If you don't
have a One Year Bible or prefer something online, this link will take you to
the day's reading, http://oneyearbibleonline.com/daily-oyb/. This
site allows you to select from several languages and several English
translations.
DECEMBER 3
Daniel 11:2-35
As we enter into all the detail of the prophecies in the last two
chapters of Daniel, there are a couple of things to take note of. First, what
we're reading today will all take place before the birth of Christ, during a
very dangerous time in the life of Israel. Tomorrow will deal with the
Tribulation and the events just before the second coming of Christ. Second, we
need to understand what the purpose of this detailed prophecy is. Rather than
simply showing us that God knows everything and coordinates everything in
advance, it is meant to be a help to the people going through these events and
distresses. For example, in our reading today, historians can look back and
verify the details of what is said here and give names to the people and
identify the events. But for the Jews who went through this, it not only gave
them an idea of what would happen, but it gave them incredible hope and courage
as they saw the Scripture coming true and the events unfolding. It was almost
like having tomorrow's newspaper. They understood that God was with them and
that nothing was outside of His control. With some of this detail, they could
even plan ahead. Much of what we read about the Tribulation in the book of
Revelation seems foggy and hard to understand for us, but for those people who
will go through the Tribulation, what God has written is going to make perfect
sense. It will give them hope and courage.
V. 2 Xerxes was this fourth king and was the husband of Esther. He is
mentioned here because of his wars with Greece. He was hugely defeated and got
the Greeks incredibly mad.
Vs. 3-4 This is the rise and fall of Alexander the Great.
Vs. 5-20 The four kingdoms of Greece will constantly fight with one
another, and Israel will be in the middle of a lot of that fighting. For the
Jews that lived during that time, these words in Daniel assured them that God
was in control of the chaos.
Vs. 21-35 These are the adventures of Antiochus IV Epiphanes (AE), the
precursor of the coming antichrist. If you want some good, but not overly
lengthy information on him, read the Bible Knowledge Commentary-OT, pp.
1369-1370.
V. 21 Apparently AE wasn't an obvious ruler. There was deception and
intrigue that led to his sudden rise to power. In the same way, it probably
won't be apparent who the antichrist is until he is suddenly in power.
V. 22 The prince of the covenant was apparently a priest who AE
had put to death.
V. 28 Somehow AE will already resolve to fight against Israel, probably
because of their stubborn insistence on worshiping Yahweh.
Vs. 29-30 As AE was in Egypt, he was confronted by the growing Roman
Empire and he was forced to retreat. In fact, AE was personally humiliated by
the Romans who drew a circle in the sand around him, forcing him to make his
decision then and there to agree to their demands.
V. 30 Those who forsake the holy
covenant are traitorous Jews.
Vs. 31-35 And so AE vented his anger on Israel. These verses describe
how he tried to stop the worship, desecrate the temple and exterminate Judaism.
This anger and frustration, and the reasons thereof, probably foreshadow why
and what the antichrist will do in the Tribulation. During the Tribulation, in
spite of Satan's power and the supernatural authority he gives the antichrist,
unbelieving nations will still rebel against him, blind to the real drama being
played out.
V. 32 AE will win over those who really don't like to follow Yahweh.
V. 35 Even as the angel is explaining this to Daniel in such detail, it
seems he makes a transition to begin talking about the time of the end. In the
Maccabean Revolt that occurred because of the actions of AE, there were godly
men who understood these words of prophecy and sacrificed their lives for God.
Some of what happened during that period will mirror some of what will happen
during the Tribulation, especially the cunning working of AE and the
antichrist.
We can understand the importance of these prophecies to the people who
went through those very hard times, if we look at all of the information God
has given us to encourage us during this time. As disciples following Christ,
working in the harvest we understand more of what is happening in life, both on
this planet and in the spiritual dimension, than any other people in the history
of redemption. Jesus Himself told His disciples that they were seeing and
hearing what others had longed to know, but were never able to see or hear. We
continue in what Jesus said to His apostles in that we have the complete Word
of God. Not living with this book in hand as we walk through this spiritual
tragedy on earth is an awful mistake. We should be understanding our times and
all the challenges, working in the harvest, reaching the lost and making
disciples. If we don't live by this book daily, we become lost on earth and
live a faith without His strength or purpose. We have been given a great
treasure and resource, and we ignore it to our own harm.
1 John 3:7-24
As you read this
section, notice how often John mentions loving one another. That thought of a
common love in Christ flows through this entire section of the letter. The
tension in what we will read is that there were some in these churches who were
not believers. It seems that the vast majority were believers, yet they were
very immature, living according to the old nature, and not the new nature in
Christ. The importance of the story of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5 is to show a believing
couple who were motivated by the desire for status in the church. When Peter
said to Ananias, "why
has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep
back part of the proceeds of the land," it showed that children of God can
follow the flesh and be led by Satan. We know that, right? We don't have room
here to find all the places in Paul's letters where this is shown or said, but
keep this tension in mind as you read these verses in John. John isn't always
saying people are not believers. He is saying that as believers they shouldn't
be following the impulses of the devil, but those of the Spirit of Christ. John
does say which impulses are from whom.
Vs.
7-10 Notice again that those addressed are little
children, even the 70-year-old little children. I think John's purpose in
this is to say, as Paul did, that we should walk worthy of Christ. It is clear
from other letters that Christians are capable of all sorts of sin, from
idolatry to immorality. In 2 Timothy 2:26, it mentions how Christians can be
captured by Satan to do his will. In 1 Timothy 5:15 it talks about believers
who have turned aside to follow Satan. Children of God should not act like
children of Satan. If people are not unified in love, they are not being
influenced by God, but by the devil. Our salvation in Christ and our mission
for Him is supposed to bind us together. If being a believer and going to
church means anything other than salvation and mission, it degenerates to a
social club.
Vs.
11-15 If the last verses had to do with the influence of Satan, this block of
verses seems to deal with the influence of the world. If believers are too
focused on being accepted by the world, they will not love one another. Again, in a mature group of disciples, this
wouldn't be a problem, but not all believers are mature and living from the
principle of their new life. Paul told believers that they should put off the
works of darkness and put on the Lord. That means that as believers, it is
possible to live according to darkness, in death, and not in our new eternal
life in Christ.
Vs.
16-18 You can see here that John was aiming high, at a cross-bearing kind of
discipleship modeled after Jesus' sacrifice and love for us.
Vs.
19-24 Notice how often John mentions commandment
in this section. It makes me think of David's passion in Psalm 119. Probably,
in order to appreciate what John is writing here, we'd need to read John's
Gospel, chapters 14-17. Verse 22 is a promise given often in that section of
John. The love of Christ in the mission of Christ is what makes possible the
kind of brotherly love God talks about. If a person is living that love,
following Christ, regardless of failures, God forgives and overwhelms their
guilty conscience. The Spirit within us is given to us to keep abiding in
Christ and moving forward in the harvest. The fact that we keep moving forward,
following the Spirit in the love and mission of Christ, is visible evidence
that the Spirit is within us.
Again,
believers can hide from following Christ. But then, what evidence do they have
of the Spirit in them, or that they are abiding in Christ? And then too, they
miss out on all the blessings of the gospel. I grew up in a very Catholic area
and the common motto was, "God helps those who help themselves."
Actually, this is not true. If we don't abide in Christ and follow Him in the
harvest, if we are protecting ourselves from persecution and hardship, why
should He help us? We are helping ourselves, dependent on ourselves, and not on
Him.
If
you want an interesting example of this help, look at Luke 12:8-9. Now, as you
read it, understand that by Christ acknowledging us before the angels of God,
He is actually saying He will send them to help us when we are in that
situation. Those people who "help" themselves by not acknowledging
Christ, and are therefore avoiding the punishment or scorn of men, don't need
His help; and therefore, He doesn't "acknowledge" them and send
spiritual aid. Remember, Jesus addressed this passage in Luke to His disciples,
not to unbelievers.
Psalm 122
Both
the house of the Lord and Jerusalem are lifted up in this psalm.
We've seen in Ezekiel how the city and the temple, though destroyed, will both
be rebuilt and will become the destination for generations in the future.
Daniel's prayer in chapter 9, and the massive prophecies he was given by
Gabriel, show the restoration of Jerusalem and the anointing of the King. Who
knows, in the Millennium as people fly into Jerusalem, maybe they will sing
this psalm as they travel from the airport up to the city to see the Lord.
Vs.
1-2 This was a passion of David's heart, forged in long years of running from
danger and having to remain distant from the tabernacle. David worshiped God in
spirit and in truth in the wilderness, but longed for the time he could stand
before the tent which housed the ark of the covenant. That is where he knew God
was present.
Vs.
3-5 It was in Jerusalem, once the ark was there, where people came to seek the
Lord for judgments and mercy.
Vs.
6-9 Because of the temple, peace and security should rest on Jerusalem. It
would have been the presence of the Lord that would have brought that peace. It
makes you think of what John was writing above. If the Lord is present, His
presence will be evidenced by peace and love.
Proverbs 29:1
Those of us with stiff necks are grateful for God's "gentle
breaking," before we did irreparable damage.
Please Read
the Following Disclaimer
I'm writing the Reading Notes to and
for those who are following a One Year Bible and are interested in growing
deeper as a disciple, following Jesus in the harvest. My hope is to see the
growth of a discipleship culture in the church, that is, groups of 3-4
disciples, meeting weekly, encouraging each other to follow Christ and work to
reach out and make disciples, who make disciples. The Bible itself is the most
universal and important discipleship manual we have and it is the key to our
growth and service in Christ. Nothing keeps us more focused on why we are here,
or what we are to be doing, or whom we are to be following. My comments are
only meant to provide some explanation of the events or to show the flow of
God's plan of redemption. My comments are in no way exhaustive, but are
designed to keep us, as disciples, focused on Christ and our role in His
harvest. My hope is that the people in these groups will grow in Christ and be
willing, after a year, to find 3 others to meet with and encourage in their
growth as disciples, making disciples in the harvest.
If you would like a more descriptive
commentary that is still readable and concise, I'd recommend the Bible Knowledge Commentary (BKC).
I read the BKC in doing background for the Reading Notes and refer to it quite
often. I also make reference to maps or charts in the BKC, though I will only
note where those resources can be found. Often you can do a search for these
and find them in Google books. Buying both volumes of the Bible Knowledge
Commentary would be a good idea.
I am not endorsing any particular
One Year Bible translation; in fact, I read something you probably don't, Die
Revidierte Lutherbibel, 1984. Unless noted, all Scripture quotes are from the
ESV Bible.
Anyone reading along with us is
welcome to do so and is encouraged to take their own notes and make their own
observations. If the comments made do not agree with your particular tradition
or understanding, that's OK. Nothing I've written is meant to criticize any
point of view, but only to express the truth of what God has written to us, as
I understand it. Often there is a breadth of opinion on certain events, both
historical and prophetic. Many of my views come from my church background,
theological training and my personal study.
I'm
doing this with discipleship in mind, meaning, I'm writing out thoughts that
will keep discipleship and our growth as disciples applied to what we are
reading. Remember, the real focus of the Reading Notes is to be a
supplement, a disciple’s commentary, giving motivation and insight so that we
will keep following our Lord in the harvest, reaching the lost and making
disciples, who make disciples. Being in
the Word every day, sitting at Jesus’ feet, learning directly from Him, is the
essential essence of being and making disciples.
May the Lord bless you as you follow Him in the
harvest, reaching the lost and making disciples, who make disciples. Dan
If you would like documents
containing an entire month of the Reading Notes, go to https://sites.google.com/site/dlkachikis/reading-notes.
If you would like a full
presentation of discipleship read Simply
Disciples*Making Disciples.
Or if you are struggling with
insomnia and would like a long boring dissertation on disciple making, these
can both be found on https://sites.google.com/site/dlkachikis/reading-notes.
Reading Notes ©, Dan Kachikis
2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018
The One Year Bible © by
Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton Illinois 60189
The Holy Bible, English
Standard Version® (ESV®) Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of
Good News Publishers.
All charts/graphics/outlines
from the Bible Knowledge Commentary are used with the permission of David C.
Cook.
© 1983, 2001 John F Walvoord and Roy B Zuck.
The Bible Knowledge Commentary is published by David C Cook.
All rights reserved. Publisher permission
required to reproduce.
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