“With a large army he will stir up his strength and courage against the king of the South. The king of the South will wage war with a large and very powerful army, but he will not be able to stand because of the plots devised against him. Those who eat from the king’s provisions will try to destroy him; his army will be swept away, and many will fall in battle. The two kings, with their hearts bent on evil, will sit at the same table and lie to each other, but to no avail, because an end will still come at the appointed time. The king of the North will return to his own country with great wealth, but his heart will be set against the holy covenant. He will take action against it and then return to his own country. Daniel 11:25-28 (NIV).
This is a prophecy about Rome, about what would happen with the nascent Roman empire and how it would overcome enemies. It is also a prophecy about the end of time, when Satan ascends to rule mankind and how political leaders will lie to each other while plotting against each other; that could be our time.
Let’s focus in on that part: sitting at the same table and lying to each other. We just don’t have time for that, my friend. We simply don’t. Now, I’ve lied before. I’ve told lies and later paid the price for it; that’s justice. And I’m thankful God is God and I’m not because He sustained me through the consequences of lies when most others abandoned me to my own devices. Now, far beyond those things, I’m glad to not be sitting at the table with family and friends and putting up a front, telling only half-truths, or telling outright lies with the stupid hope of looking better or being unscathed.
We simply don’t have time for that kind of stupidity anymore. In reality, we never did. Lies beget more lies. Take them to their natural conclusion and they beget violence. In today’s verses, that’s what happened. Political intrigue entailed kings sitting together, supposedly in peace, while secretly plotting to kill each other. That still happens today. It has always happened, and until Jesus returns, it always will.
Leading up to the time of the end, it will be even worse. It will be worse than Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It will be worse than Rwanda, Cambodia, and President Xi’s Uighur torture camps of our time. It will be worse than the worst you or I can imagine, and all of it will be based on lies. That’s how Satan works. We don’t have time for him or his lies.
For further reading: Psalm 12:2, Psalm 64:6, Jeremiah 9:5, Habakkuk 2:3, Daniel 11:29
Lord Jesus, point out my lies to me, hear my confessions, and forgive me. Help me to repair damage I cause.
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