TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface

A Different Kingdom The Prophecy of Daniel

God is the Judge

Being Understood in Heaven

True Liberty

Seven Times Over The Beast

MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN

“I Have Done No Corruption”

“The Sum of the Matters”

The Wrath of Man Does NOT Work the Righteousness of God

He Shall Confirm The Covenant By Many

The Time of Fulfillment

Peace Be With You The Prophecy of David Psalm 22

The Morning Star

Peace Be With You The Prophecy of Haggai

The Time is When the Lord Says

“The Division of Time”

Appendix A

Appendix B

Appendix C

About the Author

The Book of Daniel

Prophecy for Today From Daniel, David, and Haggai

Russell Stendal

Click to watch the La Montana Trailer. A movie based on Russell’s adventures.

PREFACE

As I was working on the last corrections of this book, a good friend said to me, “I’ve been thinking a lot about you because you are beginning your ‘productive’ years. It’s ‘time to work’ and support your family according to what is established in the system. What do you think about what is happening around us? What do you think we are doing?”

I do not doubt that he had good intentions in our chat. I tried justifying my situation in the same way he did when he spoke of his life. One thing was clear to both of us, even though neither of us knew how to express it at that moment.

In summary: so much effort and dedication to a job that began as an impulse placed by the LORD, in a time when the purity and simplicity of the Word have become a great feast or great slavery, can only be explained with the reaction that our Lord Jesus had when He saw the state of the temple: The zeal of thy house has consumed me. (Psalm 69:9; John 2:17) Several weeks passed after our encounter, but to my surprise, the answers to his questions kept coming little by little.

The One who motivated me to begin this project is the same One who has been answering my questions. I found the summary of His responses in the last chapter of this book:

Thus speaketh the LORD of the hosts, saying, This people say, The time is not yet come, the time to build the house of the LORD. Then came the word of the LORD by the hand of Haggai the prophet, saying, Do you have time, all of you, to dwell in your panelled houses, and this house is deserted? Now therefore thus hath the LORD of the hosts said; Consider your ways. (Haggai 1:2-5)

It is foolishness in the eyes of the world to spend so much time in this work; they consider a person who is walking against this system as “unemployed.”

However, when I read these verses, I ask myself, “If we truly DO NOT HAVE THE TIME we think we have, and this is evident in my life, what is more foolish? Is it more foolish to go against the system or to go against the zeal that has been placed in my heart by the LORD, the zeal of the Truth?”

Remaining faithful to a calling (if this is the right word) is not easy; recognizing work produced by the zeal of the LORD as a real “job” is not easy. Only the LORD can work beforehand so we do not deviate from His path that has been laid out, so in the end we can say, like David, that if this is foolishness to the world, then “We will yet be more vile…” (See 2 Samuel 6:14-22)

Many, consciously or unconsciously, will speak of the woman who “out of her own free-will” (just like the true sacrifices for the LORD were done) broke and then poured the alabaster box of ointment of great price upon the Lord’s head. They will say, “What foolishness, what waste; that perfume could have been sold at a great price and given to the poor.” In the same manner the Lord will tell them:

But Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble ye her? She has wrought a good work on me. For ye have the poor with you always, and whenever ye will, ye may do them good; but me ye have not always. She has done what she could, for she has anticipated anointing my body for the burial. Verily I say unto you, Wherever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she has done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her. (Mark 14:6-9)

All those who “out of their own free will” have decided to pour out their lives before the Lord, with sincerity and honesty of heart, and against what is common in the eyes of men, comprise this woman.

This Book of Daniel came about as I had described: against the current. It was produced as part of a series of unpremeditated, spontaneous messages in an auditorium, recorded and destined for some radio stations situated in high-risk zones in Colombia with the purpose of spreading this Gospel to the entire world through radio waves.

This book contains part of a Series of 100 messages called A Different Kingdom and is completed with three more messages: The Prophecy of David in Psalm 22 and The Prophecy of Haggai that are part of another series of 100 messages called Peace be with you.

The messages in both audio and written format fulfill the same purpose. Before they went to the public, they were written in the tablets of the hearts of the people who feel a fervent zeal for the house of the LORD, just like their Master. The circumstances in which each one of these people have found themselves is as indescribable as knowing that the LORD has a plan with this country.

People like Russell Stendal and his family have been the voices, the ambassadors of the LORD from the embassy of the LORD to Colombia – a country whose best personification could be the demon possessed Gergesenes that Scripture describes. (Matthew 8:28-34; Mark 5:1-20; Luke 8:26-39)

The message these faithful people have been preaching is linked to the beginning of the book of Daniel and the end of the book of Haggai: purity of heart that is united with holiness. Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s food or wine. The end of the book of Haggai says, “Consider now in your heart from this day forth…from the day that the foundation of the LORD’S temple was laid, put your heart into it.” (Haggai 2:18)

If this book, as well as the trials each of us have experienced in a unique and individual manner, serve as a guide to lead us to a personal and direct encounter with the LORD without intermediaries, following our Master and older Brother, the Lord Jesus, it will be gratifying. Even more than that, it will be indescribable if what the apostle described in Galatians 2:20 is fulfilled in us.

I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me, and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

All things considered: What a privilege it is to dedicate my productive years to the service of the LORD! The latter years will definitely be better than the former!

Samuel David Hernández G.

EDITOR

A DIFFERENT KINGDOM THE PROPHECY

OF DANIEL

Lessons for Today from Daniel, David and Haggai

CHAPTER ONE

God is the Judge

DANIEL CHAPTER 1

Full of supernatural wonders, this book is a record of the life and revelations given to Daniel as a captive Jew in Babylon, and to David, Haggai and Zechariah. It is a course in history and Israel’s relationship to it. Jerusalem was in ruins, and many Israelites were captive in Babylon.

Beginning with four boys in a pagan land ruled by a prideful king and ending with the king’s recognition of the presence of God in these four, the LORD used this king to reveal an outline of His plan. He revealed the human empires, where they are going to end and how the true kingdom of God will come forth. We find all this in twelve brief chapters.

Later in the Gospels, the Lord Jesus said He did not come to judge us, but if he did judge us, his judgment would be true.

John 8:15-16 Ye judge after the flesh, but I judge no one. And yet if I judge, my judgment is true, for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me.

GOD IS THE JUDGE

The Lord Jesus did not come to do His own will or to say His own words. He came to do the will of His Father and speak His Father’s words. The foundation is in the Gospels: Jesus is the fulfillment of the word “Daniel.” Jesus has always allowed His Father to be the Judge. He came with His Father’s life and presence in Him.

He said He was the temple of God; His plan is to have a greater temple where He is the corner stone, and we are the living stones; He is the older brother, the head of the body. In that temple we, as believers, are partakers of His nature because He lives in us and He is the beginning and the end.

When the meaning of the word “Daniel” is fulfilled in us, we will stop judging by our own criteria. We will not judge according to appearances, and we will not judge on our own. If we live with the presence of our Lord in us, we will fulfill His will, do His work and express His words; then the judgment of God will flow through us.

This same judgment is what Daniel illustrates to both Israel and the Gentile nations with his God-given interpretations of visions and dreams.

Daniel chapter one says:

1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came unto Jerusalem and besieged it.

2 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.

Who gave the king of the people of God into the hands of a pagan king? Clearly, the Lord did. If the Lord is judge, He has the right to do anything He wants. He spoke through His prophet Jeremiah telling the Israelites it was better for them to go into captivity than to fight against the Babylonians. That is why they called Jeremiah a traitor to their country; even so, it was still the word of God.

During this time the LORD spoke through the mouth of Jeremiah that if there was just one righteous man, the city would be spared, but there was not. Under the law it was not possible for a man to be righteous because no one can fulfill the law of God in his or her own life, or in their own strength.

BABYLON

Babylon symbolizes confusion, and this is what man comes to when he implements his own plans in his own way. Another name for Babylon is “the land of Chaldea,” or “of the Chaldeans.” This second definition has to do with spiritualism: when man follows his own way, he falls into the hands of other spirits. The third identifies this place as “the land of Shinar” or “land of two rivers.”

Babylon was in the midst of two natural rivers: the Euphrates and the Tigris. However, one river of Babylon was a man-made river called Chebar. As Babylon confused its own religious, economic and political systems, men today have tried to construct their own river, their own fountain and their own sustenance.

In the economy, people always want to get money out of nowhere. Sooner or later those economies will fall. This is what is known as “the economic business cycles of the world.”

In politics, man in his own wisdom has concluded that the fountain of authority and power proceeds from the people. This produces oscillations that go back and forth. Politics yo-yo from left to right and back again; what is done by some is undone by others.

In religion, when man creates his own fountain, a kind of spiritual homosexuality is created. Many countries are now approving laws for homosexuals and lesbians to marry; but even if some governments allow it, they will never be able to reproduce life. It is impossible. Everything becomes sterile when we receive our ideas and plans from man instead of God. In the same manner, such a church cannot beget life. The only thing they can do is try to make our stay on earth a little better.

When the church gets deeply involved in humanism, thinking that the center of everything is their own happiness, they lose their way. This not only happened to the people of God, but they were worse than the pagans! Because of this, the LORD sent Nebuchadnezzar to destroy Jerusalem and take the best of it to Babylon.

3 And the king spoke unto Ashpenaz the prince of his eunuchs, that he should bring certain of the sons of Israel of the royal lineage of the princes,

4 young men in whom there was no blemish whatsoever but who were good looking and taught in all wisdom and wise in knowledge and of good understanding, and that had strength in them to stand in the king’s palace, that they might be taught the letters and speech of the Chaldeans.

The king sent his men to bring in the best: the noblemen of Judah and Jerusalem. In the Old Testament one was either born a slave or a free man (or in other words a man of noble birth). In Revelation 12:5 a Man of noble birth is born.

God uses all these examples (including some of the great injustices of history) to show us we are all born as slaves to our own desires. This causes us to be slaves to the prince of this world, which is the Devil himself. He also shows us that we have the opportunity of being born a second time through our Lord Jesus. Scripture says that when the Son of God sets someone free, then they are truly free. There is liberty wherever the Spirit of the Lord is. (2 Corinthians 3:17) And God wants to give us His Spirit because He wants us to be the temple of the Holy Spirit.

These young men, who had no blemish and were the best of the people of God, were taken captive to Babylon to be taught the writing and language of the Chaldeans. In the original, Chaldean means spiritualist. Therefore, they gave them a course on spiritualism so they could learn the teachings of the magi, astrologers and wise men of that time who were spiritualists. The man who was in charge of them was the chief of the Eunuchs. A Eunuch is a man who is castrated. The king would not allow the man in charge of that part of the palace to have children. Therefore this prince and most likely every one under his care would be castrated to avoid any potential usurper to the throne.

5 And the king appointed them a daily provision of the king’s food and of the wine which he drank, so nourishing them three years, that at the end thereof they might stand before the king.

DANIEL AND HIS FRIENDS

The king chose the best and wisest of all the nations he was conquering; he castrated them and submitted them to three years of intense study in the writings and language of the Chaldeans. The Chaldeans believed there was a spirit behind everything, and they needed to get permission from all the spirits in order to be able to act. If anything went wrong, these spirits must be placated... even with human blood. Imagine what kind of course Daniel and his friends were required to study!

6 Now among these of the sons of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah:

Daniel and his friends were taken captive along with the vessels of the temple of God. The vessels symbolize the true servants of God like Daniel, his friends and others. Compared to the rest of the people of God, Daniel and his friends were the cream of the crop. The LORD’s commandment was that they had to go to Babylon in captivity as a result of a collective sin of all the people of God. We do not know of any wrong that Daniel and his friends might have done before their captivity. They found themselves in an unfortunate situation, in the midst of those who supposedly were the people of God.

But God is the judge. Not only does “Daniel” mean “God is judge,” but the names of his friends express the goodness, the mercy and the benevolence of God. The Chaldeans, however, changed the names of these Israelites:

7 unto whom the prince of the eunuchs gave names: for he gave unto Daniel the name of Belteshazzat...

Bel was one of the Babylonians main gods, similar to Baal. Belteshazzar means “Bel preserves his life.” So instead of having a name which means “God is the Judge,” they changed it to “Baal preserves his life.”

...and to Hananiah, of Shadrach; and to Mishael, of Meshach; and to Azariah, of Abednego.

All these names had to do with the supposed goodness of pagan gods.

8 And Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s food, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.

Daniel did not feel contaminated because he still wanted to work in harmony with the authority placed by God, not his own will. God sent the pagans to destroy Jerusalem and capture the inhabitants. Even after such a disaster, Daniel did not curse them or lament his situation or have a bad attitude toward them like many Christians claiming to represent God. Instead, he simply requested that he not contaminate himself with the food and drink of the king.

There are two kinds of wine: the first symbolizes the life of the natural man, and the second symbolizes the life of God. Daniel did not want to nourish the life of the natural man; he wanted to feed the life of God in him. Daniel could have mixed the two like many priests and Levites did in Israel until they harvested a tremendous problem. Daniel could have entered into complete apostasy. However, his decision was to not defile himself. Daniel recognized that God was the judge; He had given the Babylonians authority and if they obligated him to eat or drink something, he would have to do it. But if they gave him permission, he would abstain himself.

9 (And God brought Daniel into grace and mercy with the prince of the eunuchs.)

Daniel found grace in the eyes of the man who was placed in authority in this pagan university.

10 And the prince of the eunuchs said unto Daniel, I fear my lord the king, who has appointed your food and your drink; for when he shall see your faces more downcast than the other young men who are like unto you, then ye shall condemn my head before the king.

Some governments demand results, and king Nebuchadnezzar was like this to an extreme. A person who did not produce what the king wanted would be immediately condemned. The director of the Chaldean University feared that if the king saw one of these young men downcast, he, the director, could be executed.

11 Then Daniel said to Melzar, whom the prince of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,

12 Prove, now, with thy servants ten days, and let them give us vegetables to eat and water to drink.

13 Then let our countenances be looked upon before thee, and the countenances of the young men that eat of the portion of the king’s food; and as thou seest, deal with thy servants.

Daniel was willing to be realistic. He said to the prince, “We are going to do things God’s way, and you can judge for yourself in ten days.”

14 So he consented to them in this matter and proved them ten days.

15 And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than the young men who ate the portion of the king’s food.

This still happens in our time. People decide whether they are going to spiritually feed themselves from what the world offers or from God. Sometimes what comes from God seems like vegetables and water; but Scripture says that man will not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God!

In Scripture, God’s word is sometimes symbolized as “water” and other times as “green pastures” (vegetables). Daniel and his friends chose to receive only what God provides, and they did better than those who received a banquet with the best of the kingdom of Babylon.

16 Thus Melzar took the portion of their food and the wine that they should drink and gave them vegetables.

It went well for Melzar because he received the expensive wine and food and gave these young men vegetables and water!

17 And unto these four young men, God gave them knowledge and intelligence in all letters and science; furthermore Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.

The interpretation of dreams and visions was a very important thing to the ancient pagans and the Chaldeans. Their science dealt with determining the times with astrology.

On several occasions, there were kings who had dreams that no one could interpret. These dreams can come from at least three sources. Someone can have a dream that comes from God, or they can have dreams from the Devil, or sometimes one can have a dream about the beans they ate the night before. Imagine being in a course of spiritualism and having to interpret every crazy dream that anyone had!

So in the middle of a course meant to teach them the knowledge and the letters of the Chaldeans and Spiritualists, the king’s food was suspended by Daniel’s initiative. They nourished themselves with what came from God. Instead of receiving the secrets of the Chaldeans and learning to act like the astrologers and magicians, these four boys received knowledge and intelligence in all letters and science from God. Furthermore, Daniel gained understanding in all visions and dreams. In the middle of this, God gave them an even greater course – one which came from the very nature of God.

18 Now at the end of the days after which the king had said he should bring them in, the prince of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar.

19 And the king communed with them, and none among them all was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; and therefore they stood before the king.

From God’s point of view, they remained with their true names that were given them as sons of God and not the pagan names.

Even when they were in Babylon, in the very heart of all the paganism of the time, enrolled in the highest course available, they did not let themselves be defiled. This pagan instruction was filled with many perversions and mysteries. Men had to be initiated in occult practices in order to understand these mysteries. Much of this involved worshipping pagan goddesses through sexual acts. The fact that they were castrated may have been a major blessing because it prevented them from participating in the deep rituals and sexual activity in the pagan temples of Babylon. Many times what seems like a curse turns out to be a blessing.

20 And in all matters of wisdom and intelligence, that the king enquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm.

21 And Daniel continued even unto the first year of King Cyrus.

When Daniel and his friends arrived in Babylon, they had decided not to contaminate themselves. This led to many tests during their time there. Because of God’s goodness and the fact that they did not contaminate themselves, the king found them ten times greater in wisdom and intelligence.

This chapter is like a summary of Daniel’s life because at the end it implies that he outlived all these magicians and astrologers and even several pagan kings. When Babylon ended, Daniel continued.

God did not place Daniel and his three friends in Babylon to claim it for Himself. God was not interested capturing Babylon; He was not interested in what these pagan magicians, Chaldeans or kings were doing. He was not trying to control the world. That was not His plan. His plan was to show that He could take undefiled people and keep them undefiled in the midst of the very worst system of Babylon.

Furthermore, the authority of God was always going to be higher than the authority of the pagans. This was true even when God allowed the ultimate consequences of each person’s will to be fulfilled. God is still doing this today. Look at what God says near the end of the book:

Daniel 12:10 Many shall be purified and made white and purged, but the wicked shall get worse; and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand.

Daniel received understanding and wisdom from God, but he was also understood by God. When Daniel asked for an explanation, God responded immediately and sent Gabriel to explain it to him. Michael, one of the main princes, had to spend twenty-one days fighting along-side Gabriel, so that Daniel could receive the response. Likewise, Gabriel said that from the moment that Daniel opened his heart to understand, the response came.

When Daniel spoke with God, God understood him. Sadly, there are many who spend much time in prayer and little or nothing is understood about them in heaven; it is all confusion and repetition of vain words. These people do not receive and cannot receive the response that the prayers of Daniel received.

LET’S PRAY:

LORD, let us as individuals and as a people be clean like Daniel was in the midst of so much adversity, in the middle of so much temptation and corruption; but he was clean, purged and understood. LORD show us the meaning of the verse, “the wise shall understand”. Let us be wise and understood in the heavenly realm. AMEN.

Footnote: In the Spanish version of the Jubilee Bible the verse “the wise shall understand” is translated, as “the understood shall understand.” This was transcribed from the original message given in Spanish.

CHAPTER TWO

Being Understood in Heaven

Unto thee, O God of my fathers, do I confess and give thee praise that thou hast given me wisdom and might and now hast shown me what we asked of thee, for thou hast shown us the king’s matter. Daniel 2:23

And in the days of those kings (or kingdoms) the God of heaven shall raise up a kingdom which eternally shall never become corrupted, and this kingdom shall not be left to another people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. Daniel 2:44

And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, with which his spirit was troubled, and his sleep fled from him. Daniel Chapter 2:1

Then the king commanded to call magicians, astrologers, enchanters, and Chaldeans, that they might show the king his dreams. So they came and presented themselves before the king. Daniel Chapter 2:2

DANIEL CHAPTER 2

MAGICIANS, ASTROLOGERS AND SPIRITUALISTS

This second chapter began before the first chapter ended because it makes reference to the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, and the time frame of the first chapter is a period of three years. So this chapter develops in the middle of the witchcraft and spiritualist course with all the pagan practices.

3 And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream.

All men have a dream inside that they cannot remember, and they know when things are not right. Emptiness and longing exists in each person born in Adam’s nature. Everyone wants to know the interpretation, and they look for it in different places hoping someone might give them an explanation.

4 Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Syriack, O king, live for ever; tell thy servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.

5 The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is gone from my memory; if ye will not make known unto me the dream with its interpretation, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill.

Today we think that some governments are difficult because they require a lot of results, but in the time of the kings of Babylon, they demanded results immediately, and if they were not given, the king had the power to kill those people.

6 But if ye show the dream and its interpretation, ye shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great honour: therefore show me the dream, and its interpretation.

7 They answered the second time and said, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation of it.

Perhaps they spoke in Syriack so the court would not realize they were not as smart as they made themselves out to be or have the power they pretended to have.

8 The king answered and said, I know of certainty that ye would gain time because ye see the thing is gone from my memory.

9 But if ye will not make known unto me the dream, there is but one decree for you for ye certainly prepare lying and corrupt words to speak before me, until the time is changed; therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that ye can show me its interpretation.

For the king it was better to have forgotten the dream. He knew that if the Chaldeans told him the dream, he would remember it; if they could not tell him, he suspected they did not have the wisdom to declare its true significance. In the same manner, those who pretend to give declarations of things invisible to the human race cannot do it, much less give an interpretation.

Notice the attitude of Daniel and his friends. They did not come to Babylon with words of condemnation for the king; they did not talk bad about him; they did not bad mouth Babylon’s army, and they did not speak against Babylon. They accepted God’s judgment on them, but they also found a way to find nourishment with clean food and remain pure in the midst of a completely contaminated environment.

10 The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is not a man upon the earth that can show the king’s matter; furthermore there is no king, prince, nor lord that asked such a thing of any magician or astrologer or Chaldean.

11 Finally, the thing that the king requires is singular, and there is no one that can show it before the king except the angels of God, whose dwelling is not with flesh.

Even in the midst of their paganism, the Chaldeans knew that angels of God existed who had the wisdom to declare these events. They also knew they had no contact with them.

The word “angel” can speak of the heavenly hosts, but that is not its exclusive use. Angel is the word Malachi in Hebrew, which simply means “my messenger.” Anyone who is a messenger of God, anyone who receives a charge from God, or is sent by God to do something special is an angel of God. The word “angel” can refer to flesh and blood people like us or God’s heavenly hosts. This is why Scripture says that some, having entertained angels, were kept. (Hebrews 13:2)

The spiritualists, the magicians and the astrologers knew there were angels of God who knew these things, but they also knew their dwelling was not with flesh. Similarly, in his first letter John speaks of the antichrist. He says the spirit of antichrist is whatever does not confess that Jesus Christ IS come in flesh. (1 John 4:3) Notice it does not say, “Whoever does not confess that Jesus Christ HAS come in flesh.” It is a present continuous verb.

Jesus Christ came two thousand years ago, and the antichrist has no problem with that; it has no problem with the Lord being far away and not having anything to do with us, just like the magicians and astrologers had no problem with the angels in whose dwelling is not with flesh. But when we begin to speak of a people of God who have His presence and His wisdom and a continuous open access to Him, these people begin to say it is not true; they say it is impossible.

12 For this cause the king was angry and very furious and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.

13 And the decree went forth, and the wise men were taken to be slain, and they sought Daniel and his fellows to kill them.

All these characters, the so-called wise men of this world, cannot tell the human race its true history, the real meaning of life. If they cannot even tell us how we got here, how can we trust what they have to say about the future? They cannot do it. The king got mad and decided to kill all of them. The only problem was that Daniel and his three friends were also attending the Chaldean university.

Today, it takes a long time for a government to implement a decree; but in those days, the king’s orders were fulfilled instantly. This had its advantages and disadvantages.

14 Then Daniel spoke with counsel and wisdom to Arioch the captain of the king’s guard, who was gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon.

15 He spoke and said to Arioch the king’s captain, What is the reason for which this decree has gone forth from the king with such haste? Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel.

Arioch told Daniel the king had discovered that the wise men, the magi, the spiritualists, and the witches were nothing but a bunch of liars and that it was better to kill them all. How many “wise” people in the universities and colleges and positions of power in this day and age are in reality only liars?

16 And Daniel went in, and asked the king that he give him time and that he would show the king the interpretation.

Daniel is an example and a shadow of Jesus who also came as a slave, respecting God’s judgment and saying that He did not come to judge but that if He did judge, his judgments would be just. (John 5:30) Jesus said He did not come to do His own will or to say His own words. Any judgment that came out of His mouth would be His Father’s judgment flowing through Him.

What did the Lord Jesus do with the Samaritan woman He found near the well who had had five husbands and was living with one that was not her husband? He gave her life, He treated her with dignity, and she came away filled with joy and ready to convince everyone, even the religious Jews.

The Lord Jesus spoke to them about the Good Samaritan, but they did not understand. They brought Him the woman caught in adultery, but the Lord did not even accuse her.[1] He sent her forth with a word that probably remained engraved in her heart and mind for the rest of her life: “Go and sin no more.”

If we depend on what God says, what He says can be fulfilled in us. If that woman truly believed the word that God gave her, it was possible for her to go and sin no more. If it had not been possible, He would not have spoken it.

Daniel had the same attitude as the Lord Jesus. He did not judge the Babylonians even though he was in the midst of a terrible and perverse situation. He took everything with a good attitude. He desired good for the pagan king and not evil. Deep down the king knew the magicians, the Chaldeans, and the professors at the University were not as wise as they made themselves out to be. Even with their occult sciences, they could not tell him the dream he had the night before.

17 Then Daniel went to his house and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions…

These men had been given pagan names. Daniel, which means “God is the judge,” was replaced with Belteshazzar which means “Baal will preserve his life.” Daniel’s three friends had also received different names, but the Bible keeps referring to them with their Hebrew names.

18 to petition mercies of the God of heaven concerning this mystery and that Daniel and his fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

19 Then the mystery was revealed unto Daniel in a night vision for which Daniel blessed the God of heaven.

20 And Daniel spoke and said, Blessed be the name of God from age to age for wisdom and might are his;

21 and it is he that changes the times and the opportunities; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom unto the wise and knowledge unto those that know understanding:

BEING UNDERSTOOD

Daniel 2:21 says God gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those that know understanding. This word “understanding” appears frequently throughout the word of God. Who are the ones that know understanding? It is one thing when God enlightens us and opens our minds and hearts so we can understand something. But there are those who pass beyond that realm and “know understanding,” because God understands them and knows them.

When they say something or when they ask Him something, it makes sense to God. Many people ask and ask and keep on repeating prayers, but to God it sounds like the confusion of Babylon. Nevertheless, God speaks of a clean remnant who is purged of all contamination and who, like Daniel, has decided to do everything possible to not contaminate itself.

Daniel remained undefiled by eating vegetables and drinking water. We can remain undefiled by rejecting the river of humanism with its “production” and “agriculture.” We can decide to receive everything that comes from God, our clean source. The man-made river was constructed to cultivate grapes, fatten cows, and make the pagan cult function. The king’s food came from those sacrifices and offerings. The Chebar River, which was made by man, provided all of this.

Euphrates means “double fruitfulness”; this happens when things are done God’s way. On the other hand, the river of humanism produces fornication and homosexuality. It produces the union of men with other spirits that are not of God. It also creates the illusion that man in union with man can reproduce life.

This is not true. In the United States and Europe, there is much talk about human and homosexual rights. True, we all have rights. Fornicators also have rights because they are also citizens. The same law applies to everyone. Some Christians, by trying to clean the nation on their own, propose a kind of inquisition to end homosexuality. This may sound good, but it is not God’s way.

Before the Babylonians took over Jerusalem and before king Jehoiakim, Josiah was the king who lost control of Israel. Scripture says that Josiah made some of the greatest reforms in the history of Israel. He attempted tremendous reform to rid the nation of evil. He tore down the pagan altars that no one dared to tear down because Solomon had made them. He took the pagan priests, killed them and burned their bones on top of their own altars. He killed witches and spiritualists; he cleaned everything by brute force.

Josiah was so sure he had God’s approval that when the king of Egypt came against the king of Babylon, he went to the battle even though God had not told him to do so. In the end, he was so scared that Scripture says he took off his kingly suit of chain mail that covered him completely. He put on a common captain’s breastplate to disguise himself. It had a leather joint at the sides to join the front and back, and an arrow pierced him through the unprotected side. Josiah’s glory and reform came to an end.

If God’s life is in us, we will not have to impose our values on others by brute force. People who sin know they lack fullness and satisfaction. Can we really blame them if they haven’t seen anything better, if the people of God have never shown them what works better?

The goal and the challenge we have is the same one Daniel and his three friends had. They came to Babylon, captured by the same spiritualists that king Josiah had spent his whole life trying to destroy. All the bad that the enemy tried to do to them turned into good. The fact that they were castrated removed them from a realm of temptation, but they realized that the decision to remain clean and uncontaminated depended on them.

God began to intervene when they decided not to contaminate themselves. The same God who had declared the judgment now declared that they would find grace with their captors. He began to work in a way that the king of the pagans himself had to acknowledge God as the only true God, and all those other spirits were good for nothing.

Daniel was conscious that he was in Babylon because God declared it: He is the Judge, and for some reason God decided to allow this. Daniel knew that science and wisdom came from God.

On the other hand, the word “understanding” is very interesting. God gives wisdom to the wise, but knowledge (which is the essence and explanation for how everything functions and what things are) is given to those who know understanding. We think that God can give us understanding, but it is one thing to say that we understand God, and quite another when God understands us, and we are understood before His throne in heaven.

How many of us keep on repeating endless prayers, sounding like the confusion of Babylon before the throne of God? These prayers have little or no significance in heaven because true knowledge is given to those that know understanding, to those that speak God’s language because it flows from a clean heart.

The phrase “those that know understanding” has been erased from many translations of the Bible simply because they did not know what to do with it. If we want to obtain true knowledge (which is vision: it is the ability to see things for what they are and how they work; where they come from and where they are going), we need to be understood by God. It is necessary that the way we are living here is coherent in heaven.

I fear that many of the prayers that come from those who claim to be Christians are just as confusing as the prayers of the astrologers, magicians, and Chaldeans of Babylon. They are trying to use God for their own personal gain and want everyone to revolve around them; when they do not know the answer, they begin talking in Syriack so no one will realize their falseness. They praise their own capacity while hiding their lack of understanding.

How many times have we heard a person give us scientific explanations with impressive words but in the end have not said anything? Daniel, on the other hand, received an answer from God, and it was not due to some hidden ability of his own.

…it is he that changes the times and the opportunities…

There are times and opportunities. Where are we in God’s timetable? What are the opportunities that the LORD has for us further on? We will never know if we are not understood in heaven. The opportunities can come and go without us even realizing it. Many are blind because seeing they do not see.

…he removes kings and sets up kings…

In Colombia people worry about the president’s re-election; they worry about what is happening in the United States of America; or they worry about changes in the Vatican; etc. God says we need to pray for those who are in power, in spite of what we think of them, because He allowed them to be in that position.

22 He reveals that which is deep and hidden; he knows what is in darkness, and the light dwells with him.

There is no light outside of Him. What we think is light is not light, because outside of Him there is only darkness. (See Matthew 6:22,23)

23 Unto thee, O God of my fathers, do I confess and give thee praise that thou hast given me wisdom and might and now hast shown me what we asked of thee, for thou hast shown us the king’s matter.

God has had and will have a people here on earth who will know the king’s matter. Why is our human race here? What is the dominion and authority that God has placed in our power? What will the consequences of all our human “good intentions” be?

24 After this Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had ordained to destroy the wise men of Babylon; he went and said thus unto him, Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will show unto the king the interpretation.

Notice Daniel’s attitude in the midst of so much contamination and perversion. With all the terrible things these people would do, he could have said something like, “Look, king, my three friends and I are the only good ones in this place where there are magicians, astrologers, people who talk to the dead, witches, and perverts who walk in these pagan temples. So I will tell you the interpretation if you save my three friends and me. As for these other people, kill them, but do not kill us, we are the real deal.” Religion, including much of organized Christianity, has functioned like this for centuries, but not Daniel.

How many so-called prophets and people who say they have the word of God would do something like this? They would say something like this: “I have the answer, and I deserve something in exchange; we are going to do these wise men in and impose our beliefs because our group, our denomination, our ministry, our gift of prophecy is the real thing, and we are not going to allow the king to get deceived anymore.” I fear that this is what many would say today. But this is not what Daniel did.

Daniel had already had encounters with these people. He had had problems; and later these same people tried to kill him in the lions’ den. They named him “Baal will preserve his life”; yet Daniel was sentenced to death because of them. Their lives, however, were saved because of Daniel. So, where is Baal?

25 Then Arioch brought Daniel in 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.

Scripture is clear in that if we try to save our life, we will lose it; but if we lose our life for the LORD and for the gospel, we will find it. When we are in His life, we have the liberty to do His will. Arioch realized that the life of God was in and with Daniel; he noticed that Daniel behaved in a different way than what all the magicians and wise men of Babylon would have if they had received this revelation.

26 The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, [the king still did not have the revelation] Art thou able to make me understand the dream which I have seen and its interpretation?

27 Daniel answered in the presence of the king and said, The mystery which the king demands cannot be shown unto the king by wise men, astrologers, magicians, nor fortune-tellers.

28 But there is a God in the heavens who reveals the mysteries, and he has made known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall happen at the end of days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, is this:

Daniel began where the other wise men ended. They had said that no king had ever demanded such a thing from any magician, astrologer or Chaldean. Daniel made them look good when he affirmed the same thing.

But they said “there are angels of God in another realm whose dwelling is not with flesh, who can reveal the dream to the king, but we have no access to them.” What were they forced to do? They were forced to admit that they did not have true wisdom. However, Daniel gives the answer, lifts God up and gives them all a second chance.

29 Thou, O king, in thy bed, thy thoughts rose up to know what should come to pass in the future; and he that reveals the mysteries showed thee what shall come to pass.

30 And unto me this mystery has been revealed, not for any wisdom that is in me more than in all those living but that I notify the interpretation to the king and that thou might understand the thoughts of thy heart.

Right now, God is raising up a ministry for the same purpose that he raised up Daniel: to explain to the human race what their forgotten dream is. If God is allowing a clean word to flow purer and purer, it is not because we are something special but because He has decided that this is the time. The LORD who gave the dream is the same God that took it away and the same God that broke the king’s spirit; He is doing this now with the entire human race.

Some Kogi chiefs or mamas in the Sierra Nevada of Colombia gave up their religion because it was not able to defend them when war invaded their lands. What happens then? Could there be a Daniel who is brave enough to face dangerous and hard situations in order to declare the truth?

Many have tried helping these Indians with Christianity, with Catholicism, with evangelical churches, or whatever, but have not been much better than the magicians, astrologers, and Chaldeans of Daniel’s time. Instead of showing forth the true life of God, they sought control and conflict.

31 Thou, O king, didst see and behold a great image.

NEBUCHADNEZZAR’S DREAM

How were we created? We were created in the image and likeness of God, and God said that everything He had made was good. But then after a while, God Himself repented of having made man. He said that men’s hearts were perverse, and only evil came from them. God wanted to destroy the human race but Scripture says Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. (Gen 6:5-8) Jesus Christ also found grace and favor before God and men (Luke 2:52), and this is what happened with Daniel.

This image, which was very large and whose glory was very sublime, stood before thee, and its form was terrible.

His glory was sublime, but very terrible, perplexing the king. The inquiry the king had is the same question the entire human race has. There is a great purpose for our existence here, but the present situation has not improved; it has only gotten worse.

32 The head of this image was of fine gold, its breasts and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of brass,

33 its legs of iron, its feet part of iron and part of baked clay.

The state of the image began more or less okay, but it progressively deteriorated down to the feet, made of iron and clay, which do not mix well. In other words, this image had very sublime, almost divine thoughts, very capable arms, but it had no ability to walk or function. Gold symbolizes God’s nature; silver symbolizes redemption, but the image had the belly made of bronze, which symbolizes judgment. Humans are terrible at judging others because we all have our own excuses and blame others for the state we are in.

The image was standing on legs of iron, which represent the law. The feet were made of iron and clay: humans who are of the dust of the earth (or clay) have never been able to fulfill the law. Because we cannot fulfill the law, judgment fails; our redemption fails; our sublime and even divine thoughts end up being hopeless because we cannot walk, and we cannot function. This is what the king saw. Sadly, he did not fully understand the explanation even though he received it with great joy.

How do I know that he did not understand it? Later in the third chapter, the king made a statue of himself of pure gold, sixty cubits high and six cubits wide, so that everyone would worship it. How many people who have received a revelation from God have failed because they have tried to implement it their own way?

34 Thou didst see until a stone was cut out, not with hands, which smote the image upon its feet that were of iron and baked clay and broke them to pieces.

This stone that crushed the image (representing all our seemingly good human capacities and every empire that ever was or ever will be) was cut without hands. This means we will not be able to bring down this Babylonian system (which is the head of everything man does) with our own hands, or with our own effort. To accomplish this, a stone must be cut without hands. In other words, God is the one who must do it.

35 Then was the iron, the baked clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold broken to pieces together and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away that no place was found for them again; and the stone that smote the image was made into a great mountain that filled the whole earth.

36 This is the dream, and we will tell its interpretation before the king.

37 Thou, O king, art king of kings, for the God of heaven has given thee the kingdom, the power, and the strength, and the majesty.

38 And everything that is inhabited by children of men, beasts of the field, and fowls of the heaven, he has given into thine hand, and has made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold.

Sometimes we believe we are here in the hands of the Devil or other things, and it is true that we have sold our birthright and fallen. But God has given man true authority over all of nature, over everything that can be seen. This has tremendous implications in the realm of the unseen.

39 And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the land.

40 And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron; and as iron breaks in pieces and subdues all things, and as iron that breaks all these things, it shall break in pieces and bruise.

41 And whereas thou didst see the feet and toes, part of baked potters’ clay and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divisive; but there shall be in it some of the strength of the iron, such as thou didst see the iron mixed with baked clay.

42 And as the toes of the feet were part of iron and part of baked clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly fragile.

43 Concerning that which thou didst see, the iron mixed with baked clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men, but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron does not mix with clay.

Human beings have not been able to abide by the imposed laws placed by man. Even when there is a death penalty, they still have not been able to keep them.

44 And in the days of those kings (or kingdoms) the God of heaven shall raise up a kingdom which eternally shall never become corrupted, and this kingdom shall not be left to another people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.

Every human kingdom keeps degrading; corruption is increasing. Right now no one suggests having one man reign over a country or over the world. We have declared it necessary to have three separate powers: the executive, the legislative, and the judicial. The goal is to distribute the power amongst many people, not realizing that this increases corruption.

During the Babylonian kingdom, they believed it better for one man to run everything because it made things less complicated; what they accomplished was incredible. They had no debates or political formulas; if the king wanted something to be built, they did it, and fast, because if they did not, their heads would be cut off. Others would replace the disobedient ones. This was the protocol for war or conquest; it was a very efficient system.

As far as the systems of this world are concerned, God Himself said that the kingdom of Babylon was the head of gold, meaning it functioned better than anything else. Where are we now? After going through Babylon, the Medes and the Persians, the Greeks, the Roman Empire, we are in the time of the Democracies. These descendants of the Roman Empire do not function; they cannot walk.

Our society is corrupted more and more each day, and God says this will all end, but not because of the capitalists who exploit their workers, or because of the guerrillas who live in the jungle, or the Muslim extremists, not even because of the world powers, or the third world countries. God says it will all collapse without the intervention of hands, in just one hit. There will be a different kingdom that will never become corrupted. For this to happen, there must be a change of life because our life is corrupt, but His life is incorruptible.

In order to fill the whole earth with the Kingdom of God, people need to be filled with the life of God instead of their own life. This is what Scripture promises. The exact date is unknown, but we are coming to the point in history when this will happen.

People are fighting for oil, for money, for power, etc.; they are fighting for things that are not important. Sooner or later, this will all cease. Even if a person gets a chance at power, how long will they be able to enjoy it? How long will it last, twenty, thirty years? We need God’s wisdom, but even more than that, we need to be understood in heaven before the throne of God in order to understand true knowledge so that we can see where we have been and where we are going. How can we be understood in heaven if we do not speak God’s language; if the love and nature of God does not flow from our hearts? Scripture says that, “out of the fullness of the heart, the mouth speaks...”

45 In the manner which thou didst see that out of the mountain was cut one stone, not with hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God has shown the king what shall come to pass hereafter; and the dream is true, and its interpretation sure.

46 Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face and humbled himself before Daniel and commanded that they should sacrifice presents and sweet odours unto him.

The kingdom of Babylon is compared to a golden head in a statue that represents all the empires of the Earth until the time of the end. According to God, the kingdom of Babylon was the best. When the Medes and the Persians took over, the material degraded to silver; when the Greeks came, the material degraded to bronze; when the Romans came, the material degraded even more to iron; and when we get to our present time, the time of the democracies represented by the feet, the statue degraded to iron mixed with clay.

In the Scriptures, iron symbolizes the law; today we have the rule of law. Clay represents man in Scripture, so we have Roman law, which is man’s law instead of God’s law. People try to unite on the basis of law, but they are unable to change human hearts.

At the end of the king’s dream, a stone cut without hands, crashes into the image. Where does it crash? It crashes into the feet. It crashes into the democracies of our present time, and the statue turned into dust and was taken by the wind. Nothing remained of it. That stone grew and formed a mountain that filled and dominated the earth: this is the true Kingdom of God.

Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face…

Notice he did not fall on his back; he fell on his face.

…and humbled himself before Daniel and commanded that they should sacrifice presents and sweet odours unto him.

47 The king answered unto Daniel and said, Certainly the God that is your God is God of gods and the Lord of the kings and the revealer of the mysteries, seeing thou could reveal this mystery.

48 Then the king magnified Daniel and gave him many and great gifts and made him governor over the whole province of Babylon and prince of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon.

49 And Daniel requested of the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon; but Daniel was at the gate of the king.

In the book of Acts chapter 14 when the people wanted to sacrifice presents to Paul, he did not allow it. But here it is different: the king fell down and started worshiping Daniel and asking for presents to sacrifice before Daniel. However, we must understand that in this example, Daniel represents the new man that has no corruption of which our Lord Jesus is the head, and the rest of the body is of the same quality.

Daniel became second in the kingdom, and his three friends were placed in charge of the province of Babylon where the king was reconstructing pagan temples and mansions and building one of the wonders of the ancient world.

Using their pagan names, the three friends were placed over all the province of Babylon, and Daniel was at the gate of the king. What happened to Daniel was the same thing that happened to Joseph in Egypt.

Archeologists who have dug in Iraq have found heaps of residues of everything that king Nebuchadnezzar did, and ninety percent of the bricks they found (of which tremendous cities were made) have been stamped by the king’s name.

Daniel and his three friends were in charge of all this. They were the ones who directed all the construction in Babylon that, according to historians and philosophers, was one of the marvels of the ancient world. However, notice that the Bible does not mention this; it only says they were placed in authority. The rest of the book focuses on the revelations that God gave Daniel because Daniel was understood in heaven.

Babylon passed. Today it is completely destroyed, and what Saddam Hussein tried to rebuild was also destroyed. But the wisdom God gave Daniel remains written; God is still amplifying the revelation for those of us who are living in the time of the fulfillment.

LET’S PRAY:

LORD, we give you thanks and we ask that we will be able to appreciate the purity that is needed to be understood in heaven. Allow this to be the case for each one of us. Amen.

[1]  Under the law only a free woman could be sentenced to death for adultery. This woman was a slave to sin (like many others under law) but a direct, personal word from the Lord set her free! (See Leviticus 19:20)

CHAPTER THREE

True Liberty

Behold, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O King. Daniel 3:17

But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not worship thy god, nor honour the statue which thou hast raised up. Daniel 3:18

DANIEL CHAPTER 3

In Daniel chapter two, king Nebuchadnezzar wondered about the future. How was the world going to end? He knew God had revealed the answer in an extremely important dream, but it had been erased from his memory.

This is the condition of the entire human race. The moment we are old enough to reason when we are born for the first time, we are left with a great question: How did we get here? Why are we here? What is the meaning of life? Every single one of us suspects deep down that someone sometime may have known the answers. We have had dreams that we have forgotten. Some of us have had the answer in our hands and were about to understand it like Nebuchadnezzar, but then we lost it.

The goodness of God was so great He not only gave King Nebuchadnezzar a revelation, but He allowed the king to go through a difficult testing that would change his life. God used four kidnapped boys from Jerusalem to enlighten Nebuchadnezzar. He learned that the human race is not evolving into a type of super hero; the human race is degenerating.

The time we are living in is not the time of the head of gold representing the Babylonians. Neither is it the time of silver, bronze or iron. We are in the time of democracies, but this man-made society cannot progress. Humanism cannot take us any further, and God is ready to crush all of this in such a way that it will not recover.

NEBUCHADNEZZAR’S STATUE

After receiving the dream and its explanation, after God showed him how things were going to end, Nebuchadnezzar had an idea. He did exactly what people do when they try to interpret God’s mysteries with their own wisdom instead of asking God for wisdom. Daniel means “God is the judge,” and here at the beginning of chapter three, the king wants to be the judge. He thought, “If this didn’t work, if I am the head of gold and if in the future humanity will be in such a hideous state, I am going to fix it myself.” Look at what the king did:

Daniel 3:1 Nebuchadnezzar the king made a statue of gold, whose height was sixty cubits and its breadth six cubits; he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.

Nebuchadnezzar did not accept God’s explanation of the statue. Instead he thought, “If the problem is that from here on things are going to get worse, then I will make a statue that is gold all the way to the feet. I’m not going to just be the head of gold. I’m going to be the whole thing!”

Can you imagine how much gold it would have taken to build a sixty-cubit statue? One cubit is approximately fifty centimeters; so we are talking about a statue of gold that is thirty meters high and three meters wide (approx. one hundred ft. high and ten ft. wide). That is tons and tons of gold.

So he built a statue sixty cubits high and six cubits wide. These measurements represent man because the number “six” in the Scriptures represents man; “ten” represents the law; therefore, “sixty” is referring to the law of man.

In Scripture the number “one” represents light because on the first day God created light. Six times one (the width of the statue) definitely means that the king wanted the statue to be according to the law of man and under the enlightenment (light) and wisdom of man.

Not only that, but he decided to implement his idea as an obligatory religion. This idea is rooted in every one of us. If someone does something that is against our will, we all try to impose our will by force; since the king had a lot of power, he did it in the following way:

2 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the great ones, the assistants and captains, the judges, the treasurers, those of the council, presidents, and all the governors of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the statue which Nebuchadnezzar the king had raised up.

3 Then the great ones, the assistants and captains, the judges, the treasurers, those of the council, presidents, and all the governors of the provinces, were gathered together unto the dedication of the statue that Nebuchadnezzar the king had raised up; and they stood before the statue that Nebuchadnezzar the king had raised up.

The king’s name comes from the root “Nebo” which is the pagan god, Mercury; this is the same god that is called Cupid in the Roman Empire. It is the same Cupid that is found in much religious art. It is seen in the arcs and paintings of Michelangelo in the Vatican and elsewhere. This god, Cupid (Nebo), is promiscuous, and this pagan cult engaged in these activities. The name also means “Nebo protects my borders.” It is a territorial idea where god (Nebo) possesses the land that he will secure and protect.

Surely all the gold in the statue came from those places that the pagan god had obtained by force. This statue was made with melted gold and set up in the plain of Dura which means “Circle.” This “Circle” (or Dura) represents a bridge of communication with the spirit world.

As if the symbolism of this place and their god was not enough, they summoned all the great intellectuals, all the government staff, and the governors of the provinces (there were possibly 127 provinces) to the dedication of the statue. The king decided to establish one religion for the world, united by that head of gold.

4 Then a herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages,

5 that when ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and of every musical instrument, ye are to fall down and worship the statue of gold that Nebuchadnezzar the king has raised up:

6 and whoever does not fall down and worship shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.

THE FIERY FURNACE

Notice that the pagans, like this king, were the first to come up with this concept of “hell.” One practice of their ritualistic cult, which also involved a serpent, was the adoration of fire. In this cult, they sacrificed humans to appease the god of fire.

The statue was likely made in the image of the king. Nebuchadnezzar’s strategy (as well as that of all empires) was to establish, consolidate and unify the provinces and nations that were already subjugated. He confiscated the riches of these nations, using much of it to construct the image. To establish this new religion, the king attempted to unite everything by imposing an obligatory ceremony.

Today, the natural man thinks the same way. With a globalization philosophy, people try to unite the whole world around money and the economy. In order to participate, these people must worship money and gold.

Likewise, in the ancient times people had to prove their loyalty with a test. At the sound of the music, everyone was required to bow down and worship the statue of gold. This was the test, uniting Babylon religiously, politically and economically.

Many people think there is no problem with listening to all types of music. Music tends to prepare the way for spiritual things to be transferred or imparted.

I accompanied my eighty-year-old grandpa on a cruise. We went on a Norwegian ship (since he was of Norwegian decent), and they played music of the twenties, thirties, and forties. Even though the rhythm was soft, the spirit and the lyrics behind the music were a problem. One of the most played songs on that ship was Frank Sinatra’s “I’ll Do It My Way.” If we are going to do it our own way, it will be contrary to God’s way. (Proverbs 14:12)

Many people do not realize the music they listen to has a relationship to a cult. Music prepares a person for sexual licentiousness; music prepares you to worship the money god; music prepares people to do things “their own way,” instead of God’s way. Music can practically guarantee to put the people in a state where God no longer has access to their thoughts and feelings. Music, where it is no longer important to understand lyrics, can block out all thought of God.

The king represents the human race since God gave us the responsibility of this earth. When we follow what we think is right, and what we think is wrong, we open ourselves up for other spirits to come in. We end up with something diabolical, where whoever does not accept our will must be destroyed and exterminated. There is no goodness or mercy.

Nebuchadnezzar said that when they heard this music and all the instruments, they had to worship the Babylonian statue. Remember, Babylon means confusion. This confusion is brought about when man decides to do what seems right to him, when he imposes his own justice.

7 Therefore, when all the peoples heard the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and every musical instrument, all the peoples, nations, and languages, fell down and worshipped the statue of gold that Nebuchadnezzar the king had raised up.

They obeyed the king, and the whole world went along with the new world religion; but there was one problem:

8 Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and accused the Jews.

9 They spoke and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live for ever.

People want to live forever. Religion has the formula on how you can live forever. It proclaims that saying this prayer or worshipping that symbol will guarantee “life.” Of course, they condemn those who do not obey them to hell, the furnace that burns. They even have a certain amount of power over this “hell.” In this story, the king has the capacity to make the hell he invented seven times hotter.

10 Thou, O king, hast made a law that every man upon hearing the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and every musical instrument, shall fall down and worship the statue of gold;

11 and whoever does not fall down and worship that he should be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.

12 There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee; they do not worship thy gods, nor do they worship the statue of gold which thou hast raised up.

The king imposed the law. He implemented it with the resources and gold from the entire world. He unified it with the musicians and musical instruments of the kingdom.

These religions assure you that those who comply with their requirements are not going to have any problems, but woe to those who do not because they are destined to hell. In the same way, according to the need, they can make “hell” hotter.

This is the problem: the three young men who were in charge of Babylon had been placed in authority because they had obtained the wisdom of God. Daniel had set them over the province after saving the lives of the magicians, astrologers, and spiritualists. But when men of God are placed over the business of this world, they make those who seek their own good and want things their own way feel extremely uncomfortable.

It is different when someone wants to do things God’s way: God’s way of doing things is that we seek the good of our neighbor and the good of the Kingdom of God, not our own good. If we do not seek our own good, we are in direct opposition to the world system.

When the music rang out, someone was spying on these three Hebrew boys and saw that they did not obey the command. For them, these three boys who had helped save the Chaldeans’ lives were nothing but a disgrace, and the fact that they ruled over the province was revolting. Seeking personal gain, they decided to eliminate these three boys.

The serpent in the Garden of Eden did a similar thing. It saw that God had given Adam authority and thought, “Now God is going to place me under Adam, but I want to reign here. And this recently created Adam isn’t even twelve yet, and he’s naming all the animals: I’m not taking this!” (In ancient times, the one who gave the name was the one with the control because the name is the essence of a being.) The serpent invented a lie to provoke the man to disobey God and be expelled from the garden.

In Babylon, only three boys, who did not want to disobey God remained. In order for the people to feel okay about doing this, they had to eliminate the three righteous Hebrews. When the Chaldeans came to the king with the story, the king did what anyone of us would have done in our natural state. When someone goes against our will, instead of being grateful for previous good deeds, we retaliate. So the king decided to teach them and the entire world a lesson.

13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Then they brought these men before the king.

14 Nebuchadnezzar spoke and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that ye do not honour my gods, nor worship the statue of gold which I have set up?

In those days, they thought everyone could have their own god. Look at what Nebuchadnezzar did: the same thing that most religious people do. Many theologians in catholic or “protestant” seminaries (protestants in quotations because they don’t protest anymore), even some evangelicals and charismatics invert the role.

Instead of believing we were created in the image and likeness of God and have lost the breath of life that God placed in Adam and Eve, they invert things and create a god in their own image and likeness. King Nebuchadnezzar created a god, his god, and he made it in his own image and likeness. He thought he had God’s blessing doing it this way because God had shown him the future of human history. God had said the head of gold on the statue was his own.

So the king thought, “If I am the head of a statue that represents all the empires of the world, then, why not make a statue where all of it, not just the head, represents me, and make the whole world worship it? I’m not going to wait for this upcoming corruption; I’m going to make something happen now. I’m going to make every nation revolve around the politics, economy and the religion of Babylon.”

Nebuchadnezzar’s problem came when the three governors did not want to worship the image. Even though they were good administrators in Babylon, the Bible does not mention details of the huge city (referring to Babylon) or of the hanging gardens or other fabulous constructions. The Bible does not tell us how much money that thirty-meter statue cost. What the Bible does say is that these righteous men were placed in the highest positions that true men of God had ever had in the history of the world.

15 Now, are ye ready when ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and of every musical instrument to fall down and worship the statue which I made? For if ye do not worship, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that god that shall deliver you out of my hands?

The king decided to give them one last chance. He had said that those who did not obey this command were to be burned immediately, but he had enough respect for these three that he decided to give them one last chance. The king decided to play the music one more time:

For if ye do not worship, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that god that shall deliver you out of my hands?

The king had received the revelation of God, and he knew that God was the one who had revealed it to him. He had placed Daniel and his three friends over all the business of Babylon, but he still thought he was above God. For Nebuchadnezzar, God was his little helper who would help control his prosperity in Babylon.

This happens in the world religions everywhere, and we will soon see another attempt to consolidate it. In this world religion, a god in the image of man will be created; the treacherous love of man will be god, operating with conditions.

God’s true love is unconditional and born out of sacrifice, redemptive by nature. Man’s love is conditional: it is not born out of sacrifice; it is born out of the desire to obtain some benefit. It does not redeem: it destroys. The love of man caused Eve to believe the lie that she could be like God, discerning good and evil. But when this is placed in man’s hands, it only produces death and misery.

16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to king Nebuchadnezzar, We are not careful to answer thee in this matter.

They didn’t even give the king a chance to let the choir sing, or to make all the musicians play. They said: “Look king it’s very simple.”

17 Behold, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.

18 But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not worship thy god, nor honour the statue which thou has raised up.

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego would not bow. They said, “Our God can deliver us from the fiery furnace, and even if He doesn’t, we will not worship your god or honor your statue.”

Observe this response very carefully. The statue is one thing; Nebuchadnezzar’s god is something else, and they knew how to differentiate. They respond that God can deliver them from the fiery furnace. (Notice how it appears in the original. It appears differently in many translations.)

…our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.

What I understand them to be saying is, “Look king, God can deliver us from the furnace that you put us in. That is up to Him. But God will deliver us from your hand because God is first and foremost. You are not bigger than Him. God is bigger than you.”

19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; therefore he spoke, and commanded that they should heat the furnace seven times more than it was customary to be heated.

In church history when there were theological differences, anathemas were launched. One group determined the fate of the other by saying it was going to be destroyed forever in hell. Like the king of Babylon, during the inquisition, religious leaders burned alive whoever did not recant.

Even John Calvin, the great reformer, burned Michael Servet at the stake for having differences in doctrine over the trinity. Sadly, the word trinity does not even appear in the Bible. For centuries they condemned people to the stake to defend beliefs that do not even appear in the Bible. Nebuchadnezzar thought he owned hell and ordered it heated seven times more than customary. This is where he threw the three Jewish boys.

20 And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace.

21 Then these men were bound in their coats, their undergarments, and their hats, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.

In ancient times, clothes were the covering and signified under what authority that person operated. Every detail was significant: the hair, the beard, and the dress.

Today many groups and churches look for “The Covering,” and in order to be under someone’s authority. Usually it is necessary to pay a tithe to be under someone. If you pay that tithe and are under a person, you gain a false security as if you are not going to hell. Here the king orders the three boys into “hell” with their “covering,” and look at what happened:

22 Therefore because the king’s commandment was urgent and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.

24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, and rose up in hast and spoke and said unto his counselors, Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king.

25 He answered and said, Behold, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.

When they were thrown into the furnace, only the cords that bound them and the men who threw them in burned. More astonishing, upon seeing a fourth man in the fiery furnace, the king declared him to be like the Son of God.

TRUE FREEDOM

In the king’s “hell,” which is like the Devil’s Hades or Sheol, if those who have the true covering are thrown in, nothing happens to them. In that moment a fourth man appeared. The symbolism of the covering became reality, and they walked with the Lord Himself. This actually happened, but it was also a symbol of a future event even more important.

Ephesians 4:9-10 is translated wrong when it says that the Lord descended into “hell.” The hell that is referenced in this verse is really Hades or Sheol, which is the first death. (This translation problem happens when multiple diverse Hebrew and Greek words are lumped together and all translated by only one English word in most of our Bibles) This Hades is something like the fiery furnace that Nebuchadnezzar had.

In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, Hades had two compartments, and Lazarus was with Abraham on the better side, still bound by death. The rich man was in flames and torment on the other side of a great gulf. (See Luke 16:19-31)

The king was probably not seeing clearly through the fire. The king saw the part where there is nothing but flame. In reality the three Hebrew boys and the LORD were in a situation that was beyond that flame. They were in a realm where the flame could not harm them. They passed through the fire, but the fire did not harm them.

Hebrews 11 says that Enoch did not see death, but at the end of the list (which includes Enoch) it says, “they all died.” Enoch did not see death when he died because he did not go to Hades or Sheol (they are the Hebrew and Greek words for the same thing); he went to the presence of God instead.

The book of Revelation speaks of the “lake of fire” reserved for the Devil and his fallen angels and whoever joins their rebellion. This lake of fire is referred to as the second death and is the real hell from which there can be no escape.

The time came when the Lord Jesus Himself descended into the Devil’s jail (Hades), broke it and took His own. He passed through that fire, and nothing happened to him; death could not hold him.

These boys were bound when they went in, but when the king came to look at them, they were free. The king’s fire of hell burned up their bonds and the king’s mighty men to reveal their true covering, which was the Lord Jesus Himself. This is where we find true religion.

What does the word of God say concerning true religion? It says that true religion is to visit the orphans and widows in their affliction, and to not be contaminated or corrupted by the world. What is the world? The world is a way of doing things; the world is the Babylonian way of doing things.[1]

Daniel’s three friends suffered because they were practicing true religion. If we are going visit the orphans and widows in their affliction, their problems will become our own. How many orphans are there? How many widows are here in Colombia? There are many because of the violence. There are also many orphans and widows in the spiritual sense. We practice true religion if we accompany them and keep ourselves unspotted from the world as the Spirit of God leads us.

The Nongovernmental Organizations claim to help the needy, but end up living off the needs of the people instead. They ask for help for the poor, but they also take a large share of it and live like kings. There are plenty of needs every month, and we must ask God for discernment because we can’t supply all the needs. But we can supply the needs that God wants us to supply. We can accompany those that God wants us to accompany. We can do things God’s way instead of this corrupt world’s way.

The world will condemn us when we do not dance to the rhythm of their flutes or eat their food or when we do not bow to this world’s music, its politics, its economy or its religion. As the world degenerates, it will create a hell seven times hotter than before. But God’s true nature will be revealed when they try to harm us.

After indirect dealings of God, King Nebuchadnezzar had a revelation of the Son of God that was not a dream or a vision: it was a reality. He saw the fourth man walking in the fire! The king himself said the fourth man was like the Son of God. How did the king know that this man was like the Son of God? We don’t know, but he sure did.

26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace and spoke and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth and come here. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire.

27 And the great ones, the governors and the captains and the king’s counselors gathered together to see these men upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was a hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them.

They came out of the fiery furnace completely intact with their glory, which is their “hair” and their “covering,” which is their clothes. They did not even smell like smoke. The Bible says we must be careful because the day of the coming of the Lord is near. Malachi 4:1 says that day will burn like an oven for all the wicked.[2]

Second Corinthians 5:3 indicates that some will be ashamed in that day because they will end up “naked.” But these three Hebrews passed through the fire and did not come out naked or ashamed. They came out as worthy representatives of the LORD. Notice that they say very little in this book. Daniel is the main character, but these three basically say, “King, don’t make the orchestra play, because in any case, we will not bow down. God can deliver us out of this furnace; but if He doesn’t, He will free us from your hand because we will not remain under your slavery; king, we are of God.” This point is very important because of where it ends:

28 Then Nebuchadnezzar spoke and said, Blessed be the God of these…

Notice that the king still had a bit of pride. He was burning his last straws. Now he tried to get out of it because he could not deny the miracle. Everyone saw it, and the unscathed men of God confirmed it. The law and the statue were brought to nothing, but the king wanted to save his power and pride by blessing the God of these men. The king thought, “Blessed be “their” God. I won’t submit even though I have to bless their God.”

The king was humiliated. The hell he fabricated did not work. The hell of many theologians is fiction before a true son of God with a pure heart. But it was real for the king’s “mighty men”!

28 …of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants that trusted in him and have changed the king’s word and yielded their bodies that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God.

29 Therefore I make a decree, That every people, nation, or language which speak blasphemy against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill because there is no other god that can deliver after this sort.

The king had a difficult time learning. After every fight, he would give God the glory and send documents out, but then he would go back to the same old thing. Scripture says a dog always returns to his vomit, and a clean pig always goes back to the mud; it also says a jaguar cannot remove his spots.

What does this mean? It means that when we are born for the first time, there are things governed by genetics (like the color of our hair and eyes) that we cannot change. What God wants to do is replace our life with His. This is what Daniel exemplifies. Daniel looked for his existence in the life of God, and he received it in the midst of many problems, while receiving power and authority from a pagan king.

However, this supremacy is not the most important thing. Even though Daniel and his friends were in charge of Babylon during the construction of many wonders, Scripture only tells us they were given authority over the provinces of Babylon, and when the king had a dream that no one could interpret, Daniel was given the revelation of it from God.

King Nebuchadnezzar accepted some things, but he still had a way of imposing his will. Instead of using his conscience, he wanted to impose things by brute force. This is also a serious problem with the world’s system. We often say that terrorism must be fought. Terrorists hurt and threaten anyone who does not pay them a certain fee each month.

But, who is the worst terrorist? Is it the person who says, “if you don’t pay us to fund our revolution we will harm you or our family,” or the person who says, “if you don’t pay us your tithe, God will harm you”? I think the person who threatens by twisting something God has said is worse.

Despite everything, look at how this chapter ends:

30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, in the province of Babylon.

The Spanish translation of this verse says that the “king ennobled Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego…” Two kinds of people existed in the ancient world: those who were born free and those who were born slaves. Everyone, except the ruling noble class, was a commoner or a slave.

In the English language, there is no distinction between a man who was born free and one who was not. However, in Spanish, the word for nobleman, or a man born in freedom, is varón.

Note that in the original language of the Bible, in the book of Genesis when God creates man, this same word varón is used, meaning that God made man with free will. In the original, it does not say that God took a rib from Adam to create a woman. It says instead that He took from his side, from his heart. This is where Eve came from. They called her woman or in the original, varona, which is the female version for varón.

How could this be? This means that this varona would be a free woman. This was in the beginning. But as part of the curse, man had to sustain himself by the sweat of his brow. The woman lost her freedom and became subject to the man. The serpent lost its autonomy and was sentenced to slither on its belly with its insatiable corrupt appetite in the realm of the demons.

But look at how chapter three ends. King Nebuchadnezzar decided these three boys deserved their freedom. They had placed their own lives at stake so the king’s mandate was changed. He had had them as slaves and now he ennobled them.

The word ennobled means to place in liberty. The king still had many lessons to learn, particularly the importance of giving the true people of God liberty. The “kings” of this world (religious or otherwise) who insist on enslaving God’s people will never be free from the curse they live in.

Abraham’s promise is fulfilled for those who have been born again in the Lord Jesus and are, therefore, part of his true seed. God told Abraham that he would have sons like the sand of the sea. He was going to have natural sons who would still be slaves even though they are like the grains of sand separating the sea from the earth (or dry land), or in other words, separating the nations without God from the church.

But the Lord also told Abraham he would have sons like the stars in the sky that shine, give light, offer an example, and are above everything on earth and in the heavenly realm. Some are natural sons; others are sons of the promise. Some have Adam’s nature with laws and gifts of God; others have the nature of Christ.

In any case the three Hebrew boys had freedom to follow the LORD no matter what the circumstances were. The king’s fire only served to burn their bonds, to kill the king’s mighty men who threw them into the fire and to show the world and the king their true covering. Finally, the king had to accept a completely obvious fact that these boys were not slaves in Adam; they were free in Christ!

Scripture says that true liberty is when the Son sets us free. This is obvious freedom. Freedom is found where the Spirit of the Lord is, and our true covering is found in the Spirit of the Lord. Being directed by the Spirit of God can cost us our position in this world; it can cost us our life in this world; but this is where we will find true freedom.

LET’S PRAY:

LORD, we thank you for this very clear example and we ask LORD that we may be part of your great plan to show these truths to the entire world, AMEN.

[1]  James 1:27 The pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their tribulation and to keep thyself unspotted from this world.

[2]  For, behold, the day comes that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, and all that do wickedly shall be stubble; and the day that comes shall burn them up, said the LORD of the hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.

CHAPTER FOUR

Seven Times Over The Beast

By sentence of the watchmen is the matter resolved, and the case by the word of the holy ones to the intent that the living may know that the most High takes rule over the kingdom of men and gives it to whoever he will and sets up over it the man who is the lowest. Daniel 4:17

DANIEL CHAPTER 4

NEBUCHADNEZZAR CONTINUES TO REBEL

Liberty exists wherever the Spirit of the Lord is. You can use it to do God’s will, but it is impossible to do God’s will without it. True liberty presents two options: the first one is the opportunity to do God’s will, and the second one will default into a zigzag between two extremes. One of the extremes is licentiousness, and the other is legalism where people try to fulfill God’s law (or the law they have invented) with their own strength and revert to bondage.

Neither of these two extremes will work. The harder the repression is, the greater the licentiousness will be. This is the reason for man’s laws and legalism becoming stricter.

For example, a religious leader (a pastor, an elder or a bishop) has problems in the sexual area. When this person tries to control the problem, he goes to the opposite extreme and tries to make the opposite sex wear clothes up to their neck. That kind of repression has never been able to stop corruption within the heart. History proves that the problems only get worse when religious communities become excessively strict. On the one hand, they establish norms that are impossible for the old nature to keep. On the other hand, they hide the evidence when rules are broken.

In order for true righteousness and justice of God to flow through us, we need Him living in us. Religion’s covering cannot save us from danger. My father used to tell me, “Our doctrines cannot save us even when they are true. Make no mistake: Only the Lord Jesus Christ can save us.”

John 8:36 If the Son therefore shall set you free, ye shall be free indeed. King Nebuchadnezzar had no capacity to set the Hebrew boys free because they were already free. They were free from the moment they decided to follow the LORD with their whole heart, when they allowed the LORD to clean their hearts, when they decided to reject the contamination and the corruption of the kingdom of Babylon.

It is interesting to recognize how God first dealt with the pagan king. He used these same boys that had been taken as slaves to bring truth to the king.

The king saw the wisdom of God; he saw God’s power; he saw God’s signs; and then, even though he was willing to bless God, he was not willing to let go of his throne and let the LORD take control.

Daniel 4:1 King Nebuchadnezzar, to all the peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you.

The king wrote this chapter after a terrible disgrace that God brought him through.

2 The signs and wonders that the high God has wrought with me are such that I must publish them.

Nebuchadnezzar represents the entire human race. The smallest person on this planet has the God given free will to decide for themselves whether they are going to appreciate the Truth and reject the lie, whether they are going to receive God’s intervention and authority, or not. It does not matter if you are born a slave; you could have been born into an Indian tribe, where the name Jesus Christ has never been mentioned; you could be a person who was raised in a guerrilla camp, or someone from a military school, a catholic seminary, or an evangelical church. Regardless of where we come from, we all have the same opportunity to receive the Truth and reject the lie.

God has placed a conscience in each one of us and it tells us what we should do, but most of us don’t do it. We all choose to go against our conscience at some point. If God dealt with us as He did the king, what would we do? Would we be willing to bow our heads and recognize our mistake? The king comes to the place where he recognizes his mistake after something very terrible happened to him.

3 How great are his signs! And how mighty are his wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion is from generation to generation.

4 I, Nebuchadnezzar was quiet in my house and flourishing in my palace;

He flourished in his natural life, with his own wisdom and strength.

ANOTHER DREAM

5 I saw a dream which made me afraid, and the imaginations and visions of my head troubled me in my bed.

Unlike the first dream he had, this dream remained in his memory.

6 Therefore I made a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon before me that they might show me the interpretation of the dream.

Nebuchadnezzar didn’t send for Daniel first. Once again, he called the other “wise men” first. Politicians, governors, presidents of this world keep doing the same; when they are in trouble, they don’t seek a true man of God to tell them the truth. They look for all the other magicians and diviners and listen to them first.

Only when it is completely clear that there is no solution do they remember there is a Daniel around, and they send for him. Why does this keep happening? Because what God is going to say is contrary to what we want to hear.

7 Then the magicians, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the fortune-tellers came in and I told the dream before them; but they never showed me its interpretation.

8 But at the last Daniel came in before me, whose name is Belteshazzar…

Daniel, whose name means “God is the judge,” was renamed Belteshazzar. Bel means “lord” and Belteshazzar means “Bel protects his life.”

…who when I name him it seems to me that I name my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy God …

The king identified Daniel with God. Many people claim to be God’s representatives, but if we analyze their attitudes and actions, we cannot relate them to God because they are not worthy representatives of Him. However, politicians, religious leaders and those with economic power usually call these people first.

The king knew from before that something terrible was going to happen. Since no one could give him an explanation, he was very disquieted and his curiosity got the best of him. Nebuchadnezzar was trying to avoid this sentence.

9 Belteshazzar, prince of the wise men, now that I have understood that the spirit of the holy God is in thee, and that no mystery is hidden from thee, tell me the visions of my dream that I have seen and its interpretation.

10 Thus were the visions of my head in my bed: It seemed that I saw a tree in the midst of the earth, and its height was great.

11 The tree grew and made itself strong, and its height reached unto heaven, and its sight to the end of all the earth:

12 His leaves were fair, and his fruit abundant, and in him was food for all; underneath him the beasts of the field lay down in his shadow, and in his branches dwelt the fowls of the heaven, and all flesh was fed of him.

13 I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and, behold, one who was a watchman and holy descended from heaven;

14 he cried aloud and said thus, Hew down the tree, and cut off his branches, shake off his leaves, and scatter his fruit; let the beasts get away from under him and the fowls from his branches:

15 nevertheless leave the stump of his roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and of brass shall he be bound in the green grass of the field; and let him be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth:

16 let his heart be changed from a man’s heart, and let a beast’s heart be given unto him; and let seven times pass over him.

17 By sentence of the watchmen is the matter resolved, and the case by the word of the holy ones to the intent that the living may know that the most High takes rule over the kingdom of men and gives it to whoever he will and sets up over it the man who is the lowest.

What did our Lord say? He said that in His kingdom, the greatest would be the servant of all. What did the Lord Jesus come to do? He came to serve. He humbled Himself like a servant.

Philippians 2:7-11 says this about Him,

…but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, made in the likeness of men, and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross {Gr. stauros or stake}. Therefore, God also has highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven and things in earth and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that the Lord Jesus Christ is Lord in the glory of God the Father.

Daniel 4:18 I, king Nebuchadnezzar, saw this dream. Now thou, O Belteshazzar, shall declare its interpretation, for as much as all the wise men of my kingdom could never show me its interpretation; but thou art able, for the spirit of the holy God in thee.

This image carried the same message as the vision the king had in the beginning: all of our works will be destroyed. Nebuchadnezzar did not want this to happen, so he made a statue of gold. His efforts failed when God rescued the three boys from the furnace.

After all this, Nebuchadnezzar kept on with his madness. God said in effect, “If you are going to keep on like this (and it’s an insanity we all have) then I am going to really make you crazy. I am going to take away your human side, and I am going to turn you into a beast for seven “times.” You are going to eat grass like an ox, and your nails are going to grow like those of an eagle and dew from heaven is going to bathe you. We are going to see if at the end of this, you will discover true reason. Let’s see if you’re sane in the end?”

Notice the seven times. God’s concept of time is much different from ours. In the prophecy of Daniel a day can represent a year of human history. And a day can also represent one thousand years. This is stated twice in the Bible: once in the Old Testament and then in the New Testament.

Psalm 90:4 For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past and as a watch in the night.

2 Peter 3:8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day before the Lord is as a thousand years, and a thousand years are as one day.

In God’s prophecy one day can sometimes be one year. He has a different concept of time. In Colombia, we think 365.4 days make a year. But it would be different if we were at the North Pole.

Someone told me that at the North Pole there will be six months of darkness and six months of light, but this is not true. I have been in the arctic and can say there is a phenomenon that alters that balance. The atmosphere refracts the light of the sun. When the sun is on (or even below) the horizon, it looks higher than it really is.

This deviation is similar to a pole in a stream of water. The pole does not look straight; it looks crooked because of the refraction.

The atmosphere does the same thing at the North Pole. If we saw everything correctly, there would be six months of day and six months of night. In actuality, it is closer to seven months of day and five months of night. The Bible says God lives on the sides of the north, and in the true north one of our years would be the evening and the morning of one day.

God has designed everything for light to always exceed darkness. In Colombia, we calculate that the sun comes up about 6 a.m. and sets at 6 p.m. If we really do the math, there is more time of the light of day than the darkness of the night.

Make the calculations when you are out in the plains with no mountain ranges, because these mountains around Bogotá hide the truth. Measure it in the plains, and if the day is clear, there will always be more light than darkness during a twenty-four-hour period. We really have twelve and one-half or up to thirteen hours of light versus eleven of darkness.

God declared seven times over Nebuchadnezzar. In this context, seven times were seven years, and this story is documented in pagan history. The archeologists know that Nebuchadnezzar experienced a problem in the middle of his reign that obligated him to leave his throne due to a mental disease.

But in the bigger picture, the entire human race has had to desist from the true kingdom that God wanted for us for a period of seven thousand years. Six thousand of those years have already passed. The man who was created in the image and likeness of God fell and lost his reflection of the nature of God.

What man has now is the beastly nature with all its carnal desires. Scripture says all of creation fell along with Adam, and all of creation suffers and waits for a glorious change. (See Romans Chapter 8!)

God has this period of seven thousand years divided up into stages, or times, and the last time is called “the Day of the Lord.” At that time, God will make changes in the midst of fallen nature (as the curse is lifted) and will openly reestablish His government. After the thousand years described in Revelation Chapter 20 comes another stage, which is called “the new heavens and the new earth.” The plan of God is much greater than we can imagine. The Bible sums it up like this:

1 Corinthians 2:9 But as it is written, That which eye has not seen nor ear heard neither has entered into the heart of man is that which God has prepared for those that love him.

What Daniel was running in Babylon was not his true destiny; it was not his real inheritance or his true job. We will see at the end of the book that God sends Gabriel to tell him, “Seal this Daniel, for at the appointed time, you shall be raised up and receive your true inheritance.”

19 Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was silent for almost one hour, and his thoughts troubled him. Then the king spoke and said, Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its interpretation trouble thee. Belteshazzar answered and said, My lord, let the dream be to thine enemies, and its interpretation to those that wish thee evil.

DANIEL’S INTERPRETATION

Daniel gave the interpretation: the king would become insane and thrown out of his kingdom. (Daniel 4:24-26) In verse 27, Daniel gives the king advice. Daniel had every reason to hate the king because Nebuchadnezzar had taken him captive, destroyed his city and his people. Daniel heard what God was going to do to the king, and it saddened him so much that he wasn’t able to talk for an hour. Then he not only gave the king the interpretation, but he also gave him advice on how to avoid such a sentence.

27 Therefore, O king, approve my counsel and redeem thy sins with righteousness and thine iniquities with mercies unto the poor: behold the medicine for thy sin.

Today’s religious leaders probably would have said to Nebuchadnezzar, “Listen, you are a depraved sinner, and you are going to go to hell if you don’t repent.” But in this case, the one who wants to send everyone to hell is Nebuchadnezzar, and the one who is kind and tries to save a wicked despot is Daniel.

God gave Daniel a heart for a terrible dictator. The truth is that we are all terrible dictators. We see it in our children, and we think it’s funny and cute when they are little, but they become brats who think they are the center of the universe. This causes many problems: marriages do not function, communal farms do not work, businesses fail, governments do not succeed. They all want to run things with a very heavy hand.

The king still has to go through yet another situation where God is going to teach him a lesson. It hurt Daniel to reveal this vision to the king because God’s dealing this time will be very hard. For seven years, Nebuchadnezzar lost his human capacity and turned into a “beast.” People who do not want to submit themselves to the God of heaven who created them are becoming more and more like animals. They are not getting better.

NEBUCHADNEZZAR’S RESTORATION

God wants something different. Without God, humans are crazy. Sometimes God allows a person who thinks they are so smart to experience real insanity. In the end, the king did give God the glory and he made this proclamation:

34 But at the end of the time I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up my eyes unto heaven, and my understanding was returned unto me…

He started looking toward the right place after all the time had passed. The human race has not looked up yet. But this prophecy implies that they will do so in the end.

34 …and I blessed the most High, and I praised and glorified him that lives for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is through all ages:

35 and all the inhabitants of the earth are counted as nothing; and in the army of heaven and in the inhabitants of the earth, he does according to his will; nor is there anyone who can interfere with his hand and say unto him, What doest thou?

36 In the same time my reason was returned unto me, and I turned to the majesty of my kingdom; my dignity and greatness returned unto me; and my governors and my great ones sought me; and I was restored in my kingdom, and more excellent greatness was added unto me.

37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and build up and glorify the King of heaven because all his works are truth, and his ways judgment: and he is able to humble those that walk with arrogance.

We are coming to the last of the times, and this will end with “Nebuchadnezzar” (who represents the human race and the free-will God has given each one of us), completely sane and whole again before God.

This is the first time king Nebuchadnezzar talks about the King of heaven. Before this he referred to himself as the king. In Biblical history, Nebuchadnezzar’s story ends here. It ends with this phrase:

Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and build up and glorify the King of heaven because all his works are truth, and his ways judgment: and he is able to humble those that walk with arrogance.

Notice that even in this, Nebuchadnezzar respects God’s will. He did not say, “And God is going to humble those who walk with arrogance.” He left it in God’s hands instead. …and he is able to humble those that walk with arrogance. The king is practically saying, “I know this is true because I was the most arrogant, and now I know that God can humble anyone.”

God was patient with the king, but Nebuchadnezzar was anxious and wanted to know the truth. God showed it to him. Submitting to the truth was hard for the king. He continued to fight and play his cards to keep his own kingdom. He began to allow God to work when he placed Daniel as head of all his business.

In the end, however, God had to knock him out of his kingdom by turning him into a beast that ate grass. And only then did he find true reason.

The Bible says that the Word of God flourishes “we do not know how.” But Scripture affirms that the blade (of grass) comes first, then the flower and finally the seed. The king thought he was on top of everything. God turned him back to the stage of eating grass and receiving dew from heaven.

This is God’s remedy for humanity. The only way out of the insanity is by eating and digesting the true Word of God and letting the dew from heaven wash and clean us. And if in due time this makes us lift our eyes to heaven, He can give us back our sanity and our reason. He can humble us too; He does not have to do it, but He can.

LET’S PRAY:

LORD, please send us your word and your rain from heaven. If on our own we are not able to take the medicine for our own sins, we ask that you, LORD, would submit us to your dealings, to your remedy, until we focus our eyes on You. We ask this for the nation of Colombia and for all of humanity. Amen.

CHAPTER FIVE

MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN

Belshazzar the king made a great banquet to a thousand of his lords, and against the thousand he drank wine. Daniel 5:1

DANIEL CHAPTER 5

BELSHAZZAR’S FEAST

Belshazzar means, “Bel preserves the king.” Bel was the main god out of the many pagan gods of Babylon. God had used Daniel to humble Nebuchadnezzar. However, his son Belshazzar never learned his father’s lessons. Chapter five begins when Belshazzar made a banquet and drank against his lords. Belshazzar competed to see who could drink the most alcohol and remain standing. He not only drank against his lords but look what he did next:

2 Belshazzar, under the influence of the wine, commanded that they bring the vessels of gold and of silver which Nebuchadnezzar his father had brought from the Temple of Jerusalem; that the king and his princes, his wives and his concubines, might drink with them.

In his drunken state, Nebuchadnezzar’s son decided to bring the vessels which were from the house of the LORD and fill them with Babylonian wine. He included his wives and concubines to create a greater party. This happened in Babylon more than 2,500 years ago, but it is a picture of how the present church age will end.

Right now, we have man’s way of doing things, the “Babylonian” system. In the original, “Babylon” means confusion and comes from the tower of Babel where the LORD confused the languages. Babylon is the land, or system, or city of confusion.

Where did this confusion come from? When man decided to make a name for himself and said, “we are not going to accept the judgment of God any more. God destroyed the earth with a flood, but we are going to build a tower as high as heaven. We are going to give it a name and unite the whole world under our tower and our name.”

A tower symbolizes a force or power. The people rejected the word of God and refused to scatter throughout the earth and multiply. Instead, they wanted everyone to reside in Babylon under their control.

Man continues this by elevating his own name and strength, attempting to control the world. Belshazzar’s pride causes him to call for the vessels from the temple of the LORD. In the Bible, a vessel means a “servant” or a “person.” If we are serving the LORD, symbolically we could be called vessels in the service of the LORD. The vessels were made out of gold, silver, bronze, clay, wood: each material had its significance. But here, even the vessels of gold and silver were in the power of the king of Babylon.

The LORD told Jeremiah that the people of God had to go through captivity. Those who submitted might survive that judgment; but the ones who remained in the land that the LORD was judging would not survive. And these did not survive.

Jeremiah 21:8-10 And unto this people thou shalt say, Thus hath the LORD said: Behold, I set before you the way of life, and the way of death. He that abides in this city shall die by the sword or by the famine or by the pestilence, but he that goes out and falls to the Chaldeans that besiege you, he shall live, and his soul shall be unto him for a spoil. For I have set my face against this city for evil, and not for good, saith the LORD; it shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.

King Belshazzar made a tremendous feast. In Scripture, the stages in the life of God are symbolized by the word “feast.” The Jews had to celebrate three feasts a year: the Feast of Passover, the Feast of Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles. (See Leviticus Chapter 23)

What happened in Babylon with the vessels of the temple symbolized the end of the Feast of Pentecost. This is a picture of how this age will end. People in churches are running around trying to gather great multitudes and handing out supposed blessings from God. Many behave as if they are drunk; some fall over backwards; others come into hysterical laughter; and others exhibit various manifestations, even of animals.

Wine is a symbol of life. The LORD uses the cup and the wine for a purpose as well. There are two possibilities as far as the kind of life we choose. We can live Adam’s life, a life that is already corrupted by sin; or we can allow Jesus Christ to live His life in and through us. The person who drinks the new wine of the Kingdom of God is not going to get “drunk” in the sense that they go out of control; but the person that harbors Adam’s life will easily get “drunk.”

TODAY’S FEAST

The man who initiated much of this confusion is a South African preacher who toured the world and appeared on most American Christian TV stations. He preached in some of the biggest churches of the United States. His nickname is “the spiritual bar tender,” because he is supposedly the one who can make everyone drunk with the “Holy Spirit.”

He tells people they should not pray. Instead, they should receive this tremendous thing that he’s giving out. These manifestations include noises and animal sounds, coming from people’s mouths: some bark like dogs, others meow like cats, others imitate ducks. They even end up on the ground writhing like serpents. The connotation of all this has been called “The Toronto blessing.”

This has spread to parts of the United States, including Florida. Many TV stations like TBN have televised these displays. Benny Hinn and the Hunters (among others) have visited Colombia many times saying they are handing out something that is of God, but people get so “drunk” they lose their senses. Most of them revere a man named Peter Wagner as their “covering” or chief apostle.

When the true Holy Spirit arrives and God’s gifts are used God’s way, there is not only a manifestation of the gifts of the Spirit, but there is also the fruit of the Spirit. One of the characteristics of the fruit of the Spirit is that everything is under the control of the Holy Spirit.

In Toronto, they had not included repentance, which made some question their legitimacy. To correct this, they incorporated repentance into their program in Florida. Strangers hugged each other, and people threw themselves on the floor, claiming it was a manifestation of the Holy Spirit.

However, the Holy Spirit does things with order and purity. It is a Holy and clean Spirit with the purpose of leading us towards cleanness, not towards ambiguous things where we lose control. This is not to judge the thousands of well-intentioned brethren who were misled, thinking it was God’s will. Here, the judgment is not against the thousand lords; it is against the king who misdirected the people.

Right now it is as if there is some kind of a contest in the charismatic realm, which corresponds to the “Holy Place” (not the Holy of Holies). They fill the stadiums up to see who has the most power to knock people down, who has the strongest gift of healing, who prophesies better, etc. When the Lord Jesus did miracles, he did not do them to fill stadiums. And He would leave and go to the desert when people started looking for the miracle instead of the Lord. He would not walk with them anymore if that were the case.

True prophets don’t say nice things to the carnal man; true prophets are rejected because they prophesy against carnal living. They prophesy that the only way to thrive in this world is by living the life of the Lord Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit instead of living our own life. His life puts us under the control of the Holy Spirit. It does not take us out of control or leave us without reason.

3 Then they brought the vessels of gold that they had brought from the Temple of the House of God which was in Jerusalem; and the king and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, drank with them.

4 They drank wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.

What many are doing now is giving prophecies and other manifestations that they say is “God’s new wine.” All this is to tell the people that if you do not have money, all you have to do is go to Christ and “them.” “They” assure you that you will receive “gold and silver” (the things of this world) if you give them your offerings and tithes. In the end, these misguided people worship the god of gold and silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.

They may not make figures of gold and silver (although they still do in some places), but they give people the formula to get gold and silver. People who are seeking these things fall into the deception and give their tithes and their offerings.

The leaders ask, “Who will give a thousand dollars?” So the people who rise up and give, receive the so-called “Abraham’s blessing.” Then they offer a cheaper blessing that costs five hundred dollars for those who don’t have a thousand dollars. They offer all the different prices and all the different styles. They will give you a special blessing if you give them your gold chain, your watch or your ring. Some will lay a guilt trip on you to get your television or your sound system.

Many people have things they have not earned honestly, but they cannot expect God’s blessing while holding these. But something is terribly wrong in many of the big churches around the world. The message given today is not, “Come and give your life to the Lord and let Him discipline you and separate you from the love of the things of this world and from the love of your own life so you can live Christ’s life by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Their message is, “Come and we will make sure it all goes well with your own life.”

I see a similarity between these charismatic centers and churches and a terrorist who gets bewitched to prevent bullets from penetrating him. One armed group caught a spiritualist who was bewitching people. They tried to kill this practitioner with bullets and knives but finally burned the person in a huge fire.

Another time a woman “prayed for” a terrorist commander so no bullets would enter him. Everything worked fine until the day when someone shot her, and she died.

In Puerto Lleras, Meta-Colombia (close to the radio station in Lomalinda) they sent a person to kill another spiritualist. The bullet bounced off something and killed one of the town’s dearest men.

It is not unheard of to have pastors in jail for murder. Drug traffickers and corrupt politicians are told that nothing bad will happen to them as long as they pay their “tithe.” Huge church fortresses are built with the proceeds.

The shame of the murky things that have taken place in the Christian church is very terrible. In Colombia, armed groups tell people they will be hurt if they do not pay them a vacuna (money in exchange for not harming anyone). But in Colombia there are also pastors in churches who tell people that if they don’t pay their tithe, “God will harm them.” So, who is the greater terrorist?

Nebuchadnezzar gathered with his lords at a great feast where everyone was involved in spiritual things. The vessels of the temple of God were used to serve in this wild party.

Many ministers and ministries today who should know better are in the middle of this feast, giving out Babylonian wine that makes everyone drunk. Everyone is drinking against each other to see who can stand the longest and benefit the most from the things of this world. It was possibly one of the most tremendous feasts in the history of Babylon.

Now, however, we are seeing one of the greatest feasts in the history of the church. When have we seen the multitudes that we are seeing? When have we heard all the promises that are being made? When has so much money been brought in? When have we seen all the TV and radio stations that now broadcast this perversion?

But look at what happened in the middle of that party:

4 They drank wine and praised the gods of gold and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.

5 In that same hour some fingers of a man’s hand came forth and wrote in front of the candlestick upon the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace: and the king saw the palm of the hand that wrote.

HANDWRITING ON THE WALL

Fingers of a man’s hand appeared in front of the candlestick. The Israelites kept the candlestick in the Holy Place, so this helps us identify this as the realm of the Holy Place: the realm of gifts, the realm of the showbread, the realm of the lamp stand that the priests filled with olive oil, the realm of the altar of incense, the realm of the “priesthood” of all believers. But this is not the realm of the presence of God (the Holy of Holies); this is the realm of ministry, and the hand is a symbol of ministry, which means “service.”

In that same hour, the fingers of a hand appeared in front of the light of their candlestick. It was their own light because they did not seek God’s light, represented by Daniel and his three friends. The previous king had entered into what God wanted, but his son did not.

God has sons, but a common expression says, “God does not have grandsons.” This problem has existed in the church for a long time. Many descendants of great men of God departed from Him. Christian churches often create a title and job when they recognize a true man of God, but after that person dies, the church replaces him with someone not necessarily sent by God.

Belshazzar, the king, did not learn what his father learned. His father had to learn the hard way because he would not yield to God. Nebuchadnezzar did learn to respect the things of God; his son did not.

In past generations of the church, catholic, orthodox or protestant/evangelical, an authentic fear of God and the life of God appeared in spite of limitations by the traditions of men. But now, we are at the last party, when the king of Babylon is unleashed. His lords are competing to see who can drink the most Babylonian wine from the vessels of the temple of the LORD.

The priests were prohibited from drinking wine in the Holy Place. They had to drink the wine outside if they were to minister unto the LORD. Wine is not prohibited in Scripture. The Lord Jesus drank it, but he did not get drunk. On the other hand, God had made it clear to people like John the Baptist not to drink wine. If someone has that commitment with God, we must honor it. The wine in and of itself is not the problem; the use and purpose of the wine creates the problem. If the purpose is to feed our own life, the “wine” will lead us astray.

Because of this, we see drunken people in the bars. Many die in knife or gun fights; some end up doing things they would not have done otherwise. On the other hand, a good glass of wine in fellowship with family around a table or with friends at a wedding opens another kind of communion (or temperance), a fruit of the Spirit.

The person who is under the control of the Spirit of God will not get drunk or lose control. The Spirit of God wants control in all areas of our life, bringing us liberty and controlling our appetites (in temperance). Without the Spirit, we have no liberty to do God’s will. We either serve the flesh, the world and the Devil, or the LORD. No one can serve two masters. If the LORD does not enter and replace the other one, we will never have the freedom to accomplish His will.

During this out-of-control Babylonian party, the LORD sent a ministry represented by the fingers of a man writing. Some say that the hand and the five fingers represent the five ministries mentioned in the letter to the Ephesians. Many false ministries have arisen that are not from the LORD. But here, only the hand was seen, and it was writing.

Isaiah 8:18 says: …I and the children whom the LORD has given me are for signs and for wonders… These words were not spoken; they were written and remained visible on the wall. The people knew this was from God, but they could not understand it.

6 Then the king became pale, and his thoughts troubled him, and the girdings of his loins were unloosed, and his knees smote one against another.

When the king saw the hand, the color in his face faded; his clothes fell, and he remained naked and trembling. He did not even understand the message. When the writing appeared, it interrupted their party; the music stopped, the drinking stopped, the vessels remained, and everyone watched in panic and terror.

7 The king cried in a loud voice that they bring in the magicians, the Chaldeans, and the fortune-tellers. The king spoke and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whoever shall read this writing and show me its interpretation, shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold about his neck and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.

The second could have been the queen.

8 Then all the king’s wise men came in, but they could not read the writing, nor make known to the king its interpretation.

9 Then king Belshazzar was greatly troubled, and his colour was changed, and his princes were upset.

In the middle of the drinking competition, the writing was sculpted, and the king wanted someone to interpret for him. He was in trouble, and his princes started murmuring.

World-pleasing feasts and parties never end well. There is always somebody that does a terrible disgrace and ruins it. The princes who needed a strong leader in Babylon instead got a pale, naked king who was trembling with fear.

The king realized that something was terribly wrong, but he could not interpret the writing.

Why do many church leaders have the same problem today? Because none of their “wise” men, none of their “magicians,” none of those who say they know how to use the “vessels” truly know God’s language.

We have a desperately sad situation in the church today. People say they are of God and have God’s ministry and God’s gifts. These people might have gifts from God, but they are using them for their own life and their own good instead of seeking God’s true kingdom that is not of this world. God says that if we are not faithful with the little, then the little that we have will be taken away from us... (See Luke 16:10-13)

The enemy was at the door, and when God told them the truth in the midst of confusion, they sought answers. A good part of the church is in this condition of advanced drunkenness while they nourish their own life. When God’s true message comes, no one understands. God has true ministry and Scripture is true, but no one can understand it.

Some princes were probably mad at the king for ending the party.

10 Now the queen, by reason of the words of the king and of his princes, came into the banquet room. The queen spoke and said, O king, live for ever: let not thy thoughts trouble thee, nor let thy countenance be pale.

11 There is a man in thy kingdom…

Once again the word “man” used here is the Spanish word varón meaning a nobleman, a freeman. The true body of Christ is free no matter what the circumstances because their freedom is inside, in their very nature. Where a free person walks, what the laws are, or what the government is makes no difference. No one can hinder their freedom because it is freedom to be in a direct relationship with God, to have a clean heart and be pleasing to God. No one can stop that kind of freedom.

11 There is a man (or varón) in thy kingdom, in whom lives the spirit of the holy God

There is a man (that is outside of this feast) in whom the Spirit of the Holy God dwells. What does this mean? In the wild party, even with the vessels of the temple of God and the light that they invented, God’s Holy Spirit was not there. They do have gifts that came from God, vessels that came from the temple of God, gold and silver that came from God, but God’s Holy Spirit was not there. If the wine they drank is not the life of God’s Holy Spirit, then what spirit is it? It is a false spirit.

…in whom lives the spirit of the holy God; and in the days of thy father light and intelligence and wisdom, like the knowledge of God, was found in him; whom the king Nebuchadnezzar, thy father, made prince over all the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and fortune-tellers; thus did thy father, the king,

Belshazzar had not continued on the path his father had learned. He may have placed Daniel in charge of something, but now he no longer had authority over those people. Daniel means “God is the judge” or “the LORD judges,” and this is what the LORD is about to do now.

12 because Daniel, whom the king named Beltechazzar, was found to have a more excellent spirit and greater knowledge and understanding interpreting dreams, unraveling questions, and dissolving doubts. Now let Daniel be called, and he will show thee the interpretation.

The previous king had named Daniel Beltechazzar, whereas the present king, son of the Nebuchadnezzar, was named Belshazzar which means “Bel preserves your life.” But Beltechazzar has a double meaning: it can mean “Bel preserves your life,” or “leader of the Lord.”

Belshazzar was not the Lord’s leader and was completely off track. Now here comes Beltechazzar, or Daniel. God filled the king with terror; he was scared, pale, naked and trembling. Then Daniel came to interpret what God was already doing before the king. The best ministry is when the person knows he is in trouble and asks for advice; then another person can come to reveal what the Lord desires.

13 Then Daniel was brought in before the king. And the king spoke and said unto Daniel, Art thou that Daniel, who art of the sons of the captivity of Judah, whom my father brought out of Judea?

Notice this: the king was not ignorant; he knew his history; he knew what had happened with his father and above all that, he had chosen to go his own way. Those who do this today in the church are not ignorant either. They know their history and their state because they are looking for things of this world for their own benefit. They are not seeking the good of the true people of God. Neither do they want to do the will of God because they want a God who is created in their image who blesses whatever they want. They have turned their backs on God’s true will.

…Art thou that Daniel, who art of the sons of the captivity of Judah, whom my father brought out of Judea?

Why hadn’t he called on him before? He sent for him as a last resort at the last minute.

14 I have heard of thee, that the spirit of the holy God is in thee and that light and understanding and greater wisdom was found in thee.

Prophets and healers just about everywhere in this realm are doing things backwards. They do things thinking that light is darkness, and that darkness is light. And according to Scripture, the light inside of them is darkness, but they think it is light. The Lord Jesus says in Matthew 6:23, …If, therefore, the light that is in thee is darkness, how great is that darkness! This occurs when they do not believe or receive the Truth.

The Truth is not a concept; the Truth is a person. It is the Lord Jesus himself. They give themselves over to a great delusion, a deception represented here as great drunkenness. The king said he knew the history; he knew that Daniel existed; he knew where Daniel came from and everything that happened with his father. But up until this time, he had not wanted to accept it. He said, I have heard of thee…

15 And now the wise men, the astrologers, have been brought in before me that they should read this writing and make known unto me its interpretation, but they could not show the interpretation of the thing:

They claimed to be spiritual guides and did miracles and prophesy, but they did not speak God’s language. They could not understand or declare it. For them, it was an enigma.

16 And I have heard of thee, that thou canst declare that which is in doubt and unravel difficulties…

How sad it took an impossible situation for the king to recognize his need and feel this doubt! However, the LORD has a true people, a true body on the earth that can unravel doubts and difficulties. But people who are content with their lives do not desire that someone resolve their doubts or difficulties.

16 …now if thou canst read this writing and show me its interpretation, thou shalt be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold about thy neck and shalt be the third ruler in the kingdom.

17 Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let thy gifts be for thyself and give thy rewards to another; yet I will read the writing unto the king and show him the interpretation.

Daniel answered the king, “I do not desire those things that are important to you and your princes. I do not care about the position you offered. I do not care about your gifts. I do not care about the offering you promised. Give it to someone else. It does not matter because your kingdom has come to an end. However, I will declare what God has written.”

Some ministries go to places and rent stadiums. They send their own people to collect the offering because they do not trust the pastor of that area. Others believe the other ministry robbed part of the offering. Or they make a campaign all over the city and invite people to receive the Lord. They write down the names and phone numbers of the people, but the pastors fight because they were not given enough names (of those who went forward and signed decision cards).

They pursue these people and lay guilt trips on them to make them go to their church to get their tithes and offerings. Sadly, after someone realizes they have been deceived, they may never come back to church, or it takes years for them to give another tithe or offering

True tithing should go to the widow, the orphan, the hungry, the needy, and also the “priest,” the “Levite” and the prophet. But no one has been able to understand that an implemented rule or law is not necessary if you are truly led by the Spirit of God.

When God leads us, we will share a lot more than a tenth of our time, our resources, our things and our money. Even more, the LORD will show us the true man or woman of God that is worthy to receive this gift. The true things of God flow naturally and not by fear. The people who are controlled by Adam’s life must be motivated by fear, but those who have Christ’s life are motivated by God’s love.

The king called Daniel because he was trembling with fear. He had ruled for years and had never even thought of calling Daniel. Now things had changed, and this is what Daniel declared:

18 O thou king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father the kingdom and the greatness and the glory and the magnificence:

God did this with Adam, our ancestor: He placed everything under his authority.

19 and by the greatness that he gave him, all the peoples, nations, and languages, trembled and feared before him; whom he would he slew; and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he set up; and whom he would he humbled.

The LORD has given man the authority here on earth.

20 But when his heart made itself arrogant, and his spirit hardened itself in pride, he was deposed from the throne of his kingdom, and they took his glory from him:

This happened to Adam. And for thousands of years, Adam’s descendants lost their sanity, and the only way to regain it is by doing what Nebuchadnezzar did. Scripture says that he recovered his sanity when he lifted his eyes to the heavens and recognized God’s authority and greatness. The human race will not return to its sanity until it does likewise.

21 and he was driven from among the sons of men; and his heart was put with the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses: they made him eat grass like an ox, and his body was bathed with the dew of heaven until he understood that the most high God takes rule of the kingdom of men and that he appoints over it whoever he will.

God is preparing another government. He is preparing a varón or, a free man, represented by Daniel, who is not going to depend on the whims of men. Daniel did well during Nebuchadnezzar’s time, but not during Belshazzar’s kingdom.

In times past, it has gone well for the true sons of God, but lately it has gone extremely bad for them: in most cases they have been outside of the ecclesiastical governments, and they have struggled. But they do not need to be placed in high authority by the kings of this world, because God Himself is about to remove all of it.

God will not place people in authority in His kingdom who have not been tested and proven faithful with little. God will choose people who have been tested with receiving a surplus. He will choose people like Paul who knew how to be content in abundance and in need. He will send people who have been able to give their best, being sick or well, with money, or without. He will choose people who have been faithful to Him.

22 And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this;

Many people, like Belshazzar, know history; they have the Scriptures; they know about millions of martyrs who gave their lives for the LORD. But they desire the things of this world and do not understand God’s true language. They do not understand what true treasures of heaven are or where true investment should be, and God says your heart will be where your treasure is.

23 but hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou and thy princes, thy wives and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; furthermore, thou hast praised gods of silver and of gold, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone, which do not see, nor hear, nor know; and the God in whose hand is thy soul and whose are all thy ways, thou hast never honoured.

This happens in many places that claim to be the house of God; the music is frightening and does not give honor to the LORD. The messages are an abomination because they tell people they can save their own lives and prosper, obtaining gold, silver, and bronze.

24 Then from his presence was sent the palm of the hand that sculpted this writing.

The hand was sent from the very presence of God, from the true Holy of Holies.

25 And the writing that he sculpted is, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.

They saw letters written with the palm of a hand, but Daniel said it was sculpted (not done with a pen or a pencil). The letters were engraved in high relief on the stone wall of the palace of the king of Babylon.

The king was understandably freaked out when the hand came into his palace in front of everyone and sculpted the message on a marble wall. Did the palace shake and crack during this? Did the foundations of Babylon begin to shake so much it made the king’s clothes fall off, leaving him naked, pale and trembling, and he had to stop the party and send for Daniel? The same Daniel he had turned his back on even though he knew of the miracles and the dealings of the LORD with his father.

God is about to send a message through his true servants who are represented by His hand. This is going to make today’s “Babylon” shake. The message is that this world is coming to an end and whoever wants safety must flee from the false church to the presence of God outside the camp because the city of Babylon that is supposedly the city of God is about to be taken.

25 And the writing that he sculpted is, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.

26 This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God has audited thy kingdom and finished it.

27 TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances and art found wanting.

28 PERES; Thy kingdom has been broken and is given to the Medes and Persians.

BABYLON FALLS

The true danger was outside, and since they were inside and drunk, they did not realize what was coming: an army that was surrounding the city. They thought that Babylon was invincible because they had conquered the whole world.

The Medes and the Persians who were outside used a similar tactic to what David had used many years before to conquer Jerusalem. They threw stones into the river that flowed into the city under the great wall. That night they deviated the river of Babylon, and the enemy army entered through the empty water way.

These kings and princes were fighting against each other in their drunken state with the vessels of the house of the LORD, and they were minutes away from losing everything.

Many people know that there will be judgment from God in the end. They think they will be fine in that day because they prayed the prayer, or they said a certain thing, or they gave their tithe, or went to confession, or church, or whatever. But they do not know the elements of judgment are now taking place, and the Lord will say in that day:

Matthew 25:42-46 42 for I was hungry, and ye gave me no food; I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink;

43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in; naked, and ye clothed me not; sick and in prison, and ye visited me not.

44 Then they shall also answer him, saying, Lord, when did we see thee hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and did not minister unto thee?

45 Then he shall answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of my brothers, ye did it not to me.

46 And they shall go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.

The Lord will not ask how many meetings they attended, or how many offerings they gave, or how many prayers they made. He will not ask how many night vigils they kept; He will not even ask if they read the Bible every day. He will only ask about the answer that came from their heart when someone from the Lord came with a need. He will ask how they responded. The spontaneous reaction of the heart will define the future. This king wanted to ignore Daniel, even knowing his story and the information given to him probably by his mother and his own queen.

29 Then Belshazzar commanded, and they clothed Daniel with purple and put a chain of gold about his neck and made a proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.

Not understanding politics, many Christians in the United States of America fight in that realm to elect a president who will stop abortions, allow the Bible to be read in schools and repress homosexuals etc. First, it is too late for that. And second, it is not possible to convert a nation by force.

Such a conversion of the USA is not possible because spiritual abortions have escalated so much that God is very unhappy. People come to a church and say the prayer, and then they tell the pastor, “But I still don’t feel saved, I still feel condemned.”

And the pastor says, “Of course you’re okay; you’re in the church with me. Here, read this verse…” And he never asks them to repent of their own life and never leads them toward a true and new birth.

These pastors are spiritual abortion doctors. Spiritual homosexuality remains in many institutes of theology, seminaries and Bible schools where man is teaching man. Their spiritual directives are not coming from God. And then they want to judge the transvestites and the homosexuals that walk around Sixteen Avenue with Nineteenth Street in Bogotá!

The time is quickly approaching when God will dictate a final sentence over this great religious Babylon. Those who stayed in Babylon waiting for the sentence, waited too long. When it comes, God will execute it instantly. (See Revelation Chapter 18)

30 That same night Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans was slain.

Chaldean means spiritualist: king of the spiritualists. Belshazzar, the king of the Chaldeans, was killed.

Sadly, the spirit in some people today who say they are of God is not the Spirit of God. Many of these great pastors who claim to represent God are not more than a band of spiritualists.

The bigger some churches get, the worse their problems get. They become a great spirit of deception, a show, a spectacle in the name of the Lord. They make a great show with the vessels of God, but they are giving out the wine, the life of Babylon. They are teaching the people that they can acquire the best things of this world without repenting of their own way.

When people decide to truly follow the Lord and turn their backs on their own life, they take up their crosses and follow Christ. They live His life by the power of the Holy Spirit.

God wants us to prosper, but His prosperity is different from the world’s prosperity. If the root of corruption is not cut, we will never be able to obtain true prosperity in the life of Christ. God is not going to allow people with divided hearts to remain in His kingdom. He already experienced that with Lucifer and Adam and He does not want anymore of it. God gave us free will, but He also gave us a chance to seek the true light in this fallen world. Everyone who wants can seek the true light, and He is that true light. The Lord Jesus came so no one would perish. If someone does perish, it is because they turned their backs on the Light, the Truth, and the True Way.

30 That same night Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans was slain.

31 And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being sixty-two years old.

6:1 It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom one hundred and twenty governors who should be in all the kingdom;

Pentecost began with 120 people. Twelve is a symbol of divine order, and ten symbolizes the law of God.

6:2 and over these three presidents, of whom Daniel was first, that the governors might give accounts unto them, and the king should not be bothered.

When Babylon fell, Daniel did not. He continued with the next king, and when this king’s kingdom came down, Daniel did not.

What am I trying to say? God can give us experience in the kingdoms of this world, but his plan will not be manifested that way. The kingdoms of this world will be reduced to ruins, but the true Kingdom of our Lord will come forth another way.

When the new thing came, Daniel was not placed third, he was first.

In an instant, Babylon ended. Everything came down, and God did something different. This great “Babylon” that exists today where men think they know more than God, and they proudly say they have established their course with their own philosophy and ideas, will soon come down instantaneously.

LET’S PRAY:

LORD, we thank you because there is a people that have learned Your language that is only understood with a true change of heart. They have understood Your message that can only be taken advantage of when we come into the realm of Your life. Let us be your faithful representatives LORD, not only in word, but also in deed, so that in the moment that a message must be delivered in high relief or sculpted on a wall, we can be in Your image and likeness and part of Your true body. We ask this LORD and give you authority to purify our hearts and lives as You see fit. Amen.

CHAPTER SIX

“I Have Done No Corruption”

In God’s vocabulary, perfection is a state of the heart.

The fall of Babylon, as narrated in the last chapter, is also a representation of the system of this world. Babylon was a real empire, but God describes the fall of the future Babylon in Revelation Chapter 18. (SEE APPENDIX DANIEL, PART 6)

The tower of Babel began this kingdom. Mankind wanted to make a name for themselves so they built a tower to reach the sky to avoid another destruction like the flood. God wanted them to go and multiply and have dominion over all the earth. The construction of the tower was an effort to avoid God’s judgment without having to change their behavior. Instead of doing what God wanted, which was to go and multiply and have dominion over all the earth, they chose to stay in one place and be controlled by the same thing. So God confused their language.

DANIEL 5

30 That same night Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans was slain.

31 And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being sixty-two years old.

Sixty-two is an interesting number, but even more interesting is that Darius was possibly king Ahasuerus’s son, who was Queen Esther’s husband.

King Belshazzar, the last king of Babylon, had not even thought of Daniel until the very last moment when he had no other choice. After Daniel interpreted the writing on the wall, Belshazzar made him third in his kingdom. However, the whole kingdom came down immediately after the proclamation.

DANIEL 6

1 It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom one hundred and twenty governors who should be in all the kingdom;

2 and over these three presidents, of whom Daniel was first, that the governors might give accounts unto them, and the king should not be bothered.

DANIEL OBEYS GOD

Darius put the kingdom in Daniel’s hands. Daniel was no longer third; he was first. The Bible promises a day when there will be a first resurrection, and those worthy of the first resurrection will reign with Christ for a thousand years. But, if they are to reign with Christ, who are they going to reign over? (See Revelation Chapter 20)

3 Then this Daniel was preferred above these governors and presidents because an over abundance of the Spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole kingdom.

4 Then the presidents and governors looked for occasions against Daniel on behalf of the kingdom, but they could find no occasion or fault because he was faithful, and no vice nor fault was found in him.

Ever since the New Testament days, there have been many theologians who say that perfection is impossible. But here, in the Old Testament, the Scripture says the pagan governors could find no fault with Daniel in spite of the terrible situation. Sometimes our concept of perfection is not the same as the LORD shows in Scripture.

We may feel that we can never achieve perfection because our minds are forgetful or our adding skills are inaccurate. But in God’s vocabulary, perfection is a state of heart, motivation, attitude, and direction. Daniel shows us it is possible to find perfection in this context.

Many people in Scripture were without fault before the LORD. To name a few, the Bible speaks thus of Job, Joshua, and Joseph (in Egypt). There are many examples of people whose goal was only to do the LORD’s will and nothing more. Throughout the course of their lives, they never deviated from that purpose.

This does not mean they never had a mishap in language; it does not mean they always got their multiplication tables right. It means their mistakes were of a different kind. The Bible says Jesus Christ was a man without sin, and He was perfect to God.

One day, in the midst of a multitude the Lord Jesus asked, “Who touched me?” (Luke 8:45)

Peter replied, “Master, the multitude throng thee and press thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?”

But the Lord wanted to highlight the woman who had intentionally touched Him. As far as His humanity, Jesus had the same limitations we have. If we are looking forward, we cannot look backward. The direction the Lord had from the Spirit of his Father was his true inheritance, and it is available to us too. He came not only to show us the way but also to BE that way.

Daniel is a type of Jesus; and in the Book of Daniel, we do not find any errors or faults of Daniel. Later we find Daniel kneeling and repenting for the sins of his people, asking God to restore them. This is similar to what the Lord Jesus came to do.

Darius’s kingdom was somewhat better in a certain sense, but from God’s point of view the empires of the world have gone in decline. Remember the image Nebuchadnezzar saw of the kingdom of Babylon: a statue’s head of gold? In this image, the silver arms and shoulders represented the Medes and the Persians that came after Babylon. They may have conquered more, but their quality was inferior.

Greece came later, under bronze, which is a symbol of judgment. Then came the iron, and after that the iron mixed with baked clay. Every kingdom has added something that seemed like progress, but God says the human race and its governments are in a process of degradation.

In the beginning, Nebuchadnezzar could make life or death decisions over his subjects. (We see something similar now in the Colombian Paramilitary groups where the commander has that authority.) When we get to the Medes and the Persians, they placed the law above the king. They feared that the king could become rash in a fit of rage, so they thought it was necessary to tie him to a law that could not be changed, not even by the king himself. The Greeks and the Romans added other elements to the government. Today, in the days of democracy, we have three branches of government: the legislative, the executive and the judicial. God says the form of government we now have in most countries is the most degraded and corrupt form of government there has ever been, or ever will be.

5 Then these men said, We shall never find any occasion against this Daniel except we find it against him in the law of his God.

Observe the following: the LORD has something that is parallel to what the kingdoms of men have implemented after the course of many years. The LORD has a law that almost no one has wanted to take into account. These presidents and princes thought, “If we are going to find a fault in Daniel, we have to find it in the law of his God, because Daniel will always put the law of his God above our law.”

6 Then these governors and presidents assembled together before the king and said thus unto him, King Darius, live for ever. (They came to sweeten the king’s ear with praise and he fell in the trap.)

7 All the presidents of the kingdom, magistrates, governors, great ones, and captains have agreed in common accord to promote a royal decree and to confirm it that whoever shall ask a petition of any God or man for thirty days, except of thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions.

In the prophetic books, the “king” often represents the authority God has given the human race. Today many people believe humanism is the greatest thing ever. They say, “We’re going to glorify and deify the human being above everything.”

In king Darius’s case, they used caution because they did not know if he would fall for their scheme or not, so they said, “for thirty days.” They knew thirty days was enough time to catch Daniel disobeying the law.

Lately, democracies have changed constitutions of entire countries to state that power is of the people. This sounds excellent to most voters, because things change according to their taste. From God’s point of view, however, humanistic democracy is the most corrupt form of government. Why? Because failures, cracks and corruption are produced in this political system, and the interests of a few move masses by controlling information and certain stimulus.

The natural man is prone to falling into deception. The problem with Adam and Eve was that they wanted to have the knowledge of good and evil to be like God. In most democracies the people are believed to be wise enough to choose their governors, but they go from problem to problem, from one extreme to the other.

The governors and presidents came to the king, and in a very sneaky manner, they presented the deal and concluded saying:

8 Now, O king, confirm the decree and sign the writing that it not be moved, according to the law of Media and of Persia, which does not change.

9 Therefore king Darius signed the writing and the decree.

There was a writing and a decree that affected Adam and Eve when they lost the sovereignty over the earth that God had given them to administer. When one person loses something, another person gains it. In the laws of Physics, energy cannot be wasted, neither can it be destroyed; it can only change its form. While some people lost everything in the great depressions, others gained.

The religious and political realms are like this also. King Darius signed the decree, and later it could not be changed.

10 Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he entered into his house; and with the windows open toward Jerusalem in his dining chamber, he knelt three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God as he was used to doing before.

Daniel did not even close the windows; he did not modify his behavior out of fear. Making decisions based on fear and terror from people who are not clean before God is dangerous. King Darius fell into the trap because they praised him and exalted him far above what God wanted. Daniel was not fooled, however. He knew that God’s power was infinitely greater than the power of any law or any human government.

In reconciling this with Paul’s teaching in the New Testament where he says that we should obey the governors of this earth, we recognize that we must be exemplary citizens in everything that is for good. But the governors of this earth are not above the LORD, and if they insist we praise ourselves, or the king, or the governor, or the god of money above the God of heaven, then we cannot obey them.

Daniel did not even try to hide. Daniel did not go tell the king, “Look king, you’re falling into a big trap. Please do not sign this because they have bad intentions against me, and I have to serve my God, and they’re taking away my religious freedom...”

Many churches and pastors object and challenge the government when they notice it is doing something that hinders them. Even as the first president, Daniel did not do this. These Medes went to score their touchdown, declaring Daniel’s refusal to obey. But Daniel allowed the king’s heart to become apparent.

THE LIONS’ DEN, THEN AND NOW

What was Daniel going to do now? Was he going to worship the king; worship humanism that idolizes man? Or was he going to worship the God of heaven? Daniel did not change his course because he looked toward Jerusalem, which is the city of peace. Scripture says that if we are born again, we are part of the heavenly Jerusalem that is the mother of us all. (See Galatians 4:26) The pressure and the test were huge, but Daniel remained focused.

There was no mention of a lions’ den in Babylon (of course there was a furnace that they could make seven times hotter). These lions continued in history up until the Roman Empire. A few centuries later, the more “advanced” governments turned the lions’ den into a coliseum. This is where our organized sports come from.

We could ask what’s wrong with a soccer game. Maybe nothing. But accidents happen, and fans literally kill each other. Violence and blood escalate because the foundation is wrong; it is based on the idolization of man.

We must be careful about our purpose for attending a football game or sports event. The LORD might send us there for some reason or give us the freedom and the permission to go. However, if we go to worship man and to idolize him over God, then not only is it wrong, but these problems that have been going on for centuries will never cease.

So, they had the lions’ den, which in its primitive state was the beginning of what we now call a “stadium.” The most terrible thing is they now use those stadiums for religious shows, idolizing men who might have gifts of God. Some likely do have gifts of God, but those gifts are often used contrary to the way the Lord Jesus wants.

Why does God allow all this to happen? Because He wants to reveal what is in the hearts of all these leaders who allow their followers to lift them up and idolize them. In the same manner, He proves the hearts of the people who want a man to reign over them instead of God.

Even though God sees the nations decline in democracy, we still have a responsibility to vote on some occasions. Only God can show us. In some elections I have not been able to decide which of the two bandits is worse, and one falls into the trap of voting for the least evil. But other times we have voted because we believed it was from the Lord.

I am not trying to make political statements. If the Spirit is in us, we are free to serve God and do everything that the Lord allows us to do. We can go anywhere the Lord gives us freedom to go. It is preferable to be at a mass if the Lord wants us there than anywhere else.

I’ve been in such circumstances, and they have asked me to preach. I was at a mass in Medellín with Rafael García Herreros (an influential Colombian priest). We had just come back from a meeting with Pablo Escobar to encourage him to surrender (which he did a few days later) when we arrived at the cathedral in the center of town. In the middle of their service, they stopped their mass and had him speak to the multitude.

We can say, “Well, I don’t like this or the other thing.” But, who are we to decide who is wrong and who is not? Just because God might not allow me to do a certain thing does not mean He will not allow someone else. I should not make everyone turn off their televisions just because the Lord told me to turn mine off.

To hear directly from God is our personal responsibility. This requires maturity. Daniel did not change his behavior: he continued praying three times a day (in a visible manner) and focused on Jerusalem, without deviating from his course.

11 Then these men assembled and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God.

12 Then they went and spoke before the king concerning the royal decree; Hast thou not confirmed a decree that whoever shall ask a petition of any God or man within thirty days save of thee, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions? The king answered and said, The thing is true, according to the law of the Media and Persia, which does not change.

13 Then they answered and said before the king, (I imagine that it was quickly and with joy.) That Daniel, which is of the sons of the captivity of the Jews, has not regarded thee, O king, nor the decree that thou hast confirmed, but makes his petition three times a day.

14 When the king, heard the matter, it weighed very heavy upon him, and he set his heart on Daniel to deliver him: and he laboured until the going down of the sun to deliver him.

Observe the difference in the situation with the three Hebrew boys who were thrown into king Nebuchadnezzar’s furnace. Nebuchadnezzar had personally received the revelation from God, but he tried to prevent the world’s demise by uniting the kingdom, making everyone honor a gold statue in his image. This king was the one who got mad and threw these boys into the furnace when they chose not to worship his statue. In much prophetic symbolism, the king represents our will (notice the king is getting better).

A time will come when many people realize what they and the entire human race have done against God, their creator. Darius fell into the trap of these powerful people linked to the system of this world. He was seduced by the rhythm and the force that this great political movement had. They were putting him on a pedestal, and he wanted to be there.

Too late he realized they were conspiring against Daniel, the manifestation of God on earth. They were also plotting against the people of God. Darius’ mother had probably told him the story of Esther many times. He knew how these things worked, and it weighed on him so terribly he desperately tried all day to free Daniel.

Revelation Chapter 20 is similar to what happened to Daniel: even when unregenerate humanity is under a good government, their hearts may not change. People say, “The problem would be solved if we had justice, if there was no corruption and we had a government with clean leaders.” The first resurrection involves those who have been “beheaded” for the witness of Jesus and the word of God. They came out from under their own headship and are under His. They are the ones who are resurrected and reign a thousand years with Christ.

Revelation 20:4-6 And I saw thrones, and those who sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them; and I saw the souls of those that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus and for the word of God and who had not worshipped the beast neither its image neither had received its mark upon their foreheads or in their hands; and they shall live and reign with Christ the thousand years. But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that has part in the first resurrection; on such the second death has no authority, but they shall be priests of God and of the Christ and shall reign with him a thousand years.

At the end of these thousand years, Satan is unleashed for a time to deceive and unite all the kingdoms in the world to fight against the people of God. They will try to destroy the people of God. They had a righteous, trustworthy government in this kingdom, but the problem within their hearts continued.

Likewise, the desire for power in these presidents, governors and magi did not disappear. They continued to feel they should be in power, even with their corruption. Their hearts had not changed.

We have a picture of a clean government with Darius as the head. Daniel represents the corporate Son of which Jesus Christ is the head. Those of us who have sacrificed our lives and our authority to submit to His head and His authority form part of His body. So, we will experience this when we reign with the Lord.

15 Then those men assembled near the king, and said unto the king, Know, O king, that this is the law of Media and of Persia: No decree nor statute which the king has confirmed may be moved.

16 Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king, speaking unto Daniel, said, Thy God whom thou servest continually, may he deliver thee.

The difference between king Nebuchadnezzar and king Darius is obvious. Nebuchadnezzar got angry and threw the three Hebrew boys into the fire, while Darius recognized that Daniel served the one true God. Darius was ashamed and with his head down, he had to say to Daniel, “Look, this is out of my control, and I must leave it in the hands of your God. I am a witness of the complete faithfulness you have toward your God.”

Scripture says there will be people in whom the true love and charity of God flows so that the world can see it. Everyone will know who the LORD is. This happened when Darius saw what Daniel was like. Daniel did not have to speak on behalf of himself because he was what he was, and this defined the case, creating a problem for the king.

Daniel probably slept with ease in the lions’ den. The Lord not only closed the lions’ mouths, but Daniel did not even feel cold that night. He could have covered himself with two or three of those nice big fluffy lions because the true authority was in the hands of Daniel. The one who did not sleep well, despite his castle and all his comforts, was the king.

Something similar to this will happen to the human race. Destroying Babylon is only the beginning. The other problem begins after the true and pure government of God replaces the authority of Babylon.

17 And a stone was brought and laid upon the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the signet ring of his princes that the agreement concerning Daniel might not be changed.

It was sealed. Where else in Scripture do we see a stone used to seal something? After the death of Jesus, a stone was placed to seal his tomb. The power of death could not defeat the Lord Jesus. The Lord descended to this den administered by the Devil, where the Devil had imprisoned the souls of the dead. He not only broke the seal and rolled away the stone, but he also took captivity captive. He broke the jail and took His own. (Daniel is a symbol of this.)

After Daniel escaped unscathed, they took the ones who had condemned Daniel and threw them into the same den. It did not go well for them. Likewise, in Revelation it says that the Lord makes war in righteousness.[1]

Revelation Chapter 11 confirms that when the two witnesses come with the testimony of the life of the LORD, whoever wants to hurt them that same harm will fall upon them.

REVELATION 11

3 And I will give my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.

4 These are the two olive trees and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.

5 And if anyone desires to hurt them, fire proceeds out of their mouth and devours their enemies; and if anyone desires to hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.

God allows this to prove the hearts of the people. If we are clean and are representing the Lord, and someone does us good or receives us, they are doing it to the Lord Himself. If someone hurts us, they hurt the Lord. The Lord said in Luke 23:34 …Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. But He also said the consequences were going to come upon that generation, and they did.

That generation continues because the two generations that still exist are Christ’s and Adam’s. What we have received from Adam does not have a good future. The future is in Christ, in His life. Adam, the first man, was made a living soul by the breath of God, but Jesus Christ is the Lord of heaven and was made a life-giving Spirit.

1 Corinthians 15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was make a living soul; the last Adam was made a life-giving Spirit.

1 John 5:12 He that has the Son has life; and he that does not have the Son of God does not have life.

Scripture says that God the Father has life in and of Himself, and He has given Jesus life in and of Himself, but our life is found in Jesus Christ. If we have found eternal life, it is because we have found Him. If we do not have Him, we do not have life. If He is not in us, then we do not have life. Religious leaders have deceived many by telling them they have to do religious rituals. Many people do religious things, but it is a waste of time if they do not have Him.

18 Then the king went to his palace and lay down without eating; neither were instruments of music brought before him, and his sleep fled from him.

Daniel was safe and sound in the lions’ den, but the king was not doing so well in the palace. He could not sleep.

The human race has fallen into a great sleep; they have illusions of their own grandeur, and their thoughts have been twisted, believing themselves to be wise, when in reality, God sees them as crazy. They also think they are very awake, but to God they are dreaming and sleeping.

God allows us to dream dreams like Nebuchadnezzar. But king Darius could not sleep, and he spent the whole night repenting. Most of the twenty-five verses that mention king Darius refer to the decision he made in the second year of his reign to restore God’s house in Jerusalem and return God’s vessels to the temple.

Darius made a decision that night that he would not be like the Belshazzar who made a wild party with a thousand of his princes drinking with the vessels of the house of God. He decided to stop the insanity and restore the true foundations of the house of God. He had to restore each vessel one by one and place one stone on top of the other in order to accomplish this.

According to the LORD, the human race in its fallen state is nothing. If we are to return to what God wants, we must do it step by step, always directed by God. And the prophets Zechariah and Haggai began to prophesy in the second year of King Darius’s reign to wake up the spirit of a remnant that returned to Jerusalem with precise instructions about how to lay the foundation and restore the house of the LORD.

19 Therefore, the king arose very early in the morning at dawn and went in haste unto the den of lions.

20 And when he came to the den, he cried loudly with a sad voice unto Daniel; and the king, in speaking to Daniel said, Daniel, servant of the living God, has thy God, whom thou servest continually, been able to deliver thee from the lions?

He had some faith mixed with doubt. He had faith because he was talking, but he still asked the question. The king did not know what he was going to find. Who knows what would have happened to that poor king had he found Daniel dead? He may have been close to taking his own life. He was very upset.

21 Then Daniel said unto the king, O king, live for ever.

22 My God has sent his angel, who shut the lions’ mouths, that they do me no evil because before him righteousness was found in me; and even before thee, O king, I have done no corruption.

Scripture says that if the Spirit of God is leading us, we are not under the law because the law of God’s Spirit is superior. (See Galatians 5:18) It is a law of life and not death. (See Romans 8:2) Here Daniel, in representation of God, says that God desires the king to live forever. This is God’s desire for each one of us – for the entire human race. How are we going to live forever? Death must be overcome in order to live forever, and the only one who has been able to defeat death is the Lord Jesus. If we hope to take part in that victory, we must be willing to do what Daniel did.

Daniel was not looking for power as the first president of the Medes and the Persians. He did not seek power in Babylon either. He did not seek his own good, and he did not try to defend his own life. He sought only what God wanted of him, and he would not modify what he had covenanted with God out of fear of man or of the lions’ den.

God is looking for this same attribute now. He is looking for a people who are willing to follow Him. We hear preachers say, “Come to Christ, and He will give you a house, a car. All you have to do is be faithful here with your offerings, your tithes and your presence, and you will not lack anything; you will have perfect health and everything you need for your kids; if you ever have a need, all you have to do is come and give more money. God will multiply what you give many times more...”

These preachers and the people are really worshipping the god of money. They would be happy with Nebuchadnezzar’s statue of gold and all the music. However, the true message is different. It consists of not contaminating yourself when placed in a position of power like Daniel. Daniel had to decide whether he would obey the people and the king or if he would obey the commitment he had made with God. He did not deviate. He did not move the curtain of the window, and the lions could not handle him.

23 Then the king was exceeding glad because of him and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no injury was found upon him because he believed in his God.

This is a complete dependence on God, not just a mental statement.

24 And the king commanded, and they brought those men who had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions, them, their children, and their wives; and even before they reached the bottom of the den, the lions had the mastery of them, and broke all their bones in pieces.

25 Then king Darius wrote unto all the peoples, nations, and tongues, that dwell in all the earth: Peace be multiplied unto you.

GOD’S PROTECTION AND OUR FUTURE

Those who wanted to harm Daniel fell into their own trap, into their own death sentence, and the lions devoured them.

We like to add, but God likes to multiply. Good things for God can be multiplied. Bad things can be multiplied as well. People who are heading towards destruction are multiplying their sentence; the people who are heading towards eternity are multiplying their blessings. They are both like a geometric progression.

The good gets better, and the bad gets worse. Everything gives its fruit at the end: wheat gives out one thing, and the tares give out another. A huge difference is not seen in the beginning, but in the end it is very evident.

Daniel’s story ends in a great blessing, but these others did not even reach the bottom of the den before they were completely broken. Daniel said he had been found righteous before God. If we are righteous before God, it is God’s righteousness in us because our own righteousness is like filthy rags. (Isaiah 64:6) But it will not go well for us in the “lions’ den” if true righteousness is not found in us.

Daniel told the king that he had done no corruption and had not broken the king’s commandment either. Why? Because the king’s commandment was insane. Many things that the world requires are insane, even though we look like the crazy ones.

One time I had two planes in the jungle, and they would tell me, “Russell, you can’t have planes without insurance.” So I went to insure them and found out it would cost me a yearly sum of over ten percent of the value of the airplanes.

This started getting more and more expensive, so I made a decision: I bought the obligatory liability insurance that did not cost much, and I left the airplanes without hull insurance. I said, “The insurance of these planes will consist in doing God’s will because I am going to have compassion on the needy.” After flying almost five thousand hours in very difficult terrain, I had no accidents, not even an incident, not a single scratch. The LORD is the best insurance.

Good works are not something we invent; the Bible says good works are those things God has prepared for us to walk in beforehand.

Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God has prepared that we should walk in them.

We will not make it through the final judgment if we are not found walking in these good works. Our own works cannot save us; but at the same time, if His works are not found in us, it is an indication we are not saved. The lions ate these people with everything they had. Some people will be very surprised when they face death. Scripture speaks of two deaths: the first death and then after the judgment comes, the second death.

Matthew 10:28 And fear not those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul, but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. (In the lake of fire, which is the second death).

God is not interested in never-ending torture of His enemies. He is interested in resolving issues in His government to eliminate corruption. He wants us to come to a future where there is no more corruption on earth or in heaven. And Scripture says even the heavens are contaminated by all the problems there have been. (See Job 15:15)

The prophecy in the last chapters of Isaiah, where righteousness dwells in the new heavens and the new earth, comes to pass at the end of Revelation. Corruption does not exist where righteousness dwells. Daniel proved that he had no corruption before the king, or in his house or before the lions when they threw him in the den.

If we come into a total dependence on the LORD like Daniel, if we live His life and not our own, no one will be able to terrorize us because we will not be making decisions based on the fear of man. Some people get scared when they get phone calls or are threatened, and they flee the country.

One time, we received phone calls from a man who threatened my daughter. At first we felt uncomfortable, but we decided the LORD had us in Bogotá, and we were going to stay. This is more difficult when it involves your own children. Later we tracked the phone calls and found out they came from a jail where we had gone with the Peace Campaign. We had distributed some books there, and someone got a book that had our number. The calls came from a person who was already in jail – a person who could do us no harm; yet we almost fled because of it.

Just as God continued to protect Daniel, He continually protected us. A person from an armed group came to extort us. After he moved into our house, we had trouble with him and did not know what to do. I realized that the real problem had nothing to do with me, but with him. Later he came crying and repenting, but the problem persisted. He could not overcome this issue. He had three opportunities, but he persisted in his habit. We never obeyed the orders he would give us from his superiors. But one day, when I did not know what to do, I read in the newspaper that he had been killed. They had threatened to kill one of us, but the exact opposite occurred.

When we represent the LORD, our life is in His hands. The LORD’s words to His disciples in Matthew 10:23 are true:

But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another, for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel until the Son of man be come.

Israel symbolizes the people of God. The LORD tells us to flee when supposed Christians do not want to receive us, but want to harm us. In other circumstances, the true men of God remain. Daniel did not flee. The trouble they planned for Daniel fell upon his enemies.

We expect better things from the people of God and from many who do not know the truth. I was in a big Bogotá church with Brother Clayt Sonmore. They had many false prophets whom they considered to be true prophets, and they thought Clayt was the false one. So they kicked him out.

The pastor told me he was not kicking me out, but only Clayt. He kicked him out of his church, his city, and his country. I told him I came with Clayt. This same thing happened to the pastor about twenty days after he pronounced this. God’s protection is constant, even today.

King Darius must have had a heart for God ever since he was a child. His mother had surely taught him well. He had seen the things of God, but he was still susceptible to the adoration and idolization of men. King Darius was more touched than Nebuchadnezzar.

25 Then king Darius wrote unto all the peoples, nations, and tongues, that dwell in all the earth: Peace be multiplied unto you.

26 On my behalf a statute is put into effect, That in all the dominion of my kingdom everyone tremble at the presence of the God of Daniel for he is the Living God and endures for all ages, and his kingdom is such that it shall never come apart, and his dominion shall be even unto the end:

Darius recognized that God was above him. Darius understood that the kingdoms of men will end but God’s kingdom will endure.

27 that saves and frees, and makes signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.

28 So this Daniel was prospered during the reign of Darius and during the reign of Cyrus, the Persian.

Even after all these tests, God revealed more truths to Daniel that have to do more with our time. He told Daniel to seal the book until the time of the end. He said that when the prophecy is fulfilled (after the end of the years prophesied) Thou shall go to the end and shalt rest, and thou shalt raise up in thy lot (or in thine inheritance) at the end of the days. (Daniel 12:13)

After managing so many kingdoms, being the first president, gaining the king’s trust and the trust of those who ruled in the ancient world, after the king, by listening to Daniel’s advice, had Jerusalem restored and the vessels of the LORD returned and all this paid for by the royal treasury, the Bible says that was not Daniel’s true inheritance. He would receive his true inheritance at the end of the “days.”

Being like Daniel is attainable. We must simply recognize God’s authority instead of our own, allowing the LORD to clean us. From the beginning, Daniel purposed in his heart to not contaminate himself; the LORD honored that and blessed him. He did not allow Daniel to be contaminated at any time. He allowed Daniel to work his whole life in delicate positions, in some of history’s most difficult kingdoms, without corruption. If God could do that with Daniel, He can keep us clean in any circumstance, in any group, in any rank. But none of these positions are our true inheritance. We are only taking a course, receiving training to be able to handle the true riches that are coming.

LET’S PRAY:

Heavenly Father, we thank you and we ask that what happened with the kings in Daniel’s time could happen to us where it says that God awakened the Spirit in these kings in order to fulfill God’s will on earth. We ask that we could come to a time when You will awaken your Spirit in the governors of Colombia, the president of Colombia, the Congress, the Senate, the Courts and all the public offices so that there will be men and women like Daniel who are willing to give up their lives before compromising in corruption. We ask this in the name of our Lord Jesus, Amen.

[1]  Revelation 19:11 And I saw the heaven open, and behold a white horse; and he that was seated upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.

CHAPTER SEVEN

“The Sum of the Matters”

…the Judge sat down and the books were opened. Daniel 7:10

DANIEL 7

1 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel saw a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream and penned the sum of the matters.

Up until now the king was the one who had the dreams, and Daniel was the one who interpreted them. After he did this for the king, Daniel began to have visions.

In a dream, the person is sleeping, while in a vision, the person is awake. Daniel, being awake, was able to foresee things to come. He was able to see the end result of the empires that existed and the ones that were to come until the time of the end (our time).

The first part of the book represents the revelation God gives to unbelievers, in their fallen state. Scripture declares that no one has an excuse because even nature demonstrates the glory of God. They might not see this if they do not have the wisdom to interpret the things that surround them.

[1]

But now, God begins to give Daniel direct revelation that represents what God is doing in the new man in Christ.

Jesus Christ is the beginning of the new creation, and Daniel is a representation of the Lord Jesus. When the king saw Daniel, he could say he was seeing “God.” Daniel represented God. The Lord Jesus told His disciples that if they had seen Him, they had seen His Father.[2]

What does this mean? The Lord Jesus left his heavenly glory and came here as a man. Scripture says, “He was the temple of God.” Since He was God become man, He was like us in every way except that He was alive spiritually. His Father dwelt in Him through the Spirit because He was clean.

The Lord Jesus did not come to do His own will, but His Father’s will. He did not come to speak His own words, or to do His own works; He came to speak what His Father was speaking and to do what His Father wanted him to do.

According to the Bible, the “body of Christ” is a body of many members of which Jesus is the head. Everyone who is redeemed and cleansed by His blood is part of this body. Ephesians states that if we belong to the body of Christ (the true church), everyone will have a different function just like different organs in the body have different functions. We all have need of each other, and the Lord Jesus is the head who is over all of us.

Ephesians 4:16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and well tied together among itself by the nourishment that every connecting bond supplies, by the operation of each member according to the measure they have received, making increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in charity.

God says that when He has a clean people, when He has a people He is pleased with, He is going to have them reign and even judge nations together with the Lord Jesus. In this sense, Daniel is a representation of what God wants to do with his people.

HORSES OF ZECHARIAH AND BEAST OF REVELATION 17

The Lord Jesus said He was not here to judge anyone, but if He did, His judgment would be true because He did not come to do His own will, but His Father’s. Now Daniel’s revelation had details that require more wisdom to interpret them. Daniel saw a dream and visions of his head during Belshazzar’s first year, and Belshazzar ended up being the last king of Babylon. The Bible says that this happened while he was in his bed (at night). He was in a kingdom and a situation that had no light, only darkness, but God gave him a revelation that was above this.

1…then he wrote the dream and penned the sum of the matters.

To understand we must take everything into account to get the sum of it all. The next verses of this chapter describe the four beasts Daniel saw in his vision. In Revelation 17, John says he only saw one beast that had “seven” heads: the sum of the matters. In Daniel Chapter 7, the first beast had one head, the second beast had one head, the third beast had four heads, and the fourth beast had one head. If we add this up, there is a total of seven heads just like Revelation 17. (SEE APPENDIX DANIEL PART 7, REV 17)

John saw the same vision but instead of seeing four beasts, he only saw one that represents the sum of all the world’s empires. It is ultimately the same story of the statue that the king saw and Daniel interpreted.

But Daniel’s vision is more of a complete revelation given directly for the sons of God.

2 Daniel spoke and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven fought the great sea.

Men believe their great civilizations and the religions are light, but God says all that is night and darkness. The Lord Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount that if the light that is in us is darkness, how great is that darkness!

Matthew 6:23 But if thine eye is evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If, therefore, the light that is in thee is darkness, how great is that darkness!

Daniel saw his vision during the prime time of the kingdoms of men, and God said it was night. In the dream God gave Nebuchadnezzar, the statue’s head of gold represented the kingdom of Babylon. First gold, then silver, then bronze, then iron and finally iron mixed with clay – representing the present democracies where the people make the laws. Even so, the iron does not mesh well with the clay. These kingdoms cannot walk, they do not function, and they are going to come down because men make laws they cannot keep.

In king Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, only a stone cut without hands destroyed the image, but in this chapter, Daniel’s vision is a greater example of the coming kingdom of God.

…the four winds of the heaven fought the great sea.

Zechariah 6 speaks of four chariots pulled by four kinds of horses. Zechariah says these are the four spirits of the heavens that are sent throughout the four cardinal points of the earth with the judgments of God. ”Four” symbolizes God’s divine dealings and His divine love. (See Genesis 1:14-19)

Zechariah 6:1-5 And I turned and lifted up my eyes and looked, and, behold, there came four chariots out from between two mountains, and those mountains were of brass. In the first chariot were red horses and in the second chariot black horses; in the third chariot white horses and in the fourth chariot grisled and bay horses. Then I answered and said unto the angel that talked with me, What is this, my lord? And the angel answered and said unto me, These are the four spirits of the heavens, which go forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth.

God wants to change us. He wants to plant His Word and His Life so that His life replaces ours. He wants to take us out of the old creation and bring us into the new creation of which the Lord Jesus is the first of the first fruits according to the Scriptures.

These horses of many colors symbolize what God wants to do with us. Compare these horses in Zechariah Chapter 6 to the ones in Revelation Chapter 6; the order in which they appear changes, and one of the horses is a different color. (See APPENDIX DANIEL, PART 7B)

It was impossible to begin with holiness (to begin with being separated exclusively for the work of God) in the Old Covenant. The blood and the law had to be applied first. Sadly, the law cannot be fulfilled in our own strength. The New Covenant begins with a white horse because the LORD is not trying to sanctify us in our fallen state; He desires to bring us into His body, which is already holy. It is a change of government. Instead of us being the head, He wants to be the head. When this happens, He applies the blood (the red horse) and begins to cleanse us.

The third horse in Revelation Chapter 6 is black because for us God’s ways seem very black. God wants to put an end to what we think is good. What may seem right to us, may not be right to God and this is a very terrible situation. This black horse is linked with the three feasts of God. (See Revelation 6:5,6) It represents walking with the LORD and being faithful until the end. He who is faithful with a little will receive more. (Luke 19:17)

The fourth horse is the one that changes. Zechariah 6:3 says that in the fourth chariot the horses were “grizzled and bay…” This horse symbolizes death: therefore, it is an ugly color and is full of spots. (Up until Jesus’ work of redemption, the Devil had the keys of death and the title to the earth.) The way God, by his Spirit, fights the “sea” of unconverted humanity is not by being lenient; God’s solution for the old man is to kill it. Therefore, we must identify ourselves with the death of the Lord Jesus on the cross. This death is a slow one, little by little and drop by drop.

The Lord Jesus can place us on this path, even in this lifetime, and root out the bad desires so that they never come back again. But the way was extremely hard before the work of redemption of Jesus Christ; so much that it was impossible for anyone to walk it. Death had a lot of power and those who died were held prisoner by its power in Hades (or Sheol) while they waited for the coming of the Lord.

According to the parable of Lazarus and the rich man, Hades (or Sheol) had two compartments, one for the good and the other for the bad. The Lord Jesus broke that jail and took His own to be with Him. (See Ephesians Chapter 4) Now the Apostle Paul says he is willing, to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.

Revelation 6:9 is also referring to the souls of those who lost their own lives in order to be under the Lord’s authority and live His life. They are not in Sheol: they are under the altar of heaven, under the provision Jesus Christ gave them through His life, which is the same as through His blood because Scripture says the life is in the blood (Genesis 9:4; Leviticus 17: 11,14; Deuteronomy 12:23; John 6:53-54).

In Revelation 6:7,8, the fourth horse is not grizzled and bay, but. In the original text it is green. Most Bibles have not translated it this way because green horses do not exist. But God is going to take us out of this creation and introduce us into something new, something that does not exist yet. This Greek word is the one from which we derive our word chlorophyll to describe the life of the plants. It is the color in Scripture that illustrates resurrection because God’s plan is to end our life and give us new life after being born again into the life of Jesus Christ. This is the plan of redemption.

God is showing all this to Daniel ...the four winds of heaven fought the great sea... because the four winds of heaven can also be translated as the four “spirits” of heaven ( “spirit” and “wind” are the same word in Hebrew). The Holy Spirit works to transform us from the old man into the new man. This is the fight God has against the great sea of unconverted humanity.

Flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. God has to take us out of one in order to place us into the other. This is summarized here in one line, but it is important in order to understand this vision. The four winds of heaven are fighting against the great sea: God is offering his plan of redemption to a world of fallen humanity and has all the power of His Spirit to implement it.

The way of salvation in the Old Testament is exactly the same as in the New Testament: no one will ever be saved by anyone but the Lord Jesus Christ, and it is because of His life.

Romans 5:10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled with God by the death of his Son, much more, now reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.

Scriptures are clear in saying we are reconciled by his death. The death of the Lord gave us the possibility of entering into communion with God, but the verse ends by saying we shall be saved by his life. There is no salvation unless His life is in us.

1 John 5:12 He that has the Son has life; and he that does not have the Son of God does not have life.

He is coming again as the head, as the authority, as Lord.

DANIEL’S VISION

After seeing this, the vision continues:

3 And four great beasts came up from the sea, different one from another.

In the Scriptures, the “beast” symbolizes the natural man with his carnal appetites. In order for King Nebuchadnezzar to learn a lesson, God had to dethrone him and make him crazy. In his sentence, he had to eat grass like an ox and endure the heart of a beast instead of a man’s heart.

This is happening now; mankind is not evolving into some sort of super race; it is degenerating at every level. Even in genetics, we are losing what we once had. Humanity is turning more and more into an animal and a beast. Read the headlines of the newspapers to discover the inhumane, beastly things people are doing everywhere.

Our world is getting worse; and a beast represents each of the four kingdoms of the world. The words “king” and “kingdom” were the same in the original languages. The context determines the meaning. Everything that belongs to the king, including people and land, makes up the kingdom.

4 The first was like a lion, and had eagle’s wings; I beheld until its wings were plucked off, and it was removed from the earth, and it stood up on its feet as a man, and a man’s heart was given to it.

A beast in this prophetic sense depicts fallen men with the appearance of nobility. The lion and the eagle are two of the more noble animals. This beast could fly and had access to the heavenly realm, but what happened? Babylon wanted to have access to the heavenly realm so they built the tower of Babel.

Fallen man is a beast that wants to stand on its two feet and pretend to be a man asserting the importance of his own wisdom. They think they can avoid another judgment like the flood by making their own great name and uniting everyone under that name. But King Nebuchadnezzar recovered his sanity after he learned his lesson and cried out to God and turned his gaze toward heaven. He was given a man’s heart again, and he understood the reason why he was here. Nebuchadnezzar faced a hard trial, but he came out with an understanding of what his position was in relation to the God of heaven.

The dealing that Nebuchadnezzar had to live through could not be automatically transmitted to his son Belshazzar. Even though Belshazzar knew everything, he had not lived through it so it was no good to him. This is how the kingdom of Babylon ended and sadly the entire human race is in the same place. What parents learn by experience the hard way is almost never transmitted to their children. The kids almost always have to make the same mistakes and sometimes the consequences are even greater. Then Belshazzar lost the kingdom because he did not learn from his father’s experiences.

Every generation learns the same lessons, and the consequences are usually worse because humanity is getting worse. Man, in his fallen state, has lost his “wings” (his ability to interact in the heavenly realm). This beast is a symbol of the kingdom of Babylon that God said was the head of gold in the image; it was the best that man had been able to come up with.

5 And behold the second beast, like unto a bear, which went off to one side, and it had three ribs between its teeth; and thus was said unto it, Arise, devour much flesh.

Man’s philosophy was considered good, and it was admirable for a man to be like God. But this second kingdom is linked to the earth (no wings) and symbolized with a bear. A bear can eat grass and herbs, but it can also eat meat. Once a bear becomes carnivorous, there is no turning back.

This particular bear had three ribs in its mouth, an insatiable appetite. The number three in Scripture relates to producing fruit and multiplying things. It can be linked with green things like hope and resurrection, but also the color green pertains to envy, greed, and the god of money. This happened to the second beast.

The kingdom began to disintegrate. In Scripture, silver symbolizes redemption. God speaks of a judgment day when all things that are corruptible are not going to survive. Only those things, which cannot be burned in fire, the incorruptible things, survive.

1 CORINTHIANS 3

11 For no one can lay another foundation than that laid, which is Jesus the Christ.

12 Now if anyone builds upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble,

13 the work of each one shall be made manifest, for the day shall declare it because it shall be revealed by fire; the work of each one, whatever sort it is, the fire shall put it to test.

14 If the work of anyone abides which he has built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.

15 If anyone’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss, but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire.

Shadrach Meshach and Abednego did not burn when they were thrown into the fire, but their captors and bonds did burn. The fourth man like the Son of God appeared in that instant, just like Daniel did before the king.

Notice the difference between the two kingdoms: in the first, the king gave the orders, and God said this was cleaner than the second kingdom where they placed the law above the king. During the second kingdom, not even the king, who loved Daniel, could change that law, and Daniel was sentenced to the lions’ den. By saving Daniel from the lions, God showed that He was above the law, above the king, even above death, symbolized in the lions’ den.

Man knew that humans could not be trusted, so he established the law which he thought provided more security. So what happened? The law caused more killings, more devouring of flesh, because no one can fulfill the law. The only thing the law accomplished was to bring everyone under the death penalty. This second beast keeps on devouring flesh. Hope and resurrection are replaced by greed. No one can serve two masters: one cannot serve the God of heaven and the god of money.

6 After this I beheld, and behold another, like a tiger, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; this beast also had four heads; and power was given to it.

The next beast was even more savage. This third kingdom or king started with Alexander the Great and the Grecians. The Medes and the Persians had added the legal and judicial aspect, but this new kingdom consolidated the legislative branch. The Grecians came, and they opened the legislature and started listening to the people who were “free” in the city.

The beast became more vicious and could not remain united. Alexander the Great’s kingdom was divided into four parts; thus, this beast had four heads. When we approach democracy, we accumulate many heads, and this produces more confusion.

On the other hand, this beast received “wings,” signifying that the fate of humans is to get out of this earthly realm and return to their previous liberty. The four-headed tiger tries its best to escape, but it is too heavy and does not fly well. Unfortunately, the Greeks tapped into dark spiritual forces.

7 After this I saw in the night visions, and behold the fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and exceedingly strong; and it had great iron teeth; it devoured and broke in pieces and trod down that which was left with its feet; and it was very different from all the beasts that had been before her; and it had ten horns.

In Scripture, iron symbolizes the law and absolute power; this beast describes the Roman Empire. They applied their power and defined the powers of the tribune (legal court). They held the powers of the Senate, Caesar’s power. Roman citizens had rights, but the rest of the people were like slaves.

This beast was not compared to an earthly beast. Daniel was terrified by this horrible monster. When John saw the sum of the matters in Revelation, he saw a woman riding on the beast, drunk with the blood that had been spilt: a woman who thought she reigned, but at the end the beast leaves her naked and with no power. In time, the great dragon that is behind all this comes and loses its wings. A clean woman (the church) is given the wings of an eagle. (See Revelation Chapter 12)

This part (especially the four-winged tiger) has its counterpart. In Greek mythology, Greeks believed there were many gods, and mortal beings could marry these gods and have children with them. They conceived the idea of creating gods in the image of men. Men’s trying to reunite with God through carnal means is characteristic throughout Greek mythology.

This effort to gain access to the spiritual realm is accomplished up to a certain point because God is not the only one in the heavenly realm; other spirits dwell there which are not clean. Gaining access to the spiritual realm is possible by creating a link with these spirits.

Man has done this throughout his existence. This access to a supernatural spiritual realm (full of miracles) when there is no holiness or purity leads to another series of problems and comes to fruition in the fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and exceedingly strong; and it had great iron teeth; it devoured and broke in pieces and trod down that which was left with its feet.

The fourth beast did not leave leftovers; it consumed everything. We are experiencing this with our present governmental systems. Man thinks he has perfected his system with all these ingredients and he can place judgment and justice on the earth. But in reality, he has created an even stronger monster: uglier, dreadful, and more terrible than has ever existed.

Roman law dictates that a person is guilty until proven innocent. Defending yourself under this premise is hard to do. It is the Holy Inquisition all over again.

Try proving your innocence after the IRS has filed a lawsuit against you, and you are automatically considered guilty.

8 As I was considering the horns, (In Scripture, horns are a symbol of power, and this beast has 10 horns. His power was the law) behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots; and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking grand things.

This horn is man thinking he is above the law and trying to pass himself off as God. Ten fractions or kingdoms comprised the Roman Empire. However, historically, when the papacy began, it plucked out three of these kingdoms and replaced them. Take note of what happened: in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man. The eyes of man do not see things like God sees them.

Documents like Vatican II, which are not based on Scripture, opened new horizons for the church. These are based on human philosophy, the eyes of man, …and a mouth speaking grand things because they believe whatever comes out of their mouth is infallible. Now they say it is infallible when it comes from their whole counsel.

THE THRONE OF GOD

9 I beheld until thrones (for judgment) were placed, and an Elder of great age did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool: his throne a flame of fire, his wheels burning fire.

In the book of Ezekiel, one of the things that can be found in the vision of the throne of God are the “wheels that turn.” It is very hard to describe because some wheels turn one way, and others turn the other way while all this was moving up and down and to the sides. Everything that is associated with the throne of God was there: wheels, fire, and a rainbow, making this is almost impossible to put into words.

10 A river of fire issued and came forth from before him; thousands of thousands served him, and ten thousands of ten thousands stood before him; the Judge sat down, and the books were opened.

The kingdoms of men are the sum of the four empires previously described. Today, man has decided, through democracy and the deification of man, that absolute power comes from the people and not from God. Scripture says this will continue until the judge sits on the throne of judgment. God the Father is the true Judge, and His description here is as an Elder: of great age, of absolute purity, and of absolute power.

Fire in Scripture can be a symbol of destruction, or it can be a symbol of love. Depending on whose life you are living, it can be a fire that destroys or a fire that restores. It depends on whether we are living in corruption or not. If we are living under the government and head of the Lord Jesus Christ in incorruption we cannot be under the authority of these beasts (not even under the little horn that elevates itself and starts seeing things with the eyes of man and speaks wonders). In the true Kingdom of God, the smallest person, the servant, is the greatest.

11 I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spoke; I beheld even until the beast was slain and its body was undone and given over to be burned in the fire.

God will bring this system down.

12 They had also taken from the other beasts their rule because their lives had been prolonged until a certain time.

Revelation says this beast is thrown into the lake of fire, which is the second death. This is complete and eternal destruction.

Revelation 19:20 And the beast was taken and with it the false prophet that wrought miracles in its presence, with which he had deceived those that had taken the mark of the beast and had worshipped its image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone.

Verse 12, if read in Spanish, says, “…their lives had been prolonged a time and time.” The lives of these other beasts had been prolonged for a “time and time” because they all unite in the end (but with “seven” heads) which describes our present day world situation. “Time” in its simplest sense means one day in Scripture.

Scripture says one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as a day. So time and time are two thousand years of prolongation. The first coming of the Lord Jesus is somewhat parallel to the rise of the Roman Empire. This is known as the church age that is now coming to the end of its two thousand years prior to the second coming of the Lord Jesus.

13 I saw in the vision of the night…

This night covers six thousand years of human history where people proclaimed the great day of man, but God says it is dark like the night. The true light has not yet been perfectly revealed. Scripture says the Day of the LORD is coming where the light will shine everywhere, and righteousness will reign.

…and, behold, in the clouds of heaven like a Son of man that came and drew near unto the Elder of great age, and they brought him near before him.

One of the titles that the Lord Jesus has is “the Son of man.” In Spanish the word used here is again “varón” meaning born free of noble blood. The same word is used in Revelation 12:5 (In English it is “manchild”).

When Adam lost the life of liberty that God gave him, Jesus, the second man, came after him and was born free, giving us the opportunity to be born free in Him. Many members form this manchild; many are still being born. In Revelation 6:10 the souls under the altar ask the LORD, “how long until you intervene?” He says, “until the number be complete.” When this many-membered body of Christ, this manchild, is complete, He will intervene.

At the time of judgment, the “Son of Man” will be presented. Jesus Christ and his many brothers come before the throne and begin the judgment. God the Father is the Judge, but He delegates the judgment. This judgment has different connotations than Roman or English law, (which accepts a person’s innocence until proven guilty). However, both these human laws are unjust and imperfect.

Revelation Chapter 11 says whoever mistreats or wishes to kill or harm a representative of God will have the same thing happen to them. Everyone dictates their own sentence according to how they have treated God’s representatives.

Scripture also says that whoever helps one of God’s little ones, even with a simple glass of water, will not be left without reward. Some will be removed from the presence of God because they refused to help those sent by God.

In Matthew 25:35 the LORD says, for I was hungry, and ye gave me food; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in; And they will say, Lord, when did we see thee hungry? And He will reply, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brothers, ye have done it unto me. This judgment is based on a person’s words, deeds, and the fruit they produced.

It says that if you receive someone because they are sent from God (because they are a prophet) you will receive a prophet’s reward. It also says that if we are clean and part of Him we will be able to participate in the judgment. Imagine standing in the judgment and someone is about to be condemned for a list of terrible things they did, and someone else stands up and says, “Wait a second, when I went to his area in the name of God; this person received me well.” What will happen with the judgment? I don’t know, he might be saved. Many people want to say, “so and so is lost,” or “this person is saved.” Most of us are in no condition to say anything. Only God sees the hearts, and the judgment that is coming is going to be just.

13 I saw in the vision of the night, and, behold, in the clouds of heaven like a Son of man that came and drew near unto the Elder of great age, and they brought him near before him.

14 And he gave him dominion and glory and kingdom; and all the peoples, nations, and tongues served him: his dominion is an eternal dominion, which shall not pass away, and his Kingdom such that it shall never be corrupted.

This man or varón with Jesus Christ as the head was brought before God. Jesus gives glory and dominion to his Father because He lives to do the will of His Father. The Lord Jesus not only wants us to know Him as our King, Lord and only Master, he wants us to know and have the same relationship with His Father as He does. (John 17:21)

“Eternal dominion” does not only mean that it lasts forever, but that it is of a different essence. The Lord Jesus said that His kingdom was not like the kingdoms of this world with everyone trampling on one another for power. It is not like the beast that devours with iron teeth and tramples on everything with its feet like the corruption in the democracies do today which is terrible. They do not leave any leftovers. There are not any leftovers for those who are truly in need. Even if they cannot devour them, they will trample them with their feet.

15 My spirit was troubled, I Daniel, in the midst of my body, and the visions of my head astonished me.

Daniel saw all man’s corruption and its progression. He saw how it will end and how God’s incorruptible kingdom will come. He was astonished because this will not happen the way our human mind imagines, not like the little horn with the eyes of man. God showed him this through His own eyes, and God’s eyes are full of love, but also justice.

16 I came near unto one of those that stood by and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me and made me know the interpretation of the things.

This vision has many facets. When is this going to end? At the beginning of this vision, Daniel wrote and said, “until the sum of the matters.”

17 These great beasts, which are four, are four kings (or Kingdoms), which shall arise in the earth.

18 And they shall take the kingdom of the Holy One who is most High and possess the kingdom until the age and until the age of the ages.

What is going on with these man-made governments? What did man do? He took the knowledge of good and evil and elevated himself above where God had ordained. He made decisions that belonged only to God, deciding what was good and what was evil on his own. Even in the highest interpretation of human religion, or of human justice and government, man only lets God decide what is wrong, but he keeps on deciding what is right, and that is why he can never get rid of corruption. Because many times what seems good to us is evil in God’s eyes. And what God says is good, may seem evil to us.

19 Then I had the desire to know the truth regarding the fourth beast, which was so different from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and its nails of brass; which devoured and broke in pieces and trod down that which was left with its feet;

This beast leaves nothing remaining. Nothing is left over; there is always a deficiency.

20 also regarding the ten horns that were in its head,

Man places the law, their source of power, above everything. Observe the democracies of today; they have nothing left over; they always operate in deficit.

...and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell;

These systems remove the possibility of producing fruit.

...and that same horn had eyes and a mouth that spoke very grand things, whose appearance was greater that his fellows.

In these democracies, the powerful speak of all the great things that they cannot even accomplish. They see everything from their own points of view, they make promises regarding the religious, as well as the economic and political aspects of life. It is the same beast that had its beginning in Babylon before the tower of Babel.

21 I saw that this horn made war against the saints and overcame them;

The ones who have power in the things of this world do not allow anyone that is clean before Lord to come in. God’s people are not compatible with the economic, political and religious components of this realm.

22 until such time as the Elder of great age came, and the judgment was given unto the saints of the most High; and the time came, and the saints possessed the Kingdom.

When this body of Christ comes before the Elder of great age, they gave up everything but they will also receive everything. God does not give the saints everything in the beginning. This grave mistake has been made in many places by those trying to obtain the things of this world in the name of God. They try to mix the religious and political together and the economic aspects which get mixed into it all leads to great corruption. They have never been able to overcome this corruption because they are seeking corruptible things. God allows His own sons to receive all things in the time of the end and not in the beginning.

23 Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be a fourth king in earth, (a fourth kingdom in the earth) which shall be greater than all the other kingdoms and shall devour the whole earth and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.

24 And the ten horns signify that of this kingdom ten kings shall arise; and another shall rise after them; and he shall be greater than the first kings, and he shall bring down three kings.

In addition to past history, God has opened many possibilities here, but the world is already in the hands of those who seek to foment, sustain, and increase the system of this world. (as well as their own good). Man strives to do things for his own benefit instead of seeking God’s will.

The beast that John saw in Revelation had “seven” heads (the complete number of heads), which sums up our present world situation quite well and coincides with the typology of the feet of the image that Nebuchadnezzar saw (ten toes on feet made of iron mixed with baked clay). Neither example portrays a homogenous one-world dictatorship at the time of the end (the appointed time) when the saints are given the Kingdom.

25 And he shall speak great words against the most High and shall break down the saints of the most High and think to move the times and the law; and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the half or dividing of a time.

TIMES AND THE LAW

And they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the half or dividing of a time. Literally, this would say, “time, times and the division of time.” There were a thousand years from King David to Christ, and Daniel was about halfway between, finishing the Jewish time of the law. Then came the times (plural) of the Gentiles, because God knew they would last two thousand years. The Day of the LORD comes after these two thousand years as the “dividing of time.”

Man decided to divide time (using the birth of the Lord Jesus) into Before Christ and After Christ. However, God did not declare it this way even though there was a big difference from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant, which greatly affected the world.

It has almost been universally accepted that God created a man and a woman to live as a couple, one man to one woman (and this has become painfully clear under the New Covenant). The natural man, however, cannot keep this, so divorces and perversions increase.

Many things have cleared up little by little after the first coming of Jesus; but it is nothing compared to the change that is going to take place now when the Day of the LORD comes. When this corporate New Man receives the kingdom and when God, in a first resurrection with Jesus Christ as the head, brings all the men and women in history that have overcome, (from righteous Abel on, including Daniel himself) to receive the Kingdom, then a true kingdom of righteousness and justice where God is represented the way He really is will be revealed.

God will be represented in His true character. This will be the true division of time... and think to move the times and the law; we already know that man has moved the law of God, and he has also moved the times because man does not know what is coming or how the future is going to be. Many are declaring the beginning of the new age of men, or the rise of a one world government ruled by the Antichrist, when in reality, God’s new day is what is coming.

Scripture says God’s law is eternal, and it is impossible to keep by our own merit while we seek our own good. If we are going to fulfill our duty of keeping God’s law, it must be in the life of Jesus Christ. He fulfilled the law, and He can fulfill it again through every one who places Him first.

The Lord Jesus summarized the spirit of the law like this: that we would love God with all our mind, all our strength and all our heart; and that we would love our neighbor as ourselves. It is impossible to love in this manner if we do not have God’s love and light.

FULFILLING THE LAW

I was with Rafael García-Herreros one day discussing the publication of a book. The book was to cover the Ten Commandments, the Sermon on the Mount, and 1 Corinthians 13. In the middle of this, García-Herreros requested me to bring the human rights manifesto from the French revolution. He took me to his prayer garden to ask God for wisdom as to which part of the book it should be in.

As we were praying, with the human rights papers in our hands, a dove flew over and bombarded us with dung that landed right in the middle of those papers. It splattered all over the priest: his glasses, his shirt, everything. I tried to clean it up with a handkerchief. He looked at me; I looked at him; we did not say a word, but he took the human rights and threw them in the garbage. He told me to print the book without them.

We had one other problem with this book because we needed the persons in charge of approving this work stamp the Imprimatur and the Nihil Obstat from the church to this publication. Even though we had taken all the references from the Catholic Bible, translated by Chekel (which could possibly be one of the more accurate Spanish Catholic Bibles) our request was not approved.

The priest in charge of revising told me, “This can’t be published. It will only create great confusion because the Ten Commandments are different in the catechism. And people are going to look at the Ten Commandments that you took from Father Chekel’s Bible, and they are going to think the church has changed the law of God. They will think they have made a big mistake, and this cannot be.”

I had to bring this verdict to Garcia-Herreros. But his decision was that we publish the little book without the official approval of the Catholic Church. He also wrote a dedication saying that whoever fulfilled the Ten Commandments would be fulfilling their duty with their neighbor. In addition to that, he spoke of duties instead of rights.

Man may change the laws. He may attempt to change the times. But God’s law is eternal.

26 And the Judge shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion to destroy and to cast out unto the end;

Then this beast of the system of man will not be capable of doing any more harm.

27 and that the kingdom and the dominion, and the majesty of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, be given to the holy people of the most High, His Kingdom shall be an eternal Kingdom, and all the dominions shall serve him and hear him.

This kingdom will be given to the holy people of God. “Holy people of God” means that they are clean and separated for the exclusive service and use of the LORD. That is what the word means.

28 Up unto here was the end of the word. I, Daniel, was very troubled in my thoughts, and my countenance changed in me: but I kept the word in my heart.

Two thousand five hundred years or so would pass before this word would be fulfilled. It was a word that left Daniel weak and trembling, but he received it and kept it in his heart. And this is what God wants from each one of us – that we keep what the LORD is saying in our hearts.

LET’S PRAY:

LORD, we ask for wisdom and understanding to comprehend that the systems of this world are getting worse. Let us be separated for Your use only and not for the system of this world. Allow us to be under Your power and authority so that a cleansing of our hearts and thoughts can take place. Amen.

[1]  Romans 1:18-20 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and injustice of men, who hold back the truth with injustice; because that which is known of God is manifest to them; for God has showed it unto them. For the invisible things of him, his eternal power and divinity, are clearly understood by the creation of the world and by the things that are made so that there is no excuse.

[2]  John 14:9 Jesus said unto him, Have I been such a long time with you, and yet thou hast not known me, Philip? He that has seen me has seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?

CHAPTER EIGHT

The Wrath of Man Does NOT Work the Righteousness of God

DANIEL CHAPTER 8

Understanding the first part of the book of Daniel is crucial to understanding the last part of the book. Daniel’s theme is basically the same one repeated from different angles: truth and revelation flow from God. God’s breath, life and Spirit that Adam possessed did not get transferred to future generations because of disobedience and rebellion. The only one born after Adam with God’s light and life was the Lord Jesus.

1 Corinthians 15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a life giving spirit.

The Lord Jesus can restore in us what was lost in the Garden of Eden. Not only can we be restored into the breath of life that Adam had, but we can be restored into the Lord Jesus, who is the Lord of the heavens – entering into Him, being part of Him, submitting to His headship and His authority. Even though the natural man had a good start, he is in decline. The natural man is not evolving into a superman or a super race because corruption works in every level.

The book of Daniel continues to show pictures of the judgment that is coming. “Daniel” means “God is the Judge.” As man strives to recreate God in his own image, the sentence is dictated by the Supreme Judge.

The fact that Daniel was able to interpret the revelations given to pagan kings shows that God is willing to reveal the Truth to whomever has the desire to find it. He can reveal through nature itself because everything pictures what the Creator has done. Lessons exist everywhere for all of us. Paul says in the Letter to the Romans that everyone is without excuse because of creation. (Romans 1:20)

Daniel’s first vision consisted of four beasts. The first, like a lion with wings, represented Babylon. In this kingdom, the second generation failed to learn the lessons of the first. Belshazzar failed to learn from his father Nebuchadnezzar. This is the sad reality in America today, where past generations have known God and placed Him first, but the next generations have not learned the same lessons or come to know God.

The second beast is like a bear, and the vision continues with a sequence of beasts, each one more terrible and beastly than the one before. The third beast, the tiger with four heads and fours wings, represented the empire of Alexander the Great. During this time, man headed toward democracy, toward considering the opinion of everyone until the time of the fourth beast. This beast symbolizes the moment we are in now because our present democracies come from a compilation of all these systems.

They are the fourth empire, the beast that is destroying everything, and Daniel is astonished and gets sick from watching it until thrones are placed and the “Elder of great age” begins to open the books and dictate judgment. In this vision, someone who is like the Son of Man comes and is given the kingdom and it is a kingdom that can never be corrupted.

Daniel passed through the stage of knowing the dreams and interpreting them for others to having his own dreams; then his visions began.

Daniel 8:1 In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar a vision appeared unto me, Daniel, after that vision which had appeared unto me before.

2 And I saw in the vision; (and it came to pass, when I saw it, that I was at Shushan, which is the head of the kingdom in the province of Persia); so that I saw in that vision, being by the river of Ulai,

Babylon was going to fall and its authority was going to be handed over to the Medes and the Persians. Before this happened, Daniel was in Shushan (the head of the province of Persia) to receive the vision. I have checked many different texts and up until now I have not found a satisfactory translation of the word “Ulai.” It’s one of those mysteries that God has hidden for now.

The first vision came while Daniel was on his bed at night; this vision was in the place of the actual happenings next to a river. Some rivers come from God, and others are man-made. In prophecy, many things happen next to a river.

Rivers are made of sweet water. Rivers symbolize “the Word,” and they symbolize the provision God has for the earth. These were dry lands, and the rivers were the salvation to the dryness because irrigation streams would flow from them.

God used pagan kingdoms to fulfill His purpose. Even though God is the one who places kings and replaces them, we are still responsible for our actions in the midst of everything that happens. God describes these kingdoms before they appear, and He knows the consequences of man’s ways will get progressively worse until they become unbearable. He is waiting for this to ripen and reach its ultimate consequences, so the repercussions of man’s rebellions are clear throughout eternity to everyone.

In our democracies, man’s laws and judgments are unjust. When have we seen any money left over from a government budget? Never. The ones who control budgets are experts in spending more than they have and trying to create money out of nothing. They manipulate paper money, but there are secondary effects: inflation, deflation, etc.

It is very sad that most of man’s laws, and especially in the system that comes from Rome, have as a foundation that the person is guilty until proven innocent. This is truly monstrous. Even English law has its problems if you consider the courts and their philosophy that reaches such an arrogant extreme because they think that the world’s problems can be solved by countries that are economically and militarily more capable. In the same way, extradition cannot solve Colombia’s problems, and neither can the International Criminal Court. Everything that man develops brings apparent solutions, but this always causes secondary effects. The result of all this is that it creates a lot of resentment and feelings of injustice. What has not been understood is that God is the true judge, and He sees things differently.

DANIEL’S SECOND VISION

3 and I lifted up my eyes and saw, and, behold, a ram was standing before the river, which had two horns; and even though they were high, the one was higher than the other, and the higher one came up last.

This ram was a government with two arms and possibly two situations happening at the same time. Darius and then Cyrus both began by fulfilling some of God’s purposes, like the restoration of God’s house in Jerusalem. At that moment, the LORD began to send His word through the prophets Zechariah and Haggai for the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s wall. It did not seem to be a big deal in the beginning, but they pressed on with a trumpet in one hand and a sword in the other. In a similar way, the LORD is now restoring the Truth.

All this happens alongside a river. The rivers of God’s blessings can have different purposes. When Gideon’s army quenched their thirst at the river, 9,700 men did not know how to drink the water. They focused on drinking the river’s water and forgot about everything else; they were sent back home. It is possible to make mistakes even in the midst of God’s provision and blessing; most of God’s people have erred this way, concentrating on the provision (seeking our blessing) instead of fixing our eyes on God and seeking Him only.

If we find the Lord, He will give us what we need. If we seek the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, He will add everything else. If we seek provision and blessing, it is possible we will find it in a temporal sense, but it is also probable that we will be disqualified from God’s true Kingdom.

So, in the same way that this ram had two horns (one appeared first and then the other one came), Darius came first and then Cyrus. The kings that came after them had the same problem that God’s people have always had where corruption catches up to us a lot faster in prosperity than in adversity. Many people seek God in the midst of their problems but as soon as He takes them out of those problems, they turn their back on Him and make even greater mistakes than before. What happened? The third kingdom was sent, and in the vision Daniel saw it like this:

4 I saw that the ram smote with the horns to the west, to the north, and to the south and that no beast could stand before him, nor could anyone escape from his hand; but he did according to his will and made himself great.

The second kingdom ended similar to the first. They were not able to pass the lessons on they had learned from God to their sons and successors. Even the fact that they elevated the law did not help them.

5 And as I was considering, behold, a he goat came from the west upon the face of the whole earth and did not touch the earth: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes.

This begins as a picture of Alexander the Great, but it changes in the middle. What began as a picture of the natural empires became a spiritual statement two or three verses later.

6 And he came to the ram that had the two horns, which I had seen standing before the river and ran against him in the fury of his power.

A very interesting truth is expressed here and highlighted in other Scriptures. James 1:20 summarizes it like this:

...for the wrath of man does not work the righteousness of God.

Those who believe they can solve injustices with wrath are wrong. Injustice cannot be solved with more injustice, and the wrath of man always produces more injustice. Alexander the Great was a reaction against the injustice and arrogance of the eastern kings. He came from the west with all his fury and broke them. But look at what happened:

7 And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he rose up against him and smote him, and broke his two horns: because the ram did not have the strength to stand before him; therefore he cast him down to the ground and trod him under; and there was no one to deliver the ram out of his hand.

8 And the he goat made himself very great, and when he was at his greatest strength, that great horn was broken; and in its place came up another four marvelous ones toward the four winds of heaven.

THE GENERALS OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT

Each of his four generals felt they were more dignified than Alexander the Great. This is where the vision of the tiger with four heads and four wings is fulfilled. Instead of uniting, the situation deteriorated. They sought the people’s will, not only idolizing the king, but also the entire race.

9 And out of the first of them came forth a little horn, which grew much toward the south and toward the east and toward the desirable land.

This little horn later gives way to the Roman Empire. Everything is destroyed when one of Alexander the Great’s generals enters Jerusalem: the reconstruction of the temple, the kings’ orders to return God’s vessels to their proper place, the payment for the reconstruction with the royal treasury, the work of Nehemiah and Ezra, and all that was accomplished by Queen Esther. (Darius was probably her son. Cyrus may also have been related.) All of this ended.

The situation with Alexander the Great caused this carnage. They began worshipping man. They aimed their destruction directly at the representation of the God of heaven on the earth, quenching the fire upon the altar in the temple to end all the sacrifices.

10 And it magnified itself unto the host of heaven, and it cast down part of the host and of the stars to the ground and trod them under.

We know that Lucifer cast down a third part of the heavenly stars. But we also know we were created to represent God the way He is. Instead of the human race being angels that represent God (because an angel is a representative), we also become fallen, frustrated angels.

We did not fall from heaven like Lucifer, the cherubim and the seraphim. Adam was never in heaven; God’s presence was with Adam on the earth, and he lost it. He was kicked out of God’s paradise. Adam was from the earth, and we are also from the dust of the earth.

God still wants to plant something good in us, and the remnant that returned to Jerusalem understood this. They made a fatal mistake, however, when they made an “oath with a curse,” a covenant that made them slaves to the law. God’s true glory never came back to that place.

They made an oath with those who were going to fulfill God’s law, but natural man cannot fulfill God’s law. The consequences of the law fall upon man when he tries to fulfill the law in his own strength because the law states that whoever fails in just one point is guilty of the entire law.

The problem is that whoever fulfills it receives the blessing but whoever does not, receives the curse. Man has never been able to get back out from under the curse. So the curse returned to Jerusalem once again,[1] not only because of its inhabitants but also because of Alexander the Great whose people wanted to idolize the human race instead of God.

So on one hand, some of them wanted to commit to fulfilling something they could not fulfill, but others wanted to abolish all that and said, “What God? We are god! We will recreate god in our image. That is how we will fix the problem of all these terrible demands of the law. If even the Jews cannot fulfill them, we are going to make gods that will be like us who get angry, commit adultery and do all these beastly things. This is how we’re going to regain access to the heavenly realms.”

The heavenly realms are also contaminated; Scripture says there is a need for a new heavens and a new earth.[2] Many spiritual forces are not clean. Many people who believe in miracles do not care what the power source is. They become deceived.

Scripture says a great delusion comes over those who reject the Truth. (See 2 Thessalonians 1:10) So God allows the person who does not want to know the Truth to be deceived. For God, it is preferable that the person is deceived and not that they rebel against Him with their eyes wide open.

Some rebel even when they know who God is. This is why the Devil cannot be restored by the Gospel. Nothing more can be said to him; no way exists to evangelize him with more good news because he already knows it. He already experienced all of it, and knowingly, he turned his back on God and tried to set himself above God. This is the position from which he fell.

But the Devil is not our main problem. Our main problem is ourselves because we have the capacity of choosing between our own will (that will lead us to deception and worse: to be under the Devil’s dominion), or we can choose to place our life under God’s authority and let Him clean us. Only as we have a clean heart can we understand why we are here, what is happening, and where we are heading as individuals and as a human race.

11 Even against the prince of the host did he magnify himself,

Human beings have once again formed a rebellion against God with a government they believe is the most modern and progressive of all time. The Greeks were convinced they had perfected what had begun in Babylon and what the Medes and the Persians had refined by elevating the law. The Greeks included a new ingredient: they began their philosophy based on man. Look at Aristotle, the Greek thinkers, the debates. They put man’s intellectual capacity into practice; not only did they give the king power, but many people had power. For God, the bronze belly symbolizes this kingdom.

Bronze is the symbol of judgment, and man’s justice does not work righteousness. This is the reason Greek myths always end in tragedy. They do not end well; they end like Mexican movies where everyone gets killed, including the heroes.

...and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast to the earth.

The Greek generals went to Jerusalem and removed the daily sacrifice. They did this literally, but the symbol is that the natural man wants to remain on the path of corruption, in insanity, on the path of being a beast instead of being man (in order to truly be human, one must follow God, who created us in His image and likeness). They broke the commandment and the conditions of the Gospel represented by the altar over which the daily sacrifice was offered.

Adam and Eve were created free, but it appears they only lasted about twelve years in the garden before they lost their freedom. After this, they were slaves of their own will where they were the judges of what was good and evil.

The book of Daniel is the way to return to where “God is the Judge”: the way that leads to true freedom, freedom to do God’s will. A slave to anyone or anything other than God is not able to do God’s will.

12 And the host was given over by the reason of the prevarication upon the daily sacrifice; and he cast the truth to the ground; and he did whatever he would and prospered.

THE SACRIFICES

God’s people turned themselves over to humanism and man’s governments. No more prophets emerged for almost four hundred years until John the Baptist and Zacharias, his father, appeared. Even though the mistakes have produced sad consequences, God has not abandoned us. We live in a time when God is willing to intervene directly.

Some translations refer to “the abomination” upon the daily sacrifice. “Prevarication” is a contaminating offense that is premeditated and planned. When someone degrades what should be God’s house, God respects our will and leaves. We were created to represent God and this is deteriorating. When we are right with God, we represent Him, but this was disgraceful. God wanted His people in Jerusalem to represent Him as He is.

In King David’s time and in part of Solomon’s reign, people came from everywhere to hear and observe the wisdom, beauty and purity these kings exhibited. In Solomon’s time, even the utensils in the palace were made of gold.

Scripture says in those days silver was not a big deal. Never in the ancient world was there a place displaying cleanness in such magnitude. That was a shadow of what God wanted to do with us. But everything collapsed.

The church should have been a display of God’s incorruptible life for the entire world. Sadly, only a handful of individuals throughout history have accomplished this. What has the organized church done? The church decided this handful of individuals were saints and placed them at the center of adoration. Now many worship them instead of God!

The daily sacrifice is also called, “the sacrifice of praise.” Many people erroneously believe this is something that is done with instruments and good voices, so they hire “good” musicians and begin their ritual.

What we can do with musicians and voices must be the consequence of a life that is clean twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. If we meet with clean hands, clean hearts and clean minds, God is happy even if our voice is off tune.

If true cleanness is re-established in God’s people, we will hear incredible musicians and music with choruses as angelic as heavenly choirs because God’s will is to bless the earth with music again. He did this before the first coming of His Son. The shepherds were awake, praying and watching through the night, and they saw a multitude of heavenly hosts worshipping with the angel. Would He not do this again before the second coming?

The daily sacrifice is where we place our own life as a continual sacrifice for the LORD. What were these sacrifices like? The first one was the sacrifice of sin. It was not for the sin or instead of the sin; it was the sin itself that God wanted to kill. A bullock or another animal with no defect was brought before the LORD to the door of the tabernacle of the testimony. Depending on who had committed the sin, they placed it on the altar, and this became the sin that had to be sacrificed. The sin was slaughtered; the blood taken out (for the life of the flesh is in the blood); and the person identified with this by placing their hands on the sin so that God could do the same in their life. Then the fire of God was applied to the whole ugly mess.

Next the sacrifice of a he goat took place. This represented the guilt. After killing the sin in us, God wants to kill the guilt as well, so the enemy cannot haunt us with our past sins. The guilt would bleed to death upon the altar of God, and the blood would be applied to the horns of the altar that symbolize the power of God to kill sin and guilt.

Finally, the sacrifice of peace took place, a symbol of us before God clean, sinless, and without guilt. It is the offering of our free will, our own life to God; this is a daily sacrifice. (See Leviticus Chapter 7)

The fire had to burn continually because it was God’s fire on the altar, the lamp and in the altar of incense. When through carelessness the fire went out, God, in His sovereignty, had to light it again. If He did not, they would use strange or false fire that was not God’s true fire. False fire, false miracles (miracles done by other spirits, not the Spirit of God) and unclean supernatural events are abundant everywhere. These may move multitudes, but they are not clean. They serve to inspire great offerings and idolize man once again.

Helen of Troy was considered a role model for the church even though she was an adulteress who caused the Greek Empire terrible death and pain. She was a beautiful woman, but very treacherous. Today immense congregations look beautiful with much supernatural movement, but they are deceiving because it is not God’s fire.

The daily sacrifice that Nehemiah, Ezra and others had was taken away. This was a sacrifice where they did not live their own lives, but the LORD’S life. Sodom could have been saved with only ten righteous men; Jerusalem could have been saved with just one righteous man, but there were none. If the LORD has a small remnant that is the light and the salt, He can multiply it and thereby create hope where there is none.

The two raptures in Scripture are part of this hope. First, the wicked are taken from among the righteous, and a pure representation of God remains. The second rapture is when the true church is gathered to meet Jesus when He returns, and this entire world’s systems fall.

In the previous picture the systems of the world will continue their course until the judge of righteousness sits; we are close to this point. Romans 5:10 says that we are justified by the Lord’s death, but we will be saved by His life. His death can justify us, but His life is required if we want to be restored. This restoration is not in Adam’s life, but in the Lord Jesus’ life. God plans something for us that is much better than what Adam and Eve lost. Adam’s rebellion frustrated things temporarily and caused a ruckus, but God will use this for something better.

13 Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto the one which spoke, How long shall the vision of the daily sacrifice last and the prevarication of desolation that places both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot?

14 And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days of evening and morning; then shall the sanctuary be justified.

TWO THOUSAND THREE HUNDRED DAYS

Two thousand and three hundred days of evening and morning; when I was kidnapped in the jungle, I contemplated this with a subpar Bible translation, but in any case, God used it, and He opened it up to me. Some Bibles are imperfect but this does not limit God. God is above everything. Even with the best Bible possible, if the Spirit of God is not there to open up and reveal these truths, the message will remain closed.

Alexander the Great conquered Jerusalem in the year 333 BC. In the year 1967, exactly 2300 years after it lost its sovereignty, Jerusalem was placed back under the sovereignty of the natural Jew.

Other prophecies confirm the same date, one of which is an indirect revelation of the sabbatical year of judgment prophesied in Deuteronomy. Leviticus 26 says four different times (verses 18, 21, 24, 28) that the LORD would punish Israel seven times for the disobedience to the decrees, the rights and the laws that the LORD had established between Him and the sons of Israel on Mount Sinai through Moses.

This means seven times (or seven years)[3] of judgment, a day for a year.[4] If you multiply 365.2422 (days in a year) by seven (the seven times judgment dictated in Leviticus 26) you get 2556.6954

If we apply this number to June 6-7 of 1967, the day when the Jews recovered Jerusalem from the Arabs during the Six-Day War, the date that we come to is March 7 of 588 BC. This was the date of the beginning of the siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon.

2556.6954

– 1966.4333 A.D.

590.2621 B.C.

Once the error in the Christian calendar is corrected by compensating the “0” BC. – AD, (because this is fictitious according to the Jewish calendar), the result would be March 7 of 588 BC. In this way the same date for the fulfillment of the prophecy is confirmed.[5]

The third line that gives us the same date is the prophecy in Daniel 12:11-12 that speaks of 1290 days and of 1335 days. (This will be explained later.) If the age of the law began in the Exodus in the year 1488 BC with the receiving of the law in Sinai and ended when the Lord Jesus presented himself at the temple at the age of twelve, then our present age (of Grace) began when the Lord Jesus was twelve years old. This is when His life representing the law ended, and he entered into an eighteen-year period of time representing grace until his true ministry began at age thirty.

If this is true, exactly 1500 years with the Jews under law passed before this present age began. So the age of the law lasted 1500 years.

In the year AD 678 in the present age we get to Pope Agatho who was the first pope to declare himself infallible. He proclaimed he was the vicar of Christ on earth, displacing the Holy Spirit. This is where we have the spiritual fulfillment of what Alexander the Great did in the natural. In the book of Daniel Chapter 12, it says that 1290 days must be counted from that point. Daniel is based on the fact that one prophetic day equals a year. If we count 1290 years from Pope Agatho, we come to AD 1967, to the six-day war, confirming that this is a key date in the work of God.

15 And it came to pass, as I, Daniel, was considering the vision and seeking to understand it, behold, there stood before me the likeness of a man.

16 And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of the Ulai, which called and said, Gabriel, teach this man the vision.

Beginning with a night vision and continuing into the day, everything is clearing up for Daniel. And God wants these things to be clarified for people like Daniel. Daniel symbolizes Christ, and Christ is a body of many members where the Lord Jesus is the head, and we can be members in particular.

What happened since the Six-Day War? A new and clean word began to flow. An understanding of what had been lost regarding justification began. We cannot be justified or made righteous before God in our “old man,” in our natural state.

The only way to be justified is if the old natural man dies; this is the only way to erase sin. It is impossible to condemn a dead person, and if we are dead with Christ, every single charge against us is erased. A door of new life in Him is opened. (See Romans Chapters 7 and 8)

God began to restore a New Word. Not a Passover Word, or a Pentecost Word, but a Tabernacles Word. The picture of the feasts began to unite. You are reading this book because you hunger and thirst for this word.

After justification comes sanctification, being separated exclusively for the Lord’s use. After the death of sin, after the death of our guilt, we can decide if we are going to be a sacrifice of peace.

Are we going to offer ourselves once again for the Lord’s exclusive use like the slave that was set free in the seventh year? After six years of service, having the opportunity to leave, the slave said, “I love my Master. I wish to stay here.” They would take him to the doorpost, and pierce his ear as a symbol that he would serve his lord forever. (See Deuteronomy 15:16-17) This is the option that the Lord is offering us.

“Tabernacles” is not by force: it is not through terrorism. God is looking for friends who will love Him freely. We can choose to take advantage of the liberty God gives us to live our life.

If we want our inheritance to be on this side of the “Jordan” with the things of this world, God will not deny us this, just as He did not deny it to the two and a half tribes that chose that. But if we want our inheritance to be where thieves cannot break in and where neither moth nor rust corrupt, we will only find it in the Lord’s life. Daniel was the one who managed Babylon’s resources and those of subsequent empires; but none of that is mentioned in the Scriptures. What is mentioned is that Daniel was worthy of receiving the true revelation and at the end of the book it says, Go thy way, Daniel, for these words are closed up and sealed until the time of the fulfillment... for thou shalt raise up in thy lot (or in thine inheritance) at the end of the days. This will include us, because we cannot receive the inheritance without them. (Hebrews 11:40) This is God’s plan.

We are counting the days; we are counting the years that are left. If the justification began in 1967, the LORD says that blessed are those who wait and come to the 1335 days. (Daniel 12:12) The carnal or natural man has never had the full blessing after Adam and Eve’s defeat and God is promising that a remnant will come out from under the curse and enter into His blessing once again.

I am not trying to decipher the second coming, or the great tribulation or many other things that many people want to know. The only thing I am saying is that God has a blessing, a true blessing for all those who have chosen to live His life instead of their own. This blessing has been found by individuals, not only throughout the “age of grace,” but also throughout the “age of the law.” After Daniel was thrust into the midst of a pagan situation by a kidnapping, after they destroyed his city, and many other things, God put him into blessing as an individual, at the height of what was possible for a human being to manage in those times. But this was not his true inheritance. Something is coming that is more important, and now God is promising a blessing for all His people who have Jesus Christ as their head.

I do not know when the Lord is coming. In one of the Gospels He arrives during the middle of the feast. I do not know. He will return whenever God wants. Will His people come into the fullness of His blessing and break the curse? Yes. I also firmly believe that He will return in person according to Luke Chapter 24 and other Scriptures. The most interesting thing is that the Lord Jesus Himself said that He did not know, that only the Father knew when. There are indications that He will return when He finds the fruit that He is looking for on earth. This is what the Song of Solomon says. When His clean people are bringing forth the fruit that He desires, it says that He will come back. (See Song of Solomon 6:11-13)

Gabriel, teach this man the vision.

When have we heard something like this? Many people say they have seen angels and many other things. But, for the heavens to open and God Himself to give the order and have it fulfilled! Notice that when Gabriel arrives, he looks like a man, and Scripture implies we all have our spiritual counterpart. (See Acts 12:15)

Right now, there is a separation between God and us which makes it hard for us to see clearly. Similar to the veil in the temple, but God is about to remove it, and whatever is not clean, whatever is not pure, whatever has corruption will not last in the presence of God. All those who say they are God’s representatives and have God’s Spirit but are mixed up in other things will be eliminated from among the people of God.

17 So he came near where I stood, and with his coming, I was afraid and fell upon my face; and he said unto me, Understand, O son of man: for at the time appointed by God the vision shall be fulfilled.

Notice that faithful people who experience the presence of God in the Bible fall on their faces. Now, however, some fall over backwards; they fall like Judas did when he came with his mob to take the Lord.[6] But what happened here is different.

When Daniel saw a clear representation of the presence of God, His glory, and His messenger, he fell on his face, on his knees, and he fell bowing. This is what happens with true encounters with God, with true men of God.

On the other hand, when the Lord gives the order, it is because it can be understood. This vision was not for Daniel’s time. This vision was for 2500 years in the future. This vision is for us.

THE LORD’S CLEANSING TOUCH

18 Now as he was speaking with me, I fell into a deep sleep on the ground upon my face; and he touched me and changed my state.

We need the Lord’s touch to awaken from this dream that we are in. We will never overcome corruption without this touch from the Lord. Without a true encounter with the presence of the Lord, we will never come out from under corruption. The Lord’s presence is what cleans us. It is the touch of His hand that heals us.

He is the High Priest, and there is no justification if He does not apply the blood. Only He can erase our past and forget it; kill our sin, burn our sin; kill our guilt, burn our guilt; take the ashes and the residue of all this and throw it into a place where they will be forgotten forever. That is justification; then comes restoration.

But this cleansing also depends on us, on our decision; it depends on restoring the daily sacrifice (the continual sacrifice) which is true worship, living a clean life before the LORD. True worship is a willing heart to do what God wants, giving our life to Him as a daily and continuous sacrifice.

The Lord Jesus was the morning sacrifice, but the evening sacrifice can represent us, where He is the head, and we are members of His body.

19 And he said, Behold, I will show thee that which is to come in the last end of the wrath; for at the time appointed this shall be fulfilled.

ANOTHER VIEW FROM ZECHARIAH AND REVELATION

Many details of these prophecies still remain. There are the four winds with everything that comes from them; four horns come out of the four winds, but God also comes out of the four winds. God is waging war against man’s beastly and carnal nature. This picture is in Revelation Chapter 6, represented by four horses.

The order is different in Zechariah, but after the redemptive work effected by the Lord Jesus, as the first measure, He wants us to enter into His holiness (the white horse). He wants to apply the blood, which is the red horse, and cut out everything that is not good in us with the sword.

Then comes the black horse of the ways of God, where He begins to tell us what we do not want to hear, and He begins to end what we do not want to leave behind. God’s ways look black, but this is the way of blessing; it is about being faithful with the little. At the end it says, and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine, (Revelation 6:6): this is the Feast of Tabernacles where we dwell with the Lord and He with us.

The last horse that changes color is a horrible death that traps us all in Zechariah, but after Christ’s redemption, death has no power over those who are in Him. Death becomes resurrection, which is represented by the green horse. (See Revelation Chapter 6 and Zechariah Chapter 6) It is not a resurrection of the natural man; it is a resurrection where we see Christ, and we shall be as He is. (1 John 3:2)

The resurrection will place us bodily into the new creation. Many people believe a great tribulation will come for three-and-a-half or seven years. This could happen, but, we have been in conflict for a long time.

The Lord has had great wrath against the carnal man who persists in doing horrible things. God’s will and His wrath does work the righteousness of God. Our wrath does not work the righteousness of God because the Lord is the one who fights the war in righteousness, not us.

The war between Saul and David was long and hard. Even after David received the kingdom of Judah, they clashed long and hard for another seven years. The natural man does not desist easily, and God wants us to learn how to fight His way when He works through us.

SALVATION IN THE LORD’S LIFE

One of the most powerful weapons available to us is the Truth, and the Truth is a person. It is Jesus Himself. He wants to come in and work. He does not want to do things by remote control, like when He gives us some gifts, and we decide how to use them. This is what many like Saul have desired and it leads to a lot of problems. He wants to truly come in and work in us.

In Gideon’s story, the Hebrew words were inverted. Instead of saying, “Gideon clothed himself with the Spirit of LORD,” it says that “the Spirit of the LORD clothed himself in Gideon.” Man clothing himself with the Spirit of the LORD is the feast we are in now where many people are walking around clothed with God’s gifts, but they continue to be the same unclean people.

The Word says that the Spirit of the LORD clothed himself in Gideon. It was God inside, pure and clean, and it only looked like Gideon on the outside. That is what happened.[7]

Daniel is the same; the king would see God when he saw Daniel. Daniel was there, but inside it was God. Jesus told Philip, “He that has seen me has seen the Father.” (See John Chapter 14)

Daniel had the heavens opened. Because of problems and obstacles, it was necessary for Daniel to pray and intercede for his people, and Daniel had direct contact in a time when it was supposedly not the moment. Many people say we have to wait. Until when? It is true that many good things await God’s people in the future, but if we want direct contact with God, the Lord can do it with us now if we are willing to receive His dealings and have Him clean our hearts. This requires our will as well as His.

20 The ram which thou didst see having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia.

21 And the he goat is the king of Grecia, and the great horn that he had between his eyes is the first king.

22 Now that being broken, whereas four stood up in its place, means that four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his strength.

23 And at the end of their empire, (of their heavy hand) when the prevaricators are come to the full, a king of arrogant countenance and expert in enigmas shall raise himself up.

When do you think we are going to see these prevaricators in their fullness? It is one thing to watch the news and see what happens in the world around us, but another thing to hear of the abominations that happen in supposedly the people of God. And every single time I think it has reached the “fullness,” the horrors keep on growing. If we have not reached the top, we are very close.

…a king of arrogant countenance and expert in enigmas shall raise himself up.

This seems to indicate a personal representation of these abominations will be manifested in somebody, but this is not the most important thing. More important is that we need to be in that sanctuary that will be justified. We are the true temple – the true sanctuary.

Until this point, justification has been for individuals, but God will do something new, and He will be represented collectively. Many people have maintained a vision for living in community, and they have established communities, but these fellowships can rupture and have problems.

Nevertheless, there is a true community which is not even global, much less local; God’s true community will be universal. Those who are justified and have clean hearts will enter into this new sanctuary, which is His body. This includes Daniel and all those who came before.

Scripture says they cannot enter into the fullness of the restoration that God has for them without us. (See Hebrews 11:40) Before things get bad in Revelation, God seals His people; whoever has God’s mark has nothing to fear. (Revelation 7:3)

Men have had problems for many centuries. There have been many martyrs, but we need not fear those who can only kill the body, but we should fear Him who can destroy both the soul and the body in the second death. (Matthew 10:28) If we have God’s seal on our forehead, we need not fear any enemy, judgment or problems that may come because to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:1-11)

Whoever is from God has received tribulation from men, from the government, from humanized religion during this whole time. But now we are coming out from one thing and entering in another where God is going to intervene and the judgment that is coming is from God. If we have opened our heart so that the Lord comes in and judges, we should not fear when the judgment comes upon the church and then upon the entire world.

24 And his power shall be strengthened, but not by his own power; and he shall destroy marvelously and shall prosper and do according to his will and shall destroy the mighty and the people of the saints.

It will not help to say, “I am from such a church; or I prayed this prayer; or I fulfilled all the requirements; or I always go to the meetings; or I always pay my tithe; or I always go to mass and make my confession; or whatever it is.” This “king” (or kingdom) will want to destroy everything that auto proclaims itself as the people of God. The only solution is to be found in incorruption instead of in corruption because those who are naming God and have gifts from God, but continue in corruption are going to come to an end with what is coming. But if the Lord’s incorruptible life dominates our being;, it does not matter what they do to us. The same thing that happened to the three Hebrew boys when they were thrown in the fire is going to happen to us. It is impossible to destroy something that is incorruptible.

Those who are sealed by the Lord cannot be burned with fire; nothing in this world can harm us. What saves us is the Lord’s life; our life has to be forsaken. If the seed does not die and fall to the ground, it cannot be multiplied. We cannot come into what God has for us if we do not leave our own life. God is not asking us for a suicide. He is asking that we enter in through the same way Jesus walked: towards a cross, towards a slow death, but this way leads to resurrection. It is not the resurrection of our life; it is the resurrection of His life in us. It is where people see us, but inside it is Him. Inside is clean; inside is incorruptible. Instead of the Feast of Pentecost (where we have leaven inside and outside we are clothed with gifts and things that God gave us), the Lord wants to introduce us to Tabernacles, which is clean through and through.

In Pentecost, we are only dressed this way in order to give us time so that He can deal with our inner part. And if we do not let him deal with us inside, the time of grace will expire, and the time of judgment comes. If we are found naked without His covering, we will be like the king of Babylon when the sculpture on the wall appeared: drunk with the gifts of God, drinking from the vessels of God’s temple, but this is as far as he got. He had this feast to perfection with a thousand princes all competing with the wine. This is what we have with God’s gifts nowadays where some move the cape, and others fall backwards; one says that he does miracles in all the services and on and on and on; and some say that if you pay them your tithe who knows how much money you are going to get back, and if you listen to them you will never get sick...

They are having a party that has never before been seen in the history of the church. The thousand princes are all using God’s sacred vessels; they are betting on who can give more, and who can do more, telling their tales while all this dishonest prevarication is reaching its fullness.

God is preparing to shake this up and put a sign on the wall saying, “this has been weighed in the balance and even though there are many gifts, where is the fruit? This does not qualify, and you are cut off.”

It all happened in just one night. The enemy deflected the river that flowed through the city and came in; they entered in where the word was supposedly flowing and conquered the city. Their fall came in through their provision. David took Jerusalem in the same way years before.

Look at how this king who is coming will be:

25 And with his understanding he shall cause the deceit in his hand to prosper, and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace he shall destroy many;

Leaders speak of peace and of peace processes, but they do not involve the Prince of Peace; they deceive many with peace. In the final time they will say, “Peace, peace,” but there will be no peace. Or, as they say in the jungle, “peacepeacepeace” (the sound of a weapon). This is what happens if you leave the Prince of Peace out.

...he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes, and without hand he shall be broken.

This is the same picture of the statue that receives an impact in its feet, the feet that cannot walk. God will send this impact on the present day democracies, all without hands.

COLOMBIAN VISION

Many people have had prophetic visions of things that will happen in Colombia. These seemed fantastic to me, but I kept them in cassettes and folders. Many are from those that I know are prophets of God. Incredibly, with time, they began to be fulfilled. We cannot, however, let ourselves be guided primarily by these. We must keep moving forward, and if God wants to confirm it, let Him confirm it and encourage us.

But I will mention one of these visions. They saw me with a group of brethren who marched through the jungle with swords that symbolized the message and the preaching. With tremendous sweeps from our swords, we cut down the trees in our path. Even huge trees were overthrown until we got to a place where the trees were made of steel, and the sword could not penetrate anywhere.

There are situations, people, or groups where sermons are worthless. In that moment, we kneeled and began to ask God. Suddenly a great ball of fire arose, and they never saw us again, but only the fire that melted all the steel trees. We have done what we can with the gifts that God has given us.

Sometimes, good things happen, but there are limitations. What we need desperately now in Colombia is for the Lord to come, on the scene and for us not only to be clothed with something that He gives us, but that He would truly be in us, that there will be a total and true cleansing and no more residue of corruption in us. When there is a people like this, the presence of God will be so strong, and of such magnitude and His light so intense, that the “trees” of steel are going to melt before Him.

26 And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true; therefore shut thou up the vision; for it shall be for many days.

Something different has happened ever since 1967 and God is preparing a special people. It would be sad that after all this revelation, we would end up like those with no oil in their lamps in such a critical moment. The vision of the evening and morning of the 2300 years is true and real.

27 And I Daniel was broken and was sick certain days; and after I rose up, I did the king’s business; but I was astonished at the vision, and there was no one who could understand it.

If this happened with Daniel so long ago, how will we react? Are we going to encourage our own life, or are we going to allow the Lord to break us. It is necessary for God to deal deeply with us in order to rid us from our sickness: this sickness of pride, of arrogance, of corruption in the natural man. God’s prophetic time clock is ticking, I do not know how much more time we have, but Scripture says if God had not cut the days short, no flesh would be saved. (Matthew 24:15-25) Are we going to let Him cut the power of the flesh in us? Corruption has to do with the flesh when the flesh imposes itself on the soul. Or are we going to allow the Spirit of God to impose His will – to impose His true presence that only comes in His life?

The abomination in the Holy Place and the prevarication that Daniel is speaking of is not just something that happened out there in the reconstructed temple. And it is not just something that happened in churches along with the entire world.

This is something that can happen in this temple, which is us if we consent to a spirit that is not God’s Spirit. The two can remain in close proximity for a while, but no one can serve two masters. (See Ezekiel Chapters 8-11) We will either end up with the mark of the beast, thoughts of the beast, and works of the beast or we will end up with the mind of Christ, with our hearts and hands being used exclusively for the work of Christ.

LET’S PRAY:

Heavenly Father, we thank you for clarifying the vision. Help us understand that with this clarification comes the responsibility to walk in Your light until we find Your Presence, until we find Your Purity, until we leave this horrible realm of corruption. We ask this in the Name of our Lord Jesus, Amen.

[1]  Nehemiah 10:29 Strengthened with their brethren, their nobles, they came forward in an oath with a curse that they would walk in God’s law, which was given by the hand of Moses, the servant of God, and observe and do all the commandments of the LORD our Lord, and his judgments and his statutes.

[2]  2 Peter 3:13 Nevertheless we, according to his promises, wait for new heavens and a new earth, in which dwells righteousness.

[3]  Leviticus 26:28 Then I will walk contrary unto you also in fury, and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins.

[4]  Numbers 14:34 After the number of the days in which ye spied out the land, even forty days, each day for a year, ye shall bear your iniquities forty years, and ye shall know my reason for annulling my promise.

[5]  The confirmation of the date (1967) as the fulfillment of the judgment dictated by the LORD against Israel (the judgment of seven times explained in Leviticus 26 and other references in Scripture) can be observed in more detail in the reference used in this explanation: CARL F. H. HENRY. PROPHECY IN THE MAKING, Creation House, Carol Stream, Illinois, 1971. Edited by Harold John Ockenga. Pg. 309.

[6]  John 18:3-6 Judas then, taking a company of soldiers and ministers of the high priests and of the Pharisees, came there with lanterns and torches and weapons. Jesus therefore, knowing all the things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye? They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus said unto them, I AM. And Judas also, who betrayed him, stood with them. And when he said unto them, I AM, they went backward and fell to the ground.

[7]  Judges 6:34 And the Spirit of the LORD clothed himself in Gideon, who when he had blown the shofar, Abiezer joined with him.

CHAPTER NINE

He Shall Confirm The Covenant By Many

I was even yet speaking in prayer, and that man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, flying swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening sacrifice. Daniel 9:21

In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans; Daniel 9:1

DANIEL CHAPTER 9

Darius was probably Queen Esther’s son. Darius means preserver, and he was the one who commanded the temple of Jerusalem to be rebuilt so the captive Jews could return to their motherland if they wished. The vessels of the temple of the LORD that were in Babylon could be returned. But the rebuilding of the temple had deeper implications.

2 in the first year of his reign, I Daniel saw diligently in the books the number of the years, of which the LORD spoke unto Jeremiah the prophet, which would conclude the desolation of Jerusalem in seventy years.

3 And I turned my face unto the Lord God, seeking him in prayer and supplication, in fasting and sackcloth, and ashes:

PRAYER AND FASTING

We find Daniel praying, confessing the sins of his people, counting the days until the seventy years prophesied by Jeremiah would come to pass, until the day when there would be the possibility of a restoration. Daniel was involved with this problem because of a collective sin of the people of God. (We are in a similar situation today, and it is a collective problem.)

God is looking for people with hearts like Daniel to lift up those who have erred and bring about true and authentic repentance in the hearts of the people of God. The world will not notice anything if there is no repentance within His people. The Lord said He wanted everyone to see our good works so they would believe in our Heavenly Father, but we cannot do good works if God does not do them in us.

The natural works that Daniel and his friends directed do not appear in Gods’ history. What is recorded is when they saved their enemies’ lives, when they clarified what God was saying to the king, when they interceded for the people of God, and when they received a vision of what would happen to all the human empires until the present time of the end.

What they called fasting was not what we know as fasting. When people fasted, they wore special clothes that showed they were repenting. They also applied ashes and sat on them as a symbol that they did not want to foment their own lives, but instead they were seeking the Lord’s life to sustain them.

In our present age, we still fast, but I do not know of anyone who fasts in sackcloth and ashes. The true meaning of fasting is found in Isaiah 58, and it is not what most people do today.

True fasting comes when people deny themselves in order to follow the Lord, producing true freedom for those who were slaves to the flesh, the world, and the Devil. Anyone who tries to free others with the things of God, but keeps on seeking his or her own benefit, will never free anyone – not even themselves. True freedom comes from the Spirit of God and this goes the opposite direction to those who are trying to foment their own lives. Our life is full of corruption and will never produce holiness, but the Spirit of God is Holy. Holiness is only found in God’s life. This does not come little by little; it is either there or it is not; we are either being led by God’s Spirit or we are not.

Many Christians remember a time when the Spirit of God led them. If they did not persevere in it, however, they went back to their own ways. God’s plan is to destroy the nature that goes against the LORD. Whoever is worthy of being His disciple must be willing to take up his cross and follow Him.

What is the cross for? It is meant to crucify the flesh with all its desires. This is not an instantaneous death and it is not suicidal either. It is a long path and a slow death that may possibly even be caused by people who should be our friends.

Daniel is one of the few people in which no wrong doings are recorded of him. Daniel represents the body of Christ in this last time. This is a collective man with the Lord Jesus as the head. And like Daniel, Christ’s body must be clean, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. The Spirit of the Lord not only brings freedom, but it also brings purity. Daniel did not receive this prophecy saying, “It’s been prophesied that this captivity is going to end in seventy years, so let’s go back to Jerusalem.” He took it as an initiative to pray and intercede to see if the LORD would fulfill the prophecy because the LORD can fulfill prophecy any way He wants.

4 and I prayed unto the LORD my God and made my confession and said, Now O Lord, thou great God who is worthy to be feared, who keeps the covenant and the mercy with those that love thee and keep thy commandments;

5 we have sinned, we have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly, and we have been rebels, and we have departed from thy commandments and from thy judgments.

To sin is to transgress the law. But to blatantly take the opposite direction from the truth is to deny God with full knowledge. This is rebellion. This is what the people of Israel did, and it is what we continue doing in much of the Christian church.

We should react to prophecy as Daniel did. In that day, Babylon had come to its end, and this made him pray and intercede until Jeremiah’s prophecy was fulfilled as a result of king Darius’s decree allowing the Israelites to return.

We are also in the time when the prophecy of Daniel Chapter 12 is about to be fulfilled. This is not going to be an automatic fulfillment; instead it requires a people who are willing to humble themselves like Daniel.

6 We have not hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, who spoke in thy name to our kings and to our princes, to our fathers, and to all the people of the land.

7 O Lord, the righteousness belongs unto thee, but unto us the confusion of face, as at this day; to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near and that are far off through all the lands where thou hast driven them because of their rebellion with which they have rebelled against thee.

The sins were grave, and the consequences were drastic. The consequences in our days have been drastic as well. We have the people of God scattered everywhere using His Name in vain. God’s true nature has not been shown and communicated to many who walk in darkness. More responsibility rests on those who have received more light, and the present Christian church has had more light than the present day Jews or the Jews from before Daniel’s age.

8 O Lord, to us belongs confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee.

9 Of the Lord our God is the ability to have mercy and to forgive, even though we have rebelled against him

Daniel continues to say that forgiveness is not based on their righteousness, but in God’s mercy towards those who ask Him. We cannot work righteousness in our own natural state. We can try, but our intents for righteousness will result in even more injustice because the only one who can work righteousness is the LORD. (The word for righteousness in Spanish and in Hebrew is the same word for justice.) We can either be in our own life that is corrupt and full of unrighteousness or we can be in His life that is incorruptible and full of justice and righteousness. There is no middle ground: either God is moving us, or we are being moved by ourselves, another person, this world’s system, or by some demon. Corruption is the same as anything that goes against God.

Sadly, many Christians are operating in God-given gifts and abilities, but they do not have His life either. We can talk about the resurrection, or as Paul said, the full restoration (life from among the dead), but if we want to see the transformation, we must personally hear God’s voice until we have a direct encounter with His presence. It is possible to have access to God’s voice and not have an encounter with His presence because in order to receive gifts from Him, all we have to do is agree with His plan. But if we want a direct encounter with His presence, everything must be placed on the altar: all our plans, all our purposes, our money, our belongings and our future; it will cost us our own life.

MOSES SEES GOD

The people of Israel wanted to preserve their life, so they did not want to continue hearing God’s voice. God’s voice calls us, it cleans us, and His voice will lead us to the presence of God that will consume us. They said, “We cannot stand the sound of this trumpet anymore, and this mountain where the presence of God is burning and shaking; if we continue to hear the voice of God, we are going to die.” (See Exodus Chapters 19, 20)

Moses only saw God’s back when he went up Mount Sinai, and even so, God had to place his hand on Moses’ face to cover him. But the Bible says later that never in history was there a man like Moses who spoke face-to-face with God. That face-to-face encounter with God cost Moses his life.

Moses was 120 years old, and he was still in good physical shape. God said, Climb up into this mountain Abarim, unto mount Nebo…and die in the mountain. (Deut. 32:49-50) God brought him up the mountain and showed him the Promised Land. Not just what is now known as the holy land, which is only an example, a shadow, and imitation or a reflection of the true inheritance which is the Lord Jesus (because He is the true Promised Land). From the mountain Moses saw a landscape in the distance, but that was not what killed Moses. What killed Moses was a direct encounter with the presence of God.

Due to an incident at Meribah, where Moses disobeyed and struck the rock twice because of the bad attitude of the people, God had said that Moses could not enter the Promised Land (See Numbers 20:7-12). And he did not enter in his own life. Yet after Moses was dead, the Devil could not hold him and in the gospels Moses appears in the Promised Land on the Mount of Transfiguration glorified in the life of Jesus!

Deut. 34:10 And there never arose a prophet since in Israel like Moses, who had known the LORD face to face.

That encounter Moses had with the LORD had the same effect as the burning furnace with the three Hebrew boys. The fire and dying in obedience to the Word of God only destroys the bonds and reveals the true presence of God in the person who gives themselves to do His will.

On the other hand, the Bible says the prince of this world who controlled death back then could not hold Moses. When he went to pick up Moses’ body, he could not take it, even when those who had come before him were captives to death. (See Jude 9)

In the Mount of Transfiguration in the gospels, Moses was not captive in Sheol. He appeared with Elijah, and the glorified Lord Jesus was in the midst of them. This is the picture of the transfiguration. It was an opportunity that God gave Israel, and it was rejected. God gave the Christian church this same opportunity which has also rejected it, with the exception of a few individuals.

11 And all Israel transposed thy law, departing by not hearing thy voice; by which the curse has fallen upon us and the oath that is written in the law of Moses, the servant of God, because we have sinned against him.

OLD LAW OR NEW NATURE

This curse is very clear throughout the law, and it is even more so in the last chapters of Deuteronomy where a blessing or a curse is offered. The blessing is for those who keep God’s law, and the curse is for those who do not. Even so, with the exception of the Lord Jesus, no one has been able to fulfill God’s law because whoever fails on just one point is guilty of all the other points as well. But the Lord not only desires for us to be with Him, but to be in Him, under His covering, under His head and authority, to be led by His Spirit and to have His life.

Three words are translated sin in the New Testament. In the Old Testament there is only one. True, we have all sinned and are imperfect, but God is the one who defines, who gives the final word.

The Greek word hamartea shows a unique definition in the New Testament. John said that whoever was born of God cannot sin. It does not say, “Does not sin” like many people have misunderstood it. The word hamartea does not mean, “to transgress the law,” which is the definition of sin in the Old Testament.

Hamartea has to do with your intentions, your direction, and your purpose in life. It is derived from a word that signifies to shoot your arrow at the bull’s-eye; but it is not about missing the mark, as some clergy have tried to translate it. This sin is when you intentionally shoot for the wrong target when you have the right target in sight. It has nothing to do with scoring a perfect bull’s-eye every shot.

In the Christian sense it is when we try to live our own lives instead of allowing Jesus to live in and through us. And the person who is born of God has the Lord’s same desires and seeks the Lord’s life instead of his or her own. Therefore they cannot aim at the wrong target (hamartea).

12 And he has confirmed his words, which he spoke over us and over our judges that governed us, by bringing upon us such a great evil: that such has never been done under the whole heaven as has been done upon Jerusalem.

Why? They wanted to save themselves with their own works. We can only be saved by the LORD’S work, which must flow in us and show tangible fruit. Today, great sectors that name the Lord do not show that fruit. Individuals, great men or women of God have shown this fruit throughout history.

I received an email of words of advice of a great preacher many years ago in the United States of America named Charles Finney. These were good, but the recommendations will not save me. Why? Because when the life of God works in us, and when He transforms a person’s heart, good things are born in our life. We do not need to make a list of sins and recommendations to be assured of fulfilling all things. The Jews have not been able to fulfill the law, and neither has anyone from this current age.

We must receive the Lord and allow His will to work in us. Our will must be to follow Him through a change of nature because without this, we cannot fully obey God. The Bible tells us whoever is led by the Spirit of God is not under the law. (See Galatians 5:18) Why? The Spirit of God brings a new law (of life) that is superior to the old law of sin and death. It is the law of a new nature through the life of the Lord. Whomever the Spirit of God leads always surpasses the law, which is only a shadow and an example of the real thing. The person who is led by God’s Spirit enters into the reality of the life of God. The Lord Jesus was not interested in doing the works of men. Apparently He went against the letter of the law because He was not idle on the Sabbath since He was doing his Father’s will. Even though the Lord Jesus did fulfill the true meaning of the law, many religious Jews could not see it and this is why they sentenced him to death.

13 As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us, and we never sought the face of the LORD our God, that we might be converted from our iniquities, and understand thy truth.

It takes a direct encounter with the face of the LORD to truly be converted from our iniquities and to be able to understand the truth. Jeremiah prophesied that if one righteous man had been found in Jerusalem, it would have been enough to stop the judgment, but there wasn’t anyone. (See Jeremiah 5:1) Sodom and Gomorrah could have been saved with ten righteous men.

Sodom and Gomorrah were pagan cities, and Jerusalem was supposedly the city of God. But the “God” part was simply a façade. That is why Jesus said with nostalgia, as if he was contemplating the future, When the son of man returns, will he find faith on the earth? He’s not referring to the faith of those that say they believe in God, but the faith of those that believe God and convert this into deeds (where faith and grace converge).

In the Bible, the word “earth” is sometimes symbolic of Israel and the church. Sadly, many of those who have true faith are not in the churches. If there was true faith on the earth (in the holy land) and in the church, terrible problems in the world and in the Middle East would decrease. Instead, they impose their own justice, but God’s fruit of righteousness is rarely seen. Self-righteousness prevails.

14 And the LORD hastened upon the chastisement and brought it upon us: for the LORD our God is just in all his works which he has done, for we did not listen to his voice.

Because the Israelites did not listen to God, He hastened His chastisement on Jerusalem. There were only a few centuries from the time of Israel’s Golden Age with Solomon and David until the disgrace. I ask myself, “How is Colombia doing in God’s eyes?”

Colombia says it is the country of the “Sacred Heart,” but it uses God’s name for all kinds of licentiousness, oppression, injustice and corruption. Moments of true peace have been few and numbered. A generation of peace is not known of in Colombia’s history, but it claims to be the most catholic and Christian country on the face of the earth. Now they claim it is one of the places where the evangelical church is growing the most.

What has this evangelical church done? Has it changed things? Not much. A few individuals have done things. I know people in the Catholic Church who have true faith, and I know people in the evangelical churches who have true faith. But as a group, the religious people have not measured up. Will a righteous man be found in Colombia? (A collective man, with Christ as the head that shows that true religion is to accompany the widow and the orphan in their affliction, and not let themselves be contaminated by the world and the corruption in it.)

15 And now, O Lord our God, who hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand and hast won for thyself a very clear name as appears unto this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly.

Daniel himself is the one praying this, a man who has (according to the Bible) a clean slate before God and before the world. We need a Daniel in Colombia now. We need this in every single country because things are not going all that well anywhere.

16 O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain: because for our sins and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and all thy people is given in reproach to all that are about us.

We can say the same thing about most of the so-called church of Christ on the earth.

17 Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant and his supplications and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is made desolate, by the Lord.

The Lord made us desolate, but the Lord can cause His face to shine again over his true temple. If we are the people of God, we are the temple of God: we are His sanctuary, and we need God’s face to shine again. If God’s face shines on us, He will clean us, purify us and transform us, but He will also kill our ego, our pride and our own kingdoms.

18 O my God, incline thine ear and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee confiding in our righteousness, but in thy many mercies.

Our self-righteousness is good for nothing, but the Lord, in His mercy, can place His righteousness in us; then His righteousness will flow on the earth.

19 O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name.

The “name” of God means the “nature” of God. The wrath of man does not work the righteousness of God. Any attempt on our part to impose God’s righteousness by force will not work. God’s righteousness will only work if it is done with God’s strength. But He wants to place His strength in us. The Lord cannot put His strength in us if we do not desist from our own strength.

Notice the tone in which Daniel was speaking, being a righteous and clean man: it is similar to the Lord Jesus. He was a righteous and clean man that came to bear all our sins and the sins of His people.

20 And whiles I was speaking and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God;

Daniel confessed the sins of his people as if they were his own. In a similar way, the Lord Jesus came to carry our sins, our iniquities, our rebellions and our impieties. What did He do with these? He took them to the cross (the Greek word stauros, or stake) to nail them there and identify them with his death. He did this so we could have a new beginning in His life, leaving everything else behind.

21 I was even yet speaking in prayer, and that man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, flying swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening sacrifice.

This Chapter continues with Daniel’s prayer until the LORD sends him an angel. This angel was sent at the very moment Daniel humbled himself to intercede for his people. Likewise, today people of God need to pray and intercede with the heavens open to receive an instantaneous response.

The book of Daniel started with dreams given to a king who could not remember them. Then, Daniel began to have dreams and then visions of what God wanted him to see while he was yet awake. But now, what he had seen in a vision becomes reality when Gabriel touches him.

Who is Gabriel? One of the simplest translations of the name Gabriel is “man of God.” Gabriel is an archangel who represents the power and character of God.

In this hour, God wants His own men and women to go out and touch people who need to enter into God’s reality. When God sends somebody, they are His angels, and He will back them up. If we go with God’s true name, if God has truly sent us, and if they receive us, the Lord can touch them.

Daniel was touched at about the time of the evening sacrifice. Daniel was still troubled because the sacrifices had been suspended, and the temple was destroyed. But he remembered there was a sacrifice in the morning and another one in the evening. The morning sacrifice is a symbol of our Lord Jesus. The evening sacrifice symbolizes us as living sacrifices, willing to follow the Lord Jesus wherever He goes.

Daniel understood about the sacrifice, and God wants us to understand it too. The sacrifices are accomplished in Christ, but Christ is not only the Lord Jesus who came more than two thousand years ago. Christ is also a body of many members of which the Lord Jesus is the authority and the head, where Christ’s Spirit can flow throughout the whole body to cleanse and work in it. (See Ephesians Chapter 4)

22 And he caused me to understand and spoke with me and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to cause thee to understand the interpretation.

When the last chapter ended, Daniel did not understand the vision of what was coming. Daniel did not understand the war of the four winds in heaven against the beast here on earth. He did not understand how a man (like Adam, created in the image and likeness of God) could become a beast, degenerating into a state that could not be compared to any of the natural beasts on earth.

This is what our fallen race has done. We cannot understand Babylon’s confusion. When Daniel was saying “to us the confusion of face,” that word confusion is the word for Babylon.

But Darius was moved by God to have the temple of God rebuilt and to return God’s sacred vessels to their rightful place. The Spirit of God is prophesying that there will be another “Darius.”

There will be a different kingdom. We will see the restoration of the true temple of God on the earth, which is us, as living stones. God’s “vessels” that had been profaned in the orgies of pagan drunks will be restored, and purity will return within the people of God. Many people have not yet understood this because they have not had God’s touch, and they have not been yielding to God’s true Spirit.

23 At the beginning of thy supplications, the word went forth,

Daniel was praying and interceding for a long time, but God sent the response when he first began to have this attitude. True intercession, true supplication, is not something that needs interminable repetition because God sees the heart from the start.

23…and I have come to teach it unto thee; for thou art a man greatly beloved:

Beloved by whom? By God, because Daniel had a clean heart for what God wanted. And when God sees a clean people who have His same desires, He responds immediately.

23…therefore understand the word, and understand the vision.

First, Daniel must understand the word that he heard and later the vision. Both must be understood. We need God’s touch for this. God sent Gabriel for this purpose, but He can send whomever He wants to send. Gabriel came from the presence of God.

The problem we have now in the church is that many want to give touches, explanations, and understanding, but they have not come from the presence of God. Therefore, all they do is foment more confusion from Babylon.

24 Seventy weeks are determined (Heb. Cut) upon thy people and upon thy holy city…

This is a judgment that God has determined, and it is going to be a cutting judgment that will separate the new man in the life of the Lord Jesus from the old man in his own life. The old man can try to fulfill the law by doing acts that appear religious; but only the new man has the divine nature, an inner change of nature.

24…to finish the prevarication and to conclude the sin and to make reconciliation for iniquity and to bring in everlasting righteousness and seal the vision and the prophecy, and to anoint the Holy of Holies.

SEVEN MESSAGES OF VERSE 24

There are about seven messages here. These seventy weeks are seventy weeks of years (a year for a day). The coming of the Lord Jesus Christ is prophesied, and this is to finish the prevarication:

...which has to do with the contamination of the holy and sacred things, so it will not be possible to do what they were doing before with the vessels of the temple of God.

…to conclude the sin,

According to John, whoever is born of God doesn’t seek the wrong goals, but millions of people on this earth say they are born again, but they continue living for themselves. So what is this rebirth they have had? We live in a time when things have been modified by man and man’s things have been mixed with God’s things. But the LORD says this corruption will collapse to its end, and He will give the true solution.

...to make reconciliation for iniquity…

Iniquity is when someone sins, and instead of seeking purity, they hide it. It happened the first time when Cain hid his sin when God asked him if he knew where his brother was. Cain lied to God. Cain used this word when he said the consequences of his iniquity were too much to bear. (Genesis 4:13)

Reconciliation is not “seeking middle ground.” Reconciliation comes from the word that means, “to make right.” In order to make our iniquity right, a cleansing by the Lord Jesus Christ is necessary.

The ministry of reconciliation has been given to those who are a part of Him, participating in God’s plan, dealing with men and women who are contaminated and rebellious to make their iniquity right with the same righteousness of our Lord Jesus. (See 2 Corinthians 5:17-19)

…and to bring in everlasting righteousness,

Everlasting righteousness is not man’s righteousness because the wrath of man does not work the righteousness of God. Everlasting righteousness is God’s righteousness, and it can only flow where there is no prevarication, where sin is concluded and where iniquity is reconciled.

…and seal the vision and the prophecy,

The vision and the prophecy are not safe realms. They are realms of what could be. 1 Corinthians 13:8-13 says all these things will end. Either they will be fulfilled, or the time of God’s offer will come to an end. But there are three things that will remain forever: faith (that comes from the word fidelity) hope, and God’s true love which is charity. There are many today who move in visions and prophecy yet they do not have the seal of God.

…seal the vision and the prophecy,

This is what Daniel was doing when he repented for his people. God gave Jeremiah the prophecy and Daniel the vision. Even though he did not understand it, in tears and supplication before the LORD, he took his people’s place and interceded and prayed until the vision and the prophecy were sealed, and God sent Gabriel to say, “This is the answer, the confirmation and the seal of God over what has been heard, and this is what it’s going to be.”

...and to anoint the Holy of Holies.

The Jews lacked this anointing. The priests lacked this anointing. The church has lacked this anointing. The Holy of Holies is where the presence of God is, and it is the only place where we can be transformed. The anointing of the Holy of Holies is the anointing that Gabriel had because Gabriel came from the presence of God. Gabriel touched Daniel with the anointing of the Holy of Holies, and this is the touch that we need if we desire to enter into God’s final purposes.

25 Know therefore and understand that from the going forth of the word to cause the people to return and to build Jerusalem…

During King Darius’s first year, he is ready to dictate a decree. He has not said it yet because if he had, Daniel would not be praying. God sent Gabriel to explain this to Daniel, saying, “Look, this is what’s going to happen; the decree is going to go forth.”

In another Scripture, Darius’s decree had gone out, and the vessels were starting to be returned. The people went back and began to build the walls and the temple. God says that we are the stones that He wants to build, and God can give the decree to have the temple rebuilt, which is us, with the purpose of preparing a people for the return of the Lord Jesus (for He is coming back for a bride without spot or wrinkle or any such thing.)

…unto the Anointed {Heb. Messiah} Prince, there shall be seven weeks, and sixty-two weeks, while the street shall be built again and the wall, even in troublous times.

SEVENTY WEEKS

We know the first phase of the reconstruction of the temple lasted seven weeks of years, (that is forty-nine years). After another sixty-two weeks of years, the Lord came in troubled time when he was around thirty to fulfill his ministry and to become the true temple. It was not the reconstructed temple that Herod later reformed. The natural temple was only an example and a shadow of the true temple, which is the Lord Jesus.

When Phillip, Andrew, Peter, and John were talking in the Gospels, they seem to be saying, “We know the time has been fulfilled, and we are looking for the Anointed One and have found him.” Why? Because they knew that from Darius’s decree to the Messiah’s ministry, there would be sixty-nine weeks of years.

They did not know the exact date in which the Messiah would appear, but they did know the year and approximate season. They were of the few who were aware. They knew, “the Messiah must appear now because this is what God sealed and confirmed with Daniel!” Then came the part that the disciples were not able to understand at the time, but they understood later:

26 And after the sixty-two weeks the Anointed One {Heb. Messiah} shall be killed and shall have nothing: (and the ruling people that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; whose end shall be as a flood, until at the end of the war it shall be cut off with desolation.)

Who are the ruling people? They are the last kingdom of the earth, which is Roman. The residues of the Roman Empire are the democracies we currently have. They revolve around things like the Treaty of Rome.

Revelation 17:11 speaks of an eighth king (or kingdom) that had not come, but will be there at the end (Could this be America???). The spiritual battle for the hearts and souls of the people of the United States of America is being fought, and it is not going well. We need to pray and intercede for our nation like Daniel did for his.

27 In one week (they are now seventy)…

When did this week begin? It began with our Lord’s ministry at thirty years of age.

…he shall confirm the covenant by many: and at the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease…

The prophecy is revealed of how and when the redemption would take place. It was a prophecy of seventy weeks (a year for a day): seven weeks on one side, sixty-two weeks on the other, and one final week in which a division in the middle is established. Seven weeks of years make a total of forty-nine years in which the temple in Jerusalem is restored under the orders of Darius and Cyrus; then sixty-two weeks of years when the city and the wall would be built in times of great distress until at the end of these sixty-two weeks the Lord Jesus turned thirty and began His ministry which gets cut off during the middle of the last week.

The disciples knew of the times. They would tell each other, “We know that it is time.” (See Mark 1:15) They had counted the years, and they knew the prophecy had to be fulfilled that year. They were very aware and said, “We have found the Messiah. It is time and here He is.” (See John 1:37-51)

These were the conversations between Andrew, Philip, Nathanael, John and Peter. The Lord called them, and they had to leave everything to follow Him. They had no clue as to what was going to happen because the prophecy said the return of the Messiah was going to be cut off during the last week. This part of history is clear among most Christian theologians.

However, the area where there is no clear agreement is in the last week. What happened during the second half of the last week after the Lord was crucified? It is clear that three-and-a-half years followed with the ministry of the Apostles, in which the Jews rejected their ministry completely. This is when they killed James and Stephen; then the Lord sent the Holy Spirit to Cornelius’s house to begin what we know as the effusion of the Holy Spirit to the Gentiles. (See Acts Chapter 10)

This was the entering in of the Gentiles, which is us, as wild olive branches grafted into God’s special olive tree where Christ is the root and the sustenance. The natural unbelieving branches were cut off, and the branches that did believe among the Gentiles were inserted. Paul said the true Jew is the person who is circumcised in their heart, and if the fact that the Jews rejected the gospel caused such a great opportunity for the Gentiles, how much more opportunity will the full restoration (which is also prophesied) cause? (See Romans Chapters 9-11) We are living a natural restoration, but the spiritual restoration has not yet happened. There are Jews who have re-learned Hebrew, but the vast majority of them do not have the Lord’s life.

Sixty-nine weeks passed, but week seventy was a bit different. The sixty-two weeks and the seven weeks had been fulfilled, but the Messiah died before the end of week seventy. Jesus, the Messiah, died in the middle of the last week. And with His death, he caused the sacrifice and the oblation to cease. After His sacrifice and oblation, there was no need for our sacrifices or our oblations.

Many have understood about the sacrifice ceasing: after the Lord Jesus’ sacrifice, it is no longer necessary to continue sacrificing lambs, calves and rams because He showed us the Way. He wants us to be a living sacrifice; He wants us to take part in His death. If we give up our own sovereignty to enter into His sovereignty, all our past is erased and there is a new horizon for us. The problem is that many people want to enjoy the benefits of redemption without giving up their own way.

He shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation… What is the oblation? In the Spanish translation, “oblation” is the same word for present. The first use of the word “present” (in the Jubilee Bible) is when Cain gave the Lord a present (or offering). What was Cain’s present? It was the work of his hands. Cain had worked and produced the fruit of the ground. He came to offer the fruit to the LORD; the fruit was grain that he had cultivated. This was not what the LORD wanted. For this reason, Cain was wroth and killed his brother who had offered the firstborn lamb in sacrifice to the LORD.

Abel’s sacrifice meant he knew he needed to be delivered; he could not do it himself because the only way to enter is in the LORD’S life and authority. The LORD received Abel and rejected Cain because Cain offered the fruit of the labor of his own life. From then on, in the whole system of sacrifices, the present (or the work of our hands mistakenly translated “grain offering”) had to go hand in hand with a blood sacrifice or the LORD would not accept it.

This provides an example and a shadow of 1500 years of Jewish History: the work of our hands is not acceptable to the LORD unless we are under the blood, under the life and authority of the Lord Jesus, in a blood covenant. A blood covenant means a life for a life, and it works both ways.

The Lord Jesus came and, once and for, all fulfilled the sacrifice. This has been understood by a few in the church, whether they are catholic or evangelical or orthodox or whatever; but the “present” part has not been understood. They have not understood that He has fulfilled the oblation (or the present) and now He wants to work in and through us so that we can be a present offered by Him to God the Father.

If the Lord Jesus fulfilled the sacrifice, what is the fruit of the ground that the Lord offers alongside this sacrifice as the oblation? He said He was the grain of wheat that fell to the ground to die and grow and produce much more fruit: thirty, sixty, and one hundred for one. The Lord Jesus is the symbol of the present that man can cultivate, and the present the Lord Jesus offers his Father is us. He is the seed that has fallen in the ground (which is us), and that present is a product of his hand and his ministry, and not of our ministry.

…he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,

These are no longer necessary. This is where there is a problem due to the offering and tithing system in many churches because now, we are the tithe; we are the offering; we are the living sacrifice; we are the present; and the one that accomplishes this is the Lord. He works in us and through us and offers it all to His Father. And as far as religion that does sacrifices and oblations, Jesus Christ (the Anointed Prince) has caused that to cease. No more religious sacrifices from us are needed, no more presents. None of that counts. What counts is the sacrifice and the present/oblation done by Him. But what He wants to do is to enter us into His sacrifice and oblation. This is the only way we can ever be accepted by God the Father.

The Lord Jesus wants to have communion with us so we can be in communion with His Father. We can then petition the Father directly and are able to ascend in sweet fragrance like the smoke of a burnt offering in which the sacrifice and the present went up in smoke towards heaven. This word “burnt offering” (holocaust in the original) relates to ascending and having the heavens open so God can listen and respond. The heavens were opened to Daniel.

The word (holocaust) is first used in reference to Jacob’s ladder when the angels would ascend and descend. This unlocks a realm where the heavens are no longer “as brass.” This is a prerequisite to God’s dwelling place with His people and was fulfilled with the coming of the Lord Jesus.

But what did people do? They re-made another Old Covenant. They re-sewed the veil that was torn by the Lord’s death. They re-made a human hierarchy to replace God’s priesthood of all believers. Again they placed the people in a situation where they could not hear God’s voice directly. They worked with their own hands to offer their own sacrifices and presents.

When God did not want to receive their presents, they killed those, who like Abel, had entered into the true sacrifice. The Spanish Inquisition killed multiplied millions and made it so that there was virtually no significant Bible distribution in the Spanish-speaking world until after World War II.

In one week (they are now seventy) he shall confirm the covenant by many: When the LORD confirms the covenant, do you think it will really be confirmed? Could we be some of the many who have the covenant confirmed? Do you think we have God’s seal, like Daniel had, not only on his own life, but also over the intercession he was making so the decree would go forth?

Those with a heart for God began to count from the first forty-nine years until the coming of the Lord; this began with the foundation of Daniel, (of a clean man’s intercession).

Many important things will soon happen and lead to new heavens and a new earth. But God needs a people like Daniel.

He shall confirm the covenant by many, Daniel is an example of Christ. He did not confirm the covenant to many, but BY many. God made a covenant with Jeremiah and said that in seventy years it is prophesied the desolation will end. If the people continue rebelling, and things continue to go wrong, God can say, “Let’s leave things the way they are for who knows how long.” Things have been wrong for a long, long time, and the LORD is telling us He can take us out of this.

…he shall confirm the covenant by many: and at the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and because of the many abominations, desolation shall come, even until complete destruction shall be poured out upon the abominable people.

Who are the abominable people? The abominable people are Adam’s race, the natural man in his corruption with his problem that will never get better, but will always get worse. The only thing that ends this problem is the life of Christ. The LORD’S presence either transforms us to His image and likeness, or when He returns it will destroy the man of sin completely.

There is another interpretation on the weeks of Daniel in which every week is a generation. The last week is possibly the last generation. Which one is the last generation? The last generation is the generation of Christ, and it is the generation that is not going to die out. It is not going to end until all is fulfilled. It is in the prophecy of Matthew 24 where the Lord Jesus explains the “abomination that causes desolation” or “the prevarication” that Daniel mentions in the Holy Place.

Today the “Holy Place” is in terrible condition. This is the place of intermediaries, a place of man’s work with God’s gifts, a place where man administers God’s things. And it is full of prevarication. The LORD wants to restore the anointing of the Holy of Holies where the true presence of God is revealed.

This last week of Daniel is very controversial among theologians. Most evangelical scholars say that the chronogram was interrupted with Jesus’ death, and there will be another three-and-a-half year period in the future when the rest of the events will occur at the end of the Church Age. Some say the entire seven years will be repeated. I am not saying anything regarding this. It may or may not be.

The other interpretation many Protestants and some Catholics have is that those seventy weeks of Daniel kept going. They say that after the Lord Jesus’ death, the next three-and-a-half years were when the Jews definitely disqualified themselves. They think the seventy weeks ended with Stephen’s death, and this is when God sent the Holy Spirit to Cornelius’s household.

These are historic facts, but Paul said only the unbelieving branches were cut off the good olive tree (which represented what God was doing with the Jews), so the wild olives of the Gentiles could be inserted into the same olive tree of which Christ is the root and the substance. Paul prophesied that the time would come when God would restore the Jewish nation with a true restoration. (See Romans Chapters 9-11)

RESTORATION OF ISRAEL

As far as the natural, we have seen a restoration of Israel as a nation and the Hebrew language. Presently, it is not restored in the fullness of the life of Christ, but it is interesting that the Six Day War happened in 1967 which appears to be a key year in Daniel’s prophecies. This is the year where all the lines of prophecy converge. The message of the Feast of Tabernacles among God’s spiritual people also began to intensify from 1967.

Israel has its natural tabernacle again in Jerusalem. They are celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles again, even without full spiritual understanding. And Paul says if the rejection of the Jews to the plans and purposes of God opened the door so the Gospel and salvation would reach the Gentiles, how much more will it be when they accept and receive their true Messiah? He sums it all in one phrase saying: life from the dead. (See Romans 11:15) In other words, the resurrection (which is the key to Tabernacles) is in the life of Christ, not in Adam’s life.

…and because of the many abominations, desolation shall come,

This happens when man, in his natural inheritance from Adam tries to administer what is God’s. And we are seeing desolation everywhere. We see this horrible desolation and terrible disgrace in Eastern Colombia with many abandoned church buildings in ghost towns. But this is how many churches are everywhere and they do not realize it because God left them a long time ago; His presence is no longer there, but they keep functioning through their own efforts.

God says this will continue until complete destruction shall be poured out upon the abominable people. Salvation is not in our life; salvation is found in His life. Our life only produces abominations before God. The first grave abomination in human history was when Cain killed his brother because he wanted to justify the work of his own hands. The Bible even says that no one will ever be justified by keeping the law. The only way to be justified is by the shedding of blood. We have to be willing to leave our life, to place it in God’s hands so that He is able to do what He wants with us and so that the life of Christ flows with us and in us. Abel symbolically did this, and God accepted the symbolic lamb, but it literally cost Abel his own life at the hands of his brother.

Those of us who have wanted to follow Jesus have been exposed to our “brethren” who want to take our life because they want to be justified by their own works. They will attack those who are justified only by the life of the Lord Jesus.

The Lord made the sacrifice and the oblation (or present) to cease because now everything is complete in Him. He started the work and will finish it, but He keeps inviting us in case we want to enter into His masterpiece. He continues being God Creator, and He wants to continue His creation in and through us. He plans on doing this until there are new heavens and a new earth.

LET’S PRAY:

LORD, we give you thanks for this clear picture and for giving Daniel a precise response. We ask, LORD, that we will be able to have the same attitude that Daniel had in order to be able to receive the touch of someone sent from Your throne, to call us to participate in the anointing of the Holy of Holies, the place of Your presence. Amen.

CHAPTER TEN

The Time of Fulfillment

In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia the Word was revealed unto Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar; and the Word was true, but the time appointed was long: and he understood the word, and had intelligence in the vision. Daniel 10:1

DANIEL CHAPTER 10

God called Cyrus his “Messiah” in a prophecy in the book of Isaiah because an anointing came upon Cyrus that enabled him to fulfill God’s will. Both Cyrus and Darius worked in rebuilding the temple. This tells us there will come a point (prophesied in the book of Daniel) when a time limit is established, and whosoever perseveres to the end, will enter into God’s full blessing once again.

The Jews waited with patience for their time in captivity to be fulfilled and later entered into a blessing. This is only a small example and a shadow of the real blessing that is about to begin.

When the “Word” was being revealed to Daniel, in Jerusalem they were beginning to rebuild the wall and return the vessels of the temple. The book of Revelation is the revelation of Jesus Christ. Many people have tried to guess the future with it. Revelation does deal with the future, but the future is only worthwhile when it is in Him. The person who does not find Him does not have a future. The real time-line is the Lord Himself.

David received the building plans for the temple by contemplating the beauty of the LORD. This was God’s intention so He could reveal His Glory in a way we could understand. It is an example and a shadow of the true temple that was and is our Lord Jesus Christ. Now He wants to incorporate us as living stones into a much bigger temple. This is where we are headed.

A veil hung between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies because fallen man is always excluded from God’s presence. The Bible says that the veil is in the heart of the natural man affirming that the Jews had a veil over their hearts so when they read Moses, they could not perceive God’s glory. (See 2 Corinthians 3:15)

Many have done the same in the Christian church throughout centuries and continue with that veil. How long will they continue to be blinded to the truth?

The only way to enter into reason is how King Nebuchadnezzar did when he realized he was crazy and looked up to heaven. This pleased the LORD and He decided to make him sane again. Nebuchadnezzar was a lot more humble after this, but his son did not learn from him and lost the kingdom. This is how God has dealt with many people through centuries, and few have been able to learn these lessons from their ancestors. This is why the governments that we have now are not even a shadow of what they were before: everything accomplished by man is going to come down and God is going to do this “without hands.” God is going to intervene directly and that stone is going to hit the statue at its feet and all the glory and the trajectory of these kingdoms (including our present democracies) are going to vanish like ash or dust with the wind.

2 In those days I, Daniel, was mourning three weeks of days.

The previous prophecy was of seventy weeks of years; this one talks of three weeks of days. Their custom was to calculate time in this manner.

3 I ate no pleasant bread, neither did flesh nor wine come into my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all until the three weeks of days were fulfilled.

4 And in the twenty-fourth day of the first month as I was by the side of the great river, which is Hiddekel;

Hiddekel means “arrow,” and it’s the same word for Tigris in another language. This great river flows through Iraq to the north of Babylon. This is one of the four rivers that flowed from the Garden of Eden that was placed by God.

On the sacred calendar, the New Year began with the first month of that calendar, and we are talking about the month of October. This is also the seventh month of the agricultural calendar and begins with a new moon and the Feast of Trumpets. In Babylon, as well as in our calendar, the months can begin any day. In God’s calendar, the first month of the sacred calendar MUST begin on the new moon.

The Feast of Trumpets was such that whoever did not afflict their soul in anticipation of the advent of the Day of Reconciliation (Yom Kippur) would be cut off from the people of God. (Leviticus 23:27-28) The Feast of Tabernacles began later on the 15th day of the month and ended on the 21st day.

DANIEL’S GLORIOUS VISION

What was Daniel doing? He was doing the opposite of what many people who only know the Feast of Pentecost do. These people do not know how to drink the water or how to eat, but take all of God’s gifts and provision for themselves. They have no clue of the danger they are in because when God decides to do away with the veil that is between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies (in the true spiritual temple which is His people) those who are not clean will not survive. It would be better to be outside with those of the law and the Gentiles. Those who say they are baptized by the Spirit and are part of this kingdom of priests that God has prepared from the beginning are in danger now. They have God’s sacred things and have been using them their own way and seeking their own benefit.

Daniel was not doing this. God needs a people like Daniel today. We have come into the Feast of Trumpets, and the Day of Reconciliation is not far off. God is about to take the veil away and enter a people into direct, face-to-face communication with Himself. (See Revelation 6:14, 11:19)

5 and lifting up my eyes, I saw, and behold a man clothed in linens, whose loins were girded with very pure gold:

In Revelation, the true bride of Christ (God’s true people) is dressed in fine linen, which are the good and righteous works that only God can do in and through us. The loins are the most important part because it is indispensable that our shame is covered.

In this case, the loins are not covered with leather which is the mark of the prophet (the blood covenant); they are not covered with underwear made of the priest’s fine linen (that symbolizes Pentecost). His underwear is made of pure gold, and gold symbolizes God’s nature.

From where did Adam and Eve fall? Why did they need leather girdles to cover their problem? They had lost the true covering. It was God’s nature that was covering them before. (See Genesis 3:21) This man that Daniel saw was covered with God’s nature. He was sent from the presence of the throne of God, and this is what God wants for this people of Daniel today.

6 his body was like the stone of Tarsis turquoise,

(Tarsis is a transparent stone that shines with a penetrating yellow light)

...and his face as a bolt of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to brilliant brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of an army.

This is how God desires to have the body of Christ with the Lord Jesus at the head.

...and his face as a bolt of lightning…

Remember that the Word was revealed to Daniel. When the Lord Jesus came, He was the Word in flesh, blood and bones. Now the revelation of this glorified Word is going to come in a body with many members.

What does God want? He wants a clean people. He wants to take a remnant from Pentecost, from this whole church system, and enter them into Tabernacles, into God’s true presence. He wants to take a remnant out of an extremely corrupt environment, where they groan and cry out because of all the prevarication and corruption they see (and God seals them because they cried out). The ones who are sealed are candidates to enter into the presence of God, the only true security that we have in the new day that is coming. (See Ezekiel 9:4, Revelation 7:3)

I prefer not to fight about the doctrines of the rapture and the end times, or about the three-and-a-half years, among other things, because these issues create many differing theories. God will develop all these things the way He wants to. But I dare say this: what is coming will be terrible for the person who does not have God’s presence inside of them. It is going to be great for those who are found with God’s presence. This is what Scripture refers to when it says that the Day of the LORD is great and terrible. (Malachi 4:5)

...and his face as a bolt of lightning (This picture is also in Revelation 10) and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to brilliant brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of an army.

He is the LORD of many armies (or of the hosts) but there is a special army that will receive the kingdom and the inheritance, which is Himself.

The apostle John, Daniel (a man with no record of wrongs according to Scripture), and Saul on his way to Damascus (who later became Paul) all had the same thing happen to them when they saw this person, which is the revelation of the Lord Jesus united with His true body.

7 And only I, Daniel, saw that vision: for the men that were with me did not see the vision; but a great fear fell upon them, and they fled and hid themselves.

What does Scripture say will happen in that day when the sixth seal is opened? It says every person of the earth, great and small, will run and hide. (See Revelation Chapter 6) The Bible also describes a Daniel, a Paul, a John, a Joseph, and an Elisha, who are all figures and examples of the true body of Christ, united with the head. This is the same picture that is found in Revelation Chapters 1 and 10. Scripture says of that day, Rejoice ye heavens and those that dwell therein ... For those who dwell in the presence of God, it will be a great day to be alive.

8 Therefore I was left alone and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me, for my strength was turned into dismay, and I retained no strength.

It says further on in the book of Daniel that God cannot begin to fulfill his final purpose until the strength of the holy people is scattered. It is not by our strength, not by our arm; it is when we learn that God can truly work in our lives. The Feast of Pentecost is about the gifts of God and the baptism of the Holy Spirit., but God does not stop us from adding what we think is good. The first feast (of Passover) is where God tells us what is wrong and imposes the law. In the second feast, He gives us of His Spirit, but it is not yet clear what is right. So we start trying everything out that seems good in our own eyes. Like the Apostles who fished all night and caught nothing, we try to discern what is good. However, unless we find God’s true presence, this is impossible.

The only way to be productive in Passover and Pentecost is when we have been sent directly from the throne of God. This is only possible if we have entered into the presence of God, and God’s presence has overthrown us and taken away our strength.

This happened with Saul who was then converted into Paul. It happened with many heroes of the faith. Abraham had to come to this moment. Job passed from a realm of only hearing to a realm where he could see God’s glory. The same happened with Isaiah, John and the rest of the Apostles.

If we do not pass into God’s presence, we cannot enter the kingdom and the inheritance that God has for His sons. But this is a realm where entrance is not obligatory, or out of fear or earned by our own merits.

We can enter into Passover or Pentecost if we accept the plan of God (and Jesus Christ is the plan of God). But the only way to enter into Tabernacles is to be conformed to the plan of God. This requires our disposition, but if the Lord does not work and enter us in, we cannot come in.

9 Yet I heard the voice of his words, and when I heard the voice of his words, then was I placed into a deep sleep on my face, and my face was toward the ground.

Yet again, before the presence of the Lord, his face fell toward the ground; he did not fall over backwards as in many places today. Some people in Scripture fell backward before the Lord’s presence. In Isaiah Chapter 28, the drunkards of Ephraim fell backward.

Judas went to the garden of Gethsemane with the mob to imprison the Lord Jesus. Jesus asked, “Who are you looking for?”

They responded, “Jesus of Nazareth.”

The Lord said, “I Am,” and they all fell backwards.

Many people believe it is a big deal to fall backwards. This happens with rebellious people before the presence of God, and it may have happened to many of us. But in the Scriptures, every single time the presence of God encounters a clean person, they fall on their faces, on their knees.

A TOUCH OF GOD

10 And, behold, a hand touched me and caused me to move upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands.

A touch of God was necessary even to kneel before the true presence of the Lord.

11 And he said unto me, Daniel, O man greatly beloved, pay attention to the words that I shall speak unto thee, and stand up upon thy feet: for I am sent now unto thee. And as he was speaking this with me, I was trembling.

Daniel needed at touch from the Lord to kneel or crawl on all fours like an animal before the Lord’s presence. A special word was required to stand before the Lord like a man. In the process of corruption, man lost his humanity and became like a beast.

The representations God gave of man’s sublime governments were horrible, fierce beasts, of which the last is outside the nature we know. It is a beast mixed with iron and bronze, transformed into a destroying machine, to destroy and trample whatever was left.

This is the picture that God has of our present democracies where they judge and step on anything that’s left. Nothing is ever left over; there are always deficiencies in man’s governmental system.

At least thousands of years ago Babylon was represented as the statue’s head of gold. There was treasure, reserves, provision and abundance, but most people were the king’s slaves. However, he cared for them because they were his.

Notice the misery today. Even at the cathedrals, there are people in terrible condition, sitting outside the doors as in Jerusalem many years ago. These people have lost a feeling of belonging. You defend yourself at all costs in a very cruel world.

12 And he said unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst give thy heart to understand and to afflict thy soul before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come because of thy words.

FEAST OF TRUMPETS

From the first day. When was the first day? It was in the Feast of Trumpets. What is the message of the Feast of Trumpets? The message is that whoever does not afflict their soul, desist from their own life, or refuses to enter into the true fast as prescribed by God in Isaiah Chapter 58 cannot be delivered when the Day of Reconciliation comes; which is the moment of entering into God’s presence because we cannot be straightened out in our own life.

There is no reconciliation in our life. Leviticus 23:29-30: For every person that shall not afflict themselves in that same day …the same person will I destroy from among his people. Reconciliation is in His life. (See Leviticus 23:23-32) Daniel understood this and from the first day, from the Feast of Trumpets, God sent the reply.

There is a spiritual war mixed in with natural things, because for God, there is no veil. We cannot see the spiritual part because of the veil (See Hebrews 10:20), but that veil does not cover the Lord’s eyes.

From the first day, God had sent the response, but the response came at the end of the Feast of Tabernacles. God is saying: a revelation of the Word is coming which is a revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The picture in Daniel is the same as the picture in Revelation Chapter 10, the prophet Isaiah and all the other prophets. It is the picture of a people of which Isaiah says Behold, I and the children whom the LORD has given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the LORD of the hosts, who dwells in Zion. (Isaiah 8:18)

Those who show off with their gifts saying, Lord, Lord, in Your name we did many wonderful works, run the risk of the Lord telling them, I never knew you; depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Why? Because they had God given gifts and were using them for their own benefit. It is not that the Lord didn’t know who they were; it is that God does not recognize them as His sons, capable of receiving the kingdom as an inheritance.

...for from the first day that thou didst give thy heart to understand and to afflict thy soul before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come because of thy words.

God is willing to send a response to some of us when we have responded to the message of the Feast of Trumpets in the same manner that Daniel did. As Daniel desisted from his own life, so we need to be reconciled to the Lord’s life.

13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days: and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.

All this has a celestial side and a natural counterpart. Here on earth, according to Scripture, God sent strength to Darius (who replaced the king of the Chaldeans of Babylon) because there was a prince of the kingdom of Persia who opposed them, and they were delayed twenty-one days. But it was all in the plan of God because the fullness of the revelation of the Word of the Lord Jesus, as He is, comes at the end of the Feast of Tabernacles.

In historical terms, the Passover (the Jews under Law) lasted fifteen hundred years; Pentecost (the Church under Grace) has lasted two thousand years. Tabernacles lasts one thousand years. Scripture also says that for God one thousand years is as a day, (The Day of the LORD).

14 Now I am come to make thee know what shall befall thy people in the latter days, for there shall still be vision for several days.

God decreed seven thousand years of history upon the human race, until there are new heavens and a new earth. He also decreed that after six thousand years of history, there would be the great and terrible Day of the LORD, in which the stone cut without hands will crash into all of man’s systems and kingdoms, ending them and magnifying the LORD.

This is a hit that will be made within a time frame in which the LORD will gather all those who have been faithful during the six thousand years of all this abomination done in the times of men and resurrect them to reign with Christ in the Day of the Lord (see Rev. Chapter 20). But the greatest test is coming.

It is one thing to be faithful in adversity but quite another thing to be faithful in prosperity. If we place a person who has residues of self in a position of authority in a farm, a business or a radio station, in time that person may magnify himself or herself. This happens with kings and presidents. Some people have been faithful to the LORD in a kidnapping, in jail, or other types of persecution, but they go to America, the land of prosperity, and many have not been able to deal with that prosperity.

Prosperity is being able to water and fertilize all the seeds in a garden in such a way that the bad and the good are both stimulated. These thousand years, even with the first resurrection, are going to be very interesting. This is why the Devil will be set free for a short while at the end of the thousand years to see who wants to pursue the things of this world and magnify themselves, because only righteousness will dwell in the new heavens and new earth.

Scripture says that even the heavens that we have now are not clean in His eyes. It says that there is a tremendous war in the heavens and that the things on this earth affect the war in the heavens. (See Matthew 18:18)

GABRIEL AND MICHAEL

Daniel afflicted his soul when he responded to the message of the Feast of Trumpets. This produced an answer from heaven via the most sublime creatures of the heavenly hosts. Gabriel came, but could not do it alone, so Michael helped him.

There are only three archangels mentioned in the Bible: Gabriel, Michael and Lucifer (who fell). We need to understand this picture clearly. When Daniel afflicted his soul and gave his heart to understand, all of God’s forces of heaven were mobilized in his favor! The opposition was so strong it took twenty-one days for this heavenly mission to be fulfilled on earth.

This is only the picture, the example, the shadow for us, as we are entering into the reality of all this. If clean people like Daniel are in favor, the corrupt are against it. Michael (one of the main princes, whose name means “who is like God”) is proof that God has princes who are like Him, representing Him as He is. When Gabriel came, it was the picture of the vision of who the LORD is. Notice its effect on Daniel. The LORD wants a people like this.

14 Now I am come to make thee know what shall befall thy people in the latter days, for there shall still be vision for several days.

Which are the latter days? When Daniel was involved, approximately three-and-a-half prophetic one thousand year days had passed since creation, and the latter days were the three-and-a-half remaining days to complete the seven days of the prophetic week. In Daniel 12 these are described as a “time, times and a half.”

The translation leaves something to be desired when it says “and a half a time” because in the original, it can also mean “the division of time.” This means that first the remaining “time” of the Jews still needed to end, followed by the “times” of the Gentiles, and now, the Day of the LORD is going to mark the division of time forever.

15 And as he was speaking such words unto me, I looked toward the ground and became dumb.

Daniel, one of the wisest human beings of all time, with the ability from God to interpret visions and many other things, did not say, “Oh, so the flaming eyes mean this, and these other things mean that…” No, he became dumb!

16 And, behold, one like the similitude of the son of man touched my lips; then I opened my mouth and spoke and said unto him that stood before me, O my Lord, by the vision my sorrows are turned upon me, and I have retained no strength.

Something similar had happened to Daniel in various occasions. When king Nebuchadnezzar saw Daniel, he said that he was like God. When the three boys were in the fire, the king saw someone there with them who was representing the Lord. In a determined realm, Daniel had represented the Lord like this, but on this side of the veil.

Remember, the Ark of the Covenant was on the other side of the veil, and it had certain things in it, and this was from where God spoke. The seat of reconciliation was upon the Ark of the Covenant. (This was incorrectly translated as the “mercy” seat because it has nothing to do with mercy.) It is the seat of reconciliation, and it is mercy for a person like Daniel, but it is total destruction for a person who is not clean. All this is under the wings of the two cherubim.

There are two remaining cherubim identified with names: Gabriel and Michael. In the Old Testament, when someone saw these two cherubim they would say, “Woe is me! I saw the angel of the LORD, and I am going to die!” Whenever this happened to someone, they had to be touched and lifted up; it was necessary to give them a word so they could get back on their feet. This is how serious the impact was.

17 For how can the servant of my Lord talk with my Lord? for as for me, for in that instant I had no more strength in me, neither was there any breath left in me.

At this moment, Daniel did not know if he was going to live. Many believe the rapture is going to be a soft thing that is going to get carnal Christians out of here and deliver them smoothly to the presence of the LORD. What happened to Daniel will happen to those of us who do “well” in this rapture...

18 then there came again and touched me one like the appearance of a man, and he comforted me,

19 and said, O man greatly beloved,

This is the third time the term “greatly beloved” is used in the book of Daniel. Daniel was dedicated to loving God, and he chose to do God’s will. Daniel was an example of what the Lord Jesus did, and what we will do if we enter by the true way.

PEACE

O man greatly beloved, fear not: peace be unto thee,

In God’s kingdom, peace comes when God gives the order. It is not negotiable. We cannot come as rebels and give a little so God will give a little and come to a supposed reconciliation; this is false peace. True peace is when the Lord gives the order. My peace I give, Peace be unto thee, and if He does not give the peace, there is no peace, because His presence imposes peace. When a Cherubim arrives, it is the perfect representation of God from the other side of the veil, from the realm of the Spirit that we cannot perceive with our natural eyes.

...peace be unto thee, be of good cheer, and be well.

Be well, because he was dying.

And as he spoke unto me, I was strengthened and said, Let my Lord speak; for thou hast strengthened me.

Before, Daniel did not have the strength to receive the Word. This is a Word we cannot receive in our own life; there must be something completely different.

20 Then said he, Knowest thou why I have come unto thee? Because now I must return to fight with the prince of the Persians; and when I am gone forth, next the prince of Grecia shall come.

21 But I will interpret unto thee that which is written in the scripture of truth: and there is no one that holds with me in these things, but Michael your prince.

It appears as if Michael has special jurisdiction over the people of God.

DANIEL CHAPTER 11

1 And in the first year of Darius the Mede, I stood to encourage and to strengthen him.

Gabriel was fighting a Persian prince, but at the same time, he was there to strengthen Darius (who had replaced the kingdom of Babylon) that he might give the order to move the people of God out of Babylon and give them back their true inheritance. Darius is another picture of the body of Christ.

For a long time now, many of God’s people have been in slavery again, and God has used it to form our character, just as He did for Israel during four hundred years of slavery in Egypt. But the time came to leave Egypt. Such a time has come now for us to come out from under men and man’s governments, even out from under men who appear to have been called of God if they have imposed their own government. Even King Saul started with a calling from God, but his pride pulled him down.

God has a group prepared in the “desert”: like Daniel and his three friends, like David and his four hundred or six hundred, like Gideon and his three hundred, and like the seven thousand of Elijah and Elisha who did not bow before Baal. God has people like Ezekiel’s men who cried out when they saw the abomination in the temple. God sealed and marked them and took them out of there. He hid them in the mountain, and He is that mountain because the stone that destroys the image grows and becomes a mountain that fills the whole earth. So there is no more room in the church for anything else but Him.

KINGDOMS OF THE NORTH AND SOUTH

2 And now will I show thee the truth. Behold, there shall yet be three kings in Persia, and the fourth shall obtain far greater riches than they all; and by his strengthening himself with his riches he shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia.

3 And a valiant king shall stand up, that shall rule over a great dominion and do according to his will.

Enter Alexander the Great. This chapter appears to be an historical recount, except it begins to bring us into realms that are very difficult to coincide with human history by dividing it into two kingdoms, “the king of the north and the king of the south.”

In the original version it is translated, “the king of the north and the king of the ’noonday’ (mediodía in old Spanish).” The noonday represents everything that is sublime, everything that the system of this world is and has been. It is when the sun of this world is at noonday in all its beauty, offering us all its things.

Many kingdoms and governments have had their noonday. The United States of America is now in its noonday under the sun of this world. Never in the history of the world has there been prosperity like this.

A king of the north came and attacked. The king of the north and the king of the south proposed a marriage and gave a daughter in alliance, but it did not work out. Why? Why has this conflict lasted from the time of Daniel until now? History majors, whether they study church, political or economic history, know there have always been conflicts; students memorize the dates of all the battles and revolutions.

Jesus summarized it by saying that a divided kingdom cannot last. (Mark 3:23-26; Luke 11:17) The Devil, who is the prince of this world, has never united the world. We continue to have the kingdom of the north and the kingdom of the south – some seek the things and pleasures of this world, and others discipline themselves in tremendous austerity. These two tendencies always clash.

As we see the pictures of these clashes, it resembles what happened with Greece, Persia, the Muslims, the Crusades, the church, etc. We can clearly identify some points.

8 and even their gods, with their princes, with their precious vessels of silver and of gold, shall be taken captive in Egypt;

Egypt is a symbol of the law, and confusion reigns when people make laws they cannot fulfill.

9 Thus shall the king of the south enter into the kingdom and return to his own land.

10 But the sons of that one shall be stirred up and shall assemble a multitude of great armies and shall come in great haste, and overflow and pass through and turn and come with wrath unto his fortress.

This sums up human history.

13 And the king of the north shall put another multitude greater than the former…

Every single time the people thought they had the kingdom, and they would prosper, a tremendous king came from the north and devastated the land. Even in the United States of America with its immense prosperity, Bin Laden came and with three airplanes destroyed the Twin Towers and smashed into the Pentagon. Who would have thought?

The United States has little left from God because the Devil is dominating almost every part of it. These terrorists are inspired by the Devil, but they think it is God. Many Americans believe God is on their side. We see the difference from our history books when we look from God’s perspective. Everything is found here:

20 Then shall succeed in his throne a taker of taxes who shall be the Glory of the Kingdom, but within few days he shall be broken, neither in anger, nor in battle.

21 And a vile person shall succeed in his place, to whom they shall not give the honour of the Kingdom: nevertheless he shall come in with peace and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.

22 And with the arms they shall be overflown of a flood before him and shall be broken; yea, also the prince of the covenant.

The Lord Jesus died in the midst of the intrigues of these human governments when King Herod was overthrown, and the Romans took over. In front of the empires of this world, the moment in which the prince of the covenant is broken happens almost without anyone noticing. This produced greater consequences and a delayed effect.

From this point on, the death sentence for the prince of this world began. Two or three witnesses in heaven will sit in judgment to sentence him forever; this is where we all come in. Verse 31 is the next reference point where we can approximate a time:

31 And arms shall be placed on his behalf, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that makes desolate.

This literally happened to the Jews in AD 70, and again in AD 678 in the church. Historically speaking, we know the abomination that makes desolate is when man thinks he is God. The daily sacrifice is the sacrifice that the Lord Jesus did; it is sufficient for us if we dwell in Him.

But a corrupt system arose where the Lord’s sacrifice is not enough. We were told to add our own works to Christ’s sacrifice, giving rise to indulgences and other requirements. At this time, the world entered into a long period historically named the Dark Ages.

Daniel 12:11 And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away until the abomination of desolation, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.

Pope Agatho seems to have been the first to say that he was the Vicar of Christ on the earth. If we count 1290 years from the year AD 678 when the Pope declared himself infallible, we come precisely to the Six Day War in June of 1967. Many things happened that coincide with the Six Day War: the Holy Place, the place and the realm of the priesthood of all believers, was completely contaminated and dominated by false spirits and the true remnant was left outside the camp or in the process of leaving. A new message was birthed outside of the camp with anointing from the Holy of Holies. It was not common to hear messages with the anointing of Tabernacles before the Six Day War; only the anointing of Passover or Pentecost. So we have a point of reference in Daniel Chapter 11 from verse 20 to 22 where it is referring more or less to the Lord Jesus’ first coming. In verse 31, it is referring to Pope Agatho, AD 678 and successors who have been “desolate” of the true presence of God.

It looks like our present age (2000 years of Grace) began when the Lord Jesus entered the second stage of his life, where he presented himself in the temple at the age of twelve to voluntarily submit to the imperfect authority that God had placed in his life: Joseph and Mary. These next eighteen years were a symbol of the age of the church. The number eighteen goes hand in hand with “lilies” and every other symbol of Pentecost. If this began here, then Pope Agatho did what he did exactly in the year 666 of the age of the church and this is also prophesied in Revelation.

In Revelation 11:2, it is not the outer court that gets trampled, as is wrong in most translations it is the inner court, the Holy Place, which is “tread under foot forty-two months.” Forty-two months are the same as 1290 days, depending on how the months are counted.

But leave out the court which is within the temple and measure it not, for it is given unto the Gentiles, and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty-two months.

GOD’S RESTORATION

God is restoring something, but He is not restoring Pentecost. He is returning to the true dimensions. (See Ezekiel Chapters 40-47) We must understand the Tabernacle of David had no furniture, only the ark; in other words it did not have man’s ministries. This is where David would come and contemplate the beauty of the LORD in preparation for building the true temple (of which, the plans for Solomon’s Temple were just a shadow).

This is what God is offering to each one of us. You cannot enter in by simply reading a message from Russell Stendal. These messages are of limited use, like jump-starting your car that has a dead battery. If you do not fix the alternator, if your car does not generate its own energy, if you do not have direct contact with God, and if God is not in contact with you, you will not enter in.

We cannot grab hold of the Lord as in Passover or Pentecost. Our security is when the Lord Himself takes hold of us. This happened to Daniel. The Lord came; the Lord touched him, spoke to him, and brought him up from being on his face like a dead man, from being on four feet like an animal and had him stand on his feet like a man. The revelation of Gabriel and Michael almost killed Daniel; then the Lord spoke to him.

Can you imagine what the revelation of the Lord Jesus in all His glory is like? Can you imagine what God wants to do with us? He wants a transformation.

We have examples of this in nature, like the worm that eats around and suddenly ends up trapped in a cocoon until it comes forth as a beautiful, colorful butterfly flying high above the other worms. If we did not know the story, we would compare the butterfly with the worm and say, “no, it’s not the same creature.” This is the metamorphous that God wants to do in us. It goes beyond what we can imagine.

1 Corinthians 2:9 But as it is written, That which eye has not seen nor ear heard neither has entered into the heart of man is that which God has prepared for those that love him.

It cannot enter into the heart of man; it can only enter God’s heart and flow from His heart. God wants to place His heart in us.

32 And with flatteries he shall cause to sin those that violate the covenant, but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.

There are people who know their God, and there has been even during the darkest days of history.

33 And the wise among the people shall give wisdom to many, yet they shall fall by the sword, and by fire, by captivity, and by spoil, for some days.

For two prophetic days ... some are still falling; the number of those who have been “beheaded” to be under the headship of the Lord of Lord’s and King of Kings is being fulfilled.

34 And in their fall, they shall be helped with a little help,

We’ve received a little help during this time, but only enough to live each day. Hebrews Chapter 11 describes this. The prayers of God’s people under tremendous tribulation in these past few “days” have been stored up in heaven. Revelation Chapters 13, 14, and 15 describe how these cups filled with the wrath of God will be poured out in a moment upon the world system.

…but many shall cleave to them with flatteries.

35 And some of the wise shall fall to be purged and cleaned and made white, even to the time of the end because even for this there is time appointed.

Many people have gone through difficult experiences because of their faith in the Lord and have come through purged and made white. For this purpose, God has allowed the injustices today. It is necessary for these things to happen, but woe unto those who cause them! (See Matthew 18:7, Luke 17:1)

36 And the king shall do according to his will,

Which king? In our ego, we all feel like kings, and the pride of the natural man will continue full steam ahead.

...and he shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every god and shall speak marvels against the God of gods and shall prosper until the indignation is accomplished, for the determination has been made.

This speaks of the systems of this world that are like beasts. In the book of Daniel, there are four beasts and seven heads; and in Revelation, there is one beast with seven heads. At the same time, Scripture says the four winds of God are waging a war against the great sea, and the beasts come out of the sea.

God is looking for those who submit themselves to His dealings and let Him correct them. The LORD wants to come in and kill the beast that is inside us. He wants to put an end to the false prophet who deceives us as an angel of light. Above all else, the LORD wants to displace the spirit of antichrist that wants to dwell in us instead of God’s Spirit. We are to be the temple of God.

I am not saying that there may not be clearer and more personified manifestations of this and that in the time of the end there may not be literal times to count the days as they are and so on. I am not denying that all this could happen, but the most important thing is that we understand that this battle must be won in us. (It seems that a literal fulfillment of these days has already happened twice in history to the Jews; once in AD 70 with the destruction of Jerusalem and also with the Holocaust caused by Hitler in the early 1940s.)

37 Neither shall he care for the God of his fathers, nor the love of women, nor care for any god, for he shall magnify himself above all.

So now we have celibacy among other things.

38 But in his place shall he honour the god of fortresses, {Ala Mahozim} a god whom his fathers did not know; he shall honour it with gold and silver and precious stones and with things of great price.

These fortresses (called temples, churches, cathedrals or even mosques) have been built everywhere even though we are the true temple. The people spend most of their resources in building these fortresses. Evangelical people are not exempt from this. They can be more fanatical about constructing their buildings and making their own fortress than anyone else.

39 And with the people of the strange god that he shall know, he shall make strong fortresses, increase their glory; and cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain.

Becoming territorial, they organize clergy meetings and send missionaries. Some say politics is their area, etc. They divide the land for gain (the land is the people of God), not to mention the actual boundaries of their parishes and dioceses.

40 But at the end of the time the king of the south shall lock horns with him, and the king of the north shall raise up a storm against him with chariots and with horsemen and with many ships, and he shall enter into the lands and shall overflow and pass over.

The United States and possibly Europe are now the king (or kingdom) of the south, even though they are not in total agreement economically. The king of the north is working hard and with much austerity. Sometimes he is mobilizing in the jungles or in other countries. China is gaining terrible strength, and this is all heading for a tremendous collision.

41 He shall come to the glorious land, and many provinces shall fall,

We could say that many churches will fall. Every single church will fall, except for the true church. There will be a natural picture of this that is going to take place in natural Israel. But the fundamental true part of Israel is the spiritual side because a true Israelite is someone who has a circumcised heart. (Romans 2:29) God wants there to be many true Israelites in natural Israel, but many true Israelites are also scattered throughout churches in the whole world. I think there are even more scattered outside of any of these fortress structures.

There will be a collision, and woe to the lukewarm! Some who have enough of God for the enemy to target them, but got a little cold, are in a middle stage. They represent a threat to the world system, but they do not count on God’s full protection or the anointing of Tabernacles. So they will be in great danger.

41 He shall come to the glorious land, and many provinces shall fall, but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom and Moab and the first of the sons of Ammon.

This is a tremendous enigma because these are the nations that caused Israel the most trouble. These nations also have remote family ties with the people of Israel. They had their own covenants, and God passed them through the destruction prophesied in the Old Testament.

The same thing happened to the nation of Israel. God said that if those who are supposed to enter in do not, if the first invited guests of the feast do not enter, He will look for other guests. (See Matthew Chapter 22)

It is true that Scripture says that God loved Jacob and hated Esau (who was the founder of Edom), but this is also a picture for us. The first time we are born, God hates the “old man” in us, but He loves us as true sons when we are born a second time.

But God is not prohibiting Edom, Moab or Ammon to go to the feast. If the people of “Israel” do not want to go in first, God will let anyone in who meets His conditions. The only thing you have to do in the feast is to wear the clothes (wedding garment) that He designates (come under His authority) and eat the food that He provides (feed on the pure, uncontaminated word of Tabernacles).

If God puts his covering on us, if He nourishes us, He will make us clean even if we are from Edom (the builders of their own kingdoms) or from Moab (who come from their own spiritual father). It will not matter if we’re from Ammon (who were the first to invent democracy). God can cause us to be born again in another nature if we renounce having our own kingdoms. We need to renounce our spiritual father and submit to God’s kingdom and authority. We need to renounce democracy and favor instead theocracy where God is the boss instead of a man or the people.

42 He shall stretch forth his hand to the lands, and the land of Egypt shall not escape.

43 And he shall take over the treasures of gold and of silver and of all the precious things of Egypt, of Libya, and Ethiopia where he passes.

This war that is coming is going to do away with many things, but there are other things that are going to remain firm because they are built in a realm where they cannot be taken. What happened with Edom, Moab and the sons of Ammon has happened to us: we have been in what we thought was the church, but it turned out to be another kingdom. We have been under someone we thought was the authority, but they turned out to be our own father and not our Heavenly Father. And we have been where we thought the covering was good, but it came from man’s democracy.

If we have volunteered to receive God’s judgment, we will not be hurt when judgment falls upon the rest of the earth. But whoever is still there, rejoicing in the laws that they themselves made, or soaking in this world’s noonday sun (as is typical of Egypt, Ethiopia, and Libya), will be swept away in the new day that is coming.

44 But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him; therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy and to kill many.

45 And he shall plant the tents of his palace between the seas, in the desirable mountain of the Sanctuary; and he shall come to his end, and shall have no one to help him.

This is where the stone cut without hands is going to crash into this world system. Revelation says all this will be reduced and collapse and our Lord’s true kingdom will rise in a visible way because right now it is only in our hearts and invisible to the natural man.

DANIEL CHAPTER 12

1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince who is for the sons of thy people, and it shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there were people until now, but in that time thy people shall escape, all those that are found written in the book.

This is the time of Jacob’s trouble. (See Genesis Chapter 32)

ENTERING IN

Are we written in the book? God says it is possible to be erased from the book. One theory is that we are born already written in God’s book, but those who do not qualify get erased.

I do not know, but what I do know is that it does not matter how rebellious a person is, it is possible for them to respond to the Feast that God is giving. God said everyone can come: the lame, the dumb, the maimed, even those who are good and those who are evil.

The only requirement is to receive His covering and eat His food. The only one who is cast out is the person without a wedding garment (and therefore did not want to be under God’s authority). Entering and partaking of God’s Feast is very easy, but people complicated it with their religious requirements. (See Matthew 22:1-14)

2 And many of those that sleep in the dust of the earth shall be awakened, some for eternal life, and some for shame and everlasting confusion.

“Those who sleep in the dust of the earth” could refer to the ones who are in Hades, but I believe this lines up perfectly with Matthew 25:1-13. The earth is a reference to the people of God. Adam was made from the dust of the earth.

Both the wise and the foolish virgins were asleep when the (trumpet) call went out announcing the arrival of the bridegroom. Five virgins entered into eternal life, but the other five found shame and everlasting confusion.

Many calling themselves God’s people today sleep in the dust of the earth in the sense that they are completely asleep and clueless as to God’s end time plan and purpose. It is high time to wake them up.

3 And those that understand shall shine as the brightness of the firmament;

Many people think it is important to understand Bible prophecy and the book of Daniel. God is giving us more clarity because now is the time to unlock things we could not understand before. But even if we could understand every single detail, this would not be the most important thing. The most important thing is that we are understood in heaven.

When Daniel gave his heart and afflicted his soul, he was heard that same day in heaven, and God sent the answer, which required the mobilization of all the heavenly hosts. This is worth it.

...and those that teach righteousness to the multitude as the stars in perpetual eternity.

Notice in the Scripture, eternity refers to quality; the word perpetual means ongoing forever. Whatever is eternal is forever because God is forever. His Life is eternal, not because it is forever, but because it is of a quality different from ours. Eternal life is not our corruptible life that lasts forever. Eternal life is God’s incorruptible life, to which we can enter, producing true righteousness (righteousness and justice are the same word in Hebrew).

God wants people who teach true righteousness as numerous as the stars in perpetual eternity. Abraham was to have two kinds of sons: some like the sand of the sea and others like the stars of heaven. (See Genesis 22:17; 26:4) Those who are like the sand of the sea will have problems in the great Day of the LORD. Some like the stars will be above the circumstances.

But there are some who are in-between, and that is why this tribulation is coming. They will need to commit to one side or the other; this is the picture of the woman who is persecuted by the dragon and flees to the desert. Many things happen in the desert until the dragon loses his wings, and the woman receives the wings of an eagle. (See Revelation Chapter 12)

The dragon (the Devil) loses his ability to be in the heavenly realm and is cast down to the earth. The woman (the true Church) wins the ability to be in the presence of God behind the veil where God’s cherubim dwell. The book of Daniel ends with Daniel receiving a revelation given directly from God. He was not able to understand most of this because it was not the time. It was sealed until the time, and that time is now, and we can receive it because it is about to be fulfilled.

SEAL THE BOOK, SHUT UP THE WORDS

4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end: many shall pass by, and knowledge shall be multiplied.

He told Daniel to seal the book until the time of the end. He said that when the prophecy is fulfilled (after the end of the years prophesied) Thou shall go to the end and shalt rest, and thou shalt raise up in thy lot (or in thine inheritance) at the end of the days. (Daniel 12:13)

Many years have passed, and knowledge has multiplied. We are at the time of the end of the age of man and the beginning of the great Day of the LORD. We are in a transition. I do not know if this transition will be unnoticed at first by the world’s historians, as has happened before in other crucial moments when God was going to do something very important.

When God was going to begin the Passover, He took the people of Israel out of Egypt. The Egyptians remained with their problems; but few noticed that God was doing something new with His people.

The Israelites wandered forty years in the desert until God caused them to enter into the Promised Land. Then God made the inhabitants of Jericho tremble.

God marked a time, which was not easily noticed by the historians and theologians. This was when Jesus entered the temple as a twelve-year-old boy. His parents went crazy looking for Him, but He was astounding the “wise” men. (See Luke 2:40-52) However, he went back with Mary and Joseph (who did not seem to understand what was taking place) and remained eighteen more years with them.

This has been happening in the church for the last two thousand years. It has been two thousand years with “Mary” and “Joseph” and depending on our attitude, it has either been good for us or not. Jesus increased in wisdom... and in grace with God and men. The LORD is looking for a people who are understood before God and before men.

5 Then I Daniel looked, and, behold, another two who stood, one on this side of the bank of the river, and the other on that side of the bank of the river.

Hiddekel is a river of God that means “arrow.” In Revelation 6:2, a white horse appears, and the one riding the horse had a bow and was ready to shoot. In Daniel 12:5 there is one on each side with the main thing happening in the middle of the river.

God wants to call us unto holiness, and He wants to “shoot” us with His truth. He wants to take us in His current, and God’s true river soon gathers depth so we cannot touch the bottom, and we lose control completely. God brought Daniel to this point. (See Ezekiel Chapter 47)

6 And one said to the Man clothed in linens, who was upon the waters of the river, When shall be the end of these wonders?

This is the end of the terrible fight God has against the natural man: The four winds of heaven against the sea, against the monsters and the beasts, and against the systems of this world. Some, who were our friends, are not our friends anymore.

David, who was part of the army of Israel, killed the giant, and soon everything was in his favor. But after the confusion with Saul, he found himself marching with the Philistines against Israel. What happened? (See 1 Samuel Chapters 28 and 29)

We have lived similar experiences because the things of God concern the heart. Our enemies are not so big, and some are not as bad as we thought they were. Some of our friends are not as good as we thought they were.

God brings out what is in the heart of each person. In David’s army of God that defeated many enemies, the mighty men of Gath appeared, those of the army of the Philistines who later walked with David to deliver Israel. Just read the list of David’s mighty men at the end of the Second Book of Samuel!

7 And I heard the Man clothed in linens, who was upon the waters of the river, who raised his right hand and his left hand unto heaven,

This is the same picture as Revelation 10.

...and swore by the Living one in the ages that [it] shall be for a time, times, and a half;

This does not mean three-and-a-half years because this is “the Living one in the ages that shall be for a time, times, and a half.” He is the same God that began Passover with the people of Israel, the same God who began the church in Pentecost for these times, and He is the same God who is going to have the Day of the LORD. He is going to divide time once and for all and at the end of the Day of the LORD (referred to as a thousand years in Revelation Chapter 20). There will be new heavens and a new earth. He is not just a Living God for three-and-a-half years: The Living One in the ages is Jesus Christ, and He continues.

...and when the scattering of the power of the holy people shall be finished, all these things shall be fulfilled.

Some people, including close friends, thought I was a heretic for my translation of this verse. They begged me to repent. At first you would not think that part of one verse would have such high implications, and if I wanted to avoid conflict, I would gladly change it.

Let’s read it again,

...and when the scattering of the power of the holy people shall be finished, all these things shall be fulfilled.

What is keeping these things from being fulfilled? God must take His “holy people” to the end of their own efforts. because as long as we insist on putting in our two cents into the things of God certain prophecies that have to be fulfilled cannot be fulfilled in and through us. That is why God has developed His plan the way it is: so that we desist. This is very difficult because each one of us seems to think that we know more than God. So this has to happen. There are a lot of seemingly good things that people do not want to desist from. They like their plans for spiritual warfare. They prefer to march to who knows where, pray for who knows what, and evangelize the world their way... – not to even mention the personal projects that each person has.

They might say, “I’m going to pay my tithe at a certain a place, and God will give me back one hundred percent of what I gave.” Often many of them were not even investing in God’s Kingdom; they were investing in an impostor’s kingdom. In order to invest in God’s Kingdom, we would need to tithe to the widow, the orphan, the “priest,” the “Levite,” and also the poor, the stranger and others. They do not read those verses in the Word. Scripture says that after three years, the tithe that was saved must be taken out and released to celebrate a great feast. (We must remember that the letter of the law kills, but the Spirit gives life.)

DEUT. 14:28, 29

28 At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year and shalt lay it up within thy gates.

29 And the Levite, who has no part nor inheritance with thee, and the stranger and the fatherless and the widow who are within thy gates, shall come and shall eat and be satisfied, that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thy hands which thou doest.

DEUT. 26:12, 13

12 When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thy fruits the third year, which is the year of tithing and hast given it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates and be filled;

13 then thou shalt say before the LORD thy God, I have brought the consecrated things out of my house and also have given them unto the Levite and unto the stranger to the fatherless and to the widow, according to all thy commandments which thou has commanded me; I have not transgressed thy commandments, neither have I forgotten them.

If you add up all the different types of tithes in the Old Testament, it amounted to much more than ten percent. God says those who are led by the Spirit always surpass the law, and those led by the Spirit are not under the law. But in the New Covenant, the right hand must not know what the left hand is doing. (See Matthew 6:3)

8 And I heard, but I did not understand; then I said, O my Lord, what is the fulfillment of these things?

Daniel heard well. God said the fulfillment could not come until the end of the scattering of the power of the holy people. This was terrible. They were expecting another king like David who would overtake the kingdoms of this world by force. Many in the Christian and Catholic Church believe they must control the systems of this world. But God is not after the White House or the Vatican or any other symbol of the power of this world. Those powers will all topple. God will do something different with a very different kingdom.

At the end of this book when Daniel asked God questions about some pretty amazing things, God told Daniel, These words are closed up and sealed until the time of the fulfillment. The context is in Daniel 12:6-9:

6 And one said to the Man clothed in linens, who was upon the waters of the river, When shall be the end of these wonders?

7 And I heard the Man clothed in linens, who was upon the waters of the river, who raised his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and swore by the Living one in the ages that it shall be for a time, times, and a half; and when the scattering of the power of the holy people shall be finished, all these things shall be fulfilled.

8 And I heard, but I did not understand; then I said, O my Lord, what is the fulfillment of these things?

9 And he said, Go thy way, Daniel, for these words are closed up and sealed until the time of the fulfillment.

TIME, TIMES AND DIVISION OF TIME

This man clothed in linens is no other than the Lord, because Daniel calls him “Lord.” At the end of Daniel’s life, the Lord Himself began to give him direct revelation, but He also told him there were some things that needed to remain sealed until the time of the fulfillment. When will this happen? It will be for a time, times, and a half. In Hebrew this literally means a “time,” “times,” and the “division of time.”

Most people believe the division of time began when Jesus was born because of the difference they see before and after this event. Thus, our history is divided into “before Christ (BC)” and “after Christ (AD).”

Although this is an important event that changed history forever, it is not the real division of time. A greater time is coming when a stone will hit the statue at its feet, and all man’s schemes will fade away. The Kingdom of God will enter with power. In that day, His Mountain will be the highest mountain; this will truly divide the times.

Prophetically, the word “time” refers to the number of days in the week in representation of the millenniums. Six days, or six thousand years, are prophesied in which man works, but after that comes the day of rest: the seventh day. This corresponds to the seventh millennium, or the Day of the LORD. This is a day when no man will be allowed to carry his own burden because everything will be the LORD’S.

Our Lord Jesus did most of his miracles on the Sabbath. Why did he choose this day? Why not some other day? Why did they get angry with him for this? How was it in the creation? Did God make man for the Sabbath or did He make the Sabbath for man? The Lord resolves all these questions by saying He is even more important than the Sabbath!

What was missing when Daniel heard this prophecy? The time of the law was yet to be fulfilled, and the times of the last days were to come after this. What are the last days? They are the three last days of the week of which the two “times” represent the two thousand years, which are the “times” of the Gentiles.

According to this prophecy the division of time comes after the time of the Jews (or the remaining time of the law) and after the times of the Gentiles. If we calculate accurately (because there may be errors in the calendar), we are near the end of the times of the gentiles and close to the division of time when God will impose his Kingdom. The systems of this world will receive a final blow from which they will never recover.

If there is a “time” after the two “times” and after the division of time or half a time, then what is the time of the fulfillment? The time of the fulfillment is when time gets divided. It begins “the Day of the LORD,” the seventh millennium, the thousand years, which corresponds to the Feast of Tabernacles.

Daniel 12:10 Many shall be purified and made white and purged, but the wicked shall get worse; and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand.

Daniel received understanding and wisdom from God, but he was also understood by God. When Daniel asked for an explanation, God responded immediately and sent Gabriel to explain it to him. Michael, one of the main princes, had to spend twenty-one days fighting along-side Gabriel, so Daniel could receive the response. Likewise, Gabriel said that from the moment Daniel opened his heart to understand, the response came.

Brethren, if God is opening these words now, it is because we are close to the time of the fulfillment, the thousand years of the last prophetic day, the Day of the Lord.

10 Many shall be purified and made white and purged,

Through all the injustice and persecution that true Christians have gone through for so long...

...but the wicked shall get worse; and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand.

The corruption of the natural man will get worse, but those who allow the Lord to sow His life in them, shall understand. In Spanish this verse translates this way: …those who are understood shall understand. Those that are understood in heaven and understood here on earth are going to understand. Some of us are beginning to understand...

11 And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away until the abomination of desolation, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.

In the year AD 678 in the present age, Pope Agatho was the first pope to declare himself infallible. He proclaimed he was the vicar of Christ on earth, displacing the Holy Spirit. This is the spiritual fulfillment of what Alexander the Great did.

Daniel Chapter 12 says that 1290 days must be counted from that point. The book of Daniel is based on the fact that one prophetic day equals a year. If we count 1290 years from Pope Agatho, we come to AD 1967, to the Six-Day War, confirming that this is a key date in the work of God.

If the Law was given on Mount Sinai about the year 1488 BC, then fifteen hundred years under law would be fulfilled about the year 12 of our present age. When Jesus went to the temple that year as a twelve-year-old boy to confirm his covenant and decided to continue to submit voluntarily to Joseph and Mary even though he knew that they were an imperfect authority; but God had placed them in His life.

From that point, 666 years later (in AD 678), a man, seated in a temple of marble and stone which he thought was the temple of God, was declared the Vicar of Christ (as God), instead of us being the temple of God and the LORD of heaven sitting on the throne of our life.

They removed the daily sacrifice of a victorious life of praise unto God and began offering unending bloodless sacrifices. They instituted this ritual under the false premise that we all must sin in word, thought, deed and by omission every day. (Of course, if someone against all odds came into victory in Christ then they could always beatify them after death and make them an object of worship for everyone else!)

Some used the mass, and others used the Holy Communion. Please do not misunderstand; many of us have attended these masses and communions with good intentions, and the Word is very clear. If we are walking with God and God is working through us, and if we are His, we can even eat “poison,” and it will not harm us. (See Mark Chapter 16) If you must go to one of these places, and they feed you something, it will not harm you as long as you are in God’s will.

However, it is difficult if not impossible for them to enter the realm of reality, being baptized into the Name (Nature) of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (which is into the Nature of Jesus) and having close, intimate fellowship with God. The Roman Catholics insist that their elements literally become the blood and the flesh of Christ, while the Protestants (most of whom no longer protest) insist on symbolic virtue. This is what they do and that is why they are all the same in all these places.

But God has allowed some of us to be there, front row and center, when the cape was removed, and all the people fell over backwards, and we were the only ones left standing. Whoever has God’s seal cannot receive any other mark, so we can be in the middle of this and nothing will affect us. The fire did not affect the three Hebrew boys. We do not have to fear the false fire in these people if we have God’s true seal. The person, who is not sealed, is in danger in all these places.

God’s seal comes when we convince Him to seal us and separate us. He is willing, and He decides to seal everyone who is groaning and crying out because of the abominations they see. From the Six-Day War in 1967, the abomination that causes desolation is in the Holy Place (of the realm of charismatic, ecumenical renewal) and now, in most of these places, the spirit they say is the Holy Spirit is some other spirit.

12 Blessed is he that waits and comes unto one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days.

What is going to happen after one thousand three hundred and thirty-five (prophetic) days? If we calculate this from the year 678 AD, by the year 2012, we are in it. What is going to happen when the two thousand years are fulfilled if they began from the year AD 12? Is this the end of our present age? We do not know exactly what is going to happen.

We do know is that it says, “Blessed.” This means that whoever is intact and clean when reaching this point will come into the true blessing that God will begin once again: a blessing for His people – a Blessed people.

What happened to Daniel was a shadow in comparison to the reality that is now upon us. Jeremiah prophesied that the Babylonian captivity would last seventy years. Daniel interceded, and God sent the answer. The heavenly hosts along with two archangels were mobilized, and Darius gave the order to restore Israel.

Now in AD 2012, will there be a corporate new creation man? How many years will it take? Many try to make a new man. The Marxist revolutionaries who wanted to make a new society soon realized that without a new man, they could not make their new Colombia. Now they try to make a new man, but to no avail because no doctrine, creed, or ideology can change the human heart. If we have been transformed by the power and presence of Christ, we know what a new man is. We know that God can make a new man, and He is doing it.

The new man will inherit all things, not the old man. Entering into the Day of the LORD will be similar to when Darius gave the order to restore Jerusalem. Some wanted to return. Some vessels left Babylon and had to go through many dangers. But they began to build. Now, it will be without the sound of a hammer or iron tool. This will not be as before because it is not the old man working by the sweat of his brow; it is the new man by the Spirit of God in perfect rest from his own efforts, doing God’s will. It is the people of Daniel where God is once again the Judge, discerning good and evil. God is now going to decide what is good and what is evil. This new kingdom will be built in spite of the dangers and enemies of the people of God. Look at what’s going to happen:

12 Blessed is he that waits and comes unto one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days” (a year for a day).

Hebrews 11 says we cannot enter into this without the ones who have gone before.

13 And thou {Daniel} shall go to the end and shalt rest, and thou shalt raise up in thy lot {or in thine inheritance} at the end of the days.

At the end of how many days? Of 1335 days (a year for a day). One example where we can see this is Matthew Chapter 24; another is Revelation 20:1

And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.

Chaining the devil up is no problem when God gives the order. Just one angel can do it.

2 And he laid hold on the dragon,

It does not say: “and THEY laid hold on the dragon,”

…the serpent of old, which is the Devil and Satan and bound him a thousand years

3 and cast him into the bottomless pit

What bottomless pit? This sounds very similar to the same jail (Hades or Sheol) that he used to run before.

...and shut him up and set a seal upon it, that he should deceive the Gentiles no more, until the thousand years should be fulfilled; and after it is necessary that he be loosed a little while.

4 And I saw thrones, and those who sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them; and I saw the souls of those that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus and for the word of God and who had not worshipped the beast neither its image neither had received its mark upon their foreheads or in their hands; and they shall live and reign with Christ the thousand years.

Those who came out from under their own headship are now under the headship of Christ.

5 But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.

6 Blessed and holy is he that has part in the first resurrection; on such the second death has no authority, but they shall be priests of God and of the Christ and shall reign with him a thousand years.

Daniel is going to take his place. He used to manage everything for the world’s greatest empires, which according to God’s vision were cleaner than our present day governments. Daniel had run Babylon and oversaw the construction of the wonders of the ancient world. However, none of this is mentioned in the Bible because it is not Daniel’s true inheritance.

We are counting the days; we are counting the years that are left. If the justification began in 1967, the LORD says that blessed are those who wait and come to the 1335 days. (Daniel 12:12) The carnal or natural man has never had the full blessing after Adam and Eve’s defeat, and God is promising that a remnant will come out from under the curse and enter into His blessing once again.

God has a blessing, a true blessing, for those who have chosen to live His life instead of their own. This blessing has been found by individuals, not only throughout the “age of grace,” but also throughout the “age of the law.” God is promising a blessing for all His people who have Jesus Christ as their head.

Christ will return whenever God wants. Will His people come into the fullness of His blessing and break the curse? Yes. I believe He will return in person according to Luke Chapter 24 and other Scriptures.

The interesting thing is that the Lord Jesus Himself said that He did not know when; only the Father knows. There are indications He will return when He finds the fruit He is looking for on earth. This is what the Song of Solomon says. When His clean people are bringing forth the fruit He desires, He will come back. (See Song of Solomon 6:11-13)

The list of the heroes in Hebrews 11 indicates that some of them didn’t even have a roof. They were persecuted, tortured, and killed, yet they did not receive the fullness of their inheritance. The inheritance is the true Daniel, which is Christ. He is on the other side of the veil, which means Tabernacles and the Holy of Holies, and we cannot enter on our own.

The only way to enter is in His life, the message of the Feast of Trumpets. It is the message Daniel heard when he cried out to God for understanding and afflicted his soul. He desisted from nourishing his own life, and God sent the answer that same day. Because of this, Darius gave the order to reconstruct Jerusalem.

We are now coming to the end of the Feast of Trumpets. How many of us will afflict our souls and desist from our own ways and allow the Lord to live His life in us?

I am going to bring up one more secret to end this chapter. In Daniel’s time, only two faithful captains resided in heaven: the archangels Gabriel and Michael, who commanded the heavenly hosts because Lucifer had rebelled. Gabriel said that Michael was the only other prince that was in His favor. These two cherubim covered the Holy of Holies.

But now, because of our Lord’s work of redemption, He went to the Devil’s jail and took captivity captive. Therefore, if we are His when we die, we will go directly into the presence of the Lord instead of being locked up in Hades. Second Corinthians 5:8 says We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.

Paul himself said he had gone to the third heaven (he did not know if in body or in vision) and saw things that were impossible to tell. All I want to say is that now there are many overcomers. There is a great cloud of witnesses of all times. And the heavenly hosts have the angels, but there is also our Lord Jesus who is above all powers and principalities, seated on the right hand of God with all power and authority with many brothers and sisters who have overcome beginning with righteous Abel. The number that God needs to set up His righteous government in heaven and in earth is being completed.

The jail of Hades is full; the devils are being defeated. The Lord is upon the river of God’s purposes with a witness on each side, which is His true body. He is on a white horse, and the heavenly hosts will follow Him. Many more in heaven favor Him now than when this happened with Daniel. May He open our eyes! (See 2 Kings 6:17)

LET’S PRAY:

Lord, we give you thanks. We ask you Lord that our desire might not be only to know a few things. We give you thanks for the understanding and the revelation that You have given us. But allow us Lord, to be understood before Your throne and before the kingdoms of this world, Amen.

PEACE BE WITH YOU

THE PROPHECY OF DAVID

PSALM 22

CHAPTER ELEVEN

The Morning Star

DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF JESUS

Matthew 27 50 But Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, gave the spirit.

51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in two from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;

52 and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who slept arose

53 and came out of the graves after his resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared unto many.

The Lord’s death removed the separation that existed between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies. Remember, behind the veil within the Holy of Holies was the Ark of the Covenant of the presence of God. Two cherubim and the seat of reconciliation were on top of the Ark, from where God spoke. The priest was only allowed to enter once a year, and he had to be clean, having done everything God’s way. Any strange person or high priest who was not clean and went in paid the price with their life. He had to come in with the blood. This is where the priest would listen to God: one high priest for all the people.

The Lord Jesus’ mission was to break this division so we could once again have access to the presence of God the Father. This is what Adam and Eve lost when they were excluded from the presence of God, and the cherubim were placed at the entrance of Eden with flaming swords. The cherubim with flaming swords were embroidered on the veil that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies. This was done away with in the Lord Jesus’ death. According to Romans 5:10 the Lord Jesus’ death reconciles us with God, but it also says we will be saved by his life.

His death opens the way for us once again, but if we are going to enter in, it has to be in His life, and not in our own lives. That is why they had to come in with blood; this is why there was a scapegoat and all the other symbols. But the Lord Jesus came to convert the symbols into reality for us. Unfortunately, the human priests did not take long in sewing the veil up again, in paying false witnesses to say that it was not the angel of God who removed the stone from the empty tomb, etc, etc.

The resurrection of the Lord Jesus was different from anything that ever happened before. When Lazarus was resurrected, he appeared bound hand and foot with grave clothes. But no one had to unbind the Lord Jesus when He resurrected.

The Lord had been bound in sheets with the same rituals, but the Angel of the Lord removed the stone. Even though the linen clothes were there, the Lord was not. Matthew says when the Lord Jesus was resurrected, some of the people who were closest to Him doubted when they saw Him.

Why did they doubt? They doubted because He was transformed. It is clear in 1 Corinthians 15:35-50 (SEE APPENDIX B for THE MORNING STAR) that it is one body that is sown and another that is raised up. What we have on earth is corruptible, after the resurrection He remained incorruptible.

In Matthew 28:7, the angel told the women to go and tell the disciples the Lord Jesus was not in the tomb, but had risen. But according to John 20:14-16, the women had an encounter with the Lord and did not recognize Him.

Some saw Him and only doubted until He spoke, because they recognized His voice. The Lord Jesus says His sheep follow His voice and do not get confused or follow a stranger’s voice. (John 10:27) He was talking about mature sheep; it is not the word used for lambs.

Further in the Scriptures when they encounter the Lord Jesus, He does not say, “Go and tell my disciples…” Look at what He says in Matthew 28:10:

Then Jesus said unto them, Be not afraid; go tell my brothers that they may go into Galilee, and there they shall see me.

Jumping ahead to verse 16 it says, “Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into the mountain where Jesus had appointed them.”

What does this mean? First, the Lord Jesus had called them to be disciples; then He had called them to be Apostles. But in the Gospel of John, He says they were His friends because He would tell them his plans and purposes in a clear way. (John 15:13-15)

Now, after the resurrection, the Lord opened the possibility to call them brothers. The Lord’s death and resurrection happened so we can participate directly in His nature, to follow Him and enter the Kingdom of heaven as children, in humility. To participate in the divine nature that Peter speaks of in 2 Peter 1:4, we must be willing to die to the old man, die to sin, die to pride and die to our arrogance.

What does this have to do with the morning star? The morning star refers to what the Lord Jesus did. This link is first found in Psalm 22 which is directed to the Overcomer. There is the value in the original word even though people have started referring to it as the chief of the choir or the head of the musicians. But this was not the case. When David wrote this Psalm, he directed it to the Overcomer.

Psalm 22 To the Overcomer upon Aijeleth Shahar, (The Morning Star) A Psalm of David.

It begins with the last words that the Lord spoke while He was on the cross.

1 My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me and from the words of my cry?

The Lord Jesus quoted Psalm 22 when Scripture says, “he gave the spirit.” Jesus was not killed. The Jews did not kill Him, and neither did the Romans. They nailed Him to the cross, and they had every intention of killing Him, but Scripture says, “He gave his life for us.”[1] He not only gave His life, but he had the power to take it back again.[2]

Psalm 22 goes on with a description of His death on a cross and later says:

Many bulls have compassed me:

These are religious men who operate according to the flesh.

…strong bulls of Bashan (religious bulls) …have beset me round about.

The sons of Ephraim fattened their animals at Bashan. They had sought out their inheritance before crossing the Jordan River, which symbolizes death. Many in today’s churches want their inheritance on this side of death, on this side of burying the old man. And God allows this to a point.

In Numbers Chapter 32, two-and-a-half tribes of Israel told Moses, when he got mad at them, “We’re going to go fight for our brothers and then we’ll go back.” But they wanted to fatten their cattle (cater to their flesh), and they ended up worshipping Baal with their fat bulls.

God allows those who seek to have their flocks on this side of the Jordan to do so. All of them say they will fight so the Kingdom of God comes, but much gets corrupted in practice. This state of affairs was so bad when the Lord came in person, they surrounded Him and rebelled against Him.

14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.

15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaves to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death.

16 For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have enclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.

David wrote all this approximately one thousand years Before Christ.

17 I may count all my bones: they look and stare upon me.

18 They part my garments among them and cast lots upon my vesture.

19 But be not thou far from me, O LORD: O my strength, haste thee to help me.

20 Deliver my soul from the sword; my life from the power of the dog.

21 Save me from the lion’s mouth and from the horns of the unicorns.

When the Lord Jesus was sealed in the tomb, the Devil thought he would be able to imprison Him in the Sheol of death. This is similar to what happened to Daniel. When Daniel was thrown in the lions’ den, they placed a stone and sealed it. However, the one who did not sleep that night was King Darius.

Brother David Parales made an observation in saying he thinks Daniel slept very well that night covered by two or three of those big furry lions; they were nice to him. God’s angel closed the lions’ mouths; this is a symbol of what happened to the Lord Jesus because death could not hold Him.

It did not go well for those who sent Daniel to the lions’ den. When the king took Daniel out, he put them in instead. The Devil thought he could trap the Lord Jesus in death, and Scripture implies the Devil will go through the same thing; it seems the Devil will be incarnated in a human form, and he will die, and death will imprison him for a thousand years. (See Revelation 20:1-3) Very interesting.

22 I will declare thy name unto my brethren;

What was it Jesus said when He came out in resurrection? He said, “Go and tell my brothers.” (Matt. 28:10) His natural brothers entered after Pentecost. But it is clear the brothers He was talking about here were His eleven remaining disciples.

According to the Gospel, He came and breathed on them and told them to receive the Holy Spirit. (John 20:22) The breath of the Holy Spirit grew and got warmer until the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit saturated everyone in that place.

TRUE BAPTISM

It is important to understand how God works: first, one can receive a touch of God through someone who has God’s Spirit; and second, God’s Spirit will fill us, flow through us, and overflow all our being. These two things relate to the true baptism of the Holy Spirit and is what the Lord said to do.

Matthew 28 ends like this:

Go ye therefore and teach all nations,

(I think that in another translation it says, “all the gentiles,” because all the kingdoms of this world will collapse, and the Lord commands us to teach the unconverted.)

…baptizing them in {Greek, into} the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

Baptizing into the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit is the same as baptizing into the Holy Spirit. God’s name refers to His nature, and the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit all have the same Nature. It is the same as baptizing into the Name of Jesus because Jesus also has that same Nature. The Lord Jesus has God’s nature, but He came in Adam’s flesh and likeness, but with God’s life inside, and He overcame. He is a Man, but He is also God, and He is the only mediator between God and men.[3]

After the resurrection the Lord Jesus told His disciples that He has all the power, all the authority in the heavens and the earth because He is at the right hand of His Father. The right hand symbolizes all power. (Matt. 28:18) What is He doing with that power now? He is mediating a new covenant to place His Life in us:[4] to enable us to follow the Way, and He is the Way; to allow us to know the Father; to clean us from all that is corruptible by the Holy Spirit. Thus, as Scripture says, when we see Him, we shall be like Him.[5]

Go ye therefore and teach all nations,

The nations refer to the gentiles, the unconverted, those who do not have circumcised hearts.

…baptizing them…

Notice it does not say, “baptizing them in water…” like John the Baptist did. There has been a misunderstanding for nearly two thousand years. The symbol is good, but the symbol is not reality. The symbol is a beautiful example of dying to the old man and resurrecting in the novelty of new life. And blessed be God if someone has had an incredible experience with God in a water baptism. If that is what God wants, so be it.

But sometimes people in these groups get wet with water, but not baptized into the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They were not submerged into God’s nature. The Holy Spirit did not start flowing from the depths of their being.

There is also a false baptism being promoted that has nothing to do with repentance, or leaving our own life and our own way, or turning around and following God. In some meetings, they do the exact opposite of what the Word of the LORD says in 1 Corinthians 14:27

If anyone speaks in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret.

28 But if there is no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church, and let him speak to himself and to God.

Everyone understood the wonders of God in their own language on the day of Pentecost. That was how three thousand people were converted the first day. (See Acts Chapter 2) It is true that Peter and the other Jewish believers were probably baptized in water, but they were also baptized into the Holy Spirit.

In that time, many Jewish customs were being practiced. Not only were they baptizing in water, they were also killing lambs and doing other things in the temple. In Jerusalem’s council, in Acts Chapter 15, they told the Gentiles to keep themselves from pollution of idols, from fornication, from things strangled, and from blood. Notice they did not mention getting baptized in water, paying tithes, or keeping the Sabbath day. Later Paul said he did not come to baptize, but to preach Christ.[6] Men have erred regarding rituals and have lost the reality of them in many cases.

The true baptism into the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit cannot be done with water (because water is only a symbol). Remember that Scripture says there is only one baptism. (Ephesians 4:5) The one who does this is the Lord Jesus, and He can work through any one of us.

In the first century, the Apostles laid their hands on people who were being baptized into the Name of Jesus so they would receive the Holy Spirit. Then, when a canny businessman named Simon (who used to practice magic) realized people would receive the Holy Spirit, he wanted to buy this power with money. Today, those who wish to buy position and power in the church are described with the word Simony, in reference to this Simon. (Acts 8:9-24)

Returning to Psalms 22:22

I will declare thy name unto my brethren; in the midst of the congregation I will praise thee.

What does it mean to declare the name of the Lord? Declaring the name of the Lord is to declare His nature. How is it possible to declare the Lord’s Nature? It is with the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Once the Lord had spoken to His brethren (his disciples) as they congregated, he blew on them and said, receive the Holy Spirit. But the assignment He gave them was to return to Jerusalem until they received power from on high.

The original does not exactly say power; the word in Old Spanish is potencia. What is the difference between potencia and power? The word potencia is used in aviation. The potencia of an airplane is the crankcase that encloses the crankshaft that is bolted to the propeller. This is where the crude power of the explosion of the gas is harnessed and controlled. The power that is administered by the propeller is under perfect control by the pilot, who can modify it according to the need. It is not an unbridled power.

The power God wanted to place in His disciples is the same power He wants to place in us. It is not the unbridled power with God’s gifts and provisions as people desperately seek to improve their own situation in this corrupt world.

The Lord wants to place His power in us. The power the Lord Jesus manifested was capable of everything, but He was always subject to the will of His Father.

The Lord Jesus did not want to drink that last cup; He did not want his hands and feet to be punctured. He said that if He wanted, He could request more than twelve legions of angels to rescue Him. But having all that power (potencia), He accepted the will of His Heavenly Father and followed a path no one wanted to follow.

Scripture says a few women were watching from afar. Matthew observed (but he was even farther away) and recorded. John, however, stood under the cross in the place of maximum danger.

Before the Lord Jesus “gave the Spirit,” He told John to take care of Mary. The Lord’s true witnesses are willing to give their lives for Him with no regard for themselves. It does not matter if you are killed or not; what matters is that your heart is willing.

Revelation says John was a faithful witness; the word witness is the same word used for martyr. He was probably the only witness (faithful martyr) among the original apostles who died of natural causes.

I will declare thy name unto my brethren…

God wants to place His Nature in us, and He does this through the baptism of the Holy Spirit, which is the same as being baptized into the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. John the Baptist said in Matthew 3:11

I indeed baptize you in water unto repentance, but he that comes after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear; he shall baptize you in {Greek, into} the Holy Spirit and fire,

The Lord Jesus left his apostles on earth, and He still has some of us here as a vital part of the body of Christ to continue fulfilling the mandate of teaching and baptizing into the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. This is not a ritual. The apostles would lay their hands on a person; then people would notice the evidence of the Holy Spirit in that person.

The baptism in the Holy Spirit is not a Babylon style brick factory where everyone gets passed through the pre-baptismal course or the “life in the Spirit” course. It is clear in Acts 5:32 that God gives His Holy Spirit to those who persuade Him. Other translations say, “to those who obey Him.” But that is not right because first of all, it is not the word used in the original, and second, we cannot obey God without the Holy Spirit.[7]

The word “persuade” refers to the word “to have faith.” The purpose of our faith is to persuade God until His faith operates in us. We can persuade Him, but then He will come in and convince us. He comes in like fire to do away with everything corruptible in our lives so we can know His Father. The fire of correction is revealed later as the fire of God the Father’s love for us as His legitimate sons who receive His correction and His blessing.

23 Ye that fear the LORD, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel.

Who is Jacob? Jacob is an “Israel” which has not been completely converted but is in the process of conversion. Israel is God’s Name (or Nature) placed into Jacob.

24 For he has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the poor in spirit; neither has he hid his face from him, but when he cried unto him, he heard.

The Lord Jesus continued reciting Psalm 22 with the writers of the Gospels only able to hear the first phrase because that was what He said right before He gave the spirit. Nonetheless He entered the Devil’s jail in Hades, broke the jail, and came out with the keys of death and the title of the earth. He withdrew twice the owner of us and of all of creation because He created everything from the beginning and now because He purchased it with His own blood. (Ephesians 4:7-9; Psalms 68:18; Psalms 24:1; 1 Corinthians 10:26; 1 Peter 3:18-22; Revelation Chapter 5)

25 My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation; I will pay my vows before those that fear him.

Could it be that the Lord Jesus preached the rest of the Psalm He started reciting as he died to the multitude of imprisoned souls like Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who were awaiting redemption? Soon everyone saw people who had died walking the streets of Jerusalem. Rocks rent, graves opened, and the earth shook with His death. (Matthew 27:51-54) The Lord remained approximately 40 days in the earth before He ascended. (Acts 1:3) The religious people paid the soldiers a lot of money so they would not tell any of it. And Scripture says the love of money is the root of all evil. (1 Timothy 6:10)

26 The poor shall eat and be satisfied: those that seek him shall praise the LORD; your heart shall live for ever.

He was telling this to His own.

27 All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn unto the LORD;

The Lord Jesus left that place with all authority.

27 and all the families of the Gentiles shall worship before thee.

Revelation Chapter 6 says a sealed scroll had been written on, within and without, but no one was found worthy to open it until the lamb who was slain was found worthy. He began to open the seals, and those seals relate to ownership over us and the earth. The Lord did not complete this so we would remain in the old Adam full of corruption, saying we have to sin by word, thought, deed and omission every single day, and the only thing we can do is cry out, “I’m guilty; it’s all my fault.”

The Lord came to abolish sin and guilt to make us free. Once we have that freedom, we can choose whether or not we will use the gifts of the Spirit of God under the control of our Heavenly Father, or if we will go wildly after our own personal benefit.

Judas was the first of the false apostles, but the New Testament mentions many more. And after closing the New Testament, who knows how many false apostles have come!

28 For the kingdom is the LORD’S, and he shall have dominion over the Gentiles.

29 All those that are fat upon the earth shall eat and worship; all those that go down to the dust shall bow before him; and no one can keep his own soul alive.

The only one who can revive the soul is the Lord. Not only is the Lord Jesus a living soul, but He is also a life-giving Spirit. (1 Corinthian 15:45)

30 A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation.

The generation of Christ is active today: the generation of the brethren of our Lord Jesus Christ, the generation of the body of Christ, the generation of the Morning Star.

31 They shall come and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he has done this.

What Jesus Christ did is mentioned as a finished work, His righteousness. The truth of this finished work should be applied and effectuated in each believer by faith. It is by grace and faith.

Grace is the undeserved power of God to convert us, to transform us. But faith relates to our dependence on Him. It alludes to convincing Him we want to depend on Him, so He will place His Spirit in us, thereby, baptizing us into the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

His faith can come into us and change our desires. After our desires are pure and righteous, He can grant us the desires of our heart, which will also be the desires of His heart. These desires will be the same as the desires of the heart of our Heavenly Father. This is the work of the Holy Spirit.

In the book of Numbers, a false prophet named Balaam said a few great truths. This prophet was false, but not because his prophecies were false. He had committed to saying only what God wanted. Balaam was false because his heart was false, because he was seeking money and his own personal benefit with the gift that God had given him. Nonetheless, look at what Balaam said:

Numbers 24:17 I shall see him, but not now; I shall behold him, but not near by; there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel and shall smite the corners of Moab and destroy all the sons of Seth.

He was announcing judgment, and the prophet himself was destroyed afterwards in the battle. Moab means, “of his own father.” He was referring to someone who does not want to accept the discipline of the Heavenly Father, but has his own (spiritual) father.

The part about the sons of Seth is more serious. Look where this comes from:

GENESIS CHAPTER 5 SAYS:

1 This is the book of the descendants of Adam…

Scripture begins with Adam and ends with Christ because the generation of the body of Christ (42nd from Abraham) comes after the generation of Jesus (41st), and there are no more generations in the Bible from that point on. (See Matthew 1:1-17)

1…In the day that God created man, he made him in the likeness of God;

2 male and female created he them and blessed them and called their name Man, in the day when they were created.

3 And Adam lived one hundred and thirty years and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image, and called his name Seth;

The Lord Jesus Christ supposedly came from the line of Seth. But this says there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel and shall smite the corners of Moab and destroy all the sons of Seth. The first chapter of Matthew, with the genealogy of the Lord Jesus, ends saying:

16 Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

We must bear in mind that Christ is now made of many members of which the head of this body of Christ is the Lord Jesus. Scripture says the Lord Jesus was born because the Holy Spirit came upon Mary, and Mary and Joseph had not been in an intimate relationship. Joseph appears in the place God had given him because God the Father gave him the responsibility of raising His Son. So He placed Joseph in the genealogy.

In reality Jesus came to destroy the line of Seth; He came to defeat the old, corrupt man in Adam to open a plan of salvation in the generation of Christ. Therefore, the end of Psalm 22 says, A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation. Not Adam’s seed; Adam’s seed will end.

The natural man born of Adam will not live forever because eternal life is only found in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a lie from the Devil to think everyone is going to live forever. It is not true that some live forever with the Devil and others live forever with God. Scripture says, the soul that sins, it shall die. (See Ezekiel 18:4, 20)

According to Scripture, the first death does not kill the soul. The soul is destroyed only in the second death, which is the lake of fire. (See Matthew 10:28) No one is presently in the lake of fire (that is hell itself) not even the Devil or his fallen angels. The Devil will go to the lake of fire after a final judgment.

He will first spend a thousand years in his own jail where he has imprisoned the souls of the ones who are dead now (those who are not alive in Christ); then those people, including the Devil, will be resurrected for a final judgment. Revelation Chapter 20 says Sheol (or Hades) will loose its dead, and the sea its dead, and they all must appear before the final judgment of God.

Those who enter in to Life are those who have produced good fruit. Scripture says the tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut off. The tree that will be cut off is Adam’s tree, Seth’s tree. The tree that gives good fruit is the tree of Christ. After His first coming, the incredulous branches were cut off, but the believing Gentiles were inserted along with the few believing Jews that remained in the good olive tree of Christ.

To be unbelieving and to be disobedient are the same thing. If you believe in the doctor, you will take the medicine and do what the doctor says. You receive no benefit to believe that the doctor is a doctor with all the degrees if you do not obey him. Doctors here can fail, but the Lord does not fail. We can fail, but He does not fail. The Lord Jesus Christ wants to hide us in His life, and that means to be under His wings, under the shadow of the Almighty.

THE MORNING STAR

Proverbs 4:18 But the path of the just is as the light of the morning star, that shines more and more until the day is perfect.

Before the Day of the LORD and the sun of righteousness is born (Malachi 4:2), the Morning Star will rise in our hearts.

2 Peter 1:19 We have also the most sure word of the prophets, unto which ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.

The wise men that came to worship the baby Jesus followed a special star. The Bible says they were wise, they followed the light of the star, and the light led them to baby Jesus. It does not speak of missionaries or apostles arriving in their land first; they searched for the light and found the Savior.

Scripture says we should not condemn or judge. We do not know what God has done in many instances. Paul said that in the days of ignorance, God overlooked many things, but now He has sent His Son and is calling all men everywhere to repentance.

In the midst of many promises to the overcomer in Revelation 2, verse 28 says: And I will give him the morning star.

What is this morning star? First Corinthians 15:46 says the spiritual is not first, but the natural; the Lord can teach us many lessons using the natural realm around us. Paul even says in Romans Chapter 1 that those who are in paganism without God are without excuse because it is obvious that there was a Creator by observing creation.[8]

Man is not evolving toward a super human race as some people say; man did not evolve as a monkey and is not becoming superman. Man came from a creation which, prior to the fall, God said was very good and is heading the opposite direction towards becoming an animal.

Scripture calls an out-of-control man without God a beast. That is the reality of the situation. Man thinks he is refining his form of governing, and God says the present governments are more corrupt than the ones that existed years ago.

Cancer and genetic problems abound. The human race is declining, but the generation of Christ is going from glory to glory towards perfection. And in God’s vocabulary perfection implies a seed that can reproduce life. The same word is sometimes translated “maturity.”

According to the Bible, many men have been perfect. Job was a perfect man before God; Daniel was a perfect man; Joseph in Egypt was a perfect man; David had a perfect heart toward God, etc.

But some say, “Joseph must have failed in something; Scripture says that when that great sum of wheat was stored, Joseph lost count because it did not have a number, so how could Joseph be perfect? He did not even know how much wheat was stored during the time of abundance.”

And others say, “David got into a terrible problem with Bathsheba and Uriah.” People who think this way have not read the Chronicles of God very well. None of this comes up because God forgave, washed and cleaned it. David stands firm in the Life of Christ, not in the Life of David. Saul’s mistakes are recorded in the Chronicles of God, but not David’s. David cried out to God, and the process cost him much; he lost four sons, and blood never left his house. David had to flee from the throne, but God purified and restored him and closed his life in victory.

This is the victory God has for all of us, depending on our attitude, not the circumstances, but our response to them. If we convince God we want to be clean and under His government, He can do it. That is His specialty.

KIDNAPPED FOR THE LORD

In 1983, I thought God would give me a great reward because I was making many sacrifices for Him. I went to the jungles and mountains and did what I could for God. A few things worried me: tests would come and the so-called works we did for God did not remain firm.

The temptation of narcotics came, and most who were supposedly converted went to cultivate drugs. The guerrillas came, and most Christians fled. I asked God to send the gospel to the guerrillas. And one fine day after six months of praying almost every day with great intensity, they kidnapped me. I reacted and I fought, but they tied me up in the jungle.

After thirty-seven or thirty-eight days of being stuck in this adventure, something happened to me. I had not seen the sun or the moon or the stars for a long time because we were under tall thick trees that covered the sky. I slept in a hammock the guerrillas had hung for me with a mosquito net on top and a big black tarp over that for protection from the rain.

Under these conditions I received a revelation from heaven. It had been raining while I slept when suddenly a bright light woke me up. I thought one of the guerrillas was shining a flashlight at me. I was mistaken. The light was the Morning Star, and it was unlike any star I had ever seen.

Under those immensely thick trees, there was a little hole. And through that hole, at precisely 3:00 a.m., exactly on the day that (if I am not wrong) was the Feast of Tabernacles, the star shone on me. Maybe because I had not seen the sun, moon or stars for so long, but the star looked like it was a fourth the size of the moon. It was a focused light, like an immense white laser that passed by and penetrated the mosquito net which was made of a material that caused the light to be fragmented into many distinct rays. This woke me like an electric shock.

I asked the guard for the time and he said it was three in the morning. I was restless and thinking, and I said, “No, look again, and tell me exactly what time it is.”

He said, “It’s 3:00 a.m.” I told him I had to get up. He handed me my shoes. I was tied and without shoes to keep me from escaping because they thought I was extremely dangerous. I got up while watching the star, and when I did, I banged my head on the black plastic on top of the hammock. This was full of several gallons of water which poured on top of my head. My shower at three in the morning made the guerrilla laugh.

I stood looking at the star until it disappeared from the little hole within the trees. The guard told me I had to go back to bed. I lay back down again and was almost asleep when Bam! The star shined on my face again.

I asked the guerilla again for the time, and he said it was four in the morning. I told him I needed to know exactly what time it was. He responded that it was 4:00 a.m.

I told him I needed to get up again, and he handed me my shoes. I got up and then Splash! I hit my head once again against the black plastic and got drenched with water. I had goose bumps all over because I had emptied that plastic and had made sure no water remained, and it had not been raining.

I contemplated that beautiful star. It was fascinating. Nothing else could be seen. The star was huge, and I was observing it through another hole that was higher up than the first time I had seen it. There were two holes, and everything else was completely covered. Everything lined up for the Morning Star to shine on my face at exactly three and four in the morning.

I looked at the little hole beneath where I had seen the star at three in the morning (an hour before), and there was another little red star shining through that was following the first star.

I began to weep right there, and the guerrilla did not understand why. He was worried for me. I kept looking until dawn, and the sun came out. It passed through the same two holes. The moon had passed through the same two holes also. Everything that day happened in that same plane.

For a time I thought maybe it had been something special that only I had seen. But after I was released from the guerrilla camp, I bought a Japanese watch. It was a Seiko that came out in a unique edition. It showed the orbits of the planets. The date could be switched to any time of any year and show where the planets had been.

I put the date of when these events happened to me, and the planets all lined up. I switched the watch to two hundred years back and two hundred years forward (which was the full time span that the watch would give), and they never lined up like that again.

I went to the Smithsonian Institute in Washington where they have a record of all the celestial events that happen. It turned out that there was an event where the planets lined up, and the earth got very close to Venus.

I learned that when the planets lined up, not only was Venus lined up with the Earth, but Mars also came after the other one. The orbit of all of them made them look very close and near the earth. On top of that, on the date of my experience, we were exactly in equilibrium on the earth between the inclination that it makes in winter and summer. We were in the fall equinox.

The people at the Smithsonian said the last time that exactly this happened was perhaps in the time of King David. Many people had gone to see the event which could best be seen two degrees north of the Equator. That was approximately where I was during my time in the kidnapping.

As it turned out, when I left the day I was kidnapped, I had taken the wrong weapon with me; I had left the Bible at home and had taken the five shot .38 revolver instead. After thirty-eight days, the Bible arrived at the camp. They had taken the gun away from me on the first day of captivity. The morning after I received the Bible, I opened it as the day dawned. I remembered God promised the Morning Star to those who overcame, but I did not feel like an overcomer. I asked the Lord to convert me into an overcomer because I knew that the Morning star was promised to the overcomers. So I opened my new Bible, for the first time, precisely here in Revelation 22 and began reading the following verses:

THE SIGN OF THE MORNING STAR

16 I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I AM the root and the offspring of David and the bright and morning star.

He is the Bright Star, the Star, not the stars. He is the star the wise men followed; He is the star that will come from Jacob; and He is also The Morning Star.

17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that hears say, Come. And let him that is thirsty come; and whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely.

God wanted to show me something, and He poured water on my head twice that same morning so I did not get it wrong. God is going to do something completely new. The Day of the LORD is coming. It will be a great day for many, but a terrible day for others. The stars will fall, the sun will darken, and the moon will turn into blood (Matthew 24:29; Mark 13:25; Joel 2:31; Acts 2:20; Rev. 6:12), but whosoever calls on the Name of the Lord shall be saved.

Those who are trying to draw people to themselves are going to come down. The misrepresentation we see now, all this clowning around with the Name of God, will end. The wars in the Name of God and in the name of the church(es) have been terrible and they still continue. The Word says the sun of this world with its attraction for the things of this world will become black as sackcloth. (Rev. 6:12)

ISAIAH 60

1 Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.

2 For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the peoples: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.

3 And the Gentiles shall walk to thy light, and the kings to the brightness of thy birth.

Scripture says when the peoples are in gross darkness, The Morning Star will come. It will dawn first in our hearts before the fullness of the New Day arrives. All the things of this world are going to come down. The Morning Star is the Lord Jesus Christ, and The Shulamite was convinced of this at the end of the Song of Solomon. Her inheritance was Him, and His inheritance was her. just as The Morning Star arose, the little red star followed on exactly the same path. This is the Path that the Lord Jesus walked, and it is the same path for us too.

MATTHEW CHAPTER 24

29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from the heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken,

30 and then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with great power and glory.

What shall the sign be? The disciples asked the Lord, “Tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of thy coming and of the end of the age?” (Matthew 24:3). What sign will there be before the Day of LORD, before His day of righteousness? THE SIGN WILL BE THE MORNING STAR.

The Morning Star is also the Body of Christ, a people of God here on the earth that is not a dull light like the moon’s reflection from the sun. It is not a moon that waxes and wanes between revivals. The church has sometimes been so off track it is like the moon when it gets between the earth and the sun, making a complete eclipse with no light at all passing. The church’s years of misrepresentation previously caused dark centuries, known as the Dark Ages.

How does this happen? By reason of the fights, because the “moon” became blood, because of the “errant stars” trying to attract everyone towards themselves, because of the “waterless clouds” and furthermore, because of the “spots and blemishes” on the Agape feasts of the Lord.

But the Lord Jesus will have a bride, without spot or wrinkle, which will shine with the same light of Christ. He promises a moon that will never wane. (Ephesians 5:27)

Isaiah Chapter 30 says this moon will shine like the sun with all of the Lord’s glory. The Sun will shine seven times greater, giving us light of seven days in one.[9].

Most of the Psalms are written to the Overcomer. There is only one Overcomer. The Only One who has overcome is the Lord Jesus Christ, but He wants to overcome in us, making us overcomers. He wants to take us out of the realm of religious symbols and place us in reality, which is His Life.

His love is different from our love. His Life is different from our life. His Life is eternal Life, not only because it lasts forever and never had a beginning, but because it has another quality. He came that we could have life and life in abundance, another kind of life. (John 10:10)

In the midst of all the problems with Jacob, God changed his name (nature) into Israel in the midst of his pilgrimage on this earth. We can feel His life by the Holy Spirit, and not only feel it, but if we submit to our Heavenly Father’s correction, He can convert us into multipliers of life.

Imagine all those coming to an end who are using His gifts to attract people to a place, to form a circus or get money, to foment some man-made doctrine or organization. What will happen when those things stop shining as in any dawn? God gives us the example almost every day. When the skies clear, the last thing that remains is the Morning Star, and then the new day dawns.

RETURNING TO MATTHEW 24:29-31:

29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from the heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken,

30 and then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with great power and glory.

31 And he shall send his angels with a trumpet and a great voice, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

The Lord Jesus Christ is not coming back for a spotted, wrinkled, messed up bride that flees from trouble. Song of Solomon says she comes “forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and imposing as the standard-bearer of the army?”[10] Other translations say “as terrible as an army with banners.” But the original speaks of the standard-bearer.

In ancient times the standard bearer was in charge of the trumpet which controlled the army. They did not have radios or any modern form of communication. If the standard went forward, everyone went forward, and if it drew back, everyone drew back. The one who controlled the standard controlled the army, and Scripture says this woman is the standard-bearer.

After being persecuted and fleeing, this woman is nourished by God for a time and times. Then the great dragon loses its wings and is cast unto the earth. The woman receives the wings of the great eagle to fly above the circumstances.[11]

The Song of Solomon says whoever messes with her, messes with the power of the heavenly host; it is as if they had messed directly with the Lord Jesus who has all power and authority (Song of Solomon 8:5) because she no longer does her own will, but uses her freedom to do her beloved’s will.

This is the end of the Song of Solomon in Chapter 8 where the Lord is the one who is speaking to His wife. In some translations it is inverted, but in the original it says this:

13 Thou, she that dwellest in the gardens,

Our ancestors were kicked out of the gardens of God, but now there is access to them. Ezekiel speaks of a priesthood with access to the presence of God and another priesthood which does not. (Ezekiel 44:10-16) The priesthood that exists now, that can hide behind a veil and do abominations in the Holy Place, is going to be swept away. God is going to finish with two witnesses: one is Him (the husband, the Lord) and now the other witness is her (the bride). And two or three witnesses are needed for any business involving life or death. (Deut. 19:15 and 1 Tim. 5:19) And the Devil will be imprisoned for a thousand years... and then cast into the Lake of Fire (the second death) with all his followers.

13 Thou, she that dwellest in the gardens, the companions hearken to thy voice;

She can now give orders to the “companions”; she can give orders to the servants in His house. What used to be a Shulamite burned by the sun, a peasant who followed the footprints of the sheep and of the true pastors with her little flock of goats, became the daughter of a prince of the same royalty as Him. (Song of Solomon 7:1) She represents the Bride of Christ.

...the companions hearken to thy voice; cause me to hear it.

The Lord told his disciples He wanted friends. After His death and resurrection, He called them brothers. He said whatever we asked for in His Name would be granted. The problem is He has not had a people who have truly represented His Name, but He will. Then she will be the highest representation of the Morning Star.

LET’S PRAY:

Lord, we ask not only to be able to understand your revelation, not only to receive it, but Lord that we could truly be your brothers, your bride, part of your Body, blood of your blood. Born of blood and of water (of Your life and of Your word). That just as Eve came out from Adam’s heart, from Adam’s side, that we could also form part of what has come out of Your heart all these years. We ask, Heavenly Father, for your correction, your discipline, along with your love and tenderness as part of the preparation of this great Morning Star that will shine when there is no more light anywhere else on the earth. Amen.

[1]  1 John 3:16 In this we have known the charity of God because he laid down his life for us; we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

[2]  John 10:17-18 Therefore does my Father love me, because I lay down my soul that I might take it again. No man takes it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment I have received of my Father.

[3]  1 Timothy 2:5 For there is only one God and likewise only one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.

[4]  2 Peter 1:3,4 as all things that pertain to life and to godliness are given us of his divine power, through the knowledge of him that has called us by his glory and virtue, whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises, that by these ye might be made participants of the divine nature, having fled the corruption that is in the world through lust.

[5]  1 John 3:2 Beloved, now we are the sons of God, and it is not yet made manifest what we shall be; but we know that if he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

[6]  1 Corinthians 1:17 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the stake of Christ should be made void.

[7]  Acts 5:32 And we are his witnesses of these things, and so is also the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those that persuade him.

[8]  Romans 1:19-21 because that which is known of God is manifest to them; for God has showed it unto them. For the invisible things of him, his eternal power and divinity, are clearly understood by the creation of the world and by the things that are made so that there is no excuse; because having known God, they did not glorify him as God, neither were thankful, but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

[9]  Isaiah 30:26 Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD binds up the breach of his people and heals the stroke of their wound.

[10]  Song of Solomon 6:10 Who is she that shows herself forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and imposing as the standard-bearer of the army?

[11]  Rev. 12:13-14 And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman who brought forth the man child. 14 And to the woman were given two wings of the great eagle that she might fly from the presence of the serpent into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time and times.

PEACE BE WITH YOU

THE PROPHECY OF HAGGAI

CHAPTER TWELVE

The Time is When the Lord Says

Haggai Part 1 Do you have time, all of you, to dwell in your panelled houses, and this house is deserted? Haggai 1:4

Go up to the mountain and bring wood and build the house; and I will place my will in her, and I will be glorified, said the LORD. Haggai 1:8

The word of the LORD came by the hand of Haggai at about the same period as Zechariah, son of Iddo the prophet; it appears that he was contemporary to the second half of the book of Daniel.

HAGGAI’S MESSAGE

Haggai Chapter 1:1 In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, came the word of the LORD by the hand of Haggai the prophet unto Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, saying,

2 Thus speaketh the LORD of the hosts, saying, This people say, The time is not yet come, the time to build the house of the LORD.

3 Then came the word of the LORD by the hand of Haggai the prophet, saying,

Each prophet is different. This says the word came by the hand of the prophet Haggai; the LORD may have dictated it, but Haggai wrote it down. The message came to the prophet, and the prophet delivered.

In the second year of Darius the king, this is referring to the period after the experience that Daniel had in the lions’ den: it was after king Darius was convinced of who the LORD was and after he ordered a decree to be published everywhere. King Darius was most likely queen Esther’s son. He had been placed by the LORD and dealt with in his heart to allow the return of the vessels of the temple and the rebuilding of the house of the LORD.

The message of the LORD, prophesied by Haggai is directed to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah. Zerubbabel means, sprout from Babylon.

The people of God thought they had lost everything in the Babylonian captivity. However, the LORD brought forth a “sprout from Babylon.”

Shealtiel means I have asked of God. Daniel was asking God to fulfill Jeremiah’s prophecy. He did this with humility, repenting for the sins of his people.

Daniel asked the LORD to clarify the message, so this is why the LORD sent the archangel with the revelation of the Word concerning a declaration about the reconstruction of the house of God. These words involve us in the end of the times, because Scripture says that we are the temple of God where the Holy Spirit dwells. (See 1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19; 2 Corinthians 6:16; John 2:21)

Haggai’s story is a picture for us. In the natural realm, a man named Zerubbabel was reconstructing Jerusalem, but this had an implication towards our time. When the glory and the purity in the early church became contaminated and vanished, another kind of Babylonian captivity took place; confusion began to dominate the people of God. Small resurges occurred sporadically through the centuries.

Haggai also directed his message to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest. In Hebrew, Joshua is the same as Jesus in Greek; Josedech means the LORD is righteous. The LORD is now directing this same message to a small remnant who have come out of man’s systems of confusion as a sprout from Babylon; the high priest (Jesus) is in heaven with all power and authority to implement this New Covenant.

Throughout many long centuries, the New Covenant (that has been implemented on an individual level) has been isolated in many materials scattered in their confusion by men who have tried to do good things in the work of God. But they have not succeeded collectively nor will any of them ever be able to accomplish it. This is what the LORD is referring to (as we advance through this chapter) when He speaks of men who dwell in “their own houses” while His house is deserted.

4 Do you have time, all of you, to dwell in your panelled houses, and this house is deserted?

This question remains today when we speak of purity of heart, when we speak of perfection before the LORD, when we speak of fulfilling the prophecies in Scripture. Most churches and ministries build their own houses, and they are comfortable. So how are things going? They say those prophecies are not to be fulfilled now; they say it is not time for the LORD’S true house.

5 Now therefore thus hath the LORD of the hosts said; consider your ways.

6 Ye have sown much and bring in little; ye eat, but ye are not filled; ye drink, but ye are not satisfied; ye clothe yourselves, but you are not warm; and he that is a hireling receives his wages in a bag with holes.

The will of man is done in men’s houses, and we will never find satisfaction there. Only those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be satisfied. (Matthew 5:6) The LORD wants us to be righteous. He said the people who are making their own houses are were sowing plenty but harvesting little; He said that those who eat there are never filled; those who drink there are never satisfied, etc. He said that the covering, the clothing there does not give warmth and does not really cover; that a hireling receives his wages in a bag with holes.

The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep, but the hireling flees when there is danger.[1] In the same manner, the houses of men are full of hirelings who will not give their lives for the sheep, and the sheep know it. That is why many are continually wandering from place to place. There is a continual need that is never satisfied.

7 Thus hath the LORD of the hosts said, Consider your ways.

GOD’S MOUNTAIN

What are our ways? They are man’s ways of doing things. What does the LORD want? He wants us to do things His way. What is His way? His way is that we go up to the mountain. The LORD is speaking of the mount of His holiness, a “mountain” where everything is done exclusively for Him.

8 Go up to the mountain and bring wood and build the house; and I will place my will in her, and I will be glorified, said the LORD.

When God deals with us, we are the wood, the stones and all the materials that the LORD will use to build the house.

9 Ye look for much and find little; and when ye lock it up at home, I shall blow upon it. Why? said the LORD of the hosts. Because my house is deserted, and ye run each one of you unto his own house.

Whatever is not founded on the rock, which is the Lord, will fall when the winds, the storm, or the tests come. (Matthew 7:25-27) This will happen to those who build their own houses when the LORD says that His true house is deserted.

“Deserted” doesn’t mean the house is empty; it means that instead of God’s house, there is a desert; there is nothing. The LORD says we are The Temple or The House.

10 Therefore the rain of the heavens over you is held back, and the earth has held back her fruits.

11 And I called for a drought upon this land and upon the mountains and upon the wheat and upon the wine and upon the oil and upon that which the earth brings forth and upon the men, and upon the beasts and upon every labour of hands.

The work of the hands of the natural man does not receive God’s blessing, even when they are doing things for God. God’s blessing is like the rain, and when there is no rain, when there is no blessing from God; there is only desert. This is true in the spiritual as well as in the natural. We live in a time of a lot of movement, a flurry of activity and of “works.” And each pastor speaks of the “work” that they are doing, of how many sheep they congregate in their work and how many pay their tithe, etc. For the LORD, many of these “works” are not His house, because it is man’s house.

Many are in a spiritual drought; the revelation of God is not flowing, and this dryness reaches the mountains. Mountains denote power and purpose. Each mountain is dry because each leader decided to have his own kingdom; they have decided to make their own fortress.

This ensures drought upon the wheat (the message that is sown), upon the wine (the life that is being shared), upon the oil (the anointing), and upon everything the earth produces. In the highest sense, we are the earth, and the LORD wants to sow in us.

11…and upon the men, and upon the beasts and upon every labour of hands.

The LORD does not accept the work of our hands if we are not joined to Him. The LORD did not accept the work of Cain’s hands because Cain did not understand the true sacrifice; he did not understand that the blessing is not found in our own lives but in the LORD’S life.

Abel understood this and did not come with the futile work of his own hands, but with a sacrifice. (See Genesis 4:3-7) This indicated he knew that man, in his natural state, cannot please God with his own works. A change of life is required; the death of the old man is required to have the resurrection of the new man. This message is directed to the new man, to the sprout from Babylon under the ministry of Jesus, the High Priest.

12 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, heard the voice of the LORD their God and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the LORD their God had sent him, and the people feared before the LORD.

The LORD sent a message by the mouth of the prophet, and when the message came, they paid attention. They heard the voice of the LORD their God and the words of Haggai the prophet. The LORD sent a ministry; He sent a prophetic message like the message we are preaching, and the people heard God’s voice directly. Since the Exodus, the people of God had lost this ability -- from the moment that the Ten Commandments were established.

Before the Ten Commandments, the people of God told Moses they did not want to hear God’s voice because they did not want to die. (See Exodus Chapters 19 and 20) They wanted Moses to go up the mountain and return with the message. That is how they obtained Ten Commandments on stone tablets.

Much time passed, and many disasters occurred before the Babylonian captivity. The people had not wanted to hear the LORD’S voice during that time, but in this message that came through Haggai, a small remnant that had come out of Babylon heard the voice of the LORD and of the prophet. The LORD continues to do the same now; He sends His prophetic message, but He also wants to speak directly to each heart.

AMBASSADORS OF THE LORD

13 Then spoke Haggai the ambassador of the LORD in the embassy of the LORD unto the people, saying, I am with you, said the LORD.

Haggai came as the ambassador of the LORD. He also spoke in the embassy of the LORD. It is one thing for an ambassador to speak with his government in his embassy, or to speak to a certain people concerning his embassy, but it is another thing for people to listen to the ambassador in his own embassy. In this verse, the LORD refers to Haggai as His ambassador, and the place where the message is given as His embassy.

Today the LORD has “ambassadors” that speak from His “embassy.” It’s different when the LORD sends someone with a determined message (like he sent the apostles) than when the LORD’S true people seek Him in His embassy, where they can be assured that what they hear and what happens is from the LORD.

13 Then spoke Haggai…

Haggai names himself many times in this chapter. “Haggai” means, “born on a feast day;” and the Feast of Tabernacles was the most important feast. The Lord Jesus Christ was probably born on a feast day; Haggai, Daniel, David and many other prophets project an image and a shadow of what the Lord Jesus will do in his life and ministry. So the Lord Jesus not only came to fulfill the feasts, but was also born on the feast day. Look at the reaction Haggai’s message produced!

14 And the LORD woke up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah and the spirit of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and worked in the house of the LORD of the hosts, their God,

15 in the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king.

The LORD woke up their spirit. One of the last things that Jesus did (when he ascended, after his resurrection in his first coming) was that he opened their understanding so they might understand the Scriptures. (Luke 24:45)

In Haggai, He woke them up before the remnant began the work in the house of the LORD. Many people today have a capacity for the things of God, but are sleeping. (See Matthew Chapter 25)

Some say, “It’s not time for this; it’s not time to have a glorious manifestation of the presence of God here on earth; that is surely for another time and another place; we’ll probably be perfect in heaven, but it isn’t the time or the moment for that here; we can’t do it.”

The LORD will respond the same way He did to the remnant in the times of Haggai, “Look at what’s happening: you’re making many houses; you are in a flurry of activity, but what happened to the wheat? What happened to the wine? What happened to the oil? What happened to the message? What happened to the life of the LORD? What happened to the true anointing? Where are you?”

Men work hard with little results. They may move multitudes or put on tremendous shows, but where are the transformed lives?

What happened in Haggai began the first day of the sixth month. On the twenty-fourth day of the same month, in three-and-a-half weeks, God woke up the spirit of the governor of Judah, the high priest and the remnant of the people.

They had spent centuries without the LORD awakening the spirit in a collective group. Occasionally, He awoke the spirit of one or two people, but in this book He woke up the spirit of the leaders and the remnant to do the will of God.

Haggai Chapter 2:1 In the seventh month, in the twenty-first day of the month…

Three-and-a-half weeks later. This is seven weeks after the ministry of Haggai began. Leviticus 23 speaks of the Feast of Tabernacles and says this Feast began on the fifteenth day of the seventh month and lasts seven days. Therefore, the twenty-first day of the seventh month is the last day of the great Feast of Tabernacles.[2] Remember, Haggai is the prophet “born on the feast day.”

God has a collective prophet that will also be “born” on the day of the feast. Most probably, the Lord Jesus was born on the Feast of Trumpets, the first day of the seventh month when the new year of the sacred calendar begins.

…the word of the LORD came by the hand of the prophet Haggai, saying,

2 Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people, saying,

RETURN TO WORK

Once again the LORD is sending a message, but the spirit of the people is already awake when the message arrives. Sending a message to those who are asleep is different than to those who are already awake.

3 Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? And how do ye see her now? Is she not as nothing before your eyes?

When this moment arrived, many wept. Some wept out of awe because they were once again building the foundations of the house of God, and others wept because what they were now doing was nothing compared to what had been lost. (Ezra 3:12)

In the same way, many people look back, having the writings and the description of the glory of the early church, and we know we are not experiencing anything compared to that. Because of this, many people want to return to the last great revivals, or as it was in the days of Azuza Street, or the Great Awakening in England, or the Reformation, or Saint Augustine, or Saint Jerome; or even the days of the apostles. However, the LORD is telling us that even though we have small beginnings with this sprout from Babylon, the glory of the latter house will be greater than the former. (Haggai 2:9)

4 Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, said the LORD; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of this land, said the LORD, and work; for I am with you, said the LORD of the hosts:

God does not command us to be strong in our own life. He does not command us to be strong in constructing our own houses, even if we are building them in the Promised Land, even if we are building within the realm that we think is the New Covenant. Many “houses” have been built, but the ministry of Haggai was so that the people would stop looking at what they were doing in the name of God and so that they would return to the true work. The true work requires God, but it also requires us. It requires us to put in our complete effort, but it also requires the LORD’S complete effort.

…I am with you, said the LORD of the hosts:

5 The word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt and my Spirit is in the midst of you: do not fear.

The word that I covenanted… is referring to the word that came when they were leaving Egypt, which was a word that the people of Israel said they could not keep listening to because they would die. Therefore, they received it on stone tablets and those tablets had to be hidden a bit later on in the Ark of the Covenant, in the Holy of Holies beyond the reach of the people because no one could fulfill them. That word and those commandments were for the future.

The commandment did not say, “Do not kill.” It said, “Thou shalt not murder.” (future tense) But they spent much of the next fifteen hundred years killing themselves.

God promises a New Covenant written on the tablets of our hearts and in our minds. We have known all this; the church has always known this. But the Christian church (orthodox, catholic, even evangelical and protestant) organized by men has also had a nasty history of killing each other. The worst wars in the last two thousand years have been done in the name of God. Even today, many Christians who throw up their hands in horror when the dastardly deeds of their ancestors are mentioned will think nothing of doing in the reputation of anyone who shines the light of the truth onto the work that they have supposedly been doing for God.

5 The word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt and my Spirit is in the midst of you: do not fear.

We have the Scriptures that God gave us near the beginning of the Age of the Church. “Church” (ecclesia in Greek) means “those who are called out.” When God began taking Gentiles out of the systems of this world, He used this word. There are sixty-six books that we call the Bible, but those who use them without the Spirit end up in a terrible legalism.

Sometimes people say only an elite group with much humanistic education can interpret Scripture. This is why they had it for so many years in Latin and Greek without the common people having access to it. Even now, those who interpret Scriptures with their own understanding are making many sects with different beliefs. The word is given, and now the LORD says the Spirit is also given because “the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”[3]

6 For thus hath the LORD of the hosts said: Yet even once, and I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land;

7 and I will shake all the Gentiles; and the desire of all the Gentiles shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, said the LORD of the hosts.

The history of this house shows its humble beginnings in the days of Zerubbabel, but it is also where the Lord Jesus Christ came in person, seeking the state of His Father’s house. Sadly, He found it as a den of thieves. Now, we are the temple of God. When the Lord returns, how will He find us? Will He find a den of thieves, each one looking for their own benefit from the sacred things of God?

When the Lord came the first time, the earth shook! But in the second coming, both heaven and earth will shake! This is how we know this message is talking about the Lord Jesus’ second coming, and the first coming was only a partial fulfillment in the temple (still made out of stones) before the Jewish people. Scripture says this second fulfillment will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land; and I will shake all the Gentiles; and the desire of all the Gentiles shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, said the LORD of the hosts.

There was no moment when the glory of God entered the house that Zerubbabel, Josedech and the remnant constructed, similar to God filling King Solomon’s temple. (See 1 Kings 8:11) The Glory of God that entered into the house Zerubbabel constructed was the Lord Jesus himself. Later, in the day of Pentecost when God’s Spirit came upon the one hundred and twenty in the upper room, it spread out to three thousand; the porch of Solomon at the temple may have been the site of this occurrence. Today, we are the true house that God wants to fill with His glory.

Throughout the centuries, individuals have had incredible experiences with the LORD, but now the LORD promises to place stone upon stone. Another picture of this is in Ezekiel 37; in the valley of dry bones where all the dry bones revive, each bone is joined where it should be and a great army is formed. (SEE APPENDIX HAGGAI PART 1)

8 The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, said the LORD of the hosts.

9 The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, said the LORD of the hosts, and in this place I will give peace, said the LORD of the hosts,

If we are the house, if the LORD plans to place His glory in us, if He intends to link each of us correctly to the rest of the house, and if this is where He will place His peace, the LORD’S peace must begin one by one in our hearts and extend out from there.

10 In the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came by the hand of Haggai the prophet, saying,

IS IT TIME?

Three months, three weeks, and three-and-a-half days had passed since the beginning of the ministry of Haggai the prophet. This date refers to bases being laid again in the house; it relates to the foundation of the house. No blessing exists before they laid the foundation of the house; the blessing comes after it is laid. We know what that foundation is. Paul tells us that no other foundation, other than Jesus Christ, can be laid, that of Christ crucified. (1 Corinthians 3:11)

11 Thus hath the LORD of the hosts said; Ask now the priests concerning the law, saying,

12 If one bears holy flesh in the skirt of his garment, and with his skirt touches bread or pottage or wine, or oil or any food, shall it be made holy? And the priests answered and said, No.

13 Then Haggai said, If one that is unclean by a dead body touches any of these, shall it be unclean? And the priests answered and said, It shall be unclean.

14 Then Haggai answered, and said, So is this people, and so is this nation before me, said the LORD; and so is every work of their hands, and all that they offer here is unclean.

This is dealing with a situation that I believe is the history of the Christian church, in which the people allegedly depend on the work of the Lord Jesus on the cross. Some want to handle truth one way, and others want to handle it another way. Some say that during the mass, the elements (the wine and the host) are literally converted into the blood and flesh of Christ. Others prefer to use crackers and grape juice; they say it is a symbol of the body and the blood of Christ.

If what is unclean by a dead body touches something, everything is made unclean, according to the law. These things (even if they are holy) cannot sanctify anyone. The way we do things, the way man manages the things of God for his own benefit has no way of sanctifying anyone; rather, a little leaven will corrupt the whole lump.

We end up with everything dead, everything contaminated, everything unclean because we have touched everything with our own interests and our own life. We have not been able to receive the true blessing. Some have obtained the true blessing as individuals, but a group, such as a house or church, has not been able to maintain the blessing of the LORD.

14 Then Haggai answered, and said, So is this people, and so is this nation before me, said the LORD; and so is every work of their hands, and all that they offer here is unclean.

What is the LORD saying? That these holy communion suppers in the evangelical church, these masses in the catholic church, however good the intentions may be, are in the same condition as the people of Israel when they returned to reconstruct Jerusalem. Nothing worked, and the true life, the true anointing, the true message was, and is, not flowing.

15 And now, I pray you, consider in your heart from this day forth, from before a stone was laid upon a stone in the temple of the LORD:

16 since these things were: when one came to a heap of twenty measures, there were but ten; when one came to the pressfat to draw out fifty vessels out of the press, there were but twenty.

17 I smote you with the east wind and with mildew and with hail in all the labours of your hands, yet ye did not turn to me, said the LORD.

There is always shortage; God’s people always need to be persuaded in order to give the tithes and offerings. They must be threatened, and even then there is never enough. One time when the people of Israel were in the desert constructing the tabernacle, Moses told them not to give anymore because they had already donated more than was needed to finish the task. (See Exodus 36:5-7)

But many churches today are like the democracies, like the monster in the book of Daniel that destroys everything with its iron teeth. It tramples the leftovers, leaving nothing for anyone, and the need never ends... The strategy of asking and trying to obtain the things of this world never ends...

God did not tell Haggai, “In this new work of the house of God, we’re going to need a lot of gold; we’re going to need a lot of silver. We have to get all the people to give because if they don’t give, we can’t start the work.”

God began a different way. He began by saying, The silver is mine, and the gold is mine. He said, in effect, “Pay attention. Up until now you’ve done things your way. You have a priesthood and some offerings where you think that the “flesh” is sacred. You think that you have the sacred things of God, but everything is unclean, everything is contaminated by your own life because everything you minister is death. Your sacrifices do not sanctify anything; but wait because new foundations must be established before placing stone upon stone. After these foundations are laid today, everything will be different.”

18 Consider now in your heart from this day forth, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, even from the day that the foundation of the LORD’S temple was laid, put your heart into it.

He did not say, “Bring your gold and your silver here. Bring your precious stones, your offerings and your tithes.” He did not say any of this. He said, “Put your heart into it, and you will see this work.” The LORD wants us to give Him our heart.

19 Is not the seed yet in the barn? Not even the vine, nor the fig tree, nor the pomegranate, nor the olive tree, has blossomed yet,

(We do not have anything tangible in hand that can be offered other than our hearts.)

...but from this day will I bless you.

20 And the word of the LORD came the second time unto Haggai in the twenty-fourth day of the month, saying,

God spoke to Haggai two times. Only three months and twenty-four days had passed since the beginning of his ministry, and they began their work.

21 Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I cause the heavens and the earth to shake,

Why? Because, Whatever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in the heaven; and whatever ye loose on earth shall be loosed in the heaven. (Matthew 18:18)

22 and I will overthrow the throne of the kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the kingdom of the Gentiles, and I will overthrow the chariot and those that ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall come down, each one by the sword of his brother.

23 In that day, said the LORD of the hosts, I will take thee, O Zerubbabel, my servant, the son of Shealtiel, said the LORD, and will make thee as a signet ring; for I have chosen thee, saith the LORD of the hosts.

The kingdoms of those who made their own houses will topple. The strength of the kingdom of the Gentiles, of the unconverted, of the chariot, of man’s machinery (the religious machinery, without mentioning the political and economic machinery) will vanish. …I will overthrow the chariot and those that ride in them; and the horses… (Those who operate according to their own flesh) …and those that ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall come down, each one by the sword of his brother. (As in the days of Gideon)

In that day, In what day? In the new Day of the LORD, and this new day begins suddenly, when everyone is saying, “It’s not time.” Then God comes on the scene and sends the message even though men say it’s not time; now is the time. Less than four months passed from when God said it was time until they placed the new foundations in the house of God.

23 In that day, (In the Day of the LORD) said the LORD of the hosts, I will take thee, O Zerubbabel, my servant, the son of Shealtiel, said the LORD, and will make thee as a signet ring; for I have chosen thee, saith the LORD of the hosts.

This remnant will give orders in the Name of the LORD. This happened with the Shulamite in the Song of Solomon; she ended up worthy of all authority; she ended up with the power to run the army; she ended up speaking, and his companions would listen to her, and even her husband would listen to her. Why? Because her heart was one with His heart just as Jesus’ heart is one with His Father. (See Song of Solomon 8:13; John Chapter 17)

Who will be as a signet ring? Zerubbabel and this small remnant (or sprout from Babylon). The LORD will place them with the true authority of the kingdom. …and will make thee as a signet ring; for I have chosen thee, saith the LORD of the hosts. This is where Zerubbabel was almost two thousand five hundred years ago, but the true Zerubbabel is a remnant of God in our times. Many people say it is not time, but the time is when the LORD says.

LET’S PRAY:

LORD, we want to know, we want to hear from Your mouth when the time to believe is, so that You’ll wake up our spirit to edify Your true house, in order to encounter Your true glory Amen.

[1]  John 10:11-13 I AM the good shepherd; the good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. But the hireling, who is not a shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches them and scatters the sheep. The hireling flees because he is a hireling, and the sheep do not belong to him.

[2]  Leviticus 23:39 But in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days; the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall also be a sabbath.

[3]  2 Corinthians 3:3 Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

“The Division of Time”

REBUILDING THE FOUNDATION

(HAGGAI PART 2)

The book of the prophet Haggai, whose name means, “Born on a feast day,” contains additional features. Old Testament examples, shadows, and figures show what will come in the New Testament. Some say the Old Testament should be interpreted in the light of the New Testament. This has been the norm through the centuries since the Reformation, but it is not always valid.

Parts of the New Testament cannot be interpreted without understanding the significance of the shadows, examples and figures of the Old Testament. For example, Revelation bases its terminology and figures in examples that have been defined in most of the books of the Bible. The book of Daniel and the book of Zechariah are key to understanding the symbols in Revelation.

The book of Haggai only has two chapters and is considered one of the “minor prophets.” It is not a minor prophecy; it is one of the most fundamental prophecies in the Scriptures. It deals with rebuilding the bases, the foundation of the house of God in the time of Haggai, Zechariah, Ezra, Nehemiah, Zerubbabel, Joshua, etc. If we can understand it, we recognize the figure, example and shadow of the true restoration of God’s house, which is us.

These prophecies can be interpreted however the Spirit of God wants. He can apply them to the individual, to the Jewish nation, or to the Christian church in a certain time frame. They can also refer to the believers at the end of the church age, to the Day of the LORD. The Day of the LORD is the central theme in this prophecy because according to Revelation 19:10, the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

Many people seek God because they want Him to fix their lives. The Lord Jesus has not denied Himself to people who have cried out to Him during past centuries with that purpose in mind.

However, what is central in God’s heart is not that we seek the Lord Jesus for our own benefit, but that we desist from our own things and enter into His life because victory is found only in Him. He that has the Son has life; and he that does not have the Son of God does not have life. (1 John 5:12) What is the use of having the Lord fix a physical or economic problem if we have not found His life?

Jesus is willing to find us wherever we are. The Lord visited the sinners; He entered houses and ate with people who were contaminated and unclean. However, even though he was criticized for that, the Lord did not leave those people in that state. Contact with Him cleansed that which was unclean. During the Lord Jesus’ visit to Zacchaeus’ house, Zacchaeus repented, not with words only but also with deeds. He said to the Lord, Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.

In that instant the Lord replied, This day saving health is come to this house. (See Luke 19: 8-9)

Haggai is also an example of the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus was probably born on the day of a feast, most likely on the Feast of Trumpets, on the first day of the seventh month, (the new year in the sacred calendar).

For the Jews, the agricultural year had its own calendar, and God’s sacred year began on the seventh month of that year. This is normal for the LORD because He always prepares one thing to bring about another. Scripture speaks of certain things prepared from before the foundation of the world (Revelation 17:8): of the “book of life” from before the foundation of the world, of a lamb that was slain from the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8). The word “foundation” is the central part of the book of the prophet Haggai because God declared it was time to place the foundation of the true house.

Two lines in Scripture speak of the foundation: one of the earth and the other of the world. They are not the same. Scripture says the meek shall inherit the earth. (Matthew 5:5) It also says this world will end (Revelation 11:15), and even the elements will burn; this world will vanish.

The word “world” refers to our way of doing things; the word “earth” comes from the root of “God’s original purpose for humanity.” Scripture says the first creation resulted in frustration due to Adam’s sin, but a second Adam is not of the earth (not earthly like the first Adam). The second Adam is the Lord of heaven and the beginning of the new creation. (See 1 Corinthians 15: 45-47, 2 Peter Chapter 3)

God promises new heavens and a new earth where righteousness dwells. (2 Peter 3:13) The true foundation is the corner stone who was rejected by the builders and has been rejected by the great human organizations ever since. (Psalm 118:22) But Scripture is very clear in saying there is no blessing until the foundation is placed.

The blessing occurs from the moment in which the LORD decrees and places the right foundation. The LORD can place the right foundation in any of our lives, so that we can have a house that is built on a safe foundation.

The difference between Matthew’s account in Chapter 7 and Luke’s in Chapter 6, is that while Matthew mentions the man who built upon the sand, Luke speaks of someone who built upon the earth (and earth is linked to man, to Adam) “without a foundation,” and when the storm comes, when the winds blow, when the rivers rise, the house will be destroyed. “House” means “work,” “family,” or whatever we do. The one who built his house upon the rock is the one who hears the words of the Lord and does them according to Matthew 7:24.

LUCIFER AND INIQUITY

It is obvious that this story begins from before the foundation of this world. What is the foundation of this world? The foundation of this world that we have (which is in enmity with God) is the way in which this world does things. According to James 4:4, to be friends with this world, is to be enemies with God because the foundation of the world is based on a lie. Lucifer the archangel was perfect until iniquity was found in him. Iniquity is “sin that is hidden” and is disguised as something else.

Lucifer wanted to destroy Adam and Eve, but he did not want to do it head on; so he introduced the lie, and with the deception of the lie, he sowed death. As a result, Adam had to choose between Eve and his friendship with the LORD. Scripture says he entered into rebellion while Eve was deceived. (See Romans 5:14 and 1 Timothy 2:14)

The serpent’s original problem had to do with iniquity. Iniquity is sin that is hidden so that it is not readily known where it came from or what it is (in reality it has to do with our own way vs. God’s way; lies vs. truth). This is why the lie relates to darkness because it is the opposite of the light of the truth. The Devil is the father of lies and is a murderer from the beginning. (John 8:44) His lie caused the death of the human race, making it enter into the “shadows” of death. He was left with the key of death; he became the jailor of the jail (called Sheol in Hebrew and Hades in Greek, mistakenly translated as Hell in most English Bibles) where the first death kills the body, but does not kill the soul.

Scripture says that a second death (a lake of eternal fire) has been prepared for the devil and all his angels. (Matthew 25: 41) Furthermore, it says that we need not fear those who can kill the body (the first death) because they cannot kill the soul. (Matthew 10:28) We should fear Him who can destroy both the body and the soul in hell (the second death).

Death was very fearsome when the Devil had the keys, but the Lord Jesus overcame him with his death and resurrection and captured the keys to Hades and death![1] Scripture says that the Lord Jesus took captivity captive. He took His own, ascended on high, and received gifts for men. (Psalm 68:18, Ephesians 4:5-13)

If we take up this line in Ephesians Chapter 4, it says that there is only one faith and one baptism; and then it says that because He overcame, He gave some to be apostles, others prophets, others evangelists, other pastors and teachers. It is not speaking of two types of people: the clergy and the laity. It is saying that with what the Lord did, he bought everything and everyone and He has the right to command people like us to do what He wants.

The Lord has the right to proclaim the True Gospel of the Kingdom of God which is different from the kingdoms of this world, and he can do it through the people that He chooses. He has the right to wake up the spirit of any of us, so that we can teach others, so that we can take care of others if that is what He wants.

We must bear in mind that the Lord Jesus is the true apostle, the prophet, the evangelist, the pastor and the teacher; now he gives us the opportunity to become his brothers as part of the body of Christ. In Matthew 28:7, the angel said: And go quickly and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goes before you into Galilee; there ye shall see him; behold, I have told you.

When the Lord, however, appeared to the woman, he did not say: “Go and tell my disciples.” He said: go tell my brothers that they may go into Galilee, and there they shall see me. (Matthew 28:10) With His death and resurrection, the Lord Jesus made it possible for us to be part of His family (The Lord Jesus Christ’s family) instead of being in Adam’s family.

ZEPHANIAH 3

Zephaniah, which means “the Lord hideth,” came and prophesied before God’s people were taken captive by the king of Babylon. Babylon comes from the word “Babel,” that means “confusion,” and the Chaldeans were a type of spiritualists that represent licentiousness; they represent the carnal man that goes after the things of this world and falls under the control of other spirits. The kingdom of Babylon was all swept away, but Zephaniah the prophet ends by speaking of a “remnant.” In the book of the prophet Haggai, this remnant is called Zerubbabel or “sprout from Babylon.”

Matthew Chapters 2, 3, and 4 speak of the Lord Jesus being raised in Nazareth. Therefore, in time they called him “the Nazarite.” Nazareth means “sprout;” the Lord Jesus’ nickname when he was young was “the sprout.” (He was the only man born spiritually alive since God breathed the breath of life into Adam.)

At that same time, John the Baptist came through the wilderness to prepare the way of the Lord. (See Isaiah Chapter 40) This is part of the same picture of the house of God that will be restored. The Lord Jesus was and is that House because the glory of the presence of the Father dwells in Him. He said to his disciples when they asked him to see the Father: He that has seen me has seen the Father.[2]

This does not mean the Lord Jesus is the Father. It means the body of Christ, of which He is the head, is a body of many members because He is the Temple of God. We have the opportunity to be part of it as well.

King David (another example of Christ) prepared materials for the construction of the temple in the days of Solomon: stones of great value, all his personal fortune, all the spoils they acquired from the enemy, plus all that the people of Israel had freely given in gladness of heart starting with the elders. This temple was not made with tithes; it was not made by forcing people; it was spontaneous; it was whatever they wanted to give out of their own free-will. (See 1 Chronicles Chapter 29)

In the same way, what is coming is not an obligation. When the servant of Abraham went to find Isaac a wife, he chose the most charitable girl of the town, the one willing to travel through the desert to her true husband. Zephaniah, John the Baptist, David and Rebecca form pictures of what the LORD will do with a people in this last day.

Just as Zephaniah prophesied, God had His remnant which He kept hidden. To be protected under His wings in the shadow of the Almighty means we take refuge in His life, not in our own. This gives us hope.

Zephaniah 3:8 Therefore wait for me, said the LORD, until the day that I rise up to the prey;

They had to wait seventy years while all the hopes of the people of God disappeared because they were all captive in Babylon. But right there in Babylon, God raised up a remnant. He lifted up Daniel and his companions. They faced the fiery furnace. Daniel had to face the lions’ den and many other things. This was a symbol of what the Lord Jesus would face, and it is the same path for any one of us who truly follows the steps of the Lord Jesus. The Lord says that He is going to rise up to the prey.

...for my judgment is to gather the Gentiles, that I may assemble the kingdoms to pour upon them my indignation, even all my fierce anger; for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy.

For those who took over the inheritance of the sons of God, for those who invaded the land of God, He said that He was just a little angry at His people, and therefore let them proceed, but that the enemies of His people surpassed their mandate, and that is why the LORD dealt with them severely. However, it was through these dealings that the LORD allowed His people to be cleansed. Now, the time is coming when the LORD is going to do things His way.

9 For then I will restore to the peoples the pure language,

The pure language is the opposite of the confusion of Babel.

...that they may all call upon the name of the LORD to serve him with one consent.

God confused the language when He saw men making their own kingdom, elevating their own name and trying to avoid God’s judgments with the tower of Babel. This confusion will go on until God decrees to make it stop. He will restore a pure language which is another picture of the Lord Jesus because He is the living Word of the living God. (John 1:1-14)

It is when He is returned to the place that He deserves that everything else falls in place. Instead of having some people after the gifts of the Spirit where everything sounds like the tower of Babel again, there is going to be a people that are truly the LORD’S, that not only look for what He gives., but that also truly seek Him, so that He has the place that belongs to Him, and so that He is truly the foundation. He is looking for a people who do not cast out the corner stone, but who put it in the center of the work that is being built. But before this happens, God promises to restore the pure language. He is doing this now.

Zephaniah also speaks of rivers and a poor and humble people, and they shall wait in the name of the LORD. He speaks of a remnant of Israel that shall not do iniquity nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth, for they shall be fed and lie down, and no one shall make them afraid. This is what God is producing.

Zephaniah ends by saying:

14 Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout with joy O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all thy heart, O daughter of Jerusalem.

15 The LORD has taken away thy judgments; he has cast out thine enemy; the LORD is king of Israel in the midst of thee; thou shalt not see evil any more.

These promises have not been fulfilled... yet. They were partially fulfilled with the first coming of the Lord Jesus. The people of Israel rejected the Lord, and this resulted in the gospel being opened to the Gentiles. God cut off the incredulous branches of the good olive tree and inserted the believing Gentiles.

In Scripture, the prophet Zechariah does not speak of one olive tree, but of two (Zechariah 4:3), because when the God does something good, He likes to multiply it. Joseph was such a good son that Jacob wanted another just like him. That is how Benjamin was born (which is another story).

God the Father was so pleased with the Lord Jesus He wanted to have more of the same family. The Lord Jesus is the beginning of the new creation, the Head of a greater body, and the First born among many brethren. He is also, in another sense, the only begotten Son because He is the “only” one. Everything we can accomplish is by Him, in Him and with Him.

The Lord left his throne in glory and became a man like us. Jesus Christ, man, is now at the right hand of God the Father with all power and authority to mediate this New Covenant so we can enter into His nature: the nature of God, the nature of the new man in Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ is not of a weird race like in mythology when the Greek gods would marry humans and you would get these creatures that were half god and half man. No, the Lord Jesus is a legitimate man, but He is also one hundred percent God’s nature. He is God and also man, and not by halves. Scripture says that in the new man, Christ is all and in all (Colossians 3:9-11) so in the New Creation, God will be all in all. (1 Corinthians 15:28) Adam’s fallen race will end because it is heading towards perdition, while eternal life is in the Lord Jesus Christ. Eternal life is another quality of life, God’s life.

16 In that time it shall be said to Jerusalem, Do not fear; and to Zion, Do not let thine hands be slack.

17 The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save; he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love; he will joy over thee with singing.

The winepress of God’s judgment has two possibilities: with song or without song. It has the possibility of life and blessing or the possibility of vengeance.

18 I will gather those that are weary because of the long time,

How many are weary because of the long time and the desolation in the house of God?

...who are thine, unto whom her confusion was a burden.

LIVING IN INIQUITY

When the confusion of Babylon came, the people of God began doing their own thing in God’s name. When they finally returned to Jerusalem, each one built their own house instead of God’s house. In the beginning of the book of Haggai, they were saying, “It’s not time to build the house of God.”

19 Behold, at that time I will undo all that afflict thee; and I will save her that is lame and gather her that was driven out; and I will make them a praise and of good reputation in every land where they have been put to shame.

God will invert things. Everyone has heard of a priest, a pastor, or any person that represented God who got off track. Shame is everywhere, and even worse, some people enter into full rebellion when they say, “Okay, I’m like that, so what?”

Some rob and hide it, while others do it in your face and say, “so what?” Some slip into perversion and conceal it; others sin openly and say, “so what?” This has resulted in scandals of supposed representatives of God who are so deviated that instead of trying to hide their captivity to sin, they show their rebellion openly.

Once we were in a place where some friends congregated while ignoring iniquities of the group. These things were covered up. When that group finished their meeting, another group united with the same purpose: supposedly in the Name of the LORD. This new group (the actual owners of the place) allowed their perversion out in the open. The LORD will change this, not solely for us, but for Himself. Scripture says it is for the love of His own Name. The LORD wants to draw us in His Name, not ours.

20 At that time will I bring you again, even in the time that I gather you; for I will give you as fame and as praise among all peoples of the earth, when I shall return your captives before your eyes, saith the LORD.

God told His people this before they were taken captive so a small remnant hidden in Him would have hope and intercede for the rest of the people like Daniel did. Not only did Daniel intercede for his people, he repented for their sins so the prophecy of God given through Jeremiah (saying that their captivity would last seventy years) would be fulfilled.

Sadly, captivity in the Christian church has lasted almost two thousand years. However, the Lord Jesus is opening the seals that were reserved for the end time. It is time to restore God’s temple, which is us.

This message is about the book of the prophet Haggai whose name means “born on a feast day.” God sent Haggai with a word in the second year of Kind Darius’ reign. Let’s take a look at history: they took Daniel captive along with his people; God gave him the interpretation of the dream that the king had forgotten; then Daniel began to see visions of what was going to happen. The balancing point in the middle of the book of Daniel is after the great feast of king Nebuchadnezzar’s son, when the vessels of the temple were taken out, and the king and his guests began drinking out of them: in the original it says: against a thousand princes. A great feast was made to see who could drink the most, to see who could get the drunkest in Adam’s life, but with the vessels of the temple of God. Everything came down around their ears in the middle of the most tremendous feast (turned into a perverted drunken party) in the history of Babylon. A hand came and sculpted on the wall of stone and made the whole place shake causing the king to remain naked and trembling. They had to bring Daniel in who gave the interpretation: “Look king, your dad realized his mistake through many dealings, but you didn’t pay attention to your father’s lessons.”

There was a time when the human race realized its mistake. The church had a good beginning, but, like Belshazzar, we have not been able to learn from history, and what started out good is now in a tremendous pagan feast with the vessels of the LORD’S temple. They are drinking the wine from Babylon, and not the true wine from God’s winepress; they are getting drunk in Adam’s life with the vessels and the gifts of God; they are using the things of God to obtain maximum pleasure in the things of this world and God is about to bring it all down. In one night, the Medes and Persians diverted the river and entered the city, allowing the enemy army to come in. God will stop the river of humanism and replace it. This is why He is revealing His true word; God’s true word destroys the kingdoms of this world. Humanistic Babylon is about to receive a crushing blow.

Joseph in Egypt is another picture of this. Seven years of abundance would be followed by seven years of famine. Seeing it from God’s point of view, the seven years of abundance had to be administered with wisdom so they would survive the seven years of famine. Everyone who had animals and lived off them (lived according to the flesh) had to sell their animals to Joseph. Those who had their own lands (kingdoms) had to give them to Joseph in order to survive. Those who thought they owned themselves had to enslave themselves to Joseph. Everything ended up in Joseph’s hands.

That famine put everything in Joseph’s hands, who is a symbol of the Lord Jesus. The famine fast approaching us is described by the prophet Amos as a famine not of food or drink but of hearing the words of the LORD. (See Amos 8:11, 12) This is similar to the problem of the foolish virgins of Matthew Chapter 25 who ran out of oil.

If we unite the timeline of Joseph (see Genesis Chapters 41-47) with the timeline in the book of Daniel and the prophet Haggai, the seven years of abundance would end with the great feast. King Darius came after this, and in the book of Haggai, God spoke to the remnant of His people and told them they were in a famine and the rains of blessing had not fallen because of their failure to be on the right foundation.

King Darius is possibly Queen Esther and King Ahasuerus’ son. (Cyrus may have also been their son). Darius was raised differently than the Babylonians; he knew that this world goes against the true sons of God. His mother had to have told him the story about what evil Haman wanted to do with the people of God many times. He must have met Mordecai personally. The time came when all those who were against Daniel wanted to overthrow him by making the king sign a law where only the king could be worshipped for thirty days. King Darius had made a mistake. However, he was very afflicted the night that Daniel got thrown into the lions’ den, but he re-capacitated and did not take long in doing what had to be done. Just like what happened to the evil Haman, Darius threw the corrupt advisors into the lions’ den and it did not go too well for them there.

The Devil will end up in the “lions’ den”; he had the Lord Jesus nailed on a cross, something similar to the experience that Daniel had in the lions’ den. It did not go at all bad for Daniel in the lions’ den. David Parales, a singer friend of mine, believes Daniel covered himself between two or three big furry lions and slept comfortably that night.

In the same way, the Lord Jesus went down to Sheol and took the keys away from the Devil; He took captivity captive; He redeemed his own, and gave gifts to men. It will not go well for the Devil; he will end up in his own jail for one thousand years. (See Revelation Chapter 20)

They told Haggai the prophet it was not the right time, “It’s not time to build the house of God; it’s not time to enter into God’s promises; that is coming in a different age, who knows when; we are a poor remnant here and we can only do our own houses,” this is what they say everywhere. They continue to make their denominations, their sects, their cathedrals, and they say, “It’s not time for the true kingdom of God,” but the time is when the LORD says.

We are very close to the fall of “Babylon,” which will come suddenly. The waters of humanism that have been nourishing this great religious city of Babylon will stop flowing. There is already a famine, but people are happy drinking the spiritual equivalent to diet Coca Cola, which tastes good but does not have any nourishment.

Joseph’s brothers had to go to Egypt after two years of famine. Once two years were fulfilled, Joseph’s brothers had a revelation of the presence of Joseph. Joseph only revealed himself to his brothers after having measured their hearts well. The LORD has something similar coming.

In another picture, the book of the prophet Haggai begins the first day of the sixth month, when they say it is not the time and God says it is. And then another prophecy comes on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month when God begins to do something.

Haggai Chapter 1:14 And the LORD woke up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah and the spirit of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and worked in the house of the LORD of the hosts, their God,

15 in the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king.

Darius had just gotten through the most traumatic experience of his life when he had to throw Daniel in the lions’ den because of a whim. These kings symbolize us with our free will. We have also had to go through such an experience because of a whim of ours that puts the Lord’s true life in danger (either in us or in someone else). King Darius could not sleep that night. He fasted and went to the lions’ den early where he made a clear decision: “It doesn’t matter who says whether or not it’s the right time. I am going to return the vessels of the temple of God; I am going to return a remnant to Jerusalem; I am going to order them to once again start the construction of the house of God.”

Most of God’s people were saying: “It’s not the time.” But they did not know what was going on with king Darius and Daniel. Daniel did not have to scold the king; the king knew because God Himself touched him. And in this manner, the work began with Haggai 2:1

1 In the seventh month, in the twenty-first day of the month, the word of the LORD came by the hand of the prophet Haggai, saying,

The twenty-first day of the seventh month is the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles. The Feast of Tabernacles had never been celebrated well in Israel until after the captivity; Ezra and Nehemiah tell that story. (Ezra 3:4, Nehemiah 8:17)

The spiritual people of God in our time are going through many situations and trials as are the people of natural Israel. But a new message is being announced relating to the Feast of Trumpets. The message in this feast is: “Prepare yourself; afflict your soul; turn your back on your own life, because the Feast of Tabernacles is drawing near.”

There is an extremely important event in-between the Feast of Trumpets and the Feast of Tabernacles. On the tenth day of the seventh month is Yom Kippur, which is wrongly translated as “the day of atonement (or expiation).” In the original it doesn’t say “atonement,” it literally says “the day of reconciliations.”

In Scripture, reconciliation is not meeting God halfway but rather it means to become upright as the LORD is upright, so we can be compatible with Him. The root of the verb to reconcile is in one hundred twenty verses, a number that relates to divine order. Divine order is to place God’s law in our heart and in our mind so we do what is pleasing to the LORD by nature.

THE TWELVE YEAR DISCREPANCY

As a human race, from Adam’s time to ours, we have had almost six thousand years according to what is written in Scripture. For the LORD, a thousand years is as a day and one day as a thousand years. Both the Old and the New Testaments say this. (Psalm 90:4 and 2 Peter 3:8) There are six days for man to work, and the day of rest comes on the seventh where each one rests from their own works to only do the will of God.

Genesis 2:2 And on the seventh day God finished his work which he had made, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.

God worked on the seventh day and finished his work: then he rested.

3 And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it because in it he had rested from all his work which God created in perfection...

“Sanctified” means set apart for His exclusive use.

The Lord walked, ate, and harvested and did many other things on the Sabbath, but the people did not understand He was the Lord from heaven, the Heavenly Father lived in Him, and the seventh day is to do God’s will and not man’s.

We are now coming into the seventh millennium called the Day of the Lord by the prophets. We have entered into it in one calendar, but we have not quite entered in another. If you calculate, there appears to be a twelve-year glitch. The most likely explanation is that Adam rebelled after approximately twelve years of being in the garden. If the Exodus was in 1488 BC (twelve years different than we would have expected), then it appears that king David consolidated the kingdom twelve years later than we would have expected, about 3012 years after Adam.

Many key moments in history seem to be off by this factor of twelve years which is one of the reasons that leads me to suspect that Adam rebelled after being in the Garden twelve years. To this day, the age of twelve is considered by many to be “the age of accountability.” Therefore, the foundation of this present world system with the Devil in charge could have started twelve years after the creation of Adam and Eve.

Unlike Adam, the Lord Jesus went to the temple when He was twelve-years old and publicly declared that he must be about his Father’s business. This was an important marker. His obedience to God caused him to return and submit to the imperfect leadership of Mary and Joseph even when they did not understand it very well and when He knew who His real Father was.

If we locate the Exodus in 1488 B.C., the fifteen hundred years of example and shadow of the law are not fulfilled with the birth of Jesus, but rather with that unique event when the boy was twelve-years old. Scripture sums up the next eighteen years saying Jesus increased in wisdom and in age and in grace with God and men (Luke 2:52). When he appears with John the Baptist at about age thirty in the Jordan river at the beginning of his ministry (after submitting to Mary and Joseph for all that time), the Heavenly Father declares, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17, Mark 1:11 and Luke 3:22)

So, if Jesus is the real pattern, then this eighteen-year period of His life represents what would later be known as “the church age,” “the times of the gentiles”: two thousand years of the Gentiles (two prophetic thousand year days) that are about to be fulfilled. Without trying to trace all the prophecies that refer to our time, in previous chapters we have highlighted three time-lines in the Bible point to the year 1967.

The year 1967 is when the Six-Day War was unleashed; it was the beginning of the LORD allowing a new quality of word to be opened in the church. If this is correct, Daniel’s prophetic “days” will end approximately in the year 2012 give or take a few months depending on which calendar is used (and the true blessing will begin).

This prophecy suggests that the justified corporate people of God will come into the fullness of the blessing of God (I am not trying to set a date for the physical return of the Lord Jesus) and enter into a new Day, The Day of the Lord, which is the subject and focus of most Bible prophecy.

We are about to go over a threshold into the seventh prophetic day, and the details are in God’s hands. Since He is not willing that any should perish, He can extend time and grace as He sees fit; but sooner or later, we will cross the line into the Day of the Lord. This may not be obvious to many when it happens, but it will be very clear in hindsight when we look back on history.

GOD INSIDE

What does this have to do with us? It is obvious that the LORD has us in the Feast of Trumpets because of the message that He is announcing. The Feast of Trumpets is an ultimatum: Whoever does not afflict their soul (turn their back on their own life) will be cut off from among the people of God in the day of Yom Kippur (the Day of Reconciliation).

The Feast of Passover and the Feast of Pentecost could be lived in Adam’s life while also rejoicing in the benefits and gifts that God bestows on us. Likewise today, we see those who seek to celebrate the blessings of salvation (Passover) and gifts of the Spirit (Pentecost) in Adam’s life in the flesh; they call themselves “carnal Christians,” which has to be an oxymoron!

Many people in the Bible were invested with the power of God for a determined time, Samson style, and we have lived all of this. We see the endeavors of the Samsons of the church that are scattered throughout history, but how many of them have had “Delilah” cut their hair, lose their vision, and wind up grinding for the Philistines? Philistia refers to death, not life.

After Samson repented, he accomplished more in his death than in his life because God desires the death of the old man. Those who do wonderful works, even with God’s gifts in the old man, do not qualify for anything. They can say, Lord, Lord, we prophesied in your name, we cast out demons, we did many wonderful works. And the Lord will say, “I never knew you.”[3]

God does not recognize Adam and Adam’s sons as true heirs to the Kingdom. Gideon is an example of a true heir and so is Zechariah in the book of Chronicles (the son of an incredible priest). Zechariah means “the Lord remembers.”

The Bible says God clothed Himself in Gideon and in Zechariah. It was God inside and Gideon or Zechariah on the outside. (This is different from many other Scriptures where it says the Spirit of God “came upon” someone.) The LORD is looking for witnesses like these now, where His life and His nature are inside; it only looks like us on the outside.[4]

So it was with the Lord Jesus; the Father dwelt inside. The Lord Jesus never sinned because He never did His own will. His own intimate friends did not recognize Him after the resurrection; they thought He was a gardener because He was transformed.

The Lord Jesus accomplished the Day of Reconciliation (Yom Kippur), walking behind the veil, and entering into the presence of God the Father for us. He broke the power of death; He rent the veil that was later sewn up by men, and He continues to be the only entrance into the presence of the Father. Soon there will be a corporate fulfillment with the entire body of Christ.

The symbolism of so many years with high priests, blood, and scapegoats has made it clear that anyone who tries to enter the Holy of Holies (the presence of the Father) in their own life will not live. Cherubim with flaming swords embroidered on the veil reminded the people of the ones God placed on the borders of Eden to make sure Adam and Eve (and their posterity) could not return to the tree of life in their fallen state. (Genesis 3:24)

Where are we going with all of this? We are in the Feast of Trumpets; the years of plenty, the years of the fat cows are about to end. According to the picture seen in Haggai, these bountiful years ended when King Darius came in. Haggai prophesied in Darius’ second year.

Likewise, during the second year of skinny cows, and Joseph was ruler in Egypt, he revealed himself to his brothers. They realized that by selling him it was like sending him to the “lions’ den.” But God turned it into good.

We have all done the same with the Lord Jesus. The worst part is that some of us have been born in the right place, have all the knowledge and the information, and are well-versed in the things of God from “Queen Esther” and “uncle Mordecai.” Darius realized this, and he understood that it was time to return the vessels of the temple of God to their proper place without caring about what the pagan “wise” men said or about what the world around him said.

God Himself woke up the spirit in all of these people so that they could enter in and do a work that we humans cannot do in our natural state. The work of our human hands in Adam, the work of the hands of Cain when he offered a present obtained by the sweat of his brow (even though he came with the best of his harvest) is rejected by the LORD. (Genesis 4:3-7)

In the book of the prophet Haggai we learn nothing has worked. They returned to the land and tried to rebuild the City of Peace, but it was not working for them. Presently, many people are looking everywhere, wanting to return to the glory of the early church, but they cannot find it anywhere.

Haggai 1:11 says the LORD called for a drought upon this land and upon the mountains and upon the wheat and upon the wine and upon the oil and upon that which the earth brings forth and upon the men, and upon the beasts and upon every labour of hands. If we work in our own strength, out of Adam’s life, even with gifts and revelation from God, there is a curse upon the life we are trying to share; there is a curse over the anointing we are trying to propose. There is a curse over the mountains, over our fortresses, and God says He is going to make the foundations of the earth shake. God is going to expose and do away with the foundations of this world in order to return everything to the true foundation that He has laid out from before the foundation of this world. This is the plan and purpose of God in the Lord Jesus Christ.

SOMETHING DIFFERENT

Back to Haggai Chapter 2

6 For thus hath the LORD of the hosts said: Yet even once, and I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land;

7 and I will shake all the Gentiles; and the desire of all the Gentiles shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, said the LORD of the hosts.

8 The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, said the LORD of the hosts.

9 The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, said the LORD of the hosts, and in this place I will give peace, said the LORD of the hosts.

The house that they built (which was nothing compared to the one Solomon made) had greater glory because God’s true glory was in the human form of the Lord Jesus Christ who entered into that house and made two attempts at cleaning it.

However, at the second attempt, they killed and rejected him. What happened next is an example and prophecy of what is coming because the glory of what the Lord did in the early church is nothing compared to what He will do now in the time of the end.

The life of the Lord was present (in measure) in the disciples and in the church back then, but the life He will pour out now is going to be in fullness. The apostle Paul said that what they had back then was the “earnest” or the down payment of the Spirit (Ephesians 1:11-14) and Joel 2:28-29 says the LORD will pour out His Spirit (in fullness).

When Peter quoted Joel in Acts 2, he said He will pour out of His Spirit, but he was speaking of the Spirit in part at Pentecost. Now is the time of fullness.

When the bases were placed, some cried for the joy of the moment, and others cried because they remembered what had been before, because what they were doing in that moment seemed like nothing. But Scripture says we must not despise the day of small beginnings.[5] What is happening now is not the model of Pentecost. It is the model of Tabernacles, and that is very different. The Age of Pentecost was like the upper room, a big deal and then the glory started fading like Moses’ face when he returned from the mountain of God (every revival since then seems to have followed the same pattern through the history of the church)

But Tabernacles begins small like the Morning Star that has to shine first in our hearts until the day is perfect. (Proverbs 4:18) Then the moon (symbol of Israel and the church) will shine with the light of the sun (Christ) and wane no more; the sun will shine seven fold, the light of seven days in one. (See Isaiah Chapter 30)

God has a small remnant who know the presence of the LORD; He has those who have been hidden in the LORD from before the captivity and whom He has been preparing during the whole tragedy. Now when the time comes, before placing stone upon stone, it says that there was a decisive moment, and this is when the foundation is placed, and the foundation cannot be moved. Look at the foundation in Ezra Chapter 3:

10 And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, they set the priests in their apparel with trumpets and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the LORD, according to the ordinance of David, king of Israel.

And we know that true praise is a clean life.

11 And they sang, praising and giving thanks unto the LORD because he is good, for his mercy endures for ever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout, praising the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid.

12 But many of the priests and Levites and of the heads of the fathers, who were ancient men that had seen the first house, as the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice while many shouted aloud for joy.

Some want to restore the glory of the early church; but they know that we are not in anything like that yet. However, others have the vision that God will do something far beyond the previous house.

Psalm 104:5 says:

...who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be moved by any age.

The true people of God are his earth. From the beginning, Scripture talks about a seed (singular) of a woman that will defeat the serpent (bruise his head) and lift the curse (which is still present).

The key to the prophecy of Haggai is showing how the curse is lifted: the curse that came with Adam, the curse that came when man wanted the knowledge of good and evil, the curse that has continued throughout the religion of men (be it the Jews or the Christian church in its different forms: catholic, orthodox, protestant). Because men have wanted God to tell them what is evil while they continue deciding what is good, and this is why we have not been able to come out from under the curse. They have not understood.

God sent the disciples to go to all the nations, to all the Gentiles, and baptize the people into the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They use a formula with water and words. Some baptize infants. Some pour water on top. Others dunk them three times. Others say that they do it only in the name of Jesus. All kinds of formulas exist, but no one understands that “baptism” means to “submerge and saturate” into the NAME of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit: in other words, into God’s nature.

What is the use of baptizing people in Adam’s life if they come out wet, but they remain in Adam? I do not ridicule someone who has had an incredible baptismal experience, and God touched them, and they came out being moved by the Holy Spirit. Bless the LORD.

This happened in the book of the Acts of the Apostles, but now is a rare occasion. The water is only a symbol of the Word of God. The LORD wants to unleash a Word that will restore the pure and clean language so we can be saturated with what God says. He wants to take the water of this Word and turn it into wine, into life more abundant and of better quality than that of the first century. He wants something better than what Adam and Eve had in the garden because Adam was made a living soul only when God breathed life into him, but the Lord Jesus (the Lord of heaven) is a life-giving Spirit. (1 Corinthians 15:45)

God will restore us into something better than what Adam had before the fall. He will restore us to the original of which Adam was only an image and an example. Adam was a type and a shadow of what was to come later in the second Adam, the Lord of heaven.

The Devil convinced them to choose the knowledge of good and evil so they could be like God. This led us to death, but the Lord Jesus wants us to follow Him unto death, so we can enter into God’s divine nature and become joint heirs with Christ. (See 2 Peter Chapter 1)

...who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be moved by any age.

We are chosen from beforehand in the Lord Jesus who comes from before and is the true pattern. The true earth, the true people that the God wants, is summed up in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Isaiah 28:16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believes shall not make haste.

Isaiah 44:28 that calls Cyrus, my shepherd, and all that I desire, he shall fulfill, by saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.

In the New Testament, the foundation continues to be Himself.

1 Corinthians 3:10 According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another builds upon it. But let each one see how the building is built.

11 For no one can lay another foundation than that laid, which is Jesus the Christ.

Ephesians 2:20 ...and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone.

For practically the last two millenniums, individuals have entered upon this foundation, but king David (whose reign is another example for us) never built the temple, he only prepared the materials. We have had a time like this and now God says He is going to begin something different. Up until now, those who had ministries tried to gather people and keep them going to the meetings. This is a problem because people want to break loose and go their own way. Now, God says He will gather a people into His Name, which is the same as gathering them into His Nature.

God will call them, and they will follow. He will call them, “My people,” and we are going to let Him be our God and follow Him.

Haggai 2:15 ...And now, I pray you, consider in your heart from this day forth, from before a stone was laid upon a stone in the temple of the LORD:

The LORD has not yet laid stone upon stone, and the men who have laid stone upon stone without a true word from the LORD will be disappointed because they were not building His temple; they were building another house that will fall.

16 since these things were: when one came to a heap of twenty measures,

(measures is translated efas in Spanish and it is what they used to measure wheat)

...there were but ten;

Twenty is a symbol of a gift and of grace; ten is a symbol of law. Instead of gifts, instead of grace, instead of goodness, there is a law that no one has been able to keep leading to guilt trips, problems and religion where whoever sins and then prays thinks they are okay.

One of the great errors of our time is when men try to follow the New Testament as if it were law instead of grace. If we try to copy what Jesus and the Apostles were doing according to the letter of the Scriptures, we will fail miserably in our own strength just as the Jews failed when they tried to keep the Law of Moses on their own. The only way to please God is in the new man in Christ.

HOPE OF A REMNANT

...when one came to the pressfat to draw out fifty vessels out of the press,

The press is where the wine of life is... when they wanted fifty (Pentecost – The New Covenant)... there were but twenty.

The goodness of Pentecost vanished, but God kept giving gifts of His grace throughout this long and sad history while true life has been diminishing. It has not increased, but not disappeared because God decided to maintain our hope: the hope of a remnant that continues to live by faith.

17 I smote you with the east wind and with mildew and with hail in all the labours of your hands,

Even with the gifts of God, those who are in Adam are not in the blessing. We are from the earth, and the earth is cursed, and the earth only produces thistles and thorns as a result of the curse that remains as long as man insists on the knowledge of good and evil. The only one who can get us out of the mess that Adam got us into is the Lord Jesus Christ. He came to get us out of there and direct us toward the death of the old man and the resurrection of a new life in the Lord. His death justifies us, but much more, now reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. (Romans 5:10)

Haggai 2:18 Consider now in your heart from this day forth, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month,

From this verse we see that Haggai’s ministry had existed for three months, three weeks and three days and many things had happened. God entered the scene; he woke up the spirit of all of them and brought them into the true house. The true foundation was laid, and the division of the history of man is parted in two: the days of the curse under Adam versus the days of the blessing under the life of Christ, no longer as individuals but as a people chosen by God in the earth.

…from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, even from the day that the foundation of the LORD’S temple was laid, put your heart into it.

Haggai did not preach like the preachers of today who say, “We are going to build the temple; we are going to do the work of God; we need your tithes; we need offerings; and as much money as we can get.”

No, Haggai preached this of the LORD: The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, said the LORD of the hosts, after waking up the spirit of the remnant. The Spirit of God must come and wake up our spirit so we can repent from our dead works, and God can do His work in and through us. This is why the grain offering and the work of our hands was never accepted in the Old Testament without a blood sacrifice. The work must be done in His life not in ours.

This was highlighted for fifteen hundred years and even so, few have understood. We cannot understand if the LORD does not wake up our spirit, if the Lord Jesus does not enter us into the baptism into the Name (nature) of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, which is the same baptism into the Name (nature) of Jesus.

John the Baptist baptized in water and many of us can do the same, but only the Lord Jesus can baptize into the Holy Spirit and fire. He can use us just as He was using Haggai, Zephaniah, Zechariah and so many others. What does God want from us? He only wants our heart; He wants to transform it and write His laws on it. He wants to place the Name of the Father, the Son and of the Holy Spirit into our heart and into our mind because this way there will not be any more problems, because we will have His feelings and His thoughts. Then we will have the unlimited resources of the Spirit to win this Great War against the flesh, the world and the Devil.

19 Is not the seed yet in the barn?

Who is the barn? The Lord is. He wants us to be the tithes and the first fruits so we can be taken into the granary, which is Him. The Lord will produce bread for the starving and seed to sow. The seed is not yet in the barn, but when we are in His hands, we will soon be in the barn. God will begin the blessing as soon as the foundation is laid.

This has been obtainable at an individual level; maybe it has been obtained in little groups. But we are very close to the time when God is going to decree it on a general scale in all the earth. This great feast of Babylon is going to come down, and something new and clean will rise. And God is going to reveal His work to all of us who have had the same trajectory as Darius. He is going to reveal what we have really done; He is going to remind us of the problem with the lions’ den and the responsibility that we all have with the true body of the Lord; and He is going to wake up our spirit to return the vessels and the gifts of God again to the place where they belong.

This is what God is going to do on the earth where the work of our hands is not going to be for us but for Him. There will be blessing if the true foundation is in its place because the Lord Jesus broke the curse. He is the beginning of the new creation and the new creation does not have a curse. The Lord Jesus is the beginning of something where no thistles or thorns can grow that crowd out the message, where what is planted can produce thirty, sixty, or one hundred fold.

19 Is not the seed yet in the barn? Not even the vine, nor the fig tree, nor the pomegranate, nor the olive tree, has blossomed yet, but from this day will I bless you.

This is where the curse ends. The difference between the blessing and the curse is huge. We cannot imagine what the true blessing is like because we have spent far too long fighting and kicking in Adam’s problem without being able to get out.

20 And the word of the LORD came the second time unto Haggai in the twenty-fourth day of the month, saying,

(When the LORD repeats something a second time, it means that what He’s saying is firm.[6])

21 Speak to Zerubbabel,

(Zerubbabel represents a sprout from Babylon)

“governor of Judah,”

(The people in charge of God’s praise here on the earth)

…saying, I cause the heavens and the earth to shake,

When God places the true foundation, what is bound here on the earth is bound in heaven and what is loosed on the earth is loosed in heaven. What does God want us to do? He wants us to bind Adam and loose Christ, and the heavens and the earth will shake!

22 and I will overthrow the throne of the kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the kingdom of the Gentiles,

This is the kingdom of the unconverted, those who are not circumcised in their hearts

…and I will overthrow the chariot

God will overthrow the humanistic religious, political, and economic machinery.

...and those that ride in them;

those who depend on man’s machinery

…and the horses and their riders shall come down,

The carnal and humanist will fall.

…each one by the sword of his brother.

As in the days of Gideon, they shall do themselves in.

23 In that day, said the LORD of the hosts, I will take thee, O Zerubbabel, my servant, the son of Shealtiel, said the LORD, and will make thee as a signet ring; (like Mordecai) for I have chosen thee, saith the LORD of the hosts.

The LORD will soon take this remnant that has come out of the systems of men and has been walking in a desert with much need, difficulty and trial. They have been confused at times saying, “It’s not the time,”

He is going to tell them, “It is time and I have chosen you.”

Paul told Timothy that he needed to be ready in season and out of season because if it is not time for others, it may be time for us. (2 Timothy 4:2) The time is when the LORD says and not when we think.

When it was time in Haggai’s days, some entered in, but others had to be separated because they did not come from a clean line.[7] Now we are in the priesthood of all believers, but God will separate those who are clean from those who are unclean: those who are in Christ from those who are in Adam.

Joshua, Zerubbabel, Ezra, Nehemiah and others were blessed, but Sanballat and Tobiah, among others, had to be taken out because they mocked the remnant of Israel (Nehemiah 2:10, 2:19, 4:3, 4:7, 6:1-2, and 6:14). There are many who say they are of the church of God; they say the church is their mother, but God the Father does not recognize them as His sons.

Unlike the other Feasts, in Feast of Tabernacles God does not accept us in the life of Adam (our own life) even with ministries and gifts that He has given us. What has been given to the servants has to return to the house sooner or later, but what is given to the sons remains forever. (John 8:34, 35) This is the time for the true sons, those who have received God’s discipline, those who have washed their garments in the blood of the Lamb (which is His life).

The book of the prophet Haggai ends, and the book of Zechariah the prophet begins saying:

1 In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came unto the prophet Zechariah…

The message begins again, and it is a prophecy full of detail. This line can keep on going indefinitely because it does not have a limit. Let’s just look at something here in Zechariah 8:3:

Thus hath the LORD said, I will restore Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem;

(This will be the historic fulfillment of the Feast of Tabernacles)

...and Jerusalem shall be called City of truth

(the seed of this world will wrinkle up and fail and only the true seed will remain which is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the light, the truth, the life and everything has to be upon Him.)

...and the mountain of the LORD of the hosts, the mountain of holiness.

This is referring to the people who are separated exclusively for His use. On the other hand it speaks of the foundations of the mountains being swept away. All the mountains, all the powers, all the people who use God’s Name for other purposes will come down because they were based on lies.

4 Thus hath the LORD of the hosts said; Old men and old women shall yet dwell there in the streets of Jerusalem, and each one with his staff in his hand for the multitude of days.

The “staff” is a symbol of discipline and righteousness.

5 And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls who shall play in them.

We are talking about a thousand years of God’s chosen people reigning with Christ. (Revelation Chapter 20)

6 Thus saith the LORD of the hosts, If this should appear difficult in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be difficult in my eyes? saith the LORD of the hosts.

7 Thus hath the LORD of the hosts said; Behold, I will save my people of the land of the east and of the land where the sun sets;

8 and I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness.

Just as the natural Jews have come to the natural Jerusalem and are in a great conflict between one race and another, the church is also in a great conflict (between the race of Adam and the race of Christ). These problems have not yet been resolved, but they will be. When God resolves this, just as there is only one faith and one baptism (See Ephesians Chapter 4), He will resolve our faith with His.

So many baptisms are being performed, but in the end, what matters is who is in His life and who is not? God will resolve the natural Jews with the adopted Jews (the church): in other words, the natural Israel with the spiritual Israel.

When this is accomplished there will only be one people of God; there will be no more divisions; there shall be one fold and one shepherd (Ezekiel 34:23, John 10:16). This is not going to be done by us accommodating between ourselves; it is going to be done in the Lord’s life; and His life, by nature, produces the fruit that He seeks.

9 Thus hath the LORD of the hosts said, Let your hands be strong, ye that hear in these days these words by the mouth of the prophets, from the day that the foundation of the house of the LORD of the hosts was laid, that the temple might be built.

10 For before these days there was no hire for man, nor any hire for beast; neither was there any peace to him that went out or came in because of the affliction: for I set all men each one against his neighbor.

This is the state of natural Israel and spiritual Israel because neither one has been able to break free from the curse on the life of Adam (and upon all those who remain in Adam) spoken by God in Genesis Chapter 3.

11 But now I will not do unto the residue of this people as in the former days (as in the six thousand-year days of man which are now ending) said the LORD of the hosts.

12 For the seed of peace shall remain; the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground shall give her fruit, and the heavens shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all this.

The vine shall give her fruit when everything is on this foundation, when the corner stone that was cast out is placed again and God declares this, the LORD’S life will flow; the earth will give her fruit, the true fruit of the Spirit. The heavens shall give their dew: God’s blessing will fall, and the remnant will inherit the earth. This speaks of Zerubbabel, the sprout from Babylon, the true body of Christ.

13 And it shall come to pass that as ye were a curse among the Gentiles, O house of Judah and house of Israel; so will I save you that ye might be a blessing; fear not, but let your hands be strong.

14 For thus hath the LORD of the hosts said, As I thought to punish you when your fathers provoked me to wrath, said the LORD of the hosts, and I did not repent:

15 so again have I thought in these days to do well unto Jerusalem and to the house of Judah; do not fear.

16 These are the things that ye shall do:

ONLY IN CHRIST

What does God want? He wants to put our hearts in first place. Our hearts are our motivation, our life, and our essence, our being.

...Speak each one the truth to his neighbor; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates;

17 and let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour; and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate, said the LORD.

The LORD wants to place His thoughts in our hearts.

18 And the word of the LORD of the hosts came unto me, saying,

19 Thus hath the LORD of the hosts said, The fast of the fourth month and the fast of the fifth and the fast of the seventh and the fast of the tenth shall be to the house of Judah joy and gladness and cheerful feasts; therefore love the truth and peace.

God is going to restore everything that the cankerworm and the palmerworm have eaten: this great army that did away with all the green, with all the life. He is going to place it back again way over and beyond what Adam lost. (Joel 2:25)

20 Thus hath the LORD of the hosts said, It shall yet come to pass that there shall come people and the inhabitants of many cities.

21 and the inhabitants of one city shall go to another saying, Let us go to pray before the LORD...

Where is the LORD? He is in the Holy of Holies. How can we get to the Holy of Holies? Only in the life of the Lamb of God, not in our own life. This is the realm of answered prayers; this is the hour when we can ask the Father, and He will respond because we can have direct access to His presence and ask in the Name of Jesus, in the Life of Jesus, in the Nature of Jesus, as part of the body of Christ.

21 Let us go to pray before the LORD and to seek the LORD of the hosts. And the other will respond: I will go also.

22 And many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of the hosts in Jerusalem...

In the city of peace... God says that peace is where He puts peace, and this is the place where we should put our heart. He says He will place His peace in the place where the true foundation has been laid. He says if we are born from above, the heavenly Jerusalem is the mother of us all. (Galatians 4:26)

23…In those days it shall come to pass that ten men of all the languages of the Gentiles shall take hold of the robe of him that is a Jew,

In Spanish this word, Jew, is translated as varón Judío. In other words, it is referring to a Jew that is born free. There is only one that is born free, and it is the Lord Jesus Christ. In Revelation 12:5, Christ is called the Hijo Varón in Spanish (noble born son).

…saying, We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.

“God with us,” Emanuel, is the name of the Lord. “God with us” is the Feast of Tabernacles. After placing the true foundation, there is no limit to what can be built, and it will remain for all eternity.

We are in the historic moment when God is going to decree the blessing. We cannot predict the future, but we do know we are in the Feast of Trumpets and the day of Yom Kippur is about to arrive in its historic fulfillment, just as Passover and Pentecost have both been historically fulfilled.

For Daniel, Haggai and Zechariah, it came in the second year of Darius. For Joseph, it came in the second year of drought. It is at the door for us. Only God knows how much time is left. In that day, one shall be taken, and the other left (Matthew 24:40 and Luke 17:34).

As in the days of Noah, some will be hidden in His life, and others will be taken and swept away by the judgment that is coming. Judgment in the days of Noah was symbolically upon the earth (the dry land realm of the people of God), not upon life in the sea (the realm of pagan nations; the sea of lost humanity). Scripture says that the judgment that is coming will begin from the house of the LORD.

This judgment comes to clean a “Holy Place” where many gifts are being exercised by a priesthood (of all believers) that in the majority of cases is not clean. They have prepared a tremendous Babylonian feast.

The only ones who will be protected and preserved beyond a shadow of a doubt is a remnant called “Daniel.” In the feast, Belshazzar offered Daniel to be the third ruler in the kingdom, but after that night ended, Daniel was placed first in Darius’s kingdom. The Lord will not act as our bodyguard in what is coming; He will not be our co-pilot. If we want to walk in the new day, He must be the head and us the body. In the new day, this foundation is what He requires, what He does. And He wants to take us on from there in order to do the will of our Heavenly Father here on earth.

LET’S PRAY:

LORD, I ask that we will be able to understand the true foundation, that we will long for the restoration of this foundation in Your people with the same longing that Daniel, Haggai, Zechariah, Zerubbabel and Joshua had.

LORD, that we will be able to find days of blessing in the midst of the shortage and hunger that is coming upon the world, upon the great Babylon. That we will be able to be like the priests in the time of Joseph and Pharaoh, that had their sustenance secured because they were linked in the right place.

Allow us, LORD, to be found awake by your Spirit, so that as part of that great Morning Star, you can use us to help wake up others before the day arrives and does away with all those who are corrupt within the people of God.

Allow us LORD to be among those who have found our existence in You, so that we can be upon what is firm, upon the true foundation, so that the day that is coming does not destroy us; so that the day that is coming only affirms us more in Your purposes.

Allow us LORD to enter behind the veil into Your life and find in the Presence of the Father, our dwelling place. Keep us so that we may remain standing in the face of everything that is coming. Amen.

[1]  Revelation 1:18 and he that lives and was dead; and; behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen, and have the keys of Hades and of death.

[2]  John 14: 8-11 Philip said unto him, Lord show us the Father, and it will suffice us. Jesus said unto him, Have I been such a long time with you, and yet thou hast not known me, Philip? He that has seen me has seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father and the Father in me? The words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself; but the Father that dwells in me, he does the works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father in me, or else believe me for the very works’ sake.

[3]  Matthew 7: 22-23 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then I will profess unto them, I never knew you; depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

[4]  Judges 6:34 And the Spirit of the LORD clothed himself in Gideon, who when he had blown the shofar, Abiezer joined with him.

2 Chronicles 24:20 And the Spirit of God clothed himself in Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada, the priest, who being over the people, said unto them, Thus hath God said, Why do ye transgress the commandments of the LORD? Ye shall not prosper in this; for because ye have forsaken the LORD, he shall also forsake you.

[5]  Zechariah 4:10 For who has despised the day of small beginnings? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel. Those seven are the eyes of the LORD, which run to and fro through the whole earth.

[6]  Genesis 41:32 And that the dream came unto Pharaoh twice, it is because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.

[7]  Ezra 2:61-62 And of the sons of the priests: the sons of Habaiah, the sons of Koz, the sons of Barzillai; who took a wife of the daughters of Barzillai, the Gileadite, and was called after their name. These sought their register among those that were reckoned by genealogy, but they were not found; therefore, they were, as polluted, put from priesthood. (This is also found in the book of Nehemiah 7:64.)

APPENDIX A

The Prophecy of Daniel

DANIEL PART 6

REVELATION 18:1-24

1 And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power, and the earth was illuminated with his glory.

2 And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of demons, and the hold of every unclean spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.

3 For all the Gentiles have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the power of her delicacies.

4 And I heard another voice from the heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye not be partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

5 For her sins have reached unto the heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.

6 Reward her even as she rewarded you and pay her double according to her works; in the cup which she has given thee to drink, give her double.

7 As much as she has glorified herself and lived deliciously, give her that much torment and sorrow; for she says in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.

8 Therefore, shall her plagues come in one day, death and mourning and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire; for strong is the Lord God who judges her.

9 And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her and lament for her when they shall see the smoke of her burning,

10 Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city; for in one hour is thy judgment come!

11 And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise anymore:

12 The merchandise of gold and of silver and of precious stones and of pearls and of fine linen and of purple and of silk and of scarlet and of all thyine wood and of all manner vessels of ivory and of all manner vessels of most precious wood and of brass and of iron and of marble

13 and cinnamon and odours and ointments and frankincense and wine and oil and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and of sheep, and of horses, and of chariots and of bodies and souls of men.

14 And the fruits of the desire of thy soul are departed from thee, and all the fat and excellent things are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all.

15 The merchants of these things, who were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing,

16 and saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls!

17 For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster and all the company in ships and sailors and as many as trade by sea stood afar off

18 and cried out when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city was like unto this great city!

19 And they cast dust on their heads and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, in which all that had ships in the sea were made rich by reason of her riches! for in one hour is she made desolate.

20 Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye saints, apostles, and prophets; for God has judged your cause upon her.

21 And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with impetus shall that great city Babylon be thrown down and shall be found no more at all.

22 And the voice of harpers and musicians and of pipers and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatever craft he is, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee;

23 and the light of a lamp shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the princes of the earth in whose witchcraft all the Gentiles have erred.

24 And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints and of all that were slain upon the earth.

DANIEL PART 7A

REVELATION 17:1-18

1 And there came one of the seven angels who had the seven vials and talked with me, saying unto me, Come here; I will show unto thee the condemnation of the great whore that sits upon many waters,

2 with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.

3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman seated upon a scarlet-coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.

4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and of the filthiness of her fornication;

5 and upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF THE HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus; and when I saw her, I marvelled with great surprise.

7 And the angel said unto me, Why didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and ten horns.

8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not, and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and shall go into perdition; and those that dwell on the earth shall wonder (whose names are not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world) when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.

9 And here is the meaning which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sits.

10 And they are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he comes, he must continue a short space.

11 And the beast that was, and is not, is also the eighth king, and is of the seven, and goes into perdition.

12 And the ten horns which thou hast seen are ten kings, which have not yet taken a kingdom, but shall take authority as kings one hour with the beast.

13 These have one mind and shall give their power and authority unto the beast.

14 These shall make war against the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them; for he is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those that are with him are called and chosen and faithful.

15 And he said unto me, The waters which thou hast seen, where the whore sits, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues.

16 And the ten horns which thou didst see upon the beast, these shall hate the whore and shall make her desolate and naked and shall eat her flesh and burn her with fire.

17 For God has put in their hearts to fulfil his will and to agree and give their kingdom unto the beast until the words of God shall be fulfilled.

18 And the woman which thou hast seen is that great city, which reigns over the kings of the earth.

DANIEL PART 7B

REVELATION 6:1-17

1 And I saw when the Lamb had opened the first seal, and I heard the first of the four animals, saying as with a voice of thunder, Come and see.

2 And I saw and, behold, a white horse; and he that was seated upon him had a bow, and a crown was given unto him, and he went forth victorious, that he might also overcome.

3 And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second animal, which said, Come and see.

4 And another horse went forth that was red, and unto him that was seated thereon was given power to take away the peace of the earth and that they should kill one another; and there was given unto him a great sword.

5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third animal, which said, Come and see. And I saw and, behold, a black horse, and he that was seated upon him had a yoke in his hand.

6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four animals, which said, A choenix of wheat for a denarius and three choenixes of barley for a denarius; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.

7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth animal, which said, Come and see.

8 And I looked and, behold, a green horse, and he that was seated upon him was named Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given unto him over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword and with hunger and with death and with the beasts of the earth.

9 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those that had been slain because of the word of God and for the testimony which they held:

10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on those that dwell in the earth?

11 And white robes were given unto each one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little while until their fellow servants and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.

12 And I saw when he had opened the sixth seal, and, behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;

13 and the stars of heaven fell upon the earth, even as a fig tree casts her figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.

14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.

15 And the kings of the earth and the princes and the rich and the captains and the strong and every servant and every free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains

16 and said to the mountains and to the rocks, Fall on us and hide us from the face of him that is seated upon the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb;

17 for the great day of his wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand before him?

DANIEL PART 9

ISAIAH 58:1-14

1 Cry aloud, do not hold back; lift up thy voice like a shofar and preach to my people their rebellion and to the house of Jacob their sin.

2 That they seek me daily and want to know my ways, as people that do righteousness and have not forsaken the rights of their God: they ask me of the rights of righteousness and desire to approach God.

3 Why have we fasted, they say, and thou dost not see? why have we afflicted our soul, and thou dost take no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find your own pleasure and exact your own estates.

4 Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day to make your voice to be heard on high.

5 Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast and an acceptable day to the LORD?

6 Is not rather the fast that I have chosen, to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the ties of oppression, to release into freedom those who are broken, and that ye break every yoke?

7 Is it not to share thy bread with the hungry and that thou bring the poor that are cast out into thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou not hide thyself from thy brother?

8 Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall gather thee.

9 Then shalt thou call, and thou shalt hear the LORD; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity;

10 and if thou pour out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday:

11 And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.

12 And they shall build up out of thee the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the fallen foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.

13 If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy will on my holy day; and call the sabbath the delightful, holy, glorious day of the LORD; and shalt honour him by not doing thine own ways, nor seeking thine own will, nor speaking thine own words:

14 Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth and cause thee to eat of the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD has spoken it.

APPENDIX B

The Prophecy of David

THE MORNING STAR

1 CORINTHIANS 15:1-58

1 Moreover, brothers, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received and in which ye stand;

2 by which also ye are being saved if ye retain the word that I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.

3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received: how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures

4 and that he was buried and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures

5 and that he appeared to Cephas and then to the twelve;

6 after that, he appeared unto more than five hundred brothers at once, of whom the greater part remain unto now, but some are fallen asleep.

7 After that, he appeared unto James; then to all the apostles.

8 And last of all he appeared unto me also, as of one born out of due time.

9 For I am the least of the apostles, for I am not worthy to be called an apostle because I persecuted the church of God.

10 But by the grace of God I am what I am; and his grace towards me was not in vain, for I laboured more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

11 Therefore, whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed.

12 Now if the Christ is preached that rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?

13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then neither is Christ risen;

14 and if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is vain, and your faith is also vain.

15 And we are even found false witnesses of God because we have testified of God that he raised up the Christ, whom he did not raise up, if it so be that the dead do not rise.

16 For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not raised either;

17 and if Christ is not raised, your faith is vain; ye are even yet in your sins.

18 Then those also who are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.

19 If in this life only we have existence in Christ, we are the most miserable of all men.

20 But now Christ is risen from the dead and become the firstfruits of those that slept.

21 For since by a man came death, by a man came also the resurrection of the dead.

22 For as in Adam all die, even so in the Christ shall all be made alive.

23 But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward, those that are Christ’s at his coming.

24 Then comes the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father, when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.

25 For he must reign until he has put all enemies under his feet.

26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

27 For he has put all things under his feet. But when he says all things are put under him, it is clear that he is excepted, who did put all things under him.

28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also subject himself unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.

29 Else what shall they do who are baptized for the dead, if the dead do not rise at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?

30 And why do we stand in jeopardy every hour?

31 I die daily to stay in the glory of having taught you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord.

32 If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what does it advantage me, if the dead do not rise? let us eat and drink; for tomorrow we die.

33 Be not deceived: evil companions corrupt good character.

34 Watch diligently, and sin not; for some do not know God: I speak this to your shame.

35 But someone will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come?

36 Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not brought to life, unless it dies first;

37 and that which thou sowest, thou sowest not the body that shall be, but bare grain: it may be of wheat or of some other grain;

38 but God gives it a body as it has pleased him, and to each seed its own body.

39 All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds.

40 There are also heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the heavenly glory is one thing, and the earthly glory is another.

41 One thing is the glory of the sun, and another the glory of the moon, and another the glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory.

42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption, it shall be raised in incorruption;

43 it is sown in dishonour, it shall be raised with glory; it is sown in weakness, it shall be raised with power;

44 it is sown a natural body, it shall be raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.

45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a life-giving Spirit.

46 Howbeit the spiritual is not first, but the natural; and afterward, that which is spiritual.

47 The first man is of the earth, earthy; the second man is the Lord of heaven.

48 As is the earthy, such are those also that are earthy; and as is the heavenly, such also are those that are heavenly.

49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.

50 Now this I say, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither does corruption inherit incorruption.

51 Behold, I show you a mystery: We shall all indeed be raised, but we shall not all be changed;

52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet, for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised without corruption, and we shall be changed.

53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the word that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

55 O death, where is thy sting? O Hades, where is thy victory?

56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.

57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

APPENDIX C

The Prophecy of Haggai

HAGGAI PART 1

EZEKIEL 37:1-28

1 And the hand of the LORD was upon me and took me out in the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the midst of a field which was full of bones,

2 and caused me to pass by them round about; and, behold, there were very many upon the face of the field; and they were very dry.

3 And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest.

4 Then he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones hear the word of the LORD.

5 Thus hath the Lord GOD said unto these bones: Behold, I will cause spirit to enter into you, and ye shall live:

6 And I will lay nerves upon you and will bring up flesh upon you and cover you with skin and put spirit in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.

7 So I prophesied as I was commanded, and as I prophesied, there was a thunder, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone.

8 And I beheld, and behold nerves upon them and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no spirit in them.

9 Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the spirit, prophesy, son of man, and say to the spirit, Thus hath the Lord GOD said: Come from the four winds, O spirit, and breathe upon these slain, and they shall live.

10 And I prophesied as he commanded me, and the spirit entered into them, and they lived and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.

11 Then he said unto me, Son of man, all these bones are the house of Israel; behold, they say, Our bones have dried, and our hope is lost, and in ourselves we are totally cut off.

12 Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus hath the Lord GOD said: Behold, O my people, I open your graves and will cause you to come up out of your graves and bring you into the land of Israel.

13 And ye shall know that I am the LORD when I have opened your graves, O my people and brought you up out of your graves

14 and shall put my Spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall cause you to rest upon your own land; then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it and performed it, said the LORD.

15 And the word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,

16 Thou, son of man, take one stick and write upon it: To Judah, and to the sons of Israel his companions; then take another stick and write upon it: To Joseph, the stick of Ephraim and to all the house of Israel his companions:

17 and join them one to another that they might become one; and they shall be one in thy hand.

18 And when the sons of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not show us what thou meanest by these?

19 Say unto them, Thus hath the Lord GOD said: Behold, I take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah and make them one stick, and they shall be one in my hand.

20 And the sticks upon which thou dost write shall be in thine hand before their eyes.

21 And thou shalt say unto them, Thus hath the Lord GOD said; Behold, I take the sons of Israel from among the Gentiles, where they be gone and will gather them on every side and bring them into their own land;

22 and I will make them one nation in the land in the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all; and they shall no longer be two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all:

23 neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their abominations, nor with all their rebellions, but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, in which they have sinned and will cleanse them, so they shall be my people, and I will be their God.

24 And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd; they shall also walk within my rights and keep my statutes and do them.

25 And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, in which your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they and their sons and their son’s sons for ever; and my servant David shall be their prince for ever.

26 Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will plant them and multiply them and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore.

27 And my tabernacle shall be in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

28 And the Gentiles shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Russell Stendal was born in Minneapolis and raised on the mission field in Colombia, South America. He became a missionary jungle pilot at age nineteen. Almost ten years later he was kidnapped in 1983 by Marxist rebels and held hostage for five months. His book, Rescue the Captors, relates his experience, including how God worked in the hearts of the rebels.

Russell has written many other books, produced videos, and edited two Bible translations, the Spanish Reina-Valera 2000 and the Jubilee Bible in English.

Russell heads up the work of Colombia Para Cristo which operates 12 radio stations involving over 100 staff and coworkers and covering much of Latin America with the Gospel. A thriving underground church has developed in remote jungle areas of Colombia. New high gain antennas are now beaming the Gospel message deep into areas of deepening crisis across the borders of Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru and Brazil as well as throughout Colombia.

Click this link to watch Colombia update by Russell Stendal

Jubilee Bible, Transliterated by Russell Stendal

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Copyright © 2007, 2012 - Russell Martin Stendal

All Rights Reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-62245-027-5

May be quoted in other works; may be used freely in all non-profit, non-commercial Gospel endeavors provided the content is not altered.

All Scripture references are from the Jubilee Bible 2000 ©

2001 Russell Martin Stendal

Email: martinstendal@etb.net.co

ISBN 978-1-62245-027-5

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