DANIEL and PROPHECY

                                       DANIEL and PROPHECY

    We are about to study the most interesting book of the Old Testament, and
its companion, the entire New Testament. God is telling us not only about the
end time, but reveals His long range plan for making believers out of Gentile
nations. If you have a good study bible, you will find reference notes in the
margin, referring you to many of the books in the Old Testament. This is what
the people of that day had to go by--the New Testament wasn't written yet.

    Before we start, I want to take you to some specific scripture and ask you to
contemplate your reception and understanding of God's inspired Word. When
you read and study scripture, do you carefully weigh the written Word and
consider the teaching of the New Testament to be the actual instruction of what
God expects from you? If you are a Christian, these directives are the biggest 
deal you will ever be a part of.

    Some Christians were really upset with my quotes of scripture dealing with
God's instructions about following leadership. They didn't like the fact that I
referred to our president as God's anointed and provided the scripture verses
from Romans (13:1-7). None of that was political. It is God's directive. God and
Christ do not want us individually or collectively to fail. When we protest that
now we will fail because we don't accept our leader, we are contributing to
failure and actually hastening our judgment. God is merciful, and gives us an
opportunity to realize He is omnipotent and always in control. If we plead
failure and a personal agenda opposing the very Word of scripture, we can
expect an equivalent of Israel's captivity, although not necessarily a physical
movement to another nation. While you study along with me, ponder these
vital words of scripture directly from the Apostle to the Gentiles (us).

    When Nebuchadnezzar captured Judah, the lone remaining Jewish state, he
brought many captives back to Babylon. He was a very intelligent man, and
wanted to gain knowledge, not just slave labor. Among the first captives taken
to Babylon were the Jewish princes, the cream of the crop, members of the
palace court, well educated and experienced. We tend to think people of that
time were primitive and unlearned, but that is not true. While they didn't have
the knowledge or capabilities of today, they were highly knowledgeable and
skilled in many areas. For example, they forged a type of super steel that we
have not been able to duplicate. The king's wise men (the president's cabinet
of that day) were well educated, although many were superstitious--some of us
are today as well.

    Nebuchadnezzar was the first ruler of a massive kingdom, and is represented
as the head of that figure in his dream. He had a strong temper, as you would
expect from someone that was virtually a human god over millions of people and
dozens of nations. Daniel and his three friends were indoctrinated into the Babylon
culture, but were first castrated. They were then apportioned food from the king's
table. The four Jewish boys (probably late teens) refused the unclean Babylon
food and asked to eat Jewish fare. This was a bold move, considering they could
be slain for refusing the king's food. Daniel, already in good standing with the
chief guard of the prisoners, arranged a deal with the king, permitting them their
food and a comparison with those who ate the king's food.  This was a test of their
commitment to God. Would you dare, as a Christian, to do this? Remember, you
can make a deal with mankind, but never with God. (Read my message on "Making
a Deal).

    Since I see many Christians not paying attention to Christ's teaching, I seriously
doubt many would take this chance. God honored their risk and belief, and the four
Jewish boys turned out to be in superior condition after following the Jewish diet.
As we saw in Genesis and Joseph, those who stand up for God can and may be
used by God. You have to have plenty of "umph" to carry out God's work. You also
must expect some pretty tough trials. The glory goes to God, and if you are obedient,
some may brush off on you. See 1 Sam. 15:22, "Has the Lord as great delight in burnt
offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better
than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams."

    Daniel and his friends are fast becoming accustomed to the Babylon culture, and
their progress and abilities are recognized. I repeat my question: Would you have a
strong enough commitment to Christ to challenge the king's diet? Do you believe the
Word of God in scripture to the point of being obedient to Christ's teaching? I fear
many are Christians in name only. These four boys (young men) put their life on the
line for FOOD. They knew the consequences. Is your acceptance of salvation through
Christ's shed blood really a full commitment? Do you agree to follow His teaching in
scripture? Examine your commitment and don't excuse your personal agenda, political
or otherwise.

    We will move on to Nebuchadnezzar at his feast and his dream, but first we need to
understand we are at the point where God begins his "campaign" to bring the Gentile
world into His realm. Most nations at that time had their own idols and gods. Only
Israel (now represented by Judah) followed and worshipped the true God in Heaven.
You may note in this Book that God is referred to by Gentiles as "God in Heaven" to
distinguish the Jewish God from all the others. Through the faithfulness of these four
Jewish young men, the God in Heaven will be recognized and given His rightful place
as the One God of all. That is a step towards the coming of Christ and the offer of eternal
life. It also starts the clock running toward the end time. God is merciful, and He is giving
people plenty of time to come to Him. 

     He gave you Christ and scripture as well as a group of people to begin the worship 
and study to prepare for Christ's better place. The people who worked for and with
Christ were willing to follow His instruction to the death. When you fail to heed His Word,
you are failing as a real Christian. You have accepted your free gift, but can't bring
yourself to follow the Father's direction. It's a good thing God is merciful, because we
are sinful wretches. He does have limited patience, however, and our continued
ignorance of His teaching will bring the end time.

    If you believe in the tribulation prior to the "end", you have the "hope" to be a faithful
Christian and thus qualify to be raptured. Those who are wishy-washy on following
scripture will have to remain and suffer the tribulation. There are two reasons to believe
in the rapture. Christ spoke of it and described the marriage feast with the church (us).
See Matt. 25:1-13. You will note in Revelation there is no further mention of the church
after the "record" of the existing seven churches is given in the first three chapters. In
telling us about the marriage feast, He warns us to keep oil in our lamps because we
won't know when He returns. The oil represents the lifeblood and Word of God--the
light of the world and our scripture. After studying Daniel and Revelation, we know the 
world as we know it will end. Christians only have the hope of avoiding the terror when
God "pulls the plug." If you believe Christians can save the world, you'd better actually
study scripture to learn the truth.

    The Book of Daniel shows us how far reaching God's plan is for His creation. Through
Daniel's dreams, the future history of our universe is revealed. There were virtually 
hundreds of gods among the many nations at that time, and the miracles were God's
way of separating the "God of heaven" from these heathen gods. This new location of
God is because He left the earthly home when the temple was destroyed. Under God's
plan, it will take many years and several major empires to reach the final days. The
captivity of Daniel, and the miracles, open the window of God's outreach to the entire
world and all peoples.

    The length of time and the many generations work both ways to accomplish His
goal. There is time for people to learn about Him and try to adapt their lives to His
teaching, and there is time for people to consider scripture and Christ's teaching to
be only a book. Unfortunately, many people who profess to accept salvation consider
that the final necessary act in the plan of salvation. Friends, it isn't. You have accepted
the "freebie'--full pay in advance. With the acceptance of this gift, you are obligated to
commit yourself to the Word of God as represented in scripture--the very teaching of
God through the New Testament. Your work as a Christian only began when you
accepted the gift. If you do not pursue His Word, you are not doing your job, and fit
the popular current designation as an "entitlement" recipient. I am sad to see so many
"believers" who do good works, but think scripture study is too time consuming, boring,
or not REQUIRED. That is why the church today is full of Christians in name only. It is
also why the apostate movement has become so successful.

    For many, scripture study is much like regular school study was during the grade 
school and high school years. Many subjects appeared boring, and there were lots
of other ways to spend your time. If you haven't realized the value of history, economics
and government by now, you have a problem. Even so, that pales compared to the
lack of scripture study. If you have trouble with reading comprehension, you have a
major problem. Watching television, listening to tapes or the radio is helpful, but you
really learn the most from reading. You need to have an inquiring mind as you read,
seeking more understanding than the mere words. Scripture tells us that if we sincerely
seek, we will find. If reading is too difficult, you need to secure CD's or tapes, because often
it is necessary to go over passages several times.

    In our next message of Daniel, we shall see the second major test of faith and a
miracle. I keep warning you about God's testing of each of us right now to see if we
qualify to escape the tribulation. This testing includes us as a people to determine
our national future. The faith of Daniel's three friends and the omnipotent power and
control of God guarantees that every leader in the world cannot cause success or
failure of people or nations. We are all part of God's plan, and our attitude is our
thermometer. We shall see that the plot is heating up in our next message. This message
only reviewed the first chapter of Daniel and gives you some background.

Rev. Walbear