Daniel 12:1-3

Every day draws us closer to the end of this age as we know it and to eternal life with the Triune Godhead.

Those who shall be delivered are those whose names are written in the book of life, God’s record of those who have been justified by faith. Faith alone pleases the Father. We are refined in the furnace of afflictions. God takes our failings, those things that should have destroyed us and uses them to change us inwardly, precept by precept, into the character of Jesus.

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Hebrews 11:6

⁶ But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Daniel 12:1-3

12 “At that time Michael shall stand up,

The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people;

And there shall be a time of trouble,

Such as never was since there was a nation,

Even to that time.

And at that time your people shall be delivered,

Every one who is found written in the book.

² And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake,

Some to everlasting life,

Some to shame and everlasting contempt.

³ Those who are wise shall shine

Like the brightness of the firmament,

And those who turn many to righteousness

Like the stars forever and ever.

⁷ Alas! For that day is great, So that none is like it; And it is the time of Jacob’s trouble, But he shall be saved out of it. 

Jeremiah 30:7

²¹ For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. 

Matthew 24:21

⁸ You number my wanderings; Put my tears into Your bottle; Are they not in Your book? 

Psalm 56:8

²⁹ and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation. 

John 5:29

³⁵ And some of those of understanding shall fall, to refine them, purify them, and make them white, until the time of the end; because it is still for the appointed time. 

Daniel 11:35

²⁰ let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins. 

James 5:20

Luke 12:1-2

Hypocrisy destroys trust. 

Our lives should reflect Christ within us. The truth of something will always be exposed for what it is and judged accordingly. If we place our trust totally in God and not the doctrines of man we will be protected and directed by the Holy Spirit. 

The religious right does not always get it right THE HOLY SPIRIT DOES.

Leaven here represents the presence of corruption. The corruption in view here is hypocrisy. Practicing hypocrisy is senseless because eventually all deeds—both good and evil—will be exposed.

Luke 12:1-2 

12 In the meantime, when an innumerable multitude of people had gathered together, so that they trampled one another, He began to say to His disciples first of all, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. ² For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known.

¹² Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees. 

Matthew 16:12

³⁹ Then the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees make the outside of the cup and dish clean, but your inward part is full of greed and wickedness. 

Luke 11:39

²² For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light. 

Mark 4:22

⁵ Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one’s praise will come from God. 

1 Corinthians 4:5

Mark 2:27-28

And on the seventh day God rested seeing all that He had created was good. 

After a fruitful six days of work it is good to rest and enjoy the fruit of your labor. This is pleasing to the Father. Remember to thank Him for it!

Jesus does not declare directly the innocence of either David or His disciples, but instead reminds His critics of the meaning of the Sabbath for humans and His own Lordship over it.

Mark 2:27-28

²⁷ And He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. ²⁸ Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.”

³ Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made. 

Genesis 2:3

¹² Six days you shall do your work, and on the seventh day you shall rest, that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your female servant and the stranger may be refreshed. 

Exodus 23:12

¹² Moreover I also gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between them and Me, that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them. 

Ezekiel 20:12

⁸ For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.” 

Matthew 12:8

Luke 9:26

Trust the Holy Spirit alone to discern what is truth and what is lies. We must never be intimidated by those who want to twist the Gospel to suit their doctrine or cultural beliefs. 

Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament. The spiritual symbolism of the OT was fulfilled in the physical birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Jesus is the truth of the Gospel in living color!!

Luke 9:26

²⁶ For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels.

¹⁶ For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. 

Romans 1:16

³⁸ For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” 

Mark 8:38

1 Timothy 5:8

Your family is important to God. Your care for your family shows His love for them and your obedience to Him. The provisions that He provides for you and them… are priceless and His love eternal. We need to be about our Fathers’ business.

A believer is to provide for his own (his near relatives) and his household (his immediate family). Failure to provide for one’s family is equal to denial of the faith. If a Christian cannot even care for his or her own family, how can that person sincerely love and care for others? Some unbelievers take better care of their families than believers do.

1 Timothy 5:8

⁸ But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

⁷Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, And not hide yourself from your own flesh? 

Isaiah 58:7

¹⁴ Now for the third time I am ready to come to you. And I will not be burdensome to you; for I do not seek yours, but you. For the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children. 

2 Corinthians 12:14

John 15:9-11

Love God above anyone or any thing and love others as much as yourself. Seems simple enough right? Why is it so hard to carry out His commands living in the USA. Sad to know that greed and power stop most of us from walking the walk and not just talking the talk. Christ within us is our only hope of giving God the glory He deserves.

The simplicity of the Gospel saves lives. The doctrines of men…not so much!

The love of God the Father for God the Son is the measure of the love of the Son for believers. In the measure that we believe in Him and in His power for good is the measure we can receive from the very hand of God.

John 15:9-11

⁹ “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. ¹⁰ If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.

¹¹ “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.

²⁰ For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel. 

John 5:20

²⁶ And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.” 

John 17:26

²⁴ Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full. 

John 16:24

Malachi 1:11

God wants the whole of us… not our leftovers.  

God wants every part of us, mind, body and spirit, not just the parts that we allow the world to see. He wants us to give Him the inner man who realizes he is deeply in need of a Savior. Our adoration, our worship, our prayers, are our offering to the Almighty God. Our testimony of faith honors the King of kings and the Lord of lords.

This final book of the Old Testament is about the error of forgetting the love of God. When people forget God’s love, it affects their attitudes, home, and worship. With God’s love and loyalty in doubt, sacred commitments no longer remain sacred. God sent Malachi to rouse the people from their spiritual stupor and to exhort them to return to the living God. But the Book of Malachi reveals a people who question the reality of their sin and the faithfulness of God, a people hardened through and through.

God would one day receive praise from all the nations. Even the despised Gentiles would offer praise, while God’s own people were profaning His holy name.

Malachi 1:11

¹¹ For from the rising of the sun, even to its going down,

My name shall be great among the Gentiles;

In every place incense shall be offered to My name,

And a pure offering;

For My name shall be great among the nations,”

Says the Lord of hosts.

¹⁹ So shall they fear The name of the Lord from the west, And His glory from the rising of the sun; When the enemy comes in like a flood, The Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him. 

Isaiah 59:19

³ The Gentiles shall come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising. 

Isaiah 60:3

¹⁸ “For I know their works and their thoughts. It shall be that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come and see My glory. 

Isaiah 66:18

¹ Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles! Laud Him, all you peoples! ² For His merciful kindness is great toward us, And the truth of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord! 

Psalm 117:1–2

Acts 20:34-35

We are our brothers keeper. The stronger must take care of the weaker no where does Scripture give us permission to do otherwise. If we profess with out mouths to be Christians and to live in a Christian nation then we should be prepared to take care of others and treat them as we wish to be treated. God loves all His children and that encompasses the world…not just where we reside. 

We are to use the talents that God provided us for our benefit and for the benefit of those who find themselves unable to support themselves with theirs.

Acts 20:34-35

³⁴ Yes, you yourselves know that these hands have provided for my necessities, and for those who were with me. ³⁵ I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”

⁹ For you remember, brethren, our labor and toil; for laboring night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, we preached to you the gospel of God. 

1 Thessalonians 2:9

⁹ And when I was present with you, and in need, I was a burden to no one, for what I lacked the brethren who came from Macedonia supplied. And in everything I kept myself from being burdensome to you, and so I will keep myself. 

2 Corinthians 11:9

²⁸ Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. 

Ephesians 4:28

Isaiah 53:4-6

The Savior Jesus came to suffer and die for the sins of others.

We consider Jesus deserted and forsaken by the Father  at the end of His life…but nothing is farther from the truth. He had the final say in laying down His life for us or leaving us deserted and forsaken. He chose life, eternal, and  abundant, for you and for me. He willingly laid down His righteous life in place of our sin infested one. By His sheer strength as a man He did the will of His Father. By His power as God He was raised up conquering death and sins stranglehold on His creation.

Peace sums up the Servant’s ministry of reconciliation, justification, adoption, and glorification.

Isaiah 53:4-6

⁴ Surely He has borne our griefs

And carried our sorrows;

Yet we esteemed Him stricken,

Smitten by God, and afflicted.

⁵ But He was wounded for our transgressions,

He was bruised for our iniquities;

The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,

And by His stripes we are healed.

⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray;

We have turned, every one, to his own way;

And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

¹⁷ that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: “He Himself took our infirmities And bore our sicknesses.” 

Matthew 8:17

²⁸ so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation. 

Hebrews 9:28

²⁴ who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed. 

1 Peter 2:24

²⁵ who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification. 

Romans 4:25

⁴ and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, 

1 Corinthians 15:4

Jeremiah

Jeremiah fulfilled his ministry of proclaiming God’s judgment against the people of Judah for their idolatry, their unfaithfulness to the covenant, and their obstinate disobedience of His will. Long acknowledged as one of the great prophets of the Old Testament, Jeremiah serves to this day as an example of someone who remained faithful to the word of God despite countless hardships.

Jeremiah chose to go to Mizpah to serve under Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, staying with his people not far from his hometown and the property he had purchased while in the court of the prison. Mizpah was about eight miles north of Jerusalem.

Ebed-Melech, who had carefully rescued Jeremiah from the muddy cistern in the prison court, was promised safety and deliverance by the Lord because of his assistance to Jeremiah and because he had put his trust in God.

A remnant of God’s people, the men, women, and children and the poorest of the land who had not been carried away captive to Babylon, was left. Dwelling here would require being under the rule of the Chaldeans and subject to the king of Babylon. Even in those circumstances they flourished and gathered wine and summer fruit in abundance. The fruit of the Spirit is matured in adverse conditions. God will place us where we need to be. All of this hardship came about because they chose to sin and not obey God. But in the worst of situations God can and does protect those who place their trust in Him alone. The Jews who had escaped the Babylonian onslaught into neighboring states returned home and began working the fields, vineyards, and orchards.

Jeremiah 39:15-18

¹⁵ Meanwhile the word of the Lord had come to Jeremiah while he was shut up in the court of the prison, saying, ¹⁶ “Go and speak to Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I will bring My words upon this city for adversity and not for good, and they shall be performed in that day before you. ¹⁷ But I will deliver you in that day,” says the Lord, “and you shall not be given into the hand of the men of whom you are afraid. ¹⁸ For I will surely deliver you, and you shall not fall by the sword; but your life shall be as a prize to you, because you have put your trust in Me,” says the Lord.’ ”

Jeremiah 40:1-4

The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord after Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had let him go from Ramah, when he had taken him bound in chains among all who were carried away captive from Jerusalem and Judah, who were carried away captive to Babylon.

² And the captain of the guard took Jeremiah and said to him: “The Lord your God has pronounced this doom on this place. ³ Now the Lord has brought it, and has done just as He said. Because you people have sinned against the Lord, and not obeyed His voice, therefore this thing has come upon you. ⁴ And now look, I free you this day from the chains that were on your hand. If it seems good to you to come with me to Babylon, come, and I will look after you. But if it seems wrong for you to come with me to Babylon, remain here. See, all the land is before you; wherever it seems good and convenient for you to go, go there.”

Jeremiah 40:9-12

⁹ And Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, took an oath before them and their men, saying, “Do not be afraid to serve the Chaldeans. Dwell in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you. ¹⁰ As for me, I will indeed dwell at Mizpah and serve the Chaldeans who come to us. But you, gather wine and summer fruit and oil, put them in your vessels, and dwell in your cities that you have taken.” ¹¹ Likewise, when all the Jews who were in Moab, among the Ammonites, in Edom, and who were in all the countries, heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant of Judah, and that he had set over them Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, ¹² then all the Jews returned out of all places where they had been driven, and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah, and gathered wine and summer fruit in abundance.

¹² And He has confirmed His words, which He spoke against us and against our judges who judged us, by bringing upon us a great disaster; for under the whole heaven such has never been done as what has been done to Jerusalem. 

Daniel 9:12

⁶ Yet surely My words and My statutes, Which I commanded My servants the prophets, Did they not overtake your fathers? “So they returned and said: ‘Just as the Lord of hosts determined to do to us, According to our ways and according to our deeds, So He has dealt with us.’ ” ’ ” 

Zechariah 1:6

¹¹ But the nations that bring their necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will let them remain in their own land,’ says the Lord, ‘and they shall till it and dwell in it.’ ” ’ ” 

Jeremiah 27:11

⁴⁰ And the Lord shall help them and deliver them; He shall deliver them from the wicked, And save them, Because they trust in Him. 

Psalm 37:40

⁸ For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit. 

Jeremiah 17:8

Luke 11:42-44

Greed, the love of money, power and control, disgust God. 

Remember the widow with the two mites….she gave out of her need and not her excess. God requires the whole of our being, not just the left over parts. He honors our private conversations with Him over long speeches in the company of many. Our lives should reflect our love for Him and our care for those that society has forgotten. 

We are His representatives so we should be about our Father’s business.

Some Pharisees took the strictest interpretation and counted almost anything, including spices. However, they neglected two basic things that the prophets also had warned about: love and justice. The Pharisees, the paragons of purity, were in fact the height of uncleanness.

Luke 11:42-44

⁴² “But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. 

⁴³ Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. 

⁴⁴ Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like graves which are not seen, and the men who walk over them are not aware of them.”

²³ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. 

Matthew 23:23

⁸ He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God? 

Micah 6:8

⁶ They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, 

Matthew 23:6

³⁸ Then He said to them in His teaching,  “Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, 

Mark 12:38

²⁷ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. 

Matthew 23:27

John 8:28-32

When we lift up the Son of man in love we will draw others to Him and the mercy He gives. How God longs to gather His children to Himself. Jesus was crucified because of God’s loving desire to set man free. in His death He broke down the veil that separated us from the Trinity allowing us to cry out “Abba”. 

Christ within is the hope of glory.

When we abide in the Word made flesh we become His hands and feet to do good and become His ambassadors to show others His grace and truth. 

One who abides in the Word of God knows the truth. Abide means to remain, to continue. A believer who continues to obey the Word is a disciple, a learner. We are set free from the bondage of sin. Obedience to the Lord means fellowship with Him, protection from sin, and experiencing His love.

then shall ye know that I am [he];

the Son of God, and true Messiah, as the centurion, and those that were with him, did, when they observed the earthquake; and the things that were done at his death; and after the death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ, and the pouring forth of his Spirit, many of the Jews had not only a notional, but a true and spiritual knowledge of Jesus, as the Messiah; and upon the destruction of their temple, city, and nation, and their disappointment by false Christs, they doubtless many of them must, and did know, that the true Messiah was come, and that Jesus of Nazareth was he. John Gill’s Exposition of the Bible

John 8:28-32

²⁸ Then Jesus said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things. ²⁹ And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him.” ³⁰ As He spoke these words, many believed in Him.

³¹ Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. ³² And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

¹⁴ And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 

John 3:14

³² And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.” 

John 12:32

⁴ and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. 

Romans 1:4

¹⁰ Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. 

John 14:10

²³ Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. 

John 14:23

¹⁷ For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 

John 1:17

²⁵ But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. 

James 1:25