Stand Strong

O. T. #2013  "Stand Strong"

August 30, 2021

Daniel 11-Part 2

God is the strength of my heart, my portion forever.

 (Psalm 73:26b)

LET IT GLOW

*Praying for peace and comfort for the 13 families of those marines lost in Afghanistan, trying to rescue folks.

Are you facing trials? Let them be opportunities to strengthen your faith.

The man who foreshadows the coming antichrist is Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the Syrian Seleucid king. (175-163 BC). His anti-Semitic  and tyrannical career was prophesied by the angelic messenger sent to Daniel to reveal the events found here. It was fulfilled as he illegally seized the Syrian throne from the son of his murdered brother, Seleucus IV. (verse 21)

I mention this because this dude lost power in Egypt because the Roman government ordered him to leave immediately or face the consequences of war with Rome. He did, but this humiliation angered Antiochus and he vented his rage on Jerusalem by massacring 80,000 people in Jerusalem. (verse 28)

Also, Antiochus desecrated the sanctuary by sacrificing swine on the altar and erecting a statue of the Olympian god Zeus. (verse 31) Several scrolls of the Mosaic Law were destroyed, and forbade keeping the Sabbath, circumcising male children, and carrying out sacrifices in the Temple. Jews who refused to follow orders were persecuted and martyred. (verses 32-33)

LET IT GROW

Here comes the good part: after the Jewish Maccabaean family began to revolt against Antiochus, the Seleucid forces eventually suffered some significant defeats. (However, many courageous Jews were lost in the process. (verse 34-35a)

In 165, Judas Maccabaeus cleansed the Temple and restored worship within its walls. (Although, religious persecution did not end, but continued in the second century B.C.; it will continue until the appointed time brings it to a close. (verse 35b)

Verse 32b NLT says: But the people that do know their God will be strong and will resist him.  

It looks like that verse is referring to resisting Antiochus. Wise teachers will die by fire and sword, be jailed and robbed. The will fall victim to persecution. (verse 35)

In this way, they will be refined and cleansed and made pure until the time of the end, for the appointed time is still to come.  (verse 35b, NLT) 

 

LET IT GO

Be strong in the Lord Jesus in faith, trust, and obedience.

Let go of things and cling to Jesus.