In the book of Daniel, Daniel shared how Gabriel said, “a mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will. And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven; and not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion which he ruled: for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others beside those”, and in chapter eleven and verse five of his book Daniel shared how Gabriel told him, “the king of the south shall be strong” where we read,
And the king of the south shall be strong, and one of his princes; and he shall be strong above him, and have dominion; his dominion shall be a great dominion.
The verse reads, “And the king of the south shall be strong, and one of his princes;” Daniel began with the words, “and the king of the south” or “and the royal ruler pertaining to the southern direction” “shall be strong” which means “will increase in might, power, courage and resolution”, “and one of his princes” or “and a particular one of his, the king of the south’s, rulers, leaders, chiefs, chieftains and officials” will do the following. Daniel shared how the “king” in the southern direction who took over for the “mighty king” would increase in strength, and a particular one of his officials would be as the following.
The verse goes on to say, “and he shall be strong above him, and have dominion; his dominion shall be a great dominion.” Daniel continued with the words, “and he shall be strong above him” or “and he, the official within the king of the south’s kingdom, will exist as more powerful, mighty and resolute than him”, “and have dominion” which means “and own and possess rule, governance and power ”, “his dominion shall be a great dominion” or “his, the official of the king of the south, will exist as an abundant, exceedingly powerful and mighty rule and reign”. Daniel shared how Gabriel told him the official from the king of the south’s reign will be more powerful than the king of the south, and he would have might, rule and governance that would be exceedingly powerful.
When we think through the words in this verse, we learn through Daniel how Gabriel told him that the “king” who became the ruler in the southern direction after Alexander the Great became the strongest among the four kings, and he would have an official who became stronger than him. David Guzik says, “This was fulfilled in Ptolemy I of Egypt, who exerted his control over the Holy Land. Soon after the division of Alexander’s Empire, the Ptolemies dominated this region. Ptolemy I had a prince named Seleucus, who rose to power and took dominion over the region of Syria. He became more powerful than his former Egyptian ruler. The Seleucids are identified with the Kings of the North, and the Ptolemies were the Kings of the South. The dynasties of the Seleucids and the Ptolemies fought for some 130 years. The stronger of the two always held dominion over the Holy Land.” These things were in the future for Daniel, but we are able to look back at history and see how they were fulfilled. God knows the past, present and future all at the same time, and when He makes a declaration, it comes to pass. God knows we are in need of a Savior because we have sinned against Him and His law, and when He sent His Son Jesus into this world to die on the cross for our sins and to be raised from the dead after three days, He made the way through belief and trust in Him to be forgiven of our sins, granted everlasting life and given His Holy Spirit who will guide us into all truth and assure us that He has the kingdom and rulers of this world in His control.
Next time Daniel shares how Gabriel told him, “in the end of years they shall join themselves together”, 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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