And out of one of them came a little horn which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the Glorious Land. And it grew up to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and some of the stars to the ground, and trampled them. He even exalted himself as high as the Prince of the host; and by him the daily sacrifices were taken away, and the place of His sanctuary was cast down. Because of transgression, an army was given over to the horn to oppose the daily sacrifices; and he cast truth down to the ground. He did all this and prospered.
NKJV
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Daniel sees a vision four hundred years before the reign of Antiochus IV, the little horn represented in Daniel 8. Antiochus came on the scene burning the scriptures, forbidding the Sabbath from being celebrated, not allowing Jewish children to be circumcised, persecuting the Jewish people who wouldn't submit to the Greek gods, and ultimately desecrating the temple by killing a pig and spreading its juices all over the altar. Then there came a revolt, known as the Maccabean revolt, in which Judas Maccabees led an army to push back the Greek army. The Jewish people rededicated the temple to the Lord and cleansed it, as predicted in Daniel 8:14. This was commonly referred to as the Feast of Dedication, which Jesus even recognized (John 10:22), but is known to us today as Hanukkah. Hanukkah celebrates this re-dedication where a single cruse of oil, which was supposed to keep the lampstand burning for one day, lasted eight days instead. Friend, as followers of Jesus we are God's temple (1 Cor 6:19). We too have the potential of getting defiled and desecrated by what we allow in our hearts and lives spiritually. It should shock us, as it did Daniel, to see anything in our lives that we put in place of the Lord in our worship. Romans 12:1-2 2 Corinthians 10:5 Take the time to put the Lord first in every area of your life. Anything else apart from Him will defile you, but even when you slip and fall you can turn back to Jesus and rededicate the temple of your life back to Him. Life Lesson: ANYTHING that desecrates our temple (body) we need to eliminate from our lives so that the dedication of our lives will shine all the more brightly for the Lord. Lord,
Living to tell what He died to say, |
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 Scripture quotations marked "NKJV™" are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. |
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