Remember, an angelic being is explaining to Daniel future events. He revealed four future emperors, Xerxes from Persia, Alexander the Great from Greece, Ptolemy from Egypt, and Seleucus from Syria. Then we learn about the arranged marriage between Berenice and Antiochus II that ends in catastrophe. And Ptolemy III takes revenge for the murder of his sister Berenice invading Syria. Then the sons of Seleucus from Syria, Seleucus III Ceraunus, and Antiochus the Great continued the wars with the Ptolemy empire in Egypt. Then in the following text, which I will read next, this happens. Ptolemy IV Philopater is going to slaughter the Syrian armies in the north. And after him, the Seleucid empire will rise, and as soon as Ptolemy IV Philopater dies, his son Ptolemy V Epiphanes takes the throne at age five. At this moment, the Syrian empire sees the opportunity to invade and destroy them.

But here's how the text reads.

Then the king of the south (i.e., Ptolemy IV Philopater), moved with rage, shall come out and fight against the king of the north (i.e., Seleucus Cerauhus and Antiochus the Great). And he shall raise a great multitude, but it shall be given into his hand. And when the multitude is taken away, his heart shall be exalted, and he shall cast down tens of thousands, but he shall not prevail. For the king of the north (i.e., Antiochus Magnus) shall again raise a multitude, greater than the first. And after some years he shall come on with a great army and abundant supplies. — Daniel 11:11-13

So aside from the prophecy and the leaders inferred in this text, a few words captured my attention. Words like "rage," "fight," and "his heart shall be exalted." Everything we read about here is born from longstanding wounds that have matured into hatred, leading to rage, war, and pride. These leaders are men with so much built-up animosity that they cannot stop the endless cycle of rage and war. It's a constant back-and-forth battle where tens of thousands of people and children are slaughtered because of their animosity and pride.

Fellas, this is the problem with our pride. Pride perpetuates evil and inflicts endless devastation onto future generations. But God's man knows this. And he knows how to end it. He ends it not by waging more war but by fighting the hardest battle he'll ever fight — the battle against the arrogance within his heart. Today consider what arrogant attitude and animosity you have clung to for too long. Isn't it time to lay it down and humble yourself before God before the cycle continues into the next generation?

ASK THIS: What animosity and pride do you need to lay down?

DO THIS: Lay down your pride and stop the endless cycle.

PRAY THIS: God, I bring my animosity and pride to you.

PLAY THIS: Lay It All Down.

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