A Prophetic Sermon About the Future (Kingdom Down)

29 Mar A Prophetic Sermon About the Future (Kingdom Down)

LINK TO SERMON

A Prophetic Sermon About the Future: Daniel 11

– Last summer God told me to preach Daniel

– We do not know or control the future, but we know the One who does

– Daniel – in 80’s, sees end of his life, sees beyond

– Divine being (possibly Gabriel) talking to Daniel after 3-week fight to arrive

• Daniel 11 – 5 rulers all yet to come Ahasuerus, Alexander, Antiochus III (the Great), Antiochus IV (Epiphanes), Antichrist
• Covers roughly 160 years

– “Daniel 11 is one of the most remarkable chapters in the entire Bible” – Charles Swindoll

– “In the first 35 verses [of Daniel 11] there are at least 135 prophecies that have been literally fulfilled and can be corroborated by a study of the history of the period” – Donald Campbell

= Bible critics have no answer

Daniel 11:1-2: Persia

“And as for me, in the first year of Darius the Mede, I stood up to confirm and strengthen him. ² “And now I will show you the truth. Behold, three more kings shall arise in Persia, and a fourth shall be far richer than all of them. And when he has become strong through his riches, he shall stir up all against the kingdom of Greece.

• Divine being helps both political leaders (Darius & Daniel)
• Four kings rise up, last one is Xerxes/Ahasuerus who invaded Greece
• He married Esther (book about them)

God’s Goal–from Persia (70 years) to Greece (language) to Israel (Jesus/Roman Empire)

Daniel 11:3-20: Greece

³ Then a mighty king shall arise, who shall rule with great dominion and do as he wills.

Alexander the Great

• Alexander the Great, 200 years after Daniel

• Father King of Macedon, wanted to conquer the Persians, raised a warrior king
• Parents assassinated, took the throne young (20’s), fulfill father’s vision

Josephus – prolific Jewish historian, wrote Antiquity of the Jews around 94 AD

Alexander – dream of man in purple telling him to march against Persia. He obeyed. Conquered Israel, approached Temple Jerusalem. High Priest lead the people to welcome him. HP dressed in purple, believers in white to welcome him. Told dream of seeing HP in dream. HP took him in Temple showed Daniel 8,11 that he was fulfilling. Assembled troops & left in obedience to the revelation. He sought the blessing of the God of Israel. Entered Temple with High Priest to offer a sacrifice and worship God, honored the High Priest as a Man of God. Alexander asked High Priest what he could do for him, and was asked for religious freedom which Alexander granted before riding off to conquer Persia & fulfill Daniel 8,11. (Liberals: not have been written after)

• 334 BC army 35k attacked Persia & King Darius w/100k men. Killed 20k Persian soldiers, lost 100 Greek soldiers.
• By 32/33 conquered known world, sat down and wept nothing left to conquer

⁴ And as soon as he has arisen, his kingdom shall be broken and divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not to his posterity, nor according to the authority with which he ruled, for his kingdom shall be plucked up and go to others besides these.

• Age 32/33 returned Babylon/Nebuchadnezzar’s palace, died, possible poisoning
• No heir, kingdom divided 4 generals
• Consolidated into 2 Kingdoms – North/South Israel in the middle of 150 yr war

⁵ “Then the king of the south shall be strong, but one of his princes shall be stronger than he and shall rule, and his authority shall be a great authority.

• Happened in 312 BC Seleucus won & established a great empire

⁶ After some years they shall make an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement. But she shall not retain the strength of her arm, and he and his arm shall not endure, but she shall be given up, and her attendants, he who fathered her, and he who supported her in those times. ⁷ “And from a branch from her roots one shall arise in his place. He shall come against the army and enter the fortress of the king of the north, and he shall deal with them and shall prevail. ⁸ He shall also carry off to Egypt their gods with their metal images and their precious vessels of silver and gold, and for some years he shall refrain from attacking the king of the north.

• King (Ptolemy I) died, son (II) took throne & was enemies with another king (Antiochus II), formed alliance when Ptolemy II daughter Bernice married Antiochus II. Antiochus bitter divorced ex-wife Laodice poisoned ex-husband new wife and infant son (11:6)
• Ex-wife Laodice had her son (Selecus II Callinicus 246-227) become king North
• Ptolemy III now king South joined murdered Bernice’s brother, invaded the “fortress of the king of the North” killing him, and plundering him (Daniel 11:7-8)

⁹ Then the latter shall come into the realm of the king of the south but shall return to his own land.

• Selecus II invaded Egypt, lost “returned own land” (Daniel 11:9)

¹⁰ “His sons shall wage war and assemble a multitude of great forces, which shall keep coming and overflow and pass through, and again shall carry the war as far as his fortress. ¹¹ Then the king of the south, moved with rage, shall come out and fight against the king of the north. And he shall raise a great multitude, but it shall be given into his hand. ¹² 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. ¹³ For the king of the north shall again raise a multitude, greater than the first. And after some years he shall come on with a great army and abundant supplies. ¹⁴ “In those times many shall rise against the king of the south, and the violent among your own people shall lift themselves up in order to fulfill the vision, but they shall fail. ¹⁵ Then the king of the north shall come and throw up siegeworks and take a well-fortified city. And the forces of the south shall not stand, or even his best troops, for there shall be no strength to stand. ¹⁶ But he who comes against him shall do as he wills, and none shall stand before him. And he shall stand in the glorious land, with destruction in his hand.

• 3 sons (11:10) took throne Seleucus III (murdered) Soter & Antiochus III the Great took throne of Syria
• Antiochus III pushed Egyptians back to southern border Israel (11:10), then defeated by Ptolemy IV Pilopator “king of the south” became “enraged” (11:11) & smaller army defeated “great multitude” and lost “tens of thousands” (11:11-12)
• Antiochus III rebuilt army over “some years” (11:13) enlisting Jewish soldiers (11:14) won the war and established “well fortified city” (11:15) & ruled “beautiful land” of Israel (11:16)

¹⁷ He shall set his face to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, and he shall bring terms of an agreement and perform them. He shall give him the daughter of women to destroy the kingdom, but it shall not stand or be to his advantage.

• Years later, Antiochus III gave daughter Cleopatra I (age 11) in marriage to Ptolemy V hoping she would betray husband & serve father. She did not (11:17)

¹⁸ Afterward he shall turn his face to the coastlands and shall capture many of them, but a commander shall put an end to his insolence. Indeed, he shall turn his insolence back upon him. ¹⁹ Then he shall turn his face back toward the fortresses of his own land, but he shall stumble and fall, and shall not be found. ²⁰ “Then shall arise in his place one who shall send an exactor of tribute for the glory of the kingdom. But within a few days he shall be broken, neither in anger nor in battle.

• Antiochus III marched west “coastlands” (11:18) & was defeated multiple times, tried to return home (11:19), died en route. His son inherited massive debt to Rome so he sent tax collectors through Israel “Jewel of kingdom” (11:20) & tried to plunder Temple. Died mysteriously, possible poisoning by his tax collector “not in anger or battle” (11:20)

Daniel 11:21-35: Israel

²¹ In his place shall arise a contemptible person to whom royal majesty has not been given. He shall come in without warning and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.

• “contemptible person” – Antiochus IV Ephanes
• Antiochus “God-man” IV Epiphanes “the mad” (rose power 175 BC)
• Stole the throne from nephew

²² Armies shall be utterly swept away before him and broken, even the prince of the covenant.

• “prince of the covenant” godly priest Onias III killed & replaced ungodly priest (11:22)

²³ And from the time that an alliance is made with him he shall act deceitfully, and he shall become strong with a small people.²⁴ Without warning he shall come into the richest parts of the province, and he shall do what neither his fathers nor his fathers’ fathers have done, scattering among them plunder, spoil, and goods. He shall devise plans against strongholds, but only for a time.

• Won wars, made alliances, broke them
• Did what fathers could not by winning the people – gave $ (11:23-24)

– Ruthless & Generous – drug cartel

²⁵ And he shall stir up his power and his heart against the king of the south with a great army. And the king of the south shall wage war with an exceedingly great and mighty army, but he shall not stand, for plots shall be devised against him. ²⁶ Even those who eat his food shall break him. His army shall be swept away, and many shall fall down slain.

• Grew strong, marched against king south & won because King Egypt (Ptolemy VI Philometer) betrayed & lost (11:25-26)

²⁷ And as for the two kings, their hearts shall be bent on doing evil. They shall speak lies at the same table, but to no avail, for the end is yet to be at the time appointed. ²⁸ And he shall return to his land with great wealth, but his heart shall be set against the holy covenant. And he shall work his will and return to his own land.

• Both Kings made & broke treaties, could not come to agreement
• Returned home, stopped by Israel to pour out wrath & plunder

²⁹ “At the time appointed he shall return and come into the south, but it shall not be this time as it was before. ³⁰ For ships of Kittim shall come against him, and he shall be afraid and withdraw, and shall turn back and be enraged and take action against the holy covenant. He shall turn back and pay attention to those who forsake the holy covenant. ³¹ Forces from him shall appear and profane the temple and fortress, and shall take away the regular burnt offering. And they shall set up the abomination that makes desolate.

Antiochus – Ant eye ochus

• Brutal demonic king – 3 days killed 80k Jewish civilians women/children (Hitler)
• Sold many Jews into slavery (2 Macc. 5:12-14)
• Overtook Temple, set up pagan God Zeus, offered a pig = his abomination caused desolation – worshippers of God fled
• Antichrist of OT
• Died of a bowel disease which drove him mad, finger of God

³² He shall seduce with flattery those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action. ³³ And the wise among the people shall make many understand, though for some days they shall stumble by sword and flame, by captivity and plunder. ³⁴ When they stumble, they shall receive a little help. And many shall join themselves to them with flattery, ³⁵ and some of the wise shall stumble, so that they may be refined, purified, and made white, until the time of the end, for it still awaits the appointed time.

• 1-2 Maccabees good history, bad Bible
• Jewish country priest Mattathias was forced to offer pagan sacrifice, would not. Another priest did, so he killed him.
• “Let everyone who is zealous for the law and who stands by the covenant follow me!” (I Maccabees 2:27)
• 5 sons stood with their dad (John, Simon, Judah, Eleazar, Jonathan)
• Recruited godly strong men, became known as “Maccabees” = THE HAMMER
• Tore down idols, killed idolaters, when dad died son Judah stepped in to lead
• = Warrior Family
• Antiochus sent 60k elite soldiers for Jewish genocide
• Judah, his 4 brothers, and 7k men prayed & destroyed Antiochus
• The apostasy/compromise from 70 years in Babylon w/Daniel was purged Israel

=It ain’t the size of the man in the fight. It’s the size of the fight in the man.

HANUKKAH – festival of lights- 8 days candle lit every day, light returning to the world from the people of God until Jesus comes as the Light of the World

Daniel 11:36-45: Future Antichrist

³⁶ “And the king shall do as he wills. He shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak astonishing things against the God of gods. He shall prosper till the indignation is accomplished; for what is decreed shall be done. ³⁷ He shall pay no attention to the gods of his fathers, or to the one beloved by women. He shall not pay attention to any other god, for he shall magnify himself above all. ³⁸ He shall honor the god of fortresses instead of these. A god whom his fathers did not know he shall honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts. ³⁹ He shall deal with the strongest fortresses with the help of a foreign god. Those who acknowledge him he shall load with honor. He shall make them rulers over many and shall divide the land for a price. ⁴⁰ “At the time of the end, the king of the south shall attack him, but the king of the north shall rush upon him like a whirlwind, with chariots and horsemen, and with many ships. And he shall come into countries and shall overflow and pass through. ⁴¹ He shall come into the glorious land. And tens of thousands shall fall, but these shall be delivered out of his hand: Edom and Moab and the main part of the Ammonites. ⁴² He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. ⁴³ He shall become ruler of the treasures of gold and of silver, and all the precious things of Egypt, and the Libyans and the Cushites shall follow in his train. ⁴⁴ But news from the east and the north shall alarm him, and he shall go out with great fury to destroy and devote many to destruction. ⁴⁵ And he shall pitch his palatial tents between the sea and the glorious holy mountain. Yet he shall come to his end, with none to help him.

• Future Anti-Christ

Antichrist

1. Against 2. In place of (1 Jn 2:18,22, 4:3; 2 Jn 1:7)

• spirit antichrist every age. Counterfeit King/Kingdom ($, political, spiritual)

Antichrist same demonic power as Antiochus

• Goal – could not rule in heaven as King on throne, tried for Holy City on earth
• God will take care of him once and for all

1 Jn 2:18 Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour.

2 Thess. 2:3-4, 8-10 rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God…And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.

Jesus Matt 24:15-16, 27-31 “…when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains….For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

• Temple destroyed 70 AD so this must be a rebuilt Temple
• Antichrists have come – Mao, Hitler, Stalin, Lenin, Herod, Judas,
• This is the last hour

1. In the final days before Jesus returns, they will look back on today as good old days
2. God is in the big picture and small details of history
3. Kings/Kingdoms, politicians/nations, come & go but the Word of God endures forever.
4. If your hope is in this world your hope is in vain. This close to heaven as you will ever be
5. If your hope is in the Kingdom of Jesus Christ this is as close to hell as you will ever be & one day it gets not just better but perfect forever.

-All of the political/economic/global upheaval in Daniel was to get the church open & holy for the 1^st coming of Jesus Christ!

-All of the political/economic/global upheaval today is to get the church open & holy for the 2^nd coming of Jesus Christ!