Today, I am reading and commenting on Daniel 11-12.

The bulk of chapter 11 seems to be a prophecy of Alexander the Great’s conquest of the Persian Empire and then of the wars between the successor states which arose after his death.  Some claim that it was written after the events of those wars.  Those latter persons say that it does not accurately reflect the events, but looks like what the people living in the area around Judea would have perceived to have happened and thus reflects that it was written by someone living around the time of the Maccabees.  I have not studied what we know to have historically happened between the Ptolemaic successors to Alexander in Egypt and the Seleucid successors based near what is now Syria enough to compare this prophecy to those events.  As I read it, it does not seem to intend to be a detailed account of the events of the war.  Rather, it seems to be intended to relate the chaos of such dynastic battles, and their pointlessness.  Then at the end of chapter 11 it talks about the last, or one of the last, of the Seleucid kings, who tried to completely wipe out the worship of Yahweh (or, perhaps, “just” merge it into the official “cult” of his empire).  It tells us that he will use flattery to turn to his side those who had already violated God’s covenant, but those who know God will resist him.  Indeed those who are wise will instruct others in the knowledge of God, despite being persecuted for their faith.  It seems to me that this part of the prophecy is the centerpiece of the prophecy, with what comes before serving the explain how so many became distracted from God’s truth.  The passage even tells us that some of the wise, who should have known better, will stumble, but that God will refine them and bring them back to Himself.  In many ways, I think this prophecy is meant to be a warning for us today just as much as it was for the people who first heard it.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

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Today, I am reading and commenting on Daniel 11-12.

This is a difficult passage to read and understand.  It begins by describing the rise of Alexander the Great and the division of the empire he built into four parts.  Part of what makes it hard to follow is that it glosses over historical events in ways which make it hard to know where in the historical timeline the parts of this vision are.  For example: at the beginning it talks about a king arising in Persia who will “stir up everyone against the kingdom of Greece.”  Now there are two issues here.  The Persian king who first invaded Greece was Darius, but the passage appears to be referencing his son Xerxes.  The second issue is that Greece was not a single kingdom at that time, but rather an amalgam of city-states.  I will discuss why that is not the problem some would make it out to be in a moment.  It follows talking about the Persian king who stirred people up against Greece by mentioning a king who will arise and do as he pleases.  The fact that it then tells us that after the death of this king his kingdom would be split among four kings suggests that it is referring to Alexander the Great.  Now if you read this passage and did not know history, you might think that king was instead a Persian king.  I use the above as an example of how the writer glosses over details of history in a way which those who know the history in detail will find problematic, but which convey the flow of that history.  As we read this passage we get a feel for the way in which the land of Israel, and the people who lived there, got caught in the battles between the Seleucid Dynasty in Persia and the Ptolemaic Dynasty in Egypt.  This vision was not intended to give a detailed account of the future.  It was intended to remind those who lived through those troubling times that God had a plan for that future and that events would turn out according to what He had ordained.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Daniel 11-12.

At some point I may spend some time learning about the history of the Seleucid and Ptolemaic dynasties which ruled over the Middle East between Alexander the Great and the Roman Empire, but in the meantime I will look at what I gain from this passage without that.  We learn of a king who will do as he pleases.  We can be warned by the description of this king and his actions.  Some will allow themselves to be corrupted away from serving God by the flattery of the powerful.  Even some who were otherwise wise will be corrupted.  However, those who wisely remain faithful in the face of persecution will provide an example that will inspire many.  They will shine brightly in the darkness and lead others to righteousness.  Some will be impressed by the glory and grandeur of powerful people who oppose God, but those who faithfully serve God will change the world.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Daniel 11-12.

My lovely wife married me 22 years ago on the 23rd of this month.  So I am going to wish her Happy Anniversary every day from now until then.

Happy Anniversary, Darling!

When I was young, Christians spent a lot of time trying to interpret the apocalyptic prophecies such as those in this passage in an attempt to determine when Christ would return.  Sometime in the 1990s the Church in the United States got away from doing that.  While I think that is a good thing, as I believe Jesus made it clear that we will not know the date of return until it happens, we have also, for the most part, stopped trying to understand those passages.  That being said, I find it hard to know what to write about today’s passage.  However, the parts where the messenger talks about the end has some messages which we should take to heart.  He tells us that some of the wise will stumble, but they will be purified and made spotless by what they experience.  There will be a time of great distress, but those whose names are found written in the book will be delivered and those among them who have died will be raised to eternal life.  Then comes the part I want to focus on.  The messenger said that those who impart wisdom (the translation notes offer this as an alternative translation to what is translated as “who are wise”) and those who lead others to righteousness will shine brightly among those who are raised to eternal life.  While part of me wants to say that we should strive to impart wisdom and to lead others to righteousness, I have observed that most of the time the people who strive the hardest to do that have neither wisdom nor righteousness.  So, instead let us strive to live with wisdom and move towards righteousness.  Additionally, imparting wisdom and leading to righteousness are so closely related that they are almost the same thing.  We lead others to righteousness, to Christ, by imparting wisdom to them.  But, if we think we can impart wisdom because we are somehow better than those to whom we are imparting it, we lack wisdom and have not been led to righteousness.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Daniel 11-12.

The prophecy in chapter 11 looks much like what the people of Maccabean Judea may have understood of world events from the time of Daniel to themselves.  Or to put that another way, it looks somewhat like what happened with the conquest of the Persian Empire by Alexander the Great and the wars between the Seleucid and Ptolemaic kingdoms which followed him, but not quite.  Or, in other words, it sounds like what someone knowledgeable about world affairs living in Judea at the time of the Maccabees might have thought had happened.  I want to state that, considering the degree to which the records left by the people of the time were self-serving (just as the records being left by people today) I am not convinced that it disagrees with actual history by as much as modern historians generally conclude.  This prophecy tells us that powerful rulers will make many plans, but they cannot foresee every eventuality and those unforeseen things will cause their plans to work out differently than they intend.  On the other hand, for God there are no unforeseen eventualities, so His plans always work out as He intended.

Then we have the finale of the Book of Daniel which discusses the main point of the latter half (approximately) of the book. Daniel did not understand (and neither do I) so he asked, “My lord, what will the outcome of all this be?” The answer he received was this: “Many will be purified, made spotless and refined, but the wicked will continue to be wicked. None of the wicked will understand, but those who are wise will understand.”  So, throughout history many things will happen, some good, many terrible, and those who seek God will be purified by these events, will be inspired to do ever more good.  While the wicked will continue to miss the point and not understand that doing God’s will would bring them greater joys than all of the selfish actions they choose instead.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

In the year 2000, on the 23rd day of this month, my wife married me.  So here we are on day 16 of the 20 days that I am going to wish her Happy Anniversary for 20 years of marriage.  Happy Anniversary Darling!

Today, I am reading and commenting on Daniel 11-12.

The events outlined in Chapter 11 represent the wars between the Seleucid and Ptolemaic Empires as they would have been perceived by the people living in Judea.  It was a reminder to the Jewish people that God was in control and that these troubling times would come to an end according to His plans.  Then in the summation of this vision in Chapter 12 we learn some things which should both encourage and frighten us.  A time of great anguish will come and only those whose names have been written in the book will be rescued.  In addition, at some point those who are dead and buried will rise up, some for everlasting life, but some for everlasting disgrace.  Let us strive to be among the wise who shine as a beacon to lead others to righteousness.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.  

Today, I am reading and commenting on Daniel 11-12.

The account which the messenger from yesterday’s passage gave Daniel matches up loosely to the interactions between the Ptolemaic and Seleucid empires.  I have read accounts which state that there are significant discrepancies between the historical record and what is recorded here.  However, every time I have tried to compare this with what happened as historians know it, I get lost in the weeds.  As part of my preparations for writing this I read a blog which compares the passage to history.  It does a good job of showing how this passage matches up with actual history.  I tend to believe that the linked blog reflects the conclusion I would reach from a closer examination because the things I have read which claim this account cannot be reconciled with history also hold that it was written after the events it purports to prophecy.  My personal belief is that there are probably discrepancies between this passage and the historical record which a historian would consider major, but which from the perspective of those living through it would be of no significance.  In fact, that those living through it would consider the historical record to miss the point of what was going on while this passage hit the mark.  

The most important part of this passage comes at the end.  The messenger tells Daniel that those whose names are written in the book will be rescued.  The wise will shine brightly and those who lead others to righteousness will shine like stars.  In troubled times let us seek to be wise and to lead others to righteousness.