Home Page

1. Lesson One of the Book of Daniel, Introduction to the Book of Daniel

In our first lesson we found that Word and Deity are inextricably one.

And that fusion is one which always produces action.

Isaiah said it clearly in Isaiah 55:11 that whenever the word of God goes forth it always accomplishes its purposes.

It never fails, it never returns void, and it always prospers.

God speaks and it is done.

His word never returns to Him with apologies for failure.

And if by faith you have bowed your knee to God desiring to be in His family God will bring you into this conformance whereby you and your word are one and it will accomplish that for which you sent it.

We covered the second connection regarding The Word and Creation given in verses 2 and 3

The same was in the beginning with God! All things were made by him: and without him was not anything made that was made. 

All things - the universe, the elements, the system of laws, all living things, all of God's angels, the heavenly beings, heaven, hell, good and evil, all things were accomplished by the Word.

God has so made all things and has made us to make all things we need for this simply follows His edict that we be made in His image.

God is a making God and His children are makers from that which He makes and provides and it all begins with word.

We began, but did not finish our third connection, that of the The Word and Life, verses 4,5,9

vs 4, In him was life and the life was the light of men.

We found that Life is a principle of God, it has as its source and full embodiment the LOGOS or word.

God speaks and life comes forth.

Life is self-existent in the Creator, but He reserves that to Himself for the creature has no such power to bring forth life.

The life described in verse 4 is not the life we are born into this world with for John 5:24 tells us whosoever hears God’s word and believes on Him enters what is called everlasting life and is passed from death unto life.

A man or woman without this Word begotten life is simply walking dead. 

We call it dead in trespasses and sins, but it is indeed death.

God and God alone is the imparter of life and has chosen to impart it only through His Son who is the Word.

And with this life comes light to illuminate, both by natural illumination of reason which is given to the human mind and the spiritual illumination which is given at and after the new birth.

Without this light man cannot see or understand truth for without this light, men walk in darkness, having no life nor light.

So Christ is the Word, therefore Christ is the Life and therefore Christ is the Light.

So says John 8:12, Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

Life comes with light. 

When life is imparted at the new birth light comes with that new life.

All the truth that man has learned from Adam until now has come from Word.

John 1:5 tells us, And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

Another way of saying this is: and the darkness overcomes or overpowers it not.

The light cannot be captured, overwhelmed or overpowered by the darkness.

A little candle can dispel a roomful of darkness and not be dimmed by it.

We do not say turn the darkness on.

Light and darkness are opposites, but they are not equal opposites.

Light is stronger than darkness, darkness cannot prevail against it, light is eternal, darkness is not.

Reading 1 John 2:8, Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.

If a little light shines you cannot say turn up the darkness in order to dim the light, The darker it gets, the little light appears to be brighter.

This is the message of Romans 5:20, Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:

Also Isaiah 59:19, So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.

Darkness is indeed settling into our land.

The Darkness of the Religious Mind, the darkness of superstition.

The Darkness of the Philosophical Mind which speculates continuously but in vain about the ultimate nature of things

The Darkness of the Carnal Mind, a mind of enmity against God, always ready to entertain hurtful and destructive lusts.

The Darkness of the Scientific Mind, whereby life is only chemistry and can be duplicated given sufficient time.

The goal of darkness is to envelop the earth so as to prevent the light from penetrating into human souls. 

But that is beyond the power of darkness.

Any light at all dispels darkness, and darkness flees.

Read Proverbs 4:18, But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.

So we see that God’s light finds its way to every man in John 1:9, which says: That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.

True light in contrast to fake light means all genuine illumination proceeds from the Word of God, not the mind of man.

Whatever measure of truth men and women of all ages have known has come from this source.

The Word is the author of all spiritual illumination that dispels the darkness of sin and unbelief.

By coming into the world, the Word provided the supreme illuminator, God’s only begotten Son, Jesus Christ

If the sinner does not see in this light there is no other light available to him. 

But the fool denies this, preferring the darkness of experience and discovery 

Verse 9 includes the word “lighteth” which means the Word is continually lighting every man that comes into the world.

All men are lighted by means of a conscience, by means of creation, by means of reason. 

All these are sufficient to lead a man or woman to exercise faith in the true light. 

And therefore, people are without excuse, for God gives light.

Our fourth connection of the Word is to the World

So to emphasize this, John, in verse 10 in paraphrase form says this: He was in the world, but the world, although it owed its existence to him, failed nevertheless to recognize him.

The Apostle Paul covers this subject clearly in his epistle to the Romans.

For in Rom 1:20 he writes, For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

God has made it obvious of His existence by the things He has made. 

All of us from the dullard to the genius know that if something is made there must be a maker.

But instead of recognizing this clearly seen conclusion those who profess themselves to be wise show themselves as fools as Romans 1 continues in verse 22:

Professing themselves to be wise they became fools and this of course leads fools to what Romans 1:28 declares:

And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate (degenerate, debased, decadent), mind, to do those things which are not convenient;

The Bible Commentator, William Van Doren writes: 

"He (God) was here by thousands of witnesses-the rains, the fruitful seasons, the nightly dew, the healthful breeze, the genial sun, and cheerful morn, but with an infatuation utterly wild, men worshipped these gifts as God.

And therefore, Paul in Romans 1:25 relates that these fools

worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

But from creation He, the Word, was guiding, sustaining and unfolding all things.

Read Isaiah 49:15, Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.

All men are given to see God’s infinite wisdom, wisdom seen even in the liquid supplying veins of every leaf, bud and flower.

Every change of season communicates God’s power, every shooting star reminds of the Creator, every rising and falling of the Sun speaks of God’s provision.

We then see that the divine Word was in the world before that "special coming into the world" that John, the Baptist was the voice or the signal of.

The world’s response to Jesus Christ was no different to the world's response to the Word in earlier ages.

The world did not respond positively to the offers of the Word or when the Word became flesh and dwelt among us!

For the World knew him not as the world also knew not the Word  from the voice of nature for the world chose not to.

John picked up on this when he wrote 1 John 3:1, Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

The love of the world blinds even though the world was made to reveal its maker.

When you marvel at a sunset do you glorify God?

When you joy at the beauty of a flower do you recognize its creator?

Do we thank God, the Creator for his creation or do we stay at the low plain of glorying in the created instead of the creator?

For that is a mark of the world.

Our fifth connection is The Word and Men

John 1:11-13, He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power (authority and ability) to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

These verses individualize and personalize the matter discussed in verse 10, this shows how contact with men was made.

He came unto his own, means he came home.

The first “his own” refers to things, the fields, the cities, the dwelling, his nation.

The second “his own” refers to persons, those who were enlightened and exalted by the abundance of divine revelation of which the Word of God is filled.

Where they are called:

The Lord's people: I Peter 2:9

His Glory: Isaiah 46:13

Heirs of the Kingdom: James 2:5

Peculiar treasure:  Ex 19:5

A special people unto himself: Deut 7:6

God's first born:  Psalm 89:27

And in Isa 1:2, Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.

John 7:5, For neither did his brethren believe in him.

He came unto his own,

he came unto that which was familiar,

he came to that place,

that Home Sweet Home place

expecting to be welcomed,

that place where one relaxes,

that place where your loved ones abide,

that place where home cooked meals are eaten,

where good conversation is conducted at the family table.

And he was the one who created all things so He came for a visit declaring His right of ownership of all that was seen.

But his own received him not, and not only that, he was rejected.

Those who were his own peculiar people connected with his proper surroundings did not accept him, did not honor his authority over them.

And along this line Jesus taught Luke 20:9-16, 

Then began he to speak to the people this parable; A certain man planted a vineyard, and let it forth to husbandmen, and went into a far country for a long time. And at the season he sent a servant to the husbandmen, that they should give him of the fruit of the vineyard: but the husbandmen beat him, and sent him away empty. And again he sent another servant: and they beat him also, and entreated him shamefully, and sent him away empty. And again he sent a third: and they wounded him also, and cast him out. Then said the lord of the vineyard, What shall I do? I will send my beloved son: it may be they will reverence him when they see him. But when the husbandmen saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, This is the heir: come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours. So they cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him. What therefore shall the lord of the vineyard do unto them? He shall come and destroy these husbandmen, and shall give the vineyard to others. And when they heard it, they said, God forbid.