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 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”, and in chapter eleven and verse twenty-two of his book Daniel shared how Gabriel said, “with the arms of a flood shall they be overflown” where we read,
And with the arms of a flood shall they be overflown from before him, and shall be broken;
yes, also the prince of the covenant.
The verse reads, “And with the arms of a flood shall they be overflown from before him, and shall be broken;” Daniel began with the words, “and with the arms of a flood” or “and by the means of the forearm, shoulder or strength pertaining to a downpour, deluge or overflowing” “shall they be overflown” which means “will they, great armies, exist as washed, rinsed, engulfed and swept away” “from before him” or “from the face, front and presence of him, the one who comes in with flatteries”, “and shall be broken” which means “and will become violently rended, wrecked, crushed and ruptured”. Daniel shared how Gabriel told him great armies would be swept away by the one who takes office “by flatteries”.
The verse continues, “yes, also the prince of the covenant.” Daniel added the words, “yes, also the prince” or “even so and indeed, the ruler, leader and official” “of the covenant” which means “belonging to the alliance, pledge, treaty and league”. Daniel shared how Gabriel told him even and indeed the ruler who was a ruler through an alliance would be overcome.
When we consider the words in this verse, we learn through Daniel about the powerful affect this flattering ruler would have upon massive military forces who attempt to destroy him. He will overwhelm and crushed them, and even a ruler who made an alliance will fall before him. Speaking of this flattering ruler, Matthew Henry wrote, “The states of Syria did not give it to him (v. 21), because they knew it belonged to his elder brother's son, nor did he get it by the sword, but came in peaceably, pretending to reign for his brother's son, Demetrius, then a hostage at Rome. But with the help of Eumenes and Attalus, neighboring princes, he gained an interest in the people, and by flatteries obtained the kingdom, established himself in it, and crushed Heliodorus, who made head against him with the arms of a flood; those that opposed him were overflown and broken before him, even the prince of the covenant, his nephew, the rightful heir, whom he pretended to covenant with that he would resign to him whenever he should return.” Once again God knew all these events would occur, and they happened just as He described through Gabriel. God knows our lives as well, and because we have sin in our lives that leads to death (See Romans 6:23), He sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind and raised Him from the dead after three days. When we yield our lives to Him, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and give us the power of His Holy Spirit so we will trust Him when rulers and nations rise and fall in power and influence. (See John 3:16); Acts 1:8)
Next time Daniel shares how Gabriel says, “after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully”, 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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