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The
Handwriting On a Sluggard's Wall
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Part III
Practical
Application, Not Prophetical Assumptions
from
the Book of Daniel
So many preachers / pastors have their two cents on Daniel and Revelation;
and I suppose some are closer to the truth than others and there are those
who are further from the truth than others, as well.
It does bring in the crowds though, no doubt! As Modern Christianity
takes over true Christianity, we see folks becoming more and more interested
in prophecy than being aware of obvious and practical truth.
It seems that most people are concerned about TOMORROW
than they are with TODAY!
They are more interested in learning more about the
anti-Christ
than they are the real Christ!
People are so bent on what's coming
that they are not content with the "now!" This may be the hour of
temptation, but it is still the engagement time of being His bride - a
great time of joyous expectation and preparation - well, it is suppose
to be, anyway! We will look back, as we all do, and wish the time
hadn't gone by so fast. The sluggard will be begging for more...
See Part
I - for an introduction to the Book of Daniel and a
sermon on chapter five, see Handwriting
on the Wall
See Part
II - Chapter 11
Chapter 12
"All
Hell Breaks Loose"
Now, what we have beginning to take place in Chapter
12, is the last three and half years -
the
hard part of the Tribulation! That stuff in
chapter 11 is from the so-called first
3 1/2 years of the "peaceable' portion of the Tribulation!
verse 5 says
this is a continuation of his dream in chapter
10... So in all effect and timeline reality,
these things are not all even in chronological order.
Now, chapter 12
won't
take long to check out the handwriting here:
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.
-
Michael - the protector of Israel
10:13;
Rev 1`2:7
-
he standeth for the children of
thy people - the unseen kingdom
-
the book? -
Rev 17:8; 13:8, etc.
-
delivered - a mid-trib rapture,
but not of the bride - this is an 'issue' for today! It appears
that these are those that chose the Jewish way, Revelation
7:9,14, but are still not blood Jews -
the Jews must endure. These folks recognized an obvious departure
and knew that they missed the rapture. Now, there will be a lie that
will deceive folks during the trib, so they had better believe the truth
today - and so we must be sure to tell them, even if they don't believe,
they will! But oh what a hard time it will be! -
II Thessalonians 2:9-12
2:
And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some
to everlasting life,
and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
-
dust of the earth shall awake -
when you die, you go to this point in 'time' - be with the Lord or
in Hell! - you 'awake' to everlasting life
-
the rest come to their white throne
judgment after 1000 years and head off to the lake of fire - shame and
everlasting contempt! Rev 20:4,5; 13:8
3:
And
they that be wise shall shine as the brightness
of the firmament; and they that turn
many to righteousness
as the stars for ever and ever.
-
wise - Proverbs
11:30; Matthew 13:43 but note it isn't
'us' to win these days - we deliver souls -
I Corinthians 9:16-27
-
Jews - in the OT and in the Gospels
and now in the Trib - those folks who turned others to the 'walk' for
their righteousness. But we can claim that stuff on a spiritual application
basis today - do we turn anyone to God's righteousness; then HE will turn
them to HIS walk based on His righteousness in that Bible - correction
and instruction!!!
- Galatians
2:20; II Timothy 3:16,17!
4: But
thou, O Daniel, shut up the words,
and seal the book,
even to the time of the end: many
shall run to and fro,
and knowledge shall be increased.
-
Times of the Gentiles - Luke 21:24
-
run too and fro - Amos 8:11-13
-
knowledge shall be increased - Romans
1:28; 10:2; I Corinthians 15:34; Colossians 1:9,10; I Timothy 2:4; II Timothy
3:7 & II Thessalonians 2:9-12
5:
Then I Daniel looked, and, behold, there stood other two, the one on this
side of the bank of the river, and the other on that side of the bank of
the river.
-
More of the dream from chapter
10
6: And
one said to the man clothed in linen,
which was upon
the waters of the river, How long shall
it be to the end of these wonders?
-
Man in linen - Jesus Christ - Daniel
10:5,6; Revelation 1:13 - note the
word "upon"
7:
And I heard the man clothed in linen,
which was upon
the waters of the river, when he held
up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that
liveth for ever that it shall be for a time,
times, and an half; and when he shall
have accomplished to scatter the power
of the holy people, all these things shall
be finished.
-
time, times and an half - 3
1/2 years so they say... Daniel 7:25
-
his goal - scatter the power
of the holy people - he missed us with the Book, eh!
8:
And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be
the end of these things?
9:
And he said,
Go thy way, Daniel: for
the
words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.
10: Many
shall be purified,
and made white,
and tried;
but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand;
but the wise shall understand.
11: And
from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and
the
abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand
two hundred and ninety days.
-
1290 days... huh?
-
see Daniel
8:14 - 2300 days - huh?
12:
Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and
five and thirty days.
It's all sealed until the
Tribulation...
...so we might as well get on
with our life today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
13: But
go
thou thy way till the end be: for thou
shalt rest,
and stand in thy
lot at the end of the days.
keep busy for the Lord until...
the time to rest is NOT NOW!
We will stand someday in what we have 'kept' from the inheritance!
This will all be over but not until THEN!
Go thou thy
way till the end be..
THEN comes the REST... - The Millennium!
AWAKE NOW, YE LAODICEAN SLUGGARD
Awaken to God's Handwriting
Today!
It will be too late to awaken tomorrow 'after'
the handwriting for tomorrow!
If you are lost:
Ephesians 5:14 Wherefore
he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead,
and Christ shall give thee light.
Psalm 119:105 Thy
word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.
If you are saved but backslidden or unlearned:
1I Corinthians 15:34
Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge
of God: I speak this to your shame.
II Timothy 3:16 -
The Scripture is where the knowledge of God is located - awake to HIS righteousness
as well as HIS in your own walk!
If you are saved and have some understanding
but still not doing what you know you should be doing:
Romans 13:11 And
that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake
out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we
believed.
Revelation 3:20
- to be near Jesus Christ then, we should also be near him today!
And what about the "others" in our lives?
Well, once you have taken care of you, yourself
and your family... you can think of others beyond...
II Timothy 2:23-26
-
1) ... awake to the nearness of all
this "time of the Gentiles" (Luke 21:24)
finally coming to a close!
-
2) ... awake to what is truly serious
- not just spending tons of time studying, reading and listen to the radio
cassette series, and watching videos on the details of the Tribulation
and trying to figure out 'when Christ is really going to come' and
'does the church leave before or during or after the Tribulation,'
if the church leaves at all, etc. etc. etc.
-
3) ... awake to the possibility that we are
just sluggards today - are we just trying to live that satisfied American
life - do we tend to worship those famous gods
of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone
Proverbs 13:4a
The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing:...
I am concerned for us that 'after' the Lord comes
- whenever that is - so many of us will have very little or even nothing!
You may be thrilled about being in Heaven with
the Lord - in the Millennium, etc. but you will be begging for more - By
the way, it is all based on whether you 'lost' what you originally had,
not just what you 'earned!'
Proverbs 20:4
The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold; therefore shall
he beg in harvest, and have nothing.
Have we quit plowing because today's apostasy
had made the truth COLD in these Laodicean days?
Are we afraid to put the plow into the hard frozen
dirt of today?
Are we just trying to get comfortable on this
hard, frozen ground?
Why are so many satisfied
with building churches now instead of preaching the word?
Why are so many preachers
preaching about happy families instead of preaching on the "walk &
roll" within the family?
Are we reading our Bibles
seeking direction but THEN not following the direction given?
Are we studying our Bibles seeking the deeper
things of God but THEN not doing anything about what you have learned?
A Growing Christian is
'growing' all the time, thus we will have growing pains all the time?
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