13 Be Strong, Yes, Be Strong!

* We have been studying the book of Daniel for the past three months. We have been considering the incredible impact of his God through his life and writings. In chapter 1, we learned that Daniel began serving Nebuchadnezzar at the beginning of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, and that he continued serving the rulers of Babylon and then Persia until the first year of Cyrus. We have seen that there was a great probability that it was Daniel who probably informed Cyrus that YHWH had prophesied regarding him, by name, through the prophet Isaiah, and that YHWH had also declared that they would be under Babylonian rule for seventy years. Hence, that is probably why Cyrus, in the first year of his reign, decreed that the Jewish people would be allowed to return to their land and rebuild the Temple of YHWH! * Over the past five weeks we have been considering the prophetic portion of Daniel's writing. It is amazing to see the great detail which YHWH declared the future happenings of Israel, specifically as it dealt with the nation of Greece. That detail will become even more profound over these next three weeks as we consider the final portion of Daniel's book. Chapters 10 through 12 deal with one longer prophetic revelation which actually covers two different portions of Israel's future history: The Time of the Persians and Greeks and the Time of the End. * A detail that is very interesting is that this revelation comes to Daniel AFTER the decree of Cyrus for the Jews to rebuild the Temple! Daniel ministered unto the 1st year of Cyrus. This prophecy comes during the third year of Cyrus! Daniel, in a sense, is retired ... but not as a prophet! * Today, we will look at the Prologue to these prophecies, where we are introduced to the two primary characters - the Prophet of God and the Messenger of God, and their interactions. Next week, Lord willing we will look at the prophecy regarding The Time of the Persians and Greeks, and then conclude this series with a consideration of the prophecy regarding The Time of the End. * This message was presented on March 27, 2022 by Bob Corbin.