Bible In One Year Day 245 (Jeremiah 31, Daniel 14, Proverbs 16:21-24)

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Day 245: The Faithfulness of Daniel 

Agape Bible Study 
Jeremiah 31 

Chapter 31:2-40: A New Covenant and the Forgiveness of All Sins

Jeremiah 31:2-6 ~ Oracle 5: The Pardoning of the Covenant People

The covenant people will atone and receive pardon for their sins as they march across the desert to their exile in Babylonia. Although Yahweh seems far from the covenant people in their exile, He never stopped maintaining His faithful covenant love (hesed) for them.

4 I shall build you once more, yes, you will be rebuilt, Virgin of Israel! Once more in your best attire, and with tambourines, you will go out dancing gaily.
Notice the continued change in the masculine and feminine in referring to the covenant people.
For example, Jacob and Israel in the masculine in 30:5-7, 10-11; 31:7-9, 10-14 but also Zion and Virgin Israel in the feminine in 30:12-15, 16-17 and 31:4-6. In the Old Testament as in the New Covenant in Christ Jesus, the redeemed people of the Church bear the image of the chaste Virgin Bride.

It is God's plan to restore His people to their covenant relationship as His Virgin Bride when they returned to the land as a redeemed people. The covenant people have played the role of the "adulteress/harlot" in running after pagan gods, and they have been humiliated and abandoned by the false gods who were powerless to help them in the conquest of the Babylonians. However, the restoration to covenant union with Yahweh is coming, even if the return from the exile is only a prelude to a full and complete restoration in the future era of the Messiah.

Image Groups	Part I Covenant relationship	Part II Rebellion	Part III Redemptive Judgment	Part IV Restoration Fulfilled
Covenant Marriage	Israel Bride of Yahweh	Unfaithful adulteress/harlot	Humiliated, abused & abandoned by lovers	The Bride restored to her Bridegroom
[examples in Scripture]	Isaiah 61:10-11; Jeremiah 2:2; Ezekiel 16:4-14	Isaiah; 1:21; Jeremiah 3:6-8; 13:22-23, 26; 23:10; Ezekiel 16:15-34; 23:1-12; Hosea 4:10-14	Jeremiah 3:1b-2; 4:30-31; Ezekiel 16:23-61; 23:35-49; Amos 4:7-8; Hosea 2:4-15	John 3:28-29; 2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 5:25-27; Revelation 19:7-9; 21:2; 9; 22:17

• Part I: Yahweh and his people enter into a covenant relationship similar to a marriage covenant. Yahweh binds His Bride, Israel, to Himself in the blessings of security and prosperity in return for obedience to the Sinai Covenant.
• Part II: The covenant people apostatize from the Laws of the Sinai Covenant; they are unfaithful to God by playing the harlot in running after false gods.
• Part III: God punishes His unfaithful people. The false gods/lovers abandon Israel who is left wounded and humiliated.
• Part IV: In response to the people's repentance, Yahweh forgives and restores His people to a loving covenant relationship. Israel is once again the chaste, Virgin Bride of her Divine Bridegroom.

Jeremiah 31:7-14 ~ Oracle 6: The Return of the Remnant of Israel

Oracle #6 in Jeremiah's Book of Consolation begins with Jeremiah expressing a "hope oracle" in Yahweh's name. It is the third of three "hope oracles" within the context of the book (see 30:4-7 and 31:1-6), and it is also another dialogue oracle. Jeremiah speaks first in verse 7, calling the people in exile to shout aloud with joy and praise that Yahweh promises to save a remnant of Jacob. Yahweh will answer in verses 8-9 (using the divine "I" four times), in reply to the joyous acclamation. "Jacob" in verse 7 probably refers to all Israelites; those previously exiled from the Northern Kingdom and those exiles from Judah. The use of the name "Ephraim" in verses 9, 18 and 20 supports this interpretation since "Ephraim" always refers to the tribes of the Northern Kingdom.

Jeremiah 31:15 ~ Oracle 7: The Tragedy that is Messianic Prophecy #5

Question: What site, important to the children of Israel, was at Ramah on the outskirts of Bethlehem and on the border of the tribal territory of Benjamin? See Gen 35:16-20, 24; 48:1-5; 1 Sam 10:2; Jer 40:1. What is the connection to the tribes in exile?

Answer: The tomb of Rachel, wife of Jacob/Israel and mother of Joseph and Benjamin, was located there. Joseph was the father of Ephraim and Manasseh. Their descendants were two of the ten tribes of Northern Israel. The younger son, Benjamin, was the ancestor of the only tribe of the Southern Kingdom unified with Judah. All of the children who were the descendants of Rachel are in exile. The Babylonians gathered the defeated Jews at Ramah, the site of Rachel's tomb, before sending them into exile after the destruction of Jerusalem in 587 BC.

Rachel died giving birth to Benjamin and was buried at Ramah, about six miles north of Jerusalem. It will be the site where the Babylonians gathered the people in preparation for their exile into Babylon in 587 BC (Jer 40:1). The prophecy anticipates Rachel, symbolizing the mothers of the people, crying for her children going into Babylonian exile. St. Matthew will quote this verse as one of his fulfillment statements from the Old Testament in Matthew 2:17-18.

Jeremiah 31:16-22 ~ Oracle 8: The Restoration of Israel and Messianic Prophecy # 6

Question: Why should the people stop their lamenting? What is Israel's "labor" that will be rewarded in verses 16-17? See 2 Chr 36:21-22; Jer 25:11; 27:7; 29:10; 30:15

Answer: The suffering of the people, described as Israel' labor in exile, is to atone for her sins. However, when Israel/Judah, symbolically imaged as a woman, completes the "labor" of her seventy years of atonement, she will be forgiven and rewarded for her "labor" by the return of the exiled people's children to the Promised Land.

Jeremiah 31:23-30 ~ Oracle 9: The Restoration of Judah

Jeremiah received the ninth oracle in a dream. The focus of the oracle is on the restoration of Judah or a united Israel and Judah (as in Jer 31:27). He heard Yahweh promise the return of the exiles to their towns and the prophecy that the people would once again invoke the blessings of Yahweh and worship on His holy mountain. The phrase in 23b can be translated two ways: either as "holy mountain" or "mountain of the Holy One."

Verses 27-30 contain three future-oriented prophecies:

1. The repopulation of a united Israel and Judah in verse 27.
2. The promised rebuilding and replanting of the land in verse 28.
3. A promise that in the future the doctrine of retribution will be based on individual accountability in verses 29-30.

Jeremiah 31:31-34 ~ Oracle 9 continued with the promise of two Messianic Prophecies: The Promise of a New Covenant and the Forgiveness of Sins

This passage from Jeremiah is quoted and interpreted in the New Testament Letter to the Hebrews 8:8-12 and 10:16-17. The Old Testament is the story of God's dealings with individuals/families and with a united group of people (Sinai Covenant) through the family bond of seven covenant relationships:

1. Adam
2. Noah
3. Abraham
4. the Sinai covenant
5. Aaronic Covenant of the priesthood
6. Phinehas' perpetual priesthood
7. Davidic covenant

See the chart Yahweh's 8 Covenants. It was the Covenant at Sinai that gave the children of Israel the Mosaic Law, establishing the Israelites as the vassal people of a Divine God-King. In this passage, there is a definite prediction that the Mosaic Covenant at Sinai will be superseded by another covenant: a new covenant (Jer 31:31) that will bring about a spiritual regeneration in the forgiveness of sins and the hope of eternal salvation.

Jeremiah 31:35-36 ~ Israel will Endure

This section of Chapter 31 goes from prose in verses 31-34, to poetry in verses 35-37, and returns to prose in verses 38-40. The point of these verses is, if God has the power to control the cosmos, He also has the power to control the destiny of the children of Israel.

Question: What is God's promise concerning the existence of the descendants of Jacob/Israel?
Answer: So long as the heavens and earth endure, the people of Israel/the Jews will endure because they have Yahweh's divine protection.

Jeremiah 31:37-40 ~ Oracle 10: The City of God Rebuilt

Question: What amazing prophecy of hope does Jeremiah give the exiles in verses 37-40?
Answer: When they return, the exiles will rebuild the ruins of the destroyed city of Jerusalem.

Bel and the Dragon 

Agape Bible Study 

Daniel 14 

Chapter 14: Bel and the Dragon
The first commandment condemns polytheism. It requires man neither to believe in, nor to venerate, other divinities than the one true God. Scripture constantly recalls this rejection of "idols, [of] silver and gold, the work of men's hands. They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see." These empty idols make their worshippers empty: "Those who make them are like them; so are all who trust in them." God, however, is the living God who gives life and intervenes in history.
Catechism of the Catholic Church 2112
(see Ps 115:4-5, 8; cf. Is 44:9-20; Jer 10:1-16; Dan 14:1-30; Bar 6; Wis 13:1-15; Josh 3:10; Ps 42:3; etc.)

Chapter 14 presents two confrontational narratives:

1. The story of how Daniel reveals the fraud of the priests of Bel (verses 1-22).
2. The story of how Daniel destroys a dragon/snake worshipped by the Babylonians (verses 23-43).

The purpose of the two stories about Bel is to ridicule paganism. In both stories, Daniel risks his life to disprove the divinity of two revered Babylonian gods and to prove that Yahweh, God of Israel, is the only true God to whom he owes his worship, loyalty, and obedience.

Daniel 14:1-9 ~ King Cyrus and Daniel Debate the Power of the Pagan god Bel

Cyrus the Great built his empire by first conquering the Median Empire of his grandfather Astyages (r. 585 "550 BC). When Cyrus the Great became king of Media, he joined the Median and Persian Empires together under his rule. If the narratives in Chapters 13-14 take place in the first year King Cyrus conquered Persia (539 BC), Daniel is about 78 years old. If it is the third year of Cyrus (10:1), Daniel is about 80 years old and has remained in Persia after his people returned to Judah from exile in 539/8 BC.

Bel was the Babylonian manifestation of the Canaanite god Baal. The name Bel is from the Akkadian word "belu," meaning "lord" or "master" (the same meaning of the Canaanite word "baal"). However, the name in the Old Testament for this pagan god is usually Marduk (Is 46:1; Jer 50:2; 51:44). Bel was the chief god of the city of Babylon and the national god of Babylonia. Originally in the pantheon of Babylonian gods, he seems to have been a god of thunderstorms.

Observing that Daniel only worships his God, the king asks him why he doesn't also worship the chief god of Babylon, a city Daniel has lived in since his youth. Daniel makes a profession of faith in "the living God" by two affirmations: one is about his God and the other about the pagan god, Bel. First, he tells the king that his God created heaven and earth and has sovereignty over all creatures of the earth, which includes the king.

The king does not criticize Daniel's worship of his God, but he does not understand how Daniel cannot believe that Bel is also a "living god" since Bel consumes all the food and drink placed before his image in his temple.

Daniel dares to contradict the king by denying the image eats and drinks. Verse 7 is Daniel's second affirmation concerning Bel who is not a living thing but only an object made of clay and bronze.

The king interprets Daniel's denial as a challenge and calls the priests of Bel to prove the image is a "living god." If the priests can provide proof that Bel lives, Daniel will die for his blasphemies against the idol. Daniel boldly accepts the challenge.

Daniel 14:10-22 ~ The Test and Daniel's Victory

The test the priests of Bel suggested involved:

1. The priests leaving Bel's temple.
2. The king bringing food and drink to Bel's temple and laying out the provisions.
3. Locking the entrance to the temple and placing the king's seal on the door

Mixing wine for the god either means mixing water with wine to dilute it, a common practice in the ancient world, or mixing spices into the wine to improve the flavor (2 Macc 15:30; Is 5:22). The priests agree that they will forfeit their lives if any food or drink remains in the morning, and, if there is no food left in the morning, they have proved Bel lives, and Daniel will die.

Question: Why were the priests of Bel so confident in offering their lives if the food was not consumed by the morning? See verse 12.
Answer: They had a secret entrance into the temple under the altar table.

Such deceptions did take place in many pagan temples, as attested to by Fathers of the Church like St. John Chrysostom (Homily on Peter and Helicon) and the account of a similar incident at the Temple of Asclepius at Epidaurus in a play by the Greek playwright Aristophanes (Plutus iii.2).

14 Daniel made his servants bring ashes and spread them all over the temple floor, with no other witness than the king. They then left the building, shut the door and, sealing it with the king's seal, went away.
Before they close and seal the door, Daniel takes the precaution of laying down a carpet of ash across the floor of the temple.

15 That night, as usual, the priests came with their wives and children; they ate and drank everything. 16 The king was up very early the next morning, and Daniel with him. 17 "Daniel," said the king, "are the seals intact?" "They are intact, Your Majesty," he replied. 18 The king then opened the door and, taking one look at the table, exclaimed, "You are great, O Bel! There is no deception in you!"
That night the priests and their families came into the temple from their secret entrance to eat and drink all the food. The next morning, opening the sealed door and seeing the food missing, convinced the king that Bel had indeed consumed the food and was a "living god."

19 But Daniel laughed; and, restraining the king from going in any further, he said, "Look at the floor and take note whose footmarks these are!" 20 "I can see the footmarks of men, of women and of children," said the king, 21 and angrily ordered the priests to be arrested, with their wives and children. They then showed him the secret door through which they used to come and take what was on the table. 22 The king had them put to death and handed Bel over to Daniel who destroyed both the idol and its temple.
Verse 19 oddly suggests that Daniel ridiculed the king by laughing at him. It is an action that is most uncharacteristic of the Daniel we know from interactions between Daniel and the pagan kings in earlier chapters. Then, he revealed the deception of the priests to the king who forced them to show him the secret door. The result was that the king ordered what the priests' suggested in verse 11, and they and their families were executed. Daniel's victory resulted in the destruction of the idol and its temple; however, there is no historical record concerning the destruction of the temple of Bel in Babylon during this time.

Daniel and the Dragon

The New Jerusalem Bible uses the word "dragon" as the translation of the Greek word drakon. Some translators prefer "snake" (the common Greek word for snake is ophis) since, as they point out, there were no "dragons." But it depends on what the ancients saw as a "dragon." It was common for kings to receive gifts of exotic animals from remote parts of their empires. There were no crocodiles in Mesopotamia. Cyrus's "dragon" could have been a huge crocodile or some other kind of dragon-like animal that the people of Babylon revered. This story is the last confrontation narrative in the Book of Daniel.

Daniel 14:23-30 ~ Daniel Kills the Dragon

Continuing their debate concerning Yahweh being the only "living god," the king points out that the dragon that the people of the city worship is a living creature. Once again, Daniel offers a test. If he can kill the dragon without using a weapon, it cannot be a god. The king gave his permission, and Daniel fed the beast a concoction of boiled pitch, fat, and hair. The Fathers of the Church and some modern scholars suggest that within the ball of pitch, fat, and hair Daniel concealed sharp objects like spikes of metal or nails that tore apart the beast's innards and caused its death.

According to the account, when the Babylonian people heard their dragon-god was dead, they blamed the king for its demise as well as for the destruction of the Bel image and temple. When they threaten the king and his family, he turned Daniel over to the angry mob.

Daniel 14:31-42 ~ Daniel in Another Lion Pit
Daniel's previous experience in a lion pit was in 6:17-25. In that event, Daniel was in the pit for a day, but in this episode, he remains in the pit for six days. It was common for Near Eastern kings to keep lions. They were usually kept for the sport of lion hunts and to execute criminals. Daniel's enemies wanted to ensure that Daniel didn't survive this time; therefore, the seven lions did not receive food for the six days.

In a bizarre turn of events, according to the account, Yahweh supernaturally brings the prophet Habakkuk from Judah to take a meal to Daniel in the lion pit. 

Daniel received the meal and praised God for not forgetting him while Habakkuk returns supernaturally, just as he came, to Judah.

On the significant "seventh day" (a number symbolizing fulfillment and completion) the sorrowful king came to the pit where he found Daniel still alive. Oddly, there is no mention of Daniel's previous lion pit experience. The king gives credit to Daniel's God for his salvation and executes the men who plotted Daniel's death.

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A Daily Defense 
Day 245 Men Becoming Gods

CHALLENGE: “The Catechism states that men can become gods (CCC 460), but this is false.”

DEFENSE: The Church’s teaching is biblically grounded and doesn’t mean we become equal to God.

The Church emphatically teaches there is only one God (CCC 200–202, 2112). There is a single, uncreated Creator, but the term “god” can be used more than one way. In addition to being used of pagan deities, it is used to refer to angels and some humans (see Day 263).

Thus Jesus quotes the statement “You are gods” (Ps. 82:6), which he interprets as a reference to those “to whom the word of God came” (John 10:34). It is thus possible for men to be linked to the divine or divinized in a way they can be called “gods” from contact with the word of God.

This theme is mentioned by Peter, who says Christians “become partakers of the divine nature” (2 Pet. 1:4). This means that, by God’s grace, we come to share in certain of his attributes to the extent a creature can. Theologians sometimes call these God’s “communicable attributes,” and they include things like immortality, glory, and holiness.

We have begun to share in these, for in Christ we are new creations (2 Cor. 5:17) and we have tasted “the powers of the age to come” (Heb. 6:5). The process will be complete at the Second Coming, when “we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2). This process, known in the East as theosis and in the West as divinization, is discussed by Church Fathers such as St. Irenaeus and St. Athanasius, and theologians like St. Thomas Aquinas (see CCC 460).

Theosis or divinization means we become godlike (like God), but we will never be equal to God. That’s impossible, for we are finite and created and can never become infinite and uncreated.

Jimmy Akin, A Daily Defense: 365 Days (Plus One) to Becoming a Better Apologist 

Bible In One Year Day 244 (Jeremiah 30, Daniel 12-13, Proverbs 16:17-20)

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Day 244: Susanna's Righteousness 

Agape Bible Study 

Jeremiah 30 

Chapters 30-31: Jeremiah's Book of Consolation

Chapters 30:1-31:40 is a poetic composition called "Jeremiah's Book of Consolation." It is a message that gives comfort to the exiles by looking forward to their return to the land and to the good things God promises His people (Jer 29:11-14). There is no apparent date for the composition. The composition contains ten oracles and four of Jeremiah's ten Messianic prophecies numbers:

Prophecy	Scripture	New Testament Fulfillment
4. The Messiah will be born a king and descendant of David	Jer 30:9	Lk 1:32-33; Jn 18:37; Rev 1:5
5. The massacre of infants	Jer 31:15	Mt 2:17-18
6. The Incarnation: "something new on earth"	Jer 31:22b	Mt 1:20; Lk 1:35
7. A New Covenant	Jer 31:31-33	Mt 26:27-29; Mk 14:22-24; Lk 22:15-20; 1 Cor 11:25; Heb 8:8-12; 10:15-17; 12:24; 13:20
8. The Gospel of salvation and the forgiveness of sins	Jer 31:34	Mt 26:26-28; Heb 10:16-18; 1 Jn 2:27

Jeremiah 30:1-3 ~ Oracle 1: The Command to Record all Yahweh's Words in a Book
Verses 1-2 begin with the typical prophetic word formula, "The word which came to Jeremiah from Yahweh," as an introduction to the document. However, the repeated prophetic messenger formula of "Yahweh, God of Israel, says this/Yahweh says this," is used ten times (30:2, 5, 12, 18; 31:2, 7, 15, 16, 23, 37), marking the individual oracles which comprise the complete text of Jeremiah's Book of Consolation.

There are two different interpretations concerning God's command to write down all His words in a book/scroll in verse 2:

1. All the oracles recorded since the beginning of Jeremiah's ministry should be collected into one book.
2. In addition to the past oracles, these new oracles should be collected in a separate book or booklet.

In either interpretation, the ultimate purpose is to fully vindicate Jeremiah's role as a true prophet when his prophetic words are fulfilled at some future date (28:9).

Jeremiah 30:4-11 ~ Oracle 2: The Promise of Reunification for Israel and the 4^th Messianic Promise

The poetry section begins with verse 5; then there is a break in verses 8-9 before the poetic oracle continues until the end of the chapter. 31:1 begins with a prose statement, and then the poetic narrative begins again in 31:2 and continues until 31:22. Jacob was the name of Isaac's son through whom the Abrahamic covenant continued and to whom God gave the name Israel. The use of "Jacob" can refer to the entire covenant people, while "Israel" often refers to the Northern Kingdom that took the name "Israel" when they split off from the two southern tribes of Judah and Benjamin.

Jeremiah 30:12-17 ~ Oracle 3: The Incurable Wound Healed

What is incurable and cannot be undone is the judgment against Judah and Jerusalem to become captives of the Babylonians. Judah's former "lovers" are the false gods she worshipped instead of Yahweh.

Jeremiah 30:18-31:1 ~ Oracle 4: The Restoration

"Restoring the tents" in verse 18 is symbolic language for rebuilding the homes and towns of the covenant people. The blessings of the restoration for which they will give thanks include:

1. Their towns will be rebuilt.
2. Their population will increase.
3. They will be united as a people.
4. Their enemies will be diminished.
5. A prince from their people will rule over them.

Their "prince" who is "one of their own" and will rule over them means a foreigner will not rule over them as the representative of the governing power. It may be a reference to Zerubbabel, the Persian governor of Judah after the return from exile (Ezra 2:2). He was a descendant of King David and the grandson of exiled King Jehoiachin (Ezra 3:2; Hag 1:1; Mt 1:12).

Agape Bible Study 

Daniel 12 - 13 

Chapter 12

The Time of the End
The Continuing Parallels Between Daniel's Visions and St. John's Visions in the Book of Revelation

The Vision	Book of Daniel	Book of Revelation
1. The worship of the Beast's statue	Chapter 3:5-7, 15	Chapter 13:15
2. The Leopard, the Bear, and the Lion	Chapter 7:4-6	Chapter 13:2
3. The ten horns	Chapter 7:8	Chapters 12:3, 13:1; 17:3, 8
4. The Beast mouthing boasting and blasphemies	Chapter 7:8, 11	Chapter 13:5
5. The Son of Man coming on the Glory-Cloud	Chapter 7:13	Chapter 1:7 & 14:14
6. The war against the Saints	Chapter 7:21	Chapter 13:7
7. Three-and-a-half-time period (a time, 2 times and half a time)	Chapter 7:25; 12:7	Chapter 11:9, 11
8. The scroll	Chapter 12:4	Chapter 10:1-11

Daniel 12:1-4 ~ Resurrection and Retribution

Michael, the Prince of angels and defender of Israel, will arise to aid the covenant people. This prediction may refer to the end of Syrian persecution and the Maccabees' successful revolt against the Seleucid Empire in 164 BC when Judah became an independent nation for the first time in centuries. 

Concerning the resurrection, the Catechism tells us: "God revealed the resurrection of the dead to his people progressively. Hope in the bodily resurrection of the dead established itself as a consequence intrinsic to faith in God as the creator of the whole man, soul and body. The creator of heaven and earth is also the one who faithfully maintains his covenant with Abraham and his posterity. It was in this double perspective that faith in the resurrection came to be expressed. In their trials, the Maccabean martyrs confessed: The King of the universe will raise us from death to an everlasting renewal of life because we have died for his laws. One cannot but choose to die at the hands of men and to cherish the hope that God gives of being raised again by him'" (CCC 992 quoting 2 Macc 7:14). Concerning the resurrection also see CCC 993-1003.

Daniel 12:5-13 ~ The Sealed Prophecy

Daniel sees two figures standing on either side of the river that may represent the great divide between life and death. If the man dressed in linen is the pre-Incarnate Christ, is it possible that the other two beings Daniel sees are the other two persons of the Trinity, or it is possible that they are Gabriel and Michael? The question one of the divine beings asks is, "How long until these wonders take place?"

The perpetual sacrifice in verse 11 is the daily liturgy of the Tamid sacrifice. It was the first sacrifice ordained at the covenant ratification at Mt. Sinai and was the most important of all the sacrifices. Two lambs were offered as a single sacrifice daily for the people in the Temple in a morning and afternoon liturgical worship service along with unleavened bread and red wine (Ex 29:36-42). The whole daily prayer life of the covenant people revolved around this sacrifice. See the e-Book "Jesus and the Mystery of the Tamid Sacrifice."

In the New Testament Book of Revelation 10:7, the prophet John receives the revelation that the time of waiting is over! In Revelation 5:5, John hears that the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the Root of David has triumphed and so He will open the scroll. Daniel 7:25 mentions the same three-and-a-half length of time in association with a period of intense persecution. Another link between the Book of Daniel and the Book of Revelation is where the same numbers appear in Revelation 11:9-12 associated with a period of persecution lasting days and the murder and resurrection of God's holy messengers. An angel tells St. John: People of every race, tribe, language and nation stare at their corpses, for three-and-a-half days, not letting them be buried, and the people of the world are glad about it and celebrate the event by giving presents to each other, because these two prophets have been a plague to the people of the world. After the three-and-a-half days, God breathed life into them and they stood up on their feet, and everybody who saw it happen was terrified; then I heard a loud voice from heaven say to them, "Come up here," and while their enemies were watching, they went up to heaven in a cloud.

Daniel's secret may concern the revelations Jesus will make concerning the great tribulation and end of the Old Covenant in Matthew Chapter 24. In AD 70, when the Romans destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem, the daily Tamid sacrifice, ordained by God to last for long as the Sinai Covenant endured, ended for all time. It was what the writer of the Book of Hebrews wrote in 9:8-9 testifying that to the destruction of the Temple by the Romans: By this, the Holy Spirit means us to see that as long as the old tent [Tabernacle/Temple] stands, the way into the holy place is not opened up; it is a symbol for this present time. The point was that the New Covenant could not be fully in place until the Old Covenant animal sacrifices ended in the destruction of the earthly Temple.

In Daniel 12:11-13, the archangel Michel tells Daniel from the time of his revelation until the coming of the period of oppression when the perpetual Tamid sacrifice ends and the "appalling abomination" is set up in the sanctuary will be 1,290 days but blessed is he who perseveres and attains 1,335 days. The "appalling abomination" is fulfilled by the Roman general, Titus, when he profanes the Temple with pagan images and offers sacrifices to them (Josephus, War of the Jews, 6.6.1 [316]).

Daniel intervenes and saves Susanna  François-Guillaume Méneageot

Chapter 13: Susanna and the Judgement of Daniel

A single witness will not suffice to convict anyone of a crime or offense of any kind; whatever the misdemeanor, the evidence of two witnesses or three is required to sustain the charge. If someone gives false evidence against anyone, laying a charge of apostasy, both parties to this dispute before Yahweh must appear before the priests and judges then in office. The judges will make a careful inquiry, and if it turns out that the witness is a liar and has made a false accusation against his brother, you must treat the witness as he would have treated his brother. You must banish this evil from among you.
Deuteronomy 19:15-21

Daniel 13:1-14 ~ The Righteous Susanna and the Wicked Plan of Two Jewish Elders

Question: How does the narrative describe Susanna in verses 1-4a?
Answer:

1. Susanna is a woman of great beauty married to a wealthy man.
2. Her parents raised her to be God-fearing and versed in the Law of Moses.

There are other heroines in the Bible also described as both beautiful and God-fearing:

1. Judith (Jud 8:7-8)
2. Sarah, the daughter of Raquel (Tobit 6:12; 3:13-15)
3. Esther (Esth 2:7 and verse 20 in the Septuagint)

Notice that Susanna is "God-fearing" (verse 2), referring to her devotion to God and obedience to His laws. The story mentions or alludes to God fifteen times:

1. The narrator in verses 5, 9, 44, and 45 (also verse 62 in the Septuagint)
2. The righteous elders in verse 50
3. Susanna's parents and relatives in verse 63
4. The people of the Jewish community in verse 60
5. Susanna in verses 2, 23, and 42
6. Daniel in verses 53, 55, and 59

Only the wicked elders fail to mention God which is, after all, the core of their problem. They were not at all concerned about their accountability to God (cf. verse 9).

Daniel 13:15-23 ~ The Wicked Elders Accost Susanna

Question: What threat do they wicked elders make to try to force Susanna to give in to their demands, and why was she trapped? See Lev 20:10; Dt 22:22.

Answer: If she refused them, they threaten to accuse her of adultery for which death was the penalty under the Law of Moses.

Daniel 13:24-43 ~ The Elders Accuse Susanna of Adultery and Condemn Her to Death

Notice that, in violation of the Law, the elders were not only acting as witnesses against Susanna but also as her judges. In addition, there was no cross-examination of their testimony as required in Deuteronomy 19:15-20.

Daniel 13:44-64 ~ Susanna Cries Out to Heaven, and God Sends Daniel Defends Her

44 The Lord heard her cry 45 and, as she was being led away to die, he roused the holy spirit
Question: In what two ways does God send His Spirit to help Susanna?
Answer: The Spirit of God fills the boy Daniel with the confidence and wisdom to intervene on Susanna's behalf, and His Spirit moves the other elders and people to listen to Daniel.

The story of Daniel and Susanna presents a lesson in the necessity of upholding God's commandment concerning giving false evidence in the Ten Commandments listed in Exodus 20:16 and Deuteronomy 5:20 and the dire consequences for breaking that law.

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A Daily Defense 

DAY 244 The Infancy Narratives

CHALLENGE:“The infancy narratives in Matthew and Luke contradict each other. For example, Luke has Mary living in Nazareth before going to Bethlehem, while in Matthew they don’t go to Nazareth until later.”

DEFENSE: The infancy narratives don’t contradict each other. In fact, they fit together very well. Here we provide an interwoven narrative.

Initially, Gabriel appears to Zechariah to announce the birth of John the Baptist (Luke 1:5–25). A few months later, Gabriel appears to Mary in Nazareth to announce the birth of Jesus (Luke 1:26 38), and Mary goes to visit Elizabeth before returning to Nazareth (Luke 1:39–56). Then John the Baptist is born (Luke 1:57–80).

Around this time, Joseph is informed that Mary is pregnant. He plans to divorce her, but an angel tells him to continue the marriage (Matt. 1:18–23). The two begin cohabiting (Matt. 1:24). This would be in Nazareth, per Luke’s account.

Because of the enrollment announced by Caesar Augustus, the Holy Family travels to Bethlehem (Luke 2:1–5), where Jesus is born (Luke 2:7, Matt. 1:24a). That night, the shepherds visit them (Luke 2:8–20). Around the same time, the Magi observe the star in their homeland (cf. Matt. 2:2, 16).

Eight days after birth, Jesus is circumcised and named (Luke 2:21; Matt. 1:24b), and after forty days he is presented at the temple (Luke 2:22–38).

At this point, the Holy Family either returns to Nazareth or remains in Bethlehem (which is not clear). If they returned to Nazareth, they continued to visit Jerusalem and their relatives in Bethlehem multiple times every year for the three annual pilgrimage feasts (Exod. 23:14–17; cf. Luke 2:41).

Between one and two years after the birth (cf. Matt. 2:16), the Magi arrive and are directed to Bethlehem, where they find the Holy Family (Matt. 2:1–11). They are warned in a dream to return to their country by a different route (Matt. 2:12). Also warned in a dream, the Holy Family flees to Egypt (Matt. 2:13–15) to avoid the slaughter of the innocent (Matt. 2:16–18).

When Herod the Great dies, the Holy Family then returns to Israel (Matt. 2:19–21), but Joseph learns Herod Archelaus is ruling in Judea and so takes the family to Nazareth (Matt. 2:22–23).

Jimmy Akin, A Daily Defense: 365 Days (Plus One) to Becoming a Better Apologist 

Bible In One Year Day 243 (Jeremiah 28-29, Daniel 10-11, Proverbs 16:13-16)

  You may subscribe yourself at the Ascension site here and receive notifications in your email, or just follow along on my blog.  Bible in One Year Readings Index 

Day 243: The Lord's Plan 

Agape Bible Study
Jeremiah 28-29 

Chapter 28: Jeremiah's Dispute with Hananiah

Jeremiah 28:1-4 ~ Hananiah Confronts Jeremiah

The event in this chapter dates to the fifth month of the fourth year of the reign of Zedekiah (ruled 598-587 BC) in what is probably the month of Ab/Av (July/August) in about 594/3 BC, if the reference is to the liturgical calendar. However, if it is the fifth month of the civil calendar, the month is Sebat (January/February).

Hananiah, one of the false prophets Jeremiah warned about in Chapter 27, challenged Jeremiah in the Temple and prophesied the return of the Temple vessels taken by the Babylonians in 598 BC, the return of exiled king, and people within two years (2 Kng 24:8-17; 2 Chr 36:9-10).

Jeremiah 28:5-9 ~ Jeremiah's Reply to Hananiah

Jeremiah replies that he is in favor of peace and the return of the Temple vessels, the young king, and the other people taken into exile. However, he says, this is not the outcome for Judah preached by Yahweh's prophets for the past century since the fall of the Northern Kingdom in 722 BC. He reminds the people that the test of a true prophet is the fulfillment of what he preaches (Dt 18:21-22).

Jeremiah 28:10-17 ~ The End of the Confrontation Between Jeremiah and Hananiah

Hananiah, in a display of brazen impudence, attacked Jeremiah. He broke Jeremiah's symbolic yoke (28:10) and announced it as a prophetic action, symbolizing that his message takes precedence over Jeremiah's message. His prophecy is the end of the Babylonian threat within two years. The contest between the two prophets ends in a tie and Jeremiah leaves.

In verses 13-16, God gives Jeremiah an oracle just for Hananiah. He returns to Hananiah with the new oracle of an iron yoke to symbolize the message that submission of Babylon is not a broken yoke "it is an inevitable fact. Jeremiah's prediction reinforces the symbol that Hananiah is a false prophet. Hananiah died two months later, suffering the punishment in Deuteronomy 18:20 that the chief priests intended for Jeremiah in 26:8.

Chapter 29: Jeremiah's Letter to the Exiles in Babylon

Chapter 29 divides into three sections:

1. The introduction to the letter Jeremiah sent to the Babylonian exiles in verses 1-3.
2. The content of the letter Jeremiah sent to the Babylonian exiles in verses 4-23.
3. The consequences of Jeremiah's first letter that result in a second letter in verses 24-32.

Jeremiah's letter was probably written sometime during the decade between the exile of the citizens of Judah and Jerusalem in 598 BC and the advance of the Babylonian army against a rebellious Judean King Zedekiah in 587 BC that ended in the destruction of Jerusalem in 587/6 BC. The body of Jeremiah's letter in 29:4-23 divides into five parts:

1. God's advice on how to live in exile (verses 4-7).
2. God's warnings concerning false prophets (verses 8-9).
3. The promise of God's good plans for the exiles after their return (verses 10-14).
4. The Babylonian conquest is God's doing because they refused to listen to His prophets (verses 15-20).
5. God's judgment on three false prophets who dare to claim they speak in His name (verses 21-23).

Jeremiah 29:1-3 ~ Introduction to Jeremiah's Letter to the Exiles

God commanded Jeremiah to send a letter to the Judean exiles deported to Babylonian in 598 BC with young King Jechoniah, the queen mother, ministers of the royal court, and the artisans trained in metal work and as blacksmiths.

Jeremiah 29:3c-14 ~ The Letter to the Exiles Part I: The Promised Return

Question: How does God tell His people to live in exile in verses 5-7?
Answer: They must:

1. settle down and build houses
2. sow crops and produce food
3. have families to increase their numbers
4. take an active role in being good citizens
5. pray to Yahweh for the benefit of their communities

In verses 8-10, God shares His divine plan with the exiles, warning them not to be deceived by false prophets who tell them otherwise. 29:10 is the second time Jeremiah mentions a seventy-year exile and a promised return (see 25:11-12).⁽²⁾ The seventy years is probably a rounded number and is not necessarily a literal number; it is the equivalent of a lifetime (Ps 90:10).

Jeremiah 29:15-20 ~ The Letter to the Exiles Part II: Warnings Concerning False Prophets

In verse 15, Jeremiah's letter makes the argument that in Babylon false prophets have apparently announced that God will overthrow their oppressors. The king currently occupying the "throne of David" is King Zedekiah who Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar II made his vassal king of Judah when he deposed Zedekiah's brother and nephew and took his nephew and the Queen Mother away into exile. In verses 16-20, Jeremiah portrays a scenario in which King Zedekiah and the people still left in Jerusalem and Judah will suffer further punishment at the hands of the Babylonians because they did not listen to God's prophets, like Jeremiah. In verse 17, the same rotten fig imagery is used to describe the king and the people left behind after the 589 BC exile as in Jeremiah's vision and object lesson #6 in chapter 24. The rotten fig imagery it is followed by the warning to the exiles already in Babylon to listen to "Yahweh's word" in the letter and not to behave unlike the "bad figs" who did not listen and will pay the price of their failure (verse 20).

Jeremiah 29:21-23 ~ The Letter to the Exiles Part III: The Conclusion and God's Judgment on the False Prophets Ahab and Zedekiah

Jeremiah's letter condemns two false prophets in Babylon: Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah. Both men are otherwise unknown. Zedekiah son of Maaseiah may be the brother of Zephaniah son of Maaseiah, the deputy priest of the Temple (see verses 24-28).

God will judge us on both our words and our deeds, and nothing in our lives can be hidden from Him. In warning teachers, St. James wrote: Only a few of you, my brothers, should be teachers, bearing in mind that we shall receive a stricter judgment (Jam 3:1a). It is a warning that all of us who teach must take to heart or bear the eternal consequences. The two men named in verse 21 suffered the consequences of their deeds by paying with their lives.

Jeremiah 29:24-28 ~ The Response to Jeremiah's Letter by Shemaiah

Shemaiah the Nehelamite is not a descendant of Aaron and a man from a priestly family. Notice that in the passage he is never referred to as a priest. Shemaiah took upon himself the role of priestly leadership over the people in exile. No site called Nehelam is mentioned in Scripture, nor have archaeologists identified a town by that name. Its etymology suggests a connection with the Hebrew word chalam, "to dream," and may be a reference to Shemaiah's claim as a prophet who has "dreams." Jehoiada, mentioned in verse 26, was perhaps the legitimate high priest or the deputy priest of the Temple who has been overthrown by Zephaniah son of Maaseiah. The priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah was a member of a priestly delegation sent by King Zechariah to Jeremiah asking him to consult Yahweh concerning the threats of Nebuchadnezzar in Jeremiah 21:1-2. He is named again in 37:3.

Shemaiah the Nehelamite sent an angry response regarding Jeremiah's letter to the exiles back to Jerusalem. In his letter, he demands that the chief priests in Jerusalem must put a stop to Jeremiah's inference. Jeremiah's letter has apparently contradicted the message of this false prophet who preached an immediate return from the exile and has urged the people not to settle into normal life in Babylon.

Question: What became of the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah who received Shemaiah's letter? See Jer 52:24-26.
Answer: He was put to death by the Babylonians after the fall of Jerusalem.

Jeremiah 29:29-32 ~ Jeremiah's Response to Shemaiah's Letter

After Jeremiah heard the letter from Babylon, God told Jeremiah to condemn Shemaiah as a false prophet who urged rebellion against God's divine plan, a violation of Deuteronomy 13:6, That prophet or that dreamer of dreams must be put to death, since he has preached apostasy from Yahweh your God who brought you out of Egypt and redeemed you from the place of slave-labor; and he would have diverted you from the way in which Yahweh your God has commanded you to walk. You must banish this evil from among you.

Agape Bible Study 

Daniel 10 -11 

Chapter 10
The Great Vision of the Man Dressed in Linen

St. John's vision of the glorified Christ: I turned to see who was speaking to me, and when I turned I saw seven golden lamp-stands and in the middle of them, one like a Son of man, dressed in a long robe tied at the waist with a belt of gold. His head and his hair were white with the whiteness of wool, like snow, his eyes like a burning flame, his feet like burnished bronze when it has been refined in a furnace, and his voice like the sound of the ocean [many waters].
Revelation 1:12-15

Daniel 10:1-8 ~ The Man Dressed in Linen

In Chapters 10-12, Daniel witnesses the last of his visions. It is the year 537 BC (Dan 10:1). In his final visions, he receives further insight into the great spiritual battle between God's people and the "seed of the serpent" (all those who reject God become the "seed of the serpent" in Gen 3:15). By this time, many Jews had made the journey back to their homeland, but Daniel chose to remain in Babylonia. At the time of the vision, Daniel was fasting during a three-week penance. It is uncertain if the twenty-fourth day of the first month refers to the civil or liturgical calendar. If it is the liturgical calendar, it is in the spring, several days after the Feast of Unleavened Bread that lasted from the 15^th to the 21^st. If it is the civil calendar, the first month of the new year is in the fall, and the 24^th day is several days after the final assembly of the Feast of Tabernacles. Like the prophet Ezekiel, Daniel receives this vision on a specific date and on the banks of a river (Ez 1:1).

5 I raised my eyes to look about me, and this is what I saw: A man dressed in linen, with a belt of pure gold round his waist: 6 his body was like beryl, his face looked like lightning, his eyes were like fiery torches, his arms and his face had the gleam of burnished bronze, the sound of his voice was like the roar of a multitude.
Question: Compare the description of Daniel's man dressed in linen with a belt of gold around his waist and St. John's vision in Revelation 1:13-15 of the glorified Jesus Christ.
Answer:

Daniel's Vision in Daniel 10:5-6	John's Vision in Revelation 1:13-15
A man dressed in linen, with a belt of pure gold round his waist	one like a Son of man, dressed in a long robe tied at the waist with a belt of gold.
his body was like beryl, his face looked like lightning, his eyes were like fiery torches, his arms and his face had the gleam of burnished bronze	his body was like beryl, his face looked like lightning, his eyes were like fiery torches, his arms and his face had the gleam of burnished bronze
the sound of his voice was like the roar of a multitude.	and his voice like the sound of the ocean [many waters]

The visions of Daniel and St. John are remarkably the same; therefore, many of the Church Fathers believed Daniel had a vision of the pre-Incarnate Christ, but others suggest it is an angel. He cannot be Gabriel, who Daniel knew from a previous encounter, and he cannot be Michael, the archangel, because the person in the vision will refer to Michael in verse 13. When St. John sees Christ in Heaven in the Book of Revelation, He is wearing the garment of the High Priest of the heavenly Sanctuary. The priestly vestments of the high priest and the chief priests are described in Exodus 28:1-43. The high priest and chief priests wore seamless tunics of finely woven linen. The high priest also wore elaborate woven outer garments (see the chart Liturgical Vestments of the Priests and Levites. However, on the Feast of Atonement, the High Priest only wore the seamless linen tunic and a waistband (Lev 16:3-4). The priests only wore their priestly vestments in the liturgy of worship in service to God in the Temple (Ez 42:14).

Question: What garment did Jesus wear to the Last Supper and His Crucifixion? Why was this garment significant to the event of the Last Supper and the Crucifixion? See Jn 19:23-24.
Answer: He wore a priestly seamless garment which made the Last Supper and His Crucifixion liturgical events.

7 I, Daniel, alone saw the apparition; the men who were with me did not see the vision, but so great a trembling overtook them that they fled to hide. 8 I was left alone, gazing on this great vision; I was powerless, my appearance was changed and contorted; my strength deserted me.
The men with Daniel did not witness the vision, but physically felt the power of the divine presence, and so did Daniel.

Daniel 10:9-19 ~ The Message of the Apparition
Question: The person dressed in a white linen tunic takes what three actions concerning Daniel?

Answer:

1. He assures Daniel that God chose him to receive the vision.
2. He calms Daniel's fears.
3. He tells Daniel he has come because God heard his prayers.

Daniel 10:20-11:1 ~ Prelude to the Final Prophecy by the Man Dressed in White Linen

The being that looks like a man who is wearing a white linen tunic with a belt of pure gold and first appeared to Daniel in Chapter 10 (Dan 10:5-8) continues his prophecies of the future. The "Prince of Persia" is a demon angel like the "Prince of Javan/Greece" (10:20b) who is exerting his power over those men ruling Persia and Greece in opposition to Yahweh's divine plan (see Dan 10:13). The "man" tells Daniel that Michael the Archangel (whose name means "who is like God") is "your Prince;" "your" refers to Daniel because Michael is the patron and protector of the nation of Israel. He is one of the three angels the Church venerates by name along with Gabriel and Raphael (see Dan 10:13. 21; 12:1; Jude 9; Rev 12:7).

Daniel 11:2-14 ~ Struggles and Wars Between the Greek Kings of the North and South

2"Three more kings are going to rise in Persia; a fourth will come and be richer than all the others, and when, thanks to his wealth, he has grown powerful, he will make war on all the kingdoms of Greece."
The four kings of Persia who came after Cyrus:

1. Cambyses (son of Cyrus the Great) ruled from 530-522 BC
2. Bardiya (?) ruled in 522 BC
3. Darius I, the Great (son of Hystaspes, a Persian satrap of Bactria) ruled from 522-486 BC
4. Xerxes I (son of Darius I) also called Ahasuerus, ruled from 486-465 BC; he was the husband of Esther/Hadassah (Esth 1:1) who attacked the city-states of Greece.

Xerxes is the Greek form of his Persian name Ahasuerus. The Septuagint and Flavius Josephus consistently render Ahasuerus as Artaxerxes (see Antiquities of the Jews, II.184). Xerxes the Great was the fourth king of the Achaemenid dynasty of Persia. He ruled the Persian empire at its territorial apex and is known for his attempts to conquer the city-states of mainland Greece which Alexander the Great used as his excuse for invading and conquering Persia. He ruled until 465 BC when Artabanus, the commander of his royal bodyguard, assassinated him.

All Biblical scholars and commentators, ancient and modern, believe these prophecies apply to Alexander the Great, the "great horn" of the "he-goat" in Daniel 8:5-8. After his untimely death in 323 BC from a fever at age 32, his four most powerful generals, known as the Diadokhoi, meaning "successors," divided his kingdom. St. Jerome listed his generals as Ptolemy, Seleucus, Philip, and Antigonus" (Jerome, Commentary on Daniel, 7.6). St. Theodoret list has: "The rulership of Egypt was entrusted to Ptolemy, son of Lagos; the realm of the Orient was granted to Seleucus; Antigonus acquired Asia; and Antipater Macedonia (although some say that Alexander's brother, Philip, also known as Aridaeus) acquired Macedonia" (Theodoret, Commentary on Daniel, 7.6).

Power struggles began almost immediately after Alexander's death. When the political situation stabilized, Antipater lost control of Macedonia and Greece to Cassander in 319 BC. Lysimachus was in control of Thrace and Asia Minor, Ptolemy Soter had Egypt, Palestine, and Phoenicia, while Seleucus replaced Antigonus in Babylonia and Syria. The "four winds" in verse 11 most likely refers to the four regions of the compass in the division of the Greek empire. The wars of the Diadokhoi mark the beginning of the Hellenistic period that extended Hellenistic culture from the Mediterranean to the Indus River in India.

The Syrian-Greek Seleucid Dynasty (kings of the north)

The Egyptian-Greek Ptolemaic Dynasty (kings of the south)

Seleucus I Nicator ruled 312-281 BC Antiochus I Soter ruled 281-261 BC Antiochus II Theos ruled 261-246 BC Seleucus II Callinicus ruled 246-226 BC Seleucus III Soter ruled 226-223 BC Antiochus III the Great ruled 223-187 BC Seleucus IV Philopator ruled 187-175 BC Antiochus IV Epiphanes ruled 175-164 BC Antiochus V Eupator ruled 164-162 BC Demetrius, I Soter ruled 162-150 BC Alexander Balas ruled 150-145 BC Demetrius II Nicator ruled 145-139 BC Antiochus VI Dionysus ruled 145-142 BC Antiochus VII Sidetes ruled 138-129 BC Dynastic struggles, civil wars, and regional wars ended the dynasty and made way for the Roman conquest in 63 BC.

Ptolemy I Soter ruled 323-285 BC Ptolemy II Philadelphus ruled 285-246 BC Ptolemy III Euergetes ruled 246-221 BC Ptolemy IV Philopater ruled 221-205 BC Ptolemy V Epiphanes ruled 203-180 BC Ptolemy VI Philometor ruled 180-145 BC Ptolemy VII Neos Pilopator ruled 145 BC Ptolemy VIII & Euergetes II ruled 145-116 BC Ptolemy IX Soter II (Lathyrus) ruled 116-108 BC Ptolemy X Alexander ruled 108-88 BC Ptolemy XI Alexander II ruled 80 BC Ptolemy XII Auletes ruled 80-51 BC Ptolemy XIII ruled 51-47 BC with Cleopatra VII 51-30 BC Ptolemy XIV ruled 47-44 BC with Cleopatra VII 51-30 BC Cleopatra VII ruled 51-30 BC and with her son Ptolemy XV Caesarion from 44-30 BC After Cleopatra and Marc Antony's defeat at the Battle of Actium in 30 BC, Rome controlled Egypt as a Roman province.

Antiochus IV Epiphanes persecuted the Jews and desecrated the Temple, leading to the successful revolt of the Maccabees and the rededication of the Temple in 164 BC.
Ptolemy XV Caesarion was the son of Cleopatra and Julius Caesar.

₅ The king of the south will grow powerful, but one of his princes will grow more powerful still, with an empire greater than his own.
The "king of the south" refers to Ptolemy I Soter who ruled Egypt. The focus of this part of the revelation is the struggles between the Ptolemies to the south in Egypt and the Seleucids to the north in Syria for control of the Levant that included Phoenician and Judah. Seleucus I Nicator was forced to flee his domain in 316 BC to escape from Antigonus. He then offered his services to Ptolemy, becoming "one of his princes" (see verse 11:5), and together they defeated Demetrius, son of Antigonus, at Gaza in 312 BC. Seleucus I Nicator then recovered his lost territories of Babylon and northern Syria and the other eastern provinces of Alexander's empire, consolidating his power and territory that eventually extended from Asia Minor to the Punjab in India, an empire larger than Ptolemy's control over Egypt, Phoenicia, and Judah.

Daniel 11:15-20 ~ The Prophecies of the Man Dressed in Linen Concerning the Continuing Wars of the Greek Kings
The "Land of Splendor" refers to the holy land of Israel/Judah that the Syrians subdued as a vassal state (verses 15-16). After his success in Phoenicia, Samaria, and Judah, Antiochus III "set about conquering his [Ptolemy's] entire kingdom" but then made a treaty with the Egyptians (verse 17). Antiochus was now firmly in control of Coele-Syria, but Rome was a growing power across the Mediterranean, and Antiochus feared Roman intervention. Instead, he made a treaty with Ptolemy V and sealed it by giving his daughter Cleopatra in marriage. According to St. Jerome, the formal betrothal took place in 197 BC, and the wedding in 193 at Raphia when Cleopatra was of marriageable age. Antiochus hoped to control Ptolemy through his daughter, but she proved to be loyal to her husband and urged Ptolemy to make an alliance with the Romans which would turn out to be a calamity for the Syrians.

Daniel 11:21-28 ~ The Prophecy of the Wicked King

Seleucus IV Philopator's successor was the vilest of the Seleucid kings, Antiochus IV Epiphanes. He was the son of Antiochus III the Great who assumed the throne after the murder of his elder brother Seleucus and his nephew Demetrius in 175 BC (verse 21). He had been a valuable and well-treated hostage in Rome since 190 BC, after the Roman victory against the Syrians at the Battle of Magnesia. He returned to claim the throne of the Greek Seleucid Kingdom and launched a diabolical and systematic persecution of the Jews.

Daniel 11:40-45 ~ The End of the Persecutor

Verses 40-45 give a prediction of Antiochus last endeavors. There may have been a third war against Egypt that is unknown in the historical record, or the verses may be a summary of his last Egyptian war that ended with his withdrawal from Egypt and his ravaging of Judah. Daniel 8:25 predicted he will be broken but not by human hand. What is not in the prediction is Antiochus' eastern campaign against Judah in 165 BC, his defeat by the rebellion of the Maccabees, the rededication of the Temple in December 164 BC, and the fulfillment of the prophecy concerning his painful death from a mysterious disease in late 164 BC in Persia when he is struck down by "not by human hand."

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A Daily Defense 

DAY 243 “The Firstborn of All Creation”

CHALLENGE":“Jesus is a created being. Paul describes him as the ‘firstborn of all creation’ (Col. 1:15).”

DEFENSE: Without knowledge of the relevant context, the phrase “firstborn of all creation” could suggest Jesus was the first created being. However, context makes it clear this isn’t the case.

The term “firstborn” had a special meaning in Jewish society. A firstborn male was sacred to God (Exod. 13:1, 11–15) and had special rights (Deut. 21:15–17).

With time, “firstborn” became a title of privilege that didn’t necessarily indicate a literal firstborn male. Thus God says he will make David his firstborn (Ps. 89:20, 27), though David was the last son in his family (1 Sam. 16:10–11). In context, the reference to David as God’s firstborn is clarified as “the highest of the kings of the earth,” indicating a position of preeminence, not of age. Similarly, God describes Israel as his firstborn (Exod. 4:22), though Israel was not chronologically the first nation. God also describes Ephraim as his firstborn (Jer. 31:9), though Ephraim was not the chronologically first tribe.

It is as a title of preeminence that the term “firstborn” is used for Jesus in the first-century hymn to Christ that Paul records in Colossians 1:15–20. In the ancient world, hymns were sung to deities, and this hymn puts Christ in that class. He is the firstborn “of” creation in that he is preeminent over creation, the same way David was king “of” Israel—i.e., king over Israel.

That Jesus is not a created being is indicated by what the hymn says next: “For in him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. He is before all things. . . . He is the beginning . . . that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell” (Col. 1:16–19).

If all things were created through Christ, if he existed before all things, then he is not a created being. (Jehovah’s Witnesses put the word “other” between “all” and “things” to avoid the implication Christ isn’t a created being, but that’s not what the Greek says.) Jesus possessed “the fullness of God” and thus had equality with God (John 5:18, Phil. 2:6).

Jimmy Akin, A Daily Defense: 365 Days (Plus One) to Becoming a Better Apologist