21 In his place a despicable person will arise; royal honors will not be given to him, but he will come in a time of peace and seize the kingdom by intrigue. 22 Then a flood of forces will be swept away before him and destroyed, along with a prince of the covenant.

23 After an alliance is made with him, he will act deceitfully; for he will rise to power with only a few people. 24 In a time of peace, he will invade the richest provinces and do what his fathers and forefathers never did. He will lavish plunder, loot, and wealth on his followers, and he will plot against the strongholds—but only for a time.

25 And with a large army he will stir up his power and his courage against the king of the South, who will mobilize a very large and powerful army but will not withstand the plots devised against him. 26 Those who eat from his provisions will seek to destroy him; his army will be swept away, and many will fall slain.

27 And the two kings, with their hearts bent on evil, will speak lies at the same table, but to no avail, for still the end will come at the appointed time. 28 The king of the North will return to his land with great wealth, but his heart will be set against the holy covenant; so he will do damage and return to his own land.

29 At the appointed time he will invade the South again, but this time will not be like the first. 30 Ships of Kittim will come against him, and he will lose heart. Then he will turn back and rage against the holy covenant and do damage. So he will return and show favor to those who forsake the holy covenant. 31 His forces will rise up and desecrate the temple fortress. They will abolish the daily sacrifice and set up the abomination of desolation.

32 With flattery he will corrupt those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him. 33 Those with insight will instruct many, though for a time they will fall by sword or flame, or be captured or plundered.

34 Now when they fall, they will be granted a little help, but many will join them insincerely. 35 Some of the wise will fall, so that they may be refined, purified, and made spotless until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time.

36 Then the king will do as he pleases and will exalt and magnify himself above every god, and he will speak monstrous things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been decreed must be accomplished. 37 He will show no regard for the gods of his fathers, nor for the one desired by women, nor for any other god, because he will magnify himself above them all.

38 And in their place, he will honor a god of fortresses—a god his fathers did not know—with gold, silver, precious stones, and riches. 39 He will attack the strongest fortresses with the help of a foreign god and will greatly honor those who acknowledge him, making them rulers over many and distributing the land for a price.

REFLECTIONS

Written by Stephen Shead

We have met this “despicable person” a few times before in Daniel’s visions. This is an amazingly detailed and accurate prophecy about the Greek king Antiochus who desecrated the temple in Jerusalem in 167 BC. But this prophecy has had countless echoes down through the ages, from the death of Jesus to the suffering of Christian believers living under brutal regimes.

This arrogant king’s tactics are a pattern for so many godless rulers. They offer riches and other incentives for people to be loyal (v 24). They flatter and favour those who “forsake the holy covenant” (v 30, 32). And when they can get away with it, they magnify themselves above every god and “speak monstrous things against the God of gods” (v 36).

We’ll think more tomorrow about how this portrait of the arrogant king helps us as Christians. But for today, verses 32-33 tell us how to respond when the world and its political leaders follow the same tactics: We are to “firmly resist” the flattery of those who want us to abandon Christ, and keep instructing one another in the gospel. Because when Jesus returns, those who stand firm in him will appear with him “refined, purified, and made spotless” (v 35).

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Stephen is our Senior Minister.