Dr. David Jeremiah Presents
Living inthe Ageof Signs
Online Destination
Living in the Age of Signs
Online Destination
Sign 2
Hyssop
Today’s Audio Devotion:
Hyssop
Some of the flowers mentioned in the Bible are unknown to us in the West. Hyssop is an example of a flowering plant known in the Middle East and southern Europe but unfamiliar to us. It is a shrub-like plant up to two feet tall with woody stems which grow upright, producing leaves and small fragrant flowers in the summer. Cutting and bundling the stems with their leaves intact produces a brush-like tool for dipping and “painting” liquids.
In Egypt, on the night of the first Passover, the Hebrew slaves were instructed to take “a bunch of hyssop,” dip it in a basin of blood from a sacrificial lamb, and spread the blood on the doorposts of their house (Exodus 12:22). The blood would be a sign to “the destroyer” to pass over that house (verse 23). David recalled that imagery when his own sins were found out and he needed to be cleansed: “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean.”
Thank God today that Jesus is the sacrificial Lamb of God whose blood takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29).
‘Twas grace that gave me to the Lamb, who all my sorrows took.
Philip Doddridge
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Some 2,600 years ago, God gave King Nebuchadnezzar a dream. In this dream, the king saw a five–part statue made of five different metals (see Daniel 2). Each section represented an empire, beginning with Nebuchadnezzar's Babylon. Four of these empires have already risen and fallen in history—a clear fulfillment of Daniel's prophetic interpretation. The fifth and final empire indicates a future Europe—a ten nation coalition that will unite under the Antichrist's rule.
You can read about the King's dream and Daniel's interpretation in Daniel 2, but let's take a quick visual look at what you will find:
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King Nebuchadnezzar's Babylon
Daniel's words to the king are clear. "You are this head of gold" (Daniel 2:37–38).
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Medo–Persian Empire
The Medo–Persian Empire conquered Babylon in 539 BC and remained in power for approximately two hundred years (Daniel 5:28).
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Grecian Empire
Greece's Empire succeeded the Medo–Persians (Daniel 8:21).
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Roman Empire
When the Grecian empire was conquered by Rome, all the lands and peoples of the previous kingdoms were assimilated into the Roman Empire through the strengths of the "iron legions of Rome" (Daniel 2:40).
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Future European Coalition
This empire has not yet risen. Daniel foretells a time when the Roman Empire—Europe—will consist of ten kingdoms or leaders. The future Roman Empire will be present on the earth when God sets up His earthly kingdom (Daniel 2:44).