Dan 11:45 And he (the Papacy) shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.
Dan 12:1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
Right up until the very end this Roman power would exist JUST AS PREDICTED.
There is no indication whatsoever that the Papacy will disappear, is there? Can you imagine a world without Catholics- a religious body that has been in existence for over 2000 years? Some did imagine its demise back in the late 1700's early 1800's- but the beast that received what appeared to be a deadly wound was healed.
Rev 13:3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.
We will be going to the book of Revelation after we finish up the book of Daniel, because the two go hand in hand with this prophecy, and we cannot ignore that fact.
That statue in Daniel chapter 2 focused on the Middle East- focused on Jerusalem and the surrounding countries, kingdoms, powers and it tells us the big picture. That prophecy is as sure today as it was when it was given.
NOTHING stopped what was predicted from coming to pass, and NOTHING WILL stop what is yet to come. Stop believing in God, stop believing in the Savior, stop believing in the Bible, turn your back upon everything- that is your choice and it's a choice we all have- to believe or not to believe.
When we are given proof through prophecy, proof in history then we have ONLY ourselves to blame when we turn our backs on truth. Regardless of every single belief a person in any religion has, there are facts that can't be disputed. As you dispute the Bible and say it's all fantasy, all fable, all made up nonsense then explain how that made up nonsense that only fools would belief could predict our future so perfectly? Lucky guess? Hardly. There is proof for those who are not blinded by their own deceit, who are not blinded by their own desire to remain blind. The blind however can happily say they see nothing and believe it to be the truth- their nothingness, but in the end everything will be revealed as PREDICTED.
By God's grace alone are we saved. By the righteousness of our Savior alone do we have hope. By faith in our God we have to live. Satan will try to strip it all away from us and he will succeed for most, it is only through God's mercy that we can be His. The choice we make to believe -that is where it all ultimately lies, that is what is within our grasp- our choice. When we make our choice then we place our lives in God's hands or Satan's hands.
When that time of trouble comes, God's people will be protected, they will have been sealed as His, living completely in the righteousness of Christ. Those who are not protected will feel the horrific effects of that time of trouble the precursor to the coming of our LORD. More on all that as we study Revelation.
This verse however struck me today for some reason-
Psa 34:19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.
The righteous are NOT promised an end to the afflictions of life as numerous and horrific as they can be, there is NO exemption for those who choose to be God's.
MANY are the afflictions of the righteous.
MANY afflictions for those who are God's.
TOO many people blame God day in and day out for everything that goes wrong in their lives. TOO many claim that as proof that there is no God because He lets good people suffer. TOO many can't face the truth, that MANY afflictions come to the righteous. Believing in God is not a get out of jail free card, it's not a get out of life's troubles card, it's not a free pass for turmoil and the greatest of heartaches. Why there is that misconception that God is out to get someone, that God hates someone because He allows intense pain and heartache I don't know. Often the closer we are to God the greater challenges we face because Satan wants to steal us back and he'll go to get lengths to do just that.
How many people willing put a target on their backs in a middle of a war? Not many. Yet that is sort of what we do when we choose God over the world, over satan. We place a spiritual flare on top of our heads. We have a loudly beeping tracker attached to us and satan will NOT hesitate to pounce on us with attack after attack. Does that mean God isn't protecting us? NO! God will protect our ETERNAL LIFE! Everything here right now should be counted as expendable, even if it breaks our hearts in a million trillion pieces. Eternal life will be time enough for joy, time enough for no more heartache or pain. Right now we have to know that our Savior suffered in a way we can't even imagine and the suffering we are called to endure is nothing compared to His. He is our all in all and in Him we find life eternal.
Easy for me to say- I know people will think that, but believe me Satan knows how to attack anyone who chooses God over Him and I'm NO exception.
Prophecy is amazing. Prophecy comes true. And by the grace of God we will live to the end of all prophecy.
By His grace may we live always in HIM!
Amen.
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