Possibility Thinking, Part 1

The subject I take up today is of extreme importance to believers in God. It is important that they not only believe in what God does, but that they believe in what God can do, in what is possible with God. Hence, the title of today’s meditation is Possibility Thinking.

Let’s begin by defining the word possible.

Possible – That may be (i.e. is capable of being); that may or can exist, be done or happen (in general, or in given or assumed conditions or circumstances); that is in one’s own power, that one can do, exert, use, etc.

In Jeremiah 32, we find Jeremiah shut up in prison. He was imprisoned for prophesying the defeat and captivity of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans who were then besieging the city. It was at this very time when Jerusalem was besieged and Jeremiah was in prison that the Lord instructed Jeremiah to buy a piece of land from his cousin Hanameel, because the right of redemption was Jeremiah’s to buy it. Now Jeremiah knew full well that he would not be able to take possession of the land because the Chaldeans would occupy it. Yet Jeremiah was told to buy it anyway, because God promised that a time would come when the Jews would return out of captivity to their land, and property would be bought and owned again. This was the promise:

Jeremiah 32:42  For thus saith the LORD; Like as I have brought all this great evil upon this people, so will I bring upon them all the good that I have promised them.

43  And fields shall be bought in this land, whereof ye say, It is desolate without man or beast; it is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.

44  Men shall buy fields for money, and subscribe evidences, and seal them, and take witnesses in the land of Benjamin, and in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, and in the cities of the mountains, and in the cities of the valley, and in the cities of the south: for I will cause their captivity to return, saith the LORD.

At the time the Lord instructed Jeremiah to redeem his cousin’s property, the political and economic future of the Jews was bleak indeed. It looked highly unlikely that property would ever be possessed by Jews in their land again. Nevertheless, Jeremiah was told to act in expectation that it would happen. Jeremiah acted in the confidence that nothing is too hard for the Lord.

Jeremiah 32:17  Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee….

Jeremiah 32:26  Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah, saying,

27  Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?

So from this story we have an example of what I call possibility thinking. Jeremiah did not just focus on the immediate circumstances. The Lord called him to look beyond that to what is possible, to what the Lord can do.

As far as what the Lord can do, consider this passage:

Ephesians 3:20  Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,

21  Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

Think of the greatest thing you can ask of the Lord. Not only is the Lord able to do what you ask, He is able to do above what you ask. In fact, He is able to do above all that you ask. But not only that, He can do above all that you can even think. Think the greatest thought you can think and you still have not extended your thoughts to the full extent of God’s ability. But God is not only able to do above all that you can ask or think, He is abundantly (overflowingly, exceedingly) able to do above all that you ask or think. God’s power extends far more than just a step beyond the furthest reaches of your imagination. And there’s more. God is exceeding (extremely) abundantly able to do above all that you ask or think. God can not only do overflowingly and exceedingly beyond everything you ask or think, He can do so extremely overflowingly and exceedingly. God’s power extends extremely beyond the extremes of anything we can verbalize or imagine. All this being true, it is no wonder that He said to the virgin Mary after He announced that she would bear a son:

Luke 1:37  For with God nothing shall be impossible.

Now let’s connect this fact of God’s unfathomable ability to your faith. I bring faith into the picture here because your faith will be according to what you think God is able to do. If you do not think God can do great things beyond your asking or even imagining, you will not believe He is able to do them. Consider this passage that relates the healing of a leper by our Lord Jesus:

Mark 1:40  And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.

41  And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean.

42  And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed.

Observe in this passage that that leper did not say the Lord would heal him. He rather said the Lord could heal him, if He so willed. Here was an expression of faith in the Lord’s ability to do what the leper wanted. It was not a matter of ability on the part of the Lord to heal the leper; it was a matter of His willingness to do so. The leper believed Jesus was able to do what he asked. In fact, he was so convinced that Jesus could cleanse him of his leprosy, that he came “beseeching (begging) him.” And Jesus responded to this expression of faith and cleansed him of his leprosy. This is a clear example of possibility thinking.

Jesus expressed similar faith in the garden of Gethsemane when He prayed:

Mark 14:36  And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.

Again, it was not a matter of what was possible unto God; it was a matter of His willingness.

I am not done with this meditation. But for now, look at your life. Are you struggling with a physical or mental health issue that you wish would get better? Are you struggling with a troubled relationship that you long to see improved? Is your job interfering with your church life? Are you removed from the church by great distance and wish you lived closer so you could be more active in the church? Are you frustrated in your attempts to witness to others of the truth of the gospel? Now I ask you:  Do you think, do you believe the Lord is able to do anything to improve your situation at this time?  Notice I did not ask if you believe the Lord will do something to improve it at this time. Do you believe the Lord can, if He will? And do you believe it enough to at least ask Him to do something about it to make it better, if He will? To be sure, you may not have a specific promise like Jeremiah did that God will change your situation in this life. But you do have verses that teach that it is possible with God as I have shown you. So again – and I will leave you with this for now – do you believe the Lord is able to do anything to improve your situation?

Textese

We are living in the age of texting as a principle means of communication. Although I do not have an iPhone, I do have an iPad and, yes, I text. Tending to be the talker that I am, I find it expedient at times to text a brief message rather than phone and run the risk of an extended and unnecessary conversation. But nowadays, for convenience’ sake, many if not most resort to the use of acronyms instead of spelling out the words when they text. Examples of this are FYI (for your information), IMO (in my opinion), BTW (by the way), BZ (busy), L8 (late), 4 (for), U (you), R (are), 6Y (sexy), OMG (Oh my God), BIF (before I forget), and on the list goes. I have had people text me in acronyms that I have had to inquire about what they meant as I am not into a lot of that kind of communication. This type of language, if it is even proper to call it a language, is called Textese.

Well, a poor brother in my congregation caught it today. I had extended a kindness to him in a text. He texted back his appreciation by simply typing TY, which means Thank You. This did not sit well with me at all. Perhaps I am thin-skinned. Perhaps I am a weaker brother who would not be offended by this were I stronger. If that is your opinion of me, then pray for me. But hear me out before you finalize that judgment. I shot a text back to the brother and said: “What is this TY crap!!! Don’t tell me you are capitulating to the dumbing down of Textese.” There was an element of levity in the response, but I was also serious. In fact, after I dashed off that reply I discovered I was really more serious than I think I at first realized. He had struck a nerve. The brother obviously detected the element of levity – I am glad he did – because he replied with a humourous comment. I then went on to explain why I did not like his use of Textese. Now in this brother’s defense, I know he meant no harm and I told him so. It is just that to express thanks with TY smacks to me of hurriedness and/or laziness. It does not strike me as much of an expression of gratitude. If you do not appreciate something I do enough to type out the words thank you, then please do not even bother expressing your appreciation. And I mean that in earnestness! I further clarified to the brother my reasons for not liking the Textese. This dear brother responded this way: “Agree. And THANK YOU for that admonition.” Notice that he not only typed out the words thank you, but he put them all in caps. People who respond to admonitions like that make my day! God bless that brother!

This exchange set me to thinking about this whole thing of Textese. As I meditated on it, I became more and more outraged. So here I am venting my spleen. And if this is raising your defenses, then please think this through with me. Imagine this scenario. You text me of a blessing. It might read something like this: “The doctor says it is not cancerous.” “I got the job.” “They accepted our offer on the house.” Now how would it strike you if I replied with this: “TG” for “Thank God”? Would you pick up from that my relief and excitement over your blessing? Does TG do justice as an expression of praise to God?

In the book The Digital Invasion, the authors Drs. Archibald D. Hart and Sylvia Hart Frejd had this to say about Textese:

“We are already abbreviating deep emotional terms in our texting, to the extent that they no longer communicate our deeper feelings. This could be detrimental to healthy attachment and relationship building. As an example, our texting uses digital acronyms, saying things like LOL (laughing out loud), IMY (I miss you) and WYWH (wish you were here). Sorry, but we just don’t get the same emotional response from such abbreviations as we do when someone says them face-to-face. It feels like the sender doesn’t have the time, or courage, to speak the real words of deep feelings. This stunts emotional and social development.”

I couldn’t agree more. That was just the way that TY made me feel.

Our beloved apostle Paul would close out all of his epistles with expressions like this: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.” (2Thessalonians 3:18) or “Grace be with you. Amen.” (Colossians 4:18). Can you imagine the beloved apostle closing out his missives with GBWY (grace be with you)? Or imagine him ending his epistles with A to save time writing out “Amen”? Or imagine the apostle John closing out his third epistle with PBTT (peace be to thee)? You are probably chuckling at the very suggestion as it is so utterly ridiculous. Come on, people! Wake up! Do you get where I am going? These blessed apostles wrote out these expressions of goodwill spelling out the words fully on paper with ink by hand. And all of that under the inspiration of the Spirit of God! Would to God there were more of that type of communication today! I will go to my grave with the conviction that there is no substitute for handwritten communication.

When I speak of “the dumbing down of Textese,” I mean what I say. It is a fact that languages degenerate with the passage of time. This is certainly the case with our English language. Just listen to people talk. And I don’t just mean high school dropouts. I mean people with college degrees, even advanced degrees. This is about what you will hear: “I mean it is like really sad the way people like talk nowadays and stuff. It is like amaaaazing. Ya know what I’m sayin? It’s like people are really like dumb. Know what I mean? It’s like seriously? Dude?” You think I’m exaggerating? If I am, it is not by much! Let me challenge each of my readers to start paying attention to how often you use the word like in your speech. And just how much do you think Textese is going to help our young people to know how to write out words in complete sentences with correct spelling, to say nothing of correct grammar? I fear we will see a generation that will use FYI (for your information) so much that they will not even know how to spell information.

Now I am 66 years old. I come from the old school where we learned to spell out words and compose complete sentences on paper with pencils and pens. Because I have those skills in place, as you can see from reading this blog, I could probably get by with Textese so long as I keep my language skills in practice. But what about the younger generation that are spending hours upon hours on their digital devices communicating in Textese? As I was expressing my concerns about Textese to the brother mentioned above, I wrote this: “But I know you meant no harm. However, I do think that Textese is a dumbing down process that I want to stand against. Think of the impact of this on our grandchildren. We have an example to set. Convenient is not always the best way.”

Convenience is the lure of this digital technology. We get so drawn in by the convenience that we overlook what we are sacrificing to have it. Everything but everything, convenience included, comes at a cost. But are you in such a rush that you never stop to consider what that cost might be? Or are you blinded to that cost by the convenience? Yes, it may be more convenient to just look something up on Google on my iPad. But I judge it best at times to lift my lazy behind out of my chair, walk over to a shelf, take down a book, and look it up. There is just something so rewarding about doing it that way. You might consider trying it sometime. Blessed be God that I am a disciple of the One Who did not choose the path of convenience, but rather went through the horrible inconvenience of the cross for the honour of His Father and the salvation of my soul. I speak of our blessed Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, I said the Lord Jesus Christ, not the LJC!!! Said He in the garden as He entered into His sorrows:

Matthew 26:53  Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?

54  But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?

Where would we be if he had chosen convenience over the cross?

I am a polyglot. I have studied several different languages in my lifetime. Textese is one language I do not care to master. I was only able to list as many examples of Textese as I did because I looked them up in a book. In fact, I do not think that Textese even deserves to be called a language. It would better be called the demise of a language.

Now I do not want to swing to an opposite extreme. Abbreviations have long had their place in our language. And it would not be fair to make a brother an offender for an acronym. I have even responded with an LOL when someone has sent me a joke. I do not think a joke warrants the kind of reply that an expression of gratitude warrants. But I am sure the recipient probably feels better for having sent it to me if I reply with “hardy har har,” as I have often done. However, Textese is abbreviations on steroids. The English language is the language our God chose in which to translate His word by inspiration for these last days. Should our beautiful and majestic English language be sacrificed on the altar of Textese? Should the language of Chaucer, Shakespeare, and the King James Bible be chopped to bits with abbreviations? Is it not worth the time to write it out with complete spelling of its words in complete sentences? I ask again, is it not worth the time? Are we in that much of a hurry? Have we become that lazy?

Consider that if your text is not important enough to use complete spelling of its words, it might not be important enough to even send it. Why not save your fingers and your time? I fear we waste far too much time texting anyway.

And while I am on this texting thing, I might as well dump it all. We have never had more telephones accessible to us than we do now. Yet try to get someone to answer the phone. If you don’t text with them, you don’t communicate with them by phone. I feel sorry for parents who seldom ever receive a visit or a phone call from their grown children. They have to settle for quick little texts much of which is in Textese. Is this the way to show your parents what they mean to you? When our God described His communication with Moses He put it this way:

Numbers 12:8  With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?

In Deuteronomy 34:10 the Lord said he knew Moses “face to face.” Let your parents behold your face by paying them a visit. Or at least let them see you on Facetime or Skype. And how about just phoning them and speaking with them mouth to mouth? Let them hear your voice. While texting can be an expedient way to communicate at times, it is no substitute for face to face, and voice to voice.

If I sound angry in this missive, I am! I am jealous for my beautiful mother tongue as I watch it going up in digital flames. I feel like Elihu when he was angry at the exchanges between Job and his three friends. Elihu finally had enough. Job 32-37 is Elihu venting his spleen. Said he:

Job 32:20  I will speak, that I may be refreshed: I will open my lips and answer.

You see, sometimes it just helps to get something off your chest. It refreshes you. Well, there you have it. Whew! I feel so much better now! It’s off of me and now it’s on you.

2 Timothy 2:7  Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things.

Daniel 11:44-45

The narrative of Daniel 11 now returns to dealing with Herod the Great.

Daniel 11:44  But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.

The antecedent to the pronouns him and he are found up in verse 40, where we read that the king of the south (Egypt) would “push at him,” referring to Herod the Great. This is not the first time that a few verses separate the pronouns from their antecedent requiring one to reason to whom the pronouns refer (see Psalm 105 for examples of this).

The tidings out of the east that troubled Herod were the report of the birth of the king of the Jews by “wise men from the east.”

Matthew 2:1  Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,

2  Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.

3  When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

According to Matthew’s account, when Herod “saw that he was mocked of the wise men,” he “was exceeding wroth.” As a result of this he went forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many when he issued the decree to have slain “all the children there were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under” (MAT 2:16).

The tidings…out of the north that troubled him were the news from his eldest son Antipater, then in Rome, that Herod’s two other sons had calumniated him to Caesar. Antipater was actually the one aspiring to seize Herod’s throne and even plotted to have him poisoned. This plot was discovered and resulted in Antipater being imprisoned and put to death near the end of Herod’s life. Near his death Herod was so enraged that he called together the leaders of the Jews and confined them with the order to have them slain when he died so that there would be a lamentation at the time of his death, for the Jews despised Herod and would certainly not have lamented his death. Thus again he went forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many. However, this order was not carried out.

The next and last verse of Daniel 11 concludes this prophecy of Herod the Great.

Daniel 11:45  And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.

Jerusalem, being located on Mount Zion, was situated between the Mediterranean and the Dead Seas. Herod placed his palace in the upper city of Jerusalem. Thus, he planted the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain. At his end Herod died of a loathsome and painful disease which no physician could help. Thus, there was none to help him. So Herod “the Great” died a miserable death as a helpless man. So much for his greatness. In this was fulfilled the words of the mother of our Saviour when she magnified the Lord saying:

Luke 1:51  He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

52  He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.

53  He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.

I hope this series of meditations on Daniel 11 has blessed my readers in some way. I would be pleased if you would let me know. I trust you marvel with me at the exact fulfillment of these prophecies. Thanks be to God for the preservation of records of history that can be compared with these prophecies showing their fulfillment. Thus is our faith confirmed in the word of our omniscient God Who declares “the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done” (Isaiah 46:10). And just as surely as the prophecies of Daniel 11 have been fulfilled, so shall every other prophecy of events in the future be fulfilled. The culminating prophecy of the future which we fondly anticipate is the prophecy of the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ of Whom the angel spoke when Jesus was seen ascending in heaven:

Acts 1:11  Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

The fulfillment of this prophecy will mark the end of this earth’s history and the ushering in of a “new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness” (2Peter 3:13). Nowhere in that new earth will tyrants like Antiochus Epiphanes or Herod the Great rear their heads in defiance of Israel’s God. It is this hope that inspires the concluding prayer of the Holy Scriptures of truth:

Revelation 22:20  He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

21  The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

Daniel 11:40-43

Daniel’s prophecy takes us nearer the time of the end in the prophecies that follow.

Daniel 11:40  And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.

The time of the end refers to the time of the end of the national existence of Daniel’s people which took place in the dynasty of Herod under consideration.

The king of the south refers to Cleopatra who was the last to occupy the throne of Egypt with the help of her lover, Mark Anthony, who was a Roman. She urged Anthony to get for her the kingdoms of Judea and Arabia. Thus, the king of the south pushed at him, that is, at Herod the king of Judea. Anthony thinking it unjust to kill Herod ended up only seizing parts of Judea for Cleopatra. At the urging of Cleopatra, Anthony launched an attack against Syria, which was a province of Rome. At this time Herod, who was a friend to Anthony, supplied his legions.

In retaliation for the attack against the Roman province of Syria, the Roman senate declared war on Cleopatra, ignoring Anthony. Thus the king of the north, the Roman empire under Octavius Caesar called Augustus, came against him, the kingdom of Egypt under Cleopatra. The Romans came against the Egyptians with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships. At this time wars were usually decided by the infantry. But in this case Cleopatra wanted to engage her large navy and Mark Anthony complied. The entire Egyptian navy was defeated at the battle of Actium in 31 B.C. Anthony’s army deserted him leaving him only some chariots and cavalry units. Only a few cavalry skirmishes took place after the battle Actium, which sealed the fate of Egypt. The entire battle was waged with only cavalry and navy with no infantry, exactly as this verse states! As a result of Caesar’s victory, all the countries that supported Mark Anthony went over to Caesar. Caesar’s advance was like an overflowing flood passing over and taking with it all in its path. Hence it was written: he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.

Daniel 11:41  He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.

42  He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape.

In route to Egypt, Caesar entered also into the glorious land, which was the land of Judea (see verse 16). There Herod feasted him and his army, thus switching his loyalty from Anthony to Caesar. On this same expedition Caesar also overthrew regions of upper Africa, upper Cilicia, Paphlogonia, Thrace, Pontus, Galatia, and other provinces form Illyria to Armenia. Thus many countries were overthrown. At this time he sent Aelius Gallus on a campaign to overthrow Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon, lands adjacent to Judea. But this campaign failed and Caesar abandoned it. So it was fulfilled that these shall escape out of his hand.

Caesar stretched forth his hand also upon the countries that were under the control of Mark Anthony including Egypt so that the land of Egypt did not escape.

Daniel 11:43  But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.

After the defeat of Egypt at the battle of Actium, Cleopatra devised plans to escape with all her vast treasure that had been accumulated over the reign of the Ptolemies. By means of clever stratagems Caesar managed to forestall Cleopatra’s plans and was able to secure the treasures of gold and of silver, and…all the precious things of Egypt for himself. By invading and occupying the land of Egypt as he did, the Libyans and the Ethiopians were at his steps. Shortly after, they were also conquered by Rome. Thus the last major power competing with Rome fell marking the end of what remained of the Grecian empire that had been divided amongst Alexander’s generals. Rome had now become the next world empire. Octavius Caesar returned to Rome in triumph and assumed the title of Augustus (the exalted). He was the Caesar spoken of in LUK 2:1: “And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus….”

Daniel 11:37-39

Today we look a little further into the sordid history of this man who was called “Herod the Great.”

Daniel 11:37  Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.

Herod was an Idumean by birth. The Idumeans were conquered by John Hyrcanus in 125 B.C. and compelled to be circumcised thus becoming Jews. Hence it was that Herod was considered a Jew and thus the fathers of the Jews would have been considered his fathers. Also, the Idumeans descended from Esau, the son of Isaac and the grandson of Abraham so that he shared these same fathers as the Jews. Therefore, in introducing the worship of Caesar he did not regard the God of his fathers. Neither did he regard the desire of women when he had the young children slain in Bethlehem leaving their mothers to grieve the loss (Matthew 2:16-18). Herod had those young children slain in an attempt to kill Israel’s Messiah, and what woman in Israel would not have desired to be the mother of the Messiah? Hence, he had no regard for the desire of women. He even had three of his own sons murdered when he thought they were a threat to his power. Neither did he regard any god, but sought only to magnify himself above all. To promote his own political ambitions he first aligned with Julius Caesar, then switched to Anthony, and then to Anthony’s conqueror Octavius Caesar. Any god he paid tribute to was really not out of regard for that god, but rather out of regard for his own political ambitions. Perhaps he is called Herod “the Great” because he was such a great politician. Would to God we had statesmen, men of principle, rather than politicians, men of ambition, in office!

Daniel 11:38  But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.

39  Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain.

In his estate, that is in his position as king, Herod honoured the God of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not. This was a new and strange god introduced into Israel. This God of forces refers to the Caesars, who claimed divine worship for themselves. The Caesars extended their power by military forces and the erection of fortifications throughout their empire. Hence, they were honoured as the God of forces. Herod honoured the Caesars with lavish gifts such as gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things, as the verse lists.

Herod honoured this strange god, the Caesars, in the most strong holds and built temples and cities to acknowledge and increase them with glory. When he rebuilt the temple in Jerusalem he built a stronghold on the north side and named it the Tower of Antonius after Mark Anthony, his friend and then ruler of Rome. When he rebuilt Samaria and fortified it for himself, he named it Sebaste from Sebastos or Augustus. Josephus recounts:

“To say all at once, there was not any place of his kingdom fit for the purpose, that was permitted to be without somewhat that was for Caesar’s honour; and when he had filled his own country with temples, he poured out the like plentiful marks of his esteem into his province, and built many cities which he called Caesareas.”

He even went so far as to place a huge, golden eagle, the emblem of Rome, over the gate of the temple. Thus he caused the strong holds to rule over many in that he promoted the rule of Rome from the strong holds, the most strong hold being the magnificent temple he built in Jerusalem. And in order to secure his power he parceled out portions to persons favourable to himself. Josephus reports: “Moreover he parted the adjoining country, which was excellent in kind, among the inhabitants of Samaria, that they might be in a happy condition, upon their first coming to inhabit.” Thus he divided the land for gain.

Daniel 11:36

After the Babylonians under King Nebuchadnezzar took control of the land of Judea, the Jews were never again an independent state until 1948 A.D. In Daniel 11 we have traced their history under the domination of Medo-Persia, then Greece, and now we move ahead to the time of the Roman empire when Rome dominated the land of Judea.

Daniel 11:36  And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.

The king in this verse refers to the dynasty of Herod under Rome. Recall that this vision pertains to the history of Daniel’s people in the latter days (Daniel 10:14). All the things in this vision of Daniel 11 were “finished” when “the power of the holy people” was scattered, which happened with the final overthrow of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.

Daniel 12:7  And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.

Therefore, those latter days ended with the destruction of Jerusalem. So the vision of Daniel 11 takes us from the rule of the Persians and then the Grecians over Israel through to the rule of the Romans, who finally destroyed their nation. The dynasty of Herod prospered in Palestine till the indignation was accomplished. This refers to the destruction of Jerusalem, which was that that is determined that would be done. The following prophecy of Daniel specifically refers to the destruction of Jerusalem as something determined to be accomplished.

Daniel 9:26  And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.

27  And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

Herod the Great, who ruled Judea from 37 B.C. to 4 A.D. is the particular king referred to in Daniel 11:36, which we consider today. Herod is the only earthly monarch the writers of the gospels call the king.

Luke 1:5  There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judæa, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.

Herod the Great did according to his will. Commenting on this Philip Mauro wrote:

“This is what distinguished Herod the Great in a remarkable degree. For history records nothing of his nature was more notable than Herod’s success in rising up from a lowly origin to the rank and authority of king, in securing for himself despotic power and retaining it through all the political changes of the times, and in the way he used power for the accomplishment of all his designs, however stupendous in magnitude (as the rebuilding of the temple) or atrocious in character (as condemning to death his own wife and children). For Herod contrived to secure the favor and confidence, first of Julius Caesar, then of Mark Antony, and then of Octavius Caesar, though he assisted Antony and Cleopatra against him. All things considered, there is nothing more wonderful in the career of Herod than his extraordinary success in doing ‘according to his will.’ ¶But, taking the expression in the other sense, we may say that it would be difficult to find in history one who so ruthlessly executed the designs of his own tyrannical and cruel heart, even upon those of his own flesh and blood, as Herod the king. His murder of his best-loved wife, the beautiful Mariamne, who was a princess of the Asmonean family, is, in its special circumstances, without parallel in history. He put to death also three of his own sons (two of them by his favorite wife) because he suspected them of aspiring to his throne; and similar deeds of willfulness characterized his entire reign. Josephus gives many examples of this (Antiquities of the Jews XII 9, 4).”

In Moses’ law, God-appointed rulers in Israel were called gods in that they partook of divinely appointed authority.

Exodus 22:28  Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people.

Now Herod exalted and magnified himself above every god or authority in Israel, even taking upon himself to appoint the office of the high priest. He spake marvellous things against the God of gods when he promoted in Israel the worship of Caesar. He also spake marvellous things against the God of gods when he issued the decree to have all the young children in Bethlehem two years old and under slain in an attempt to kill the child Jesus, Who is Immanuel, God with us (Matthew 2:16-18).

Daniel 11:34-35

We continue tracing Daniel’s prophecy of those Jews who knew their God, were strong, and did exploits. This is what I wrote about these Jews in the last installment: “A particular family of these faithful Jews was the family of Mattathias, a priest who dwelt in Modin. He had five sons named John, Simon, Judas, Eleazar, and Jonathan. They refused to bend to Antiochus’ commandments and mounted a resistance against him and his forces. This family came to be known as the Asmoneans, named so after Mattathias’ great grandfather, Asamoneus (according to Josephus).”

Daniel 11:34  Now when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help: but many shall cleave to them with flatteries.

When the Asmoneans or Maccabees fell, they were holpen with a little help. For example, when Mattathias the priest died, his son Judas “rose up in his stead” and mounted a successful campaign against the army of Syria “with a small company.” That is, they were holpen with a little help. Here is the account from the book of Maccabees showing the fulfillment of this prophecy.

1 Maccabees 3:1  Then his son Judas, called Maccabeus, rose up in his stead.

1 Maccabees 3:13  Now when Seron, a prince of the army of Syria, heard say that Judas had gathered unto him a multitude and company of the faithful to go out with him to war;

14  He said, I will get me a name and honour in the kingdom; for I will go fight with Judas and them that are with him, who despise the king's commandment.

15  So he made him ready to go up, and there went with him a mighty host of the ungodly to help him, and to be avenged of the children of Israel.

16  And when he came near to the going up of Bethhoron, Judas went forth to meet him with a small company:

17  Who, when they saw the host coming to meet them, said unto Judas, How shall we be able, being so few, to fight against so great a multitude and so strong, seeing we are ready to faint with fasting all this day?

18  Unto whom Judas answered, It is no hard matter for many to be shut up in the hands of a few; and with the God of heaven it is all one, to deliver with a great multitude, or a small company:

19  For the victory of battle standeth not in the multitude of an host; but strength cometh from heaven.

20  They come against us in much pride and iniquity to destroy us, and our wives and children, and to spoil us:

21  But we fight for our lives and our laws.

22  Wherefore the Lord himself will overthrow them before our face: and as for you, be ye not afraid of them.

23  Now as soon as he had left off speaking, he leapt suddenly upon them, and so Seron and his host was overthrown before him.

However, Daniel prophesied that many clave to them with flatteries. We find a fulfillment of this prophecy also recorded in the book of the Maccabees. Two men by the name of Joseph and Azarias, captains of garrisons, upon hearing of the valiant acts of Judas Maccabeus decided to fight against the heathen as did he. But their motive was to get themselves a name.

1 Maccabees 5:55  Now what time as Judas and Jonathan were in the land of Galaad, and Simon his brother in Galilee before Ptolemais,

56  Joseph the son of Zacharias, and Azarias, captains of the garrisons, heard of the valiant acts and warlike deeds which they had done.

57  Wherefore they said, Let us also get us a name, and go fight against the heathen that are round about us.

After one battle Judas and his companions came to bury their slain kinsmen and discovered in their coats “things consecrated to the idols.”

2 Maccabees 12:39  And upon the day following, as the use had been, Judas and his company came to take up the bodies of them that were slain, and to bury them with their kinsmen in their fathers' graves.

40  Now under the coats of every one that was slain they found things consecrated to the idols of the Jamnites, which is forbidden the Jews by the law. Then every man saw that this was the cause wherefore they were slain.

And so we see that all that clave to Judas were not sincere, but were pretending allegiance to his cause. That is, they clave to them with flatteries.

Daniel goes on to predict what happened to some of the noble souls that knew their God and did exploits.

Daniel 11:35  And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed.

Some of the people that knew their God and had understanding fell in battle and into captivity. Eleazar, was crushed by an elephant in battle (1Maccabees 6:46). Judas was killed in battle (1Maccabees 9:18). John, a captain of the Jews, was taken captive (1Maccabees 9:36). Tryphon, who attempted to seize the crown of Syria for himself, deceived Jonathan into accepting a truce promising him the stronghold of Ptolemais. But when Jonathan entered Ptolemais, the gates were shut about him and he was taken captive and killed (1Maccabees 12:42-48). Now all this was to try them, and to purge, and to make them white. God allows tribulation, even martyrdom, to come upon His faithful people to make them white, that is, to make them better because the best of men have that about them that requires purging and cleansing (2Timothy 2:20-21; John 15:2; James 1:2-3; 1Peter 1:7; 4:12; Revelation 2:10).

The rule of the noble family of the Maccabees extended to 37 B.C., the time of King Herod. The last Asmonean high priest was Aristobulus III, whom Herod elevated to high priest at a very young age only then to have him drowned while bathing in a pool in Jericho in 36 B.C. The Dynasty of Herod continued from that point to the destruction of Jerusalem. Hence, the dynasty of Herod brings us to the last stage of Jewish history that Daniel prophesied of, that is, the time of the end. There was yet a time appointed for these events prophesied by Daniel to transpire.