Angels and End Times Part 4 (Daniel 11:28-35) | Adult Sunday School

The Sovereignty of God and the Purpose of Daniel 11

Five seven.

Good morning. I.

Hate to break it up. So we have some more handouts for anyone who does not have one. The same handouts.

The.

Tracking the Kings through the verses North and South Egypt and Syria and The handout for the end times chronology. If you don't have one of those just raise your hand. Good morning. Welcome to Kootenai Community Church adult Sunday school.

Maybe I don't have enough handouts. Do we need more Rick? I've got a few more of the Kings here. Remember on the Kings at 1125 verse 25. That's supposed to be 180 BC to 145 BC not 18 BC. That would be reverse chronology, and I don't do time travel the last one.

Yeah, it says it says Ptolemy 6 filometer 18 to 145 BC. It's supposed to be 180 to 145 BC. My copy and paste didn't function properly. The copy most likely. Well, let's open in prayer. Do we need more?

I ran out. Okay. Yeah, I have some more of these. You need the time hand off. Okay, well I'll bring some more next week we won't make it to that this week. Anyway, I was just trying to get it out to get get it to y 'all early.

Let's open in prayer. Father we look forward to your word this morning. It is full of everything that is needed for life and godliness in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is actually full of him himself and we are grateful for that this morning.

We look to you for elimination for understanding for this difficult, but exciting part of Scripture. We thank you that you have given us your word. We thank you that you have made it you have protected it for so many centuries.

So that we might have a clear picture of your heart for us. We thank you for that in Jesus name. Amen so a couple of things refine reform purge refine purge reform refine purge make pure one of those verses or words.

That's what we're going to be thinking about as we go through this section. Because throughout your lifetime God is always working to refine. To refine you actually let me put it in the proper order here.

I've got it written down here. It's in verse 35. To refine to purge and to make pure so God wants to refine your your life. To purge the things that are not unnecessary out of your life and to make you pure for him as it talks about in Ephesians and He's doing that to the church, too.

But he does that to individuals and by that happens how that and through that the church is refined. Purged and made pure so we'll be thinking about that. That's going to be kind of in the back of our minds as we're going through this section of Daniel.

We're in we're going to be in chapter 11 verse 28 is where we'll start. But I'd like to read from verse 20 through verse 35. I intend to make it to verse 35 today if we don't we don't but we're going to give it our best shot.

Daniel chapter 11 starting on page 1159. Verse 20 and if you look at your verse list verse 20 speaks of Seleucus for for philopator from the north. That's one of the Kings here then in his place one will arise.

Who will ascend an oppressor through the jewel of his kingdom. Yet within a few days? He will be shattered though neither in anger nor in battle. And 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 the overflowing forces will be flooded away before him and shattered and also the Prince of the Covenant and 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 father's 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.

And 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 and 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. It's an important phrase The time is at God's appointment not at man's at the appointed time.

He will return and come into the south. But this last time it will not turn out the way it did before for ships of chitin 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 and 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 and By smooth words, he will turn to godlessness those who act wickedly toward the Covenant but the people who know their God will be 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 sword and by flame by captivity and by plunder for many days. Now when they fall they will be granted a little help and many will join with them in hypocrisy and Some of those who have insight will fall in order to refine Purge and make them pure until the end time because it is because it is still to come at the appointed time so last week we left off with The two kings sitting at the same table lying to one another which never happens in this day and age but their ends.

They wanted their own ends they wanted their own plans and so they lied to each other and they tried to make them come to pass. But verse 27 ends with that phrase for the end is still to come at the appointed time.

No matter the schemes of men. How intricate and incredibly plant well planned they are? The appointed time is always going to be of God and So whether it was at the time of Antiochus Epiphanes during this period in the 160s BC or in the end times.

Everything will come at the appointed time of God and remember this. At that time The study of Scripture will yield to those who live in that time the insight necessary to understand what is coming. We may not see it clearly here today because we're not there but those who are in that time the scripture says will have insight and they will understand and So when we try to understand and predict these things ahead of time we get ourselves into trouble, don't we?

Stick with what the scripture says and We'll and you will do very well. You will do very well if you have if we happen to live in those times. They will be exciting. God will give insight and those who have insight It says are some of them are going to fall.

They're going to fall. Good people will be what swept away in the tides that come with the destruction that Antichrist will bring and That's just the way of the world, but their reward is sure the reward is sure.

Verse 27 says as for both Kings their heart 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.

So these were Ptolemy seven and the one who was called Billy by scone and Alexandria, excuse me and Antiochus. Antiochus lied to Paul Ptolemy. Ptolemy lied to Antiochus and both of them end up coming to their own end.

Antiochus Epiphanes and the Holy Covenant

So in verse 28, we begin to see that the starting of the tie-up of this section with Antiochus Epiphanes we're going to hear about him through verse 35 and then at verse 36 it changes the tenor of Daniel changes the verbiage undergoes a little bit of a change and we're talking about a future King and.

Not that the first part hasn't been exciting, but that will be exciting too. Let's face it and it's okay. There are sections of Scripture that you you read through them and maybe at the time you don't get much.

But it God has planted that word in your heart and he will bring it to seed bring it to plant bring it to fruition. I should say as necessary. But reading through the Chronicles sometimes is not as exciting as reading through the book of Acts and and it's okay to say that.

It's not blasphemous to say that so the reason I'm saying that was because I. That's my weekly my daily reading has been through the book of Acts lately and I forgot how exciting that book was. But this section of Daniel where it turns and Antiochus is done away with and we move into.

Again in.

Verses 36 through the end of the chapter actually through the end of the book. Speaking of the end times in Antiochus era the Antichrist. That becomes both sobering exciting and in some respects terrifying.

And it had to be terrifying for Daniel To know that his people were going to go through these difficult times. This was not going to be a cakewalk for Israel it's going to be very difficult. And he knew it and those were part some of the reasons why he spent a lot of time on his knees and And weak and the angel had to strengthen him so many times.

His people were going to be refined Purged and made pure and that's always difficult. So then in verse 28. 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.

Again with incredible.

Specificity. Remember.

Naysayers don't believe this could have been a prophecy because it's so accurate had to be a guy who wrote it after it happened. It's just too accurate, but it was a prophecy written hundreds of years before it happened.

So with remarkable divine specificity the angel continues the predictions Antiochus for or Antiochus epiphanies failed to take Egypt the south. But he did return to his homeland with much plunder. He took a lot of booty back with him.

On the way, he committed great atrocities Against the Holy Land against the Jews whom he had whom he hated very much. He hated them with a passion as A result of this hatred the scripture says his heart will be set against the Holy Covenant.

He read the books. He knew what the Jews believed. He hated what they believed but he knew what they believed and he knew how to make it the most difficult for them. This is the same as what you read in the meaning in first Maccabees 115 remember Maccabees is a reasonably good history.

But it is not scripture. It's not the canon of scripture, but it's good history. In first Maccabees 115 which refers to all things religious and especially the religion of Yahweh says this and they made themselves Uncircumcised and forsook the Holy Covenant and joined themselves to the heathen and were sold to do mischief.

These were those who forsook the Holy Covenant. These were Jews.

Who?

Thought they could help God out by making certain prophecies come to pass. They forsook the Holy Covenant. They walked away from their their heritage and they joined these wicked these wicked heathen.

I guess you would call them as what they would have called them back then with the the pious would have called them. So Antiochus for at this point began some of his vicious depredations against Israel.

One of the first things he did was he invaded the secession of priests the secession of the priesthood of the Jews. Reynolds showers in his commentary details this. He says this. Although we had not conquered all of Egypt Antiochus did take much wealth from it to carry home to Syria.

Before this Egyptian campaign Antiochus had removed Jason as high priest of Israel and Replaced him with Menelaus. Menelaus had sought this position by offering him Tyicus higher tribute money. This is in 2nd Maccabees 4 23 through 27.

While Antiochus was fighting in Egypt Jason heard a false rumor to the effect that Antiochus was That Antiochus was dead and Antiochus Epiphanes had been killed. He then raised the Jewish force and attacked Jerusalem to overthrow Menelaus.

Menelaus beat back the attack. But as Antiochus returned home through Israel He determined to teach the rebel Jews a lesson for even trying this teach the rebel Jews a lesson. He slaughtered many Jews sold many into slavery plundered the temple of its valued comment contents and Carried the sacred things of God to Syria.

This is recorded in 1st Maccabees 1 20 through 28 and 2nd Maccabees 5 5 through 21. This showed his personal contempt for Israel's covenant relationship with God as portrayed here in chapter in verse 28.

Says it.

His he will take action and then return to his own lamb, but it said his heart will be set against the Holy Covenant. His heart was set against what he knew the Jews wanted to do what their their desire to worship their God incur in Entailed and he did as much as he could to destroy it.

So at this point Antiochus having secured Menelaus as the high priest he continued home Verse 29 and then Alaska if there's any questions at the appointed time again that phrase at the appointed time God is sovereign over everything and Daniel is reminded by the angel at the appointed time Daniel.

This is all coming at the hand of Yahweh. He will return and come into the south. But this time last time he will not it will not turn out the way it did before. It won't go as well as it did the way the first time it seems that Antiochus discovered this coalition between the brothers and invaded Egypt yet again in 168 BC.

Determined to break up the alliance of the two brothers. He had left Ptolemy Philopator in charge at Memphis. Not, Tennessee. But it appeared from the way things worked out that the two brothers had betrayed him.

God had appointed this time for him to return to Egypt. But this campaign would be different than the campaign in 170 BC. The first campaign was somewhat successful, but this one would not be successful at all.

It would not turn out the way it did before and It says in here it says for in verse 30 for ships of Chitim came against him. Therefore he will be disheartened verse 30 and return 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. Those Who believe and follow the scripture will always enrage? Unbelievers.

It is a.

Detestable thing to them in any age whether it was 168 BC or 2023 ad. Those who truly follow the scriptures who believe they are true and take them to heart and obey God will always enrage unbelievers and There's nothing we can do about that except preach the gospel.

So maybe some of those unbelievers will become believers. So when you accidentally bump a button stuff happens. Rome sent a contingent of Roman soldiers from Cyprus. Cyprus. With Popilius Linnaeus in trireme ships.

This is what they look like the ships look like. To stop Antiochus so Rome is getting involved now. This is kind of in the fledgling early days of Rome's Empire building. Antioch was told to leave Egypt.

He stalled for a time. Linnaeus drew a circle around he stood him up in front of the front of the. The contingent of soldiers there and he drew a circle around him in the sand and here's what he said.

He said you either decide to leave Egypt or fight Rome before you leave that circle and. That had to be humiliating standing in front of everybody. Antiochus had to make that decision. So dejected and bitter Antiochus Does left Egypt and on the way home show in regard for those who hated Israel.

For those? Who forsook the Holy Covenant for those who hated Israel and lived in Israel? He vented some of his anger and hatred on Israel. The idea is that he actually would have looked around for Jews who were called by the pious Israelites forsakers.

Forsakers in quotes I if you say it. There were followers and forsakers and the forsakers were the ones who understood the scripture and forsook it in order to. Well, we'll talk about that. These are Jews who had already turned from God's law.

He found a group of them led by Menelaus as mentioned earlier and they helped him desecrate the temple helped him damage and Ravage Israel. The very own people of Israel helped helped Antiochus ravage Israel, that's pretty hard to swallow.

Any questions or comments about those three verses? Yes. Purposely went through purposely went through. These rebel Jews need to be taught a lesson. And so I'll take time out of my travels and beat him up is basically what happened.

The Abomination of Desolation and the Desecration of the Temple

Forces from him verse 31 says will arise desecrate the sanctuary fortress and do away with the regular sacrifice and they will set up the abomination of desolation now the abomination of desolation. I think we've talked about it before this is An abominable thing that is done in the temple and we'll read about it here.

So Antiochus for was an Antiochus Epiphanes was successful in combining with wicked Jews to desiccate desecrate the temple fortress and to do away with the regular sacrifice eventually setting up with the Jews called the abomination of desolation and.

This is detailed again in the non-canonical but historical book of first Maccabees verses 41 through 50 of chapter 1 and here's what it says moreover King Antiochus wrote to his whole kingdom that all should be one people.

And everyone should leave his laws. So all the heathen agreed according to the commandment of the king, of course, they would. Yay, many also of the Israelites consented to his religion, which was of the Greeks.

It was a Greek he had become enamored of the Greek religion consented to his religion and sacrificed unto idols and profaned the Sabbath for the king had sent letters by messengers to Jerusalem and the cities of Judah that they should follow the strange laws of the land and Forbid burn offerings and sacrifice and drink offerings in the temple and that they should profane the Sabbaths and festival days.

So the object let me stop there. The object was to profane every Celebration the Jews had. He was going to comprehensively defile their religion so that they knew he was in charge and his hatred for them would be very evidence and And and pollute the sanctuary and holy people set up altars and groves and chapels of idols and Sacrifice swine's flesh and unclean beasts that they should also leave their children uncircumcised and make their souls abominable with all manner of uncleanness and profanation profanity profaning to the end that they might forget the law and And change all the ordinances and whosoever would not do according to the commandment of the king.

He said should die he should die. And what is it about it when we begin to when those in the church? Begin to follow the ways of the world. There's only two directions to go. Continue down or back up if the Lord should get a hold of your heart and change you and so it becomes worse and worse in any age.

Until those who were in the church are the greatest enemies of those who are still in the church. There was a there was a famous quote ascribed to Marcus Tullis and I can't remember exactly how it goes.

I was going to look that up this morning and you know how that works out and it goes something like this a Nation can survive its fools and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within an enemy at the gates is less formidable for he is known and carries his banner openly.

But the traitor moves amongst those with the gate within the gate freely. His sly whispers rustling through all the alleys heard in the very halls of government itself for the traitor appears not a traitor.

He speaks in accents familiar to his victims. He knows the scripture and He wears their face and their argument. He appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation.

He works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city he infects the body body politics so that it can no longer resist a Murder is a murderer is less to fear that traitor is the plague and that is true in the church as well.

It's those who claim to follow the scripture, but do not. But harbor hate in their heart for God. That are the most difficult the the most Horrendous and the most hard on those who stay they tear your heart out when you see it happen it just rips you apart when you see that kind of thing happen and Again, that's a true.

That's a quote that supposedly ascribed to Marcus tell us Cicero there's not clear indication that it was but you know, it only happened several thousand years ago. So, how can we be sure? So Antiochus had spent time in Athens and had become familiar with and dazzled by Grecian customs.

He was intent on forcing those customs on the Jewish population. He declared the regular ceremonies of Mosaic law illegal. People who tried to follow them were given the death penalty. That's what it comes to by the way.

Once you can't win a rebel group when I say rebel using that term loosely. When people who are intent on following the scripture will not do it. Well, there's only one recourse in order to make the others follow and that's to kill the ones that set the stamp set the example.

So he made it he made the death penalty. That for which you would what you would suffer if you followed Yahweh's customs many died and Tyica surrected an altar and or a statue of Zeus Zeus Olympius in the temple itself.

It was a Excuse me. It was put in the place of the brazen altar. So that the Jews would be forced to worship this Greek God rather than the God of their fathers. The desolation of the temple was both the horrifying desecration itself and The fact that no now no one would come to worship there because of the destruction the chill that would be put on.

Those who wished to truly worship they would have been forced to do something else. They couldn't come to the temple anymore. One commentator describes it this way. And Tyicus ordered his general Apollonius and a contingent of 22 ,000 soldiers into Jerusalem on what he claimed was a peaceful mission a mostly peaceful mission.

However when they were inside the city they attacked the Jews on a Sabbath when the Jews were reluctant to exert themselves. Apollonius killed many Jews took many Jewish women and children captive as slaves plundered the temple and burned the city.

And.

Tyicus objective was to exterminate Judaism make no mistake. That's what those kinds do. They want to exterminate what they detest to exterminate Judaism and to Hellenize Palestine. Consequently, he forbade the Jews to follow the Mosaic law and he did away with the Jewish sacrifices festivals and circumcision.

This is detailed in the non-canonical book of 1st Maccabees 1 in 44 through 54. He even burned copies of their law. He burned their Bible burned the Torah as a culminating measure. He installed an image of Zeus his Greek God in the temple and he erected an altar to Zeus on the altar of of burnt offerings.

And that comes from 2nd Maccabees 6 to this was not the first time such sacrilege have been committed. King a has it set up an adulterous offers an altar in 2nd Kings 16 10 through 16 and King Manasseh Had installed images of pagan gods in 2nd Kings 21 3 through 5 in the first temple.

Then attack has sacrificed a pig an unclean animal to the Jews on the altar. This happened on December 16th 168 BC. The Jews referred to this act as quote the abomination that caused Desolation close quotes important that the words are read that way.

It caused the desolation of the temple that caused the desolation of worship. And it caused the desolation of the the keepers of the covenant. It was desolating.

Mm-hmm.

Since it polluted their altar and made sacrifices to Yahweh on it impossible and Tychus further are ordered his Jewish subjects to celebrate his subsequent birthdays by offering a pig to Zeus on this altar and.

Another commentator said this Jesus Christ indicated that another similar atrocity would befall the Jews in the future. Matthew for 24 for 15 and mark 13 14, by the way, this is this is um, John Walvoord speaking.

This is not me quoting. This is not me interjecting by the way. He says Jesus Christ explicit reference to the Prophet Daniel being the writer of this prophecy in these verses. Should be proof enough that Daniel rather than a second century writer wrote this book.

Let me stop there.

Jesus.

Sanctioned this as a prophecy of Daniel. We need no other. Well, actually we don't we don't even need that. We just read the Old Testament, which was written by God. That's true. But Jesus said these are.

This is what Daniel said. This is what Jan Daniel did. There's one other thing that Jesus sanctioned when he talked about.

Marriage.

Actually, there's more than one other thing but for our purposes this morning marriage is between a man and a woman.

Also, he he.

Authoritatively sanctioned the concept of creation the six-day creation. But back to this back to this commentary. By the way, then John Walvoord says. Jesus Christ explicit reference to the Prophet Daniel.

Being the writer of this prophecy in these verses should be proof enough that Daniel rather than a second century writer wrote the book Jesus referred to the coming atrocity literally as. Again, quote the abomination that causes desolation unquote the exact words used in the Septuagint version of this verse in Daniel.

Thus Antiochus actions were a preview of similar atrocities that are yet to befall the Jews and we'll read about those later. The destruction of the Jerusalem in 8070 by the Roman general Titus has seemed to some interpreters to fulfill Jesus prediction.

However Titus did not treat the Jews as Antiochus did and as the Antichrist will. Furthermore the book of Revelation which dates after the destruction of Jerusalem predicts the coming of a beast who will behave as Antiochus did only on a larger scale Revelation chapter 13.

I Read. I've been reading this week in numerous places in last week. But one writer said that in order to truly understand the book of Revelation You need to have an understanding of the book of Daniel.

Now I'm of the opinion that if you lived on an island that just had a copy of the book of Revelation God. That's enough but if you really want to be able to put the pieces together of End-times prophecy especially from Revelation and Matthew and the various other places.

It's really handy to have an understanding of the book of Daniel. Let's leave it at least that.

And.

Finally as John Walvoord says in his commentary says Antiochus thus became a type of the future man of sin. Second Thessalonians 2 3 4 and his activities foreshadow the final blasphemous persecution of Israel and desecration of the temple which will occur subsequent to now sometime after now and.

It's coming that time is coming. But imagine being a Jew in 168 BC and this man comes into your country. He sells your for your friends into slavery. He kills people. He ties babies around their mother's necks as he kills them.

I'm gonna leave it at that. It's just it's really gruesome what this man did. Any questions with that as a thrown out? Verse 28 verse excuse me verse 32 by smooth words. He will turn to godlessness those who act wickedly toward the covenant.

But the people who know their God will display strength and take action, who do you think those? Who act wickedly toward the covenant are? It's not Persians.

It's Jews.

It's for our purposes. I don't want to get too metaphorical here. But it would be the people in the church that we thought were believers. Now there were suspicions. There probably would be some suspicions with some of them.

But these by smooth words Antiochus turned them to evil as one walks in the church. But away from his God his walk coarsens and Becomes more and more wicked more and more worldly. Secretly at first and then outwardly and that's what happened probably here now.

That's my that's just my observation of it from what I've seen people who walk away from the church. You don't see it at first. They may live for many years in seeming conformity. But a root of bitterness in their hearts has taken hold of their hearts and it and it upends everything and at some point in Time they make a decision to walk away.

This would have been the forsakers that the Jewish people had to deal with. Who helped Antiochus Destroyed Jerusalem. Who helped Antiochus set up the abomination of desolation. Imagine that people who you thought who you were neighbors who went to synagogue with you and they helped this heathen Greek loving King destroyed Jerusalem destroyed the beautiful land.

The sense here is that the Antiochus would use slippery Quote unquote. That's the word that is translated smooth. Slippery ideas and words to turn people who were already forsaking the covenant in really into even worse atrocities against God outwardly and As might be expected with biblical prophecy.

This is exactly what happened. He flattered and perverted many who wanted to keep their positions of power and influence. Especially into doing things that were unspeakable in the pious Jewish mind and what it sometimes starts with is.

Well, I'm in this position of influence and power and I really need to stay here. I'm you. I can be used by God here. So that translates into doing whatever is necessary to stay in power in many cases and it is evil period on.

The other hand those who were devoted to Yahweh would stand firm not only resisting Antiochus Enticing words but taking action against him. This series of a despicable acts by Antiochus Firmed up the resolve of the Maccabees to resist him.

Some of this is chronicled in the non-canonical book of first Maccabees 141 through 62. I'm gonna read those to you. It's a good history. Then verse 41 the king wrote to his whole kingdom that all should be one people and that all should give up their particular Customs.

It's for the it's for the good of all. All the nations accepted the command of the king. Many even from Israel gladly adopted his religion. They sacrificed to idols and profaned the Sabbath and the king sent letters by messengers to Jerusalem in the towns of Judah.

He directed them to follow customs strange to Israel Strange to the land I should say to forbid burnt offerings and sacrifices and drink offerings in the sanctuary to profane Sabbaths and festivals to defile the Sanctuary and the Holy Ones to build altars and sacred precincts and shrines for idols to sacrifice pigs and other unclean animals and to leave Their sons uncircumcised.

They were to make themselves abominable by everything unclean and profane so that they would forget the law and change all the ordinances. Forget the scripture and Introduce their own ideas and whoever does not obey the command of the king shall die in such words.

He wrote to his whole kingdom. He appointed inspectors over all the people probably 87 ,000 of them and Commanded the towns of Judah to offer sacrifice. Town by town this would have occurred little by little.

This didn't happen overnight. There wasn't a Devoted dedicated synagogue in each town one day and the next day everybody had turned. This was stuff that was fomenting for years. People who were already kicking against what?

Scripture would have commanded them to do encourage them to do and commanded them to do already bitter against God back to Maccabees. Many of the people everyone who forsook the law joined them and they did evil in the land.