Finding Jesus in the Book of Daniel

In fact, of all the men of God who are given extensive biographical treatment in the Bible, only Daniel lacks a single character flaw or incident of shortcoming. And yet, in chapter 9 he accepts personal responsibility for the sins of his people. His anguished prayer of repentance on behalf of the Jews was motivated by his awareness that the time of exile was almost over. Anticipating the fulfillment of God’s promise, Daniel’s prayerful plea became, “O Lord hear! O Lord, forgive, O Lord, listen and take action! For Your own sake, O my God, do not delay…” Daniel 9:19). His insight came from reading and understanding Bible prophecy.

Living as he did 2,600 years ago, Daniel lacked the hindsight we have today. Even with his gift of prophetic discernment he could not understand the breadth of what was revealed to him. As we witness prophetic signs being fulfilled before our eyes, we can see the pieces falling in place. And, as the writer of Hebrews said, that should spur us to encourage one another “all the more as [we] see the day drawing near” (Hebrews 10:25).

For those who read and study God’s prophetic Word today, the signs of the times are clear. We are living on borrowed time. Very soon, Jesus is coming for His Church (the Bride of Christ). We pray that you are crying out as Daniel did, “For your own sake, O my God, do not delay…”

Key Verse: Daniel 2:22 It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things; He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with Him.

Explanation: The omniscience of God is a concept too fantastic to be fully grasped by the mind of man. How can God know the course of history from beginning to end—let alone the thought and intent of every human heart? How can He weave all things together for our good and His glory without imposing His immutable will on creatures He determined to give free will?

Theologians have wrestled with questions like these since God began to reveal Himself. An obvious limitation to human understanding is the size of our brain and the scope of our experience. That is why the pronouncements of committed atheists are so pathetic. With a 3-pound brain, a 70-80 year lifespan of self-awareness, and mortal experience limited to 5 senses and one lone planet in the universe, they dare to declare “there is no God.” No wonder God laughs at such foolishness (Psalm 2)!

There is pointedly no other so-called god or entity who has given prophecies that have been and continue to be demonstrably fulfilled. That is why God Himself mocked the very idea, saying:

I am the first and I am the last, and there is no God besides Me. Who is like Me? Let him proclaim and declare it; yes, let him recount it to Me in order, from the time that I established the ancient nation. And let them declare to them the things that are coming and the events that are going to take place. (Isaiah 44:6-7)

Some express frustration that they cannot know every facet of God’s will. They reject what has been revealed because they do not see with perfect clarity—ignoring the reality that the finite mind of man cannot fathom all that God knows. Even regarding the wonder of the Gospel, Paul cited Isaiah 64:4 and wrote, “Things which the eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered into the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Corinthians 2:9).

In the end, God has revealed enough for us to be without excuse. We are not held liable for failing to understand what He has not chosen to reveal; we are condemned for refusing to believe what He has chosen to reveal. Such rejection blasphemes God’s own testimony about Himself.

I once had a roommate who argued against the Gospel by concocting a series of arguments. He finally expressed reluctance because he could not understand how a merciful God could condemn an imaginary man living a life of solitude on a deserted island. My response was that he would not stand before God Almighty to answer for that imaginary man, but that with the knowledge of the Gospel I had carefully shared with him, he would answer for himself. What would he do with this Jesus who is called Christ? (Matthew 27:22).

Rightfully did Moses recognize, “the secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law” (Deuteronomy 29:29).

The LORD’s self-testimony to Isaiah sums it up: “Before Me there was no God formed, and there will be none after Me. I, even I, am the LORD, and there is no Savior besides Me” (Isaiah 43:11b-12).

Key Verse: Daniel 2:44 In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever.

Explanation: The breadth and scope of the visions given to Daniel boggle the mind—and are worthy of much longer treatment than this format will allow. We will return to Daniel’s prophecies again and again.

This verse points to the glorious Millennial Kingdom of Jesus Christ that will in turn give way to the eternal state.

Kingdoms and empires come and go on the earth. When Daniel penned these words, the Babylonian empire was near its height. Daniel foretold that it would be followed in succession by the Medo-Persian Empire, the Greek Empire, and the Roman Empire. One by one, each of those empires met its demise. In the past 2,000 years, other empires have risen and fallen—including the Ottoman Empire, the British Empire, the Holy Roman Empire (which was neither holy nor Roman!), Japan’s empire of the rising sun, the Nazi “Third Reich,” and the USSR. All of those are in the ash heap of history or fallen from preeminence.

Thirty years ago, the United States stood alone as the sole superpower in the world. Just three decades later China has matched us in economic influence. Our time of predominance is waning. Given enough time, we will go the way of every other empire of men.

But, while there are still men upon the earth, God will establish His Son on the throne of His father, David. Jesus will reign on earth—as He already does in heaven. When that happens, the petty kingdoms of men will be crushed. The stone the builders rejected—“cut out of the mountain without hands” in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream—will become great and fill the whole earth (Daniel 2:44, 35).

When Jesus walked on the earth 2,000 years ago, He proclaimed the Kingdom of God to be “at hand.” His Kingdom was not of this earth, as He told Pontius Pilate in John 18:36. But it is coming to earth soon. And when it does, God’s Will will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Jesus fulfilled the prophecies pointing to His first Advent. As Peter and the other apostles preached in Acts, fulfilled Bible prophecy validates the person and divinity of Christ. His Second Coming will fulfill other prophecies pointing to His glorious reign—with the same perfection His first coming fulfilled God’s prophetic Word.

When Gabriel appeared to Mary, he declared a seven-part prophecy: “Behold, you will 1) conceive in your womb and 2) bear a son, and 3) you shall name Him Jesus. 4) He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and 5) the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and 6) He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and 7) His kingdom will have no end” (Luke 1:31-33). The first five prophecies were fulfilled in the life of Jesus. Prophecies 6 and 7 await His return for their fulfillment.

Gabriel merely confirmed what had already been revealed to Daniel: “God will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed… It will endure forever.”

Maranatha! Godspeed!! Come quickly, Lord Jesus!

Tim Moore: Well, praise the Lord. And obviously Dr. Reagan has loved to come to Kentucky. We have a lot of folks from Kentucky, we consider this the promised land, other than Israel. But I’m always glad to come home, because obviously I’m from Kentucky. Well, we originally got connected Doug because you wrote a wonderful book called, “And Then The End Will Come.” And the opening line on the very back cover is what caught my eye first of all. You wrote, “We’re living in the most exciting times since Jesus walked the earth.” And that is a message that resonates in my heart because we tell people the same thing, open your eyes, we are living in Bible times right now. What did you mean by that statement?

Doug Cobb: My mentor Paul Eshleman who for many years ran the Jesus Film Project, and then ran Finishing the Task, who has really dedicated his life to this task of finishing the Great Commission. He said many times that if he could live at any time in history he would choose to live today because so many things are coming together. We are seeing the culmination of the entire Church Age, I think, in our generation. My particular piece of that is I believe that we will be privileged to be the generation to cross the finish line of the Great Commission. Which is a big deal.

Tim Moore: Wow.

Doug Cobb: But I think that opens the door for other exciting things, even more exciting things that will follow that. So, I agreed with my friend Paul, that this is the most exciting time, probably since Jesus walked the earth.

Tim Moore: I couldn’t agree more. As a matter of fact, I think that people sometimes think we are just going about life as it always has been. But saints throughout the ages looked forward to seeing signs that we take for granted today because they are happening all about us. And Doug so many people again throughout human history have thought that history just flows along without any real purpose or meaning, and whether overtly or subconsciously they reflect the scoffer’s attitude of 2 Peter 3:4 where Peter wrote of these scoffers they would say, “Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the father fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.” But Daniel and the rest of the prophets specially said that the events would accelerate as the end draws near. And Daniel himself told about prophecies that we are seeing fulfilled in our own day and age, and he advises us, Paul as well in 2 Thessalonians 5:4 that we should not allow the day to overtake us as a thief in the night.

Doug Cobb: Yeah, we should be awake, not asleep like those in the darkness. Right? Yeah, I think often about the generations of believers who have come before us who have worked on these missions that we are now close to seeing completed, with no hope of seeing it done. You know those courageous first Christians, Paul and Barnabas, and Silas who went out to take the Gospel for the first time to Turkey, to Asia Minor, to Europe. And then the heroes of the 19th Century who went for the first time to China, and India and Burma and endured incredible hardships, with really no hope of seeing every nation engaged with the Gospel. And yet, here we are right at the finish line, right on the final lap of the race. Sadly though, almost nobody is aware that these things are true. You know Barna says that most believers in churches don’t even know what the Great Commission is. They can’t really give you a great definition of it. And very, very few have any sense of the impending conclusion of it. And I just love telling that story and helping to get people excited about what is happening in our day.

Tim Moore: Well, it is certainly exciting to know what is happening if you’ll just open your eyes to see. And so, look around and not at the gloom and doom, but at what is excitingly happening to fulfill the promises of God. You know we’ll turn to some very specific prophecies in just a minute, but we have to point out that there are false prophets of prosperity today that would tend to tell Christians and believers there is nothing instore for us but good in terms of physical and material blessing. And that is directly contradicted by what Jesus said in John 16:33, He said, “in the world you will have trouble.” And I think Daniel is instructive to us today who want to be faithful to God because He makes it clear we will be prosecuted, and persecuted. He was a righteous man, and yet he was persecuted time and time again, as were his friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And so, we know that those men in those ancient times exhibited tough faith. For instance, what did his three friends do when threatened with a fiery furnace?

Doug Cobb: Yeah, well they were told to worship this statue that Nebuchadnezzar had set up and they just refused to do it. Not out of obstinacy, but out of reverence for the true living God who said, you’ll worship only Me. And they weren’t going to be persuaded to change their minds even by the fear of death.

Tim Moore: And to use a phrase from today, Nebuchadnezzar decided to enact a cancel culture. What was he going to do?

Doug Cobb: Yeah, if you don’t do this, into the fire.

Tim Moore: Into the fire. Yeah, we think that somebody is going to cancel us off social media, but that is the least of the worries of people who are threatened with death, and horrific tragic death as those guys were.

Doug Cobb: Yeah, exactly.

Tim Moore: And yet, beautifully, because they were faithful what happened even as they were cast into the fire?

Doug Cobb: Yeah, so he says, he brings the threat right to a head and personalizes it, you will be put in the fire. And there is this beautiful response that they give where they express their faith in God, but their willingness to die if necessary. Where they say, “Our God can save us, and He will save us, but even if He doesn’t save us we are still not going to bow down and worship this thing that you have put up.” I love it. He can, and He will, but even if He doesn’t we are still not going to change our minds.

Tim Moore: We are going to remain faithful. That is tough faith. We talk about having tough love. Tough hope. But that is tough faith demonstrated. And beautifully their faith in God’s deliverance actually convicted and convinced that pagan king. So, how did he respond to what he witnessed there in the flames?

Doug Cobb: Yeah, he looks into the furnace and he’s obviously shocked, he says, “Didn’t we throw three people in there bound?” And of course, everybody said, “Yeah, that is right.” “Well, how come I’m seeing four people walking around in there? And one of them,” he says, “is like a son of the gods.” And I was just teaching this this weekend in my Sunday School class, pretty evidently that would be a preincarnate appearance of Jesus, a Theophany or Christophany in the technical language.

Tim Moore: Yes, and it is a beautiful picture because I believe personally that was Jesus Christ right there with those guys, protecting them, preserving them. And even if they had perished He would have protected and preserved them because of the faith they demonstrated. And that is true for us today. If we will be faithful to the Lord He will protect and preserve us. We may undergo different trials and tribulations, but our hope is not in this life, it is in the life eternal.

Doug Cobb: You know, Tim one thing that we get to do through the Finishing Fund is support these folks who are willing to go to these last people groups that no one has ever been to, in some of the hardest places on earth. India. China. And in these groups they face tremendous persecution and they are ostracized if they become Christians. It is real for them. It maybe coming for us. But you know if we can see those people standing firm, being faithful we can stand with them through whatever happens to come.

Tim Moore: We certainly can. And I think Daniel also is instructive in this regard. You know today you hear Christians express frustration that our society and our culture is turning against Christian faith, and it certainly is. But Daniel lived in a pagan kingdom, where again, his life, the life of his friends were threatened because of their obedience to God. And yet, he remained faithful while living and serving in that very pagan kingdom. And he recorded numerous visions because he was faithful the Lord gave him insight. For example, you know we talk about Nebuchadnezzar and his great statue that he envisioned, and Daniel described what that meant. But Daniel later saw a parallel vision of beasts, from God’s perspective representing the same series of kingdoms. And yet, Daniel, again because he was faithful was privileged to see in a vision the Ancient of Days sitting on His very throne in Heaven.

Doug Cobb: This is worth getting exactly right.

Tim Moore: It is worth getting exactly right.

Doug Cobb: This is a beautiful passage out of Daniel 7 it says, “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and the peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.” And there are so many unbelievable things in that, but you know Jesus frequently called Himself the Son of Man, that was one of His favorite titles for Himself. He used this exact image. “You will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of Heaven.” It was got Him convicted in His trial of blasphemy. But then there is this mention here, this Old Testament mention of the Great Commission, “all nations, and peoples of every language,” that God’s Gospel kingdom is going to include every nation, every people group on the face of the earth. What a beautiful promise that is.

Tim Moore: It is a beautiful promise. I know it is one that resonates in your heart. And it is thrilling to me to see Daniel present Jesus Christ as the Son of Man who is coming with the clouds. I will, before we move back to that focus, which obviously this series is about Jesus in the Old Testament, Daniel also provides us one other example I think that is worthy of emulating. And that is, as I said, Daniel was a man who was righteous in his day and age. And yet, when he recognized that the time of God’s prophetic promise, the 70-year exile was drawing to an end, Daniel took upon himself to do what on behalf of his nation and his people who were straying from the Lord?

Doug Cobb: You know there are certain mountaintop chapters in the Bible, and Daniel chapter 9 would be one of those.

Tim Moore: Yes.

Doug Cobb: And it begins with this high priestly prayer of Daniel. Now he is not a priest, technically, right he’s a government official, but he prays this prayer of repentance and positions himself actually as the repenter on the behalf of his people. He’s probably the most righteous man among all of the Israelites at that time, among all of the Jews. But he stands in their place. It’s really a beautiful image, it is a type really of what Jesus did standing in our place, taking our sins on Himself, and making atonement for us to the Father.

Tim Moore: That is a beautiful sentiment. He does become a type of Christ in that role.

Doug Cobb: He does.

Tim Moore: And I know lot of people today lament the state of our nation, the world itself. How many of us take personally a sense of responsibility to repent on behalf of the human race, on behalf of our society, on behalf of our family, let alone on my daily short comings. So, Daniel I think is a great exemplar. We both already touched on this likely Christophany and the type of the messiah that is represented in Daniel, but he also talked about the timing of the Messiah’s return. He said that the Messiah would arrive after 69 weeks, and then He would be cut off, and after an unknown interval a coming prince would make a covenant with the Jews for a week, but will renege halfway through that period of time, and then the rebuilt temple would be desolated once again. So, we understand that Daniel 9 and 12 point to this horrible period that we refer to as the Tribulation and to the coming Antichrist. But even in the midst of that prophecy there is hope. What is that?

Doug Cobb: The hope is that right after that Jesus comes back.

Tim Moore: Amen. Amen.

Doug Cobb: So, in the book I talk about that things are probably going to get harder for us as the end gets nearer. We’re not used to that very much in the United States. We’ve been safe and free here, but probably it is going to get harder. But the good news is that is not going to last very long. Because that artificial kingdom, worldwide kingdom of the Antichrist is going to be swept away, and the permanent true kingdom of Jesus Christ will be established.

Tim Moore: Well, I can hardly wait. You know night lasts for a moment, but the day is coming. So, things are growing darker, but the dawn will arrive and with that the sun. Chapter 12 focuses on the end times in particular, I know that resonates with your heart.

Doug Cobb: It does.

Tim Moore: So, in addition to addressing the Tribulation, and the Rapture, or the Resurrection Daniel offers us some clues about how we can discern that the end times is imminent.

Doug Cobb: Verse 4 of Daniel 12, it is almost a throw away verse, you could read the book a hundred times and never pay attention to it. But what it says is that at the time of the end that human knowledge and human movement will increase dramatically. And in my book I go into some kind of examination of that idea, but I don’t think that there is any question that we are living in the time of the greatest explosion of knowledge that anyone has ever seen. Some people think that knowledge may be doubling on a daily basis now, and of course no one can even begin to hold a part of that in their head.

But also, transportation. I like to think about the fact that 200 years ago the fastest that anybody had ever moved from one place to another was a fast as a horse could gallop, maybe 20-30 mile per hour.

Tim Moore: Briefly.

Doug Cobb: And not for very long, right. And then of course trains come, 80 mph, oh, my goodness. And then the DC-3 200 miles per hour, oh my gosh. And now, we take it for granted that we can get on an airplane and go 600 miles per hour, and distances have been dissolved by that really. So, that little verse, verse 4 that seems like well, gosh what could that be? Perfectly describes the era that we are living in. It is one more clue, I think, that we are living in the time of Jesus’ return.

Tim Moore: I do as well. Every time I take a group to Israel, which we’ll do usually once a year, or twice people complain, wow, that was a long flight. And I say, “Well, what you did in a matter of hours would have taken weeks, just 100-150 years ago, even on a steamship as Mark Twain did.” Well, believe it or not I find it encouraging to know that as wise and discerning as Daniel was, and he was gifted with visions, even he grew frustrated that he could not understand all that he was recording about the visions the Lord was revealing to him. So, how did God respond when Daniel voiced his inability to understand? And how does that response motivate our excitement that Jesus is coming soon even today?

Doug Cobb: Yeah, I love the fact that Daniel asks a question, I didn’t understand so I asked a question, what do these things mean? And the answer is a little ambiguous, but the angel actually gives him a pretty interesting little hint in verses 11 and 12 of chapter 12, that I think may be very significant actually. Most commentators on Daniel kind of slide past verse 11-12, not clear at all what they mean. But I think that 11 and 12 maybe a chapter 12 parallel to the chapter 9 verses that we were talking about. Chapter 9 talking about the First Coming of the Messiah, verses 11 & 12 of chapter 12 talking about the Second Coming of the Messiah. It would make sense to me that if God would reveal that to anybody, He would reveal it to Daniel.

Tim Moore: So, what would you assume is part of the timing that that sets up in this portion of chapter 12?

Doug Cobb: Well, I think it points to the time we are living in as the time of the return. The key to understanding those verses is picking the beginning point. It talks about the end of the sacrifice. And folks have a number of different ideas, that may be a future sacrifice that hasn’t even been started yet, that maybe ended, that is possibly. It may refer to the Romans in 70 AD, or Antiochus Epiphanes at the time of the Maccabees. But I think in context if you said that to Daniel, the end of the sacrifice, what would come to his mind would be sometime during the Babylonian captivity when the Babylonians had leveled the temple and ended the sacrifice. So, in the context of the conversation, I think it refers to that point in time, and then begins an interval that points into the future, kind of like chapter 9 does, and points to a time right around the time that we are living. We can’t know precisely because we don’t know when that sacrifice ended, but we can know generally when that time would be.

You mentioned earlier about mountain tops in prophecy, and how I think even the prophets themselves sometimes stood on a mountaintop, metaphorically, gazing ahead and they could see other peaks, but what they couldn’t discern is how deep, and how wide were the valleys between those peaks. And anybody who has traveled the mountains understands this. You see a mountain and you say, oh, that is just right around the corner, but if you travel there you’ve got to wind and wend it is many more miles than you anticipate. But the other beautiful thing in the response to Daniel’s question of I don’t understand, in verse 9 it says, “Go your way Daniel, for these words are concealed and sealed up until the end of time.” And then at the end of verse 10 when it talks about many will be purged, purified, and refined it said, “Those who have insight will understand.” And what that tells me is even this great prophet didn’t have the perspective at that moment in human history. But now as we look back, we have a lot of hindsight on things, we know who Jesus was because He has come. Daniel was looking forward to this coming Son of God, but we can see that in hindsight. So, there are things that we can understand more clearly today.

Tim Moore: That he couldn’t.

Doug Cobb: That he couldn’t. Think about that in the context of just our own lives. Often God’s answer to will you explain this to me is, not yet, you don’t need to know that, or I’ll tell you when the time is right. Corrie Ten Boom tells that great story of her father saying, “When do I give you the ticket when we’re traveling on the train? Just before we board. You don’t need it now; you will need it then.” So, I think that is true in the Scriptures too, that God often will say, you don’t need to know that now. Acts would be an example of that. The disciples asked, “When are you coming back?” And He says, “Go tell everybody about Me, don’t worry about that. It’s not your problem.”

Tim Moore: My famous adage is I can’t wait until I get some patience. And so, I’m an impatient person by nature, but in this regard I’m willing to wait upon the Lord, because Scripture tells me to wait upon the Lord and trust that He has the timing perfectly in hand. And He certainly does. Well, Doug this returns us back to your book that offers great hope to Christians today because you argue that we are at the brink of reaching every people group on the earth with the Gospel. And I’ve seen studies of how many people groups there are, so this tribe, or this dialect. And literally we have worked through thousands, it was down to hundreds just a few years ago. And you say either through verbal, or in print sharing of the Gospel, we are virtually on the brink of completing that great commission to every tribe, tongue and nation on the earth. When that happens what do you suggest? So, tell us a little bit more about just the thesis of your book, and what that will mean?

Doug Cobb: So, this is an amazing thing that is happening out of about 12,000, few more than that, of these people groups on earth. We are down to the last couple of 100 that nobody has ever been to tell them about Jesus. And hundreds are being reached every year for the first time, so we are really, really close. I hope we will be started in all of them by the end of 2022. God may have a different plan about that, that’s what I’ve been praying about and working toward, I hope maybe that will be the case. But really what excites me about that is this promise of Matthew 24:14, that chapter very familiar to students of Bible prophecy. The disciples ask at the beginning what will be the sign of Your coming and the end of the age? Jesus describes a lot of things wars, rumors of war, apostasy, persecution. But in verse 14 He says, “This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a witness to all nations, and then the end will come.” I think it is probably the most definitive answer in the Bible to when the second coming of Jesus will be, in a direct response to a question about that. And I think that when we finish, that opens the door, in a way that it would not have been opened up to that point. I think about like this, Jesus gave us a job to do, go tell everybody about me, make disciples of every nation. I’ll come back when you’re done. And so, I want to hurry and get that done. I’d like to see His return.

Tim Moore: Well, and you actually point out the passage in 2 Peter where it refers mysteriously to our ability to hasten that day.

Doug Cobb: Yes, isn’t it interesting.

Tim Moore: And so, we have—I don’t understand how that works, but I just read the passage and I say, alright Lord there is a role I play in fulfilling what you’ve commanded to quote on quote hasten that day. He knows the timing, I don’t, but I still have a job to do. Well, your book also offers other signs, nine of them to be specific pointing to the imminent or soon return of Jesus Christ. What are some of those signs you see culminating as you mentioned as we opened?

Doug Cobb: Well, I mean one would be one that is familiar to your audience which is the reestablishment of the nation of Israel. I think Jesus pretty clearly in Matthew 24 promises that the generation that is alive to witness that event will also be alive to witness His return. We can’t know exactly how long that is. You know how many years a generation is? Does that mean a little baby born then will still be alive? I mean there is mysteries about that. And you know of course that regathering of Israel is one of the most amazing things in the history of the world. I personally think it is one of the greatest apologies for the existence of a sovereign God that you can make. Especially when you realize that He prophesied the scattering of the nation in Deuteronomy 28, and the regathering of it in Deuteronomy 30, before they even came into the land He already said that thousands of years in the future I’ll do these things. So, that would be one powerful one.

In Matthew 24, Luke 21 the Gospel writers talk about that the days of Jesus’ return will be like the days of Noah, and the days of Lot. I think there is double meaning in that. One level would be the people will be surprised in the same way that the people at that time were surprised by the judgment. But it is interesting that he picks those two particular instances of particular wickedness in the world. And so, I expect that we will see what we are seeing, which is increasing wickedness in our culture. The decline of our culture, really the breakdown of it. And I would expect that to continue to get worse until we see the return of Jesus.

Tim Moore: I would too. And using those examples the angels went and Lot was demonstrating a life of righteousness even in the midst of paganism. And Noah was a preacher of righteousness. So, even as the world grows darker, and more wicked we should continue to preach righteousness through our lives, through our testimony, through the sharing of the Gospel. And so, a lot of people right now, some of our viewers perhaps are consumed with fear and anxiety. And if that is the case regardless of wars or rumors of wars, economic stress, moral and cultural degradations, when we as Christians are tempted to despair we are instead commanded to exercise, as Daniel and his friends did tough faith. What would you say to our viewers to encourage them in such a time as this?

Doug Cobb: You know a verse that I’ve been trying to employ in my own life is from 2 Corinthians 4 where Paul says, “Therefore we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” So, we tend to get our eyes pretty fixed on politics, or culture or Covid or whatever it is that is happening and there are plenty of those things to look at, and we are naturally drawn to those things. But what Paul is advising there is, no, let’s keep our eyes on the unseen kingdom of God, because that is the thing that is more real, more permanent, more eternal than any of these things that we are worried about today. So, hard to do but really worth while if you can do it.

Tim Moore: Well, Doug thank you for your time, and for investing in the Great Commission.

Doug Cobb: Thank you.

Closing

Tim Moore: It is impossible to capture the book of Daniel in a single episode of Christ in Prophecy. We’ve discussed this book many times before and will return to it again if the Lord tarries.

Nathan Jones: Daniel exhibited tough faith and while exiled in a pagan land. We are also exiles, living in an increasingly pagan land. Yet, we too are called to be faithful. God is able to protect US in this evil age, but more importantly, He has promised eternal life to all who put their faith in Him.

Tim Moore: Daniel saw one like a Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven. Jesus relished that title: Son of Man. That prophetic Christophany also points to His glorious Second Coming, something we look forward to with great anticipation.

Nathan Jones: The power of prophecy is captured in our two Key Verses from Daniel. We hope you are picking your own key verses and invite you to visit our website to read our key verse commentary.

Tim Moore: Doug Cobb’s book “And Then the End Will Come” offers exciting insights to end times prophecies given by Daniel, Jesus, and others throughout Scripture. He encourages us to be proactive about obeying the Lord until He calls us to Himself.

For a gift of only $20, including shipping, we’ll be glad to send you a copy of “And Then the End Will Come.” This book will explain how God wants you to partner with Him to share His Gospel plan with the world, and why the task is so urgent!

Nathan Jones: Christians of old may have lacked clear understanding of end times prophecies. But they were highly motivated to share the Gospel, live holy lives, and keep their eyes on our Savior. At Lamb & Lion Ministries, we advocate a hunger for understanding Bible prophecy, but we also encourage urgent evangelism, holy living, and, yes, keeping our eyes on Jesus.

Tim Moore: Well, that’s all the time we have today. Until next week, this is Tim Moore and Nathan Jones, saying, Look up, be watchful, for the Son of Man whose kingdom will include people from every language is drawing near.

End of Program