← Prophecy Watchers
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Okay, so in Daniel it is. This is maybe one of the most important prophetic books in the Bible, and which is why we go through this kind of every time on Sunday, that as you're studying the word of God on your own, you've got to rely on the Holy Spirit to teach it to you, to reveal to you, to give you understanding out of the Word. And I'll just say this, too, not to get on too much of a rabbit trail, but we like to do that here. So the which what you are seeing, and we talked about this a couple weeks ago, but what you're seeing set up across the world right now, is establishing a foundation for what the Lord declared would be a deception so great that it would deceive the very elect if it were possible. And what you're seeing that second set up with, I'm sure all of you in here have been following the release of all the UFO and UAP files, and the government talking about this and rolling this out. And then there is apparently some meeting where they called in a bunch of pastors, not the government, but this group of people, to a secret meeting and warn them, please prepare your people, because the government's going to start revealing things and telling things about extraterrestrials that Christianity is not ready to hear and will make. And the lie, and this is their words, but the lie that they are going to say is that they came here, they seeded man, they put life on this planet, they gave us the Bible to try to create some peace in the Earth, and Jesus really didn't ever exist. You know, that's what they said. And hopefully every one of you in this room at least, is prepared enough after many years of talking about this and to know that all of that is a lie and none of it's true. And the Word of God has answered every one of those claims already thousands of years in advance. But you have to be in the Bible yourself, building up your faith. And you have to take it to the Lord from 1st John 2:27 and 28 that you can't outsource this to anyone. It's a personal relationship with the creator of the universe, who's real, who breathed you into existence, who breathed the universe into existence, who spoke all things, he holds them all together still, from Colossians 1:17. And he has a plan for us. He already told us there is this deception coming upon the Earth that will be so great it would deceive you if it were possible. And praise God, it's not because you won't be here when that deception comes on. So thank the Lord for the rapture of the church, but you've got to be in the Bible every day. And with what you see, he hasn't promised that we won't see some of this. He promised that it won't deceive you at the very end of it all. And so. But he has a commandment constantly, be not deceived. Every time you study what Jesus said in the Gospels about the future, he always starts with be not deceived. And so deception is going to grow more and more and more in the earth in these last of last days. And it's to be expected. And so what you're seeing and what started almost 10 years ago on Tucker Carlson, it's no surprise. We're almost a decade down the road and it's getting to the point that the President of the United States is releasing, personally releasing files, trying to propagate or share what this really is all about. We've come a long way from in the 90s when it was just a weird Friday night X Files thing, right, with Scully and whatever the other dude's name was. But that was when I was growing up, right? It was this fringe kind of thing on Friday night and primetime television that nobody wanted to talk about. But deception is coming upon the earth and we know it will stranglehold the earth in the tribulation. The key for you and I is that no matter what happens between now and the rapture of the church or whenever we go home then, is that you stand strong and do not let that deception, let any fear creep into your life. Because fear is a wicked, vicious spirit that will drive you to do things that you don't want to do. And so do not let fear creep into your life. Okay? So most of the Old Testament focuses on this peculiar people of Israel. And we've been going through Daniel. And Daniel is the one book that focuses on the world through these gentile powers and the gentile kingdoms, from Babylon all the way down to the Antichrist kingdom that will rule the earth. And at the end of it all, the reign of the gentile powers comes to a screeching halt when Jesus in Revelation 19 comes back as the stone cut without hands and destroys the Antichrist kingdom. And we are with him. And he sets up a kingdom that will be established forever, not just a season, not until the next political election, not until there's some world war again that takes over and some other power steps in. It is forever and ever and ever. Praise God. For that. So what we studied last time was this banquet hall and the Babylonian city that Saddam Hussein tried to rebuild. He started it. And the thought that that Babylonian empire, when you study Revelation 17 and 18, will likely be re established at some point as a, as an empire that traffics all of these things, that is the center point of all idolatrous harlotry in all the earth, all spiritual wickedness. It's all centered there in Babylon. It's going to come back in my opinion, and again, I could be wrong, but it's going to come back to the plane of Shinar and in Babylon from Zechariah 5 to be rebuilt to receive the judgment God has declared for it. And so Daniel has that link to it from Daniel 5 that we studied last time. Now Daniel's the beloved prophet. He. He has nothing bad said about him in all of the Bible. He's a young man that never forsook his God, no matter what position he was in. As we've been going through the book, we had chapter one with the Jewish captives taken to Babylon. We had Nebuchadnezzar's dream of the metallic image. We had the fiery furnace in chapter three, Nebuchadnezzar's pride, where he then was dealt with for seven years out in the field and set aside for a while. I remember Jewish writings declare that Daniel is probably the one that took care of him during those seven years. Then we had the fall of Babylon last time, which prophetically, not to be confused again in my opinion, with the destruction of Babylon. That's in the future. And then today we're going to take the lion's den. So that'll get us about halfway through the book. Then next time as we go from seven through 12, it turns very prophetic, very heavy prophetically in terms of these four beasts, the ram and the he goat. The 70 weeks prophecy. We have spiritual warfare in chapter 10, then the silent years, this 430 year period that God prophesies in advance in Daniel 11. And then the consummation of all things in the end times in chapter 12. So it gets really exciting in the last part of the book here. So here's the chronological order of the chapters. Six is kind of far down there if you look at it. So it's supposed to go 4, then 7, 8, 5, 9, then 6. But going to take them in the order of which God wrote them, not necessarily in the order of which they occurred. And we studied last time how Cyrus conquered Babylon and you have the start of the Persian Empire. Well, when Artaxerxes comes to power down the road here a little ways, he will make the decree that sets the 70 weeks prophecy from Daniel 9. And it's one of the most important prophecies of the Bible. And in Daniel 9 it prophesies to the day that Jesus would ride in on the donkey to fulfill the Passover feast on the 10th of Nisan, all the way to the 17th of Nisan, when he is resurrected in the tomb after three days and three nights. So that prophecy from Daniel 9 is very, very important. And that's the starting point is what Artaxerxes declares. And it's actually in Nehemiah chapter two, that decree. So here's that picture of the statue and we've gone through Babylon all the way down to Rome. We are living in the time of that white line at the bottom between Rome and the Antichrist kingdom. And we are looking for the blessed hope of meeting Jesus in the air from Titus and 1st Thessalonians 4. And we are not looking for the Antichrist kingdom, praise God, because if we were looking for that, I don't think we'd spend a lot of time in church. We'd be figuring out how to dig wells and stock up on gold and ammunition and all these kind of things that get your focus off of serving the Lord in a mighty way. So, okay, in Daniel 6:1, it pleased Darius to set over the kingdom and 120 princes, which should be over the whole kingdom. Now, Darius may be an honorable title meaning holder of the scepter, much like Pharaoh or president or prime minister. Those are all titles, not necessarily names of people. So Darius may be a title in the Persian Empire. There's some speculation on that. And it's used later of five different Persian leaders. So that's why a lot of people think that some scholars believe that this specific Darius actually refers to to Cyrus himself. But the very last verse of this chapter in verse 28 refutes that, since Cyrus and Darius are both mentioned and named separately. So this specific Darius can't be Cyrus according to verse 28. But we do know that Darius was appointed, and that's in Daniel 9, verse 1, in the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans. So he was appointed. Whoever this king was, he was 62 years old when he took over according to Daniel 5, 31. And Darius the Meden took the kingdom, being about threescore and 2 years old. So he was 62 years old. And over these three presidents, so Darius puts 120 princes, and then over them these three presidents of whom Daniel was first, that the princes might give accounts unto them and the king should have no damage. So Daniel's once again promoted to almost the top spot in the entire kingdom, which is amazing. So Daniel rises to power in Babylon, then Persia conquers Babylon, he befriends Cyrus and he rises to power in Persia as the head of all of these different princes and provinces and the presidents. So there are three presidents whom the 120 princes report to. And Daniel's the top guy again. What a. I'm so excited to talk to Daniel in heaven. And just this had to be quite the roller coaster of a life to go from prisoner in Judea, to be taken captive in shackles, to rise to Babylon to watch it fall, to be taken over, only to rise again in Persia. Just what a life. So in verse three here then, this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes because an excellent spirit was in him. And we know that spirit, remember Nebuchadnezzar said the spirit of the gods, plural, referencing the Trinity, lived within Daniel. And the king thought to set him over the whole realm. So since Daniel was walking with the Lord and had such wisdom, the Persian king thought about making him ruler over everything. And you can imagine Darius probably thinking, I think this, this young man is more fit to rule than I am. He's way more wise, he can figure things out. He, everything he touches is blessed. So in verse four here then, the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel. Okay, so going all the way back to Babylon, this was the same thing the Babylonian guys did, remember all these, these occultic practicing sorcerers came in and Daniel was the only one that could tell the dream and the interpretation of it. And as a result, all of those black magic sorcerers thought, okay, we got to get rid of this guy. So Persia's thinking the same thing. These top people and leaders are becoming jealous and looking at Daniel going, he has real power and knowledge and discernment here for whatever God he's serving. The God that we're serving is not working, so we need to get rid of this guy. But they could find none occasion nor fault. For as much as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him. So Daniel's kind of co workers, so to speak, have this jealousy that begins to sit in. So just like the Babylonian co workers, look at what God's word says about Daniel though. But they could find no, none occasion nor fault. For as much as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him. That would be an amazing statement for God to make about you and I declared in the Word forever. That's. That's not something that just kind of went away after Daniel passed away. You and I, thousands and thousands of years later, are studying this, reading this about Daniel. What a testimony. And God's word can say that about you? Not necessarily he's writing another book or anything but his word, he will declare that in front of his God. Remember, Jesus said, if you deny me, I'll deny you. If you serve me faithfully, I will esteem you in front of my father and all the congregation. So the Lord would love to say that about you and I on the other side of this in verse five. Here then, said these men, we shall not find any occasion about this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God. So they decided to set a trap using the Persians own language against him, their own laws and language against him. Now, what they knew was that we can't find a fault with Daniel. But if we. If we're able to write a law that prohibits him serving the laws of his God, which we know he won't go with, then we can find fault with him and say, see, he's a law breaker. And the world, gosh, think about just six years ago, how the world tried to do that to you and I. And no, you can't. You can't go to church and sing. You know, you've got to stay home, social distance, wear a mask, whatever. You cannot go into church and worship your God. And there was. I mean, obviously that happened way more out in California and New York and other places than here in Oklahoma. But it's the same concept. How can we get these Christians to get in trouble? So then these presidents and princes assembled together to the king and said thus unto him, king Darius, listen. Live forever in all the presence of the kingdom. The governors and the princes, the counselors, the captains have consulted together to establish a royal statute and to make a firm decree that whosoever shall ask a petition of any God or man for 30 days, save of thee, o king, he shall be cast into the den of lions. Okay, so notice the first lie in this. All the presidents of the kingdom. So they go to Darius and they say, hey, all of the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, all of the leadership, everyone has consulted together and decided we need to do this. So raise your hand if you think Daniel Was there in agreement with them? Daniel was definitely not. He was the first among the presidents. And there's no way he agreed to writing this law against his God. There's no way. The law they pass is so that nobody can seek the Jewish God or any God for 30 days without the penalty of death. And they know that Daniel will not obey this law. Now, why 30 days? They probably did it for 30 days, knowing there's no way. Daniel seeks his God every day, but we have to make it a little bit long enough so that we catch him. And it's not necessarily doing it under the COVID of night or something. So Daniel's found such favor with the king, though, that they have to lie to the king that Daniel went along with this law in order for him to sign the decree. Okay, in verse eight. Now, O King, establish the decree and sign the writing that it be not changed according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not so the Persian way was that not even a king could alter law once they were signed and enacted. There was no executive order, so to speak. So you couldn't. Once the law was signed by Darius, not even his will could change it. So the king was not above the law, so to speak. That was quite the opposite with the Babylonian empire. Nebuchadnezzar did what he wanted, pretty much when he wanted. These law makers, they're very clever, though, because they know that once the king signs it, then it's going to be law. Daniel will be trapped in it, and not even Darius, who's a friend of his, can change it. So thus Daniel will be doomed, or so they think, right? Since they know his commitment to his God. Now, the question or challenge question for all of you is, would the same be said about you today? And there was a minor, a very minor test of this six years ago during COVID but there were lots of. Lots of instances, right? I mean, how many people in their lives have gone through a situation where, you know that following what your God and our God, the living God, wants you to do is going to cost you something? A friendship, a relationship of some kind, maybe even a job to a point. Maybe just persecution in general, you know, being made fun of. If you're a teenager in here and going to school, gosh. I mean, I remember in high school, there were so many times that I got made fun of a lot because I had no desire to go out and get drunk on Friday night. And it's. It may seem small and minor, but those are things that you have to walk through with your God and make sure that you do not turn your back on him, no matter how small it may seem in the moment, it's big to him. So in verse nine, here wherefore King Darius signed the writing and the decree. So Darius was deceived. He signs this law. Now, when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house, and his windows being open in his chamber, toward Jerusalem. He kneeled upon his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God as he did aforetime. What a great testimony. That is amazing. So no matter the circumstances, Daniel did not change. He knows the law is signed. He knows that if he continues, his fate is sealed, so to speak, from a worldly perspective. But he continues on the path, following the Most High, and he is good with it. If I have to go into the lion's den to serve my God, then so be it. I'll go in the lion's den. So he knew the consequences of his actions, and yet he continued to obey his God. Now we are to follow the laws of the land. From 1st Peter 2:13 15. Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether it be to the king as supreme, or unto governors, or as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. For so is the will of God, that with well doing you may be put to silence the ignorance of the foolish man. Now look at Romans 13:1 through 2. Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God, the powers that be ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God, and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. Now I don't know if any of you remember six years ago, but if you how many of you had friends or co workers that threw those verses in your face during COVID I mean, I know I did. I had a ton of people go like, hey, what are you doing? What do you mean? You won't sign this or take that or whatever. But Romans 13 was the verse they threw out there a lot. The caveat to all of that in God's word is if the law of the land contradicts the law of our God, then you default to God's law. And that's the key. And that is seen in Acts 5, 26, 29. Then went the captain with the officers and brought them without violence, for they feared the people, lest they should have been stoned and when they had brought them, they set them before the council and the high priest and asked them, saying, did not we straightly command you that you should not teach in this name? They're talking about the name of Jesus. And behold, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine and intend to bring this man's blood upon us. Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, well, we ought to obey God rather than man. So when Peter saw that they were not allowed to go and preach the name of Jesus, did that stop him? No, because he was following what Jesus told them to do. Now, in the same breath, what does Jesus say? Render to Caesar what is Caesar? Follow the laws of the land. Be peacemakers. All of that is true. Unless they're telling you to do something that God has specifically said that not to or to do. God said, go and make disciples. If the government says you may not use the name of Jesus in any discourse at all in your daily life or out on the streets or with strangers or whatever, I'm sorry, but that you don't listen to that you use the name of Jesus. There is no higher name. Now, if they say obey the speed limit, okay, let's obey the speed limit. I mean, just, you can use discernment here and wisdom. God gave you ways to think through this. If they say you owe taxes, pay the taxes. I've known several Christians who have dedicated themselves to not paying taxes because they think it's a fraudulent, you know, the Fed is not a federal organization and all these other things, and we're not going to pay taxes. And I'm like, hey man, I know the stand you're trying to make, but you're just going to end up in prison. That's all that's going to happen. You're just going to get yourself in prison and your family is going to be destroyed, all because you are trying to make a statement that is not going to change anything about the land we live in. They don't care about you. They will drag you off and put you behind bars. That is it. And so be wise. I'm just using that as an example to be. You've got to be wise when taking this up. So be wise, follow what God says first, and then be a peacemaker in the land of which you dwell, wherever that is, and just, just live according to, peaceably with all men. That's what Jesus said, okay, in verse 11, then these men assembled and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God. So they're, they're, they set the trap. And now they found the. The gotcha, so to speak. Okay, we've caught Daniel doing this. Then they came near and spake before the king concerning the king's. The king's decree. Now, this is where they get clever. So they remind the king first of the law he signed before they reveal the accused. And so they say, hast thou not signed a decree that every man that shall ask a petition of any God or man within 30 days save thee, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions. And the king answered and said, yeah, of course I did that. This thing's true. According to the law in the Medes and Persians, which altereth not. And then verse 13, then answered they and said before the king that Daniel, which is one of the children of the captivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, O king, nor the decree that thou has signed, but maketh his petition three times a day. So they. They really set the trap here for the king and wanted Darius to realize, hey, you, you're the one that signed this law. Now look at who's breaking it. Your good Buddy Daniel. Verse 14. Then the king, which, when he heard these words, was sore displeased with himself and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him. And he labored till the going down of the sun to deliver him. So the king's heart is broken over the situation. The accusers here likely knew of the king's love for Daniel, is my speculation, which is why they began with reminding him of the law first. And he cannot believe that he signed a law and was tricked when everyone knew that Daniel would not comply, even the king. If you probably would have asked him, I'm sure he would have told you, no, there's no way Daniel will follow this. But he. Maybe they got him drunk or something. Who knows? But the word doesn't declare, but he signed it anyway. Then these men assembled unto the king and said unto the king, no, O king, that the law of the Medes and the Persians is that no decree nor statute which the king established may be changed. So the king's obviously hesitant to follow through. And the lobbyists and the congressman and the house and the senate are gathered around him going, hey, remember, remember, you can't change this. We got to follow through with this. I'm sure they're saying, what kind of example will it set to the rest of the people if you let Daniel off of his punishment? And so there's some finagling here. Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel and cast him into the den of Lions. Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, thy God, whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee. Look at that. Look at what Darius says to him. The king's not only heartbroken, but he's confident in God's ability and commitment to his people. And so Darius is the one encouraging Daniel in his faith. That is incredible to me that Darius is going, daniel, I can't do anything about this. They will kill me. I will lose my headship over this nation. Whatever. We have to follow through. But your God is strong enough to deliver you out of this. So stay strong. And a stone was brought and laid upon the mouth of the den. The king sealed it with his own signet and with the signet of his lords that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel. So I am sure the king wept, wept that night. And here in verse 18, then the king went to his palace and passed the night fasting. Neither were instruments of music brought before him, and his sleep went from him. Now, it's interesting that he fasted. I don't know if that's a. Was a part of the Persian tradition or not in their culture, but it certainly was in the Jewish culture and in Christianity. We fast today. Fasting and prayer is a huge part of your spiritual warfare. But it's interesting the king fasted, and it doesn't say he prayed, but maybe he prayed to the God of Jacob and may have gotten saved that night. Maybe he was saved before. It doesn't really say. But that's interesting that he fasted. Then the king arose very early in the morning and went in haste unto the den of line. So the king was the first one to the tomb the next morning. So he runs there. Peter and John didn't get to argue, you know, they argued about who was faster to the tomb. Remember that? But the king gets there. He runs to the tomb, and when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel, and. And the king spake and said to Daniel, o Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God whom thou servest continually able to deliver thee from the lions? Now look at the Daniel's incredible testimony there. Whom thou servest continually. The king knew Daniel serves his God day and night without ceasing continually, and he knows he's the living God. And I think that is amazing that even in all of this, Darius is commending Daniel for his commitment to his God. Now, I don't know if Daniel had a sense of humor, but maybe he just stayed silent, you know, for a while and let Darius sweat it or something and just sat down there. But that would have been funny. Or just talk in a different voice or something. Who's Daniel? But in verse 21 here then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live forever. My God hath sent his angel and hath shut the lions mouths that they have not hurt me for as much as before him in a sea was found in me, and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt. Now it doesn't say this necessarily, but his angel could be a reference to Jesus. Again, like in the fiery furnace with Daniel's three buddies, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. A few times in the Old Testament, Jesus shows up and is referred to as the angel of the Lord. Now you have to rightly divide the word of truth. There's some instances where that's not the case. And somewhere that is, you have to watch what happens. Sometimes if, like with Samson's parents, the angel of the Lord shows up before they have Samson, they deliver a sacrifice to him, it's Jesus, he accepts it and goes back up to heaven. And so you see, if you see an angel deny worship, typically he'll say, like in Revelation, see that you do not, I'm a fellow servant, as you don't worship me, I'm not God. But when you see them accept it, except in one case with Satan, then it's typically a sign that that might be an Old Testament appearance of the Lord. So in Hebrews 11:32, 34, this instance may be referenced. A lot of people ascribe the Daniel's lion's den to this. It may be a reference to Samson though, but in these couple of verses and what shall I more say? So if you're not familiar with Hebrews chapter 11 is a lot of people refer to as the hall of faith where God goes down. All these great leaders in the past and the faith that they had and the encouragement to you and I to have the same level of commitment to our God. Hebrews 11:1 answers what faith really is. And I've always found that interesting that you know, you could, you can be in church your whole life and survey thousands of different Christians and you'll get thousands of different answers of what is faith? I mean the, the secular world even uses that word. You know, you've got to have, you know, we just had faith in one another or talk about sports teams or different things of. They use, they throw that phrase around and they mean well. But they, they clearly have never read Hebrews 11:1 of what faith really is, it's the substance of all things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. And so the substance of all that we hope for is Jesus himself. The evidence of things not seen is. Is you and I bearing witness and carrying around evidence of that day in and day out, without being in the presence of Jesus. Yet that is our faith. And so the substance of all that we hope for, when you study that in the Greek, is the. It is the substance by which you should build your entire life on that substance being Jesus Christ, the hope of the world. And so you build your faith on that. Now, Hebrews 11:6 is why faith is so important. For without faith, it's impossible to please him. And so how do you get faith then? Well, it's Romans 10:17. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. And so you've got to be in the Word daily on your own to build your faith so that you can be pleasing to God and live out your call, the call that he has on you in your life. Okay, so in verse 32 here in Hebrews 11, and what shall I more say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon, of Barak, of Samson, of Japheth, of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets, who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of what our government is disclosing, of the aliens, turning to flight the armies of the aliens. And it's amazing, though, that entire chapter about faith, that they didn't. All these great leaders in the Bible, they didn't waver. And stopping the mouths of lions could be a reference to Samson, if you remember, he stops the mouth of a lion and breaks it. Or it could be a reference to Daniel in the lion's den. We don't really say. It doesn't say that Daniel wrestled the lions necessarily, but that the Lord, the angel of the Lord, stopped their mouths, just shut their mouths so they couldn't do anything. So I kind of picture it as, like, Daniel had these pets down there. He's just hanging out with them and sleeping. Maybe he's just leaning on one hanging out, I don't know. But that'll be interesting to talk to him about. Okay, in verse 23, here then, was the king exceeding glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Darius is elated, Daniel survived. He's Alive. He's in the lion's den, but they're going to bring him out now. So Daniel was taken up out of the den and no manner of hurt was found upon him, not even a claw scratch. That's amazing, because he. And why was no manner of hurt found upon him? Because he believed in his God. So just. I just want you all to think about this. We all go through trials and tribulations in our lives. Jesus promised that in this world you will have trouble but be of good cheer. I've overcome the world. But when you're going through a storm in your life and you walk out on the other side, in how many of those instances were you only left with a testimony? And that's a question to think about, because at the end of the day, the. Did it really impact you in a negative way or did it build your faith? And that's the question. If you can look at it under the perspective of, I'm going through something I may not fully understand, but I am not going to deny my God in the middle of it. And your worship and your faith and staying in the Word and having fellowship with other believers, you get through it because of the strength of our King. And on the other side, you have a testimony to share with anyone that may also be going through that down the road. I had that opportunity. Unbeknownst to me, I was working on a project, and the attorney on our side that I was working with on it, I found out his wife was on bed rest and she was pregnant with their child. And so I got to share with him the testimony of how I almost lost Randy and our middle daughter, Mabry, when she was pregnant with her, because Randy was on bed rest for a long time. And I thought I was going to lose both of them. The doctors even told me, there's probably a strong chance you'll lose your wife and your daughter here. And we had to go through this emergency surgery. Mabry was healed from spina bifida in the womb. They thought she would never walk again. And she was healed in the womb with it. She came out, her lungs were full of fluid. She was without oxygen for many minutes. She looked like a Smurf, like a Nerf blew football on the table when she was born, finally. But our God rescued them. Our God saved my wife and our daughter. And I got to share that with this attorney, and I don't think he's a Christian. We talked a lot about it, but that was a storm that God brought me through. Now fourteen and a Half years ago, almost that in the time, it was hard. It was very hard. We had a very young son who was nuclear powered. Randy was supposed to be on bed rest and she was fighting for her life. And we made it through. And 14 years later, I got to share that with a young man that's going through something very similar. And so don't take for granted that God can use those things in your life down the road. And it's important, like we state in Joshua, remember in Joshua, setting up a marker in your life, it's important to remember those things because there will come a time when you go through something else again that you need to remember. Look what I went through years ago that God brought me through, that I can get through this too. And you continue to go on and you build the footprints of the Holy Spirit in your life and you remember those things and give him all the glory for it. So, okay, in verse 24 here. And the king commanded, and they brought those men which had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions. Them, not just them, but their children, their wives, and the lions and the mastery of them, and break all their bones in pieces or ever they came at the bottom of the den. So these, these poor guys and their families that tried to kill Daniel now get what came, what they were trying to give. And the same thing happened to remember Haman in Esther. The very gallow he set to hang Mordecai on, and all of the Jews is the gallow he was hung on. And Psalms talks a lot about that. The pit you dig, you'll fall into, and the stone you roll roll back on you. But it's just another example of how the man's leadership in the household affects the entire family. So these men were leading their family and led them astray. And as a result, their entire family paid the price for it. And you see that with Korah in the Old Testament in the wilderness. Remember Korah led the rebellion against Moses and Aaron. And they come out and they stand at the tents, and the Lord opens the earth and swallows them, their wives and their children down into the bottomless pit right there in an instant. So you can lead your wife and kids to a place of rest and comfort, joy and contentment, or a place of complete duress and destruction. It's really true. The husband and the head of the household has a lot of bearing on the direction of the family. So take that serious. Okay, then King Darius wrote unto all people, nations and languages that dwell in all the earth. So here's Darius's New Testament epistle, peace be multiplied unto you. In verse 26, I make a decree that in every dominion of my kingdom, men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel, for he is the living God and steadfast forever in his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be even unto the end. Now, what a statement. So this is the second time now that the ruler of the dominant world empire declares that the Lord is the one true God. And so no matter your circumstances, God can use it for his glory. So remember that. And the more faithful you are to him, the more glory will radiate of him. He wants to be a reflection in your life. So he delivereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions. And remember, Nebuchadnezzar used that same phrase, signs and wonders. And then the last verse here. So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian. So that's the verse that will tell you Darius and Cyrus were two different people because Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius and in the reign of Cyrus. Now, Daniel did not bow to the regime's law that forbid the worship of the living God. We're seeing that in Iran a lot right now, in Persia, ironically, in the Middle east, with a lot of people coming to know Jesus over there when it's forbidden by law, and we need to continue to pray for them. But Daniel, he represents the faithful remnant, so to speak, like the 144,000 in Revelation. Darius representing the man of sin, claiming divine worship under the penalty of death, just like Nebuchadnezzar did back in chapter, chapter two and three, chapter three, really, with the gold statue. And you see all of that in Revelation 7, 3 and 14, Revelation 12, 13, 17, and Matthew 24 and Mark 13, all as typologies in the future of the the Antichrist kingdom. Now, obviously, the Antichrist will not come around to know the Lord and declare that he is the one true God to the earth, but he will declare it, because Jesus said, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess. But it'll be. It'll be the second before he's thrown into the lake of fire for all eternity. Unfortunately for him, or it, or the alien, whoever it is, that's coming to land on the white House according to our government. So our enemy roams around as a roaring lion, though from 1st Peter 5, 8, be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour. Now that's the operative word. If you're in the word of God and you're building the shield of faith and the sword of the spirit, then you can go to war against those evil dark forces that try to come and devour you. And that's the key. You've got to be in the Bible to master that. Look at second Timothy 4, 17, not withstanding, the Lord stood with me and strengthen me, that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that at the Gentiles might. And all the Gentiles might hear. And I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. So that's interesting. Revelation 13. 2. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear and his mouth as the mouth of a lion, so the lion. Now, those beasts in Revelation 14 are the same beasts that Daniel sees. We'll study here soon. But they're in reverse order in 13 because John's looking backwards and Daniel's looking forward. And so they're. They're the same four beasts and his seat. And the dragon gave him his power. Satan gave the Antichrist his power and his seat and his great authority. Okay, just to wrap up here, there is security in Jesus during times of persecution. And I want to leave you with this encouragement from John 16:33. These things I have spoken unto you, that in me you might have peace in the world. You shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world. You know, Jesus never promised you and I that we would walk through this world like Emmett from the Lego Movie and just singing Everything is Awesome all the time. He didn't do that. In fact, he says the opposite quite frequently. He tells you to expect it, that you will have trouble. There will be storms in your life. There will be seasons of ups and downs where you're in the valley of the shadow of death. But I've never personally seen anyone hurt by a shadow. And it's for him to walk you through those and for you to build your faith and the living God and to come out of that valley on the other side stronger, more, having more faith and ready to serve him better and stronger than you ever did before. Because there is an immense blessing for obeying God rather than men. And you need to separate yourself from the world and follow the living God. In 1st Chronicles 22:13. Then shalt thou prosper if thou takest heed to fulfill the statutes and judgments and which the Lord charged Moses with concerning Israel. Be strong and of good courage. Dread not, nor be dismayed. And think about all the things Daniel did not do in this chapter. He was not fearful. He was not begging for forgiveness from the king. He was not pounding on the stones, screaming to get out. He did not fight the decree or the judgment. He did not waver even while knowing the consequences. And most of all, he continued to worship in the midst of it all. And so be still and behold the strength of our God. That's what we are all to do. So you and I are in a world that is hostile to our king. And it's getting more and more hostile every single day. And it's not. It's to be expected, right? And every single day, honestly, I praise God for where he has us right now, geographically, I mean, in the world. Because you, you and I live in a nation that is so blessed. And so the ability of us to study the word of God without the threat of persecution is. Is a privilege that most of the world does not enjoy. And so don't take that for granted, because there will come a time that that's not the case. And I'm not saying it's in our lifetimes, or I'm not, and I'm not even saying it's even before the Rapture, but we know that that does not happen. At some point, that will be outlawed across the entire world. And that spirit of Antichrist that's trying to move in right now on the earth wants to outlaw it. It's why he's trying to change the Bible in China. He's trying to rewrite the word of God in the Middle East. He outlaws Bibles all over the world and has burn piles in Africa. You have all of these pastors and families getting slaughtered just for having a Bible. And it's heartbreaking, but it's what God told us would happen. And so we need to be praying for them more and more. AI. You know, a lot of government leaders are trying to use AI to rewrite the Bible. And obviously so far it hasn't happened. But you and I, probably everyone in this room have three or four copies at their house sitting on shelves easily. So don't take that for granted. The written word is powerful and it's a light to your life. And so use it. Build your faith in it. Learn to use the sword of the spirit. Learn to build the shield of faith. And whatever the Lord has for you next, take it serious and go without compromise and without wavering, just like Daniel. He's a great, great example for us. Lord, we come before you. And Lord, we just thank you so much for this time in your word. And God, we thank you for again for Mother's Day and all that we get to celebrate today. God, we thank you that we live in a nation that the word of God is more readily available than any other time in the history of man. We have access to it day and night, various translations, the Hebrew, the Greek, all of it, even in the. In the palm of our hand. And we thank you, God, for that. And Lord, I pray that nobody that studies the Bible with us would ever take that for granted. And Lord, that they would surrender their lives to you and be a living sacrifice on that altar as you declare us to be in Romans. And God, whatever your word wants to surgically remove out of our lives, Lord, we pray that you would do it and that we would sit there and as painful as it would be, God allow your work to be accomplished. And God, we thank you so much again for moms, Lord, all over the world, what a special high calling each one of them has. And God, we thank you for all of their years of praying, of sacrificial time, of serving others, of walking out the call on their lives. And we pray, Lord, that you'd bless and strengthen each one of them. So God be with us right here as we gather around your word next Sunday. In Jesus's name we pray, Lord. Amen.