REVELATION 1:4-8: The Greeting (expanded)

The Greeting
1:4-8

This greeting follows the form of letters of the time. First, the author identifies himself. Paul’s letters typically start with the word “Paul”. The greeting of this letter starts with the word “John”. Later, in verse 9, he says he is a brother and a partner in the tribulation and the kingdom. He identifies with them as a believer who is also suffering tribulation. Tradition has it that the writer is John the disciple of Jesus. But, in a greater since, since John is relating what he saw and was given, this is a letter from Jesus to churches in first century Asia.

John addressed the letter specifically to the seven churches in Asia. Jesus will address all seven churches. By Asia, John means western Turkey. He will name them in verse 9. The churches are identified by their cities: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea. These are real cities and had real churches with real people who were members.

The fact that there are 7 churches is significant. The number 7 will occur throughout the book. It is a number that is symbolic of completeness in the Bible. So, although 7 churches are specifically mentioned, the message would have meaning for all the Asian churches and even all churches.

The Greek and Roman invasions made evangelism possible in Asia. The Greeks provided a common language and a culture open to new ideas. The Romans built roads for travel, kept things safe, and provided common citizenship. Paul, in particular, benefitted from his Roman citizenship.

The greeting extended comes through John from God. Specifically, it comes from the triune God. I have heard people tell me there is no specific reference to the trinity in the New Testament. Well, here is one.

First is God the Father. He is the “him who was and who is to come”. (4) This is a statement of the eternal nature of God. He existed before he created the world. That is what “in the beginning, God” means. (Genesis 1:1) He will exist after this creation is destroyed and made new. That is a point of hope for us. There is nothing above God. He is creator; all else is creation.

The greeting is also from the seven spirits who are before the throne. (4) This is a reference to the Holy Spirit. The number 7 represents fullness. The Holy Spirit is sufficient to guide and strengthen believers to endure temptation and persecution.

The language here refers to Zechariah 4, where Zechariah sees a vision of 7 lamps on a gold lamp stand. Zechariah was a prophet called by God to urge the Israelites to finish the temple and the city. An angel showed the vision of the lamps to Zechariah, then said the famous words of God: not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit says the LORD.” He went on to say the temple would be built. In other words the Spirit would accomplish the building of thhe Spirit is sufficient for the task of building and preserving the church in tribulation.

And finally, the greeting comes from God the Son. He is identified as Jesus Christ, Jesus we temple where the strength of men could not He was sufficient for the task. Similar, tho is the anointed one, the messiah. He is the faithful witness also. When he was personally persecuted, he was faithful to the gospel. He will be faithful to strengthen us as we go through tribulation. He is also the firstborn from the dead. This is a reference to his resurrection and to our future resurrection. This is a reflection of Psalm 89:26-37 in which the Messiah cries out to God and God says “And I will make him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of heaven”.

The New Testament picked up the concept as well. 1 Corinthians 15:20 calls Jesus the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. First fruits were the first of many to come in the harvest. Jesus was the first of many to be resurrected. Colossians 1:18 also calls him the “firstborn of the dead”. Persecutors may kill our bodies, but Jesus will raise them and glorify them for eternity. He proved this in his own resurrection. This is our hope!

This title also speaks to the special position Of Jesus as a result o his resurrection. He is the one who will be on the throne of David forever. (2 Samuel 7:13)

Lastly, Jesus is referred to as the ruler of the kings on earth. No matter how powerful a ruler lives on earth, including the devil, Jesus rules him. There are some who say the kingdom does not come until the millennium. But Revelation says Jesus even now is king. The writer of Hebrews said “But of the son he says, your throne of God, is forever and ever, and the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom”. (Hebrews 1:8)

At the mention of the greatness of Jesus, John broke into praise. This is verses 5-7. Praise and worship will be a continual theme in the letter.

John gave two more descriptions of Jesus. He is the one who freed us from our sins by his blood. Jesus’ death on the cross brought our salvation and our freedom from sin.

Lastly, Jesus is the one who made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father. Again, we have a kingdom now. We also have a role as priests to God. Believers enjoy access to God. Once that was reserved for the Jewish priests, but now all who believe have this great privilege. After God delivered Israel from Egypt, he told them, if they entered into covenant with him, he would make them a kingdom of priests. (Exodus 19:6) In fact, Moses dedicated Israel by sprinkling blood on them, just as Aaron dedicated his sons as priests. The Israelites were to witness of Yahweh to the Gentiles in their role of priests. Israel failed in its role. Christ has now made believers priests. Peter said the same thing, calling us a “royal priesthood”. (1 Peter 2:9) Believers today have a command to witness to Jesus to the nations. (Matthew 28:18-20)

Why did Jesus, and Peter, use these words for the church that God used of Israel? It is because the church now has that role.

John’s praise is to ascribe eternal glory and dominion to Jesus. He will reign for all eternity. He will also have glory for all eternity. Jesus will also return to earth. He will come on the clouds, a symbol of his diety. Everyone will see him on the earth. Those who have not believed in him will wail, for he will come in judgment. This is an allusion to Daniel 7:13-14:
“I saw in the night vision
and behold, with the clouds of heaven
there came one like a son of man,
and he came to the Ancient of Days
and was presented before him.
And to him was given dominion
and glory and a kingdom,
that all peoples, nations, and languages
should serve him;
his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away.”

and an allusion to Zechariah 12:10

Zechariah 12:10 says:
“And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.

John changed the wording of Zechariah 12:10, though, by adding “all the tribes of the earth” from Zechariah 14:17 instead of “the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem”. I think he did it to show us Jesus will not be seen just by Jews, but by believers from all over the earth. They will “wail” or “mourn” on account of him. This is often said to mean that lost people on earth will wail when he appears. But the context of Zechariah 12 is God’s people repenting. Jesus said “blessed are those who mourn”. (Matthew 5:4) He was speaking of life in the new kingdom and the fact that those who live a life of repentance will be blessed. They will receive God’s favor.

The very last statement of the greeting is from God himself. He declared his eternity by calling himself the alpha and omega, the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. He is presently, he in the past and he will be forever. And through all eternity, he is the Almighty. No one is stronger than he. He will live forever to consummate his plans for us and has the power to do so. This was a good reminder for first century Asian Christians and it is a good reminder for us.

REVELATION 1: the prologue and greeting

The Prologue
1:1-3

A prologue is an introduction to a literary work. It explains what the work is about. Here, John tells us some things about this letter.

First, this is a revelation of Jesus Christ. The word translated as “revelation” is the Greek word “apocalypsis”. It means the removal of a veil or other covering to disclose what lies behind it. Consider Matthew 10:26, which says “So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known”. The word “revealed” is a translation of the Greek word “apocalypsis". There may also be an allusion here to Daniel 2:28. There Daniel said “there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries and he had made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days”. Nebuchadnezzar was shown things that would happen in the “latter days”, the distant future to Daniel. But John will be shown things that will happen soon for John and the churches in Asia. Although some of the visions will stretch out over human history, some of the events will happen near to the time of John’s writing. In verse 3, John says “the time is near”. At the end of the letter, John says he saw things we must take place soon. (22:6-7)

So, we see that the purpose of this letter is to reveal Jesus Christ to his servants. (v.1) His servants were the people in the churches in Asia. We can benefit from this revealing also, of course. It is important to note that the purpose of the letter is not to hide the truth about Jesus, but to reveal it, to make it known. Much will be shown in symbols, but they were understandable to John and the Asian Christians. The thing we are going to see is that Jesus is no longer the suffering servant, but the reigning king who will destroy all of his enemies

Second, this prologue tells us how the revelation came to be. God the Father gave it to Jesus Christ the son. Jesus made it know to his servants by sending it to his servant, John. John bore witness to all he saw. The reason John refers to what he saw rather than what he was told, is that this revealing will come to him in a vision. He will see things and relate them to his readers.

Third, there is a blessing. This letter was to be circulated among the churches. It would be read aloud. Therefore, John says blessed is he who reads aloud and blessed are those who hear and keep it. They are blessed, at least in part, because it will prepare them for things that will happen soon. John says the words of the letter are a prophecy. A prophecy is a vision of the future with an exhortation to faithfulness. This letter will show hard times to come upon the church and show the need for faithfulness to endure it. Persecution may be martyrdom. Christians need to prepare for that so that they may endure it in faithfulness. Seduction leads to defilement. Christians need to prepare to resist it. Satan works through both. He did in John’s day and he does in ours.

John will see the devil behind the events of Revelation. The devil is the ultimate enemy of the church. John calls him the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan. You recognize the allusion to the serpent in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3), who enticed Adam to sin. In chapters 12-19, we will see the beast from the sea bring a physical assault on the church, and we will see the beast from the land bring spiritual deception and the harlot who brings material seduction.

The Greeting
1:4-8

This greeting follows the form of letters of the time. First, the author identifies himself. Paul’s letters typically start with the word “Paul”. The greeting of this letter starts with the word “John”. Later, in verse 9, he says he is a brother and a partner in the tribulation and the kingdom. He identifies with them as a believer who is also suffering tribulation. Tradition has it that the writer is John the disciple of Jesus. But, in a greater since, since John is relating what he saw and was given, this is a letter from Jesus to churches in first century Asia.

John addressed the letter specifically to the seven churches in Asia. Jesus will address all seven churches. By Asia, John means western Turkey. He will name them in verse 9. The churches are identified by their cities: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadephia and Laodicea. These are real cities and had real churches with real people who were members.

The greeting extended comes through John from God. Specifically, it comes from the triune God. I have heard people tell me there is no specific reference to the trinity in the New Testament. Well, here is one. First is God the Father. He is the “him who was and who is to come”. (4) This is a statement of the eternal nature of God.

The greeting is also from the seven spirits who are before the throne. (4) This is a reference to the Holy Spirit. The number 7 represents fullness. The Holy Spirit is sufficient to guide and strengthen believers to endure temptation and persecution.

And finally, the greeting comes from God the Son. He is identified as Jesus Christ, Jesus who is the anointed one, the messiah. He is the faithful witness also. When he was personally persecuted, he was faithful to the gospel. He will be faithful to strengthen us as we go through tribulation. He is also the firstborn from the dead. This is a reference to his resurrection and to our future resurrection. This is a reflection of Psalm 89:26 in which the Messiah cries out to God and God says “And I will make him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of heaven”. The New Testament picked up the concept as well. 1 Corinthians 15:20 calls Jesus the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. First fruits were the first of many to come in the harvest. Jesus was the first of many to be resurrected. Colossians 1:18 also calls him the “firstborn of the dead”. Persecutors may kill our bodies, but Jesus will raise them and glorify them for eternity. He proved this in his own resurrection. This is our hope!

Lastly, Jesus is referred to as the ruler of the kings on earth. No matter how powerful a ruler lives on earth, including the devil, Jesus rules him. There are some who say the kingdom does not come until the millennium. But Revelation says Jesus even now is king. The writer of Hebrews said “But of the son he says, your throne of God, is forever and ever, and the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom”. (Hebrews 1:8)

At the mention of the greatness of Jesus, John broke into praise. This is verses 5-7. Praise and worship will be a continual theme in the letter.

John gave two more descriptions of Jesus. He is the one who freed us from our sins by his blood. Jesus’ death on the cross brought our salvation and our freedom from sin. Lastly, Jesus is the one who made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father. Again, we have a kingdom now. We also have a role as priests to God. Believers enjoy access to God. Once that was reserved for the Jewish priests, but now all who believe have this great privilege.

John’s praise is to ascribe eternal glory and dominion to Jesus. He will reign for all eternity. He will also have glory for all eternity. Jesus will also return to earth. He will come on the clouds, a symbol of his diety. Everyone will see him on the earth. Those who have not believed in him will wail, for he will come in judgment. This is an allusion to Daniel 7:13-14:
“I saw in the night vision
and behold, with the clouds of heaven
there came one like a son of man,
and he came to the Ancient of Days
and was presented before him.
And to him was given dominion
and glory and a kingdom,
that all peoples, nations, and languages
should serve him;
his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away.”

Zechariah 12:10 says:
“And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.

The very last statement of the greeting is from God himself. He declared his eternity by calling himself the alpha and omega, the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. He is presently, he in the past and he will be forever. And through all eternity, he is the Almighty. No one is stronger than he. He will live forever to consummate his plans for us and has the power to do so. This was a good reminder for first century Asian Christians and it is a good reminder for us.

Holiness

There can be only one purpose response to grace: a life of grateful holiness. Derek Thomas.

DANIEL'S FINAL VISION PART 4

DANIEL 12
THE TIME OF THE END

12:1-5
What Happens At The End

Chapter 12 opens with the words “at that time”. (Remember: the chapter and verse designations are not in the original text. They are added later for convenient reference. So, in the original text, these words would come right after verse 45’s statement that “he shall pitch his palatial tents between the sea and the glorious holy mountain.” At that time must mean, then, the time when the Antichrist has come to the area around Israel, killing tens of thousands. (11:41)

When this occurs (the coming of the king to the glorious land, Israel), Michael shall arise. He is the powerful angel in charge of Israel(12:1) In 10:13, he is called “one of the chief princes”. You would think Michael’s arrival would mean a cessation of attacks on Israel. But the opposite happens. Daniel is told there will be a time of trouble such as never seen before in Israel. Jesus used similar language in Matthew 24:21-22. His primary reference seems to be the destruction of the temple by the Romans in 70 A.D.

Yet in this trouble, deliverance does come for God’s people. Many shall be delivered. What are they delivered from? They are delivered from the power of Satan. They do not fall, but endure in faith. They are the wise of verse 3. Some will run to and fro, but not find wisdom because they are wicked. This is an allusion to Amos 8:11-12. Proverbs 1:7 tells us the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.

Who is delivered? Who are the wise? It is those who believe. It is those whose names are found written in the book. (12:1) What is the book? It is the book of life.

The first time we hear of this book is in Exodus 32:32. This is immediately after the incident of the golden calf. Moses asked God to forgive the Israelites. He volunteers to have his name blotted out of “our book that you have written”. But God affirmed that those who rejected him were the ones who would be blotted out of his book. (32:33)

Psalm 69:28, David asked god to blot the names of his enemies out of the book of the living and not enroll them among the righteous.

In Luke 10:20, Jesus told the disciples to rejoice that their names are “written in heaven”.

Paul, in Philippians 4:3, said referred to his fellow workers as those whose names are in the book of life.

John tells us in Revelation 8 that all on earth will worship the beast except those who hames have bee written in the book of life from the foundation of the world.

And, finally, the judgment scene in Revelation 20 shows the Book of Life being opened. All whose names were not found in the book were thrown into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:11-15) Edward J. Young wrote that “The reference is to the elect, those predestinated to everlasting life.” So, this scene refers to deliverance to eternal life for all those who believe in Jesus. Not only those alive at the time are delivered, but those who died as well. They will experience resurrection. Those who are dead (sleep in the dest of the earth) will, if they are believers, rise to everlasting life. (Daniel 12:2) They are the wise. (12:3) They will shine like the brightness of the sky above, and those who turn many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever and ever. Paul said a similar thing to the Thessalonians. He said those who are asleep, meaning dead, will rise in Christ as well as those who are alive at the time. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-15)

But others will be raised to shame and everlasting contempt. (2) As Revelation 20 shows us, the will experience the lake of fire, which we call Hell.

At the end of this instruction, Daniel is told by the man clothes in linen to seal the book until the time of the end. The words must be protected for future generations to read. It would become more understandable as time progressed. For example, we have looked back at history these last few weeks and seen the prophesies fulfilled in the Persians, Greeks and Syrians.

Daniel 12:5-7
How Long Is It Until The End?

We would all like to know when the world will end. We want to know if we will live to see Jesus return. Who would not want to be here to see Jesus return? We think that, but in doing so, we often forget the troubles that will come at the end.

Daniel did not ask the question, but someone asked it for him. Two men appeared on opposite banks of the stream. The man dressed in linen rose above the stream, as if he is ascending to heaven. These two persons are likely angels. Maybe angels are as interested in the timing as humans are.

The man dressed in linen answered. He did so by taking an oath. He raised both hands toward heaven and swore by the Lord (him who lives forever) that it would be for a “time, times, and half a time” and that these things would be finished when the shattering of the power of the holy people comes to an end. (7) It is commonly assumed that a “time” is one year and “times” is two years. That idea is helped along by verse 11. The word for time “moed” is never translated as “year” anywhere in the Old Testament, though. It is used to mean an appointed time or an assembly of people.

One thing we ascertain for certain: the times of suffering are limited by God. They are for a set time. They will not go on forever.

12:8-13
More Explanation

Daniel may not have understood the timing either. He wrote “I heard, but I did not understand”. (8) So, he asked what will be the outcome of these things? The response was again to seal up the book until the time of the end.

the man also reiterated that many would be pure and be saved, but the wicked would act wickedly. (10)

He also addressed the timing again. This time he said thee would be 1,290 days from the time the regular burnt offering is taken away, and the abomination set up. That is 3 and one half years if you use a 365 day year. This again shows a limited time of suffering, as opposed to a perfect 7 year cycle or even a 70 year cycle.

Revelation 11:3 and 12:6 seem to look back to this idea, but use the number 1,260 days, which would be three and one half years of 360 days.

The man then tells Daniel that one is blessed if he waits and arrives at the 1,335 days. The is 45 days longer than 1,290 days. But, we are not told why. Nonetheless, the idea is that the faithful must wait until God’s time of the end to receive their blessing, even if it seems that the end should come and has not.

Daniel is told to go his way till the end. Like all of our spiritual ancestors, Daniel died and was buried. His spirit is in heaven awaiting the resurrection. He was promised rest, which likely means his time in heaven.and he was promised to stand in his allowed place at the end of days. That place is with the redeemed of the ages in the new earth where no more persecution or pain will occur.



This world is broken. It cannot be fixed. Human beings cannot fix it. It must be recreated. God will do that. He will do that in his timing, not ours. Our job is to be faithful to God no matter what happens between now and the end.

This is not the end of all things. But it is the end of our study of Daniel. Thank you for being faithful until the end of this study. May God strengthen you to be faithful to the end of all things so that you may stand in your allotted place with the redeemed of the ages.

Come Lord Jesus. Come.

The Lord Is Righteous - Psalm 11:7

Righteousness is an expression of God's holiness. God always does what is righteous or just. His actions toward us are always in perfect agreement with his holy nature. The standard of righteousness is not made up by men, outside of God, to which God must conform. God is not subject to anything outside himself. Psalm 11 portrays God as righteous in anger and hatred. He hates the violent and the wicked.

We are righteous when our actions reflect God's righteousness. That is why we have the commandments. They are God's righteous standards for us. We are to hunger and thirst after righteousness because we love God and want to please him.

DANIEL'S FINAL VISION Part 3 (Daniel 11)

11:21
The Rise of Antiochus IV

This verse begins the reign of Antiochus IV. He is called “a contemptible person” . He received much attention, for he was a devastating enemy of the Jews. This section of Daniel 11 is a re-telling of 8:9-14 with greater detail.

“Royal majesty” was not given to him. He was the brother of Seleucus and, thus, not in line for the throne when Seleucus died. Seleucus had a son who should have been king. But Antiochus, who probably had Seleucus murdered, had a plan. He would obtain the kingdom without warning and with flatteries, according to Scripture. History records that he flattered the Romans by sending ambassadors and paying tribute that his brother owed. He worked to get the agreement of the Syrians to his rule. The flattery would turn out to be only a veneer over a cruel and ambitious nature.

11:22
Successful in War

Like his ancestors, Antiochus IV went to war to expand his power and glory. He was successful. This verse says he swept away armies and broke them. In his arrogance, he added the word “Epiphanes” to his title, meaning “god manifest”. The Jews sometimes referred to him as “Epimanes”, meaning mad man. He broke “the prince of the covenant” also. This is likely a reference to the assassination of Onias III, the high priest, by supporters of Antiochus in Jerusalem.

11:23-30a
Invading Egypt and Israel

Early in the reign of Antiochus, Ptolemy VI, the king of the south, attacked Syria. Antiochus defeated him and captured him. Then, in 169 B.C., Antiochus led an attack on Egypt by land and an attack on Cyprus by sea. Cyprus is an island in the Mediterranean. It was under the control of the Ptolemies. It was also a place where ships stopped on the way to the Roman Empire.

The Romans opposed this move. They sent an ambassador to intercept Antiochus. He delivered a message from the Roman senate demanding his withdrawal from Egypt and Cyprus on pain of war with Rome. The famous story is that the ambassador drew a circle around Antiochus in the sand and demanded an answer before Antiochus stepped out of the circle. Antiochus decided to withdraw.

While this was going on, a high priest named Jason, who had been deposed by Antiochus, led an attack on Jerusalem with 1,000 soldiers. The was because rumors had circulated in Judah that Antiochus had died in the war with Egypt. The high priest appointed by Antiochus had to flee the city. Antiochus was already angry at his humiliation in Egypt, so he attacked Jerusalem with great vengeance. He defeated the rebellion and re-installed his high priest, Menelaus. He also executed many Jews. He killed about 40,000 people and took that many as slaves back to Syria.

11:30b-35
Oppressing the Jews

In order to subdue the Jews, Antiochus decided to wipe out their religion and customs and force them to adopt Greek culture. He tried to Hellenize them. He made their religion illegal and ordered the worship of Zeus as supreme god. When the Jews refused, he attacked again, virtually destroying Jerusalem and killing many Jews. He built a citadel there.

He desecrated the temple in 168 B.C., setting up a statue of Zeus and requiring it to be worshipped. This is the “abomination that makes desolate”. So, when Jesus told the Jews “your house is left to you desolate”, they had this history in mind and knew Jesus was talking about an awful judgment. (Matthew 23:38) When Jesus said there would be an abomination that causes desolation in Matthew 24:15, the Jews were reminded of the idol set up by Antiochus for the worship of Zeus. He sacrificed a pig on the altar. These actions defiled the temple so that it could not be used. It was desolate. This remained the case until 164 B.C. when the Jews revolted successfully under the Maccabees. The temple was cleansed and rededicated. Hanukkuh is the celebration of this. You can read about this also in the 2 books of Maccabees.

Some Jews sided with Antiochus and some sided with the traditional Jews. Even some of the wise will stumble, but that is so that may be purified until the time of the end. All of these things will continue until the appointed time according to verse 35. The question here is “the end of what”. The story so far would indicate the end of Antiochus’s reign, but the vision seems to be about more than that, leading us to think it is about the end of time.

11:36-45
The End Times Antiochus

The last section of Chapter 11, from verse 36 on, presents difficulties in interpretation. The facts of this section do not fit the facts of the end of the reign of Antiochus. However, there is not specific mention of a great advance of time in verse 35. Some believe this section is about the end time antichrist. Some believe it is still basically about Antiochus, but is not about him only.


11:36-45
The Greater Antiochus

Antiochus fits some of the descriptions but not all. He has never been called “king” in this passage, yet verse 36 refers to “the king”. He does as he wills, at least in his home territory. However, his power was limited by the Romans. He exalted himself above all gods, portraying himself as the incarnation of Zeus, the most powerful of the Greek gods.((36) He paid no attention to the gods of his fathers. In fact he looted temples. (37) However, the remainder of the description does not fit, nor does he description of the end of this king fit well with the death of Antiochus.

Antiochus died in a minor campaign in Persia in 164 B.C. The king in chapter 11 died at the end of a successful campaign in Egypt. He died between the sea (the Mediterranean supposedly) and the glorious holy mountain, Mount Zion. This may be the Battle of Armageddon in Revelation 16.

We know from the New Testament that one will come who will also exalt himself. Thessalonians 4 speaks of a man of lawlessness. Some translations say man of sin. He is revealed when a great rebellion occurs. He sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God. (2 Thessalonians 2:4) Jesus will kill him with the breath of his mouth and bring him to nothing when he returns. (2 Thessalonians 2:8) This man of lawlessness will operate by the activity of Satan with signs and wonders that are false, but will deceive those who are perishing (as opposed to those who are being saved). Revelation 13 speaks of a beast who has satan’s power, throne and great authority. He leads people to worship satan. He is haughty and blasphemous and persecutes the saints. John concluded his description by saying this calls for the endurance and faith of the saints.

What do we do with this? We see this message given to Daniel, who thought of his people as persecuted. But God showed him a future of greater suffering. In perspective, the state of the Jews in Daniel’s time was not as bad as it could be. As Nebuchadnezzar had destroyed Judah, so would Antiochus. And still, another powerful king would arise at a later time.

At this very moment in America, Christians feel a great sense of unease. With the Supreme Court ruling allowing homosexual marriage, many Christians have been pursued by homosexuals to do things Christians do not believe in doing, This has resulted in fines, lawsuits, ugly behavior, and a court clerk being put in jail for contempt of court.

But put his in perspective. Christians in China have had their churches bulldozed, their pastors taken to jail. Christians in Muslim countries have been killed, physically abused, had their property taken, lost their rights and put in jail. We have seen videos of the Islamic State beheading Coptic Christians and others. What we have in America is insignificant compared to that.

But this also tells us to believe and endure. God did not promise that everything would be wonderful in this world. I hate that some men preach that. Jesus suffered. He did not lead seminars on personal success and keys to getting rich. He commanded us to deny ourselves, pick up a cross and follow him. (Matthew 16:24; Luke 9:23) What did a cross mean? It meant death! Jesus said be willing to die for him. In Matthew 24, Jesus warned his disciples of tribulation. He said “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake”. (Matthew 24:9)

We, as believers, are called upon to believe and persevere. Verse 32 of Daniel says the people who know their God all stand firm and take action. Paul said, when we are up against the schemes of the devil, we must stand. (Ephesians 6:11) Those schemes may come at work, as mine have lately. They may come in society or in government or from those we thought were friends. In all of these, God call us to believe and to stand firm. When the temple was destroyed, some Jews still held to faith in God. As the institutions we valued in our early life are damaged or destroyed in American, we must still hold to faith in God.

We believe God is in control of history. I do not know why God has chosen to allow the church to suffer persecution. Maybe it is too weed out those who do not believe, but he has not revealed all of his purposes. But we trust that God knows what he is doing and is in control. Therefore, even when the world around us is hostile, we will be faithful. Jesus said “do not fear those who who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matthew 10:28)

And, in standing firm in faith, we must also share our faith. We must speak the gospel to those around us, friend and foe. Verse 33 says “the wise among the people shall make many understand”. If we live in faith and speak the gospel, others will believe and follow Christ.

Ephesians 6 makes clear to us that standing is done with prayer. We are to pray at all times in the spirit with all prayer and supplication. (Ephesians 6:18) Pray for those in persecution. Pray for yourself. Pray for God to end the conflict in victory.