Protection from Rome and if you're in my mind if you're going to understand these verses Clearly you need to you need to take him in sections. So I want to read verse 23 and 24 It says and after the league made with him He shall work deceitfully for he shall come up and shall become strong with the small people He shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places is places of the province and he shall do that Which his fathers have not done nor his father's fathers. He shall scatter among them the prey and spoil and riches Yay, she he shall forecast his devices against the strongholds Even for a time and what I would suggest and Uriah Smith doesn't say it this way but it's an agreement with Uriah Smith is that these two verses are Giving us the starting point of the league with the Jews that Rome made in 161 so it places its back in the history of the previous verses and then it begins to describe the characteristics of Rome and character the characteristics of Rome earlier in the book of Daniel is that it this fourth kingdom would be different and one of the Differences that all the pioneer commentators bring up is that? Babylon Medo-Persia and Greece Conquered through their military might and Rome conquered through its military might as well But Rome also conquered through what what I'll call politics. They formed leagues and and it starts right here in verse 23 with the league they form with the room the Jews They made agreements with countries to be their protector like they were watching over Egypt We've seen earlier to protect the young king of Egypt. They formed a league with Greece to protect Greece from the Macedonians and the Assyrians and They took control of countries through politics and military might and this was one of the differences of this fourth kingdom And it becomes strong verse 23 with the small people they began as a small people, but also if you're going to conquer a country by Signing a truce with it a peace treaty that ultimately being brings that country under your control You don't need a large army. You just need a diplomatic corps. And of course This is some of the characteristics of the fourth kingdom that carries on in the second phase of the fourth kingdom But in verse 24, it's simply carrying on this description It says he'll enter peaceably upon the fattest places of the province some of the places like when it took control of Greece It was through Peaceable measures and he'll do what his fathers have not done nor his father's fathers and this is saying that according to Uriah Smith and others that Alexander the Great or the Medes and the Persians or the Babylon's being the fathers the fathers or the great-grandfathers