(Dan 6) What Does theLion's Den Experience Tell Us
Author:Yao Lianghong
Thefirst five chapters are about Daniel's life in the land of Babylon. After theBabylonian reign, Daniel now faced a change of power again. Now Daniel wasnearly ninety years old. When Darius destroyed Babylon and became king of thekingdom of Medes and Persia, Daniel, who had been a Babylonian courtier,regained his position. This chapter describes the last great test of Daniel'sfaith, which resulted in his loyalty to God in the new empire of Medes andPersia, where he was thrown into the lions' den and magically saved by God.Thistest in the new empire also made his true and correct faith shine brilliantly.True religion was exalted again, and the only true God, the God of Israel, washonored again.
Theincident is also a special reminder of how the last remaining people, 144,000people, will face the threat of being persecuted by the beasts.In the era of Dariusof Medes and Persian, for as the wicked unite against Daniel, so shall theforces of Babylon unite against God’s remnant at the end of the age. They willforce people to observe Sunday and forbid the observance of the Sabbath underthe threat of not doing business or even being killed. They will persecute theremnant into an unprecedented and hopeless in the great tribulation of Jacob,but the last 144000 people will be saved by God in a wonderful way.
[Dan 6:1-3] It pleased Darius to appoint120 satraps to rule throughout the kingdom, with three administrators overthem, one of whom was Daniel. The satraps were made accountable to them so thatthe king might not suffer loss. Now Daniel so distinguished himself among theadministrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the kingplanned to set him over the whole kingdom.
Immediatelyafter Darius the Mede had seized the throne of Babylon, he set about forming anew government. Because Daniel had extraordinary wisdom and talent that God gadgiven him, as well as his spiritual virtue and influence, he won the trust andattention of the Kings of the world. When Darius destroyed Babylon and becamethe first king of MedePersia, Daniel, who had been a Babylonian courtier, wasput into greater use than ever before.This is precisely the prefiguration that afterthe elimination of the three churches of the Eleventh Hour, the Church of the LastRevival is continued to be used by God as a witness to the spiritualtransformation.
Therehad been a change of government, a change of state power, but Daniel was stillthe Minister of State. Was not that the influence of a true believer? BecauseDaniel was known for his honesty and integrity, the king allowed Daniel tocontinue in his old position even though it was a different country with thechange of government. At this time, Daniel had been exiled to a foreign countryfor nearly 70 years. At the age of nearly 90, he was highly respected andexperienced in governing the country. He was a rare talent for the stabilityand prosperity of the country. Of course, it was only by God's good will thatDaniel should be trusted and used in Babylon and in the great empires of theMedes and Persians that he should be a glorious witness to the name of God inthe courts of foreign empires and in the presence of all nations. Otherwise,Daniel would not have survived without the special protection of God. Today, SisterYao Lianghong, as the spokesperson of God, has gone through the history of theold Adventist, the Light of Life, the committee of Culture and Work and thesmall group of people, and continues to play the role of God's witness in thenew era of the church, which is also the special protection of God, otherwiseit will not be safe to survive until now. Of course, there are manytribulations in her journey. God has written them all down!
Dariusloved Daniel and made him one of the three presidents over the whole kingdom.And because Daniel had an excellent spirit, and his ability to govern and todeal with affairs exceeded that of the other presidents and satraps, the kingthought to make him ruler over the whole kingdom, and to make him a primeminister under one man and above all. This would have been the best humandecision to keep the country stable and prosperous. But the decision arousedthe envy of other envious, power-jockeying generals and viceroys. This,combined with Daniel's faithfulness and impartiality in the administration ofthe state, was a great obstacle and a thorn in their side in their corruption,misdeeds, and other illegal activities, and this aroused their hatred.Then theyresolved to kill Daniel. Of course, behind these wicked people, there was themost vicious enemy, Satan, inciting the fire of jealousy and hatred in theirhearts, and helping them to plot and scheming. They tried to remove the holyinfluence of the prophet Daniel from the human world,and the true religion fromthe world completely. Eliminate weeds and root to eliminate future trouble!
Satanhated Daniel because he was not of this world, but God had chosen him out ofit. And the world hated him, because he was not in their evil company:therefore they hated him. As the Bible says:
[Jhn7:7] The world cannot hate you, but ithates me.For I testify of them that their works are evil.
【 15:17-18】 If the world hates you, know that it hatedme before it hated you.If you were of the world, the world would love you asits own. Because you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out ofthe world, the world hates you.
Thatis to say, for the true servants of God do not belong to the world. They arechosen by God out of the world tocondemn sins and to lead people to the true God (the truth). These teachings arein direct opposition to the corrupt system, the debauched and corrupt way oflife that Satan has given to the world, so the world will hate these people.
Todayour truth points out the wickedness of the church, points out the wickedness ofthe world, says that God's judgment has come upon them and foretold their end,so they hate us and unite to hunt us down and persecute us.
Danielwas living in a foreign land with a strong pagan atmosphere, exposed to theinstitutions and rituals of Satan every day, and it was difficult for him tomaintain his unique faith. In his new empire, Daniel once again showed aGod-given wisdom and power that no one else could match.As a result, hispromotion also caused the envy and hatred of colleagues and the lower class,the heart of the political enemies to plot evil schemes arises spontaneously!Today, in the new spiritual age, Satan is still plotting against Sister Yao,the true servant of God. It is because of her knowledge of truth, her insightinto evil, and her special God-given ability of observing the devil’s plot, thather enemies never relent in plotting against her!
Daniel,as we have already said, is the preface of the church of the last Rivival (preparinga church of 144,000 people) that will emerge after a series of screening andtrials.When the history of the three friends was over, Daniel became the sole representativeof God across dynasty, and was continued by King Darius, making him rise abovehis colleagues, thus he suffered the envy and hatred of the pagan colleagues. Itis also a symbol that after the elimination of the three churches of theEleventh Hour, God will exalt the church of the Eleventh Hour that is preachingthe only pure truth in the last, to make her more than the mountains (all thechurches) and hold her high above the mountains, which will cause the world'sreligious grudges, and religious colleagues will do the same thing, and incentivethe political situation to kill and persecute, leading to the big trouble of thefinal beast image.Therefore, the last true remnant (the Last Revival) will facethe same battle and trial as Daniel, an experience of standing alone.
Thosewho hated Daniel tried to get rid of him, trying to find the quickest and mosteffective way to remove this thorn in his side. How can they carry out theirevil designs?
[Dan 6:4-5] At this, the administrators andthe satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct ofgovernment affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find nocorruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nornegligent. Finally these men said, "We will never find any basis forcgarges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law ofhis God. "
Aswe all know, the conspiracy of the court's ministers is a common occurrence inhuman history, and this means of political struggle and the elimination ofopponents has become the norm. The same is true of modern power strugglesbetween heads of state. It is also an example of how men have come together againstJehovah's anointed (Psm 2:1-2;Mat 16:1;Luk 23:12;Act 4:25-27).
Similarly,Daniel's political opponents searched for mistakes and loopholes in Daniel'swork, but found none. They had scrutinized Daniel's habits, looked closely athow he treated his colleagues and subordinates, examined his records of work,and found nothing to accuse him of wrongdoing. Daniel's enemies, however,noticed that he never participated in the worship of the Babylonian temples orany pagan rites. They noted that he was absent from duty every Sabbath, theweekly rest prescribed by "the law of his God."They assumed that hisregular prayers conflicted with the performance of his duties and with theirpagan beliefs. So they felt that the only strategy to defeat Daniel was to takeadvantage of Daniel's well-known spiritual manifestations: His obedience to Godwas too much for anyone (including the king), which would be his politicalweakness (grounds for prosecution by his enemies); At the same time, they usedDarius' spiritual weakness (ignorance) and worldly vanity as an opportunity toplay political tricks in order to trap Daniel.
Theschemes of the presidents and satraps were very insidious, cunning and vicious.This event is a sign of the tribulation of the beast image at the end. In the lastage, when nothing can be done to destroy the Lord's people, the devil, in orderto attack them, in order to make them disappear from the world, will takeadvantage of the spiritual ignorance of the modern kings (ten kings) and the weaknessesof seeking great glory, to trap them in the faith of the people of God, and toput obstacles in their way of keeping God’s commandments. You can see this inthe current political situation. They elevate the earthly king to the pinnacleof power, constantly whiten it, and expand his vanity infinitely. They regardman as god and compete with God, so that they sit in the temple of God and callthemselves God. Now the way of expression is to hang up picture of Chairman andred flag and to sing red songs in the church as an equal to God.This is idolatry, the new form ofbeast image. The Pope claims to be God by sitting in the temple of God in falsetheism. Atheism, in another form, sits in the temple of God and claims to beGod. They are idolaters and share common interests, so there is a basis forunion. Agree to disagree. As long as you rest on the same day, it doesn'tmatter whether you believe in Christ, or Sakyamuni, or Muhammad, or Mary, orthe Communist Party. As long as China and the Vatican reach an agreement (establish diplomatic relations), the whole world will follow suit. Then thepeople who keep the Sabbath will become "Daniel" in the eyes ofmodern presidents and satraps. They just want to pull out the eyesores and behappy. The devil tried every means to trip up God's people and destroy God'speople, so as to achieve his goal of destroying them. This is the silhouette ofthe beast seal tribulation in the end age.
Inwhat way did these people who plotted and murdered Daniel achieve his hiddenpurpose?
[Dan 6:6-9] Then the administrators and thesatraps came together to the king and said, "King Darius, live forever! The royal administrators prefects, satraps, advisers and governors haveall agreed that the king should issue an edict and enforce the decree thatanyone who prays to any god or man during the next thirty days, except to you,O king, shall be cast into the den of lions. Now, O king, establish the decreeand sign the writing so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of theMedes and Persians, which cannot be changed."Wherefore king Darius signedthe writing and the decree.
Theseadministrators and satraps were well aware of the trust and affection of KingDarius in Daniel. It was almost impossible for them to complain to the king.Moreover, they could not find a single trace of Daniel's misdeeds.So theysearched their brains and devised this wicked plan. They took advantage ofking's excesses, covet vanity, pretending to care about the interests of theking, want to enhance the king's authority and honor. They assumed the names ofthe courtiers all over the country and asked the king to make an injunction. For30 days no one was to pray to any god, or asked anything of any man,except theKing. He who disobeyed this order would be thrown into the lion’s den. Thecontents of such temporary injunctions are clearly contrary to the truth, tothe true God, and to the principle of freedom of belief. It deliberatelyelevated the king to a position that was unnatural, unreasonable, andundeserved beyond the true God. It was idolatry, blasphemy against the trueGod, and violation of the first and second commandments of God. And thecoercive nature of the prohibition, with its threat of being thrown into thelions' den, is despotic and contrary to common sense. It was clear that themain purpose of the injunction was to put Daniel, God's witness, to death.ButDarius, because of his weakness in glory, for a moment lost sight of the natureof the injunction proposed by the sinners, and of the malice of Satan which wasbehind it, yielded to their flattery, and unwisely signed it, and signed it,saying it was irrevocable.
Theyrequested the king to issue this provisional decree, and signed it tostrengthen its authority and immutability. For the unity of the country and theso-called theocracy, the temptation of the combination of royal power, the kingactually listened to slander and issued this decree, and more strictly orderedthorough implementation. Modern Kings will also be fooled by Satan’s minions’combinationof divine and royal power to empower the nation. They are doing things againstGod and destructive things. Kings have been deceived by wicked men and havefallen into the trap of Satan without knowing it. The fatuous and arrogantrulers often fall into the scheming of evil people, and harm the loyal andgood, so that the country and the people suffer innumerable disasters andlosses. Policies ostensibly for the good of the state are in essence condemningthe state to the curse of resistance against God's regime. God's Witness –Daniel was in great danger.The last 144,000 people will suffer as well!
Thisostensibly honourable decree of the king is Satan's insidious and cunning wayof making men fall into the great sin of idolatry and blasphemy against God,which causes terrible curses, and at the same time, this trick can kill God'switnesses. Satan killed two birds with one stone.
Thebackground of erecting the beast image is the same. Satan still takes advantageof the high vanity of the unrepentant secular king to lure the king of gloryinto serving the evil religion. When in the church a king and a great man replacesthe only Savior, Jesus, when the idol and the cross stand side by side, whenthe psalm becomes a red song…Daniel's Lions' Den experience is about torepeat itself!
Theevil plan that Satan gave to the administrators and satraps who plotted againstDaniel seems to have been initially successful and will continue. Yet this isnothing to be afraid of. All the schemes of the wicked can not escape the handof the almighty and omniscient God, and the fates of his children are in thehand of the loving Father. Under the control of an all-powerful, all-knowingand all-loving God, "all things work together for good to those who loveGod" (ROM. 8:28).But the wrath of the wicked shall bring forth the gloryof God. Therefore, Satan, through the murder or persecution of God's people bythe wicked, can only benefit the people who love God, so that the name of Godmay be honored, and the true faith may be spread.
Historytells us that throughout the ages Satan has persecuted the truth and the truepeople in the same way. He has stirred up malice in the hearts of unrepentantsinners through pride, envy, and strife, and provoked their wicked designs. Itwas because Judas was jealous of the other disciples that he turned against Jesus.He thought Jesus was a coward. Why not use his power to restore Israel andoverthrow Rome?So he forced Jesus to be king with his human wisdom. When hereported on Jesus, he wanted to push out Jesus' power. He became a meritoriousminister and was admired and exalted by the people over all the otherdisciples. But he made a mistake, and his own wisdom made him a sinner and alaughing-stock for ages. Today those who seek their own profit by reporting tothe government the servants of God, are Judas again, Satan's work.
Thisis to remind us that even the smallest sin, when we embrace it in our hearts,we are not safe. If sin persists in our hearts, we will rationalize it, and thelittle sin must lead us to the great sin and become the instrument of Satan. Thespirit of envy and discontent in Lucifer, at last, made man the worst ofdemons. Therefore, if there is jealousy, pride, hatred, or any other small sinin our hearts, we must turn it over to Jesus and not let it remain in ourhearts. When we sin, we have to undergo surgery (to receive the truth of thesculpting), we have to sincerely repent, in order to become like Daniel. Godwill save us when we are in the lion's den!
Howdid Daniel respond to the intrigues of the wicked and the injunctions of KingDarius?
[Dan 6:10]Now when Daniel knew that thewriting was signed, he went into his house; and his Windows being open in hischamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled on his knees three times a day, andprayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did always.
WhenDarius' injunction was issued, the evil people rejoiced. They immediately setup a tight circle around Daniel and watched him more clodely. They believed,based on Daniel's past steadfastness in his faith, that he would continue tobend his knees and pray to the true God, despite the king's injunction, so thatthey could justifiably execute him. Indeed, as they had predicted, Danielshowed his unyielding steadfastness in honoring God, in his truth, in hisfaith, and in his commandments.
Whatkind of order is that?The order was that only the king should be worshiped forthirty days, and only the king should be interceded with. Daniel was very clearabout the nature and intent of this command. He knew full well that the orderwas a trap. But as usual, he opened his window and prayed to God three times a day,facing Jerusalem. Open the windows and pray to God in front of everyone, to theGod of Israel — the God of heaven, not to the king of the world. In the sameway, the last image of the beast is one of kneeling down before the greatsinner. In spite of the threat of not buying or selling, or even beingimprisoned and killed, 144,000 people with Daniel's character will never givein to the devil, and this will play out the last scene of Jacob's great tribulation,which is also the scene of Daniel's lion's den!
Thensomeone might think, "Daniel could have closed the window, gone into thesecret room, and prayed quietly to God in a secret place.Why should he open thewindows and pray openly to God to arouse the pursuit of our political enemies?And isn't it taught in the Bible that when you pray, go into the inner room andpray to your Father who is in secret? Why get caught?"
Daniel was not afraid of men in his usualhabit of praying. For the Lord says, "Whosoever shall be ashamed ofme and my words, the Son of man shall be ashamed of him, when he comes in hisglory, and in the glory of the Father, and of the holy angels" (Luke9:26).The truth manifests itself aboveboard asthe witness of Jesus. If we dare not show ourselves to others, we regard thetruth as shameful. This is not acceptable to God! Now Daniel, knowing thatthose who were trying to hurt him would come and watch him pray, prayed to Godaccording to his custom and was not afraid to bear witness to the truth.He hada firm faith in God and was not afraid of man.
If,after this decree, Daniel suddenly took the things he had been doing and beganto do them in a secret room, would it not be evident to men that he was denyingGod? That's the way it always is. Why get scared when the order is issued andgo quietly to pray? If you usually pray in secret, that's another matter. Butnow that the decree is issued and you are afraid. That you hide yourself andpray means that you do not pray, and you follow men's commands more thanGod's.Of course, Daniel could have rationalized himself by saying, "Mypresent status is very important, and it is better to serve the Gospel bykeeping some of my strengths."But more important to him than his positionor reputation was obedience to God. He showed that loyalty to God was moreimportant than anything else.[Act 5:29]Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We must obey Godrather than men. Daniel's unyielding, unyielding, unflinching,unflinching, steadfast attitude is a wonderful testimony to the Lord. Howprecious it is! This is the true witness of God!
KingDarius's injunction did not make Daniel afraid, nor did he change his usualhabit of praying. His upstairs window was still open toward the temple inJerusalem, and prayers continued. He knew the danger, but nothing could stophim from praying and being faithful to God.
Daniel'svaluable example is especially reserved for the last remnant of God, who in theend will also go through similar severe trials and will also achieve completevictory through the Lord. Daniel was filled with love for God's people andcompassion for the sinners of the world, so that he was so passionate that hegave his life and his blood to leave a victorious example for God's people tofollow and a testimony to the truth for the world. This is both a prefigurationof Jesus and a prefiguration of the last 144,000 people.
Whenthe beast image is erected in the last, the next step is to prohibit peopleobserve the Sabbath. Anyone who keep the Sabbath (Saturday) is in violation ofthe coalition government ( Babylon of theocracy). Then there will be a death warrantfor these people, as the imperial jade seal of Darius, it is temporary, andcannot be changed. The servants of Satan, like the administrators and satraps, arenocturnal and seek to capture and kill the people of God for evidence of theirkeeping the Sabbath against the Sunday (the mark of the beast). As Ellen G. Whitesaid:
The Great Controversy, chapter 39,paragraphs 7-8 of the Great Hard Period
【 Finally a decree will beissued against those who sanctify the Sabbath day of the fourth commandment,rebuke them to deserve the most severe punishment. They set a deadline afterwhich the people will be free to put them to death. Old world Roman church and NewWorld apostate Christianity should be consistent with the action, to deal withthose who respect all holy commandment.
This is the time when God's people will be caughtup in the affliction and trouble that the prophet describes as "the timeof trouble for Jacob.""This is what the Lord says: The voice we haveheard is a voice of trembling, and there is no peace….The face is turningblue! Woe is me! It will be great in that day. There will be no day like it!This is the time of trouble for Jacob, but he will be delivered "(Jer30:5-7).】
Howsimilar the fate of the last 144,000 people is to that of Daniel!As for theoutcome of this incident, Daniel was not worried or afraid. If the good will ofthe Lord was that he would give his life as a witness to God and the truth,then he was willing to shed his own blood for the Lord. He also believed that hismartyrdom would glorify and exalt the name of God, which made Satan and all his army suffered a tremendousdefeat and benefited all who love God and advanced God’s great work of savingmankind. And if it were in the Lord's good will that it would be moreprofitable to preserve his life than to have him martyred, he was convincedthat the anger of Satan and his army could not take his life, no matter whatthe king's injunctions or the wicked plans of the presidents and satraps.Evenif they throw him into the lion's den, the lion will not hurt him. If Danielwas so full of complete faith in God, what else could he have feared? God andall his faithful people who have faith will prevail, but Satan and all his armyand all unrepentant evildoers will fall.
Danielprayed the three times a day, and we can see that Daniel had a very closerelationship with God, and he would not allow anything to break thatrelationship. When Daniel came home, the spies would hide behind the tree andwatch him stealthily, looking for information and plotting against him. What acontrast their actions made with the honourable and aboveboard character of Daniel!There is a world of difference between the actions of the children of truth andthe children of darkness!
Whenthe children of darkness thought they had something to accuse Daniel , theyeagerly carried out their evil plan.
[Dan 6:11-15] Then these men went as agroup and found Daniel praying and asking God for help. So they went to theking and spoke to him about his royal decree: “Did you not publish a decreethat anyone who asks a petition of any god or man within thirty days exceptyou, O king, should be thrown into the den of lions? Didn’t the king put a imperial jade seal on thisinjunction?"The king answered, "The thing is true, according to thelaw of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be changed."They answered theking, "Daniel, one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, Oking, or to the decree you signed, but makes his prayer three times aday."When the king heard these words, he was deeply distressed. He set hisheart on delivering Daniel and made plans until sunset to save him. Then themen assembled to the king and said, "Know, O king, that it is the law ofthe Medes and Persians that no decree or statute established by the king may bechanged."
Whenthe children of darkness, who had conspired against Daniel, had all theevidence they needed, they came to King Darius and asked him to punish thosewho dared to break this law. They reminded the king of the authority andimmutability of his decrees.The king, who had unconsciously fallen into thetrap of the treacherous man, said without hesitation that it was true, and thatthe decree would never be changed. When the plot succeeded, they revealed thename of the punishment – Daniel.Then King Darius was greatly grieved and triedevery way he could to save Daniel. But a gentleman's word is beyond recall, andthe king? King Darius had no choice but to give in to their pressure when hehad fallen into their trap. Daniel was to be thrown into the lions' den,according to the commandment he had given. Daniel's life seemed to hang in thebalance!
We find that the king's command in Daniel 3and the king's command in Darius, in chapter 6, are of the same nature and havedifferent meanings.The similarity between these two orders isthat both are universal death orders: "If you disobey my orders, you willdie" and "within thirty days", both are temporary orders issuedby leaders with worldwide influence.And these commands violate the first fourrules of the relationship between God and man."You shall have no othergods before me," "You shall not worship idols," and "Youshall keep the Sabbath," which are very similar to the commandments of thelast age to persecute the people of God- the command of the beast image. Asmuch as the law of the beast image violated the fourth Sabbath commandment, italso violated the first and second commandments.
Daniel'sordeal was similar in nature to the fiery ordeal that had forced the worship ofgold images on three of his fellow Hebrews in their early years.The differenceis that last time, the test of forced people to worship the gold image,although extremely severe, but there are three young fellow together encourageeach other, together to fight. In this test of the prohibition of prayer,Daniel was alone and weak. So this test will be harder than the last.
Theexperience of Daniel's three friends fighting together is the symbol of thethree church war experience in the period of the Eleventh Hour. The test of theperiod of the Eleventh Hour is the trial of the church as a whole, focusing onthe church group. The believers can also communicate with each other, discussand learn from each other in order to make the right choice. But the experienceof Daniel standing alone is the experience of 144,000 people standing alonebefore God. This a personal trial, relying on your own judgment, and no one canhelp you.As Revelation says, "No one can learn this song but the144,000" (Rev. 14:3). Because it's a song of personal experiencethat no one else can learn. And as Ezekiel had said, ThoughNoah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live, says the Lord GOD, they shalldeliver neither sons nor daughters, but their own souls only by theirrighteousness (Ezekiel 14:20).All that is expressed here are personalexperiences of salvation. Daniel's experience in the lion’s den mirrors the personal experience of the last144,000 people.
Inthe last age, in order to destroy God's people, there will be persecutions thatwill cause us to disobey God's commandments, and there will be ordersforbidding the worship of God – forbidding the observance of the Sabbath.Theparallels between the persecution described in Daniel and the persecutiondescribed in the Book of Revelation are striking. In fact, they are allusionsto the last beast image!
[Rev. 13:15-17] He was given power to givebreath to the image of the first beast, so that it could speak and cause allwho refused to worship the beast image to be killed. He also forced everyone, greatand small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right handor on his forehead, so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark,which is the name of the beast or the number of his name.
Whata striking resemblance!There will also be devilish schemes and stratagems tocompel men to disobey God's commandments. We will have a choice, to follow thecommand of man or the command of God; "To worship the beast and hisimage" or "to him who made heaven and earth and the sea and thesprings of water" (Rev. 14:9, 7);Is it to worship the authority of man orthe authority of God? The focus of the struggle between good and evil is thequestion of whom to worship.
Danielchapter 6 is a test for Daniel.The worship of the beast in the Book ofRevelation is the test of our last remaining people. Such a test is gradually befalling every living person onthe planet. In the future there will also be a major lion pit event (can nottrade, or even be killed). Will you be afraid? Will you compromise? Do youchoose to worship God or the authority of man?
Whathappened to Daniel when he chose to worship God and reject idols?
[Daniel 6:16-18] So the king gave theorder, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions’den. The king saidto Daniel, “ May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!” A stone wasbrought and laid over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his ownsignet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that Daniel’s situation mightnot be changed. Then the king returned to his palace and spent the nightwithout eating and without any entertainment being brought to him. And he couldnot sleep.
Therewas a sly smile on the spies' faces when they saw Daniel opening the window andpraying to God. "We finally got it," they said. "Now we've gotsomething.
Whenthe men gathered to accuse Daniel, King Darius realized that he had been caughtin their trap, but now he could not withdraw his order, for there was no roomfor change in their law.The king was so distressed that he gave the order thatDaniel should be thrown into the lions' den.
Inancient times, some Kings of eastern countries often liked to keep some wildanimals in big gardens, and some of their servants would hunt lions for games.The king kept the lion in the pit both for entertainment and as a tool ofexecution. Now this punishment is applied to the servant whom the kingloves.And there was a great stone rolled over the lion's den and sealed withthe king's seal that no one should come in. Daniel was at the mercy of God!
Inthe same way, a much greater man than Daniel, who also spent a lot of time inprayer, had many similarities with Daniel in him, Jesus. Three times Jesusprayed in the Garden of Gethsemane. There he was betrayed by one of his owndisciples, handed over to the authorities, and condemned to death, though nofault could be found in him. And when He was gone down into the depths of thegrave, there was a great stone rolling against the mouth of the sepulchre, andsoldiers guarded the mouth of the sepulchre (Matt. 27:66).And early on thethird day, when the great stone was rolled away from the door of the sepulchre,they saw that He had risen, and that it was by the power of God that He hadbeen raised from the dead. Similar scenes will be repeated at the end of theSecond Coming. When the last trumpet shall sound, the righteous of allgenerations that are dead shall break through the chains of the gates of thegrave, as Daniel broke through the mouth of the lions; and as Jesus came forthfrom the grave of death, to overcome the power of death, and to be clothed withthe glory of eternal life, and to be ascended up with the righteous of theliving.
SoDaniel prayed three times a day, and Jesus' three prayers in Gethsemane justbefore he went to the cross were of the same essence. This is the symbol of theOld Testament's book of Daniel, the New Testament's book of Revelation, and thelast Books of the Prophets, which lead to the three important stages of God'ssalvation.
Thefirst stage: The Book of Daniel mainly foretells all international eventsconcerning God's people, from the time of the golden head of Babylon to thetime of the birth of Jesus Christ.
Thesecond stage: The book of Revelation mainly predicts the churches from the Christianera to the seventh church – Laodicea church era, the great events in the churchand the world during this period, especially in the long dark period of the MiddleAges, how the little horn (the Papacy) arose, how did the beast with two hornslike a lamb (America) grow up, gradually become hegemonists who talk like adragon, to serve the beast image.
Thethird stage: All the Prophets prophesy the transition from the seventh church,the church of Laodicea, to the church of 144,000, to the realization of a newheaven and a new earth.In particular, it foretells the heart-stopping historyof how the seventh head (the United States)’s transition to the eighth head (theunion of the Pope and China). The age of the eighth head corresponds to thebirth of the eighth church (144,000 people), which the Bible calls the HiddenManna – the sacrifice of the eighth day.The truth we preach today is the workof the eighth day’s sacrifice. This is the eighth age when the church came intobeing and the age of the transition of man from earth man to celestial man.Therefore, Satan is now trying to imprison 144,000 people of the last truerepresentatives of God in the lion's den, so that people will not believe thatGod's word will be fulfilled in the last age,which prevents people from findinga way out of salvation, from transcending the changes of the world. Because hewants to keep the people of the earth firmly in his hands forever. Today wefirmly believe that the modern truth of All the Prophets is our only weapon andmagic weapon out of the den of lions, as firmly as Daniel prayed in thedirection of Jerusalem three times a day. This is the only proof that we areGod's last witness.
Whenwe are steadfast in our faith in the truth, God will not leave His people inthe grave of death, but will save those who trust in Him.
Afterthe son of darkness had succeeded in keeping Daniel in the lion's den, Dariusreturned to his bedroom, where he could enjoy the golden bed and the silk quilt,the beautiful music and the delicious food, but he did not want to eat, and hecould not sleep. The comfortable palace made him feel like hell. Because whenhe hurts an innocent person, he has no peace in his heart. He is on pins andneedles! Judas had no peace of mind after betraying Jesus, so he had to hanghimself and became food for wild dogs.So will all who seek to trap God'speople!
Butthey watched as Daniel was thrown into the lions' den, the presidents andsatraps who had tried to kill him, along with Satan and his evil messengersbehind them, were there rejoicing and clapping their hands. But their joy waspremature. Their apparent victory doomed them to defeat; Daniel's apparentdefeat, on the other hand, was a victory. They thought that Daniel had beencast into the lions' den, and that they had sealed the mouth of the den with aseal, and he was certain to die. In fact, even if Daniel died at the lion'smouth (martyrdom), it would not be a victory for them, but a defeat. For atlast they will one day stand before the great white throne of the awesome andterrible God to be judged. and their bloody guilt will be fully revealed, andthey will be thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, to be destroyed forever.When Satan nailed Christ to the cross, he thought he had won, but in fact hehad only wounded the Lord in the "heel", a non-fatal wound, while theLord had wounded Satan’s "head", a fatal wound, and doomed him toeternal destruction.This victory was not only for Daniel, but also for Christ,but also for all who have followed the Lord throughout the ages. In the last144,000 people will be victorious, because God has said, "To overcome isto overcome" (Rev. 6:2). It is inevitable that the Lamb will prevail, andthose who follow the Lamb will also prevail.
Itwas in God's good will that Daniel would not be killed when he was thrown intothe den of lions, but that he would be magically saved, and that the punishmentof those wicked men would soon come! It is also predicted that not one of the144,000 will die in Jacob's great tribulation (they will live and go to heaven),and that those who pursue them will be swiftly killed and destroyed by theseven great plagues.
[Dan 6:19-24] And the king got up at dawnthe next day, and went in haste unto the den of lions.When he came near theden, he cried out in a mournful voice and said to Daniel, "Daniel, servantof the living God, has your God, whom you continually serve, been able todeliver you from the lions?"Daniel said to the king, "O king, liveforever!My God has sent his angel and shut the lions' mouths so they have nothurt me, because before God I was innocent, and before you I have done nothingto hurt you."The king was overjoyed and gave orders to have Daniel takenout of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no injury was foundupon him, because he trusted in his God. The king gave the order, and theybrought those men who had accused Daniel and cast them into the lions' den,together with their children and wives. Before they reached the bottom of theden, the lions seized them and crushed all their bones.
WhenDaniel was thrown into the lions' den, Darius lay awake all night. When themorning broke, he got up and went quickly to the lions' den. He cried out in alamentable voice to Daniel, "Daniel, servant of the living God, is yourGod, whom you serve continually, able to deliver you from the lions?"Fromwhat he said to Daniel, we can see that he had a certain knowledge of God, butalso that his faith was weak and inadequate.
Animportant lesson and example can be drawn from this miraculous deliverance ofDaniel: God could have saved Daniel from this trial and danger, just as he hadbeen saved from the fire of the three young Hebrew men, Daniel was saved fromthe trial. God could have kept Daniel from being thrown into the lions' den,but God allowed him to experience the worst possible outcome. Why? We can seefrom Esther that in the time of Ahasuerus, the Persian king, the wicked Hamanmade a frame and plotted to hang Mordecai on it, but his wicked plan failed andinstead he and his ten sons were hanged on it. Just as three young Hebrew menwere thrown into a fiery furnace, the fire did no harm to them at all, butthose who carried them were burned to death.
Theseexamples are of great significance to the remaining people of God who are aboutto undergo the unprecedented fire. The lesson of the Lord was confirmed in thedeliverance of Daniel: Do not be afraid of those who kill the bodybut cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy bothbody and soul in hell.Are not twosparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apartfrom the will of your Father. Even the very hairs of your head are all numbered;therefore fear not: You are of more value than many sparrows. Whosoever shallconfess me before men, I will also confess him before my Father in heaven.Whosoever shall disown me before men, him will I also disown before my Fatherin heaven. (Matt. 10:28-33).God has allowed the evil angels andthe wicked to carry out their evil schemes in order that the miracle of God'sdeliverance of his servants might be magnified, and that the defeat of theenemies of truth and justice might be more complete. Psalm says, "Surelyyour wrath against men brings you praise. " (Psalm 76:10).Satan will bedefeated by the courage of a man who is determined to do what is right ratherthan succumb to power, and the holy name of God will be exalted and exalted.
Eventually,a similar scenario will play out. God did not stand in the way of the UniversalBabylonian forces of church and state trying to wipe out the small group ofMordecai (144,000 people) on earth. God will send his people to suffer from theseven great plagues, and to face the fierce pursuit of the wicked.When theangels come to save them, Jesus stops them, saying, "They will drink fromthe cup I drink, and they will walk along the path I have taken."Godallows things to be as bad as they can be before he saves them. On the one hand,it is to show how bad the wicked are, and how noble the righteous are, and thecontrast between the two extremes sharply distinguishes their essence. But whenthe wicked of the world lift up their swords against these poor people to beput to death, the sword that is lifted up against the righteous will suddenlybe broken and will fall to the ground, weak as grass. The sword that was meantto slay God's people will now turn and slay their own kind.Let strife andbloodshed arise everywhere. Let the wicked kill one another. This is God's wayof punishing the evil and saving the good.
Whenthe truth became known, King Darius was filled with righteous indignation whenhe remembered how wicked and cruel the men who had plotted against Daniel hadbeen. So "they brought those men who had accused Daniel and threw theminto the lions' den, their children and their wives.Before they reached thebottom of the den, the lions seized them and crushed all their bones."Thisis also a reward for the wickedness of these wicked men, and it is a warning toall wicked men. Their wives and their children are in danger together, and itis a prefigure that everyone who does not accept the truth in the end, whosupports the fallacy of Babylon, and who is related to Babylon are the objectsof destruction, and it is a total extinction. The uniqueness and exclusivity oftruth is obvious!
[Daniel 6:25-28] Then King Darius wrote toall the peoples, nations and languages living in all the earth: "May youprosper greatly!I make a decree that all the people of my dominion shalltremble and fear before the God of Daniel, for he is the living God, and heendures for ever, and his kingdom shall not be destroyed, and his dominionshall be for ever. He rescues and he saves; he performs signs and wonders in theheavens and on the earth. He has delivered Daniel from the power of thelions."
AndDarius, after he had delivered Daniel, and after he had punished the wicked,continued to preach and to bear witness unto the holy name of God.
Dariusnow had a better understanding of God, as can be seen from his testimony.Movedby God's great love, he is now able to send out sincere and heartfelt blessingsto the people of the country: "May you enjoy great peace"!Then hetestified to the everlasting divinity of God, his authority, his love, hisrighteousness, and the miracle of Daniel's salvation. He himself was the kingof nations, but he was willing to exalt and glorify the name of God, and topraise "the living God who endures forever, whose kingdom is unspoiled,and whose dominion is everlasting."How similar it was to KingNebuchadnezzar's testimony to God: "The God of heaven will set up akingdom that will never be destroyed!"Wherefore the seed of truth, whichDaniel sowed, has now blossomed and borne fruit in Darius also.
Thesetestimonies, which King Darius decreed for God, were obviously of great andfar-reaching significance. For the seventy years of captivity of the childrenof Israel are coming to the end: and in a year or two more the children ofCyrus the king will release them, and they will go and rebuild the holy citiesand the holy temple. This message will inspire, refresh and prepare the heartsof the scattered people of Israel.It will also serve as a great witness andlight to the people of the foreign nations, so as to prepare the way for thereturn of the people of Israel soon to rebuild the holy city and the temple.Obviously, this witness edict also exerted great influence and influence onKing Cyrus, and helped him to obey God's will and issue an edict calling on theJews to come back and rebuild the temple of God. So Daniel prospered in thereign of King Darius and King Cyrus. This is also a prefiguration of the latertimes, the true church – the Last Revival, which is produced in religiousreform movement of the Eleventh Hour in the foreign atheism- China, is playingthe role of King Darius, for the final gathering of 144,000 people to rebuildthe spiritual temple, leading the remaining people to return to the home ofheaven.
Daniel'sexperience as a statesman in Babylonia and Medes shows that true faith musttranscend ethnic and racial barriers, break through religious barriers, andreveal the true character of God, which is impersonal and political.Daniel'sfame and influence at that time was astonishing. Because of Daniel's wonderfulspirit, his faith spread throughout the world, and almost all the people in theworld knew his prophecies. It was because of Daniel's seventy years of serviceto God in pagan countries that other countries began to establish their ownreligions, lest Daniel's Jewish religion sweep over them. In Persia, forexample, there was Zoroastrianism [628-551 BC], and in India there wasSakyamuni Buddhism [born 563 BC]…The reason for these strange paganism was tocounter the powerful influence of the Jewish religion. It was also Satan's planto stop true religion!
Danielis an example of the spiritual struggle of the last remnant people.When God'schosen people (Judah) were taken captive in Babylon because they had rebelledagainst God, God found out of a pile of scrap metal a precious vessel ofchoice, — Daniel. He became the victor of the time, the witness of the changeof the dynasty, and prepared the way for the Jews to return and rebuild thetemple.Today, when God’s chosen people, the Seventh-Day Adventists, are capturedby modern Babylon, God has chosen from a group of captive his agent, the Last Revival(Yao Lianghong) as the inheritor of truth, so that God's people can enter thenew era (from the seventh church to the eighth church), to prepare the way forthe Kings (144000) to return to the home of heaven.
Although Daniel experienced manydifficulties and dangers, even the risk of losing his life, the victory washis. We will face all kinds of crises and troubles, but the most perfectblessings and promises in the Bible must be ours (Psalm 91 is the promise tothe last remnant)!Without Golgotha's cross, there would have been no Pentecostmorning rain with the Holy Spirit; Without the persecution of the last beastimage, like the great tribulation, there is no later rain of the Spirit. Allthe experiences of today are preparation for the needs of the future. Daniel'sspirit of good spirituality and noble character made him free from the lion'smouth. Finally, only those who firmly believe in the truth, calm faith, canmake us free from the lion's mouth, so that we can stand before the true GodJesus!
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