
Daniel 12:7
And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.
Many today are enamored with the concepts of end time events drawing our attentions to the spectacular occurrences mostly listed in the book of Revelations, yet Daniel also wrote some details related to those times. He highlights a group of people called "holy people" For him the reference is primarily to Israel and the time when they were scattered and lost all political, social and economic power. They had no power of persuasion to accomplish anything for God. While they have recovered some of that might, they in now way are a group that wields any of those aforementioned capabilities to a large enough degree to impact the world.
But scripture also has another group that Peter also identifies with that connotation. Peter calls believers a holy nation, a peculiar people" (I Peter 2:9).
Both entities, Israel and believers seem to be in the process of having their power "fractured into pieces."
I heard a preacher of a well known Pentecostal fellowship talk about power recently, it was along traditional lines.
There are influences that dissolve that power, love of many will grow cold because of the influence of iniquity.
Denominational identity in some cases dissolve it. Lack of cooperation. divisions. schisms.
This phrase has a variety of meanings of "broken in pieces," "scattered," or "dispersed by force." fractured. It can mean something akin to "explode." When an object explodes, its pieces fly apart, and it can no longer do what it was made to do. The individual pieces are powerless to accomplish what the whole object did. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
This must be part of the meaning of the verse because the word power is really the Hebrew word for "hand." The hand symbolizes a person's ability to do work, to accomplish, to act. The translators have taken it to mean the more abstract "might" or "power," but they could have rendered it as "ability," "strength," or "effectiveness."
Do you think we are observing this as reality? Does it seem like a believers ability to do an effective work will decline still further because power is not yet completely shattered. That is why it is so important that we make use of the abilities still left to us: to prepare ourselves for God's Kingdom. As an encouraging Jewish proverb reminds us, "When God shuts a door, He opens a window." We can take other avenues in the meantime while the road ahead is blocked for doing a public work.
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