they could string him up and have
him taken out of the way.
You see, Daniel was a problem because he was an honest
and upright man who demanded accountability which is exposure to the light
of truth.
Kenites and scorpions and other creatures of darkness
do not like the light of day as was the case with some of these presidents
and princes who wanted to do a little "shady" trafficking and merchandising
and play let's make a deal using the treasury and resources of the king's
dominion... which they could get to if it wasn't for this Daniel character.
So when the investigation of Daniel turned up empty, they
rallied their cohorts and went and flattered Darius into signing a decree
that made it illegal for anyone to ask a petition of any god or man other
than the king for thirty days, the penalty of which would be to be thrown
into a den of lions.
So in a moment of weakness brought on by big headedness,
king Darius signed the decree at which point the enemies of Daniel went
and found him giving prayer and making supplication to his God in violation
of the statute and decree.
They then brought him before Darius, reminding the king
of the conditions and penalty of the decree and that according to the law
of the Medes and Persians it could not be broken, even by the king himself.
Of course at that point the king knew that he had been
had and that he himself was the victim of a setup.
Therefore he became sore displeased with himself and tried
everything in his earthly power to circumvent the decree that condemned
his friend Daniel to certain death... the decree that he himself had signed.
Daniel
6:14
Then the king,
when he heard these words, was sore displeased with himself,
and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him: and he laboured till
the going down of the sun to deliver him.
Imagine that!
Darius is the most powerful man on earth and yet his hands
are tied and he can do nothing to deliver Daniel from being cast into a
den of lions. But don't worry, Almighty God is Daniel's deliverer and
whether it's a burning fiery furnace, the mouths of hungry lions, or the
crushing paws of a bear, He can handle it, and Daniel knew it.
[15]
Then these men assembled unto the king, and said unto the king, Know, O
king, that the law of the Medes and Persians is, That no decree nor statute
which the king establisheth may be changed.
Isn't this amazing?
It is bad enough that they are using this law to its fullest
extent to come against an innocent man and have him killed, but this shows
they have no conscience, meaning they are actually gleeful that Daniel
might die so that they can implement their crooked policies and play let's
make a deal to fatten their own pockets.
Well, like father, like son, and
these murderous kenites are just like their father Cain who was the first
murderer (Jn. 8:44).
You know there's another expression that says, "what goes
around, comes around", which is simply another way of stating the consequence
of the golden rule that what you do unto others shall be done unto you.
It is called getting a taste of your own medicine. It
is called receiving "just recompense" and it is very Biblical.
Of course these kenites go by another version of the golden
rule which is that "the guys with the gold make the rules"... and that
includes the rule that if anyone gets in the way of their gold collecting
he or she must be dealt with and if necessary taken out of the way.
Hey, it's just the cost of doing business they say and
their seared consciences won't cause them to lose a moment's sleep over
someone's death if it means they can fill their pockets and gain the things
and pleasures of this world.
However, we are going to see from the ensample in today's
study, and there are many others, that they are going to pass judgment
upon themselves by plotting and carrying out the execution of an innocent
person.
In other words, because of their unrepentance they are
going to have done unto them exactly what they had done unto Daniel.
Just wait and see!
So Darius now has no choice but to execute the law faithfully
and honorably according to his oath of office and according to the law
of the Medes and Persians.
[16]
Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into
the den of lions. Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy
God whom thou servest continually, He will deliver thee.
That is quite a statement coming from the king though
it is written that he knew Daniel had "an excellent spirit" in him and
that he faithfully trusted in and served his God.
Consider also that because Darius saw that this upright
and trustworthy one had such unshakable belief in the power of his God
and feared not for his life, it increased his faith, at least his hope
and desire, for he felt assured that Daniel would be delivered.
This is a great ensample of let your excellent spirit
show, as in let your light so shine before men, that they may see your
good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven (Mat.
5:16).
Then too, perhaps because of the closeness of these two,
at some point Daniel and king Darius had opportunity to discuss the experiences
of the prior kings Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar along with the fiery furnace
episode of Daniel's friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
Nevertheless, Darius could see that Daniel wasn't hoping
that his God was able to deliver him from the lions, but rather that Daniel
knew God could and would deliver Him!
How about you?
Would you dare to be a Daniel?
(By the way, Hebrews 13:8 tells us that the Lord is the
same yesterday, and today, and forever, and since lions haven't changed
all that much, He is still able deliver His servants from their mouths.)
[17]
And a stone was brought and laid upon the mouth of the den;
and the king sealed it with his own signet, and
with the signet of his lords; that the purpose might not be changed
concerning Daniel.
Old king Darius wanted to make real good and sure
that the snakes and vipers who set him up in order to sting Daniel would
not be able to gain entrance to the lion's den to make sure that Daniel
did not emerge alive!
It is interesting that the entrance to Daniel's would-be
grave was protected with a stone, a Rock, and stamped (sealed) with not
only the king's official signet (ring), but with those of his lords also.
Obviously Darius does not trust his ministers and governors
anymore and when the stone is rolled back and Daniel finally emerges from
the den of the lions, there is going to be some top level personnel changes,
some purging out of the rift-raft and corruption from the government of
the kingdom.
Remember that this is a type for so shall it be when the
saints emerge at the sound of the 7th Trump and take and possess the kingdom.
Then there shall likewise be a purging and the nations
shall be ruled with a rod of iron, with righteousness, which is with discipline
and accountability to the righteous laws and statutes of the Word of God.
[18]
Then
the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were
instruments of musick brought before him: and his sleep went from
him.
The king couldn't sleep and ended up pulling an "all
nighter", probably for several reasons.
First, it is written that he was sore displeased with
himself for being "suckered" into a conspiracy and murder plot against
a very faithful and loyal friend and servant.
He was also angry at those "you know whats" for conspiring
such wickedness, and finally I'm sure he did not trust hungry lions and
was therefore genuinely concerned about the survival of his friend and
first president.
[19]
Then the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste unto the
den of lions.
This has overtones of a future event in that a stone
was brought and laid at the mouth of the would-be tomb and then Darius
rose up early and went in haste unto that tomb.
Nevertheless, Darius shows by his actions that he had
immense love and concern for Daniel.
[20]
And
when he came to the den, he cried with
a lamentable voice
unto Daniel: and the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of
the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver
thee from the lions?
Darius calls out to Daniel with obvious anxiety,
fearing the worst but hoping for the best, and then lo and behold he hears
Daniel's voice!
[21]
Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live for ever.
If ever there was "music to his ears" this had to
be the ultimate for Darius.
You can imagine the incredible feeling of relief and joy
as he heard Daniel's greeting "O king, live for ever".
[22]
My God hath sent His angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths,
that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before Him innocency was
found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt.
There is much that is said in this verse if we understand
that Daniel was a type of God's elect in these last days.
Daniel told Darius that God sent His angel because of
the innocency that was found in him before God.
That is the reason that He sent His angel just as He did
when Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were cast into the burning fiery furnace.
And since Daniel is a type of God's elect in these last
days he is also then a type of those who shall deal with the judgment of
the nations in the Millennium.
This book of Daniel is about government, about kingship,
for God is preparing His Millennial kings and priests to rule all nations
with His rod of iron during which time He shall execute His judgment and
His justice throughout the world.
Daniel is not a priest in that sense, which is why this
book follows the book of EZEK-I-EL whose name means "God is my Strength".
Ezekiel was a priest.
He was a teacher.
He was part of that great shepherding to the house of
Israel and was told to go "eat the roll", to absorb the entire Word of
God by taking it in his bowels and digesting it all until it became a part
of him.
Then he was to go and teach his brothers and sisters of
the house of Israel, not to those of a strange language, not to the "ethnos",
but to the house of Israel!
He was to teach them after the manner of "Thus saith the
Lord" and "It is written", i.e. teach them His Word, the words from His
mouth, and not the traditions of men.
Ezekiel was therefore was more symbolic of the church
of Philadelphia [Rev. 3:7-13],
the church of the brothers and sisters who would understand the visions
of the prophets and go teach them to their friends and relatives.
Daniel on the other hand is like unto those of the church
of Smyrna [Rev. 2:8-11] who would
have those "10 days" of testing to see whether they would eat the king's
meat and drink his wine, and then because they could "cut it" they were
delivered up before kings and rulers to give His witness and His testimony
by allowing the Holy Spirit to speak through them!
Once the sixth trump has sounded,
they shall be delivered up and "proclaim the gospel of the kingdom (Mat.
24:14)" which is that the King of kings and Lord of lords is coming to
take over the reigns of government on this earth and execute His justice.
They will be heralding the good
news that the Judge of all nations is coming to the Valley of Jehoshaphat
(Yahveh Judges) as per Joel chapter three, for God IS Judge and soon ALL
nations SHALL be liberated from oppression and tyranny and abide by His
laws and statutes... and that's the way it is!
You either believe Him that God
has ALL power in both heaven and earth, or you don't!
So Daniel has declared to king Darius that God sent His
angel to shut the mouths of the hungry lions because of the innocency God
found in him.
You "see", Daniel was never really alone for God was with
him all along.
You might even say that the Lion King Himself, that Lion
of the tribe of Judah, which is another way of saying the King of kings,
the King of the just (Melchiszedek), was with him.
It is written concerning God's children that their angels
have the face of God at anytime... and there is no time like when you are
inches away from the cheek teeth of a hungry lion.
The point is that God did send His
angel to shut the mouths of the lions which is evidence and an ensample
of the promise He makes to always be with His disciples in these last days.
In fact, that is the very last thing Jesus Christ said
to His disciples in the book of Matthew, i.e. that He would always be with
them.
Matthew
28:18-20
And Jesus came
and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven
and in earth.
You either believe Him that
He has ALL power in both heaven and earth, or you don't!
If you do then you can dare to be a Daniel even when being
forced to looking closely at the salivating taste buds of a ferocious lion.
[19]
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
To baptize someone in the name
of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost is to immerse (baptizo)
them in the Word of God, both the Old Testament and the New, and in
the Spirit of truth.
[20]Teaching
them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you:
and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of
the world. Amen.
Again, He has promised if you
do as He commands He will be with you until the end of this flesh age,
which is until His return at the sound of 7th Trump... which comes after
the reign of Antichrist that begins at the sound of the 6th Trump.
Then too, the point should be made that in as much as
Daniel was a type of God's elect in these last days, the "innocency" that
God found in him was because of his predestination, which is the destiny
of his calling to which he was ordained in the world that then was (2 Pet.
3:6), as in before the foundation of this world (Eph. 1:14).
You can read about the "innocency" of God's elect in the
8th chapter of Romans.
Romans
8:30-34
Moreover whom
he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also
justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
There is a difference between
a declaration of not guilty and justification, for where there is justification
it is as if something never happened, i.e. there is no record to be found.
To wit, a person who is justified
has been judged to not have been guilty in the first place.
[31]
What
shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against
us?
What shall we say concerning the predestination,
the justification, the glorification and the calling of those whom God
has chosen "before the foundation of this earth age according to His purpose
(Eph. 1:4)"?
If God finds "innocency" in His elect, who can be against
them?
The answer is, no one!
[32]
He
that spared not his own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall
He not with Him also freely give us all things?
[33]
Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that
justifieth.
God found Daniel innocent, so how dare someone come
against and lay charge to those whom He has justified.
[34]
Who
is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen
again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession
for us.
And so it is that God sent His angel on behalf of
Daniel to shut the mouths of the lions that they could do him no harm!
However, there is much more to this in that we shall "see"
that those who have laid charge to and delivered up Daniel
(God is [my] Judge) to death have brought forth their own judgment
and they are going to receive their just recompense.
They are going to get what is coming to them because our
Father is completely fair and just.
You see, He is not going to judge someone or sentence
someone without a case, without witness and without testimony.
To that end, let us also recognize the fact that Daniel
was found innocent before the king.
Remember again that Daniel is a
type, an ensample for us in these last days, and he maintained his credibility
and did those things that are right, yet he was persecuted and delivered
up... for righteousness sake!
This is important to take heed to in order to make sure
when you are delivered up it is for His name's sake (Luke 21:12)!
Daniel
6:23
Then was the
king exceeding glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel
up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner
of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God.
What a witness!
What a display of our Father's protection upon those who
love and serve Him.
You are never alone for He is always
with you, "even unto the end of the world", and "He has all power in both
heaven and earth".
That just makes those two questions in Romans 8:31 ever
so profound:
Romans
8:31
What shall we
then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
The answer again is NO ONE because no one contend
with the power and might of our heavenly Father.
And He can deliver His children even when the most powerful
man on earth can do nothing, as was the case here with Daniel.
Try as he might, Darius could not help him for his hands
were tied.
Next comes the just recompense for king Darius is going
to execute it according to righteousness, according to that which is right.
Daniel
6:24
And the king
commanded, and they brought those men which had accused Daniel,
and they cast them into the den of lions, them, their children,
and their wives; and the lions had the mastery of them, and
brake
all their bones in pieces or ever they came at the bottom of the
den.
Those who had accused Daniel and plotted to have
him cast into the den of lions to be devoured are merely getting a taste
of their own medicine.
The only problem is they have no lion tamer sent to protect
them.
Notice also that king Darius commanded that their wives
and their children be tossed into the lion's den which
symbolically means that their wicked seed will be cut off at judgment!
So... there has been a purging in the government, hasn't
there?
God has used this one Daniel as the means by which to
justly removed corrupt presidents and princes as an ensample to show us
that there shall be no political and economic corruption permitted in the
Millennium.
God's elect will see to it.
Our Father will see to it!
And you know what else?
The rulers of all nations shall turn their people to the
God of Daniel, to the King of Just, to Yahshua Messiah!
[25]
Then
king Darius wrote unto all people, nations, and languages,
that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you.
There shall be peace on earth when the Prince of
Peace returns to this earth to set up His ruling dominion.
[26]
I make a decree, That in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble
and fear before the God of Daniel: for He is the living God, and
stedfast for ever, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and
His dominion shall be even unto the end.
That is quite a decree in honor of our Father which
surely pleased Him very much, and when our Father is pleased He blesses
those who please Him.
And so it would come to pass that king Darius would be
blessed by God in that He will name his son "Cyrus" before he is even born,
one of only three men in the entire Word of God named before they were
born.
That is quite an honor!
[27]
He delivereth and rescueth, and He worketh signs and wonders in heaven
and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of
the lions.
He delivers, He rescues, He works signs and wonders
both in heaven and right here on earth, and He has ALL power to deliver
His children from the power of the lions, thereby giving us the victory!
[28]
So
this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus
the Persian.
What a great chapter this 6th chapter is!
Again, this story of Daniel and the lion's den has inspired
young and old alike down through the ages who see the faith and trust that
Daniel had in our Father to deliver him from the power of the lions.
To those who have eyes to see and
ears to hear they also see this as a wonderful ensample giving us encouragement
and giving us a witness to see and to know how it shall be in these last
days.
Of course, those who love and serve our Father already
know that He is real and know that He is the Deliverer and that He will
deliver.
So let us not miss the point that is often overlooked
in this chapter which is a large part of what we are to learn.
Daniel's name means "God is Judge" and Yahshua Messiah
is returning at the sound of the 7th Trump to the Valley of Jehoshaphat
(Joel 3) to judge all nations.
Again, "Jeho-shaphat" means "Yahveh Judges" and as it
is written that He shall separate the sheep from the goats.
He shall purge the nations of their corruption and liberate
their people from oppression and tyranny and execute justice throughout
the entire world.
At that time everyone shall receive his or her just recompense
and God's elect, the kings and priests of the Zadok, shall be the instruments
through whom His rod of iron is enforced, for ALL nations shall look to
Jerusalem from whence truth and justice shall flow like mighty rivers,
and all nations shall serve Him for those thousand years!
It is written, and so shall it be!
In our next study we are going to begin to see the events
that lead up to the sound of the 6th Trump.
Isn't it wonderful?
Our Father is so good to us for He has foretold us all
things (Mark 13:23)!
Live
Link to- The Book of
Daniel Table of Contents
It is important
that YOU
Read it all!
Jesus
said, "the book of Daniel
was where one could go read and gain understanding"
Jesus
Christ told us in Matthew
24 and Mark
13 when He sat upon the Mount of Olives and gave His
disciples
the seven seals concerning the knowledge and the events that would
transpire
during the final generation of the fig tree, that the book of Daniel
was
where one could go read and gain understanding
concerning
the abomination of desolation, that abominable desolator (antichrist)
who would come stand in the holy place claiming to be God.
The book of
Daniel is the Apocalypse of the Old Testament
and
a sister book to the Apocalypse of the New Testament,
the
book of Revelation.
To study the Bible
is the noblest of all pursuits;
to understand it, the highest of all goals.
We pray that with the
guidance of the Holy
Spirit, you accomplish both.
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