Daniel 11:1-4 “Truth”

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.

In verse 2, it is interesting that the angel says to Daniel, “And now I will tell you the truth.” We live today in this crazy world that wants to tell us there is no “truth,” that “truth” is whatever you want it to be. To anyone with even half a brain, that statement has always been ludicrous. If you step out a seventh floor window, you can believe all you want to that you won’t die. When you hit the sidewalk below at about 90 MPH, you’ll find out (too late) that “truth” is a very stubborn thing. Of course there is “truth.” Angels know there is “truth.” Daniel knows there is “truth.” Wise people know there is “truth.” Only literal, Biblical fools refuse to acknowledge “truth.”

Jesus said, “And when you know the truth, the truth shall set you free!” “Truth” is exactly why we all need so desperately to study the Bible. We need to know the truth. I will soon turn 68 years old. At this end of life, I will say emphatically that life is, in general, a very confusing mess. We are constantly faced with that old, old question, “What should I do?” Even at my age, I would still say about 95% of the  time, I really don’t know “what to do.” Life is bewildering. People are bewildering. I am bewildering!

Yet, at the same time, I am amazed at how much peace I enjoy knowing what really is the truth. As the old song says,

“Many things about tomorrow,

I don't seem to understand;

But I know who holds tomorrow;

And I know who holds my hand.”

“I know.” Are those not wonderful words? I know that God is good. I know He’s working all things together for good. I know He’ll never give me more than I can bear. I know that Jesus died for me. I know that “Whosoever will may come.” I know that, no matter what, the Lord wants me to love Him and love people. Even when I feel I have no idea how to respond to another person, at least I know God wants me to love them. I may not know how, but I know that’s my charge, and so I shoot up prayers, and He always helps me.

That simple “I know” is an enormous well of peace. And where do we get it from? The Bible. To know more Bible is to know more peace. And so we study on. His truth does, in fact, set us free! And so we study on. This angel knows there is truth. He’s telling Daniel the truth. Daniel listens. You and I should too!

This truth the angel tells Daniel concerns world events which reach out far beyond the earthly life of our elderly friend. This vision is being given to Daniel “in the third year of Cyrus, king of Persia.” If we can believe ancient timelines, that would put us around 536 BC. In just these first four verses, this prophecy reaches out to the time of Alexander the Great, who conquered Persia in about 332 BC. Daniel, now somewhere around 90 years of age, is immediately learning of events which will occur 200 years after he is dead and gone. In a sense, this truth isn’t really for Daniel. He’ll watch it all happen from heaven. He is writing it down for people who will live long after him.

In fact, Daniel’s prophecies cover all of human history clear into eternity! It’s crazy to think that, since his days, there has never been one minute where the human race didn’t need to be studying and understanding what he wrote! Our world is not spinning wildly out of control, even though it sure seems like it. No. For those of us who do read and study and believe our Bibles, Daniel’s prophecies assure us the Lord is quite in control. As others have said, “History is His story!”

So let’s take brief look at the truth the angel tells Daniel. He says there will be four more kings in Persia, with the fourth being fabulously rich and his reign marked by some kind of massive campaign against Greece. In fact, that fourth king is probably the Ahaseurus (or Xerxes) who was Esther’s husband, whose wealth is related in the first chapter of her book. I don’t put a lot of stock in ancient timelines or “facts,” yet there is apparently plenty of evidence to “prove” there was in fact a Persian king who mounted a massive campaign against Greece.

Then we learn of a mighty king who will appear, who will “do as he pleases,” yet no sooner than he stands, His kingdom will be broken up into four. In spite of his greatness, none of those four kingdoms will be ruled by any of his descendants, and none of the four will be as great as his. Those events are so precisely true of Alexander the Great, once again, scoffers can only assert the prophecy had to be written after the fact.

The rest of this chapter 11 will go on to relate intricate details of those four kingdoms and all the intrigues and warfare which ensue. Back then, for anyone who studied their Bible, they could have traced the history of the world even as it unfolded before them. You and I have not only Daniel’s writings but also all the prophets, the words of Jesus Himself, and everything else right down to John and the book of Revelation. We know what is happening and what will happen, if we know our Bibles. Just like this angel, we can know the truth.

Just like Daniel back then, as we read and understand prophecy, for the most part we have to admit it is downright scary. What Daniel recorded in this chapter 11 and what John records in the book of Revelation is a very scary world where most of the time, it looks like evil is winning. Yet, because we have the truth, all along the way we can live in the peaceful confidence that our Lord is quite in control.

Let us then study His truth and let it “set us free!”