Prophecy

Earlene Davis

The Miraculous Deliverance – Daniel 12

V. 1 - Begins with “And at that time,” the time of the end (11:40) when the Antichrist will come on the scene and vent his fury on Israel. At that crisis time of unparallel trouble such as never experienced before (greater then the holocaust) they shall be given supernatural help. God will fight for His people when they are at their wit’s end. Michael, the great warrior angel for Israel will stand up for their help. It will be a real turning point (after centuries of defeat and misfortune), a complete miraculous overthrow of all Israel’s enemies, never again to be trodden down). It will be the greatest battle ever fought. The clock will strike the hour of their resurrection. The dry bones will begin to shake and there will be a great awakening (Ezek. 37:1-14). Israel will arise from the ashes and put on her garments of Salvation and praise and sing with joy as she has never sang before. 

Notice, not all the natural lineage of Abraham, living and dead or good or bad shall be saved. The deliverance and resurrection is for those that believe, “every one that shall be found written in the book (V.1c). A nation will be new born, the people contrite and humbled, a new creation, a holy seed, a spiritual people. 

In Rev. 12:7-9 we read of a war in the heavenlies, not where God’s throne is but somewhere in the vast expanse above the earth. Amos 9:6 tells us there are spheres of vast extent, stories in the heavens. Satan and his forces (the wicked spirits) have ruled over some of that. This war in heaven precedes the one on earth. When Satan is cast down, his time is short. He stirs up the nations in a combined struggle to exterminate the Jews. For through them Christ shall reign over the earth. He is the King of the Jews and he shall reign when Satan has been bound in hell a thousand years. Satan fights hard with all his power, so there is trouble like there has never been before (Jer. 30:7). It is a travail time for Israel, Her birth pains from which she shall come forth a nation new born (Isa. 66:8). She shall be purged, a glorious kingdom of priests to reign and bring blessing to the whole world.

V. 2 - this statement embraces the millennium. Many of Israel awaken to everlasting life and will precede the many awaken to shame and contempt by a thousand years. Compare Jn. 5:28-29 and Rev. 20:6-7,11-15. But there will be a resurrection. The faithful dead shall come forth out of their graves and participate in the glorious kingdom of Christ. They shall not be part of the earthly population, for they will have glorified bodies and may reign over the earth (Mt. 19:28 & 8:11). The earthly people will not enjoy their glorified bodies until the end of the millennium. We see ranks in the resurrection of Israel, for some worthies of faith of the Old Testament were raised up when Christ arose (Mt. 27:51-52), obtaining a better resurrection (Heb. 11:35). The second rank will arise when Christ will appear and call them out of their graves, but the restored nation will not enjoy their glorified bodies until the end of the 1,000 year reign. Isa. 65:20 says the rebellious will be cut off at 100 years in the millennium, for there will be no toleration of wickedness ( Isa. 65:20).

V. 3 - There will be some “wise ones” spiritual teachers that will exhort the believing remnant. They shall shine in that darkness, adorning the nation.

V. 4 - Daniel’s prophecy was sealed, for the nation did not understand the prophecy, the vail was upon their heart, but in their hour of need, they shall understand. They shall search the writing of Daniel, “knowledge shall be increased” and understand that the end is at hand.

Vs. 5-8 - Two other persons appear beside the Glorious Man which has been with Daniel since the beginning of the vision. The Glorious Personage appears above the water, the other two are standing on the bank of the river, one on the right, the other on the left. One calls to the Man upon the waters, “How long unto the end of these wonders?” The Man lifts up His hands and swears by Him that liveth forever that 3 1/2 year shall be the time in which these closing wonders shall be consummated, agreeing with Ch. 7:25 and 9:27. It refers to the time when the Antichrist shall have absolute power in his hands and shall devastate the Jews. God will allow it for Israel chastening. When His purpose is accomplished He will suddenly put an end to the false despot and his kingdom.

The Jews for that determined time will be utterly helpless and shut up to the mercy of God. They will learn the hopelessness of trusting the flesh, not only their own, but all flesh. They will call upon the Lord with their whole heart. The Lord will preserve a third part of that nation and plant them as a seed in the renewed earth when He is King. They will humble themselves in repentance and he will look on them in grace (Isa. 64:1; 66:2; Mt. 23:39; Isa. 25:9).

Vs. 9-10 - Daniel saw and heard the vision, but did not understand it. But the people of the end will open his prophecy and understand. Daniel is assured that he is a prophet and all declared to him shall be fulfilled at the time of the end.

V. 10 – Many Jews shall suffer, their faith tried in the furnace of affliction. They shall come forth in victory, purified. The fiery trial which will melt the wise and prudent will only harden the heart of the foolish.

V. 11 – another measurement as to end time events, 1290 days between the time “the daily sacrifice is interruped and the abomination of desolation is set up. We know from Ch. 9:27 that it is set up in the midst of the week of 7 years. So reckoning backward from that time, brings us to 30 days before the beginning of the 7 years of 1260 days. When we get our starting point, then the remainder of these dates are simplified. So the basic offering, the daily burnt offering is taken away just 30 days before the covenant with the false prince is ratified. For the Jews to give up this principal offering is equivalent to letting go of their faith in the Messiah, not believing in the God of their fathers, a sign of their apostate condition.

Vs. 12-13 – The second measuring line (1335 day), gives the very day of Christ’s appearing to the Jews. Beginning at the very some time as the tribulation and counting brings us to 75 days after its close. No doubt those day will be spent in mourning for the one they have pierced (Zech. 12:10-14). The Jews who endure to the end of the tribulation will be blessed indeed.

 Waiting Till I Come

‘Midst the darkness, storm and sorrow,

one bright gleam I see,

Well I know the blessed morrow,

Christ will come for me;

‘Midst the light and peace and glory

of the Father’s home,

Christ for me is waiting, 

watching, waiting till I come.

Long the blessed Guide has led me

by the desert road,

Now I see the golden towers –

City of my God;

There a-midst the love and glory

He is waiting yet,

On His hands a name is graven

He can ne’er forget.

There a-mist the songs of heaven,

sweeter to His ear

Is the foot-fall through the desert

ever drawing near;

There made ready, are the mansions

glorious, bright and fair,

But the Bride, the Father gave Him,

still is wanting there.

Christ for me is waiting,

watching, waiting till I come

I behold Him watching, waiting,

wooing me to come home.

     – Anon

 JONAH

Debra Isenbletter, Pastor

Springfield, Missouri

Jonah 2:7: “When my soul fainted within me I remembered the Lord: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple.” This verse is such a wonderful testimony of faith and the power of the Word of God to activate that faith. Jonah fainted, then he remembered the Lord; he remembered the Word, and as he prayed he drew from the Word of God and his faith revived.

Jonah Fainted: This is his desperation, it is the desperation of the “soul,” of the mind, of the heart. When Jonah “fainted” it speaks of an emotional reaction, not just a physical reaction.  I do not think he collapsed in the belly of the fish, he was probably already prostrate, in a position of physical collapse. Jonah was emotionally “overwhelmed,” he had come to the end of himself, the end of his strength, the end of his struggle. The word “fainted” comes from “to shroud” (from the idea of darkness). He needed to see the light of the Word in the midst of the darkness of despair. When he remembers the Word there is light and there is hope! Jonah’s faith will overcome his fears and his feelings. He must stop looking at himself and start looking at his God. The Psalms remind him of those who have fainted and been restored by faith. He is not alone and the testimony of others show him the way. “My flesh and my heart faileth; but God is the strength of my heart” (Psa.73:26). “When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then thou knewest my path” (Psa.142:3).

Jonah Remembered: This is his recollection.  Remembering is the first step to victory over despair. It means “to be mindful of; to recall.” It also means “to cause to remember” and trials will do this and the Holy Spirit will do this. It means “to keep in remembrance” and that is the key to victory and overcoming. To know the Word, to remind ourselves of the Word. Reading the scriptures is one way to remind ourselves of the Word, so that we remember it. Mediating on the Word is another way and studying the Word is another way. Each takes a different amount of time and different effort but the end result for each is a storehouse to draw from in time of need. We can do this anytime. The Word is available for us, waiting for us to partake of it and store it up for future use. Jonah remembers that his God made promises to him, and that his God had a relationship with him. He was his prophet and his servant. Jonah remembers what other godly men have said at a crucial time in their lives. He remembered that the Lord was “a very present help in trouble” (Psa.46:1). He remembered that there were others who when their “soul was cast down” also remembered God and were comforted and found hope. (Psa.42:6).  I am always struck by what Jeremiah says in Lamentations. He remembered both the positive and the negative experiences and was able to find a balance and he learned and grew from that remembering. He remembered his affliction and misery (Lam.3:19). He remembered and was humbled (3:20). He remembered and had hope (3:21). He had hope because he remembered His mercy (3:22). In the end he remembered how great was the Lord’s faithfulness (3:23). He remembered and overcame and was not overcome. That is what each of us must do by faith. We see the trial but we see the Lord. We see both and find that the Lord makes the trial bearable until He brings us through. Jonah is waiting for deliverance and so are we.  Paul, showed us by his example, and teaching that we can be more than conquerors, that nothing will separate us from the One who loves us. (Rom.8:37-39). We can choose what to remember and we can look to the Lord and wait for deliverance. Jonah did this. Jesus did this. We do this. 

Jonah Prayed: This is his conviction. Jonah laid hold of his privilege as a servant of the Lord. His prayer was “supplication, it was a “petition” and it was a “praise.”  There is a wonderful balance in our prayer life if we have both praise and petition, instead of just petition, instead of just listing our need. Praise lifts our eyes up above the need so that we can see the One who will meet it. Jonah prayed and he knew that it “came in unto” the Lord. He knew the Lord heard his prayer. The words “came in unto” show the stages of prayer. It means “to depart,” the prayer was sent forth by faith. It means “to enter in, the prayer came into God’s Presence. It means “to abide,” the prayer was heard, received, accepted and was not turned away. Jonah’s prayer was a prayer of need but it was also a prayer of faith. He knew how to pray. He knew Who to pray to. He knew his prayer would be heard. He knew this because he remembered the prayers of others and he remembered their faith. He knew this because the Word told him this. He remembered those in distress who said, “In my distress I called upon the Lord and cried unto my God and he heard my voice” (Psa.18:6) This is the testimony of faith, an example showing us that we must be willing to pray, no matter how dire or difficult the circumstance. Prayer relieves the weight of the burden because the moment we pray we begin to let go of the burden and let the Lord take it up for us. This is not claiming, it is not demanding, it is turning the burden over to the Lord and trusting in Him to carry it for us and deliver us when He chooses and how He chooses.

Jonah Believed: This is his devotion. In 2:4 Jonah said, “I will look toward the temple.” He looked, he prayed and now he says “my prayer came … into thy temple.” Jonah’s look and prayer was directed to where the Presence of the Lord was and His presence can be found in the earth and also in heaven. He can always be found.  In the earthly temple the Presence of the Lord was seen and felt when it filled the house of the Lord. (1Ki.8:10-13). But the Presence of the Lord was just as real, just as powerful when it was seen with the eyes of faith. Isaiah saw by faith the Lord sitting in His temple (Isa.6:1) and he was overwhelmed and overcome. Jonah looked to the earthly and heavenly temple in faith. He could see neither with his natural eyes but he saw both with spiritual eyes. His prayer came into God’s Presence and he knew it.  

Paul reminds us that our prayers are heard, that nothing can separate us from the Love of Christ or the Love of God and he lists all the things that we think might separate us and he says that they cannot (Rom.8:35-39). We can pray with absolute assurance no matter where we find ourselves.

 We look and pray to a heavenly place. This is where our blessings are (Eph.1:3). This is where we are seated by faith (Eph.1:6) and where our Savior dwells (Eph.1:20). Jonah is standing on resurrection ground by faith when he prays and so are we. Praise the Lord!

 The Lord – My Helper

Ability to Help

Power belongs to the Lord – Psa. 62:11

Source of Help

Who made heaven and earth – Psa. 121:1-2

You formed my inward parts. Psa. 139:13-15

Willingness to Help

Lord’s answer to Asa’s prayer – II Chron. 14:9-13

Lord looks for those to support – II Chron. 16:9

Rides the heavens to your help – Deut. 33:26

Willing to heal a leper – Mt. 8:2-3

Holy Spirit as helper – Rom. 8:26-27

Affirmation of Help

My God is help – Ex. 18:4

Stone of help – I Sam. 7:7-12

Been my help; He is our help – Psa. 27:9; 33:20

A present help – Psa. 46:1

God is my helper – Psa. 40:17; 54:4; 70:5

Fine grace to help in time of need – Heb. 4:16

Gratitude

With song I thank Him – Psa. 28:7

I sing for joy – Psa. 63:7

Blessed are those whose help is the God of Israel  – Psa. 146:5

   Linda Skadeland

 Psalm 23 

Part 6 - continued

By Vicky Moots

Psalm 23:5c: “…my cup runneth over.” A cup will run over if it is overfilled or if someone intentionally just keeps pouring into it even after it is full. A full cup will also run over if someone bumps into it. An overflowing cup would indicate an abundant, more-than-sufficient, endless supply. This cup is probably referring to a cup of wine and would therefore represent a cup of joy and blessing. 

David said in Ps. 16:11, “…in thy presence is fullness of joy…”. Our cup of joy is full in spite of the circumstances, even in the valley of the shadow of death, even in the presence of our enemies, just because we are in His presence. In His presence is fullness of joy. If you do not feel His joy, then you need to spend time in prayer and in His Word and enter into His presence.

Jesus spoke words of comfort and joy to His disciples on His way to pray in the Garden of Gethsemane in John 15:11: “These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.” He wanted to fill their cup and our cup with His joy. The Amplified Version of the New Testament says it this way: “That your joy and gladness may be full measure and complete and overflowing.” That is definitely a cup that runneth over! 

That joy is a special joy because it is His joy. His joy becomes our joy. Peter calls it “…joy unspeakable and full of glory” (I Pet. 1:8). The joy that He pours into us is so incredible that there are not even words in human speech to describe it or to explain it. It is truly “unspeakable.”

The amazing thing is that even though Jesus and His disciples were soon to face a time of extreme sorrow, yet He was speaking to them at that time about joy, a divine joy that would overflow more than their tears could flow. The joy that He was giving them through His Word was a joy that could not be destroyed or held prisoner in a tomb any more than He could.

Jesus said to them, “These things have I spoken unto you.” That means His Word. His Word is still speaking to us today and filling us with His joy to help us in times of sorrow, if we are willing to listen. We need to read His Word and let it speak to us and fill us with His joy. How powerful is His joy? As powerful as His Word! By His Word He created the heaven and the earth.

There is another scripture that speaks of the power of His joy, the joy that the Lord possessed and with which He fills our cup. Paul stated in Heb. 12:2, “…who [Jesus] for the joy that was set before him endured the cross…”. This meant that Jesus was able to endure the suffering of the cross because He looked beyond it to the joy, the reward, that He would receive. Not only would His suffering and death provide salvation for us, but in return, He would experience the joy of having a bride to reign with Him for eternity.

This is somewhat similar to the way in which a woman endures the discomfort of pregnancy and the pangs of childbirth as she looks forward to the joy of being able to hold her newborn baby. The joy that the Lord gives us enables us to endure hardships and difficult circumstances that we would not otherwise be able to face.

A cup that is full will spill out even more if it is bumped. The cup of joy that we have received will spill out in times of trouble for others to see, so that even through our trials, as we are knocked around, we can become testimonies of the goodness of the Lord, as the joy spills out instead of anger. 

The overflowing cup of wine described by David in Ps. 23:5 is also a picture of the Holy Spirit with which we are to be filled. Paul tells us in Eph. 5:18, “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit. The joy of the Lord, through the Holy Spirit, is also intoxicating and will even control our actions and our speech as we are under its influence. 

The word “filled” in this verse, in the Greek, is a continuous action verb in present tense, so it means to be continuously filling to overflowing. Thus, our cup keeps on overflowing as the Lord continuously pours the Spirit into us, so that the Holy Spirit not only fills our cup but begins to flow out of us like rivers of Living Water. Jesus promised this in John 7:38-39: “…out of his belly [innermost being] shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the spirit which they that believe on him should receive…)”. We are to be so full of the Spirit that others cannot help but be blessed as they are splashed by the overflow of our cup.

If you are feeling down and depressed, then perhaps you need to ask the Lord to help you empty your cup of yourself and the worries and cares of this life with which it has become filled, so that He can pour His joy into you. Even David who wrote this Psalm, went through a time of discouragement and felt no joy. But he knew the source of joy, so he cried out to the Lord in Ps. 51:12, “Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation…”. When David turned his problems over to the Lord, he was able to empty his cup and let the Shepherd fill it to overflowing so that he could shout, with joy, “My cup runneth over!” So, let us do the same and join him in his rejoicing.

To be continued

 23rd Psalm for Times of Crisis

By Vicky Moots

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not be in want of anything.

He maketh me to lie down in safety

and to rest in green pastures of hope and resurrection:

He leadeth me beside the still waters of peace, calming my fears.

He restoreth my soul and my body through the healing of his Word.

He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness

through faith so that I may bring glory to his name.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadows of isolation,

illness, death or sorrow I will fear no evil plague

or plan of the enemy,

for I am not alone; thou art with me all the way.

Thy rod and thy staff (thy Word) I shall lean upon,

and they shall comfort me and hold me up

when I am too weak to stand.

Thou preparest a table before me,

providing nourishment for my body and soul

to meet my every need in spite of the presence

of my unseen enemy who has tried to rob me of my supply.

Lord I feast on thee.

Thou anointest my head and mind with the oil of thy Holy Spirit,

so much that my cup of blessing and joy

runneth over and is never empty.

Surely thy goodness and mercy which are everlasting,

shall follow me and protect me from behind

all the days of my life and I shall dwell in thy presence,

never to be separated, in the house of the Lord forever.

 Burn in me

Jack Davis

“Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace (or let us hold fast), whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:  For our God is a consuming fire.” Heb. 12:28-19.

Verse 29 is quoted from Deut. 4 where we also read, “Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the LORD your God, which he made with you, and make you a graven image, or the likeness of anything, which the LORD thy God hath forbidden thee. For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.” Vs. 23-24.

We also read, “For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God” Ex. 34:14. He is rightfully jealous of His place in the hearts of His people. He would keep us pure, undefiled and true to Him. We may learn much about Him in considering the names and nature of our God. It is not any wonder then that we read our Apostle Paul saying, “I am jealous over you with a godly jealousy” II Cor. 11:2.

May we truly burn in spiritual fervor of love divine for our Father’s, and Lord’s honor and glory? WHY NOT? He is able to consume all that oppose Him or His. II Pet. 3:7,10-12; Rev. 20:9-15. OH, Yes, there is indeed a mighty purging coming. Fire in Scripture most predominantly speaks of judgment. We understand that it is also very beneficial for wamth, illumination and purification. In Matthew 25:41 Jesus spoke of “everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” II These. 1:8 & 2:8 states what Jesus is going to do soon, when he returns with His overcoming people, those that have submitted to a purging and purifying work in their lives. 

We are loved with an everlasting love. Our God and Father proved it when He delivered up His only Son on the cross for us, to the fire of His wrath of divine judgment. Our sweet Jesus gave himself up to that judgment in our stead. Shall we not set Him an a seal upon our hearts and arms? “For love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are the coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame. Many waters cannnot quench love, neither can the floods drown it; if a man would give all the substance of His house for love, it would utterly be contemned” S.O.S. 8: 6-7. Our Jesus sold out for love, didn’t He? How about the lesson of Mt. 13:45,46 and Heb. 12:1-4?

As creator and redeemer He owns us completely. He would have us put our all on the alter, present our bodies a living sacrifice. He wants our all to be given to Him of our own free will instead of being just puppets on a string. Jesus said, “thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and all thy mind” Mt. 22:37.

“Our God is a consuming fire.” It sounds like He would occupy us fully, be our all in all, consume us entirely with Himself. But he must inflame our innermost being with the vehement fire of His love, which He sheds abroad in us by the Holy Ghost.

We do well to allow Him to consume everything about us and within us that is opposed to His Holiness, and our eternal happiness. Read I Pet. 1:7; 4:12; Job 23:10. In the trials that come our way our dear Lord provides for us course correction, lighting our way, warming our hearts, ignites spiritual fervor, as well as purifies the gold.

The great architect graciously teaches us, who have been made laborers together with Him, about the most durable building materials in living construction. He has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness, I Cor. 3:12-16; II Pet. 1:3-11. He tells us of the danger of using combustible materials that will not stand the fire test, at the judgment seal of Christ, as well as the wrong motives. He also motivates us aright by the constraint of love divine, II Cor. 5:14-15; Rom. 14:6-9.

Our God promised to consume His peoples enemies and did so repeatedly, Psa. 97:3; Deut. 9:3; I Kings 1:10,12.

The Burning Bush

Some of God’s people seem to be afraid to let the Lord burn in them too completely, for fear that they might burn our, or burn up. Consider the bush. The angel of the Lord appeared unto Moses “in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush; and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush in not burnt. And when, the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I” Ex. 3:2-5. God then told him to put off his shoes for he was standing on holy ground.

The Scriptures teach of many forms of communication that God used to make His purposes known to humanity, but what a mode! What manner God used here! In a flame of fire from a bush. We often wonder at the unlikely fuses that God used to make his will known. The Holy Spirit appeared at Pentecost like cloven tongues as of fire. It is a sweet privilege to be thus set aflame by the Lord. Many claim to be on fire for the Lord, but it turns out to be strange fire, which is not of Him at all, and must be judged. He makes his messengers a flame of fire to burn for His glory, Heb. 1:7. This great sight caught Moses’ attention and God certainly lit his candle.

We each may feel like an insignificant unlikely, dried up bush in the desert, but oh, how blessed we are that we may invite Him to burn in us. May we not allow the promised approaching fiery trials move us off course so that we finish our course with joy.