Would You Stand Strong?
In the latter part of their reign, when rebels have become completely wicked, a stern-faced king, a master of intrigue, will arise. He will become very strong, but not by his own power. He will cause astounding devastation and will succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy the mighty men and the holy people. He will cause deceit to prosper, and he will consider himself superior. When they feel secure, he will destroy many and take his stand against the Prince of princes. Yet he will be destroyed, but not by human power.
-- Daniel 8:23-25
We are so fortunate. We are. We can meet together and pray. We can sing hymns and read the Bible out loud. Sure, there are some hard times but overall life is pretty good. We are sure that nothing can cause us to turn from our faith, to deny the One who gave His life for us.
The Jewish people no doubt thought this in the years before Christ. My class has been studying the book of Daniel. It has caused us to ask ourselves a few hard questions.
The man generally believed to be the king in this passage was Antiochus IV Epiphanes. He began his reign in 175 B.C. His goal was the exterminate the Jews and convert Jerusalem into a Greek city. He gave the Jewish people a tough choice: renounce their faith or die.
What would you have done? Don't be so quick to answer. We are not talking hypothetical here. This was a real choice made by real people. What would you do if you had to get rid of your Bibles? How would your life change if you could no longer honor God on the Sabbath?
Sadly, many still face those choices. We'd like to believe it doesn't happen in today's world but it does. People are persecuted for loving God. For giving away Bibles. For claiming Jesus as Lord and Savior. Satan causes so much destruction. Then and now.
Antiochus IV turned out to be his own worst enemy. In December 167 B.C., Antiochus IV set up a statue of the Greek God Zeus in the Jewish temple. And then he sacrificed a pig on the altar. Bad mistake. Really. A bad, bad mistake. Did the king really believe that there wouldn't be any consequences? It's as though he was too focused on his own power to realize that all he had taken on God Almighty.
Just like us sometimes. We sin and we sin and we sin, always expecting God to forgive us. We justify our actions. We make excuses. We forget, or maybe ignore, the simple fact that true repentance involves more than forgiveness. It involves a change in direction. If we continue to make bad choices, we will face consequences. God will make sure of it. Every time.
Antiochus IV certainly paid. The Jewish people were so upset by the king's actions that they rebelled and eventually freed their nation. The king went insane and died of disease -- by God's hand, just as Daniel had predicted. Think about it.
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