In the book of Daniel, Daniel shared how Gabriel told him about battles between the king of the north and the king of the south, and he said, “and the king of the south shall be stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army; but he shall not stand: for they shall forecast devices against him. Yes, they that feed of the portion of his meat shall destroy him, and his army shall overflow: and many shall fall down slain. And both these kings' hearts shall be to do mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table; but it shall not prosper: for yet the end shall be at the time appointed. Then shall he return into his land with great riches; and his heart shall be against the holy covenant; and he shall do exploits, and return to his own land”, and in chapter eleven and verse twenty-nine of his book Daniel shared how Gabriel said, “at the time appointed he shall return, and come toward the south” where we read,
At the time appointed he shall return, and come toward the south;
but it shall not be as the former, or as the latter.
The verse reads, “At the time appointed he shall return, and come toward the south;” Daniel began with the words, “at the time appointed” or “at the set season or time period” “he shall return” which means “he, the flattering king, will go back”, “and come toward the south” or “and be brought into and enter the southern direction”. Daniel shared how Gabriel told him the flattering royal ruler would go back to the southern direction at the set time period.
The verse continues, “but it shall not be as the former, or as the latter.” Daniel added the words, “but it shall not be” or “however, notwithstanding, nonetheless and moreover it, the return of the flattering king, will not exist” “as the former” which means “similar and in likeness to the first, primary and beforetime”, “or as the latter” or “or similar and in likeness to the subsequent, hindmost and last time period”. Daniel shared how Gabriel told him this next time the flattering “king” entered the southern direction would not exist in likeness to the time before or the last time.
When we consider the words in this verse, we learn through Daniel how Gabriel let him know that the flattering “king” would once again rise up against the kingdom in the southern region, however, his success would not be according to the way it was the first time or the last time he went against them. Matthew Henry wrote, “he shall come towards the south. But this attempt shall not succeed, as the two former did, nor shall he gain his point, as he had done before once and again.” God knows the successes and the falls of the rulers and leaders of the world, and because all the world belongs to Him (See Psalms 24:1), He chooses who will rule and who will not. Even so, there is a limitation to the rule of mankind by means of death or removal from office. God knows we will all face death because of the sin that is in our lives, and for this reason He sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of everyone. (See Romans 3:23; 6:23; John 3:16-17) When God raised Jesus from the dead, He made the way through belief and trust in Him for us to be forgiven of our sins, granted everlasting life and to have His Holy Spirit with us to lead and guide us wherever He desires and for whatever time He wills that we be there.
Next time Daniel shares how Gabriel says, “the ships of Chittim shall come against 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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