Atlantic Lyman conf.1972-02 Studies in Daniel 12 — Joseph Balsan

Well, it's a pleasure to see you all out tonight the last night of the meeting meetings. I Can say there's been a real joy to be with you and to minister the Word of God amongst you to see your interest.

And I want to compliment you. I think you've done very well coming out as often as you have. With all the work and everything else. I think the Lord has been with us and I'm sure that. You know, the Bible tells us he that watereth shall be watered himself.

You know, sometimes you think well, it's only the listeners that are getting anything out of it. But you know, the preacher is getting a lot out of it, too. And I know that I've gotten a lot out of these studies myself because I've really been going into it.

And of course, it's the first time I've ever used the chart. So you have the privilege of being the ones that were it was broken in on. One preacher said you don't preach a sermon. Really the way it should be preached until you have preached it 50 times.

So I hope that after I've had about 49 other series on this chart. I'll be able to come here for the 50th time and Perhaps we'll get a little more out of it. But it's been a real joy to be with you and tomorrow I'm going home tonight after the meeting and then tomorrow morning, I'll leave for North Dakota and Hope to be there by tomorrow night and start meetings on Sunday night with our brother Ben tuning up for a couple of weeks.

I think we're going to use our chart the two roads and the two destinies and So we will value your prayers as we are up there in that little area. It's a farming area small assembly, but they have a desire to see something done.

We hope that God will bless and use us. I Might just say that our brother Fred and Fern this afternoon and I this morning. Were able to visit our brother guy and he was conscious he talked with us his voice and his tongue was little thick and his memory was not quite as clear as it used to be but we were pleasantly surprised to see that he didn't recover his consciousness and He was able to talk with us and we think he recognized us.

We're sure he recognized us. Although he did not Mention any of our names our sister Fern thinks his pulse was a little weaker. You can talk To them more about it later. We're very happy to see the progress that he has made and then we also saw our sister Viola and she is also encouraged and She hopes to be home in the near future.

Daniel's Prophecy of the End-Time Ruler

So let us remember these in prayer our brother Dickwood and Sister Caddock and others who are ill. Let us remember them and let us continue to pray for them. Now let us turn to Daniel chapter 11, we're just going to catch up a little bit tonight and Go on to the end of this book of Daniel.

Daniel chapter 11, and I want to Read from the 36th verse of Daniel chapter 11. It says and the king shall do according to his will and he shall exalt himself and magnify himself Above every God and shall speak marvelous things against the God of gods and shall prosper till the indignation be Accomplished for that that is determined shall be done.

Neither shall he regard the God of his father's Nor the desire of women nor regard any God for he shall magnify himself above all. But in his estate shall he honor the God of forces and a God whom his father's knew not.

Shall he honor with gold and silver and with precious stones and Pleasant things. Thus shall he do in the most strongholds with a strange God whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory and he shall cause them to rule over many and shall divide the land for gain and at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him and The king of the north shall come against him like a chair whirlwind With chariots and with horsemen and with many ships and he shall enter into the countries and shall overflow and pass over.

He shall enter also into the glorious land and many countries shall be overthrown. But these shall escape out of his hand even Edom and Moab and the chief of the children of Ammon. He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries and the land of Egypt shall not escape but he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver and over all the precious things of Egypt and The Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.

But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him. Therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy and utterly to make away many and He shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas and the glorious holy mountain.

Yet he shall come to his end and none shall help him. And at that time shall Michael stand up the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people. And There shall be a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation.

Even to that same time and at that time thy people shall be delivered everyone that shall be found written in the book and Many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall await some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting contempt and they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament and They that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever.

But thou O Daniel shut up the words and seal the book even to the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro and knowledge shall be increased. Then I Daniel looked and behold there stood a other two the one on the this side of the bank of the river and The other on that side of the bank of the river and one said to the man clothed in linen Which was upon the waters of the river.

How long shall it be to the end of these wonders? And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river. When he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven and swear by him that liveth forever that it shall be for a time times and a half and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people all these things shall be finished and I heard but I understood not.

Then said I oh my lord What shall be the end of these things. And he said go thy way Daniel for the words are closed up. And seal till the time of the end many shall be purified and made white and tried but the wicked shall do wickedly and None of the wicked shall understand but the wise shall understand.

And from the time that the daily Sacrifice shall be taken away and the abomination that maketh desolate set up there shall be a thousand 290 days. Blessed is he that waiteth and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days but go thou thy way till the end be for thou shalt rest and Stand in thy lot at the end of the days.

May the Lord bless to us the reading of his word. Shall we just look to the Lord in prayer? Our father we thank thee now for all who are here tonight. We ask thy blessing upon each one. We thank you for the nights that we've spent together.

And we thank you for the things that thou has brought before us from thy word. We pray that we may not be forgetful hearers of thy word. But that it may stimulate us as we realize we are living on the very threshold of these things Which are about to come to pass.

And so we pray for help in ministering thy word tonight. That thou will give blessing and to thee will give thanks and praise. Since we ask it in the name of the Lord Jesus. Amen. Now as we come to the last night of these meetings, I thought it would be good for just give a brief resume.

Daniel and the Times of the Gentiles

Not in detail, but just give you a little brief resume leading up to where we are tonight. Now as you notice on this chart it is the chart on the outline of the book of Daniel the prophet and That of course is the title that our Lord Jesus Christ gave to this man Daniel.

Hundreds of years after Daniel was gone He called him Daniel the prophet and we want to make mention that the prophecies that Daniel gives in his book are Especially Concerning his people the people of Israel the people of Israel in relation to the nations of the world.

You notice on this chart. We have the expression the times of the Gentiles. Now that word Gentile simply means Nations it means all other nationalities except the Jews. The Jews were a distinct people from all the nations of the world.

There were the Jews and there were the nations and so the visions that we have or the prophecies that we have in this book are Concerning the times that the Gentiles or the nations Were going to rule over the world and especially over the land of Palestine and the city of Jerusalem and the people the Jews.

Now as we mentioned Daniel saw nothing about you and me. Daniel saw nothing about this age in which you and I live this present age is a Mystery age it is a secret. Which was not known in the Old Testament and was only revealed after the Jews had rejected their Messiah After they had crucified Christ.

Why then God's time clock with the Jews stopped and for the last? 1 ,900 years since Jesus died Rose again and ascended to heaven and ten days after he ascended to heaven the Holy Spirit came down on the day of Pentecost and he has been forming the church and That work is going to continue Until the church is complete and then the Lord Jesus will take out of this world That church those who are saved and the clock of prophecy will again begin now as we mentioned above this blue line here.

Everything has been fulfilled in every one of the chapters. It has all been fulfilled in all 12 of those chapters. But in all 12 or in all 12 of the chapters there is also an indication of this last period of time a time which the Bible speaks of as about seven years and These are years or events that are yet to be fulfilled.

I remember the first time I ever came to Iowa. I think it was just shortly after World War two and Seats were hard to get on the train. I got on the train in Chicago and I was coming to Atlantic and I remember that as I left Chicago I of course, you know that train stopped every so often and as it passed through the small towns from Des Moines.

Going on to Atlantic as I passed the small towns. They just flashed by but you know, it stopped in Davenport. It stopped in Newton. It was a train you might say that was traveling on a schedule and it would stop in various places.

Now we know there are trains or were trains like that that passengers rode on. That traveled as it were on a schedule now sometimes a train Traveling on a schedule would be going along and then it would be pulled off on a Siding and it would sit on a siding.

Because a special train was going to go through from a place like Chicago perhaps to a place like California but that train being a special and being an express. The one train would be put off on a siding and it would wait on that Siding while that other train sped through and when that other train passed by.

Why then of course that train comes off the siding and it begins its journey continues its journey. Well that train traveling according to schedule is like Israel. You know they were going along the point after point until they came to a place where they Crucified Christ and God put Israel as a nation on a siding and now there's an express going through in other words a Company of people are being called by means of the gospel.

They're being brought to the Lord Jesus. They're being saved and when this train goes through when this purpose is fulfilled. Why that train will come off the siding again? Israel will come as it were off the siding and this last seven years of the Tribulation period will be fulfilled and will be climaxed by the coming of Christ now.

So we want to understand that in Daniel We don't have anything about this period of time. We don't have anything about the church. We don't have anything about what God is doing in this present time. All that Daniel saw was From this point to that and from that point to there.

He saw nothing about this age so it is Concerning the times of the Gentiles and we saw how that was brought before us is the vision that was given. Or the dream that was given to Nebuchadnezzar of the four kingdoms That were to rise one after the other and the last form of that kingdom in the time of the end would be a ten kingdoms empire and That ten kingdom empire would be destroyed by a stone that would fall from heaven which would destroy that image grind it to powder the wind would come along and blow it away and That stone would become a great mountain filling the earth and The Lord tells us in the second chapter of Daniel that the God will establish a kingdom Which shall never pass away, which we know is the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ Presented to us in this little part.

The Little Horn and the Future Tribulation

Now we're just very very briefly in Daniel's vision of those kingdoms. Daniel saw an addition. Daniel saw that those ten kings would be ruled over by a superman who was called the little horn. God calls him a little horn because he is going to be a power a person of intelligence and this person would be a superhuman ability he would be energized by Satan he will Consolidate these ten kingdoms.

He will be a military genius a political genius an economic genius an international genius who will harmonize and bring those ten kingdoms into a Unified form that will make them perhaps the most powerful unity upon the face of the earth and Then in the eighth chapter he brings before us that there is going to be an enemy who is going to arise Against Israel and that enemy would be to the north of Palestine.

He is known as the Assyrian in Isaiah chapter 10 in Micah chapter 5. He is known as the little horn in Daniel 8 and he is known as the king of the north as we were Speaking of him last night in the 11th chapter of Daniel.

And then we saw how that with this enemy Against them. There is going to rise one amongst them and that's what we are speaking about tonight from Daniel chapter 11. We were speaking last night about the end to Christ who is going to rise in the land of Israel.

He is going to be their king and he is going to be the one who is going to make an agreement with this political head of the West and A covenant is going to be formed of which we read when we were speaking about the ninth chapter and this covenant is a covenant of protection Under which in this political head agrees to allow them to carry on their worship To function and be preserved.

I don't know exactly what he'll get in return for that that agreement but undoubtedly he'll get something perhaps he will be guaranteed or promised the resources of Palestine. Because we know that Palestine is a land that is wealthy in oil.

It is wealthy in minerals. It is wealthy in chemicals and living as we are in it in a mechanical technical age like we are when chemicals and Minerals and these things are becoming of such vital importance and necessity.

We can understand how this agreement would be a mutual agreement. But it tells us that in as we read in the ninth chapter he is there going to form a covenant an agreement which will undoubtedly Guarantee that the people of Israel will be preserved and kept secure From this enemy who is to the north of them.

Now they also have an enemy to the south of them as we are going to see and as we read last night in the king Of the south the king of the south we saw was Egypt and the king of the north We know is Syria and this in turn is backed by a powerful ally one who supplies them with the Necessities and helps them and who is a powerful ally to them because we read We read in Daniel chapter 8 that this person has power.

But it's not his own power in other words He's got a force behind him and we know how today in the Middle East Russia is Seeking to gain more and more of a foothold and how they are strengthening Egypt for instance well Undoubtedly the king of the north will also have an ally.

I don't know whether it will be Russia. I don't know whether it will be China, but I'm quite sure that it'll be one of those two powers and So we find that in the middle of this tribulation period in the middle of the seven years We find that this beast This political head does away with all religion.

Not only in Christendom. But he does away with all religion in Judaism as well in other words. He does away with their sacrifices causes their sacrifices to cease and He has an image of himself set up the antichrist declares that he is God and So here he commands all to worship and as we were reading last night from the 13th chapter of the book of Revelation.

All will have to receive a mark in their forehead or in their hand or they won't be able to buy or sell. Whosoever will not bow to and acknowledge this beast this political head. Why. Of course he will have to be put to death or he will flee for his life and So we find when we come to the 11th chapter of Daniel.

This is where we were when we stopped last night where we saw that the antichrist is Exalted and the antichrist is an agreement with this political head. And how he causes him to be worshipped as we have in the 39th verse and then in the 40th verse we find that action begins now the Bible tells us that there is going to be a war that is going to be so devastating and so awful a war such as the world has never seen a War that is going to involve as we will notice in a little while such tremendous numbers of people that the world has never seen anything like it and Here I believe in this 40th verse is how this war is going to start.

It tells us here in the 40th verse and at the time of the end. Shall the king of the south push at him? Now who is he going to push against he's going to push against the antichrist. The one who is the king in Palestine.

The one who has done away with the worship of the Jews and has set up the image of the beast in the temple and no doubt set about just as our president discovered in China and just as other Dictators have done we know from the last world war as well as from Russia when Stalin was in control.

Everybody put the state first. Everybody put Hitler first. Everybody were everybody honored and acknowledged Hitler away with all religion. Religion was driven into the underground. The same in Russia when Stalin was in control it was statues of Stalin.

It was pictures of Stalin. It was allegiance to Stalin. It was honor to Stalin and just as it is in China today. Well, I believe that God gives us as it were Specimens of what is going to happen those of us who Lord who lived during World War two we remember how people actually called Hitler a beast because he recognized no laws.

He recognized no principles. He formed his own laws. He carried on his own principles. He did what he wanted and the result was That there was nobody That could control him he formed his own laws. Well, that's just specimens to us of what this person is going to be who renounces God.

Who does not acknowledge anybody but himself and so we find in The middle of this tribulation period when this image is set up we find that the king of the south Pushes at him. That's Egypt. Now we know that today Egypt is threatening to fight Israel.

Egypt today is saying well, we're going to fight Israel. We're going to drive them out of the land that they possessed. We're going to regain everything that we wanted. Well so far Egypt hasn't been able to do anything.

They haven't dared to do anything, but the Bible tells us here when this event happens. It tells us the king of Egypt shall push at him. But it also says the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind.

With chariots and with horsemen and with many ships. Now here we have also from the north the king of the north Syria coming against him. We find this Grecian horn. We find this horn who is the enemy of Israel.

He comes against him with such tremendous power. It says he shall enter into the countries and shall overflow and pass over. He shall enter also into the glorious land and many countries shall be overthrown.

Joel's Prophecy of the Invading Army

Now, you know, we're not left in doubt. The Bible gives us another graphic description of this event. If you'll just turn to the prophecy of Joel for a few moments. Yeah, now Hosea is after the book of Daniel and after the book of Hosea comes the book of Joel just two books after the book of Joel of Daniel and Notice here.

We have a description of the army that is coming Against this king in in Jerusalem against the Antichrist. Now notice in Joel chapter 2 and verse 1. He says blow ye the trumpet in Zion and sound an alarm in my holy mountain.

Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble for the day of the Lord cometh for it is nigh at hand a day of darkness and of gloominess. The day of clouds and of thick darkness as the morning spread upon the mountains a great people and a strong.

There hath not ever been the light neither shall be any more after it even to the years of many generations a Fire devoureth before them and behind them a flame burneth. The land is as the garden of Eden before them and behind them a desolate wilderness.

Yea, and nothing shall escape them. Now I want you to notice the description that he gives of them now. You know, this was given of course in the days ancient days when they had only horses and chariots and so on.

They didn't have any modern mechanized warfare. But I want you to notice how the Prophet describes it. He doesn't say it was horses. He doesn't say they are riding actual horses and chariots. Notice what he says.

He says the appearance of them is as the appearance of horses and as Horsemen so shall they run like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap. Like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble as a strong people set in battle array.

Before their face the people shall be much pained. All faces shall gather blackness. They shall run like mighty men. They shall climb the wall. What climbs the wall. The instruments that these men are using.

What more graphic picture you might say of our modern tanks. They shall run. They're like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains. They shall run like mighty men. They shall climb the wall like men of war.

They shall march everyone on his ways and they shall not break their ranks neither shall one thrust another. They shall walk everyone in this path and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded.

They shall run to and fro in the city. They shall run upon the wall. They shall climb up upon the houses. They shall enter in at the windows like a thief. The earth shall quake before them. The heavens shall tremble the moon sun and the moon shall be dark and the stars shall withdraw their shining and the Lord Shall utter his voice before his army.

Now these armies of the king of the north are the Lord's armies. In other words, the Lord is going to use this king of the north to chasten the people of Israel because they have rejected Christ, but because they have Accepted the end to Christ and they have debased themselves with the grossest Immorality the Idolatry rather and so the Lord is leading this army.

Oh you say well. You say well that can't be so. I'll just turn for a moment to the 10th chapter of Isaiah where you have the same army and Notice what is brought out here in the 10th chapter of Isaiah where we have a description of this same army.

He says in the fifth verse of the 10th chapter of Isaiah. Oh Assyrian the rod of mine anger and the staff in their hand is mine indignation. I Will send him against an hypocritical nation and against the people of my wrath.

Will I give him a charge to take the spoil to take the prey and to tread them down? Like the mire of the street and then notice in the end then notice in the 13th verse. Or the 12th verse. Wherefore it shall come to pass that when the Lord hath performed his whole work upon Mount Zion and on Jerusalem I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria and the glory of his high looks for he sayeth By the strength of my hand I have done it and by my wisdom for I am prudent.

And I have removed the bounds of the people and have robbed their treasures and I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man and My hand hath found as a nest the riches of the people and as one Gathereth eggs that are left have I gathered all the earth and there was none that moved the wing or opened the mouth or peep.

Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith or shall the saw Magnify itself against him that shaketh it as if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up or as if the Staff should lift up itself as if it were no wood.

Now there you have brought before and within we have brought before us. The Lord says I'll use them. I'll use them until they accomplish my purpose. And what is his purpose. His purpose is to bring this nation of Israel down to its knees.

Because if you look at the book of Joel back again to the second chapter and Notice in the 11th verse where we stop for a moment It says the Lord shall utter his voice before his army. For his camp is very great for he is strong that Executed his word for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible and who can abide it.

Therefore also now saith the Lord turn ye even to me with all your heart and with fasting and with weeping and with mourning and Rend your heart and not your garments and turn unto the Lord your God. For he is gracious and merciful slow to anger and of great kindness and repent of them of the evil.

Who know it if he will return and repent and leave a blessing behind him even a meat offering and a drink? Offering unto the Lord your God you see his object In punishing this nation with this terrible catastrophe is that he might bring this nation to repentance.

That's what God's object always is is to bring people to repentance to bring people to the place where they'll humble themselves and acknowledge their sins and Return to him. That's why God does some of the things that he does in some of our lives today.

People wonder well, why does God send this into my life? If there is a God, why does he allow this to come into my life? Why does God strike me with this sickness and lay me down upon my back? Or why does God take this loved one away from me and leave me all to myself?

Why does God do this? You know why God does that my friend because God loves us and because God wants us to face the fact that we're going to meet him and that we need to get right with him that we need to humble ourselves and confess our sins and Accept his son who died for us as our own personal Savior.

So that God might bring you and me into real and true and lasting blessings and so here we find That this army of this king of the north Comes into the land of Israel. He overflows it. He overpowers it and not only that.

But you notice in the 42nd verse that says he shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries. And the land of Egypt shall not escape. He's so powerful that he even goes down to the land of Egypt and overcomes the king of Egypt and it tells us here, but he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver and over all the precious things of Egypt and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.

But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him. Now, what is this? Well, I believe my friends that this is that which introduces and brings the other nations of the world into the conflict.

I believe that as this king of the north comes down into Palestine and sweeps over Palestine and Takes as it were the very best and takes all of Palestine and goes down into Egypt and into other countries.

And is victorious everywhere. The Antichrist of course in Jerusalem. It doesn't seem that he has been reached by this king of the north the Antichrist no doubt sends for his ally and I believe that when it says tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him.

Now, what are those tidings out of the east? You must remember it's east of the land of Palestine and it's north of the land of Palestine. And if you'll look at your map You'll notice that from the east there can come a great force.

Now as I mentioned there are two books that work together. One is the book of Daniel and the other is the book of the Revelation. Now let's turn for a moment to the book of Revelation and I want you to notice two portions of scripture that we have here one in the ninth chapter of Revelation in the ninth chapter of Revelation and Notice it says in the 13th verse of the ninth chapter of Revelation.

It says and the sixth angel sounded and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar. Which is before God saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates and the four angels were loosed Which were prepared for an hour and a day and a month and a year.

For to slay the third part of men and the number of the army of the horsemen were 200 ,000 thousand. Now, you know friends The Greeks of course, they had no word for millennium or million. So they described it this way two hundred Thousand and then another thousand behind that so of course 200 with six zeros behind it means 200 million.

Now here we have an army of 200 million and it says I heard the number of them and I saw the horses in the vision and then that sat on them having breastplates of fire and of Jacinth and brimstone and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions and out of the mouths.

Issued fire and smoke and brimstone by these three was the third part of men killed by the fire and by the smoke and by the brimstone which issued out of their mouths and so on. Now here we have a graphic description of modern warfare of modern Armaments, we don't want to think that these are actual creatures with horses with heads like horse like lions but as we think of out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone it reminds us or it enlightens us and Shows us our modern methods of warfare our modern Instruments of warfare.

And if you turn to the 16th chapter of Revelation Where you have the same thing brought before you notice in the 16th chapter of Revelation the 12th verse it says the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates and The water thereof was dried up just like we find in the ninth chapter of Revelation That the way of the kings of the east Might be prepared now here.

We have where the army of the 200 millions comes from it comes from the east. In other words it comes from the powers like China Japan and India Which I expect to be unified and working together Before all this trouble in the east or the far east is finally settled I'm looking for a combination of Japan and China and India all to be brought together or at least two of them to be brought together to form a force of this power and notice I saw three unclean beasts Like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophets.

For they are the spirits of devils working miracles Which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world To gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. Behold I come as a thief.

Blessed is he that watcheth and keepeth his garments lest he walk naked and they see a shame and he Gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. Now, what do we have here just briefly?

In Revelation 9 and 16 what we have brought before us is we have a tremendous force of 200 million men coming from the east and We have the frog Symbolizing the propaganda power of the false prophet and the beast and the dragon the devil and They are gathering their two forces together for the great day of the Battle of Armageddon.

Now if you'll turn to Joel chapter 3 in Joel chapter 2 You have the king of the north coming against Palestine but in Joel chapter 3 you have this that we are talking about and Notice in the ninth verse of Joel chapter 3 what it says.

Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles or the nations. Prepare war wake up the mighty men let all the men of war draw near let them come up beat your plowshares Into swords and your spear pruning hooks into spears.

Let the weak say I am strong. Assemble yourselves and come all ye Not heathen, but all ye nations. Because it's the word that is nations in the original all ye nations and gather yourselves together Roundabout thither cause thy mighty ones to come down.

Oh Lord Let the nations be awakened and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat. For there will I sit to judge all the nations round about. Put ye in the sickle for the harvest is ripe. Come get you down for the press is full the fats overflow for their wickedness is great multitudes multitudes in the valley of decision for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of Decision.

What do we find? Well, I believe that what we find in Daniel chapter 11 is what is brought before us in Revelation 9 and 4 16 and also in Joel chapter 3 what is that in? Daniel 11 it says tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him.