Scripture Daily

Context No. 1317 of 4322 · Daniel (Greek)

Context · Reflection

Daniel (Greek) 11:20-24: in context

20“Then one who will cause a tax collector to pass through the kingdom to maintain its glory will stand up in his place; but within few days he shall be destroyed, not in anger, and not in battle. 21“In his place, a contemptible person will stand up, to whom they had not given the honor of the kingdom; but he will come in time of security, and will obtain the kingdom by flatteries. 22The overwhelming forces will be overwhelmed from before him, and will be broken. Yes, also the prince of the covenant. 23After the treaty is made with him, he will work deceitfully; for he will come up, and will become strong with a small people. 24In time of security, he will come even on the fattest places of the province. He will do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers’ fathers. He will scatter among them prey, plunder, and substance. Yes, he will devise his plans against the strongholds, even for a time.

This is part of a long, detailed prophecy of rising and falling kings. One ruler who sends out a tax collector to maintain the kingdom's glory is destroyed within a few days, not in anger or battle but suddenly. Then a contemptible person arises, one who was never given the honor of the kingdom but obtains it by flatteries, coming in quietly during a time of security. He overwhelms opposing forces, works deceitfully, grows strong with only a small following, and comes without warning against the richest parts of the province, scattering plunder and devising schemes against the strongholds, but only, the prophecy notes, for a time.

Two things stand out in this grim survey of power. First, how the contemptible one rises: not by right, not by open strength, but by flattery, deceit, and stealth, coming in during a time of security when no one is watching, obtaining the kingdom by smooth words rather than merit. It is a sober reminder that evil often advances not with a frontal assault we could brace for but quietly, by charm and deception, gaining ground while everyone feels safe. The dangerous figure is frequently the one who was underestimated, the contemptible person no one honored, who works his way up by intrigue. Second, and this is the quiet hope buried in a dark passage, is the last phrase: even for a time. For all his scheming and plundering and apparent success, his time is bounded. God's prophetic word, surveying the whole parade of kings from above, has already set the limit on the deceiver; his triumph is real but temporary, granted only for a season and no longer. The passage shows evil advancing by the worst of means and looking, for a while, unstoppable, and then reminds us that its clock is running. The one who sees the end from the beginning has numbered even the deceiver's days.

Do I lose heart when evil seems to advance unchecked by flattery and deceit, forgetting that its time is bounded, or can I trust that the God who sees the end has already set the limit on every deceiver's season?

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