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 of the king of the north, “he shall even return, and have intelligence with them that forsake the holy covenant. And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that makes desolate. And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits. And they that understand among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days. Now when they shall fall, they shall be helped with a little help: but many shall cleave to them with flatteries. And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed”, and in chapter eleven and verse thirty-six of his book Daniel shared how Gabriel said, “the king shall do according to his will” where we read,
And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvelous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.
The verse reads, “And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, …” Daniel began with the words, “and the king” or “and the royal ruler and leader” “shall do according to his will” which means “will perform, accomplish and produce in keeping with his, the royal leader’s, desire, delight, favor, goodwill and acceptance”; “and he shall exalt himself” or “and he, the royal ruler, will extol, uplift and make lofty his own self”, “and magnify himself” which means “and will praise and make important and powerful his own self” “above every god” or “beyond and over each, all, the whole and everyone of the deities”. Daniel shared how this “royal ruler” will perform and produce in any manner he desires, and he will uplift himself and make himself more important than all the other deities.
The verse goes on to say, “… and shall speak marvelous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.” Daniel continued with the words, “and shall speak marvelous things” or “and will utter, declare and proclaim wonderful, surpassing, extraordinary and beyond one’s power actions” “against the God of gods” which means “in opposition to the Supreme Deity pertaining to all deities”, “and shall prosper” or “and will advance, succeed and be profitable” “till the indignation” which means “until the frothing at the mouth, anger, rage and displeasure with sin” “be accomplished” or “exists as ceased, accomplished, ended and completed”: “for that that is determined” which means “because since and on account that the prosperity of this royal ruler that exists as decided and decreed” “shall be done” or “will be fashioned, produced, performed and accomplished”. Daniel shared how Gabriel told him the royal ruler would make grandiose utterances in opposition to the Supreme Deity Jehovah God who is above all other gods, and he will live in prosperity and success until such time that the anger and displeasure with sin is completed because this has been decided and will be performed.
When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we learn through Daniel how Gabriel told him the flattering royal ruler from the north would do anything he pleased, would praise and exalt his own self and make himself to be greater than any “god” that existed. He will utter grandiose words in opposition to Jehovah God, and will continue in this mode until the time of “indignation or tribulation” has been completed. Matthew Henry wrote, “he shall proudly put contempt upon all other gods, shall magnify himself above every god, even the gods of the nations. Antiochus wrote to his own kingdom that every one should leave the gods he had worshipped, and worship such as he ordered, contrary to the practice of all the conquerors that went before him, 1 Mac. 1:41, 42. And all the heathen agreed according to the commandment of the king; fond as they were of their gods, they did not think them worth suffering for, but, their gods being idols, it was all alike to them what gods they worshipped.” God has a plan for the salvation of mankind through His Son Jesus who died on the cross for the sins of all mankind, and when He raised Him from the dead, He made the way for all who believe and trust in Him to be forgiven of their sins, granted everlasting life and assured by His Holy Spirit that even when a leader appears to do whatever they desire and defiantly make themselves better than God, He has them under His hand of authority.
Next time Daniel shares how Gabriel says, “neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women”, 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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