The Sabbath Was Not Made For the Church

THE "SABBATH" REST OF THE NEW COVENANT

·        There are two covenants/testaments

·        We are not under the Old Testament/Covenant

·        Old Testament (Sabbath) is now made old, decaying, waxing old, vanishing

·        God never commanded anyone else in the Bible from any pagan, Gentile nation to keep the Sabbath.  He only asked the Jews.

·        Conversely, God never once condemned any other heathen nation for breaking the Sabbath, exactly in the same way that He never once condemned a Gentile for not being circumcised.

·        The Sabbath was both given as a SIGN and a SHADOW.....that means it was never a moral or legal anything, just like circumcision was, so people would recognize Jews for who they are/were.

·        The ENTIRE Old Testament was a picture of Christ, not the Law. That said, His importance is primary and He fulfills the Sabbath

·        This is the same exact reason we do not have to be circumcised, and keeping the Sabbath on a Saturday is as carnal and legalistic as circumcision is-can't have one without the other 

·        Even IF it were Saturday?  I would never, ever keep it nor would I encourage anyone else to.

·        Jesus let the disciples deliberately break the sabbath and Jesus rebuked the Pharisees, not the disciples, and told them He was LORD of the Sabbath-He thereby abolished it. 

·        He fulfilled the Law, and the Sabbath. He is our Sabbath rest, not any day.

·        There is zero proof that has ever been offered that the RCC changed the Sabbath to Sunday from Saturday.  That is an Ellen G. White myth.

·        We are not under any law whatsoever, but the law of grace

·        There is no biblical support for forcing people to observe an OT, abolished  law. IN fact, Paul said not to:

·        There is zero evidence from history that the R.C.C. had anything to do with "switching from Saturday to Sunday", and made up by Ellen G. White. No old records, nothing. That is an empty claim.

·        Legalism kills. The LAW is not the ruler of our life in any sense or at any time.  Our obedience is because of what Jesus did for us, and He allowed His disciples to break the Sabbath. The fulfillment of the Law is love, not the Sabbath.

·        When we as Christians walk in the Spirit, we will fulfill the righteousness of the Law.  Not when we keep the Sabbath

·        We are to seek Christ through the Scriptures, not the Law. And Christ is our Sabbath rest, not the Law, not a day.

·        We are told by Jesus Himself to come only unto He Himself for our rest.

·        We are commanded to walk in the spirit (in love, watching our tongue, preaching the Gospel, helping the saints, looking for His coming, reading the Word, praying, keeping our families together, teaching the Word, all sorts of things.  Not ONE TIME are we commanded in the New Testament to keep any law, but specifically the Sabbath as our rest.  It is not our rest, simple as that.

·        We do not go to a building, or a temple-we are it.  We are not legalistic nor are we called to be.

·        We also are called to God's Work-even on a "Sabbath Day"

·        God's "Seventh Day" rest is not coupled with "Evening and morning", in a careful wording, to signify that God was finished FOREVER with His Creation, and resting.

·        Paul in Romans 14:5 says we who are Christians and not Jews have the freedom to use Saturday, Sunday, Monday, whatever day we want!

THE LAW: FOR ISRAEL

(Malachi 4:4 [KJV])

Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.

(Psalms 147:19-20 [KJV])

He sheweth his word unto Jacob, his statutes and his judgments unto Israel. He hath not dealt so with any nation: and as for his judgments, they have not known them. Praise ye the LORD.

(Ezekiel 20:12 [KJV])
Moreover also I gave them [Israel] my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that sanctify them.

THE SABBATHS: ONLY FOR ISRAEL

(Exodus 31:13 [KJV])

Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you.

(Nehemiah 9:14 [KJV])

And madest known unto them thy holy sabbath, and commandedst them precepts, statutes, and laws, by the hand of Moses thy servant:

The Law was a sign, and only for Israel, not us. That includes the Sabbath. We are called into the Church, not to become Jews.  In order for a Goyim (Gentile) to enter into this Old Testament Covenant, he had to become a Jew by being circumcised, ceremonially washed, and then this person had to agree, and then swear under oath before God, to follow the 613 laws of this covenant literally.  You certainly cannot become a Jew now in the Church age.

WE ARE NOT UNDER LAW (Bondage)
(Galatians 4:21-24 [KJV])

Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law?  For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman.

But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.

Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.  But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.

Being under any law is only bondage.  That includes keeping the "Sabbath".

(Acts 15:10 [KJV])

Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?

(Galatians 5:1 [KJV])

Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

Circumcisions is wrong to do also, legalistically?  Yes. So since we as Christians do not practice circumcision as a way of being obedient to God, then neither do we practice keeping "the Sabbath". It is bondage to a ritual not even meant for us.  No Jews ever consistently kept their Sabbaths; God would never ask us to.  And it is not even ours to keep.

(Romans 3:20 [KJV])

Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

Keeping a Sabbath is basically sin, since we are saved by grace through faith already, forever and do not need any law.  Our law is grace and love. It is stepping on Grace.

ANY DAY IS OUR SABBATH REST

(Romans 14:5  [KJV])

One man regardeth one day to be above another: another regardeth every day alike. Let each man be fully persuaded in his own mind.

The Sabbath us just a day for Jews, not Gentiles, and not now, and not special to the Church

THE LAW WAS ONLY OUR SCHOOLMASTER

(Galatians 3:24-25 [KJV])

Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.  But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

(Romans 15:4 [KJV])

For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

(1 Corinthians 10:11 [KJV])

Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

Those Old Testament Laws were never written for us to keep, as Gentiles in the Church. It was written for us to learn from only, and bring us to Christ.

(Romans 3:21-22 [KJV])

But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:

Righteousness comes through faith, not by any Sabbath days. It is Righteousness without the Law.

Hebrews 8:10-13

For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.

It was foretold we would be under a different covenant, since the Old was made  unnecessary, and did not save.

(2 Corinthians 3:6 [KJV])

Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.

·        Keeping the Law (Sabbath) kills; it is the letter of a non-Gentile, non-Church Law for Jews only.

(Romans 14:5-6 [KJV])

One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.

(Matthew 11:28-30 [KJV])

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.   For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

·        Any day of the week is or is not our Sabbath.  We rest in Christ alone.

·        Christians in foreign countries are persecuted and NEVER get any day off.  (China, Muslim countries)

·        Their rest is in Christ, their Sabbath rest, not the Sabbath "day".

·        He commanded us to in Matthew 11:28-29.

(Colossians 2:16-17 [KJV])

Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:  Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.

"Or of the sabbath days", since the Sabbath is merely referred to here by Paul as a "shadow of things to come", not anything to be observed.

(Hebrews 8:6-8 [KJV])

But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the  mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.  For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:

We are not a part of the Old Covenant, but the New Covenant. Our faith in Jesus Christ is our rest:

(Hebrews 4:3 [KJV])

For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.

We which have believed only, not we who keep a Jewish Sabbath not assigned, designed for a Gentile Church.

OLD Testament Judgment of Violation of the Sabbath:

(Numbers 15:32-36 [KJV])

And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the sabbath day. And they that found him gathering sticks brought him unto Moses and Aaron, and unto all the congregation. And they put him in ward, because it was not declared what should be done to him. And the LORD said unto Moses, The man shall be surely put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp. And all the congregation brought him without the camp, and stoned him with stones, and he died; as the LORD commanded Moses.

Stoning, death, for the violation. As per the LAW (we are not under any law, we are not in the Old Testament, we are not Israel). This was a JEW, killed by JEWS.  This NEVER happened with any Gentile, because they were not required to keep any sabbaths.

Now, a NEW Testament Judgment of a violation of the Sabbath, by Jesus over the Disciples:

(Matthew 12:1-8 [KJV])

At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat. But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day. But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him; How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests?  Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless? But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple. But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.

No stoning, no condemnation, Jesus said HE was the Sabbath, not any day.  According to SDA theology, Jesus broke the Law by allowing them to violate the Sabbath.  They should have been stoned.

Instead, He rebuked only the Pharisees for "wanting them to keep the Sabbath", as legalists and hypocrites.

Jesus is interested in an OTHER day:

(Hebrews 4:8-9 [KJV])

For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.

Jesus rose on Easter Sunday, not Easter Saturday.  We enter into His rest when we are saved, not when we take Saturday off.  Or even Sunday.

Everything important here (Resurrection, gathering of disciples) happened on the FIRST day of the week:

(Matthew 28:1 [KJV])

In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.

(Mark 16:1-2 [KJV])

And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.

And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.

(Luke 24:1 [KJV])

Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them.

(John 20:1 [KJV])

The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.

(John 20:19 [KJV])

Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.

(John 20:26 [KJV])

And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.

(Acts 20:7 [KJV])

And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.

The first day of the week is Sunday.  They never met on Saturday again like the Old Testament saints did, except to evangelize the Jews in the Temple, which was the only place and time they gathered weekly, as Jews. 

God never scolded them for it, either. And they were, in fact, JEWS!

We do not become Jews when we get saved, we become the Church

The ONLY reason the Disciples or Jesus went into the Synagogue on the Sabbath was that was where the Jews who He or they wanted to be saved would gather in numbers.

(Acts 13:14 [KJV])

But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and sat down.

(Romans 2:29 [KJV])

But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

Just like the Sabbath, we do not have to be circumcised, except in our hearts.  If you keep the Sabbath, are you circumcised to be saved?  Do you command others to be? Why or why not?

Having people keep a law which was never even designed for them is makes it a stumblingblock, which we are not to put in front of them:

(Romans 14:13 [KJV])

Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother's way.

We do not need the Sabbath or anything else in the Jewish Law to be complete

(Colossians 2:9-12 [KJV])
For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.

(Genesis 2:2-3 [KJV])

And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

God is still resting from His Creation..........a long rest, forever.

Even before the RCC, people rejected the Sabbath of Saturday.

Ignatius, second century, no Sabbath Saturday or any day

Justin Martyr, second century, no Sabbath Saturday or any day

Tertullian, third century, no Sabbath Saturday or any day

******************************************************
ISAIAH 58:

THE ENTIRE CONTEXT IS ISRAEL:
(Isaiah 58:1 [KJV])
Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.


(Isaiah 58:2 [KJV])
Yet they (ISRAEL) seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation (ISRAEL) that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they (ISRAEL) ask of me the ordinances of justice; they (ISRAEL) take delight in approaching to God.
Wherefore have we (ISRAEL) fasted, say they (ISRAEL) , and thou seest not? wherefore have we(ISRAEL) afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your (ISRAEL) fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your(ISRAEL's) labours.

Behold, ye (ISRAEL) fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye (ISRAEL) shall not fast as ye (ISRAEL) do this day, to make your (ISRAEL's) voice to be heard on high.
Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his (A JEW) soul? is it to bow down his (A JEW) head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him(A JEW)? wilt thou (A JEW) call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD?
Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye (ISRAEL) break every yoke?
Is it not to deal thy (ISRAEL'S) bread to the hungry, and that thou (ISRAEL) bring the poor that are cast out to thy (ISRAEL's) house? when thou (ISRAEL) seest the naked, that thou (ISRAEL) cover him; and that thou (ISRAEL) hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
Then shall thy (ISRAEL'S) light break forth as the morning, and thine (ISRAEL'S) health shall spring forth speedily: and thy (ISRAEL'S) righteousness shall go before thee(ISRAEL) ; the glory of the LORD shall be thy (ISRAEL'S) rereward.

Then shalt thou (ISRAEL) call, and the LORD shall answer; thou (ISRAEL) shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou (ISRAEL) take away from the midst of thee(ISRAEL) the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity;
And if thou (ISRAEL) draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy (ISRAEL's) light rise in obscurity, and thy (ISRAEL's) darkness be as the noonday:
And the LORD shall guide thee (ISRAEL) continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy (ISRAEL) bones: and thou (ISRAEL) shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.
And they that shall be of thee (ISRAEL) shall build the old waste places: thou (ISRAEL) shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou (ISRAEL) shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.
If thou (ISRAEL) turn away thy (ISRAEL's) foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:


Then shalt thou (ISRAEL) delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

It begins and ends with Jacob (ISRAEL).......not the church. You should be ashamed of your "handling the word of God deceitfully; "

(2 Corinthians 4:2 [KJV])
But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.

"Rightly dividing" means using the context of the verse, which you refuse to do.  You supplied one single verse, out of context, dealing with ISRAEL, to make a case for the church (not mentioned).  And like I said, you have no verses in support of your idea, so you do this, and want to be a friend?

A friend in the Bible does no do this, and in the Bible it tells me to reject you as a heretick, and have no fellowship, because you are unfriendly, a false accuser, a heretick, and irresponsible, and attack me without merit.

 

Friends to not do that.,  Sorry.

SDAism and Sabbath Keepers are cults, and all cults "use" the Bible like satan does, out of context.  Always.

Daniel Chapter 2

Richard Wurmbrand, Tortured For Christ Author:

"All of those pastors who were of the liberal interpretation of the Scriptures, the modernist interpretation, which did not believe in Scriptural inerrancy, none of them was able to stand in the time of persecution that happened in Romania, simply because of the fact that it was very difficult to suffer, and be in prison, and possibly die for Jesus, whom you weren't sure even existed, or that He had died for your sins and risen from the dead."

The Book of Daniel, Chapter 2

(Daniel 2:1 [KJV])
And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, wherewith his spirit was troubled, and his sleep brake from him.

• No doubt having nightmares is stressful, even if it is not a, prophecy from God
• The spirit here is not the spirit that is what comes alive when we are born again at all
• The same exact thing happened to Pharaoh
• Pharaoh dreamed, he woke up, he was troubled in his spirit, he asked for interpretation from his occultic staff, none could interpret it, and it all came to pass anyways

(Genesis 41:1 -8 [KJV])
And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed: and, behold, he stood by the river.
And, behold, there came up out of the river seven well favoured kine and fatfleshed; and they fed in a meadow.  And, behold, seven other kine came up after them out of the river, ill favoured and leanfleshed; and stood by the other kine upon the brink of the river.
And the ill favoured and leanfleshed kine did eat up the seven well favoured and fat kine. So Pharaoh awoke. And he slept and dreamed the second time: and, behold, seven ears of corn came up upon one stalk, rank and good.
And, behold, seven thin ears and blasted with the east wind sprung up after them. And the seven thin ears devoured the seven rank and full ears. And Pharaoh awoke, and, behold, it was a dream.
And it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled; and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all the wise men thereof: and Pharaoh told them his dream; but there was none that could interpret them unto Pharaoh.

(Daniel 2:2 [KJV])
Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to shew the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king.

• Magicians, sorcerers, astrologers, soothsayers, etc. can only put thoughts into one's head. 
• These are the staff advisors to the king
• Naming "the Chaldeans" as a title is like saying "the occultic"
• They cannot get out of one's head what God puts into one's head
• When we pray out loud, the enemy hears. When we pray silently and read the Word, only God hears and, if we are in His will and only in His will, we hear back, and it is confirmed both by the Word and the Holy Spirit

(Daniel 2:3 [KJV])
And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream.

• Wanting to know a dream shows this dream had a tremendous impact on Nebuchadnezzar

(Daniel 2:4 [KJV])
Then spake the Chaldeans to the king in Syriack, O king, live for ever: tell thy servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation.

• "O king, live forever" is either a thing that was required to say out of respect, like we might say today, "Your Majesty" or, "Your Highness" to a royal
•  "O king, live forever"is also repeated throughout Daniel, even towards Cyrus
• To live forever in the minds of these occultists is not what we think of as eternal life. It was a pagan concept of life after life, sheol, hades, not Heaven, certainly not hell.
• Another thing to note is that anyone can make up the meaning of any dream someone else has.  No one can know the dream in the flesh, nor by a spirit.  God has to reveal it if it is His will to do so.

(Daniel 2:5 [KJV])
The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is gone from me: if ye will not make known unto me the dream, with the interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill.

• This is where the supernatural realm fails, since it is not of God
• Either he forgot it or he was testing them......50/50 belief here
• In either case, the important thing is that THEY do not know the dream.
• There is no doubt that the devilish/demonic realm has power, but it is limited to deception, not reception
• The failure had very deadly consequences, showing that Nebuchadnezzar had power over many men, was desperate for an answer and was a bloodthirsty, maniacal murderer.
• The reputation of Nebuchadnezzar is that he did not make idle threats; he was literally a butcher.
• He roasted officers over the fire-he had absolute authority
• Making the house desolate forever was a decreed custom from Babylon all of the way to Greece, and even today in Muslim Nations. In Rome and Greece, entire neighborhoods would be vacant "forever"
• In Sudan from 1992-2001, a quarter of a million homes of Christians were burned and uninhabited
• 1.2 million overall, in Khartoum, Sudan

(1 Samuel 15:33 [KJV])
And Samuel said, As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the LORD in Gilgal.

(Ezra 6:11 [KJV])
Also I have made a decree, that whosoever shall alter this word, let timber be pulled down from his house, and being set up, let him be hanged thereon; and let his house be made a dunghill for this.

(Daniel 2:6 [KJV])
But if ye shew the dream, and the interpretation thereof, ye shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great honour: therefore shew me the dream, and the interpretation thereof.

• Conversely, the man has power enough to reward this supernatural set of soothsayers if they can do the impossible
• All of the riches in the world are not going to get the revelation of God, from God
• Nebuchadnezzar does not know the source of the dream is from the real God of Israel, so perhaps he thinks that he can pay off the gods he thinks it comes from

(Daniel 2:7 [KJV])
They answered again and said, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation of it.

• Today we call this, "salesmanship" or "sleight of hand", or "just a little fine print. Nothing to be worried about. Just "sign right here and we will reveal the interpretation to you" or "pay no attention to that man behind the curtain"
• These men know full well that they cannot discern the dream and they cannot make something up either, since Nebuchadnezzar had the dream-so, if any answer was wrong, he would know it immediately, making this an impossible situation for these men.  
• This is LOSE-LOSE for the magicians, sorcerers, astrologers, soothsayers, Chaldeans

(Daniel 2:8 [KJV])
The king answered and said, I know of certainty that ye would gain the time, because ye see the thing is gone from me.

• Nebuchadnezzar thought he was on to their stall tactics, but this is not stalling per se.  They simply have no clue about his dream
• This is a "time" honored stall tactic of politicians
• Nebuchadnezzar knows they are merely stalling

(Daniel 2:9 [KJV])
But if ye will not make known unto me the dream, there is but one decree for you: for ye have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me, till the time be changed: therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that ye can shew me the interpretation thereof.

• Again, there is no wiggle room for the magicians, soothsayers, astrologers, sorcerers
• He again calls out their stalling tactics ("till the time be changed")

(Daniel 2:10 [KJV)
The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is not a man upon the earth that can shew the king's matter: therefore there is no king, lord, nor ruler, that asked such things at any magician, or astrologer, or Chaldean.

• They got one thing right here..even unbelievers know some truth
• One thing about truth.....those who do not know it? Are often dead silent and cannot, do not answer.

(Daniel 2:11 [KJV])
And it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is none other that can shew it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.

• Again, more truth.  no one can do such a thing except God

(Daniel 2:12 [KJV])
For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.

• This was a 100% annihilation of all astrologers, soothsayers, magicians, Chaldeans, etc.
• An entire class of people was at stake of being killed
• This would include Daniel (a wise man)

(Daniel 2:13 [KJV])
And the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain; and they sought Daniel and his fellows to be slain.

• It is now over for the wise men of Babylon
• It is obvious that they could not give Nebuchadnezzar neither his dream nor the interpretation thereof

(Daniel 2:14 [KJV])
Then Daniel answered with counsel and wisdom to Arioch the captain of the king's guard, which was gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon:

• He answered "with counsel and wisdom", not just answered
• The decree went forth, and is now being carried out-it was not a joke/practice/test run
• This shows the absolute authority Nebuchadnezzar had in Babylon
• This Arioch the captain of the king's guard is also the captain of all of the executioners who would carry out the task and give the order to kill them

(Daniel 2:15 [KJV])
He answered and said to Arioch the king's captain, Why is the decree so hasty from the king? Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel.

• You cannot just stop a decree of a king like this by questioning what the rush is, without some sort of rapport
• This was unknown to Daniel what was going on, as he was not included in the number present before the king to know and interpret his dream

(Daniel 2:16 [KJV])
Then Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would give him time, and that he would shew the king the interpretation.

• This shows even more rapport to be able to do this.

(Daniel 2:17 [KJV])
Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions:

• This is Daniel's people backup-his companions

(Daniel 2:18 [KJV])
That they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

• Today we call this an emergency prayer meeting 
• It was pretty much a done deal for the wise men of Babylon
• Without intervention, they were dead

(Daniel 2:19 [KJV])
Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.

• Validation that on earth, no man can know another's dreams. Only God can.
• He revealed it to Daniel. He could have revealed it to anyone, technically, but only to Daniel
• He would never reveal it to occultists, nor can the enemy reveal it to anyone, since the dream is from God Himself

(Daniel 2:20 [KJV])
Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his:

• This is acknowledgement of the source of all wisdom and might-God
• One has to be thankful that they will not be killed along with many others, including their companions

(Daniel 2:21 [KJV])
And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding:

• Man thinks events are cyclical, but only the natural world is cyclical
• There is a cyclical nature to the nation of Israel, and nations that fall away and repent, and believers who do the same, which we call repent, rinse and repeat
• But history is anything but cyclical and is advancing along God's timeline, at His pace.
• Man cannot alter history in any way-"He changeth the times and the seasons"...not us
• As we shall see when he gives Nebuchadnezzar the dream and the interpretation, he is saying here he knows what the dream is by the mention of God's Sovereignty over man's empires.

(Daniel 2:22 [KJV])
He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him.

•  What He does not reveal, is hidden, unknown and, most importantly, unknowable.

(Deuteronomy 29:29 [KJV])
The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.
 

(Isaiah 45:3 [KJV])
And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel.

(Daniel 2:23 [KJV])
I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast made known unto me now what we desired of thee: for thou hast now made known unto us the king's matter.

•  Because of God alone, Daniel is the only one who has the answer for Nebuchadnezzar.

(Philippians 4:13 [KJV])
I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

(Proverbs 16:1 [KJV])
The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD.

(Daniel 2:24 [KJV])
Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had ordained to destroy the wise men of Babylon: he went and said thus unto him; Destroy not the wise men of Babylon: bring me in before the king, and I will shew unto the king the interpretation.

• Halt the execution!  I have the king's answer!
• At this point, Daniel had better be right, in the human realm, or else they will all lose their heads-literally

(Daniel 2:25 [KJV])
Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said thus unto him, I have found a man of the captives of Judah, that will make known unto the king the interpretation.

• Arioch proudly and falsely claims that he is the hero here, finding the answer in Daniel.
• Did Arioch find Daniel or vice versa? The above verse tells us Danile went to him, not hi mto Daniel
• So often we think we did something great, when Gid does it and we claim the glory for it.

When you kneel before God, you can stand before men

(Daniel 2:26 [KJV])

The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Art thou able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation thereof?

• The Babylonian name given to Daniel is Belteshazzar
• He is asking if Daniel can give the answer, not verbally, but spiritually

(Daniel 2:27 [KJV])
Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, shew unto the king;

• The bad news......man cannot do it, even "spiritual men"

(Daniel 2:28 [KJV])
But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these;

• He does not say HE can do it either
• The Real Revealer of hidden things, God Himself.  The God in Heaven
• Q:  Did God put the visions in his head?  Or is this just a dream?
• This vision is for today, the latter days also........throughout history

(Daniel 2:29 [KJV])
As for thee, O king, thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter: and he that revealeth secrets maketh known to thee what shall come to pass.

•  Again, God is called out as the Great Revealer
• "He that revealeth secrets"

(Daniel 2:30 [KJV])
But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but for their sakes that shall make known the interpretation to the king, and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart.

• It must be remembered that these wise men are standing there, around the throne and listening 
• He now reveals that this answer is by grace, not by anything Daniel has done
• the "their" here must be the Trinity, since it is plural, and God is the reveal-er of both the dream and interpretation.

(Daniel 2:31 [KJV])
Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible.

• Awesome, terrible, great image, demands reverence
• Brightness, standing before Nebuchadnezzar

TER'RIBLE, a. [L. terribilis, from terreo, to frighten.]
 1. Frightful; adapted to excite terror; dreadful; formidable.
 Prudent in peace, and terrible in war.
 The form of the image was terrible. Dan 2.
 2. Adapted to impress dread, terror or solemn awe and reverence.
 The Lord thy God is among you, a mighty God and terrible. Deu 7.
 Let them praise thy great and terrible name, for it is holy. Psa 99.
 He hath done for thee these great and terrible things, which thine eyes have See n. Deu 10.
 3. adv. Severely; very; so as to give pain; as terrible cold; a colloquial phrase.

(Daniel 2:32-33 [KJV])
This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.

• A man of different metals
•  Iron impure, with clay
• Arranged in order of preciousness and specific gravity, and degenerate in value, increase in strength until the last one
• Two legs start the separation of the body....once that happens, the ten toes now completely separate out and, being made part of clay, crumble.
• Toes and feet make statues stand or fall

(Daniel 2:34 [KJV])
Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.

•  Cut without hands.
• This is a supernatural kingdom

(Daniel 2:35 [KJV])
Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.

• All kingdoms on earth eventually fall, fail, once and for all.
• God is the one who sets them up, and the one who takes them down.
  

(Daniel 2:36 [KJV])
This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king.

• There is no doubt that a king who has this dream, not knowing God, would be very confused, since he would not believe in a God who can foretell things like empires generations away into the future.

(Daniel 2:37 [KJV])
Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory.

• God is the giver of kingdoms

(Daniel 2:21 [KJV])
And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding:

1. Head of Gold-Currrent Babylonian Kingdom under Nebuchadnezzar-Conquered by Medo-Persians, who did not destroy Babylon (Babylon ruled from 606-539 B.C.), Babylon was the secondary capital
2. Silver-Medo-Persian Empire-Cyrus, (of mixed parents, Persian and Mede) the "Persian Empire", who conquered, but did not destroy, Babylon was secondary capital.  (539-332 B.C.)
3. Brass-Greek Empire-Alexander the Great conquered the Persians (kingdom was later divided by four generals (20/21 July 356 – 10/11 June 323 BC))  His four generals divide it up after he dies a young man, having had nothing left to conquer. This is the 400 silent year period, more or less.  According to Josephus, Alexander was shown the book of Daniel's prophecy, presumably chapter 8, which described a mighty Greek king who would conquer the Persian Empire. He then proceeded to spare spared Jerusalem and pushed south, conquering his way into Egypt. 
   
4.  Iron mixed with Clay-Ancient Roman Empire (68 B.C.)-Splits up, never conquered, revived in the last days

THE FEET ARE BROKEN-WHAT HAPPENS TO A STATUE OF BROKEN FEET?

(Daniel 2:38 [KJV])
And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold.

• This is so far good for Nebuchadnezzar
• He forgets that this also is working from the top down
• He also is not the entire thing, just the head, no body, limbs, etc.
• Nebuchadnezzar is not the last king on earth, just the one at the time of the prophecy
• None of these are the most important, either.  The King of Kings is the most important
• All parts of the body make up history; he is just the head and they are all together working to make all of history to the end, from then to now and into the future

1 Corinthians 12:12-25: THE BODY OF CHRIST

(Daniel 2:39 [KJV])
And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.

• The Medo-Persian Empire under Cyrus was, compared to Babylon, like silver is to gold
• Silver is stronger, but less precious, glorious, rare than gold
• Brass is a symbol of judgment in the Bible-stronger than silver, less precious
• The Brass was the Greek Empire, founded by Alexander
• The Greeks were known as an empire of judgment
  

(Daniel 2:40 [KJV])
And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.

• Rome was a worldwide kingdom which subdued all others and was around at the time of Jesus Christ
• This simply imploded, collapsed into ten kingdoms

(Daniel 2:41 [KJV])
And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay.

• It was not conquered, it was divided up, broke in pieces
• Dutch, Spanish, French, Germans, British, all had their empires, but not for long.

(Daniel 2:42 [KJV])
And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.

• This above is proof that they were partly strong and partly weak, or broken

(Daniel 2:43 [KJV])
And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.

• Clay: People?
• Miry Clay: Dust, made from dust
• "with the seed of men".......means "they" is not men.....could it be today, the Genesis 6 repeat of cloning or messing with man's DNA??

(Daniel 2:44 [KJV])
And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.

• The Millenial Kingdom of Jesus Christ cannot be destroyed  Every word in this verses is self-explanatory, really

(Daniel 2:45 [KJV])
Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.

• This is all of world history from then to now and future, revealed to a pagan king,  by a humble man, getting the dream and interpretation from God Himself
• Complete, Divine, God-Man Revelation

(Daniel 2:46 [KJV])
Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odours unto him.

• Well, he shouldn't have worshipped Daniel per se, but he did recognize Daniel's God
• It is not recorded, but I am sure that Daniel told him to get up, or maybe through someone else, as you did not always tell Nebuchadnezzar what to do
• In Genesis 41, Joseph did the same for Pharaoh, with the same result.

OBLA'TION, n. [L. oblatio, from offero; ob and fero, to bear or bring.]
 Any thing offered or presented in worship or sacred service; an offering; a sacrifice.
 Bring no more vain oblations. Isa 1.

(Genesis 41:43 [KJV])
And he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, Bow the knee: and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt.

(Daniel 2:47 [KJV])

The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret.

• Nebbie gets it right!
• Again it needs to be repeated

(Deuteronomy 29:29 [KJV])
The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.
 
(Isaiah 45:3 [KJV])
And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel.


(Daniel 2:48 [KJV])
Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon.

• Sometimes, in this world, even evil people do great things for God's people 
• This is a similar thing that Jesus does and did for us, a parallel

(Psalms 68:18 [KJV])
Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the LORD God might dwell among them.

(Ephesians 4:8 [KJV])
Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.

(Daniel 2:49 [KJV])
Then Daniel requested of the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel sat in the gate of the king.

• Never forget your friends when you move up.

Daniel Chapter 1

The Book of Daniel, Chapter 1: (606-536 B.C.)

• One of the most popular books of the Bible
• One of the most documented books of the Bible
• One of the most exciting books of the Bible
• One of the most REVEALING books about a prophet himself, the entire 70 years captivity (teens to 80s)
• Chapters 1-6 are mostly historical
• Chapters 7-12 are prophetic visions
• Chapter 1: Daniel deported as a teenager, tribe of Judah, in royal line
• Chapter 2: Nebuchadnezzar's dream
  
• Chapter 3: Fiery Furnace (Daniel not even mentioned)
  
• Chapter 4: Nebuchadnezzar's second dream, Nebuchadnezzar's pride revealed, humility given as a lesson on it, and it was written by Nebuchadnezzar himself
  
• Chapter 5: Fall of Babylon, key part of world history and prophetic biblical history
• Chapter 6: Daniel in lion's den
• Chapters 7-8 occur between chapters 4-5, not in chronological order
• Chapter 7: The Times of the Gentiles
• Chapter 8: The Ram and the He-Goat
• Chapter 9: The Messianic prophecy, the Seventy Weeks
• Chapter 10: A Glimpse of the Dark Side
• Chapter 11: Intertestimal, period, the "Silent years"
• Chapter 12: The Consummation of all things
• Chapters 2-7 written in Aramaic (focus is on Gentile world)
• ALL BOOKS ARE NOT IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER
• Chapter 1: 606-604 B.C.
• Chapter 2: 602 B.C.
• Chapter 3: The Image of Nebuchadnezzar
• Chapter 4: The Pride of Nebuchadnezzar
• Chapter 7: The Times of the Gentiles, between chapters 5-6, in 556 B.C.
• Chapter 8: The Ram and the He-Goat, between chapters 5-6, in 554 B.C.
• Chapter 5-Babylon Fall to the Persians-539 B.C.
• Chapter 9-The Seventy Weeks-538 B.C.
• Chapter 6- Daniel in The Lion's Den
• Chapter 10-12 Visions and Prophecies to The End of The World
• So the Order is 1,2,3,4,7,8,5,6,9,10,11,12, chronologically
• Daniel is mostly events that happened, and very little prophecy
• The little prophecy in it is the most amazing prophecy, perhaps in the whole Bible
• It is also the most authenticated book probably in the whole Bible, and attacked as to time and authorship, etc.
• Daniel in it reads from another prophet, Jeremiah
• It covers his life from a teenager to an old man
• Written in Aramaic and Hebrew
• Daniel, along with Joseph had nothing bad said about them
• Both dealt with leaders with dreams
• Daniel gave pretty much real time (presently fulfilled) prophecies to Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar, yet he was not martyred for it. Other prophets were given prophecies for long into the future, yet they were killed for it.
• ISAIAH 14 is all about King Nebuchadnezzar and the enemy both...no other king is to be compared like this in Scripture
• Because the book of Daniel is so utterly accurate that it is also the most disputed book as to its timing and authenticity, but especially timing
• The third century critic and heretic Porphyry said the book of Daniel was a forgery
• Josephus-Jeduah-Alexander the Great-stopping at Jerusalem

"Daniel was in the greatest credit amongst the Jews, till the reign of the Roman Emperor Hadrian. And to reject his prophecies, is to reject the Christian religion. For this religion is founded upon his prophecy concerning the Messiah..............Daniel is most distinct in order of time, and easiest to be understood, and therefore in those things which relate to the last times, he must be made the key to the rest."
-Sir Isaac Newton

NEBUCHADNEZZAR:

• Chapters 1-4 are a lot about Nebuchadnezzar
• Nebuchadnezzar conquered the Assyrian empire
• He ruled for 43 years until he died in 562 B.C.
• He had absolute authority and needed no laws, decrees; he simply spoke and it was done-or else
• Probably the wickedest and most barbarous ruler of the day
• He conquered the Jews and brought them all captive to Babylon, over the course of several times.
• As a reward for unsuccessfully trying for five years to defeat Tyrus, God gave him Egypt

(Ezekiel 29:17-21 [KJV])
And it came to pass in the seven and twentieth year, in the first month, in the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon caused his army to serve a great service against Tyrus: every head was made bald, and every shoulder was peeled: yet had he no wages, nor his army, for Tyrus, for the service that he had served against it:
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will give the land of Egypt unto Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; and he shall take her multitude, and take her spoil, and take her prey; and it shall be the wages for his army.
I have given him the land of Egypt for his labour wherewith he served against it, because they wrought for me, saith the Lord GOD.
In that day will I cause the horn of the house of Israel to bud forth, and I will give thee the opening of the mouth in the midst of them; and they shall know that I am the LORD.

THE BOOK OF DANIEL

(Daniel 1:1 [KJV])
In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it.

• The whole reason for the captivity in Babylon is in other books of the Bible, about Manasseh
• Placed on the throne by a Pharaoh.
• Name was originally Eliakim, changed by Pharaoh "Niko" or ("Nikau")

(2 Chronicles 36:4[KJV])
And the king of Egypt made Eliakim his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem, and turned his name to Jehoiakim. And Necho took Jehoahaz his brother, and carried him to Egypt.

THE SETTING

THE SINS OF MANASSEH

(2 Kings 20:21 [KJV])
And Hezekiah slept with his fathers: and Manasseh his son reigned in his stead.

(2 Kings 21:1 [KJV])
Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Hephzibah.

(2 Kings 21:1-15 [KJV])
Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Hephzibah. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, after the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel. For he built up again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he reared up altars for Baal, and made a grove, as did Ahab king of Israel; and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them.
And he built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD said, In Jerusalem will I put my name. And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD.
And he made his son pass through the fire, and observed times, and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards: he wrought much wickedness in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger. And he set a graven image of the grove that he had made in the house, of which the LORD said to David, and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever: Neither will I make the feet of Israel move any more out of the land which I gave their fathers; only if they will observe to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the law that my servant Moses commanded them.
But they hearkened not: and Manasseh seduced them to do more evil than did the nations whom the LORD destroyed before the children of Israel. And the LORD spake by his servants the prophets, saying, Because Manasseh king of Judah hath done these abominations, and hath done wickedly above all that the Amorites did, which were before him, and hath made Judah also to sin with his idols: Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Behold, I am bringing such evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whosoever heareth of it, both his ears shall tingle. And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab: and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it, and turning it upside down. And I will forsake the remnant of mine inheritance, and deliver them into the hand of their enemies; and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies; Because they have done that which was evil in my sight, and have provoked me to anger, since the day their fathers came forth out of Egypt, even unto this day.

(Jeremiah 15:1-15 [KJV])
Then said the LORD unto me, Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my mind could not be toward this people: cast them out of my sight, and let them go forth. And it shall come to pass, if they say unto thee, Whither shall we go forth? then thou shalt tell them, Thus saith the LORD; Such as are for death, to death; and such as are for the sword, to the sword; and such as are for the famine, to the famine; and such as are for the captivity, to the captivity.
And I will appoint over them four kinds, saith the LORD: the sword to slay, and the dogs to tear, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the earth, to devour and destroy. And I will cause them to be removed into all kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah king of Judah, for that which he did in Jerusalem.
For who shall have pity upon thee, O Jerusalem? or who shall bemoan thee? or who shall go aside to ask how thou doest? Thou hast forsaken me, saith the LORD, thou art gone backward: therefore will I stretch out my hand against thee, and destroy thee; I am weary with repenting. And I will fan them with a fan in the gates of the land; I will bereave them of children, I will destroy my people, since they return not from their ways. Their widows are increased to me above the sand of the seas: I have brought upon them against the mother of the young men a spoiler at noonday: I have caused him to fall upon it suddenly, and terrors upon the city.

She that hath borne seven languisheth: she hath given up the ghost; her sun is gone down while it was yet day: she hath been ashamed and confounded: and the residue of them will I deliver to the sword before their enemies, saith the LORD. Woe is me, my mother, that thou hast borne me a man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth! I have neither lent on usury, nor men have lent to me on usury; yet every one of them doth curse me. The LORD said, Verily it shall be well with thy remnant; verily I will cause the enemy to entreat thee well in the time of evil and in the time of affliction. Shall iron break the northern iron and the steel? Thy substance and thy treasures will I give to the spoil without price, and that for all thy sins, even in all thy borders. And I will make thee to pass with thine enemies into a land which thou knowest not: for a fire is kindled in mine anger, which shall burn upon you. O LORD, thou knowest: remember me, and visit me, and revenge me of my persecutors; take me not away in thy longsuffering: know that for thy sake I have suffered rebuke.

THE PROPHECY OF THE BABYLONIAN CAPTIVITY

(Jeremiah 25:1-11 [KJV])
The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, that was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; The which Jeremiah the prophet spake unto all the people of Judah, and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, even unto this day, that is the three and twentieth year, the word of the Lord hath come unto me, and I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking; but ye have not hearkened. And the Lord hath sent unto you all his servants the prophets, rising early and sending them; but ye have not hearkened, nor inclined your ear to hear. They said, Turn ye again now every one from his evil way, and from the evil of your doings, and dwell in the land that the Lord hath given unto you and to your fathers for ever and ever: And go not after other gods to serve them, and to worship them, and provoke me not to anger with the works of your hands; and I will do you no hurt. Yet ye have not hearkened unto me, saith the Lord; that ye might provoke me to anger with the works of your hands to your own hurt. Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts; Because ye have not heard my words, Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the Lord, and Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round about, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and an hissing, and perpetual desolations. Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the candle. And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.

(Isaiah 39:3-8 [KJV])
Then came Isaiah the prophet unto king Hezekiah, and said unto him, What said these men? and from whence came they unto thee? And Hezekiah said, They are come from a far country unto me, even from Babylon.
Then said he, What have they seen in thine house? And Hezekiah answered, All that is in mine house have they seen: there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shewed them. Then said Isaiah to Hezekiah, Hear the word of the LORD of hosts: Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store until this day, shall be carried to Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the LORD.
And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon. Then said Hezekiah to Isaiah, Good is the word of the LORD which thou hast spoken. He said moreover, For there shall be peace and truth in my days.

THE FULFILLMENT: BABYLONIAN CAPTIVITY

(2 Kings 24:1-3 [KJV])
In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years: then he turned and rebelled against him. And the LORD sent against him bands of the Chaldees, and bands of the Syrians, and bands of the Moabites, and bands of the children of Ammon, and sent them a/gainst Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by his servants the prophets. Surely at the commandment of the LORD came this upon Judah, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he did;

(2 Chronicles 36:6 [KJV])
Against him came up Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and bound him in fetters, to carry him to Babylon.

(2 Chronicles 36:14-21 [KJV])
Moreover all the chief of the priests, and the people, transgressed very much after all the abominations of the heathen; and polluted the house of the Lord which he had hallowed in Jerusalem. And the Lord God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up betimes, and sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place: But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against his people, till {there was} no remedy. Therefore he brought upon them the king of the Chaldees, who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young man or maiden, old man, or him that stooped for age: he gave {them} all into his hand. And all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king, and of his princes; all {these} he brought to Babylon. And they burnt the house of God, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt all the palaces thereof with fire, and destroyed all the goodly vessels thereof. And them that had escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon; where they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia: To fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: {for} as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfill threescore and ten years.

God's reasons for the destruction of Judah and their captivity were

• Idolatry
• Infanticide
• Mocking and abusing God's messengers
• Failed to give the land the sabbath rest. (Leviticus 25:1-7)

(Daniel 1:2 [KJV])
And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God: which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the vessels into the treasure house of his god.

• Apparently when the Jews no longer needed the vessels of worship, God sought fit to take them away
• Nebuchadnezzar had both a house and a house of treasure
• They would be exactly as useful in the hands of Nebuchadnezzar as in the hands of Jehoiakim
• These vessels are later used by Nebuchadnezzar's son Belshazzar in abominable things, when the handwriting is on the wall

SHINAR

(Genesis 10:10 [KJV])
And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.

(Genesis 11:2 [KJV])
And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.

(Daniel 1:3-4 [KJV])
And the king spake unto Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring certain of the children of Israel, and of the king's seed, and of the princes; Children in whom was no blemish, but well favoured, and skilful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king's palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans.

• When Nebuchadnezzar said "children" of Israel, he meant literally children. These were boys
• The world loves its wisdom, and always wants to indoctrinate others in it
• In a addition, language has to be learned to abide in a strange land, if one is to mingle
• Nebuchadnezzar was known to only take the best, elite, "cream of the crop" for himself and his advisors, endeavors, etc.

(Daniel 1:5 [KJV])
And the king appointed them a daily provision of the king's meat, and of the wine which he drank: so nourishing them three years, that at the end thereof they might stand before the king.

• Along with the indoctrination of their "wisdom", and their language, the worldly like to steep them in their culture
• Most likely this was pork and very intoxicating wine
• This meat included unclean animals such as pigs, etc.

(Daniel 1:6-7 [KJV])
Now among these were of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: Unto whom the prince of the eunuchs gave names: for he gave unto Daniel the name of Belteshazzar; and to Hananiah, of Shadrach; and to Mishael, of Meshach; and to Azariah, of Abednego.

• Along with new "wisdom", a new language, and a new "culture" comes a new name
• Nebuchadnezzar's son's name is Belshazzar; he gave Daniel the name of Belteshazzar
• "Bel's prince." -Yonge
  "Beltis protects the king."
  "Bel is the keeper of secrets." -appropriate for Daniel
  "God is my judge"
• Daniel was probably about 17 years old and was made a eunuch, so never married

BELTESHAZZAR
Biblical (Dan. x. 1). Babylonian name, possibly meaning "Bel is the keeper of secrets." See Rawlinson's note below. Yonge gives the meaning "Bel's prince." (History of Christian Names, Yonge, 1884). See Balthasar and Beltshazzar.

Belteshazzar, the name given by the prince of the eunuchs to Daniel, would have appeared, from the obvious analogy of Belshazzar, to be a contracted form of Bilta-sar-uzur, and therefore to signify "Beltis protects the king." But it is an objection to this that Nebuchadnezzar connects the name with that of "his god," who must (it would seem) be Bel, and not Beltis. If then we are obliged to seek another derivation, we may perhaps find it in Bel, the god, tisha (Heb. ???????), "a secret," and uzur, from nazar, "to guard, protect." Belteshazzar would then mean "Bel is the keeper of secrets," an appropriate sense, since "secrets" were what Daniel was considered especially to know. (The Five Great Monarches of the Ancient Eastern World, Rawlinson, 1880)>>

(Jeremiah 50:2 [KJV])
Declare ye among the nations, and publish, and set up a standard; publish, and conceal not: say, Babylon is taken, Bel is confounded, Merodach is broken in pieces; her idols are confounded, her images are broken in pieces.

(Daniel 1:8 [KJV])
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.

• Daniel is desiring to be separate from their practices, as he knew that these meats were sacrificed to idols
• On top of that, there was most certainly unclean meats
• Paul tells us the same, not for the sake of legalism, but rather for the sake of the weak
• Perhaps Daniel did this for the three others with him: Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego

(Leviticus 11:44-47 [KJV])
For I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. For I am the LORD that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy. This is the law of the beasts, and of the fowl, and of every living creature that moveth in the waters, and of every creature that creepeth upon the earth: To make a difference between the unclean and the clean, and between the beast that may be eaten and the beast that may not be eaten.

(1 Corinthians 6:13 [KJV])
Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats: but God shall destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body.

(1 Corinthians 10:19-33 [KJV])
What say I then? that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing? But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils.
Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils.
Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? are we stronger than he? All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not. Let no man seek his own, but every man another's wealth. Whatsoever is sold in the shambles, that eat, asking no question for conscience sake: For the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof.
If any of them that believe not bid you to a feast, and ye be disposed to go; whatsoever is set before you, eat, asking no question for conscience sake.
But if any man say unto you, This is offered in sacrifice unto idols, eat not for his sake that shewed it, and for conscience sake: for the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof: Conscience, I say, not thine own, but of the other: for why is my liberty judged of another man's conscience?
For if I by grace be a partaker, why am I evil spoken of for that for which I give thanks? Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God: Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.

(Daniel 1:9 [KJV])
Now God had brought Daniel into favour and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs.

• If Daniel were alive today, he would tell us that it was nothing he did or was that would have made these people like or love him at all.
• The culture and history of the Babylonians is proof that they were enemies as well as all other ancient cultures

(Proverbs 16:7 [KJV])
When a man's ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.

(Daniel 1:10 [KJV])
And the prince of the eunuchs said unto Daniel, I fear my lord the king, who hath appointed your meat and your drink: for why should he see your faces worse liking than the children which are of your sort? then shall ye make me endanger my head to the king.

• Three things are happening here
• Number one: A clear denial of the supernatural
• A concern for this man's own personal well being, not Daniel's health
• Most likely the meat was also pork or included it, which Daniel and the boys would not have eaten, so this prince did not respect Jewish culture as well. In any case, whatever meat it was, it was surely sacrificed to idols.
• This is not even legalism; this meat would have been infested with trichina worms

(1 Corinthians 8:4-13 [KJV])
As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one. For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him. Howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge: for some with conscience of the idol unto this hour eat it as a thing offered unto an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled. But meat commendeth us not to God: for neither, if we eat, are we the better; neither, if we eat not, are we the worse. But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumblingblock to them that are weak. For if any man see thee which hast knowledge sit at meat in the idol's temple, shall not the conscience of him which is weak be emboldened to eat those things which are offered to idols; And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died? But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ. Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend.

CHURCH AT PERGAMOS

(Revelation 2:14 [KJV])
But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.

CHURCH AT THYATIRA
(Revelation 2:20 [KJV])
Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.

(Daniel 1:11-12 [KJV])
Then said Daniel to Melzar, whom the prince of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink.

• No meat protein, just things like beans, lentils and peas
• Basically, a vegetarian diet

PULSE, n. puls. [L. pulsus, from pello, to drive.] 1. In animals, the beating or throbbing of the heart and arteries; more particularly, the sudden dilatation of an artery, caused by the projectile force of the blood, which is perceptible to the touch. Hence we say, to feel the pulse. The pulse is frequent or rare, quick or slow, equal or unequal, regular or intermitting, hard or soft, strong or weak, _c. The pulses of an adult in health, are little more than one pulse to a second; in certain fevers, the number is increased to 90, 100, or even to 140 in a minute.

2. The stroke with which a medium is affected by the motion of light, sound, _c.; oscillation; vibration.

Sir Isaac Newton demonstrates that the velocities of the pulses of an elastic fluid medium are in a ratio compounded of half the ratio of the elastic force directly, and half the ratio of the density inversely.

To feel one's pulse, metaphorically, to sound one's opinion; to try or to know one's mind.
PULSE, v.i. To beat, as the arteries. [Little used.]
PULSE, v.t. [L. pulso.] To drive, as the pulse. [Little used.]
PULSE, n. [L. pulsus, beaten out, as Seeds; Heb. a bean, to separate.] Leguminous plants or their seeds; the plants whose pericarp is a legume or pod, as beans, peas, _etc.

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(Daniel 1:13 [KJV])
Then let our countenances be looked upon before thee, and the countenance of the children that eat of the portion of the king's meat: and as thou seest, deal with thy servants.

• This is a trust in God that when they eat less protein from meat, they will not diminish on whit
• The command to eat meat was given after the Flood, and it appears that man's digestive system was adjusted to accommodate this, so Daniel expects that they suspect he shall appear thinner due to a lack of animal protein
• Most people think this today as well, and rightly so.

(Genesis 9:3 [KJV])
Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.

(Daniel 1:14-16 [KJV])
So he consented to them in this matter, and proved them ten days. And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children which did eat the portion of the king's meat. Thus Melzar took away the portion of their meat, and the wine that they should drink; and gave them pulse.

• This is the opposite of what one would expect, and a supernatural thing God Himself is dong to show these princes a thing or two

(Daniel 1:17 [KJV])
As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.

• Today, we say that schools give us knowledge, wisdom, learning in science, etc.
• The fact is, all true knowledge and wisdom is from God, all other is worldly wisdom, not useful for God's purposes, but for mans.

(Daniel 1:18 [KJV])
Now at the end of the days that the king had said he should bring them in, then the prince of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar.

• The reason for the proof was here in this presentation, in case they were too skinny and Nebuchadnezzar asked, they would have to tell him that it was because they refused the king's meat.
• Since God took care of the appearance, there was no questioning the appearance and no need to respond and reveal the rejection of the king's meat.
• The same can be said for us, that God is in charge, sovereign, and we can just trust Him for the question, the appearance, the answer, every time

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(Proverbs 16:1 [KJV])
The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD.

(Daniel 1:19 [KJV])
And the king communed with them; and among them all was found none like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: therefore stood they before the king.

• God wants to commune with us because HE loves us
• Nebuchadnezzar is like the world and wants to commune with these guys because he is into knowledge and worldly wisdom
• I am sure he got godly counsel, not worldly answers

(Daniel 1:20 [KJV])
And in all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king enquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm.

• The world cannot even touch the wisdom of God in its worldly wisdom, not even close
• They are not comparable, not acceptable, polar opposites
• The wisdom of the world cannot find God, as it does not seek Him
• Seeking God comes from God drawing men to Himself
• Can you mix the two and not get confused?
• The world is run by the enemy and man. They both have:
1. Seers
2. Soothsayers
3. "prophets"
4. "wise men"
5. "magicians" (miracle workers)
• The difference is one set is true, set forth to bring men to the LORD Jesus Christ
• The other half-truths designed to deceive to draw away men from God at every moment

(John 6:44 [KJV])
No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

(John 6:63 [KJV])
It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

(John 12:32 [KJV])
And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.

(John 14:17 [KJV])
Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

(1 Corinthians 1:19-22 [KJV])
For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:

(Daniel 1:21 [KJV])
And Daniel continued even unto the first year of king Cyrus.

• Cyrus the Median eventually conquered Babylon