Almost Speechless

Tonight's Bible Study went off without a hitch and almost without a word! Well, I exaggerate a little bit, but not too much. In a room where most Wednesday's nights silence is nowhere to be found, tonight was full of just that - Silence!

Some points that were made tonight:

1. Daniel 11:36-45 describes the AntiChrist. This is argued on the exegetical grounds of v. 40 which begins by reading "at the time of the end, the king of the south shall attack him..." This verse makes clear the time frame is "that of the end," not the time period of Antiochus Ephiphanes IV who is described from Daniel 11:21-35. Secondly, this verse says the King of the south attacked "him," that is the king described in verses 36-39. For these two reasons, one stands on good exegetical ground to argue Daniel 11:36-45 is the AntiChrist.

2. God is sovereign in all of these human wars and conflicts and working them all out to their appointed end. This is made clear from Daniel 11:27, "for the end is yet to be at the appointed time," Daniel 11:35, "for it still awaits the appointed time...," Daniel 11:40, "At the time of the end." This provides streams of encouragement for all God's people who will listen and let these words flow to their heart. You see, God never promises easy times to anyone, but he does promise to always be faithful to his people no matter how good or hard the times may be. Times are hard in Daniel 11 for God's people, there is nothing but war, oppression, and violence, yet God is working it all toward the appointed time revealed in Daniel 12:1-3 "and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever."

3. History is important because God created time and space, or in other words, God inaugurated history. So it follows that when people study history, they are studying God's amazing universe of time and space. It should go without saying then that believers in Christ and His Scriptures should be the best historians of all time because we have a personal relationship with history's author and because we have God's authoritative "history book" full of historical events and persons such as the Fall, Flood, Exodus, Incarnation, and the Resurrection! History is also important because it gives us identity, it demonstrates God's perpetual faithfulness to Himself and those that love him, and is an almost insurmountable evangelistic/apologetic tool.