God’s Plan To Purify Israel – Part 2
Daniel 11:2-45 (36-35)
August 21, 2016
Tonight we get back to this very interesting chapter in the book of Daniel.
As you are aware it all started back in Daniel 9.
• Daniel was reading Jeremiah 29 and saw the need for repentance.
• Daniel began to pray and God sent Gabriel with a revelation.
• Gabriel began to reveal God’s plan of 70 weeks.
Daniel 9:24-27 “Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy place. “So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress. “Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined. “And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.”
God has a plan that will ultimately purify Israel.
He will fully accomplish His purposes in her.
But this plan both confused and concerned Daniel.
He wanted to know more, but he couldn’t understand it.
So Gabriel was given orders to explain the vision to Daniel.
(We actually saw the behind the scenes working of this in chapter 10)
CHAPTER 11 IS THAT EXPLANATION.
• All of this chapter is future to Daniel.
• And all of this chapter is (for lack of a better term) history to God.
God is not limited by time and space.
He is the God is was and who is and who is to come.
Which means that everything we see here
Is already fully accomplished in the eyes of God.
To Him it is as though it already happened.
This is not God’s proposal
This is not just His plan
This has been decreed, it is done.
IT WILL HAPPEN JUST AS GOD SAYS.
And we are more privileged than Daniel in understanding this.
For as I said, for Daniel this entire chapter is in the future, but we have the luxury of coming at this prophecy from the middle of things.
The first 35 verses of this chapter have already been historically fulfilled.
That means we get to test the accuracy of the end of this chapter
By the accuracy of the beginning.
If the first 35 verses proved true
Then we have no reason to doubt that the last 10 will also.
Well last time we examined those first 35 verses.
#1 THE PAST HISTORY OF ISRAEL
Daniel 11:2-35
And I certainly don’t want to hash back through all of that
Except to remind you that Daniel was very specific in what he saw
And that what he saw was specifically fulfilled.
• We saw wars with predicted victors…
• We saw marriage alliances that we knew wouldn’t work…
• We saw interference of foreign armies…
• We saw the rise and fall of many rulers just as Daniel said…
Everything that Daniel saw up until verse 35 happened verbatim.
That means we have no reason to doubt that
What is recorded in verses 36 to 45 won’t also happen verbatim.
Now, We begin to talk about events that have not yet happened.
However because God decreed it just like he did verses 2-35
We have no doubt that it will happen.
So just as sure as we saw The Past History of Israel
Now let’s see:
#2 THE FUTURE HISTORY OF ISRAEL
Daniel 11:36-45
As we said, prophecy is just history that we haven’t experienced yet,
But in God’s eyes it’s already done.
Furthermore it was all future for Daniel
So he would have no reason to believe this final part
Any less than he believed the first part.
These sections are equal in accuracy
Even though we haven’t seen the end yet.
What we begin to talk about in verses 36-45 is a future king who will rule.
You and I will know him as Antichrist.
I do want to remind you again that
The purpose of all that God is revealing is for the purification of Israel.
Ultimately that means that all of these events
Are meant to drive Israel to Jesus Christ,
Who alone can fulfill that list of attributes given in Daniel 9.
It is only when Israel turns to Jesus that:
• Transgression will be finished
• An end will be made of sin
• Atonement will be made for iniquity
• Everlasting righteousness will be brought in
• Vision and prophecy will be finished
• The most holy place will be anointed
So all of these events are meant to drive Israel to Jesus
And I don’t know of one who will be more instrumental in that plan
Than this man we call Antichrist.
And make no mistake, he is promised to come.
Daniel 9:27 “And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.”
Zechariah 11:15-17 “The LORD said to me, “Take again for yourself the equipment of a foolish shepherd. “For behold, I am going to raise up a shepherd in the land who will not care for the perishing, seek the scattered, heal the broken, or sustain the one standing, but will devour the flesh of the fat sheep and tear off their hoofs. “Woe to the worthless shepherd Who leaves the flock! A sword will be on his arm And on his right eye! His arm will be totally withered And his right eye will be blind.”
God has appointed the rise of this man,
And Daniel does a good job of giving us a brief outline regarding him.
Now obviously since he has not yet come and has not yet performed the things mentioned here we can’t be as specific in our detail as we were in the first 35 verses.
We can however, take what Daniel says
Along with other prophecies concerning him
And gain an understanding as to who this man is and what he’ll do.
4 things here about him
1) HIS CHARACTER (36)
Verse 36 really seems to serve as a sort of a summary or overview of the life of the Antichrist.
“Then the king will do as he pleases, and he will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will speak monstrous things against the God of gods; and he will prosper until the indignation is finished, for that which is decreed will be done.”
Daniel mentions some specific things about this man’s character.
• We see his LIBERTY – “the king will do as he pleases”
• We see his ARROGANCE – “he will exalt and magnify himself”
• We see his BLASPHEMY – he “will speak monstrous things against the God of gods”
• We see his PROSPERITY – “he will prosper”
• We see his END – “until the indignation is finished”
We are dealing here with a man
Who is the absolute epitome of worldliness.
Everything we read through the Bible about worldly arrogant people,
Who only want the things of the world and who turn their back on God and blaspheme Him is literally summed up in this man.
HE IS WORLDLINESS PERSONIFIED.
You may remember when Asaph lamented the prosperity of the wicked:
Psalms 73:3-9 “For I was envious of the arrogant As I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For there are no pains in their death, And their body is fat. They are not in trouble as other men, Nor are they plagued like mankind. Therefore pride is their necklace; The garment of violence covers them. Their eye bulges from fatness; The imaginations of their heart run riot. They mock and wickedly speak of oppression; They speak from on high. They have set their mouth against the heavens, And their tongue parades through the earth.”
That is exactly the type of man Antichrist is.
And we could give other examples of men like him throughout the course of time.
And that is part of why he will be so appealing to so many in the world.
He will be a living epitome of what sinful people want to become.
I do think it is also important to give a little understanding
To HIS RISE TO POWER.
Daniel spoke of it earlier, but not here.
Daniel 7:7-8 “After this I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrifying and extremely strong; and it had large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed and trampled down the remainder with its feet; and it was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. “While I was contemplating the horns, behold, another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were pulled out by the roots before it; and behold, this horn possessed eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth uttering great boasts.”
We are referring here to that “little” horn Daniel saw.
And we see him rising to power out of that fourth beast Daniel saw.
You’ll remember that fourth beast was Rome.
• Now the Roman empire fell during the 5th century.
• It did endure in a sense but as a divided and separated nation.
• It actually is now Europe.
What Daniel saw was the future rise of the Roman empire.
When the 10 kings of these 10 nations will once again
Form a sort of coalition as a revamped Roman confederation.
Out of them will come the Antichrist.
Revelation 17:9-13 “Here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits, and they are seven kings; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while. “The beast which was and is not, is himself also an eighth and is one of the seven, and he goes to destruction. “The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour. “These have one purpose, and they give their power and authority to the beast.”
The heads there represented the kingdoms which persecuted Israel.
• The five which have fallen – Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Media-Persia, Greece
• The one which is – Rome
• The one not yet come – future Rome or kingdom of Antichrist
The ten horns he saw were the ten kings of that European confederation that gave their power to the Antichrist.
We’ll see it next week as we begin to see Jesus open the seals in our study of Revelation that this king will arise in a time of peace, and that is precisely what happened here.
He arises through intrigue much like Antiochus IV Epiphones.
But the main point Daniel reveals is that
This king who will arise is literally dripping with arrogance
And blasphemy and will ultimately fall because of it.
That is his character
2) HIS PASSION (37-40)
Probably more telling than what he loves
Is the revelation of what he doesn’t love.
He doesn’t love God.
“He will show no regard for the gods of his fathers or for the desire of women,”
This is an important phrase.
It is a phrase that I think indicates that he must be a Jewish man.
(That seems to make sense since he is seen as the Messiah for a time)
“the gods of his fathers” was a heavily used Jewish term speaking in reference to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Antichrist won’t have any interest in serving the historical God of Israel.
“the desire of women” spoke of the Messiah. As it was a common desire for the women of Israel to be the conduit through which the Messiah would come.
Luke 11:27 “While Jesus was saying these things, one of the women in the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that bore You and the breasts at which You nursed.”
This is a Jewish man who has no interest in God or a coming Messiah,
And you’ll see why in a minute.
For that matter he isn’t interested in worshiping any other god either.
“nor will he show regard for any other god;”
And the reason is that “he will magnify himself above them all.”
He’s not interested in worshiping God or looking for Messiah,
Because he is convinced that he is both,
And will demand the worship that they alone deserve.
What he will love however is POWER
(38-39) “But instead he will honor a god of fortresses, a god whom his fathers did not know; he will honor him with gold, silver, costly stones and treasures. “He will take action against the strongest of fortresses with the help of a foreign god; he will give great honor to those who acknowledge him and will cause them to rule over the many, and will parcel out land for a price.”
His entire interest will be power.
He will love power, seek power, and honor power.
And anyone who will acknowledge his power
Will also be given honor and apparently land at a discounted rate.
You may remember how Antiochus IV Epiphenes solidified control of his kingdom by robbing the rich and distributing it to the poor.
That is a foreshadowing of the Antichrist.
He will conquer and distribute in order to obtain what he really wants which is world power.
What is important to see here is how similar (yet twisted) his work will be
To that of the genuine Messiah.
Matthew 19:27-29 “Then Peter said to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what then will there be for us?” And Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name’s sake, will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life.”
Jesus promised to His followers that they would be rewarded
And given houses and lands and the right to rule and to reign.
Of course Jesus’ promise was regarding heaven and eternity, not this life.
Jesus routinely called for the sacrifice of this life.
But the Antichrist will be the same yet opposite.
He also will offer houses and lands and the right to rule and reign,
But he will offer it in this life.
Remember the offer of Satan to Jesus?
Matthew 4:8-9 “Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.”
Not much has changed there has it?
As a side note maybe this helps you see why
I am so opposed to preachers of the prosperity gospel.
I’ve been mildly rebuked recently for mentioning Joel Olsteen by name and have been assured that his a man of God.
But he isn’t.
• His messages are saturated with how to get ahead in this world and in this life.
• Everything he says is about gaining this world.
• He even writes books called “Your Best Life Now”
That was, is, and will always be the message of the enemy.
It sounds very similar to the message of Jesus, with one major exception.
Jesus was talking about the next life, not this one.
Why do Satan and Antichrist and prosperity preachers offer those things?
Because it gives them what they desire which is power.
• Satan would give Jesus the whole world if Jesus would have simply worshiped him.
• Antichrist will do the same if people will acknowledge him.
It’s not hard to see the similarities.
The passion of the Antichrist is not God, it’s power.
His character, his passion
3) HIS POWER (40-43)
Here we actually get a taste of his power.
(Read 40-43)
Don’t confuse the South and the North here with the same countries we studied in the first half of this chapter.
This is no longer the Seluecids and the Ptolemies.
• The South is most likely Egypt (even called that later)
• The North is not defined. At the very least it is Syria, though many believe it to be Russia.
Either way what happens is that each of these nations will invade Israel.
Now at this point Israel is full allegiance with the Antichrist.
They’re buying what he is selling hook, line, and sinker.
They think he is their guy.
He’s brash and powerful and successful and he’s conquering the world,
And they just think he’s the bomb.
So an invasion of Israel is an attack on Antichrist.
Antichrist won’t stand for that so he will march from Europe to Israel
And literally overflow many nations on his way.
• He won’t be able to fully conquer Edom, Moab, or Ammon (which are all in modern day Jordan) but he will conquer Egypt and he will plunder her.
• His victory over Egypt and the wealth he gains will gain him even more dominion and will earn him the allegiance of Lybia and Ethiopia.
The point is that his power will be tested
And he will come out as the super victor.
He won’t have absolutely conquered every single country,
But he will be the undisputed heavy-weight power of the world.
If you are wondering where all this fits in with the
TIME FRAME OF THE BOOK OF REVELATION
It is the invasion of the North and the South
That signifies that second horseman of the apocalypse.
• Remember the first horse is peace…world peace.
• It is the second horse (the red one) which signifies war and that is what
began here.
Also at this time is when the Antichrist enters Israel to fight his battle
At this time takes his seat in the temple and magnifies himself as God.
2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 “Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.”
It think it is safe to say that it is most likely the battle he fights
Which will cause him to receive the fatal wound which is healed.
And it is this victory that goes to his head to such a degree
That he sets up that massive abomination
That Daniel and Jesus both warned about.
Revelation 13:1-8 “And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore. Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names. And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority. I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast; they worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?” There was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him. And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven. It was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him. All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain.”
His victory and his dominion
Will bring out a previously unseen arrogance in him.
He will declare himself to be God.
We even see later in Revelation 13 that he will have a statue of himself built which will be declared an item of worship which all the world must worship.
And we read that most of the world will worship him.
They will be enamored by his great power.
However, this event will be the light bulb moment for the Jews.
Their history under Antiochus IV Epiphones has prepared them for this very moment and when they see history repeating itself they will finally get it.
They will recognize they have been deceived
And according to Zechariah 12
They will turn to look on Him whom they had pierced.
In short, while the rest of the world is flocking to the Antichrist,
Israel will rebel against him.
This will bring about a slaughter.
He will attack and kill them continually and it will be a horrific time which will last for 42 months or for a time, times and half time.
THIS WILL BE THE HALF-WAY POINT OF THE TRIBULATION.
Daniel 9:27 “And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.”
Jesus spoke of it:
Matthew 24:15-22 “Therefore when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. “Whoever is on the housetop must not go down to get the things out that are in his house. “Whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. “But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! “But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath. “For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. “Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.”
It will be a horrible time of tribulation for the saints of God.
But as we already noted; it will be the work of God
To purify Israel as a nation unto Himself.
And in between verses 43 and 44 you can actually insert the final 3 ½ years otherwise known as the Great Tribulation.
AND THEN DANIEL SEES THIS MAN’S END.
His character, his passion, his power
4) HIS FALL (44-45)
He is going to be bothered by “rumors from the East and from the North”
Remember he conquered the South, but these other two nations
Which he has not yet fully conquered will bother him.
He’s going to hear rumors of rebellion which will be more than his pride can handle.
• And so he will draw a great army to himself.
• And seek to fight a mighty battle.
Revelation 16:12-14 “The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river, the Euphrates; and its water was dried up, so that the way would be prepared for the kings from the east. And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs; for they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them together for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty.”
God will actually dry up the Euphrates river and the Antichrist will see this as his opportunity to gather the armies together for battle.
The East and the North weren’t against him, they were false rumors.
In fact they will gather with him.
What he doesn’t know is that it is a trap issued by the God of heaven.
He will gather on the plain of Meggido between the two seas.
And “he will come to his end, and no one will help him.”
What will happen?
Revelation 19:19-21 “And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone. And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh.”
God set the trap and initiated his fall.
Daniel 7:8-11 “While I was contemplating the horns, behold, another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were pulled out by the roots before it; and behold, this horn possessed eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth uttering great boasts. “I kept looking Until thrones were set up, And the Ancient of Days took His seat; His vesture was like white snow And the hair of His head like pure wool. His throne was ablaze with flames, Its wheels were a burning fire. “A river of fire was flowing And coming out from before Him; Thousands upon thousands were attending Him, And myriads upon myriads were standing before Him; The court sat, And the books were opened. “Then I kept looking because of the sound of the boastful words which the horn was speaking; I kept looking until the beast was slain, and its body was destroyed and given to the burning fire.”
And all this is God’s plan for finally bringing about the purity in Israel that He has intended from the beginning.
And all that is fascinating information,
But it does bring about the need for some important application.
WHAT IS TO BE LEARNED FROM ALL THIS?
What should Israel learn from this?
THE MESSIAH THEY NATURALLY WANT
IS NOT THE CORRECT MESSIAH.
In fact, according to what Gabriel revealed to Daniel,
Israel will cut off the correct Messiah and then embrace the false one.
WHY?
I think Paul summed it up best.
2 Thessalonians 2:8-12 “Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.”
Do you see why they didn’t love Jesus, but will love the Antichrist?
It is because they do not love the truth.
Instead they “took pleasure in wickedness.”
Is that not the danger Jesus continually warned of?
John 3:16-21 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. “For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. “But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”
Loving sin and hating truth
Is a sure-fire recipe to get deceived by the enemy.
And that is precisely what is happening to Israel.
AND THE PARALLEL IS TOO REAL NOT TO SEE.
Like so many today who don’t want a savior from sin, but only want a savior from poverty and sickness and discomfort.
If that is all you want, you are in danger of finding the wrong Messiah.
There are plenty of Messiah’s offered in the world today
And all but one of them are false.
John said:
1 John 2:18-19 “Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us.”
Our world is filled with “antichrists”
Remember what Paul told the Corinthians?
2 Corinthians 11:3-4 “But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully.”
That isn’t just true for Corinth, it’s true for so many even in our day.
It is the danger of seeking a savior who gratifies the flesh.
Jesus did not come to gratify your flesh, He came to destroy it.
Galatians 5:24 “Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”
The pitfall of Israel is the pitfall of the ages.
Namely that people seek a multitude of teachers to tell them what their itching ears want to hear.
AND END UP WITH THE WRONG SAVIOR
If you go down that path, you are setting yourself up for deception.
There was only one in the New Testament
Who offered this world and that was the enemy.
Be careful searching for a savior who gratifies the flesh,
All you have to do is look at what it’s costing Israel.
Let them be a forever example to you about that danger
And let their folly drive you to the real Savior.
Jesus is the One who will save you from sin
And who will give you the real kingdom, seek Him.
