His place will be taken by a reject, a man spurned and passed over for
advancement. He'll surprise everyone, seemingly coming out of nowhere, and will
seize the kingdom. He'll come in like a steamroller, flattening the opposition.
Even the Prince of the Covenant will be crushed. After negotiating a cease-fire,
he'll betray its terms. With a few henchmen, he'll take total control.
Arbitrarily and impulsively, he'll invade the richest provinces. He'll surpass
all his ancestors, near and distant, in his rape of the country, grabbing and
looting, living with his cronies in corrupt and lavish luxury. He will make
plans against the fortress cities, but they'll turn out to be shortsighted.
He'll get a great army together, all charged up to fight the king of the south.
The king of the south in response will get his army—an even greater army—in
place, ready to fight. But he won't be able to sustain that intensity for long
because of the treacherous intrigue in his own ranks, his court having been
honeycombed with vicious plots. His army will be smashed, the battlefield filled
with corpses. The two kings, each with evil designs on the other, will sit at
the conference table and trade lies. Nothing will come of the treaty, which is
nothing but a tissue of lies anyway. But that's not the end of it. There's more
to this story.
The king of the north will go home loaded down with
plunder, but his mind will be set on destroying the holy covenant as he passes
through the country on his way home. One year later he will mount a fresh
invasion of the south. But the second invasion won't compare to the first. When
the Roman ships arrive, he will turn tail and go back home. But as he passes
through the country, he will be filled with anger at the holy covenant. He will
take up with all those who betray the holy covenant, favoring them. The
bodyguards surrounding him will march in and desecrate the Sanctuary and
citadel. They'll throw out the daily worship and set up in its place the
obscene sacrilege. The king of the north will play up to those who betray the
holy covenant, corrupting them even further with his seductive talk, but those
who stay courageously loyal to their God will take a strong stand.
Those who keep their heads on straight will teach the
crowds right from wrong by their example. They'll be put to severe testing for
a season: some killed, some burned, some exiled, some robbed. When the testing
is intense, they'll get some help, but not much. Many of the helpers will be
halfhearted at best. The testing will refine, cleanse, and purify those who
keep their heads on straight and stay true, for there is still more to come.
Historically Antiochus Epiphanes was one of the most wicked
men who ever lived. Israel seems to be plagued throughout history with wicked
people attacking or destroying their people, land or Temple.
The Bible has over 300 verses concerning “wicked”. A couple
that are comforting are promises that were given to David and then to the
people of Judah. I will also appoint a place for My people Israel and will plant them,
that they may live in their own place and not be disturbed again, nor will the
wicked afflict them any more as formerly... 2 Samuel 7:10 NASB. Behold, on the mountains the feet of him who
brings good news, who announces peace! Celebrate your feasts, O Judah; Pay your
vows. For never again will the wicked one pass through you; he is cut off
completely, Nahum 1:15 NASB. That was a promise for the Israelites back in
about 663-612 BC concerning Nineveh’s wickedness. For a day now that the
wicked would be cut off again would be a wonderful day.
Paul wrote in Ephesians concerning behavior of Christians.
Letting go of bitterness and wrath results in kindness, as opposed to
wickedness. That should be a goal for us. Let
no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good
for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace
to those who hear. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were
sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and
clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one
another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has
forgiven you. Ephesians 4:29-32 NASB. Do you find yourself filled with
wrath or are you able to put it aside? A motto of mine is the common phrase,
“Don’t sweat the small stuff.” And most
of the things that get under my skin are “small stuff”—just gotta let those go,
including wickedness, and move on.
Lord Jesus, help us today to be tender-hearted,
to fill our lives with forgiveness and to let our words be loving. Let us not
sweat the small stuff. Let’s feast on good words and good actions.
© 2012 by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.
Scripture from The Message, except where noted.
No comments:
Post a Comment