Hope in the Darkness (Destination: Bethlehem, Day 9)

We study God's Word and we find throughout the pages of the Scriptures, Old and New Testaments,
the amazing story of God's redemption of humanity.  We can read in Romans 15:
12 ...Isaiah says: "There shall be a root of Jesse; And He who shall rise to reign over the Gentiles, In Him the Gentiles shall hope."
13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
14 Now I myself am confident concerning you, my brethren, that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.

We need that hope today, don't we?  And, we serve Who is described as the "God of hope," who can cause us to abound in that hope as we face difficult days.  The inner strength that flows from a relationship with Jesus Christ, our Messiah, our risen Lord can sustain us when we are tempted to become discouraged, when we feel overwhelmed by world events or the personal circumstances we encounter.  God can shape our thinking by His Word so that our perspectives are aligned with His, and we can develop an attitude of being hopeful and steadfast in the Lord, even when we are afraid.

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The journey toward Bethlehem continues as we make our way along this year's Christmas Advent-ure, entitled, Destination: Bethlehem.  Today's location is in the Medo-Persian empire, and it involves a man named Daniel, who was actually brought into captivity by the Babylonian empire, attained an impressive standing in that administration, and was also in a high position under the Medes and the Persians.  We read in Daniel chapter 9, that the prophet experienced a heavenly vision, from the angel Gabriel himself, which provided some practical information about the timing of the coming of the Messiah.
24 "Seventy weeks are determined For your people and for your holy city, To finish the transgression, To make an end of sins, To make reconciliation for iniquity, To bring in everlasting righteousness, To seal up vision and prophecy, And to anoint the Most Holy.
25 "Know therefore and understand, That from the going forth of the command To restore and build Jerusalem Until Messiah the Prince, There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; The street shall be built again, and the wall, Even in troublesome times.
26 "And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; And the people of the prince who is to come Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, And till the end of the war desolations are determined.
27 Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; But in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, Even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate."

This predicts the period of time from the command to rebuild Jerusalem until the birth of Jesus.  It also states that the "Messiah shall be cut off."  It is taught that there is a seventieth week of Daniel - a week of years, sort of speak, during which tribulation will come on the earth.   Verse 27 even points to the coming of abomination.  Later in the book, Daniel describes a series of events, highlighted by Jimmy DeYoung of Prophecy Today this week on my program, which involved an abominable leader desecrating the temple and threatening the Jews, who were sustained and delivered.  This series of events is currently being commemorated during this celebration called Hanukkah.  But, as Jimmy points out, there will be another abominable leader to come, the Antichrist, who will desecrate the Temple during the tribulation period and set himself up to be God.

Daniel was the recipient of key information, spiritual intel, related to the first coming of Jesus, our Messiah, as well as circumstances leading up to His second coming, His second Advent.

Last week on the Survey Thursday installment of The Front Room, I featured some highlights from a Chapman University poll dealing with our fears.  I want to return to that topic today, in light of some new polling data.

A new Public Policy Research Institute/Religion News Service poll also deals with the topic of fear - current fears that are relevant to our culture today.

75% of Americans say that terrorism is a critical issue in the country, and another 21% say it is one among many important issues. Only four percent say it is not that important. The summary of the survey points out that concerns about terrorism have increased substantially over the last few years. In 2011, slightly more than half of the public said the issue of terrorism was critical.

Furthermore, 67% of Americans say the issue of mass shootings is a critical issue in the U.S. today, while more than one in four (27%) say it is one among many important issues and four percent say that it is not that important an issue.

47% of those surveyed say they are very or somewhat worried that they or someone in their family will be a victim of terrorism, while 53% say they are not too or not at all worried about being a victim of terrorism. The summary points out that the current level of concern represents a 14 percentage point increase from a year prior, when only one-third (33%) of the public reported being worried about being the victim of a terrorist attack.

Quite a bit of the survey dealt with Islam.  47% of those surveyed believe the values of Islam are at odds with American values and way of life. A slightly lower percentage, 43% disagree, and 1-in-10 did not answer. But, 57% Americans say that American Muslims are an important part of the religious community in the country; more than a third disagree.

53% of respondents agree that American Muslims have not done enough to oppose extremism in their own communities.  A little over a third disagree, with just over one-in-ten offering no opinion.  That 53% number is up from 46% in 2011.

Finally, a majority - 53% - of Americans support allowing Syrian refugees to come to the U.S. provided they go through a security clearance process.

I think that the book of Daniel can give us some incredible perspective on current events and our response to fearful circumstances in this world.  First of all, Daniel lived in and operated in the geographic region of the world where some of our modern-day fears originate.   The Medo-Persian empire was a vast section of land stretching from what is now Turkey all the way over to Afghanistan, a section of the world that is predominantly Muslim today.  He served people who were considered enemies of his people, yet God's favor was upon him and he was able to do an incredible work.  He was fearless in his devotion to God, a great example of grace under pressure.

Also, can you imagine the exhilaration that Daniel experienced as he realized he had received an angelic visitation, bringing an important word from God to His people?   This word was a word of encouragement, offering hope that Messiah was coming and information on when He would come. We have been given the Word of God to bring us direction and sustenance for our lives.  We can rejoice that God has chosen to speak to us.  And, He has spoken not only about the coming of Jesus to earth originally, but His return to earth in the years to come.  Thankfully, God used Daniel to speak His Word, and the Holy Spirit will illuminate that Word for us.  

Finally, Daniel lived in a dark world and is an example to us for living in today's circumstances. He was strategically placed originally in the Babylonian Empire, which had captured his people.  But, he was faithful - he spoke truth to power as he interacted with Nebuchadnezzar originally, and then to others.  He stood in prayer and was delivered from the lion's den.  He portrays for us a life that overcomes fear and stands for the Lord.   In fearful times, we can exude hope in the darkness.