Hello and welcome to EBible Fellowship’s Sunday afternoon Bible study. Today is study #5 of Daniel, chapter 1, and we will begin by reading Daniel 1:3-8:

And the king spake unto Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring certain of the children of Israel, and of the king's seed, and of the princes; Children in whom was no blemish, but well favoured, and skilful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king's palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans. And the king appointed them a daily provision of the king's meat, and of the wine which he drank: so nourishing them three years, that at the end thereof they might stand before the king. Now among these were of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: Unto whom the prince of the eunuchs gave names: for he gave unto Daniel the name of Belteshazzar; and to Hananiah, of Shadrach; and to Mishael, of Meshach; and to Azariah, of Abednego. But Daniel 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: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.

I will stop reading there. As we have seen, this took place at the time when Judah had been overcome by the Babylonians and King Nebuchadnezzar. King Nebuchadnezzar had taken some of the people of Judah captive and, specifically, the king has given the master of the eunuchs instruction concerning certain of the children of Israel that were of the king’s seed and of the princes. We saw how each one of those phrases points to God’s elect who are of spiritual Israel of the king’s seed and of the princes because we are of the royal family of God.

In verse 4 it went on to say that they were “Children in whom was no blemish, but well favoured, and skilful in all wisdom,” and so on. In our last study we saw in the first part of this verse that the king wanted his master of the eunuchs to bring these “children of Israel, and of the king's seed, and of the princes; Children in whom was no blemish,” and we saw how this also identifies with the elect, especially as God speaks in Ephesians, chapter 5 of the marriage between a man and a woman as a picture of the spiritual marriage between Christ and his eternal church. Then speaking of that eternal church consisting only of those that are saved, we read in Ephesians 5:26-27:

That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

We saw that in the Bible to be “without blemish” means to be perfect, without spot, or wrinkle or any such thing. To be “without blemish” points to being without sin or any fault before God. One is perfect before God if one is “without blemish.”

The people of the world, as represented by Babylon and the kingdom of Satan, desire children in whom there is no blemish. The world desires to put forth those that are without blemish and that is why the world’s advertisements and most of the actors and actresses present a picture of someone with the “with the whitest teeth” or the “purest skin,” where there is no apparent physical fault. Why does the world want to do this? It is because it identifies with the perfection that people first had in the Garden of Eden when man was created. Adam and Eve were perfect and without sin and without blemish of any kind. They were “perfect in beauty,” as we read in Ezekiel 28, “until iniquity was found in them.” So the world is always seeking after a perfect physical presentation. They put forth the young people because their bodies have not begun to seek corruption as much as the more elderly. When people get older more blemishes appear in their skin and in their features, so the world puts forth their young and they are painted with makeup and their teeth are whitened and it is all to give the appearance of perfection in weight and appearance. It is a form of denial that there is any sin: “We are perfect in body. Nothing happened in the Garden of Eden. There is no imperfection that has entered into the world.” Of course, this is not true at all, but that is the lie that the world is often caught up in as they attempt to be “without blemish.” It is probably the reason behind cosmetic surgery and people trying to maintain a youthful appearance; they want to be “without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing.” They want to be “without blemish,” but it is not possible, even in the physical body, until God resurrects His elect people. However, it is possible for God’s elect people, the bride of Christ, to be perfect and holy in their soul existence where there is no blemish of any kind. There is no sin of any kind, spiritually, upon them.

So in giving instruction to seek children in whom there is no blemish, the King of Babylon is targeting God’s elect. He is going after God’s elect, even in the world outside of the churches. He wants to find God’s elect. That is why it goes on to say in Daniel 1:4:

… but well favoured, and skilful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science…

Each one of these descriptions relates to and focuses on God’s elect. Who is well favoured but the child of God? He is favoured by the great King, God Himself. That is what it means to be favored. When King Ahasuerus put forth his sceptre to Esther, she found favour in the king’s sight and did not die and she was able to enter in to the presence of the king, even though he could have had her killed for daring to approach him. Esther is a picture of God’s elect that find grace and favour in the sight of the Lord. Therefore, God’s people are well favoured and this is a particular trait of the child of God and Satan knows that.

So, here, the King of Babylon pictures Satan as he gives these certain instructions to the master of the eunuchs to bring forth children that are without blemish, well favoured and also “skilful in all wisdom.” The Hebrew word translated as “skilful” is Strong’s #7919. It is the word we find twice in Daniel 11, where it is translated as “understand.” It says in Daniel 11:33:

And they that understand among the people shall instruct many…

It also says in Daniel 11:35:

And some of them of understanding shall fall…

The words “understand” and “understanding” are pointing to God’s people and it is the same Hebrew word translated in our verse as “skilful.”

It is translated as “wise” in Daniel 12:3:

And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.

It is also translated as “wise” in Daniel 12:10:

Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.

The “skilful” shall understand. In what are they “skilful,” according to Daniel 1, verse 4? They are skilful in all wisdom or the knowledge of God. They have the knowledge of the truth of the Word of God. Who are skilful or knowledgeable or understanding or wise in the things of God, the Bible, but those that are children of God?

They are the ones that God has adopted into His own family and translated from darkness to light. They are the ones that God has given ears to hear and to understand and possess “wisdom,” or Christ. They are “skilful in all wisdom” and it goes on to say that they are “cunning in knowledge.” The Hebrew word translated as “cunning” is Strong’s #3045 and it is used many times translated as “know” or “knowing.” It is also translated as “discerneth” in Ecclesiastes 8:5:

Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil thing: and a wise man's heart discerneth both time and judgment.

According to Daniel 1, verse 4, we could substitute the word “cunning.” A wise man’s heart is cunning in both time and judgment or a wise man’s heart is knowing in both time and judgment. Likewise, we could substitute the words “discerning” or “knowing” back in Daniel 1, verse 4. In other words, the king wanted children that were discerning in knowledge. Again, it is the knowledge of God or the knowledge of the things of God, the Bible. We can clearly see this with each one of these statements that it can only apply to one that God has saved. Satan goes after and targets God’s people even after they have come out of the churches and are in the Babylon of this world. Yet, the king of Babylon is still looking for them. He had come against the camp of the saints and God gave him victory over the saints within the churches and congregations, as Satan overran the corporate church and took his seat in the temple as the man of sin, showing himself that he was God. However, he was fully aware of what was taking place as God opened the Scriptures at the time of the Great Tribulation and how the people of God were departing out of the midst and fleeing to the mountains.

We do not think that Satan was ignorant of these things, do we? Satan was fully aware of Family Radio and a man like Mr. Camping that had the ability, by God’s grace, to reach practically the entire world through radio and the electronic medium. Satan knew exactly what was being taught and he knew that the elect were coming out of the churches. It was his desire to trap the elect within the churches as he took over the entire corporate church when the Spirit of God left it. It was just a tremendous opportunity for Satan; if only he could hold the people within the churches and deceive the families with children in these churches. He knew that without the Spirit of God people could not become saved, so it was important to keep them in the churches and not allow them to depart out into the world where God was beginning His salvation program outside the churches beginning in September 1994. Therefore, Satan did his best to maintain people’s memberships in the congregations. He stirred up his emissaries to pronounce “bulls and edicts” against the faithful teaching of Mr. Camping and against those teaching that the church age was over. And for those that would seek to leave the church, he tried to make it a fearful thing: “You will lose your membership.” He tried to teach the erroneous doctrine that had crept into the churches that the corporate church was the “pillar and ground of truth” and that whatever they “loosed” would be loosed in regard to salvation and whatever they “bound” would remain bound in regard to those that would not be saved. This was the error that many churches and congregations taught and that had a grip on some people: “If you leave the church, you will not have salvation.” Yet, none of that was true and God had always provided for His people in these cases, as God gave “ears to hear” the voice of the Master and Good Shepherd. They began to hear the beck and call of the Gospel as it showed that the church age had come to an end and they must depart out of the churches. God speaks of His sheep being led out in a very interesting way in John 10:2-5:

But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.

Christ leads His sheep out and the sheep follow Him because they know His voice. That is exactly what took place. Through the opening of His Word at the time of the end, knowledge was increased as it says in Daniel, and the voice of Christ was heard by those given ears to hear. They followed, some more quickly than others, but finally at the last, all of the sheep had followed Christ out of the churches and congregations of the world. Where did they go? They went outside the churches, but the historical parable that God gave in the Book of Jeremiah was that when God brought the Babylonians against Judah it was a picture of Satan being loosed and coming against the churches at the time of the end. The coming out of the churches was pictured by the people of Judah going into captivity in Babylon. It is the equivalent picture when the child of God left the church during the Great Tribulation. We either worshipped in our homes or maybe we found a couple of other believers to fellowship with or we went to a small fellowship group that had no corporate church relationship. That is how it worked out in reality, but, it was typified by the Jews that went into Babylonian captivity and it is pictured by Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, the four young Jewish men. There were “four” of them because it pictures the universality of all God’s elect that went out into the world at the end of the church age. That is what the Book of Daniel is concerned with in the first few chapters.

It is really an historical parable that paints a picture of the experience of God’s elect that are now living in the world outside of the churches, just as the Jews had to adapt and learn to live in the foreign land of Babylon outside of their nation of Judah. They were the outward representation of the kingdom of God to the people of their time. It is a picture we can identify with and Satan knew that these people are within the boundaries of his kingdom. The Jews had come to Babylon and King Nebuchadnezzar, a type of Satan, is fully aware that Jewish captives were now in Babylon. That means that Satan was fully aware of the elect leaving the churches and going into the world. In other words, he knew that we had quit going to the Presbyterian Church or the Lutheran Church or the Catholic Church or the Episcopalian Church, and so forth. He knows that the elect came out of the corporate church over the course of the 23-year Great Tribulation and, especially, that last 10 years as God opened the Scriptures to reveal the end of the church age and to reveal the “man of sin” seated in the temple or churches of God.

So, certain people came out of the churches and this was an indicator of being obedient to God. Satan desired that people would stay in the churches where he was now ruling and he could control them. He knew they would remain in bondage to sin and to Satan and they would remain in spiritual darkness – they could talk about the “light” all they want. They would remain in captivity, even though they might talk about Christ freeing them all they want, and they would remain in the dungeon. It was like returning to Egypt and it was like Pharaoh would be, once again, ruling over Israel. That is where Satan wanted all the people in the churches and congregations to be and he was fully aware that anyone staying would not become saved. If they professed to be saved, it was an indicator that they were not saved, but there were people that were listening and obeying God. Satan was fully aware that the Biblical information regarding him being loosed and ruling in the churches was true and correct and, therefore, he knew that the ones that were leaving were following the truth; they were not bowing the knee to him or serving the image that was made in his likeness. That image was the “beast,” which the corporate church became, but there were these others that refused to bow down and serve him. Yet, these others were also in Babylon and who ruled over Babylon? It was Satan. He still felt he could destroy them or make them worship him because all the world was worshipping the beast. It was not just those in the churches, as it says in Revelation 13:7-8:

And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

Everyone that dwelled upon the earth would worship him, if they were unsaved. It is a verse that indicates that Satan had tremendous power and rule at the time of his loosing at the end of the world. The end of the world began in 1988 in the 13,000th year of earth’s history when the Great Tribulation started. Satan felt he could destroy these ones that had gone into another area of his rule. They were not in the church as he would have preferred, but they were still in Babylon and he ruled Babylon for the entire 23-year Great Tribulation period, from May 21, 1988 through May 21, 2011.

That is the reason for the king of Babylon’s instruction to the master of his eunuchs in Daniel 1:4:

Children in whom was no blemish, but well favoured, and skilful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science…

Is that true of God’s elect? Do we understand science? Are we as scientists, possessing that kind of knowledge and wisdom? Well, let us think about this. The Hebrew word translated as “science” is only translated this way in this verse in Daniel 1, verse 4. This particular word, Strong’s #4093, is found six times in the Old Testament. It is translated four times as “knowledge,” one time as “thought” and one time as “science.” It really is a word that means “knowledge.” Actually, our English word “science” is derived from the Latin word “scientia,” and that word means “knowledge.” That is very much what this Hebrew word means. Knowledge is science. In the New Testament, the word “science” is used one time in 1Timothy 6:20-21:

O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called: Which some professing have erred concerning the faith. Grace be with thee. Amen.

Here is that word in the Greek translated as “science.” This word is “gno-sis” and it is Strong’s #1108 and it is also translated the majority of time as “knowledge.” If you look up this word you will see several verses where it is translated as “knowledge,” but in this verse it is translated as “science.” It is translated only one time as “science,” just as we found the case to be in the Old Testament. Therefore, “science” is the understanding of knowledge. Who has a better understanding of knowledge? Is it the child of God? We can even use the example of a young child of God, like a little girl that is six years old or a little boy that is eight years old. They do not have much schooling as yet and they are still learning basic instruction in math and reading and, yet, when it comes to understanding knowledge, if God has saved them they understand there is a God. On the other hand, you can find brilliant scientists with super-high IQs but they do not understand that simple basic point of knowledge that there is a God. Because they lack that understanding, they also fail to understand that the God of the Bible who “is” and “has always been” created the world through speaking. They would deny that. They would dismiss that and say it is not true and you should not believe it. They are saying, “I am a scientist. I am a man of knowledge.” Then they would put forth and propose the most ridiculous theories imaginable of the “Big Bang” and evolution. It is foolishness and they are utterly ridiculous things that are not even within the realm of possibilities because it would require miracle after miracle, but without a power to perform miracles. It is an obvious fact that the creation all around us is so intricately designed, including ourselves, and it could not have happened through random chance or by any other method than creation by an infinite God. That is the testimony of the creation itself, but it is denied and, instead, they propose other things that are not possible.

Do God’s elect – even the youngest – understand “science” or understand knowledge? The answer is, “Yes, they understand knowledge far better than the scientists of the world’s renowned institutions of learning.” You can forget them. They do not even have step number one in the process of right learning. They have gone off in a completely wrong direction and they are a million miles away from the most basic of truths that all science and knowledge must be based upon.

Again, it is a characteristic and trait of God’s elect that they have no blemish. They are well favoured. They are skilful in all wisdom. They are cunning in knowledge. They are understanding science. There are five characteristics listed and the number “five” points to the atonement and, in this case, it points to those that have received the atoning work of Christ.

Then it goes on to say in Daniel 1:4:

… and such as had ability in them to stand in the king's palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans.

I think it is a good thing to provide the Strong’s numbers. We would not do that if we did not want you to check out what we are teaching. It would be useless to give you the numbers if you did not follow up and check it out. When we give you the number, it is saving you a step. You can go right to the back of the Strong’s Concordance and you can find that word. The word “learning” is Strong’s #5612 and it is typically translated as “book” or “letter” and it often refers to the Book of the Bible, the Word of God. It is used to refer to the written Word of God, but it is not referring to the Word of God here. It is referring to the “letter” or “book” and the tongue of the Chaldeans, which would point to the writings of the world. Does the world have writings? Does the world have its written authorities? Yes, the world is full of religions that have other writings, but these writings are not part of the Bible and they are not from God. They are from man. They are philosophies or writings of the world and there are many of these that the world has developed and put forth.

Sometimes when I hear someone quote something, I think how often the child of God quotes from the Bible, especially if you teach. When you teach a point, we teach it on the basis of Scriptural statements, so we might say, “The Bible teaches this,” and then we quote a verse where the Bible teaches it. As a child of God, we do this all the time. Then we hear someone that tries to give a quote that they believe is tremendously uplifting or tremendously powerful and we often hear these kinds of quotes at seminars or workshops. The child of God is waiting for the chapter and verse in the Bible, but the next thing we hear is that it is a quote from Gandhi or Buddha or some famous scientist or atheist. You listen and sometimes what is said has some relationship to a Scripture, but often they are just words that do not motivate, strengthen or encourage the child of God. We are not built up or edified in any way by the words of men. But sometimes the people of the world are moved very deeply by a poem or their life is influenced by something they read in a philosophy book. They are sincere about this and they may tell their friends how much this statement by a man meant to them, but to the ears of God’s elect it is just the words of men – it is not something that changes our lives in any way. We hear words of men all the time, but the integral thing to the child of God is the Word of God, the Bible. It is what we value, esteem and lift up. It is only the Words of this Holy Book, the Bible, that help us and encourages and strengthens us. It is the reason we always refer to it because we desire the same thing for others, so we share it with the hope that it will comfort or help that person. This is not the case with the writings of the world. The writings of the world from renowned men or women that are highly esteemed in the world are “strange” to the elect of God.

Here, King Nebuchadnezzar is giving instruction to the master of the eunuchs concerning these children that have all the characteristics of God’s elect and they are to be taught the “learning and tongue of the Chaldeans.” They are to be indoctrinated and instructed in the things of the world. Then the king appoints them a daily provision.

We have to be careful, I guess. Even though the writings of the world do not motivate or help the child of God to any degree when it comes to spiritual things, yet, we are in the world. We are living in the world and we are part of the world, especially at this time in history when God has ended the church age, and we have been called out of the churches into the world. We did not go out into the world of our own accord. It was not our idea. It was not part of our plan. It was not as though we just did not like church authority or anything like that, so we made the determination that we were not going to church any longer. During the church age that would have been rebellion, but God ended the church age and He called His people out of the churches. It was not a request but a command to depart out and, therefore, God has brought us into the world. At the time of the Great Tribulation, we were commanded to go out into the world that was under the rule of Satan, the beast, who had been given special rule over the unsaved people of the world. He had also won this right due to his victory over mankind back in the Garden of Eden and at the time of the end God also turned the churches over to him for their destruction.

The elect were in the world at the will of God and we had no place of refuge from the world any longer, which the churches had been, at least to some degree. We could go to the churches where the Bible was taught and we could expect some blessing from that during the church age, but then we were commanded to go out into the world where Satan was reigning during the 23-year Great Tribulation period. God’s elect found themselves in circumstances that were not of their own making and this reminds us of a couple of people in the Bible. One of these was Moses, of whom it was said in Acts 7:21-22:

And when he was cast out, Pharaoh's daughter took him up, and nourished him for her own son. And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds.

Moses was the child of a Hebrew man and woman. In trying to save his life, they put him into an ark of bulrushes and cast him into the river. Pharaoh’s daughter took him out of the river and raised him as her own son and he was taught the “wisdom of the Egyptians.” Again, Egypt is a picture of the world and Moses became “mighty in words and in deeds” in “all the wisdom of the Egyptians.” Like Moses, an elect person can find himself in circumstances beyond their control and they can no longer be a part of Israel or they can no longer be part of the churches. Through circumstances they are forced to be in Egypt or in Babylon and they must conduct themselves in that place and time. What do God’s people do? Moses became “learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds.”

There is another example in Joseph who was sold into Egypt when he was a young man of 17 by his brothers. It says in Genesis 39:1-4:

And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the Ishmeelites, which had brought him down thither. And JEHOVAH was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. And his master saw that JEHOVAH was with him, and that JEHOVAH made all that he did to prosper in his hand. And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand.

These were circumstances beyond Joseph’s control. It was not his choice to go to Egypt. In their evil intent his brothers sold him as a slave and the next thing Joseph knew he was called upon to perform service to Potiphar in his household. Joseph does so, but now he is in the world and there is no going back, so he begins to do the best job he can do while he was in Egypt. He continued to do so even when things got worse. Through the lies of Potiphar’s wife, Joseph was thrown into prison. It says in Genesis 39:20-23:

And Joseph's master took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king's prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison. But JEHOVAH was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners that were in the prison; and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it. The keeper of the prison looked not to any thing that was under his hand; because JEHOVAH was with him, and that which he did, JEHOVAH made it to prosper.

We will see some similarities between the master of the eunuchs as Daniel and his friends found favour in the sight of the master of the eunuchs just as Joseph found favour in the eyes of the keeper of the prison. It is a pattern God is establishing in regard to His people. Some of them can point to a type and figure of the Lord Jesus, but they are also a type and figure of God’s people in difficult circumstances not of their own choosing in “foreign lands.” It is all due to events and circumstances outside of their control. In other words, the will of God has placed them in these situations the people of God are carrying out a Biblical principal and it results in them obtaining grace and favour in the eyes of God and man. We see that they are lifted up and they prosper. They do well. They are children of God and, yet, they are operating in the world in a way that the world cannot deny is a “good” and positive way. Therefore, God is glorified through them in the difficult circumstances in which they find themselves.

We have come to the end of our time and, Lord willing, we will pick this up in our next study. We will continue to look at King Nebuchadnezzar as he wants to teach these young men the letter and tongue of the Chaldeans and he wants to change their diet; he wants them to eat his food and drink his wine. Of course, there is a spiritual meaning to that and we will look at this in our next Bible study.