Mistaken Identity
Daniel 9:11-20
Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him.And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem.
Daniel recognizes, as probably are you, that something of a curse is taking place at this time. It is just for as I have pointed out before, this is a time of great witchcraft. The fallen angels and power of Satan will never be more evident on earth than now. So, now the oath written in the law of Moses has come to effect. Just as Moses of John 3:14 lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so also was Christ Jesus raised up. His words have come to life during this time. For every time they believed him not and each time he was tested by men, so is poured the judgment. If you will closely examine the structure of this time, I can stack all seven churches, bowls, trumpets, and seals, and words of Christ in the shape of a circle, the oldest form of magic. Now, if I connect these by order, it will resemble a convoluted pentagram of sorts. No, I am not advocating paganism or even Satanism. I am attempting to explain the nature of the passage. Rather, it forms the shape of the crown of thorns woven by the soldiers for his head in John 19:2-3. At the base, sits the cup of judgment poured out upon the world.
As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth.Therefore hath the Lord watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the Lord our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice.
We see "I thirst" from Jesus in John 19:28. Here, hunger and thrust for righteousness will be filled as in Matthew 5:6. Again, the woman at the well of John 4:6-26 came who claimed she needed a drink every day. She had many husbands and some who were not. Yet, the Lord promised her living water that if she drank thereof she would never thirst again. Imagine this picture here. Their worm dies not in Isaiah 66:24, and the fire is not quenched. The temptation here is that God will not give the right people something to drink. Maybe he does not know your situation or maybe you have fallen too far for him to help you. These churches that live in times of sexual and spiritual immorality are tricky indeed. Revelation 6:5-6 tells of the black horse which holds the pair of scales. In this seal is shown a trade of what keeps people alive for a days wages. Soon Revelation 8:8-9 will come which sees the burning mountain thrown into the sea where both marine life and ships are harmed. Finally, in Revelation 16:3 the seas turn to blood and all "living things" in the sea die.
Bear with me here. This is a delicate matter indeed. However, those of you who watched the docuseries on Jeffrey Dahmer will understand of what I speak. Ephesus is spoken of in Revelation 2:1-7 where these have been rewarded with the right to eat from the tree of life. This teaching also requires ears to hear what the Spirit says to the churches. They live during the times of the Nicolaitans and hate them. The doctrine of Nicolatia taught marriage of the clergy by force. Is it any wonder that God, who gave all man free will yet draws them to himself, hates these that practice such. This church faced testing and trials faithfully as well as trying those which claimed to be apostles and were not. Yet they had "forsaken the love they had at first." If this church does not repent, its lampstand will be removed from its place. There is a temptation seen here that maybe God has not provided for their every need. If God had not made all things beautiful in their time as in the Garden of Eden, something would be lacking indeed.
And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly.O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us.
"Eli, Eli lama sabathanti;" these words have two meanings. The first says, 'for this cause was I sent;' the second says, 'my God, my God why have you forsaken me.' There is a look-back on Israel's history seen here from where God had brought them. Revelation 2:8-11 speaks of the church of Smyrna which shall neither be hurt by the second death but will be persecuted by Satan. These also could not tell whether they were rich or poor. To them he will give the victor's crown of life. There is no hurt from the second death promised. This was written to a suffering church surrounded by those who say they are Jews but are not. They faced prison and persecution in those days. The temptation here is overt and open; perhaps God really has forsaken these and left them to their own devices. In such a time only the hope of the Lord keeps them going. After enduring such persecution, imagine their fear of the one who can kill body and soul in hell as in Matthew 10:28. This is why for them, the second death holds no hurt.
Immediately after these words of Matthew 27:45, came darkness over the sky and over the face of the earth for about three hours. Revelation 6:12-17 tells of the sixth seal which contains the earthquake, the sun turning black, the heavens rolling up as a scroll, and the stars falling to earth. Their effect is to make all small and great hide themselves from "the wrath of the Lamb." For what they have done and his holiness, they all must go now before his face. The fourth trumpet of Revelation 8:12 sees a third of the sun, moon, and stars darkened also. The fifth bowl of Revelation 16:10-11 contains the darkening of the beast's kingdom. Even now, the people will still not repent. In the end, God has not been forsaken neither have these. But instead, they have forsaken him, and their sins have separated them from his face.
Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake.O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies.
Luke 23:42 speaks the words, "today you will be with me in Paradise" to the thief on the cross. The church of Philadelphia, in Revelation 3:7-13, Christ promised to make a pillar in the temple of our God. There, they would never leave it. To them is no temptation being kept from the hour of trial, save that of waiting on the Lord. Those sealed in Revelation 6:9-11 are seen as souls crying out under the altar; they asked how long before God avenged their blood on the earth. Then were given them white robes and were told to wait a little while. Revelation 8:10-11 speaks of the bitter star Wormwood cast into the rivers. Also in Revelation 16:4-7, is seen the bowl poured upon the rivers turning them to blood as those under the altar agree. They have killed the prophets of God. That has made those upon the earth bitter and also given them blood to drink for what they have done. There is a temptation seen here that maybe the sum of these people matters not to God. However, they do indeed, for God the Father shares their pain and the Son understands. So also have those on earth done to him.
O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name.And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God;
John 19:30 contains the words, "it is finished." Therein lies the temptation that perhaps it really is not so finished after all. Revelation 2:12-17 tells of the church of Pergamum which faced things such as Nicolaitan doctrine and the way of Balaam. The way of Balaam according to 2 Peter 2:14 was to curse God and his people for material benefit. These live where Satan has his throne. There will be no renunciation of faith for this church even when some are martyred. The owner of the sharp, double-edged sword is speaking and will soon use it upon them should they not repent. They also receive blessings of hidden manna and a stone with a new name written thereon. This also is a difficult passage as these tolerate the Nicolaitans.
Revelation 6:4 sees the red horse whose rider owns a long sharp sword and will take peace from the earth. Here will the family and the stranger be set against each other as in Matthew 10:34-36. Later, the trumpets sound in Revelation 8:7; in this rained hail, fire, and blood upon the earth. A large quantity of earth will be burned. Finally, Revelation 16:8-9 tells of the sun being given power "to scorch people with fire." There is fire and war almost everywhere in these scenes. The temptation is that God will not hearken to this church after all since others do not seem concerned. God uses the burning image of a fire out of control as a sign of judgment. God is holy and he will not tolerate such behavior in his house. Therein, his work affecting the body finished. However, this is not the end of the story. There is still one more word that is better than Abel's to come in Hebrews 12:24-25.