heart set against

Posted on August 1, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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heart set against

Daniel 11:20-28 (JDV)

Daniel 11:20 “In his place, one will take a stand who will send out a tax collector for the glory of the kingdom; but within a few days he will be broken, though not in anger or in battle.
Daniel 11:21 “In his place, a despised person will take a stand; royal honors will not be given to him, but he will come during a time of peace and seize the kingdom by intrigue.
Daniel 11:22 A flood of military forces will be swept away before him; they will be broken, as well as the covenant prince.
Daniel 11:23 After an alliance is made with him, he will act as a traitor. He will rise to power with a small nation.
Daniel 11:24 During a time of peace, he will come into the richest parts of the province and do what his fathers and predecessors never did. He will lavish plunder, loot, and wealth on his followers, and he will make plans against fortified cities, but only for a while.
Daniel 11:25 “With a large army he will stir up his power and his courage against the king of the South. The king of the South will prepare for battle with an extremely large and powerful army, but he will not succeed, because plots will be made against him.
Daniel 11:26 Those who eat his provisions will destroy him; his army will be swept away, and many will fall slain.
Daniel 11:27 The two kings, whose hearts are bent on evil, will speak lies at the same table but to no avail, for still the end will come at the appointed time.
Daniel 11:28 The king of the North will return to his land with great wealth, but his heart will be set against the holy covenant; he will take action, then return to his own land.

heart set against

It was Antiochus IV whose heart was set against the holy covenant. On his way back home from plundering Egypt, he stopped to deal with a small insurrection in Palestine. His “action” was overkill. He murdered 80,000 men, women, and children, and that small insurrection grew into the mighty Maccabean revolt.

Sometimes our solutions to our problems are so unwise that they end up causing bigger problems. We need to seek God’s solutions.

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Cleopatra

Posted on July 31, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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Cleopatra

Daniel 11:14-19 (JDV)

Daniel 11:14 “In those times many will take a stand against the king of the South. Ravenous sons of your own people will be ambitious to fulfill a vision themselves, but they will falter.
Daniel 11:15 Then the king of the North will come, pile up a siege mound, and capture a fortified city. The arms of the South will not stand; even their best troops will not have the power to stand.
Daniel 11:16 The one who comes against him will do whatever he wants, and no one can stand before him. He will establish himself in the beautiful land and its annihilation will be within his hand.
Daniel 11:17 He will set his face to come with the force of his whole kingdom and will reach an agreement with it. He will give him a daughter in marriage to destroy it, but she will not stand with him or support him.
Daniel 11:18 Then he will turn his attention to the coasts and islands and capture many. But a commander will end his taunting; instead, he will turn his taunts against him.
Daniel 11:19 He will turn his attention back to the fortresses of his land, but he will stumble, fall, and be no more.

Cleopatra

The daughter Antiochus III gave in marriage to Ptolemy V was named Cleopatra. She was not the famous later Cleopatra associated with Rome. But she did have an impact on history because she chose to support her husband instead of her father. As a result, Antiochus’ plans to destroy Egypt failed.

Our heavenly Father has a purpose for us. He has orchestrated our lives to fit within that purpose. But time will tell if we choose to do what he wants or make other choices.

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defeat at Raphia

Posted on July 30, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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defeat at Raphia

Daniel 11:10-13 (JDV)

Daniel 11:10 “His sons will get ready for war and assemble a large number of armed forces. They will advance, sweeping through like a flood, and will again wage war as far as his fortress.
Daniel 11:11 Embittered, the king of the South will go out to do battle with the king of the North, who will raise a large army, but they will be handed over to his enemy.
Daniel 11:12 When the army is carried off, he will become arrogant and lead tens of thousands to fall, but he will not triumph.
Daniel 11:13 The king of the North will again raise an army larger than the first. After some years he will advance with a strong army and many supplies.

defeat at Raphia

The king of the North here is Antiochus III, who raises a large army only to be defeated in battle at Raphia in Palestine by Ptolemy IV (Philopater). This is another example of a leader’s arrogance bringing mass destruction to his followers. Pride goes before a fall, and often the fall includes many who trust in the proud person.

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Euergetes

Posted on July 29, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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Euergetes

Daniel 11:7-9 (JDV)

Daniel 11:7 In the place of the king of the South, a branch from her root will rise up, come against the army, and enter the fortress of the king of the North. He will take action against them and strengthen himself.
Daniel 11:8 He will take even their gods captive to Egypt, with their metal images and their precious articles of silver and gold. For some years he will stay away from the king of the North,
Daniel 11:9 who will enter the domain of the king of the South but then return to his own land.

Euergetes

Ptolemy III invaded Antioch and took some Syrian idols, along with Egyptian idols that had been taken by Camyses in 524 B.C. He returned those idols to Egypt, thereby earning the title Euergetes (Benefactor). If the Egyptians only knew the bondage they were under by following those false gods, they would have refused the gift. They should have said that he could keep those worthless “gods.”

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he knows the details

Posted on July 28, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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he knows the details

Daniel 11:5-6 (JDV)

Daniel 11:5 “The king of the South will grow powerful, but one of his commanders will grow more powerful and will rule a kingdom greater than his.
Daniel 11:6 After some years they will form an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the South will go to the king of the North to seal the agreement. She will not retain power, and his strength will not endure. She will be given up, together with her entourage, her father, and the one who supported her during those times.

he knows the details

The details of this prophecy so match the future history it predict6s that many have been convinced that it was written after the fact. But with God, all of our history is known before it happens. We can take comfort that the God who promises a future restoration of all things is well aware of everything that has happened, is happening, and will happen. He knows the details. We can trust him to keep his promises.

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greatness and control

Posted on July 27, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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greatness and control

Daniel 11:1-4 (JDV)

Daniel 11:1 In the first year of Darius the Mede, I stood up to strengthen and protect him.)
Daniel 11:2 Now I will tell you the truth. “Three more kings will arise in Persia, and the fourth will be far richer than the others. Through the power he gains by means of his riches, he will stir up everyone against the kingdom of Greece.
Daniel 11:3 Then a warrior king will arise; he will rule a vast realm and do whatever he wants.
Daniel 11:4 But as soon as he is established, his kingdom will be broken up and divided to the four winds of the sky, but not to his descendants; it will not be the same kingdom that he ruled, because his kingdom will be uprooted and will go to others besides them.

greatness and control

None of the four generals who inherited the Macedonian empire were descendants of Alexander the Great. His death led to the uprooting of his kingdom. It does not matter how great you are — or how great you think you are. You cannot control the future.

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strengthened to listen

Posted on July 26, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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strengthened to listen

Daniel 10:18-21 (JDV)

Daniel 10:18 Then the one who looked like Adam touched me again and strengthened me.
Daniel 10:19 He said, “Don’t be afraid, you who are treasured by God. Peace to you; be very strong!” As he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, “Let my lord speak, because you have strengthened me.”
Daniel 10:20 He said, “Do you know why I’ve come to you? I must return immediately to fight against the prince of Persia, and when I leave, the prince of Greece will come.
Daniel 10:21 However, I will tell you what is recorded in the book of truth. (No one has the courage to support me against those princes except Michael, your prince.

strengthened to listen

Those of us who have grown up in Sunday School are not used to thinking of God’s word as requiring strength just to listen to it. But the longer we dig the well, the deeper the water it reaches. There are some truths that take a lot of digging, and they are not easy to hear. Some of the things we learn are the results of battles in the heavenly realms.

LORD, give us strength to learn the hard truths, as well as the easy ones.

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speechless

Posted on July 25, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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speechless

Daniel 10:15-17 (JDV)

Daniel 10:15 While he was saying these words to me, I turned my face toward the ground and was speechless.
Daniel 10:16 Suddenly one who looked like Adam touched my lips. I opened my mouth and said to the one standing in front of me, “My lord, because of the vision, anguish overwhelms me and I am powerless.
Daniel 10:17 How can someone like me, your servant, speak with someone like you, my lord? Now I have no strength, and there is no breathing in me.”

speechless

Daniel had consistently prayed to God all his life. But when he heard the words of this “Lord” speaking to him, he was speechless until empowered to speak. If you and I knew the potential behind our prayers, we would need divine power to pray them. God has given us such a responsibility.

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treasured by God

Posted on July 24, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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treasured by God

Daniel 10:10-14 (JDV)

Daniel 10:10 Suddenly, a hand touched me and set me shaking on my hands and knees.
Daniel 10:11 He said to me, “Daniel, you are a man treasured by God. Understand the words that I’m saying to you. Stand on your feet, because I have now been sent to you.” After he said this to me, I stood trembling.
Daniel 10:12 “Don’t be afraid, Daniel,” he said to me, “because from the first day that you purposed to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your prayers were heard. I have come because of your prayers.
Daniel 10:13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia opposed me for twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me after I had been left there with the kings of Persia.
Daniel 10:14 Now I have come to help you understand what will happen to your people in the last days, for the vision refers to those days.”

treasured by God

Oh, to be a man or woman treasured by God! Angels will fight battles with demons for days over you. Things will be revealed to you that defy the mind of a genius. Ask nothing more of this life than to be valued by your creator.

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I was powerless

Posted on July 23, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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I was powerless

Daniel 10:1-9 (JDV)

Daniel 10:1 In the third year of King Cyrus of Persia, a message was revealed to Daniel, who was named Belteshazzar. The message was true and was about a great conflict. He understood the message and had an understanding of the vision.
Daniel 10:2 In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for three full weeks.
Daniel 10:3 I didn’t eat any rich food, no meat or wine entered my mouth, and I didn’t put any oil on my body until the three weeks were over.
Daniel 10:4 On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river, the Tigris,
Daniel 10:5 I looked up, and there was a man dressed in linen, with a belt of gold from Uphaz around his waist.
Daniel 10:6 His body was like beryl, his face like the brilliance of lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and feet like the gleam of polished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of a multitude.
Daniel 10:7 Only I, Daniel, saw the vision. The men who were with me did not see it, but a great terror fell on them, and they ran and hid.
Daniel 10:8 I was left alone, looking at this great vision. No strength was left in me; my face grew deathly pale, and I was powerless.
Daniel 10:9 I heard the words he said, and when I heard them I fell into a deep sleep, with my face to the ground.

I was powerless

Barnes writes “It is certain that such visions as those which appeared to Daniel and John would have this effect; and, though we are not to expect that they will now be vouchsafed to men, no one can doubt that there may be such views of God, and heaven, and eternal realities presented to the eye of faith and hope; such joy in the evidence of pardoned sin; such a change from a sense of condemnation to the peace resulting from forgiveness, that the powers of the body may be prostrated, and sink from exhaustion. Indeed, it is not much of the revelation of the divine character that in our present state we can bear” (421).

God’s character is like an active volcano. It is easier to study it from a great distance because getting closer can be dangerous. Oh, but we need to get closer. We need the power of his presence, even if it renders us powerless.

Barnes Albert. Notes Critical Illustrative and Practical on the Book of Daniel with an Introductory Dissertation. Leavitt & Allen 1861.

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