* Teachings for Us
* Missing Jerusalem
☆ Daniel Saw Visions
In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel saw visions in his dream.
Great winds churned up the great sea and four great beasts came up out of the sea. The first was like a lion, the second a bear, the third a leopard and the fourth beast was terrifying and frightening and very powerful. The fourth one had large iron teeth and it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. It had ten horns and a little horn came up among them and the three of the first horns were uprooted before it.
And this little horn had eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth that spoke boastfully. He spoke against the Most High and oppressed his saints and tried to change the set times and the laws. The saints were handed over to him for a time, times and half a time. However as God's court sat, the little horn's power was taken away and completely destroyed forever and the power was handed over to the saints of the Most High.
Daniel had mixed feelings after seeing these visions.
He was very worried, foreseeing the trials and suffering the Church of God would face. However he also saw the visions that the everlasting kingdom would be given to the people of God in the end.
In the third year of King Belshazzar's reign, Daniel had a vision again (Da 8). The ram with two horns represented Media-Persia which would rule after Babylon and the goat which knocked the ram down to the ground coming from the east represented Greece.
And he also saw that four horns would come out of the goat and that out of them would come one horn and grow and oppose God. Daniel chapters 9 through 12 are all the visions Daniel saw.
He also saw a vision that in the last days Michael, the great prince who protects God's people, would arise and that there would be a time of distress and that everyone whose name was found written in the book would be saved.
☆ Teachings for Us
Daniel was taken prisoner when he was a young boy. He knew that the reason why the power of Judah declined and perished was because the Jews didn't keep God's commands. However he believed that God loved His people.
So even when he was taken prisoner to Babylon, he didn't lose his love and faith in God and he tried to keep God's commands.
God chose young Daniel to prophesy the great hardship God's people would face in the future and the glory they would obtain afterwards. It was because Daniel had sincere and true faith in God.
Daniel loved his country more than others and asked God for forgiveness of the sins his ancestors committed. Especially when the period of 70 years, which prophet Jeremiah prophesied, was almost over, he pleaded with God in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes.
Da 9:1-20 『 … we have sinned, we have done wrong. O Lord, in keeping with all your righteous acts, turn away your anger and your wrath from Jerusalem, your city, your holy hill. … 』
There are many things we should learn from the prophet Daniel.
Daniel didn't give up his faith in God even when he was thrown into the lions' den. We should imitate his strong faith in this age.
Daniel knew very well that he would be thrown into the lions' den if he worshiped any other god except the king for 30 days. However he could neither give up his faith in God nor stop worshiping God who created him and controls every life. If Daniel had stopped worshiping God for 30 days, being afraid of death, his name would not have been written in the Bible.
"King commanded all the people not to worship other gods except him for this month, so it will be better to stop worshiping God for a month and try harder next month." If we think like this, we will keep away from God whenever we face a difficult situation.
The faith of Daniel's three friends also gives us a great teaching to us.
When King Nebuchadnezzar found out that there were some who did not obey his command, he was very furious with rage. However he wanted the three to worship his god and asked them once more to worship the image of gold.
"If you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?"
Even when they were going to die in a fire with the king's command, their faith did not change.
"O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up."
Daniel and his friends had an absolute faith, not a conditional one. They absolutely believed that if they believe God sincerely, God will protect them and that the only god who can save them is God. Their names are still shining in the heavenly book of life.
Now we are living in the last age of the salvation work in six thousand years. We should have faith like them, actually stronger faith.
☆ Missing Jerusalem
The priests and the Jews forgot God's grace, stopped keeping His commands but worshiped pagan gods.
So the temple and the city in Jerusalem were destroyed and they were taken captive to Babylon which worshiped other gods.
Daniel prayed in front of the windows which were opened toward Jerusalem every day. He missed his home country and pleaded with God to allow the Jews to offer sacrifice to Him in Jerusalem according to God's law.
After the apostolic age, the feasts and decrees of the new covenant which were kept in the heavenly Jerusalem disappeared and the temple was destroyed.We, God's people, became captives to Babylon and we were persecuted and forced to worship pagan gods. This was because we neither followed the laws and decrees of heaven, nor obeyed God, rather we were captured by the false doctrines and thoughts the devil sowed.
Now we miss the heavenly Jerusalem, the old home of our spirit like Daniel, and are praying earnestly to go there soon. We are longing for the day when we will live forever, looking at the merciful eyes of Mother in the embrace of heavenly Jerusalem.
source : http://english.watv.org/
♡ Christ Ahnsahnghong & Jerusalem Mother ♡
World Mission Society Church of God(WMS COG)
Christ Ahnsahnghong came to Korea, at the ends of the earth in the east, and restored the new covenant.
The truth of the new covenant has been spreading rapidly throughout the country. As a result, over 400 branch Churches have been established nationwide in the past half century.
All the Churches celebrate the feasts of God including the Passover of the new covenant, and speedily carry out the gospel work according to the prophecy of the Bible.
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