Daniel 8:1-14
“What
are we to do?” Have you found yourself asking that question? It seems
that society is heading as fast as it can away from the teachings of God
and His Word. How can we tell a world about Jesus when they no longer hold
His Name in reverence? Yes, once upon a time this nation was founded
upon Biblical principles … and it is hard to imagine that it wasn’t
too long ago since God’s Word was respected even by the unbelieving
politicians and people. But over these past few decades there has been a
tremendous shift away to other doctrines and teachings more suitable to
man’s ideologies.
Not
only has this shift taken place in society, but it has also taken place
within the apostate Church. God’s people need to be so careful in these
days. Let’s take a look and see what was happening in Daniel’s day and
learn from how he confronted living among a society hardened against
God and His people.
The
Presence of Daniel
6:1
It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom an hundred and twenty princes,
which should be over the whole kingdom; 2 And over these three
presidents; of whom Daniel was first:
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Darius
was the new king. He had taken over from Belshazzar … but it was
also a change in dynasty, - the Babylonian empire had fallen under the
joint charge of the Medes and Persians.
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The
new king Darius had ‘to set out his stall’ early in his reign
because it would effect those who would follow him onto the throne. He
wanted ‘to make his mark’.
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Now,
this was a vast kingdom he had taken over and there was the great
problem of governing such an area.
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What
he did was this …
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He
divided his kingdom into 120 provinces and he set a governor over
each region.
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He
then charged three ‘presidents’ to oversee the work of the 120
governors, and these presidents would be ultimately responsible to
him.
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It
made sense, and it seems to be a good way to control such a mass of
people and land, - bear in mind that the population would have
included all types of people, including those who had been defeated by
the armies of Babylon and then the armies of the Medes and Persians.
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…
Isn’t it amazing that in the Sovereign plan of Almighty God He
should have His person right in the midst of it all! The
presence of Daniel.
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The
Prominence of Daniel
3 Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes,
because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him
over the whole realm.
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Yes,
the children of Israel, captured in Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, were
among those under the rule of Darius.
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There
would have been umpteen different nationalities under his dominion …
and yet out of them all one of the three most important people, -
second only to the king, - was this man of God, Darius.
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He
had been taken into the court of the King Nebuchadnezzar to be brought
up and cultured as a prince of Babylon, but right from the very start
he would not compromise his faith in and relationship with God, 1:8
But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with
the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank:
therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not
defile himself.
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And
as a consequence 1:9 God had brought Daniel
into favour
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God
continued to use Daniel against all the odds. By now, in ch.6, he had
become an old man but God was still using him!
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Once
again, there is no age at which a man or a woman becomes too old in
the service of the Lord Jesus Christ.
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A
lasting impression was made upon me when I was only a young boy
standing at the bedside of an elderly family friend who was dying,
- they had taken the tubes from her because they knew she hadn’t
long,
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There,
as she lay dying, her Bible was open, she was singing the old
hymns, … and as she was singing she took a deep breath, - it was
her last for her head fell to the one side … and – in an
instant - she was absent from the body,
present with the Lord.
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…
Even in those final moments she had such a testimony, not least to
a young boy.
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Yes,
God continued to use old Daniel and He placed him in such a position
of authority,
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He
was a man of a defeated and imprisoned people but yet God – in
His Sovereign will – had lifted him to this place second only to
the king.
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God
did this! God put it in the mind of this Godless ruler to elevate
Daniel … and God’s will always comes to pass.
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In
the plan and will of God … the presence of Daniel and the
prominence of Daniel.
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You
can be sure that when God is working so is the enemy!
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It’s
good when God can trust you enough to put you into the conflict …
for He trusted Daniel; the next thing we see is ...
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The
Problem of Daniel
4 Then the
presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning
the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he
was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him.
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They
couldn’t find anything wrong with him. They couldn’t accuse him of
doing anything improper.
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Here
was a man of great importance throughout the kingdom and all the
leaders were against him! He didn’t have one friend among them!
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What
was he doing there? … He didn’t have the choice to be anywhere
else because that is where God had for him to be.
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Many
others had been taken in shackles to Babylon during Nebuchadnezzar’s
time and they had ‘caved in’ to all the demands of compromise …
but not Daniel.
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As
a young boy (ch. 1) he stood for God; now, as an old man, he is still
standing for God.
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It
is good not to be ‘up and down’ – blowing ‘hot and cold’ –
for the faith.
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Daniel
was as fervent and as faithful as ever he had been, - the years had
not weakened his resolve in the work of the Lord.
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And
these rulers of Babylon saw an old man as their threat.
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No
doubt, there were enemies all round them, … but their greatest
enemy was one person, - Daniel in the service of his God. The
presence of, prominence of, problem with Daniel
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The
people against Daniel
5 Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel,
except we find it against him concerning the law of his God. 6 Then these
presidents and princes assembled together to the king, and said thus unto
him, King Darius, live for ever. 7 All the presidents of the kingdom, the
governors, and the princes, the counsellors, and the captains, have
consulted together to establish a royal statute, and to make a firm
decree, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any God or man for thirty
days, save of thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions. 8 Now,
O king, establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it be not
changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth
not. 9 Wherefore king Darius signed the writing and the decree.
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“There’s
nothing we can find against this man … so let’s make a new law to
catch him out!”
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The
law as it stood allowed every member of the population to worship
their gods,
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There
was absolutely no hindrance as to how many gods you worshipped,
how often you worshipped them … and it didn’t matter what you
called them.
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This
was a multi-religious society!
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But
do you know who they turned against? … Daniel for worshipping his
God!
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The
new law said that for thirty days all prayers that usually had been
made to the idols or to God where now to be redirected through Darius.
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You
had to pray as if Darius was God/the god.
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He
– for those thirty days – was ‘in the place of’ [anti]
God/the gods.
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Nebuchadnezzar
had done the same thing in 3:4 Then an
herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and
languages, 5 That at what time ye hear the sound of the
cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of
music, ye fall down and worship the golden image that
Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up: 6 And whoso falleth not
down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of
a burning fiery furnace.
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Belshazzar
had done a similar thing too, 5:3 3
Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the
temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king,
and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, drank in them.
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And
Darius was following their lead!
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None
of the other nations would have been bothered … except God’s
people, the children of Israel.
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In
other words, there was freedom of religion … but not when it came to
Daniel and the people of God.
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So
they went to the lawmaker, - the king, - and the very first thing they
said to him was a lie, 7 All the presidents
of the kingdom, the governors, and the princes, the counsellors, and
the captains, have consulted together to establish a royal statute
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7
All the presidents of the kingdom, - no! That’s not true.
Daniel was a president and he hadn’t been consulted. He wasn’t
there!
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In
their march against God ‘truth’ became the first ‘casualty’.
Truth was not important, - it was negotiable, as far as the enemies of
Daniel were concerned.
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Truth
is always the first casualty when God’s people are in the
‘sights’ of the enemy. … Look at it in our own day:
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The
teachings and principles of God’s Word,
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The
clear instruction that it presents, …
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Yes,
truth is always the first ‘victim’ of a progressive, godless
society.
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What
is the truth that the child of God is concerned with? Jesus said, Thy
Word is truth (Jn. 17:17).
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And
when you set aside truth you have ‘deception’, … and when you
set it aside long enough you get that you don’t know what
‘truth’ is anymore … and these presidents and princes set aside
the truth in order to deceive.
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The
world has always been setting aside the truth of God, - that’s what
it does by its very sinful nature. What is more alarming, though, is
when those who profess to be the people of God set aside or compromise
the truth of God.
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God’s
Word is not there for discussion on what we may or may not find
acceptable; God’s Word is there for His people to live by and be an
example to.
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In
many areas of evangelism nowadays the church is using the
world’s tactics to seek the lost for Christ.
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That’s
not right! That’s not the Bible’s way, for the Bible says that
the preaching of Christ crucified, - the only means to be saved, -
is as a stumblingblock and is as foolishness to the unsaved (I Cor.
1:23).
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We
can’t choose what to accept or what not to accept, we daren’t be
selective, - all of it is God’s Word and all of it must be
upheld!
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Whether
it is in the Church or in the world God’s Word is the ultimate
authority that cannot be replaced.
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And
these enemies knew that the only way to ‘catch’ Daniel was to put
in motion a new rule/law: one that gave him no room for manoeuvre:
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To
obey the king’s law would be to disobey God’s law.
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If
he obeyed God’s law he would be disobeying the king’s new law
… and he would be removed!
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The
people against Daniel.
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The
Perception of Daniel
10
Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed
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Here
is a good thing to notice, - Daniel found out what was going on.
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Remember
Samuel, - he found out when the children of Israel were calling
for a king;
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Remember
Jeremiah, - he recognised that all the priests of Jerusalem were
worshipping God in a way that God would not accept.
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It’s
good to keep your eyes open and know what’s going on.
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There
are too many Christians don’t know what is going on in the world, -
we don’t need to get involved in the world’s pursuits, but as with
any enemy it’s needful for the cause of Christ to know what they are
doing in order to raise the barricades against the world’s untruth
and perversion.
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Some
Christians are shadow-boxing, they are throwing their punches into the
air at an imaginary opponent, - an opponent that has long since
disappeared.
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…
that is time wasting and energy-squandering that could be used
better in the real fight.
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The
perception of the enemy, - Daniel knew the enemy, he
identified them … he had them in his sights.
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He
hadn’t his ‘head in the sand’; he knew exactly what was going on
and how they were accusing him … and this perception he had
led him to his knees …
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The
Prayers of Daniel
10
… he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber
toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed,
and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.
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He
didn’t waste time going to the king in order to appeal his case, -
he went straight to the King of kings.
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Surely
if Daniel, - a most powerful and influential man, - had gone to Darius
he could have had a special audience …?
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Yes,
probably, but Daniel bypassed the king and went to the King of kings!
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He
must have heard about it out in the streets for the Bible tells us he
went into his house.
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He
didn’t set out to start a revolution or a protest; he knew the
things of God are not to be achieved by
might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.
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He
went into his room, … before the sovereignty of God, and he looked
out through those open windows towards Jerusalem … and he fell down
on his knees in prayer.
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Here
was a man who had other places to which he could have gone, - to
Darius, to the children of Israel, - but he went before the throne of
God in prayer.
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Look
at what the Bible says here in v.10
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The
Place of Prayer, - he went into his
house
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His
Position in Prayer, - he kneeled
upon his knees
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His
Persistence in Prayer, - three times
a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did
aforetime.
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He
was praying for the honour of God’s Name. What do you pray
for?
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…
souls to be saved? That’s good. … Keep on doing that!
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…
the church to be strong in these days? … That’s good. … Keep
on doing that too!
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Do
you know the most important thing to pray for? … that God’s Name
would be honoured.
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…
that it would be honoured through the life of His people,
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…
that it would be honoured through the laws of the country,
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…
that it would be honoured so that the Name of God would no longer
be seen a swear word but held in the reverence and respect that
belongs to Him alone.
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Daniel
fell down before God on behalf of a people not his own … that they
might see His glory.
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Here
is what Titus said, - and it is so relevant, 2:13
Jesus Christ; 14 Who gave himself for us, that he might
redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar
people, zealous of good works. … All glory to God!
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You
might think, “Ah, but he was there because of his latest problem”.
Yes, that’s true, … but how many times before that had he been
there?!
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Many,
many, many times he came into that room, looked out through the
window towards Jerusalem, fell down on his knees and prayed for
the redemption of God’s people out of Babylon.
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Many,
many, many times he came into that room, looked out through the
window towards Jerusalem, fell down on his knees and prayed that
the idolatry of Babylon would be crushed … to the glory of the
Name of God.
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Consider
again the prayers of Daniel:
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The
Place of Prayer, - he went into his
house
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His
Position in Prayer, - he kneeled
upon his knees
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His
Persistence in Prayer, - three times
a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did
aforetime.
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What
a testimony and a witness! This old man, - with all the earthly power
and favour of a human king at his disposal … and yet he goes to the
King of kings!
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When
they came looking for him they knew where to find him and no doubt
they knew what he would be doing for he did it every day, 11
Then these men assembled, and found Daniel praying and making
supplication before his God.
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He
faced the problems of the future with the God who held the future in
His hand.
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Conclusion
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God’s
people in enemy territory.
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Why
do some people not like our cars sitting outside this church?
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Why
do some people bang the window trying to break it?
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Why
will they listen to all the rubbish of the day but if you were to
go to their door and speak to them about Jesus they wouldn’t
have time to give you five minutes!
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Can
you understand it? Yes, I can … because when I was chasing after the
world I didn’t have time for Jesus, - I had put other things in His
place.
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I
believe most sincerely that we are fast approaching the day of the
coming of the Lord and the Bible says such days will be ushered in
with a great apostasy and a great unbelief.
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We
are in enemy territory. We need to know God in these days,
- we need to have such a knowledge of Him, - as Daniel had, - so that
when the enemy attacks we run to Him and fall on our knees …
bringing it to the One Who knows all about it.
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And
what we need to know about the enemy is this: he is subtle, powerful,
clever … but he has been judged … he has been defeated – Calvary
saw to that!
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And
while there is still much fighting to be done … we are surely coming
near the end of the battle, - perhaps the worst is yet to come! - …
but the battle is the Lord’s!
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These
are the lessons for now I believe the Bible has to teach us as we
consider Daniel in the enemy’s territory.
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