Daniel

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D

ANIEL

“But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.” Daniel 12:4

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Introduction

Author and Title

The book of Daniel, named after and written by Daniel in the sixth century b.c., records the events of his life and the visions that he saw from the time of his exile in 605 (1:1) until the third year of King Cyrus (536; 10:1). Daniel, whose name means “God is my Judge,” was a young man of noble blood who was exiled from Judah during the time of King Jehoiakim (609–597 b.c.) and lived thereafter at the Babylonian court. After the fall of the Babylonian Empire, he served the Medo-Persian Empire that succeeded it.

Date

Both Jewish and Christian (cf. Matt. 24:15) tradition have held that the author of this book is Daniel, a Jew who lived during the sixth-century b.c. Babylonian exile. Many of the chapters are dated and range from the first year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign (605 b.c.; Dan. 1:1) to Cyrus's third year (536; 10:1). Some have doubted the ligitmacy of the date of Daniel, because it so accurately predicted the future of succeeding empires. In the first place, current knowledge of sixth-century b.c. history is far from complete, and there are plausible harmonizations that explain the alleged discrepancies. Second, the Bible asserts clearly that the Lord announces ahead of time his plans through his prophets as a means of vindicating his sovereignty and encouraging his people (see Isa. 41:21–24; 44:6–7), and there is no reason in principle why such prophecies should not be detailed and precise. Some people, who allow in principle that God can foretell events, nevertheless suggest that such detailed foretelling is unparalleled in the rest of the canonical prophets, and that it cannot be reconciled with the usual purpose of prediction (namely, that the first audience should be faithful to the covenant). In reply, note that Jeremiah did give a specific amount of time for the exile (Jer. 25:11). Further, the high degree of specificity in Daniel's prophecies does serve its first audience as well as those to follow: this shows how carefully God has planned events and governs them for his perfect ends; therefore the faithful can recognize that none of their troubles take God by surprise, and none will derail his purpose of vindicating those who steadfastly love him. This is quite relevant to the people of God in Daniel's day, who are on the verge of horrendous devastations and

persecutions; they must be assured that the story will continue to its appointed fulfillment, so that they do not lose heart.

Theme

The central theme of the book of Daniel is God's sovereignty over history and empires, setting up and removing kings as he pleases (2:21; 4:34–37). All of the kingdoms of this world will come to an end and will be replaced by the Lord's kingdom, which will never pass away (2:44; 7:27). Though trials and difficulties will continue for the saints up until the end, those who are faithful will be raised to glory, honor, and everlasting life in this final kingdom (12:1–3). The theme comes from the name. ‘Dan’ = Judge ‘iel’ = God. Put together it means God is my Judge.

Key Themes

1. It is possible to live a faithful life in exile, surrounded by pagan influences and propaganda, if one sets one's mind to serving the Lord wholeheartedly (ch. 1).

2. God can vindicate his faithful servants in front of pagan rulers by giving them unusual wisdom and insight into divine mysteries and by miraculously protecting them against the

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enmity of their pagan neighbors (chs. 2; 3; 6). Nevertheless, divine rescue from martyrdom cannot be assumed (3:16–18).

3. God humbles the proud and raises up the humble; even the hearts of the greatest kings are under his control (chs. 4; 5).

4. This world will be a place of torment and persecution for the saints until the end, getting worse and worse rather than better and better (chs. 2; 7). Yet the Lord will judge the kingdoms of this world and bring them to an end, replacing them with his own kingdom that will never end. This kingdom will be ruled by “one like a son of man” who “comes with the clouds,” a figure who combines the distinctive traits of humanity and divinity (7:13). 5. God is sovereign over the course of history, even over those who rebel against him and seek

to destroy his people (ch. 8).

6. The exile was not the end of Israel's history of rebellion and judgment. In the future, Israel would again transgress against the Lord, and Jerusalem would be handed over into the power of her enemies, who would trample her temple and do abominable things (chs. 8; 9; 12). Eventually, though, the anointed ruler would come to deliver her from her sins (9:24– 27).

7. These earthly events are mirrors of a great cosmic conflict in the heavenly realms between angelic forces of good and evil (ch. 10). Prayer is a significant weapon in that conflict (9:23). 8. God rules over all of these conflicts and events, he limits their scope, and he has a precise

timetable for the trials of the saints to be completed, when he will finally intervene to cleanse and deliver his people (ch. 12).

9. In the meantime, the saints must be patient and faithful amid a hostile world, looking to the Lord alone for deliverance (11:33–35).

Distinctive Features

Studying the Book of Daniel

This book contains essential messages specially for the last generation. As we study the book of Daniel, we will see the present and future events in the history. We will see the prophecy fulfilled, fulfilling, and to fulfill. And before we get into the book, we will look on some tools that will be helpful throughout our studies. Right tool can help us to be most effective. Most of the text you see in this report is displayed as text flowing from one line to the next across the page, within the margins of the page, such as the text in this paragraph.

RH November 10, 1896 As a people and as individuals we need to have a deeper sense of our duty

to God and our responsibility to the world. There should be more earnest study of the Scriptures. I have been deeply impressed with the importance of studying the book of Daniel in connection with the smaller prophets, especially Malachi. And we need to give careful attention also to the lessons taught in the building of the tabernacle and the temple, and in the temple service. Through the prophets God has given a delineation of what will come to pass in the last days of this earth's history, and the Jewish economy is full of instruction for us.

RH February 4, 1902 In the night season I was in my dreams in a large meeting, with ministers,

their wives, and their children. I wondered that the company present was mostly made up of ministers and their families. The prophecy of Malachi was brought before them in connection with Daniel, Zephaniah, Haggai, and Zechariah. The teaching of these books was carefully investigated. The

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Scriptures in regard to the sacred character of all that appertained to the temple service. Through the prophets, God has given a delineation of what will come to pass in the last days of this earth's history; and the Jewish economy is full of instruction for us.

TM 112 The light that Daniel received from God was given especially for these last days. The visions

he saw by the banks of the Ulai and the Hiddekel, the great rivers of Shinar, are now in process of fulfillment, and all the events foretold will soon come to pass.

Ulai = Dan 8, Hiddekel = Dan 10

There are many misconceptions and misapplications on this book; this chapter will go through what God is wanting to say to us through the book of Daniel.

Matt 24:14, 15 [14] And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness

unto all nations; and then shall the end come. [15] When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)

Jesus is speaking. He is recommending to study Daniel in order to understand this prophecy. “Whose readeth” – Whoever is searching for the true meaning of the Bible. Those who are seeking to understand what God has for them in the future. These will understand. This is a similar

statement as to in Revelation.

Rev 1:3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those

things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

Blessings to those who read, hear, and keep the words of the prophecy. We should then read, hear, and study. People say we’re not supposed to understand Daniel and Revelation; they say it is too mystical and we cannot really understand but Jesus recommended book of Daniel and also gives us a similar blessing in Revelation.

“Let him understand” – special meaning behind this

Rev 13:18 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the

book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

Jesus mentioned for those who have “understanding” to count. Understanding is closely related to the word “hear.”

Rev 2:29 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

Same as “he that readeth, let him understand.” Is it unusual for someone to have an ear? It is pretty common. Everyone has an ear and everyone should understand what the Spirit has to say. Does everyone understand spiritual things? No, you need spiritual discernment to understand spiritual things. God wants those who are searching after spiritual understanding—this is why He puts in as if it is hidden. He wants to reveal these things to those searching after it. This is a crucial condition to understanding the books of Daniel and Revelation. Jesus makes it clear for those who read will understand. Those who read, hear, and keep will receive a blessing. Those who have understanding will count. Those who have an ear to hear what God is saying. It is a searching spirit within to understand!

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Matt 13:9 Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Same as in Revelation. What kind of situation did Jesus use this? Parable instructions. These contain symbolic terminology. Jesus is saying if you are really searching for spiritual discernment, you will understand and be able to hear what He is saying. This is the preparation to understand the books of Daniel and Revelation.

Matt 13:34 All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake

he not unto them:

Why did Jesus speak these in parables? #1—To protect the truth from the people whom He is rebuking. The books of Daniel and Revelation are full of symbols to protect truth from His enemies. #2—Easy to remember/understand. If you have spiritual discernment and know the meaning behind it. Without spiritual discernment, you will not understand

What is the problem of Daniel and Revelation? They’re easy to understand if we have spiritual discernment and right tools to unlock the mysteries. We can have confidence in reading Daniel and Revelation! Some people object, saying that we cannot be sure how to understand these books. How can you be sure you’re right? Why cannot people understand these books? They don’t desire to search them or they don’t have spiritual discernment. Ellen White says if we study these books rightly, we would have spiritual revival in our church. Studying these books are vitally important for our church. We have the responsibility of giving the right interpretation of these books to the people.

Let’s look at book of Daniel; only an overview or big picture. Daniel has 12 chapter. Six chapters contain stories the other six contain prophecies. There is one chapter, however, which has a prophecy in the first 6 (chapter 2) and there is one chapter which has a story (chapter 10), but basically, you can cut the book in half.

Revelation is not formatted this way. There is no story of John so where to get his story? In the Gospels is his story and his epistles and in the Acts of the Apostles. So the writer or characteristics of him is as important as the prophecies of the book. We need to understand Daniel to understand the prophecies in Daniel. We need to understand John to understand the prophecies in Revelation. Of course, we need to understand Jesus—this is what these are about. The six stories are very important not just bedtime stories. In some ways, they are more important than the prophecies. Prophecy will tell you WHAT will take place in the future. The six stories will tell you HOW they will take place and fulfilled in the future.

This is a very important format—example of preaching: You cannot just preach on what truth is. You need to give how to experience the truth we need to know how to know truth. There has to be analytical, intellectual aspect and practical, personal application in your sermon, then it is complete. So as in Daniel, it is intellectual—foretelling the future in details, pinpointing them; then the stories tell of the experience of Daniel in Babylon and Medo-Persian—it explains what kind of experience we will have when these prophecies will be fulfilled. In one way, all of the chapters are prophecies. Stories have prophetic meaning in terms of history repeating itself.

Ecc 1:9 The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall

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What took place in the past will take place in the future. Nothing new with what happens. Everything repeats itself—history repeats itself.

Ecc 3:15 That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth

that which is past.

God requires something from us—what is it? The past.This doesn’t mean that we should go back to our past sins and grieve over our lives and be sorrowful. Jesus is saying study the history of what took place in the past because it will happen again in the future. What is now has already happened in the past. So we can look into the future by looking at the past history—it becomes PROPHETIC HISTORY; if we don’t know the past we are blind to the future

This is why Daniel and Revelation requires the study of history—we will be able to appreciate it more as you study it through Daniel and Revelation—we will understand WHY and HOW things took place this makes history exciting. Many people tell history of what happened, but usually they ever tell why. We have a very important tool we can apply in the stories of chapters 1 – 6: HISTORY REPEATS. In chapter one, two—we can almost see future events taking place

Jesus used this method:

Matt 24:37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

Jesus is giving us a classic example of what will happen in the future. What took place in the days of Noah will take place before the coming of Christ. What took place?

Matt 24:38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying

and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,

People eating, drinking, giving in marriage this was daily routine. When these things happened, Noah entered the ark, and probation closed while people were doing everyday activities seven days later, the rain came. The coming of the rain is like the Second Coming in some ways. We’ll look at days of Noah and see how we can apply them to the Coming of Christ. Who is Noah? (Start thinking of the connection of Daniel and Revelation—take what Jesus said and apply to Revelation). Thee 144,000, overcomers, preachers of repentance. Noah was a preacher, he preached about

repentance. The Bible calls him a preacher of righteousness

2 Pet 2:5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of

righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;

What else did Noah do? He built an ark, preached righteousness, had a family. These 3 things tell us about Noah, how can we apply his life to the book of Revelation? where do we have preaching righteousness and repentance? The three angel’s message. This is the message of righteousness.

Rev 14:6-13 [6] And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to

preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, [7] Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. [8] And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. [9] And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, [10] The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured

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out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and

brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: [11] And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. [12] Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. [13] And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from

henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.

“Hour of judgment is come” – the reason why, the warning of judgment to come “Patience of the saints” – Noah was patient

“Faith of Jesus” – did Noah have faith? Yes

Who is Noah at end of time? Noah is like those who give the three angel’s message. The work of the third Elijah is turning hearts of children and fathers. Heavenly Father to earthly children but union in the home this is a family matter. Noah built an ark which means to “gather.” Jesus while

ministering in the Most Holy Place for us before ark of covenant. When you think of this, the ark represents something about the sanctuary message, the antitypical Day of Atonement. Noah is represented as those who give the 3 angel messages.

What were the other conditions during the time of Noah? Eating and drinking which refers appetite. Giving in marriage has to deal with passions. At end of time, people will be under control of their appetite and passions. People will not know when probation has closed, they will not be prepared. Righteous won’t know, but only they will be prepared when the last door of mercy is shut. They won’t be under control of their appetites and passions.

In the story of Noah the door was shut, seven days later the rain came. In Revelation after probation closes, then 7 last plagues and then Jesus comes back. What happens in days of Noah

(characteristics) will be repeated in last days. Not exactly but there will be similar characteristics. Preaching righteousness by faith, warning the world and Prepare for the gathering (ark). In this way, history will be repeated

Question: How much of the details will take place in the future for application? Remember, the book of Daniel gives you history but the Bible itself doesn’t give you every detail at that time. The Bible is chosen and selects the important detail. If every detail of history was written, the Bible would be very long. Daniel wrote those things which were essential to you and I.

Not every detail will specifically repeat at the end of time. The history the Bible that has been collected and recorded will be repeated but not in exact order. Literal Babylon won’t be conquering the world. We won’t bow down to statue, but some will give honor to the “image of the beast.” We may or may not be thrown into lions’ den. Similar characteristics will take place and we must understand these things God tells us these stories first to prepare our minds to study and understand the prophecies of Daniel. God tells them to us first. So the answer is that many things and much things. Certain key words which tell us: Daniel was taken to Babylon in the first captivity in 605 B.C. According to EGW, Daniel was a captive in Babylon at the age of 15. It was a long way from Israel to Babylon and it took about 6 months to travel across the desert. On the way to Babylon, they were castrated. How do we know? Because they were to be eunuchs. Why were they

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BC.

Daniel lived through 2 eras – Babylonian and Medo-Persian as we will see whilst we study later chapters. Daniel and Revelation are closely tied together. Daniel is the only book in the OT that God says to shut up – Daniel 12:9 and Revelation is the book in the NT where God says to seal not the sayings of prophesy for the time is at hand – Rev 22:10. So whilst the prophecies of Daniel were sealed until a certain time, God used Revelation to the explain Daniel and vice versa at the appointed time.

Many times, the name of the book has a lot of meaning and sometimes contains the main theme. The name Daniel in Hebrew has 2 parts – ‘Dan’ = Judge + ‘iel’ = God. Together it means God is my Judge.

The theme of Daniel is judgment. All throughout it reveals God as the judge. Babylon means confusion or mixing. This judgment is a distinction between good and evil. Jesus also said “God is my Judge”. 1 Peter 2:23. Means He will not do the act of revenge. The theme is best summed up in Ecclesiastes 12:13-14. We will come back to this text from time to time.

Comparisons between Daniel and John the revelator:

DANIEL JOHN

Prophet of OT Prophet of NT

Part of old kingdom of Israel Part of Israel, the church Called by God at a young age Called by God at a young age Reveals overview of prophecy till end of

time Expands and reveals more detail at the end of Daniel’s prophecies

Textbooks

You don’t have to read every single book. But these are the recommended books to help you in your further studies.

 KJV Bible

 The Great Controversy by Ellen G. White  The King of the North by Louise Weir  Daniel the Prophet by Stephen N. Haskells  Daniel and Revelation by Uriah Smith  Sanctified Life by Ellen G. White  Prophets and Kings by Ellen G. White

 Daniel and Revelation by Ellen G. White (Compiled)

 Daniel and Revelation Compilation (Bible texts with blank pages).  Bible Dictionary

 Sacred Chronology by Sylvester Bliss

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You don’t have to read every single book. But these are the recommended books to help you in your further studies.

1. Bible – Make sure you get your Bible read. Make sure you read the Bible first, then go to SOP second.

2. SOP – You can’t get any better than prophet telling you what it means.

3. Other References – Ellen White primarily she is dealing with character. Very rarely would she ever get into dates, names, and places. But like Uriah Smith, he is a historian. Naturally he will get into dates, names, and places. You need the history. It’s the fulfillment of

prophecy. Prophecy cannot be fully understood without the history. Get the balance of two.

Making a Daniel Commentary

It will be helpful to use Daniel and Revelation Compilation. Instruction below is given in assumption of using Daniel and Revelation Compilation.

1. Segmenting – Segment the Bible verses by topic. You can have several texts that holds the same topic or theme together. Then, put your subtitle for it. For example, v 1-2 Attack of

Babylon.

2. Commenting – Then on the blank page, under the subtitle, you can write your own

comment regarding to the verses. Major points from your class note can be written there. Or if you have other thoughts, or insights, you may also write that down.

3. SOP Quotations – Along your SOP reading, take powerful statements regarding to the verses, and write down the book, page, and summary of the quotation. If the quotation is short enough, you may write the whole quotation down.

4. Other sources – If you have historical background or other useful information, write down the book, pages, and summary of the information.

BSM: There are some verses that just don’t need to be commented on; it’s so obvious, so plain. Then there are other verses that are significant, they are saying something. “Daniel purposed in his heart.” How do we know what is the key text? It will be so obvious from the context of the story, and whatever the Holy Spirit impresses you to do. As you go on the SOP, when she stops and explains on the text, that tells you something. You better pay attention.

Purpose in Studying Daniel

To Establish the Correct Historical School

Historicism is the only true means of understanding the prophetic writings of Daniel. There are several types of schools of prophetic understanding, but only one is right. Don’t get the idea that you can simply glean little from of this and little from of that trying to blend together and trying to make it right. There is no such thing in gleaning from truth and error and trying to put it together and still have the truth. That does not happen! Truth only comes from unadulterated truth! One of the great issues we are having in our church today is over prophecy. Adventist are being hooked, sunk, and lying, and sinker into this false concepts of prophecy. Personally I believe that one of the reasons why we are having this problems are first of all, we lost our identity as a people. We don’t even know who we are anymore! We claim to be Seventh-Day Adventists, but we don’t even have

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not the remnant, remnant is God’s people all over the world in other churches. That’s ridiculous! There is no way in the world they can be the remnant.

Rev 12:17 dragon was wroth with the woman…, which keep the commandments of God and have the

testimony of Jesus Christ.

Rev 19:10 having the testimony of Jesus Christ = Sprit of Prophecy.

Rev 14:12 Here is the patience of the saints… keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus

Christ.

Isa 58:12,13 …Keeping the Sabbath.

Mal 4:5 end time movement = talking about the Elijah movement.

The remnant is that those who Keep the commandments of God and having the spirit of

Prophecy and keeping the Sabbath and there will be an Elijah movement! Don’t tell me that the church out there, the people out there are that!!! There is no way!!! We as a church lost our identity, we’ve forgotten who we are!!! WE ARE THE REMNANT!!! God is trying to prepare us that in our life will be ready to be straight so we can give calls those out there to come out of the Babylon. And once they come out and join the rank, they may become the remnant, but not until then! We lost our identity. We as a SDA church, we are born out of prophecy, did you know that? Our mother is prophecy and we’ve got only one father. It’s either Historicism, or Futurism, or Preterism. And one that can conceive us is Historicism. But Adventists, we don’t know that we are loosing it! It’s because we lost our identity! Because we lost our message! Very few SDA’s can explain our message. And if that’s the case, then why are you a Seventh-day Adventist? Isn’t it foolish to join something you don’t even know what you are joining and why you are joining? Would you get married to someone you don’t know why you are getting married to? “Why are you getting married with her?” “Well, I don’t know. Um…well, I just thought it’s nice thing to do.” That’s not going to help you any. Being an Adventist, you do as well as what others do, that doesn’t save you! Like Jews, “My father is Abraham!” Jesus says, “Oh, is that right? Do you see those stones? I can raise them make the seed of Abraham.” Matt 3:9.

So our desire in this course is to establish the correct historical school or prophetic school of interpretation which is historicism. Once we establish that we can proceed in our investigation. Specially when you deal with the theology, whatever subject you are dealing with, you have a cause and effect relationship. And your effect is based on the cause. Whatever premise you work off of, I don’t care how slightly in error you may be, but inevitably some point in time that error will show up somewhere in your effects as you go on in your theology. So we should spend as much time as possible to establish our feet on the correct premise. And from that point on, we proceed the investigation.

To Have a Deeper Religious Experience

We used bullets instead of numbers when making points involving no particular progression.

TM 114 When the books of Daniel and Revelation are better understood, believers will have an

entirely different religious experience.

That experience is based on the correct understanding. I have seen people having totally different religious experience, but that doesn’t mean that they had the right experience. You may have totally

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different religious experience but that doesn’t mean that experience is right. We want the correct experience, and the way that happens is by the correct understanding. It’s sad that we got many people in Adventist church that they are hook in line and sunk into this Futurism. And they are having different experience, totally different than what they had before. But dominating spirit that we see in lot of this people is almost fanatical and radical. And it’s almost as if they cannot reason from cause to effect. It’s tragedy! When you begin to give your mind over to another spirit, you cannot reason correctly. And the plainest statement can be put before your face, some how you just don’t see it. We just got to be careful, and pray to God that we don’t fall into that track. We want to gain this entire different religious experience, but the right one! And it comes by the correct understanding of Daniel and Revelation.

To Share What We Believe

Many people don’t know why they believe and what they believe. Right now if I would ask you what is the mark of the beast in the Bible, you would say “the Sunday law.” Now, could you prove that from the Bible? The answer is correct. But the evidence is not there to base that answer. Therefore you only know what you know not by your own experience, but because you only heard from someone else. That kind of knowledge is not going to help you. That’s superficial knowledge. That’s surface believers anchored nowhere when the storm comes. The anchor needs to be established.

1 Pet 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every

man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:

2T 634 Many who profess to believe the truth for these last days will be found wanting. They have

neglected the weightier matters. Their conversion is superficial, not deep, earnest, and thorough. They do not know why they believe the truth, only because others have believed it, and they take it for granted that it is the truth. They can give no intelligent reason why they believe. Many have allowed their minds to be filled with things of minor importance, and their eternal interest is made secondary.

Hopefully by the grace of God, you will, for yourself, experience in the truth in the book of Daniel. Once you do that, you can share with ease and conviction. Don’t simply repeat the words of another person! You got to do the study! You got to do the investigation! You got to do the thinking! You got to start explaining what does this book mean! I can say this is true and this is false, and yes, that’s good and fantastic, but you don’t learn anything! You got to know yourself why this is right and this is wrong! And you got to be able to explain it. You got to know! It’s time for us to know what we believe from the Bible and SOP! It’s time, it’s time! Our school system nowadays is literally pathetic! They are not educating our students! You go back to the old pioneer stuff and look up how they educated academy students. If I showed it to you today, you would have problem and say, “We can’t handle it!!” They used to teach their children with the Bible and Scriptures, and in Academy little deeper. By the time they got to their college, they were learning really deep things!

The Protestant Reformation & 3 Schools of Bible Interpretation

This chapter covers some prophetic principles of interpretation. This will give a background. You have three main schools of interpretation. They are historicism, futurism, and preterism. These are the three basic schools that are in the religious world, in Christianity. And this describes how they approach there understanding of prophecy. (Or how they interpret prophecy.) We will not get into the minute details of these things. We will as time goes on.

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happened during the 16th century. Two men dominated the world at this time in a sense and their influence is felt to this day.

We are laying the ground with that led up to the captivity of the Babylon. This is what brought up the captivity. It helps us to see the full picture, the full impact of the prophecy of the book of Daniel. You don’t get lost in your house. Because you lived enough that you know well about it. But you do get lost sometimes in other people’s house. You open the door and it’s a closet. You get

embarrassed. Same thing, more you know about the Bible, less chance you will get lost. If you don’t know the Bible enough, you open the door, and it’s a closet, and you get embarrassed. We need to know people, where they were, what they did. The more we can learn, the better we will know the Bible, better it will help us to understand the message.

There are three major schools in interpreting the Bible prophecy.

 Historicism* – reinforced by Martin Luther

* Martin Luther the German Reformer is not the founder of Historicism. Early Church Fathers who learned if from the apostles already used this method. For example, in 2Thes, the prophecy of “the man of sin.” Paul describes that there is someone withholding the man of sin to come up, and when he (that someone who is withholding) is taken out of the way, the anti-Christ can appear. And early church fathers over and over again recorded that they saw that hindering power to be Pagan Rome. Once Pagan Rome is fall, they knew that anti-Christ would come.

(1) Martin Luther (German Reformer) – It is attributed to him as being the founder of the historicist school of interpretation. But in reality Luther re-discovered the doctrine of historicism. The church at large lost it, like many other truths have been lost.

Note: It is interesting when you look at many of the church fathers…

Book Source: Romanism and Reformation from the standpoint of prophecy by Ginnis(church father,

protestant Author from England) Deals with the prophecies of Daniel, John, and Paul (first part). Interpretation of the church fathers before the reformers (second part). Interpretation of the reformers, then those who came after the reformers (third part). And he documents that Luther is not the founder, he just re-discovered what the early church fathers had already seen in a historical way of looking at it.

Ex. 2 Thess the prophecy of the man of sin, and Paul says someone is hindering or withholding the man of sin from coming, and when he – the one who is withholding man of sin from coming, when he is taken out of the way then antichrist can appear. The early church fathers recorded over and over again that they saw that hindering power to be pagan Rome. They knew that once Pagan Rome would fall, they knew Antichrist was coming. They knew that. Ginnis says many of the early church fathers prayed for the Caesars to continue their reign to postpone the rise of antichrist. They were of the historical school of understanding, not the futurism or preterism.

 Futurism – found by Francisco Ribera & Robert Bellarmine  Preterism – found by Luis De Alacazar

** Both Futurism and Preterism were found by Jesuits. In that sense, Ignatius Lussian, who is the founder of Jesuit, is the father of two. These two men (Marin Luther/Ignatius**) literally changed

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the world. You and I live on repercussion based on what these men have done. The whole social, political, economical, religious realm of this world rotates around the concept of these two men. One person can make profound difference, which can affect people for century to come.

Futurism & Preterism. (2) Ignatius DeLoyola (came from this town, not his last name). He didn't develop these views, but he was the founder of the institution that brought these views out. He established the Society of Jesus known as the Jesuits. These two men have literally altered and changed the world. We live today based upon the repercussions of what these two men have done. Society rotates around the concepts of these two men. The whole social, economic, political, and religious realm is a product of these two men.

Protestant Reformation. There are two principles that caused the reformation to be born. Christ and His salvation (Gospel). Antichrist. Martin Luther had a great problem with guilt and relieving his conscience. He tried to relieve it by many means such as affliction. He couldn't find salvation through this. He was afflicted severely for the rest of his life.

God lead him to the Bible where he began to investigate Romans, Galatians, and Psalms. And he discovered the gospel. This is the first way God worked in the protestant reformation. Luther began to discover Christ and His salvation. This was before 1517 when he nailed the 95 thesis on the door of the cathedral at Wittenberg. No true reformation can truly succeed unless Jesus is the foundation. If Christ is not the pillar you build upon, even if you have truth it is wrong. You can establish truth, but if it is not built upon Jesus, it is truth taken out of context in it’s proper relation to Jesus. The second aspect was the Prophecies of Antichrist. On these principles, the gospel and the prophecies antichrist the reformation was born. The prophecies of antichrist without Jesus is nothing more than a bunch of facts and figures and names, dates etc. Unless you have Jesus as the foundation of these prophecies then you see the true nature and function and purpose of these prophecies, and then you see why God talks about it so much.

He came across Revelation 17. Here we see a prostitute or the harlot. It is symbolic. She is mingling in fornication with the kings of the earth. Fornication is an unholy alliance between two parties. Here you have a woman the church uniting with the state. God has never sanctioned the church uniting with the state therefore it becomes spiritual fornication. The papacy has the classic setup of the uniting of church and state. Through this union they enforced the dogmas of the church upon the people. Luther saw this and saw her being robed in purple and red, the colors of the bishops and cardinals. She was decked with precious pearls. He saw the bishops being rich by consuming the wealth of the people. V.6 says she is drunk with the blood of the saints. And she saw her sitting on seven mountains. So Luther looked at the gospel and the prophecies of antichrist and said you don’t match up with the gospel. You match up with the prophecies of antichrist. And he nailed the

Catholic Church as the antichrist of Bible prophecy by using the prophecies of Daniel, Paul, and John. Rev 17 was one of the most powerful prophecies that the reformers ever used to prove it. Rev 17 & 18 must be read together. After you finish with the harlot woman, it says (in Rev 18:1-5) come out of her. And this is what Luther began to preach. Not at first because he didn’t have any attention to leave the Church of Rome, but by the year 1520 he clearly saw that the RCC was the antichrist, there is no question from the writings we have from historians he said at one point “I can’t doubt it any longer.” He didn't believe this at first but as time went on he preached this. And Luther with other Protestant reformers began to call people out of the Church of Rome.

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It wasn't until God revealed the prophecies of Antichrist that would cause the people to leave Rome. Under the concept of the gospel they could not see clearly the importance of leaving Rome. Because Rome taught that salvation is found in the church. So if you leave the church you cannot be saved, you are dammed to hell. This is what Catholics believe today. If we don't become Catholics we will be lost there is not hope for us. But as Luther began to peach the gospel their minds were opened to the truth of salvation. The people rejoiced but the Church of Rome didn't. This attacked one of the pillars of their faith, known as the doctrine of indulgences salvation by works. They began to get furious and persecute Luther. And he couldn’t figure it out at first, why am I being persecuted? And it wasn’t until he was led to the prophecies of Daniel, John, and Paul, and the he could see why. When these prophecies were preached the people in the Church of Rome could conscientiously leave the Church of Rome knowing they still had redemption. All of Northern Europe was affected and left the Church of Rome. With the true understanding of the gospel and the prophecies of antichrist as they related to the Church of Rome they could leave the church without having guilty feelings, and understand they weren’t leaving salvation they were leaving Babylon.

Gospel (Jesus, the center) and Prophecy (School of Historicism)

When the Protestant Reformation was born, it was based on two principles: 1. Gospel in Christ and His Salvation

2. The prophecy of anti-Christ.

Lutherans in studying his Bible, found the salvation of Christ. No true reformation can succeed or have the stamp of God’s approval upon it unless Jesus is the foundation. If God is not there, if Christ is not the pillar upon which you build upon, you are wrong. Even you have the truth, if it’s not built upon Christ, it’s not truth; the truth has been taken out of context in its proper relationship with Jesus. Based upon these two, gospel of Christ and the prophecy of anti-Christ, the reformation was born. Prophecies of anti-Christ without Jesus are not more than bunch of facts, figures, dates and names. Unless you see the Christ, the foundation of those prophecy, then you see the true nature, function, and purpose of the prophecy. Then you see why God talks about anti-Christ so much. Luther, as he study the prophecy of Daniel, and Revelation, started to understand something. Specially in Rev 17, he saw a woman, committing spiritual fornication, combining church and state together. He saw she was clothed in purple and red, and he saw the clothing of cardinals. He saw she was having gold and precious stones, and pearls, and he saw how they were swallowing the wealth of the wealthy people. He saw her drinking of the blood of the saints, and martyrs, and he saw the persecution of the church. He saw all these things and compared to the church. Church did not line up with the gospel, but it rather lined up with the prophecy of anti-Christ. Then he did realize that Catholic was the anti-Christ, and started to preach. Prophecy does not end there, Rev 18 says, “come out of her my people.” First he did not want to live Rome, because they taught that out of the church, you are damned to hell. But as he continue study, it came to the point where he could no longer doubt. He nailed 95 lists, and started to call people out of the Babylon. That’s when people felt safe to come out of Rome, because they were not coming out of salvation, but coming out of the Babylon. Catholic was furious of this, and they persecuted reform movements.

Many people fail to see the relationship of the gospel to prophecy. Many people say that you don’t preach Jesus. Every doctrine should reveal Jesus. Don’t blame the doctrine if you don’t put Jesus there. You are the one is fault, not the doctrine. People say, we don’t need to read prophecies of Daniel and Revelation, we need to read gospels, and how to be saved and so on. They say as if the prophecy is over here and gospel is over there. My Bible tells me that “all scripture is given by

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righteousness:” 2Tim 3:16. That means all scripture is to reveal righteousness. Righteousness is

result of the gospel. Therefore, all scriptures reveal the gospel including Daniel and Revelation. What you have to do get on to your knees and plea with the Lord to show you Jesus in this

prophecy. Stop blaming the prophecies and doctrines, if we can’t see Jesus in it, it’s not their fault, but it’s our fault.

You cannot separate these two from each other. They go together. Doctrine is to reveal Christ. All scripture is given for instruction in righteousness including the prophecies. 4 Points to show that the gospel affects prophecy and vice versa. This is the protestant view of the nature of the gospel in relation to prophecy. The first two deal with the nature of the gospel, and the last two deal with the prophecy.

Protestant View on Nature of Gospel in Relative to Prophecy (mainly

Anti-Christ)

1. Salvation by faith that works by love and purifies the soul.

2. Salvation is free and found only in Christ on the score, not a church.

3. Therefore, antichrist can arise in a church, for the church is not the storehouse of God’s grace.

4. So, antichrist has already come, namely, in the church of Rome.

We don’t limit redemption to a church. That’s ridiculous. We put redemption in Jesus, not a church. Protestantism teaches that individual’s relationship to church is depended upon the individual relationship with Jesus. Catholicism teaches that individual’s relationship to Jesus is depended upon the individual relationship to the church. The church is not a bunch of plaster boards, buildings and bricks. Church constitutes,

Matt 18:20 where two or three gathered in my name.

AA 11 that those who are faithful and royal throughout the ages constitutes God’s church.

UL 315 It is not the great cathedral, neither is it the national establishment, neither is it the various

denominations; it is the people who love God and keep His commandments.

Protestant View on the Nature Of the Gospel Relative to Prophecy (namely antichrist). Salvation by faith that works by love and purifies the soul. Salvation is free to all and found only in Christ not the church. We believe salvation is for everyone. We don't believe in predestination that the gospel is for a selected few; it is for every person on this planet. Whosoever will let him come take of the water of life freely. Based on these two principles how do the Protestants view the prophecy of antichrist?

Therefore, antichrist can arise in a church. For the church is not the storehouse of God's grace. We don't limit redemption to the church. We place redemption in Jesus not the church. Protestantism believes that the individual's relationship to the church is dependent on his relationship to Jesus. Catholicism teaches that the individual's relationship to Jesus is dependent upon the church. So antichrist has already come. Namely the Church of Rome. Why? Antichrist can arise in the

church, the church is not the storehouse of God's grace, therefore the devil can if he wants to appear in the church. e up the church.

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Conclusion

 Gospel and Prophecy have to go together.

 These 2 must be intertwined together otherwise it is just a collection of dates and symbols.  There are at least 4 points that show that gospel and prophecy go together.

Protestant View on the Gospel and Prophecy (Antichrist) Five Fold Aspect of Counter Reformation

When this thing happened, Catholic wouldn’t just sit down and relax. They started what so called as “Counter Reformation.” And this Counter Reformation is basically made up of five things.

1. The formal recognition of the society of Jesus – the Jesuits. It was actually organized in 1534-1536 in themselves as a group, but it wasn’t until 1540 by Pope Paul III that he officially sanctioned them to be a part of the Church of Rome as an organization.

2. The Council of Trent (1545 – 1563) 18 years, not consecutively, but held on and off. The most powerful, influential council ever held in the Catholic Church until this very day. They really defined their Catholic doctrine: what would they accept or what would they not accept.

3. The Catholic counter-systems of prophetic interpretation. They developed the school of futurism and preterism to counteract the historicism interpretation.

4. The establishment of the Roman index of forbidden books. Printed pages began to go like the leaves of autumn in the days of Reformation. Protestants were printing out all kinds of books, pamphlets about the Catholic church exposing them who there really were. They were attacking doctrine after doctrine of the Catholic church. And this was drawing people away from the church of Rome. So what they did was to “protect themselves and their people,” they developed the book listing authors and titles of books that were anti-Catholic. 5. The Spanish inquisition

The Bible Vs. Tradition

Counsel of Trent (1546)

In the 4th council of Trent, April 8, 1546, they dealt with the issue of “scripture vs. tradition.” Protestants were saying, “Bible, Bible, and Bible,” and Catholics were saying, “Fathers, Fathers, and Fathers.” So they conclude in this way; scripture and traditions are held equal, but where there is a conflict between scripture

and traditions, traditions of the Fathers should precede the scripture. On the same council, they voted that the Latin Vulgate would be the official Catholic version, and they condemned all other versions. “Bible is Bible!” some people say. If Bible translation is not issue at all, then why in the most important council ever held in the history of Catholic church had to officially say that every other version is heretical? Because the Latin Vulgate was of a corrupted text, and it upheld the Catholic doctrine such as purgatory, indulgences, and many of these doctrines. But the protestant Bible, the Greek text held by Urassimus, because it was accurate and clear to the original, it did not uphold the Catholic doctrine.

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Oxford University is very prestigious University even today, of course it’s worldly University nowadays, but one day it used to be one of the most popular Christian University in all over the world. First there was Lautenberg in Germany, Luther and Melanton taught there, became the most popular and most powerful university. But when they went down the history, University of Geneva in Switzerland became the next dominating, powerful university in all over the world. Then Oxford and Cambridge University came. They taught the same way we teach prophecy in the university of Oxford.

Jesuits could not allow that university to continue, they were graduating 500 to 800 clergymen a year. And England was the world dominating power at this time of 1800s; “Sun never set on the United Kingdom.” Because they were in every nation all around the world having some kind of ruling power. They were very missionary minded people, and you graduate 500 to 800 clergymen every year! In ten years, it becomes 8,000! Jesuits could never allow that to happen. They began to infiltrate Oxford University, and began Oxford Movement. Jesuits were no fools, they mastered several languages, sciences, law, theology, politics, economics. They studied the theology of protestants, they knew exactly the same phraseology, terminology.

They became the students, they were the brightest, most sharp-minded and most intelligent. Soon after they graduate, they became the professors. President of the University cannot rule forever, as soon as he resigned, these Jesuits became the highest position of the administration of the

university. Now they control the university. And over 50 year period of time from 1830 to 1881, Oxford University no longer taught the way they taught the prophecy in the past. Now they were teaching Preterism and Futurism, mixed with little Historicism.

In 1881, they decided to revise the King James Version saying that it’s getting out of date. From 1881, we’ve hundreds of different Bible versions. It’s simply given to confuse the people. It’s the Jesuits behind the scene to confuse the people. If you have distorted translation, you cannot

correctly understand what’s really being said. It’s like a manual. And it tells you certain principle of how to operate the machinery. But if the manual is distorted, you can wish, pray, hope, dream, every day of your life, but you will never operate that machine correctly until you understand the correctly principles of the manual. If translation is not a big deal, why did Catholic church had to officially stamp their Bible, and say “This is ours, and every other version is radical?”

Catholic View On Nature of Gospel Relative To Prophecy

In the council of Trent, in the 6th session, January 13, 1547, Jesuits and Catholic churches

condemned the gospel taught by the protestants. They came up with this view on nature of gospel relative to prophecy.

1. Salvation by faith in your works, namely the sacraments administered by the

priesthood.* Notice that they say that the salvation is not in “Christ” but in “your works.” “Priesthood,” they locked you up in to the church.

2. Salvation is free to all who pay and found only in the church of Rome. That means, you go outside of the church, you are lost for eternity.

3. Therefore, the church of Rome cannot be the antichrist because she is the storehouse of God’s grace.

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principles, you find the two systems known as Futurism and Preterism. These are two systems that Jesuits developed.

Development of Preterism

It’s founded by Luis De Alacazar (1554-1613). The very word Preterism is the definition of the system. “pre” means “before.” They teach that the antichrist comes before the Papacy ever seen in the history. They lock it in to Nero Diaclusian (AD 68) in the book of Revelation. In Daniel chapter

8, they lock it into Antiochus Epiphanes. Preterism is endeavoring to locate the antichrist prior to

the fall of Rome, before the existence of the papacy. But when they developed this concept, even the Jesuits themselves said that this doesn’t hold the water, it’s too weak, Protestants are going to kill us on this. So they just put this on the shelves, they did not throw it away. Because the Catholic church are careless of what you believe just as long you don’t believe the truth. Jesuits knew that this had two many wholes that protestants will literally destroy. So they didn’t bring it to the forefront, at least in the beginning.

Development of Futurism

Francisco Ribera (1537-1591) developed the concept of Futurism. Futurism is endeavoring to locate the antichrist in three and half years to the end of time. Through this, antichrist was put so far out of the sight that you don’t look at it anymore. Out of sight, out of mind. After that, Robert Bellarmine (1542-1621) developed the polistic concept of Futurism by Francisco to such an extent that in the Catholic history, to this day he is considered one of the foremost authority of defining the Catholic doctrine. These systems were developed for only one reason; they were developed to destroy the protestant reformation. They were not invented to encourage you to have a closer walk with Jesus. They were not invented so you could discover what the truth is about the prophecy. It is absolutely impossible for you and for me to take Historicism and mingle with any way, shape, or form of Futurism/Preterism and still come up with truth. Light and darkness just don’t mix! I don’t care if you have 99.99999% of truth, and just slightest dust of error and you put it in there and say, “Here is the truth,” no, you don’t have truth! You will not believe how many SDA are sunk up into this stuff!

Conclusion

These 2 systems were created to destroy Protestantism. When we share this in the church, you may would be accused of being a Jesuit, unchrist-like, condemnatory. They will say “You are dividing the whole church!” But brothers, the straight testimony will do it! The problem is, don’t blame the message, it’s the heart of those who don’t want to receive the message. Praise God! This is what the shaking is all about, we need to shake out as this message goes forth! God is going to shake and purify the church!

We too many times think, “It’s organized general conference versus self-supporting and any one against the church must be good.” The issue is not the organized church versus self-supporting, it’s truth versus error! If some in the organized church stand faithful in truth, I am going to stand right next to him, and say “Alright buddy! I am with you 100%!” If someone in the self-supporting does it, I am going to stand right next to him! But if someone in the church is apostasied, and is in rebellion, I am not going to stand with him, I am going to expose the error and heresy in doctrines! If someone in the self-supporting is doing the very same thing, I am going to stand up and expose it! Error is error, doesn’t matter who it comes from, where it comes from, it must be exposed! And we must stop this idea, over church versus self-supporting. Somehow they are the bad boys, and somehow being self-supporting is OK. That’s not the issue! The issue is truth vs. error!

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Purpose, Occasion, and Background

The book of Daniel is made up of two halves, each of which has its own genre. The first half (chs. 1– 6) contains narratives from the lives of Daniel and his three friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These court stories exemplify faithful living in exile and provide models of how God's people should live as strangers and exiles in a world that is not their home (Heb. 13:14). They show Daniel and his friends serving their pagan masters loyally, as Jeremiah 29:5–7 had commanded, yet without compromising their greater loyalty to God. The second half of the book (Daniel 7–12) contains apocalyptic visions, which are designed to reassure God's people that in spite of their present persecution and suffering, God is in control and will ultimately be victorious. The Lord is aware of the suffering of his people and will bring their trials to an end on the day when he

establishes his kingdom. The final victory belongs to the Ancient of Days and his representative, the Son of Man (ch. 7). When they triumph, the powers and authorities of this world will be defeated and judged, while the saints will be vindicated and rewarded (7:26–27).

The two parts of the book are linked by a variety of literary features: (1) the dates attached to the visions locate them during the same period of history as the narratives of chapters 1–6; (2) the book begins in Hebrew, switches into Aramaic from 2:4–7:28, and then returns to Hebrew for chapters 8–12; (3) the vision of the four beasts in chapter 7 mirrors in a number of ways Nebuchadnezzar's dream in chapter 2; and (4) the message of the visions of chapters 7–12 reinforces the message of the narratives in chapters 1–6: God's ultimate victory over the powers and authorities of this present evil age is sure, so the wise will be faithful to the Lord in the meantime, whatever pressures are brought to bear upon them.

We are laying the ground with that led up to the captivity of the Babylon. This is what brought up the captivity. It helps us to see the full picture, the full impact of the prophecy of the book of Daniel. You don’t get lost in your house. Because you lived enough that you know well about it. But you do get lost sometimes in other people’s house. You open the door and it’s a closet; you get

embarrassed. Its similar when studying the Bible. The more you know about the Bible, less chance you will get lost. If you don’t know the Bible enough, you open the door, and it’s a closet, and you get embarrassed. We need to know people, where they were, what they did. The more we can learn, the better we will know the Bible, better it will help us to understand the message.

In this chapter we are covering the groundwork that lead up to the captivity of Babylon. We will discuss about Manasseh and Josiah. Hab 1 & 2 is covered also.

Sermon: "Images in the Groves" Explaining the parallels of Manasseh and Josiah, the book of Habakkuk and how we need to exercise faith.

Note: Could use Habakkuk 1 and 2 when explaining how to exercise faith, which ties with Rev 14:12 too.

Quiz:

1. What Major prophet was killed under Manasseh? Isaiah

2. As an earnest what did God do if they didn't repent? The king went into captivity (Manasseh)

3. Who was the son of Manasseh and how long did he reign? Amon 2 years 4. How old was Josiah when he began to reign? 8

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5. Name the two prophets that gave messages during the time of Josiah? Habakkuk and Zephaniah.

6. What form of worship did satan use lead the people of God into wickedness? Paganism Now let’s discover the historical background from Hezekiah to Josiah.

1. Hezekiah

a. Re-instituted the temple services and Passover.

b. Not since David had a king done such a work to up build a kingdom in the time of apostasy. PK 340

c. God added 15 years of life. 2 Kings 20:4-6 2. Manasseh

a. 2 Chron 33:1-18

b. Longest reigning king in Judah (55 years) and the most wicked. c. Instituted sun worship.

d. 2 Chron 33:11 – Prophecy of what would take place. e. PK 382-383 “earnest of what would befall”

3. Josiah

a. 8 years old when he began to reign

b. Reforms instituted by Josiah (finds book of the law) c. Prophets who God raised up during his reign. d. Last 5 kings of Judah

e. God raised up three prophets: Habakkuk, Zephaniah, and Jeremiah. i. See chart

f. Habak 1:6-10 He speaks about the Babylonian captivity. 4. Principles of Study

a. Study Daniel with Smaller Prophets -- As a people and as individuals we need to have a deeper sense of our duty to God and our responsibility to the world. There should be more earnest study of the Scriptures. I have been deeply impressed with the importance of studying the book of Daniel in connection with the smaller prophets, especially Malachi. {RH, November 10, 1896 par. 11}

b. Study Daniel with these prophets -- In the night season I was in my dreams in a large meeting, with ministers, their wives, and their children. I wondered that the

company present was mostly made up of ministers and their families. The prophecy of Malachi was brought before them in connection with Daniel, Zephaniah, Haggai, and Zechariah. The teaching of these books was carefully investigated. The building of the temple, and the temple service, were considered. There was close searching of the Scriptures in regard to the sacred character of all that appertained to the temple service. Through the prophets, God has given a delineation of what will come to pass in the last days of this earth's history; and the Jewish economy is full of instruction for us. {RH, February 4, 1902 par. 13}

Objective: Cover the historical background from Assyria to Babylon under Nebuchadnezzar.

Outline of the Kings

We are dealing with the historical background that led up to captivity. By this time the 10 northern tribes of Israel had already been dispersed and taken into captivity into the kingdom of Assyria. And the only tribes left were the southern tribes of Benjamin and Judah, and they were known as Judah. For sometime Judah stayed more faithful than the northern tribes, but eventually they fell

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into apostasy. We had King Hezekiah who was a God fearing man, and while he reigned God’s people prospered. When he died his son Manasseh came on the scene and he was extremely wicked. The background is in 2 Chronicles 32-34. It is outlined in Prophets and Kings. Mannasseh was 12 years old when he began to reign.

PO: This chapter corresponds well with Middle Old Testament History.

These are the last 5 kings of Judah. The duration covers 53 ½ years. 1. Josiah

a. Josiah = " whom Jehovah heals" b. 8 years old when he began to reign c. 2 Chronicles 34 & 35; 2 Kings 22 – 23:30

d. Reforms instituted by Josiah (finds book of the law) i. 2 Chron 34:8, 14 18th_{year finds book of the law}

ii. 2 Chron 35:1, 18 – No Passover kept like this since Samuel. e. Last 5 kings of Judah

f. God raised up three prophets: Habakkuk, Zephaniah, and Jeremiah. i. 13th_{year of his reign Jeremiah began to prophesy. 628 B.C.}

ii. 12th_{or 13}th_{year of his reign Habbakkuk began to prophesy. 629-628 B.C} iii. During the days of his reign Zephaniah began to prophesy. 640-623 B.C. g. King of Judah 640 to 609 B.C.

h. Reigned for 31 years i. PK 32 Manasseh & Josiah

j. The only good kings of Judah, along with Hezekiah, in the last part of the history of Judah.

2. Jehoahaz/Shallum

a. King of Judah 609 B.C.

b. Jehoahaz = " Jehovah has seized" c. Shallum = “retribution”

d. Reigned for 3 months

e. First son of Josiah. He was captured by Pharaonecho, king of Egypt. f. 2 Chronicles 36:1-3 & 2 Kings 23:31-34

g. He got carried into Egypt

h. His name is also called Shallum 2 Kings 23:31 margin.& Jer 22:11 3. Eliakim/Jehoiakim

a. 1st_{siege – Nebuchadnezzar came in 606 BC. Daniel, his companions and all the} king’s seed were taken captive, this was in the 4th_{year of Jehoiakim’s reign} b. King of Judah 609 B.C. to 598 B.C.

c. Eliakim = “God raises” or “God sets up” d. Jehoiakim = “Jehovah raises up” e. Reigned for 11 years

f. Second son of Josiah. His name was changed by Phraonecho. He died during the first attack of Babylon on 11th_{year. BC 596.}

g. Necho king of Egypt changed his name and made him king. h. 2 Chronicles 36:4-8 & 2 Kings 23:35-24:6

Daniel

D

ANIEL

Table of Contents

Introduction

Author and Title

Date

Theme

Key Themes

Distinctive Features

Studying the Book of Daniel

Textbooks

Making a Daniel Commentary

Purpose in Studying Daniel

To Establish the Correct Historical School

To Have a Deeper Religious Experience

To Share What We Believe

Protestant View on Nature of Gospel in Relative to Prophecy (mainly

Anti-Christ)

Conclusion

The Bible Vs. Tradition

Counsel of Trent (1546)

Catholic View On Nature of Gospel Relative To Prophecy

Development of Preterism

Development of Futurism

Conclusion

Purpose, Occasion, and Background

Outline of the Kings