I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. In order to make that possible I read the passages and write my thoughts a day in advance. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.
This passage is a difficult one to understand. I have generally been taught that the four beasts represent the same four kingdoms as those depicted in King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of the statue. However, since we are in the middle of Chanukah, I think it is worth considering that the four beasts may represent the four kingdoms into which Alexander the Great’s empire splintered. In this interpretation, the fourth beast is the Seleucid Empire and the horn on its head which supplants three other horns represents Antiochus IV. Such an understanding would be consistent with Antiochus IV’s desecration of the Temple and the rise of the Maccabean Jewish state.
Having considered this interpretation, I suspect that the traditional interpretation is probably more accurate. I have always been hesitant to connect the apocalyptic prophecies of the Bible to specific events, since to a degree I think that misses their point. The point of this prophecy is not its prediction of some specific event, although it may do that. Rather the point of this prophecy is to tell us that human rulers will rise who will set themselves up in God’s place, and for a time seem to be able to control all around them. However, in due time, such rulers will be utterly destroyed and all of their power taken from them. This world is God’s and ultimately the only kingdom which shall last is His.
John wrote that God is light and those who wish to fellowship with God must live in the light. This means that we do not attempt to hide any of our actions in the dark, or even in the shadows. There is no darkness in God, not even shadows. If we live in the light and have fellowship with others living in the light, Jesus will cleanse us of our sins. This does not mean that we will be without sin, rather it means that we openly confess our sins both to God and to those around us. If we openly admit our sins, not bragging, but rather admitting them as failure, God will forgive us and cleanse us from all wickedness. The challenging part of this is admitting our sins, both those we admit as sins to ourselves and those we attempt to convince ourselves are not really sin. The key to overcoming sin is to be open about the sin we struggle with, as we bring it out into the open, God’s Spirit will cleanse it, just as sunlight will cleanse corruption that is opened up to it.
If we remain faithful to God, many will persecute us and seek to bring about our downfall. However, God has promised to be our advocate. He will stand by our side, if we remain faithful to Him. He will listen to our cries and answer our prayers. We may wander away from Him, but He will seek us out like a shepherd seeks out a lost lamb. I ask of God that He keeps me from ever forgetting His commands.
In the long run people will appreciate honest words of criticism more than dishonest flattery. Those who justify stealing from their own parents are no better than a murderer. If someone will steal from their parents without recognizing that it is wrong, they will find reason to kill another for their own advantage.