Daniel 3

Bible study with Dr. Chuck Missler

At the end of Daniel 2, Daniel had successfully translated Nebuchadnezzar's dream and foretold the history of the Gentiles.

NEBUCHADNEZZAR IS ON AN EGO TRIP

Daniel 3:1-12
Fanned probably by his butt-kissing adviser, Nebuchadnezzar's ego about his success got so immense, he went and built the image of his dream except he built the whole thing in gold. He even took it out a step further and demanded that people bow down and worship his image.

Why did those advisers fan Nebuchadnezzar's ego? The text doesn't directly say, but some scholars speculate that they knew this would be one way to get rid of the rising Jewish boys (Daniel and his friends). This theory is supported by how this story continues to unfold.

The advisers went to Nebuchadnezzar and "tattled" on Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, about how they refused to bow to the image (which they knew the boys would never bow to foreign gods). They further reminded Nebuchadnezzar about the decree that was sent out, that death is the result of not following orders.

Daniel 3:4
"Nations": Babylon was not just a city state. Nebuchadnezzar was quite the despot who ruled over many cities. Babylon was just the most flourishing of them all. 

GOD DEFEATS THE FIERY FURNACE

Daniel 3:14
Based on the advisers' claims, Nebuchadnezzar asked Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to validate those claims.

Now, for those of us who have been under horrible bosses or have about enough historical tyrants, we would be keen to note that this is unusual behavior for a despot like Nebuchadnezzar. He was a king who killed anyone who did not do as he wished. Why did he bother questioning the three Jewish boys about it? Why not just, "off with their heads!"

Nebuchadnezzar was giving them a way out. He favored them and wanted to give them a second chance, to save their lives.

However, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stood their ground: They would not bow to foreign gods (Daniel 3:15-18). They completely trusted the Lord. If it was God's will to save them, then God will save them. If it wasn't, then they would rather die obeying God's will than live bowing to idols.

Daniel 3:19-23
Nebuchadnezzar's countenance changed when he heard their response, supporting the idea that he started out wanting to give these teenage boys a way out. However, since they stood fast, Nebuchadnezzar was further aggravated and demanded that they be thrown into the furnace, heated up seven times hotter.

Daniel 3:25
The fire did not hurt the boys one bit. Scholars largely believe that the fourth man who walked the boys out of the fiery furnace was the pre-incarnate Christ. This is a more advanced teaching, so I will not dwell on that here.

It is interesting to note that the fire did not harm their bodies, burn a single hair on their heads, or scorch their robes. In fact, there was not even the smell of fire on them (Daniel 3:27). Yet, the fire did burn through their bondage (the ropes that tied them up) (Daniel 3:25).

NEBUCHADNEZZAR PRAISES GOD

Daniel 3:26-30
Nebuchadnezzar summarized the meaning of the event and admitted that he was bested. Again, this is an astonishing thing to expect from a tyrannical despot! To those who like to ponder alternative explanations for how these Jewish boys came out of the fiery furnace alive (for example, how they luckily fell into a cold spot--but then, why wouldn't they smell of smoke?), just bear in mind that this tyrannical ruler who generally kill people before he would ever admit fault praised God for this miracle.

"Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king's command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. Therefore, I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way," declared Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 3:28-29).

Nebuchadnezzar confirmed that an angel had rescued the teenage boys. As mentioned above, this angel may be a Christophany. It's not as obvious an example as the one recorded in Joshua 5.

It's a huge deal for any proud despot to admit he was wrong, but Nebuchadnezzar did that here. He was definitely impressed by what God did.

People today can say what they want to justify what they want to believe about God's miracles. Once the mind is made up to believe what it wants, it doesn't take much to ignore the facts. Just as people have tried to explain away the parting of the Red Sea, many have also tried to explain away this fiery furnace fiasco. Yet, how many of them care to explain how wheel spokes of Egyptian army carts (coated with gold) dating back to Moses' time have been found at the bottom the Red Sea? And how many of them care to explain how a world renown pagan tyrant king went on record to praise God for the miracles he had witnessed?

I am in awe reading Daniel, and I'm only in the 3rd chapter! There are so many nuances and details tucked deliciously away, and I hope we all can savor the intricacies of God's Word shining brightly through the lives of His saints!

Daniel 2

Bible study with Dr. Chuck Missler

Daniel 2:4 to Daniel 7 was written in Aramaic. Aramaic is a language similar to Hebrew, but it is a language of the Gentiles. Why is it written in Aramaic, the language of the Gentiles? Because this portion of the book deals with Gentile history like no other books in the Bible. Here, God lays out the history of Gentiles (called, "the times of the Gentiles" by Luke) from Nebuchadnezzar to the Antichrist.

NEBUCHADNEZZAR CHALLENGES HIS STAFF WITH HIS DREAM

Daniel 2:2
The magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and astrologers are advisers, top staff members, to the king. 

Daniel 2:3-13
Nebuchadnezzar "inherited" his advisers from his father, the previous king. He had no idea just how "gifted" they are, and therefore took this opportunity to put their skills to the test: He not only wanted them to interpret his dream. He wanted them to first tell him what his dream was. After all, if their gods were as great as they claim, then they should have no trouble with this challenge.

Well, they did. (Not surprisingly...) Nebuchadnezzar therefore had no need for such gimmicks and announced that all these "wise men" would be put to death. Daniel and his friends were trained to be wise men and so were part of this group of people who not only just lost their jobs but would lose their lives as well.

GOD REVEALS NEBUCHADNEZZAR'S DREAM TO DANIEL

Daniel 2:14-26
Daniel heard about the situation and immediately prays. If it was God's will to spare their lives, then they needed a little miracle: to know and understand Nebuchadnezzar.

God delivers. 

Daniel 2:27-28
Daniel gives God the credit for his ability to reveal and interpret Nebuchadnezzar's dream. (This, by the way, is how we know when miracles are works of God: When those who perform it point to God as the source.)

NEBUCHADNEZZAR'S DREAM FORETELLS THE HISTORY OF GENTILES

Daniel 2:29-35
People mistake that the statute was made of 5 different materials: Gold, silver, bronze, iron, and clay. However, that's incorrect. It's made of only 4 materials: Gold, silver, bronze, and iron. The iron was made of clay because the iron was not pure.

Daniel 2:37
Nebuchadnezzar's power was given to him by God. He didn't earn it. It was God's gift.

Daniel 2:39-45
Key points of Nebuchadnezzar's dream:
- Babylon (gold) will be succeeded by an inferior kingdom: History tells us that kingdom was Persia (silver)
- Persia will be succeeded by a kingdom that will rule over the whole earth: History tells us that kingdom was Greece (bronze)
- Greece will be succeeded by a kingdom that is strong as iron: History tells us that kingdom was the Roman Empire (iron)

Daniel described went on to describe the 4th kingdom as iron, "... and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others" (Daniel 2:40). This did NOT happen during the Roman Empire that has come and passed.

Daniel went on, "Just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom; yet it will have some of the strength of iron in it, even as you saw iron mixed with clay" (Daniel 2:41).

This nation, for a lack of a better term, is believed to be Roman Empire II, one that will be led by the Antichrist. The "first" Roman Empire was never conquered; it disintegrated. The revived Roman Empire would not be as strong as the first because it would be "mixed with clay." This "second" Roman Empire would be a "mix" of 10 nations.

I'm currently also working through the Book of Revelation. For more details about this "Roman Empire II," I point you to my notes cataloged under "Revelation."

The details aside, the ultimate kingdom will be one that will be established by God, the Rock that will "crush all other kingdoms and bring them to an end" (Daniel 2:44).

DANIEL IS PROMOTED

Daniel 2:46-48
Daniel solves Nebuchadnezzar's problems and was promoted. Needless to say, those advisers were not happy.

Daniel 1

Bible study with Dr. Chuck Missler

The Book of Daniel is the most authenticated book of the Bible--It is supported by plenty of archaeological evidence (which will be addressed in future posts).

JESUS CALLED HIM, DANIEL THE PROPHET
Daniel was regarded as a government official by the Jews. He was not a prophet by the traditional sense. He didn't hold the typical office of a prophet. He wasn't trained as a prophet. However, his role as a prophet was confirmed by Jesus.

OVERVIEW OF THE BOOK OF DANIEL
Daniel 1-6: Historical narrative
Daniel 7-12: Visions of Daniel

Special note on Daniel 2-7: The focus of this portion is on the Gentile world (rare, if not the only passage about the Gentile passage)! This passage was written in Aramaic (language of the Gentiles), as opposed to Hebrew (language of the Jews).

The Book of Daniel is not in chronological order
- Daniel 7-8 are visions that occurred between Daniel 4-5. 
- Daniel 9 occurred between Daniel 5-6.
- Daniel 10-12 are Daniel's closing visions.

606 BC: Nebuchadnezzar conquers for Babylon. This marks the beginning of the Babylonian empire. Before then, Babylon had been under the rule of the Assyrians for centuries. On the way back home, Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem, taking with him 4 young prominent teenagers: Daniel was one of them. Daniel, note, was of royal blood line, destined to be king.

Nebuchadnezzar took these youths and trained them to be top officials in order secure loyalty from the Jews. This first siege of Jerusalem begins the 70 year period of prophesied servitude. Why 70 years? Because God told them to rest the land for every 6 years, and they failed to do so for 70 years (Jeremiah 25, 2 Chronicles 36).

Jehoiakim still reigned as king of Jerusalem, though under the rule of Nebuchadnezzar. Jehoiakim's false prophets urged him to rebel against Nebuchadnezzar. Only two prophets told him not to rebel, that this was God's will, that God was using Nebuchadnezzar as His arm of judgment, that they should yield to the Word of God. These two prophets were Jeremiah and Ezekiel! Yet, the people did not want to hear it and treated them as traitors. Jeremiah was thrown into prison, and his counsel was ignored by Jehoiakim. Jehoiakim went on to rebel against Nebuchadnezzar, leading to the second siege and a battle of 5 years.

Jehoiakim dies, and his son, Jehoiachin, takes over.

Side Note: God curses the royal blood line!
Jeremiah 22:30 records God's curse on the royal blood line through Jehoiachin, "Record this man as if childless, a man who will not prosper in his lifetime, for none of his offspring will prosper, none will sit on the throne of David or rule anymore in Judah."

But, how can this be? The Messiah was prophesied to come from the line of David! To circumvent this blood curse, voila, the virgin birth! I won't spend time elaborating on this here, as my previous posts have addressed this. But briefly, compare and contrast the genealogies listed by Matthew and Luke. Joseph, from the line of Jehoiachin (David to Solomon), is Jesus's legal father (not blood), but his royal blood line is through Mary, from the line of David to Obed. Mary's father had no son. Therefore, when Joseph married Mary, Joseph was taken in as son, who would receive inheritance. Jesus therefore inherited the line of David through Mary, circumventing the blood curse.

Jehoiachin was captured during this second siege, and Ezekiel was taken to Babylon. That is, we now have Jeremiah in Jerusalem and Ezekiel in Babylon, both preaching! Since Jehoiachin was captured, his uncle, Zedekiah took over as king.

Both Ezekiel and Jeremiah continued to urge not to rebel against Nebuchadnezzar. They warned Zedekiah, "Don't rebel, or you'll destroy the city! (Even up to this point, Nebuchadnezzar never destroyed Jerusalem. He controlled it but never destroyed it.) And of course, the false prophets encouraged the king, saying "We are God's people, so who can stand against us?" And of course, they rebelled
against Nebuchadnezzar, leading to siege 3.

During the third siege, Nebuchadnezzar wiped out the whole city, just as Ezekiel and Jeremiah predicted. Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the Temple and plundered the place.

This marks the beginning of the Desolations of Jerusalem, also a 70-year period. The servitude of the nation of Israel started with the first siege. It ended when Cyrus the Persian conquered Babylon.

Side Note: Cyrus, a pagan, was called by God!
As Cyrus walked into Babylon, he was presented with a 150-year old book called Isaiah, which called him by name and outlined his career! Cyrus was so blown away, he released the Jews and gave them the money to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple! This ended the servitude but also marked the beginning of the Persian empire.

The rebuilding of the Temple did not progress much during Cyrus's reign, because the Jews were harassed too much until Nehemiah came along. He was God's prophet, but he was also the cup-bearer to the Persian king, Artaxerxes. Artaxerxes allowed the Jews to go back and rebuild not just the Temple but also Jerusalem. This decree of Artaxerxes triggers Daniel's 70-week prophecy (Daniel 9:25-27).

DANIEL WAS CAPTURED AND TRAINED

Daniel 1:2
God gave Nebuchadnezzar the victory whether Nebuchadnezzar knew it or not.

Shinar (KJV) is used 7 times in the Old Testament. It represents Babylon.

Daniel 1:3-4
Nebuchadnezzar took the best of his captives to train them to be his leaders. To those who think there are 10 lost tribes, pay attention to the term "children of Israel" (Daniel 1:3, KJV), which is used to refer to the WHOLE nation of Israel. We may think there are 10 lost tribes. God knows where they are. This is my facetious way of saying, as long as God knows where the 12 tribes of Israel are, who am I to say there are 10 tribes that are lost?!

The term, "children of Israel," is used here to call the people of Judah, Israel. That is, Israel the nation was represented fully by Judah. How is that possible? There were mingling of the Northern and Southern Kingdoms. Yes, each tribe was designated a specific area of land, but that didn't prevent the people from moving between the lands!

Daniel 1:5-7
Nebuchadnezzar gave these prisoners-in-training a king's meals to ensure that they would not waste away in captivity, that 3 years later, they would be well-presented princes. 

Daniel and his three friends (Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah) received Babylonian names (Belteshazzar, Shadrach, Mechach, and Abednego), which symbolized their conversion (or Nebuchadnezzar's attempt to convert them anyway) to Babylonians. The point here is to change their identify from God's children to Babylon's children and to change their destiny from Jerusalem to Babylon. Both of these objectives were enforced by the constant use of their Babylonian names.

DANIEL WAS DETERMINED TO REMAIN AS GOD'S PEOPLE

Daniel 1:8
Daniel's plea to not eat meat or drink wine was not a request to become a vegetarian. (I'm being facetious because some people quote this verse to support their cause to be vegetarians or to refrain from any alcoholic drinks.)

This passage is also not saying meat is bad, and we need to all stay away from it. (Today, Jesus made all things clean. ALL!)

The point here is showing us Daniel's resolve to stay pure. Here, Daniel refused to eat the meat because that meat was was sacrificed to foreign gods! He was okay with eating "pulse" (vegetables and grains) because those were not used to worship false gods.

Daniel 5:9
The eunuchs, effectively Daniel's bosses, feared for their lives upon Daniel's request, which is not unreasonable. Nebuchadnezzar wanted these young men to be well-fed. If his orders were not fulfilled to his liking, Nebuchadnezzar was known to rapidly decrease the head count.

What would you do if you were Daniel? What do we do when our faithfulness to God endangers those around us? Do we give in? Or, do we force everyone else conform to our values?

Look what Daniel did:
Daniel 1:11-16
"Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink. Then let our countenances be looked upon before thee, and the countenance of the children that eat of the portion of the king's meat: and as thou seest, deal with they servants."

Daniel, instead of giving in or forcing others to be in a tight spot because of him, asked for a trial period (10 days often represents a period of trials in the Bible). Daniel's faith in God was so great, he knew God would provide in the sense that as long as Daniel continued to walk in the way of the Lord, he would be protected.

And indeed, he and his friends were. Not only did they not lose weight, they looked even healthier than the other prisoners!

Having proven Daniel's wishes wouldn't jeopardize the eunuchs' lives, Daniel and his friends were granted their special diet.

DANIEL WAS THE WISEST OF THEM ALL

Daniel 1:17
Daniel and his three friends obtained knowledge and wisdom from God. In today's terms, we could consider them scholars who are well-versed in literature and science.

Daniel 1:18-21
Daniel and his friends outperformed all the other prisoners, showing intellect beyond even the king's advisors. (Magicians and astrologers/enchanters were high political positions in those times.)

DANIEL WAS A GODLY TEENAGER
We often gloss over the fact that Daniel stood for God as a teenager! How many of us knew enough in our teens to be able to withstand the pressures of being captives of war, let alone stand strong in our faith? How many of us are willing to go against the grain and risk become "unpopular" by continuing our walk with God?

Godly Characteristics of These 4 Jewish Teenagers

1. They had discernment.
They knew it was not right to eat foods sacrificed to false god. They were taught well. Where would they have learned this? IN THEIR HOMES. (Deuteronomy 6:4-6 illustrates the importance of parental schooling in the home.)

2. They were trained with resistance to evil.
Just because they were distant from home, that did not diminish their resolve to keep distant from evil. They were in the capitol of the world! They could have easily fallen prey to the temptations of the city. We were all young once. We do not resist evil well. In fact, we tend to embrace it. Being labeled as a "Rebel" was cool. The fact that Daniel and his friends were able to resist evil at such a young age and so far away from home is a testimony to their home education.

3. They had the power of voice to disagreement.
They were not pulled by peer pressure. They knew what was right and what was not right IN THE EYES OF THE LORD, and they stood up for it. Key phrase: To know what is right IN THE EYES OF THE LORD, not in our own eyes.

4. The had physical courage, perseverance, and determination to stand for God.

5. Their stewardship started in their heart.
When Daniel proposed the change in his food, he didn't do it to be heroic or to put on a show. He did it meekly. He did it for the simple reason that it was God's will. And, he did it respectfully of the authorities.

There are a lot of things about a Christian's walk that we can learn from Daniel just from this chapter.

We are told to stand for God's Word, but we are also taught to respect authorities even when they are corrupted and go against God's Word. How do we do that? How did Daniel do it?

The Christian walk is not just following a book of do's and don'ts. Those who thinks that way often run into problems of extremes, or worse, become overly religious.

The Christian walk is building a personal relationship with God. This sounds vague, and the best way I can describe is that this process is very similar to go from meeting and dating a person to ultimately marrying him/her. And just because the two are now married, that doesn't mean their relationship is done. They now get to build their lives as one, continuing to learn and grow together. There is no specific do's and don'ts, because different situations may require different tactics. However, the one thing that never changes is our heart of love.

Jesus's top two commands all revolve around love. We are to love God and to love others. That's it. Simple to say but very difficult to achieve. How do we love people who annoy the heck out of us? How do we love people who take advantage of us? How do we love people who hurt us? How do we love people who hate us? Daniel shows us how: Follow God, and He will guide us. And this all begins with a genuine heart of humility.

Revelation 13

http://www.god.tv/node/2757

Bible study with Dr. Chuck Missler

Revelation 13 is a part of the parathetical chapters between the 6th and 7th Trumpet of Judgment.

Bottom line: THE ANTICHRIST IS THE COMBINATION OF TWO BEASTS

7 PERSONAGES OF REVELATION
1. The Woman
2. The Man-Child
3. Red Dragon
4. Michael
5. The Remnant of Israel
6. The Beast out of the Sea
7. The Beast out of the Earth

THE FIRST BEAST IS A POLITICAL LEADER WHO WILL BE WORSHIPED

Revelation 13:1
Manuscript studies have now concluded that it is not “I stood upon the sand of the sea…” but that “He stood…” That is, John saw the beast standing upon the sand of the sea.

The Greek word for “beast” used here is “therion,” meaning, “beast of prey.” It is different from the Greek word "zoa" of Revelation 4 that is also translated as “beast” in certain translations of Bible.

Again, whenever the English seems ambiguous, always go back to the original text. Clearly, the Greek words therion and zoa have very different meanings, yet certain English translations (e.g., KJV) chose the word “beast” for both translations.

This is why it is pointless to get into a word game when reading English translations. I am not saying we should just all learn Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, so that we can read the Bible in its original text. I’m also not saying all translations are useless. What I’m saying is that we need to be aware of these nuances. When we study, we must always be aware of misunderstandings that are caused by translations. That is the nature of translated works. There are certain words in one language that cannot be fully represented by words of another language. As long as we are diligent with our studies, we will become more aware and therefore avoid pitfalls of using translated versions while still being able to benefit from them.

What we should not do is to claim the whole Bible to be completely open to interpretation because of the inadequacies of the English language to fully represent Hebrew/Aramaic/Greek texts. The Bible is the Word of our LIVING God. It is not a literary piece of work that is left behind by a dead guy who can no longer defend his work. God says what He means and means what He says. There is no interpretation. God explains Himself through the Bible. God explains Himself through our prayers. It is our duty, as His disciples, to learn what He means. We do not interpret. We do not just "think" that's what God means. We do our homework to find out. And if the English translations are inadequate, then we go back to the original language to gain complete understanding.

Many scholars suspect this beast may be a Gentile, because the Sea usually alludes to Gentile nations (Revelation 17:15; Isaiah 57:20, 21).

This beast has 7 heads and 10 diadems (Daniel 2, 7; Luke 4:6-7).

Revelation 13:2
- Leopard, bear, and lion show up in reverse order compared to Daniel 7:3-8.
- The Lion (Nebuchadnezzar) communicates arrogantly.
- The Bear (Persian empire) controls extensively.
- The Leopard (Greek) conquers swiftly.

Revelation 13:3
Head wound identifies this beast (Revelation 13:3, 12, 14; Zechariah 11:17).

Revelation 13:4
His followers are Satan-worshippers.

Revelation 13:7
The Beast will overcome the saints. That is, Gentile believers will be killed.

Revelation 13:8
Earth-dwellers will worship this Beast.

THE SECOND BEAST IS A FALSE PROPHET

Revelation 13:11
- Horn = power
- Many scholars believe this Beast may be a Jew (Ezekiel 21:25-27; 28:2-10; Daniel 11:36-37; John 5:43, “another” was allos in Greek, not heteros, i.e., "another of the same kind" as Jesus--Jesus was a Jew, so this "another" would also be a Jew)

Revelation 13:12
This Beast will cause the Earth to worship the first beast.

Revelation 13:13-14
Satan will deceive the world by his own miracles, signs and wonders.

Jesus Christ did not rely on miracles to authenticate His Godship. The authentication of His Godship was shown through prophecies spoken about Him.

Missler's words of wisdom: It is dangerous to build one’s acceptance on signs and wonders. When we start to rely solely on experience instead of Word of God, we open ourselves up to deception (because Satan and demons can perform miracles as well) and our never-ending search for more and more wonders.

Revelation 13:15
This parallels Daniel 3: Those who do not worship the image are killed.

Revelation 13:16
The original Greek term for "mark" is “charagma,” which means a brand or a seal.

That is, followers of the Beast will bear the mark of the Beast. People think it’s a number assigned to each person (like a barcode or an identification number), but the point here isn’t the number assigned to each individual. It is a mark representing this beast that his followers will all bear. That is, everyone will bear the same mark—Each person may use this mark to registers for his/her own individual number, but the idea is that everyone who worship the beast will be tied to the Beast’s number.

In the Old Testament, it was prohibited to bear marks (Leviticus 19:28; 21:5; Deuteronomy 14:1; Isaiah 49:16; Ezekiel 9:4; Exodus 13:9, 16).

Revelation 13:18
6 = number of man, which is consistently presented throughout the Bible.

Hebrew and Greek letters have the special characteristics of having numerical values. Because of these characteristics, these two languages can convey meaning beyond just what the words mean. This is studied in the field of Gematria, which contains the various ways of conveying meaning through letters, including Ragil, Kolel, Katan, Hakadmi, Hameruba Haklali, Hameruba Haperati, Miluy.

OLD TESTAMENT ALLUSIONS TO THE ANTICHRIST
Adversary (Psalm 74:8-10; Isaiah 59:19; Lamentations 4:11; Amos 3:11)
Assyrian (Isaiah 10:5, 12; Micah 5:5-6)
Belial (Nahum 1:15)
Bloody and Deceitful Man (Psalm 5:6)
Branch of the Terrible Ones (Isaiah 25:5)
Chief Prince (Exodus 38:2)
Crooked Serpent (Job 26:13; Isaiah 27:1)
Cruel One (Jeremiah 30:14, 23)
Destroyer of the Gentiles (Jeremiah 4:7)
Enemy (Psalm 55:3; Jeremiah 30:14, 23)
Evil Man (Psalm 140:1)
Head over Many Countries (Psalm 110:6)
Head of Northern Army (Joel 2:20)
Idol Shepherd (Zechariah 11:16-17)
King of Princes (Hosea 8:10)
King of Babylon (Isaiah 14:11-20)
Little Horn (Daniel 7:8, 8:9)
Man of the Earth (Psalm 10:18)
Merchant, with balances of deceit (Hosea 12:7)
Mighty Man (Psalm 52:1)
Nail (Isaiah 22:25)
Prince that Shall Come (Daniel 9:26)
Prince of Tyre (Ezekiel 28:2-10)
Profane Wicked Prince of Israel (Ezekiel 21:25-27)
Proud Man (Habakkuk 2:5)
Rod of God’s Anger (Isaiah 10:5)
Seed of the Serpent (Genesis 3:15)
Son of the Morning (Isaiah 14:12)
Spoiler, Destroyer (Isaiah 16:4-5)
Vile Person (Daniel 11:21)
Violent Man (Psalm 140:1)
Wicked One (Psalm 9:17; 10:2-4; Isaiah 11:4; Jeremiah 30:14, 23)
Willful King (Daniel 11:36)

NEW TESTAMENT ALLUSIONS OF THE ANTICHRIST
Angel of the Bottomless Pit (Revelation 9:11)
Antichrist (Pseudo-Christ) (1 John 2:22)
Beast (Revelation 11:7; 13)
False Prophet (Revelation 13)
Father of the Lie (John 8:44; 2 Thessalonians 2:11)
Lawless One (2 Thessalonians 2:8)
Man of Sin (2 Thessalonians 2:3)
One Come in His Own Name (John 5:43)
Prince of Darkness (1 Thessalonians 5)
Son of Perdition (2 Thessalonians 2:3)
Star (Revelation 8:10; 9:1)
Unclean Spirit (Matthew 12:43)
Vine of the Earth (Revelation 14:18)

Daniel 9:26 “The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary.”

History tells us that the Romans destroyed the city and the sanctuary. Based on this, scholars therefore believe the “ruler,” aka, the Antichrist, will be a Roman. Note that the Roman Empire is not just limited to western Europe. The eastern part of the Roman Empire outlasted its western counterpart by 1000 years.

THE TIMES OF THE GENTILES: Correlation of Daniel 2, Daniel 7, and historical empires
Babylon (606 BC-539 BC): Gold (Daniel 2), Winged Lion (Daniel 7)
Persia (539 BC-332 BC): Silver (Daniel 2), Bear on side (Daniel 7)
Greece (332 BC-68 BC): Brass (Daniel 2), Leopard (Daniel 7)
Rome I (68 BC-?): Iron (Daniel 2), Terrible Beast (Daniel 7)
Rome II: Iron + Clay (Daniel 2), Beast with 10 Heads (Daniel 7)

SATAN’S SEVEN SUPER-KINGDOMS 
- Egypt 
- Assyria 
- Babylon 
- Persia 
- Greece 
- Rome 
- Rome II (10 horns + The 11th horn, aka, the Little Horn) (Daniel 2:31-35, 40-45; 7:7-8, 19-25; Revelation 13:1-2; 17:3, 7, 12-18)

“Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads.” (Revelation 12:3)

“They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for a little while.” (Revelation 17:10)

“The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction.” (Revelation 17:11)

“Daniel’s 4+1” = Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome + Rome II (Daniel described Rome + Rome II as one).

When John wrote Revelation, the 5 kingdoms that had fallen were Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, and Persia. The one that ruled during his day was Rome. The “other is not yet come” is then obviously Rome II (for the lack of a better name).
The beast is the eight king, though there would be only 7 kingdoms. How? He is the Little Horn that arises out of the 7th kingdom. He is to come out of the seven previous empires. Which one(s)? Well, which one fits the description, one that “once was, and now is not”? Assyria. This is why some scholars believe the Antichrist will be an Assyrian.

“And he will be their peace. When the Assyrian invades our land and marches through our fortresses, we will raise against him seven shepherds, even eight leaders of men. They will rule the land of Assyria with the sword, the land of Nimrod with drawn sword. He will deliver us from the Assyrian when he invades our land and marches into our borders.” (Micah 5:5-6)

Isaiah 10:5, 12, 24 share similar statements.

Iraq and Syria now occupy the land that was once ruled by the Assryians. 

THE COMING WORLD LEADER: By peace he shall destroy many 
- “Big mouth” (Daniel 7:8, 11, 20; 11:36; Psalm 52; 2 Thessalonians 2:4) 
- Son of Satan (Genesis 3:15; Isaiah 27:1; Ezekiel 28:12-19; Revelation 13) 
- Intellectual genius (Daniel 7:20; 8:23; Ezekiel 28:3) 
- Oratorical genius (Daniel 7:20; Revelation 13:2) 
- Political genius (Daniel 11:21) 
- Commercial genius (Daniel 8:25; Revelation 13:17; Psalm 52:7; Daniel 11:38, 43; Ezekiel 28:4, 5) 
- Military genius (Daniel 8:24; Revelation 6:2; Revelation 13:4; Isaiah 14:16) 
- Governmental genius (Revelation 13:1, 2; 17:17) 
- Religious genius (2 Thessalonians 2:4; Revelation 13:3, 14, 15) 

SUMMARY OF THE TWO BEASTS

Beast out of the Sea 
- 7 heads, 10 horns 
- Heads with the name of blasphemy 
- One of the heads bears a deadly wound that is healed 
- Powered by the Dragon for 42 months 
- Overcomes the Saints 
- Worshipped by Earth-Dwellers worship (Earth-dwellers = all those whose names are not written in the Book of Life) 

Beast out the Earth (“False Prophet”) 
- Two horns like the Lamb 
- Speaks as the Dragon 
- Causes Earth to worship the 1st Beast 
- Deceives the Earth with miracles 
- Forces worship of an image of the 1st Beast: Worshipers will receive his mark either on their right hands or their foreheads; no man may buy or sell without ht ename or the number of the 1st Beast (666)

Isaiah 36-39

Bible study with Pastor Terry Gray

Isaiah 36-39 is a historical account of 3 crises King Hezekiah faced around 700 BC and how he faced them.

CRISIS 1: International Threat
Action: Hezekiah IMMEDIATELY prayed.

Isaiah 36:1-3
Assyria was the world-dominating power back then. They had already captured Syria and the Northern Kingdom, and had weakened Egypt. They had started going after Judah, having taken over many of their fortified cities. They had but one more city to conquer: Jerusalem, the capitol city, where Hezekiah resided. Hezekiah was on the brink of watching his kingdom being destroyed.

Three military leaders from Assyria and three from Judah met outside the city walls of Jerusalem.

Isaiah 36:4-10 
The Assyrians taunted Judah, "You tried to depend on Egypt, and now, what of Egypt? King Assyria is obvious the superior. Why should you trust God?"

The Assyrian commander basically told Hezekiah's men, "Look. You have no friends. You have no allies. You can't trust God. And your military is weak. I could give you 2000 horses, and you wouldn't even have enough men to ride them. And if you did, one of my men can take 2000 of yours. Trust God? In fact, your God told me to come and take you! Your God is on my side! Don't trust your king, Hezekiah. He's not going to save you."

Isaiah 36:8-10, 13-19
These are blasphemous statements!

When we are down, when we face trials, Satan whispers these same words in our ears, telling us to give up, to stop trusting the Lord.

Remember what Satan is after. He is not after our safety. He does not love us. He only wants our souls to feed his pride. He will do whatever it takes through cunning deception and lies to pull our soul away from God.

Isaiah 36:11-20
Judah's commanders asked the Assyrian commander to speak in Aramaic instead of Hebrew. That is, "Please pipe down. The walls have ears." This only encouraged the Assyrians to speak louder, taunting not just Hezekiah's commanders but the people of Judah as well.

Isaiah 36:22
Judah's commanders told Hezekiah what the Assyrians had said. They were utterly defeated and frightened.

Isaiah 37:1-4
Hezekiah immediately prayed. He humbled himself and sought the Lord and sought the Lord's servant, Isaiah.

Isaiah 37:6-7
God replied, do not be afraid. God's got a plan. God's got it covered. God always takes care of His people!

Isaiah 37:8
Just as the Assyrians were getting ready to overtake Jerusalem, they were sidetracked and withdrew. Could this be a coincidence or God's will?

In our lives, we come across instances like this, where we pray for something, and when the situation turns to our favor, we are sometimes left wondering whether it's a simple coincidence or God's will. Sometimes, it may indeed be a simple coincidence. How do we know? 1) If circumstances like this happen to us more than once, we can pretty much throw simple coincidence out the door. No one is ever that consistently lucky. 2) We know because of our individual relationship with God! God speaks to each one of us. How He speaks to you may be very different than how He speaks to me. Thus, no one can tell me whether or not it's God except me alone (well, other than God, obviously)! By nurturing our growing relationship with God, we would get to know Him better and better. And as we get to know Him better, we become more confident in the things He does in our lives. At first, we may not be quite sure, but as He continues to build us up, our confidence becomes rock solid.

Back to the story at hand, though the Assyrians were sidetracked, they did not call off their attack on Jerusalem.

Isaiah 37:9-13
The Assyrians continued to taunt Hezekiah and his people, sending them an intimidating letter telling them they will all fall in the hands of the Assyrians.

Isaiah 37:14-20
Again, Hezekiah immediately prayed. He took the letter to God and prayed on it.

Read Hezekiah's prayer. That is an excellent example of how we should pray when we face trials that seem to crush us! Pray for God to move so that He may be glorified. This was exactly how Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, not in his will but in God's will. Pray with the heart of God, not with our selfish heart for our own gain.

Hezekiah opened his prayer in God's honor and closed it in God's honor. Sandwiched in-between God's honor was his glorifying prayer.

Isaiah 37:21-35
God responded to Hezekiah's prayer. God told Hezekiah that the Assyrians will not succeed.

This relief, however, did not come immediately. Hezekiah had to hold on to God's promise by faith while dealing with a worsening situation and stress.

The Assyrian commander came back with 200,000 soldiers. They surrounded Jerusalem, making an announcement, "In the morning, we're coming in, and we will take Jerusalem!"

Can we even begin to imagine the amount of stress this was for King Hezekiah? He must have been pushed to the brink of insanity! His city, his people were in danger of dying, in danger of being destroyed. And what did Hezekiah have to combat all this? God's promise. Even if Hezekiah did not know when God would fulfill His promise, Hezekiah faithfully held on to it. AND THAT WAS ENOUGH.

Isaiah 37:36-37
Though Hezekiah had to endure way more stress before the crisis was resolved, Jesus, the Angel of God, personally came and took care of the Assyrians!

When we face trials, do not run away from God. Stick with God, because God is faithful. Stay patient on God's timeline, even if our timeline may demand, "now, now, now!"

Others may intimidate us with chants like, "One of us can overtake 2000 of you." Well, just one angel can overtake 200,000 men in one night!

God may wait until the very last second before coming, but HE WILL COME.

CRISIS 2: Personal Crisis
Action: Hezekiah prayed. He humbled himself. He sought the Lord.

This crisis occurred in the midst of Hezekiah's first crisis, while Hezekiah was battling the Assyrians.

Isaiah 38:1
Hezekiah was in the prime of his life, in a crucial time during Israel's history. He was only 39 years old and without a son to succeed him. Yet, God told him that he was about to die.

Isaiah 38:2-3
Again, Hezekiah immediately prayed.

Isaiah 38:4-7
To those who wonder if our prayers ever reach God, look what God does in response to Hezekiah's prayer! God gave Hezekiah another 15 years! God didn't just gave him that. God even gave him signs to confirm His promise: God turned back the clock by 40 minutes. God is in complete charge. He can manipulate anything, including time.

Isaiah 38:9-20
Hezekiah wrote a song, thanking God for the increased time and promising to glorify God with this gift.

Isaiah 38:21
Note here that God did not heal Hezekiah miraculously. God healed him through medicine.

CRISIS 3: Loss of Kingdom
Failure: Hezekiah did not seek the Lord

Isaiah 39:1
Babylon, still a small power at the time, was also bullied by Assyria. They, however, would eventually overtake Assyria.

Isaiah 39:2
Hezekiah showed off to the Babylonian envoys, showing them everything--Even the armory! That is, Hezekiah, because of pride, unwittingly showed his hand to his future adversary!

Isaiah 39:3-7
Because of Hezekiah's pride, God will have Babylon carry off all of Hezekiah's treasures. And in less than 100 years, that prophesy was fulfilled.

Isaiah 39:8
Because of Hezekiah's pride and love for flattery, he lost his kingdom. And all he could say to himself was, "At least I'll be okay."

BOTTOM LINE: TURN TO GOD, RELY ON GOD THROUGH TIMES OF CRISIS AS WELL AS THE GOOD TIMES!

We aren't all that different from Hezekiah. It is easy for us to turn to God when we face trials. However, the little things in life that we face, the issues that we don't think "it's that big of a deal," we don't care too much about what God thinks. We make decisions without consulting God, whether it's because we deliberately choose not to in order to fulfill our selfish wants or it's because we unknowingly do it because our heart is not reconciled with God.

This is not a relationship. Treating God like a miracle fix only in time of need is not building a relationship with God.

In a true relationship, we share everything. There are no secrets. There are no lies. Everything is laid out bare, and we are honest. That is how we should build our relationship with God. That is how we build and strengthen our trust in Him.

Finally, we consistently seek God's glory because we are His image bearers. We represent Him. We are here because of Him. We are restored to righteousness because of Him. We are destined to be kings and priests because of Him! When we conquer trials in the name of God, we bring glory to His name, we fulfill our duty as His image bearers.

James 5

Bible study with Dr. Chuck Missler

BEING RICH IS NOT A SIN BUT IT CAN LEAD TO SINFUL CONSEQUENCES (James 5:1-6)
The Bible does not discourage the acquiring of wealth. Abraham, Job, David, Josiah, Philemon etc. are all examples of how God's people were blessed with materialistic riches.

The rights to private property and personal freedom is thus inseparable. We can't have one without the other.

The Bible does, however, condemn the acquiring of wealth through illegal means or inappropriate practices (Amos, Isaiah, and Jeremiah all spoke against stolen wealth and abuse of the poor by the rich and selfish luxury).

Wealth is not bad. Money itself is natural. The MISUSE of wealth and money is bad. And although wealth is not bad, it can become a spiritual handicap, because material possessions tend to focus one's thoughts on the world. Having said that, the point here is, the problem is not in the currency. It's in the heart. It's always about the heart.

Money is not the root of evil. The LOVE of money is. This is addressed by James here.

James 5:1-2
The rich men James is addressing achieved their wealth through evil means.

James 5:3
Gold and silver don't rust. So, what is rusting? Their heart. And that is why they are misusing their wealth.

2 Corinthians 12:14
Matthew 25:27
1 Timothy 5:8
There is nothing sinful about saving. There is, in fact, a call to provision, to some estate planning for the next generation!

James 5:4
It is, however, sinful to store up on money when we owe others. And that's what the people in James 5:1-4 are doing.

"Hoarding" is the acquisition of something by denying it from others. Setting up something for future need is not sinful. Yet, when we are storing up money while we owe credit card bills or have mortgage to pay, then we are effectively stealing, because we are withholding what rightfully belongs to others. Obviously, it is a thin line to walk, determining how much to save before it becomes hoarding. And so, again, it's all in the heart.

Deuteronomy 24:14

Leviticus 19:13
Proverbs 3:20
Jeremiah 22:13

These passages speak against withholding money when we owe others. We may not have servants, as illustrated in these passages, but we do have bills to pay.

"Thou shalt not steal" is a command to the rights to private property and the respect of private property. Not paying our bills is stealing.

Why do we really pay off debt? Because our BEHAVIOR is a part of our witness! Not because it's the law!

Psalm 50:10
All wealth belongs to the Lord.

We are mere stewards of what we have been given.

James 5:5
Luke 12:15
Be aware of being greedy for anything. Abraham was a rich man, but he maintained his character. Lot became a rich man, but wealth ruined his character.

Psalm 62:10
Set not our heart on our riches, even if they grow. God may bless us, but what we do with that blessing is key. Blessings may very well turn into a test of whether our heart can remain focused.

Proverbs 22:1
Love favor rather than riches and gold.

James 5:6
God is against taking advantage of the poor and the needy.

Luke 16
This is a vivid illustration of the rich misusing their wealth.

Deuteronomy 17
Obstruction of justice is not condoned, especially not in the highest office of the land.

Exodus 18:21
Judges should not be greedy.

Leviticus 19:15
Judges should not be partial to the rich.

Deuteronomy 19:16-21
Judges should not tolerate perjury.

Isaiah 33:15
Micah 3, 7
Amos 5
Bribery is condemned.

Bottom line, James 5 addresses the rich misusing their wealth.

PATIENCE IS KEY TO SPIRITUAL MATURITY (James 5:7-12)

James 5:7
Farmers know patience. They do the work, and they know they cannot hurry the fruit along. They know that the fruit will be provided as long as they remain patient and diligent. They know that they do not make the fruit; God does. They do the work, remain patient, and God will provide.

There are two meanings for the Greek word patience:
1. Long-suffering: patience with respect to people
2. Endurance: patience with respect to circumstances

Psalm 37:7
David was troubled by prosperity of the wicked. Solution? Be like the farmer and patiently wait for the harvest when the time comes.

Habakkuk shared the same view.

Here, in James, the Christian is analogous to the farmer, one who knows the seasons, who diligently sows, waters, etc.

James 5:7-8
By keeping our eye on the second coming of Christ, we can remain patient. The secret to farmer's patience is that the harvest is worth waiting for. Similarly, our harvest is worth waiting for and thus we have patience. Or, we ought to anyway!

James 5:9
When we are impatient with people, we betray the patience with God.

James 5:10
Like James here, Jesus also used the prophets as an example of victory over persecution (Matthew 5:10-12). There are plenty of such examples, many listed in Hebrews 11:32.

James 5:11
Why do people who believe in the Lord go through trials? One reason is so that their lives can back up their testimony.

Job didn't know what we know (Job 1:1-12) when he went through those trials. He just trusted God. And because of his unshakable trust in God, his testimony is one of the best of God's prophets.

Impatience in Christians is a weapon in Satan's hands:
1. Moses's impatience robbed him of his opportunity to enter the promise land.
2. Abraham's impatience led to the birth of Ishmael.
3. Peter's impatience in the Garden almost made him a murderer. When Jesus healed the high priest's ear, he was saving peter's life!

James 5:12
Matthew 26
Leviticus 19:12
Numbers 32
Deuteronomy 23:21
Breaking vows is forbidden. The Scripture never tells us to take vows. But, if we do take a vow, God expects us to keep it.

PRAYER IS ALWAYS OUR FIRST RESORT, NOT OUR LAST! (James 5:13-20)

James 5:13
Prayer can help us through our troubled and glorify God. We pray not to make the troubles go away, but that we may perform in a manner that would glorify God. This is what it means to pray in God's will. Times of our troubles are our opportunities to perform.

Remember that Jesus prayed to have the cup removed 3 times in the Garden of Gethsemane, "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done."

1. Jesus didn't pray in His own will. He prayed to have God's will be done. Anything we face, especially trials, we should always seek to fulfill God's will, because it is God's will that can truly redeem us!

2. When we pray, we may not always get what we want. And the reason for that is simple: What we want do not always reflect God's will.

We pray, therefore, not for the trial to disappear but to be equipped to accomplish God's will! 

Job 35:10
Acts 16
The mature Christian knows that God can help us through anything.

James 5:14
There are two Greek words translated as "anoint":
1. Anoint in the religious sense, where we get sealed by the Holy Spirit
2. Anoint in the medicinal sense (Matthew 6:17), to rub with oil to work the medicine in

Hence, here, James could be talking about anointing with oil (representing the Holy Spirit) or medicinal oil.

My view: both. I have discovered that God speaks literally and metaphorically.

God heals miraculously, but God also heals through medicine!

It is important to note that God does not heal in every case. Here are some examples:
1) 2 Timothy 4:20 -- Trophimus was left sick in Miletus.
2) Philippians 2:27 -- Epaphroditus almost died.
3) 2 Corinthians 12 -- Paul prayed at least 3 times for the removal of the thorn in his flesh and had to endure it to the end.

It is thus unscriptural to say that God heals everyone, every time. We do not know why some are healed and some are not. But we do know that as long as we are in Christ, we will all be united in Christ.

Do not lust for the flesh. Maintain God's perspective on our journey here in this life.

James 5:15-16
"Prayer of faith" are prayed in His will.

1 John 1:9
A Christian's bar of soap: If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

James 5:17-18
1 Corinthians 5
1 Kings 17-18
Revelation 11:6
Here, James is using Elijah as an example of the amazing power of a "prayer of faith."

(As a side note) Elijah called for no rain for 3 1/2 years. We don't learn that it was 3 1/2 years from Elijah himself. We learned it from Jesus and James, who both confirmed it to be that length of time.

James 5:19
Luke 22:32
Matthew 18:15-17
When we are back in fellowship, THEN strength our brother! Notice the order of things: We must first right ourselves.

Furthermore, here, James is referring to strengthening our BROTHER/SISTER, aka, fellow Christians! We often focus so much attention on the non-believers that we sometimes forget to help those closest to us.

As much as we try to walk with Jesus, Christians are not perfect. We slip and backslide sometimes, and we need to be there to support one another.

Speaking from experience, it can be difficult to distinguish between rebuke and judgement. We need to be careful that when we see something that is sinful in the eyes of God, we do not judge as if we are God. Yet, we also need to be careful that we close one eye and let sin slip just because we do not like confrontations and hope that things will just work itself out. I think we all need to find the right balance, and I aim for loving rebuke.

The concept is easy. There is the popular slogan, "Friends don't let friends drive drunk." Similarly, friends don't let friends sin. We don't let our loved ones drunk because we care about them, not because we're judging them. We tell them it's wrong, and we hope they listen. What we should not do is let them do whatever they want because we don't want to aggravate them, because they could very well hurt themselves and other innocent people.

Satan is gunning for our souls. Just because we are saved does not mean Satan no longer targets us. As we continue to go out there and spread the Gospel, we should also protect the backs of fellow Christians.

James 5:20
1 Peter 4:8
Proverbs 10:12
Love shall cover a multitude of sins.