The world as nations and peoples at large and our nation in particular among them, are where we are now, as a direct consequence of the ongoing war of the ages, transgression, sin and iniquity along with divine foretold and brought judgment! The foretelling of these turbulent times churning with destructive desolations from deliberate manmade acts and so-called “natural” disasters to include the deadly global Coronavirus pandemic foretold millennia in advance by God through His Jewish prophets and Son (Matthew 24:7) in the Bible, is yet another manifest proof of His existence and eternal greatness for those with eyes that are willing to see (Isaiah 43:8-13, 44:6-8, 45:18-25).
Indeed, here in America I once again write on this Sanctity Of Life Sunday sadly having to be instituted by biblically conservative Christians to emphatically affirm the value of human life from conception in a culture of death. This same day is also equally sad as the eve of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday commemorating a Christian black American that was martyred while advocating in biblically conservative taught non-violence against the nation’s historic, blatant and systemic oppression of blacks and other minorities through racial bigotry. Both occasions manifestly signify the evil working of sin in our nation and are only the tip of the proverbial iceberg of its depravity.
As the Lord has led, I have been repeatedly crying out against and warning of His judgment upon the moral ruin of our nation and very importantly too, the disobedience of those that profess to be His followers as Christians. As He instructs in His Word, Christians are supposed to be “salt” and “light” in the midst of our nation (Matthew 5:13-16, NKJV). But with our nation, professing American Christianity forms a “house divided” falling into desolation (Luke 11:17, NKJV) that cannot even agree on what the Bible actually teaches with thousands of humanly constructed theologies as I have written about in other posts1 and hundreds of different translations I presented in my last post.2
For example, many side with the secular culture against what is clearly written in the Bible to legally allow same sex persons to marry and women to murder their unborn (Genesis 1:27-28; 9:5-7; Exodus 20:13; Matthew 19:3-6, 16-19). Other professed Christians calling themselves conservative insist Jesus upholds the Constitution’s right to bear arms (weapons) for personal self-defense when it was for His defense His apostle, Peter, cut off a man’s ear and received the Lord’s perpetually standing rebuke for “all” of this epoch who follow Him (Matthew 26:47-54, NKJV). Still others of the same mind protest teaching the truth about our nation’s history of racial bigotry in our K-12 schools.3
Truly, if only all who claimed to be Christians would humbly pray with the heart of Daniel at this hour, our fractured nation and professing community under God’s judgment might see Him extend more mercy to us--things could be even worse (Psalm 136)! For understanding the plain meaning of the prophecy in the Old Testament scrolls he possessed just over 2,500 hundred years ago, Daniel applied it right away by turning to God in prayer and fasting to request that He, who is always true to His Word and merciful, would be again (Daniel 9:1-3). Such was the genuine faith in and relationship Daniel had with God from his youth who was now, a man easily in his eighties (Daniel 1:1-7).
He was later told by the angel, Gabriel, ‘“At the beginning of your supplications the command’” from God ‘“went out’” for him to come with Daniel’s answer to prayer adding, ‘“for you are greatly beloved,’” (Daniel 9:23, NKJV). Every truly born again Christian is to have such a standing with God by instruction of His Son, our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ, who Daniel surely glimpsed in a later vision (Daniel 10:1-9; John 15:16, 16:16-28). Daniel’s exemplary humble prayer of confession, repentance acknowledging God’s righteousness to judge His people who refused to repent and appeal to His eternal heart of mercy is a template today, for all who profess to know and love Him.
Daniel opens his confession exalting God’s greatness and uttering a transcendent eternal principle many professed Christians today, either willfully cast aside so their theology will work or ignorantly overlook to their detriment. Daniel in total consistency with His eternal character and the whole Bible says to God, “who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments,” (Daniel 9:4, NKJV). Loving God in covenant relationship is demonstrated by faithful obedience to His commandments--no exceptions as the Lord Jesus also taught (John 14:15, 19-24; 1 John 2:3-6, 5:3)! As Daniel strongly implies, Israel did not love God as seen in their breaking His covenant through disobedience (Jeremiah 11:1-10; Daniel 9:5).
1 Read the October 18, 2015 post, Pursuing Credentials And Authority, followed over the next two weeks beginning October 25, 2015 by the two-part, Religious Educated Wiser Than God? All three posts are under the category, Call To Repent.
2 See the January 9, 2022 post, Easier To Read Bibles, under the categories Bible Prophecy and Instruction.
3 While Critical Race Theory (CRT) as a legal and academic critique of racism’s impact in American society may have wrongly found its way into some K-12 school curric- ula and should be removed since as theory it has its own biases against a biblical worldview for example, the need remains for a generation of especially white Ameri- can children to finally be taught the whole historical truth about how the evil of racial bigotry did contribute to the violent and still systemic oppression of the land’s indi- genous peoples, black and other minority Americans. Contrary to the fear their children will “hate their white heritage” as a consequence, understanding the healing power of truth, empathy and repentance especially as Christians, their children will come away determined not to repeat the mistakes of the past and help to undo what remains of American racial practices as some, such as white evangelical, David Barton, are trying to do right now. I recommend his book, Setting The Record Straight: American History In Black & White for those retreating from public education to private and home schools over CRT so your children can still be taught the truth! I ex- amined several online sources to understand more about CRT including American Bar Association, Education Week, Encyclopedia Britannica, and Middle Tennessee State University’s The First Amendment Encyclopedia.
I ended my last post of 2021 citing Daniel 9:26c of two prophetic Scriptures supporting the truth “things are not going to get better before the glorious Second Coming of Jesus Christ, but worse.”1 The content of Daniel 9:26c is near the end of four pure prophecy verses out of twenty-seven that make up a powerful chapter as context. The prophecies are delivered to Daniel in answer to his prayers by the angel, Gabriel, and are intended to give him the ability “to understand” further and more deeply from God about what He intended for Israel after their Babylonian captivity (vs. 20-23, NKJV). It was not an easier to read Bible, but God’s help he needed to get that understanding!
As Daniel 9:26c objectively and literally read in the immediate context of the verse asserts, destruction that brings “desolations” to cities such as did happen to Jerusalem and the second Jewish Temple at the hands of the Romans in A.D. 70 “are determined” by God “till the end of the war,” (NKJV). What war? In the larger context of the whole Bible, the war is the one ongoing in the spiritual and breaking into the physical realm; Satan and his angels warring against God after their rebellion, eviction from residence in Heaven, conquest and conscription of man and ultimate eternal sentence to Hell by His decree (Genesis 3:1-15; Ezekiel 28:11-19; Matthew 25:41; Revelation 20:10).
The ongoing war of the ages as a spiritual and historical context was important for Daniel (and us) to have to understand what God is doing in the world. In Daniel’s specific case, knowing about the overarching spiritual war would help him understand more deeply the why and what for of future events impacting his people, the Jews. Indeed, as recorded earlier in chapter nine, Daniel’s heart to understand the future of his people beyond Babylon was triggered by his having read and “understood by the books” prophecy God gave Jeremiah the prophet that “He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem”--a span then, near its end (Daniel 9:1-2, NKJV).2
Clearly, Daniel read the Old Testament scrolls containing Jeremiah’s prophecy from God objectively and literally as God expects all of us to do who know and love Him unless the text itself suggests we do otherwise such as with figurative language, symbols or metaphors often used in parables.3 He understood the plain reading of the text in his Hebrew language. He did not need to consult any number of translations--none were even available until the third century B.C. well after his time--for easier reading and a better understanding.4 Daniel took God’s Word at face value as it was written in the Old Testament books that were copies of the originals!
As I discovered to my horror while researching what extant Bible translations Martin Luther may have used when he uncovered again God’s salvation by grace through faith alone plainly stated throughout the New Testament, there are today, over nine hundred (900) just English language translations of the Bible in whole or in part!5 This is a recipe for destructive confusion in great spiritual desolations as Satan has already wrought among so many in the war as ostensibly under the guise of easier reading and a better understanding, many of these translations corrupt God’s Word. A number of the translators wickedly seek not to offend people and pander after what they want, not God.6
I realize my New King James Version Bible of choice (updating the 17th century King’s English) is a translation as are all Bibles apart from the original manuscripts. I consult a few other modern translations (which is how I know what they say) and teach others--aspiring strong men and great women of God--to do the same for possible greater language clarity.7 However, over nine hundred different English translations each with their unique selling points is overkill. Besides, whether easier to read or not, it is the truth in direct assertion, transcendent eternal principles, morality and ethics along with any deeper meanings in application embodied in the Scripture that we students like Daniel are after. These come only from God in the way He in sovereignty chooses to reveal them.
It may be an angel as Daniel experienced, but most commonly as Christians it is the Holy Spirit with Christ resident inside of us that reveals the truth of God in Scripture and anything deeper related to us (John 14:15-18, 16:12-15; 1 Corinthians 2:6-16)! If you are not understanding what you are reading in the Bible, pray and ask God to help you since it is His will in general that you understand what is written though, some prophecies remain closed for now (Luke 24:44-45; James 1:5-8; Revelation 13:18). As the Lord leads, I will continue working through chapter nine of Daniel in each of the posts this month to the end someone else will be helped as we receive understanding of the times Daniel was told of in advance that we are now, living in and which approach their climatic end!
1 See the December 19, 2021 post, Christmas: Love, Joy And Peace, under the category, Holidays.
2 Dating from the year of Babylon’s first invasion of Judah and taking of captives (such as Daniel) in 605 B.C. to 539 B.C. the first year of the Medo-Persian conquest of Babylon as Daniel historically notes in vs. 1, would have been nearing the end of the seventy years pro- phecy.
3 Daniel’s approach to objectively reading, literally interpreting and applying Scripture is that of every godly person in the Bible to include the Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 4:1-11)! For help, download the free one page document the Lord led me to create summarizing Seven Principles of Bible Interpretation in the Strong Man Store.
4 See the Encyclopedia Britannica article on the Septuagint--the earliest Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures.
5 Read the 2017 Christianity Today article, The Most Dangerous Thing Luther Did by Ben Witherington III.
6 Woe to those who seek to deconstruct the Bible to make it more amenable to people! Your actions are instigated by Satan as one of many stratagems he is using in his war with God. If he could widely corrupt the Book with God’s direct revelation, expressly stated will and mes- sage of salvation as he has done, the resulting confusion would destroy many souls as it is doing. For this reason, God holds account- able and destroys the corrupters of Scripture as it is written (2 Peter 3:14-16)! See my August 2, 2020 post, Flavorless Salt Is Worthless, under the category, Call To Repent along with part two in particular of Daughters Of This Age, posted April 25, 2021 under the category, God’s Creatures.
7 This approach is especially helpful to all of us that do not normally read, write or speak Hebrew, Aramaic or Greek. Learn about aspiring strong men and great women of God in Christ’s image in my book, The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics along with companion works The Strong Man Of God Men’s Group Study and Great Woman Of God Women’s Group Study at your favorite internet book seller and in the Strong Man Store.
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