Hosea 1; Hosea 2; Hosea 3; Hosea 4; Hosea 5;
Hosea 6; Hosea 7; Hosea 8; Hosea 9
Hosea and his family are a sign unto Israel. In the day of gathering, the people of Israel will become the sons of the living God. Worshiping false gods brings severe judgments upon Israel. In the last days, Israel will be reconciled to God and become his people. Israel will seek the Lord, return to the Lord, and receive of his goodness in the latter days. Israel loses all truth, mercy, and knowledge of God and goes whoring after false gods. The kingdoms of Judah and Israel will both fall because of their iniquities. Hosea calls Israel to return and serve the Lord. The mercy and knowledge of God are more important than ritualistic sacrifices. Israel is reproved for her many sins. Ephraim is mixed among the people. Both Israel and Judah have forsaken the Lord. The Lord has written the great things of his law to Ephraim. The people of Israel are taken into captivity for their sins. Ephraim will be a wanderer among the nations.
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"Like many of his brethren the prophets, Daniel was prepared and raised up as a minister to kings and emperors. At the time that Nebuchadnezzar first carried the Jews captive into Babylon (about 605 B.C.), Daniel was chosen as one of the choicest Jewish youths to be taken to Babylon and trained for service in the king’s court. Because of his righteousness and sensitivity to the promptings of the Spirit, he was greatly favored of God. The Lord blessed him with the gift of interpreting dreams and visions. This endowment soon made him an object of greater attention from the emperor, and he was raised to positions that enabled him to spend his life in service to the kings of the land. He became the Lord’s minister to those rulers. He was made chief of the wise men, chancellor of the equivalent of a national university, ruler of all the Hebrew captives, and, as governor of the province of Babylon, one of the chief rulers in both the Babylonian and Persian Empires. Though at times his life was endangered because of the jealousy of evil men, yet he lived so perfectly that the Lord continually protected and preserved him."
This is the introduction to the notes and commentary on the Book of Daniel in the church educational system's institute course on the Old Testament. If you wish to read this, please click on this link.
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Daniel 10; Daniel 11; Daniel 12
Daniel sees the Lord and others in a glorious vision. He is shown what is to be in the latter days. Daniel sees the successive kings and their wars, leagues, and conflicts that lead up to the Second Coming of Christ. In the last days, Michael will deliver Israel from their troubles. Daniel tells of the two resurrections. The wise will know the times and meanings of his visions.
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Daniel 6; Daniel 7; Daniel 8; Daniel 9
Darius makes Daniel the first of his presidents. Daniel worships the Lord in defiance of a decree of Darius. He is cast into the den of lions. His faith saves him, and Darius decrees that all people are to revere the God of Daniel. Daniel sees four beasts representing the kingdoms of men. He sees the ancient of days (Adam) to whom the Son of Man (Christ) will come. The kingdom will be given to the Saints forever. Daniel sees in vision a ram (Media and Persia), a goat (Greece), four other kings, and then, in the last days, a fierce king who will destroy the holy people. This king will be broken when he stands up against the Prince of Princes. Daniel fasts, confesses, and prays for all Israel. Gabriel reveals the time of the coming of the Messiah, who will make reconciliation for iniquity. The Messiah will be cut off.
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Daniel 3; Daniel 4; Daniel 5
Nebuchadnezzar creates a golden image and commands all men to worship it. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego refuse and are cast into the fiery furnace. They are preserved and come out unharmed. Daniel interprets Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of the great tree, describing the king’s fall and madness. The king learns that the Most High rules and sets the basest of men over earthly kingdoms. Belshazzar and his revelers drink from the vessels of the temple. A hand writes upon the wall, telling of Belshazzar’s downfall. Daniel interprets the words and reproves the king for pride and idolatry. That night Babylon is conquered.
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"After the fall of Jerusalem, Ezekiel no longer spoke of God’s judgments on his contemporaries but of Israel’s redemption in the latter days. It was as though he had done all he could to stave off the destruction of his people, and when that was impossible and they were actually experiencing the suffering that captivity had imposed upon them, he turned their hearts to the future and the source of their ultimate hope in the Lord.
"So Saints of the latter days should be most enthusiastic about Ezekiel’s prophecies in chapters 25–48. Of Ezekiel’s twelve, precisely recorded visions, seven were given after the fall of Jerusalem and dealt with such events of the last days as the building of the great Jewish kingdom under a shepherd named David, the gathering of scattered Israel, the unification of all the tribes of Israel, the joining of the Bible and the Book of Mormon, the battle of Armageddon, and the building of a modern temple in Jerusalem. Truly, Ezekiel was a prophet of the Restoration."
This is the introduction to the notes and commentary on Ezekiel chapters 25-48 in the church educational system's institute course on the Old Testament. If you wish to read this, please click on this link.
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Ezekiel 47; Ezekiel 48; Daniel 1; Daniel 2
Waters issue from the house of the Lord and heal the Dead Sea. The Lord shows the borders of the land. The portions of land for the tribes are named. The gates of the city bear the names of the tribes. The name of the city will be The Lord Is There. Daniel and certain Hebrews are trained in the court of Nebuchadnezzar. They eat plain food and drink no wine. God gives them knowledge and wisdom beyond all others. Nebuchadnezzar’s dream is revealed to Daniel. The king saw a great image, a stone cut from the mountain without hands destroyed the image, and the stone grew and filled the whole earth. The stone is the latter-day kingdom of God.
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Ezekiel 43; Ezekiel 44; Ezekiel 45; Ezekiel 46
The glory of God fills the temple—His throne is there, and he promises to dwell in the midst of Israel forever—Ezekiel sees the altar and the ordinances of the altar. The glory of the Lord fills the house of the Lord—No strangers may enter the sanctuary—The services of the priests in the temple are explained. Portions of land will be provided for the sanctuary and the dwellings of the priests—The people are to offer their sacrifices and oblations and keep their feasts. The ordinances of worship and of sacrifice are explained.
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Gog and Magog will be destroyed. For seven years the people in the cities of Israel will burn the weapons of war. For seven months they will bury the dead. Then will come the supper of the great God and the continued gathering of Israel. A heavenly messenger shows Ezekiel in vision a city where the temple is located. Ezekiel is shown the form and size of the temple and its courts. Ezekiel sees the inner temple and the Holy of Holies, and he is shown their form and size. Ezekiel sees in the temple the chambers for the priests.
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