Prophetic History

Daniel is dealing with a terrifying prophetic vision he has already been told would be for the future for the “end times.” We have looked at Dan9 at the things that had to transpire for the vision to be fulfilled ()

Daniel 9:24–25 NASB95

24 “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. 25 “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.

We hold the vision in our hands, we also hold history in our hands and tonight we are looking at the history of the prophetic vision of Daniel.

The best way to approach this is more in a narrative way in looking at the history and then what can we get from the vision spiritually to help us today.

Conflicts to come

The time is 1st year of Darius (a Mede) reign and even in the midst of trying to grasp what has been revealed to Him in the vision and explained to him about what is to come.

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“In Daniel chapter 11 it is said there are one hundred thirty-five specific prophecies given, all fulfilled to the most minute detail” - Jon Courson

During Daniels life we have seen the deportation from Israel to Babylon, we have seen Babylon fall to the Mede’s and the Persian’s. The Medes’ were under power of Darius, now that brings us what is to happen after that.

(Slide) Cyrus is the Persian king who will rise and (v.2) speaks of three more that would rise. Historically speaking these are Cambyses, Darius I Hystaspis, and Xerxes (this is Artaxerxes found in Esther).

Xerxes with his 2.5 million man army rise up with all their riches and stir up conflict with Greece. They trek 7 day journey to go and try to wipe out Greece, there was great loss, Greece lost, but the army of Xerxes was decimated too.

II. Persians to the Greeks

Read Dan11:5-6

(Slide) 150 years later (now looking at v.3) A great king, Grecian king, name Alexander comes on the scene.

Alexander by the age of 33 was known to have conquered the entire known world.

(Slide) At 33 Alexander dies and the kingdom is split into 4, (see v.4) Four Generals represented by the four winds come into play.

The focus of the vision will now really come between the king of the North and the king of the South. And if you wonder why those two and not all four, it is because they are the two that surround Israel.

The four are

(Slide) The Seleucids who are in Syria (directly to North)

The Ptolemy's who were in Egypt (directly to the South)

(Slide) (v.5) and the king of the South would be strong (Ptolemy)

Read Dan11:7-9

Ptolemy instead of fighting the Syrians decided to form an alliance with them and offers up his daughter Berenice to marry Antiochus II (Syrian king), who had to divorce his wife (Laodicea) who eventually kills Bernice and Antiochus II with poison (v.6)

Read Dan11:7-9

(Slide) Ptolemy III raises up to take revenge against the Syrians and is very successful and returns back to Egypt and lives reign in peace (vv.7-9)

To have the attack, and to prevail Ptolemy marched right through Israel the most direct path to Syria, his victory he took back 2500 of the Egyptian god’s that had previously been captured by the Syrians years earlier.

That brings us to (v.10)

Daniel 11:10 NASB95

10 “His sons will mobilize and assemble a multitude of great forces; and one of them will keep on coming and overflow and pass through, that he may again wage war up to his very fortress.

So about these son’s they are: Seleucus III, Antiochus II and Seleucus IV. Antiochus III will attack the king of the south (Egypt)

Read

Daniel 11:11–14 NASB95

11 “The king of the South will be enraged and go forth and fight with the king of the North. Then the latter will raise a great multitude, but that multitude will be given into the hand of the former. 12 “When the multitude is carried away, his heart will be lifted up, and he will cause tens of thousands to fall; yet he will not prevail. 13 “For the king of the North will again raise a greater multitude than the former, and after an interval of some years he will press on with a great army and much equipment. 14 “Now in those times many will rise up against the king of the South; the violent ones among your people will also lift themselves up in order to fulfill the vision, but they will fall down.

(Slide) (v.11) Ptolemy IV will go and battle against Antiochus and will be victorious

(Slide) (v.12) Ptolemy will be elated at the victory, but it will be short lived.

(Slide) (v.13) Antiochus III will rise up his army to battle in greater numbers

(Slide) (v.14) the Hellenistic (Greek) Jews will rise up with Antiochus III.

Now we have previously discussed Antiochus Epiphanies IV and with Antiochus the III off to battle comes a great deceiver who will rule over Palestine

Daniel 11:15–17 NASB95

15 “Then the king of the North will come, cast up a siege ramp and capture a well-fortified city; and the forces of the South will not stand their ground, not even their choicest troops, for there will be no strength to make a stand. 16 “But he who comes against him will do as he pleases, and no one will be able to withstand him; he will also stay for a time in the Beautiful Land, with destruction in his hand. 17 “He will set his face to come with the power of his whole kingdom, bringing with him a proposal of peace which he will put into effect; he will also give him the daughter of women to ruin it. But she will not take a stand for him or be on his side.

(Slide) (v.15) Antiochus III will take the city of Sidon (198bc),

(Slide) (v.16) the Seleucid's will be unbeatable

(Slide) (v.17) settle in, set up his family

Speaking of setting up the family, we now have a daughter mentioned, this is Cleopatra who will be a pawn sent for arraigned marriage to the son of Ptolemy V who is Mark Anthony.

Only one thing went wrong with this, she was to be a pawn to spy on the house of Ptolemy and she fell in love with Mark Anthony and would not spy.

Daniel 11:18 NASB95

18 “Then he will turn his face to the coastlands and capture many. But a commander will put a stop to his scorn against him; moreover, he will repay him for his scorn.

Now who wouldn’t want the Greek Isles. Antiochus was frustrated and turned to what he believed would be an easy battle, and get some great beach front property to to come face to face with the emerging Roman Empire that thwarted his plan. There were several other battles during this time too between 197-190 BC

Daniel 11:19–20 NASB95

19 “So he will turn his face toward the fortresses of his own land, but he will stumble and fall and be found no more. 20 “Then in his place one will arise who will send an oppressor through the Jewel of his kingdom; yet within a few days he will be shattered, though not in anger nor in battle.

Antiochus returns to his own area, and has lots of issues and loses much of his kingdom due to finances (v.19) and will lose his life not in battle but in thievery where he is killed for stealing.

Seleucus IV comes to try to regain some of what has been lost and sends Heliodorus his prime minister out to tax the people and to raise money (you can read more on this is 2Macc3).

Heliodorus decides it would be good, expedient to take out Seleucus IV and assassinates him (v.20)

This now brings us to the years 175, Antiochus III is dead, at the hand of someone who slipped him a poisonous mushroom and Antiochus IV enters the picture.

Daniel 11:21–22 NASB95

21 “In his place a despicable person will arise, on whom the honor of kingship has not been conferred, but he will come in a time of tranquility and seize the kingdom by intrigue. 22 “The overflowing forces will be flooded away before him and shattered, and also the prince of the covenant.

(Slide) He was a great orator (speaker)

(Slide) He obtained kingdom by trickery and flattery, not in battle but peaceably he will gain the kingdom, including Israel.

(Slide) He will depose the High Priest (Onias III) and put his own false priesthood in place.

A point to remember, God is on the throne, nothing happens unless God allows it. Antiochus now is going to grow, because of the hand of the Lord

Daniel 11:23–24 NASB95

23 “After an alliance is made with him he will practice deception, and he will go up and gain power with a small force of people. 24 “In a time of tranquility he will enter the richest parts of the realm, and he will accomplish what his fathers never did, nor his ancestors; he will distribute plunder, booty and possessions among them, and he will devise his schemes against strongholds, but only for a time.

(Slide) Money

(Slide) Power

(Slide) Territory, Antiochus has it all

Eventhough he had alliances he worked deceitfully against them to gain the power (v.23); He used his riches, power and territory to make people feel at ease until it was the right time and he had the best opportunity that would suit his needs (v.24)

Daniel 11:25–26 NASB95

25 “He will stir up his strength and courage against the king of the South with a large army; so the king of the South will mobilize an extremely large and mighty army for war; but he will not stand, for schemes will be devised against him. 26 “Those who eat his choice food will destroy him, and his army will overflow, but many will fall down slain.

I told you he was a smooth talker, he even talked some of the servants of Ptolemy to turn against their king. (v.25) - this is in 170bc. by desertion, by sedition Ptolemy VI loses his battle and his army is defeated (you can read in

1 Maccabees 1:18 NRSV

18 He engaged King Ptolemy of Egypt in battle, and Ptolemy turned and fled before him, and many were wounded and fell.

So where does that leave things now?

Daniel 11:27–28 NASB95

27 “As for both kings, their hearts will be intent on evil, and they will speak lies to each other at the same table; but it will not succeed, for the end is still to come at the appointed time. 28 “Then he will return to his land with much plunder; but his heart will be set against the holy covenant, and he will take action and then return to his own land.

Egypt knew they were had, nothing they could do, but remember GOd is on the throne and even Antiochus had an appointed time.

Speaking of appointed times, let’s press on

Daniel 11:29–30 NASB95

29 “At the appointed time he will return and come into the South, but this last time it will not turn out the way it did before. 30 “For ships of Kittim will come against him; therefore he will be disheartened and will return and become enraged at the holy covenant and take action; so he will come back and show regard for those who forsake the holy covenant.

(Slide) Antiochus in 168 decides to return for a fight with Egypt again but the success he had before doesn’t happen (v.29)

(Slide) He will be humiliated and now turns to rage against God’s people and God’s temple (v.30) - he even used some of the apostate Jew’s to help him (v.30)

Daniel 11:31 NASB95

31 “Forces from him will arise, desecrate the sanctuary fortress, and do away with the regular sacrifice. And they will set up the abomination of desolation.

In his humiliation he takes his rage, his anger out on Jerusalem, history shows 40,000 were killed, a pig was sacrificed on the alter, the priests were forced to drink the blood of the pig and temple sacrifices were ceased at the time. This is an “abomination of desolation” keep this in mind when we look at (Dan12:11) we will see what and how long this abomination will last. By the end of his rage, 100,000 Jews were killed.

Antiochus erected a statute in the temple of Zeus, or some believe of himself since he demanded deity worship of himself.

It has been pretty bleak, disturbing until this point, but remember God is in control, and even in the darkest of times, in the midst of a Holocaust there is some hope, some faith and some display of those things.

Daniel 11:32 NASB95

32 “By smooth words he will turn to godlessness those who act wickedly toward the covenant, but the people who know their God will display strength and take action.

The apostate Jews would be persuaded to godlessness against their own brothers. But now it is 170 BC and the faithful have some warriors who are about to take a stand, this is where Judas Maccabees and his brothers step up and out by faith. The war between the Maccabees and the Syrians lead by Epiphanies lasted until 165 BC when the Maccabees were victorious and threw Syrians out of Jerusalem.

(Slide) A Word of Encouragement

No matter how dark a day, dark a time or season. No matter how big and strong the enemy or the battle may seem. The people of God that are faithful will be strong and assured of the scripture.

Romans 8:31 NASB95

31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?

The bravest people in the world are those who walk by faith knowing who their God is and knowing what God has done and what God has promised. They don’t back down or run away, or tremble in fear, but face it pressing forward like the Maccabees did. We are to be brave, strong, fearless and faithful to the calling God has called us to in Christ Jesus. For the battle they were facing with the Seleucids was not over, our’s is not over yet either.

Daniel 11:33–35 NASB95

33 “Those who have insight among the people will give understanding to the many; yet they will fall by sword and by flame, by captivity and by plunder for many days. 34 “Now when they fall they will be granted a little help, and many will join with them in hypocrisy. 35 “Some of those who have insight will fall, in order to refine, purge and make them pure until the end time; because it is still to come at the appointed time.

Many suffered, many died, all for the cause. Many suffered and many have died for the cause of Christ. Remember the words of Jesus.

Matthew 5:10 NASB95

10 “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.