I just finished reading Revelation. In reading it, I was brought back to the book of Daniel. There are many things in both books that I don't understand, though they are interesting. The other morning, a passage in Daniel got my attention, regarding Daniel's vision of a ram and it's horn: "It grew until it reached the host of heaven, and it threw some of the starry host down to the earth and trampled on them. It set itself up to be as great as the Prince of the Host; It took away the daily sacrifice from him, and the place of his sanctuary was brought low. Because of rebellion, the host of the saints and the daily sacrifice were given over to it. It prospered in everything it did and truth was thrown to the ground." (Daniel 8:9-12) Later Daniel is told that the one who does this is "a master of intrigue", "he will destroy the mighty men and holy people, he will cause deceit to prosper, he will consider himself superior. When men feel secure, he will destroy many and take his stand against the Prince of princes. Yet he will be destroyed, but not by human power." Daniel was told that this was going to be in the distant future and his reaction to this vision was sickness, disgust, and frustration that the vision was beyond understanding.

I will not presume to understand all the prophetic implications behind this passage. The one thing I saw that could be for our learning was within a few phrases and could be summarized as this - Satan (along with his cohorts) desires to take away the daily sacrifice from Jesus and to "bring low the place of sanctuary". We understand in reading Hebrews that there is no more relevance in offering up bulls and goats on a daily basis, nor will there ever be. The sacrifice that Jesus made for our sins was complete - once and for all; not daily. Heb 7:27 Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people’s: for this he did once, when he offered up himself. Heb 10:11 "And every priest stands daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins..."

There is; however, right now, a daily sacrifice which is of extreme relevance to our Lord and to our own lives. Consider the scripture: "I die daily." "I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." "Whosoever wishes to come after me, must deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me." Certainly, another aspect of this is the sacrifice involved in laying our lives (plans, selfish wishes) down for one another on a daily basis (Acts 2:46 Hebrews 3:13).

It is scary to see how successful Satan has been in taking away this daily sacrifice from our Lord. He has deceived the people into accepting a pseudo-form of christianity that sidetracks the cross and the daily presentation of our lives to God's perfect will. This powerless replica of Jesus' church exchanges resurrection life(that comes only through the cross) for self-gratification and the convenience of a few hours of God-time. And in our own lives, he attempts to throw every possible distraction our way, to prevent us from the blessing of being Jesus' daily sacrifice. We must overcome. Our Father has given us everything we need to live a life that pleases Him. Has it been an hour? a few days? weeks? since you determined to lay your all on the alter. He is giving us that choice, even right now - To be the daily sacrifice. Let's thwart the devil together, never allowing him to take what belongs so rightfully to the Prince of the Host. It is our reasonable service to give to the Lamb what he died for. We are not our own. We are bought by his blood. Be provoked to die to self today. Never forget to start the day in the Father's will and end it just the same. "Not my will, but thine be done" for real this time - and everyday from the heart.

That the Lamb who was slain, receive the reward of his suffering
Yours truly
Jesse