What specifically would the little horn think
to change? Daniel 7:25
And
NOTE: Changing God's law is impossible, and
yet, amazingly, the little horn power thinks it has such great power
that it can actually change God's law. The text does not say it will do
it, but only that it thinks it can do it. It would also think to change
not just the law, but the times and the law. One of the key thoughts
that we noticed already in Daniel is the need to take time with God.
Now we see the little horn would attempt to change the times, the very
area that deals with people taking time to build a relationship with
God.
How many commandments are in God's law? Exodus 34:28 What is so special about these ten
commandments? Exodus 31:18
Inscribed by the
NOTE: The Ten Commandments are the only part of
the Bible that God, Himself, wrote with His own finger. The rest of
Scripture was written by the prophets as God communicated with them.
The Commandments were of such vital importance that God wrote them with
His own finger on tables of stone. This indicated their permanency.
Very quickly we can see the great presumption of the little horn. It
has attacked and attempted to change the one part of the Bible that God
Himself wrote. In attempting to change God's law, it has attacked God
Himself!
THE TEN
COMMANDMENTS The Ten Commandments are a transcript of the
character of God. They reveal to us what God is like. God's law is thus
a reflection of Himself. To attempt to change God's law would actually
be an attempt to change God.
What is the first commandment? Exodus 20:3 What does the second commandment prohibit? Exodus 20:4-6 What does the third commandment say? Exodus 20:7
You shall not
NOTE: These first three commandments have
upheld the supremacy of the true God, the uniqueness of the true God,
as the only one worthy of our worship, honor and respect.
What does the fourth commandment require of
people? Exodus 20:8-11 What specifically are people to keep as the
Sabbath day? Exodus 20:10
The
NOTE: In this commandment, people are asked to
spend one day each week in contemplation of their Creator and Redeemer,
building a relationship with Him. While people spent time with God
every day in Bible study and prayer, this commandment asks them to go
beyond the daily devotional time and spend one full day a week in
intensive relationship-building. How wonderful God is to make certain
that we have time for building a solid relationship. We have a
wonderful God who wants to become intimately acquainted with each of
us. That's why He gave us this special time weekly as specified in the
fourth commandment.
What commandment did God give to protect the
family? Exodus 20:12
your
father and your mother.
NOTE: This world of sin has erased much of what
has come to us from the Garden of Eden. In fact, there are only two
blessings left from that perfect paradise dwelling: the Sabbath and the
home. Commandments 4 and 5 were given to protect these sacred legacies
of our Eden home.
What moral standards does God uphold in the
last five of the ten commandments? Exodus 20:13-17
You shall not You shall not commit You shall not You shall not give You shall not
As amazing and incredible as it may seem,
Daniel 7 predicts that the little horn will attempt to change these
very Ten Commandments. Obviously, it has to be a very subtle change,
because an open attempt to attack God's law and change it would
promptly be met with resistance by Christian people.
LAW AND
GRACE One of the subtle ways that Satan has sought to
discredit God's law today has been through the suggestion that since we
are saved by grace, we no longer need to keep God's law. Is salvation
by grace a license to sin? What does the bible say about this?
What is sin? 1 John 3:4 Which law is it that points out sin? Romans 7:7
I would not have known what sin was except
through the
NOTE: God's law points out, or reveals sin. In
quoting the tenth commandment Paul shows that he is talking about the
Ten Commandment law.
Is grace an excuse for sin? Romans 6:1, 2
Shall we go on sinning so that
NOTE: A person saved by the grace of God will
live an obedient life. Grace is not an excuse for breaking God's law.
In fact, the opposite is true. A person saved by grace no longer wishes
to dwell in sin or live in disobedience of God's law.
What is the purpose of God's law? Romans 3:20
Through the law we become
NOTE: The law does not save; rather it reveals
the sinner's need to be saved. The law does not justify, or cleanse, it
only shows our need of cleansing. It is God's great mirror, reflecting
the sinner's need of cleansing and redemption ( James 1:23, 24 ).
How only can the Christian be purified? 1 John 1:7
the
NOTE: Only through Jesus can people receive
cleansing. The Bible is very clear that people are not saved by
law-keeping; they are saved solely by the blood of Jesus. He purifies,
and then He provides the power to live a life of obedience. God's holy
law shows people their need of purifying, but it cannot purify. Only
Jesus can.
How then are people saved? Ephesians 2:8, 9
For it is by
NOTE: The New Testament is crystal clear.
People are saved solely by what Jesus does for them (grace).
Law-keeping and good works are the RESULT of a saving relationship with
Jesus, but NEVER a means of obtaining that relationship.
OLD
TESTAMENT SALVATION The New Testament makes clear that God saves
people by grace and expect them to live a life of obedience because
they have a relationship with Him. Many people have not realized that
the Old Testament teaches exactly the same concept. In both testaments
God's people are saved by grace, and then, because He has redeemed
them, they will keep His law.
Did God give the Ten Commandments to Israel
before or after He redeemed them from Egypt? Exodus 19:4, 5; 20:1, 2
I carried you on eagles' wings, and
NOTE: Clearly God spells it out. The reason why
Israel was asked to obey was an outgrowth of the fact that God had
already saved them out of Egypt. Nowhere does Scripture give any
indication that God ever asks people to obey as a condition to
redemption. He first of all redeems them, and then He asks for their
obedience.
What is the Old Testament motive for obeying
God? Deuteronomy 6:4, 5
the
lord your God with all your heart...
NOTE: Most Christians will quickly notice that
this commandment to love God is the same one Jesus repeated in Matthew 22:37 . The second great
commandment of Jesus, to love your neighbor, is also an Old Testament
commandment found in Levitius 19:18 . These two great
summations of the law that Jesus gives are actually Old Testament
commandments. The command to love God in Deuteronomy 6 immediately
follows the giving of the Ten Commandments in Deuteronomy 5, indicating
clearly that love was to be the motive for obedience to God even in the
Old Testament.
Was Old Testament religion a legalistic
religion? Micah 6:8
What does the LORD require of you? To act
NOTE: This is surely not evidence of a
legalistic religion, but a life of obedience that springs out of a
loving relationship with God.
Was the new birth experience also an Old
Testament experience? Ezekiel 36:26, 27
I will give you a new
NOTE: Here again, the very elements of gospel
religion are presented. In order to serve God, people must receive a
new heart. The Holy Spirit would live in this new heart, and it would
be the Holy Spirit living and dwelling in the people that would cause
them to obey their Heavenly Father.
God has only one plan to salvation. In both Old
and New Testaments, God always saves people solely by grace through
faith, and never by works. Works and law keeping, in both Old and New
Testament, were always the result of a relationship with God, and never
a means toward obtaining that relationship.
Does God, His law, or His plan of salvation
ever change? Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8; Matthew 5:17
I the LORD do not
NOTE: What great news this is! Our God doesn't
change. What He said in Old Testament times is the same that He says in
New Testament times. The plan of salvation is more fully revealed in
the New Testament, but it is not different. The relationship of law and
grace is the same in both Old and New Testaments. God's law is as
eternal and changeless as God Himself. To change God's law would be to
change the character of God, and God has declared He does not change.
What assurance there is in this for the Christian! We do not serve a
fickle God who changes with every whim that comes along, but one who
can be counted on to deliver.
In spite of all these scriptural assurances of
the changelessness of our God, Daniel 7 reveals the incredible news
that the little horn would attempt to alter that which God Himself has
declared unalterable -- His holy law. We have learned in this lesson
that God's law cannot be changed. In the next couple of lessons we will
examine in detail this purported attempt to change God's eternal,
changeless law. Daniel 7:25 says he will "think to
change set times and the laws." How has the little horn done this?
