365 Reflections

The prophet Hosea is the last voice of God's warning to the Northern Kingdom of Israel. There were no righteous kings in the North, but there were still some seasons of prosperity. Hosea's minister begins on the heels of one such season. The people of Israel were worshipping idols and doing detestable things, and perhaps they assumed they could get away with it.  Not so.  To capture this nation's attention for the final time, the Lord asks Hosea to do the unthinkable.  Hosea 1:2–3 (ESV) When the LORD first spoke through Hosea, the LORD said to Hosea, “Go, take to yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the LORD.” 3 So he went and took Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son. The initial command to Hosea was to illustrate through his own family the spiritual condition of Israel, who whored after the false gods of other nations. God often asked His prophets to illustrate in dras...

Daniel 12:5–7 (ESV) Then I, Daniel, looked, and behold, two others stood, one on this bank of the stream and one on that bank of the stream. 6 And someone said to the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the stream, “How long shall it be till the end of these wonders?” 7 And I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the stream; he raised his right hand and his left hand toward heaven and swore by him who lives forever that it would be for a time, times, and half a time, and that when the shattering of the power of the holy people comes to an end all these things would be finished. The book of Daniel ends with the climax of history, the second half of the Tribulation. What we call the "Great Tribulation." The persecution of the saints will continue under the beast who breaks his covenant after 3.5 years. The mention of the "holy people" in this text marks out Israel for special assignment as their power comes to an end with the end of...

Daniel 12 moves the reader from the darkest time in history —the Great Tribulation —to the ultimate hope of the Christian: the resurrection. But when does this all happen? Daniel 12:1 (ESV) “At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book. One more verse in chapter 12 continues the description of what the tribulation will be. It will be an unparalleled time of trouble. Yet amid the trouble, Daniel's people (the Jews) shall be delivered. Yet not all, for Daniel is told that it is those whose names are found in the Book of Life. These are Messianic Jews who come to Christ during the trouble that God allows to come upon the Earth.  Revelation states: Revelation 7:13–14 (ESV) Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in wh...

The 11th chapter of Daniel is fascinating, as it reveals the antichrist in type through the story of Antiochus Epiphanes. If you ask most Christians, they would say they never heard that name, and yet here he is, the original man of lawlessness in the Intertestamental period, giving us a shadow of the world leader to come.  Daniel 11:36 (ESV) “And the king shall do as he wills. He shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak astonishing things against the God of gods. He shall prosper till the indignation is accomplished; for what is decreed shall be done. Verse 36 is where the facts of Antiochus Epiphanes life and the "king" spoken of for the rest of this chapter separate. Scholars know the history doesn't match this text. Thus, the rest of Daniel 11 is what Jesus told us to look for in the final figure to appear and exalt himself before the return of Christ.  What will the antichrist do? He will exalt himself above every god and speak agains...

Daniel 11 begins talking about Antiochus Epiphanes in verse 20, detailing how one of the most deceptive and cruel rulers over the Jews is a prefigured example of the final anti-Christ to come. When we read scripture here, we learn what to expect when the lawless one is revealed and the last days begin.  Daniel 11:20 (ESV) “Then shall arise in his place one who shall send an exactor of tribute for the glory of the kingdom. But within a few days he shall be broken, neither in anger nor in battle. The ascension to power for Antiochus happened with the unexpected and possibly murderous death of his predecessor, Seleucus Philopator after Seleucus ordered his treasurer to plunder the Jewish Temple.  From verse 21, we have a clear description of Antiochus, which is of utmost importance if we are to be wise at the time of the end and determine the season, staying ready when the world is utterly confused. Daniel 11:21 (ESV) In his place shall arise a contemptible person to whom ...

We come to the passage in Daniel that baffles Biblical critics. To counter the incredible accuracy of these prophecies, naysayers suggest that these pages were written long after the events took place. Since they deny Divine inspiration of the text, they suggest an editor compiled these prophecies after they had come to pass and attributed them to Daniel. In other words, they would like to believe that Daniel is the morning newspaper reporting on the previous day's events, instead of what it actually is—the divinely inspired, prophetic Word of God given to His chosen servant, Daniel.  Daniel 11:2–4 (ESV) “And now I will show you the truth. Behold, three more kings shall arise in Persia, and a fourth shall be far richer than all of them. And when he has become strong through his riches, he shall stir up all against the kingdom of Greece. 3 Then a mighty king shall arise, who shall rule with great dominion and do as he wills. 4 And as soon as he has arisen, his kingdom shall be brok...

Daniel 10:1–2 (ESV) In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a word was revealed to Daniel, who was named Belteshazzar. And the word was true, and it was a great conflict. And he understood the word and had understanding of the vision. 2 In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for three weeks. After the vision of Daniel 9 in which God's timeline for Jerusalem's troublesome restoration was revealed to Daniel, you can understand how Daniel 10 opens. The prophet is mournful, saddened by the fact that Israel's return would be so rife with problems. The third year of Cyrus would have been Daniel's 85th year of life, and the first waves of exiles would have been returning amidst the brutal uphill battle to restore their ancient city. Ezra 4 tells us that the work faced accusations of sedition, and perhaps Daniel feared what eventually happened - the cessation of all activity relevant to the rebuilding of Jerusalem.  Would God's promises fail? Would the governmental powers ...

When Daniel prays, confesses, repents, and seeks the Lord in Daniel 9, he finds assurance of an answer from Him. The information he receives points to Jesus. This is a crucial point for Jewish people to understand, as the timeline is fixed in history to the exact time of Christ's arrival. Daniel 9:24 (ESV) “Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place. Where the exile lasted 70 years, the time of atonement for sin and everlasting righteousness (God's gift through faith) would come 490 years later (70 - 7 x 7 weeks). But how are we to understand time according to this passage? Well, Daniel is given further detail about those 490 years. The angel breaks it down: Daniel 9:25–26 (ESV) Know therefore and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to ...