Called to Overcome
Daniel 2:36-45 - New International
Version (NIV)
36 “This was the dream, and now we will interpret it to the
king. 37 Your Majesty, you are the king of kings. The
God of heaven has given you dominion and power and might and glory; 38 in
your hands he has placed all mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds
in the sky. Wherever they live, he has made you ruler over them all. You
are that head of gold.
39 “After you, another kingdom will arise, inferior to yours. Next, a
third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over the whole earth. 40 Finally,
there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron—for iron breaks and smashes
everything—and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all
the others. 41 Just as you saw that the feet and toes were
partly of baked clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom; yet
it will have some of the strength of iron in it, even as you saw iron mixed
with clay. 42 As the toes were partly iron and partly
clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. 43 And
just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a mixture
and will not remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay.
44 “In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a
kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It
will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will
itself endure forever. 45 This is the meaning of the
vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands—a rock
that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces.
What is Daniel going to do with the dream (verse 36)?
Who has given the king “dominion and power
and might and glory” (verse 37)?
In the dream, what is the king (verse
38)?
How will the next kingdom compare (verse 39)?
What will the third kingdom do (verse 39)?
What will the fourth kingdom do to “all the
others” (verse 40)?
How do we know that this kingdom will be weak (verses
41-43)?
When will God “set up a kingdom that will
never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people” (verse 44)?
What is the “meaning of the vision of the
rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands” (verses 44 and 45)?
In
your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
In your opinion, what does this passage teach
us about overcoming the world?
John
11:17-27 - New
International Version (NIV)
11 After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our
friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him
up.”
12 His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get
better.” 13 Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his
disciples thought he meant natural sleep.
14 So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, 15 and
for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go
to him.”
16 Then Thomas (also known as Didymus) said to the rest of the
disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”
17 On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the
tomb for four days. 18 Now Bethany was less than two
miles from Jerusalem, 19 and many Jews had come to
Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. 20 When
Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed
at home.
21 “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother
would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will
give you whatever you ask.”
23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
24 Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the
resurrection at the last day.”
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the
life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they
die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will
never die. Do you believe this?”
27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the
Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”
What did Jesus say He was going to do for “our
friend Lazarus” (verse 11)?
How did the disciples reply (verse 12)?
How did the disciples misunderstand Jesus (verse 13)?
What did Jesus plainly tell the disciples (verse 14)?
Why was Jesus glad He was not there when Lazarus died
(verse 15)?
In your opinion, what did Thomas mean when he said “let
us also go, that we may die with him” (verse 16)?
How long had Lazarus been in the tomb (verse 17)?
Who was with Mary and Martha (verses 18 and 19)?
How did Martha think that Jesus could have changed
the situation (verse 21)?
What did Jesus tell Martha (verse 23)?
What did Martha know (verse 24)?
Who will “live, even though they die” (verse 25)?
What will the one who “lives by believing in me” never
do (verse 26)?
What did Martha believe (verse 27)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message of this
passage?
In your opinion, what
does this passage teach us about overcoming the world?
In
your opinion, what does John 11:17-27 reveal about the people who make up the
kingdom represented in Daniel 2:36-45 by the “rock cut out of a mountain,
but not by human hands”?
1 John 4:1-6 – New International Version (NIV)
1 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the
spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone
out into the world. 2 This is how you can recognize the
Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the
flesh is from God, 3 but every spirit that does not
acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the
antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the
world.
4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome
them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in
the world. 5 They are from the world and therefore
speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We
are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God
does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of
truth and the spirit of falsehood.
Should
Christians believe every spirit (verse 1)?
Why
should spirits be tested (verse 1)?
How
can Christians “recognize the Spirit of God” (verse 2)?
What
is “the spirit of the antichrist” (verse 3)?
Where
is the “spirit of the antichrist” (verse 3)?
How have those who are from God overcome the
antichrists (verse 4)?
What point of view do
the antichrists speak from (verse 5)?
Who listens to that
point of view (verse 5)?
Who listens to John
(verse 6)?
In your opinion, what
is the basic message of this passage?
In your opinion, what does this passage teach
us about overcoming the world?
In your opinion, how
does 1 John 4:1-6 help us understand the differences between the citizens of
the kingdoms of metal that will be destroyed and the kingdom of the rock that
endures forever in Daniel 2:36-45?
In
your opinion, what spirit, as explained by 1 John 4:1-6, does Martha have based
on her testimony in John 11:17-27?
Revelation 17:7-18 – New International
Version (NIV)
7 Then the angel said to me: “Why are you astonished? I will explain
to you the mystery of the woman and of the beast she rides, which has the
seven heads and ten horns. 8 The beast, which you saw,
once was, now is not, and yet will come up out of the Abyss and go to its
destruction. The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been
written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be
astonished when they see the beast, because it once was, now is not, and
yet will come.
9 “This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are
seven hills on which the woman sits. 10 They are also
seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he
does come, he must remain for only a little while. 11 The
beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the
seven and is going to his destruction.
12 “The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet
received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings
along with the beast. 13 They have one purpose and will
give their power and authority to the beast. 14 They will
wage war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will triumph over them
because he is Lord of lords and King of kings—and with him will be his called,
chosen and faithful followers.”
15 Then the angel said to me, “The waters you saw, where the
prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages. 16 The
beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will
bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her
flesh and burn her with fire. 17 For God has put it
into their hearts to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to hand over to
the beast their royal authority, until God’s words are fulfilled. 18 The
woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.”
What
mystery is the angel going to explain to John (verse 7)?
Where
is the beast which “was, now is not, and yet will come up out of the Abyss” going
to go (verse 8)?
Who
will “be astonished when they see the beast” (verse 8)?
What
are the heads the woman sits on (verse 9)?
What
are the heads the woman sits on (verse 10)?
What
is the “beast who once was, and now is not” (verse 11)?
Where
is this beast going (verse 11)?
What
is the purpose of the ten horns who are ten kings (verses 12 and 13)?
Why
will the Lamb triumph when the ten horns wage war on Him (verse 14)?
What
are the waters (verse 15)?
Who
will hate the prostitute (verse 16)?
Who
has God “put it into their hearts to accomplish is purpose” (verse 17)?
What
is the woman (verse 18)?
In
your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
In your opinion, what does this passage
teach us about overcoming the world?
In your opinion, what are the
similarities between the prophecy in Daniel 2:36-45 and the more detailed prophecy
in Revelation 17:7-18?
In your opinion, what does Martha’s
response to Jesus in John 11:17-27 help us understand about becoming one of the
“called, chosen and faithful followers” who join Jesus in triumph in
Revelation 17:7-18?
In your opinion, how does the testing of
spirts described in 1 John 4:1-6 help Christians have confidence as they face
the confusion of power and hatred described in Revelation 17:7-18?
In
your opinion, how do these passages from Daniel, John, 1 John and Revelation help
Christians be at peace in any situation?
How
would you respond if Jesus said to you, “I
am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me
will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by
believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”?
(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)
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