Something Wonderful This Way Comes

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PRAYING TOGETHER

Pray for the well-being of our congregation and community (spiritual, emotional, physical), particularly during this holiday season that can be a trying time for many.

SERVING TOGETHER

Perhaps mutual service can be an uplifting practice this holiday season

• Christmas Toyshop - see THE WEEKLY

• Serving Opportunity: Blankets for the Homeless (NOW to December 3rd) - Livermore Homeless Shelter is looking for new or lightly used blankets/comforters to help keep warm during the winter months. Due to Covid, none of the normal churches are open or available for nighttime shelter. Blankets will be a definite necessity as the temperatures drop. You can drop off your donation at church Monday thru Thursday from 10:00am - 3:00pm from now until December 3rd. There is a bin located just inside the Fellowship Hall to your left as you walk into the Hall. Questions? Brenda@vc.church or call Brenda at (925) 963-8141.

LEADER STUDY NOTES:

Note 1: Big Picture Themes of Daniel

• Backstory - Babylon comes from Babel. It carries with it the same rebellious DNA that denies God, grabs after his throne, does things its own way, which lead to self-destruction, isolation, and ruin.

• Bifocals - We see heavenly and earthly realities. Prophecies of earthly empires, and glimpses behind the curtain of history, both backstate and onstage.

• Blueprints - We observe the pattern of God’s people being TESTED, PERSECUTED, and VINDICATED, that ultimately leads to Yahweh BEING PRAISED. Recall Daniel and friends test with food, persecuted, and vindicated. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego tested re: worshipping golden statue, persecuted in the fire, then vindicated. And Daniel tested re: prayer, persecuted in the Lion’s Den, and then vindicated. This pattern repeats through history, particularly with regard to his church: TESTED, PERSECUTED, VINDICATED!

Note 2: What are we told about “the King” referred to in Daniel 11:36-39?

“There are two plain indications in the text that ‘the king’ who is the focus in 11:36-45 is not the same as the king of the north in 11:21-35. First, 11:35 ends with the notice that the persecution of Antiochus will refine God’s people ‘until the time of the end.’ . . . From that, it is reasonable to infer that the next part of the prophecy will begin a discussion about ‘the time of the end.’ . . . Second, 11:36 introduces the king in a unique way. He is simply referred to as hamelek, ‘the king.’ No Hellenistic king prior to 11:36 is ever referred to simply as ‘the king.’ . . . Therefore, there are good indicators that there is a change of both timeframe and subject between 11:35 and 11:36. . . . This signals that this king is not a Hellenistic king, but an eschatological king who will arise at ‘the time of the end’ (11:35, 40; 12:4, 9).” [Sidney Greidanus]. So Daniel 11:36 focuses the reader from the past, from Antiochus IV in the 2nd century BC to a future King, called “THE KING” who is LIKE ANTIOCHUS IV. The use of the language “THE KING” is used to blur the historical bad guy Antiochus IV with a coming BAD GUY of the future. This future bad guy will lift himself up over all gods and fancy himself the “most high god.” He will worship at the altar of war (which is what is meant by “he will honor the god of fortresses”).

Note 3: Daniel 11:40-45 describes a future war. How does it end?

• This politically and militarily power ruler will wage war. He will come into Israel (the “beautiful land”) and slaughter incredible numbers of God’s people. He will not wage war against the enemies of God’s people (this is what’s meant by Edom, Moab, and Ammonites). He will partner with those that want to destroy God’s people. In a last big battle he will fight fiercely, and setting up his palatial war tents somewhere between Jerusalem and the Mediterranean, he will be killed (a sudden turn leads to his destruction).

Note 4: Compare Daniel 12:1 with New Testament passages Heath provided. Who is “the King” and what is Dan 12:1 describing?

Many opinions, but commonly called THE ANTICHRIST. A wicked one to come who will bring pain and death before the wonderful restoration of all things. The following passages from the New Testament provide additional context for this coming Antichrist, but in short, we know that there is a great persecution that will come to the world against the church of Jesus Christ. But we know that it will be limited and followed by the most WONDERFUL ENDING, the most incredible happily ever after--RESURRECTION!!!

• Matthew 24:15-22 - speaks of the “abomination of desolation in the holy place,” “great tribulation,” and the “Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory,” and of a “loud trumpet call” to gather his elect.

• 2 Thessalonians 2:7-10 - speaks of a “lawless one” who will be killed at Christ’s coming.

• 2 John 2:18 - speaks of “antichrist coming” but also of many antichrist’s that have already come. The shadows of wicked ones like Antiochus and Herod and others are leading to the final Antichrist figure.

• Book of Revelation - speaks of one like Antiochus who will come and be the ultimate form of evil that will set himself against God and his people, persecuting the church and bringing great tribulation

Note 5: Daniel asks to know more, but the angel replies in v.9 and v. 13, “Go your way, Daniel.” How are we to apply these words to Daniel in our day?

This is a good word to us as well. What are we to do? Be fearful in anticipation of the coming wickedness? Fall into speculations about conspiracy theories seeking to identify the Antichrist? Passively check-out from doing good because of the coming return of Christ? NO! We don’t live in fear or apathy. We don’t live in obsessive anxiousness or non-action. We live in BENEVOLENT SUBVERSION. WE LOVE! We go about the life we’ve been given. Daniel was told to go back to his life as a praying, faithful, active presence in Babylon. He was to go back and exert his influence of benevolent subversion by serving in his governmental leadership role, in loving his neighbors, and in praying to his God! He was to live fully in light of the wonderful news that he too would die and that he would ultimately be resurrected from the dead to shining eternal life.

Note 6: How is Daniel a type of Christ? A faithful Israelite who …

• lived in exile,

• blessed his enemies,

• was tested and persecuted

• was innocent yet sentenced to death

• was vindicated when the seal of death upon the stone of his tomb was broken