Growing in Holiness
Is there more to life than I am currently experiencing? I asked myself this question over 20 years ago.
Shortly after the Fall, the first drops of human blood were shed. Ever since, man’s history has been strewn with the victims of personal vendettas, national revolutions, and international wars. James tells us why in James 4:1-2 when he says, “What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? 2 You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel.”
The answer for why is because of selfishness. That is the well from which springs personal, national, and worldwide strife.
The events in Daniel 11 are part of the revelation that came to Daniel on the banks of the Tigris River.
OBSERVATIONS FROM THIS PASSAGE:
The angel told Daniel that Cyrus would be succeeded by four more Medo-Persian kings. The fourth king was Xerxes who launched a great campaign against Greece in 481.
The Greek ruler who eventually conquered the Medo-Persian Empire was Alexander the Great.
Following Alexander’s death, his kingdom was divided among his four generals.
Daniel 11:5-35 discloses in detail the peace that “the king of the south” and the “king of the north” would try to establish and the wars they would wage against one another. From historical records we know that the first king of the south was Ptolemy I Soter of Egypt, founder of the Ptolemian dynasty. And that the first monarch of the North was Seleucus I of Syria, the one who established the Seleucid dynasty.
The man who foreshadows the coming of the antichrist is the Syrian Seleucid king Antiochus Epiphanes. His tyrannical and anti-Semitic career was prophesied by the angelic messenger who had been sent to Daniel to reveal the events we have discussed so far.
He was humiliated in a battle at Alexandria so he took his anger out on Jerusalem. He stormed the city and killed 80,000 before returning and desecrating the temple. Judas Maccabaeus later cleansed the temple and restored worship.
The Bible tells us the antichrist will do as he pleases (v. 36). The satanically empowered ruler will be domineering and arrogant, and he will even set himself up. He opposes Christ and shall pay no attention to the gods of his fathers, or to the one beloved by women.
Russia fulfills the criteria for the Kings of the North. The army of the North advances and will defeat many countries and defeat Palestine but fail to capture the antichrist. It will continue to northeast Africa. There the ruler of the North will regroup and launch out against his enemies. This last stand will be fought on the plain of Megiddo, or Jezreel, which is known as Armageddon.
The antichrist and his army, as well as troops from the East, possibly China, and the West, the Roman Confederacy, will assemble against the ruler of the North.
The Northern leader, his forces, and all the other armies present will be crushed by Christ and the heavenly hosts. The devastation will be so great that cities all over the world will be leveled.
2 PRINCIPLES TO GROW IN HOLINESS
1. Realizing the end is approaching, you must seek personal holiness
This is the path to wholeness. It’s so easy in our culture of pop Christianity to look and see what we can do and still be holy. We are told to look for our best life now. That is a cheap substitute for the real thing!
We must take in the Word daily and seek Him through silence and solitude in prayer and exercise my faith by demonstrating my salvation through the good works He prepared for me beforehand.
2. Knowing that the judgment of God is coming, you must be diligent to share the gospel
Who’s your one? Who’s that person in your life that needs to hear the gospel right now?The very thought of something like nuclear war raises the issues of life and death, the eternal and the temporal.
Only two things on this earth will last forever: people and God’s Word. What are you doing to invest your life in eternal values?
Shortly after the Fall, the first drops of human blood were shed. Ever since, man’s history has been strewn with the victims of personal vendettas, national revolutions, and international wars. James tells us why in James 4:1-2 when he says, “What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? 2 You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel.”
The answer for why is because of selfishness. That is the well from which springs personal, national, and worldwide strife.
The events in Daniel 11 are part of the revelation that came to Daniel on the banks of the Tigris River.
OBSERVATIONS FROM THIS PASSAGE:
- There would be conflicts under the Medo-Persian Empire
The angel told Daniel that Cyrus would be succeeded by four more Medo-Persian kings. The fourth king was Xerxes who launched a great campaign against Greece in 481.
- There would be conflicts under the Greek Empire
The Greek ruler who eventually conquered the Medo-Persian Empire was Alexander the Great.
- There would be conflict between the Ptolemies and the Seleucids
Following Alexander’s death, his kingdom was divided among his four generals.
Daniel 11:5-35 discloses in detail the peace that “the king of the south” and the “king of the north” would try to establish and the wars they would wage against one another. From historical records we know that the first king of the south was Ptolemy I Soter of Egypt, founder of the Ptolemian dynasty. And that the first monarch of the North was Seleucus I of Syria, the one who established the Seleucid dynasty.
- There would be conflicts under Antiochus Epiphanes
The man who foreshadows the coming of the antichrist is the Syrian Seleucid king Antiochus Epiphanes. His tyrannical and anti-Semitic career was prophesied by the angelic messenger who had been sent to Daniel to reveal the events we have discussed so far.
He was humiliated in a battle at Alexandria so he took his anger out on Jerusalem. He stormed the city and killed 80,000 before returning and desecrating the temple. Judas Maccabaeus later cleansed the temple and restored worship.
- There is a future conflict led by the antichrist
The Bible tells us the antichrist will do as he pleases (v. 36). The satanically empowered ruler will be domineering and arrogant, and he will even set himself up. He opposes Christ and shall pay no attention to the gods of his fathers, or to the one beloved by women.
Russia fulfills the criteria for the Kings of the North. The army of the North advances and will defeat many countries and defeat Palestine but fail to capture the antichrist. It will continue to northeast Africa. There the ruler of the North will regroup and launch out against his enemies. This last stand will be fought on the plain of Megiddo, or Jezreel, which is known as Armageddon.
The antichrist and his army, as well as troops from the East, possibly China, and the West, the Roman Confederacy, will assemble against the ruler of the North.
The Northern leader, his forces, and all the other armies present will be crushed by Christ and the heavenly hosts. The devastation will be so great that cities all over the world will be leveled.
2 PRINCIPLES TO GROW IN HOLINESS
1. Realizing the end is approaching, you must seek personal holiness
This is the path to wholeness. It’s so easy in our culture of pop Christianity to look and see what we can do and still be holy. We are told to look for our best life now. That is a cheap substitute for the real thing!
We must take in the Word daily and seek Him through silence and solitude in prayer and exercise my faith by demonstrating my salvation through the good works He prepared for me beforehand.
2. Knowing that the judgment of God is coming, you must be diligent to share the gospel
Who’s your one? Who’s that person in your life that needs to hear the gospel right now?The very thought of something like nuclear war raises the issues of life and death, the eternal and the temporal.
Only two things on this earth will last forever: people and God’s Word. What are you doing to invest your life in eternal values?
Pastor Chris Williams
To learn more about Pastor Chris and his teaching, visit us on the web at fcfamily.org and make sure you subscribe to receive these biweekly encouragements in your inbox.
To learn more about Pastor Chris and his teaching, visit us on the web at fcfamily.org and make sure you subscribe to receive these biweekly encouragements in your inbox.
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