Participants: John Bradshaw
Series Code: IIW
Program Code: IIW001422A
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01:31 [music] Thanks for joining me today
01:53 on It Is Written. I'm John Bradshaw. 01:55 I'm glad to have you with me. The Bible is full of great 01:58 stories. We can think of the story of 02:01 the Exodus, when Moses led Israel out of Egyptian 02:03 slavery, through the Red Sea that was miraculously opened 02:06 up by God, then through the wilderness for forty years 02:09 while God fed them with bread from heaven. 02:11 A great, great story. In the Bible there's the 02:15 story of Joseph. Betrayed by his brothers and 02:17 sold into slavery in Egypt, Joseph made an incredible 02:21 rise from languishing in a prison cell to being second 02:23 person only to Pharaoh in the Egyptian government. 02:27 He was reunited with his family and was responsible 02:29 for getting God's people AND Egypt through a devastating 02:32 famine. High drama, and a magnificent 02:35 story. We could add to that list and 02:38 mention Nehemiah restoring Jerusalem and building the 02:41 wall of the city while his enemies were trying to ruin 02:44 his work. There's the story of Esther, 02:47 who rose from difficulty to become the Queen of the 02:49 Medo-Persian Empire, married to the most powerful man on 02:52 the planet - and used by God to bring deliverance to her 02:56 people. Now these stories don't just 03:00 exist merely to be good stories. 03:02 They're not in the Bible just to entertain us or as bedtime 03:04 stories for our children. The great Bible stories were 03:09 carefully preserved and then included in the Bible to 03:12 teach important lessons - lessons about God and about 03:15 faith and about prophecy and about salvation and 03:18 forgiveness and redemption. Those stories are in the 03:21 Bible to give us hope and understanding and insight. 03:25 There's a well-known Bible story we're going to look at 03:28 today. It comes to us from the times 03:30 of the prophet Daniel. And at the end of our program 03:33 today I'm going to tell you how you can get a copy of an 03:36 important book I've written on the subject of the Book of 03:38 Revelation, explaining some of Revelation's great 03:41 prophecies and showing what the book of Revelation, what 03:45 End-Time Prophecy is REALLY all about. 03:47 So make sure you get that information at the end of the 03:49 program today so we can get today's free book to you. 03:53 [Music] The book of Daniel is an enormously important book 03:59 of the Bible, especially relating to last-day Bible 04:01 prophecy. Jesus quoted from the book of 04:04 Daniel. John borrowed a lot of 04:06 imagery from the book of Daniel when he was writing 04:09 Revelation. Daniel was raised in the city 04:12 of Jerusalem, but of the 363 verses in the book of Daniel, 04:18 Daniel himself is in Babylon or the kingdom of Babylon for 04:22 362 of them. And that's significant. 04:27 [Music] In the opening verse of the book of Daniel God's 04:31 people are attacked - in fact conquered - by the ruling 04:33 heathen power in the world. Stop an think about that. 04:36 That is shocking. God's people were intended to 04:39 be the recipients of the blessings of God, especially 04:44 providence of God. But instead they experienced 04:48 70 years of captivity in Babylon. 04:51 The prophet Jeremiah prophesied this would happen, 04:54 and he tells us why in Jeremiah chapter 25, we'll 04:59 start in verse 4: 05:20 Now notice this. Here's what God says next, 05:41 Judah had disobeyed God. Instead of being faithful to 05:45 God they even went so far as to serve and worship other 05:47 gods. And that's something God just 05:50 couldn't tolerate - when His people rejecting Him and 05:52 serving other gods, living lives of disobedience. 05:55 So, here's what God said. 06:41 Judah went into captivity because of their unfaithfulness 06:44 to God - and because they rejected the true God and 06:50 served and worshiped false gods. 06:51 I think it's important that we notice something here. 06:54 Here's what God did. Instead of just cutting them 06:56 off forever, God had a plan to work with Judah and to 07:00 bring His people to the place where they would turn back to 07:02 Him. Even though going into 07:05 captivity was tough medicine, it was God's mercy on 07:08 display. God had chosen His people to 07:12 be a light to the world - in fact, Paul said in Acts 13 07:15 that the children of Israel had been chosen by God to be 07:17 a light to the Gentiles, meaning, essentially, that 07:22 God wanted to use Israel to share the knowledge of His 07:26 goodness with the whole world - including, ultimately, to 07:28 you and me. If Israel was failing 07:31 miserably in staying close to God's will, God could hardly 07:34 use them as His witnesses to the world. 07:38 God didn't give up on His people easily. 07:41 Speaking of the northern kingdom of Israel, God said 07:44 this in Hosea 11:8, 08:00 Now when we say Judah was sliding into sin 08:04 and apostasy, we're not talking small-time stuff. 08:05 Jeremiah writes that there was murder going on, and 08:08 oppression, and Sabbath-breaking, Baal 08:12 worship - and that was some seriously bad stuff involving 08:14 terrible immorality and even child sacrifice. 08:19 God felt he had to resort to drastic measures to get the 08:21 attention of His people. God said, 08:39 So Israel, acting like they were doing 08:42 nothing wrong, went into captivity, with God's 08:45 intention being that when they came out of captivity 08:48 they would have experience or would have experienced a 08:51 change of heart. 08:54 [Music] And it was while they 08:56 were in Babylon that God communicated some of the most 08:58 remarkable prophecies in the Bible to and through a young 09:03 man named Daniel. We are going to look at one 09:06 of those remarkable prophecies - one with immense 09:09 significance for earth's last days - in just a 09:12 moment. [Music] 09:25 I hope you'll get the book I'm offering you this week. 09:28 It's called "Revelation Today", it unfolds the end-time scenario 09:33 presented in the book of Revelation. 09:35 Just call or write and I'll send you "Revelation Today". 09:38 There's no cost, no obligation. All you need to do is call 09:42 1-800-253-3000, and ask for "Revelation Today". 09:47 You can call 24 hours a day. You can also request your 09:50 free copy of "Revelation Today" by writing to: 09:53 It Is Written, P O Box 6, Chattanooga, Tennessee 37401, 09:59 and we'll mail you a copy to your address in North America. 10:02 To get it right away you can download a FREE electronic 10:05 version of the book "Revelation Today" 10:07 from our website: itiswritten.com 10:09 Our toll-free number is: 1-800-253-3000. 10:14 And our web address is: itiswritten.com 10:20 [Music] Every Word is a one minute 10:21 Bible-based daily devotional presented by 10:24 Pastor John Bradshaw and designed especially for busy 10:27 people like you. Look for Every Word on selected 10:30 networks or watch it on-line everyday on our website 10:33 itiswritten.com. 10:36 [Music] 10:43 It's entirely appropriate to ask yourself at times, "Why 10:46 did God say that? What's the reason God 10:48 told us this thing or showed us some other thing?" 10:50 In Exodus 20:4 we read that God says, "Thou shalt not 10:54 make unto thee any graven image." 10:56 And He goes on to say we shouldn't bow down to them 10:58 and worship them. Why is that? 11:01 Well I'll tell you. Idol worship is false worship 11:03 - and limiting one's conception of God to a carving or statue 11:06 or idol that can't speak or see or hear seriously restricts 11:09 your understanding of who and what God is. 11:12 Not only that - get confused about who God is and you'll 11:16 be confused about who YOU are. 11:18 Idolatry drags God down low. While you likely don't have a 11:22 golden calf in your living room maybe there are other idols in 11:25 your life - other things you've put before God? 11:27 Worth thinking about - and worth getting rid of if need be. 11:31 I'm John Bradshaw for It Is Written. 11:33 Let's live today by Every Word. 11:36 I'm John Bradshaw - Thanks for joining me today 11:38 on It Is Written. And please be sure to stay by 11:41 at the end of this program and get today's free gift book, 11:43 Revelation Today, which will help you get a whole lot more 11:47 out of Bible prophecy and will help you understand 11:49 what the book of Revelation is really all about. 11:51 There's a lot more to it than beasts and horns and images 11:54 and symbols. And Revelation Today will 11:55 help you see that. [Music] 12:00 When King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon 12:02 attacked the city of Jerusalem, many Jews were 12:04 taken captive and marched across the hot Middle Eastern 12:07 desert to Babylon - situated in what we would call today 12:11 Iraq. Daniel was most likely just a 12:13 teenager at the time, a young man - you could get away with 12:16 calling him a boy. And he was separated from his 12:19 family and taken to a foreign land and immersed in 12:23 paganism. His denomination didn't have 12:25 any churches in Babylon, so Daniel was really separated 12:27 from his upbringing and his religious customs. 12:30 And he couldn't worship God in the manner in which he was 12:34 accustomed. As soon as Daniel arrived in 12:38 Babylon the challenges came at him thick and fast. 12:41 Daniel was challenged on the basis of his faith in God. 12:45 [Music] So what would he do 12:48 when he was tested on the principles in which he 12:49 believed? No sooner had Daniel arrived 12:53 in Babylon than he was faced with a dilemma. 12:55 The King had ordered that some of the outstanding youth 12:57 that head been brought to Babylon should be fed with 13:00 food from the royal household - really a great privilege. 13:01 But to eat the kings food would have been almost 13:06 certainly for Daniel to eat unclean food, and he knew God 13:08 didn't want him eating unclean food. 13:12 On the other hand, to refuse to eat the food would have 13:13 been to incur the wrath of the king. 13:15 So Daniel could either eat the food and dishonor God, or 13:19 not eat the food and dishonor the king - and maybe, in 13:25 fact, probably definitely - be severely punished. 13:28 In choosing to honor God, God honored Daniel and worked it 13:30 out that Daniel could eat a simple vegetarian diet, and 13:33 as a result Daniel and his friends Shadrach, Meshach and 13:36 Abednego were blessed by God with good health and with the 13:38 favor of the Babylonian officers. 13:43 Daniel learned early in Babylon that it was better to 13:46 put God first, no matter what the cost might be. 13:50 [Music] 13:54 Then in Daniel chapter two, King Nebuchadnezzar 13:56 had a remarkable dream where he saw a great image. 13:59 The image had a head made out of gold, its chest and arms 14:02 were of silver, its mid-section was bronze, its 14:04 legs were made of iron and its feet were made out of 14:07 iron and clay. Ultimately, in answer to the 14:18 prayers of Daniel and his three friends, God gave 14:21 Daniel the interpretation of the dream and Daniel 14:24 explained it to the king. Daniel explained to the king 14:32 that the dream was about the rising and falling of 14:36 kingdoms, and that the kingdom of Babylon would one 14:38 day be conquered by another kingdom. 14:41 Shocking news to the king. Daniel told of the time that 14:48 a great Rock would come and sweep away the kingdoms of 14:50 the world. In other words, Jesus would 14:53 return to the earth and set up a kingdom that would last 14:54 forever. And then in Daniel 3, we see 15:02 an important theme develop that actually has prophetic 15:05 ramifications. While Daniel 3 contains one 15:07 of the great Bible stories, there's an important lesson 15:11 in that story that helps us to understand the great 15:13 spiritual crisis soon to come to the world. 15:15 Keep this in mind. God's people were in 15:17 captivity in large part because they had stopped 15:21 worshiping God. And Daniel 3 deals with this 15:25 question of worship. Daniel himself doesn't appear 15:28 in Daniel 3 - we're not told where he is but we can 15:33 presume he was out of Babylon on business for the king. 15:35 By now he has been promoted by Nebuchadnezzar to a 15:37 position of great authority, and Daniel isn't mentioned at 15:42 all in chapter 3, at least not in this story. 15:43 King Nebuchadnezzar had a statue built like the one he 15:44 saw in his dream, except unlike the image in his dream 15:48 this image was made entirely of gold. 15:55 That was Nebuchadnezzar's way of saying, My kingdom isn't 15:59 passing away not matter what Daniel's God says!' 16:02 Imagine this! The statue was 90 feet 16:06 high and made of solid gold. Nebuchadnezzar called 16:10 everyone who was anyone to assemble on the plain of Dura 16:13 to inaugurate the image. They would bow down to it - 16:16 and worship it. And Nebuchadnezzar made clear 16:19 that anyone who refused to worship this image would be 16:22 thrown into a fiery furnace. Nebuchadnezzar had a lot of 16:26 building done while he was king - there were kilns all 16:28 over Babylon, for building bricks, and in Iraq as it was 16:35 then there was no shortage of fuel to get a fire burning 16:38 white hot. But Shadrach, Meshach and 16:42 Abednego wouldn't bow down to the image. 16:45 Even though their lives were on the line, they wouldn't 16:47 violate their conscience and they wouldn't dishonor God, 16:51 even though they were miles from home and even though 16:53 what they were being asked to do was culturally and 16:56 religiously acceptable where they were. 17:00 They wouldn't do it. To them, worshiping God was 17:03 sacred. It was important enough that 17:06 they would lose their lives over it if they had to. 17:10 They wouldn't give their worship to anyone 17:13 but God. And something incredible 17:19 happened. When they went into that 17:21 fiery furnace, Jesus stood with them in the flames and 17:25 they weren't hurt. Their hair wasn't even singed 17:30 and they and when they came out of the furnace, they 17:32 didn't even smell of smoke. Nebuchadnezzar said this in 17:34 Daniel 3:24 and 25, 17:58 The pre-incarnate Christ stood with them. 18:00 The Son of God came from heaven to honor these 18:02 faithful young men who chose to worship God rather than 18:05 compromise and bow down before an idol - even though 18:08 they might pay for that with their lives. 18:12 That's courage, isn't it? That's faithfulness. 18:15 In the Ten Commandments God says in the first 18:17 commandment, Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 18:20 Exodus 20:3, KJV And God says 18:22 in the second commandment, speaking of idols and images, 18:26 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve 18:28 them. Exodus 20:5 KJV 18:32 These young men understood that. 18:34 Worship was important to them. 18:36 Worshiping God God's way was important to them. 18:40 There's a great prophetic connection between what 18:43 happened out there on the Plain of Dura that day and 18:45 what s going to take place in the world just before Jesus 18:50 returns. We'll look at that next. 18:56 [Music] 19:12 It's time for today's bible question - here it is: 19:15 If God is supposed to be all about love, why did my Dad 19:19 die of cancer last year? I prayed for him to live. 19:23 I've been struggling with the idea that maybe God 19:27 doesn't love me. That's a serious concern. 19:32 The one thing you can know for sure is that God is love. 19:36 The Bible says those very words in 1 John 4. John 3:16 - 19:41 "For God so LOVED the world..." The situation you've referred to 19:45 is very serious - it's tragic. I'm very sorry. 19:49 In the Bible there were numerous sad or tragic situations. 19:54 John the Baptist lost his life. Peter was imprisoned and 19:57 was freed by God, but James was imprisoned 20:00 and lost his life. Now does that mean God didn't 20:03 love or care about those people? 20:06 Of course not. The sad fact is that we live 20:09 in a world of sin. When Adam and Eve chose 20:12 to come out from under God's dominion, sin was introduced 20:15 into the world. Satan worked in the human family 20:18 and introduced all kinds of sin. Disease is one of the results 20:23 of the sin problem. God could have stopped sin 20:26 and sickness from happening, but only if He took away 20:30 people's freedom of choice. And what kind of world would it 20:32 be if we didn't have freedom of choice? 20:35 When humans sinned, God decided that He would let sin 20:38 run its course - even knowing that there would be terrible 20:42 consequences. However, in the middle of 20:44 all of that He has given us the opportunity to choose to 20:47 follow Him and to be ultimately restored. 20:50 Now keep this in mind. God knows what you're 20:53 going through. He lost a Son because of sin 20:57 in the world. You can be sure that God 20:59 is familiar with your pain - by experience. 21:03 Sin even cost Jesus His life. Now, the great news is that 21:07 Jesus is coming again. There'll be a resurrection 21:11 on that day. The Bible says the dead 21:14 in Christ shall rise. And you can look forward 21:17 to seeing your father again, and knowing that we'll all 21:21 live together in a world where there will be no more sin, 21:23 no more death, no more sadness. 21:26 God is going to make it all okay. 21:29 You can trust Him. He DOES love you. 21:34 You can submit your Bible questions to us here at 21:36 It Is Written by going to our website: itiswritten.com. 21:40 Hit the QUESTIONS tab and then submit your question, 21:43 and in a future program -- all going well, hopefully -- 21:47 I'll be able to answer your Bible question. 21:56 On It Is Written today we're looking at the prophetic 21:58 connection between the experience of the three 22:01 young men in the fiery furnace, and the prophecies of the Book 22:04 of Revelation - end-time prophecies that will very 22:06 likely affect most people watching this program. 22:10 Let's look at the book of Revelation. 22:12 In Revelation 13, a beast rises up out of the sea. 22:15 We've mentioned before on It Is Written that in prophecy 22:17 a beast represents a kingdom. If you want Biblical evidence 22:21 for that you look in Daniel 7, where in verse 23 it says, 22:24 The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom on earth. 22:28 Daniel 7:23 KJV That's clear. 22:30 In Revelation, beasts rising up out of the sea represent 22:33 nations rising up out of populated parts of the earth. 22:36 So if you want to make a parallel, in Revelation 13 22:39 you have a kingdom or a nation, just as you have in 22:42 Daniel 3. What does the nation in 22:45 Revelation 13 do? We read this, Revelation 22:49 13:4, it says, 22:58 Here's a kingdom receiving worship - 23:01 worship that only God should receive. 23:04 Now that's what was going on in Daniel 3. 23:06 Now there's more on that. Revelation 13:8 says, And all 23:12 that dwell upon the earth shall worship him. 23:16 Revelation 13:8 KJV And yet it goes further. 23:19 Remember, in Daniel 3 the king enforced false worship, 23:23 and anyone who wouldn't cooperate would be sentenced 23:25 to death. Now, do we see that happening 23:28 in earth's last days? Revelation 13:15, 23:47 Now let me ask you - who should people worship? 23:50 Of course - God. Getting away from worshipping 23:54 God was what led Israel into apostasy in the first place. 23:57 But what's going to happen in the final days of earth's 23:59 history? An IMAGE will be set up - 24:02 that's what happened in Daniel Chapter 3. 24:05 An image will be set up, and all will be commanded 24:09 to worship the image. Those who don't will be forced 24:12 to pay a high price for that. Those who do worship the 24:16 image will receive what the Bible calls the Mark of the 24:19 Beast and they'll be lost. That's an even higher price 24:22 to pay. In Daniel three, you have 24:25 the conflict of the last days playing out in microcosm: 24:27 a pagan leader establishes an image and commands false 24:31 worship contrary to the will of God. 24:34 In Revelation 13 you have the same thing, but on a global 24:36 scale: in contradiction to the word of God, an image is 24:41 set up and false worship is commanded. 24:44 And what we see in Daniel is very telling: very few 24:48 opposed the false worship. In Revelation 13:8 we read 24:56 this, And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him. 25:00 That's Revelation 13:8 Now here's something to keep 25:04 in mind. In John 4:24 Jesus said, God 25:07 is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him 25:11 in spirit and in truth. Worshiping God 25:16 God's way. If we'll make the Bible the 25:19 basis for our lives we won't have to worry about being on 25:22 the wrong side of this crisis. 25:23 If we've decided to do what is in harmony with the word 25:25 of God - if God's will is the basis for everything in our 25:29 lives, if Jesus is living His life in us - we're going to 25:32 be okay. See, the good news is that 25:36 God's people triumph in the end. 25:39 There's a massive spiritual battle going on in the world 25:40 today, and there's an enemy that wants no one to be 25:41 saved. But God's people who have 25:48 chosen to be faithful to Him receive the Seal of God, and 25:51 can know that just like Jesus stood in the fiery furnace 25:54 with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, He'll do it again 25:58 and stand with His people in their time of trial. 26:03 The same Jesus who stood with those three, faithful young 26:06 men says to us today, I will never leave you or forsake 26:09 you. That's Hebrews 13:5, Lo, I am with you always, 26:11 even unto the end of the world. Matthew 28:20 26:14 But he that shall endure unto the end, 26:16 the same shall be saved. Matthew 24:13 26:27 I hope you'll get the book I'm offering you this week. 26:31 It's called Revelation Today, and it unfold the end-time 26:34 scenario presented in the book of Revelation. 26:37 This little book is going to help you understand what 26:39 the book of Revelation is really all about. 26:42 It untangles the end-time prophetic scenario to let 26:45 you see how the battle between good and evil ultimately plays 26:48 out. Just call or write and I'll 26:51 send you Revelation Today . There's no cost, no 26:54 obligation. It's absolutely free. 26:57 All you need to do is call 1-800-253-3000, and ask for 27:01 Revelation Today. You can call 24 hours a day. 27:05 If the line's busy, please, just keep on trying. 27:08 You can also request your free copy of 'Revelation Today' 27:11 by writing to: It Is Written, PO Box 6, 27:15 Chattanooga, Tennessee, 37401 27:18 and we will mail a copy to your address in North America. 27:22 To get it right away you can download a FREE electronic 27:25 version of the book Revelation Today from our 27:27 website: itiswritten.com It Is Written is a faith-based 27:32 ministry and your support makes it possible for us 27:35 to share God's good news with the world. 27:38 Your tax-deductible gift can be sent to the address on 27:40 your screen, or through our website at 27:43 itiswritten.com. Thank you for your continued 27:46 support. Our toll-free number is: 27:49 1-800-253-3000. And our web address is: 27:53 itiswritten.com 27:57 There's a great spiritual crisis coming. 28:00 God stood with those three young men, Shadrach, Meshach 28:03 and Abednego when they stood for him. 28:06 Let's pray together now that we will follow God, God's way 28:08 and stand for Him today and tomorrow, knowing that Jesus 28:11 will stand with us. Let's pray. 28:15 Our Father in heaven, we thank you that we can know 28:17 you through faith in your son Jesus, who died for us to 28:20 take care of our sin debt, who died for us so that we in 28:24 turn could have faith in him and receive new hearts and be 28:27 cleaned up of all of our mess. 28:29 We read in the Bible there are challenging times ahead. 28:32 I know we don't have to lose sleep about that. 28:35 But I also know that we need to be making decisions now, 28:39 Lord, that our hearts are given to you so that as 28:42 Christ lives his life in us, we can stand for you no 28:45 matter what. Thank you that Jesus stands 28:47 with us. Keep us and bless us, please. 28:52 We pray in Jesus' name, Amen. 29:01 [Music] 29:16 Thank you for joining me today. I look forward to seeing you 29:18 again next time. Until then, please remember: 29:20 It is written: Man shall not live by bread alone, but by 29:25 every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. 29:31 [Music] |
Revised 2017-01-04