Saturday, August 29, 2009

Daniel, Chapter 1


The Book of Daniel opens with King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon besieging Jerusalem, taking captive the most outstanding princes from the Judean court, and bringing them to Babylon to “re-educate” them. Did you know that Daniel was a prince – in the royal lineage? He was probably a teenager when captured.

This was his custom, to collect the cream of the crop from the nations he conquered, to be educated in the Babylonian language, culture, and religion. Then they would join the council of the king’s advisors, known as the Wise Men, or Magi. These advisors were usually astrologers, magicians, and sorcerers.

Daniel and his three friends remained strong in their belief and love for their God, against the indoctrination into the Babylonian culture and religion. Babylon, which was later described as an extravagantly worldly city in other parts of the Bible, was also the center of idolatry. It came to represent the mentality of wealthy materialism that entices people to worship money, aka Mammon, which draws people away from God.

Sound like our society? We seem to be inundated with the Babylonian mentality. Are we willing to extract ourselves from it and remain faithful to our God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Israel)? Whoever or whatever we spend most of our thought life on becomes our God. I think we might be in trouble, huh?

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Intro to my new blog on the Prophet Daniel


Hi guys, let me introduce myself and my new blog.

I would like to start a discussion of the Book of Daniel and its related subjects, such as how he stood against the prevailing PC of his day, rose from being a captive to being one of the most influencial rulers under 3 kings and 2 empires, how he influenced wealthy nobles from Babylon 6 centuries later to travel over desert to find a prophesied child, and how his prophecies seem to be getting fulfilled in front of our eyes every day as we read the headlines.

After doing research for a book I wrote on this subject, and leading a Bible study group on Beth Moore's course titled Daniel, I thought maybe there are more of you out there who have the same interest.

Because of my study in Daniel, I feel encouraged by what's going on in this chaotic world today, because it's already prophesied, and we know the end of the story. (A fabulous ending!)

If you would like to participate in any discussion, please jump in! – I hope to add new posts once a week, unless something prevents me from doing so.