Daniel & 144
Thousand Parallels
In order
to more clearly understand the circumstances and characteristics of the 144
thousand, the Lord has given us prototypes in the persons of Daniel the prophet
and his three companions who were brought under the authority of a ruthless
king when they were taken to Babylon as captives of Nebuchadnezzar in 606
B.C. Nebuchadnezzar is a type of the
Antichrist as similarities and parallels to the end times can be seen
throughout the historical section of the book of Daniel.
His
making of an image and demanding that all must fall down and worship (Daniel 3)
is the most striking of the parallels Nebuchadnezzar demonstrates which
typifies the Antichrist’s prophesied end time demand for universal obedience,
when he also will rule the world and seek to force all to worship his
image as recorded in Revelation 13.
Although
Daniel and his three companions had endured the initial calamities of captivity
which included being separated from their families, the traumatic process of
emasculation, and the obvious confusion of being placed in a culture which
totally changed the way they lived, they still held to their God-given beliefs
under the leadership of the young prophet Daniel.
The first
obstacle these young men faced is recorded in chapter one when Daniel as the
spokesman for the group ‘purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself
with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank’
demonstrating his continued loyalty to God even though the outward
circumstances of this brutal captivity could have turned him into just another
whining, backslidden Jew.
But
Daniel had an inward peace from the Lord giving him the calmness of mind to
evaluate the situation and make a godly appeal to his immediate authority:
‘therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile
himself.’ This is the first and maybe
the finest of characteristics demonstrated by Daniel here in chapter one, and
later in chapter three by Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. They understood how to
make a Godly appeal which includes bringing oneself under authority and
displaying a Godly attitude of submission while making their appeal when they
were requested to violate Biblical principle.
These
Godly tactics will always defeat the vile intentions of the devil, for he is
ever in the midst of authority conflicts and he knows if only he can cause a
believer to rebel against the authority God has placed him under, he then can
gain the upper hand by causing us to attempt to stand and battle him in our own
strength instead of God’s intended way of letting Him fight our battles with
His mighty weapons which are brought into play when we simply take a stand,
submit and appeal to Him.
Putting
the situation in the right perspective with these seven words is the key to
victory when conflict arises: ‘We wrestle not against flesh and blood…’ Yes,
every conflict that comes our way must be put into the right perspective or we
will enter the battle in our own strength canceling any and all help the Lord could provide for victory!
Daniel must have known these spiritual warfare tactics for he was mighty in
dealing with the authorities the Lord put over him showing us that full
submission to God’s way is the only answer!
However,
if we choose our own course and rebel, we lose the power and protection of God
and are immediately brought into the condemnation of the devil! The principle
that must be kept in mind here is, when we submit to God-ordained authority, we
are in fact submitting to God Himself, and He will take the appropriate action
and full responsibility for the results!
The Godly
responses of Daniel and his four companions were due to their extensive
preparation by God, for they knew ahead of time that the Lord was allowing
their captivity to take place, and they were safe under authority in the hands
and plans of their sovereign Lord.
The prophecy, which Isaiah announced to Hezekiah
king of Judah,
would have been known by them for they themselves were ‘of the king’s seed’
(Daniel 1:3). The century old prophecy
given to Hezekiah recorded in II Kings 20 outlined the events that were
taking place at this very moment providing them with a strong confidence that
the Lord was definitely in charge, and could, in fact, deliver them from any
threat concocted by Satan and his emissaries.
Isaiah’s words are clear and unmistakable: ‘Behold
the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have
laid up in store unto this day, shall be carried into Babylon: nothing shall be
left, saith the Lord. And of thy sons (Daniel and his four companions) that
shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they
shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’ (II Kings 20:17,18)
In addition to this powerful prophecy concerning
their future, these young men also had the great privilege of being raised
during the years of king Josiah’s Godly reforms in Judah as recorded in II
Kings 22,23 when the Book of the Law was found causing Josiah, to purge the
land of idolatry and re-institute Godly worship. This statement was written
concerning his reign: ‘And like unto him was there no king before him, that
turned to the LORD with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his
might, according to all the law of Moses, neither after him arose there any
like him.’ (II Kings 23:25)
This select group of servants of God did not enter
the courts of the king of Babylon unprepared, no, the Lord was preparing His
servants to take on and not only survive the persecution of the murderous
Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar and his Satanic cohorts, but in the process the
most important prophetic end-time revelation of the Old Testament would come
forth from the pen of Daniel giving vital truth concerning the end of the age
and timeless principles of effectively dealing with religious persecution which
will be invaluable in the days ahead as religious persecution increases
worldwide and is accelerating at an alarming rate as we close in on the 70th
Week of Daniel and the vicious, murderous persecution of the Antichrist.
And, just as Nebuchadnezzar plays the role of a
prototype Antichrist, so do Daniel and his three friends fill the prototype
position for those who will carry the
torch for the Lord at the end of the age when religious persecution will be at
it’s zenith. Therefore, these four young men of royalty, God’s end times
prototypes, having access to the Scripture, knew ahead of time some of what God
was going to do with them as the king of Babylon closed in on the city of
Jerusalem eventually taking them captive and enlisting them in his own service
as recorded in the book of Daniel. Their role as God’s prototypes can be seen
throughout the first six chapters of Daniel with parallels taken from
Revelation chapter seven and fourteen.
There are at least ten similarities and parallels
between Daniel and his three companions and the 144 Thousand:
1. They are prepared for their ministry (Daniel 1:3, 4; Revelation 7:3)
2. They are supernaturally protected by the
Lord (Revelation 7:3a, 9:4; Daniel 3:23-28, 6:21, 22)
3. They are called servants of God (Revelation 7:3b; Daniel 3:26)
4. They are sons of Israel
[men of the tribe of Judah]
(Revelation 7:5; Daniel 2:25)
5. They refuse to worship an idolatrous image under the threat of death
(Revelation 13; Daniel 3)
6. They are seen with the Lord (Revelation 14:1; Daniel 3:26)
7. They refuse to be defiled
(Revelation 14:4a; Daniel 1:8)
8. They choose to follow God (Revelation 14:4b; Daniel 3:16-18, 28)
9. They are without fault (Revelation 14:5; Daniel 6:4)
10. Their ministry is prophesied (II Kings 20:17, 18; Revelation 7:1-8;
14:1-5)
Daniel and his three companions, according to Daniel
chapter one where the word eunuch is used to describe the man who was over them
‘the prince of the eunuchs’, were made eunuchs in order to serve in the palace
of the king where their duties included serving
and being in the presence of the king’s wives/women. Therefore, it was
the prevailing custom for these men to be made eunuchs by emasculation in order
for them to effectively serve royalty in this capacity, a custom which
continued through New Testament times (Acts 8:27ff).
The resulting effect on them is similar to the 144
Thousand who will be called out of every tribe as is indicated in Revelation
14:4 to serve the King of kings: ‘These
are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins.’ These men
who will be protected by the Lord during the end times (Revelation 9:4) will
also be similar to eunuchs although not physically emasculated, they will keep
themselves physically pure giving their full devotion to the King of kings, the
Lord Jesus Christ.
The Lord taught a three-fold source of becoming a
eunuch in Matthew 19:12 ‘For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from
their mother’s womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of
men; and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom
of heaven’s sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it.’
And so a man can become a eunuch: 1. Naturally 2. Man-made
3. Self-made. The 144 thousand are described as men who ‘were not
defiled with women’ indicating their physical purity and their choice to fully ‘follow the Lamb
whithersoever He goeth’ (Revelation 14:4) which amply demonstrates the complete
surrender of self in all things in order to give every area of their life to
the maximum service of the Lord! Their dedication parallels the characteristics
of a self-made eunuch because they of their own volition give themselves
completely to the Lord by choosing not to have physical relations with women
‘for the kingdom of heaven’s sake’.
The Lord, being the unchangeable and faithful God
that He is, will prepare those He will choose to represent Him during the end
times in order that He might have a great company of ‘the servants of our God’
(Revelation 7:3) to faithfully serve Him during those tumultuous but exciting
days ahead! However, regardless of what ‘theory’ we hold concerning the
timing of the events of the end times, one thing we can surely rely upon and
that is the unchanging faithfulness of our God. He will most certainly call out
and prepare that great company of 144 thousand Hebrew servants from the twelve
tribes of Israel.
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