Lesson 16 Daniel 11

[0:00] Father, thank you for the privilege it is to gather together. We thank you that you've given us the ability as well as the freedom to do so. And I pray that you would help us understand your word in such a way that challenges us, encourages us, equips us, and helps us to know you better.

[0:19] And we pray this in Christ's name. Amen. Amen. So I just want to come back and say that Daniel has been extremely challenging. And I hope it's been a good challenge for you and not a drudgery.

[0:34] Sometimes it can get a little tedious. This chapter that we're going to look at today, it's in the middle of a section, right? Chapter 10, 11, 12 go together as a unit.

[0:47] And so chapter 10 sort of introduces everybody who's going to be speaking, this man who's dressed in linen. And at the end of chapter 10, he starts talking and that rolls right into chapter 11.

[1:01] So we pick up in the middle of what he's talking about in chapter 11. But before we get into it and read it and such, I want to kind of go back and think about just the big picture again where all this is falling.

[1:13] And today we have, the TV is working just fine. I don't understand. Again, this is just an overview of the different chapters of Daniel and where they fall historically related to the three kings that are in Daniel.

[1:32] Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, and Darius, or also Cyrus. And you'll notice we're chapter 10, 11, 12. It's all the way at the bottom.

[1:44] It's at the end of all of this. And the other thing that I want to say up front, just to kind of, we're going to say this a few times and maybe you'll hear here.

[1:57] So this is the, all the visions that Daniel has been seeing, the dreams that Nebuchadnezzar had and this kind of a thing. And everything pushes towards this sort of timeline where the first block, you've got this idea that Babylon is going to come in and take over.

[2:16] They're going to have the 70-year exile and then they're going to be replaced by Persia. And in that first block, that's where the whole 70 years is. But then the visions really pick up from 539 all the way to 4 BC where you've got these first exiles that return home because of Cyrus, the Persian, who comes in.

[2:39] Daniel chapter 6, Daniel chapter 9. He sends the Jews home. They're going to go back and build the temple again because it was Solomon's temple that was destroyed. And now they're rebuilding the temple.

[2:52] It's called the second temple. The walls are going to be rebuilt. And it's also in this period where the Persian Empire comes to an end and Greece rises up.

[3:03] But Greece, starting with Alexander the Great, he's going to conquer the known world. But eventually, Alexander is going to die and the kingdom gets split. And it's this historical thing that happened that Daniel saw was coming.

[3:18] And it is chapter 11 that liberal theologians say is the reason why Daniel could not have been written during the time period of his life because the prediction is too accurate.

[3:36] They said the only way to be accurate is to know what happened and write about it after it happened. And I'm thinking to myself, but God, you know, like how do you get there?

[3:51] So before we dive into 11 and with that kind of background, I just want to give a couple more thoughts on background here. One is to think about exactly when chapter 11 is occurring.

[4:06] It says in chapter 10 that this is the third year of Cyrus. So if we go back, let me go back to this one right here. So we know that Daniel 6 and 9 are happening in the first year of Cyrus.

[4:22] And in that first year, that's when he sends the Jews back, right? Ezra chapter 1 verse 1, he sends the Jews back to Israel. They're rebuilding the temple.

[4:33] The third year, so three years have passed. That's where Daniel chapter 10, 11, and 12 occur. And here's what I want to show you. Well, in chapter 3 of Ezra, it's the second year that they're back in Israel and everything's going fine as they build the temple.

[4:55] But in chapter 4 of Ezra, we see then that the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah and frightened them from building and hired counselors against them to frustrate their counsel all the days of Cyrus, king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius, king of Persia.

[5:17] So there's going to be some other kings that follow Cyrus. And he's the one that sends them back. But after about that second, third year, people around Jerusalem are angry that they're rebuilding the temple and the wall, so they start making it difficult for them.

[5:33] As a matter of fact, they send stuff back to Cyrus going like, hey, you got to stop this. And so the work on the temple stops. And it's in this third year where they've stopped working on the temple that Daniel gets this vision of chapters 10, 11, and 12.

[5:54] Does that make sense? I'm just trying to lay out the timeline for you. Is everybody with me? Are anybody confused? Have I confused you? Okay. So if you'll just keep that in mind, that's just something to kind of keep back here in your mind as we start reading through chapter 11.

[6:13] The other thing to keep in mind is that when chapter 10 started, there was a single word that was used twice that sort of, it is the vision, if you will.

[6:26] And it's the word truth. In Daniel chapter 10, verse 1, it says in the third year of Cyrus, king of Persia, a message was revealed to Daniel who was named Belshazzar, and the message was true.

[6:41] The message was true. That word right there gets repeated in the very last verse of chapter 10. However, I will tell you what is inscribed in the writing of truth.

[6:58] And so it's almost as though the vision that Daniel received was a scroll of truth. And that in this scroll of truth was written the future.

[7:11] And as he's reading this, the man in linen comes, which I think is Christ, and tells him what all this means. Okay. As a matter of fact, in verse 2 of chapter 11, he says, now I will tell you the truth.

[7:27] I'm coming to tell you the truth. So, so that's, so then that's where we are.

[7:40] Daniel, Daniel is seeing this vision, and it's evidently something written on this scroll, and that's what the man in linen is going to tell him about. So that leads us to our outline, and our outline is this way.

[7:55] The first is predicting history. And what I want to do is I want to read to you verses 1 through 4, make a couple of comments before we really dive into the material.

[8:07] It says in verse 1, So this is the man in the man in linen, who I think is Christ.

[8:20] He's the one who rose up to help Darius. Verse 2, And now I'll tell you the truth. Behold, behold, three more kings are going to arise in Persia.

[8:31] Then a fourth will gain far more riches than all of them. As soon as he becomes strong through his riches, he will arouse the whole empire against the realm of Greece.

[8:43] And a mighty king will arise, and he will rule with great authority and do as he pleases. But as soon as he has arisen, his kingdom will be broken up and parceled out toward the four points of the compass, though not to his own descendants, nor according to his authority which he wielded, for his sovereignty will be uprooted and given to others beside him.

[9:12] Now, that's a lot of information in four verses. But let me ask you something. Give me a summary of what he just said.

[9:23] What do you think he's just said in those four verses in terms of what's going to happen in history? Yeah.

[9:36] It talks about continuing the king or the nation, but it will go stronger and stronger through four kings.

[9:52] Right. The fourth king then will try to attack Greece. Correct. And Greece will rise up and conquer them.

[10:04] That's right. And then Greece, the leader of Greece, who everybody assumes that Alexander the Great, will conquer them completely.

[10:19] Right. But something will happen in that when he is no longer the ruler, it will be divided into four groups, four different rulers.

[10:31] None of his prosperity. Not according to his line. Right. But because of others. That's right. That's exactly right.

[10:42] You know, it's really interesting, and it is pretty simple. What happens is that as we read this, we have a tendency, because it's the Bible, to go like, maybe it doesn't mean that.

[10:52] Maybe it means more than that. And it's like, no, that's what it means. Like, it's just real, it's real plain. It's right there on the surface, you know? But, and so you, they're in, he's in the third year of Cyrus, king of Persia.

[11:05] And after Cyrus, there are going to be four more kings. Well, there'll be three, and then a fourth. Okay, so here are the names. There was Cambyses, Smyrtas, and Darius the Great.

[11:19] Those three kings. This is just from history. As a matter of fact, Darius the Great is mentioned in the book of Ezra, if you wanted to go look at that. The fourth king is going to be Xerxes.

[11:33] Does anybody know who Xerxes is off the top of your head? You ever read the book of Esther? That's Xerxes. Xerxes, okay? And he grows very wealthy.

[11:46] And he's the one who goes and attacks Greece because he wants to take control of them. And he has their land for a little bit, but then it bothers them. And here's the interesting thing.

[11:56] If you've ever read the book of Esther, it starts with this big party, and the king sends for his queen, Queen Vashti. And she won't come.

[12:08] And he's angry, so he gets rid of her and gets another queen, which is why the story of Esther even happens. Many scholars believe that the party that he's throwing was his political campaign to get everybody riled up to go attack Greece.

[12:24] And it was right after that that he goes to attack Greece. Well, that attack, what that does is that solidifies Greece. Greece was just a bunch of city-states, and they all solidified under Philip Macedon, but they couldn't do anything about Xerxes yet.

[12:40] But Philip dies, and his son, Alexander the Great, takes charge. Alexander the Great conquers the known world in 12 years, super fast, destroys the Persian Empire.

[12:53] But then he dies, and it's divided up into the four kingdoms that we've been looking at. The Ptolemais, the Seleuces, the Thrace, and whatever the other one's called, but I can't remember off the top of my head.

[13:09] So that's what Daniel is saying in verses 1 through 4. He's just saying, listen, here's the history. This is what's going to happen, right? So what happens from here in chapter 11 is that from verse 5 through the end, you've got this king does this, and this king does this, and then there was this person, and then there was this person, and then there was this intrigue, and there was this plan, and there was this plot, and there was this war, and there was this meal, and there was this thing, okay?

[13:38] So we're going to read it, and you're going to go, oh my goodness, I'm going to have an aneurysm. Like, this is just crazy to read. So here's what I want to do for you, okay?

[13:49] I want to do a couple of things for you. Number one, we're going to read verses 5 through 8. Then I want to read for you, and I'm going to put it up on screen, a commentary by one of the guys that I read about all these things, explaining just verses 5 through 8, so you can kind of see how it flows.

[14:07] But then the rest of this, I'm not going to get into the nitty-gritty detail of all of who everybody is. I've given you some helps with that, with a little chart that's in your handout that we'll get to in a second.

[14:21] But I just want you to see how this kind of flows out. So if we read verses, oh, and there's the map. When we're talking about Alexander the Great, yes, Lysinius and Cassiander, Ptolemy and Thessalonians.

[14:34] So what? Thessalonians. Thessalonians, yes. So Ptolemy is Egypt. Think Egypt, Ptolemy, Cleopatra. That's the time period that this is, right?

[14:48] Okay? So just so you know. So when we say king of the north, when you read that, it's somebody from here. When you say king of the south, it's somebody from here.

[15:00] Okay? But let's just look at verses five through eight. And just notice how it does this. Then the king of the south will grow strong, along with one of his princes, who will gain ascendancy over him and obtain dominion.

[15:16] And his dominion will be a great dominion indeed. After some years, they will form an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the south will come to the king of the north to carry out a peaceful arrangement.

[15:28] But she will not retain her position of power, nor will he remain with his power, but she will be given up along with those who brought her in and the one who sired her, as well as he who supported her in those times.

[15:45] Is your head hurt yet? Okay. Verse seven. But one of the descendants of Herlon will arise in his place, and he will come against their army and enter the fortress of the king of the north, and he will deal with them and display great strength.

[16:00] Verse eight. Also, their gods, with their metal images and their precious vessels of silver and gold, he will take into captivity to Egypt, and he, on his part, will refrain from attacking the king of the north for some years.

[16:14] Okay. So the rest of this reads this way. Okay. And if we try to chase out every little detail in here, we will be here for hours. So what we're going to do is I'm just going to show you how one commentator talks about that one section.

[16:30] Okay. He's going to tell you what this means. We're just going to read it. Then from that, I'm going to give you a couple of little charts and helps so that you can kind of, as you read it on your own, see this. But we're just going to kind of back up and summarize the content.

[16:43] Does that make sense? So here's what this commentator says. He says, Around 250 B.C., Ptolemy II, the king of the south, attempted to make peace with Antiochus II, the king of the north, by sending his daughter Bernice to marry him.

[17:00] The plan was that Antiochus would divorce his first wife, Laodicea, and disinherit her sons. Laodicea discovered the plot, however, and she had Antiochus and Bernice poisoned along with their young son.

[17:16] In the same year, Bernice's father died in Egypt. He was succeeded by Bernice's brother, someone from her own family, who then invaded the Seleucyp kingdom and conquered its capital, Antioch, exactly as Daniel 11 had predicted.

[17:34] There you go. That's what that means. That's what Daniel saw. Three, four hundred years before it happened. He writes about it in such detail that you can map it on the history books.

[17:50] You can just map it right on the history books. It is just amazing to me. So then what we have is that chapter 11 is broken into four parts.

[18:04] Verses 1 through 4 gives you sort of the story up to this point. Then verses 5 through 20 is phase 1, wars and rumors of wars.

[18:16] It's the back and forth between the north and the south. Then verses 21 through 35 is about one guy. Antiochus Epiphanes IV whom we've already talked about.

[18:29] The little horn of chapter 8. Okay? So he's going to spend those verses, about 15 of them, talking about that guy. Then from verse 36 to the end, he's talking about somebody else.

[18:45] And that's the big question. So, on your handout, I've given you this little chart. What this chart does is it goes through the king of the south, king of the north, and it tells you which of the historical kings it's referring to.

[19:04] Okay? And that's the book that I got it from. So, if you read Daniel 11 on your own, you can take this chart and hold it there with you. And that way, you can kind of figure out who this is talking about.

[19:17] Okay? All right. So, with that being said, oh, and here's another chart. If you want this, I can give it to you. But, one commentator, what he does, is he maps out what happens in these verses and he puts them in stages.

[19:36] Like, stage one, the north comes to the south. And stage two, the south goes to the north. And then you can see the different kings. You can see the timeline. I looked at that and I kind of was like, whew, whew, my head hurts.

[19:48] Like, you know what I'm saying? But, my amazement about this is just how accurate Daniel was way before the time started.

[19:58] Right? So, so let's read. We're going to read verses five through twenty. I'm just going to go through it pretty quickly just so that you know that you have read it.

[20:09] I'll make a couple of comments but then we're just going to move on. Okay? Beginning in verse five, then the king of the south will grow strong. Well, you know what? We read verses five through eight.

[20:20] So, let's jump on verse nine. Here we go. Then the latter will enter the realm of the king of the south but will return to his own land. His sons will mobilize and assemble a multitude of great forces and one of them will keep on coming and overflow and pass through that he may again wage war up to his very fortress.

[20:41] The king of the south will be enraged and go forth and fight with the king of the north. Then the latter will raise a great multitude but that multitude will be given into the hand of the former.

[20:52] When the multitude is carried away his heart will be lifted up and he will cause tens of thousands to fall. Yet, he will not prevail. For the king of the north will again raise a greater multitude than the former and after an interval of some years he will press on with a great army and much equipment.

[21:11] Now, in those times many will rise up against the king of the south. The violent ones among your people so that's going to be some Jews considered there will also lift themselves up in order to fulfill the vision but they will fall down.

[21:24] then the king of the north will come cast up a siege ramp and capture a well fortified city and the forces of the south will not stand their ground not even their choices troops for there will be no strength to make a stand but he who comes against him will do as he pleases and no one will be able to withstand him.

[21:45] He will also stay for a time in the beautiful land that's Israel with destruction in his hand. He will set his face to come with the power of his whole kingdom bringing with him a proposal of peace which he will put into effect.

[22:01] He will also give him the daughter of women to ruin it but she will not take a stand for him or be on his side. Then he will turn his face to the coastlands and capture many but a commander will put a stop to his scorn against him.

[22:17] Moreover, he will repay him for his scorn. So he will turn his face toward the fortress of his own land but he will stumble and fall and be found no more.

[22:28] Then in his place one will arise who will send an oppressor through the jewel of his kingdom yet within a few days he will be shattered though not in anger or in battle.

[22:43] Okay. You like that? So here's a couple of interesting things. Number one go back to the map.

[22:59] Again, we're talking about the north and the south. This region up here you can see this is where Syria is this is where Egypt is and they're going back and forth that's why Israel gets caught up in the middle of all this because Israel is just right here this little blue dot that's the Dead Sea.

[23:17] And so as a matter of fact if you take the Dead Sea and you kind of go this way you'll run into Jerusalem. Okay. It's just right there to the west of the Dead Sea.

[23:30] And so these people they just want control they just want power you know and they're just fighting back and forth and fighting back and forth and this covers a period from 322 to 175 BC a pretty good length of time.

[23:46] There's there's conflicts marriage proposals political movements and in the end neither power is able to conquer the other. I mean they're just not they one conquers for a time another conquers for a time and they they they can't conquer each other but they also can't live in peace.

[24:05] They just can't live in peace with one another and one of the things we say okay what kind of spiritual application comes from this here's what I think I think to myself about how all the machinations of man all the plans all the schemes that man does it produces no life no peace and no lasting change apart from God the things that we do do not bring in the peace of God and and the second thing is that it seems like God's people are always drawn into the trouble you know that's where verse 16 I was talking about a while ago it's it's you got the beautiful land and then Daniel says something or the man in the linen says to Daniel something about you know your people they'll be drawn into this as well it seems like sometimes we're drawn in and sometimes sometimes we're bullied into it and sometimes we get involved because we think that it's expedient to kind of help protect us but you know the question is why did

[25:10] Daniel need to hear all of this why did Daniel need to know this what did I say at the beginning was happening when he got this vision what's happening to the temple when he got this vision it's been destroyed it's been rebuilt but the rebuilding has stopped because the people around them are angry right and so God's people are you know just being again there's bad things going on but part of the reason that Daniel is getting this vision is for him to know the reality that listen I know it's bad but it's going to get worse I know it's bad but it's going to get worse and why is that because trials are always going to be here so long as the Lord tarries is coming this world is going to be full of trials full of difficulties from here to eternity and once eternity starts then it's all over and so we've got to hold on to this truth understanding that history is moving forward at the exact pace in the exact direction that God has established he's king over history and nothing happens apart from him nothing happens by accident now that doesn't call us to live passive lives and to just sit idly by and do nothing but instead it should embolden us to know that as we fight for what is right we're a part of what it is that

[26:51] God has said is his direction that he's going does it make sense you know we sometimes get a burden and we think to ourselves you know man I need to do something about this problem that I see well that burden is surely from the Lord and it is also something you should do and it is a part of God's plan to make things flow so don't worry about how it works on the back end of it just know he's in charge and yes we should do what's right we should do what's right well okay so that's that's that first section verses 5 through 20 now let's take a look at the second section this is verses 21 through 35 and again the focus gets off of the two big kingdoms and comes to Antiochus the fourth epiphanies the little horn of chapter eight this guy who's already you know we've talked about and he's done the abomination of desolation so that's who we're going to read about now verse 21 in his place a despicable person will arise on whom the honor of kingship has not been conferred but he will come in a time of tranquility and seize the kingdom by intrigue and overflowing forces will be flooded away before him and shattered and also the prince of the covenant after an alliance is made with him he will practice deception and he will go up and gain power with a small force of people in a time of tranquility he will enter the richest parts of the realm and he will accomplish what his fathers never did nor his ancestors he will distribute plunder booty and possessions among them and he will devise his schemes against strongholds but only for a time he will stir up his strength and courage against the king of the south with a large army so the king of the south will mobilize an extremely large and mighty army for war but he will not stand for schemes will be devised against him those who eat his choice food will destroy him and his army will overflow but many will fall down slain as for both kings their hearts will be intent on evil and they will speak lies to each other at the same table but it will not succeed for the end is still to come at the appointed time then he will return to his land with much plunder but his heart will be set against the holy covenant and he will take action and then return to his own land at the appointed time he will return and come into the south but his last time it will not turn out the way it did before for the ships of kateem and when you read kateem think rome will come against him therefore he will be disheartened and will return and become enraged at the holy covenant and take action so he will come back and show regard for those who forsake the holy covenant he will show regard for those who forsake the holy covenant forces from him will arise desecrate the sanctuary fortress and do away with the regular sacrifice and they will set up the abomination of desolation by smooth words he will turn to godlessness those who act wickedly toward the covenant but the people who know their

[30:18] God will display strength and take action those who have insight among the people will give understanding to the many yet they will fall by sword and by flame by captivity and by plunder for many days now when they fall they will be granted a little help many will join with them in hypocrisy some of those who have insight will fall in order to refine purge and make them pure until the end time because it is still to come at the appointed time whoo yes you can get the so can you get the feel of some of what he does what are some of the things that it feels like that he does just as you read that you don't have to be terribly specific but just generally what is it that Antiochus does a lot of intrigue a lot of intrigue he takes advantage of the situation to his benefit yes and he makes sure that he has the best stuff yeah yeah it's it's interesting you know we've covered a lot about him and said a lot about him and I'll leave those things there a couple of things that we haven't already talked about is that when he comes to the throne he comes to the throne after the death of his brother and his brother's death is under very clouded circumstances to say the least he was very excellent at making alliances through flattery he had another outbreak against the

[32:07] Ptolemais and this whole idea of the ships of Kattim so in the Septuagint the Septuagint is the Greek translation of the Old Testament in that very verse Daniel 1130 the Septuagint reads the ships of Rome so it was just a name that people knew that Kattim meant Rome so what happened is that his last time to go against Egypt Rome came to help them and there's a story that's told that Antiochus was basically pinned down and he was given this opportunity to surrender either surrender or die and he says well I'm going to have to think about it but the Roman general drew a circle around him and said make your decision before you leave the circle and so embarrassed he submitted and then left and it's after that that's when he comes to Jerusalem and really does the damage and sets up the abomination of desolation and destroys things in that way and of course part of that that you don't know unless you know history is that at the beginning of his life while his brother was free he was actually a prisoner of war in

[33:21] Rome so he's already had dealings with Rome and doesn't like them it's a time of great destruction it's a time of great apostasy I mean it's interesting he says that by smooth words he will turn to godlessness those who act wickedly toward the covenant he's talking about Jews there Jews by his words he's able to get them to turn against their own covenant their own following after God and then what I find interesting is that there's two groups of people but the people who know their God will display strength and take action and those who have insight among the people will give understanding to the many yet they will fall by the sword then in verse 35 he says some of those who have insight will fall but in order to be refined and purged and to make them pure until the end you know over and over again we talk about that

[34:29] God is in control of history but here we get a glimpse of God's people and I think it's fascinating that those who know their God will display strength to be able to endure such times requires knowing God that's such persecution such turmoil such war apostasy requires strength and that strength comes from knowing God that's how we are going to survive if you think to yourself like I know it's coming like the world is going to end and there's going to be civil war and there's going to be persecution of Christians and you know that's coming then in order to have strength in the middle of that then you need to know God and that knowing God is two things it's knowing all of these truths about him but it's also knowing him as these truths and what I'm saying is we understand that God is sovereign and in control of all things but it's one thing to know it here it's another thing to feel like you know him as the sovereign king to have that relationship with him to lean and rest on him in every day you know we often are good at saying well God is sovereign when some sort of big thing has come into our life because we know we've got to because we were it's so huge but what about the daily things what about the little things that are annoying every day what about the things that you know I wish it would just go this way in the mornings you know maybe it's maybe it's because the knee just doesn't want to straighten out and you're just like oh why do I have to put up with this knee that won't straighten out today and it's like is

[36:28] God sovereign or not and in those moments do we complain or do we turn ourselves to the Lord and say Lord help my unbelief help my unbelief I'm really struggling to understand why it is that my eyes are doing what they're doing this morning I'm really struggling to understand why it is that I've got to face this thing again today and so help my unbelief and that's what I'm saying is that we don't just know these big truths about God but we relate to him on a daily basis over these truths about who he is and so it's a hard thing to do I struggle I struggle with it but as I look at this and I say what do we take from this I think that's it that's what we take is that to be able to endure with strength we've got to know God and it's got to start with learning the truth about God and you're not going to learn the truth about God except from the Bible that's it that's it well let's look at the last part this is what I call phase three this is the one greater than okay this is from verse 36 through chapter 12 verse 4 and let me just again read through this and we'll make a few comments at the end then the king will do as he pleases now let me just pause and I will say the question of this passage of Daniel 11

[38:03] Daniel 10 through 12 is who is this king right here just reading it the way we're reading it it feels like Antiochus epiphanies but as we go through it and we read it you might find yourself going like but was that really him if you know anything about history he doesn't he dies not too long after the whole destruction of Jerusalem you know so it's kind of interesting so I don't know who this king is but just know that that's the question so then the king will do as he pleases and he will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will speak monstrous things against the god of gods and he will prosper until the indignation is finished for that which is decreed will be done he will show no regard for the gods of his fathers or for the desire of women nor will he show regard for any other god for he will magnify himself above them all but instead he will honor a god of fortress of god whom his fathers did not know and he will honor him with gold silver costly stones and treasures he will take action against the strongest of fortresses with the help of a foreign god he will give great honor to those who acknowledge him and will cause them to rule over the many and will parcel out land for a price at the end time the king of the south will collide with him and the king of the north will storm against him with chariots with horsemen and with ships and he will enter countries overflow them and pass through he will also enter the beautiful land and many countries will fall but these will be rescued out of his hand Edom

[39:48] Moab and the foremost of the sons of Ammon then he will stretch out his hand against other countries and the land of Egypt will not escape but he will gain control of over the hidden treasures of gold and silver and over all the precious things of Egypt and Libyans and Ethiopians will follow will fall at his will follow at his heels but rumors from the east and from the north will disturb him and he will go forth with great wrath to destroy and annihilate many he will pitch the tents of his royal pavilion between the seas and the beautiful holy mountain yet he will come to his end and no one will help him now at that time Michael the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people will arise and there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time and at that time your people everyone who's found written in the book will be rescued many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake these to everlasting life but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven and those who lead the many to righteousness like the stars forever but as for you Daniel conceal these words and seal up the book until the end of time many will go back and forth and knowledge will increase all right that's got some good things in there and let me let me just say that the king who is this king there's probably about 20 different interpretations of that

[41:46] I find it fascinating that both the king of the south and the king of the north come up against them and so to me that right there narrows the field of kind of who this could be some have said Antiochus Epiphanes which kind of fits with just the flow of the reading but he's never had that opportunity for the king of the north and king of the south to come against them because he was a king of the north so who is this talking about I think you've got one of two options a this king and you'll remember Daniel king can mean kingdom and kingdom can mean king a this is the Roman Empire it's the Roman Empire and the reason that I would say that is because Daniel's been telling us all along that there's four kingdoms Babylon Persia Greece and Rome and here at the end of the book he's telling him finally about Rome or this is the Antichrist at the end of time but there's things about both of them that don't make sense to me so I'm not going to tell you today I think it's this one and this is what we need to believe I'm just going to say there are your options enjoy but I do want to talk about some application from all of this okay and so I think there's some things we can learn from this even if we don't know exactly who this king is the first is that as believers we need to brace ourselves for terrible days we need to brace ourselves for terrible days that's what he says Michael as Michael arises for the people of

[43:31] God talks about that there will be distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time and one of the things that we know is that distress and terrible times are always going to be a part of things always going to be a part of things so we need to brace ourselves for that secondly as believers we're a part of one new man we're part of one new man what do I mean by that what I mean by that is that things that were spoken to Israel are then many of them fulfilled by the combination of Jews and Gentiles coming together and what's interesting to me is for Daniel everything that he writes is future for him right he writes it it's future for him so so Daniel in this passage brings us back to the abomination of desolation in verse 31 that was still future for him and there's historical evidence that shows that

[44:32] Antiochus Epiphanes that it was a part of that time period but what's interesting is that Jesus picks up that language in the Gospels and in the Gospels Jesus begins to talk about that abomination of desolation as well in chapter 24 of Matthew he says therefore when you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet standing in the holy place then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains whoever's on the housetop must not go down to get the things that are in the house whoever's in the field must not turn back to get his cloak woe to those who are pregnant to those who are nursing babies in those days pray that your flight will not be in winter or in Sabbath he's giving this idea go back go back one this this is a difficult time and he's saying that there's this abomination of desolation coming for Israel after his time well he says the same thing but gives it a different spin in Luke okay and this is the same passage but here's what he says here when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies then recognize that her desolation is near that's desolation like abomination of desolation then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains and those who are in the midst of the city must leave and those who are in the country must not enter the city because these days are days of vengeance so that all the things which are written will be fulfilled woe to those who are pregnant to those who are nursing their babies for there will be great distress upon the land and wrath of this people and they will fall by the edge of the sword and will be led captive into the nations and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles is fulfilled whatever Daniel 11 means in terms of who this king is Jesus uses the imagery of the abomination of desolation to speak about the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD and so these things become fulfilled in 70 AD in a final way and why is this important it's important because when

[46:52] Jesus died in 33 AD theologically the old covenant was destroyed right when Jesus died the old covenant the old covenant sacrifices the old covenant ways they were all destroyed when Jesus died because the temple veil was torn in two right well in 70 AD with the destruction of the temple and not one stone was left on top of another it wasn't just theologically that the old covenant was destroyed but it was practically it was destroyed there's no temple to do sacrifices at anymore it's gone and so so what's happening is that as believers we're we're a part of this one new man because as Jesus died upon the cross what happens is that we we are now brought together with the Jews as one new thing for he himself is our peace who made both groups Jews and

[47:53] Gentiles into one and broke down the barrier the dividing wall by abolishing in his flesh the enmity which is the law of commandments containing ordinances ordinances like the sacrifices and those kinds of things so that in himself he might make the two into one new man thus establishing peace it might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross having put them to death but the point is is that we are one new man with Israel with the people of God and what that means is that the promises are ours just because we're not Jews does not mean that the Bible is not for us and there's a lot of people that they as they teach about the end times make it seem as though parts of the Bibles are for the Jews and parts of the Bibles are for Gentiles and that is wrong the whole Bible is your Bible this is for you a third thing I would say believers will be rescued you can look there in Daniel chapter 12 verse 1 and 2 if this is talking about the end there's going to be rescue if this is talking about in the time of Rome 70 AD there's rescue everyone whose whose name is found written in the book will be rescued now here's here's what's interesting to me about that found in the book I really think that this is speaking very similar to what revelation speaks about this is a person who's trusted in Christ and therefore their name is written in the book and they're the ones who are going to be rescued so if Daniel is saying this here and Jesus picks up the whole abomination of desolation is talking about Jerusalem being destroyed in 70 AD how were Christians saved from that and there's a little historic thing that happened called the flight to Pella the flight to Pella the flight to Pella see if I can I had the map up a second ago so here's Jerusalem down here surrounded by armies that surrounding by armies happened over time it didn't happen just in one day

[50:12] Jesus before his death and resurrection is warning believers to get out of the city when you see armies surrounding Jerusalem get out Christians when they saw that fled Jerusalem and they went to Pella there were some 17,000 Christians that made it from Jerusalem to Pella to get away to go up to the hills maybe this is the way as Daniel says those who are written in the book will be rescued and so I think that God takes care of his people even if that rescue means we're taken from this life to the next because what does Paul say that's better by far right so another thing I would say just in application is that believers need to make an impact on others I find this verse right here so beautiful those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven and those and those who lead the many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever this there's an assumption that people who have the wisdom of God remember insight is about wisdom and wisdom is about taking what God has written and knowing how to apply it and so those with insight those who know how to use the Bible those who know how to use God's word they are like the brightness of the expanse of heaven they're giving light to people they're giving direction to people they're giving wisdom so that you know how to live but then he says and those who turn many to righteousness they're like stars forever and ever so any any Christian any man woman of God who uses the word of God to help turn other people toward God these are people who are the brightness of the expanse of heaven who shine like stars they're the ones who lead many to righteousness and it's fascinating to me that that that here in this vision a part of what Daniel sees and what he's told by the man in linen is that my people need to be people of insight who will lead many to the right way who seek to influence others for the glory of God and and I would just say to you just to encourage you you don't have to have a seminary degree to know your Bible and use your Bible well to help others you don't have to have a seminary degree I could show you how to do it some of you already know a lot more than you let on and you probably many of you probably know more than you think you do you just haven't tied it all up together and so the last thing that I would say I think this is the last thing is that believers have the rest of the story

[53:13] Daniel 12 4 okay maybe I just really this this might take a little time to get into this I maybe I'll just leave this off and tell you what I'm saying I think I'll do this I'll do this I think that as you read Daniel 12 4 but as for you Daniel conceal these words seal up the book until the end of the time many will go back and forth and knowledge will increase that that that go back and forth that's what Satan says in the book of Job where God says where you've been I've been to and fro throughout the earth that is a that is a an idiom or a cliche for I've been searching for truth he says many will go back looking for truth and knowledge will increase and so Daniel's supposed to seal up this thing until the end and what happens in the book of Revelation chapter 4 there's a there's a scroll of truth with seven seals and who is able to open it Jesus so my encouragement would just say that that as believers we have the rest of the story we know how it's all going to turn out Daniel didn't know everything it was given to him a glass darkly it was given to him in little images and pictures but not clearly but we can go to the book of Revelation and clearly for us here's the end you ready I'm gonna tell you how it's all gonna end you ready

[54:41] Jesus wins Jesus wins that's how it all ends and I think that's the best way to end it so well I hope it's been encouraging I hope it wasn't too much information and hopefully we we went through it in a way that helped you but encourage you to just be searching these things out studying these things growing in your faith that's what that's what this is all about to help to help build your life so that your life is more and more and more and more delighted in Christ and you can then help build other people's lives that's what we want to do we want to build lives so let's pray father thank you for the opportunity to take a look at your word and for these things to challenge us we want to be people who who don't rest on what we've learned in the past but we're always learning and I pray father that you would help us to have that that edge to us that wants to know more and more and more and we want to then take and give that away to other people that they might know more that they might come to know the truth that they might follow after you so that not just because we want to shine like the stars but because as stars we want to reflect you we want to see you glorified in all things so help us father to become those kinds of people and we pray this in

[56:15] Christ's name amen any um Thank you.