The king will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will say unheard-of things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been determined must take place. He will show no regard for the gods of his ancestors or for the one desired by women, nor will he regard any god, but will exalt himself above them all.

–Parallel verses:
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭2‬:‭1‬-‭6‬
Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying, “Let us break their chains and throw off their shackles.” The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. He rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, “I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain.”

In the time of Daniel, he rose up to support Darius the Mede. And he prophesied about future kingdoms, battles and victories.

I found this section of the Book of Daniel particularly interesting and relevant to our times. It describes a king who does not care about anyone but himself. He ignores past pagan practices and creates new evils. He does not honor God.

Psalms 2 talks about rulers who act this way, and it calls them out. It also shows God’s response. He is not worried, though their sinful actions anger him. He laughs at them.

We are seeing this type of “ruling arrogance” in our country today. Where once elections were guarded to ensure they were free and fair to the highest degree possible, we have now seen the opposite approach taken and it is gaining ground, dead people are “voting and illegal aliens are also voting. We have ballot drop boxes funded by billionaires, attorney-client privilege eroded, and peaceful protesters who may have entered restricted areas, but had no weapons sent to a prison with no hearing, evidence withheld, and for over two years. Yet in this past week, anti-Israel pro-Hamas protestors, whose views back up the ruling party, are doing a similar thing, shutting down official operations. They burned the American flag and they scuffled with police and they are not jailed on insurrection charges.

Lastly, we see a party trying to take down the opposition through endless court cases, trying to restrict security at rallies, and not protecting political candidates to the level necessary to avoid a young, inexperienced assassin’s bullet.

What does this mean? How do we respond?

What I can tell you is that this is not new. It has happened time and again. It happened in Daniel’s time too. Rulers get arrogant and forget to humbly serve God. And the good news is: 1) God is still sovereign over all these attacks on what is right and true, 2) He laughs at earthly rulers who try to take power, and 3) He allows evil to happen for a time, but then he judges those evildoers.

Rest assured, my friends, the justice of God is coming on those who persecute us. Our job is to remain steadfast and stay on mission. God will continue to provide opportunities for us with those around us to share the good news, disciple, and to love on people.

I had an interesting “on mission” experience recently. I met a friend at a restaurant to catch up. While talking to the waitress, I explained we were having a spiritual meeting and asked if we could pray over her for anything? She said she was good. Five minutes later, a couple of booths down, a lady asked, “It sounds like you like to pray. Would you be willing to pray for me and my friend? We are getting ready to minister to 50 female inmates and share the gospel with them.” Right there in that restaurant, we prayed for them and encouraged them in their ministry.

Lord, we live in times that are treading into a deeper darkness and a more evil way. Help us to stay focused on you and your call on our lives. We are your servants in a broken and fallen world. May we follow your lead and look for sinners who are seeking a Savior!