Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:
21And a despised one shall stand upon his place and the honor of the kingdom shall not be given to him and he will enter in quietness and he shall seize the kingdom in slipperiness. 22And the arms of the flood will be overwhelmed from before him and they will be broken and also [the] prince of [the] covenant. 23And from joining themselves to him, he will make deceit and he will go up and he will be mighty in a few people…29To the appointed time, he will return and he will come to the South and it will not be as the former of the latter, 30And the ships of Kittim will come to him and he will be pained and he will return and he will be enraged upon the holy covenant and he will do and he will return and he will discern upon ones forsaking [the] holy covenant. 31And forces from him will stand and they will (intensely) profane the sanctuary of the fortress and they will take away the regular [sacrifice] and they will set the abomination of desolation. 32And he will corrupt evil doers of [the] covenant in flatteries, and [the] people ones knowing their God will be strong and do. 33People being wise will instruct many, and they will be staggered by sword and in flame, in captivity and in spoiling [for] days. 34Those being staggered will be helped [with] a little help and many will join themselves to them in hypocrisy. 35And [some] from ones being wise will be staggered to refine them and to purify and to make white upon [the] time of the end, because yet [will be] to the set time.
As we’ve seen throughout the book of Daniel, events on earth are in reality only expressions of that great spiritual battle swirling around us, the battle between good and evil. In the last post, we observed how that battle expresses itself through humans who choose to be evil. We particularly observed that through the life and profound wickedness of Antiochus Epiphanes. In this post, let’s see how that battle expresses itself in the lives of those who choose the good.
In a world awash in deceit, of hating and being hated, in a world where it even seems that evil is winning, who are the people who stand? Verse 32 tells us they are “the people who know their God.” There is much to learn here from them, but first I want to focus on this simple designation the Lord grants them: “the people who know their God.”
These are real born-again people. And what is it that distinguishes them from everyone else? They “know their God.” It would do us all well to pause and ask ourselves, “Is this my faith?” Is my faith about knowing God? Notice it’s not about all the rules and practices of whatever faith group with which we happen to identify. It’s not about whether we attend church or teach Sunday School. It isn’t even about whether or not we claim to be saved. The thing about anyone of these kinds of “faith” is that none of them require a genuine change of heart. None of them necessarily change anything about our real personal relationship with God.
Can you or I make Paul’s simple statement, “I want to know Him…” (Phil. 3:10)? Jesus said, “For this is eternal life, that they might know Thee, the only true God…” (John 17:3). This is eternal life. To know Him. I’m drawn again to the contrast between Mary and Martha. Martha was busy and "troubled," but Mary sat at Jesus’ feet. And what was Jesus’ response when Martha complained? He told her, “You’re stressing about many things, …but Mary has chosen the better part, and it will not be taken from her” (Luke 10:41,42).
Real faith doesn’t call us to be busy first of all. Instead, it hears Jesus’ invitation, “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest…” (Matt. 11:28-30). I love how one man described his devotional time. He said it’s when “Jesus comes to meet with me.” What a wonderful thing it is to just be still in prayer and enjoy the wonder of who God is! It is peace itself to just know Him, to dwell in the infinity of His love and wisdom and justice. It is strength itself to have spent that time with Him and be thus prepared to face the world of our daily lives!
What a wonder to know that 2,200 years ago, the true believers could be recognized as “the people who know their God.” They stood strong in their generation. May you and I be strong because the Lord has done that same wonderful work in your life and mine – to call us into a very real, very personal relationship with him. May you and I be today “the people who know their God.”
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