Prophetic Vision 6th August 2021
I saw footprints and God directed me to the book of Daniel, showing me that the deceivers leave footprints which lead directly to them.
Interestingly, Daniel chapter 14, together with chapter 13 is not in most bibles and can only be found in the Catholic bible.
The story of Bel and the Dragon is about how Daniel proved to the king that the idol the people were worshipping was not God.
The priests, their wives and their children were deceiving both the king and the people and they left footprints.
This discovery resulted in the king putting them to death and handing Bel over to Daniel, who destroyed both it and its temple.
Daniel & The Priests of Bel
After King Astyages was gathered to his ancestors, Cyrus the Persian succeeded to his kingdom.
Daniel was a companion of the king and was held in higher honour than any of the friends of the King.
The Babylonians had an idol called Bel, and every day they provided for it six bushels of fine flour, forty sheep, and six measures of wine.
The king revered it and went every day to worship it; but Daniel worshiped only his God.
When the king asked him why he did not worship Bel, Daniel replied that it was because he did not revere idols made with hands, but only the living God who made heaven and earth and has dominion over all flesh.”
Daniel Told The King That Bel Was An Idol, Not A Living God
Then the king asked Daniel if he did not think Bel was a living god and if he didn't see how much he ate and drank every day.
Daniel began to laugh and told the king not to be deceived, telling him that it was only clay inside and bronze outside and that it had never eaten or drunk anything.
Enraged, the king called his priests and told them that unless they told him who it was that consumed those provisions, they shall die.
But if they can show that Bel consumed them, Daniel shall die for blaspheming Bel.
Daniel said to the king to let it be as he said!
Daniel Set A Trap For The Deceivers
There were 70 priests of Bel, besides their wives and children.
When the king went with Daniel into the temple of Bel, the priests of Bel said they were going to leave.
They told the king to set out the food and prepare the wine; then shut the door and seal it with his ring.
If he did not find that Bel had eaten it all when he returned in the morning, they were to die; otherwise Daniel shall die for his lies against them.
They were not perturbed, because under the table they had made a secret entrance through which they always came in to consume the food.
After they departed the king set the food before Bel, while Daniel ordered his servants to bring some ashes, which they scattered through the whole temple; the king alone was present.
Then they went outside, sealed the closed door with the king’s ring, and departed.
The Deceivers Leave Footprints
The priests entered that night as usual, with their wives and children, and they ate and drank everything.
Early the next morning, the king came with Daniel and asked him if the seals were unbroken, and Daniel answered that they were.
As soon as he had opened the door, the king looked at the table and cried aloud that Bel was great and that there was no deceit in him.
But Daniel laughed and kept the king from entering, telling him to look at the floor and consider whose footprints those were.
The king said that he saw the footprints of men, women, and children!
There Is Nothing Hidden That Will Not Be Disclosed
In his wrath the king arrested the priests, their wives, and their children.
They showed him the secret door by which they used to enter to consume what was on the table.
The king put them to death, and handed Bel over to Daniel, who destroyed it and its temple (Daniel 14:1-22).
There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known.
What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs (Luke 12:2-3).
Nowhere To Hide
I am always amazed at how people think they can get away with such elementary and obvious things.
But pride makes people arrogant, it goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.
Better to be lowly in spirit along with the oppressed than to share plunder wit the proud.
Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers, and blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD (Proverbs 16:18-20).
The priests of Bel and their wives and children had mocked both the king and God, but God brought down their pride, despite the cleverness of their hands (Isaiah 25:11) and they were burnt at the altar of deceit and swept away with the ashes.
Abel's Blood Cried Out To God From The Ground
When Cain killed his brother Abel, God said that his brother’s blood cried out to Him from the ground.
Cain's sin put him under a curse and he was driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive his brother’s blood from his hand.
When he worked the ground, it would no longer yield its crops and Cain would be a restless wanderer on the earth (Genesis 4:10-11).
God rains down curses for disobedience and blessings for obedience, and He is not shy in meeting out justice.
We are to fear, revere and respect the awesome and terrible power of the LORD, we must seek Him in all things, and give glory to His Name.
Righteous Always Reigns
God sees and knows all things, there is nowhere to hide.
We are foolish to think we can fool or outwit God and we are even more foolish to think that God doesn't exist.
Deception never wins as this is against the natural order.
It may be allowed for a time, until sin reaches its fullness, but in the end, the wicked will be like chaff before the wind, with the angel of the Lord driving them away; their path will be dark and slippery, with the angel of the Lord pursuing them (Psalm 35:5-6).
God’s abundant provision of grace and the gift of righteousness always reigns (Romans 5:17).
Please Subscribe & Share
If you enjoyed this Word, please subscribe and please share!