Dan 8:24 And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper and do his pleasure; and he shall destroy the mighty ones and the holy people.

                                                                                                                                     

Daniel 8 records Daniel’s second vision. In this vision, he saw a ram and a goat, representing the Persian and Grecian empires respectively. This goat has one horn, right between its eyes. This goat with one horn is Alexander the Great. He defeated the Persian Empire with such swiftness and fury. But at the height of his power, he died at a young age of only thirty-three and his empire was divided among his four generals, represented by the four smaller horns.

Out of one of these four horns came a little horn which became exceeding great. Gabriel says that at the end of the rule of these four kings, a king will come who will outdo the rest in wickedness. He is deceitful and arrogant, even trying to attack the "Prince of princes." But he will be defeated eventually—though not by human beings.

Commentators generally agree that this little horn is the wicked Antiochus Epiphanes. He profaned God’s Temple and altar, prohibiting His worship, and persecuting His worshippers. He was infamous for the abolition of the daily offered in the Temple and the desecration of the sanctuary itself by violence and sacrilege. God said “he shall be broken without hand” (vs 25). That is, he should not die by the hand of an enemy in battle, nor be assassinated by the hand of man, but be cut off by the immediate hand of God.

The book of Daniel teaches us no matter how powerful and wicked an empire may be, it will not stand forever. The wicked Antiochus who profaned God’s sanctuary and persecuted His worshippers did not succeed in destroying God’s eternal plan of redeeming man. Indeed, Satan was behind all those plans that sought to destroy the chosen people of God. He did so to prevent the promised seed from forming. But God always triumph: “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law” (Galatians 4:4).

And, God will still triumph even today. Whether it be a king such as Nebuchadnezzar or Antiochus, or a democratically elected leader or government, the principle is the same: “The most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appointeth over it whomsoever he will” (Daniel 5:21).

                       

Nebuchadnezzar did not like what he saw in his dream so he made an image entirely of gold. But God has appointed the kingdoms of silver, brass and iron after him and it could not be changed by men. Antiochus set himself against God: "he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down" (vs 11). "He stood up against the Prince of princes" (vs 25). But he died.

Today, there are still governments who try to stop Christianity from spreading in their countries. They will try all means to make things difficult for Christians. We need to pray for our brethren in those countries. They are having a hard time. We need to pray that they persevere and they have the boldness to preach and teach Christ (Acts 4:18-20). Indeed, “The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ” (Acts 4:26).

The Berlin Wall came down without a gun shot fired across the wall. More recently, the world was preparing itself for a nuclear war around the Korean Peninsula which would spread to the entire world. Suddenly, there is peace.

Brethren, we do not know how God works in the kingdoms of men but He is working no doubt. Let us continue to pray for peace, especially for our brethren in those countries who are anti-God.

Jimmy Lau

Psa 119:97  Oh how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day.

Dan 9:4 And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments.

Daniel 9 begins with Daniel confessing the sins of the nation (vs 1-19). He prays to God, praising Him and confessing to Him on behalf of all Jews. He acknowledges that they have been unfaithful to God's law and have acted wickedly and rebelliously. They have also ignored the messages that the prophets gave to them and to their leaders. Daniel then asks God again for mercy, pleading with him to turn His wrath away from Jerusalem.

To confess means to declare, acknowledge, profess, and admit. It is the opposite of denial and of silence. What are the significances of confession of sins?

1. Confession is a recognition of our sins before God. David wrote: “For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me” (Psalm 51:3).  We are warned against a hardness that avoids confession (1 John 1:8). If we have sinned, it is wrong to ignore it.

2. Confession is a declaration of our faith in God who can forgive sins. David pleaded to God: “Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness” (Psalm 51:1). A publican prayed: “God be merciful to me a sinner” (Luke 18:13).

3. Confession is seeking forgiveness. John wrote: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). The Word of God teaches us that regular confession should be a vital part of our fellowship with God. No confession equals to no forgiveness from God.

4. Confession is finding peace with ourselves. David felt weak and was miserable when he did not confess. He wrote: “For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer” (Psalm 32:3-4, ESV). He found healing after he confessed his sin.

5. Confession is seeking peace with others. James wrote: “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed.” (James 5:16). The confession referred is understood of sins committed against one another; which should be acknowledged, and repentance for them declared, in order to mutual forgiveness and reconciliation. The practice of confessing one’s personal sin to a priest or to a prayer leader is not taught in the Bible.

6. Confession is self-awaking. It is saying to oneself: “I want to stop deceiving myself.” John wrote: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves” (1 John 1:8). The self-righteous think too highly of themselves that they have no sin like other men; they are deceiving themselves (Luke 18:11).

We cannot shake off our guilt by leaving the scenes of our sins. We carry this burden with us when we fail to confess our sins. We should acknowledge and confess our special sins, our besetting sins, the sins which are particularly our own characteristic defects, and seek God’s forgiveness through repentance.

Confession is a necessary condition for forgiveness (1 John 1:9). It is an evidence of sincerity (1 John 1:8). It is the first step towards a better life. Forgiveness brings in its train all the best blessings, especially the turning away of God’s anger. The essence of confession is not the remission of penalties, but the restoration of friendly relations with God. And, confession of sins committed against our brethren brings peace and reconciliation.

Jimmy Lau

Psa 119:97  Oh how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day.

Dan 10:18 Then there came again and touched me one like the appearance of a man, and he strengthened me.

Daniel 10’s event happened in the third year of king Cyrus of Persia (vs 1). Daniel would have been more than eighty years old by then. He had been mourning for three full weeks, during which he ate no dainty bread, nor flesh, nor wine. While standing on the bank of the river Hiddekel (or Tigris) he saw a vision of a man clothed in fine linen, his loins girded with gold of Uphaz, and his body was like beryl, his face bright like lightning, his eyes were like flaming torches, his arms and feet gleamed like polished brass, and his voice was as the sound of a multitude. The description of this person is very similar to that of our Lord in Revelations 1:13-15. Upon seeing the man, Daniel started to get pale and lose his strength (vs 1-8).

But the man, as we understand from Revelations 1:13-15 is Christ Himself, picks Daniel up, stands him on his feet, and tells him to listen, and strengthens him. He says He's going to tell Daniel about the things that will happen to the Jews during the last days. Daniel says he feels unworthy and too weak to be speaking with the man. But this angelic being touches him and sends strength into him again, while telling him to be courageous (vs 9-21).

This one ‘like a man’ touches Daniel and he receives strength (vs 18). The very words of this man imparted strength into Daniel (vs 19). It is a lesson for us: we can be strengthened by the word of the Son of God.

There is power in the word. The Psalmist says: “My soul melteth for heaviness: strengthen thou me according unto thy word” (Psalm 119:28). Daniel was in the same heaviness of spirit as the Psalmist. Both found strength in God’s word. As a result, they were made alive: “This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me” (Psalm 119:50).

If you think you are spiritually dead, you need to feed on the word of God to receive strength and be spiritually alive once again. Our Lord says: “The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63b). Let the word of God be your daily spiritually food: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4).

Daniel has the attitude of a devout truth-seeker. The angelic being said that he "had set his heart to understand," and "to chasten [means to humble] himself before his God" (vs 12). It was a great compliment for any man. The world is not divided by what the word of God says but by what it does not say. If every student of the Bible has the same attitude as Daniel, one which is humble and desire to understand the truth,  they will come to the knowledge of the truth and will not believe a lie: “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32).

I came across this quotation recently: “The only person who has time to study the Bible is the person who takes the time to study the Bible.”

How true it is! Many give the excuse they have no time to study the Bible and that’s because they have not made time for it.

The Bible is loaded with verses of comfort, encouragement, and wisdom. Make it a habit to read and study your Bible in a regular, disciplined way; read it daily. Highlight verses that speak to you; meditate on those words. Memorize some of the passages so you can recall them from memory at a future time. “O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day” (Psalm 119:97).

Jimmy Lau

Psa 119:97  Oh how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day.

A Sermon Fit For A King!

           A guest speaker was somewhat overwhelmed by an excessive, overdone introduction which listed his accomplishments and lauded his charm and ability as a public speaker. Finally he was allowed to rise and face his audience. He began his speech: "Ladies and gentlemen, after that intro’ I can hardly wait to see what I’m going to say!" In Acts 25:22 King Agrippa told Roman governor Festus, "I also would like to hear the man [that is, the apostle Paul] myself." And so, as reported in Acts 25:23 all the way through Acts 26:28 Agrippa did hear Paul. So what did the passionate apostle of Christ preach to Agrippa? Surprise, surprise – he preached a sermon fit for a king! We can’t be absolutely certain as to what the King expected to hear from Paul . . . but there is no room for doubt what Paul was eager to preach to him. According to Acts 26:22-23, Paul insisted that from the time Christ had commissioned him to be an apostle, he [Paul], had "obtained help from God," and that "to this day I stand, witnessing both to small and great, saying no other things than those which the prophets and Moses said would come – that the Christ would suffer, that He would be the first to rise from the dead, and would proclaim light to the Jewish people, and to the Gentiles." The hub to which all the spokes in Paul’s preaching wheel connected was the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ!

So what does a sermon fit for a king – or anyone else – look like? Paul proclaimed the resurrection of Jesus Christ (Acts 26:8, 23)! He preached the Christ he once persecuted and sought to destroy (26:9- 11, 15). He preached about the day he "saw the light" (26:12-14). He preached about the heavenly commission that authorized his gospel message (26:15-17). In Acts 26:19-20 he preached that people should "open their eyes" and "turn from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God" – he preached people should "repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance" – and he preached about forgiveness of sins, inheritance, sanctification, and faith in Christ! He also preached about how some who tried to hurt and hinder and even kill him for doing what Christ auhtorized and sent him to do (26:21) – reminding us preaching Christ was a high-risk job when Paul preached. He preached how God helped him (26:22). And smack dab in the middle of the sermon, after he preached Christ suffered and rose from the dead, he was interrupted by Roman governor Festus and accused of being insane – "Paul, you are beside yourself! Much learning is driving you mad (26:23-24)! Undeterred, Paul went on to insist the gospel is true and reasonable and that "this thing was not done in a corner" (26:25-26). He next appealed to King Agrippa to believe the prophets and become a Christian (26:27). The sermon was fit for a king – and Agrippa was "almost" persuaded! What could be better than being a king? How about being a king who is a Christian?! Paul wanted this king to improve his life by becoming a Christian, and he used all his persuasive powers to get him to do just that! Acts 26:18 summarizes all that becoming a Christian accomplishes for a king or anyone else who trusts and obeys Christ. What do you think sermons fit to be preached to a king or anyone else ought to look like today? Just asking. 

By: Dan Gulley, Smithville, TN