What two kings will rise up against this figure ‘at the time of the end’ (v. 40)?
“the king of the South and the king of the North”
How do you specifically guard against self-exaltation? In other words, when you come under this exact temptation, what keeps you from falling for it?
“I’m not sure that I deliberately do all that often, but I think my sense of humor frequently inadvertently kicks in to help me: puffed up, prideful thoughts can sound pretty silly as you replay them in your head.
“Melissa references the Cubbies song ‘Read Your Bible, Pray Every Day.’”
We weren’t fashioned to be worshiped. 
According to verse 36, what will this self-exalting king say?
“unheard-of things against the God of gods”
✮ The Amplified Bible implies a much higher likelihood: ‘he shall not regard the gods of his his fathers or Him [to Whom] women desire [to give birth – the Messiah]’ A Jewish woman’s ultimate desire was to be chosen to bear the Messiah.
Look back at verse 36. If our present interpretation is accurate, how long will the Antichrist be ‘successful’?
“until the time of wrath is completed”
He will be unleashed only as far as the leash God gives him.
Please read Revelation 12:14-16. What does the passage describe?
“The woman, presumably the Jewish people, fleeing/flying to a desert refuge with the aid of eagle’s wings.”
Look at Matthew 25:32. Who will be gathered before the throne of Christ? ‘All the “nations”.’
When will this gathering of nations before Christ’s throne take place?
“When the Son of Man comes in His glory.”
In your own words, what will be the basis of this judgment of nations? (What will they have done or failed to do?)
“meet the needs of the poor and the needy”
Dearest Rachel –
I don’t know what it is about some people and how they feel within their rights to pontificate on any subject as if they knew everything about it. As for you, I can definitely confirm that you rarely exhibited that form of pride, and I’d like to think I did likewise (although your first impression of me would belie that. I should hope I’ve gotten wiser since then, or at least wise enough to know what I fool I was back then). Despite our exposure to higher education, most of the knowledge we acquired served only to remind us of how little we truly knew. Any attempt to claim expertise on any subject sounded silly to us – even in a setting where it was warranted, if only on a comparative basis.
That being said, it’s possible that self-exaltation comes in other forms. Certainly, you would cheerfully admit to often wanting things a certain way, and being somewhat stubborn about how things should be. And for the sake of harmony, it was easier for me to go along with such things; these were issues on which I either saw no point in disputing, or actually agreed with you on. Whether that counts or not might be just a question of perspective, but if it does, it’s a much more subtle appearance.
Either way, taking a step back and attempting to look at the statement or the insistence from a broader perspective might very well result in appropriately modified behavior – but that’s assuming that, in the moment, one can give oneself time to review behavior before acting. Most of the time, we don’t give ourselves that kind of time – often because we don’t think we have the time – but given the time we spend reconsidering our actions after the fact, we might do well to give a little more forethought to them. For you, of course, it’s a moot point, but I need to bring this to mind going forward.
***
As for your other comment about doing good “for even the least of My people,” while I agree that this would apply to the poor and needy in general, I wonder if the middle clause could be removed and it would still make sense. The sheep would be praised and rewarded for doing good “for… My people” in general, regardless of His “people’s” status. Since the sheep and goats represent nations, as opposed to individuals, could this also be a case of treating God’s chosen people with respect or disdain?
Of course, this could just as easily lead to a question as to who, exactly, are His “brothers and sisters.” From one angle, it could be the nation of Israel; from another, the Christians that would come after Him. Then again, it would probably be safest for a nation to treat all possible contenders for the title – the poor and needy, the children of Israel and the brothers and sisters in Christ – with this amount of care and concern, in order to be worthy of the designation as ‘sheep’ rather than ‘goats’ – and of the attendant reward as a result.
Granted, doing good to others shouldn’t be out of any desire for a future reward – in that case, it would simply be a transaction for services rendered. Still, this offers some additional incentive for doing good (as opposed to not so much doing evil as doing nothing), and in a fallen world like ours, where doing good is like expecting water to run uphill, perhaps such incentives are necessary.
Toward that end, honey, I’d ask that you’d continue to keep an eye on me, so as to make sure I’m on the right path. And wish me luck, as I’m sure I’ll need it.
Letters to Rachel 