We are going to be in Daniel 11 this evening. And so if you have your Bible, you could open up to there. One of the things we have seen with Daniel is that this kind of narrative has often required us to do a lot of reading, a lot of taking in of long portions of scripture at times. And Daniel 11 is like that. It is long. It's the second longest chapter in the book. Chapter two is just a little bit longer, but it's very long. It's taken in two parts. And the issue here with Daniel 11 is that really it's just, it's just so unique. It's just such a unique chapter. So you have this, what really just feels like a roller coaster of prophetic detail and nothing really quite matches it in all of scripture. And remember that. All of this, all this information that we're going to be reading tonight is being disseminated to Daniel by this angel, probably Gabriel, and it's all about a future time from Daniel. Actually, I was thinking about this. You know, sometimes you hear about people talking about the time in between the two testaments, from Malachi to Matthew, and they'll call it the silent period because there's no prophetic of warnings or admonitions or encouragements provided by God. There's no prophets that are raised up, basically from Malachi to John. But what we see really in this chapter, and what we need to be clear about, is that God was absolutely not silent in that time period. That he was behind everything going on. So we get this this glimpse, this window into that time period. And so I think what we'll do, maybe what makes the most sense, is to take this first part of Daniel 11 and read it all at once, just like you know, Daniel would have received this message like that. And then we'll go back and we'll consider the individual parts. And kind of a warning, kind of a precaution about this text. You'll need to have on your history hat this evening, or have the outline that I passed out. At least maybe that'll help some, because this is a lot, as you'll see. And it's very fast moving through these sections. So let's read our text, and then we'll ask the Lord for help in prayer. Beginning at verse 2 in Daniel chapter 11, God's word says, 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. Then a mighty king shall arise who shall rule with great dominion and do as he wills. 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. Then the king of the south shall be strong but one of his princes shall be stronger than he and he shall rule and his authority shall be a great authority. 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 he shall not retain the strength of her arm and he and his arm shall not endure but she shall be given up and her attendance he who fathered her and he who supported her in those times. 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. 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. Then the latter shall come into the realm of the king of the south, but shall return to his own land. His son 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. 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. When the multitude is taken away, his heart shall be exalted, and he shall cast down tens of thousands, but he shall not prevail. 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. 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. Then the king of the north shall come and throw up siege works 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. 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. He shall set his face to come with strength of his whole kingdom, and he shall bring terms of agreement and perform them. He shall give him the daughter of a woman to destroy the kingdom, but shall not stand or be to his advantage. 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. Then he shall turn his face back toward the fortress of his own land, but he shall stumble and fall and shall not be found. Then shall arise in his place one who shall set an exacter of tribute for the glory of the kingdom, but within a few days he shall be broken, neither in anger nor in battle. And 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. Armies shall be utterly swept away before him and broken, even the prince of the covenant. And from that time, an alliance is made with him. He shall act deceitfully, and he shall become strong with a small people. Without warning, he shall come into the richest parts of the province, and he shall do what neither his fathers nor his father's fathers have done, scattering among them plunder, spoil, and goods. He shall devise plans against strongholds, but only for a time. And he shall stir up his power in 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. Even those who eat his food shall break him, his army shall be swept away, and many shall fall down slain. 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. 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. At the time appointed, he shall return and come into the south, but it shall not be this time as it was before. For ships of Chittim shall come against him, and he shall be afraid and withdraw, 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. Forces from him shall appear and profane the temple and fortress, and shall take away the regular burnt offering, and they shall set up abomination that makes desolate. the abomination that makes desolate. He shall seduce with flattery those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action. 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. When they stumble, they shall receive a little help, and many shall join themselves to them with flattery. And some of the wise shall stumble, so they may be refined purified and made white, made holy until the time of the end, for it still awaits the appointed time. That ends the reading of God's wholly inspired and sufficient word. Let's pray. Our Father in heaven, we are grateful to you for the ability and the time that we have to be able to gather tonight and open up Daniel chapter 11. And we know even now, just hearing it, just reading it, the difficulty of this text, the way in which you have revealed many events that happened over hundreds of years in such a short amount of words. And so we ask for understanding. We pray that you would help us to see this text for what it is, your holy word, knowing then that it will be profitable for doctrine, for teaching, for reproof and correction. that the man of God may be complete. So help us, Holy Spirit, we need you. It's in Christ's name that we pray, amen. Well, this is a tough chapter. It really is. And many of the commentaries that I look at when I'm preparing and studying to preach through Daniel, almost four of them, I think, mentioned this guy H.C. Leopold, who in his commentary said that this text is just impossible to preach from. He said maybe it's good for a Sunday school class or a Bible study or something like that, but you can't just preach this text. and that's a bit discouraging but it is a very complicated text but nevertheless it is the Word of God and so we're not able to just skip it. The commitment to expository preaching takes you to passages that under ordinary circumstances you would never preach and Daniel 11 is like that. It's just It's just filled with all this accurate historical prophetic prediction. And I don't think I've actually ever personally myself heard a sermon on this section of Daniel, actually, not this first part. The prophetic detail of this passage is just so incredible. I mentioned before that liberal scholars say there's no way these kinds of details could have been written before the events that it describes. But of course, again, if you believe in the God who raised his son from the dead, if you're on board with, in the beginning, God in Genesis 1-1, then prophetic prediction, even incredible details like we have read here, are not a problem for him. And the prophetic detail that we're going to actually look at here with all these different dynasties mentioned and their respective kings, details that, unless you're like a historian of the specific era, well, it all does come across as a bit tedious, a bit hard to follow. And that's not fun for anybody, not for you, not for me. And so nevertheless, we have to look at this text from the advantage of understanding its historical fulfillment. And even then, there's such just incredible detail in this historical fulfillment that there's just a tediousness to this passage. It would be really nice, for example, if the translators, if they just took different colors for the different teams that are displayed or different fonts to kind of help us, because there's just a lot going on, and we have to distinguish the different players of the events and what side they're on, but of course, you know, we don't have that. And thankfully though, we've had 10 chapters of some really engaging and encouraging text and material because I think it helps us to consider what we're going through tonight all in light of that has come before with God's faithful provision and then Daniel's faithfulness in light of that as well. Now, from a historical, prophetic viewpoint, this chapter is absolutely amazing. There's all kinds of stuff going on, all being prophetically predicted and foretold to Daniel, and really what that means, by the way, is that God is giving us a glimpse here into his eternal decree. Things that we normally wouldn't know about until after we've experienced them, so after they've already happened. But God is telling Daniel these things now hundreds of years in advance. And what we'll see is that it contains things like covenants, leagues, treacheries, political marriages, intrigue, victories, and defeats. All has history knows them. It's dramatic. And they come in this swift succession through the reigns of the kings of the North and the South. A lot of time is given to those two categories, the kings of the North and the South, and specifically one king from the North. And it's all delivered, remember, to Daniel by an angel in advance. And this is really just quite amazing. It's not the customary pattern. and theme of prophecy. Now, the first few verses, verses two through four, here in our text, are among the simplest to deal with, really. They deal, initially, with Persia, and it's plain, right? We read, there are three more kings in Persia, and the angel, again, I think it's Gabriel, he says in verse two, and now I will show you the truth. You remember the beginning of this whole episode back in chapter 10, the announcement that was made by Daniel that the message that came to him was true. It was 10.1, and then the end of chapter 10, the angel tells him in verse 21, but I will tell you what is inscribed in this book of truth or the scroll of truth. And now here he says in chapter 11, he says, I'm here to tell you or to show you the truth. He's reading to him this book. He's giving him this revealed information from God. In other words, What he's going to do is he's going to unfold everything that's been inscribed and prophetically set forth in this book of truth. He's going to reveal it all to Daniel. So he says very plainly in this passage that there are three more kings that are going to arise in Persia and then a fourth. And the historical record tells us that after Cyrus's death in 530 BC, three Persian kings arose in succession to him. There is Cambyses in 530 to 522 BC, Guamada in 522, who was followed by Darius I, who reigned from 522 to 486 BC. And the fourth king foretold is Xerxes, the name of Azuharis, who we know from the book of Esther. He goes by that there. Or maybe you know him from the movie 300. And he expands with wealth and power. on the Persian empire to decrees of unknown to previous Persian rulers. Then the angel says that this ruler, that is Xerxes, he's going to stir up the empire against Greece. Now, what's interesting is that at the time of Xerxes' rule, Greece was not actually a world power there. They had a lot of natural resources, and there were a number of things that made Greece a desirable land to possess. But the text tells us that Xerxes was planning to do something against Greece. And in fact, we know from history that Xerxes did plan an evasion against Greece. But he ends up failing to invade Greece and really he fails miserably. They have that victory that the movie 300 embellishes, of course, but soon after that they suffered a huge defeat. They didn't have much success with Greece. Just a lot of pomp. really with Persia at this point, that big party that's described at the beginning of Esther. Many Old Testament scholars think that party was actually thrown to celebrate the upcoming invasion of Greece. And there wasn't much celebrating going on after going at Greece, though. And many scholars think that Xerxes' action in Greece ended up being the motivation for this man named Philip II of Macedon about 100 years later in conquering Persia. that their actions against Greece and him remembering it and being told it, it fuels him to attack Persia. And this man, Philip of Macedon, he's the father of Alexander the Great. We've talked about him before. And the vision actually jumps to there in verse three. In verse three, we read about a mighty king who will arise and he's going to rule with great dominion and do whatever he wants. And that great king that's being described there is none other than Alexander the Great. And he doesn't end up ruling for a long time. Remember, we've talked about him before he dies young, only ruling for, you know, 10 years or so around there, Alexander's already been prophesied in the book of Daniel back in chapter 8, verses 5 to 8, and then in 22. And remember, after talking about these coming empires there in Daniel chapter 8, it's revealed that the Greek empire will rise to power, and then it'll be divided into four different kingdoms. And then one with great power, but not his own power, will come on the scene we were told, and that's all being referenced to and revealed more fully here now when it speaks of the kingdom being divided into the four winds, into four smaller kingdoms, foretold by the angel here. Now, two of these remnant kingdoms become what's called the Seleucid kingdom to the north and east of Judah, occupying the same region as the Babylonians and the Persians previously beforehand, and then the Ptolemies to the south, which used to be the old Egyptian empire. Judah, unfortunately, if you think about it in a map, if you may have a map in the back of your Bible, or something like that, it's kind of right in the middle of both of these empires. The Seleucids to the north, the Ptolemies to the south. And because of that, Judah at certain periods is subjected to repeated invasions and occupations from that time forward until they're finally occupied by the Romans in 61 BC. And remember, Rome was that fourth great empire of Daniel's vision. Now for chapter 11, this is where it really starts to get tough. Because verses 5 through 19, they describe the Seleucids and the Ptolemies are brought to focus. And the reason for that is because what follows with their actions will greatly impact the people of Judah and the city of Jerusalem. The first of these empires is specifically identified in verse 5. It says, 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. That king of the south is Ptolemy I, and he rules from 323 to 285 BC. And one of his generals was a man named Seleucius, who he left Egypt for Babylon, and soon after, he just kind of claimed the title of king. He was a very well-sought-after and smart general. And he ended up wanting glory for himself. He began expanding his new kingdom to the point that's even larger than Ptolemy's kingdom and it became a threat to it. And then drama just absolutely ensues from there for generations. These kingdoms fight one another off and on to about 250 BC when a peace treaty is signed and a royal marriage was arranged. A woman by the name of Bernice, Ptolemy's second daughter, married Antiochus II, a grandson of Seleucius I. But this ends up actually making things worse. You see it sometimes like how kings will do that. They'll try to marry a son and a daughter, try to bring peace. marriage union actually makes things worse because it turns out that Antiochus II was already married at the time to a queen named Laodice and she ends up poisoning then Antiochus II upon learning of his new wife. So then Laodice had Bernice and her young child killed to ensure that her own son Seleucius II would rule. And that's what verse 6 speaks of. So 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 at her attendance he who followed her and he supported her in those times. The one who fathered her father of this daughter, Bernice, is Ptolemy II. And she and her court and her son, they all get slaughtered. And they will not endure, as the record shows us. And even the one who supported her, Antiochus II, also died soon thereafter. I mean, it's pretty remarkable stuff, really. And it says Daniel is given this prophecy about 200 years before it all went down. And then the prophecy continues to predict the course of subsequent events with just, you know, that same kind of incredible detail. In verses 7 through 9, Daniel learns of a war between Ptolemy II and Seleucid II, the son of Laodicea and Antiochus II. And it says, and from a branch from her roots, that is Bernice, One shall arise in his place, Ptolemy II. He shall come against the army and enter the fortress of the king of the north, which is Antiochus in Syria. He shall deal with them and shall prevail. He shall also carry off to Egypt their gods with their metal images and their precious vessels of silver and gold. For some years he shall refrain from attacking the king of the north. Then the latter shall come into the realm of the king of the south, but shall return to his own land. So that all happens. The Ptolemaic history tells us of the pillaging of gold of the Seleucids, and Ptolemy II also managed to put Laodicea to death. But as history would have it, Ptolemy II then faces some insurrection at home, and he's forced to return back to Egypt. where there the armies of Seleucus II followed in an unsuccessful effort to defeat the divided Ptolemies. But this kingdom, the Ptolemies, they were in bad shape, and they really couldn't do anything about it, which is exactly what the prophecy describes. Seleucus II dies in 226 BC, and he's succeeded by his son, Seleucius III, who was killed in 223 BC, only to be succeeded by his brother Antiochus III. And Antiochus III, because of his great military powers, he follows in the tradition of Alexander the Great. He becomes known as Antiochus III the Great. And that brings us to verse 10. His, there we read, his meaning Seleucid II, son 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. So after Ptolemy III dies in 221 BC, history tells us that his son, Ptolemy IV, went to war with Antiochus III in 217. And that brings us to verses 11 and 12, which again is just amazingly accurate. It says, So, Ptolemy IV succeeded against all odds and expectations, and he won a lot of Seleucia territory, this northern territory. And then he decides to return to Egypt after that, after this conquest, where he ends up dying along with his wife, the queen, under some actually some sketchy circumstances, which then leads to his son, Ptolemy V, becoming king. But when that happens, this guy is only five years old at that time. He's a five-year-old. He's Rosie's age, essentially, being king. And so Antiochus III saw this as a great opportunity to get revenge. And he takes an army, and he attacks Egypt, and this is all laid out in verses 13 to 19 with the rise of Antiochus III. just part of it here. For the king of the north Antiochus III shall again raise a multitude greater than the first and after some years he shall come on with a great army and abundant supplies and those times many shall rise against the king of the south that is the Seleuciids against the Ptolemies and the violent among your own people shall lift themselves up in order to fulfill the vision but they shall fail. Your own people. In other words, Daniel's own people, the Jews, and that refers to a brief civil war that was fought among the Jews in Jerusalem around 199 BC. There's a war, you can understand how this goes. between those more conservative Orthodox Jews and those more progressive liberal Jews who want to bend things, when really it came down to those who kind of favored the Seleucids and those who favored the Ptolemies. And in a way, from God's point of view, they end up both losing, as we'll see. Continuing on, verse 15. Then the king of the north, which is Antiochus III at this time, shall come up and throw up siege works and take a well-fortified city. It's the city Sidon. And the forces of the south shall not stand, or even his best troops, for there shall be no strength to stand. But he who comes against him shall do as he wills, and none shall stand before him. That is Antiochus III. And he shall stand in the glorious land with destruction in his hand. He shall set his face to come with the strength of the whole kingdom. He shall bring terms of an agreement to perform them. He shall give him the daughter of women to destroy the kingdom, but it shall not stand or be to his advantage. This glorious land, of course, is Jerusalem. And this daughter, it turns out, is the name that you probably all have heard before, is Cleopatra. Cleopatra I. And afterward, after that, he says, he turns his face to the coastlands and he shall capture many of them, but a commander shall be put an end to his insolence. So this is a reference to the new power in the region that's growing at this time. Rome, which Antiochus' Seleuciids were forced to serve as a vassal state. And it's out of that Seleuciid line at this time that comes the Herod family that we learn about and we read about in the gospel. They come from that line. And so he ends up taking over Israel at this point. So continue that verse 18. Indeed, he, that is this Roman commander, his name was Lucius Cornelius Scipio, he shall turn his insolence back upon him. Then he, Antiochus III, shall turn his face back toward the fortress of his own land, Syria, but he shall stumble, fall, and not be found. Antiochus. The third, history tells us, for this great military mind and leader, he ends up dying in a way that is just so uneventful. He's killed in a battle in a desert wilderness in 187 BC, trying to loot smaller kingdoms to pay his tribute to Rome. Antiochus III is then followed by his son, Seleucid IV, who sent his treasurer to loot the Jerusalem temple, as foretold in verse 20. There it reads, then he 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." So what happens is Seleucid's treasurer, it seems, was actually working for Seleucid IV's brother, who is Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who is Cleopatra's brother, who may have had their brother Seleucia IV, poisoned by the hand of this double-dealing treasurer. He dies early on, not without, you know, without a big pompous circumstance, not in anger or in battle. He was ended up being poisoned. And in case, in any case, Seleucia IV's reign was just short and inconsequential. And like his more famous and really infamous, biblically speaking, counterpart, Antiochus IV, Epiphanes. If you remember that word Epiphanes, it's because he claimed the title the Manifestation of God. That's what that means. And now his tyrannical rule over Syria and Palestine, including Judah, is foretold beginning in verse 21, going through 30. So almost the biggest chunk of this section is really all devoted to this one guy. And so we read, in his place, Seleucius IV, that is, shall arise a contemptible person to whom royalty has not been given. Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who's that referred to. And that's the thing about him as well, too. He didn't actually inherit the kingdom through a bloodline. He kind of just assumed it and stole it. He just took it over. But then it says, he shall come in without warning and obtain a kingdom by flatteries. Armies shall be utterly swept away before him and broken, even the prince of the covenant. That's a debated area of this chapter. The Prince of the Covenant is thought by many to be a reference to this man named Onias III, who was the high priest in Jerusalem, and because of that, the de facto ruler there of Jerusalem defenders at that time, and he ends up being the last high priest until much later. Others think that this Prince of the Covenant is a son of Cleopatra, And it's interesting, you know, Cleopatra is given in marriage. She comes down and then she's in Egypt. And so we all associate her with Egypt when we think of her. But there's more going on to it, the history there. And so whether who this Prince of the Covenant is, I lean towards the High Priest, not the Great High Priest, that would be the Lord Jesus, but the High Priest. And so I can sympathize with the questions there because, you know, I mean, going into this, this is all, again, this is tedious stuff. There is a lot going on, we're moving so fast here through hundreds of years, and so many pieces, so many generations covered in a prophetic manner over a really short piece of time in literature. Comparatively, so we need to move on. And from that time, an alliance is made with him. He shall act deceitfully, and he shall become strong with the small people. Without warning, he shall come into the richest parts of the province, and he shall do what neither his fathers nor his father's fathers have done, scattering among them plunder, spoil, and goods. He shall devise plans against strongholds, but only for a time." That all refers to the Maccabean Wars, the Jewish history, right? We've talked about this before, where to find that info in First and Second Maccabees. So what happens is, Antiochus IV sets his sight on the traditional enemies of the Seleucids to the south, that is the Ptolemies and Judah. And in verse 25 through 28, the amazing prophecy continues to predict these events with an uncanny accuracy. He says, and he, that is Antiochus IV Epiphanes, shall stir up his power in his heart against the king of the south, Ptolemy VI now, whose mother was Cleopatra and Antiochus' sister. This is with the 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. Even those who eat his food shall break him. His army shall be swept away, and many shall fall down slain. And as for the two kings, which was this alliance between Ptolemy the sixth and the seventh, 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. You know what the angel is telling Daniel in that one little line in verse 27, right? It's saying the evil plans of men are according to the purposes and the plans of God. And they either succeed or they fail, ultimately. Not on the basis of their military prowess or political maneuvering, but they either succeed or they fail, ultimately, depending upon God's immutable plan, right? Things have not changed. Yahweh is the sovereign Lord over all kings and nations, and even in the midst of these wars and rumors of wars, Yahweh has decreed their ends from, and from our standpoint, they haven't even had their beginning yet. And so you see, you begin to see, right, why it is that God is having these future events revealed with incredible precision to Daniel. And one of the things going on in the background for us here as well, remember, is that question we talked about in Chapter 8 with Antiochus IV Epiphanes. And that is... You know, Antiochus IV is not the Antichrist, but he's Antichrist. And he, with his hatred and his persecution of God's people, and with many others like him in future generations, that they are typological of the yet still future political, religious end times and last Antichrist, that man of sin and lawlessness. And so, notice what he does, according to verse 28. He shall return to his land with great wealth, but his heart shall be set against the Holy Covenant, the covenant that is Yahweh made with Israel at Mount Sinai. And we know that's being referred to because of what he does. He goes to Jerusalem and it's the temple that is desecrated. Listen to 1st Maccabees 1.20-24. It says, after Antiochus had defeated Egypt in the 143rd year, he returned and went up against Israel and against Jerusalem with a strong force. He insolently entered the sanctuary and took away the golden altar, the lampstand for the light with all its utensils, the offering table, the cups, and the bowls, and the golden censers, and the curtain, the cornices, and the golden ornaments on the facade of the temple. He stripped it all off, and he took away the silver and gold and the precious vessels, and he also took away all the hidden treasures he could find. Taking all this, he went back to his own country. He shed much blood and spoke with great arrogance." This is, you have to remember, this is the son of one that foolish Jews welcomed in with open arms. And what does he do? He comes in and he plunders the people. Again, it might be worth repeating, 1 Maccabees isn't scripture, but it does give us a accurate description of historical events. And just like any other historical work might do, maybe like a history book that you had in middle school or high school or college even. So continuing here at verse 29, says, at the time appointed, he shall return and come into the south, but it shall not be this time as it was before, for ships of Kittim shall come against him. The ships of Kittim, that's a direct reference to the prophecy of Balaam in Numbers 24. And the ships of Kittim, it's the Roman fleet, it's the ships that come from the west. they're now going, and they're not going strong in the eastern Mediterranean. So they're coming west from the east. And they shall be afraid, and we read back in the text, they shall be afraid and withdraw, and they shall turn back and be enraged and take action against the Holy Covenant. So Antiochus, what that all is saying is that he comes now to an extremely low point. He's held back by the increasing power of the Roman military, and so he's no longer able to just loot and conquer regions as he once could. In fact, a Roman consul named Gaius Populus Lanus confronted him, and what he does is he draws a circle, he takes a reed in his hand, and he draws a circle around Antiochus on the ground, and then he orders Antiochus to answer his questions before he steps out of the circle. He just punks them, really, right? And that, of course, was humiliating. And so at this point, the Romans are just far too strong. And the quotation from Numbers 24-23 implies that the ships from Chittim had appeared and they limited Antiochus, which is now setting the stage for the coming of the Messiah by fulfilling another ancient prophecy. I have to think then. He's just been humiliated. His power is dwindling. How is a guy like Antiochus Epiphanus going to respond? He's arrogant. He's full of himself. He's always been thirsty for power. He's not a calm and meek and wise ruler. He's gonna fly off the handle. He's gonna lose it. And so we learn in verse 30 that he's now enraged. And so Antiochus turned his attention back to Jerusalem to, quote, pay attention to those who forsake the holy covenant. Remember, he has some apostate Jews on his side. They had welcomed them before. And what he's looking to do here is not simply just Hellenize the Jews, that is, Not simply just, you know, introduce them to Greek culture and get them blended in. What he's really looking to do is offer more of an extinction plan. An extinction plan to their religion and to the people if they refuse. Yes, of course, they must comply with Greek culture, law, and religion, but he had no problem slaughtering them if they did not. And so just think about this for a moment. Remember what we learned in chapter 10. There is a prince of Greece that is behind all of this. And so in that meaning, the spiritual power entity that is bringing about some of these things, waging the spiritual battle that's behind some of the things happening in the physical realm. And then you think about Revelation 12, how we read there that the dragon was standing by the woman seeking to devour the child whenever he would be born. And so I think it becomes very clear from the perspective of the unseen realm of what's going on here. With Antiochus, he's being used in this effort to prevent, if possible, the coming of the Messiah, even if he's not aware of it. Even if he's not aware of it himself, certainly he just wants power, he just wants prestige, he just wants wealth. He's mad now that Rome has taken away that power. But what is the Prince of Greece doing behind it all? What is the power behind the power doing? Well, notice what's revealed next, according to verse 31 following. that is Antiochus IV, 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. All of this, if you remember, was foretold by that, quote, little horn in chapter 8, 9 through 14. And it is yet another prophetic reference to Antiochus' desecration of the Jerusalem temple. Now, this is the second time. This is in 167 BC. And understand what he does. It's unimaginable, in a way. But remember, this is all happening by the will of Yahweh. And so he goes into Jerusalem, and he goes into the temple, and he sets up a statue of Zeus. Likely, this icon of Zeus probably looks a lot like himself, Antiochus IV. And he drops the statue on the altar, and then he offers up an animal sacrifice. You know what kind of an animal it was? Yeah, it was a pig. It was a pig, an animal that was designated as unclean in the Old Covenant. I mean, this is making Nebuchadnezzar seem like a fairly decent guy, right? And so, at this point, Antiochus, he forbids anybody being circumcised. He forbids any Sabbath worship. He forbids anyone from having a possession of a scroll of the Torah. And he ends up killing tens of thousands of Jews. I've read upwards of 80,000 some places. And his efforts almost succeed in destroying the temple permanently. Notice the first half of verse 32. He shall seduce with flattery those who violate the covenant. Those pro-Ptolemaic Jews. And it's bad. Look at their betrayal. This is from 1 Maccabees 1. Verse 44, says the king sent letters by messenger to Jerusalem and to the cities of Judah ordering them to follow customs foreign to their land. to prohibit burnt offerings, sacrifices, and libations in the sanctuary, to profane the Sabbath and feast days, to desecrate the sanctuary and the sacred ministers, to build pagan altars and temples and shrines, sacrifice swine and unclean animals, to leave their sons uncircumcised and to defile themselves with every kind of impurity and abomination, so they might forget the law and change all its ordinances. See, he's trying to wipe it out. Whoever refused to act according to the command of the king was put to death. And so, imagine this scenario. It's either fight back and be killed, most likely, or succumb to the fear of man and just utterly blaspheme the God of the universe. It's a bad spot. But there are still many faithful Jews who will resist him. Notice the last half of verse 32. But the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action. Daniel is given something of prophecy at this point. He's hearing about these historical events that are still, from his vantage point, to happen in the future, a few hundred years out, and then, as it were, it gets addressed from the point of view of those who'd be living through such difficult, tumultuous, violent, oppressive times, and he's told that the people who know their God will display strength and take action. In verse 33, Daniel's visitor tells him, the wise among the people shall make many understand, though for some days they shall stumble by sword and flame, by captivity and plunder. And what that's talking about is this prediction and the rise of the Maccabees and others who oppose Antiochus to force efforts to secularize and just wipe out the Jewish faith and turn Jerusalem temple into a temple of Zeus. And note the outcome is certain. as the wise among the people shall make them understand." It's a glorious promise, really, in light of everything else going on. And it's come to pass, of course, we know from history, not everybody gives in. In fact, 1 Maccabees tells us that many in Israel stood firm and were resolved in their hearts not to eat unclean food. They chose to die rather than be defiled by food or profane their covenant. And they did die. And a very great wrath came upon Jerusalem, came upon Israel. And out of that group who would know their God, there would be some who were strong and take action. Specifically, a priest by the name of Matthias, who had five sons. John, Simon, Judas Maccabeus, who would become known as the Hammer, which is a really cool name to be known by, and Jonathan and Eleazar. And these five sons in Matthias, they actually resisted, and they end up resisting valiantly. And Judas the hammer, he ends up dying in battle. But they are helped in the plan of God by Jews, they're helped in this plan to stop this revolt by some Jews who had ulterior motives. We even read in verse 34. But it was under this Maccabean revolt that not only was Antiochus driven out of Jerusalem, But it was through this Maccabean revolt that the temple was cleansed and rededicated. And it was this very event prophesied by Daniel that would become the Jewish tradition that is still celebrated today that we know as Hanukkah, the Feast of Lights. That was all through what happened in the Maccabean Wars. We read in verse 35, And some of the wise shall stumble, so they shall be refined, purified, and made white until the time of the end, for it still awaits the appointed time. So although Antiochus IV almost, I mean he just almost gets it done, he almost accomplishes his goal, and this even sanctifies some of God's people, but the angel tells Daniel very clearly that Antiochus IV will not succeed. that Daniel and future generations can take heart because he will not succeed, it will not happen because it is not Yahweh's appointed time. Remember back in chapter 9, Antiochus IV will not be able to do what Titus does 200 years after him in AD 70. Why? It's not because Antiochus IV didn't have the drive or the know-how, or it's not because he didn't have enough evil intent. It's simply because Yahweh did not will it. It's not yet the appointed time. So up to this point, the vision spells out with great accuracy events about 300 years future to Daniel, and it begins with the rise of these two kingdoms, the Ptolemies and the Seleucids, and those who ruled them. The key figure so far through all of this is Antiochus IV, Epiphanes, and the key event is the desecration of the temple, just as Gabriel had revealed to Daniel in the vision given in chapter 8. And the end of the chapter is going to take a bit of a turn, we'll see. It's a little less tedious as well. And of course, you know, there's debate on how to see it, right? And so we'll probably mention those things, but we'll save that for next time. For now, I just wanted to go over a few points of application. So here's the first thing. We have this prophecy. Why give this prophecy with such incredible detail? I mean, prophecy of Isaiah, the prophecy of Zechariah. I like those prophecies better. They're clear, it's about the Messiah, and there are a lot of prophecies that just, you know, they build you up and they tell you what God's going to do to redeem you and to save you, and they're wonderful. But this one actually stands out in stark contrast to so much of what else we have in God's Word. I mean, honestly, I don't know of any other passages in the Old Testament that have this level of historical detail spanning so many generations. So the question is why? Why have this? Well, Daniel is living in Babylonian captivity, but then he sees a transition from Babylon to Persia. You remember when that happened, and remember in Daniel chapter 5, The Persian Empire comes to be, and so Cyrus, or Darius, the first king, he ends up being actually very kind to Daniel, remember? And very kind to Israel. He's a benevolent king to them, and it is that Persian Empire that actually gives the Jews the ability and the right to return back home. and they were friendly to the Jewish people. They allowed them to return, they helped them to rebuild the temple, even providing funds that they would need for it. And it would be during this time that so many of the Jewish people will look at this promise of restoration as coming to fulfillment. That restoration that Jeremiah spoke about, here it is all coming to fulfillment. But the reality is, is that it would not be complete fulfillment. And the fact is that this glorious time of restoration would end up being short-lived. And the problem is, is that it's really easy to get caught up in temporal blessing and favor, and then lose sight of the end. We have that issue ourselves, don't we? And so the prophetic details come here to remind Daniel, to remind God's people at this time, that there was still a future and final fulfillment to come. And this current blessing, though it is not going to last, Things are going up right now as it were, but don't be surprised when they go back down. And don't put your hope in the temporal. but put it in the eternal hope of the Lord Jesus Christ in his second coming and for Israel here, the consummation of the kingdom for Israel here, that is what this restoration was pointing to as well even. And for us, that is what we have been directed toward in this age as well, that the Lord Jesus will return from heaven in the same way that he departed, that he'll bring the heavenly Zion down to earth for the remainder of eternity. And here's the thing though, we also today in this age go through times of peace and blessing We Americans have basically have this time of. general peace and blessing going on for, you know, almost 300 years now. And there has been, of course, fluctuations, ups and downs in it. And Christians in other places, during the same time period, the same time as us, they've had a much different experience, a much different perspective on this life. But you understand, though, no matter what experience you've had, our hope as Christians is still the same. But there's a danger for God's people when God's people have it easy. When the people of God experience times of prosperity and blessing and things are just going well often, that is when we're at our weakest. And at those times where we're lulled into apathy and we become dull of hearing and we lose zeal for the precious things of God, it just becomes like, well, I could, you know, for example, I could go to church or I could stay home. What's the big deal? So prophets like this are here to remind us especially in good times, to be steadfast, to continue looking to Christ, to remember that He is our very present help, to strengthen the faithful, and to give us resolve against future compromise. God prepares His people through prophecy like this, and He's preparing us even today through it, even though this all came to be, you know, now 2,000 years ago, over 2,000 years ago from us. Because, you know, the lesson is the same. The lesson is that same. Don't be lulled into apathy because blessing that we may have or maybe that we even may not have, it's not the goal right now anyways. The redemptive historical goal that Yahweh has revealed is his communion with believers in the new Jerusalem, the new heavens, and the new earth. And so, for all of eternity, that's the final consummation. And so we're encouraged then to press on. More about that in a moment. The second thing this passage does for us from a prophetic, historical angle, is that it absolutely establishes the wisdom and the sovereignty of God. No one else could do this. No one else could give this information like Yahweh did. Nostradamus, you remember him, he never did anything like that. No so-called prophet can do this. So this text stands as a historical monument to the supernatural nature of God's holy word. Daniel 11 stands as this monument of Tedious detail, but it stands as a monument that says our God is in control, that he is in control of all things, including the future. And that is still true today, it always will be true. And it will never stop being true. There is a God who has decreed, all that shall come to pass. And so Daniel 11 may be tedious, it may have details that we weren't expecting, but it stands to remind us, listen people, God, it stands to remind us, be ready. Be ready because difficult times will come, and so trust in the God who is in control. Even future details, because that is where your comfort and your rest lay, in the God who is in control, no matter what may happen. And that brings us to the second point of application. I so love, so very much love, how there is this little detail in verse 35. that Antiochus will fail, and that even though things look bad with him, that this isn't the time of the end, but the end will come at the appointed time. Friends, I trust that is a comfort for you. that God is working things to the appointed time. Young people, I mean, I know your lives are full of questions and uncertainty. What will I do when I graduate? Who will I marry? Is there someone out there? And the questions are endless, and they don't really go away. As you get older, they just change. But scripture constantly and consistently gives us reason to have comfort and rest in light of our questions. Our lives, friends, from beginning to end, as well as the history of the world, are from God's perspective being played out exactly as he decreed them to be. The blessing you receive, the good things you receive, the trials you endure, the loss that just rips your heart out even, the sin that remains that you labor against, all of it, all of it from our perspective is subject to change and impacted by our decisions, but from the vantage point of the all-knowing, an all-powerful God that we love and serve, everything is happening at its appointed time. I mean, most obviously, Jesus will come back at the appointed time. Yahweh knows that time, right? Matthew 24, 36. He's appointed a rebellion to come before that. And then at that time, he'll come, 2 Thessalonians 2, Yahweh told Abraham that he would return at the appointed time and Sarah would have a son. All of the feasts of Israel, if you read through the Torah, they're all to be celebrated at the appointed time of God. God has appointed a time and a day for us to worship him, gathered incorporately, one day in seven, the first day of the week, the Lord's day. All of this, the appointed time, Isaiah 14, 24, is a great comfort to us, it should be, because we know the benevolence and the love of our God toward us. 14, 24 says, as I have planned, so shall it be, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand. And that was specifically about judgment for Assyria. But understand, that's true about everything. That's absolutely true about everything. He works all things according to the counsel of His own will. And from Him and through Him and to Him are all things forever and ever to Him be the glory. Amen. And so friends, are you going through easy times? As you enjoy blessing, understand that it's coming to you at the appointed time from God. But the converse also must be true then. That when you go through trial, When you go through tribulation, when you go through suffering, that's coming to you at the appointed time as well. From that same sovereign and ruling God, and somewhat mysteriously, fantastically, really for you, for the Christian, even that trial and tribulation is actually for your good. Remember what verse 35 said, and some of the why's shall stumble. Why? Why do they have this trial, this stumbling? I'm sure they don't love it at the moment. I'm sure they're grieved and angry with themselves even over this stumbling. But why does it come? We read, so they may be refined. purified and made white until the time of the end. You see, friends, because God is sovereign, He is able even more, He promises to work all things together for good for those who love Him or who are called according to His purpose. And then lastly, I just love, again, this little detail that is given to Daniel in light of all these historical facts. He's reminded that this enemy of God and God's people is noteworthy. He's been granted this from God. He's going to do some wicked things, and he'll even deceive some apostate professors of faith with flattery, but, but, the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action. What an encouragement that is. That despite the ones who despise God's word, despite the kind of events that may take place in our lives that threaten our well-being, the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action. What does it mean to know God? Well here, the idea is concerning those who love God. And notice, it's not those who love God a lot or those who love God supremely. Of course, those are things that we should take action toward, but it's just for those who know God, who love God, and who loves God? It is those that God has first loved. 1 John 4, 19, we love Him because He first loved us. And when God loves you, He has chosen you from before the foundation of the world, and in time, He calls you, and He saves you, and He draws you by His Spirit, and He unites you to Christ, and He seals you with His Spirit, and from that time, you know God, and you love God. He is your father and you are his son or his daughter. And through the redemption and adoption that's applied to you by Christ Jesus, and he will hold you fast until that appointed time and through that appointed time in between. And so it says, those who know God shall stand firm. God's grace, saints, it is a firm foundation that your life is built on. It is fixed firmly on that narrow path and our great shepherd has his rod and his staff to keep us firmly on track all the way to the celestial city. The waves of this life and this present evil age, they will certainly come. They will certainly crash against you. They will threaten to knock you over and to wipe you out, and at times it'll feel like you're drowning. But understand what this says, friends. God will keep his people. God will keep his people. They shall stand firm. Those in Christ are more than conquerors, the Apostle John says in the Apocalypse. And speaking of more than conquerors, notice the last part. What is a conqueror? A conqueror is someone who goes out and does something, right? You're not a conqueror if you're just sitting on your couch all day watching TV, right? You're not. And maybe you're playing a video game, that's true. So the people, what we read is the people who know their God and stand firm, they do what? They take action. We've been reminded recently by Pastor Nick that the phrase, let go and let God is just pure foolishness and it really is. For those who know God, for those who stand firm and desire to stand firm, well, your posture at that point isn't just to shrink back and become this complacent, formless, spineless pile of Christian goo. That's not what we're called to do at all when we have the grace of God fueling our lives. It's, by grace, friends, we're to take action. were to put to death by the power of the Spirit the sin that remains, were to engage in spiritual warfare in that gospel armor of God, were to be zealous for good works, were to imitate the faithful of the past, were to encourage and admonish and rebuke the saints if needed, Take action, brothers and sisters. Live sacrificial. Do things for the good of others and for the glory of God. Give up your own time to do something to bless others in the kingdom. Bring somebody to church. Share the gospel with someone. You're called to take action. Not as a means of winning God's favor, but because you have God's favor. Because you know God. And God, more importantly, knows you and He loves you and He's given to you all that you need. And so don't just be passive. Live sacrificially for the kingdom. Make the fellowship of the saints your priority in this life. The Lord's Day especially, but all throughout the week as well, whenever you can. At the times appointed by God, if you will. I don't think I'll ever stop or start getting tired of saying this on this side of eternity. But gathering with the Church, friends, is a really good excuse for you to miss everything else. Every single time. Every single time. And so take action. Be with your brothers and sisters. Participate in the means of grace. Study God's Word together. Encourage one another, lift each other up, share each other's burdens, weep with those who weep, rejoice with those who rejoice, and take action. Take action from a position of humility and grace, knowing that God is working through all these things for His glory and His will is being done. Let that be the motivation in your life that you need to press on for His glory. He will hold you. Let's pray. Our Father in heaven, we're so thankful that you are sovereign. that there's not a single detail of this life that we live, that ever since you brought time and creation into existence, that there's not been a single moment where you were ever surprised or caught off guard or didn't know what was happening. We're so glad to know that your eternal decree is behind all that comes to pass, and that You are working all things according to the counsel of Your will. And so I pray this evening, Father, is that Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven, that You would be glorified in all things, that You would help us to learn through Your Word and the examples that we see in it, who it is that You are, what it is that you do and what it is that we are like and how we might respond to the situations that your sovereign will places us in. We do pray, Lord God, that you would help us to take action. We don't want to be passive and complacent and apathetic. We confess, God, how easy it is to be those things. You've blessed us with so much. We have so many good things that are, that are adiaphora. They're just, they're neither good or bad, but they have such easy potential to become bad in our lives, God. And so we ask that you would help us to flee youthful lusts and passions, and that we would press on to maturity for your glory's sake, and we're so grateful to know that we can't do it ourselves, but that we must depend upon you for help in it, so please help us. Father, Son, and Spirit, may you be glorified always. It's in Jesus' name that we pray, amen.