The Rule of the Heavens # 37

The Abiding Message of the Book of Daniel (continued)

Similarity Between Ends and Beginnings

1. The Word of God Despised

The next thing is that conditions at the beginning are particularly true of the end. Look at the beginning of this period, this age-period of the Gentile world powers as we have it in the Book of Daniel and in other prophecies which circle around the beginning. You have Jehoiakim and his apostasy. We will have more to say about it, but remember that all that took place in the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim. Who was he? He was a son of Josiah. That makes things exceedingly serious, for Josiah was one of those good kings of the latter days of Israel, through whom a very blessed revival took place in Israel; who recovered things for God, who was true to God in a day of terrible declension and idolatry, and one of the most glorious fragments of those latter years of Israel's history under Josiah. And Jehoiakim was the son of Josiah. And Jehoiakim, son of Josiah, cut the Word of God to pieces and burnt it. He despised the Word of God. He knew that upon which God had set His blessing, His approval, he knew of days of Divine blessing and the ground upon which that blessing was given, he knew that of which God approved, history was before him in close relationships, he had a godly heritage, but he apostatized, he despised the Word of God. He let go his godly heritage. That was the beginning. He did more than that. He had a brother and he had seen his brother captivated, the King of Egypt deposed his brother and put him in his place and changed his name. He had seen the downfall of his brother because God was against the way that he was taking, and that ought to have been a warning to him. He had seen the blessing of God upon his father and the judgment of God upon his brother (2 Chronicles 34: 35: 36; and Jeremiah 36).

That is how it was at the beginning, and I have said that the conditions at the beginning are repeated very closely at the end of a dispensation. The Word of God is despised today. There is a godly heritage, there is a history; it is clear to all who want to see where the Lord's blessing rests and upon what it rests. We have not to look back upon our history very far to see where the Lord comes in, in blessing - faithfulness to the Word of God. Yet today that which officially represents Christendom as Jehoiakim officially represented Israel, in the main, despises the Word of God, sets it aside, ignores its history, takes no account of its godly heritage, and things are in a state of declension, largely apostasy, today. Yes, as it was then so it is now.

~T. Austin-Sparks~

(continued with # 38 - (Mixture)