Dr. David Jeremiah Presents
Living inthe Ageof Signs
Online Destination
Living in the Age of Signs
Online Destination
Sign 2
Not a Suggestion
Today’s Audio Devotion:
Not a Suggestion
Individuals write out their last will and testament as an expression of their will. As a matter of law, their will must be executed exactly as written. Three times in the New Testament epistles, the phrase, “This is the will of God,” occurs (1 Thessalonians 4:3; 5:18; 1 Peter 2:15). These are not suggestions but expressions of God’s will.
But there are other ways of discovering God’s will through His inspired Word—specifically, when commands are given. For example, we discover it is God’s will for us to rejoice by virtue of the Greek grammar in Philippians 4:4. Twice in that verse Paul says to “rejoice,” even saying we are to rejoice “always.” When writing “rejoice” twice in that verse, Paul used the imperative form of the Greek verb. In other words, Paul was commanding the Philippians to rejoice in all things—similar to the same Greek form in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 where Paul said to “give thanks” in everything. These aren’t suggestions; they are the will of God for His people.
If you find it hard to rejoice in a certain situation, you can always rejoice in knowing that God is in control of everything.
We must rejoice in God when we have nothing else to rejoice in.
Matthew Henry
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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).