Sunday
Morning Bible Study
July
7, 2013
Introduction
Do people see Jesus? Is the gospel
preached? Does it speak to the broken hearted? Does it build up the church? Milk
– Meat – Manna Preach for a decision Is the church loved?
This Thursday evening, July 11, we will be hosting a premier of the new
Greg Laurie movie, Hope
for Hurting Hearts. Play the
trailer.
We are now in the last section of Daniel.
It began with Daniel fasting and praying when an angelic visitor shows
up. The visitor brings to Daniel an
amazing prophetic look at the future of Daniel’s people, the Jews.
Last week we saw the amazing details laid out of the various kingdoms that
would one day fight against each other.
These kingdoms covered the period of history from Daniel’s time until
that of Antiochus Epiphanes, roughly 550-150 BC.
In particular, we saw battles between the “kings of the north”, or the
Seleucid rulers centered in Syria, versus the “kings of the south”, or the
Ptolemaic rulers centered in Egypt.
The reason for telling Daniel about these battles was because the people
caught in the middle of all these battles were Daniel’s people, the Jews. God was giving His people a glimpse of some
of the difficult times that were still ahead of them.
We saw last week that 11:31-35 covered the period of history known as the Maccabees,
when a small, outnumbered group of Jewish patriots stood up against the Syrian
oppression of Antiocus Epiphanes,
and gave the Syrian armies one defeat after another.
After kicking the Syrians out of
Jerusalem, Judas Maccabeus cleansed the Temple and restored proper Jewish
worship.
Historical note: Josephus records that Antiochus’ abomination
of desolation lasted for three years before Judas Maccabeus was able to cleanse
and restore Temple worship.
that
the temple was made desolate by Antiochus, and so continued for three years.
When we cross from verse 35 to verse 36, we take a huge skip in time, even
to a time in our own future. Why?
1) The time of the end (11:35)
Verse 35 told us:
(Da 11:35 NKJV) And some
of those of understanding shall fall, to refine them, purify them, and
make them white, until the time of the end; because it is
still for the appointed time.
This phrase “until the time of the end” hints at something
different from what we’ve been reading.
Surely the “end” didn’t happen with Antiochus Epiphanes.
2) The end of wrath (11:36)
11:36 talks about a king who …
(Da 11:36 NKJV) … shall
prosper till the wrath has been accomplished
The seven year Tribulation period that takes before Jesus returns is known
as the time of God’s “wrath” (Rev. 6:17)
(Re 6:17 NKJV) For the great day of
His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”
The person we’ll see in this next section is a ruler who will be around at the
end of the Tribulation.
3) At “that” time … (12:1)
Daniel 12 is part of this same vision, and it contains similar prophetic
time markers:
(Da 12:1–2 NKJV)
—1 “At that time Michael shall stand up, The great prince who stands watch
over the sons of your people; And there shall be a time of trouble, Such as
never was since there was a nation, Even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, Every one who is found written in the book. 2 And many
of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some
to everlasting life, Some to shame and everlasting contempt.
The time of “trouble” is the Tribulation.
The terms “sleep” and “awake” in 12:2 are descriptions of a
resurrection from the dead, something that is described in Revelation 20:4 as
taking place after Jesus comes back.
(Re 20:4 NKJV) —4 And
I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I
saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and
for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not
received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived
and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
4) Unfulfilled prophecies.
It’s at this point that the prophecies no longer seem to match what is the
historical past.
After his abomination of desolation, Antiochus Epiphanes would take his
armies off to fight in Babylon, and ended up dying there.
The Maccabean revolt lasted for
some time, with battles being fought against the armies of successive Syrian
rulers, but the Jews eventually allied themselves with Rome, and the Syrian
empire began to fall apart, losing its grip on its vast empire until just a few
cities in modern Syria were left. By the
time of Christ, Rome had completely absorbed the Syrian empire and it no longer
was recognized as a separate entity.
While the prophecies we will look at today will talk about battles between
the king of the north and the king of the south, as far as I’ve found, after Antiochus
Epiphanes was chased out of Egypt, his kingdom gradually faded away, and there
were no further battles between Syria and Egypt.
11:36-39 Antichrist’s character
:36 “Then the king shall do according to his own
will: he shall exalt and magnify himself above every god, shall speak
blasphemies against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the wrath has been
accomplished; for what has been determined shall be done.
:36 Then the king shall do …
Who then is this “king”?
It is the antichrist.
He is the “little horn” from Daniel 7:8
(Da 7:8 NKJV) I was considering
the horns, and there was another horn, a little one, coming up among them,
before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there,
in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking
pompous words.
He is the “prince who is to come” from Daniel 9
(Da 9:26b NKJV) …And the
people of the prince who is to come Shall destroy the
city and the sanctuary.
He is the “beast” from Revelation 13 who is indwelt by Satan himself.
(Re 13:4 NKJV) So they worshiped
the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast,
saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?”
He is the ruler of the future
revived Roman Empire pictured in Daniel 2 as the statues feet (with ten toes)
and the beast with in Daniel 7 with ten horns.
He is the one who is given authority by ten kings (Rev. 17:12)
(Re 17:13 NKJV) These are of one
mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast.
A few weeks back I came across an interesting historical nugget – the seed
which eventually grew into the European Common Market and eventually the current
European Union. The seed was planted on
May 5, 1949, when Winston Churchill guided Europe into signing the “Treaty of
London”, beginning the foundation for unprecedented European unity. It was signed by ten nations.
From “The Last
Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill: Defender of the Realm, 1940-1965”, Kindle
Edition, location 20350 –
On May 5, 1949,
ten nations signed the Treaty of London, which brought into being the Council
of Europe. That August, after having invested much of his political capital on
the issue, Churchill was rewarded with an invitation to Strasbourg and the
first session of the Council of Europe Assembly. This was a true, though nascent, European
parliament, a congress not of parties but of principles – of the rule of law,
free speech, and international cooperation.
The Germans were not in attendance, but by the following year, the would
be.
:36 according to his own will
his own will – ratsown
– pleasure, delight, favor, goodwill, acceptance, will
He will do what “pleases” him.
He is living for pleasure.
He is “self-willed”
Jesus is a bit different…
(Mt 26:39 NKJV) He went a little
farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is
possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”
We need to be careful about living
our lives for the sake of “pleasure”.
(1 Ti 5:6 NKJV) But she who lives in
pleasure is dead while she lives.
:36 he shall exalt and magnify himself
exalt – ruwm
– to rise, rise up, be high, be lofty, be exalted; (Hithpolel) to exalt oneself, magnify oneself
magnify – gadal
– to grow, become great or important, promote, make powerful, praise,
magnify, do great things
Lesson
Humility
The antichrist will be following the path that his mentor had laid out
before him, Satan:
(Is 14:13–14
NKJV) —13 For you have said in your heart: ‘I
will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will
also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; 14 I will
ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’
The antichrist will consider himself
great than God Himself.
(2 Th 2:4 NKJV) who opposes and
exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he
sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
God does not share His glory
(Is 48:11 NKJV) For My own sake, for
My own sake, I will do it; For how should My name be profaned?
And I will not give My glory to another.
As humans, we have an interesting
trait when it comes to conversations we have with one another. If you pay attention, most people are really
only interested in talking about one thing – themselves. In a way that makes it kind of easy to have a
conversation with people, just ask them about themselves and many people will
talk for hours. Just don’t expect them
to return the favor and ask about you.
How many times have you been in a conversation with a person when you
realized you weren’t even paying attention to what they were saying, but you
were instead focusing on what you were going to say next?
The antichrist will be the epitome of being self-absorbed. He will be a person who toots his own horn.
Now it’s not always bad to toot a horn …
Way down upon the Mississippi, two tugboat captains who
had been friends for years, would always cry, “Aye!” and blow their whistles
whenever they passed each other. A new
crewman asked his ship’s first mate, “What do they do that for?” The mate looked surprised and replied, “You
mean that you’ve never read in the Bible where it says, ‘an aye
for an aye and a toot for a toot’?”
It’s probably only a good idea to toot your own horn if
you’re a tugboat captain.
For most of us, tooting our own horn can sometimes lead to trouble.
The Bible says,
(Jas 4:10 NKJV) Humble
yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.
(Pr 3:34 NKJV) Surely He scorns the
scornful, But gives grace to the humble.
It’s best if you let others toot
your horn.
(Pr 27:2 NKJV) —2 Let
another man praise you, and not your own mouth; A stranger, and not your own
lips.
Let God be the one who handles the
“promotion” responsibilities for you:
(Ps 75:6–7 NKJV) —6 For
exaltation comes neither from the east Nor from the west nor from the
south. 7 But God is
the Judge: He puts down one, And exalts another.
If from time to time you find
yourself tooting your own horn, be careful about whose example you’re
following.
:36 shall speak blasphemies
The beast in Revelation 13 …
(Re 13:5 NKJV) And he was
given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority
to continue for forty-two months.
:36 shall prosper till the wrath has
been accomplished
He won’t prosper forever.
The Jews living in the Tribulation
will find comfort in knowing that it isn’t going to last forever.
Lesson
Judgment
Asaph wrote,
(Ps 73:2–3 NKJV)
—2 But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; My
steps had nearly slipped. 3 For I was envious of the boastful, When
I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
Sometimes we can’t believe that wicked people get away
with what they do. It doesn’t seem
fair. But Asaph
only struggled …
(Ps 73:17–18
NKJV) —17 Until I went into the sanctuary of God; Then I understood
their end. 18 Surely You
set them in slippery places; You cast them down to
destruction.
You and I get angry when wicked people get away with their
evil deeds. But we ought to be sad for
them, because there will be a day when they will have to face God. They may get away with things in this life,
but in the bigger picture, they won’t get away with anything.
If you haven’t turned your life over to Christ, you too will one day have
to face God for all that you’ve done in your life.
Are you ready to face Him?
If we turn to Christ and ask for His forgiveness and His help, we will not
face condemnation.
(Jn 3:16–18 NKJV) —16 For God so
loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in
Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into
the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18 “He who
believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned
already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of
God.
:37 He shall regard neither the God of his fathers
nor the desire of women, nor regard any god; for he shall exalt himself above them
all.
:37 regard neither the God of his
fathers
regard – biyn
– to discern, understand, consider, pay attention
Some suggest that this hints at the antichrist being Jewish, but a
non-practicing Jew.
It could be that he is simply an irreligious man – which fits 90% of our
modern society with our idea of the separation of church and state.
:37 nor the desire of women
desire – chemdah
– desire, that which is desirable
In ancient Jewish culture, the greatest thing that could ever happen to a
woman would be the honor of giving birth to the Messiah.
Perhaps this means he doesn’t care about Jesus. The NIV translation says:
(Da 11:37 NIV) He will
show no regard for the gods of his ancestors or for the one desired by women…
It might mean that he will be a single man.
He won't have a desire to be married, more interested politics than women.
The other possible idea here is that the antichrist is a homosexual. He doesn’t have a “desire” for women.
:38 But in their place he shall honor a god of fortresses; and a god which
his fathers did not know he shall honor with gold and silver, with precious
stones and pleasant things.
:38 honor a god of fortresses
honor – kabad
– to be heavy, be weighty, be grievous, be hard, be rich, be honorable, be
glorious, be burdensome, be honored; (Piel) to make heavy, make dull, make
insensible; to make honorable, honor, glorify
Related to the word for “glory” (kabowd)
fortresses – ma’owz
– place or means of safety, protection, refuge, stronghold
Gesenius: “Used of some Syrian deity obtruded on the
Jews by Antiochus Epiphanes, perhaps Mars [This entirely turns on the question
whether the prophecy related really to Antiochus Epiphanes]”.
This word is found 35 times in the
Old Testament, and SEVEN of them in this chapter.
(Da 11:1 NKJV) —1 “Also in
the first year of Darius the Mede, I, even I, stood up to confirm and strengthen
him.)
(Da 11:7 NKJV) —7 But from
a branch of her roots one shall arise in his place, who shall come with
an army, enter the fortress of the king of the North, and deal with them and
prevail.
(Da 11:10 NKJV) —10 However
his sons shall stir up strife, and assemble a multitude of great forces; and one
shall certainly come and overwhelm and pass through; then he shall return to
his fortress and stir up strife.
(Da 11:19 NKJV) —19 Then he
shall turn his face toward the fortress of his own land; but he shall stumble
and fall, and not be found.
(Da 11:31 NKJV) —31 And
forces shall be mustered by him, and they shall defile the sanctuary fortress;
then they shall take away the daily sacrifices, and place there
the abomination of desolation.
(Da 11:38 NKJV) —38 But in
their place he shall honor a god of fortresses; and a god which his fathers did
not know he shall honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and pleasant
things.
(Da 11:39 NKJV) —39 Thus he
shall act against the strongest fortresses with a foreign god, which he shall
acknowledge, and advance its glory; and he shall cause them to
rule over many, and divide the land for gain.
With his growing wealth, the antichrist will invest in military strength.
Perhaps the type of military strength he is promoting is that of a
defensive kind (“fortress”) – like the missile interceptor programs being
developed by Israel and the U.S.
:38 honor with gold and silver…
Whatever his “god” is, he will honor it by spending a lot on it.
:39 Thus he shall act against the strongest
fortresses with a foreign god, which he shall acknowledge, and advance its
glory; and he shall cause them to rule over many, and divide the land for gain.
:39 act against the strongest fortresses
The antichrist will take on the world with the help of his “god”.
He won’t be afraid to challenge the strongest of nations.
John tells us in Revelation that the antichrist is connected to Satan
himself and causes the world to worship Satan (the foreign god).
(Re 13:4 NKJV) So they
worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the
beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with
him?”
Notice the connection between the worship of Satan and the waging of war.
:39 which he shall acknowledge …
NKJV makes it sound as if the antichrist will acknowledge and advance the
cause of Satan.
Some of the other modern translations have this phrase read a little
differently:
(Da 11:39 ESV) …Those who
acknowledge him he shall load with honor. He shall make them rulers over many
and shall divide the land for a price.
If you honor the antichrist, he will honor you.
:39 divide the land for gain
gain – mechiyr
– equivalent value, purchase price, money, wages
Right now one of the biggest problems facing Israel is how to “divide” up
the land. How much of the land should be
given to the Palestinians? Should the
Palestinians be allowed to have their own separate nation? To whom should the city of Jerusalem belong?
Perhaps this is saying that the antichrist will figure out how to pull it
all off, and maybe it will have something to do with financial incentives.
11:40-45 Antichrist’s battles
:40 “At the time of the end the king of the South shall attack him; and the
king of the North shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots,
horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter the countries, overwhelm them,
and pass through.
:40 the time of the end
These next events will take place during the last half of the Tribulation.
:40 the king of the South shall attack
Up until verse 36, the king of the “south” always referred to a ruler in
Egypt, while the king of the “north” referred to a ruler in Syria.
North and South were relative based on their geographical position to
Israel. I believe the connection to
Israel still holds, but don’t stay handcuffed to the “north” being Syria and
“south” necessarily being Egypt.
It is kind of interesting that Egypt is in the news right now with the
overthrow of the government.
Currently Egypt has a fairly long standing peace treaty with Israel. Could that change in the future? Who knows?
Keep an eye on the news.
:40 South shall attack him
Him (and “he” and “his” in this passage) will still refer to the “king
of the North” (because of context), but this is no longer the king of Syria, this
is now the antichrist, ruler of the revived Roman Empire. And the map now looks like this.
By this time, the antichrist has already entered into a seven year treaty
with the nation of Israel.
(Da 9:27 NKJV) Then he
shall confirm a covenant with many for one week…
As an ally with Israel, when Israel is attacked, he will have to respond.
:40 with chariots, horsemen, and with
many ships
The antichrist will gather up his great military complex and swoop into
Israel from Europe, overwhelming the various nations he brings his army
through.
:41 He shall also enter the Glorious Land, and
many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall escape from his
hand: Edom, Moab, and the prominent people of Ammon.
:41 He shall also enter the Glorious
Land
Because of his treaty with Israel, the antichrist will respond to help Israel,
and bring his troops into Israel.
:41 Edom, Moab, and … Ammon
The antichrist will not cross into modern Jordan, but stay in Israel.
It is at the halfway mark in the seven year Tribulation, when the
antichrist sets himself up as “god” in the Temple, the “abomination of
desolation”.
Jesus said that when this occurred, the Jews living in Israel at that time
needed to head for the hills.
(Mt 24:15–16
NKJV) —15 “Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’
spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads,
let him understand), 16 “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
The mountains Jesus refers to are the mountains east of the Jordan, the
land of Edom, Moab, and Ammon.
In the Revelation, we have a
parallel description.
(Re 12:6 NKJV) Then the woman fled
into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should
feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days.
The woman (Israel)
would be protected for 3 ½ years in the “wilderness”.
Isaiah hints cryptically at this period, identifying one of the locations
they flee to:
(Is 16:1 NKJV) Send the
lamb to the ruler of the land, From Sela to the
wilderness, To the mount of the daughter of Zion.
This is speaking of a gift being sent to Jerusalem from
the ones hiding in “Sela”, or modern “Petra”.
Play Jerusalem to Petra map clip
As the antichrist comes south into Israel, he does not enter the lands of
Ammon, Moab, and Edom. One of the places
the Jews will hide is in Bozrah. The other is in Sela
or “Petra”.
We remember Petra from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade…
Play Indiana Jones Petra clip
:42 He shall stretch out his hand against the
countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape.
:43 He shall have power over the treasures of gold
and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; also the Libyans and
Ethiopians shall follow at his heels.
:43 power over the treasures
Today I wonder about being able to control the economies of these
countries, or by gaining access through electronic means.
:43 Egypt … Libyans and Ethiopians
When the antichrist is attacked from the south, he responds and conquers
the countries that have attacked him.
Play Ethiopia, etc. map clip
The Hebrew word for “Ethiopians” is Cushi. Some have
suggested that it might better refer to the nations in the Persian Gulf region
(Gen. 2:13).
:44 But news from the east and the north shall
trouble him; therefore he shall go out with great fury to destroy and
annihilate many.
:44 news from the east and the north
It’s possible that the news from the “east” might include the huge army
that comes from the other side of the Euphrates River.
(Re 9:16 NKJV) Now the
number of the army of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the
number of them.
Some have suggested this might be the armies of China.
:45 And he shall plant the tents of his palace
between the seas and the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end,
and no one will help him.
:45 plant the tents of his palace
The antichrist will relocate his headquarters in Israel.
The most likely location would be on the “glorious holy mountain”, at Jerusalem,
located between the Dead Sea and the Mediterranean.
:45 he shall come to his end
Jesus will return and throw the antichrist into the Lake of Fire.
(Re 19:20 NKJV) Then the
beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his
presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and
those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire
burning with brimstone.
Lesson
Hope
If Daniel 11:1-35 was fulfilled so accurately, what do you think the
chances are that vss. 36-45 will be fulfilled?
One hundred percent. It will happen.
This is all meant to be an encouragement to the Jews who will be living in
Israel in those days.
I believe this is a message of encouragement that says, “Don’t worry, it
will soon be all over, and that evil guy is going to get what’s coming to him”.
Are you facing difficult times?
In the end, Jesus wins. We win. And with the victory, we don’t go to
Disneyland, we go to heaven.
(2 Co 4:16–18
NKJV) —16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is
perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. 17 For our
light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more
exceeding and eternal weight of glory, 18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen.
For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are
not seen are eternal.
When you get discouraged, don’t feel bad about skipping to the “end of the
book” and reminding yourself how it all turns out.