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THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MEN WHO TURN THE AGE
Scripture Reading: Dan. 2:17-18; 6:10-11, 19-22, 26; 9:1-4, 17, 20; 10:2-3, 12-13; 12:13
Today we will consider the characteristics of the men who turn the age. In other words, we will consider the reasons those men who turn the age are used by God. We can see briefly from Samuel the kind of men God used to turn an age. From the record of the book of Daniel, we can further find out the reasons man was used by God.
In reading the book of Daniel, many pay much attention to its prophecies. No doubt, a large part of the book of Daniel shows the matter of prophecy. But more important than showing us the prophecies, it shows us the crucial position of one who, in the midst of the conflict of God versus Satan, was used by God to turn the age.
In the conflict between God and Satan, man indeed occupies a very critical position. We can see from this book that God has His plan and Satan has his resistance. God wants to accomplish His plan on earth. Yet Satan tries in many ways to frustrate and destroy God’s plan. Between the two, man stands in a special position. If man takes the right stand, God’s plan will be accomplished, and Satan’s subtle scheme will be destroyed. If man does not take the right stand, God’s plan will be hindered, and Satan’s scheme will succeed.
The book of Daniel describes in a specific way the crucial position man occupies in the conflict between God and Satan. This position is one that turns the age. This position can cause God’s will to succeed and Satan to fail, or it can cause Satan’s subtle scheme to succeed and God to be frustrated. Therefore, we may say that whether an age can be turned depends on what position man takes. Man is between God and Satan. If man’s position is right, Satan will lose his control over that age and will not be able to frustrate the turn. This is what the book of Daniel reveals.
Now let us consider a few of Daniel’s characteristics that enabled God to use him for the turning of the age. I believe that the Lord will use this word to grant grace to us and work among us.
THE FIRST CHARACTERISTIC— SEPARATION FROM AN AGE THAT FOLLOWS SATAN
The first characteristic of Daniel was that he was a separated person. Everyone who wants to be used by God to turn the age must be a separated person. We must know that everyone in this age is walking on the same road and is swept into the same current. This way is a way that follows Satan. This way is initiated by Satan and is pioneered by Satan. This way is definitely far from God and is always going downhill. We can find this condition in the book of Daniel.
I hope that the young brothers and sisters will pay attention to one thing when they read the Bible. We cannot merely study an isolated text in the Scripture. We have to grasp the picture presented in the entire portion of the Word. Daniel is a short book. Because many descriptions in it are very brief, we must carefully try to understand the hidden meaning there.
For example, from the very beginning of its narration, we can see a picture of a place called Shinar. The land of Shinar was a place where men revolted and rebelled against God from the beginning. From Genesis to Revelation most of the cases of man’s rebellion against God happened in Shinar, which is Babylon (Babel). Here we see a ruler, a leader, who had dominion at that time over the most powerful regions on earth. We can say that at that time the whole earth was under the hand of the king of Babylon. Hence, this picture shows how the whole world is under Satan’s hand. Here the king of Babylon is a type of Satan.
In Babylon there was no temple, only shrines. It was the place of origin for idols. It was also the place where idols were most prevalent. All idol worship in this world originated in Babel, which is Shinar and Babylon. From the first chapter of Daniel, we can see that the whole world was under the authority of the king of Babylon; they all served the god of Babel, were under Satan’s dominion, and were even worshipping Satan. The whole earth was under this kind of condition. Among them there was a people, the Israelites, who should have been separated. The Israelites did not belong to Babylon; they should not have been under Babel’s authority. They should not have worshipped the gods of Babel. They lived originally in the land of Canaan, a place away from Babylon. Among them they had only the temple and no shrines. They worshipped only God. However, by the time of Daniel 1, even the Israelites were carried away to the world of Babel. The people separated by God were carried away to follow Satan’s current. Hence, by then everyone, including the Gentiles and the Israelites, was under Babel’s ruling and was worshipping the Babylonian gods. In other words, they all fell under Satan’s ruling and were following Satan.
This is the picture that Daniel reveals from the very beginning. This picture clearly shows that the whole world was under Babylon’s ruling and was worshipping the god of Babylon. Consequently, God’s authority was laid aside, and God’s glory was not expressed. On the contrary, Satan had dominion and was ruling. He was expressed and was worshipped by men. This is the picture in Daniel 1.
At this time, although Daniel and his three friends were still very young, they stood up to be an anti-testimony. This anti-testimony is a separation. As soon as they stood up, there was clearly a separation from the world. It was as if others were waving a black flag, and they were waving a white one. When we read Daniel 1, we must grasp the meaning of this picture. These men did not follow the tide of Babylon at all. They were the separated ones. They could not eat what others could eat. They could not drink what others could drink. They could not do what others could do. They were clearly different from others in everything. I do not know if the young people have ever realized by reading Daniel that even in his old age, Daniel was still a separated person. He did many things that no one who was in the world would do. Furthermore, he did not do the things that the world did. There was always a separation between him and the world.
Young people, you must realize that today’s age is the same as Daniel’s age; they are not at all different. Not only the Gentiles are under the ruling of Babylon; even the so-called people of God, so-called Christianity, are also in captivity. This is especially true during Christmas, when the whole of Christianity is carried away. Everyone in the world is walking on the same road, and everyone is swept into the same current. Not only do we see the whole world dancing; even those in Christianity are dancing. Dancing has even come to Christianity.
Hence, everyone in the world, Gentiles and God’s people alike, has been swept into this current; they have all fallen under the same authority and are worshipping the demons. The Israelites in those days were Israelites only outwardly; in reality, they were not much different from the Babylonians. They ate what the Babylonians ate. They drank what the Babylonians drank. They worshipped whatever idols the Babylonians worshipped. The situation is the same today. Many are Christians outwardly, but actually they are demon worshippers. They do what the Gentiles do. They worship whatever the Gentiles worship. They highly esteem what the Gentiles highly esteem. For this reason the tide of the whole world has come under Satan’s ruling. Today Satan has taken everyone captive and has made it impossible for God to do anything on earth.
Unless Satan gains man first, he cannot damage God’s will. Unless God gains man first, He cannot accomplish His plan. Man indeed occupies an important position between God and Satan. Since Satan today has carried away everyone on earth, the first characteristic of a person used by God to turn the age must be that of a strong standing and a clear separation from the world. Such a person must stand up and declare, “I cannot do what the world does. I cannot eat and drink what others eat and drink. I cannot walk the way that they walk. I cannot have a part in the kind of life that they live. I am always somewhat different from them.” The first characteristic of those who turn the age is an absoluteness in standing on God’s side. Such a person sees through everything that belongs to the tide of this age. Not only will he not follow those things, but his heart grieves and burns because of them. With respect to many things, he stands in a position of separation and becomes an anti-testimony.
Young people are most susceptible to follow others in their manner of living. However, the first things Daniel overcame were in the matter of living, things related to eating and drinking. Many times young people feel that since others can do something, they can do the same. They feel that since everyone else is doing it, it is all right for them to do it also. Please remember that if we do this, we will become completely useless in God’s hand in the matter of turning the age. This is because we do not stand on God’s side but rather on Satan’s side. If we do this, we can never be used by God to turn the age.
Hence, we must have a separation from those in the world. We must stand up and be an anti-testimony. Although the tide around us is downward, inwardly we are standing up against the tide. Others may play and amuse themselves, but we will not do the same. Others may have all kinds of cravings, but we cannot have the same. Of course, I am not suggesting that we be peculiar persons. That is not what I mean. Nevertheless, we must remember that in an age where the tide is downward, to be used by God as a person to turn the age, we must be separated persons; we must be able to stand up as an anti-testimony for God. This is the first necessary characteristic.
THE SECOND CHARACTERISTIC— BEING JOINED TO GOD’S DESIRE THROUGH HIS WORD
Daniel was not only a person who read God’s Word regularly but a person who was joined to God’s Word. This is the second characteristic. He did not read God’s Word for the purpose of finding out some knowledge or merely for finding out God’s will. Rather, he read to receive and to keep God’s commandments. We should believe that he refused the food and drink of the king of Babylon because he had read the five books of Moses. He must have read about the clean and unclean food from Leviticus and Deuteronomy. At the same time, he must have found out that God’s people cannot partake of any food that has touched the idols. Since he read these commandments and therefore knew God’s desire, he accepted them and applied them to himself. Hence, he was not a person separate from the Scripture. He was not merely studying the Bible.
When he read from the book of Jeremiah that God had ordained seventy years of captivity for the Israelites and that after seventy years God would turn back to bless them, he immediately fasted and prayed. He did not read the Scripture in a dead way. As soon as he touched God’s desire through the Word, he immediately joined himself to that desire.
This was the way that he read the Bible. This was why he could be touched by every word, by the light, and by the teaching in the Bible. After he read the book of Leviticus, he could no longer eat the unclean food. After he read the book of Jeremiah, he could not help but fast and pray for the restoration of God’s people. Whichever point he read, he joined himself to that point. Brothers and sisters, please remember that a person who turns the age for God must possess such a characteristic. When we come to God’s Word, we have to learn not to study for some scholarship or for some knowledge but to find out God’s desire from His Word. Whenever we find out God’s desire, we must immediately join ourselves to that desire.
I believe that many young brothers and sisters read the Bible regularly. However, I am afraid that when you read the Bible, the Bible remains the Bible, and you are still you. For instance, the Bible clearly says that a believer and an unbeliever should not be yoked together. This word is very clear. Nevertheless, after you read it, perhaps you still make friends with unbelievers. This means that the Bible is the Bible and you are you. The Bible cannot affect your living, and you cannot be joined to the Bible. You read clearly from the Bible that God’s will forbids His children from being yoked together with unbelievers in everything. You should not befriend unbelievers. You should much less consider marrying an unbeliever. Yet you still befriend unbelievers and even consider marrying unbelievers. This means that your living is totally separate from the Bible. Such a person cannot turn the age; neither can he be an anti-testimony in a degrading age. To be an anti-testimony, one must read God’s Word, touch God’s desire from His Word, and join himself to this desire of God.
The current of the entire world today is against God’s desire. If within you, you have touched God’s desire, your living must be an anti-testimony against the age and the tide. When you read 2 Corinthians 6:14 and find out God’s desire about believers and unbelievers not being yoked together, you should right away say Amen! From that point on, you should be determined not to befriend any unbelievers anymore, because this is God’s desire. Although some brothers and sisters among you still make friends with unbelievers, you cannot do that anymore. You will stand up as an anti-testimony. As soon as you find out God’s desire from His Word, you must join yourself to this desire.
Brothers and sisters, this was Daniel’s characteristic in those days. He was not like many Bible readers who treat Bible reading as an objective matter. This kind of Bible reading cannot touch God’s desire. Because you read the Bible apart from the Bible, the Bible can never get into you. Bible reading is useless to such persons. To read the Bible, one must join himself and his living to God’s Word. Any time you find out God’s desire from His Word, you must immediately join yourselves to this desire with fear and trembling. This is the second characteristic that we find in Daniel. Every person whom God uses to turn the age must possess this characteristic. Only those who join themselves to God’s Word can be of real use to God.
THE THIRD CHARACTERISTIC— COOPERATING WITH GOD THROUGH PRAYERS
Daniel had a third characteristic. He was a man who was always praying. His prayers were not at all common. His prayers were prayers that turned the age. Every time he encountered some crucial matter, he prayed before God. He believed absolutely in prayer. He believed in prayer because he believed in God and not in himself.
From chapter 2 on, the book of Daniel mentions Daniel’s prayers. Of course, I fully believe that in chapter 1 he also prayed. When he was eating vegetables only, I fully believe that he must have prayed every day. He declared before God and Satan that the health of his body did not at all depend on the Gentile food and drink. He believed in God’s care only. This was why he and the other three young men could still be strong even though they ate vegetables only. He believed in God’s care, and he must have prayed much.
Chapter 2 reveals a picture, one in which everyone on earth was ignorant of the things of God. Not only were the Babylonian magicians ignorant; even the Israelites were ignorant. Why were they ignorant? It was because they were under Satan’s ruling and were following Satan. Here we see God coming in to vindicate. He vindicated by showing that Daniel and his three friends were different from all the other people. No one on earth knew the profound things of God but Daniel. In chapter 1 it was Daniel and his three friends who separated themselves. In chapter 2 it was God who vindicated them. The separation in chapter 1 was done by they themselves standing up. The separation in chapter 2 was done by God for them.
Here God raised up an environment. He caused the king of Babylon to have a dream. The strange thing is that the king was clear in the dream, yet he could not remember what went on in the dream after he woke up. Therefore, he called together all the magicians in Babylon, as well as all the wise and knowledgeable ones. None of them could tell or explain the dream. This is a picture. It shows that all the followers of Satan on earth cannot understand the profound things of God. At that juncture God vindicated Daniel. He showed everyone that here was one who was particularly separated. He was acknowledged by God, qualified to be used by God, and capable of speaking forth the mystery of God.
Here we must see and lay hold of a principle. Such a one must be a person who cooperates with God. And the highest expression of a man who cooperates with God is in prayer.
Before the king of Babylon called for Daniel, he declared that if none of the magicians or learned ones in Babylon under him could explain the dream, he would destroy them all. Among those who were to be killed were Daniel and his three friends. I fully believe that Daniel would have told his three friends to pray with him. There they afforded God the highest cooperation; they gave God the highest coordination. In their single-hearted prayer, God revealed to Daniel the dream. It was the dream of the king of Babylon, but now Daniel saw it also. Not only did Daniel see that dream in his prayer; he understood its meaning as well. This shows that Daniel was a person living before God; he depended on prayer to do what man could not do, and he depended on prayer to understand what man could not understand. He was a person who cooperated with God in prayer.
We should believe that Daniel would not have seen the dream or understood its meaning if he had not prayed. The only reason he could see King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and could know its meaning was that he was a person living in prayer. Through prayer he afforded God the highest cooperation.
Sometimes I am reminded of the way books are printed. If you visit a printing factory, you will find plates filled with properly set type on the printing press. Underneath the plates is the paper. When the press starts, sheets of paper are impressed with the letters from the plates. If the paper is not positioned in the proper place, nothing will be printed. If the paper is placed a little out of position, the image will not appear properly. If you want the plates to stamp the paper correctly, you have to position the paper correctly. In the same way, God’s desire can be likened to a plate. King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream was a plate typeset with God’s desire. The plate was there, but it needed Daniel to be a piece of properly positioned paper. If the paper was positioned correctly, the dream as a plate concerning God’s desire would spontaneously be printed on it. This position upon which God could print His desire onto Daniel was prayer. Had Daniel and his three friends not prayed at that time but rather been busy with other things, it would have been like the paper positioned wrongly. If the paper was positioned improperly, it would be impossible to print the letters from the plate. However, when Daniel came back from the king of Babylon, I believe that the first thing he did was to pray with his three friends. In this prayer God printed His desire into Daniel.
The book of Daniel records Daniel as a person who could pray. What Satan wanted to deal with particularly was Daniel’s prayer. His prayer touched God’s heart and was able to fulfill God’s plan. Satan purposely wanted to deal with his prayer and to destroy his prayer. Chapter 6 especially shows that Satan wanted to damage this praying person through the men under Satan. At least, he tried to destroy his prayer and to render him unable to pray.
One remembers the story of King Darius, who decreed that within thirty days, anyone who petitioned anything of any god or man besides the king would be cast into the lions’ den. Satan’s subtle strategy was to utilize the men around King Darius to deal with Daniel, to stop Daniel from praying, and eventually to ensnare Daniel, the man of prayer. How did Daniel respond to this? He still prayed as usual and was not at all threatened by it. The Bible is very clear: “Three times daily he knelt on his knees and prayed and gave thanks before his God, because he had always done so previously” (Dan. 6:10). Nothing could stop Daniel’s praying. If Daniel had not prayed, Daniel would have failed. As long as Satan could destroy and stop Daniel’s prayer, Satan would win. Hence, Daniel’s prayer was like a stronghold on a battlefield.
We must realize that it was this prayer of Daniel that resulted in God being manifested as the living God. With Daniel, God truly manifested Himself as the living God. And this manifestation of God was due to Daniel’s prayer.
In chapter 9 we see that as soon as Daniel read and found out God’s desire for the Israelites to return from captivity after seventy years were fulfilled, he immediately fasted and prayed. Some have the wrong concept that since God had spoken and ordained that the Israelites would return from captivity after seventy years, why was there any more need for prayer? Had God not spoken that He would bring them back? Indeed, it is true that God had promised to bring back the Israelites after the fulfillment of seventy years. Yet there was still the need for man to pray. If God could not find a man to pray for this on earth, it would be hard to bring to pass the return of the Israelites after the seventy years. Daniel met God’s need. He was truly a man who cooperated with God through his prayer.
In chapter 10 we see that not only was Daniel a praying person, but he was a persistent praying person. He asked God for understanding and for direction. He prayed and prayed steadfastly. The Bible says that he received God’s answer on the first day of his petition. From the first day God had answered his prayer by sending an angel to show him what would happen to the children of Israel. Yet when the angel came to the air, he met Satan’s prince, who withstood him. There was a battle. In other words, when God in heaven was about to join Himself to man on earth, He met Satan’s resistance, and there was a twenty-one-day battle. Although God had already heard Daniel’s prayer, Satan resisted in the air and would not allow God’s answer to reach Daniel. Nevertheless, Daniel was a persistent praying person. He persisted in prayer for three seven-day periods. As a result, the angel came to tell him how God had heard his prayer and how He would deal with His people.
All of this shows that Daniel was a praying person. He prayed every day, and he prayed for everything. Once, I asked a young brother if he prayed. He said, “I pray every day.” I asked, “What time of the day do you pray?” He said, “Three times a day at mealtime I pray.” I would say that prayers at mealtime do not count as prayer. There is not much use for that kind of prayer because it is prayer for the food. But Daniel’s prayer was not at all for the food. He always prayed with a single purpose and never prayed for himself.
Daniel’s prayer reached the highest peak. He asked God to do something for Himself. He prayed, “Cause Your face to shine upon Your sanctuary that has been desolated, for the Lord’s sake” (Dan. 9:17). I hope that we would circle the words for the Lord’s sake. We can see that his prayer was totally for God and not for himself. It seems as if he was saying to God, “My supplication here today is not for myself but for You. Even though I am asking You to do something, it is not for myself but for You.” This was a very special prayer; it was also the highest prayer. Our prayers are ninety-nine and nine tenths percent for ourselves. Very few of them are for God. Only a person like Daniel, who prayed to God single-heartedly, can be used by Him to turn the age.
THE FOURTH CHARACTERISTIC— NOT CARING FOR ONE’S LIFE
There is still a fourth characteristic. Daniel was a person who would sacrifice himself to be martyred. From the first chapter to the last, the book of Daniel shows that a person who is under God’s hand and who is used by Him to turn the age is a self-sacrificing person. Every incident and fact shows that he was a person who did not care for his own life. For example, when he chose to eat vegetables only, he did not necessarily have the assurance that he would be strong. If the more he ate, the slimmer he became, he would be killed by the king of Babylon. Yet he cared neither for life nor for death. He knew that the unclean food, the food sacrificed to idols, could not enter into his mouth, that he would not be defiled, and that he would keep God’s word. Because of this word, he was willing to lose even his life.
Later, King Darius decreed that within thirty days none in the kingdom could make petition of any god or man besides the king. But Daniel still prayed. Even if he would be thrown into the lions’ den, he would still pray. Humanly speaking, he truly had the spirit of martyrdom.
Brothers and sisters, all those who are afraid of what might happen to them, who are afraid of things that come from one direction or another, of this and of that, cannot be used by God to turn the age. Please do not misunderstand me. Let me say it in a plain way. Everyone whom God uses to turn the age is afraid neither of heaven nor of hell. He fears nothing. He is afraid of only one thing, that is, to offend God and to lose His presence. Anyone who hides, withdraws, withers, and changes his mind when confronted with difficulties is not of much use in God’s hands. God cannot use cowards. All those whom God uses to turn the age are bold ones. They are not bold in a wild or natural way but bold because of their fear of God and their courage to confront difficulties.
In the past I have read a little of the record of Martin Luther’s Reformation. I was most touched by the scene at his trial. Those who sat in front of him were kings and noblemen, yet Luther stood before them fearlessly. He spoke a firm word to their face: “If what I preach is contrary to this Bible, I am willing to die, but if what I preach is according to this Bible, no one can kill me!” Such majestic words caused even those who loved him and were concerned for him to tremble. His words were too majestic. He was a man who was not afraid of death. This was why God was able to use him to turn the age.
Consider Daniel and his three friends. They did not care for their own lives at all. Listen to the words of Daniel’s three friends. How resolute and majestic they were! Although the king of Babylon seduced them in the most cunning and devious way, what did they answer? They said, “O Nebuchadnezzar,…our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the blazing furnace of fire, and He will deliver us out of your hand…But if He does not,…we will not serve your gods nor worship the golden image that you have set up” (Dan. 3:16-18). Do you not remember the record of the Bible? When Nebuchadnezzar heard these words, he was full of fury, and the countenance of his face was changed toward them. Right away he commanded that the furnace be made seven times hotter than it was usually heated. Even the men who lifted them into the furnace were slain by the flames. The three of them would rather be bound and cast into a fiery furnace than submit to the king. If they had been cowardly and afraid of death, surely they could not have testified for God at all that day and could not have been used by God to turn the age.
Today, we can cover only these four characteristics. First, we must be an anti-testimony. Second, we must read the Bible. Third, we must pray, and fourth, we must not care for our own life. These four characteristics can be seen not only in Daniel but also in all those used by God to turn the age. If we read the biography of Luther, we will see these four things in him also. Luther was one who stood up as an anti-testimony. He was originally a priest in the Roman Catholic Church. When he saw that the Roman Catholic Church did things completely contrary to the truth, he rose up and became a strong anti-testimony. Luther was also a person who read the Bible. He saw from the Bible that man is justified by faith and not at all by works. Immediately, he accepted God’s Word and joined himself to this Word. Luther was also a man of prayer. Each time he came across important issues, he would fight in prayers before God. At the same time, undoubtedly, Luther was one who cared not for his own life and was willing to be martyred for the Lord. Only this kind of person can be used by God to turn the age.
Young brothers and sisters, I feel deeply before God to speak such a word to you. You must see that the whole world today has followed Satan. God wants to gain absolute young people so that He can use them to turn the age. I believe that everyone who has received mercy from God today will surely respond to this matter. I believe that these ones will surely want to touch God’s desire, be voluntarily consecrated ones, Nazarites, and be used by God as an anti-testimony in this ever-degrading age.