“He will be succeeded by a contemptible person who has not been given the honor of royalty. He will invade the kingdom when its people feel secure, and he will seize it through intrigue. Then an overwhelming army will be swept away before him; both it and a prince of the covenant will be destroyed. After coming to an agreement with him, he will act deceitfully, and with only a few people he will rise to power. When the richest provinces feel secure, he will invade them and will achieve what neither his fathers nor his forefathers did. He will distribute plunder, loot and wealth among his followers. He will plot the overthrow of fortresses—but only for a time. Daniel 11:21-24 (NIV).
While the previous verses spoke of the brutality of the times in which Bible participants lived, they also predicted various things in the future. The verses immediately prior to these alluded to the inheritors of the Ptolemaic/Selucid thrones. What if they also prophesied something else? Indeed, verse 23 spoke of one who would send out a tax collector, but the man (the sender) would be destroyed and not in battle. What if this was speaking of the Caesars?
Brush up on your Shakespeare and you’ll remember that Julius Caesar – the first of the Roman emperors – established the Roman Empire after confronting his own government, then overtaking it. He was then murdered by two of his friends. After Julius Caesar, his nephew, Octavian, hunted down the killers, then eventually turned on his comrade Mark Antony (who also then vied for the throne). Verse 24 may allude to the Battle of Actium, in which Octabian defeated Antony and Cleopatra (one of the last of the Ptolemaic monarchs),and solidified his hold on power. After consolidating his power, Octavian declared himself Caesar Augustus.
You know who that is. He was the same Caesar Augustus who ordered a census of his empire, during which humble Mary and Joseph went to Joseph’s hometown. There, Mary gave birth to Jesus. Years later, Augustus was succeeded by Tiberius, who was indeed contemptible. It was during Tiberius’ reign that Christ lived, preached, and was murdered, by Rome.
Out of all the prophecies in Daniel, this is the one that most closely prophesies Christ. When the angel says, “both it and a prince of the covenant will be destroyed,” perhaps he is directly referencing Jesus. https://www.end-times-prophecy.org/daniel11-study.pdf is a good source for this line of thinking. Daniel had no way of knowing that the angel was giving him the very conditions of a new world order as well as a direct reference to the Christ who would sacrifice Himself for all. But it’s there for all to read and interpret as you will.
For further reading: Nehemiah 9:25, Isaiah 28:15, Luke 2:1, Daniel 11:25
Oh Lord, thank You for these words that describe Your holy Messiah coming to be in an unholy world.
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