Exile.
By
Colin Thompson, Gateshead, England.
29/11/2005.
Most
of us born from above through faith in the Lord Jesus, the Christ, have
gone,
or are going through, similar experiences and frustrations.
With
elders - problems. Without elders - problems.
The
real issues though are much deeper.
In
Daniel chapter 7, Daniel has a dream in which he is shown the 4
succeeding
world kingdoms, Chaldean (Babylonian), Median-Persian, Greek starting
with
Alexander the Great and finally the Roman Empire with special mention
of
Constantine.
Dan
7:19 Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, (Rome) which was
diverse
from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and
his
nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the
residue with
his feet;
Dan
7:20 And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which
came up
(Constantine), and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had
eyes, and
a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than
his fellows.
Dan
7:21 I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and
prevailed
against them;
Dan
7:22 Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the
saints of
the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.
Dan
7:23 Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon
earth,
which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole
earth, and
shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.
Dan
7:24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall
arise: and
another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first,
and he
shall subdue three kings (Constantine).
Dan
7:25 And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall
wear out
(age, as in make old, in the Greek Septuagint version) the saints of
the most
High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into
his hand
until a time and times and the dividing of time.
Dan
7:26 But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion,
to
consume and to destroy it unto the end.
Dan
7:27 And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom
under the
whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most
High,
whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve
and obey
him.
If
we miss the fact that Constantine achieved this wearing out of the
saints
through the establishment of a world religion called Christianity, then
we risk
being caught up in it, in some form or another. He didn’t invent the
Roman
Catholic Church or the Greek Orthodox Church. They arose later. So did
a
thousand other things like them.
In
Daniel chapter 8 these four world kingdoms are further explained and
identified, with Rome and ultimately Constantine pointed out. Jesus
made reference
to these chapters in the Gospels, as they clearly prophesy the era of
the
coming of the Christ, the later destruction of the temple and Judah in
AD70 and
then the defeating of the saints (the assembly of the Christ) in
Constantine’s
reign.
Daniel
worked out the exile of the Jews in Babylon as being of 70 years
duration (see
Daniel chapter 9). But he didn’t just carry on making the best of
things until
the time was up.
He
got down on his knees. He confessed the sin of the people of God and
himself. He
acknowledged the righteousness of God in His judgements. He pleaded for
the
restoration of the temple and the service.
Dan
9:1 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;
Dan
9:2 In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the
number of
the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet,
that he
would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.
Dan
9:3 And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and
supplications,
with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:
Dan
9:4 And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and
said, O
Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to
them that
love him, and to them that keep his commandments;
Dan
9:5 We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done
wickedly, and
have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy
judgments:
Dan
9:6 Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which
spake in
thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the
people of
the land.
Dan
9:7 O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of
faces,
as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of
Jerusalem, and
unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the
countries
whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have
trespassed against thee.
Dan
9:8 O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our
princes,
and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee.
Dan
9:9 To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we
have
rebelled against him;
Dan
9:10 Neither have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in
his laws,
which he set before us by his servants the prophets.
Dan
9:11 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.
Dan
9:12 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.
Dan
9:13 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.
Dan
9:14 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.
Dan
9:15 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.
Dan
9:16 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.
Dan
9:17 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.
Dan
9:18 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.
Dan
9:19 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.
Dan
9:20 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;
If
we understand where we are in history, post Constantine, in the time of
the
destruction of the assembly of the saints, the Holy habitation, the
body of the
Christ, what is our reaction?
To
moan about the state of things?
To
make the best of a bad job?
To
think it has nothing to do with us - what will be, will be?
To
pretend that we can create our own version of Jerusalem, our own
assembly of the
Christ, by our efforts and determination?
To
love the world?
Or
do we get down on our knees?
On
our faces?
Tears
in our eyes?
Pain
in our heart?
Like
Daniel, knowing that the exile will come to an end, but hastening the
day,
pleading, asking in faith that the assembly may be built again, through
the
name of the Lord Jesus, the Christ of God, who will return for a
spotless
bride, very soon.
When
Jesus brings back the captivity of His people, again we will be one
flock, one
body, one Holy nation, one Kingdom.
Not
all the Jews in Babylon behaved like Daniel and his three friends. Many
ate the
food from the King’s table, but not these four.
Many
may have bowed to Nebuchadnezzar’s image, but not the three friends -
they
refused and visited the lions.
Many
may have ceased praying to the God of Heaven during the prohibition of
Darius,
but not Daniel, he chose to carry on praying to the God of Heaven come
what
may. Many probably just got on with
life, going to the synagogue, keeping out of trouble. But then, not all
were
given to understand the times and the seasons.
To
whom much is given, much shall be required.
We
do have something very positive we can be doing at this time.
If
we have the heart.
Colin
Thompson, Gateshead, England.