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 I said in my last blog, there is much to learn by stepping back and seeing what we can learn from what Daniel says in this passage. Commentaries almost unanimously focus on tying historical records to these verses and demonstrate how literally and accurately they were fulfilled by the events surrounding the horrific reign of Antiochus Epiphanes and the legendary resistance of the Jewish people, as led by the Maccabee brothers. I believe it is very instructive for anyone to read such commentaries and even to seek out the Apocryphal books of I and II Maccabees, to read it all and to ponder the lessons it provides. However, since (many, many) others have done exactly that, I prefer to step back and even learn from the bigger picture behind these events.
As I related in that last blog, there is a much larger unseen spiritual battle raging behind even the words of this passage. What you and I must realize is that the battle rages on today just as furiously as it did in Daniel’s day (6th century BC) and when these verses were first fulfilled (2nd century BC). One of the things commentators do is to observe that there have definitely been times very similar to these events, then they all need to argue which one exactly these apply to – whether in fact Antiochus Epiphanes or the Roman general Titus or whomever.
I would suggest what they are failing to see is the reason why the events are so similar. It is because the same spiritual battle is raging unseen with the same angelic and demonic forces driving the human actors who just happen to be alive in that generation. Satan was a liar, a thief, and a murderer back then, just the same as he has been in every generation of us humans since the Garden of Eden. Lost people go on “hating and being hated,” and believers go on “putting on the whole armor of God” – one generation after another after another.
All of that is why you and I can step back and learn from this passage to be wise in our own generation. As our Bible tells us, “These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfilment of the ages has come” (I Cor. 10:11). “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Rom. 15:4). Let us then hear those warnings, learn from their lessons, and allow the Lord to give us endurance and encouragement!
The next thing I think worthwhile to observe from this passage is the devil’s strategy. Note again and again how he carried Antiochus along. In v.21, we learn Antiochus took the kingdom “when its people feel secure, and he will seize it through intrigue.” The word translated “intrigue” is literally the idea of “slipperiness.” It can also be translated “flattery.” In v.23, he acts “deceitfully, and with only a few people he will rise to power.” In v.27, “The two kings, with their hearts bent on evil, will sit at the same table and lie to each other.” In v.32, we read, “With flattery (same word “slipperiness”) he will corrupt those who have violated the covenant…”
In the last days, Paul warns us, “The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a strong delusion so that they believe the lie…” (II Thes. 2:9-11).
What is the obvious current that runs through all of this? Lies, deceit, flattery. It worked in the 2nd century BC and it will work again in the end. Paul said in II Cor. 2:11, “For we are not ignorant of Satan’s devices.” What is obviously one of his most powerful devices? Deceit. Deceit worked in the Garden of Eden – “You shall not surely die,” and, as we see in the Bible and in every generation of human history, it still works amazingly well.
It is a good thing for Daniel to remind us we live in a world spinning in deceit. It is one of Satan’s devices and just one more expression of the spiritual battle that rages around us. Paul could say he wasn’t unaware of Satan’s devices. Can we?
Deceit. It actually starts nearer than we think: “The pride of your heart deceives you” (Obadiah 1:3). Our own heart is a deceiver! From there deceit spins away in every direction until it would seem we literally swim in it – like fish in the water. The entire advertising industry runs on deceit and, obviously, it works well. Most politicians are nothing but professional liars – from the very beginning they practice telling people whatever they want to hear, just to get their votes. Sadly, the thronging masses believe them and elect them again and again, in spite of the fact they do nothing they said they would. Then there is false religion. It has always shocked me that anyone goes into ministry, knowing full well they themselves don’t believe it, then deliberately leads people into their same agnosticism and downright atheism.
The biggest problem with deceit is that we don’t know we’re being deceived. Now, there is something inside of me (and I suspect it’s in all of us) where I think to myself, “If I was being deceived, I’d know it.” …Hello? That thought is so ludicrous and illogical it would be laughable if it were not so ultimately fatal. No. I do not know when I’m being deceived. I may be very aware when someone is trying to deceive me – like listening to today’s fake news – but once the deceit has taken hold in my heart I do not know it until I come crashing into the wall of reality in one way or another.
While we’re on the subject, it’s interesting to note the Bible says, “…Adam was not the one deceived, it was the woman who was deceived” (II Tim. 2:14). What do we have here? You have two people who both sinned, but clearly one sinned fully conscious of what he was doing, while his wife was genuinely deceived. They both sinned -- one in conscious willfulness, the other being deceived (tricked) into it. We could argue which is worse, but the bottom line is they both sinned and were expelled from the Garden.
So, in this world, like Adam and Eve, I may sin knowing full well what I’m doing, but sometimes I may be genuinely deceived. In either case, I am accountable for the choice that I made, but clearly there is a difference. I am thinking it is instructive to know this. I’ve certainly never thought of that before. It’s like as if we were fish. One may see the wiggly worm but not see the hook. He truly was deceived into “taking the bait.” In the case of us humans, we have the ability to see the hook, know it’s there, but want the worm, so we bite it anyway. My point is that, in either case, we end up with a hook in our mouth and frying in the devil’s skillet. So, like Adam and Eve, we’re accountable whether we were deceived or just plain stubborn.
So, what are we seeing? In our text, we are seeing that Antiochus came to power and succeeded largely by deceit. However, Daniel is allowing us to see that deceit is not just the human to human problem we face every day. It is rather an immediate expression of that cosmic spiritual battle swirling around us. That battle is, even at this moment, enveloping us in a world seemingly awash in deceit. Our Bible also tells us that problem runs so deep, my own heart joins the enemy: “The pride of your heart has deceived you.” “The heart of man is desperately wicked and deceitful above all things” (Jer. 17:9).
What hope is there then for you and me? The same hope there was for the people in the horrific days of Antiochus Epiphanes: “The people who know their God shall firmly resist him.” The people who know their God. Jesus is the Way and the Truth and the Life! He said, “And you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” In John 17:17, Jesus made the simple statement, “Thy Word is truth.”
In Psalm 119, the psalmist asks, “How can a young man keep his way pure?” (v.9). Today we might ask that as, “In a world swirling in deceit and where I myself can make very bad decisions, what will protect me?” The psalmist’s answer is “By living according to Your Word.” Our first line of defense is very, very simple – we need to know our Bibles. That may sound cliché to someone, but what other answer can there be – but to know the Truth? And, as we read and study our Bibles, let us remember from this passage – who were the people who were not deceived? “The people who knew their God.” The more we go to our Bibles, the more we read them as the voice of Jesus speaking directly to us, the more time we spend in prayer actually meeting with Him, the quicker we will be to detect when this world (or even our own heart) is trying to deceive us.
Believers, of all people, should be the first to detect deceit precisely because they know the truth and choose rather to make their daily world swirl in truth, not deceit. To keep my mind swirling in God and in His truth is my defense. “Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my Strength and my Redeemer” (Ps. 19:14). “Teach me Your way, O Lord, and I will walk in Your truth; give me an undivided heart to fear Your Name” (Ps. 86:11).
In Daniel 11, we learn of an evil man whose “success” in life was accomplished by deceiving other people. This whole section of Daniel chapters 10-12 show us that battle was much bigger than the man, that rather there were powerful unseen spiritual forces driving him then, and we may be assured those same forces are driving people to do what they do today. I would suggest that knowledge should compel you and me toward at least four responses: First of all, one of our prayers should be “God deliver me from myself.” My own heart is desperately wicked and deceitful above all things, so let me buy from Jesus “salve for my eyes” that I might see the truth. Second, let us be all the more driven to know our Bibles and thus to know our God. Let us literally strive to be “grounded in truth.”
Third, let us realize we live in a world of deceit and may we be “wise as serpents and harmless as doves.” Christians, least of all peoples, should be found “gullible.” And finally, even as we seek not be gullible, let us see the people around us through Jesus’ eyes of compassion. He urges us to be gentle with people, “in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will” (II Tim. 2:25,26). While we’re trying to be wise, let us never forget what it was to be blind, to be a slave, to live with no hope in a world of deceit.
“Teach me to do Your will,
for You are my God;
May Your good Spirit lead me on level ground”
(Ps. 143:10).
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