Talking about the circumstances that
will exist in the last days, the Bible says in Daniel 11:32-35, “And such as
do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people
that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.[33] And they
that understand among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by
the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days.[34] Now
when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help: but many shall
cleave to them with flatteries.[35] And some of them of understanding
shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time
of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed.”
The “flatteries” mentioned in verse 32 are the words spoken by the antichrist.
He will be a great speaker, and many will be deceived by him. The people of the
world are going to think that finally a political person has come along who is
going to do what needs to be done. There is going to be a lot of unity and
optimism about what this man will do because of his speaking ability. But it
will all be lies.
How will anyone escape the flattery
and the deception? The key to that is also found in verse 32 that says that the
ones who are corrupted are “such as do wickedly against the covenant.” This is a
spiritual principle that is true in every generation. Those who walk in the
Light that is Jesus Christ have the Light with them. Those who do not walk with
Jesus walk in darkness. If you do not know the Light, then you are in darkness,
and the ideas of darkness will be over you and will help determine what you
think and what you accept. If you want to escape the darkness of the world
around you, then go to the Light. His name is Jesus. One part of going to the
Light has to do with wanting to do the right thing. Those who will be corrupted
by the antichrist “do wickedly.” Those who are not corrupted by him desire to
do good and turn to Jesus. This same spiritual truth is found in John 3:19-21,
“And
this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved
darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.[20] For
every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest
his deeds should be reproved.[21] But he that doeth truth cometh to
the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in
God.”
Please notice also that those who are
corrupted by the antichrist “do wickedly against the covenant.” In the Old
Testament the covenant was the covenant of the law. In the New Testament the
covenant is the covenant of grace. In both cases the covenant represents the
revealed Word of God that is the Holy Bible. God has given truth to the human
race. That truth is known by the person of Jesus Christ and by the words of the
Bible. Believe in Jesus and read and study the Bible. Those who are corrupted
by the antichrist will be the kind of people who do not like the Bible and who
do not read the Bible.
Those who are not corrupted by the
antichrist are described in these same verses in Daniel chapter 11. It says in
verse 32 that these are the people “know their God.” A real
Christian is someone who knows Jesus Christ personally. The salvation
experience takes place when a person is introduced to Jesus by the Holy Spirit.
Jesus spoke of the difference between those who go to heaven and those who do
not in Matthew 7:21-23, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into
the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in
heaven.[22] Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not
prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name
done many wonderful works?[23] And then will I profess unto them, I
never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”
Concerning the believers of the last
days, Daniel 11:32 says that they “shall be strong, and do exploits.” Anyone who
lives for the Lord in the last days will have to be strong. Of course, this
refers to spiritual strength and being strong in faith. It says in Ephesians
6:10, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of
his might.” Make sure that you are always growing in the Lord so that you
will have a stronger faith tomorrow than you do today. Your faith is one of
your more valuable possessions. Guard it and keep is as such. Read the Bible,
hear good Bible teachings, keep your sins confessed, and put your faith into
practice. The days will come when only the strong in faith will survive. We are
designating survival as those who continue to serve the Lord Jesus no matter
what comes their way.
Notice that it says that the believers
will be strong and that they will “do exploits.” It comes
from the basic word meaning “to do” or “to make.” In other words the believers
will be people who accomplish things. They will accomplish good things in the
name of the Lord and for His glory. They will do God’s work, not man’s work.
Everyone who is born into this world is born for a reason. God wants you to be
a doer and a maker. He wants you to accomplish something worthwhile with Him.
Walk in fellowship with Jesus, live by faith, become strong spiritually; and
you will accomplish everything for which you were brought into this world.
What will the believers of the last
day accomplish? It says in Daniel 11:33, “And they that understand among the
people shall instruct many.” They “shall instruct many.” That is the
work God: to teach others. Jesus told the disciples in Matthew 28:19, “Go ye
therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” In order to
make this teaching as effective as possible, Jesus gives gifts to His children,
and these gifts are the abilities and talents possessed by the believers. It
says about Jesus in Ephesians 4:7-8, “But
unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of
Christ.[8] Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led
captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.”
Naming some of the gifts, it says in First Corinthians 12:28, “And God hath set some in the church, first apostles,
secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts
of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.” The apostles and prophets of the first century recorded
their teachings in the New Testament. Now God uses teachers to study the
writings of the apostles and prophets, and then take what they have learned and
teach others. There will always be opportunities to teach because that is God’s
will. There will be persecutions and hatreds and governments that take away
freedom of speech, but there will always be opportunities to teach God’s Word
because God opens doors that no man can shut. In this age in which we live,
God’s will is that the teachings of the Bible be taught by believers to others
who want to hear and be taught. Also, in the age in which we live, God has
opened up the internet and given free access to use the internet to teach the
Gospel of Christ and the truth of God’s Word. Should the day come that the
internet becomes closed to such use, then the Lord will open another means. His
truth will go forth, even if the very rocks have to speak out to do it. When
Jesus entered
So every Christian needs to ask the
question, “What does God want me to do in the teaching of His Word in this
world? What is my part, and what is my role?” First of all God wants every
Christian to teach as much as their own abilities and gifts allow them to
teach. One of the primary goals of life is to learn, and then to teach others
what you have learned. Parents should teach their children, and husbands and
wives should teach other too. One of the purposes of marriage is so that the
husband and wife would benefit from each other’s skills and knowledge. If you
are a woman, then teach your husband the spiritual truths you have learned. If
you are a man, then teach your wife what God has taught you from His Word. If
you have learned something, then tell others what you have learned, and then
maybe they will learn something from you. Yes, every Christian should teach,
but it is also true that certain Christians have the gift teach. Everyone has
at least one gift, but not everyone has the gift to teach. Do not try to be a
Bible teacher if that is not your gift. Find out the gift that Jesus has given
to you, and then pray for and look for opportunities to put that gift to
use.
There will always be a few who serve
God, and that will be true in the last days also. But there will also be a
price to pay for serving Jesus in this world. It will never be popular to serve
Christ. As a matter of fact, it can get you killed in some generations and in
some situations. Concerning the faithful servants of Christ in the last days,
it says in Daniel 11:33-35, “yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame,
by captivity, and by spoil, many days.[34] Now when they shall fall,
they shall be holpen with a little help: but many shall cleave to them with
flatteries.[35] And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try
them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end:
because it is yet for a time appointed.” In every generation
there is a price to pay to be a faithful servant of Jesus Christ. We are not
called to an easy trip through a rose garden. We are called to suffer with
Christ. Jesus said in John 15:20, “Remember
the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If
they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my
saying, they will keep yours also.”
The believers in the last days (in the
Great Tribulation) will be persecuted terribly. That is probably because the
antichrist will be in power and he will hate believers just like he hates Jesus
Christ. Daniel says that the believers of this time period “shall fall
by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days.” Believers in
Jesus will be put to death in more ways than one. Believers are going to be put
into prison. Believers are going to be spoiled, which probably means that they
will be ruined financially and their possessions taken away. It also says that
believers will only be helped “with a little help.” Sometimes it is simply God’s
will that we suffer. There is no way out it if we are going to follow Jesus. It
is simply His will. Why does God allow such sufferings for His children? That
is answered in Daniel 11:35, “to try them, and to purge, and to make them
white, even to the time of the end.” With each suffering, God is giving
you a chance to prove that you love Him more than anything else. No matter what
you lose, you still have Jesus. By the way, one of the reasons that some people
do not turn to Christ is because they know that there might be a price to pay,
and their fears of possible persecution are greater than their desire to be
saved. Jesus said in Mark 4:17, “And have no root in themselves, and
so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for
the word’s sake, immediately they are offended.”
There is one more thing for the
believers of the last days to suffer, and that involves the most important task
that believers are involved with: teaching the Word of God. It says in Daniel
11:34, “but many shall cleave to them with flatteries.” On the one
hand it sounds good that “many shall cleave” to the believers, but alas, it is
not so good because it says that “but many shall cleave to them with
flatteries.” This is talking about false confessions and false believers.
There are many reasons that people will join themselves to a group of
believers, but only one of those reasons is the right reason. People can learn
the language of Christianity without having surrendered their own heart to
Jesus. People can use “flatteries” and become accepted into the midst. Of
course, this situation will cause many problems for believers. Why do some people
who say they are Christians or who say they are pastors do such terrible
things? One reasons is that some of them are not true Christians to begin with.
Paul wrote in Galatians 2:4, “And that because of false brethren unawares
brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in
Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage.” It also
says in Jude 1:4, “For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were
before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of
our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus
Christ.”
False brethren and carnal Christians
are definitely the source of sufferings for some, and this will only get worse
in the last days. We expect the people of the world to hate us in times of
persecution. But the surprise and the shock and the hurt can be much worse when
someone who calls himself a Christian or calls himself a pastor uses the arm of
the flesh to opposite and cause us harm. Yes, the tares are definitely mixed in
with the wheat right now. Another way that heaven will be so wonderful is that
there will only be true believers there, and we will all be knit together in
our common love for our Lord Jesus Christ.
___________________________________________________
Copyright; 2013 by Charles
F. (Rick) Creech
All Rights Reserved