the rest grace provides

Posted on August 12, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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the rest grace provides

Hebrews 4:1-13 (JDV)

Hebrews 4:1 Therefore, since the promise to enter his rest remains, let us stay in fear so that none of you will seem to have fallen short.
Hebrews 4:2 You see, we also have received the good news just like they did. But the message they heard did not benefit them, since they did not join with those who heard it in faith.
Hebrews 4:3 You see, we who have believed enter the rest, in keeping with what he has said, So I swore in my anger, “They will not enter my rest,” even though his works have been finished since the foundation of the universe.
Hebrews 4:4 You see, somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in this way: And on the seventh day, God rested from all his works.
Hebrews 4:5 Again, in that passage he says, They will never enter my rest.
Hebrews 4:6 Therefore, since it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news did not enter because of disobedience,
Hebrews 4:7 he again specifies a certain day – today. He specified this speaking through David after such a long time: Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.
Hebrews 4:8 You see, if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day.
Hebrews 4:9 Therefore, a Sabbath rest remains for God’s people.
Hebrews 4:10 You see, the person who has entered his rest has rested from his own works, just as God did from his.
Hebrews 4:11 Let us then make every effort to enter that rest so that no one will fall into the same pattern of disobedience.
Hebrews 4:12 You see, the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating as far as the separation of throat and breath, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
Hebrews 4:13 No creature is hidden from him, but all things are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give an account.

the rest grace provides

The grace of God provides a rest that is deeper than any ritual observance and more enduring than any weekly practice. This rest is not tied to a calendar but to a posture of faith. It is the rest entered when a person ceases striving to earn salvation and entrusts that salvation entirely to the work God has already accomplished through Christ. The imagery of Sabbath becomes a theological reality: God invites believers to stop working for acceptance and to rely on the atonement secured by the blood of Christ. His sacrifice is the basis on which God declares the believer forgiven, cleansed, and welcomed.

This rest is not inactivity but release. It is the end of anxiety about standing before God. It is the end of the exhausting attempt to justify oneself. It is the end of fear that one misstep might undo divine favor. The rest God offers is the settled confidence that Christ’s work is sufficient and that God has chosen to apply that work to the believer’s account. The promise is not that the believer will feel at rest every moment, but that God has established a rest that does not depend on fluctuating emotions or inconsistent performance.

Once this rest is entered by faith, the question of acceptance is settled. God does not invite believers to revisit the foundation of their salvation each day as though it were fragile. The only effort required is the effort to enter that rest—to trust, to cease striving, to believe that Christ’s sacrifice is enough. After that, the focus shifts. Salvation is no longer the issue to be secured; it is the gift already received.

Freed from the burden of self‑justification, believers are released to love. The love shown to others is not a strategy for earning salvation but a reflection of the salvation already given. Christ’s love becomes the pattern: a love that seeks the good of others, that sacrifices for their benefit, that points them toward the same grace that has been received. Good works cease to be currency and become testimony. Service ceases to be obligation and becomes overflow.

The rest God provides is both a gift and a calling—a gift that secures the heart and a calling that directs the life. Those who trust Christ enter a rest that cannot be shaken, and from that rest flows a life shaped by the love that first rescued them.

Thank you, LORD, for accepting us by grace.

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if we hold firmly

Posted on August 11, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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if we hold firmly

Hebrews 3:1-19 (JDV)

Hebrews 3:1 For that reason – devoted brothers and sisters – who share a sky calling, consider Jesus, the missionary and high priest of our confession.
Hebrews 3:2 He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was in all God’s household.
Hebrews 3:3 You see, Jesus is considered worthy of more glory than Moses, just as the builder has more honor than the house.
Hebrews 3:4 Now every house is built by someone, but the one who built everything is God.
Hebrews 3:5 Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s household, as a testimony to what would be said in the future.
Hebrews 3:6 But Christ was faithful as a Son over his household. And we are that household if we hold on to our confidence and the hope in which we take pride.
Hebrews 3:7 Therefore, as the Sacred Breath says: Today if you hear his voice,
Hebrews 3:8 do not harden your hearts like you did in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the open country,
Hebrews 3:9 where your fathers tested me, tried me and saw my works
Hebrews 3:10 for forty years. That is why I was provoked to anger with that generation and said, “They always go astray in their hearts, and they have not known my ways.”
Hebrews 3:11 So I swore in my anger, “They will not enter my rest.”
Hebrews 3:12 Watch out, brothers and sisters so that there won’t be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.
Hebrews 3:13 But encourage each other daily, while it is still called today so that none of you is hardened by failure’s deception.
Hebrews 3:14 You see, we have become associates with Christ if we hold firmly until the end the reality that we had at the start.
Hebrews 3:15 As it is said: Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.
Hebrews 3:16 You see, who heard and rebelled? Wasn’t it all who came out of Egypt under Moses?
Hebrews 3:17 With whom was God angry for forty years? Wasn’t it with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness?
Hebrews 3:18 And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, if not to those who disobeyed?
Hebrews 3:19 So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.

if we hold firmly

Christ was made lower for a short time, and that temporary lowering became the pattern for all who belong to him. His path was marked by humility, obedience, testing, and ultimately triumph. He entered the human condition, endured suffering, resisted temptation, and remained faithful to the mission entrusted to him. His faithfulness was not theoretical; it was lived out in weakness, pressure, and real human struggle. Because he prevailed, he was exalted, crowned with glory and honor, and appointed ruler of the coming age.

In light of that pattern, the present experience of God’s people takes on new meaning. Life in this age is described as a brief season of testing. The trials faced are not signs of abandonment but evidence that the same path walked by Christ is now being walked by those who belong to him. The testing is temporary, but the outcome is eternal. The promise held before the community is astonishing: to become associates with Christ in the dawning new age, sharing in his glory and participating in his restored dominion over creation. This hope is not sentimental optimism; it is grounded in the completed work of the exalted Son.

Yet the promise comes with a warning. The generation that left Egypt experienced God’s deliverance but failed to enter the promised rest because their hearts became hardened. Their story stands as a cautionary example. Hardening does not happen all at once. It begins with small acts of distrust, subtle resistance to God’s voice, and gradual disobedience. Over time, the heart becomes less responsive, less willing, less believing. The danger is real enough that Scripture urges vigilance. The promise of future glory does not eliminate the need for present faithfulness.

The assurance of eternal life is held out to those who hold firmly. This firmness is not a matter of personal strength but of steady trust, ongoing responsiveness to God’s voice, and perseverance in obedience. The community is called to cling to the confession, to encourage one another, and to resist the drift that destroyed earlier generations. The testing is brief, the struggle real, but the outcome certain for those who remain faithful.

Christ’s path defines the pattern. His victory guarantees the possibility. His exaltation secures the hope. And those who endure with him will share in the glory of the age to come.

LORD, help us to hold firmly to the faith!

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made lower for a short time

Posted on August 10, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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made lower for a short time

Hebrews 2:5-18 (JDV)

Hebrews 2:5 You see, he has not placed the world to come that we are talking about under agents.
Hebrews 2:6 But someone somewhere has emphatically attested: What is a man that you remember him, or the son of a man that you are concerned about him?
Hebrews 2:7 You made him lower than the agents for a short time; you crowned him with glory and honor
Hebrews 2:8 and placed everything under his feet. You see, in placing everything under him, he left nothing that is not placed under him. As it is, we do not yet see everything placed under him.
Hebrews 2:9 But we do see Jesus – made lower than the agents for a short time so that by God’s favor he might taste death for everyone – crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death.
Hebrews 2:10 You see, in order to bring many sons and daughters to glory, it was entirely appropriate that God — for whom and through whom all things exist – should make the source of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
Hebrews 2:11 You see, the one who makes sacred and those who are sacred all have one Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters,
Hebrews 2:12 saying: I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters; I will sing hymns to you in the congregation.
Hebrews 2:13 Again, I will trust in him. And again, Here I am with the children God gave me.
Hebrews 2:14 Now since the children have flesh and blood in common, Jesus also shared in these, so that through his death he might terminate the one holding the power of death – that is, the devil –
Hebrews 2:15 free those who were held in slavery all their lives by the fear of death.
Hebrews 2:16 You see, of course, he does not reach out to help agents, but to help Abraham’s offspring.
Hebrews 2:17 Therefore, he had to be like his brothers and sisters in every way, so that he could become a merciful and faithful high priest in the God’s things, to make atonement for the failures of the people.
Hebrews 2:18 You see, since he himself has suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted.

made lower for a short time

The Son was made lower for a short time, and Scripture presents this lowering not as a loss of glory but as the necessary path through which God accomplished redemption. His temporary humiliation served distinct purposes, each essential to the restoration of humanity and the defeat of evil.

First, he was made lower so that he would be mortal, capable of entering fully into the human condition. Mortality was not a flaw but a requirement. Only by sharing humanity’s vulnerability could he offer himself as the atoning sacrifice for humanity’s sins. A sacrifice for sin had to be both representative and spotless. By becoming mortal, he could stand where humanity stood, bear what humanity deserved, and offer what humanity could not. His death was not an accident of history but the deliberate means by which purification and forgiveness were secured.

Second, he was made lower so that his death would break Satan’s hold on humanity. The devil’s power rested on the universal reign of death. As long as death ruled, fear ruled; and as long as fear ruled, humanity remained enslaved. By entering death voluntarily and rising from it victoriously, the Son shattered the power structure that had bound humanity since Eden. His death became the instrument through which Satan’s dominion was dismantled and his eventual destruction guaranteed. The one who held the power of death was confronted by the One who could not be held by death.

Third, he was made lower so that, once exalted again, he could serve as high priest for a tempted humanity. His earthly experience was not merely observational; it was participatory. He knew hunger, exhaustion, rejection, grief, and temptation. These experiences did not diminish his holiness but equipped him to represent humanity with compassion and understanding. When exalted, he did not leave those experiences behind; he carried them into his priestly ministry. As high priest, he intercedes not from a distance but from the vantage point of one who has walked the path of human struggle.

These three reasons—atonement, liberation, and priestly representation—form a unified picture. The Son’s temporary lowering was the means by which eternal purposes were fulfilled. His humiliation was not defeat but strategy, not loss but love, not weakness but the chosen path to victory.

Thank you, Jesus, for submitting to your temporary humiliation, and for interceding for us now.

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drift

Posted on August 9, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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drift

Hebrews 2:1-4 (JDV)

Hebrews 2:1 That is why we must pay attention even more to what we have heard, so that we will not drift away.
Hebrews 2:2 You see, if the message spoken through agents was legally binding and every transgression and disobedience received a deserved payment,
Hebrews 2:3 how will we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? This salvation had its beginning when it was spoken of by the Lord, and it was confirmed to us by those who heard him.
Hebrews 2:4 At the same time, God also testified by signs and wonders, various miracles, and distributions of gifts from the Sacred Breath as he prefers.

drift

It is entirely possible to drift away from the gospel, not usually through sudden rebellion but through slow, quiet neglect. Disobedience has a way of dulling spiritual attentiveness. When the heart grows careless, the message once cherished can begin to feel distant, and the truths once held firmly can start to slip. This danger is real enough that Scripture issues a sober warning: pay close attention to the good news that has been received. The gospel is not a human invention or a collection of religious insights; it originated with the Lord himself. He proclaimed it, embodied it, and fulfilled it. That alone gives it unmatched authority.

Yet the message did not rest on his words alone. God confirmed it publicly and unmistakably. Those who first heard the gospel from the Lord passed it on, and their testimony was validated by God through signs, wonders, and various demonstrations of the Holy Spirit’s power. These miraculous gifts were not random displays of divine ability; they served as God’s own endorsement of the message. They showed that the gospel was trustworthy, heaven‑sent, and worthy of full obedience.

Because the gospel came with such clarity and confirmation, it carries weight. Blessing always brings responsibility. To receive the message of salvation is to be entrusted with something precious. It calls for careful attention, ongoing faithfulness, and a life shaped by what has been heard. Drifting is possible precisely because the gospel is not passive; it demands response. It invites trust, obedience, and perseverance. When these are neglected, the heart begins to wander.

The warning, then, is not meant to produce fear but seriousness. The gospel is a gift of immeasurable grace, delivered by the Lord, confirmed by God, and sealed by the Spirit. To pay attention to it is to honor the One who gave it and to remain anchored in the salvation offered through him.

LORD, keep us steady on course!

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ministering winds

Posted on August 8, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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ministering winds

Hebrews 1:5-14 (JDV)

Hebrews 1:5 You see, to which of the agents did he ever say, You are my Son; today I have become your Father, or again, I will be his Father, and he will be my Son?
Hebrews 1:6 But when he brings his firstborn into the inhabited world again, he says, and let all God’s agents worship him.
Hebrews 1:7 And about the agents he says: “He makes his agents winds, and his servants a fire flame,”
Hebrews 1:8 but to the Son: “Your throne, O God, is for ages and ages, and the scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of justice.”
Hebrews 1:9 You have cared about righteousness and hated lawlessness; that is why God, your God, has anointed you with the olive oil of exuberant joy in contrast to your associates.
Hebrews 1:10 And: During the beginning, Lord, you established the land, and the sky is the work of your hands;
Hebrews 1:11 they will perish, but you remain. They will all wear out like a coat;
Hebrews 1:12 you will roll them up like a cloak, and they will be changed like a coat. But you are the same, and your years will never give out.
Hebrews 1:13 Now to which of the agents has he ever said: Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool?
Hebrews 1:14 Are they not all ministering winds sent out to serve those who are going to inherit salvation?

ministering winds

Compared with the majesty and permanence of God’s unique Son, the created agents stand in an entirely different category. Scripture portrays them as swift and powerful, like winds that rush at God’s command or flames that blaze where he directs. Their greatness lies not in inherent authority but in their readiness to serve. They exist as instruments of divine purpose—messengers, protectors, and ministers who carry out the will of the One who made them. Their strength is real, yet it is derivative; their glory is impressive, yet it is borrowed. They move at God’s word because they are God’s creations.

The Son, however, occupies a place no created being can share. His throne is not assigned for a season but established forever. While the agents serve, the Son reigns. While they execute commands, he issues them. Their ministry is temporary and functional; his rule is eternal and essential. The contrast is not merely one of degree but of kind. The winds and fire symbolize the dynamic, responsive nature of created servants. The throne symbolizes unchanging sovereignty, rightful dominion, and divine permanence.

The Son’s throne is eternal because his identity is eternal. He is not elevated to royalty by merit or achievement; he is royal by nature. His reign does not depend on the rise and fall of kingdoms, nor does it waver with the shifting conditions of history. The throne prepared for him reflects the unshakeable reality of who he is—the radiance of God’s glory, the exact expression of God’s being, the heir appointed over all things. His authority is not delegated but intrinsic, not temporary but everlasting.

This contrast underscores the proper ordering of creation. The agents, magnificent as they are, remain servants. Their purpose is to point beyond themselves to the One who commands them. The Son, exalted above them, embodies the fullness of divine majesty. His throne is the center of God’s kingdom, the place from which justice, mercy, and truth flow. The winds and fire may dazzle, but the throne endures. The ministers may serve with power, but the Son reigns with eternal authority.

In this way, the created agents highlight the greatness of the Son. Their service magnifies his sovereignty, and their impermanence draws attention to the permanence of his rule. The eternal throne belongs to him alone.

Thank you, LORD, for your eternal Son.

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God’s unique Son

Posted on August 7, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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God’s unique Son

Hebrews 1:1-4 (JDV)

Hebrews 1:1 Long ago God spoke to the fathers by the prophets at numerous times and in numerous ways.
Hebrews 1:2 During these last days, he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things and through whom he made the ages.
Hebrews 1:3 The Son radiates God’s glory and expresses his character and reality exactly, supporting all things by his powerful word. After making purification for failures, he took a seated position at the right hand of the Majesty upward.
Hebrews 1:4 He became so far better than the agents, just as the name he inherited is more valuable than theirs.

God’s unique Son

Jesus stands as the world’s Savior, yet Scripture insists that his saving work cannot be separated from his identity as the unique Son of God. His Sonship is not a poetic title or an honorary distinction; it is the foundation of everything he accomplished. The New Testament presents a multi‑dimensional portrait of this Sonship, showing how each aspect of his identity makes his mission effective, authoritative, and complete.

As God’s sinless Son, he alone was qualified to deal with humanity’s deepest problem. A Savior stained by sin could not bear the sins of others. A mere teacher could not purify the conscience. But the Son, sharing the Father’s holiness and untouched by rebellion, offered himself as the perfect sacrifice. His death was not simply the end of a righteous life but the deliberate act through which purification was made for human failure. The cross becomes meaningful precisely because the one who hung there was the Father’s flawless Son, able to stand in the place of the guilty and remove their guilt.

As God’s revealing Son, he did more than rescue; he spoke. The Son is the one through whom God has communicated his will with final clarity. Prophets delivered fragments of truth, but the Son embodies the fullness of God’s message. His words carry divine authority because they arise from divine identity. Through him, the intentions, desires, and commands of God are no longer hidden or uncertain. The Son makes God’s will intelligible, accessible, and unmistakable.

As God’s royal Son, he radiates the glory that belongs to God alone. His life displays the Father’s character with exactness, not approximation. To see him is to see the Father’s compassion, holiness, justice, and power expressed in human form. His authority is not borrowed; it is intrinsic. He represents God perfectly because he shares God’s very nature. Through him, the world gains a visible, tangible revelation of what God is like.

As God’s covenant Son, he stands as heir of all things. The Father has entrusted the entire created order to him, granting him a name surpassing every created agent, including the angels who served as messengers of earlier revelation. His inheritance confirms his supremacy and secures the future promised to God’s people. The covenant blessings flow through him because he is the appointed heir who fulfills every divine promise.

In all these ways, the world’s Savior is none other than the eternal, unique Son—sinless, revealing, royal, and covenantal—whose identity guarantees the success and sufficiency of his saving work.

Thank you, LORD, for our Savior, your Son.

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loose ends

Posted on August 6, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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loose ends

Daniel 12:5-13 (JDV)

Daniel 12:5 Then I, Daniel, looked, and two others were standing there, one on this bank of the river and one on the other.
Daniel 12:6 One of them said to the man dressed in linen, who was above the water of the river, “How long until the end of these extraordinary things?”
Daniel 12:7 Then I heard the man dressed in linen, who was above the water of the river. He raised both his hands toward the sky and swore by him who lives permanently that it would be for a time, times, and half a time. When the power of the holy people is shattered, all these things will be completed.
Daniel 12:8 I heard but did not understand. So I asked, “My lord, what will be the outcome of these things?”
Daniel 12:9 He said, “Go on your way, Daniel because the words are secret and sealed until the time of the end.
Daniel 12:10 Many will be purified, cleansed, and refined, but the wicked will act wickedly; none of the wicked will understand, but those who have insight will understand.
Daniel 12:11 From the time the daily sacrifice is abolished and the abomination which makes it desolate is set up, there will be 1,290 days.
Daniel 12:12 Happy is the one who waits for and reaches 1,335 days.
Daniel 12:13 But as for you, walk on to the end; and you will rest, and then you will stand up to receive your allotted inheritance at the end of the days.”

loose ends

The great wise man Daniel would not be around to see the fulfillment of his last vision. He was told that he would rest in the sleep of death, but at the end of the days, he would stand to receive his allotted inheritance. Like Daniel, we will not have the time to square away all the loose ends of our lives. Death will come to us unwelcomed and unplanned. Fortunately, death is not permanent. Everyone will rise to receive their inheritance at the return of Christ. Seek the inheritance of permanent life!

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the many and the all

Posted on August 5, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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the many and the all

Daniel 12:1-4 (JDV)

Daniel 12:1 At that time Michael, the great prince who stands watch over the children of your people, will rise up. There will be a time of distress such as never having occurred since nations came into being until that time. But at that time all your people who are found written in the book will escape.
Daniel 12:2 Many who sleep in the dust of the land will awake, some to permanent life, and some to disgrace and permanent contempt.
Daniel 12:3 Those who have insight will shine like the bright expanse of the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars permanently and always.
Daniel 12:4 “But you, Daniel, keep these words secret and seal the book until the time of the end. Many will rove around, and knowledge will increase.”

the many and the all

The prophecy here is of a revival of within Israel — the children of Daniel’s people. It uses the language of a resurrection — waking of those who sleep in the dust. But the prophecy is about the nation of Israel coming back from its exile and captivity.

Yet that resurrection language does reflect what will happen globally as well. The “many” of Israel who will take part in that revival match the “all” who are in their graves and will wake at Christ’s second coming (John 5:28-29). The two destinies are the same as well: permanent life or the permanent disgrace and contempt of destruction.

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he will meet his end

Posted on August 4, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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he will meet his end

Daniel 11:40-45 (JDV)

Daniel 11:40 “At the time of the end, the king of the South will engage him in battle, but the king of the North will storm against him with chariots, horsemen, and many ships. He will invade countries and sweep through them like a flood.
Daniel 11:41 He will also invade the beautiful land, and many will fall. But these will escape from his power: Edom, Moab, and the first of the Ammonites.
Daniel 11:42 He will extend his power against the countries, and not even the land of Egypt will escape.
Daniel 11:43 He will get control over the hidden treasures of gold and silver and over all the riches of Egypt. The Libyans and Cushites will also be in submission.
Daniel 11:44 But reports from the east and the north will terrify him out of his senses, and he will go out with great fury to annihilate and completely destroy many.
Daniel 11:45 He will pitch his royal tents between the sea and the beautiful holy mountain, but he will meet his end with no one to help him.

he will meet his end

It was a terrible knowledge that this evil king (Antiochus IV) would seek to annihilate so many, including the inhabitants of the beautiful land itself (Israel). But it was a comfort that even his reign of deadly terror would come to an end.

We are not guaranteed much in this life. There may be suffering ahead for us. But if we trust in God, even times of unimaginable suffering can be endured — because they will always be temporary.

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successful until

Posted on August 3, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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successful until

Daniel 11:36-39 (JDV)

Daniel 11:36 “Then the king will do whatever he wants. He will exalt and magnify himself above every god, and he will say outrageous things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed because what has been decreed will be accomplished.
Daniel 11:37 He will not show regard for the gods of his fathers, the god desired by women, or for any other god because he will magnify himself above all.
Daniel 11:38 Instead, he will honor a god of fortresses – a god his fathers did not know – with gold, silver, precious stones, and riches.
Daniel 11:39 He will deal with the strongest fortresses with the help of a foreign god. He will greatly honor those who acknowledge him, making them rulers over many and distributing land as a favor.

successful until

The story of Antiochus IV reminds us that success is no measure of character or blessing. His success was due to God’s plan to pour out his wrath on unbelieving Jews. He was “successful until the time of wrath (was) completed.”

Do you consider yourself a success? Don’t rely on your temporary situation. Seek the blessing of the eternal God. Success in a relationship with Him is the only success that stays.

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