Daniel 5:1-31
Jul 30th, 2015 | By Dr. Jim EckmanThe Writing on the Wall: God uses Daniel to tell King Belshazzar that he has not glorified & honored God with his actions as King, just as his ancestors did, and that the days of his Kingdom are over.
The Writing on the Wall: God uses Daniel to tell King Belshazzar that he has not glorified & honored God with his actions as King, just as his ancestors did, and that the days of his Kingdom are over.
King Nebuchadnezzer’s remarkable royal proclamation glorifying God is an account of mysterious dream, Daniel’s interpretation, and God’s fulfillment of the dream raise interesting questions, including discussion of Nebuchadnezzer’s place in heaven.
As she feasted on a luncheon salad and sipped wine, Dr. Deborah Nucatola, Planned Parenthood?s senior director of medical services, nonchalantly discussed how she methodically conducted late-term abortions to collect and preserve key fetal tissue and body parts. She declared that there is a great demand for fetal livers, but ?A lot of people want intact hearts these days.? To preserve intact fetal organs, Dr. Nucatola stated that ?We?ve been very good at getting heart, lung, liver, because we know that, so I?m gonna crush that part. I?m gonna basically crush below, I?m gonna crush above, and I?m gonna see if I can get it all intact?. . .This chilling video was released by the Center for Medical Research, an activist group seeking to expose Planned Parenthood for its abortion work and its nefarious disregard for prenatal human life.
Nebuchadnezzar built an idol of himself, and threw Daniel into the fire for not worshipping. Dr. Eckman leads discussion on how God changed Nebuchadnezzar’s heart.
The defense of Christianity and its claims has always been important throughout the history of the church. However, today the need to defend genuine, biblical Christianity is more important than ever. The Millennials of Postmodern, Postchristian America value personal autonomy more than anything else and give evidence of a significant lack of trust in all institutions, including the church. Millennials are therefore spiritually vulnerable.
The existential threat to Israel is real and has been since Israel was founded as a modern nation-state in 1948. The four major wars Israel has fought plus the numerous terrorist threats have defined Israel since its founding. But there is a new aggression being leveled at Israel?an economic aggression in the form of the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign. Members of the European Union (EU) are working to develop economic sanctions designed to force Israel to accept political concessions such as ending the blockade against Hamas in Gaza. Further, major EU banks and financial firms have blacklisted various Israeli banks because they operate in the West Bank.
We discuss The Dream of Nebuchadnezzar: the King’s threat to his court, how Daniel prayed for insight to know & interpret the King’s dream, and how this dream revealed a broad framework for history.
At the end of June, the Supreme Court of the United States predictably ruled in favor of same-sex marriage in a 5-4 vote, with the majority opinion written by Justice Anthony M. Kennedy. The ruling overturned all state prohibitions or regulations against same-sex marriage, in effect making same-sex marriage equal in the eyes of the law as monogamous, heterosexual marriage. This decision comes exactly two years after Kennedy?s majority opinion in US v. Windsor, which struck down a federal law denying benefits to married same-sex couples, and exactly 12 years after his opinion in Lawrence v. Texas, which struck down sodomy laws in the states. Justice Kennedy based this most recent decision on the 14th Amendment and its ?equal protection? and ?due process? clauses.