When we open Matthew 24 at the Olivet Discourse we soon find ‘the ABOMINATION of DESOLATION (AoD) spoken of by Daniel the prophet’ in v15.
Before we
look for this AoD - who was Daniel?...a young Jewish prince taken captive by
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon in the first of 3 sieges of Jerusalem.
After Daniel
and his 3 friends prove worthy of Nebuchadnezzar’s trust (ch1) he is given
divine revelation on the king’s dream of a great image. It depicts 4 empires, ultimately destroyed by God’s
kingdom which will fill the whole EARTH!
(2:35) Nebuchadnezzar is given authority to rule over ALL MEN and all animals
(2:38) – the Times of the Gentiles
begin!
The king decides this is his excuse to enforce worship of a magnificent image but God personally protects the faithful three who refuse. (ch3)
#2: BEASTLINESS
The king dreams of a tree then gets reminded by 7 years surviving like a beast, that it is the Most High in ultimate control over mankind. (ch4)
#3: PROFANITY
Grandson Belshazzar thinks he can use
God’s holy vessels for debauchery, only to lose the kingdom to Medio-Persia that
very night. (ch5)
#4: ‘I AM GOD’
Finally we
see Daniel in the lion’s den: God will even defend the faithful individual in
the Persian Empire. (ch6)
Why do we need to look at Daniel ch1 thru 6?
Many people dive into Daniel 9 with no apparent appreciation of what the whole Book is about! Daniel’s long life of experiences as a Jewish prince subject to 2 Gentile empires demonstrate that the Jews & their holy city must resign to being subjugated to Gentiles, as history undeniably proves.
How
long for? We are all going to find out!
NEXT: we
will look at heaven’s viewpoint in prophecies to see the implication for the
Jews...Will heaven see these empires as magnificent?... or as beastly?
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