Sermon - Daniel 11:21-39 - Prophecy Unfolded - Littleby Baptist Church - September 13, 2020
We have seen that the exile is over and a small group of Israelites have returned home, but Daniel is not with them. We have seen that Daniel was crying out for his people over the struggles they were facing. An angel appears to Daniel, most likely Gabriel, and tells Daniel that he is treasured by God and that the angel was sent to explain the future of the Israelites to him.
There will be four more Persian kings before Alexander the Great will come and conquer the Mede and Persian Empire. Alexander is the prominent horn on the goat that defeats the ram and he is the king who leads when the third of the four beasts begin. Alexander’s reign is short, his kingdom is divided, which was foretold in the earlier prophecies.
The angel tells Daniel the future of what happens between the remaining kingdoms. The north and the south, Syria and Egypt, battle it out over and over again. The whole region gets involved including Israel at times. The prophecy was given in 536 BC and we see the beginning of the Roman Empire getting involved in 176 BC as the king of Syria was paying tribute to them.
God had the angel lay all of this out for Daniel, not to grieve him but so that he can write it down for those who will follow him. The Word of God was written down for us, to be a map for our feet and a light for our path, we must trust in it.
Today we will pick up with Daniel 11:21
Daniel 11:21
“21 “In his place a despised person will arise; royal honors will not be given to him, but he will come during a time of peace and seize the kingdom by intrigue.”
King Seleucus IV was assassinated and left his throne to his young son, but instead Seleucus brother Antiochus IV seized the throne and declared himself king. He was not given royal honors like most kings, but instead he worked behind the scene to steal the throne.
This is the same king we discussed in chapter eight, who named himself the ‘Illustrious One’ and expected people to worship him as their god. Many understood how crazy he was and branded him with the nickname of ‘Madman.’
Daniel 11:22
“22 A flood of forces will be swept away before him; they will be broken, as well as the covenant prince.”
While Antiochus is a madman, he successfully invaded Egypt. That success strengthened his hold on the kingdom of Syria. The king swept away the Egyptian army and swept away the Jewish High Priest, or covenant prince, Onias III. We don’t know much about Onias besides knowing that he believed in One God only. Antiochus the Illustrious One wanted a Hellenist leading the priests. He wanted a high priest that supported the worship of many gods, likely including himself, so the king had Onias replaced.
Daniel 11:23-24
“23 After an alliance is made with him, he will act deceitfully. He will rise to power with a small nation. 24 During a time of peace, he will come into the richest parts of the province and do what his fathers and predecessors never did. He will lavish plunder, loot, and wealth on his followers, and he will make plans against fortified cities, but only for a time.”
The Illustrious One or Madman, Antiochus IV, had a small group of supporters but was able to connive his way to power and to accomplish something that none of the Syrian kings that came before him had done. Antiochus was able to conquer every part of Egypt, except for the city of Alexandria. He may have actually come to the Egyptian king as a friend, tricked him, took control of parts of Egypt and then grew his kingdom and control of Egypt from there.
One of the ways Antiochus kept control was by spreading wealth to his followers. The more wealth he acquired from his conquests the more friendship and loyalty he tried to buy. That never turns out well. The prophesy tells us that he will make plans for a period of time, but it will come to an end. God will not let his blasphemy go unanswered.
The next few verses go into some additional details.
Daniel 11:25
“25 “With a large army he will stir up his power and his courage against the king of the South. The king of the South will prepare for battle with an extremely large and powerful army, but he will not succeed, because plots will be made against him.”
Antiochus was successful in taking part of Egypt with a small army and was emboldened to attack Egypt again. In the year of 170 BC he marched on Egypt with an overwhelming army with chariots, elephants, and calvary. The king of Egypt, Ptolemy Philometer, rose up against him but was unable to stand his ground.
Daniel 11:26
“26 Those who eat his provisions will destroy him; his army will be swept away, and many will fall slain.”
The Egyptian king’s advisors who were supported by him, ultimately lead him to his destruction. His vast army was destroyed and swept away by Antiochus’ army.
Daniel 11:27
“27 The two kings, whose hearts are bent on evil, will speak lies at the same table but to no avail, for still the end will come at the appointed time.”
Antiochus and the king of Egypt broke bread together when the battles stopped. They declared friendship to each other. From history we know that Antiochus publicly claimed he invaded Egypt to keep the king’s younger brother from taking the throne. Don’t think he was truthful about his intentions.
The angel reiterates that these events, the turmoil, the deceit, the lies, will eventually end exactly when the Lord says it will.
Daniel 11:28
“28 The king of the North will return to his land with great wealth, but his heart will be set against the holy covenant; he will take action, then return to his own land.”
Antiochus was heading home after invading Egypt and set his sights on Jerusalem and decimated it. He killed eighty thousand people, took forty thousand as prisoners, and sold forty more thousand as slaves. He entered the holy temple, took the holy relics, and sacrificed pigs on the altar. Antiochus desecrated the Temple of God.
There are similarities to what our future holds with the rise of the antichrist and the coming judgement, but I would say this is simply a foreshadowing of what is to come. What the angel is telling Daniel is tied specifically to this time in history.
Daniel 11:29
“29 “At the appointed time he will come again to the South, but this time will not be like the first.”
In 168 BC, two years after his last invasion of Egypt, Antiochus invaded again but this time things did not go nearly as good as they did last time. This time as he was marching his way through Egypt a Roman ambassador confronted him and delivered a letter from the Senate forbidding him to wage war with Egypt.
Antiochus asked for time to consider and the ambassador drew a line around him in the sand and demanded an answer before he stepped out of the circle. Antiochus had to choose between submitting to Rome or declaring war on it, he chose to listen to their demands and suffered a humiliating defeat.
Daniel 11:30
“30 Ships of Kittim will come against him, and being intimidated, he will withdraw. Then he will rage against the holy covenant and take action. On his return, he will favor those who abandon the holy covenant.”
Antiochus withdrew from Egypt and took out his anger on Jerusalem once again. He showed favor to those who supported worshipping many gods and were not really following the One True God. He took advantage of those whose hearts were not in their worship of God.
There is a lot of apathy in the world today, people claim to be Christian but are just going through the motions at best. We need to be devoted to our Lord and truly follow Him so that we are not easily swayed by the things of this world.
Daniel 11:31
“31 His forces will rise up and desecrate the temple fortress. They will abolish the regular sacrifice and set up the abomination of desolation.”
Once again Antiochus desecrated the Temple of God, this time by erecting an alter to Zeus and making offerings to pagan gods on the Holy Altar. He put an end to Mosaic Law, banned circumcision, and the reading of the Torah. He tried to destroy the Jewish religion.
Daniel 11:32
“32 With flattery he will corrupt those who act wickedly toward the covenant, but the people who know their God will be strong and take action.”
Those who were not following God will be corrupted, those that were truly honoring God in their lives will not yield.
Daniel 11:33
“33 Those who have insight among the people will give understanding to many, yet they will fall by the sword and flame, and be captured and plundered for a time.”
Those that continued to follow the ways of God, did so at the risk of being executed.
Daniel 11:34-35
“34 When they fall, they will be helped by some, but many others will join them insincerely. 35 Some of those who have insight will fall so that they may be refined, purified, and cleansed until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time.”
Daniel 11:36-39
“36 “Then the king will do whatever he wants. He will exalt and magnify himself above every god, and he will say outrageous things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, because what has been decreed will be accomplished. 37 He will not show regard for the gods of his fathers, the god desired by women, or for any other god, because he will magnify himself above all. 38 Instead, he will honor a god of fortresses—a god his fathers did not know—with gold, silver, precious stones, and riches. 39 He will deal with the strongest fortresses with the help of a foreign god. He will greatly honor those who acknowledge him, making them rulers over many and distributing land as a reward.”
The king does whatever he wants. Making himself the greatest god to exist and so much more. Here is where things start getting fuzzy, as the verses point to history but could also be painting a picture of the antichrist and his coming reign.
It is easy to debate what is pointing to our history and what is pointing to our future, but what is really important is that we recognize through these verses is that God is Sovereign. He provided this prophecy 360 years before the historical events take place. Our God knows all and sees all.
Daniel 11:35
“35 Some of those who have insight will fall so that they may be refined, purified, and cleansed until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time.”
Those who honor God will be refined, purified, and cleansed. If we honor God with our lives, we will be refined, purified, and cleansed. All the garbage we deal with, the persecution we face, when we feel like we are standing alone, the challenges that pile up in front of us… all of it will refine us, purify us, and cleanse us. God uses these things to help us grow in our Faith.
As hard as it may be, put your faith fully in God and let Him work in you. Let God perfect your Faith.
God Bless,
Robert
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