Daniel 10-12
Danel has a
dream, well, I guess a vision technically. Whatever. He is talking to a man
shining and golden, probably an angelic being. Angels figure prominently in
this kind of literature. In fact, a lot of what we think we know about angels
and demons has more to do with non-biblical books in this same style from this
period.
Anyway, the
angel lays out a very thorough history between a king of the south and a king
of the north. My study bible explicates chapter 11 in terms of the breakup of
the kingdom of Alexander the Great and the intermittent war between two parts
of that broken kingdom: the Ptolemaic (Egypt) and Seleucid (Syria) Empires. This
story culminates with the king of the north invading and persecuting Israel. This
is a reference to events that happened about 170 BC, when the Seleucid king,
Antiochus IV Epiphanes, conquered Jerusalem and desecrated the temple.
Whenever things look bleak for God’s people, they look to the future when the Lord will set all things right. So, too, Daniel, who looks for a great confrontation and the resurrection and everlasting life. No wonder that by Jesus’ day so many Jews were ready to think that the day of the Lord was right at hand!
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