Comments for November 2

v.5 - There is no doubt that the Bible supplies examples of tithing. To give such a proportion of one's goods requires a specific discipline. Gen. 14:20, Lev.27:30-32, Deut 12:11

31:5 The seeming casual mention of 'corn, wine and increase' actually catches the promises of Deuteronomy 7:13 which speaks of the way in which Israel would be blessed if they were faithful.

v.5 - Further to the point above, those of us who do not give of a tenth of our abundance, maybe we should think of giving God a tenth of our time? A tenth of 24 hours is 2 hours and 24 minutes. I suppose most days we are awake for around 16-18 hours and a tenth of this would be 1 hour 36 minutes - 1 hour 48 minutes. Could we each find that amount of time each and every day to serve our Lord? We would still only be giving a tithe of our time. Not much to ask really is it?

31:5 So enthused with the true worship that Hezekiah had invited them to even those from the kingdom of Israel in the north joined in the removal of the idolatry in Jerusalem and Judah.

Notice the way in which the word emphasises that Hezekiah finished the works that he started (:1, 7,21). Herein is a powerful lesson for us. How often do we start a task with great enthusiasm only to let the project fall by the wayside. (Ecclesiastes 5:4)

31:7,21 Notice that Hezekiah "finished" the work which he "began" - how often do we start on a good work full of good intentions only to lose interest in the task and it remain unfinished? 

V.20 Hezekiah displayed the qualities of a constitutional king, in restoring and upholding the institutions of the kingdom; while his zealous and persevering efforts to promote the cause of true worship, and the best interests of his subjects, entitled him to be ranked among the better kings.2Chron 29:2; , 2Kin 18:3

The last verse of today's chapter has a great exhortation for us: everything that Hezekiah did for God, "he did it with all his heart" (2Chron 31:21).  How important it is that we do our work for the Lord "with all our heart".

31:3  There is no command in the law that the king should make special provision for the sacrifices. David gave of his own wealth 1Chron 29:3. Hezekiah follows in the steps of his ancestor David.

v 14 the gatekeepers/doorkeepers had extensive duties, beyond just letting people in & out. See also 1Chron 9:22-32  It was a position of responsibility, & will be in the kingdom.

31:2-3  We see that Hezekiah didn’t just give rough ideas to the people as to what they were to do. He ‘commanded’ and ‘appointed’. Here was a man who knew what had to be done and made sure it was done.

Vs.14,15 Kore and his helpers were in charge of distributing food contributions to their fellow priests. Stephen and his helpers did the same thing for their brethren (Acts 6:1-5).

BEST BIBLE WEEK

31:20 In saying that Hezekiah did ‘good and right’ Deut 12:28 is being quoted to show that He observed what the law said.

V.12 There were some people who gave tithes. A tithe is one-tenth of anything, whether that be money or goods.

Under the Laws of Christ, tithing is not compulsory. However, some people might choose to give one-tenth of their income to support ecclesial efforts. This can act as automatic, disciplined giving, and that’s fine.

But, sometimes the extraordinary needs of the community (or a single person) require extra funds. In such cases, giving in excess of the general 10% is warranted.

31:5 A little phrase ‘as soon as’ however it shows the willingness of the people to follow the commandment of God. How often do we delay our commitment until a time more convenient? Not so the people in the days of Hezekiah.

V.1 The zeal for Yahweh generated during Passover translated itself in destroying the sites of idolatry both in Judah and in Israel. Sure, there must have been some opposition in Israel, but Hoshea did not stand in the way of dismantling idols.

Vs.2-4 Hezekiah brought religious order to bear.

V.17 Under Moses, the Levites would begin their service at 30 years old (Num 4:3). Actually, they began an apprenticeship period at 25 years old, and full service at 30 years old (See Num 8:24). In any event, David changed the commencement of Levitical service to 20 years of age (1Chron 23:24).

V.21 Hezekiah was completely faithful to Yahweh at this point. Let us watch his progress carefully to see if he remained completely faithful.

31:10 The amount of money collected for the work of the temple indicates a wonderful generous spirit among the people which shows that the example of Hezekiah had influenced them to generosity. Does our example of zeal for God encourage our brethren and sisters in the work of God?

2Chron 31:3 - to justify still keeping the Sabbath, some erroneously make an artificial division between the ten commandments written on stone (which they say is "moral law", "law of the LORD", to be obeyed post eternally i.e. post New Testament) and the law not in stone but only written in a book or scroll (which they say is only "ceremonial law" such as feasts and offerings, "law of Moses", done away with in the New Testament); V.3 - notes ceremonial offerings and feasts according to the Law of the LORD which, according to the erroneous view, is supposed to only contain moral law of the ten commandments.

2Chron 31:5 - "firstfruits" [Heb. "reshiyth" (7225) means "the first, in place, time, order or rank (specifically a first fruit), principal thing, best"] are perhaps an echo of Christ who is the first born of the new creation; note we have mention of four specific crops - some feel the number four refers to the creative works of God, the world number, the city number so we could have an echo of a 7th day of rest millenial reference to the return of Christ, the new world order he will bring and the establishment of Jerusalem as the future world capital city.

2Chron 31:7 - the third month began the harvest while the seventh month completed the harvest - this perhaps reminds us that after the third year of ministering Christ was crucified, on the third day the firstfruits arose victorious, and that the full harvest will be gathered when Christ returns on the seventh millenial day of rest.

2Chron 31:12 - "Cononiah" [(3562) means "Yah has sustained"], "ruler", "Shimei" [(8096) means "famous"] - perhaps this suggests God would sustain Hezekiah and the greater Hezekiah, Christ. 

2Chron 31:13-15 - all these names could be interpreted to suggest various attributes/aspects of Christ - V.13 "Nahath" [(5184) means "quiet, rest" - possibly an echo of how Christ like a lamb to be sacrificed didn't open his mouth or a reference to the future millenial rest], "Mahath" [(4287) means "erasure" - possibly an echo of Christ's victory over sin and death] - V.15 "Jeshua" [(3442) means "he will save"].

31:8  Notice that Hezekiah blessed both the people and the Lord.  The people had given and so received the approval of the king. However Hezekiah also recognised how this generosity helped in the collective worship of God and so ‘blessed’ God also.  How often do we consider that our willingness to help our brethren helps them in their worship of God?

11:33  We see in verse :31 the abomination of which Jesus would later speak. We now see the judgement ‘fall by the sword’ that Jesus relates to this abomination –Luke 21:20

31:21   In speaking of ‘every work he began’ we realise that Hezekiah implemented a tremendous reform.  His father Ahaz had destroyed so much of the fabric of Jewish worship that Hezekiah had to make a clean start to reinstate everything ordained by God.

31:4   So it seems that the people were so unfamiliar with the requirements of the law – Num 18:8 – that they had to be instructed as to what to do.

The way to a man's heart

Think about the incredible teaching, singing, praise and fellowship that must have happened at this Passover feast, to have brought about such a change in heart that caused the people to do what they did in Verse 1. And then notice the progression of the rest of the chapter. Hezekiah was re-establishing the worship of the true God throughout Israel - but how was he doing it? Did build academies and schools? Did he construct lavish religious buildings and monuments? Did he establish laws or write books of proverbs? No! In v3 he appoints food for the priests. Then in v4 he asks the people to begin tithing in order to provide food for the Levite class. The rest of the chapter is all about food.

Questions

1) Where did Hezekiah place the responsibility for religious reform?

2) Did he drive that reform by enforcement or through a strong example?

3 (advanced) Can you find out what had happened to the Levites prior to this? Where were they living?

4) If the priest and Levites didn't have this food provision before this time, how were they feeding themselves?

5) What does this tell us about what had caused the decline of religion in Israel?

31:21  The good king Hezekiah is described as doing things “with all his heart”. He was not, as we might say, “half hearted”. He showed total commitment. How often are we half hearted in the things of God. Doing them out of duty rather than desire?

31:15 The “set office” is that which David and Samuel ordained, for example as seen in 1Chron 9:22

31:11  This “Cononiah” is probably the same person who was faithful in the days of Josiah –2Chron 35:9.

GETTING RID OF THE BAD STUFF

Other kings attempted to cleanse the land of idol worship and high places, but for most of them it was a long up-hill battle against the tide of popular opinion.

It was different for Hezekiah. Instead of plowing on with the unpopular, Hezekiah held a huge Passover feast to which he invited, not only the people of Judah, but anyone from all Israel who was willing to come. There had never been a Passover like it. The atmosphere must have been electric! The people rejoiced and set their hearts on seeking God right then and there. In fact, it was so good that they decided to keep it going for a second week.

By now all the people had caught Hezekiah's excitement to serve the LORD only. "When all this had ended, the Israelites who were there went out to the towns of Judah, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. They destroyed the high places and altars throughout Judah and Benjamin and in Ephraim and Manasseh." (2Chron 31:1).

Let's not focus on the negative, but the positive, and let the positive push out the negative.
 

31:1  Notice carefully who broke down the images throughout both Judah and the northern kingdom of Israel. It was those who had come from the northern kingdom! So complete was their reformation that they sought to remove idol worship out of the whole land.

31:4  Loving the law of God is not a natural feature found in men and women. The people needed to be encouraged. In like manner we have to be encouraged. This is achieved by faithful teaching of the wonderful things that are contained in Scripture.

31:16-17       Even though the priests started their service at the age of 20 there was a requirement for all makes from “three years old” to go to the temple. An indication that it is never too young to introduce children to faithful worship of God.

We have a wonderful picture here of eccesial life in 2Chron 31:4-15

2Chron 31:4 we see the portion or tithe reinstituted we see Israel contributed to the whole (see notes on Num 18:21) but it did not make them rich but it encouraged the Levites in "the law of God". 

2Chron 31:5 see how a enthused ecclesia works together now they are all contributing and encouraged by the law of God.

V5 the word heaps should read HEAPS UPON HEAPS. The ecclesia were blessed by God.

v9 Upon seeing the blessings (heaps) it caused the ecclesia to ask questions and become encouraged.

v10 Yahweh blesses them so much they have more than enough.

v12 The store the obundance in storhouses notice they do this work "faithfully".

v14 Now we see they divided their efforts amongst the ecclesia.

We often say there i sno such thing as a perfect ecclesia, but here it is and it started by the ecclesia giving 10% of what they had in dedication to God to the ecclesia. 

31:6 the mention of people of Israel living in the cites of Judah indicates that there were some form the northern kingdom who had migrated south. We might presume that this was because they did not like the godless way things were done in the northern kingdom.

31:5 Notice “as soon as the commandment came (the nation responded immediately)”, Often we behave as if a proverb “why do today what we can put off until tomorrow” is the maxim that we should live by. It is evident that our lord and all faithful servants of God were not like that.

31:1 We know that God spoken of Hezekiah as a good king but notice that throughout Judah there were idols and, by implication, false worship. A faithful king was no guarantee that the people would also be faithful. In like manner we need to be clear in our own minds who we should worship and how we should serve Him.

32:2  In telling us that Hezekiah appointed the priests in their courses and in order makes it clear that during the reigns of Ahaz this provision originally instituted by Solomon had fallen into disuse – probably a long time ago. Re-establishing this would have required quite a lot of work  checking genealogies and confirming the authenticity of each priest.

11:33 This area of Daniel goes to some trouble to assure us of this increase in knowledge toward the time of the end - 12:3,4,10. See also Isa.32:3-4, Zech.8:20-23.

11:31 The 'abomination' is a concept spoken of three times in Daniel 9:27 11:31 12:11 And is taken up by Jesus Matthew 24:15 Mark 13:14 Luke 21:20 to speak of the Roman destruction of Jerusalem

There are those that believe that this chapter puts forward the whole of the era from the time of writing to the time of the end in some detail, showing a succession of kingdoms that we can trace through what we now know as history. It reminds us that as time goes by and the kingdom draws nearer, more is revealed through the experience of the world. We have a much greater understanding than our forebears as a result - and if Christ remains away, future generations will have even more evidence. Let us be moved to take this evidence and use it both to build our own faith and to preach urgently to others before it is too late.

Continuing last year's comment about Jesus' use of Daniel 11:31 we notice that Jesus also quotes 'fall by the sword' Luke 21:24 further reinforcing the interpretation that, at one level at least, Daniel is speaking of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in AD 70.

11:35 Those who had 'understanding' were the faithful believers. Daniel, at this time, was one of those that understood. He had been told what God planned to do (8:16 9:25 10:14). Knowing the purpose of God does not render us immune from the troubles that are to follow.

11:1-2This vision in the first year of Darius is a response to the prayer that Daniel expressed the same time (Dan 9:1)

V.35 That chastening and refining process will go on throughout the times of the Gentiles or until the end time; the end of Israel's woes at the return of their absent king, in God's appointed time.

V.2 etc. This chapter covers a lot of historical detail in a time of spiritual darkness between the Old and New Testaments. 

Briefly, the story goes: Three Persian kings would arise, then a fourth who would be powerful.  That king was Xerxes.  He mustered millions of men to confront Greece, whose army had only a fraction of the manpower of Xerxes' army. 

After Xerxes' foray into Greece, Alexander vowed revenge. He invaded Persia in 334 BC and was triumphant.  The Persian Empire gave way to the Greek Empire.  

Then after Alexander's death, the kingdom was ruled by four of his generals.  One general eventually prevailed as ruler.  His group was known as the Seleucids.  There was confrontation between the Seleucids (king of the north) and the Ptolemies (king of the south).

After many attempts, the Seleucids gained power over the south where the Antiochus kings ruled.

Antiochus Epiphanes was the one who desecrated the temple by sacrificing pigs there. He was opposed by the Maccabees. The Maccabees were slaughtered by Antiochus while observing the Sabbath.

However, the Maccabeean revolt was successful and temple service was restored. The festival of Hanukkah was a celebration of this event.  

Vs.40-45 The prophecy seems to switch gears to the end times when the Gog will attack the region (c.f. Ezek. 38).  They will be destroyed by the Lord Jesus (Dan 12:1).

The conflict between the king of the north and the king of the south has been going on for many years.  Today’s chapter starts off from Daniel’s day, and the chapter concludes at the time of the end. It mentions “the glorious land” and “between the seas in the glorious holy mountain” (Dan 11:41,45), which probably refer to Israel, although no name is actually given. Then, in tomorrow’s chapter, Jesus comes, and the resurrection of the dead takes place. I presume these two chapters therefore run on from each other.

11:2 In speaking of ‘Grecia’ we have a definite identification of ‘Javan’ in Gen 10:2 for the two words translate the same Hebrew word

11:36 The power spoken of here in doing ‘according to his own will’ is seen to contrast with the power of  Dan 8:24

V.2 The three Persian kings who came after Cyrus were:

-Cambyses (530-522 BC)

-Pseudo-Smerdis (522-521 BC)

-Darius 1 Hystapses (Darius the Great) (521-486 BC). This was the king in Ezra's time.

The fourth and last king of Persia, richer and more powerful than the three mentioned above, was Xerxes (Ahasuerus) (486-465 BC). This was the king in Esther's time.

11:27,29 ‘at the time appointed’ should be a great comfort to us. The things that Daniel saw have happened – or many of them at least. And yet Jesus had not returned. However the fact that He has worked His plan so far should give us confidence that he will continue to work in the future because a day is ‘appointed’ – Acts 17:31

11:20 `the end of the ‘raiser of taxes’ – 11:20 who will be destroyed is contrasted with the kingdom that "shall not be destroyed" which is a refrain which starts in 2:44 and is seen again in 6:26, 7:14

Vs.2,3 This describes Xerxes (Ahasuerus), Esther’s king (Est 1:1).

V.3 Alexander defeated Xerxes and the Greek Empire was born.

V.4 Alexander died and four generals took power.

V.5 The king of the south represents the Ptolemies. But the king of the north, representing the Seleucids, would be stronger.

Vs.6-30 The intricate interactions between the Ptolomies and the Seleucids are too lengthy for me to relate here. I suggest, that if you are interested, you can read separate material such as that offered by various commentaries or other historical accounts.

11:1 Though this chapter relates to issues some time after the dream of Daniel 7 this chapter, in fact, is God’s interpretation of parts of that dream. Daniel, after so many years, was given more information about the dream that is recorded in Dan 7. One presumes that Daniel had been continually thinking about that dream and now, as if a response to prayer, God provides more information.

11:1     That the angel, in the first year of the reign of Darius ‘stood to confirm and strengthen him’ is an indication with a real example of how the ‘most high ruleth in the kingdom of men’ Dan 4:25.

11:32  Whilst Daniel is speaking of the influence of a specific power at a certain time in history the warning is just the same for us today. There is a choice, always. Do we listen to ‘flattering lips’ or do we ‘know the Lord’ and so are not deceived by flattering? Eve is the classic and first example of one deceived by flattery – she was enticed by the thought of being like God.

1. Dan 11:1 - this would be in the reign of Cyrus (circa 536 BC).

2. Dan 11:2 - following Cyrus would be Cambyses, Smerdis, Darius Hystaspes, and Xerxes who first initiated battles with Greece.

3. Dan 11:3 - Alexander the Great.

4. Dan 11:4 - Alexander's empire was divided up between Ptolemy (I) Soter, Seleucus (I) Nicantor, Cassander, and Lysimachus.

5. Dan 11:5 - Ptolemy (I) Soter was king of the south and one of his former subordinate military leaders, Seleucus (I) Nicantor, became king of the north (locations presumably in relation to the Holy Land).

6. Dan 11:5-29 - detailed prophetic inter-relations of the kings of the south (Ptolemys of Egypt) and the kings of the north (Seleucids of Syria).

7. Dan 11:21 - the vile Antiochus Epiphanes obtains the throne by flatteries.

8. Dan 11:28 - Antiochus Epiphanes desecrates the temple in Jerusalem, kills and enslaves thousands.

9. Dan 11:30-35 - is this a reference to the desecration of the temple in Jerusalem by Antiochus Epiphanes and the exploits of the Maccabees, or does this apply apply to the desecration of the temple in Jerusalem by the Roman's in A.D.70 and the experiences of the early Christians (Matt 24:15-16)?

10. Dan 11:36-39 - a mix of leaders that started with pagan Roman emperors and evolved into the apostate distortion of celebate Christianity centered in Rome (2Thess 2:3-12;1Tim 4:1-3;Rev 17:1-9,15;18:9-19;Isa 2:12-22).

11. Dan 11:40 - thought by many to be the battle of Armageddon at the time of the end; the king of the south (USA, UK, Canada?) shall "push"<5055> at the king of the north (Russia with allies, Iran, Turkey?) who "shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over".

12. Dan 11:41 - the king of the north shall enter into the "'glorious'<6643> 'land<776>" (probably the Holy Land) and many shall be "overthrown"<3782> but "these 'shall escape'<4422> out of his hand, even 'Edom'<123>, and 'Moab'<4124>, and the chief of the children of 'Ammon'<5983>" (lands to the east and south of Israel shall escape - Jordan, the Saudi Arabian peninsular, West Bank Palestinians?).

13. Dan 11:42 - Egypt (Egypt not refered to in Daniel 11:40-45 as the king of the south) will not escape from the king of the north.

14. Dan 11:43 - Egypt will be plundered by the king of the north with the "Libyans"<3864> and "Ethiopians"<3569> "at his steps"<4703> (this seems to fit with Eze 38:2-16 ).

15. Dan 11:44 - what are the troubling tidings out of the east and north? Is this other nations rallying against the king of the north? Is it Christ and the saints?

16. Dan 11:45 - "between the seas in the glorious holy mountain" (probably between the Mediterranean and the Dead Seas in Mount Zion/Jerusalem)..."yet he shall come to his end" (Rev 16:16;Psa 48:7;Zech 14:1-3).

11:6  The one who was to exalt himself above every god may well have been the Roman power because Paul – 2Thess 2:4 – speaks of such an one creating problems for the believers in Thessalonica in the first century when Rome was the dominant power in the known world. 

Who are the King of the North and King of the South?

This is a very detailed prophecy, perhaps the most detailed in all scripture, and I can't pretend to understand all of it. Let's just start by working out who the main players in this prophecy are: the King of the North and the King of the South.

For most of the chapter the king of the South is there, but while he remains strong and able to repel the King of the North we're not told anything about him. Finally at the end of the chapter, in v40 he is defeated or pushed aside and we have mention of the countries that are invaded as a result: Egypt, Ethiopia and Libya. So I suggest that the King of the South is identified with Egypt as it is the kingdom that controls access to the other two countries. It's confirmed in v7-8 when the King of the South plunders the King of the North and takes spoil back to Egypt.

The King of the North in scripture is Babylon as we can see from Jer 25:9 and Eze 26:7, and as we already know from the story of Daniel, Babylon was passed on from the Chaldeans to the Medes and Persians. It is during the reign of the Medes that this is written (see Dan 11:1), so the King of the North at the start of this prophecy is the Medes. Then later Babylon passed to the Greeks which this prophecy probably talks about (for example v2). Therefore it stands to reason that the King of the North is identified with whatever superpower inherited Babylon, first the Chaldeans, then the Medes/Persians, then Greece and finally the Romans. These are the same as the metals in King Nebuchadnezzar's dream, so we have a consistent Bible message here (see Dan 2). We get a further clue to confirm this in v40 where the King of the North comes with "many ships" to Egypt, something not possible for Babylon but very easy for Greece or Rome to pop across the Mediterranean.

11:30  The “Chittim” <3794> here is the “Kittim” of Gen 10:4

It was reported Feb 26, 2015 that Russia has signed a treaty to allow its naval ships to dock ay Cypress which is thought to be Kittim/Chittim. Could there be any prophetic relevance to Dan 11:30,40;Num 24:24 ?

11:4     Daniel is told here how the Greek empire would be divided into four separate parts which occurred when four generals took over four parts of the Greek empire.

11:37    The way in which the one spoken of here has no feeling of the natural things of this life simply because he will be so full of his own importance gives us a true insight into what human nature is really like. It is only the effect of the word of God that could change such a way of thinking.

11:5-45          John Thomas in Exposition of Daniel writes of the historical fulfilment of this part of Scripture. The fact that God could explain all this to Daniel long before the events is adequate evidence that God does rule in the kingdom of men. Like Nebuchadnezzar we should order our lives according to an understanding that there is a God who is actively involved in the world and wants to be involved in our lives.

Dan 11:36

“And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvelous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.”

“Who caused the scattering? That is the question. Rome, and Rome only. But is Rome Danielistically associated with the end of the scattering of the people? Yes. Where? In Dan 11:36, ‘He (the new Roman God) shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished.’ The indignation is here used substantively, that is, as expressing the form God’s indignation takes against Israel. In this sense, the indignation is the scattering. The ‘accomplishing of the scattering’ and the ‘accomplishing of the indignation’ are the same. So that Rome’s career has in this case its limitations set by the measure of Israel’s scattering."

Brother Robert Roberts

11:41 One might wonder where the “glorious land” is. The word translated “glorious” is <6643> and if often translated “roe”. For example Song 2:9. And occasionally translated “Beautiful” – Isa 44:2. Clearly it is speaking of the land of Israel. However why it is described in this way is puzzling.

11:21 We know that God sets up who he wills in the kingdoms of the world – Dan 4:17 – so it should not surprise us that a “vile person” rises up. Of course this should instruct us not to try and decide who would be the best person to govern at any point in time.

11:45 however we understand this vision we have to conclude that the “glorious holy mountain” is Mount Zion, the place where Yahweh chose to place His name. What we are seeing is an attempt to dislodge Yahweh from His position of rulership.

11:27 The book of Daniel gives much details about God’s plan. Detailed prophecies are given, some understood by Daniel and some not. However one thing was made clear to Daniel. God had appointed a time for the fulfilment of His words. We, in like manner, can read all the scriptures and know God’s plan. But like Daniel we cannot be sure exactly when the kingdom will be established. But uncertainty about “when” does not diminish the certainty.

Whilst striving to understand the “signs of the times” we should not lose sight of that which we can control and understand – developing the mind of Christ.

Dan 11:31

“And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.”

THE JERUSALEM BIBLE reads: “Forces of his will come and profane the sanctuary citadel; they will abolish the perpetual sacrifice and install the disastrous abomination there.”

“His army will take over the Temple fortress, pollute the sanctuary, put a stop to the daily sacrifices, and set up the sacrilegious object that causes desecration.” Tyndale, NLT

In the HOLY BIBLE FROM THE ANCIENT EASTERN TEXT we read: “And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be abolished, and the abomination [idol] is given to destruction there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.”

The original Books of Maccabees were lost. The only surviving version was in the Greek translation contained in the ancient version of the Septuagint. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1_Maccabees/  However, an unnamed Hebrew historian after the restoration of an independent Israelitish kingdom by the Hasmonean Dynasty around the late second century BC, re-wrote the books from Greek back to Hebrew. https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-hasmonean-dynasty/

“The tragedy for the Book of Maccabees gets worse. We lost the book! Like all of our ancient books, the Book of Maccabees was originally written in Hebrew but over the years — because of persecution, exiles and book burnings — the Hebrew version was lost, and the text only survived in a translation made into Greek called the Septuagint. It appeared that the Book of Maccabees was on the edge of oblivion.” https://jmoreliving.com/2019/12/16/the-book-of-maccabees-is-back/ 

The Brenton’s LXX in Dan 11:31 reads: “And seeds shall spring out of him, and they shall profane the sanctuary of strength, and they shall remove the perpetual sacrifice, and make the abomination desolate.” The Maccabean account reads how the King of the North, Antiochus Epiphanes IV, profaned, polluted, and defiled the temple, removed the morning and evening sacrifices, placed a Zeus statue above God’s altar and sacrificed pigs on it, but these abominable acts would end, the pagan idol, destroyed, and it was by the Maccabees. It appears that the Hasmonian court historian may have mistaken the Maccabean account as a desolation, rather than an “abomination that causeth desecration,” which was their original intent, as shown.

The LXX translation even today reads that it was the abominable idol, a statue of Zeus or Jupiter, that was made desolate, or completely destroyed, not the temple itself nor Jerusalem. The blasphemous actions of Antiochus IV are described in Maccabees (1 Maac 1.57; 2 Maac 6.2). “On the fifteenth day of Chislev in the year one hundred and forty-five the king [Antiochus Epiphanes IV] erected the abomination of desolation above the altar…” Antiochus Epiphanes IV pillaged the Temple and the Holy City, had foreigners enter the Temple, defiled it with their drunkenness, fornication, and all sorts of debauchery to which a lot of the Israelites were complicit in (1Macc 1:10-67).  The entire account deals with desecration, a defiling of the temple, not the desolation or destruction of it. A faithful remnant of the Israelites protested, and this eventually led to the Maccabean Revolt, and they won. The temple was purified, the daily sacrifices restored, and this is celebrated even today as Hanukkah.

Verses 40 to 45 are the most controversial. They speak of the “time of the end,” and describes the arrival of the Romans and the destruction of the Greek empire.  Most of the Historians attribute this period of time to Antiochus Epiphanes IV, while other Historians say it speaks of Rome, a rising power. Indeed, the Greek empire began to fall apart after Rome conquered Macedon in 168 BC, making it a Roman province in 148 BC. The Israelites won their war against Antiochus Epiphanes IV and had restored their independence in 167 BC.  These critical events occurred under Antiochus Epiphanes IV reign who died three years later in 164 BC. It was the beginning of the end of the Greek empire. The Seleucid/Antiochian Kingdom of the North was about to be absorbed into the Roman empire. Jerusalem was taken by Pompey in 63 BC. Egypt under the Ptolemies Kingdom of the South was also under Rome, and officially made an imperial province in 27 BC.  The Greek empire was fully absorbed into the Roman empire, and the last Seleucus monarch was Phillip II Philoromaeus, 65-63 BC, (some accounts give 60 or 58 BC) not Antiochus Epiphanes IV who reigned from 175-164 BC. After the deaths of Pompey and Julius Caesar, Augustus Caesar became emperor, and it was under his reign that Jesus was born.

Daniel revealed Nebuchadnezzar’s dream: the Medo-Persian empire conquered the Babylonian empire, the Greek empire conquered Medo-Persia, and the Roman Empire conquered the Grecian empire, just as Daniel prophesied when God gave him the interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.

Christ asked the reader to “understand,” as it was spoken specifically by the prophet Daniel, which was a complete fulfillment about the “abomination of desolation” as it pertains to the time of the end when Daniel’s prophecy would be unsealed and was by Christ (Matt 24:2-44; Mark 13:1-37; Luke 1:5-36; cf. Dan 12:4; Rev 5:4,5).

Christ was crucified, the temple and Jerusalem were completely destroyed in 70 AD under the Roman General, Titus. It is a dual prophecy, with a greater fulfillment still in the future. The prophecy of Daniel for the time of the end dealt with two, not three, “abominations that causeth desolation” to God’s holy temple and Jerusalem, and both under the dictatorship of Rome and the revived Roman empire, the most terrible of all the previous beast kingdoms (Dan 7:7,8). Israel will rise from the ashes, Jerusalem will again be truly a Holy City, never to suffer desolation. Jesus the Christ will sit on the throne of David (Isa 9:7; Luke 1:32), and after the consummation of all things God will be all in all (1Cor 15:24-28). This is our blessed Hope.

Dan 11

“Abomination of desolation.”

“Desolation,” according to the Bible is to be “destitute, destroy,” that would leave one “amazed” or “astonished,” “desolate places,” # <8074>, shamen, without an inhabitant (cf. Jer 34:22).  It equates with the Greek word eremosis, # <2050>, from <2049>, “to lay waste, come to naught, the word Christ used in Matt 24:15. Interestingly, in Mark 13:14, for desolation Strong’s inserted the Hebrew word, shmamah, # <8077>, which comes from <8076>, which in turn comes from <8074> “devastation; fig. astonishment:-desolate, waste!”

“Desecration,” on the other hand, is: “to violate the sanctity of.”  2: to treat disrespectfully, irreverently, or outrageously.” https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/desecrate/ The Hebrew equivalent is tame, # <2930>, “utterly unclean, pollute, contaminate” (cf. Eze 9:7; Eze 20:7). In Greek, it is koinoo, # <2840>, “to profane, pollute, defile, unclean” (cf. Matt 15:18,20; Mark 7:15). Clearly, they are two very different words with two very different meanings and never intended to be used synonymously.

11:11  “choler” is not a word commonly used in the English language today. What does it mean? The way to find out the meaning of a word in scripture is to consider other uses of the same word and from the context work out its meaning. The word translated “choler” <04843> is found in Exo 1:14 and Ruth 1:20 where it is translated “bitter”. The context in those two places make it clear what the word means and so we can transfer that understanding into our reading here in Daniel to explain what the word means.

11:15-16  We see a battle, we might even appreciate who is being spoken of. However there is a fundamental point about God working in the way things are presented here.

Notice that the two opponents are doing things “according to his own will”.  Indeed God rules – Dan 4:17 – though the nations involved clearly were doing their own will and in the process fulfilling God’s will.

The way in which things work out seemingly so naturally ad yet according to His will should humble us. We are associated with a God who controls all events, and yet condescends to reveal Himself to us.

ch.12 v.5,12 - It was deemed appropriate on this occasion to get people together in one place to pray about this particular issue. Whilst God hears our individual prayers in secret and rewards us openly, it seems there is also room for this more communal approach, and its effectiveness is clear. Eph.6:18,19, 1Thes.5:17, James 5:16

11:20 The word 1675 is only translated Grecians Acts 6:1 9:29 11:20

It is the word 1675 Hellenistes {hel-lay-nis-tace'} from a derivative of 1672; see John 7:35

AV - Grecians (3)
1) a Hellenist, i.e. one who imitates the manners and customs or the worship of the Greeks, and use the Greek tongue; used in the NT of Jews born in foreign lands and speaking Greek

12:9 Peter did not expect to be released from prison nor did the disciples believe that their prayers would be answered Acts 12:13-15. However God did answer their prayers because it was not His will that Peter would die at that time.
How do we relate this to our unbelief during our own prayers?

11:26 The term 'Christian' is only found three times in Scripture. Here Acts 26:28 1 Peter 4:16 and it probably is not a complementary name it is more likely that it was used in a derogatory way.

12:1-3 Herod, just like the Jewish leaders, was more concerned with currying the favour of the people rather than doing what was right.

11:22 Locate Antioch and work out how far Barnabus travelled - on foot - to visit the ecclesia.

12:4 We might wonder how many years this event was after the death and resurrection of Jesus. It must have been an exact number of years because the death and resurrection of Jesus took place at Passover time.

11:17 Peter's response 'what was I that I could withstand God' is the correct way to view the way in which God calls individuals. Sadly, at  times, this may not match our preferences and we may then be partial in our preaching thinking that some are not worthy of the gospel as they do not fit into our perception of who would make a 'good' brother or sister.

12:4 When Peter was imprisoned by Herod, especially when he had already killed James, the ecclesia in Jerusalem would have been very distraught. So his release by the angel would have caused great joy. In that the brethren and sisters may well have been like those Jews who would have sung Psalm 126 when they were delivered from Babylon.
Peter thought he saw a vision  (12:9)   which answers to    Psa 126:1
In bringing Peter out of prison (12:17)  we see an echo of  Psa 126:3

 11:22 "they sent forth Barnabus" a wise choice since he came from Cyprus, and had had  wide experience with the Greeks and the Jews. He had a persuasive manner as is indicated by his nickname meaning "son of consolation" or "son of exhortation" ."he should go as far as Antioch" The phrase "as far as" means that he had to do his preaching all the way up to Antioch. This included all the country in between Jerusalem and Antioch. When he reached Antioch, he stayed there..

11:2,3 There were some Jewish believers who thought that salvation was only for Jews. Peter convinced these particular Jews that salvation was also extended to Gentiles. 

However, Paul was constantly plagued by elitist Judaisers who wanted to dictate Christ's agenda. 

Jonah was another example of an elitist who decided who was (or was not) worthy of salvation, until Yahweh educated him.  Let us not fall into the same elitist trap in our own community.

11:28 Claudius Caesar ruled 41-54 AD.  He was murdered by his wife Agrippina to pave the way for her son Nero to rule the empire.

12:2-9 - With Peter's miraculous escape we may have an echo of Christ's resurrection: The first apostle had been killed with the sword shortly before (similar to John the Baptist). He was seized to please the Jews. It was during the Passover. Peter was between two people. There was a guard at the entrance. There were soldiers. There was angelic presence. There was a bright light. There was an escape from being bound and from death. He was struck on the side.

12:5 This does not mean continuous prayer, but refers to its intensity. The ecclesia would be very upset by this arrest, and no doubt, many saw the violence of the soldiers in arresting Peter. When they found themselves in a difficulty they prayed to God. Finding that the difficulty was greater than they first thought, and coming so quickly after the murder of Christ, they prayed to God more earnestly. A parallel case is found with Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane before his arrest (Luke 22:44) The lesson is that prayer is necessary in all our difficulties and, if the difficulties are not resolved after the first prayer, then pray more earnestly.

12:12,13,15 Many believers had gathered at Mary's house when Peter knocked at the door. When Rhoda told those gathered that Peter was at the door, they scoffed and said that it must be his angel. It was clear the company understood that each believer had an angel assigned to him or her (Heb 1:14). 

Present-day believers are no different.  Being aware that our angel (who carries the Name of Yahweh) is ever-present should prompt us to behave acceptably at all times (Psa 34:7; Heb 1:14). 

11:28 The short term prophecy of Agabus, and it’s fulfilment, provide the evidence that he truly was a prophet Deut 18:21-22.

12:13-14 We might overlook the consequences of Peter knocking at the door and having to wait outside. The door was locked for fear of the Jews – but a maid went to the door!

11:14 With Cornelius and his house, in yesterday's reading the requirement was baptism, here we see it expanded to "WORDS" ( 4487 Rhema) (an utterance) this indicates that doctrine was taught. We have been told that Cornelius was a pious man; he had to have an understanding of the LOGOS, he had to act with baptism. In this case he would learn about the promises that had been made to Abraham and David, and how he could become Abraham's seed by his belief in these things, and his signification of belief by baptism. Cornelius was shown that being a pious man was not sufficient. One must know the word (logos) and believe in it. Then, one must show belief by submitting to baptism.

11:2  notice the wrong way to approach a problem - they jumped in & criticised, without 1st asking for, or listening to, an explanation of Peter's actions. Once they had heard, they had no objection 11:18  so why not listen 1st....

12:2,5 : the implication is not that they weren't praying for James, so that he was killed, but rather that God's answer was different. One can understand that they found it hard to believe that Peter was spared, after the death of James.

12:13-15 The sequence of events – the disciples thinking that Rhoda had heard Peter’s angel and then were glad when they let Peter into the house echoes the sentiments outlined in Psa 126

11:21 We have the same phrase used by Luke (Luke 1:66). We know that the hand of the Lord was with John because he was to do the Lord's work amongst men. The "finger" of God was used to perform miracles (Exo 8:19; , Luke 11:20). The "hand of God" was used to show God's mighty works. The "arm of God" was used to show the omnipotence of God (Deut 4:34) and in the protection and selection of His people (Isa 53:1, John 12:38, Acts 13:17).

11:28 Claudius was emperor 41-54 AD.  There were four famines in his reign.  According to Josephus, the famine in Judah, predicted by Agabus, occurred in 46 AD, and lasted several years.

It is believed that all the apostles were murdered for their faith, except John who was exiled to Patmos. Historical evidence confirms the demise of some, while tradition endorses the rest.

James was the first to die in about 44 AD.  Jesus called him and his brother John sons of thunder (Mark 3:17).  He predicted their deaths by murder (Matt 20:23).

12:23 The normal process is that the person died and then the worms consume the body. In Herod’s case the reverse is the case. He was dead whilst he lived because of his Godlessness.

11:17 Peter had just explained to the Jews, in favour of circumcision, that Yahweh had shown His grace towards Gentiles that they should, also, be included in salvation. He makes an emphatic statement to this effect. And yet, he later let down his conviction. Paul chides him on this (Gal 2:11,12). Let us stand firm in our conviction of the Truth.

12:1 This is Herod Agrippa I, grandson of Herod the Great, and son of Aristobulus.

11:12 The preaching of the gospel to the gentiles was a contentious issue for the believers. Peter also had problems with the idea – hence the vision from God. The fact that Peter took six other (Jewish) believers with him to see Cornelius provided the witnesses who could vouch for what Peter was saying. It is always valuable to have corroboration for matters that may cause contention. Not to enable one to prove one’s point but to maintain harmony and unity among believers.

AS WE ARE ABLE

There are always calls for us to respond to the needs of Christians facing difficulty. Perhaps because we are so constantly bombarded by e-mail, newspaper, radio and television adverts telling us we need to give to this or to that charity, we have become hardened in our response to the cries for help that we hear.

With the economic recession, the calls to give are going to get louder and stronger as less people give, their income drops and more people find themselves on the bread line.

The calls to help have always been there. One of the first of those calls we have recorded was when there was a famine throughout Judea. The response of the disciples at that time was this: "The disciples, each according to his ability, decided to provide help for the brothers living in Judea." (Acts 11:29) Rather than being hardened by the constant demand to give to various charities, maybe we should plan to do the same as the disciples. We need to ask ourselves how much we can give, according to our ability, and then decide what needs are most worthy of our support.

Let's follow their example and give generously as we are able to those who need support.

12:4 This is the only place in the KJV where the word Easter appears.  It is an error which has been corrected by modern translators as Passover.  

The term Easter (from the Saxon word Eostre) is named after the pagan Anglo-Saxon goddess of dawn.  Springtime is an awakening like dawn, and hence the connection. 

Springtime is associated with fertility and thus such manifestations as eggs and bunnies form part of the tradition. It was at the time of Passover that sacrifices were made to Eostre.

True believers should shun participation in any pagan activity, no matter how innocent it seems.

11:26 Whilst the term ‘Christian’ today is simply a descriptive term it is probable that in the first century it was coined by the Jews as a derisive term of abuse – 1Pet 4:16

12:18 The ‘stir among the soldiers’ echoes the dilemma when Jesus rose from the dead – Matt 28:4

Acts 12:4

“And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people.”

“Easter” is a corrupted translation of the Greek word, “pascha,” Strong’s # <3957>. Everywhere else in the New Testament, “pascha” was properly translated as “Passover.” There is no way you can transliterate “pascha” to Easter. It is an “added” word (see Rev 22:18)! Easter is none other than the Babylonian pagan moon goddess, Ishtar, named Venus by the Romans, and Astarte by the Phoenicians. This moon goddess was given the title of, “the queen of heaven” (Jer 7:18).

Easter and all its symbols and customs have nothing to do with Passover, or Messiah’s death and resurrection. Christianity embraced Paganism into its churches, effectively diverting the attention of those who would follow the Word in its simplicity and purity. Why is this important? Because we cannot worship at the feet of Ishtar and say we are worshipping the Messiah at the same time! We can put all the trimmings and trappings we want on Ishtar, but as the saying goes: “You can put lipstick on a pig, but it is still a pig.” History books and theological records reveal that Ishtar was replaced by some churches to, “Mary, the Mother of God,” which has its root going back to Ancient Babylon with Semiramis, the wife and mother of Nimrod!

We were given explicit instructions on how our Messiah wanted to be remembered (1Cor 11:23-26), and we were given explicit instructions not to follow the traditions of Paganism (Deut 12:30-32). While Easter has the ability to line the pews, this pagan practice hinged on because of this one mistranslated word! The Jews were deceived and corrupted by pagan influences, and do any of us think we are less susceptible? It is my hope and prayer that the “wheat” will be able to discern for themselves who the “tares” are that keep this ancient practice, and not allow Paganism to creep into the ecclesias of called out ones.

11:22-23        Even though Peter had recounted the events associated with the baptism of Cornelius indicating the inclusion of the gentiles in the purpose of God when gentiles were baptised at Antioch the brethren from Jerusalem still wanted to investigate. An indication that an acceptance of the call of the gentiles did not come easy. Though, on seeing the evidence, were soon convinced of the rightness of the preaching. If only we could be so quick in accepting things which are, whilst outside our experience and expectations, correct and right.

Acts 11:16.

Peter, in citing what Jesus said in Acts 1:5, appears to be making a contrast between a baptism of water by John the Baptist and a baptism of the Holy Spirit of Cornelius and his household. Are we to read into what is stated here that there was something lacking or ineffective in the baptisms John was doing?

The simple answer to that really has to be No, there was nothing lacking or ineffective about the work of the man Jesus called the greatest of all prophets (see Matt 11:11). The immediate context of Peter's statement here concerns the Holy Spirit coming upon Cornelius and his household (Acts 11:15; also Acts 10:44-46) which had to have occurred as a special sign to Peter and the other Jewish brethren that God was accepting these Gentile believers as equals to all the Jewish brethren. But, as Luke records in 10:48, Cornelius and the others did receive the normal baptism in the name of the Lord Jesus. So there was a baptism-like experience of the Holy Spirit (including at least one gift of speaking in tongues) followed by the required essential water baptism. The 2 step process was a unique experience - and for a special reason - and was not the norm when John performed all of his baptisms. In fact, the one special one that is recorded of his that involved the gift of the Holy Spirit was Jesus' - and the giving of the Holy Spirit occurred immediately afterward.

I don't believe there is any good New Testament evidence at all to support the idea that any of those baptized by John himself needed rebaptizing when Jesus came along and he and his disciples baptized or even after his resurrection and ascension when it was practiced by the early church. The one situation where it looks on first glance like there may have been problems is Acts 19:1-5 where rebaptisms took place. But there the key point to note was that there was a serious hole in those peoples' understanding - no knowledge at all of what the Holy Spirit was! - and therefore the need for rebaptism when that missing part of the gospel was received. Also, even though they claimed to have received John's baptism, that in all likelihood was from one of John's converts and not John himself.

One other thing to keep in mind - if one's baptism into Christ represents an understanding of and identifying oneself with Jesus and his death, burial, and resurrection (see Rom 6:3-5), during that 3 1/2 - 5 year (?) time frame of John's ministry overlapping Jesus' mortal ministry, almost all who were baptized would have had an at best "fuzzy" or partial understanding of that future event. Yet there is really no evidence whatsoever of any of those disciples baptized at that time getting rebaptized. Today we rightly make an understanding of those things concerning Jesus a prerequisite of a true baptism into him. But during that transitional time period, the same couldn't have been true.

11:16  Peter’s comment that he remembered what Jesus said is an example of what Jesus had promised – John 14:26

12:9  When Peter thought he saw a vision he was like those that the Psalmist speaks of – Psa 126:1 – who thought their deliverance was a dream. Notice the additional link in verse :14. ‘Gladness’ answers to Psa 126:2 ‘laughing’ and in verse :17 the deliverance from prison answering to Psa 126:3 ‘the Lord hath done great things for us’.

Journeys to Caesarea

Notice in Acts 11:11 that it was Caesarea where the first Gentile converts occurred. Caesarea appears to have been a shipping port and the place where the Romans held their seat of power. In Acts there are a great many journeys mentioned from Jerusalem to Caesarea. First Peter went there and preached to Cornelius and his family, then in the next chapter Herod, who had killed the Lord's brother, fled from Judea to Caesarea. This was because of Peter's escape from prison, and presumably he feared the miraculous events that were taking place there. It is in Caesarea that the Gospel to the Gentiles comes to life but where the ruler of the Jews comes to his end (Acts 12:19-23). Perhaps the point is being made here that the Jewish people were about to be rejected as main recipients of the gospel, which would now focus on the Gentiles?

11:28  The famine which Agabus prophesied was one of the famines of which Jesus spoke –Matt 24:7. This famine took place in AD 46/7

12:24  ‘the word of God grew’ continues a progression through Acts where the growth of the gospel is highlighted – Acts 6:7, 11:21and then after this pointActs 19:20

12:19    So Herod “examined” the soldiers who kept watch and obviously learnt nothing about the release of Peter  so, rather than have the truth spread abroad that Peter had been delivered whist the guards were in place had them killed so they could not give testimony to the truth of Peter’s deliverance.

11:18 the call of the gentiles was a major issue in the first century. Jews had, historically, thought of themselves as God’s special people. The disciples had possibly taken Jesus command to take the gospel beyond the boundaries of the land of Israel – Acts 1:8 - as an indication that they should go and preach to the dispersed Jews. But on hearing Peter’s explanation and remembering what had happened to them after Jesus’ resurrection, they accepted the evidence. Are we so willing to accept valid change?

12:2      this “James” was one of the twelve, it seems – see Matt 4:21 and , Matt 10:2

11:24 The way Barnabas is spoken of – “a good man” – is one of the reasons why his words were accepted. His life reflected what he taught. This is fundamental. Our lives must reflect what we believe. Actually they always do reflect what we believe. However it should be that our lives reflect the character of Jesus.

11:18 Actually it should not have come as a surprise to the believers in Jerusalem that the gospel was extended to gentiles. Jesus has told them to go preaching to the ends of the earth – Acts 1:9 -  and Jesus had preached to and healed gentiles during his ministry.

11:21-23 The way that Barnabas charged those who had been baptised to “cleave unto the lord” is a clear indication that baptism is the beginning of a journey that requires tenacity. Baptism should change the way we think and live. This is why Barnabas made the journey to encourage the new believers.

11:28 the almost casual mention of Agabus as a prophet should remind us that there were prophets in the New Testament times as well as in the Old. So when we read of prophets in the New Testament – for example in 1Cor 12:28, Eph 2:20 etc.

12:3  So we see that even though the persecution led by Saul had ceased the authority of Rome which was vested in Herod was still at work persecuting. It is probable that Rome was unaware of what Herod was doing. However to see the power of Rome, apparently, at work must have been frightening to the believers.

Acts 12:21-23

GIVE GOD THE GLORY

“ALL flesh before Him is as nothing. He will not allow the flesh to glory in His sight. Adam was banished from Eden for casting dishonour on Him by disobedience. Moses was punished for taking to himself the credit of the miracle at the rock of Meribah. David fell into the hands of God, in three days’ plague, for exalting in the numbers of his army. The Assyrian was brought down for taking to himself the credit of what God did by him in the punishment of Israel. Mighty and arrogant Nebuchadnezzar was sent to herd among the beasts till he learnt that ‘the heavens do rule.’ Herod was eaten up by worms, because he gave not God the glory; and salvation is by God in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself—not of works, lest any man should boast.”

Robert Roberts, Seasons of Comfort, p. 62