Antiochus IV Epiphanes

Key verses
Jude 24-25 - To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.

Daniel

Let me say a brief word about the abomination of desolation mentioned in Daniel.  Many people believe that this desolation is yet to happen, but I believe they are mistaken.  The abomination has already occurred.  In fact, it happened a couple thousand years ago with the reign of Antiochus IV Epiphanes.  His name, Epiphanes (Antiochus was the name of a series of kings in the Seleucid dynasty), means manifestation, and he claimed to be the god Zeus in human form.  He was so set against Judaism that he conquered Jerusalem and offered unclean sacrifices in the temple, thereby desecrating the holy place and bringing about the abomination of desolation.

Apocalyptic literature

Apocalyptic literature seems to be very often taken out of context.  By apocalyptic literature, I mean books of the bible like the last half of Daniel, parts of Ezekiel, and of course, Revelation (which we will be looking at in a couple of days).  These books and prophecies were written for the people who were contemporary to the authors' times.  That means that the prophecies would have meant something to those people, and that they did not speak about the fall of the USSR, or the US-Iraq wars, or anything else that has happened in the past few hundred years.  We can try and read anything we want into these prophecies, but let's face it - Daniel, Ezekiel, and John (author of Revelation) didn't know anything about the United States or Russia.  Granted, the Holy Spirit could have inspired them so much that they wrote about things they had no idea about, but I doubt that's the case, because it would have no meaning for anyone, even themselves, and God's word makes sense to whoever reads it, not just us.

Apocalyptic literature was a genre of writing that was used to comfort people in times of persecution, uncertainty, or other trials.  No matter how tough times get, we can always rely on God to save us in the end.  So one thing we can take away from these passages is that when we're experiencing our own troubles today (as we hear about major wars going on all over the globe), God will be with us and he will overcome.

Faithful in prayer

Daniel is a great example in persevering in the truth and holding fast to what you know to be the right thing to do.  Today, and this week, recall his faithfulness of prayer to God and, even with the threat of painful death.  I, for one, can be more active in conversing with God.  He clearly understood the importance of such an action, as he prayed even when the king made it against the law.  His example brings to life what Paul wrote in Romans 12:12 - Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

The ultimate trust in God

Key verses
Daniel 3:17-18 - If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”