At the heart of all of this was the doctrine that there was no such thing as objective truth. Everything was relative; everything was a matter of opinion. Because there was no truth, feelings became more important than facts. Melanie Phillips
Scripture
“This vision about the 2,300 evenings and mornings is correct. But none of these things will happen for a long time, so keep this vision a secret.”
Observation
As Daniel tries to understand his vision, the angel Gabriel comes to him. Daniel is overcome by fear, but Gabriel rouses him with a touch.
Gabriel explains that the two horned ram represents the kings of Persia and Media. The male goat is the king of Greece. The Greek Empire will break into four parts.
At the end of their rule, a new king will arise, who will bring a shocking amount of destruction. He will destroy many without warning. He will be broken but not by human power.
The vision about 2,300 mornings and evenings is true. But none of this will happen for a long time, so Daniel is to keep it quiet.
At the end of all this, Daniel is sick for seven days.
Application
The specific time period of 2,300 evenings and mornings is astounding. This is about seven years, or three and a half years if you count mornings and evenings as separate times,
King Antiochus Epiphanes IV removed the high priest in 171 BC, and he desecrated the Temple with unclean, sacrifices in 167 BC. The Temple and altar were cleansed and rededicated in December 164 BC. This was seven years after the high priest was removed and a little over three years after the temple was desecrated.
The Lord knows what is happening and what He is permitting to happen. Therefore, we have hope in this life because God works in all things to bring good to those whom he has called (Romans 8:23).
Prayer
Thank you, Lord, for this assurance that you have all things in hand. Amen.
A beautiful morning in Narrabri. I forgot to press “Start” on the app until nearly 5 km in, so the numbers are wrong, but the cows are happy. #cycling #Narrabri #biketooter
The Palestinian attempt at the genocide of the Jews was labelled “resistance,” while Israel’s resistance to being annihilated was labelled “genocide.” Melanie Phillips
Scripture
It even challenged the commander of heaven’s armies, cancelling the daily sacrifices offered to him and by destroying his Temple
Observation
Daniel recounts another vision of future Empires. This vision is explained in the second half of the chapter. In the vision, a ram with two long horns stands beside the river at Susa. This ram, butts everything in every direction, and no one can stand against him.
A male goat appears swiftly from the West, The goat tramples the ram and nobody can stop him.
The goat becomes very powerful, but at the height of its power, the horn is broken off and replaced by four smaller horns. From one of these horns comes another horn that extends into Israel. This horn attacks the Heavenly Army challenging the Commander Himself.
One of the holy ones asks, “How long will the temple be trampled on?” The other responds “2, 300 days and nights.”
Application
There is an arrogance at the heart of men and women who do not surrender to God. Sometimes this takes the form of petty rebellion and wanton sin. In the case of rulers of nations, it becomes defiance against God and His people, even to the point of attacking God Himself.
How can we be so insolent and deceived?
How can we, the creatures, take issue with the Creator?
This defies all logic, and yet has been the universal experience of humanity.
Praise God for his forbearance with us,
Praise God for dealing with our sins in sending His Son to lay down His life for us.
Prayer
Thank you, Lord, for your great patience with us. Thank you that while I was still a sinner, Jesus died for me. Amen.
From lifenews.com
As data continues to show that young people are reporting increasing rates of despair, experts say that a renewed focus on the happiness that marriage, raising children, and church attendance bring can help reverse the trend.
New statistical analysis published earlier this month revealed some sobering facts, including the overall trend that unhappiness is peaking among the young (those aged 18-24) and then declining with age in 44 countries, including the U.S. and the U.K. Particularly in the U.S. over the last roughly quarter century, the rate of young people who say they are in despair (defined as those who say their mental health was not good for the last 30 consecutive days) has risen sharply. For men, it has more than doubled since 1993, rising from 2.5% to 6.6% in 2024. For women, the outlook is even more dire, almost tripling from 3.2% to 9.3%.
As to the causes behind the rising rates of despair among the young, analysis authors Alex Bryson (professor of Quantitative Social Science, UCL), David Blanchflower (professor of Economics, Dartmouth College), and Xiaowei Xu (senior research economist, Institute for Fiscal Studies) say that research into the reasons behind the surge remain “inconclusive,” while acknowledging that excessive screen time is likely a “contributory factor.”
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But sociologists like Brad Wilcox, a professor at the University of Virginia and a senior fellow at the Institute for Family Studies, say that the cultural deemphasis and ridicule of marriage and family life is likely a prime culprit in the surging rates of unhappiness among the young. As he wrote Monday, “Data consistently show that marriage and children confer compounding benefits to both men and women. Married men and women ages 25 to 55 are almost twice as likely to report they are ‘very happy’ with their life than their unmarried peers, according to the 2022 General Social Survey.” In addition, “Married people enjoy more financial stability and better emotional and physical health outcomes.”
Wilcox went on to observe that data from a recent survey of 3,000 American women revealed that “married mothers are among the happiest in the country,” reporting “less loneliness, more physical touch and deeper meaning and connection in their relationships than their unmarried and childless peers.”
As for men, Wilcox noted a theme particularly keyed in on by the late Charlie Kirk, who Wilcox credits with ushering in a new era of popular acceptance of marriage and family among young men, who crave a mission, “grounding their lives in responsibility and meaning in something bigger than themselves.” Wilcox pointed to a recent NBC survey, which found that young men who voted for Donald Trump in the 2024 election ranked “having children” as “the highest marker of personal success, followed by financial independence, a good job and marriage.”
In an Instagram post shortly before his death, Kirk wrote, “Having a family will change your life in the best ways, so get married and have kids. You won’t regret it.”
Wilcox also highlighted a speech that Kirk gave at a church, where he emphasized church attendance as the third key element to giving meaning to the lives of young men alongside marriage and raising children. “What young people are screaming is, they say, ‘Give me a structure that I can live my life by,’” Kirk remarked. “Especially young men … [they want] more saying, ‘Stop being a boy and become a man.’”
There are, in fact, indications that Millennials and Generation Z are leading the charge in a new surge in church attendance. According to recent research from Barna Group, Gen Zers now lead older generations in church attendance, averaging 1.9 weekends per month. Millennials are a close second, with an average of 1.8 weekends per month. Barna’s report notes that these numbers represent “a steady upward shift since the lows seen during the pandemic” and “are easily the highest rates of church attendance among young Christians since they first hit Barna’s tracking.”
This upward shift in church attendance among the young could mark a turning point in the dire mental health data that continues to surface. Research shows that those who attend church regularly report higher rates of happiness and civic engagement than those who are religiously unaffiliated or are inactive members of religious groups.
Still, it remains to be seen whether surveys indicating renewed interest in having children among young men will translate into more marriages and more children, with both marriage and fertility rates currently at or near record lows. The jury is also out on whether young people who are newly attending church will become church members for the long haul.
“Discipleship is absolutely essential,” Family Research Council’s David Closson told The Washington Stand earlier this month. “Jesus’s Great Commission was not simply to make converts but to ‘make disciples’ — to teach people to obey everything He commanded.” It’s good to see young people returning to church, Closson noted, but “that’s only the beginning.”
New Life Narrabri 