THE FIRST PART: A BIRD’S-EYE VIEW OF THE OLD TESTAMENT
From the Captivity to the Return
Message Six—Daniel (1)
Scripture Reading: Dan. 1:8-9; 2:17-19; 6:10; 9:23; 10:11, 19
I. The Lord used Daniel and his companions—Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah—to turn the age of the captivity of God’s people to the age of their return to the land of Immanuel for the building of God’s house and God’s city for God’s expression and authority—Dan. 1:1- 21; 2:17; Isa. 8:8:
A. Every time God wants to make a dispensational move, an age-turning move, He must obtain His dispensational instrument; we must be those who have dispensational value to God—Rev. 12:5-11; 1:20; Dan. 12:3; Matt. 13:43.
B. Christ as the unique Overcomer includes all the overcomers; the unique Overcomer dwells in our spirit to make us His overcomers—John 14:30; Dan. 2:34-35; Rev. 19:7-21; 1 John 5:4, 18-19; Rev. 3:21.
C. We need to consider what we are doing to bring in the next age; this is a special time, so there is the need of special Christians to do a special work—Matt. 16:18; Rev. 19:7; 1 Cor. 1:9; Rev. 2:4-7; Col. 1:18b; John 17:21; 1 Cor. 14:4b; Eph. 4:16; Col. 2:19.
D. An overcomer works according to the principle of the Body; the principle of the Body annuls sectarianism and individualism—1 Cor. 12:12; Phil. 1:19.
E. In God’s sight an overcomer is a “man of preciousness,” even “preciousness itself “—Dan. 10:11, 19; 9:23.
F. The Lord needs to raise up men who will turn the age for the recovery of God’s expression and authority; among fallen mankind God’s expression is torn down, and His authority is denied; Daniel and his companions truly allowed God to be expressed through them and were truly under God’s authority—Gen. 1:26; Rev. 4:3a; 21:11, 18a, 24; 22:5.
II. Daniel had companions with whom he was absolutely consecrated to God and separated unto God from an age that follows Satan—Dan. 1:4-8; 5:12, 22; 6:10:
A. All those who are used by God to turn the age must be Nazarites—voluntarily consecrated ones who are sanctified absolutely and ultimately to God—Num. 6:1-8, 22-27; Psa. 110:3; Luke 9:62; Phil. 3:13-14.
B. Although Daniel and his companions were still very young, they stood up as an anti-testimony, similar to the way that Antipas did in the church in Pergamos—Rev. 2:13.
C. We need to flee youthful lusts and pursue Christ in the Body and for the Body with God given companions, “with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart”—2 Tim. 2:22; 3:1-5; Eccl. 4:9-12:
1. According to the divine principle, the proper representation of the Body is always by those who are matched with others; this matching is determined entirely by God’s arrangement, not by man’s maneuvering—Neh. 1:1; 8:2; 1 Cor. 1:1; Exo. 4:14b-16; Phil. 2:19-22; Luke 10:1; Acts 13:1-3; 1 Thes. 1:1.
2. An overcomer lives in the Body and works according to the principle of the Body in the blending life of the entire Body of Christ; whoever cannot be blended with others will be disqualified by the age—Rom. 12:4-5; 1 Cor. 12:12, 15, 20, 25.
D. One of the subjective signs of a called one (seen with Moses) is the sign of the water becoming blood (Exo. 4:9); this means that in the eyes of God all the earthly supply and worldly enjoyment (the water of the Nile) are nothing but death (blood).
E. If we are going to live a holy life for the church life, we must care for our diet, which is a matter of life or death—Gen. 2:9, 17; Dan. 1:8-9; John 6:57; Matt. 4:4; Rev. 2:17.
III. Daniel joined himself to God’s desire through God’s Word—Dan. 9:1-4; Deut. 17:18-20; 2 Tim. 3:16-17; Eph. 6:17-18; Psa. 119:11, 24:
A. Daniel was not only a person who read God’s Word regularly but also a person who was joined to God’s Word—Dan. 9:2-3; 29:10-14:
B. Daily we need to practice coming to the Word to have the Triune God as truth infused into us according to the following life principles:
1. We must open our entire being to the Lord for the inner shining of the divine light and the supplying of the divine life; the one who experiences the greatest amount of transformation is the one who is absolutely open to the Lord—Psa. 119:105; Prov. 20:27; Psa. 139:23-24.
2. We must seek the Lord with all our heart—119:2; Mark 12:30.
3. We must deal with anything that separates us from the Lord—Acts 24:16; 2 Tim. 1:3a; 1 John 1:9; cf. Ezek. 1:22, 26.
4. We must humble ourselves before the Lord, putting aside our self-confidence and self-assurance and looking to Him for His mercy and grace—Isa. 66:1-2; 1 Pet. 5:5.
5. We must exercise our spirit to pray over and with God’s Word and exercise our whole being to muse on His Word as the condensation of God’s light in order to receive the life supply and the divine watering—Eph. 6:17-18; 5:26; Psa. 119:15-16, 25, 50, 105, 130.
6. When we experience the enlightenment, the life supply, and the watering, we shall have other blessings through the Word: restoration (19:7a), deliverance (119:41, 170), strength (v. 28), comfort (v. 76), nourishment (v. 103), upholding (v. 117), and safeguard (v. 114).
IV. Daniel was a man of prayer with an excellent spirit, a man fearing God, honoring God, exalting God, and living under God’s rule in the reality of the kingdom of the heavens, the ruling of the heavens—Dan. 6:10; 9:1-4, 17; 5:12, 14; 6:3; 5:22-23; 4:25-26, 32:
A. Fearing God means wanting God, desiring single-heartedly to keep His will, being fully submissive to Him, wanting nothing of ourselves, walking not according to our will, seeing not ourselves, and seeing God’s greatness alone—5:22-23; Psa. 86:11.
B. To honor God is to live and walk by the Spirit for Christ’s exaltation in order to honor others by ministering the Spirit to them—Judg. 9:9; Phil. 1:19-21a; 2 Cor. 3:6.
C. To live under God’s rule is to be filled with His ruling presence of righteousness, holiness, and glory for the carrying out of His eternal covenant in dispensing Himself into us to make us the wise exhibition of all that He is—Gen. 9:8-17; Ezek. 1:26-28; Rev. 4:3; 21:18-20; 1 Cor. 1:30; Eph. 3:10-11.
D. Prayer in the Spirit through the exercise of our spirit fills us with and brings us under God’s ruling presence for the carrying out of His economy—Rev. 4:1-3; Eph. 6:17-18.
V. Daniel was a self-sacrificing person with the spirit of martyrdom—6:10-11:
A. Daniel prayed at the risk of his life; the intention of the chief ministers and satraps was to destroy Daniel, but the intention of Satan, who was behind them, was to cut off the channel of prayer that God was using for the carrying out of His economy—vv. 4-24.
B. Daniel’s companions did not care for their own lives; when they were commanded by the king to bow down to a golden image, they said, “O Nebuchadnezzar,…our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the blazing furnace of fire, and He will deliver us out of your hand…But if He does not,…we will not serve your gods nor worship the golden image that you have set up”—3:16-18.
C. Everyone whom God uses to turn the age is afraid of only one thing, that is, of offending God and losing His presence—2 Cor. 5:9-10; cf. Psa. 51:11; Josh. 7:4.
D. If we contact the Christ typified by the vine and experience His sacrificing life, He will energize us to live a life of sacrifice, producing happiness for God and for others—Judg. 9:13; Matt. 9:17; Rom. 12:1; Eph. 5:2; 2 Cor. 1:24.
Ministry Excerpts:
The book of Daniel describes in a specific way the crucial position man occupies in the conflict between God and Satan. This position is one that turns the age. This position can cause God’s will to succeed and Satan to fail, or it can cause Satan’s subtle scheme to succeed and God to be frustrated. Therefore, we may say that whether an age can be turned depends on what position man takes. Man is between God and Satan. If man’s position is right, Satan will lose his control over that age and will not be able to frustrate the turn. This is what the book of Daniel shows us.
Now let us consider a few of Daniel’s characteristics which enabled God to use him for the turning of the age. I believe that the Lord will use this word to grant grace to us and work among us.
THE FIRST CHARACTERISTIC—
SEPARATION FROM AN AGE THAT FOLLOWS SATAN
The first characteristic of Daniel was that he was a separated person. Everyone who wants to be used by God to turn the age must be a separated person. We must know that everyone in this age is walking on the same road and is swept into the same current. This way is a way that follows Satan. This way is initiated by Satan and is pioneered by Satan. This way is definitely far from God and is always going downhill. We can find this condition in the book of Daniel.
Young people are most susceptible to follow others in their manner of living. However, the first things Daniel overcame were in the matter of living, things related to eating and drinking. Many times young people feel that since others can do something, they can do the same. They feel that since everyone else is doing it, it is all right for them to do it also. Please remember that if we do this, we will become completely useless in God’s hand in the matter of turning the age. This is because we do not stand on God’s side, but rather on Satan’s side. If we do this, we can never be used by God to turn the age.
Hence, we must have a separation from those in the world. We must stand up and be an anti-testimony. Although the tide around us is downward, inwardly we are standing up against the tide. Others may play and amuse themselves, but we will not do the same. Others may have all kinds of cravings, but we cannot have the same. Of course, I am not suggesting that we be peculiar persons. That is not what I mean. Nevertheless, we must remember that in an age where the tide is downward, to be used by God as a person to turn the age, we must be separated persons; we must be able to stand up as an anti-testimony for God. This is the first necessary characteristic.
THE SECOND CHARACTERISTIC—
BEING JOINED TO GOD’S DESIRE THROUGH HIS WORD
Daniel was not only a person who read God’s Word regularly, but a person who was joined to God’s Word. This is the second characteristic. He did not read God’s Word for the purpose of finding out some knowledge or merely for finding out God’s will. Rather, he read to receive and to keep God’s commandments. We should believe that he refused the food and drink of the king of Babylon because he had read the five books of Moses. He must have read about the clean and unclean food from Leviticus and Deuteronomy. At the same time, he must have found out that God’s people cannot partake of any food that has touched the idols. Since he read these commandments and therefore knew God’s desire, he accepted them and applied them to himself. Hence, he was not a person separate from the Scripture. He was not merely studying the Bible.
When he read from the book of Jeremiah that God had ordained seventy years of captivity for the Israelites, and that after seventy years God would turn back to bless them, he immediately fasted and prayed. He did not read the Scripture in a dead way. As soon as he touched God’s desire through the Word, he immediately joined himself to that desire.
This was the way he read the Bible. This was why he could be touched by every word, by the light, and by the teaching in the Bible. After he read the book of Leviticus, he could no longer eat the unclean food. After he read the book of Jeremiah, he could not help but fast and pray for the restoration of God’s people. Whichever point he read, he joined himself to that point. Brothers and sisters, please remember that a person who turns the age for God must possess such a characteristic. When we come to God’s Word, we have to learn not to study for some scholarship or for some knowledge, but to find out God’s desire from His Word. Whenever we find out God’s desire, we must immediately join ourselves to that desire.
THE THIRD CHARACTERISTIC—
COOPERATING WITH GOD THROUGH PRAYERS
Daniel had a third characteristic. He was a man who was always praying. His prayers were not at all common. His prayers were prayers that turned the age. Every time he encountered some crucial matter, he prayed before God. He believed absolutely in prayer. He believed in prayer because he believed in God and not in himself.
From chapter two on, the book of Daniel mentions Daniel’s prayers. Of course, I fully believe that in chapter one he prayed also. When he was eating vegetables only, I fully believe that he must have prayed every day. He declared before God and Satan that the health of his body did not at all depend on the Gentile food and drink. He believed in God’s care only. This was why he and the other three young men could still be strong even though they ate vegetables only. He believed in God’s care and he must have prayed much.
All of this shows us that Daniel was a praying person. He prayed every day, and he prayed for everything. Once I asked a young brother if he prayed. He said, “I pray every day.” I asked, “What time of the day do you pray?” He said, “Three times a day at mealtime I pray.” I would say that prayers at mealtime do not count as prayer. There is not much use for that kind of prayer because it is prayer for the food. But Daniel’s prayer was not at all for the food. He always prayed with a single purpose and never prayed for himself.
Daniel’s prayer reached the highest peak. He asked God to do something for Himself. He prayed, “Cause Your face to shine upon Your sanctuary that has been desolated, for the Lord’s sake” (Dan. 9:17). I hope that we would circle the words “for the Lord’s sake.” We can see that his prayer was totally for God and not for himself. It seems as if he was saying to God, “My supplication here today is not for myself but for You. Even though I am asking You to do something, it is not for myself, but for You.” This was a very special prayer; it was also the highest prayer. Our prayers are ninety-nine and nine tenths percent for ourselves. Very few of them are for God. Only a person like Daniel, who prayed to God single-heartedly, can be used by Him to turn the age.
THE FOURTH CHARACTERISTIC—NOT CARING FOR ONE’S LIFE
There is still a fourth characteristic. Daniel was a person who would sacrifice himself to be martyred. From the first chapter to the last, the book of Daniel shows us that a person who is under God’s hand and who is used by Him to turn the age is a self-sacrificing person. Every incident and fact shows us that he was a person who did not care for his own life. For example, when he chose to eat vegetables only, he did not necessarily have the assurance that he would be strong. If the more he ate, the slimmer he became, he would be killed by the king of Babylon. Yet he cared neither for life nor for death. He knew that the unclean food, the food sacrificed to idols, could not enter into his mouth, that he would not be defiled, and that he would keep God’s word. Because of this word, he was willing to lose even his life.
Later, King Darius decreed that within thirty days none in the kingdom could make petition of God or men. But Daniel still prayed. Even if he would be thrown into the den of lions, he would still pray. Humanly speaking, he truly had the spirit of martyrdom.
Brothers and sisters, all those who are afraid of what might happen to them, who are afraid of things that come from one direction or another, of this and of that, cannot be used by God to turn the age. Please do not misunderstand me. Let me say it in a plain way. Everyone whom God uses to turn the age is afraid neither of heaven nor of hell. He fears nothing. He is only afraid of one thing, that is, to offend God and to lose His presence. Anyone who hides, withdraws, withers, and changes his mind when confronted with difficulties is not of much use in God’s hands. God cannot use cowards. All those whom God uses to turn the age are bold ones. They are not bold in a wild or natural way, but bold because of their fear of God and their courage to confront difficulties.
Today, we can cover only these four characteristics. First, we must be an anti-testimony. Second, we must read the Bible. Third, we must pray, and fourth, we must not care for our own life. These four characteristics can be seen not only in Daniel but also in all those used by God to turn the age. If we read the biography of Luther, we will see these four things in him also. Luther was one who stood up as an anti-testimony. He was originally a priest in the Roman Catholic Church. When he saw that the Roman Catholic Church did things completely contrary to the truth, he rose up and became a strong anti-testimony. Luther was also a person who read the Bible. He saw from the Bible that man is justified by faith and not at all by works. Immediately, he accepted God’s Word and joined himself to this Word. Luther was also a man of prayer. Each time he came across important issues, he would fight in prayers before God. At the same time, undoubtedly, Luther was one who cared not for his own life and was willing to be martyred for the Lord. Only this kind of person can be used by God to turn the age.
Young brothers and sisters, I feel deeply before God to speak such a word to you. You must see that the whole world today has followed Satan. God wants to gain absolute young people so that He can use them to turn the age. I believe that everyone who has received mercy from God today will surely respond to this matter. I believe these ones will surely want to touch God’s desire, be voluntarily-consecrated ones, Nazarites, and be used by God as an anti-testimony in this ever-degrading age. (Men Who Turn the Age, msg. 2)