In the book of Daniel, Daniel shared how Gabriel told him, “the king of the north … shall stand in the glorious land, which by his hand shall be consumed. He shall also set his face to enter with the strength of his whole kingdom, and upright ones with him; thus shall he do: and he shall give him the daughter of women, corrupting her: but she shall not stand on his side, neither be for him. After this shall he turn his face unto the isles, and shall take many: but a prince for his own behalf shall cause the reproach offered by him to cease; without his own reproach he shall cause it to turn upon him. Then he shall turn his face toward the fort of his own land: but he shall stumble and fall, and not be found. Then shall stand up in his estate a raiser of taxes in the glory of the kingdom: but within few days he shall be destroyed, neither in anger, nor in battle”, and in chapter eleven and verse twenty-one of his book Daniel shared how Gabriel said, “in his estate shall stand up a vile person” where we read,
And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honor of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.
The verse reads, “And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honor of the kingdom:” Daniel began with the words, “and in his estate” or “and within his, the leader who raises taxes, pedestal, place and office” “shall stand up” which means “will be erected, appear and come on the scene” “a vile person” or “a contemptuous, disdained and despicable human being”, “to whom they shall not give the honor” which means “that the people of the kingdom shall in no way or manner grant, bestow, ascribe or requite the beauty, comeliness, excellency and glory” “of the kingdom” or “pertaining to the royal power, reign or sovereign realm”. Daniel shared how Gabriel told him a despicable person would rise to power after the leader who collected taxes, and the people would not ascribe to him the excellence or glory of it.
The verse goes on to say, “but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.” Daniel continued with the words, “but he shall come in peaceably” or “however, nonetheless, notwithstanding and moreover he, the one without regard, will arise and enter in a peaceful, calm, prosperous and tranquil manner”, “and obtain the kingdom” which means “and gain, prevail, become strong and resolute concerning the royal power, reign or sovereign realm” “by flatteries” or “through the means of slipperiness, fine promises and smoothness”. Daniel said this new ruler would arrive in a calm and tranquil manner and would become strong in the sovereign realm through the means of fine promises and smoothness.
When we think through words in this verse, we learn through Daniel how Gabriel told him about the next ruler of the north. This despicable man would replace the ruler who collected taxes but would do so without the glory of the people in the kingdom being given to him. Even so, this ruler would gain his official role through smoothness of talk and fine promises. Matthew Henry wrote, “All this is a prophecy of the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes, the little horn spoken of before (ch. 8:9) a sworn enemy to the Jewish religion, and a bitter persecutor of those that adhered to it. What troubles the Jews met with in the reigns of the Persian kings were not so particularly foretold to Daniel as these, because then they had living prophets with them, Haggai and Zechariah, to encourage them; but these troubles in the days of Antiochus were foretold, because, before that time, prophecy would cease, and they would find it necessary to have recourse to the written word. Some things in this prediction concerning Antiochus are alluded to in the New-Testament predictions of the antichrist, especially v. 36,37.” This man not only came to rule at this time, but also becomes a picture of the anti-christ who will appear in the last days. This can all be so frightening to us if we think about it too much, but because Jehovah God is in control of all the rulers and leaders of the world, we have no need to fear. God loves us, and He proved His love toward us when He sent His Only Begotten Son Jesus to die on the cross for our sins and raised Him from the dead after three days. When we put our faith and trust in Him as our Savior and Lord, our sins will be forgiven, we shall inherit eternal life and we will be assured by His Holy Spirit that regardless of who rules in the world, God rules over them all.
Next time Daniel shares how Gabriel says, “with the arms of a flood shall they be overflown from before him”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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