Contending for the Faith - Daniel 11-12 and Jude

It is very difficult to say with any certainty the exact meaning of Daniel's vision of the end of time. However, it is clear that God wanted everyone to know that a terrible king will arise who will do great damage to the people of God. He will be the culmination of Satan's efforts to destroy those who believe in the One True God. Satan knows that he can't defeat God, because Christ defeated him once and for all by His death and resurrection, but he will continue to war against God and those who trust Him, until he is thrown into the Lake of Fire. That is why we, as believers, must contend for the faith. Satan will do his part to deceive people and to bring in false doctrines, so we must stand up for the truth and exhibit the true faith in all we do. That is what the whole book of Jude is about. Jude describes those false teachers who had already come into the church in the first century. He assures us that the struggle against them will continue until Christ comes again. We must be faithful and not waver in our devotion to the Lord and to His Word. In fact, we must stand in the power of His Spirit, because we can't stand against Satan's schemes in our own power, but by the Spirit we can have victory all the time. I pray that all of us will stand against false doctrines, against hypocrisy of all kinds, and that we will determine to allow Christ to shine through us to this dark world around us. Without our constant witness many will be deceived and end up in the Lake of Fire with Satan and his demons. That is not God's will, but it is up to us to contend for the faith.

Tomorrow, I intend to read Hosea 1-4 and Revelation 1.