Welcome to everyone in this glorious Sunday morning!
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Shalom alekhem!
My name is Israel Leonard and I have a Word from God to you. Stay with me at this site, and we'll share the same revelation about the things to come. Let's read the word of God in Daniel 7:1-3, New International Version:
"In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream, and visions passed through his mind as he was lying in bed. He wrote down the substance of his dream"
"Daniel said: “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me were the four winds of heaven churning up the great sea. Four great beasts, each different from the others, came up out of the sea"
That's the NIV. The original ARAMAIC text for these verses sounds like this:
"Bishnát khadá lebelshatsár mélek babél daniél khélem khasá vekhesví reshé al mishkebé. Vedáyin khelmá ketáb, resh milín amár"
Ané daniél ve amár: khavé vekhesví im leliyá, vaarú, arbá rukhé shemayá megikhán leyamá rabá. Ve arbá kheván rabrebán salekán min yamá, shaneyán da min da"
The NIV is a very good rendering from the original Aramaic. "Churning up the great sea" comes from Aramaic "megikhán leyamá rabá", where "megikhán" is a form of Aramaic verb "gíyakh" which means to "stir" or to "agitate". It doesn't mean in this context the way you stir cream to make butter, but the randomly agitation of a storm. This image of the winds of heaven agitating the sea is crucial to understand the vision. What does it mean? Let's pray first.
PRAYER
Almighty God, we give you praise and we give you honor, for you have given us your word which is our beacon in this world.
Thank you for your revelation of things to come. Thank you for considering us your friends, and telling to us about those things you are about to do in this world. Thank you for your Word, o Lord,
We pray o Lord for the precious souls hearing the message. Let it be light to them, let it be hope to them, let it be life to them. In Jesus Holy Name. o Lord. Let them reach with your word all of them you want to save in this world before that terrible day when the last tribulation in this world starts. In Jesus Holy Name. Amen.
The verses in the word of God in Daniel seven which we have read are the beginning of an amazing chapter which resumes the whole human history from Babylonia's time to the last human government, and gives us hope about an eternal, divine and perfect kingdom which will endure eternally.
Where is your hope?
If we believe in God, then it is Jesus the one He raised from the dead and who He glorified, in order that our faith and hope are in God. "Faith" is the gift that leads our everyday life, but "hope" is the one that helps us to make long term decisions, and that validates our faith. We don't see the results of our faith immediatly, but we HOPE we will see them.
Where is your hope? Is it in God?
The Word of God shows us many examples of people who had their hope in something else. We read about people who had their hope in their strength, in their riches, even in their idols. A misplaced hope would cause misplaced expectations, misplaced efforts and in the long run, a misplaced life. Because God doesn't approve or reward our hope on anything else, but on Him and His Word. I don't know if your hope is in God, in the lottery or in Donald Trump. But allow me to give you an example about misplaced hope.
There were many that hoped for a presidential change in USA on 2012 elections. The reason was a very simple one: they felt betrayed. Why? Because the administration showed it's true colors after being in power. Which "colors"?, are you maybe wondering. Let's go through some of them.
The first dissapointment you can find about is concerning the War on Terror. It was a clear concept in the Bush administration. But polls show that a majority of people don't think this administration is doing the right job. Why? Is America's army weaker, or inferior to the terrorist ones? No, not at all. The base of the anything but perfect War on terror of this administration is an ideological one: that the Muslim terrorists in some way "are right" in having "grievances" against America. They are supossedly retaliating the War on Terror which president Bush started in response to september 11 attacks. Other "grievances" are European colonization centuries ago, the crusades or the existence of the Jewish State.
But nothing can be more wrong than that "grievances" explanation. Let's remember a little bit of history from school times. Islam was born 622 AD in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Twenty years later, the Muslims had conquered and subjugated Persia, and a century later, a huge territory all the way from Spain to Pakistan. That was nothing about preaching a new religion. That was about war, conquest and submission. Since 657 AD are Sunni and Shia Muslims at war with each other. At these remote times, none of the European countries which we know now existed, neither America or Israel. The Islamic wars in the Islamic world have nothing to do with America, Europe or Israel; they are inherent to their world, they are wars among Muslims, where some Muslims kill another Muslims, and all Muslims kill "infidels" - which means the non-Muslims. So you can't make a decision in order to appease someone who is lying to manipulate you. Terrorists don't want to be appeased at all. The rise of Daesh - the so called ISIS - has been utterly helped by the disengagement from Irak, just as president Bush predicted.
A big second dissapointment is about Israel. The promise before elections was: America will always support the Jewish state, with its indivisible capital Jerusalem. It sounds great, doesn't it? But the real politics after the first mandate was clear: Israel is to blame because of the "settlements" - those so called "settlements" are Jewish communities living in Israel, in certain territories which the palestinians make claims to. This hostile politics against Israel has emboldened the palestinian terrorists who are conducting a massacre of Jews in our days in the Holy Land, because they feel that Jews are totally isolated, as long as nobody condemns their atrocities aganst them, not even Israel's allies. A real ally and friend of Israel should know that there is no "palestinian state" and not even a country called "Palestine", which should have been conquered anytime in history by Israel. It doesn't exist, and it has never existed. This means that Israel is not "occupying" any country. A real friend of Israel is not supposed to take in his lips the arguments of Israel's enemies.
Another question is to be seen also in the context of America's - and the whole western world's - dechristianization. And first of all let's put it clear that it is not the same as "secularization". With "secularization" in western societies we mean to set apart civil institutions from the church's authority, a process which began with the Reformation and which is biblical, because Our Lord said that His Kingdom is not from this world. With "dechristianization" we mean an apostasy where our morals and concepts about good and evil are no more the words of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Secularization has to do with the medieval church, but dechristianization has to do with Jesus and the Bible.
Our Lord said that "the love of most would grow cold" because of the increase of wickedness. This administration is the first one in recognising the antibiblical abomination called for "gay marriage" for legitimate, one of the signs of the apostasy the Lord warns about. This ungodly sentiment has gone so far that the Supreme Court has declared that abomination mandatory even for those states which had not implemented it - which is a violation of the will of the people in those states.
Other sources of dissapointment are gun control, restrictions on free speech and many more. The very foundation of the democratic societies is in danger because of an administration that the people elected twice, and the second time, after knowing its real program.
How did it come to pass, that a country with Christian majority voted a second time for an administration with these "colors"? Many explain it because of the biased media which talks about those "good steps" that are contributing to "build up America", instead of those mistakes that are destroying the American soul.
But the Word of God shows us that there are reasons behind human behavior, and those reasons are spiritual ones. Jesus said,
"Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them"
This is a spiritual law. It is called "Matthew effect" because it comes from Matthew's gospel. Even non-Christian scholars recognise the power of these words, which answer to the spiritual question about how some undertakings thrive and prevail, and other ones wither and die. These words of Our Lord are visible in a very palpable way in politics. Let me show you another example.
In 2006 it was elected a palestinian government in the Gaza strip, after the disengagement of the Jewish population from that territory. The Jews abandoned Gaza and the palestinians got it. What kind of government you think they chose?
A TERRORIST ORGANIZATION! Can you believe it? They elected Hamas, with a history of more than twenty years of terrorism and Jew hatred by that time.
When the Jews left Gaza, the idea was to give "land for peace". They gave up the land. But the palestinians gave them no peace. The Jew hatred prevailed, and they elected Hamas as their government. Now, there were peace seeking people there and the other ones, the terrorism prone ones. When those last ones elected Hamas, Gaza became an Islamic dictatorship - kind of terrorist mini-state - supported by Iran. The terrorist and dictatorial Hamas have been killing its opponents and indoctrinating all citizens in their "right to free Palestine" (they mean to obliterate Israel through terrorism and war, and to create a Muslim terrorist state from the Jordan to the Mediterranean) As you can see, the spirit of hatred which caused terrorists to govern is reinforced more and more (as Jesus said, "the one who has gets more") with the antisemitism which is inherent to it, and the opposition becomes weaker and weaker until it dissapears (also "the ones who don't have, even what they have is taken from them")
Why do we talk about a "spirit of hatred"?
Let's go back to the Word of God in the book of Daniel, chapter seven and verses 1-3:
"In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream, and visions passed through his mind as he was lying in bed. He wrote down the substance of his dream"
"Daniel said: “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me were the four winds of heaven churning up the great sea. Four great beasts, each different from the others, came up out of the sea"
These four beasts have a meaning which is parallel to the statue of Nebuchadnezzar's dream in Daniel, chapter two. They represent kingdoms, empires, governments. Let's talk about them later, when we read their description. Let's focus on "the great sea" and "the four winds of heaven" which causes the beasts to come out of the sea.
Revelation 17:3 talks about a "prostitute" sitting on a "beast" - which is the same last beast that we can see in Daniel seven. And this "beast" of Revelation 17:3 becomes "the waters" - or the sea - "where the prostitute sits" in Revelation 17:15. This verse fifteen shows us the meaning of this sea: "peoples, multitudes, nations and languages". The use of the sea to speak about multitudes or nations is a common one in the Scripture. You can find it in Ezekiel, Jeremiah or Isaiah. Back on Revelation 17, the "prostitute" is seen sitting on a beast, or on the multitudes that follow the beast.
If the "great sea" is representing multitudes and nations, what about "the four winds of heaven"?
The word for "wind" both in Hebrew and Aramaic is "rúakh". And the same word means "spirit"; it is used for the Spirit of God, for angels or for unclean spirits. The number four is used to talk about the integrity or wholeness of things created by God. For instance, the "whole earth" is called "the four corners of the earth". The phrase "four winds of heaven" is then meaning "all of God's created spirits", both good and evil ones.
Now in Daniel's vision, the beasts (which represent kingdoms) came "out of the sea" - or of the nations - and the sea was agitated by "the four winds of heaven" - or by the spirits. It is because of these "spirits" that peoples choose their leaders, or follow them. Of course it is God who allows the whole thing to happen, because he gave us humans the lordship on this earth.
The four beasts in Daniel seven relate to Israel, and they strive for Israel's control. But God has giving to His people the eternal promise that His kingdom will come out from Israel, from Jerusalem, from Zion, when the Messiah comes back. That's God's promise, and that's why all governments will pass away, but God's kingdom, which is eternal, will remain. Hallelujah! That's also the reason for the difference between Nebuchadnezzar's and Daniel's vision. The king saw a "sublime statue" and the prophet, "four beasts". The vision of the king exalted human pride and the conquest of Israel, but that of the prophet shows us human things as temporal, fallible ones that we will deal with until Jesus comes. Despite the difference, the story in both visions is the same: the statue began in a golden head and finishes in feet of iron and clay; the first beast is the lion (king among animals) and the last beast is a "terrifying and frightening" one. Both the feet of the statue and the last beast - meaning the last human government - are replaced by the eternal Kingdom of God.
There is no hope that "we" shall evangelize the whole world. We have no promises to achieve that. Not in the words of Jesus, not in the words of the apostles, not in the words of the prophets in the Old Testament. Wherever you read, the end of times will be a time of apostasy, of wars and rumors of wars, a time of all nations aganst Israel and a time where only a few will hope in God. But for you who hopes in God, this chapter in the book of Daniel shows the kingdom of God which shall finally come to this earth in the person of the Messiah of Israel, our Lord Jesus Christ. That's God's solution, that's God's plan to take away sin and evil from this world.
Now let me tell you something: GOD DOESN'T HAVE A "plan B". God knows everything that was, everything that is and everything that will be. On eternity, when He saw these last times we are living in, He knew that this world should become more and more evil. He knew that the whole world would stand against Israel, He knew that this world should implement abominations to live by. And He knew that we should need Him. He devised a plan to save humans. His Son, who answered to His call, should came to die on a cross in order to erase our sins. Through this plan of God, which is only based on the blood of Jesus, we should come to Him and walk in His ways. This world can become even more and more despicable, BUT THERE IS HOPE IN JESUS.
It doesn't matter where is this world going to, there is hope in Jesus. It doesn't matter how much evil will grow in this world, there is hope in Jesus. It doesn't matter how do you have conducted yourself up to now, or how grave your sins are.
THERE IS HOPE IN JESUS!
There are spiritual forces that agitate the hearts of men. The four winds of heaven are agitating the great sea. Different spirits lead multitudes to follow evil and abomination, death and destruction. But you are not alone in this world. The One who created you is looking for you, is reaching out to you in order to restore that communion children are supposed to have with their fathers.
If you have not yet received Jesus Christ as Your Lord and Savior, don't wait any longer! Some day it will be an impossible thing to do, and we will end up in the place that our choice has granted us, heaven or hell. There is a place of communion, love and peace with our Father, and there's another one of punishment, death and hate with Satan. Maybe you think that you have not done something "so evil" as to go to hell. But this is not what the Lord says in His word. He says clearly that "there is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God".
ALL HAVE SINNED. Both you and I have sinned.
ALL HAVE FALLEN SHORT OF THE GLORY OF GOD.
Both you and I had a ticket with "destination: hell"
BUT THERE IS HOPE IN JESUS!
There is another ticket with "destination: heaven". And it is free. You don't have to pay for your salvation. It is Jesus' work on the cross. The only thing you have to do is to repent from your sins and turn to Him in prayer. He will forgive you and make you holy, He will take away from you that curse that is threatening you with eternal punishment, and grant you the eternal blessing in communion with our Father and Creator. The only thing you need to do is to pray, to put your hope in Jesus.
Don't you know how? Just tell Him:
Almighty Father, I recognize I'm a sinner and I'm coming to you seeking your forgiveness. Please accept me. I repent my sins, I believe in the work of Jesus Christ on the cross, I believe in the blood that makes me free, the blood that makes me holy, the blood that makes me to a child of yours. In Jesus Holy Name I pray: deliver me from my sins, lead me in your paths, take away condemnation from me and give me eternal life. In Jesus Name. Amen.
If you made this prayer with all your heart then you have come to life. Go and talk to other ones about Jesus! They need Him more than they know.
May God's peace be with you, in Jesus Name. AMEN
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