In the book of Daniel, Daniel said the little horn, “waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stomped upon them. Yes, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down”, and in chapter eight and verse twelve of his book Daniel said about the little horn, “an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression” where we read,
And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression,
and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practiced, and prospered.
The verse reads, “And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, …” Daniel began with the words, “and an host” or “and an army such as those who go out to war” “was given him” which means “was granted, ascribed and consecrated to him, the little horn” “against the daily sacrifice” or “in opposition to the day by day continual and perpetual offering” “by reason of transgression” which means “through the cause pertaining to rebellion, revolt and sin”. Daniel shared how the “army of heaven” was restrained from responding to the rebellion of this little horn.
The verse continues, “… and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practiced, and prospered.” Daniel added the words, “and it cast down the truth” or “and it, the little horn, opposed and threw to the ground that which is truthful, firm, reliable, faithful and sure” “to the ground” which means “to the land or earth”; “and it practiced” or “and it, the little horn, did works, produced and advanced”, “and prospered” which means “and made progress, was profitable and successful”. Daniel said the “little horn” overthrew that which is truthful, and his works were profitable and successful.
When we consider the words in this verse, we discover through Daniel how this “little horn” not only abolished the worship practices within God’s sacred temple, but also abolished that which is faithful and true. Whatever he did not only advanced, but also was profitable and successful. We may wonder, how could these things be? God has His purposes for every person, even those who do not align with Him. We shall see the fate of this man, the little horn, will not be good in his future, but for that time period, God will use Him. God desires to have an intimate personal relationship with everyone, and when He sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind and raised Him from the dead after three days, He made the way for all who put their faith and trust in Him to be forgiven of their sins, granted everlasting life and given understanding through His Holy Spirit about His oversight of all the affairs of people, even when they are opposed to His “truth” and ways.
Next time Daniel shares how one saint asks another, “How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation?”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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