Previously we looked at the entire chapter of Daniel 7. Today’s study focused on the little horn and its desire to change times and laws. The little horn emerges as one of the chief antagonists in the great controversy. Mixing truth with error, and paganism with Christianity, the little horn has spread confusion about God and misled millions of individuals. But the book of Daniel has already revealed that God’s people can resist the apostasy and be victorious with the grace of Jesus. Daniel 6 shows us that a close relationship with Jesus saturated in prayer and Bible study is vital to resisting the attacks of the devil.

The little horn would think to change times and laws (Daniel 7:25). The Bible makes this subtle yet clear distinction that the horn would think. In other words, the horn could not change times and laws, even though it felt it had the authority to.

While this appears as one sentence in the midst of a detailed and visually-rich vision, this attempt by the little horn is very significant. God’s law, which you can find in Exodus 20, was written by the finger of God. A little known but important detail is that the chapter begins with “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt…” God’s law begins with what He has done for His people. His law was so important to us that He chose to write it with His own finger.

The devil, working through the little horn, has successfully deceived millions of people into thinking God’s law is irrelevant. But what does the Bible say about the significance of the law?

The law reveals sin. Romans 7:7 and 1 John 3:4 explains that the law is the moral standard to abide by, the litmus between right and wrong. If God’s law is no longer relevant, then how do we determine sin? Sin becomes subjective at this point, because with no standard above humanity anyone can determine what sin is/is not. This leads to confusion and an “anything goes” society.

The law cannot save you. You cannot run to the law looking for salvation. If you break a law in today’s society you may face a judge or jury to plead your case. At that point you cannot depend on the law to reverse the impending sentence. After all, you broke it. Think of the law as a mirror. A mirror can point out the flaws on your body, but the mirror cannot fix you.

Some will argue that we are no longer under the law, but under grace. Therefore, even if the law is relevant, because Jesus died we do not need to keep the law. This gets entangled with Jesus’ death as doing away with the law. But even Paul counters the “under grace not law” argument by saying in Romans 6:1 that we should not continue sinning! Even Jesus says in Matthew 5 that he specifically did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it. The law condemns us, but through Jesus’ sacrifice we are freed from the condemnation of the law and we have a way out. Remember, the law of God is unchangeable, and unlike many laws today, there are no loopholes. That is why Jesus had to die. The wages of sin is death. Breaking the law of God results in death. But we are alive today because Someone else died for us. Saying the law does not matter reduces the significance of Jesus’ death, as He could have just made a loophole if He really wanted to save us.

We want to emphasize here that the law cannot save you. Period. Only Jesus can save you. We keep the law because it is God’s plan for a peaceful life. Think of how great this planet would be if we chose not to kill, steal, or covet? What if we respected our elders? While the majority of us follow these practices, it’s the ones who do not that make life difficult and painful.

When we recognize the sacrifice Jesus made for us, we will want to keep the law. Jesus can do more than just heal you, He can help you from getting sick again (as in sin).

For more about the law, click here.