Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:
1And I, in the first year
of Darius the Mede, [was] standing to strengthen and to [be] a protection for
him. 2And now I will tell to you truth: Behold! Yet [there will be]
three kings standing to Persia and [the] fourth will be far richer from all and
according to his strength in his riches, he will rouse up all of the kingdoms of
Greece. 3And a mighty king will stand and he will rule from great
rule and he will do according to his pleasure. 4And when he stands,
his kingdom will be broken up and it will be divided to the four of the winds
of the heavens and not to his descendants and not according to his rule which
he ruled, because his kingdom will be rooted up and [it will be given] to others
separate from them.
Before I leave these first four verses, there are a few “for whatever it’s worth” observations I’d like to record. First of all, I am once again fascinated to observe an angel and realize just how much they are like us. Note in my translation above, I underlined the angel’s “And I…” Note he is an I. He is a real person with his own individual identity. We all refer to ourselves as “I.” So do angels. Note he says it was in the first year of Darius the Mede. He is aware of the passing of time and he knows this other person named Darius the Mede.
This specific angel was given the job of strengthening and protecting Darius. After the Lord created Adam, one of the first things it says was the Lord put him “in the garden to keep it and to till it.” The Lord gave him a job to do. He assigns jobs to us and to angels. Then the angel says to Daniel, “And now I will tell you the truth.” Have you ever looked in someone else’s eyes and said, “I need to tell you the truth”? Pause for a second and remember how personal that was between you. You see, angels do that too.
It never ceases to amaze me to realize just how much they really are our brothers. They are real, personal, intelligent beings who, though we can’t see them (yet), are quite present and quite active. What a thrill it will be to finally get to heaven and actually meet them all, especially the ones who were assigned to us and have been there all along “strengthening” us and “being a protection to us.” I’m quite sure they’ll have some amazing stories to tell – and they’ll be our brothers (whom we then can see) forever and ever! Like us in so many ways, yet very different creatures from us.
The second thing I want to note is how, although prophecies may be very specific, yet they still always possess a cryptic element before they occur. For example, the angel is telling Daniel about the coming kings of Persia and the one who will stir up the kingdoms of Greece. Then he says, “A mighty king will arise…” As we go on to read the description, it is crystal clear now he’s talking about Alexander the Great. Note the angel never said he’d be the first king of Greece. We only know that now because the prophecy has been fulfilled. If you go back and read verses 3 and 4, you’ll realize everything the angel said is, in a sense, quite cryptic. It is today intuitively obvious only because it is already fulfilled. I’m quite sure, even as Daniel wrote it down, he probably puzzled over it and wondered, “What on earth does that mean?”
My observation would be that perhaps we should always allow in prophecy this cryptic element. Although we should study prophecy and we should strive to understand as much as we can, yet we need to allow for an element of “What on earth does that mean?” and not feel we have to explain every detail. When it comes to prophecy, I identify closer to Dispensationalists than I do to Reformed theologians. The Reformed guys tend to just throw up their hands as if we can’t understand much of it at all. On the other hand, I fear sometimes Dispensationalists go too far assigning their interpretations of prophecy. For instance, they divide themselves up into the camps of “Pre-Trib” and “Mid-Trib” and “Post-Trib,” then act like anyone who disagrees with them is a heretic.
I guess I’m just suggesting, if we allow for this cryptic element in prophecy, we’d do well to be a little more humble and admit that, no matter how much we study, there will always remain that cryptic element, until they are fulfilled. As Jesus said to His disciples, “I have told you these things beforehand, so that, when they occur, you will believe…” (John 14:29). Note the “when they occur…” Prophecy itself calls for very diligent study – but humble interpretations.
The last thing I want to observe, and I’ll try to be brief, is to realize how much this chapter ties back to pretty much all of the prophecies which Daniel has recorded ahead of this. In Nebuchadnezzar’s dream (chapter 2), Babylon was the head of gold. Daniel himself saw as that kingdom was replaced by Medo-Persia, the chest and arms of silver. Now in the very first year of that kingdom’s rule, what the angel is telling him about is the thighs of bronze which another angel tells him later would be the kingdom of Greece.
In chapter 7, Babylon was the lion with wings, while Medo-Persia was the bear raised up on one side, and Greece was the leopard with four wings and four heads. Then in chapter 8, Persia is the ram with two horns and Greece is the shaggy goat with one prominent horn which “crosses the whole earth without touching the ground.” As we’ve noted earlier, what has happened is that the prophecies have grown more and more detailed until we arrive here in chapter 11 and what becomes an extremely specific one. I would myself even observe this chapter as shockingly detailed and accurate. Once again, it is, in fact, so detailed and accurate, the scoffers are left with no choice but to claim it had to be written after the fact.
So fascinating. So much to learn. Love it all!
