GRACE BIBLE FELLOWSHIP | 恩道堂

Scripture Reading  : Daniel 10

Theme                  : Preparation for Vision

Terrified by the Vision (1-11). After Daniel prays persistently to understand God’s plan for Israel, God against reveals another vision to show him. This vision was concerning the antichrist. It was so frightening that it left him with no strength, until an angel can to strengthen him. Angels are not gods, but are ministering spirits for the elect (Heb. 1:14). They are not to be prayed to or worshipped (Rev. 22:8-9). We can only pray to God, nothing else. Praying to other things such as Mary or saints is not respecting them, but worshipping them. It is idolatry.

Scripture Reading  : Daniel 9

Theme                  : The Righteousness of God

Daniel’s Prayer (1-19). As the exile of the Jews draws near, Daniel prays to God for His righteousness to shine by showing mercy to Israel for His name sake, not for their sake. God’s righteousness is His unswerving commitment to the honour of His name. He demonstrated His righteousness by punishing Israel for their gross idolatry. Daniel agrees with God that His punishment is just. Now, God will demonstrate His righteousness by saving Israel and returning the Jews back to Israel for His name sake because He is merciful and faithful to keep His promises to Israel. This is what Daniel is praying for.

God’s Answer (20-27). God answers Daniel’s prayer but goes even further by revealing His plan to accomplish all His promises to Israel once and for all, by ending all transgressions in the world in 70 sets of 7 (New Living Translation). Most English translations badly translate 70 sets of 7 into 70 weeks in v. 24 (this occurs also in Gen. 29:27-28, ESV). The Hebrew is literally 70 sets of 7. Based on history, this prophecy is fulfilled in 70 sets of 7 years, not days, or months. The first 69 sets of 7 years (total 483 year) has been completed. From the time of decreed to build Jerusalem, not the temple, (occurred under Artaxerxes circa 458 B.C. in Ezra 7:11) to the baptism of Jesus (aka anointed one, circa 26 A.D.) is 483 years. After 483 years, the Messiah will be cut off (death and resurrection). There is a long pause between the 69^th 7 to the final 70^th 7 because God will establish the church, an intermission and a mystery (Eph. 2:11-3:6). When the church is raptured (1 Thes. 4:16-17), then God will again begin to deal with Israel. The clock of the 70 sets of 7 will then start to tick again. The vision is strictly regarding Israel, not the church (v. 24). This is why we believe the tribulation as described in Revelation is seven years and the church will be raptured before the tribulation.

Praying the Scripture

1. The most basic definition of righteousness of God is His unswerving commitment to the honour of His name/character. He is holy, loving, patient and gracious (Ex. 34:6-7). Any pleading of mercy must be based on His gracious character, not based on who we are or what we have done, for we all fall short of the glory of God. God owes us nothing. We must come humbly before God like Daniel, not in pride or a demanding manner. We should also come boldly. Do not let fear or guilt prevent you from going to God for He is a gracious God whose disposition is to give mercy. Be like the prodigal son and Daniel by going to God in a humble and bold manner for the washing away of your guilt through Jesus.

2. The NT tells us over and over again that we are in the last days, in the end times (Heb. 1:2, 9:26; James 5:3; 2 Pet. 3:3; 1 Pet. 1:20). The end of all things in this present age is near and the dawn of a new world order is coming. With the miraculous resurrection of the nation of Israel, the end is even closer now. It is now time for us to live holy and godly lives. Avoid the error of lawless people who claim to be Christians, such as the prosperity gospel preachers. Pray that God will help you to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus (2 Pet. 3:11-18). Prepare for His coming!

Scripture Reading  : Daniel 8

Theme                  : Foreshadowing the Antichrist

Vision of Ram and Goat (1-14). Daniel sees another vision. This time about a ram and a goat. This vision is also recapitulating Daniel 2 and 7, but focuses on the characteristic and actions of the antichrist as pre-figured in the little horn (v. 9). This little horn was the historical person Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who was a king of the Seleucid Kingdom, aka the king of the north as described in Daniel 11. Antiochus desecrated the temple and the glorious land (v. 9) for 2,300 days or about 6.3 years (171 to 165 B.C.), but the Maccabean Jews eventually defeated Antiochus. To this day, Jews still celebrate this event every year on Hanukkah. The antichrist will be like Antiochus, desecrating the temple. This agrees with Daniel 9:27 and Matt. 24:15.

Meaning of Ram and Goat (15-27) Ram is Persia and the goat is Greece. The Bible accurately predicted that Alexander the Great of Greece would conquer Persia, but at the end he will die and his kingdom would be divided into four kingdoms. Out of the four kingdoms, one king from the Seleucid Kingdom, aka the little horn (v.9) will rise up against God and His people. This little horn is a type of the antichrist. The end times antichrist will have a bold countenance and understands riddles. He will have great power, but not of his own for he is empowered of Satan himself. He is cunning and deceitful. More description of the antichrist as pre-figured in the person of Antiochus is in Daniel 11.

Praying the Scripture

1. The antichrist is given various names in the OT such as the little horn (Dan. 7:8, 8:9), king of the north (Dan. 11:6), the northerner (Joel 2:20), the Assyrian (Micah 5:5), king of Assyria (Is. 7:17), Gog of Magog (Eze. 38-39). We know this antichrist is coming. The spirit of the antichrist is already at work (1 John 4:3). We overcome the spirit of antichrist by our trust in Jesus who is greater than the antichrist (1 John 4:4). We overcome by loving God and loving His children (1 John 4:7). Thank God for delivering us from the spirit of the antichrist.

2. God has miraculously resurrected the nation of Israel after 2,000 years. But in the end, the antichrist will come and destroy Israel. We now know the end times is near. Today, Israel now faces existential threat by its neighbours who hate Israel with a passion. Let us love Israel and its neighbours by praying for them and by sharing the gospel to them. Let us snatch some from the fire before Jesus returns.

Scripture Reading  : Daniel 7

Theme                  : Vision of End Times

Vision of End Times (1-14). From this point on, the rest of the book is about a series of revelations God gave to Daniel about the end times. This vision is recapitulating Daniel 2 but adds additional information about the leaders of the fourth kingdom, particularly, the little horn (7:8, 8:9), which is referring to the antichrist. This vision is also alluded to in Revelation 13:2. Lion with eagles’ wings is the golden head in Daniel 2, which is Babylon. Bear is Persia. Leopard is Greece. The fourth kingdom is described as a devouring and stamping monster that is different from the first three kingdoms. This cannot be the Roman Empire because it was not a devouring, breaking and stamping empire that was different from Babylon, Persia or Greek. It was very similar. It respected the culture of its conquered people and only cared about getting taxes so they can party in Rome. In any case, the revived fourth kingdom will be destroyed by God, Ancient of Days, through Jesus, the Son of Man (v.13), then His Messianic Kingdom will remain an everlasting kingdom on earth.

Meaning of the Vision (15-28) The four beasts represent four kings, which represent four kingdoms as in Daniel 2. But God will destroy them and give the earth to the people of God (both believing Jews and Christians) as a possession forever (Blessed are the humble, for they shall inherit the earth, Matt. 5:5). The revived fourth kingdom will have a coalition of ten kings. The little horn, the antichrist, will conquer three of the ten kings and then have absolute power over the fourth kingdom (v. 24). This agrees with Revelation 17:12-13. In the end times, Jesus, the Son of Man, the stone in Daniel 2:34, will destroy the fourth kingdom and usher in His everlasting, righteous kingdom.

Praying the Scripture

1. As the Bible accurately predicted the first three kingdoms in the Middle East, it is also accurate in its prediction of the fourth kingdom. God has miraculously resurrected the nation of Israel after 2,000 years. The end times is VERY, VERY NEAR because we know the major and minor prophets have prophesized over and over again that in the end times Israel will be attacked by its surrounding nations (Zech. 12:2, 14:2; Joel 3:11-12). Prepare yourself to meet your Lord!!! His second coming is closer than you think. Do not build bunkers, do not be afraid. Commit your life to God!!! James 5:8-11, “You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. Beloved, do not grumble against one another, so that you may not be judged. See, the Judge is standing at the doors! As an example of suffering and patience, beloved, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Indeed we call blessed those who showed endurance. You have heard of the endurance of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.”

Scripture Reading  : Daniel 6

Theme                  : Lion’s Den

Plot to Destroy Daniel (1-15). When Darius the Persian king conquered Babylon he put Daniel in charge of his government and Daniel excelled above all. So other leaders were jealous and wanted to kill Daniel. In order to kill Daniel, they must make a law that is against the law of God so that Daniel must obey God by disobeying the law. Through trickery, they were able to put Daniel in a lion’s den even though the king did not want to kill Daniel.

Plot Turns on Conspirators (16-28) God miraculously delivered Daniel from the lions by shutting their mouths. The king was amazed and then was angry at the conspirators so that he commanded the conspirators and their families be thrown into the lion’s den. Ironically, the conspirators were destroyed by their own plot. At the end, God was glorified. The king praised God and commanded other people to praise God as well. This is analogous of the end times, when nations will attack Israel, but Jesus will come back and miraculously deliver Israel and then at the end all the nations will praise God.

Praying the Scripture

1. God is faithful and will defend the nation of Israel and His people. He will glorify Himself through the nation of Israel. Whoever tries to destroy the nation of Israel will be destroyed in the end (Zech. 12:3), just as He also destroyed Haman for trying to destroy the Jews in Esther. The miraculous survival of the nation of Israel and the miraculous survival of Daniel demonstrate the faithfulness of God to His people. We can completely rely on Him and cast all our troubles before Him (1 Pet. 5:7). When the world plots against us we can rely on God.

Scripture Reading  : Daniel 5

Theme                  : Writing on the Wall

Writing on the Wall (1-12). King Belshazzar, Nebuchadnezzar’s son, took over the kingdom of Babylon after the death of his father. In defiance of the living God, he took God’s holy temple vessels and used them for a debauch drinking party. He blasphemed God by praising gods of gold and silver instead of the true, living God. His sin is even greater since he knew about god through his father (v. 22). Instead of worshipping God for His grace on his father, he blasphemes Him. So God judges him by writing MENE, MENE, TEKEL and PARSIN through a human hand without a body. This scared Belshazzar and the party stopped. He could not find anyone to read and interpret the writing except Daniel.

Fulfillment of the Writing (13-30) Daniel interprets the writing but humbly rejects the gifts from the king. Perhaps he knew they would useless since the kingdom would fall that very night. MENE sounds like the word for numbering, for God has numbered the king’s day, or has brought has days to an end. TEKEL sounds like weight, meaning God has judged him to be unfit. PARSIN means divide, also a word for Persia, meaning God has given the kingdom to the Persian as it was predicted in Daniel 2:39. History records that one night the Persians diverted the water of Babylon in order to get into the waterways under the thick walls and destroyed the city through a surprise attack, thus fulfilling God’s word.

Praying the Scripture

1. All proud people who shake their fist at God in defiance will be destroyed by His righteous judgment as He destroyed prideful Belshazzar. Pride is the enemy of faith. It is deadly and leads people to hell. Pray that God will take all our pride away, including our self-righteous pride and our personal pride. Proverb 16:18, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” Pray that God will humble unbelievers and open their hearts to trust in Jesus.

Scripture Reading  : Daniel 4

Theme                  : God Humbles Nebuchadnezzar

Dream of Decreed (1-18). God had graciously given power to Nebuchadnezzar, but he would not admit this. Instead he is proud because he thinks he has created his empire by his power. So God decides to humble him by showing him in a dream that He will temporarily take away his kingdom until he repents and gives God the glory.

Fulfillment of Decreed (19-37) Again, Nebuchadnezzar had to ask Daniel to interpret the dream because no one else could. Through Daniel, God declares the meaning of the dreams. God would take away Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom away from him for seven years. He will live in the wilderness and with wild beasts until the end of the seven years. When seven years are finished, he will acknowledge God and give glory to Him, then God will restore him to normal and give him back his kingdom. This is actually what took place. Most likely, Nebuchadnezzar became a believer of God because in v. 37 he acknowledges God is completely just to humble him. He seems repentant. God has graciously saved this proud man.

Praying the Scripture

1. One of the greatest enemies to faith in God is pride. Pride in your old self will not let the new self be established. It is an illusion to think that everything you have is obtained by your power. For it is God who has graciously provided the opportunities and the skills for you to accomplish anything (Ps. 127:1). Count your blessings every day and acknowledge God for all the good things that you have. Give thanks to Him.

Scripture Reading  : Daniel 3

Theme                  : Messiah Delivers His People

Demonic Worship (1-7). Even after God revealed Himself to Nebuchadnezzar in chapter 2, he still does not worship God, but continues to worship his idols and make his subjects worship his idol in order to demand highest allegiance from his subjects. This is demonic worship that seeks to snatch a person’s highest allegiance and worship to God and redirect that allegiance to an idol or something else.

Faithful Obedience (8-30) The first and second commandments forbid God’s people to worship anything else except for God alone, not even praying to Mary or human saints, which constitutes as worshiping. Therefore, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (formerly Hananiah, Mishael and Azarish) must disobey earthly authority in order to obey God (Acts 5:29). Their faith is confirmed by their determination to worship God alone to the point of even paying a price for it (Luke 14:33). However, the pre-incarnated Christ miraculously saved them. God is good if he saves them and He is also good if he does not save. Heaven is better than earth.

Praying the Scripture

1. In the Bible, we see that people cannot come to God even after they have sure knowledge of God, unless God draws them because everyone is dead in their trespasses and loves their old self more than God. To worship God requires dying to your old self, giving up your identity and worth that are based on your background, your own righteous, your own passion, your self-worship and everything else that you love and has defined you but is contrary to God’s demand (Rom. 8:7). To give up all these things means death to your old self (Gal. 2:20), which is impossible to do unless God enables you to do it. If you have not committed yourself to Jesus, then humbly plead for mercy (Mark 9:24). If God has caused you to die to your old self, praise Him for His great salvation in Jesus. If you know someone who do not worship Jesus, plead for God’s mercy to save the person and share the gospel.

2. Following God will cost you. If you are in persecuted countries, it can cost your life. Whatever the cost we pay in this life is worth it for the glory of the next life (Heb. 11:35). Such sacrifice is honourable because it is for a great cause: the honour of Christ and the spread of the gospel. If we are willing to lay down our lives for our country, which is an honourable cause, how much more should we be willing to lay down our lives for the cause of Christ? Highest praise and allegiance to the King of Kings, Lord of Lords.

Scripture Reading  : Daniel 2

Theme                  : God Declares World History

King’s Dream (1-16). God humbles Nebuchadnezzar by troubling him with a dream that declares God’s plan for world empires. Through the dream God shows him that He is in control of world history, not human kings. When Nebuchadnezzar was troubled by the dream, he demanded the wise men of the land to interpret not only the dream, but also to tell him what the dream was. He is shrewd because he understands these fortunate tellers can deceive him with clever interpretations. No one can fulfill Nebuchadnezzar’s request, so in anger, he wants to kill all wise men including Daniel and his friends.

God’s Revelation (17-49) When Daniel found out, he pleads for God’s mercy. God graciously answered so that Daniel can reveal and interpret the dream. The dream was about an image/statue of a man, composed of a golden head, silver of chest and arms, thighs of bronze, legs of iron, and feet of partly iron and partly clay. These represent four kingdoms/empires, but they will all be crushed when the stone, representing the Messianic Kingdom, crushes the fourth kingdom. The Bible reveals the identity of the first three kingdoms. Gold head represents Babylon (Dan. 2:38). Silver of chest and arms represent Persia (Dan. 8:20). Middle section and thighs of bronze represent Greece (Dan. 8:21). The identity of the fourth kingdom is not revealed in the Bible. Most believe it is the Roman Empire, but this is not likely for many reasons. One is that the Roman Empire never conquered all the territories of Babylon, Persia and Greece, especially the capital of Babylon. The vision was given to and regarding Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. The fourth kingdom is composed of two distinct phases because it is described by two separate parts “its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay” (v.33); therefore, the feet represent a revival of the fourth empire. This concurs with Revelation 17:8; 13:3. When Christ comes back, He will destroy the revived fourth kingdom and then usher in His Messianic Kingdom.

Praying the Scripture

1. There are four general facts about the end times that are crystal clear: the second coming of Jesus, the Day of the Lord/judgment, surrounding nations will attack Israel, and the Messianic Kingdom. When we examine the details of the end times, we must not lose sight of the larger forest. We know the return of Jesus is very NEAR because God has miraculously brought the Jews back to Israel in order to fulfill His end times prophecies. “The end of all things is near; therefore be serious and discipline yourselves for the sake of your prayers. Above all, maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another without complaining” 1 Pet. 4:7-9. This is not a time to build bunkers, but a time to strengthen each other in the faith and to snatch some from the fire through the gospel. May God have mercy on unbelievers through the gospel. Pray that God will align your life according to the looming coming of Jesus.

Scripture Reading  : Daniel 1

Theme                  : God’s Mercy on Daniel

Daniel was exiled to Babylon in 605 b.c., He was one of several young men chosen to serve in Nebuchadnezzar’s government. When Persia conquered Babylon in 539, Daniel was again given a position of power. He obeyed God’s command to serve his gentile masters (Jer. 29:7). He repeatedly prophesized about the Messiah’s future judgment and deliverance. He also prophesied about world empires. The book emphasizes that God is completely sovereign over human history and rulers.

Grace in Judgment (1-7). God punished the rebellious nation of Israel through Babylon. But He graciously protects individuals who love Him. In this case, God protects Daniel and his friends. By God’s providence, He gifted them with intelligence and the opportunity to serve the king of Babylon.

Obedience under Grace (8-21) Under the Mosaic Law, Jews are restricted to a certain diet in order to make them different from pagans in order to protect them from being absorbed into pagan idolatry. Daniel understands God’s grace to him and he desires to respond to God’s grace by obeying God’s dietary laws. He intentionally and thoughtfully devises a plan to avoid sinning against God and at the same time accomplishes what the government desired. God miraculously blessed him and his friends for their resolve to obey Him, by giving them wisdom and healthy bodies even though they had a vegetarian diet.

Praying the Scripture

1. Sometimes it is very difficult to obey God and earthly authorities because they conflict with each other. But God will bless you if you are resolved to obey Him. When you do the right thing you may be fired, sometimes you may be promoted, but either way, you are blessed if you obey God and do what is right before His eyes. Be resolved to obey God and pray that God will give you wisdom to obey also earthly authorities. Prepare your life for adverse results, but anticipate God’s great spiritual blessings in many different forms, of which Christ-likeness is the greatest blessing and honour, far better than money (Prov. 22:1).

2. Under the New Testament, Christians are not limited to a certain diet (Acts 10:15). But we are still called to use our Christian freedom wisely and for the honour of Christ and the good of others (Rom. 14:21). Whether we eat or drink, do all for the honour of His name (1 Cor. 10:31), who loves us and gave His son Jesus for our sins. If we have such mindset, then we are like Daniel who worships God through his diet. Highest praise to God!